She rolled her eyes before focusing on the question on Devon and Joule's face. "Okay, fine. Yes, that was what they called me before."
Talon snickered. Even Finn had to fight the smile that threatened to crack his stoic expression.
Graydon didn't bother, looking over at Kira with a smirk.
She huffed at him. "It was that or Mad Dog."
"Because you were a little mad?"
Raider snickered. "Try insane."
"Thanks, Pastor," Kira said sarcastically.
The amusement dropped from Raider's face at the reminder of what he'd almost ended up with. He was lucky they'd changed it to Raider after the incident with the pirates.
"What is my call sign?" the J1N asked.
Odin looked up from where she was working in the corner, her gaze shooting to the drone. "Come over here, Jin. I need your help with something."
The J1N didn't argue, drifting toward the Sye and letting Odin attach a few wires to his internal system.
Himoto's co-pilot leaned over to say something. Himoto listened, nodding a second later.
"Command, this is Advantage. We are away."
"Best of luck, Frost. Give those bastards hell."
"There's no question of that," Himoto said, looking over her shoulder at Kira. "See you on the other side, Reliance."
The comms clicked off.
"We're past the point of no return now," Maverick commented, leaning forward to watch through one of the side windows as the Reliance passed over them. The ship got further away. It and its companion heading for the Tsavitee ships massing in the distance over the planet.
"Our current trajectory is good. It'll carry us right into the planet's gravity well without our engines having to do anything," Himoto announced. "All systems, including life support, have been shut down. For all intents and purposes, we're flying dark. We won't have long once I reactivate things. You'll have to ditch fairly quickly."
"No problems there," Nova said, tapping the helmet next to him. "We have plenty of experience in that realm—don't we, Curs?"
There was an "Ooo-rah" from Maverick and Tank.
Graydon's oshota wore haughty expressions as if they found such an obvious question insulting.
"You ready for this?" Kira asked Finn.
"I won't leave your side."
Talon cracked an eyelid from where he'd been resting. "That’s because you’re more worried about her leaving yours."
Finn punched his friend's arm without breaking eye contact with Kira. "That's not going to be a problem. Right?"
Kira sensed there was only one right answer for that question. "Of course not."
Graydon's shoulders shook with a repressed laugh.
"Why don't your oshota ever threaten you when you wander off?" Kira muttered.
"That's because I'm not like a certain someone."
Kira arched an eyebrow at him. "What was that Mr. Ended Up in a Coma?"
Devon choked back a sound of amusement as Maverick shifted in his seat, leaning forward to peer through one of the windows.
"The Reliance and the Lawrence have engaged."
They all moved to look. Explosions stood out in stark relief against the backdrop of the void as the Reliance and the Lawrence started their attacks. From the planet, beams erupted from the energy cannons.
Luckily, the two ships were out of range or their hulls would have sustained heavy damage.
Dozens of smaller shapes darted out of various sections of Jace and Bechler's ships. They swarmed the much larger Tsavitee vessels, looking like tiny bees next to them.
Raider's hands clenched. "Let's not waste their efforts, Curs."
"Yes, Master Chief!" the humans intoned.
Raider nodded. "Suit up."
Maverick and Tank donned their helmets and tested their suits to ensure they were sealed as Nova jerked his chin at Graydon and the rest. "What about them? I’m not seeing any helmets."
Amila gave the human a happy smile, her eyes glittering as the scales of her synth armor crawled up her throat. The helmet it formed was impressive, made of the same protective layers as the rest of her suit.
The faceplate was the only exception with a thin black membrane that made her and the other oshota look about ten times more intimidating than they did normally.
Devon and Joule's suits weren't quite as dramatic, but they possessed a similar functionality.
"Fancy," Nova drawled. "Where can I get one of those?"
Raider slapped him on the back of the head. "Don't even think about it."