Eve sat at a table, talking with her students in the university's coffee shop, when emergency lights flashed on her bracelet.
"Alright kids, I gotta go. See you in the next class!"
"Another Nomad mission! Go get them Eve!" A teenager chanted.
Eve smiled as she walked across the hall to the exit door. It seemed like one of those once-a-year calls. It was not.
She put her comm piece in her ear. "I'm on my way. Which star system?"
Sappherine replied from the other side. "Meshkoff!"
Eve walked through the lawn toward the parking area. "You mean Saiyara? Or the neighboring planets?"
"We've tracked three ships coming toward us. They're heavily equipped, and we're reading Thelarian signatures."
Thelarians? How can that be? Eve thought as she stepped into the parking line.
Sappherine continued, "Eve, the readings are off the charts. Something big is happening. There was no intel. In a few minutes, the entire planet will be on alert."
She walked toward her car, but another hovercar stopped beside her. The door opened.
It was Kayden.
"Change of plans, ma'am!"
She got in. The door closed, and he took off.
"We're not taking the road?"
"Nope. Commander, it feels like one of those times."
"What do you think this is about?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe some hidden Thelarian ships finally showed up. In it for revenge or they are after something."
"That's two explanations."
Cityscapes rushed by. They barely made it to Nomad City when the car's radio came alive with an urgent voice.
"Eve, they're here—the royal palace! I don't know how they bypassed the orbit and hyperspace jumped directly on top of us!"
"Turn the car around!"
Kayden took a sharp turn.
"I want all teams online and operational. Axel, are you there?"
He was leaving his office. "On my way, Commander."
"I need all space fighters dispatched first. Military on full alert. Immediate evacuation. All civilians to the bunkers. I want Nomad to track those ships and engage on sight!"
"Roger that!"
"Zara here."
"The children. Take them all to the basement."
"Cesna One online!"
"The children. Guard the basement at any cost!"
Eve could already see the Thelarian ships on the horizon as the palace came into view.
"Voila, reporting."
"Take your team to the palace yard. Kill anything before it lands."
"We'll be there in no time."
"Tina online. Look to your left."
She was driving a car flying next to them. Eve nodded.
They approached the palace yard. Only a few military vehicles had arrived. The royal guards were barely holding off the Thelarian soldiers causing havoc.
Looking down from the car, Eve wished for the first time in her entire human life that she still had her powers... to jump down like she used to; like when she dropped from orbit with her needle.
She wanted to jump on the Thelarian ship and tear it apart.
"Commander, get ready!"
Kayden accelerated, and they both jumped off just twenty meters above the ground. The car slammed into a Thelarian hoverbike.
Tina landed her car beside them. The doors opened, and she tossed plasma rifles their way. She also carried a bag.
"Sorry, there was no time to get an exo."
"It'll do for now."
The three joined the royal guards, moving from cover to cover, firing at Thelarian soldiers.
A huge truck crash-landed. K'thar, Vorlag, and Voila emerged from the wreck. (Aura and Zohan had gone to visit their home planets.)
Voila drew her blades and spun through the enemies. K'thar and Vorlag started smashing flying and ground vehicles, throwing cars and wrecks into incoming hoverbikes.
The Bravos turned out to be a huge support. Eve, Kayden, and Tina joined them.
More military vehicles rolled in, cannons firing at the sky. Just then, the ship above fired a massive laser blast. The palace was protected by an energy shield, but the yard was completely shattered. Eve and her team took cover behind a wrecked craft. The royal guards, Saiyaran soldiers, and Thelarians in the blast radius were instantly vaporized.
Moments later, the sky filled with Nomad space fighters. The sound of countless sonic booms followed as they fired at the ship from all directions. The ship exploded into several sections, its wreckage falling in fiery pieces as it drifted toward the ocean behind the palace.
"Yeah, we got them!" Kayden yelled.
Axel's voice came through. "All clear on the palace side, Commander. Heading out to the city. Two more ships inbound."
"Roger that," Eve replied.
Then Eve noticed a small fiery ball descending from the sky.
"Somebody got binoculars?" she asked.
They all looked up.
It was coming fast.
Tina squinted. "I think that's a… human?"
Eve's eyes widened.
"Sappherine! Bring us everything we've got!"
Sappherine, guarding the children with Zara in the basement, replied, "What is it, Eve?"
"I said now, damn it!"
"Alright. Nomad City, activate Protocol One!"
A woman landed in the yard with a thunderous impact.
They all stared in disbelief.
"Commander, she just landed in your style." Kayden commented.
Zara looked at the monitor from the basement. "That can't be."
Sappherine asked, "Who is she? Why do you look so stunned?"
"That's her," Zara whispered. She was the only one in the squad who had seen her before.
A masked woman stood at the center of the yard, wearing a sleek nanofiber outfit.
"Nobody move. Just wait here."
Eve walked toward her without fear.
"Sable... I thought you were dead."
"I can't die. Not without seeing you die first."
"Thelarians are gone. It's all over. What are you going to do with a few ships? What's the point?"
"Maybe I'll raise a new army from their ashes. And I won't rest until Andromeda is turned to dust."
"You can change. There's still time. We make our own destinies. The past is gone."
"Look at you, Eve. You used to be weak in the heart. Now you're weak in the mind and body."
"If killing me brings you any happiness, then do it." Eve dropped her rifle. "I'm not afraid anymore."
Sable stepped closer. "But killing you would be no fun." Her eyes shifted toward Eve's squad. "Maybe I'll start with them."
Eve grabbed her hair. "Who said you could touch them?"
Sable caught her arm and slammed her to the ground. Eve felt her ribs crack. Pressure built in her chest as blood spilled from her mouth. Breathing became harder.
She tried to get up but collapsed, watching the fight through blurry eyes. K'thar charged forward. Sable instantly xenomorphed and killed him. Vorlag and Voila engaged as Kayden and Tina fired round after round.
Nothing worked.
Vorlag was critically injured. Voila was heavily wounded, completely immobile.
"No!" Eve crawled forward, reaching out as Sable closed in on Tina and Kayden.
Eve fought to stay conscious.
Axel fired precise rounds from his space fighter. Then a dozen heavily armored mechs landed in the yard. Kayden and Tina rushed to Eve.
Sable went hyper-xeno and tore through the mechs with her bare hands.
Eve's lungs were collapsing. They dragged her toward a car parked outside the yard and put her inside.
But Sable caught up.
Kayden grabbed her by the neck. "Tina, take her! Go now!"
Sable threw him to the ground. She ripped the car door off and grabbed Eve by the throat. "Where do you think you're going?"
Tina struck her from behind, punching her back. Sable turned and grabbed her by the collarbone. Tina screamed in pain.
"Now watch your friends die."
Sable dragged Tina toward Kayden. Eve fell from the car door, crawling weakly toward them.
Sable's claw extended as she lifted Tina in the air and aimed for her neck.
Eve whispered, struggling to breathe. "Cetra… if you're listening… mother… please save my friends."
A lightning bolt flashed. Sable was hurled across the yard, smashing into a wrecked craft.
Through hazy vision, Eve saw a man's face—he looked like an angel. Sable attacked, but he moved fast, driving his fist through her chest.
Eve gasped, barely clinging to consciousness, as Sable's body hit the ground. Then everything went dark.
In the darkness, she felt something pierce her chest. Air filled her lungs. Light returned as she took a long breath and opened her eyes.
He was holding her.
A face she never thought she'd see again. It was Skybreak.
Eve touched his face. He gently brushed her hair aside. "I know, love. Rest now. Go to sleep."
Eve closed her eyes and fell into darkness once more.