United as One (Lorien Legacies #7)(81)

“All right, once we’ve dealt with the Anubis, we’re attacking here.” I indicate the mountain’s cavernous entrance. While the entrance is at ground level, it’s at about the midway point of the map. The Mogs have hollowed out the mountain both above and below the entrance. “We’ve got one cloaking device still hooked up to Lexa’s ship. She’ll drop us through the base’s force field and then pull back to a safe distance until we need extraction. It’ll be me, Six, Marina, Nine, Adam and Five down there.”

Sam’s brow furrows at that, like I expected it would. “Wait. What are the rest of us doing?”

“At first, Ella will be coordinating the different groups telepathically. In the event that Setrákus Ra takes away our Legacies, I want a backup team to bring in Ella so she can use her Dreynen and even the odds.” Ella nods at that, although she looks uneasy at the prospect of facing her great-grandfather again. “Until then, the rest of you will be flying this warship and destroying anything that comes out of that mountain that isn’t one of us. With your Legacy, Sam, you’ll do more good up here.”

Nine snaps his fingers at Rex and gets the wide-eyed Mog’s attention. “And don’t try any bullshit. My man Sam Goode here will kill you.”

Sam sighs and looks apologetically at Rex. “I’m not going to kill you,” Sam says, although he immediately reconsiders that statement. “I mean, I will if you try something, but you seem like an okay guy so, yeah, don’t do that. I’ll mess you up.”

Adam pats Rex on the shoulder. The other Mog shakes his head and becomes real interested in the schematics in front of him.

“We’re expecting to hit heavy resistance in the fifty yards between the force field and the entrance,” I continue. “We’re going to use blunt force to fight our way in.”

Five and Nine both smile at that.

“Except for Five,” I continue, and his face falls.

“What?” he asks.

I turn to him. “You’re going to fly Six and Adam through the entrance—while invisible.”

Six looks in Five’s direction. “You’re sane at the moment, right?”

“Yes,” Five answers brusquely. He keeps his eye pinned to the map and takes a deep breath. “It’s a good strategy.”

“No one was asking you,” Marina says.

I press on before this can get any more heated.

“Once they’re in, Six and Adam will attempt to disable the base’s shields.” I point to an elevated section above the entrance. “We’re not exactly sure where those controls are, but Adam thinks they’re around here. While they’re doing that, Five will hit the Mogs from behind.”

Sam raises his hand. “What are the rest of us doing up here?”

“Once the shields are down, hopefully you guys can give us some air support. You’ll want to have the main energy cannon ready to go.”

“We’ve got a mountain to knock down,” Six adds.

“Exactly. We’re going to bury Setrákus Ra in there. But first we’ve got to make sure whatever twisted experiments he’s concocted are destroyed.” I point into the depths of the mountain, down twisting corridors and across narrow rock bridges. I remember the sounds that came from those depths from the last time I visited the mountain base—animal screams, tortured cries. “We figure if Setrákus Ra is anywhere, he’s down here. That’s where the vats are. It’s where he’ll be working his experiments.”

“You assume he doesn’t come up to say hello when we knock,” Nine says.

“You’re right,” I agree. “He might come out to fight us. Either way, he and everything he’s touched gets destroyed. By the time the sun rises, he’s dust in a fucking crater.”

“You make it all sound so easy,” Five mutters.

“Oh, it won’t be easy,” I reply. “But we can do this. We have to do this.”

“It’s everything,” Six adds. “This is for everything.”

I can sense some of my friends looking at me expectantly. I try to think of the kind of speech I would’ve given a few days ago, when Sarah was still alive.

“Look, there’s nothing more I can say. We’ve come this far together, and we’re going to get through this together. No more running, no more hiding, no more words. We fight until we win.”

Nods all around. I look at every face, meet every set of eyes or eye, and I’m amazed by how calm I feel. I look beyond the mountain map on the window, into the night. The stars are out.

It’s time.

“I’m going to go scout the Anubis,” I say. “I’ll tell you when you’re clear to approach.”

“Be safe,” Marina says, her words echoed by most of the others.

“Adam, help me work the airlock, would you?” I ask on my way out. The Mogadorian raises an eyebrow at me, surprised to be asked to help with a task that he knows I could do on my own. He doesn’t make a thing about it, though. He simply nods and follows me into the hallway.

Together, we walk down the empty corridors of the warship. The signs of our earlier attack still linger, Mogadorian ash crunching beneath our feet. Adam doesn’t say anything. He waits for me to speak.