Mother of Stars

Checkmate - Connor

"Everyone," Kyrom said. "Get to the bridge now. You will want to see this."

The external door to my bay slammed shut. Air hissed in immediately, followed by the opening of the inner gate. I scrambled to my feet, wobbling from my still-partially-dazed state, and made for the nearest exit. Other Drakes had made it back as well, including Griff, Page, and Vatria. Skylar was not among them. I grew worried.

Neila scampered up behind me and leapt onto my back, leaning close to my ear. "We need to be fast. The Defect is recovering its faculties."

I ended up leaving a trail of claw-marks in the metal floor on the way to the bridge. Kyrom, Nylis, and Droami all huddled together in the middle of the bridge, staring up in awe at the Mother's superstructure. The rest of the Drakes flooded into the room behind me. Neila nearly fell off my back onto the bridge walkway. We were all immediately transfixed by the viewscreen.

The intricate shape of the superstructure was rippling as if it were portrayed below the surface of water. The light at its center began to flicker. An orange glow tinted the entire structure. Constellations behind it began to warp around it as well.

"By Thannin's Eye," Neila murmured, her mouth hanging slack. "It's really doing it."

The massive, interwoven rings twisted and contorted in a wicked dance. The orange glow turned into gleaming whiteness.

A watery voice, neither male nor female, echoed in my head. "My task is complete. You shall prosper. Farewell, my children."

The ball of light collapsed in on itself. Kyrom began shouting something, but the words were lost to me. The light flashed outward, then it blinked out of existence. Stars streaked past us toward where the superstructure had been. It took me a moment to realize we had simply entered warp travel.

I blinked and glanced at everyone else, bewildered. Kyrom fell to his hands and knees. "Neila, please confirm what we just saw."

Neila withdrew her head armor, revealing her frown and her ears lowered in sadness. She cradled her hands near her chest. Her tail wrapped around one of her legs. "Yes. The Mother just went hypernova."

A grin slowly widened on Kyrom's short muzzle. "We did it."

He leapt up and tackled Droami in a bear hug, startling the Grephen. "WE DID IT!"

Nylis eyed them with a smirk.

I looked to the other Drakes for their reactions. Some of them had incredulous expressions like mine, while the others were starting to celebrate with high-fives.

The Defect's angry voice rang in my mind. "What did you do to me?"

Everyone went dead silent, covering their ears in surprise. The Drakes parted from the bridge entrance, revealing a crowd of Defects approaching. Something was off about their movements. They were stiffer than normal. Neila backed away, her armor flowing around her head again.

I got in front of her. "You got a problem?"

"You betrayed me." They stampeded into the room, each one focused solely on Neila.

Kyrom, after letting Droami free, snarled and unleashed a threatening growl. "We were never on your side!"

The Defects got into attack poses and rushed at us.

"Hey!" I spread my wings protectively, strong-arming the first Defect to rush at me. The other Drakes burst into action as soon as they realized what was happening. They managed to detain several of them, but we were outnumbered. A few of them managed to flow around my outstretched wings and go for Neila.