Darling would take Caillen to task, but he well understood those sentiments. Shahara could be a hellcat when something set her off. He definitely didn’t envy her brother those fights.

Nykyrian, Maris, and Hauk joined them and rounded out their number.

Even though Nero was still in agony with his migraine, he, Chayden, Drake, Fain, Jayne, and the others were on standby to come in and transport their people home as soon they brought down the prison’s network.

Like the rest of his group, Darling didn’t remove his helmet and he kept the voice distortion on as they quickly prepped for their assigned roles. Only a very small handful were privy to their identities. The rest of the Tavali and Sentella with them knew that Darling fought with them and made weapons for them, but none of them needed to know he was really Kere.

Not until he was dead.

Syn was the only one of them who’d never hidden his real identity. The son of one of the most notorious serial killers and outlaws in history, he didn’t care who knew his name or face. Not until he’d married Shahara and had a family to protect.

While Syn worked on hacking the prison’s relays and feed, they checked in with their waiting ships to make sure they were ready to land as soon as the shields were down.

“So Nero,” Hauk said into his link. “We’re going to get out of this, right?”

“Not psychic. I can tell you what is, but not the outcome. Why can’t you people get that through your heads?”

“Not people, human. I’m Andarion. Why can’t you human’s get that through your heads?”

Darling cleared his throat to get their attention. “Once Syn has their transmitters down, I’m going in, explosives blaring. I’ll have them diving for cover. Let me know when you have the prisoners safe and I’ll protect your exit.”

Nyk inclined his head to him. “You got it.”

Hauk grabbed extra blasters and tucked them into his holster, within easy reach. “I’m ready to cover you. Just don’t lob one of your toys at me by mistake.”

Darling clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, Dancer. By the time you see it coming, it’ll be too late.”

“Great… just great. Love your sense of humor.” Hauk glanced at Nykyrian over his shoulder. “Why didn’t one of us train him on how to use blasters?”

“He liked explosives better,” Syn muttered as he typed furiously.

Maris grabbed an extra rifle. “I’ll pull the back.”

Darling shook his head. “I want you to stay behind. Hauk and I are a team. We’ve done this thousands of times.”

“And I know every thought you have three seconds before you do. An extra gunner won’t hurt.”

He would argue, but he knew better. Maris always won their fights.

“All right,” Syn said. “Feed is down. Sentella and Tavali, land the ships and Kere… it’s your show now. Run it.”

“Thanks.” Darling gave a nod to Maris and Hauk. “Let’s paint some walls with entrails.”