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to what Tieran was attempting.
    It was rare for Brions to share any of their tactics, but the Fearless was special. Every species in the Galactic Union was ready to provide all the information they possessed. It was the only chance they had to even out the battles with the monsters.
    Tieran noticed the change in the mech just in time to save his life. He had to be nearing the brain section, because the Fearless suddenly stilled and went for its last weapon, evidently realizing that even maiming itself wasn't going to help.
    Instead of roaring, which had made Tieran's bones shake, it screeched. The high-pitched sound was tearing through his head, making even moving seem like cutting himself with a thousand blades. He had managed to alert his armor in time and the nanobots rushed to cover and protect his face. Still, Tieran tasted blood, and it was his.
    With a roar of his own, he jammed the glaive into the mech's brain. The sensors recognized the killing blow and the Fearless slumped to the ground. Breathing heavily, Tieran had to exercise all of his strength to push himself out from between its jaws.
    He stepped into the hall again. The whole fight hadn't taken more than a few minutes, but it had seemed like ages.
    Pelar came back in, her eyes wide on her pale face.
    "Commander," she breathed. "I thought we'd lost you."
    "Not today," Tieran said, letting his armor flow back into its regular form, now that he no longer needed all his agility.
    "That was incredible," Pelar went on. "I wouldn’t have believed it was possible to kill something like that."
    Tieran turned back to watch as the AI of the hall cleaned up the remnants of the mech.
    "That was one of the smaller ones," he said. "Much slower, much less vicious. Nowhere near as dangerous as the real one. And since no two have ever been completely alike, it's more of an exercise than practice. Is there any information about what the new one is like?"
    Turning back to her, Tieran saw honest concern in her eyes. Pelar's entire body language spoke of unease and fear and he couldn't really blame her.
    "Have no fear," he told her, his deep voice bearing such certainty she immediately stood up straighter. "We have always found ways to deal with the Fearless. We will deal with this new one too. Now you should really leave, there will be more of these—"
    A voice interrupted him, but it wasn't Pelar's.
    "Commander," the control center said. "Something has happened down in the mines. We think the lifestone stores are in danger."

3
    Audrey
    I t was the single most beautiful thing Audrey had ever seen.
    Like gold buried under layers of dirt and mud, a stone peeked out from under the dark rock of the mountain itself.
    Around her, everyone seemed to be in similar awe. Terran and Palian alike stood with their mouths open, staring at that wonder. It was amazing.
    Upon closer inspection, it wasn't even golden. It wasn't anything at all, almost transparent in its light, gentle glow.
    Audrey had no words to describe it. The closest she could think of was the way people sometimes imagined spirits – a white glow, so pure and clear it nearly hurt to look upon it. All of that was captured there in the form of a stone, almost at the core of an icy planet, more translucent than the brightest day on the surface.
    She reached out her arm to touch it, to feel if it felt as divine as it looked, but her Palian guard immediately snatched her hand away. More rudely than she would have expected from one of his species. They were never that sudden.
    "This is an amazing discovery," the guard said carefully. "But we must be careful, Governor."
    "Is that what you have been looking for?" Audrey asked, pointing to the glowing stone. "If it's dangerous, you should have told me."
    "Not dangerous," the Palian said, shaking his head. "Simply mysterious, even to us. We should approach it with caution. If our sources are correct, that mineral contains tremendous amounts of energy. We think the entire station