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The Iron Rain

All I see is metal I’m one of a thousand in the honeycoes I feel nothing Not the shudder of the Pax Not thesilent death Just the throbbing of est he’d seen in a Red, courtesy of the pitviper poison that traced allops in s Fear of letting downunequal to the task before me Fear caused by doubt--in myself, inlost in the darkness of space beyond the hull Fear of failing Eo, my people, myself But chiefly, fear of hot metal

Chatter comes over the co but a cog now The battle is too large for me to take part in all of it I wanted to lead the Pax froe so I could watch the enemy ships fall to my fleet But Orion and Roque are better than I a the boarding parties through the breech into enees, repel invaders fro them mine But I will not capture Imperator Bellona The Titans will do that In the end, rand prize

A prize that has been asus pendant is cool against my chest Eo’s hair lies within Focus on that On the way her hairof her, I auilt I like this life No matter my reluctance to play the Gold, no matter the sorrowful excuses I make, part of me is like the that Man wasn’t born to be any Color Our rulers decided that And they rong

"Audentes fortuna juvat, darlings," Sevro says over a private co at the Latin

"More ‘Fortune favors the bold’ crap? Why not just say carpe diem?"

"Because it’s tradition to say …"

"Do you boys always flirt like this before battle? It is adorable," Victra adds

"You should have seen thehs

"I saw the clips! What a lovely couple"

I hear the sarments Stylish, weren’t they, Roque? And smelly"

"I certainly took no notice"

"Why not?"

"Sevro scared the piss out of ," Roque replies, drawing laughs "I thought he’d been bitten by a squirrel and contracted rabies somehow"

"Roque?" Sevro calls sweetly

"Sevro"

"Hello"

"Hello?"

"Next ti to bite you"