"Two more ghantas and we'll be there," Hira said, stepping into the strategy room. "Arawn's armies won't be able to sense us until we get really close. Maybe when we're a few nimishams away."

"And it's not possible to remain hidden until the last minute?" Arina checked.

"Nahin. Our inbuilt deflectors may be strong, but Arawn is light years ahead of us in terms of technology. That is the best we can do."

"And what about our required clearances?" Naor asked. "Can we just land our battleships in the enemy dockyard without their permission?"

Hira pursed her lips. "Landing will be quite tricky. There's no use in asking for clearance in advance, since they won't allow us anyways. The best we can do is hover over their docks and demand a landing, and fire at them until they agree."

"That sounds fun!" Arina and Tara exclaimed with matching gleeful expressions, causing everyone to chuckle.

"For everyone's sake, I hope it doesn't get to that," Shyra said. "There's nothing we can do in advance about the landing. We'll just have to wing it. For now, it's more important to focus on our plan. Everything we've been working towards has led to this moment. There must be no mistakes from our side."

"Yes, Captain," they chorused, raising their hands to their foreheads in a salute that made Shyra feel strangely emotional. Maasas of planning had led to this crucial chapter in their lives. She could only hope all of them survived and were able to rescue their loved ones.

"We've already gone through everything possible. Are there any last minute ideas of getting information about Arawn's Rajmahal?"

"Nahin. There is virtually no information about his mahal. I wouldn't expect anything now. That thing must have been a crucial factor in keeping his khandaan safe. There is no way he would risk any information on it getting leaked."

"So our best hope hinges on quite the unexpected people," she muttered, staring at the notes Shivin had compiled.

"No, Captain. Our best hope is ourselves," Naor said, causing everyone to look at him. "We all came on this mission and put ourselves at stake without expecting anyone else to take the hit for us. Whether or not they help us, we will fight next to each other to the end."

Shyra nodded, a strange lump in her throat. Just a few maasas ago, she'd entreated people who were supposed to be by her side no matter what, and everyone had turned their backs on her. Now, looking at all the brave people standing around her, ready to lay their lives for a cause they believed, it made her feel prouder than she could ever express.

"I don't know if I've said this before, but you'll make a great leader, Naor," she smiled. He returned it with a shy smile of his own and inclined his head.

"Alright, let's get all the emotions behind us and get ready for war," Arina said, clapping her hands together with a wicked look in her eye. Shyra felt her heart race in anticipation as she nodded and clapped her hands once, dismissing everyone to their rooms to prepare.

Knowing it was possibly her last time in the crew's quarters, Shyra took her time in wearing her battle clothes and outfitting her armor, strapping her weapons in various hidden nooks of her outfit, and admiring herself in the mirror one last time.

"I'm ready, Mahi. And I'm coming for you. This time, I won't let you go so easily." she said to herself and uttered a silent prayer to the Cosmos before heading to the pilot's cabin.

Everyone was gathered there, crowding around Hira as she sent a message to request docking permission. Everyone held their breaths as the siren went through, probably sounding across their control rooms, and hopefully causing panic.

"They're not going to blast us from the air instead, right?" Ahsan said with a nervous laugh. The crew gave him a side eye, and he raised his hands in the air in mock surrender. "Just wondering."

An automated message played across the room, causing everyone to jump. "Permission granted. The docks will be cleared in five nimishas, after which you can land along with all your ships, Peacock."

The crew looked at each other, hesitant to believe it would be this easy. Naor spoke what everyone was thinking. "It's a trap, isn't it?"

Shyra rubbed her temples and nodded. "It most definitely is. But what other option do we have? It'll be a huge waste of time and resources if we unnecessarily fire on them to get our work done. Let's accept their offer and be on our guard until we safely land and exit. Then we'll carry on with our plan."

Hira nodded and swiveled back to the controls, typing out an affirmative with shaking fingers. Then she leaned back and exhaled heavily, causing the crew to follow suit with hefty sighs of their own.

The next five nimishas passed with a heavy silence pressed into the air with restless hands and shaky legs. Just when Arina opened her mouth, presumably with some sharp rebuke at the tip of her tongue, their communication button lit green.

"Peacock. The docks are clear now. Initiate landing sequences and maintain a tight formation to avoid crowding out the landing spaces."

Hira exhaled and nodded, pulling a lever back and pressing the accelerator with her leg. The crew found places to hold and watched from the pilot's seat as the ship emitted a high-pitched whine and shot forward at a dizzying speed. Shyra could never decide at these moments if she should cover her ears or hold on tight for dear life.

The Asteroid soon filled their vision, its ominous red soil taking up the entirety of their screen. Small white settlements dotted its surface like craters on a planet, and some parts of its uneven, rocky land had been converted to arable land. It wasn't nearly enough to feed its population though, Shyra recalled, as Arawn had to export the majority of their food from Rahuketu.

"Landing in five," an automated voice called out, and Shyra mentally counted five seconds as the Peacock slowed to a halt over the docks and slowly descended with a mechanical wheeze.

"Jeez, we need to do more research into developing less violent ways of landing," Shyra said, wiping her sweat off her brow. When everyone stared at her for her unflattering language, she shrugged and grinned. "It's liberating to speak like that sometimes."

"It sure is. Let's focus on liberating our men now," Hira replied, standing up and stretching her arms. She pressed a button that released their landing plank with a fairly dramatic smoke effect that Naor insisted on adding. Shyra motioned for them to follow her and exit one by one on high alert, weapons on the ready.

They nodded, understanding the importance of lesser words spoken now, and trailed behind Shyra as she walked down the plank and took her first steps on enemy soil.

"Well, that was rather anticlimactic," Arina said, her hands on her hips as she surveyed their surroundings. "I don't see an army rushing to attack us. Let's wait until our army lands their ships and steps down. Then we'll group here and carry out our next plan."

Shyra nodded, and the nimishas passed anxiously as the silence was filled by landing hisses of various ships. The Baan descended from the ships in admirable battle formation and stood in neat rows in front of them.

"We've got our army here," Tara said, surveying them with pride shining in her eyes. "Now we just need to figure out where the royals are being kept."

"So, it's time to initiate our next stage," Shyra exhaled. "As discussed, Hira, Ahsan and Arina will accompany me to an audience with Arawn Adair. Using that diversion, Tara and Shivin, along with a few warriors of their choosing, will roam the palace in search of the royals and secure their locations. And Naor, you'll go on the mission we discussed."

Everyone nodded and raised their fists to their heart in a salute and prayer to Cosmos. The Baan followed them in a salute, and two nimishas passed in silence. It was better than a war speech, Shyra could see as they looked at her with determination. "Let's do this then."

No sooner had she said those words, that she caught a wisp of movement in the corner of her eye. She turned around, trying to catch the source, when her heartbeat quickened as she realized that they were surrounded by creatures holding spears at them.

The Baan drew their weapons as well and formed a protective shield around the crew, swords and shields facing outward in shankhu formation.

"Welcome, crew of the Peacock," someone said, stepping forward from the attacking circle, spear glinting wickedly in Asteroid's hazy red light. "We've been expecting you."