Fifteen minutes. Not much margin for error.
“Where’s the extraction point?” Brevan asked.
“Sending coordinates now. There’s a clearing six kilometers northeast of your current position. Natural landing zone. I can get the ship down there but you need to be waiting. I’mnot staying grounded long enough for Tarsus to get a firing solution.”
“Understood. How long until you arrive?”
“Two hours. Don’t be late.”
The channel closed.
Brevan looked at me, eyes narrowed. “Can you make it six kilometers?”
I was exhausted. I was terrified. I was free.
“Yes,” I said.
“Good.” He checked the coordinates Kallum had sent. “We should move now. Two hours doesn’t give us much cushion.”
We left the cave. Flinx took point. His sensors mapping the route. Finding the easiest path through the forest.
The terrain was rough. Roots. Rocks. Uneven ground. But we kept moving. Steady pace. Conserving energy for when we’d need to run.
Flinx warned after maybe an hour.
“Tarsus’s forces?” Brevan asked.
We stayed quiet.
The forest gave way to more open terrain. Grassland. Less cover but faster travel.
Brevan’s comm buzzed. “Status,” he said.
“Fifteen minutes out,” Kallum’s voice. “I’m beginning atmospheric entry. You better be at those coordinates.”
“We’re close.”
“How close?”
“Two kilometers.”
“Run faster.”
We ran.
The clearing appeared ahead. Natural depression in the terrain. Big enough for a ship. Remote enough that sensors wouldn’t easily detect it.
Perfect for a covert extraction.
We reached the clearing’s edge. Found cover in the tree line. Waited.
The sky above was clear. Blue. Peaceful.
Then it wasn’t.
A ship dropped through the clouds. Fast. Sleek. Military-grade hull but civilian markings. It dove toward the clearing. Engines screaming.
