"No other vessels detected," the pilot reported. "Area appears clear."
"For now." Vaxon positioned the transport for docking. "Prepare for extraction. Medical team, stand by. Security, stay sharp. This could still be?—"
The proximity alarms screamed.
"Incoming vessels!" The pilot's voice cracked with urgency. "Three raiders, closing fast. They just dropped out of cloak at two kilometers."
The transport ship shuddered as Vaxon threw us into evasive maneuvers. The debris field that had been a navigation challenge became a weapon as asteroids and wreckage flashed past at velocities that made my spatial processing scream.
"Get those survivors aboard!" Vaxon barked. "We have maybe ninety seconds before they're in firing range."
The medical team moved with practiced efficiency, extending the emergency airlocks to connect with the damaged pod. Jalina had already unstrapped, heading toward the airlock despite Vaxon's security team.
"Jalina, no—" I started.
"I know Liberty pod configurations." She was already at the manual override controls. "Your medical team doesn't. I can get them out faster."
She was right. I hated that she was right.
The airlocks sealed. Jalina disappeared inside with two medical responders while the transport ship bucked and twisted through Vaxon's evasive patterns. Raiders firing now, energy weapons that left ionized trails across my navigation display.
"Shields holding," the pilot reported. "But we can't take sustained fire."
I forced my attention back to the tactical display. The asteroid field suddenly represented opportunity instead of obstacle, dense enough to provide cover, complex enough to lose pursuit.
"There." I highlighted a route. "Through that debris cluster. It's too tight for raider vessels but we can make it."
"That's insane. Those gaps are barely three meters clearance."
"Which is why they won't follow. Jalina proved we could navigate spaces this compressed during the bridge rescue. Trust me."
Vaxon didn't hesitate. "Do it. Get us clear."
The transport ship dove into the debris cluster, clearances so tight I could see impact marks on passing wreckage through the viewports. My calculations said we had a seventeen centimeters margin on the narrowest passage.
The mathematics were perfect.
We made it through with nineteen centimeters to spare.
The raiders didn't follow, their larger vessels forced to pursue around the obstacle. We gained precious seconds.
"Survivors secured!" Jalina's voice through the comm. "Medical team says they're alive but critical. We need immediate evac."
"Working on it." Vaxon spun us through another debris cluster, putting distance between us and pursuit. "Zor'go, I need an escape vector. Something these raiders can't follow."
I studied the field, running scenarios faster than conscious thought. Standard routes were compromised. The raiders knew this territory, would anticipate conventional navigation. We needed something impossible.
The asteroid cluster ahead rotated through its gravitational pattern, massive rocks spinning in counterintuitive orbits that created temporary channels and permanent death traps.
Exactly like the field we'd navigated during the Veritaxis rescue.
"The asteroid cluster," I said. "We use its rotation to slingshot ourselves out. Requires perfect timing and real-time visualization."
"That worked once. Doesn't mean it'll work again."
"It's also the only option that gives us sufficient velocity to escape pursuit." I pulled up the calculations, already modeling trajectories. "But I need Jalina."
"She's securing the survivors?—"
