“Wait, I didn’t get it yet. We have to—”
Kyte’s words are cut by the deafening explosion that I don’t hear so much as feel. We didn’t just blow this side of the Sentient ship. The entire thing begins to burst and crumple and twist, fire spurting and dying just as quickly. I try to hold onto my barrier for Jeren and Ceredes, but I can’t feel it anymore. I can’t feel anything. My hands are cold, my thoughts numb. What’s wrong with me? My knees give, and I clutch the console as I fall. Kyte catches me, holding me tight as the shockwaves emanating from the Sentient wreck shred the rear of our ship and send us spinning toward the sapphire moon.
21
Ceredes
“The fucking thing won’t give!” I slam my hand on the ignition switch mechanism for the virudivan core.
“Don’t do that,” he calls from above me, his head sticking over the grate that gave me access to the bowels of the ship.
“It can take it.” I smack it once more for emphasis.
The Sentient drones took off after their mother ship once it came under heavy attack from Kyte’s guns. And then the whole thing exploded, but now we’re floating away from the wreckage at a fast clip, and my connection with Lana is razor thin.
“She’s in trouble. We have to get there.” I pull out some of the wires and look at where they enter the virudivan chamber. Holding up one of them to Jeren, I ask, “Is this one supposed to look like this?”
He slides down the ladder, both of us crowded in the small bay at the center of the ship. “No.” Flipping out his knife, he cuts through a charred section, then strips the wire down until he reaches a viable piece, then does the same on the other side.
“Still there?” Kyte’s voice comes through as if he’s thousands of miles away, and I suppose he is.
“Here. We’ll be heading your way as soon as we can.”
More rumbling shakes the ship. I can only assume it’s from what’s left of the Sentient vessel.
“Hurry. I think Lana needs all of us. She’s drained.”
I know. I can feel the exhaustion right next to the pain she’s in. She did too much too soon, and now she’s paying for it.
“Hey, is that a good idea?” I watch as Jeren prepares to rejoin the wire.
He shrugs. “We’ll find out.” With a tug, he puts the wire together. A spark lights the entire bay and the distinct smell of wire burning tinges the air. But there’s something else, too. A hum. One that wasn’t there before.
Jeren looks over his shoulder at me. “Nothing to it.”
I grab a piece of the wire coating he’d stripped and wrap it around the junction.
He’s about to let go when there’s another spark, and he crashes into me so hard I think I feel one of my ribs fracture. I groan as he sinks to the floor.
“What was that?” Kyte asks.
“Virudivan spark.” Jeren’s hair stands on end as I help him to his feet. “I think I saw the Pillars for a moment.” He shakes his head as if to clear it.
“Come on.” I help him up the ladder, ease him into the co-captain’s chair, then work on starting the engine.
After a few tries, nothing happens. The pain in my side is an irritation as I keep trying different power configurations to get the ship going. But when nothing works, I pull Jeren’s console to him. After that blast, he’s suffering more than I am, but we can’t stay here, not when Lana needs us.
“Can you—”
“I’ll start it when you say,” he forces the words out through bluish lips.
I jog back to the ladder, slide down it and don’t hear the hum. The wires hang separate, torn apart by the jolt.
“This is going to hurt.” I take a deep breath, reach for the wires, then yell to Jeren, “Hit it!” right as I jam the ends together.
Agony, sparks, and a beautiful virudivan blue are my rewards.
22
