“Why would I think that?” he asked.
“Lorse,” she grumbled. All she could do was say his name. She couldn’t talk about what happened in the hall.
“I heard him throw you around,” Myrum said. “I wanted to rip him in half.”
“That should’ve been my first instinct too,” she said. “But I cowered.”
“Fighting back would've been out of character," Myrum pointed out.
“It wasn’t that I was staying in character. It was my actual reaction.” She shook her head. “I’m ashamed.”
“Then you must think I’m pathetic."
“What?” She sat back to look at him. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I’ve given into my panic several times,” he explained.
“It’s not the same thing,” she said.
“It isn’t? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, you reacted with violence. You were ready to defend yourself.”
“Or was I reacting with thoughtlessness and could’ve gotten someone hurt or killed. Maybe even myself. If I lost control on a Talin ship, they would’ve given me drugs powerful enough to kill me or at least shorten my life span. They would see me as too unstable to exist. The Talin Empire isn’t interested in anyone who can’t live by strict standards. You can’t tell me that would be acting correctly. You made all the right choices, even if you didn’t like them at the time. Many warriors could learn from you.”
“Thanks,” Amina murmured, feeling better. There was a moment of silence before Myrum spoke again.
“By tomorrow, this outpost and Lorse will be behind us.”
“I can’t wait,” she said with a sigh. Silently she swore that Lorse would never make her feel fear again.
“Send me the shuttle’s Ident,” Helmen ordered. “We’ll have a bay ready for you to land.” Making contact with her ship had been quick and easy. Amina was impressed that getting to the command room and making contact had gone so smoothly.
At least so far.
“It’ll need to be a quick turnaround,” Amina warned. “They’re sneaking us out. They need to get back before Lorse realizes what happened.”
“How are they going to explain your disappearance?” Helmen asked.
“We’re still working on that,” Gis said before Amina could give a vague answer.
“I don’t want to get shot at by those security satellites,” Helmen said.
“You won’t,” Gis said.
“Let me guess,” Helmen said dryly. “You’re going to figure that one out too.”
“I could rig something on the outpost,” Amina reminded Helmen. “Knowing how to keep ships from going kaboom means I know how to make them go kaboom too.”
“What’s a kaboom?” Gis asked. They didn’t respond to his question.
“That’s as likely to take you and Myrum out as them,” Helmen said. “Try hard not to kill yourself while trying to escape.”
“What is a kaboom?” Gis said, his voice high with alarm.
Amina patted his shoulder. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
“And yet I’m still very worried!” he responded.
