“Trust me,” Caoimhe said. “You’re not the only one who thought this mission would fail.” She patted the necklace. “It is insurance.” Still, the princess wouldn’t go into her pod.
Freya stepped into her pod next to Caoimhe’s. “Go, please.”
“Fine. Yes. Go. Don’t lose your jewels, Imperial order,” Veta said.
Freya touched the brooch under her outer cloak.
Yes.
These were important.
She fastened her safety belts and started to close the pod.
Veta waved her hand, and Freya assumed that she was encouraging her to launch.
She didn't wait to ask questions.
She ejected the pod, and in a flash, she was falling away from the ship. The quiet hit her instantly like someone had suddenly shoved her under water, away from all the ship noise. The pod noises were nothing compared to what she'd been bombarded with on the ship from the attack.
It was like a dream…
Other pods pulled away as well, tiny whitish rain drops against the black of space punctuated with red and blue streaks of light.
It was an attack, correct? She assumed so. What else could it have been? Caoimhe was so confident they wanted peace. Did they lie? And how did machines lie, anyway? Weren’t they programmed to not do things like that?
Around the ship, Terran and a few Rhimodian ships flew, lights of the lasers bouncing between them as they all tried to kill one another.
War.
As usual.
We have to get out of here. They all needed to find a safe haven, return to the Terran Empire, and learn what had happened.
She counted the pods in the star field.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Four?Who’s missing? Where’s—
A fifth one launched.
Freya sighed.
At least they all had escaped. She wondered about the rest of the crew. Had they been able to get off the ship? Find their own escape pods and safety? Should she call out? Use the comms to see if others had--
The ship exploded again, right where they’d just been standing moments before.
The explosion rocked her pod, and Freya grabbed the flight controls and attempted to level out the pod’s balance.
But it wasn't working. Her escape pod tumbled end over end, the thrusters not correcting her.
Or maybe that was just her horrible flight skills.
