5
“Escape pods,” Kian said.
Tear-drop shaped pods shot off the side of the ship, out into the middle of the newly formed battle zone. They sort of floated around, maneuvering a little bit, but would probably be mistaken for debris, if they were merely glanced at.
The Terrans did not seem to care. Blasts of the lasers vectored near the escape pods.
Yet they weren’t moving in to rescue anyone.
Curious.
They continued to blast at Wrathin and the others, as though the escape pods had not emerged at all.
One shot hit an escape pod. Not enough to destroy it, but enough to cripple the vessel. It fired back an array of weaponry. Not with any strength or focus, more of a shielding blast, and the ship took off, curving down and away from the battle.
“Shield the survivors!” Harbin said. “We will not aggravate this war further. Peace must be met.”
“Execute,” they all said.
The escape pods started to move away from the fighting, using evasive maneuvers to stay out of the battle.
They had to be the ambassadors.
Wrathin’s ship tracked the nearest escape pod.
He closed in, guessing that perhaps they were heading to rendezvous on the far side of the moons. The gas giant of Sol which dominated the star field with its purple, red, and orange streaks, was home to over a dozen moons. Some of those moons had atmospheres—the kind humanoids could survive on.
Were they headed to rendezvous with a larger ship? Did the Terrans bring more than the one ship to the negotiations?
That went against the agreement.
One ship.
One ambassador.
What was it the Terrans had said? Trust beings with It a step forward?
Wrathin scanned the solar system, as well as the edges.
Scans revealed on the outer edge of the Sol system, was a Terran battlecruiser. Unlike the one that exploded into pieces, it was bigger and much more dangerous.
The Terrans did not trust very well, no matter what their leaders said.
Wrathin grimaced.
“They brought more ships,” he said as he took out another Terran assault ship. “A heavy cruiser, by the telemetry.”
“Expected,” Harbin said.
Wrathin nodded, and he imagined the rest agreed—it wasn’t what the initial treaty plan was. None of this was, however. This was supposed to be a peaceful negotiation.
Not a battle over the Rhimodian homeworlds. Had it all been a ruse to wound them up close?
The escape pods dove toward different moons.
“If they are not assembling with their ships, then where are the escape pods going?”
“They are either the ambassador’s party or the instigators of this,” Harbin said. “In either case, we must intercept and capture whoever is on those escape pods.”
