Veta was not a fan of Diado's. Bianca wasn't a fan either, but at least Bianca wasn’t ready to take his head off.
Veta looked ready to do so.
The hum of the ship's engines was the only sound, aside from their shoes on the hard floor. They approached a bank of windows that revealed the space beyond the vessel.
“Anyone else feeling like we’ve been let behind the curtain?” Freya broke the silence.
Veta smiled. “Sort of.”
“This is a historic moment,” Bianca said. “We are the first Terrans behind their protection.”
"Mother was behind it," Caoimhe said.
"The shield wasn't active then. It was raised later," Bianca said. "After the fighting began in earnest." Memories of the beginning, and the explosion of the war after Fallon died, hit her hard. Staring out into those stars to see the moons of Sol and the gas giant in the background, it felt surreal that she was here.
That Fallon had seen this before she died.
The Emperor had been working with the Galactic Alliance to appropriate the system before the Rhimodians came and claimed Sol.
The Galactic Alliance refused to intervene on behalf of the Terran Empire, regardless of annexing the territory.
It forced the Terrans to go in on their own to reclaim the territory for themselves.
Out in space, through the window, three of the five moons were visible. The other two were on the opposite side of the ship. One was the main settlement, Sol-3. Of the other two, one was green and lush with vegetation, while the furthest one seemed to be white, hinting at a frozen ore environment.
It seemed an awful lot of fighting for five moons, Bianca thought.
She felt this way before she came here a few days ago, but being back, it very much felt like the war was more about the Emperor's ego than any true want for the system.
From what Harbin had told her, while they had exports, there was not anything of significant value. Blue grass was on one moon. That was a valuable export since it could be processed to make many food forms with very long, if not infinite, storage life--perfect for space travel. The same with volcanic soil. It could be exported and sold.
The Sol system had assets, but truly it was not like they were sitting on a mine of extreme wealth.
Why the Emperor was so determined to have it, Bianca didn't know. Her best guess? Because they defied him.
She touched her cheek.
The medicine had worked well, and her facial injury was healed. She still had the medical patch on her hip, under her dress, where it wouldn’t be noticed, but her hip remained sore where she’d fallen.
Though truly, the rest of this mission would likely be simple. Walking. Standing. Talking.
Bianca could do that in her sleep.
She looked back out the windows at the ships that were surrounding their transport. Some were Terran escort ships. Others were the Rhimodian ships. And while she’d seen Rhimodian ships before on vids, she had not actually seen them move like they were now.
The ships transformed. Wings pulled in, the length of the vessel converting to something smaller as they moved around.
"It's like a magic show, watching the way they move," Freya said. “Are all the worlds so different?”
“Yes. Each one of the moons is a variety of resource-rich ecosystems. What we cannot see is the moon that is more mountains and rock, and there is another that is almost entirely water,” Bianca said.
“Oh, my, look at how they move in perfect form,” Eleanor whispered, gesturing out the window.
Their Rhimodian escort had taken up positions all around the Terran vessel.
Bianca wondered which one was Harbin.
Could he see her on his ship?
