Did he know who they were?
One of the pilots turned toward the window. Bianca wondered if he was looking at them or at the ship.
Was that one Harbin?
It gave her both a thrill that soon she would be able to see Harbin again and a sense of calming because the time was coming.
She stepped closer to the window, staring at the system, and saw the edge of another Rhimodian ship nearby.
They were protecting us like he promised, she thought.
"There you are!" Diado said. "Come. We have to go. We haven't much time!"
“How long until we land?” Freya asked.
“Very soon. Wemustget moving.”
Diado started pushing her and the others along the way.
“Really, Diado. You do not have to be so aggressive,” Bianca said.
“We have a schedule!”
He was far more insistent about this schedule than he needed to be.
They started back into formation and started walking again. Diado again in the lead.
They moved quickly through the hallway, Bianca wondering what in the world this was all about. It wasn’t correct protocol, for sure. Granted, she’d seen some changes in things, but this pushy, speedy walk through the ship seemed unnecessary.
Why I will talk to--
The ship exploded.
8
Harbin adjusted his trajectory slightly. He was out of sync with the other ships. He assumed it was from his anticipation at seeing Bianca. “Calm,” Harbin replied. Though the comment was more for him than any of them.
Well, except maybe Kian. But he always ran a little hot.
Part of that new-Anprogramming. Bahran was the same, part of the reason Bahran was Tarnished now.
He worked hard to earn back his Shine.
Maybe someday, he’d earn back the respect of his people.
“Keep sharp, everyone.”
“Do you suspect a trap?” Wrathin asked.
“I suspect everything,” Harbin replied. Call it his instinct, but he had seen enough that he could feel that something was not right in his years.
His scanning of the area was all over the place. One moment he saw exactly what he was supposed to see—a handful of Terran ships as well as the ambassadorial transport. Then the scans would shift, and it would change.
There would be double the ships, but it would only be for a blink.
Master System. How many ships were the Terrans supposed to bring to escort the ambassadors?
The initial agreement was for nine Terran ships, including the Ambassador’s transport.
