“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Our future depends on them.”
“On jewels?”
“Trust me,” Caoimhe said. “You’re not the only one who thought this mission would fail.” She patted the necklace. “It is insurance.”
“Fine. Yes. Go. Don’t lose your jewels, Imperial order,” Veta said. “Now go! I’ll reach out in a few minutes!”
She slapped a panel on the controls, and the doors slid shut.
Bianca launched her pod, and suddenly, she was in space. The silence startled her for a moment as she saw the ship dancing in the starfield, fire bursting behind windows, and implosions everywhere.
“Wow,” she whispered. She marveled--not in a good way--at the exploding Terran transport they had been on. The end, where they had been, was still fairly solid.
Another implosion blew that chamber out into space.
Not so safe after all.
She started scanning around for her fellow escape pods. The tiny pods looked small and insignificant next to space where the other ships flew around. They could be mistaken for debris if they didn't move.
“Where are the others?” she whispered. Where were the tons of the little white drop-shaped pods flying away from the ship everywhere? Escape pod banks were all over the vessel for everyone. While the staff on the transport was kept to a minimum, there were still others.
Pilots. Support staff like Diado. The engineers.
There werepeople.
Yet, she couldn’t see any more escape pods launching.
And the ship just kept exploding. Darting all around were Terran ships, shooting at the Rhimodian escorts. The Rhimodian ship wings slipped in and out and changed their shape to fit through holes moved like poetry in the stars.
If, well, Bianca wasn’t stuck in the middle of a war zone.
She shook her head and looked down.
The communicator for Harbin.
Well, this qualified as needing help.
She pressed the connection button. She didn't know how long it would take. Harbin always reached out to her first.
Would he answer? Would he be available?
“Harbin?” She wedged the device above one of the control panels as she started to pilot her ship. One of the pods began to tumble, and Bianca’s impulse was to move toward it.
But it seemed so did all the ships.
Good. Those were Terran ships. They would help—
She blinked as they started firing at the escape pods! That couldn't be what she was seeing.
For a moment, she wanted to believe the Terran Empire was here to help. Unfortunately, though, Bianca knew that the Emperor would not pass up this opportunity to get under the shield.
He had no plans for peace.
“Harbin, if you’re out there, I could sure use—”
“I am here,” he said.
