Relief flooded her just hearing his voice.
“Who is attacking?”
“Terrans are,” Harbin said.
“We’re in the escape pods. There are five of us,” Bianca said.
“Understood.”
Veta’s voice popped through the escape pod’s systems. “--Land. Get out of the stars. You can live on the ground, and I’ll find you.”
“Copy that,” Bianca said, and Freya and Eleanor replied immediately.
But there was no Caoimhe.
“Princess?” Bianca whispered.
Where was Caoimhe? She should have responded as well.
"Caoimhe? Respond,” Veta said.
Still no answer from Caoimhe.
“Wait…” Veta's voice crackled through their communications.
Bianca looked up at the displays that lit up with ships on intercept courses.
“There is a reason I’m not a pilot,” she muttered as she attempted to maneuver the pod away from the others.
The ships were coming in. Not only were the Terrans heading toward the escape pods, but the Rhimodians were as well.
“On my way,” Harbin said. “We’ll be taking up positions to protect your people.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
And it was a good thing they were right there because the Terran ships were firing on the escape pods. Blaster bolts hit her craft, making her controls flash all kinds of bright lights.
Veta's voice came through again. “Everyone, if you can hear me, instigate evasion program three.”
“Copy,” came all the responses simultaneously.
One stood out, though. “Copy,” came the last, breathy one.
And Bianca sighed in relief. It was Caoimhe.
Bianca relaxed, but her pod lit up in energy as the Terran ships fired on her. Not just one, but two of them were heading straight for her.
More flashing lights on her controls.
And those red ones looked really important.
“That can’t be good,” Bianca muttered. Though she didn’t know which was worse, the warnings on her controls or the coming ships.
Anger surged through her as she attempted to move away from the coming attack. The shielding on the escape pod was minimal. Hopefully, it was enough to get her to the ground.
As she attempted to make a trajectory, where did she need to go?
To ground.
