Eleanor mouthed, "thank you."
“Civilization means communication. Communication means we can reach each other," Veta called out to everyone.
“And don’t lose your jewels,” Caoimhe said.
Veta stopped and stared at her. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Our future depends on them.”
“On jewels?”
“Trust me,” Caoimhe said. She glanced at Veta. “You’re not the only one who thought this mission would fail.” She patted the necklace. “It is insurance.”
Eleanor patted the hairpin she had been given. It sparked as she tried to adjust it--the pin coded to her particular DNA so no one else could use it.
What had Caoimhe done? She had been working on some kind of project, but she would never admit to what it was. Maybe they had some sort of tracker in them, so they could find one another if they got separated.
That would be very helpful and forward-thinking of her. A great idea, in fact. She glanced at her sister.
Patted the pin. "Good thinking."
Caoimhe grinned. "I knew you would like it," she said and touched the necklace.
"Caoimhe, get in the pod!" Eleanor called to her sister.
“Fine. Yes. Go.” Veta shoved her in. “Don’t lose your jewels, Imperial order.”
Eleanor closed the hatch. The pod sealed, and the air pressure shifted. She hit the release. One deep breath and she was launched out into space. The tear-drop-shaped escape pod sort of arced away from the ship, and as it did, she got a very good view of what was going on around her.
Utter chaos.
Terran ships were swarming. Where had they all come from? They were only supposed to have a small escort and the Rhimodian escort. Why were there so many of them? It was a lot more than she expected.
And then there were the Rhimodian ships. Those flew around, fast as a blink, zipping by the escape pods. Though there were not nearly as many of the Rhimodians as there were Terrans.
Where was their backup? Shouldn't they be overwhelming the stars right now with all their people? Didn't they have backup ready to fly?
And she remembered the enormous list of requirements the Terran Empire had demanded of the Rhimodians for them to come to their homeworld.
One particular item stood out in her mind.
The Rhimodians were not to have an over-abundance of fighters ready for launch or hovering in the system. It would be too close to resembling an ambush. One of the odd requests from the Terrans that the Rhimodians had agreed to.
And now look at this--the Terrans were overwhelming the few Rhimodian escort ships.
Okay, overwhelming might be too strong of a word. The Rhimodian ships were holding their own. Their long, transformable ships weaved in and out of the Terran ships. On her vessel, she'd seen them, and they were a sight. In holovids of them back at the palace, they showed the flexibility and maneuverability of the Rhimodian vessels.
Usually with words like "disgusting," "horrific," "terrifying," but that's what news did.
Looking at the Rhimodian ships, she didn't see one heading for the escape pods.
Where were they all?
She started counting.
One.
Two.
