"I am not the most skilled at programming. I usually let others do it for me."
"Ahh," he said. "I am sure there is something helpful here."
She doubted it, but it was cute how he encouraged her.
* * *
"Well, this is awkward."Eleanor climbed down into the crash site. She had been stunned when they reached the ship. The fact that it wasn't a pancake in the sand impressed her, but in the most macabre way. The entire back end was sticking up, and the front was half-buried in the sand. Everything was on a tilted angle, and as she entered, she almost fell forward.
Wrathin caught her and helped her down the rest of the way.
Jedriek had continued on toward the ships. His plan was to get a vessel ready, so they could get back to Sol-3.
Eleanor climbed in the broken ship with Wrathin's help, and she had to see the woman who'd raised her.
As soon as she saw Bianca, the only mother she remembered, Eleanor ran.
"My girl," Bianca said.
Bianca held out her hand but did not get up. She was pale, and a sheen of sweat was on her brow.
Eleanor knelt next to her. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I slammed into the front window," Bianca said, her voice raspy and her breath labored. "I'm better than I was, but I'm not ready to take on an army." She smiled and patted Eleanor's face. "And you? Are you well?"
"Fine," Eleanor said. "Better, seeing you."
It was a lie. Eleanor's gut wrenched seeing Bianca hurt so severely.
Tears welled in her eyes. She'd already lost one mother and had no memory of her. She couldn't lose another one.
"Shh," Bianca whispered. "I will be fine. Once these nanites start doing their thing, I'll be right as rain."
"Yeah, they'll get you fixed soon."
Eleanor understood why they needed to get her to a medical facility as soon as possible. They had to see what kind of damage had been done and help her. She didn't see any blood, but that didn't mean she wasn't severely hurt.
The cyborg that sat with her stayed on her other side, watching, but he did seem to respect her need to talk to Eleanor.
Wrathin walked to the cyborg next to her. "Harbin, we have to--"
Harbin nodded.
Veta joined them.
"What are they plotting," Bianca asked.
"Most likely how to get you out of here and to a new ship."
She nodded. "I'm going to have to move."
"Yes, you probably are."
Veta glanced at Wrathin. "Maybe not."
Eleanor turned to her. "What are you talking about?"
Veta smiled. "I have an idea." She grabbed one of the packs that had been stowed in the escape pods.
