But Torian was even more distracted. Her body temperaturedropped and the blood drained from her face. “Dutch, did that transmission from Amelia’s ship saywhenthey were going to arrive?”
Dutch didn’t seem to understand. I simplified for him. “You think your not-romantic partner’s ship was attacked by these creatures.” Without waiting for confirmation, I checked with Auto-Nav.
Moss: Can you identify another human vessel in this quadrant?
Auto-Navigation: Scanning—it’s hard to see past these things.
M: Amplify range.
A: Amplifying. Yes! There’s a human vessel, tagged theCharlatan. Last ping from its navigation was… nine hours ago.
“Torian,” I said. “There is evidence that Amelia is in immediate danger.”
CHAPTER 26
Torian had never moved so fast. Peat was completely forgotten as she called to Dutch, “Warn Zen! If we’re under attack, he needs to mobilize that fancy ship of his. I have to find Amelia!”
Dutch had followed her onto the flight deck, and now he squinted at the radar image. It was mostly static, but occasionally, half a dozen blips would appear. TheDestitutewas docked inside Vaesa, and they clearly weren’t willing—or able—to slide through the energy barrier, but flashes of dark, serpentine creatures slid across the dome high ahead.
Torian didn’t care what they were. She cared that Amelia’s ship was out there, drifting, possibly dead in space… and might have been for hours.
“Dutch,” she snapped.
The nylarian startled out of whatever trance he was in, spinning on his heel. “Yes. Right! Keep in radio contact.” And he was gone, sprinting out of theDestitutewith urgency. Torian pressed a few buttons on the flight deck to seal the cargo bay behind him, and once they were pressurized, she launched the starship.
The second they left the energy barrier, they were swarmed. Howthis manyhad bypassed detection until the last minute was mind-blowing.
Then again, Moss and Auto-Navigation had trouble identifying these creatures from the very start. Moss had thought Torian was losing her mind when she mentioned them. Auto-Nav lost sight of them almost immediately the last time they entered the nebula.
“They are indeed organics,” Moss intoned, even as a nightmare played out before Torian’s eyes.
They looked like… fish. Almost. Kind of. Their faces were vaguely humanoid, same as Dutch’s, but that was where the similarities ended. They had long, flowy tails that drifted in space, and the tips glowed with blue light when they moved. Their eyes were endless black pools, and their hands were flat and wide, more like fins or sails than fingers.
As theDestitutepeeled away from Vaesa, they swam over its hull, peering into the flight deck through the big windows. One hissed, a sound lost in space, and the instruments on the panel flashed in tandem.
“More interference,” Auto-Nav yelped.
“Keep it steady,” Torian ordered. “Lock on to theCharlatan’s signature. We have to get to them.”
At least Celise was safely in Vaesa for this. Torian couldn’t handle knowing she’d accidentally endangeredbothof her favorite people.
The engine fired up, and theDestituteshot forward. One by one, the creatures peeled away from the hull, until the radar went blank: No signatures present. Either those things had gone back to Vaesa, or they were following at a slower pace.
It bought time, which was a relief.
Torian set her jaw, squinting into the star-speckled darkness. “Auto-Nav. How far?”
“Six minutes to last-known location. Rhizoids crossed.” Auto-Nav didn’t have rhizoids, but clearly it was learning some things from Moss.
Torian leaned back in the pilot’s seat. “What the hellwerethose things?”
Moss answered: “I obtained visuals from the external camera. Running an image scan now.” A pause. “They appeared to be a spacefaring species. This should be an impossibility. Organics lack any form of true propulsion in a vacuum.”
Torian thought back to their tails, glimmering with light. “Ithink they have propulsion. Somehow.” She’d studied solar engineering, not biology, but thatdidseem impossible. Were they the nylarian defense system? Part organic, part machine? Moss claimed to be the first, but… it wouldn’t be wild to think other nylarians were developing similar technology.
Dutch had seemed moreperplexedthan alarmed, looking at these creatures through the window.
Curious.
