“Got it.” Vira had a shockgun holstered to her thigh and she drew it and pointed it at Fee. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll let the admiral know you’re changing locations,” Eazi whispered in her ear. “They can fetch you out in the desert. It’s actually easier for them.”
Fee lifted her cup and drained the last of her water. “Sure.”
CHAPTER 39
Yiko hadHal come to her.
Apparently she could better explain what they needed to do to find invisible battleships in the engineering room than up on the bridge.
Hal left Chel and the rest of his team with instructions to return to Kyber’s Arm and find a way to lurk there without being seen. Given the interference the storm caused, that should be easy enough to do.
As he moved through his ship, he realized he must be projecting menace, because his crew got out of his way a little faster than usual.
“TheUnhilwas going to lift the Class 5 frame when you arrived,” Eazi said in his ear as he reached the tube to go down to Engineering.
“Lift it?” Hal wondered if he’d misheard.
“I know. Apparently that’s how the Tecran did it, and they left instructions for the Garmman. The Tecran apparently used their Levron-class battleships to lift me and the others, and the Garmman ships aren’t as powerful, or they weren’t.” Eazi paused. “I have to assume the Garmman understood theyneeded to make their ships more powerful, so all of them may have undergone an upgrade.”
“Can you pass that on to the admiral?” Hal asked.
“Already done,” Eazi said. “When you arrived at the base, the captain of theUnhilthought she’d have to engage with you, so she dropped the cables that connected her ship to the frame below. There was some damage and loss of life on the ground, but Fiona is safe.”
“For how long?” Hal wanted to know.
“They’re planning to drop Fiona off in the desert and let the elements or the friens take care of her,” Eazi said.
The tube doors opened, but Hal didn’t move. “When?”
“Right now. It’s all right, Captain. The team the admiral sent to the base to rescue her knows what’s happening. As soon as she’s dropped off, I’ll give them her coordinates.”
Hal strode out onto the engineering deck. “How close are they?”
“Close. She’ll be out there on her own for half an hour, tops.”
“And Bunny?” Hal asked. “Can he go with her and keep her safe while she waits?”
“No, he’s busy trying to make sure the frame can’t be lifted,” Eazi said.
Not ideal, but Fee was resourceful and tough. She’d be fine for half an hour.
“Please let me know when they have her safe.” He made his way to where Yiko was standing beside a contraption he didn’t recognize.
“I will. The Garmman are bringing the cables back up to theUnhil, and they still plan to lift the frame. They’re relying on theCiolloto keep you occupied while they do. But Paxe will try everything he can to stop them taking it. Bunny is working to make sure the cables will break off, but this time from the frame,not the ship above. The whiplash from that might destabilize theUnhil.” There was a warning in Eazi’s voice.
“You’re saying when that happens, we shouldn’t be too close?” Hal asked.
Eazi hummed in agreement. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Vira had obviously setthe people mover—which looked like an elongated hovering motorcycle—to top speed. All the better to get her as far from the base as possible in the time she had, Fee guessed.
The base was behind them in seconds, but the massive ship hovering over it meant Fee would be able to find her way back easily if she wanted to.
Hopefully she’d just need to wait around for her ride, and get the hell out of here.
Ten minutes into the journey, the mover slowed and then came to a hard stop.
