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“Maybe so, but she’d have made me feel guilty about it for the rest of my life. And I’m not so sure she wouldn’t have gone against my orders. She works so hard on this program.”

He scowled but nodded. She always put those damned animals ahead of her safety. The long hours, the study, the determination to save every animal under threat. Wren pushed herself too far and too hard.

“It’s her passion,” Sloane said. “Wren goes all in when she finds something she loves. She’s dedicated to this mission.”

Cleo smiled. “When she first joined us, she drove me mad with constant requests to visit places of potential sightings. She’d follow every rumor and longshot about a new sighting of an animal.”

Striker nodded. His girl was awesome. He loved her passion.

“The Gente ship has changed course,” ELVIS said.

“Where are they heading?” Striker leaned over the control panel.

“They’re heading to... no, they’ve changed course. There’s no logic to their movements,” ELVIS said.

“Something’s wrong,” Striker said. “We need to get on that ship.”

Cleo’s fingers flexed. “Dammit, Striker, we can’t. The force field is still up.”

“I’m monitoring a change in the force field,” ELVIS said. “It’s been lowered.”

“That’s our chance, Cleo.” Striker looked at her. “We go in.”

“Agreed. Full power to the ship’s engines,” Cleo said. “ELVIS, get us to that Gente ship. Now!”

“Fire a shot at the ship,” Rexx said. “Show them we mean business.”

“No! That could warn them we’ve got a way in. They may not realize something’s wrong with their force field,” Striker said.

“They know we’re here,” Cleo said. “And I bet they’re scrambling to fix things. The force field could be up at any second.”

Striker gripped the back of a seat, hope shooting through his chest like a hot poker. “It’s Wren and the others. They’re behind this.”

“I’ve scanned the ship,” ELVIS said. “I’m detecting three Human life signs.”

“They’re okay,” Cleo said on an exhale. “That’s great. Now we need to get them off there.”

The next few minutes were tense as the ship’s engines roared, and they closed the distance on the Gente ship.

“ELVIS, send out an alert to let everyone know what’s happening. I’m taking Blaze, Striker, and Ash with me. The others remain here,” Cleo said.

“The message has been sent,” ELVIS said.

“No! I’m coming with you.” Rexx straightened and glared at Cleo.

“Are you up to it?” Her gaze ran over him. “You’ve got enough sedative running through your veins to kill most people.”

“He’s not most people. He’s an Apexian,” Striker said. “If he says he can make it, he comes with us.”

Rexx’s eyes tightened a fraction. “I can fight.”

Striker knew what this meant to him. Rexx needed to see Daisy again.

“Update the order, ELVIS. Let’s move,” Cleo said. “It’s time to get our crew back.”

Striker led the charge, stopping briefly to grab weapons before heading to the docking bay. He stood by Rexx, the tension in the air palpable.

“We’ve almost got them,” Blaze said.