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“That’s it. You keep watching the flames. There’s nothing to see behind you.”

Cleo was ten paces from the docking ramp, when one of them turned. He let out a yell and fired at her.

She threw herself at the docking ramp and rolled along it, then leaped to her feet and slammed her hand against the panel, closing the ramp behind her.

Cleo raced through the ship, pausing only long enough to discover the room where the gabblefoot were being kept. They were all alive, although none of them looked in prime condition, and they all shook with fear.

“Hey! You’re safe now. I’m getting you out of here. Hold on tight. This could get bumpy if the Siblet fire at us.”

Cleo had never been inside a Siblet ship, but her training had involved testing out dozens of simulations of enemy craft, and as she settled in the large, curved black seat in the cockpit, her knowledge rushed back to her.

She shot the blast field into place, raised the force field around the entire ship, powered up the engines, and then eased the joystick up, sending the ship rocketing into the sky.

“Whoa! You’re fast.” Cleo let out a whoop of victory. They’d done it. They’d rescued the gabblefoot. The Siblet couldn’t get their grasping hands on them and torture them.

She took a few minutes to check over the controls and make sure there was nothing she didn’t understand, but it all looked good. The system was stable, and once she was clear of the planet, she’d key in the directions to the Apocalypse, and set it to autopilot.

Worry pinched through her as she thought of Hunter back on the planet. But he was a smart, clever fighter. The Siblet would be no challenge for him, and it would be easy for him to slip away and get back to their ship. He’d follow her straight back to the Apocalypse with their precious cargo.

Once Cleo was clear from the planet’s atmosphere, she let out a huge, relieved sigh. This wasn’t the mission they’d planned, but it was so much more rewarding. To finally beat the Siblet. Nothing felt more satisfying than beating a foul enemy.

She stood and took a minute to open a secure channel to the Apocalypse. They’d get the shock of their life if she appeared in a Siblet vessel and they weren’t expecting her.

Cleo was about to send the message, when a pair of huge, muscular arms wrapped around her and lifted her off her feet, crushing her against a solid chest as her captor growled in her ear.