“Still alive,” I gasped.
Ethan shook his head, panting.
But we weren't safe yet. All it took was one fly-by patrol for our escape to fail. We stripped off our suits. I tried to stand and stumbled.
Hands reached under my arms, pulling me back up.
Ethan.
We both climbed upward and opened the portal that would allow us to enter the front of the ship. Amelie stood behind the controls, fingers dancing, eyes darting. She turned at the sound of the door and launched herself at me. We embraced. It felt like a part of my heart had been restored the moment we touched.
“Thank you for coming for me.”
“Always,” she said, and it made me feel safe for a heartbeat.
She wore a once-beautiful, full-skirted party dress splattered in blood. She had a nasty gash in her neck and looked like I felt.
Backstepping, her face scrunched. “You smell like a piece of—”
“And what happened to you?” I asked. “And where is Dax? I thought he was with you?”
Her face drained of color, and she shook her head. “He distracted the guards so I could take the ship and save you. We could go back and try to find him.” She said could in a way that told me she knew it was a bad idea.
“As much as I would love to help Dax. I think it would just be sentencing all of us to death. I say we get out, regroup, and figure out a way to help him as soon as we can help ourselves. He’s not committed treason or killed an officer, has he?”
“No.” I'd never seen Amelie so completely emotional.
Her logic must have been warring with her feelings. Logic usually won, but this appeared to be a close battle. She wrung her hands and glanced to her left and right side as if two different forces were pulling her part. After a few more seconds, her head drooped.
“You're right. I hate it with every fiber of my being, but I can see no flaw in your logic. Regrouping makes sense. We should think about where to go.”
She put up a hand and shook her head. “And one of you pilot this. I will gladly admit that I’m done flying.”
And that was a massive admission from Amelie, who wanted to be the best at everything.
I didn't feel safe flying, and I didn’t know where to go. I turned to Ethan.
He had already slid into the pilot seat. He checked the scan and adjusted the controls.
“We need to destroy our wrist coms.” He snapped his off. “The Mil-station can trace them.”
“I can reprogram them. The wristlets are useful. We might need them.”
He handed it to her. She pulled out a tool kit and started working.
Sound barked out of the com unit—reports and damage briefings and calls for help.
Alien warnings.
“The reports don’t mention us yet, but as soon as they figure out that we stole the ship and that I killed Gleason—”
“You killed Gleason?” Amelie almost screamed, turning away from her work.
“It's a long story, Amelie. Just like yours. Please, we need to get far, far away from here.” I didn't know what else to say. I had no plan, and my mind was a blank. My plans had extended to escaping the base.
We’d done it because of some confusion, but as Ethan said, that wouldn't last long.
I couldn't ask Amelie to risk her military career.
“We can drop you at your parents on the way off Axis. You shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of our crimes.”
“Oh, trust me, I'm in almost as much trouble. And my parents... They have probably already disowned me.” Even covered in blood, she was beautiful. The grit almost added to her attractiveness. And the look in her eye? I wouldn’t want to mess with her in a dark alley.
Even in that big floofy dress.
“Let's just worry about getting out of the inner circle. A patrol vessel is coming around the starboard side,” Amelie said
I waved Ethan on. “Show me what you can do, Smuggler.”
Amelie and I buckled into our seats. I slid into one next to Ethan. Amelie took the one behind me, within reach of the navigator’s station.
My hands gripped the arms of the seat as Ethan flew the ship as if it were a part of him.
If anyone could get us out, it with Ethan.
Chapter Ninety-Six
Ethan
If I'd been born with any manner of luck, I must have used it all up, because this was worst-case scenario.
Just as we approached exit orbit, the rotation began. Which meant, if we wanted to leave, we had to thread the needle.
Threading the needle was considered a near-impossible task even when done with perfect conditions in a fast ship.
I had technically threaded the needle before. But I'd been young, quick, and talented. I’d also hijacked two different pattern breakers that would assist with timing.
The spokes of the Axis were moving at a speed that even a computer struggled to keep up with, and I was only human.
The ship's mini-computer worked on potentials, and I leaned into the path I wanted to try.
The only saving grace was I wasn't trying to stay within the gravity of the base. I was trying to free myself and go to deep space. Small crafts didn’t go out of the Axis safe area.
Amelie and Vega’s lives were in my hands.
A wave of patrol ships passed. I cut the engine and swooped low to avoid detection, almost clipping a freighter.
I’d forgotten how dicey it was to be out here without a flight plan. Without backup. With nothing but my wits.
A flash of Gleason's face blackened my vision. I blinked, trying to swallow. Now would be an excellent time to use my compartmentalizing lessons, but I kept slipping. Sweat gathered on my forehead. We hovered, engines at low power under a support beam.
The Axis continued rotating.
It was a sight to behold, an engineering marvel, and probably our doom.
My hand moved without me directing it, twitching just enough to the left and right.
I dipped down, cutting the power just before a scanner beam bathed the area in blue crisscrossed beams.
I knew better than to turn on any shields. The action would be registered immediately, but damn, I wanted to. I’d gotten soft in my time in the military.
I’d forgotten how it was out here.
My adrenaline rose. I gritted my teeth and grabbed the controls.
I was going to break. Like completely break. I had nothing left for this. The different stations mobilized and spun.
How was I going to get through without killing everyone on board?
I searched for the song. It was the song I had always remembered whenever I was at my deepest lows. It came from a time before I had proper words for things. It was like a soft voice in my head. Nothing bad could happen to me when I listened to it.
In June we will visit you soon. See you on the dark side of the moon.
“You okay?” Amelie asked.
I cut a look at her. Her huge eyes were concerned. She leaned forward. It was unlike Amelie to be concerned about my health.
She would usually be spouting some kind of statistic about the percentage chance of survival. I must have looked really out of sorts.
Vega gripped the armrests as if they would give her life. After everything she'd been through, she had to be just clinging to consciousness. Her shoulders slumped forward. But she kept her eyes up and scanned the perimeter.
Like a good soldier. Like a good leader.
It was a damn shame that she'd never be able to advance in the military. It was a damn shame none of us would ever be what we were meant to be.
But at least we were alive...for now. I dry swallowed a big lump in my throat. I took a deep cleansing breath and pulled the calculation from the computer. I aimed carefully before hitting the retro thrusters. Part of it involved feeling my way through.
“You got this?” It was Vega this time. One of the first times since the Lazarus that she seemed unguarded.
I wanted to remember how she look
ed at that moment. Appreciative, supportive, still strong after being almost beaten to death.
“I got it.” And I started humming the tune again as I hit the thrusters.
Chapter Ninety-Seven
Amelie
I knew it was just a figure of speech, but I believed it might be physically possible for my heart to jump into my throat.
Ethan hit the thrusters, and we navigated into the direct path of one of the largest pieces of machinery ever constructed by man.
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, waiting for impact.
The shuttle rumbled and shook, careening down and banking hard to the left and right again.
We shot straight up for two seconds. I ventured to open my eyes, but it was just a blur of motion. I closed them again.
Why had I ever wanted to fly one of these things?
It was insane that humans should be in space and flying at all. I wanted to join the sect that said we should never have left OE. I’d pray to their gods and swear allegiance if they let me live.
The turbulence ceased. I kept my eyes shut. Maybe this was death. Perhaps I had transitioned, and my brain hadn’t registered the pain. I forced my eyes open.
A billion stars scattered before us.
I released a long breath and placed my hand up to my forehead.
Sweat coated Ethan’s face. His hands moved slowly over the controls calibrating and checking systems. Vega hunched, still bracing herself in her seat.
I looked down at my wristlet.
I wished I could check on Dax to make sure nothing had happened to him. But we were too far away.
And we still had to figure out where we were going.
As I touched my wristlet, the memory of those creatures flared back. The throbbing from the wound on my neck made me want to download the information into the hard drive of the Icarus.
If something happened to me, and I didn’t have time to relay the information, perhaps somebody else would retrieve it. I pulled out the nav control panel and did a direct upload from the chips I’d taken from the lab.
Neither Ethan nor Vega commented. They must have still been in shock. I probably was as well, but the intensity of emotion sloughed off with our smooth pace into nowhere. The soft lights and the low beeps contrasted starkly with the sirens and the bright lights we had just escaped.
The myriad of ships had all but disappeared.
We'd made it.
We had escaped from the Mil-station.
I did a scan of our surroundings and began plotting a course to some habitable planet within our fuel range.
We had to think about conservation since we had no home-base, and survival was top on my list of priorities. I hoped there would be no punitive action against my parents.
Not that they didn't deserve punitive actions, but they were still my parents. I doubted the Ax-Mil would sully a well-respected family for my sins.
I pulled down the full galactic map and increased the range. An object appeared on the long-range scanner that set alarm bells off in my head.
“Guys.” I kept my voice low so I wouldn’t panic them. Neither of them turned. I leaned forward and unhooked my safety belt so I could look at both in the eyes.
“Guys!”
They snapped to me this time, their heads turning.
“What?” Vega asked.
“The Ax-Atlantis is directly behind us and coming our way.”
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Vega
“I forgot it was supposed to leave today. What are we going to do?” Ethan sounded beaten.
I didn't feel much different. But if I allowed the enormity of what Amelie said to actually pierce my numb calm, I wouldn’t be able to think of a solution.
And I needed to think.
If there was a way out, I would have to be clear headed and focused to find it.
But my body was almost done. I rolled my hands into fists and fought back the weariness. Unbuckling my belt, I leaned forward so I could check out the display myself.
Yep, Ax-Atlantis was right behind us.
“You didn't believe me?”
“I believed you, Amelie, but I didn't want to believe you. Is there a chance they didn't pick us up on their sensors?”
“You want the real answer, or do you want the answer that will make you feel better.”
“I want the truth.”
“They definitely have us on their scanners. Procedure says they have to investigate, especially since this is a military vessel.”
Of course.
I went back to the seat next to Ethan.
He wasn't looking at Amelie or me. His eyes were locked forward, flying the ship on a straight course. I think he was at his maximum. I didn’t blame him.
He had lost so much. We all had.
But if we wanted to survive to see the next solar rotation, we had to go on.
“Can we outrun them?” I asked.
“No.” Ethan answered in the most dejected tone I’d ever heard.
“We'll figure a way out of this. We've gotten out of worse situations before.”
“Worse than being tracked by a fully armed and operational battle cruiser staffed with trained fighter pilots?”
“I guess we’ve been in similar situations.”
Some people's default was despair. Some people turned to panic. I chose to fight back.
Amelie smoothed her dress as if she could wipe the blood away. She would have to tell me what the heck had happened to her later.
“Amelie, can you give me their ETA, and can we see if any fighters have been launched yet?”
“The actual Ax-Atlantis could reach us in twelve hours. It’s sublight engines are mega slow, but fighters could be on us...” She frowned. “Now.”
She swiped up until the image of the pursuers overlaid on the front visor. There were two attack ships.
“I didn't think scanners could pick them up,” I said.
“We're in an Axis military ship. We're designed to be able to detect them.”
“There are two of them. And we have no weapons,” Ethan added.
We couldn't outrun fighters. That was for sure, and we had no way of defending ourselves. We did have some shielding that was used for the mining meteor belt. Maybe that would be the first step.
I sat back down in my seat and buckled in.
“Amelie, put up the shields. Is there any way we can hide our signature?”
“There’s a decent size meteor about seventy miles away, but they’ll find us before we can reach it at our current speed.”
“Can we get more speed?”
“Yes,” Ethan said. “I've been holding back even though we’re running from the Ax military base.”
“I don't need sarcasm. I need answers,” I snapped.
He blinked as if he were waking up from a dream and nodded, turning back toward the display.
I searched inside the ship for something I could use for a weapon or to find a way to make us go faster. There had to be other options.
“Can we hook up the extra fuel to increase our potential speed or shoot it at them?”
I wished Dax was here. He would know more about the ship than I did or even Amelie. He just intuitively understood these things.
The ship buckled, and I ran back to the front. Another massive shake of the entire ship sent me to my knees.
Rising, I struggled to the front and looked at Ethan. His lips pulled back as he jerked the controls. Bursts of bright light exploded directly before the front view.
Our time was up. There was no escape. Only Ethan's navigating skills could save us now, and that wouldn’t be enough. I moved into my seat, feeling defeated, and buckled myself in.
Part of me still searched for some answers. Some way out.
My eyes burned. After everything, we were about to get blown up in space. No one would ever know what happened to us.
I’d let Amelie down. I’d let Ethan down. I’d let my parents and even my brother down. And
I’d never be able to warn him that the Ax-Mil was after him.
I lay my head in my hands.
We jerked again to the left and did a corkscrew maneuver that made my stomach flip.
“Whoever's flying that ship is damn good,” Ethan said. “They just used my own maneuver on me.”
The fighter sizzled past us.
“Amelie, can you magnify the cockpit in that fighter?”
“Here you go.” Amelie threw the picture on the front screen. It was a fuzzy rendering, but I noticed a pink head inside.
“Open up a private hailing frequency to that ship.”
“Hey, Amelie, can you do the impossible in less than five seconds, because I need you to.” Amelie mimicked my voice.
I glanced back at her with narrowed eyes. Her fingers flew though she did not hesitate to do as I'd asked. Suddenly the PA system popped on.
“Captain Volante, you have coms,” Amelie said.
“Binary? Is that you?”
The volley of fire stopped.
“Who is this?” Binary asked.
“Your planetborn friend and your former teacher.”
“Where are you going? Why didn’t you answer our hails? They sent Kenzie and me to figure you out. First official mission.”
“There are some...really terrible things happening in the Axis right now, and if we stay, we will die. I would never ask you to risk anything unless it was important. There's corruption, and it runs deep. And we’re trapped in the crossfire. Tell them you destroyed us and let us go—Please?”
“Fighter 1279, why have you broken off the attack?” An intercepted message on the main line filtered through our speakers.
What she responded would tell us everything.
“We are making chase, Lieutenant Commander. We will dispose of the traitors immediately.”
I gasped as if a spear had impaled me.
We may not have had the best relationship, but I thought we had reached a certain level of mutual respect. And now I would die at the hands of a friend.
Cadet: Star Defenders Book Two: Space Opera Adventure Page 43
