Exile: Arc
Page 45
Faye stared at him and looked at the others, tensed up and worried by all of what was going on.
Bailey fell back into one of the central seats of the commanding officers and leaned back with his hand over his face. The others either sat or stood, waiting.
Living in Truth.
Emergency services warped in, and began evacuating the cities. The eruption had spread and the colonists were now under serious threat.
Long white seed like ships dropped down to the planet from huge carriers, and then returned ferrying colonists out in shifts.
Bailey and the others watched all of this from behind the invisibility cloak. He leaned with his head on his arm against the window. Faye and some of the others had joined him.
“Where will they go?” Faye asked.
“To another exile colony most likely.” Bailey said. “Hopefully one a little nicer than this. I doubt the guards will be kept on though. Not now that they’ve met with all of these paramedics.”
Bailey looked at Jayne, but Jayne simply stood looking up at the stars at the other side of the windows.
The carriers did their jobs and then turned away from the planet and jumped into backspace. The remaining mercenaries followed suit.
Farnon and the others then went to the navigation console at the back of the bridge, and stood around the oval table. Jayne stayed at her place beside the window.
“So where do we go?” Farnon said, bringing up a huge holographic star map. We can’t go near the Empire territories. Or Outlands either to be on the safe side.”
“No, stay in the uncharted space if possible.” Bailey said, then pointed at a star. “How about here?”
“Why there though?” Thom said.
“It’s somewhere we’ve never been.” Bailey smiled, and the others happily agreed.
Farnon tapped the star, choosing it as the destination, then tapped the touch screen patch that engaged the backspace drive.
Jayne watched as the stars smeared into a long cone, and kept on staring as more and more stars smudged into the bright tunnel. Seconds then minutes passed as they crossed the farthest reaches of space.
© Jack Lance
I hope you have enjoyed Exile Arc, book one in The Star Saga. Please return for book two, The Logic Bomb & Arc, which may be released alongside book three, Children of the Empire.
Until then be well.
http://legendsandlies.net