Chapter 16

The days slowly passed as the drones came and went, filling up our fuel tanks. Athena had said that with some luck, it would give us enough to reach the border without another stop. We spent the days playing games, and Rag showed us how to do all the tricks with our suits, and we had a few more trips outside. Teena even let us use the simulator to fly the ship, and it was way more difficult than I could have imagined.

Unfortunately, we’d run out of good food after a few days and were back to eating ration packs, but we tried not to complain too much. I only hoped we would reach the border before they ran out, too, and we would need to eat protein tabs from the storage. Rag had given us one to try, and I would rather go hungry than eat them again.

One of those last days, after another trip outside with Rag, Mirage, and I were sitting in our room, playing a game Rag had made for us by printing strange symbols on pieces of paper.

“Your turn,” she said.

I was just about to make my move when the engines suddenly came online, reaching full capacity in seconds. I didn’t have time to react as we shot off into the air and red lights flashed on the walls. I stared at Mirage for a moment before quickly sealing my suit, and we ran to the bridge.

“What the hell is going on?”

Rag ran in just as we entered.

“Get into your seat. Jump in minus 5," Teena said calmly.

“The maggots sniffed us out," Val said.

"Fuck, we stayed here for too long!”

He turned on his console. There was a black shape on the screen. I shivered. I’d told them we should stay…

“Open comms, Teena, we have nothing to lose!”

“Jump minus 2. I will outrun him."

“He will follow us into FTL!”

“What?”

“Things have changed since you were gone."

Rag strapped himself to the seat.

“Get ready!”

“I hope you didn’t spend your luck on something stupid!” I heard Val yell as he pressed the button.

I stared at the screen. White light streamed as we rushed forward in FTL. Val flew over to me.

“When they lock on you, they can track you through the jump.”

“Once we exit, he will attack," Rag added with a frown.

"I’m sorry," I whispered.

“It’s not your fault."

“But it was me…”

She shook her head.

“There were no good options to start with, Etoile. At least we got enough fuel now."

Mirage took my hand.

“Can we fight?” she asked.

“No, but lucky for us, weapons are useless in FTL," Rag grinned.

Teena walked to our seat and put her arms around us.

“I should be able to reach the border. I sent a distress call. Someone may wait for us there."

“And if not…?” Mirage whispered.

“They might still give up. Coming so close to our border is a big risk for them," Val said.

We could only wait as we rushed through space. I fretted, glancing at the screen every few minutes to see if we would exit soon. Ecrou leapt up on the console, juggling wooden balls, but even he couldn’t take my worries away. I glanced at the others. Rag and Val stared at the screen in silence.

“Mirage…” I whispered.

She tried to smile, but her ears hung low, and I knew she was as worried as I was.

“You know I was happy when you came to live with us…"

I really was, even if she hissed at me and said stupid things and even if I stopped having Grandpa all to myself…

“You were always so nice to me, even when I wasn't… I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“It’s okay…"

I hugged her, and she rubbed her nose against my cheek.

“You know, Etoile, you are not ugly… I don’t care if you look different."

I almost hissed at her, but something in her voice made me hesitate. She pressed her nose against mine, and I pulled her close.

“Exit minus five," Teena announced.

I gave Mirage one last hug, sealed my suit, and ran over to my seat. I strapped in, and the turret interface flickered to life in front of me.

“Are we ready?” Rag asked, and I nodded even if I felt far from it.

The moment we exited FTL, Teena took a sharp dive down. I stared at the screen, trying to see the carriage. Had they given up?

“There!” Mirage called out.

I opened fire. We took another sharp turn, and I was flung upside down, held only by my harness.

“Keep shooting!” Val screamed.

I tried to focus on the screen, but another dive pressed me deep into my seat.

“Almost there, almost there!” Rag shouted, pushing the ship to its limits.

A violent blast shook the ship.

“Hull compromised, sealing D-12," Teena announced.

“Keep going, Teena!” Rag shouted, pulling the ship straight up.

“Border in 10k”

Another blast hit our ship, and my turret went offline.

“Core unstable!” Teena called out. “Ejecting the bridge in 5... 4…”

“No, keep going! Let it burn, keep going!” Rag shouted as the alarms blasted on the bridge.

I stared at the screen, but I could see nothing but dark space. Where was the border? A violent explosion shook the bridge, and the ship took a sharp turn to the left.

“Left engine offline!”

A bright white light flooded the bridge, and a huge shape passed above us. It was too late…

“Ejecting!” Teena announced, and the bridge fell dark.

My hands were trembling when the emergency lights came on. Where were they? I stared at the screen. A huge carrier, bigger than I’d ever seen, filled it.

“We made it!” Rag cried.

I stared at it. It was…

“They came! We made it!”

Ecrou danced on the console. The Federation carrier was huge, filling the whole screen long before it was even came close enough for us to be able to see any details of its hull. Mirage squeezed herself next to me, and Teena walked over and gave us a hug.

“Ready to land?” Rag looked at us with a grin.

“Just put it down. I am sick of being stuck in a box." Val gave him a look, and he laughed.

I felt the familiar thud that told us we’d landed safely. I glanced at the screen, but it had turned black. Would they help us? What if they told us to go away? I got out of my seat and hesitantly followed the others to the airlock. Mirage took my hand as the door opened.

The hangar was huge as we stepped out, with strange-looking people walking over us. Did I really come from such a place? An old man halted before us.

“Admiral Vasts, 11th fleet. Welcome on board."