planet on scanners,” he said.
“What? Where?” Ahead was just empty space.
He barked out the coordinates and her belly tightened. It wasn’t far, but it wasn’t very close, either.
In a damaged shuttle, they might make it, but with Kantos swarm ships chasing them, it was highly unlikely.
“Donovan—”
He reached out and grabbed her hand. “We can make it.”
His golden gaze was unwavering, filling her with hope. She nodded.
She turned their ship. She pulled as much speed as she could from the faltering final engine. Pain flared through her body as she strained her connection to the ship, but she wasn’t giving up.
Donovan kept firing, trying to keep the swarm ships back. Another volley of Kantos fire hit them, tossing them both in the seats. Smoke filled the cockpit.
Ahead, the planet came into view. It was a large, dark-blue orb.
“I’ve got no idea where we are,” he said. “Star charts don’t match anything close to where we were.”
“The wormhole could have spat us out anywhere,” she said.
“The Kantos generated it.”
“Yes.” A worry for another time. The Eon had experimented with wormhole technology, but they couldn’t generate one large enough to swallow a starship. That the Kantos could was very upsetting.
“It’s an aquatic planet,” Donovan said. “Mostly water, but there are a few chains of rocky, mountainous islands.”
Okay, that didn’t sound too bad.
“There’s some volcanic activity, and the ocean is teeming with life signs. Big ones.”
She wrinkled her nose. Not great, but nothing too concerning.
“There are some very small settlements. One more technologically advanced location. It’s heavily fortified, has a spaceport, and it’s pumping some sort of energy into the atmosphere.”
Now, a shiver ran down Airen’s spine. No, it couldn’t be.
“Airen? I’m getting pretty good at reading your blank looks, and I know something’s up.”
“We can’t go there.”
“We have no choice. It’s the only option—”
“I know what this planet is. We’re well outside of Eon space.”
“What is it?”
“Oblivion.” She swallowed. “It’s a prison planet.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Prison planet?”
“The most brutal one I know. Several systems dump their worst of the worst here. The oceans are filled with genetically-engineered creatures designed to keep the prisoners under control. When the prisoners aren’t slaughtering each other.”
Another laser volley hit, and they both jerked. There were more alarms and more clouds of smoke. Airen coughed.
“They have some sort of security net in place around the planet. It’s a bad place, Donovan.” She coughed again and another alarm started ringing like crazy. “We’ve lost our last engine!”
The ship spun, the dizzying roll throwing her back in her seat.
Oblivion rose up in front of them—dark and forbidding.
“It’s Oblivion or the Kantos,” Donovan said. “And I don’t think we have a choice anymore.”
They hit the planet’s atmosphere, flames flaring up over the viewscreen. The ship shook so hard that Airen felt like her bones were breaking.
Beside her, Donovan grunted.
Ahead, the ocean came into focus. It was all dark-blue water, with enormous, white-topped waves.
In the distance, she spotted some rocky islands—long, narrow mountains pointing up like a predator’s teeth.
“I can’t…control the ship.” She fought desperately to slow their descent.
“We can’t—”
Whatever he was about to say was cut off.
They hit the water with a huge splash.
Metal crunched, and they were both tossed hard between the seats and harnesses.
The ship’s momentum carried them toward the closest island, the rocky beach rushing closer and closer.
Cren, they were going to hit the rocks.
“Donovan.” She reached for his hand.
His fingers closed on hers.
Then there was a massive crash, and then…nothing.
Donovan swallowed a groan.
Damn, he hurt all over. It reminded him of his Space Corps Academy survival training sessions. The instructors had delighted in putting the recruits through hell. He shifted gingerly, and realized he was hanging upside down, his head throbbing.
He opened his eyes and blinked, every muscle tensing.
He was hanging upside down from a tree.
It only took seconds for him to take stock. A chill wind blew over him. He was tied to a leafless tree that had slick, black bark, and he was hanging from his ankles like a slab of meat.
His arms were free, his fingers numb. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and he felt the stickiness of drying blood on his face.
Careful to avoid drawing attention to himself, he looked around.
He was tied up at the edge of some rough, makeshift camp. A few men sat around a fire, all of them wearing ragged layers of clothes—torn fabric, furs.
They were on a rocky shore, the waves roughly lapping the beach. Light glinted off something in the distance. Metal.