we’d climbed after the crash. His ion rifle pointed in the opposite direction, guarding our flank. Above us, a rock overhang created the illusion of a cave. It wasn’t much, but the outcropping had protected us from the harsh rays of the nearby star as well as kept us hidden from Hive patrol ships. So far.
The asteroid’s electromagnetic field was wreaking havoc with our comms. We could speak to one another, but the connection was weak and filled with interference. And our transport beacons? We had tried, but they had been unable to lock onto a transport location. We were stranded with no way to communicate with the Coalition, and no way off this rock.
Unless help arrived soon, we were all dead. Or worse. If the worse happened, we all knew it would be so bad that being sucked into space would have been a blessing.
Why had I thought my job was so important? Why did I risk what we had with Lucy for Helion? The Hive weren’t going anywhere. That was blatantly obvious to all of us in this moment. I should have told Helion no. Delayed the meeting. Stayed with Lucy. Duty had called me away.
Look where that got me. All of us.
Fuck.
Sambor remained still for long minutes, and we remained in silence, waiting with him. There was nothing else to do except think about all my own weaknesses. He was the expert here, a veteran of many Hive battles. He knew what he was doing, knew how to keep us alive. If I had to crash-land on a Hive-infested asteroid and remain alive with anyone, it would be him.
“They’re inside,” Sambor murmured. “I’m coming down. Don’t shoot me.”
“Not even for fun?” I asked, making Bahre as well as Var chuckle.
Sambor slid down the rocks to land opposite me. I sat next to Bahre, monitoring the status of his life support on his armor’s display. There wasn’t anything I could do, but it made me feel better knowing his vitals were holding steady. Sambor stretched his legs out and settled his ion rifle across his thighs. “Captain Var, get over here. We need to talk.”
The Prillon warrior moved silent as a ghost and completed a triangle in the small area where Sambor was one corner, Bahre and myself the third. He squatted down. “What’s the plan?”
“What plan?” I asked. There was no plan. This wasn’t a diplomatic trip with meetings and dinners scheduled. This also wasn’t a mission, the details having been coordinated in advance.
Sambor looked at me, and the lack of humor in his eyes was startling. “We have waited three days for a ReCon team. They’re not coming. Based on the blast and the wreckage, I’m guessing the Coalition already thinks we’re dead.”
I wanted to argue, to verbalize some kind of hope, especially for Bahre, but I knew Sambor was probably right. “What do we do?” I was used to being in charge. But here? Now? I could fire an ion blaster or take on an enemy in hand-to-hand combat. I could argue or cajole or compliment. I was a master at reading people and figuring out what they wanted. I was a diplomat, not a survivalist. I’d graduated from the Coalition academy along with the rest of them, but our paths had diverged since. Yet we were back together again now. I had to hope Fate had brought the four of us together to get us out of here.
“You are going to stay here with Bahre,” Sambor ordered. This wasn’t my element, but it was his. “Var and I are going to set up an ambush and steal one of the Hive ships. Then we’re going to fly it back into Coalition space and pray for a miracle. Or that we won’t be blown out of the sky, again, but this time by our own fighters.”
I grimaced at the terrible plan. “We can’t fly a Hive ship. We won’t even be able to start the damn thing. They’ll have it locked down, and we don’t have their access codes.”
Var stood from his crouch, looming over us. “I can fly it.”
That stopped me cold. “How? You’re a fine pilot, but how are you going to get past the Hive security protocols?”
Var tapped the side of his head like that was an answer. When I stared, waiting, he shrugged. “Ask Helion. I can fly it. Trust me.”
I looked from Var to Sambor. Obviously being a diplomat didn’t mean I knew all the secrets. “You know about this?”
“Yes.”
His