Devious on his feet. He had been weakened by torture and malnutrition. There was no way he was getting himself out of the building or into a ship.
Speaking of ships, Maisie looked to Terror. He had lost his glasses and wouldn’t be able to understand every word she signed. They seemed to be having the same thought as he said, “Our ship is too small for three people.”
She nodded and pointed to an area directly across the building. She mimicked a flying aircraft with her hand, hoping he would understand. He did, and they dragged Devious toward the ship she had seen earlier. It was bigger than she had expected, at least three times as long and four times as wide. Not only did it offer more space, it was equipped with defensive and offensive firing systems and a hyperdrive.
Maisie helped Devious into a seat and buckled him in before holding up two hands to Terror. “Please, wait. I have to get something I left.”
He frowned at her frantically moving hands. “Wait? For what?”
“Just wait,” she said, lifting both hands again. “I’ll be right back.”
“Maisie!” He tried to catch her wrist, but she evaded him and hopped out of the ship.
Every breath was agony as she ran away from the ship and out into the courtyard where she had fallen. She scanned the area around the dead Splinter guard and found the folders flapping in the wind. A few pieces of paper had escaped, and she picked them up and stuffed them back inside the folders. There were splashes of blood on many of them, and she grimaced at the ugly memories that would follow her.
Folders in hand, she darted back to the ship and clambered inside. After securing the door, she rushed to the cockpit where Terror had already fired the ship to life. He was checking the fuel cell situation and glanced at her with consternation. She held up the folders and then tucked them between her back and the seat.
“Navigation,” he said, gesturing to the screen in front of her.
She tapped at the screen and widened the field around them. She gulped at the beacons of fast approaching ships. Tapping his arm, she got his attention. “Look.”
He swore something truly foul. “Buckle up. We’re going out hot.”
She nodded and glanced back at Devious who had passed out completely. Terror must have tightened his harness because he was held securely against his seat despite his drooping head.
Terror wasn’t kidding. As soon as he cleared the building by ascending vertically, he punched the power. She was thrown back against her seat and grunted at the intense pressure exerted on her body. Terror seemed unfazed. His entire focus was on piloting the ship and getting them off the planet and into space as fast as possible.
He looked at her, making sure she could read his lips. “Engage hyperdrive.”
She nodded and shifted in her seat to reach the levers and buttons she needed. Her stepfather might have been a jerk, but at least he had ensured she learned to pilot a wide variety of craft. She didn’t hesitate as her fingers moved across the console to prepare the ship to make a jump through space.
Except two of the three hyperdrive fuel cells were critically low.
She caught Terror’s gaze and held up one finger. Somber, he nodded with understanding. There was only enough fuel capacity for one hyperdrive jump and not a very far one at that. It would get them clear of the ships racing to intersect them now, but they had to worry about what was waiting on the other side.
Certain their best chance of survival was to get as close to Terror’s friends on the Valiant as possible, she dialed in that sector. The computer gave a warning. There wasn’t enough fuel to make a jump that far. She chose the sector next to it and selected a quadrant directly abutting the area the Valiant patrolled. The ship’s onboard computer system accepted the new destination. It scanned for known debris and ship beacons in their intended jump zone and made the necessary adjustments.
The countdown to hyperdrive began. A pair of Splinter fighters appeared to their left. They began firing missiles. Terror arced their ship sharply down and then rolled to the left before turning into the path designated by the hyperdrive. He fired off four defensive bursts that sent the Splinter fighters scattering, but in the last seconds of countdown, their ship took a hit from one of the