Nas had met Talyani and became obsessed. By all appearances, she was just as obsessed with Nas. After all, she’d purchased the sleekest, fastest, most expensive ship available on his recommendation.
On the bridge, he and the other cyborgs quickly and efficiently prepared the ship for departure. Glancing at Talyani and Wells, he pointed to seats along the hull. “Sit and strap in.”
“Troubadour, this is Tyurma Waystation. You are not cleared for departure,” a voice stated over the comms. Five pairs of eyes looked at Talyani.
“It’s an old term for a traveling singer,” she explained. “It seemed appropriate.”
“Troubadour, I repeat, you are not cleared for departure. Shut down your engines.”
Ranvir silenced the transmission, then looked to Ganesha in the pilot’s seat. “Get us out of here.”
“Yes, Major.” Ganesha disconnected the airlock and guided the ship away from the station using the thrusters. When they were a safe distance out, he engaged the main engines. In moments, Tyurma disappeared behind them.
“Shit,” Ganesha muttered. “This girl can move.”
Ranvir ignored Ganesha’s comment and looked to Tane in the navigator’s chair. “Anyone pursuing us?”
“No, Major. All radar hits are on the other side of Tyurma. Gods, I haven’t even heard rumors about a navigation system this advanced. It not only detects vessels at this range but identifies them by name. There are shuttles out there besides escape pods.”
Ranvir just grunted. “Make sure it stays that way. Super detection and speed do us no good without a defense system.”
“We have a defense system,” Talyani informed him from where she sat next to Wells.
Ranvir slowly turned to glare at her. “As well equipped as the MKX-7 is for defending against pirates, it doesn’t stand a chance against a military ship.”
“Then it’s a good thing this isn’t an MKX-7.” Releasing her harness, she stood and moved to a reflective wall. Pressing her hand against it, a console emerged. “It’s an MKX-10 prototype. Designed specifically to protect high-ranking government officials traveling in space. As my father is a Supreme Judge, and I do a great deal of interplanetary travel, I was allowed to test it.”
“That’s a military-grade defense system.” Ranvir crossed the room, shocked at what he found. He reached around her and pressed a few buttons. “And it’s fully loaded with torpedoes, missiles, shields, and a laser array system.”
“As I said, we have a defense system,” she told him smugly.
“Orders, Major?” Pike asked.
“We go back for Nas and his pod,” Talyani said, looking at Pike as if that should have been obvious.
“We go to Tuater,” Ranvir countered.
“What?!” Talyani rounded on him. “No! We have to rescue Nas and his pod.”
“Do you know how many vessels are out there?” Ranvir pointed to the screen in front of Tane. “How are we supposed to know which one Demeter is in? Which ones contain members of his pod? Military ships are filling the area, searching for survivors. As soon as they find cyborgs among them, Shui will discover his plan has failed, and he’ll order the pods destroyed.”
Talyani’s stunning blue eyes widened, and her bottom lip quivered. He hated being the cause, but heading to Tuater was logical. It’s what Nas would do.
“Major, the Nissa and Prefect have arrived. They’re powering up their weapons,” Tane informed him.
“Shit.” Ranvir was intimately familiar with both ships, having served on both. They were the most powerful battleships in the Kirs fleet. “Put it on the main screen.”
As Tane did, two icons representing smaller ships suddenly disappeared.
“We can’t just sit here and watch them be massacred!” Talyani exclaimed, looking at them in disbelief.
“We can’t save them,” Ranvir snapped.
“Maybe not, but we can at least give them a chance,” she told him defiantly.
“And how do you suggest we do that?” Ranvir demanded.
“By firing on the ones firing on them.”