“Get buckled in and I’ll set the coordinates,” he said. “It should be pretty straightforward, but I’ll give you a crash course on flying on our planet and how to avoid detection.”
He strained to smile, and his voice was low and tired. He looked like death, his face so pasty and pale. But he was trying, and I knew time wasn't on their side.
“Okay, I’m ready.” I tried my best to focus while my brain synapses were snapping with panic, with the urgency to get moving already, with the terror of where the Khonsu had taken my mom. I couldn’t stop trembling, but each time Thane looked at me, I smiled and nodded.
Focus.
By the time we were in the air, I pushed us forward with such speed, we all lurched backward, and Corran cried out as he tumbled about back there.
“Oops,” I called out and slowed the ship with Derrial’s assistance.
“You’ll burn the engines if you use them at full power. You ease into it and slowly build up, all right?”
I nodded and concentrated on the empty space out in front of the ship.
“Look here.” Thane pointed to a screen with a green line shooting outward. “You want to keep the ship following this path. Fly too high or low, or change trajectory, and it will change to red. Always keep it green.”
“Okay, green it is.” One hand on what looked like a gear stick, I sat back in the captain’s seat and pushed everything else out of my mind. For those few moments, I let the smile pinching at the corners of my mouth spread, feeling like for once, I was doing something to help rather than just being protected.
“What’s so funny?” Thane asked from the seat next to me.
“I feel like I’m in Guardians Of The Galaxy.”
“What’s that?” Derrial asked from somewhere behind me. “I’m not aware of the Council appointing guardians.”
I laughed, surprising myself that I found anything funny right then. “They are a band of misfit aliens and a human guarding the galaxy you could say. And they have a sassy talking, adorable raccoon, but he hates being called that. They go on adventures in a way.”
Thane queried. “This band of warriors sound a bit like us.”
I laughed at his comment. “Guess I can see the similarities. Always getting in deep trouble and trying to find a way to escape.”
“Fantastic,” Thane announced loudly. “We’ll call ourselves, Guardians Of Veon, and you can be the cute raccoon. We’ll be the guardians.”
I cut him a stare. “Hold off on that. If we get out of this and somehow back to Earth, we are watching that movie.”
“Of course,” he continued, not listening to me. “I will be the strongest of the guardians of course,” Thane went on, and all I could picture was him as Drax the Destroyer from the movie. He always made me laugh. What I wouldn’t give to be home, on the couch with a bag of chips, and movie binging.
The thought brought with it a sinking feeling that somehow, I’d end up stuck on Veon forever, running for my life, and never able to watch another new movie again.
I glanced over to Thane who slouched in his seat, eyes closed, his breaths heavy. Refocused on the flight path, I made sure to get us safely to the Council’s compound.
An hour later, the city down below came into view, along with the familiar park in the distance--our destination. My senses went on full alert, danger shivering down my spine.
“Umm guys, we’re here.”
Only snores responded. I reached over and nudged him in the arm. Thane snapped awake, sitting upright in his seat, eyes glued to the front window. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, but we’re here.”
Scrubbing a hand down his face, he started hitting the buttons on the dashboard, then pointed to a tight open area behind a curtain of trees. “Can you land us in there?”
I nodded before really seeing what a tight spot it was, but I’d done this before. Hovering over the spot, I glanced out the side window and lowered the lever in slow motion, unlike the last time when I dropped so fast, I screamed and was surprised the ship didn’t fall apart around me.
We landed with a small shake, eliciting grumbles from the back.
“You did incredible,” Thane said. “Now, you stay in the ship while we go and find out how to reverse the blood incompatibility.”
I glared at him, but he already had risen from his seat, shoulders squared like he drew on his last reserves of strength.