Angela looked taken aback. “That can only be regulated from the mothership!”
“Kwan! You said you’d take care of it,” AJ accused him. “Thanks to you, we are stuck now.”
Kwan simply gave him a small smile in return and positioned himself next to the control console. With a few keystrokes, he positions the Vipers guns and started firing at the mothership. “Problem solved.”
“I could have done that,” Angela muttered angrily. “I’d love to do that!”
“No doubt,” Kwan said softly. “But you wished to be the pilot.”
This is going to be a long ride, with those two, Paige thought to herself.
“Don't know what's happening, yet I'm loving this show,” Dave joked, nodding with his head toward the pilot and her sidekick. And Paige couldn't help but smile.
Peter started asking questions about the ship and Dave kept pointing at and explaining various things to him, acting as an expert.
They looked adorable together.
Knowing that Kwan was right, Angela fell silent again as she checked all the systems of the spaceship.
Kwan’s idea worked, they were fully detached, with the small bridge destroyed and the Viper was free to fly away.
Paige went and joined AJ by the window, her heart still beat a bit faster after everything that happened.
Even though it all felt like a dream they were free and this much closer to helping her grandparents.
Avignon, here we come!
Nobody spoke for a while. Probably needing a moment to simply be and unwind.
Kwan was looking at how Angela operated the spaceship, while Angela was fully engrossed with flying it.
AJ and Paige looked out of the window that was facing the mothership and Dave played with his little brother and the cat.
They missed one another so much, it was only natural they were trying to catch up.
Suddenly, a deep feeling of sorrow fell over Paige as she realized that they simply left the Black Mass in the mothership.
After helping the Green Coats save their children, they were leaving them with something much worse, the Black Mass. What will it do to them?
Yes, she met some real assholes on the mothership but that didn’t mean she wanted them all to die, become bloodthirsty zombies, or mindless drones for the aliens. Even though there were times she was on the edge.
A really big part of her wanted to go back and help, because this was all her doing, but was scared of facing her Mom, and voicing her troubles.
“Mom?” She said, nevertheless.
Still, nothing happened. Angela wasn’t ignoring her intentionally; she was simply too focused on something else.
Like keeping them alive.
“Mom?” Paige tried again, standing to walk toward her chair.
Kwan looked at her questioningly, but Paige waited for the pilot to acknowledge her.
“I think we need to go back to the mothership.”
“What? Are you insane? We barely escaped that nuthouse, and you want to go back?” Kwan ranted.
AJ and Dave simply looked at her, frowning, refraining from commenting. And despite their posture, she knew that if she explained herself, said what was pressing down onto her soul, they would help her. Even go back to hell with her. And that gave her strength.
“Why?” Angela asked in a calm way.
“The Black Mass that was in Dillon is now free to roam on the ship. These people don’t deserve to die, or worse because of the mistakes we made. Plus, we left the Greens with their children there before the situation was fully resolved.”
“Don't worry about the children, Paige,” Dave tried to reassure her. “The Space Cadets will come to pick them up.”
“You hope they will come, but you can't be sure,” Paige voiced her concern.
Angela stayed silent for a while and eventually Paige started to worry that she completely forgot about this conversation while she was adjusting their course, but then Angela looked at her.
“No,” she replied simply.
And Paige was taken aback for a second. She expected Angela to object, she expected an argument. But this flat-out refusal threw Paige off track.
How to counter that?
“Mom, I know that we are on a very important mission...” Paige started yet Angela stopped her midway.
“Paige, we are not turning this ship around,” she said with absolute finality in her voice.
Paige was starting to get really frustrated. She couldn’t live with herself if they don’t go back.
“Paige, come here quickly,” AJ cut in, waving his hands, trying to show her something through the window.
Reluctantly, Paige approached him and looked again at the mothership, which still wasn’t far from them. Dave decided to join them as well.
“Do you see it?” AJ urged.
Paige frowned. Impossible...
Yet it was.
“Is that...” Dave left the sentence unfinished, leaning even closer toward the glass, for a better look.
Yes, it was... Paige spotted the Black Mass pouring out of the mothership from the hole Kwan created with the Viper’s guns.
Paige’s eyes widened in shock and amazement, seeing how the vacuum of space had sucked it out of the mothership’s docking area.
The Black Mass is not on the mothership anymore.
She couldn’t know if space would destroy it or not without a Host, but this was a huge relief for Paige.
“What’s happening?” Kwan wanted to know.
“The Black Mass isn’t on the spaceship anymore. The vacuum sucked it out,” Paige informed smiling.
Suddenly her heart felt a bit lighter.
“See, I was right,” was all Angela had to say.
Paige had hoped that space would suck out those wearing Red and Blue Coats as well, but she banished that thought immediately, feeling too guilty about wishing those people to be dead. Even though they were bad.
Still, what about Dillon? What happened to him?
When Kwan shoot to break the Viper free, was he affected as well? Was he sucked into outer space? Paige wondered.
Unfortunately, looking through the window and the mothership, Paige couldn’t spot him. And wasn’t even sure she would, even with her superior eyesight.
But on the other hand, he was far more distinct than the Black Mass, and she saw that so surely Paige would have seen him if he too was forced out.
Or so she hoped.
Paige didn’t want him lingering on the mothership.
Those people had enough problems of their own. They really didn’t need a crazy traitor on board as well.
“Do you see Dillon by any chance?” She asked the boys. They replied with a shake of their heard.
“I think I see something else,” Dave said after a heartbeat. “Is that a ship?” He wondered out loud.
“Yes, it is,” Paige exclaimed, cheered up.
“I told you the Space Cadets would come,” Dave said nudging her, raising his chin ever so slightly.
“Don't want to play the devil's advocate, but how can you know for sure?” AJ asked him.
“I recognize the ship,” Dave replied simply.
And Paige felt like jumping from joy. Dillon wasn't a problem anymore and the children and their parents are going to be safe on the Watcher's Station.
It was a perfect happy ending.
“All's well that ends well,” Angela murmured to herself.
The Viper flew farther and farther away from the mothership, and gradually the small crew of the Viper could relax and enjoy the quiet time.
Kwan settled into his position as co-pilot quite nicely. He was highly competent, Paige praised and always ready to assist Angela or answer any questions she might have.
AJ remained seated by the window, avoiding Angela as much as he could. And Paige sat next to him. So, in a way, nothing changed. Yet, everything changed at the same time.
No one could say when the next disaster would hit them, s
o Paige learned to take advantage of this small moment of peace to just be and feel.
So, it was more than nice to simply sit there, while they were all safe and on their way to Avignon, and stare out of the window at the stars shooting past them. Paige felt grateful for every second of it.
Peter fell asleep in one of the chairs, finally reaching his limit, so Dave came to sit next to them, looking a bit glum.
“What's the matter, Dave?” Paige wanted to know.
He looked at her with sad, puppy eyes. “I lost Necromancer. Brooke is going to kill me,” he added melodramatically.
And despite his morose face, Paige had to chuckle.
Hearing Brooke's name Angela turned in her chair to look at Dave.
“I am so glad you are with us again, I always liked you more,” she announced, taking them all by surprise, especially Paige.
“Thanks, Mrs. Moon,” Dave replied, puffing his chest a little and Paige felt like rolling her eyes.
“Now tell me, how is my oldest daughter,” Angela said, settling in her chair more comfortably so Dave told her everything.
She nodded every now and again, asking follow-up questions.
“So, they managed to extract all the Black Mass out of your body?” Mom asked eventually.
“Yes, ma'am. Although seeing that glowing blue gadget back there on the Mothership, I really wished that was an option for me. The doctor's method was not kind,” Dave joked.
“The outcome is what counts,” Angela said with utmost conviction.
“And I'm very glad to hear that Dave,” she continued in the same manner. “You have my blessing.”
Dave looked confused and so was Paige.
“Blessing?” Dave asked.
Angela nodded. “Yes, you can date my daughter again,” she proclaimed and with that turned toward the consoles again.
Paige's eyes bulged and she almost bit her own tongue trying to respond.
“Mom,” was all that came out.
She was super embarrassed, going scarlet in an instant. But she wasn't the only one.
Dave was right there with her. AJ simply looked uncomfortable.
I need a distraction, Paige thought to herself, trying to break the silence that followed, luckily Kwan broke it for her.
“So,” Kwan started. “When will we get to Mars?” he asked casually.
And Paige cringed inwardly. She completely forgot to tell Angela about the deal they made.
“Mars?” Angela looked at him in confusion. “We’re not going to Mars,” she informed him, still frowning.
“What do you mean, we’re not going to Mars?” Kwan spun around in his seat to face Paige. And she could see that he was really pissed off by this turn of events. His pale face was flushed with anger and his frown was so deep Paige had to gulp. She never wanted to encounter him on the battlefield because Kwan looked formidable in those moments.
And rightfully so.
“But … But Paige, you said we’d go to Mars! You promised me you’d take me
there!”
He continued in outrage.
“Well, I’m sorry…” Angela started speaking but he cut her off.
“No! I need to go to Mars!” He was adamant. “I really need to go there!” He insisted, raised his voice, and it was laced with panic.
Dave looked at her, knowing full well what she promised Kwan. Paige really didn’t know what to say. She felt bad, and all this mess was turning her into a liar.
I need to fix this!
Paige jumped up to her feet and rushed to face her Mom.
“Mom, maybe we could go to Mars and drop him off?” Paige suggested, but Angela looked at her in such a way as if she thought she was joking.
“Paige, this is not a bus where we can casually drop people off if it’s on our way. We are running out of time as is.”
“I understand that, it's just that I made a promise to him, and he helped us back on the Mothership a lot,” Paige insisted. “We owe him that much.”
“Yeah, Mrs. Moon,” Dave jumped in. “He told us about Dillon,” he explained.
“Don’t you understand anything?” Angela argued back. “The alien invaders have the location of Avignon, thanks to Dillon, so we don’t have any time to spare,” she repeated. “They’re going to attack Avignon, and you’re here telling me to fly to Mars? Do you think this is a game?”
Well, when she put it that way...
When making that promise to Kwan, Paige completely forgot to take her Mom’s opinion into account, and because of that, she created a mess.
“I’m sorry, Kwan,” Paige said, feeling shitty for even uttering those words.
He simply shook his head, looking away, clearly too angry to even form a response.
“By the way, Kwan,” Angela spoke once more, tilting her head that suggested this was something she had wanted to ask him for a while.
“How come you were locked up in that cell? You’re supposed to be captain Zoya's right hand, you know?” She informed him as if that was something he wasn’t aware of.
And Paige wanted to smack herself across the forehead. Only Angela could ask something like that in a tense situation like this one.
“She was never that fond of me and I was thrown into the cells after I tried to defend you. Once we reached the Mothership, I refused to admit I was wrong, so she locked me up again, out of wounded ego and spite,” Kwan explained.
“Oh, I see now. That makes sense,” Angela nodded. “And nobody came to your defense?”
Kwan frowned as he nodded. He was looking quite angry amongst other things. Paige was certain he had a lot of friends, comrades on that spaceship. And yet Paige was the one who set him free.
She felt guilty for a lot of things, mainly for not insisting that Mom take them to where he wanted to go and where Paige promised that they would take him for his part in helping them get off that damn ship.
Still, she tried to see things from different perspective, it was better for Kwan to be here with them and going to Avignon than to stay on the mothership and be floated out, right?
“What’s so important on Mars anyway?” Angela wanted to know.
“Something very important to me. And I have to go there by any means necessary,” Kwan insisted.
Paige wasn’t the only one who noticed how he didn’t answer the question.
There was a brief staring match between Kwan and Angela, and it was her mother that broke it.
She shrugged.
“I guess we could make a quick stop and drop you off to Mars.”
“Really?” Kwan and Paige asked at the same time.
“It’s on our way.”
“Thank you so much,” Kwan said clearly relieved, placing both hands over his heart. “You don’t know how much this means to me. You saved my life in more ways than can be counted.”
And Angela simply nodded, then cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable with this display of gratitude.
“Ok, first stop Mars,” Angela announced. “I will have to make some changes and see how it will affect our journey to Avignon,” she thought out loud while her hands were busily going over the console.
“How long will it take us to get there?” Dave asked her, glancing through the window. The mothership looked much smaller now.
Angela shrugged. “About seventy-five years,” she replied casually.
What? “What?” Paige exclaimed.
Maybe I didn’t hear her correctly? It couldn’t be seventy-five years, could it?
The guys obviously heard the same thing because their heads snapped up to look at Paige’s mother, who appeared to act like what she said was perfectly normal.
AJ looked at Paige next. “Seventy-five years?” he mouthed.
“Did you just say it will take us seventy-five years to get to Avignon?” Paige asked, feeling ridiculous and hoping she hallucinated the whole thing.
“Yes, or at least I think I said it out loud. Didn’t I?
“You did,” Pa
ige answered her.
“Oh, good then,” Angela said in a normal voice as if they were discussing most natural things. And not traveling through space for seventy-five years.
“But... but...” Paige struggled to express herself. “Mom that’s ridiculous!” She exclaimed finally. “That would mean that by the time we reach the planet I’ll be ninety-eight years old! If I even make it that long, that is.”
And you’ll be long dead, was implied.
Kwan chuckled, clearly trying to imagine Paige that old, and finding it amusing.
“What?” Angela asked her, a little confused. “What are you talking about, Paige?”
“I’m talking about the journey, same as you,” Paige snapped. “Besides, the aliens will probably reach Avignon much quicker and will finish with their attack long before we get there!” She concluded, getting more and angrier.
Was she taking us on some wild goose chase? Or am I missing a vital piece of information, like always?
Maybe everyone had to travel at a snail’s pace.
How is that possible, anyway?
Dave glanced over at her, while she pondered about everything and he was smiling.
He looked as if he was trying to hold back his laughter, just as Kwan was. Just as AJ was.
There were all mad!
Paige threw a questioning look at AJ, but he just shrugged and continued to smile. And that pissed her off even more.
“AJ, this is not funny!” Paige snapped, wanting to kick him. “You’ll be an old man, too! You’ll be like a hundred, or dead!” She snapped.
And now it was her turn to imagine him that old, gray and wrinkled, and she had to laugh too.
Dave was holding himself by the stomach, laughing his ass off, and she felt like kicking him.
Much to Paige’s annoyance, Angela giggled. “Oh, Paige. You’re so funny! You got that from me,” she added proudly.
“Ninety-eight-years-old!” She repeated, having small fits of laughter. And Paige really didn’t get what was so goddamn funny.
And was about to have another go, express her annoyance when Angela continued to speak.
“Don’t worry, Paige,” Angela spoke as soon as her laughter subsided. “There’s another planet on the way, called Caresia. We’ll stop there for a short period of time,” she informed them all about this new plan of hers.
Mothership (Invasion Survivor Book 4) Page 27