Linna passed her in seconds, holding out her hand for the map.
Yeah, there was an idea Evie should have thought of sooner.
Fifteen minutes later, their map beeped. They'd finally reached their destination. According to the notes Evie had taken, the device they needed to disable would be held in a round chamber about the size of her bedroom onboard the Lexiconis.
Gwynn opened the door in front of them without ceremony and all three women stepped inside.
"This is it?" Gwynn asked, looking around.
"As far as I can tell." Evie opened up the next file on her portascreen. "This looks right."
The sound of heavy footsteps came from behind. Evie spun around in time to see a Rohtet man, rushing at them, weapon drawn.
"I need to know what you're doing here," the Rohtet said. He looked vaguely familiar, but Evie couldn't place his face with where she'd seen this man before.
"Do we really have to do this again?" Gwynn asked. "We were just cleared to be here."
"Yes. Thanks to me. I let you through because I know your captain is working toward getting Shan and the others back. But unless I know you're here to help, and that nothing you're about to do will hurt this ship, I can't let you go any farther."
"Illyrian?" Evie asked. Yes! Evie knew the answer before Illyrian hummed a confirmation. She'd seen him with the ambassador, more than once. "We're here to help. The hostages are being held on the central ship, the hive, but one of our people thinks she could tap into their systems and transport everyone back. But only if we can lower a portion of the shielding on your ship, so they can get through."
Illyrian's gun stayed raised in front of him. Despite Evie being the one to speak, he was smart enough to keep it pointed squarely at Linna's chest. "If you disable the shields, we'll all be killed."
"We just need to take out the shields in this section of the ship." Evie forced her gaze away from the gun and toward the shield generator. "If you let us take out this one section, we can get our people back and get everyone out of the void."
"If … I … even if what you're saying is true, you would still be putting thousands at risks. Families."
"If we work quickly, it will be fine."
"That's easy for you to say, it's not your people who will die."
"It is if we're forced to stay in this place. We won't stand a chance, not like you." Gwynn's eyes narrowed. "Put down the gun and let us fix this mess."
To Evie's surprise, Illyrian did as he'd been asked. Bracing herself for a shot that never came, Evie moved toward the closest computer terminal of the five she could see surrounding the shield generator. "I need to contact Safa, let her know we're ready. Gwynn, are you ready with the charges?"
"Explosives!" Evie looked back in time to see Illyrian's fingers flex around the hilt of his weapon. "How could you possibly have gotten access to explosives?"
"Fun fact about me," Gwynn said, sounding anything but fun, "but I almost always have explosives on me. You never know when they'll come in handy."
"I can't let you blow up our equipment," Illyrian said. "Who knows how long we would be at risk for. All I need is a few minutes, and I can disable the shields in this room only. Your friend can transport herself, and everyone else, right here. At which point you can tell me all about this plan to get us out of this space."
"We don't have time!" Gwynn said.
"Safa disagrees," Evie said, reading Safa's message off the screen to everyone else. She was ready to go, just waiting for the signal that promised she wouldn't be obliterated by the Rohtet's shield. Evie stepped back from the terminal. "Do it."
Other than who his mother was, Evie didn't know anything about Illyrian, but he disabled the shields like a pro, with far more finesse than Gwynn was likely to have used.
"I've got confirmation," Evie said, sending the same message across to Safa. "Everybody step back. Give them space."
She held her breath and hoped like hell no one was about to get blown up. Safa appeared in the center of the room only seconds later, surrounded by two of the Rohtet.
They'd done it. They'd gotten Safa back. Well, she'd more or less managed to rescue herself, but Evie couldn't help the twinge of pride in her gut.
Safa looked around the room as Illyrian moved to greet the Rohtet. "It worked?" She sounded more than a little surprised. "It worked!"
Gwynn rushed to hug her, pushing aside any feelings of belonging that had started to stir within Evie. She and Linna were still on the outside of their big, happy reunion.
But there was also still work to be done.
Work that, by the look of it, the Rohtet were eager to get to. Without a word to the humans, both of the Rohtet who had arrived with Safa turned their backs and left the room.
"Are they going to be a problem?" Gwynn asked, watching as the door shut behind them, leaving Illyrian as the last Rohtet standing.
"Not at all," Safa said with a small smile. Relaxing a little, Evie went back to her work, still listening in. "I wouldn't have made it this far without them. And they know the plan. If anything, hopefully they'll help. They know what's possible if we pull this off, hopefully we'll get the people making the decisions to listen."
"I've got Oliver," Evie said, cutting in, handing her communicator to Safa.
"Hello?"
"It's good to hear your voice," Oliver's voice said through their communicator.
"It's very good to hear yours too."
"Hopefully we'll have a proper reunion soon, but we've still got some work to do."
"Yes, absolutely," Safa said, already working to interface the portascreen she'd taken from Gwynn with the Rohtet's computer. "I'm just pulling up the status update now. Neha should be there soon, she can help with your end. Do we know how the battle is going? This only works if we all live long enough to make it happen."
"Torque says it's more evenly matched than before, but the Rohtet still have the upper hand."
"Let's hope we can remain strong until you people figure out what it is you're trying to do," Illyrian said from the back wall. Something about his demeanor had shifted, but there was no time to worry about that now.
"No," Safa said. "The Rohtet's security advisor is headed to the command center now. We need to preserve as much life as possible. Then we can all get out of here. And the longer we stand around like this, the more people die unnecessarily. Oliver, are you ready?"
"Yes. Sprocket?"
"All set."
"Good. Once I start, we'll have only a few minutes to bring in any smaller ships so they can make the trip back out of the void inside their home base vessels. I'm connecting with the engine room now."
For a few moments, no one spoke as Safa worked. But the longer she worked through the Rohtet's system, the more Safa's dark brow began to furrow in frustration.
It was Illyrian who stepped toward her first. "Is there a problem?"
"I don't know. The readings I'm getting from your ship are way off what I was working from before. The power supply," Safa said, frantically pushing buttons on the screen in front of them. "We've lost too much."
Illyrian scanned whatever it was that had Safa so distraught. "Everything here looks as it should. The weapons embedded in our hull are taking the bulk of our energy reserves."
"Damnit! I didn't realize the weapons system was tied into central power. Can we get them to stop shooting? It will be worth it." Safa's brown eyes grew wide with hope before Illyrian hummed a few low notes and shook his head.
"Even if we stop, it will take days before the reserves replenish themselves. They’re primarily solar powered, so it takes a while to recreate what we need in this space."
"We don't have days!"
"Why not?" Gwynn said, her voice taking on the strangely calm intonation she only ever managed when Safa was upset.
"Because the hive is set to destroy you. It won't be long now before they get through the central shielding, they have a weapon that will obliterate the city-ship.
&nb
sp; "How could that be possible?" Illyrian asked, horrorstruck. "That doesn't even make sense. Our supplies are too valuable.”
"Because I showed them how to make it worth their while. Destroying your ship would create enough of a power surge to get them out of the void. And showing them how to do it was the only way to get them back here! I had another plan to get us both out at once without anyone getting hurt. "There has to be a way," Safa whispered. "We made it this far. I made it back. There has to be something. Did I just get everyone killed?" Her eyes found Gwynn first, but Evie suspected she knew the answer to her question.
Gwynn reached over and squeezed her friend’s shoulder. "This isn't all on you. And there is another answer."
Safa looked up, brown eyes watering as she studied Gwynn. Evie wanted to step back, give the two of them their moment, but with Linna right behind her, there was nowhere to go. And no time. If Gwynn had an answer, she was about to have to share it with the class.
"You already have an answer," Gwynn said, this time with emphasis.
"That can't be the only way."
"What?" Evie asked, unwilling to sit through a guessing game when all their lives were at stake.
"If we destroyed the hive, that would be enough power to rip through the barrier between the void and regular space," Gwynn said. "We get them before they get us."
Safa shook her head. "I could probably protect us from the attack I planned. The Rohtet have more advanced technology, more fighters. If we end this one option, maybe the hive will retreat. Then nobody dies."
Oliver's disembodied voice interjected. "Will we get another shot at this."
Safa nodded. "Yes. I think so. We got this far in only a few days. Nobody has to die. Please."
"What can we do?" Evie asked, a weight she hadn't realized had settled in her chest, slowly lifting. No matter how inhuman this species was, there was no part of her that wanted to be party to genocide.
Behind them, Illyrian shifted, slowly at first, but soon he was sprinting toward the terminal on the other side of the chamber.
"Stop him," Safa yelled. But before Evie could take more than a step, or Gwynn could pull her weapon, he'd already entered a series of commands into the computer.
Once Linna had managed to tackle him to the ground, he had already stepped away from whatever damage he'd just instigated.
"What did you do?" Safa demanded, a sickening combination of horror and rage taking over her face. Evie had never seen her like this before.
"You needed energy. The commander is about to give it to you. They're withdrawing their ships and powering up our nuclear infused weapon."
"Nuclear?" Gwynn asked. "You people still use that?"
"No. We never have. We value life. But we have the ability. And if there's a chance to get out of this place, we'll give it everything we have. Our people must survive."
"No!" Safa said, her voice taking on a frantic shriek. "You can't say you value life, but put your own life above others. I won't help you."
"Then they'll have died for nothing. And we'll still be here." He glanced at the screen beside him. "I really am sorry. None of this … this place. It wasn't what any of us wanted. But you only have minutes to get ready."
"What if we kill him?" Gwynn asked, glowering. "Will that help at all?"
"I don't think so," Safa said after appearing to consider the question in earnest. "I don't know what to do?"
"Can you warn the other ship?" Evie asked.
The explosion was deafening, but there was no time for Evie or anyone else to brace themselves. Evie's body flew backward, moving completely beyond her control. So much for minutes.
But when Evie regained her footing, Safa had already leapt into action, issuing orders to everyone other than Illyrian. The decision had been made for her, but she was going to try to get them all out of here.
Evie tried to push back the wave of relief that threatened to overcome her. The other aliens might die--the ones that had been trying to kill them. But she had a chance.
The second shockwave was ten times worse than the first.
Either the city-ship was currently in the process of being ripped apart, killing thousands in one moment. Or, they'd done it.
Evie could only hope she'd survive long enough to learn the answer for herself.
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Evie
Everything around her looked more or less the same when Evie's body settled in one place. Quiet.
Evie opened her eyes once, then twice. Just to prove to herself that she could.
She was alive. Sore everywhere, but breathing and thinking, and existing.
She scrambled to her feet, hoisting Linna up beside her. The alien woman was holding her head, but didn't look like she was mangled or mutilated in any way. One more person still alive.
But had they done it?
Evie wouldn't know until she could find a window or even a screen. Anything that would let her see the universe beyond. They'd passed one somewhere on this level on their way to the shielding chamber. She just needed to find it.
Evie's feet carried her to exactly where she needed to go. The others followed her wordlessly, all likely wanting to see the same thing she did.
Evie would have sworn she felt the stars before she saw them. When she pressed her hands against the window pane, all the air left her lungs. They were everywhere; bright and beautiful. More stars than Evie could ever count, and she was grateful for every single one of them.
They were free! The Rohtet, the humans and both of their vessels were back out in regular space, and it was the most incredible feeling.
They were alive.
Even if the aliens they'd been fighting were not.
The price they had paid for this freedom was enough to sober Evie. They'd done what they had set out to do, but there were still a thousand questions to be answered.
"We should find the others," Safa said from behind her.
"We're rendezvousing at the ship," Gwynn said, filling Safa in on the rest of the plan they'd extrapolated from what they'd been given. "Or at least as near the ship as we can get."
"I don’t imagine you'll have any problems with security anymore," Illyrian said. "You'll be free to go."
He'd killed hundreds, maybe thousands. To save his own people, but still.
"Not even a handshake and a thank you, hmm?" Gwynn's voice dripped with venom. "Safa is the one who got you people out of there. And now we don't even know where we are and you'll be ready to send us on our way? Classy."
Evie blanched, her good mood quickly going downhill. They were out of the void, but could still be anywhere in the galaxy. In the universe?
There was no way to know from the belly of the city-ship.
"Illyrian, can you get us to your mother?" Evie asked. "Now more than ever, we all need to sit and talk this out. We should have the guys meet us up near the command center instead. We'll get back to the ship soon enough."
If Evie had expected Gwynn to argue, she'd have been disappointed. It all came together so quickly, too quickly. The crew of the Lexiconis was reunited for only a few moments on the upper levels of the ship before being ushered in to meet with the ambassador and several others. They sent along the apologies of the commander and president, citing the countless tasks that had to be seen to, now that the battle had been won.
The Lexiconis and her crew were quickly falling down the priority list, and they'd never been very high to begin with.
Six humans. Linna. Torque. There were far more of them than the three Rohtet sitting across the rectangular conference table, and yet there was no getting around who had all the power in the room. Especially with the bombshell their navigator had just delivered.
"We would like to formally thank you for your assistance during a very difficult time," the ambassador said. "We wish you nothing but the best on the next stretch of your journey."
It was only a question of who would explode first.
Gwynn's fists hit the table. "Next str
etch of our journey! We're on the other side of the galaxy from where we entered the void. With the engines we have, it would probably take us seven-hundred-thousand years to get home."
Evie hoped that Gwynn was only guessing, but she knew enough about space travel to realize that with the way things were, there was no way they could make the trip home in her lifetime. Not even in several generations.
They were completely cut off from home, in such a drastically different part of space from where they'd come from that she couldn't even be grateful they were still in the Milky Way.
"We're sorry for your predicament …"
"No," Oliver said, barely managing to sound calm. "It's not a predicament. Our ship wasn't built for this part of space. I don't know how far we are from the next inhabited region, but wherever it is, we'll starve before we get there. We're the only reason you're alive at all, you can't just leave us here."
"We are sorry to hear of your troubles," the ambassador said, like she hadn't already worked this out for herself. "But I am not certain what you expect the Rohtet to do to be of assistance."
Evie tried to lean back in the chair she'd been given, one that was far too big for any human body, and watch as her fate was decided.
"Help us," Sprocket said. "I have a child who is going to be born any day now. I can't be stuck on the other side of existence. This is insanity."
For the first time, the ambassador really did look sorry. It was the woman beside her who spoke. Evie didn't know her name, but she was one of the Rohtet who had been rescued along with Safa. "Even with the help of a standard issue engine upgrade, it would take centuries before your ship would reach home."
Oliver stood from his seat. "We'll take whatever we can get."
"We cannot give you technology," the ambassador said, her voice softer now, but still unyielding. "It is not our way. The Rohtet must travel the galaxy, broadening the potential of our species. We have lost too much recently. We cannot afford to simply hand out our belongings as an act of charity."
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