“Full thruster velocity?” Bharat yelled. “Commander, I don’t know about this. Quick, they’re charging their weapons!”
“Evasive maneuvers,” Bradley said. Skye could only clench the armrests of her seat. “Get ready, chief!”
“I don’t see it,” Bharat said. “Commander, incoming projectiles!” Four calibrated Drekynn missiles appeared on the HUD.
“Circle back!” Bradley said. “I see the Artemis! At your six!” Bharat pulled the ship in a wide arc as the Artemis flew up between the Swallowtail and the missiles, matching their velocity and acting as a shield. “Dock now, Sekar!” Bharat furiously worked the controls. Skye looked ahead and could see the familiar bright dot of a pocket infinity.
“We’re jumping?” Skye yelled.
“Not us, the Artemis,” Bradley answered. “Captain, hold for our mark. How’s it coming, Bharat?”
“Almost there, sir.” The whole ship shook as the Artemis’ docking clamps grabbed hold. Bharat smiled.
“We’re on, captain!”
“Punch it!” Captain Zonta’s voice came over the com. Both ships, now docked together, entered the pocket infinity. Vorian shrank away to nothingness and in a few moments they dropped out into an entirely new sector of space. Cheering could be heard over the coms.
“I can’t believe we made it out,” Skye said. She turned to Bharat. “You actually performed a dock while the Artemis had already opened a pocket infinity.”
“At full thruster velocity,” he added. He sank back into his chair and let out a sigh of relief.
“Congratulations team,” Captain Zonta said over the com. “I understand that we were betrayed, but I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that you all made it back alive. Do they still have the T.A.S.?”
“It’s unsalvageable, sir,” Skye said. “I had it print out forty plasma blasters made solely out of Defilliam.”
“So that’s how you did it,” Bharat said. “All Mal told us was to expect an explosion. I was trying to figure out how an armed bomb could have possibly been in the schematics list!”
“There’s only one problem,” the commander said from the controls. “Without the T.A.S., we have no way to sync Skye.” Bharat’s temporary relief melted from his face.
“I knew it had to be done,” Skye said. “It was the only way I could think of to prevent the Drekynn from gaining access to the Swallowtail tech and giving us a chance at escape.”
Skye checked the system time and realized she had just over one hour left in her current body, and with the T.A.S. destroyed on the surface of Vorian, no way to record all of the events that had occurred in the past forty-eight hours. She had learned so much—so much that needed to be remembered about humans, the Drekynns, and the plight of the Vorian people. She sighed heavily. Bradley put her hand on Skye’s arm.
“You did save our lives,” Commander Bradley began. “That was some quick thinking back there on Vorian’s surface. Thank you.”
“It was my pleasure,” Skye replied with a smile. “It’s not often that I have the chance to work with such admirable people…or anyone at all.”
“I owe you an apology,” Bharat said.
“Oh, it’s—”
“No, really. The way that I’ve treated you on this mission is…downright horrible.” He smiled. “I let my feelings about the Swallowtail Program cloud seeing you for who you are, a remarkable and talented human being.”
“Thank you,” Skye said. “I just wish that I could upload everything that we have seen to the Swallowtail Network. The Council really needs to see what is going on on Vorian. The Drekynns should never have been allowed to gain such a foothold in the universe.”
“Agreed,” Captain Bradley said.
“Actually, I have an idea,” Bharat said with a smile. “Captain, permission to bring Skye to engineering?”
“Absolutely.” Skye shot a confused glance at Bharat as he stood and took her hand.
“Follow me, Skye. Quickly.”
Chapter Ten
The T.A.S. in Bharat’s section of engineering was bulky and much less sophisticated than the one from the Swallowtail. It was made of a large, box-shaped piece of metal, the pod built entirely into the device. The touch-screen command panel was large, and it was clear that it had been built from parts made by hand.
“It’s typically used for printing tools and parts,” Bharat said, his hands clasped before him. “But I think with a few modifications, it will do the job.”
“That would be wonderful,” Skye replied. “Did you build this yourself?”
“I did,” Bharat nodded.
“It’s not an easy thing to build,” Mal said in Skye’s ear.
“Here, lie down.” Bharat said. He helped her into the T.A.S. and she stretched out over a cold piece of solid metal. He looked down over her face. “Maybe I’ll ask the captain about adding a permanent Swallowtail node here in engineering since yours was destroyed.”
“You mean I could be activated here?” Skye asked.
“Exactly,” Bharat said. “And it wouldn’t necessarily need to be just for a mission. Maybe you could request that the Council start giving you additional preparation time, so you can learn more about the starship. I recognize the way you look at this ship. It’s the same passionate way I look at her, with engineer’s eyes.” He laughed.
“That sounds amazing,” Skye said. The thought of spending more time aboard the Artemis made her feel like she would burst with excitement.
“Of course, that’s only if you want for me to ask the captain,” Bharat said. “I don’t see why he’d be opposed to it, but I want to make sure it’s something you’d like.”
“I would like that very much.”
“Excellent,” Bharat said, waving a hand. “Let’s get you uploaded before we run out of time.”
“Okay. Bharat?”
“Yes?”
“It was lovely to meet you,” Skye said with a smile. Bharat smiled back.
“You, too.” The machine pinged as it scanned for Mal and Skye’s consciousness and started the synchronization process. Skye relaxed as the T.A.S. whirred and as everything faded to black, she wondered if she would dream again.
***
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THE END
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Be sure to check out Trip's latest novel:
Game Alive
In the near future, virtual reality games are indistinguishable from the real world. Players can take on the role of a star quarterback or rule as the king of a virtual kingdom.
Thirteen-year-old Jake prefers to spend his free time building Xaloria, a virtual world he created from scratch where he and his two best friends, Des and Kari, spend their afternoons completing quests and collecting treasure.
However, all in Xaloria is not what Jake expected. When Jake discovers that the world he built is growing and changing on its own, he and his friends uncover a secret that could change the world forever...
***
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***
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The Vorian Incursion: The Swallowtail Voyages, Book 2 Page 8