Page 30

Chapter

Thirty

Morgan

" A re we under attack?" I gasped, clutching Tivek's arm for support as the floor seemed to tilt beneath us.

"I don't know. It could be something in the nebula."

We scrambled to our feet and rushed back to the front of the ship, navigating the tilting corridor as the ship continued to pitch.

By the time we arrived, everyone was gathered around Ariana and Sasha and holding themselves steady by gripping overhead bars.

The two sisters were engaged in a rapid-fire exchange over the controls.

"—no choice but to set down," Ariana was saying.

Sasha nodded, pointing to a readout I couldn't decipher. "There. That planetoid has enough surface stability for both ships."

"We won't get back up without fixing the engines," Vyk cautioned.

"We're not getting anywhere with the ship in this condition," Ariana shot back. "And I'd rather be stranded on solid ground than playing bumper cars with an asteroid field.”

I peered through the viewscreen at the asteroid field and the barren, dusty planet on the other side of it. It was an uninviting world hidden under swirling nebula gases that painted the sky in eerie colors. But Ariana was right that it was better than the alternative.

The ship groaned in protest as Ariana wrestled the controls to set us down. I squeezed my eyes shut at one point, certain we were about to crash, but somehow she managed to bring us down next to the other Drexian vessel, which had already landed in a surprisingly graceful fashion.

"Nice landing," Sasha said after our ship settled with a final, bone-jarring thud.

Ariana flashed her a tired grin. "Could've been worse."

"Could've been a lot worse," Deklyn agreed, his voice unusually serious.

Relief flooded through me as the engines powered down. We were no longer floating helplessly in space. We had solid ground beneath us, barren as it might be, and the other ship was only meters away.

The two women continued their discussion of ship diagnostics, falling into an easy rapport that fascinated me. Watching them work together, I was struck by how seamlessly Sasha had integrated into our team. After all those months of planning her rescue, she was actually here.

No one could argue she wasn’t the worse for wear, but she was alive and helping us survive. It was hard not to be impressed by her tenacity. It was even harder not to want to feed her and wipe off every bit of grime that was a reminder of her captivity.

"What now?" I asked, turning to Tivek, who had been quietly observing from behind me.

"I should report to the admiral," he replied, his voice low. "You should come with me."

My pulse quickened. "To the other ship?"

He nodded. "Yes. We need to brief him on what we found out on the Kronock base."

I wasn't sure if he really needed me for the briefing or if he simply wanted my company, but either way, I was glad for the excuse to leave our damaged vessel. The acrid smell of burnt circuits was getting stronger by the minute, and the unstable power system made me nervous.

Everyone was pulling on environmental suits or activating the hoods on the suits they were wearing after Ariana informed us that the planet had a thin, barely breathable atmosphere. There was enough oxygen that we wouldn't die instantly, but not enough to sustain us comfortably for long periods.

Tivek watched me flip up my hood and secure it in place, his eyes scanning critically to ensure it was properly sealed.

"Keep this on at all times outside the ships," he instructed, giving me a thorough once-over that felt more protective than professional. "The nebula gases could be toxic."

We moved to the center of the ship while Ariana sealed off the middle section and prepared to lower the exit ramp. The sealed door hissed as pressurized air escaped, and I instinctively held my breath even though my hood was in place.

I questioned our leaving the ship, but I knew the others wanted to check the hull breeches and reunite with their partners and friends.

Vyk, Deklyn, and Torq joined us as we descended the ramp onto the planetoid's surface. The ground beneath my boots was solid but uneven, covered in small loose stones that shifted with each step. The thin air made the environment eerily quiet, with sounds distant and muffled.

Vyk and Torq immediately broke off to inspect the hull damage, but Deklyn stayed with us as we made our way toward the other ship.

We reached the other vessel and passed through its airlock, the door sealing behind us with a reassuring hiss of properly functioning machinery. The moment the inner door opened, I was engulfed in a flurry of arms and excited voices.

"Morgan!" "We were so worried!" “You’re okay!”

Fiona, Jess, and Britta surrounded me, pulling me into a fierce group hug that nearly knocked me off my feet.

I fought back unexpected tears as I clung to them, the relief of seeing my friends safe overwhelming me.

For all the planning and strategizing, there had always been the chance that not all of us would make it.

When they finally released me and I was able to pull off my hood, I noticed that Tivek and Deklyn had made their way to the cockpit where they were engaged in low, intense conversation with Volten and Admiral Zoran. Even from here, I could see the tension in Tivek's shoulders.

"You have to tell us everything," Fiona insisted, pulling my attention back to my friends. "What happened down there? How did you find Sasha?"

I glanced over at Britta, relieved to see that she’d escaped from the holchamber.

Then I clocked that she was watching Kann greet Deklyn and Tivek with more than friendly interest. Something had changed about her.

There was a new confidence in the way she carried herself, a softness around her eyes when she looked at Kann.

"Actually," I said, "I think Britta should go first. What happened to you in the holochamber?"

Britta's cheeks flushed pink. "It's a long story, but I don't think I'll be going into a holosimulation anytime soon."

Fiona nudged her with an elbow, grinning. "But you did get Kann out of it."

I stared between them, my mouth dropping open. "You and Kann?" The notorious player of the academy and our practical, logical Britta?

"We're together," Britta stammered, her blush deepening. "It's all aboveboard, too. We've disclosed our relationship to the admiral and everything."

“And he was fine with it?”

Britta bobbed her head up and down. “He’s not as stern as he pretends to be.”

Happiness for my friend bloomed in my chest, along with another feeling I couldn't quite name. If an instructor and a cadet could get their relationship approved…

My eyes drifted involuntarily to Tivek, and my heart gave a traitorous thump. Not that I was thinking about a relationship with Tivek. He wasn’t an instructor. He was a Drexian spy. That would be complicated. Impossible, even. Wouldn't it?

"Now that we know Britta's story," Jess said, pulling me from my thoughts, "it's your turn. Tell us everything about the rescue."

“First things first,” Jess interrupted with a mischievous grin. ""Tivek's brother is hot. Like, ridiculously hot."

Fiona laughed. "Tivek's pretty easy on the eyes himself, if I were into younger guys." She shot me a knowing look that made me wonder just how transparent my feelings were.

“Was Zoran’s adjunct much help during the rescue?” Britta asked. “I know he’s Deklyn’s brother but?—“

“He was great, actually,” I said, trying to keep the defensive tone from my voice.

Fiona nudged me. “Then tell us.”

There were parts of the rescue I wasn't ready to share, like the kiss in the darkness, the way Tivek had shielded me during our escape, or how his hand had found mine again and again. But there was a lot I could share.

I told them how Tivek and I had been split from the group, how we'd discovered the others had been captured, finding that Sasha and Deklyn had already escaped, evading the Kronock they’d knocked out, and finally the arduous trek to Deklyn’s ship after losing the group again.

"And then you and Tivek got separated again?" Fiona asked, one eyebrow raised.

"It was just for a little while," I said, trying to sound casual even as heat crept into my face. “Then we fell into a pit.”

“A pit?” Jess gaped at me. “How are you still here?”

I shrugged. “Luck?”

But it hadn’t been luck. Again and again, Tivek had saved me. I stole another glance at him, standing tall and composed as he spoke to the admiral. My pulse quickened, and I forced myself to return my attention to my friends, more specifically Britta.

“Tell me more about you and Kann and what happened in that holosimulation.”