Page 146 of The Last Hope

“When they were murdered,” Franny explains. “You told us to look away. Because you knew…”

I pause, choked. “I didn’t want that to be your only memory…” I shake my head and swallow hard. “I wish I could have given you the choice. Told you all then.” I laugh out a sharp sigh. “I shouldn’t even be telling you now.”

“Why are you then?” Court asks. “Why are you telling all of this now? We’re not on Earth yet.”

I’m not sure we’re going to make it there, and even if we do, there’s a chance this baby isn’t going to come with us. We’ll find her parents. Leave her with them. And I can’t carry this information any longer.

I’ve failed the admirals.

But I don’t want to fail myself. I turn to Franny. “I agreed to their dying wish—keeping all this information from you—because I thought I was offering kindness in the face of their certain death. But I realize now they asked…too much…” I choke on those words.

My abdomen cramps and I have to stand up, shaking out my limbs. Bile rises to my mouth, but I’ve come this far without puking. I need to stomach the rest.

“Please,” Franny says. “We want all of it. The truth.”

“I’m going to give you that, dove,” I tell her strongly. “I promise.”

“Tomorrow?” she asks hopefully.

“Right now.” I give her one better. I’ve opened the gates. Why wait? There’s no going back from this. “But this is a story that you’re going to want to take a seat for.”

Franny settles next to Padgett on the couch. I’m thankful that Zimmer, Kinden, and the Soarcastle sisters have been quiet. Making it easier.

Because it’s only going to get harder from here.

This time, I start the story from the beginning.

Theverybeginning.

Almost two decades ago. I tell them about the Battle of Drodinia. Admiral Moura used to show me hologram reels of that day, videos of the wreckage. Each morning, she’d make me breakfast—fresh apples, cinnamon, and oatmeal—and I’d spread out the battle plans on the oak table. I memorized the strategies. Combed through every last detail. Our cottage was in the countryside, the sky so clear you could see every single star. I’d lie on the grass, stare up, and visualize the battle.

It was Earth’s single biggest casualty.

Strategically, the fleet had been cornered by Saltarians. In a blink of an eye, theRomulustook out Earth’s largest warship. It happened like a snap of a finger. One minute, the ship was there. The next, pieces of the metal… and the bodies were just floating in space.

The Summit of Alcoara came next.

Our cottage still has the photograph where the admirals, captains, and strategists stand in a towering arena on the planet of Alcoara. Some were from the Earthen Fleet, others were our allies across the universe.

Not all were human.

I’d point to each face and ask Moura to name them. Some had blue skin, others had gills, and some were floating five feet in the air. It was an eclectic group. All with a singular purpose.

Save the human race.

At the summit, they were to devise alternative strategies. Ones that wouldn’t pit fights with the Saltarians. It took fifteen days.

Everyone agreed they needed a long-game strategy, something that would benefit them later. Intelligenceinsidea Saltarian planet.

Spies.

When Moura said that word,spies,it almost doubled me over. Even as a kid, I understood the weight. To send humans to a Saltarian planet would be certain death. Even if they could pass as Saltarians, they’d make it weeks, maybe even less before being caught. Most of the Saltare planets have advanced surveillance and mandatory Helix Reader screenings every month.

Her next words always ring in my head. She countered with,not Saltare-3.

Even studying Saltare planets day and night, I’d almost forgotten about the isolated world. Saltare-3 is a footnote in history books.

A single paragraph. A location on a map.