Page 166 of The Last Hope

“We’re on theSaga,” Kinden says, thinking the same as me.

“No,” Court refutes. “Look.” We all follow his gaze to the tinted windshield. Outside are hundreds of parked starcrafts, the sun radiating on the vessels.

We’re on a launchpad, and as ocean slaps against cement and theRomuluscrew crowds around battlecrafts, my stomach sinks.

We’re still on Saltare-1.

After we look around, we come to the conclusion that this starcraft is the same layout as theSaga,only an updated model. Gem pops up the database on the MEU station, and we learn that it’s called theNebulus.A smaller battlecraft that has a retractable third cockpit for weaponry.

We’re parked toward the middle of the launchpad, but we can’t easily fly out. There are too manyRomuluscrew walking around, and near them are massive artillery starcrafts. If they caught a rogue battlecraft starting up the thrusters, we’d be immediately blown to bits.

The best we can do is wait until night falls and the crew go to sleep. When the launchpad is clear, we’ll fly theNebulusaway from Saltare-1.

It’s a solid plan.

But Court hates waiting, and I feel the tense, nervous frustration like it’s my own. After we change into the clean StarDust shirts and slacks onboard, we agree to be as quiet as we can and take seats on the ground for extra precaution.

I find a comfortable, quiet spot near the extra jumpchairs and storage compartments. With a clear view of Court and Mykal at the MEU station, I watch them whisper quietly to one another.

Court has Zima tucked to his chest, since she quiets the most in his clutch. And he already bandaged Mykal’s broken hand. With his good one, Mykal threads his fingers through Court’s thick brown hair.

I can feel the soft strands like Mykal’s fingers aremyfingers. Court nearly smiles, and those sinking, nervous feelings suddenly lighten.

The three of us are lifebloods, but I know what they share goes beyond this connection. It’s something more, and no matter what happens, I’m so deeply happy for them.

My eyes well and lips begin to rise.

Across from me, Zimmer and Stork are murmuring, too hushed for me to hear. We found the med kit onboard, and Stork seems more content now with medicine. He leans into Zimmer’s shoulder and breathes deeply.

I turn my focus to Gem and Padgett. Near the captain’s chair, they both flip through a paper emergency manual for theNebulus.I’m unsure what would have happened if they hadn’t come along. If we’d even make it this far.

They were here to prove something to the world, and I don’t know if Earth will understand the enormity of what they did. But I do. And if I live through all of this, I vow to make sure they’re in Earth’s history books.

“Franny,” Zimmer hisses, humor dotting his eyes. I’m not sure what they’ve been whispering about, but by the raise of Stork’s brows, I know it’s either going to embarrass me or unnerve me. Or both.

Zimmer says, “You and Stork bedded each other in the future, and you weren’t going to tell me?”

Well… Stork told him about the baby.

My face roasts. “I think the more important takeaway is that there’s time travel in the future,” I point out.

Stork wears a wry smile. “Can you not imagine it, dove?”

He means us bedding each other.

And I can picture that. We’ve already kissed. I’ve imagined more.

Which is why the baby doesn’t surprise me. I’ve always been drawn to Stork, and now knowing our histories, there is so much more that has existed between us. It’s as though we’ve been wrapped around one another from the very start. As though we were intertwined by the gods.

And even if we never met, if I had died on Saltare-3 like Iwas supposed to, we’d still have this unseen string, tying us together.

But I dodge his question by saying, “Time travel, yes, I can imagine it.”

He licks his lips into a wider grin. “I meant bedding me.”

“I know what you meant,” I say hotly.

Zimmer stares around the starcraft like he’s trying to etch each face into his memory. His lips lift, and I wonder if he thinks this is the greatest adventure a die-hard Fast-Tracker ever took.