Page 49 of Star Bright
At first only an ominous silence answered him, then the harsh crackle of the bad connection snapped through the room. “… No ship… Have to stay…”
Eyes closing, Vash swayed on his feet.
Darcy wedged her hand under his elbow. “Atsu, you have to tell us where you are, baby. You have to be here for Christmas morning, remember?”
“… Never leave…”
Kong and Ug burst into the room. “Ug plotted a trajectory from the intermittent signal,” the little robot reported. A map projected from its domed head. “It appears the little one took the runabout out to the garage. If someone could get close enough to initiate the outpost overrides that are still active in the repair sequence, you could ground the ship again.”
“Send the override codes to my datpad,” Vash ordered. He handed the device to Yadira. “Hold this for a moment.”
Darcy was looking at the projected map. “It looks like he’s just skimming the ship along, barely flying. If we take the hover cart, we can get to him.”
“It won’t be fast enough. I can get there first.” He strode to the door and shoved it open, clearing the drift of snow asif it were nothing. One more step through the doorway then he was shifting into his glorious beast shape, ripping free from his clothing. Yadira was right behind him, shivering in her thin nightshirt as she expanded the datpad band to fit over Vash’s claw.
Darcy bit her lip. He would have to change back to his smaller shape with fingers when he caught up with the ship, naked in the snow somewhere.
She unfurled the edge of her cardigan around Yadira. “Go,” she told him.
He launched into the sky in a wild flurry of blown flakes. And then he was lost in the inky sky.
Yadira looked up at Darcy. “We have to follow.”
There was a part of Darcy that knew it was a terrible idea, but she couldn’t tell the girl that, not when the rest of her family had disappeared into the night. “Put on every layer you can find,” she said instead. “Your father and your brother will need us to share when we catch up.”
Kong wheeled nervously around them. “You should wait here for the rescue ship. They must be coming soon.”
Sometimes waiting did seem easier, Darcy mused. “Just keep the cocoa hot for us.”
+ + +
The beast didn’t care about the cold. It was locked on the hunt, following the device on its claw—a tiny guiding star in the dark night.
Even with panic spurring him, he shouldn’t have been able to catch up with the ship. Good thing Atsu’s experience with flight was limited to games. But that just added to Vash’s terror of another crash.
Have to stay.
The little one’s plaintive reasoning threatened to spear him from the sky. That wasn’t how the world worked—no worlds—and wishing on stars couldn’t guarantee forever. But…
Right here, right now.
That was possible, wasn’t it? If he was as brave as his daughter and maybe half as hopeful as his son.
But first his beast had to bring down a spaceship in the snow.
The geological oddness that kept the Big Sky IDA hidden meant the datpad couldn’t get a signal lock, but the beast picked up the whine of a struggling engine over the restless gusting of wind.
All this time, he’d been worried about Yadira doing something rash. He was going to havesuchwords in so many languages with his reckless, thieving fledgling.
But first he would hug the little beast and never let go.
He finally caught sight of the struggling ship ahead, barely clearing the treetops. Only the landing lights were on, turning the branches into a thicket of menacing black spears. Since the hull repair hadn’t received final inspection and approval, the ship’s systems had been restricted to in-atmo travel, so at least Atsu couldn’t accidentally leave the planet. But if the closed world authorities caught this unauthorized flight, there could be serious repercussions.
Never leave.
One step at a time.
With a burst of speed, Vash winged over the trees, closing on the ship. He had to end this, quickly. And he had to be close or the shutdown signal might go astray, scattered by the same secret oddness that kept the IDA hidden from the oblivious Earthers.
