Page 122 of Between Earth and Eternity
“What took you so long?” he asks, still holding me tight against him. “Everyone else has already arrived.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t leave them here.” He looks behind me to find the extra two passengers plus the feline friend he very generously gave Romy. I expect some kind of reprimand, that it wasn’t worth the risk, but instead, he kisses me right here in front of everyone. It’s hurried, but it takes my breath away.
Laz clears his throat, and we break apart. I don’t attempt to hide the heat rushing to my cheeks. And I won’t apologize for it either.
Vallen guides the group through a narrow hallway, our steps echoing off the slick metal walls lined with entryways to escape pods. The pod we enter is large enough for all of us plus the rest of the Nova members, seats and straps lining the perimeter of the vessel.
“Are we all accounted for?” Captain Ira asks, halting his pacing. The Nova members have guns holstered to their hips, some adorning the black suits I saw that day in the engine room.
“We are now,” Vallen answers. “The supplies?”
“We have most of it aboard,” Ira assures him. “We began storing contraband here weeks ago. This is why we have a plan B. Laz, what are our chances?” Ira turns to him, holding out a datapad. I don’t like the way he worded the question, as if he’s expecting a low probability of getting out of here.
“I’ve sealed off the doors to all hangar bays for now, but they won’t hold much longer. If the security team is notified, we’ll have minutes at most,” Laz says calmly, eyebrows pinching together as he taps the surface of the device rapidly. Seconds later, an alarm blares, the lights of the ship flashing from white to red.
“Shit,” Vallen swears under his breath.
“What’s plan C?” Runa shouts over the noise.
“Launch the pod. Now!” Payson yells to match her volume.
“No! If we do that, we are sitting ducks. They’ll track us down in minutes. We need at least”—Laz closes his eyes to calculate whatever math will give him the answer—“seven minutes until we’re out of range for me to cloak the pod. Zenith has back-up systems in case of a situation just like this.”
“Can you jam their ships to give us some extra time?” Vallen looks to Laz as he taps the screen frantically. “Maybe, but only for a few minutes at best.”
“Do it. Every second counts,” Vallen orders.
“That won’t be enough,” Ira starts. “If they can’t launch, they’ll just resort to firepower.”
“You mean they’ll blow us up,” Payson says.
Runa shoots him a stern look. “Not helping, Mr. Reed.”
“I can disable them, but—” Laz starts.
“Only for a few minutes,” Pace finishes for him. “There has to be something else.”
They all look between each other, waiting for someone to reveal a grand plan they’ve kept in their back pocket, but no one speaks up.
“Vallen?” Ira asks, and everyone’s gaze lands on him. “It’s your call.”
“We need a distraction,” he says, closing his eyes like the idea will appear in his mind at any second.
“Vallen?” Payson asks, panicked.
“Give me a moment! Let me think!” he shouts.
Romy begins to cry, and Ori rushes over to comfort her. “It’s okay, sweetie.” She strokes her hair as tears stream down Romy’s face, falling onto Stella’s fluffy coat.
And like the sunlight breaking the dawn, I know what I have to do.
It may be a long shot, but I have to try. This is how I make things right. This is how I prove my worthiness to the cause.
Vallen has his head buried in his hands. “Hey hey hey. It’s okay,” I say, pulling him into me. He wraps his arms around me as I stand on my tippy toes, digging my fingers into his hair, memorizing every single thing about him while I still can. I dare to think we could have done great things together, a team, hand in hand, but we will never know what could have been. All I know for certain is what I need to do now.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Skyler,” he says, and I bite my lip to keep the sob inside. I should be apologizing, especially for what I’m about to do.
Ira, Payson, Runa, and Laz are frantically discussing the options, but no one seems to have an answer. Everyone watches them, myself included, waiting for orders, for anything to give us hope that we will make it out alive.
