Page 45 of Rescued

Now that we were through, the Patrol ships would have to pivot before they could give chase. Fortunately, we were close enough to the target ship that we could probably reach it before they caught up. But it was better to be safe than sorry. The mines Nikathy deployed would create a temporary diversion, making it impossible for them to come directly after us. They would have to risk triggering a multitude of explosions or go the long way around the rapidly expanding field of explosives left in our wake.

There was a thud as a door swung open somewhere on the ship and the mines were released. I settled my hand on the throttle, glad to feel the pulse of the engines rumbling through the shaft. I assessed the ship ahead, searching for the easiest entry point so we could get aboard before the fighters caught up with us again.

“Hang on. I’ve got something to help,” Nikathy said as I continued scanning for options.

I waited, and a split second later, I saw the ship ahead crack open from the underside. The lower bay door was opening to reveal a sleek gray interior.

“Hurry up. It’s set to close again in a minute. One of our guys found the temporary override, but we can only use it once. I wasn’t even sure it would work.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I steadied the wings of our little ship and hit the throttle a second time, pouncing on the opening without hesitation. Behind us, I heard a pop followed by another and another, a chain reaction of explosions growing distant as we pulled forward. I prayed that both of the Patrol fighters had been taken out, or at least disabled. I didn’t have time to look back and find out.

The doors yawned open ahead of us as I held the throttle up. I needed to be careful. Too much speed and we would hit the ship full force. I needed to cut power just before we got there and reverse thrust so we could slide into the opening. That was hard to do when there was a time limit. The doors reached their full width just as I was pulling back, and a second later I saw them begin to close. Our gap was closing, and I needed to time things just right to make it through.

Reversing thrust took precious seconds, and we were still coasting too fast to come to a safe stop, but there was nothing I could do to slow us down now. There were several tense moments waiting for the thrusters to reignite and push us in the opposite direction. Finally, I heard the hum of the engines picking up again, this time bringing us into a careful glide. Only, with less speed, I had to be more precise in my controls, a feat that proved difficult with the damaged wing. It was a constant battle, holding the ship to one side enough to offset its tendency to tilt toward the damaged side. If I didn’t hold that wing up high enough, it would clip the doors on our way in.

“You got this,” Nikathy whispered over and over behind my shoulder. We were so close I could see the details of the interior walls now, and the bay doors were sliding toward us on either side. At the last second, I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in a sharp breath as I wrestled the control yoke into submission.

Nikathy let out a triumphant yell, and I dared to open my eyes just a crack. We were inside, but we hadn’t yet won. We were still moving and the far wall of the ship was coming at us faster than I’d like. I had to make a difficult decision. I nudged the yoke forward and nosed down, forcing theGreedy She-Devilinto a tiny dive to make contact with the ship’s floor. As metal screeched against metal, I cringed, already thinking of the money needed for repairs when this was over.

Our landing made the other ship rock sideways also, and I cursed as I tried to hold us down to the floor. Undoubtedly, our impact was enough to throw the larger ship off of her unmanned course, which meant Nikathy and I would have to straighten her out quickly to ensure she didn’t go crashing into any of the other floating fortresses out here.

“Outside door is closed. Let’s go.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. We were in. The outer doors were already sealed. If the Patrol was going to scramble more fighters to come after us, they would already be on their way.

We both hopped out and started running. Neither of us had a clear idea of what we were up against here, but we were too far into this to do anything but keep moving.

As expected, the ship was a ghost town. The halls were dark, and the power was off almost everywhere. Only a handful of basic functions and emergency lights were still operating to keep her on her maintenance path. I tried not to let myself get distracted by the enormity of the ship as I raced toward the bridge. We had to get out of here.

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