Page 32 of Bred

Shank stops talking. He knows there’s nothing he can say to make this better. We will have the funeral ceremony in what passes for the morning. Right now every single member of the crew is focused on repairing the damage and keeping us running at space folding speed.

“We survived, Talon. And we’re going to keep surviving.”

“As long as that beast keeps coming for us, we’re in danger, and we can’t go back home. If it followed us to the mother colony, we’d be responsible for the deaths of billions.”

“If we have to stay out here forever, we will. Or we could return to Earth. It didn’t seem to follow us there.”

“Earth’s an anomaly and we were only there a day or two. Not long enough for it to scent us, but we’re certainly not risking a return now.”

Lyra is never going home, not because I don’t want to grant her wish, but because the truth of the matter is, I can’t send her home. The Virility is supposed to be a ship of new life, but we have encountered utter death. It dogs our every step, and if we ever slow down, it will catch us, and it will consume us.

I wanted her kept away from it. I wanted to deny the truth of it. But I can’t have her sedated every time it gets close. There is only one thing left for it: honesty.

Chapter Ten

Lyra

Talon looks like hell warmed over. He is trying to maintain his usual bearing, but I can see exhaustion in every line of his frame.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“I’m going to show you,” he says. “Because all I can give you now is the truth.”

“Okay...” I am worried by his tone and his demeanor. Gone is the cocky king of the stars who blasted planets into existence. Instead, I see an exhausted warrior who leads me by the hand through the passages of his ship, until a door opens onto what I can only describe as pure chaos.

On the other side of the portal, half the ship is missing, as if chewed from the outside in like an apple. I stare into the open space, barely contained by the force field and I marvel at the destruction that has been unleashed.

“What happened?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Half your fucking ship is gone. I’m officially worried.”

“Less than a quarter, actually. And it’s alright. This happens from time to time.”

I don’t believe him. He’s trying to be casual, but no captain can truly be casual about this type of damage. This ship was close to being destroyed, there’s no doubt about that. No wonder he looks tired.

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