Page 82 of Seeded By Two

Feon changed direction, backed up down another passageway, and led us down it.

Our boots thudded on the hard metal grating floor, loud enough for the entire ship to hear us.

We came out onto a narrow slit of the ship running around one edge.

Oval-shaped doorways were built into the wall.

Through each doorway was a small capsule.

The control desk inside the escape pods were all dead.

There was no power.

But that didn’t stop Feon.

He hurried into the nearest pod, threw himself into the pilot’s chair, and began tapping at the controls.

I remained just outside the escape pod’s door, peering around a narrow ledge that gave me a little protection as I scoured the corridors for any sign of hostility.

The lights on the escape pod’s console blinked into life, the software powering up.

“Whatever you’re doing, do it fast,” I said.

“Do you think I’m going as slow as I can?” Feon snapped back at me.

His fingers danced quickly across the controls.

I peered at Beth in my arms, clutching her so close I could feel her heartbeat.

I kissed her on the forehead.

She must have been terrified but managed a small smile of appreciation.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “Nothing will happen to you. If they try to take us, my father will launch the full might of the Krev military at them. No one is that stupid.”

And then I saw them:

A huge pair of hulking figures moving through the corridor in our direction.

They were called the Jizzik, with hairy faces and ugly tusks.

A true warrior race.

They carried heavy plasma rifles, and when they saw me, immediately picked up their pace.

One raised the communicator attached to his forearm and snorted a command.

No doubt for reinforcements.

“They’re Jizzik!” I yelled back at Feon. “And they’re coming this way!”

“How long?” Feon asked, fingers still dancing at the controls.

“How long is what?”

“How long till they arrive, idiot!”

Feon had never shown me such disrespect before but now was not the time to take offense. “A minute. Two, max.”

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