Page 7 of Hope Forged
For now.
Illan snorted.What knowledge we have is minimal. Less now that we found no data cache.
Elorach will provide.
That ended Illan’s tirade. Along with being jettisoned into outer space. As the pod sped away, their ship exploded, blinding him and leaving bright spots on his retinae. That hadn’t gone to plan.
And it looks like we are heading away from Gikaet.
Kuck.Illan rubbed his face, disbelieving their situation. The pod beacons would’ve drawn Etterian attention and a rescue. Statistically, that was their best chance of survival. But heading away from Gikaet altered his calculations. He activated his O.D.I. and accessed what information he had from the last sync with the now-gone ship.
Iddan did the same, but Illan beat him to it. Destination: Tecus.The moon or the G.C. station?
Illan’s disbelief crossed their connection.Regardless, we will not make that.
Things had just gone from bad to worse.Might pass Lysara on the way.
Oh, that does make me feel better.Sarcasm saturated every word despite the distance between their speeding pods.
Illan grimaced, guilt eating at him. But he couldn’t have planned for this.The odds of a Gika attack were slim. We were far from any known colonies.
And the chance of them being able to fire upon us was also low.Silence reigned across their connection.I do not blame you,Iddan finally shared even though Illan was in his mind.
You should. We need to expect the worst outcome.
Agreed, so stop feeling responsible. I could have refused to come with you, prevented you from traveling here… But I, too, hoped we would find something.
Illan grunted.Rebuilding our lost archives is what matters.
Despite you belaboring this, you are correct.
Illan released a slow exhale.Now, get some sleep. We need to preserve our oxygen.
True, since there is not much we can do to steer these things.
Sleeping was easier said than done. Bombarded by Iddan’s thoughts, memories, dreams, Illan struggled to doze off. There had to be a way to shield himself. In the end, it was Iddan sinking into deep sleep that granted Illan a reprieve.
A jerk woke him. Darkness filled his view but not that of space. Maloidian metal?
He grinned. They were rescued.Iddan?
I am so sorry, Illan.Images crossed their connection.Yithians.
They’d onboarded Iddan’s pod first. A face appeared through Illan’s window: gray, slick skin, narrow, solid-black eyes, tiny holes for nostrils, and a wide mouth with elongated caninesdenting the bottom lip. The door opened to a sour stench. Illan’s nose wrinkled. A chill hit him next. In his tunic, pants, and sandals, he wouldn’t be able to warm himself.
A Yithian soldier crowded him, then nudged him toward a passage.
“Where are we?” he asked, hoping they were…welcoming.
It is useless. They do not speak Galactic.
A metal door slid aside and a waft of sweat, urine, and unwashed bodies slapped Illan in the face. A sea of eyes, across many species, peered at him from the darkness of a…cell. He glanced to the side and grunted, recognizing the telltale design of a Yithian slave ship.
We go in there, and we might not come out.
They are taking us to civilization. None would dare to sell, buy, or harm a Durn.
Illan grunted.I hope you are right, brother.He stepped inside under a stream of Yithian from an algri, his multiple limbs having taken on an unhealthy green hue.
