Page 88 of Star Bringer
Ian heads straight for her. I stay close, even though he doesn’t need me for this. But I’ll be honest with myself: If I’m going to die, I’d prefer Ian to be within reach.
“Status report,” Ian demands.
Beckett casts him a blank look. “Do you mean you want to know what’s happening?”
Sometimes I think I could actually like her.
“That would be a status report.” When she still doesn’t say anything, Ian sighs. “Just tell me.”
“Like I said, we’re being attacked,” she deadpans.
“Seriously? That’s it?” He looks ready to explode.
But Beckett just seems baffled. “There’s nothing I can say that you can’t see for yourself.” She waves at one of the screens. And there it is. A ship directly in front of us.
“Do we know who she is?” I ask, straining to see any markings. Part of my royal training included memorizing every official insignia being used in the Senestris system. Fun times.
“No,” Beckett answers. “No markings and no name. Like we said before—could be anyone trying to kill us.”
A laser blast shoots out from the ship. Terror rips through me as I clutch Ian’s arm.
“Are you going to try to avoid that?” he asks Beckett in an impressively calm voice, considering I want to scream at her to do something.
“Don’t need to,” Beckett replies. She turns to look at us with a grin. “Just watch for a second.”
I want to, but I can’t. My eyes screw up, and I clutch Ian’s arm like he alone can stop me from being obliterated into space dust.
Then the ship is dropping again, fast and hard. At least this time Ian and I both manage to stay on our feet. When I open my eyes, the screen is filled with light. But then it disappears, and, somehow, we’re still here.
“What the fuck?” Ian demands.
Beckett grins. “I know. Amazing, right? She’s the most mind-boggling shipever. I think I might be in love.” She turns back to the console. “And here they come again.”
This time, I keep my eyes open. I see the blast leave the ship; then, when it’s about halfway to us, we just…drop. And the blast shoots off somewhere above our heads.
“So, you’re not doinganything?” Ian asks.
“Nothing.” As if to prove it, Beckett holds her hands up with a laugh.
“It took her a couple of shots to realize we were under attack,” Gage says. “So, if we could find a way to give her an advance warning, that would be great. Or maybe there’s some sort of monitoring system we can turn on. I’ll take a dig around when this is over.”
We drop again. This time, I didn’t even notice the blast.
“That is sort of cool,” Ian says, still sounding less than impressed. “But maybe we should get the hell out of here before whoever that is gets lucky.”
“Aw,” Beckett says. “Why do you always got to ruin my fun? But I suppose youarethe captain.”
She presses a couple of buttons and swirls her hand on the console in front of her, and we’re pulling a one-eighty. As soon as we’re facing away from the attacking ship, Beckett slams her hand down on the console and we shoot forward at a truly alarming speed.
I crash to the floor again, with Ian right beside me—which makes me feel a little better. I start to get up, but after a moment’s reflection I decide I’m better off where I am.
Even before Beckett screams, “Yee-haw! I fucking love this ship.”
Chapter 32
Beckett
This might be the first time I’ve ever admitted to loving anything in my entire life, but I truly love this ship.
