If the navigational computer was anything to go by – and who even really knew at this point anyway – they would be there in three days. They would be doing a reverse-jump, leaping effectively to a standstill in front of Dysnomia. It carried much risk. In the back of their minds, they knew of the not-insignificant chance that an RPT ship could catch them and gun them down. But it presented their best shot at slipping behind the lines.

  Given this information, everyone was, understandably, on edge. Shishone wasn’t speaking much, nor was Yarns. Yu and Allister conversed daily on the radio at the beginning of the voyage, but Allister had retreated inward as they neared Dysnomia, growing quiet and leaving Yu to find other ways to occupy her time. Thomas spent most of the voyage catching up with Allister, seemingly unfazed by all of their likely impending deaths. Maybe it was just a front, Allister thought, or maybe the man had gone numb to it all.

  She sat in the cockpit of the TGGS Mystic Sky idly staring into the space around them. It was as though it was unmoving, though she could tell it had based on the constellations she could barely make out in the sea of shining stars. She had to admit: it was beautiful out here.

  Isolating, yes. But inspiring all the same.

  Here they were, the farthest out any humans had ever been from their ancestral home, floating amongst an ocean of twinkling lights, headed to their assured demise, and all she could think about now was how fortunate she was. Fortune gifted her the graces to have been selected to come out all this way, and fate had it that her husband had too. She was blessed to be able to see such magnificence such as can only be seen when one strays too far from home for the first time. Her research, her abilities, her knowledge, both old and new, all gave her the chance to see the hazy orange-brown band of the Milky Way slice the sky in half with its glory.

  Even the gods would be jealous.

  She found that if she thought too much about the past few months, or about the coming days, her stomach churned like it was filled with spoilt milk. She wanted to cry, to scream, to run and to hide, but she knew there was no going back. The past, her home, her chances at a family, they were gone. There was only forward.

  She supposed that was what affected her the most.

  Her hopes were dashed, her dreams were dead. They could not return to normal. Her hopes for a family lay dead and buried.

  Thomas eyed her from the pilot’s seat, watching her for a moment.

  “What’re you thinking about,” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Family. The future.”

  “I understand.” He sat back in his chair and sighed. “What would you have named our little one?”

  A small smile appeared on her lips. “Riley.”

  “Another ‘R’ name,” Thomas said, smiling himself now. “That’s a beautiful name.”

  She shifted to face him. “Do you think we’ll get the chance at it again?”

  “I don’t know,” said Thomas. He frowned. “I wish I could say yes, love. But I don’t know.”

  Her gaze fell to her lap where she wrung her hands gently. “Are we going to die?”

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  “You’re not,” Thomas said, bumping his fist on her knee. “Not so long as I live.”

  “I said ‘we’, Thomas.”

  “We are not going to die,” he said. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  A pause passed between them. Allister settled deeper into the copilot’s seat and shifted a little, uncomfortable. “We’ll be there soon.”

  Thomas nodded. “We will be.”

  “What happens then?”

  He thought for a moment, scratching his beard. “Then, I suppose, we are going to have to claw our way to the Admin Tower. No doubt Xiao has the place locked down, especially with the commotion you guys caused on Weywot.”

  “How can we do it? We’re just two gunships, NRT at that. There’s no way we’re going to be able to get into the Admin Zone.”

  “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he reassured her. “Your friend, Shishone, he seems like a skilled pilot. And you know I am. If there were ever people to be driving us straight at a brick wall, it’d be us. At least there’s some hope.”

  “A brick wall,” she muttered. It certainly seemed that way.

  She looked to the right, where the Harbinger was keeping pace with them. They were fairly close together, maybe ten, twenty yards from each other, and she could barely make out what was going on in the cockpit. Shishone, Yu, and Yarns all sat at their stations, talking amongst each other.

  “Should we radio them?” she asked.

  Thomas shrugged. “Sure.”

  He flipped a switch and said over the speakers, “Harbinger, this is the Mystic Sky, copy?”

  Shishone looked over at them, and then, Allister could see him activating his radio. “Mystic Sky, this is Shishone. Read you loud and clear.”

  Thomas looked to Allister and nodded. She cleared her throat and said, “Corporal, just wanted to check in. We’re getting close to the reverse jump point, or whatever you call it. Are you three holding up alright?”

  “As well as we can be, I think,” Shishone said, looking to the others.

  Yarns said, “Nervous.”

  “I concur,” said Yu, waving at Allister. “Hi Allister. Are you two holding together well?”

  Allister waved back. “As well as we can, I guess. I’m pretty nervous too.”

  “Stay strong over there. I have the feeling this is all almost over.”

  Then, Shishone said, “Thomas, I’ve been wondering. How do you want to approach this? There’s going to be heavy military presence. There’s no way we’re just waltzing into the Admin Zone.”

  Thomas leaned on his fist and thought for a second. “We’re going to need to be swift. Maybe you can flank right, I’ll flank left. Pincer the Tower.”

  Yu spoke up. “If Shishone can land us on the pad at the top of the Tower, Yarns and I are going to try and get to the radio. Shishone’ll rejoin you in the air for support, and pick us up once we’ve sent a message to TerraGov and let the Belt know what is going on.”

  “And Xiao?” Allister asked.

  She could see Yu, and barely make out the discomfort on her face in the lit cockpit. “I’m going to try to find him too. Maybe he’ll listen to me.”

  “That’s probably really risky,” Shishone said. “I don’t think he’s the man you once knew.”

  “He isn’t,” she said. “But maybe that man is still somewhere inside of him. I have to try.”

  Thomas spoke now. “Then it’s a plan. I’ll provide air support while Shishone sets down. Then we’ll cover the Tower while you two do what needs to be done. Evac when you’re done. But then what?”

  “Then,” said Yu, “we go inward. To Pluto.”

  “Why Pluto?” Allister asked.

  “There’s a TerraGov base on Pluto. We can refuel there and make our way to the FOB orbiting Neptune. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s our best shot. We’ll need to get out of the Kuiper Belt as soon as we can. And besides, I want to make a stop on Charon.”

  Shishone shot her a look. “Why Charon?”

  “That’s where this ‘Manet Vivus’ is. It’s the last thing I can think of that might give us some answers as to how to stop all of this.”

  “Alright,” said Thomas. “The Tower, the radio, Xiao, then Charon. From there, Neptune, and we hope for the best.”

  “Sounds good,” Shishone said, rubbing his eyes. “Everyone should take some time to rest and prepare. We’ll arrive soon, and I get the feeling that there’s no undoing any of this, especially when we show up unwelcome.”

  Thomas nodded, saying, “Agreed. We need all the strength we can muster. Are you all good over there?”

  “We are,” said Yu.

  “Good. Mystic Sky, out.”

  “Safe flying,” said Shishone. Then, the line cut.

  Isolated once more, Thomas and Allister looked at each other, locking gazes. He could read the fear in her eyes, barely subdued, and she could see the concern in his.

  “I love you,” she said.

  He smiled, saying, “I love you too, my love.”

  In silence, they stared out of the glass before them as the two gunships glided onward through the starry night.