“Incoming!” Hauk warned.
Caillen saw the ships hovering right outside the door with their cannons locked on the shuttle. He charged the front shields and headed straight for their pursuers. “Give them everything you got, Desideria. And get ready to toss your shoes in too.”
Desideria laughed as if she was as thrilled with the prospect of a fight as he was. She and Hauk sprayed fire all through the bay and on top of the patrols coming in.
The ships tried to block their exit for several heartbeats before they realized just how suicidal Caillen really was. He’d slam into them before he’d yield. In a game of header, he refused to blink or swerve.
Fuck them. If he was going to die, so were they.
Just as he would have hit them, they veered off sharply, out of the way.
Laughing from his adrenaline rush, he flew out and up at such a climb that a lesser pilot would have lost consciousness.
Hauk groaned in his ear as Fain adjusted their fuel levels to give the engines the juice they needed to surpass escape velocity. But it wasn’t that easy. The fighters turned to give chase, shooting cannons the whole way after them.
Oh to have his ship or anything that was more maneuverable than this crate. At least that was his thought until he took notice of Desideria’s competence.
Damn to have had her as his partner all these years instead of Kasen who’d be screaming by now that they were going to die. Not a peep came out of little Qill as she reloaded and laid down more fire.
Fain shot a vid to his lower left quadrant for him to see. “Cruiser moving in on port aft.”
“Got it.” Caillen dropped low and spun out of the line of fire.
“Tractor beam pulse,” Fain warned.
He sent a fierce glare at Fain. “You going to give me play by play every time they twitch?”
“Want to make sure you don’t miss anything.”
He snorted at the Andarion. “Only thing missing here is my sanity.”
More ships came in for them. Caillen kept his eye on the scanners as he made numerous calculations in his head and on the con. He needed a few more minutes to get to a wormhole.
C’mon, baby, don’t fail me now…
Desideria backed off as she saw their cannons overheating. Designed to be a passenger transport, the shuttle didn’t want her using so much fire power and it was straining with her efforts. The guns were merely a precaution and not meant to defend for any longer than it would take for a backup patrol to come save them.
Oh to have that backup right now…
She leaned to the side so that she could check Hauk’s status in order to verify her dread. Unfortunately, she’d been right. Hauk’s cannon was already out of commission.
The Andarions were still coming after them.
She tapped the link in her ear. “Caillen, we’re in an overheat situation.”
“I need a couple of minutes.”
She squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Cringing, she exchanged a concerned look with Hauk. “We don’t have a couple of minutes, dearest.”
“Then you better start kicking off those shoes, sweetling.”
He wasn’t funny in the least. Especially as she watched the Andarions gathering a force that stunned her. But it was the one fighter that concerned her most…
One she’d hoped to not see again.
“Our assassin’s back and he looks determined.”
“I’m on it.”
Desideria held her breath as they dropped low and spun away from their pursuers. Even the assassin.
Hauk tapped her shoulder and pointed to a dark cloud they were headed toward. “Wormhole.”
Relief poured through her. If they could make it to that, then it would propel them out of the sector and leave them a ghost to the Andarions and assassin. There would be no way for them to track them at all.
Just a little ways to it…
Almost.
There.
Holding her breath, she wished she could get out and push. But all she could do was imagine herself there with everything she had.
Caillen let out a whoop as they approached it.
Just as she thought they were safe, a net shot out in front of them, cutting them off. The force of impact brought them to an abrupt halt and sent her flying against the straps of her seat. The leather dug into her, bruising her hips and shoulders.
They were caught.
“Surrender!”
She didn’t need a translator for that word.
Worse, the assassin flew in and took advantage of their disabled craft to fire torpedoes at them. The Andarions opened fire on the assassin, but it was too late.
She saw the light bomb coming straight at them.
We’re dead…
Not even Caillen or his magic backpack could work a miracle great enough to save them now. Sucking her breath in, she waited for the fatal impact.
Caillen cursed in her ear. “No one move. We’re pulling a Nykyrian.”