Collision Course (Class 5, #6)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

“Sazo. Dav. I’ve gotten free but my earpiece is broken and I’m transmitting from a hostile location. I might not be able to stay here long. Please look for me on one of the moons around the fourth planet from the sun. I’m fine, but I’m more than ready to come home.”

Dav got to his feet, unable to sit after hearing the recording Sazo had sent him.

Hostile location stood out to him. Rose was not safe. He had known that already, but hearing the words made him crazy.

He was alone in his office, and he was grateful he happened to be here when the message came in. He felt too much to be in company.

It was excruciating being so far—and just like that, he felt the pressure, if not ease, lessen.

He walked out of his office to the bridge and every member of his crew turned as he stepped inside.

“Did you hear it?” he asked.

They shook their heads.

He nodded to Borji and he played it, both the singing and the spoken message.

“We’re going there,” he said. “Set a course.”

No one so much as gave a sideways glance at the order. They turned to their tasks.

Jia Appal was on a break, but she came onto the bridge herself a moment later, with Nivan Cossi, the Bukarian representative from the United Council, hot on her heels. “The engines?”

“We’re going to fetch Rose,” Dav said. “She’s on a moon that orbits the fourth planet from the sun in this solar system.”

“Do you think they’ll follow us?” Nivan asked as they began to leave the Fisone’s ship behind them.

“I honestly don’t care,” Dav said. “They’ve ignored our last two hails.”

“They’re waiting for a message from their home planet, and that’s obviously been delayed with Sazo taking all the comms satellites around here offline.” Borji spoke up. “But as it happens, they’re hailing us now.”

“Put it up,” Dav said.

The big screen above Borji’s head flicked on, and Priyan leaned forward toward them from the bridge of the Havelan. “Where are you going?”

“We are going to fetch Rose,” Dav said.

There was a moment of silence. “You know her location?”

“We do.” He kept his voice curt. He could see on screen the Fisone ship was following them.

“How did you come by that information?” Priyan looked shocked.

“A signal from our other ship.” Dav could imagine Sazo’s sneer at being referred to as their other ship. “We don’t have access to your satellites anyway, so them being down doesn’t affect us.”

“The ship that left. You said it was going to transmit a signal for information.”

“They did that, too,” Dav said. “But they noticed a spot of absolute silence in the area around the fourth planet from your sun, and found Rose is being held on one of that planet’s moons.”

Priyan looked to the side, as if to speak to someone in her crew, and her hail winked out.

“Open it up,” Dav said to the bridge, and they suddenly leapt through space toward the gas giant Dav could see on the map Sazo had sent back, leaving the Fisone far behind them.

“What are you going to do when we get there?” Nivan Cossi asked.

“Whatever I have to,” Dav said. He looked over at her. “You disapprove?”

She hesitated. “I should offer caution, and say something about diplomacy, but they kidnapped Rose.” Nivan shook her head. “Whatever you have to do sounds right to me.”

Dav caught a few smiles around the bridge at their United Council representative’s fighting words, and relaxed a little.

He might have the most invested in Rose’s safe return, but everyone here wanted her back safe and well.

There were some angry Grih who didn’t like the idea of his and Rose’s child’s existence, but there were strange, angry people in every society. He wasn’t wrong to worry about what those people might do, but the extreme part of that group weren’t here on this ship, and that helped. A lot.