They remained aboard the Fauchard, not willing to venture back into the Syndicate’s bay. Commander Rooks brought them to a small lounge and told them to get comfortable.

Camellia rested on a blue couch. She laid end to end and let her hair fall over one side. Eva curled up in a chair, and Meladee propped herself sideways in the biggest, comfiest chair of all.

All these things belonged to Commander Rooks, and the Commander graciously allowed them to use them. She also agreed to help Iruedim.

Camellia was stunned and touched. Though, she knew the Commander did not do it for them alone. She heard whispers from Rooks’ active mind. At first, Camellia tried to block them, but then, she thought it couldn’t hurt. Rooks practically sent them along. So, Camellia caught abstract images of adventure, freedom, and altruism.

Rooks held an ideal view of Iruedim. Camellia did nothing to dissuade it. She surprised herself with her optimism. She thought they might just reach Rooks’ dream.

Soon, they would leave for Iruedim. Camellia looked out the window and saw stars. They speckled her view and were so unlike Iruedim’s sky, with its distant constellations and small, swirling galaxies. Camellia loved both, but she loved Iruedim’s sky just a little more.

Meladee shifted in her seat. She’d been sliding down the chair, melting to the floor. Meladee righted herself and stayed on her perch. She bobbed her foot over the arm and propped up her head. “Sneaky was the way to go. Who knew we’d find so many desperate men and women? I can’t believe that more than half of Rooks’ crew wants to come, and if others can get their families, we’ll have nearly all of them!”

“I agree.” Eva played with Meladee’s pack of cards. She dealt herself another game of freecell and began to acquire the aces.

“It would seem there are a lot of dissatisfied people...in any world.” Camellia sat up.

She’d already thought about their good fortune. Now, she looked ahead to their return to Iruedim. I wonder if I’ll see him again.

Of course you will, she answered herself. He’s the head of the AAH.

Camellia wondered if Adalhard had done anything about Ah’nee’thit. They had been gone almost two months, or was it three? That should be long enough for even the AAH to send someone to see the creature. She wanted Adalhard to do it. He would see Ah’nee’thit. Then, he would understand her actions.

But, maybe, he pawned the work off to someone else, seized what’s left of his possibly limited time, found a girl, and is married now. Camellia imagined their meeting. Adalhard with a pretty wife in tow, and she with...nothing. No, actually, I would have my disgusting, shredded heart. In her fantasy, Camellia saw herself, with wide-crazy eyes, presenting her wrecked heart to Adalhard. Only a vampire would appreciate that.

Meladee cleared her throat. “I know this is one of your dark, broody moments where you torture yourself and think about everything wrong in your life, but may I interrupt?”

Camellia started and looked at Meladee. “I’m sorry?” How did Meladee read her so well?

Meladee swung her feet to the floor and sat straight. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t really bother me. I still love ya.” Meladee pointed at Eva. “We love her, and she’s the most statuesque person we know.”

Eva responded by going stiff.

Meladee smirked. “Hell, I think you guys even love me, and I’m a master bridge burner. I don’t keep friends for the long haul.” Meladee looked at Camellia. “Listen, you don’t have to think about that bad stuff right now.”

Camellia smiled slightly. “You’re very personable, Meladee. I find it hard to believe you ‘burn bridges.’”

“Indeed, exactly who have you left behind?” Eva asked.

“Those crazy Agaric Healers. The entire crew of the Rime Breaker, my village, my family.” Meladee ticked each group off on her fingers. “Granted, burning that Agaric bridge was the right move. Too bad I did such a bad job of it.”

“You have behaved loyally to us,” Eva said.

“It’s still early.” Meladee put her elbows on her knees.

Camellia studied Meladee’s expression and thought it seemed uncharacteristically sombre. “Meladee, you can’t burn your bridge to me. I’ll always answer your letters. I’ll always open my door to you. Even if you think I won’t. Or, you haven’t spoken to me in years.”

Eva chimed in, “If I can get a suitable door out of the creature’s flesh, you will always be welcome behind it. Whether there is anything beyond that door remains to be seen.”

Meladee looked between Eva and Camellia. She fought teary eyes and changed the subject, “Hey, you get to see Adalhard again.”

Camellia stuttered, forming no real sentence amid the consonants.

Eva drummed her fingers. “Of course, Adalhard. The leader of the AAH.”

“Yes, and Camellia is madly in love with him.”

Eva nodded as if to say I see why.

“I don’t know if I want to see him again,” Camellia said in a small voice. “What if...he’s married?”

Meladee gave Camellia a pointed stare, one that screamed, You’re crazy. “Why would he be married? It’s been like two months.”

“How fast do Groazans get married?” Eva asked.

“I don’t know,” Camellia answered, worried that Adalhard would set a record.

Meladee raised her eyebrows. “You’re an anthropologist, and you don’t know when your own people get married? Eva, Groazans take forever to get married – between two and three years.”

“So, fast?” Eva asked.

“What if he’s been seeing someone, and it’s already been two years?” Camellia stared into space as she finally voiced her concerns. The act brought a mixture of relief and anxiety. “What if he seized his last days on Iruedim and found someone to be with in the face of Ah’nee’thit and impending doom?”

Meladee leaned close. “Okay, we both know that man is seeing no one. Remember when we were in his office?”

Camellia nodded. Of course, how could she forget Adalhard’s office?

“While everyone was talking about how I ruined Ah’nee’thit’s lawn, I snooped a bit. The man had a fair amount of pictures, but no women – at least none his age.” Meladee shook her head. “It was all travel photos and a few animals, and some coworkers.”

Camellia knew Meladee was right. Camellia would know if Adalhard had seen someone for the past two years. He wouldn’t leave her flowers if he had some other woman to answer to. He wasn’t Cernunnos.

Camellia said, “But, he may have made a choice...based on the new information we gave him.”

Again, Meladee shook her head. “No one is thinking about marriage and family the month after they discover Ah’nee’thit. Who would want to subject their descendants to that thing?”

Eva nodded. “Camellia, these worries are unfounded.”

Camellia bowed her head. Meladee and Eva said the things she wished she would say to herself.

“Now, did he visit a prostitute...maybe,” Meladee conceded. “But…”

The door opened, and Benham interrupted their conversation. He frowned and, with downcast eyes, gave them the news. “The Syndicate wants to see you.”

Camellia almost asked Benham to repeat himself, but the message was clear: the Syndicate was not done with them.

“Uh Oh.” Meladee got to her feet.

“Maybe,” Benham agreed. “Come on.” Benham bekoned.

He led the women to Commander Rooks’ office. Sten and Alim waited there as well.

Rooks stood at her desk’s corner. “The Syndicate just requested that I delay our departure another week, and they want to speak to our Iruedian friends.”

“Did they say why?” Eva asked.

Rooks shook her head. “No, but I know the Syndicate hasn’t changed their verdict regarding Iruedim’s aid. To make matters worse, an official Finial ship arrived. Luckily, not a navy vessel, but it was a government ship. Still not good.” Commander Rooks sighed. “Unfortunately, we can’t say you’ve left because they know you plan to leave with the Fauchard.”

“Shit,” Meladee whispered.

Rooks ignored Meladee’s swear because it was in Tagtrumian, but the Commander seemed to catch the gist. Rooks continued, “I’ve considered running, but it would be best if we don’t.”

Meladee swallowed. “Is everything ready to go? I mean, I think we should run.”

“The good news is that I could get us away within the hour. We’d have enough supplies and crew, but we won’t be able to gather crew families. So, we’d have to drop our unwilling members and leave with a smaller colony.” Rooks shrugged. “We might be willing to do that, but we also stand a chance to lose the Cleydef – that’s Ah’nee’thit’s ride off Iruedim.”

“We need that,” Eva breathed.

“Yes, but remember – it’s just a chance. More than likely, we can get the ship.” Rooks rounded her desk and headed for the door. “Considering current deployment, we’re the closest ship at the moment. No one can reach the Cleydef before us. I also have some idea where to get another ship like it. As long as you can get me your address, we can get to Iruedim. Let’s just keep you out of the Finial’s custody.”

“Out of custody?” Meladee wore a look of horror. “Damn, if that’s going to happen, we should hide out here. Just say we have the stomach flu. No one will want to come near us.”

Sten shook his head. “I’m afraid, you’ll have to see them. They may just want to talk. And, we need another hour or so before we can disappear.” Sten headed for the door as well.

“Let’s get it over with,” Eva said, stone faced.

Camellia knew everything fell too easily into place. They would not get their aid, and she would not get back to Adalhard, without some significant pain.

Spokesperson Chardon gestured to each Finial representative. “Graham Tymer, Sarin Ma-an, and Anil Udan.” He pivoted on his reptilian legs and gestured next to the Iruedians. “These are Camellia Zaris, Meladee Arai, and Evangeline Dyelan.”

Camellia observed the representatives. All three towered over the women. Tymer was a humanoid man, six feet tall, red-haired, and green-eyed. Camellia could distinguish no alien features on his person. Ma-an was also six feet tall; her seafoam skin and long tendriled hair marked her as a Gelean. Udan was an avian male, standing near seven feet.

“We understand you requested help from the Syndicate for Sentient Aid,” Ma-an sai.

“Yes, we thought they might be able to help,” Camellia answered, quietly.

“Unfortunately, we can’t allow the Syndicate to render aid to those outside the Finial. If you were to join the Finial, we could make an exception, but we need to draw the line somewhere with our generosity.” Ma-an made it all sound so reasonable.

Camellia experienced a moment of self-doubt. “We understand.”

“Frankly, your reluctance to involve Iruedim’s government is suspicious,” Tymer added. “We have concerns that you have no authority on Iruedim and, thus, should not bargain for aid.”

“You are absolutely right.” Eva stepped in. “And, we have been rebuked for our actions. For what purpose did you want to see us? To rebuke us again?”

Camellia felt that was the wrong thing to say. She opened her mouth to correct Eva, hoping to convince the representatives that she and her companions planned to speak to Iruedim’s government in a few short weeks.

Tymer sighed. “I can’t say this delicately. There is some concern that your claims about Iruedim are false. That Iruedim does not exist or if it does, it is a pirate organization.” Tymer pointed at the three women. “And, you are the attractive lures for the trap. You beg for help and attack the ships that come to your aid. Would we find Iruedim on the outer edge of the Finial? Or is Iruedim on the other side of Girandola? In enemy territory?”

Camellia gaped. She looked at Meladee and found her friend’s eyes narrowed in anger. Eva remained stone-faced.

Camellia looked to their Girandolan allies. Sten and Alim both stood in shock. Rooks seemed indignant about the accusation, but it was Benham who wore the most anger.

He tightened his hands into fists. “Iruedim is real, really in need of help, and they are not the lures for a trap. They brought a sample of the creature and had it analyzed.”

“I can attest to that,” Alim added.

“Yes, yes,” Udan said. He dismissed Benham and Alim with a practiced gesture. He addressed Camellia. “These two – Benham Martin and Alim Tomain – may be party to your plan. To lend credibility to the ruse. Martin has spotty background records, and Tomain may have created fraudulent xenobiology reports.”

Alim’s mouth fell open. “I would never…”

Udan turned avian eyes to Alim. “You work with Dr. Sigmure. I’m sure you know how many financial penalties he’s suffered, both professionally and personally.”

Alim stiffened and shook his head. “I don’t know anything about that. But, the sample we studied was genuine. It’s dead now, but Doctor Sigmure kept it at Parma University. You can go and have it examined yourself.”

Udan made a face, but Camellia couldn’t quite read it.

He focused on Benham and continued, “And what about you?”

Benham’s eyes narrowed. “I’m a travel guide. I have many clients who would vouch for me.”

“We’ll check both your stories.” Ma-an gestured for calm. “For now, I want to address our other concern, regarding travel home for the Iruedians. Commander Rooks, am I to understand that you will ferry them and their ship back to their planet?”

“Yes, that’s the agreement.” Rooks nodded once. “They’re going our way.”

“We can’t have you do that,” Ma-an said, with a shake of her head.

“No? Why not?” Rooks asked.

“You may be traveling into a trap.” Ma-an held up a hand. “Alternatively, we have considered that you and Sten…” Ma-an nodded at the synthetic man. “May be participating in some kind of deal with Iruedim.”

Camellia experienced a rush of shock. It was true. Sten and Rooks had made a deal with Iruedim. But, how could the Finial know? They protected themselves from bugs, and Sten and Rooks shouldn’t be under suspicion, like Benham and Alim. At least, not as much.

“A deal?” Sten asked.

Udan nodded. His beak went up and down. “Yes, a deal for weapons. If this creature is real, it would be a powerful weapon, and both you and Commander Rooks have blemishes on your records. Sten, you’ve participated in instances of unsanctioned aid.”

“I merely allowed a few extra supplies…”

“Extra supplies that were not agreed upon by the Syndicate,” Udan interrupted. “And, that’s not all Sten. We both know it.” Udan turned to Rooks. “Commander, come check-in, your ships are not always were they should be. And, you have a recent disciplinary action against you.”

Rooks stood tall. “That action regarded a misunderstanding and is now a year old. As for check-in...my ships aren’t always in the designated locations, but that describes half of the ships in the fleet. I’ve always performed my duties on time and often before deadlines. My service record will show how satisfied my superiors are with me.”

“Except for the incident…” Udan turned one wing…palm up?

“Yes,” Rooks grumbled. “Except for that misunderstanding.”

Udan said, “The fact remains that it is within both your characters to engage in secret arrangements.”

Camellia couldn’t argue with that. Apparently, Sten and Rooks did have a streak of secrecy in their characters. Though, they would have no need for secrecy if the Finial didn’t restrict so much of its citizens’ daily lives. Camellia wanted to say the words, but she kept silent.

Ma-an put a hand on Udan’s shoulder. “Please, everyone, remain calm. We can sort this out. We simply need to check everyone’s stories.” Ma-an regarded everyone with apologetic eyes. “For that, we’ll need to detain you. We need to examine both the Halfmoon and the Mountaineer as well as the specimen. We want to see Tomain and Martin’s records and review Sten and Rooks’ histories.” Ma-an paused. In turn, she met Eva, Meladee, and Camellia’s eyes. “Finally, we will need Iruedim’s location to ensure it’s not a pirate haven.”

Camellia and Meladee exchanged a fearful glance.

Ma-an caught it and added, “If there is no such place, it would be better to come clean now.”

“It’s not that.” Camellia’s heart raced. “We’re afraid you’ll invade Iruedim.”

“I promise you that will not happen.”

“If you want to examine a sample of the creature,” Eva piped up. “I have a living one on Halfmoon. Allow me and my companions to retrieve it from our ship. Halfmoon is in the Syndicate docking bay, just a short walk.”

At this news, Camellia started. She didn’t know Eva had more of the creature. Could this problem be solved so simply? No, they would still have to run. Their friends were in trouble, and they had to face accusations of piracy and a weapons deal.

“Really?” Ma-an asked. With a silent glance, she conferred with the other representatives. Then, she waved the Iruedians on. “Arlight. Retrieve the sample and return here. Docking Bay workers will be alerted of your errand, and if you behave suspiciously, they will alert the planetary police force.”

Eva nodded.

Meladee relaxed. “Thank god, Eva.”

Camellia sighed. “Yes, the creature flesh will help a great deal.”

“Benham? Alim?” Eva asked. “This sample is in a heavier box. I would appreciate if you could carry it for us. It’ll be awkward for three women to hold, but easy for two men.”

“Sure,” Benham agreed.

Alim nodded as well, still a little stiff.

Eva led her relieved companions out of the room, and Rooks and Sten watched them go.

Behind, Camellia heard a snippet of Rooks’ proposed retreat to her own ship. The Commander wanted to obtain some evidence in defense of her and Sten’s actions. Camellia never heard whether it was granted.

Once in the hall, Meladee said, “God, I can’t believe I’m thankful that we have more of that thing.”

“I know,” Camellia breathed. “I thank all of Iruedim’s gods daily for Eva. Once they see that thing, they’ll know our words are true. But, of course, we’ll still have to convince them there is no weapons deal.” Camellia wished they could just send the sample to the representatives and sneak away in their ship.

“I thought you gave me everything. I guess I should have known you held some in reserve,” Alim grumbled.

“Yes,” was all Eva said.

Camellia glanced sidelong at Eva. Suddenly, Camellia wondered where Eva kept this piece of creature flesh. She certainly hadn’t seen it.

They reached Halfmoon. Their ship sat beside Commander Rooks’ shuttle. Mountaineer remained onboard Fauchard. Eva keyed them inside their Lurrien ship, and everyone crowded up the ramp. Then, Eva closed the ramp behind them.

“Get to the cockpit. I’ll head to Engineering,” Eva ordered.

For a minute, everyone stared.

Camellia was the first to head to the ladder. Eva has nothing. Camellia didn’t look back, but she knew no one followed.

Eva spoke again. “I lied. I don’t have any more of that creature. We’re leaving.”

Meladee ran past Camellia and climbed the ladder. “Come on! Don’t plod along.”

Camellia scrambled after. As she climbed the ladder, she watched Benham and Alim follow. Eva took the freight elevator and headed up to Engineering.

“I thought something was up,” Benham hollered. “I knew you couldn’t have more of that freakish stuff. If you two hadn’t looked so relieved, they might have sent someone with us.”

Within the confines of the ladder, Meladee shouted back. “You heard them. If we step out of line, they’re going to sick the police on us. They didn’t send anyone, but they’re still watching.”

Meladee cleared the top deck. She ran out of sight, to her seat. A moment later, Camellia cleared the deck. She ran forward and found her copilot’s position. Benham arrived and took the weapons station. Alim stood behind Camellia.

“Will you be able to handle the co-piloting?” Alim asked.

“I think so. I just need to program our superliminal path.” Camellia pulled up a star map and got to work.

Meladee activated the com. “No pre-trip,” she warned. “So, I hope you can handle everything down there.” Meladee took her hand off the com and began takeoff.

“I’ll hold Halfmoon together, just avoid our pursuit.” Eva’s voice came from the speaker.

“There goes my ship, and my clothes,” Benham complained. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Me too.” Meladee hit the engines. “...but I usually grab my clothes. Get your priorities straight, man.” Meladee sped out of the open dock.

Halfmoon escaped into a blue sky, and Meladee aimed up, whizzing over Rasamal’s monorails and trams.

Meladee asked, “So, Fauchard is the only warship here, right?”

“Yes.” Benham keyed his controls. “We just have to watch for police ships. They’re small, but they have a lot of defense and weapons.” Benham growled. “Can someone…?”

Camellia looked behind her and saw Benham struggle with the weapons station. She whispered instructions to Alim, and Alim relayed those instructions to Benham.

Then, Camellia returned to her work on a superliminal path. She tried to focus, but her eyes strayed to the scanner. One, two, three, then six objects appeared.

“Police ships might be pursuing us.” Camellia switched her view to one of Halfmoon’s outer cameras. “Small, black and orange. Lots of lights.”

Benham blew out a long breath. “I see them. Wow, I hope you have good weapons, especially considering you don’t have a medical bay.” Benham tested the weapons and hit one of the police ships.

It sank back and prepared to land.

“Not bad,” Benham said. “Nice targeting.”

Alim hovered at Camellia’s side. “Eva never said…why is there no medical bay?”

“Oh.” Camellia input their starting point for the superliminal path, knowing she might have to adjust it by the end of the battle. As she worked, she satisfied Alim’s curiosity. “Before the Lurriens arrived on Iruedim, they faced constant threat of infection. Any kind of injury or sickness risked infected by the creature. I think they used to toss sick people out rather than treat them. One of the sealed exits specifically served that purpose.”

Alim put a hand on Camellia’s chair. She glanced back to find his knuckles clenched.

Benham continued to fire at the police ships. The ships fired back.

Camellia watched as their internal sensors registered a spell from Meladee. The sensors reported bursts of energy, and warnings flashed. Camellia silenced those warnings. Halfmoon didn’t know any better.

Benham’s voice came from behind. He sounded downright pleased. “Nothing hits us. And, I swear I’m hitting ships I never fired at. This ship really outclasses anything I’ve flown before.”

Meladee veered around a police ship. “It’s not the ship. That’s my ricochet spell. ‘Bout to wear off, so don’t get too comfortable with it. I might not have the chance to cast it again.”

Halfmoon shot out of the atmosphere, and Meladee headed towards Fauchard.

She called back, “I know we can’t dock, but I’m going to hide behind Rooks ship while we engage the superliminal drive.”

“Excellent job,” Eva called through their com. “We haven’t been hit once. I assume that was some kind of spell. Maybe, one you could put on the ship permanently?”

Meladee answered, “We can only have so many enchantments on the ship before the spells interfere with each other. Shit.”

Camellia sucked in her breath. “There are more police ships. Nearly fifty of them. All ahead of us. I’m going to work on our flight path.” Camellia scrambled to calculate Halfmoon’s superliminal escape.

“If we ever get to use that flight path, I’ll be surprised,” Benham said. “They probably want us alive, so they’ll try to disable the ship. Then, we can all go to prison for years of our lives while they sort out this whole pirate Iruedim thing.”

As the additional police ships headed off their escape, Meladee turned Halfmoon back towards the planet, zipping between the police ships in pursuit. She gained ground while the pursuing ships turned. The reinforcements navigated around the stalled comrades. Halfmoon’s ricochet protection wore off, and two shots hit the underside of their ship, scorching the hull.

“No serious damage yet,” Eva called.

“Why aren’t your shields on?” Benham asked.

“Our shields are rather limited at the moment,” Eva answered through her intercom.

“The police already disabled our shields?” Alim worried.

“No, they just stopped working two minutes ago. I’m trying to fix them.” Eva went quiet.

As Camellia traced a path away from Rasamal, she wondered why Halfmoon had to fall apart when they needed her most.

Eva unscrewed the shield panel and pulled it from the wall. Screws tinged across the deck.

Inside the panel, Eva searched for the problem. First, she found the shield’s power regulator, a crystalline tube. The tube pulsed with intermittent energy. Eva growled but didn’t fix it immediately. Next, she located the shield’s computer box. It sat calm and quiet and thankfully undamaged. Unfortunately, it was also idle, and Eva noticed a few lose connections. She reached inside and adjusted them. Now, the connections were tight, but it did no good. Eva would need to repair the power connection.

Eva reached for her welder. She jiggled the connection, careful not to get zapped, even though she could handle a big shock. As she adjusted the loose connection, she found a sweet spot, and the crystal glowed bright. The power connection was solid again – so long as Eva held it. She couldn’t stand still for the entire battle, so Eva reached inside and, with her welder, melted the misshapen connection, until it held the cylinder on its own.

Finally, Eva checked eight little bulbs. They were the indicators that signified solid pathways to the shield generators on the outside of the ship. Seven of the bulbs blazed with white light. The last remained dim.

Eva ran to the main engineering station. She navigated her computer screen to the shield display and found the defunct indicator. Without that generator, they could still create a shield, so Eva initiated a partial shield. But, she wouldn’t settle for that. She would try to fix the broken one as well. The computer informed her: Shield generator five – inactive – loose connection – panel 342 – Line S-5.

Eva keyed through the ship’s schematic and located panel 342. She snatched up her screwdriver and welder and ran to the panel. She found it somewhere in the middle of the deck and was grateful that shield generator five was the problem.

The first six generators could be reached from Engineering, as they ran along the edge of Halfmoon’s cookie shape. All the connections splayed outward from the shield panel, straight to their destinations. Generators seven and eight were on the top and bottom of Halfmoon. To reach their connections, Eva would probably have to leave the engineering deck as their lines ran both up and down.

Eva freed the panel. She flung it aside and heard the same ting ting ting as screws fled her wild repair process.

Within the panel, Eva found yellow, red, and orange labels. One of the yellows read S-5, and really, Eva couldn’t miss it. Whenever she shifted her weight, the line flapped around, clearly disconnected. Eva grabbed the wire and held it in place. This time the broken connection was not merely misshapen. It was half gone. Eva pulled a small piece of metal from her pocket and held it in place. The little metal band would replace the missing piece, which Eva saw floating around, unreachable, in the bottom of panel 342. Eva reached for her welder and held…a spanner.

What? I could have sworn I grabbed my welder.

Still holding the new bit of metal in place, Eva searched the floor for her welder. When she spotted it, she nearly groaned. The welder rested far out of reach. It had rolled inside a large panel that Eva had left open for service. Way in the back, the welder rocked behind a mess of wires.

I’d better use the spanner...and never tell meladee about this. Meladee must never know that it was within the realm of possibility for Eva to mistakenly grab the spanner. At least, I’m not floating in space as per her ridiculous scenario.

Eva used the spanner like a hammer, shaping the thin piece of metal around the connection. Eva craned her neck and peered into the shield panel. She saw that the fifth bulb glowed bright. Halfmoon would automatically incorporate the functioning generator into the shield. Now, she just had to secure everything.

Bang Bang Bang, went her spanner.

“Meladee, we need a shield spell,” Camellia called.

“Okay, fly us straight.” Meladee keyed piloting control over to Camellia and concentrated on her spell. She placed her hands on the controls, and a blue magic circle spread towards the hull of the ship.

Camellia, in the meantime, flew the ship straight. She continued down, towards the planet, as Meladee had pointed them in that direction. Meladee thought Camellia should tilt the controls up, but Camellia didn’t. Meladee forgave her. They were only flying straight for the planet’s surface. How could Camellia know that would kill them?

“Benham, I…” Camellia called.

Meladee took control back, and pulled the ship out of its dive. She twisted lower and lower, aiming for a passway under a monorail. “I’ve got it, and wait till you see what this shield spell does.” Meladee skimmed through the underpass, nicking a column. The grazed column sprouted ice, which blocked the underpass they’d taken. Three police ships crashed into it.

The remaining police ships ceased fire when they realized any shots that landed on Halfmoon froze into icicles and fell to the ground below. Three-foot icicles landed on sidewalks, and one crashed atop a tram, denting the roof.

Benham shot down two more police ships.

“Wonderful,” Camellia said. “Now, we only have about 75 chasing us.”

“75!” Alim shouted from his place on the floor. “I thought you said there were 50.”

“More of them showed up. They just keep coming. Now, there’s 102.” Camellia laughed.

Meladee laughed along with her unhinged friend.

“Fly into them,” Eva’s voice said. “We sustain no damage while this spell is in place. By the way, we do have rudimentary shields again.”

“I would love to freeze those fuckers.” Meladee turned the ship hard and flew back at their pursuers.

The police ships parted to make room, but Meladee zagged from side to side, tapping each one. She left awkward, frozen ships in her wake.

“Watch this trick,” she called to her friends, and Meladee bobbed up and down, grazing police ships above and below.

Benham laughed. “Wow. You’re obnoxious.”

Camellia said, “They’re turning away!”

Before Meladee could celebrate, a blue, green net appeared in the sky above. Meladee slowed Halfmoon and flew parallel to the planet. The net extended over the whole atmosphere.

“Since when has Rasamal had a net?” Alim asked.

Benham growled, “Since they started to have pirate problems. Maybe, they have a lot of escaping pirate traffic through the planet. I don’t know.”

“What’s this thing for?” Meladee shot a suspicious look at the blue light that held them within the planet’s reach.

“Trap net,” Benham said. “Some planets have them to prevent ships from escaping. They can also prevent ships from coming in, but that’s not really what they’re for. We’re trapped, unless we can find the machine or machines that make that net

“I’ll look for it,” Camellia said.

As Camellia scanned for the net’s origin, Meladee searched with her eyes. She thought she saw blue beams rising from the surface, on Rasamal’s horizon. She probably imagined it. No one would put a beacon on their top-secret pirate net.

Camellia sighed. “The net seems to come from a lot of places. The closest one is in that building, but all the police ships are headed there.”

Meladee looked at her digital map. She saw Camellia’s marker for the generator. Meladee looked through her windshield and located the real building. She turned Halfmoon in that direction.

A tall, domed tower filled her view, and police ships swarmed over it. No blue beam rose from the dome.

“So, do we have to destroy every machine? Or just one? Do you think we can make a hole in the net?” Meladee asked.

Benham hissed, “I don’t know. I’ve never seen one in person.”

“Yes, we’ll make a hole,” Alim said. “They wouldn’t have so many machines to generate the net if they didn’t need them.”

Meladee steered a wide arc around the dome, avoiding the swarm of police ships. “I’m flying circles. Find me another, preferably no police ships invited.” Meladee lapped the police ships and continued to circle.

The ships hovered around the building and its net machine, zipping in a tight formation, like a crazy, crowded amusement ride.

Meladee felt the ice spell fading from Halfmoon. The cool feeling beneath her hands and feet began to slip away. “And, we’re going to lose our icicle shield soon. Fuck, we never should have come back into the atmosphere.”

“That was my fault.” Camellia grew quiet as she watched her scanner.

Camellia had steered them down, but she didn’t really know how to fly. It was Meladee’s fault – maybe both.

“What’s going on?” Eva called.

Meladee imagined Eva’s baffled expression as she flew Halfmoon in circles. Eva hadn’t been listening, probably patching another damn hull leak. It wasn't a ride in Halfmoon without a hull leak.

“We’re trapped. Didn’t you hear?” Meladee called back.

“Alim. What is that?” Camellia asked.

“That’s a…”

Before, Alim could answer, a large beam shot through the net. It shattered a filament and hit the net generating machine. Police ships scattered; a few were damaged, and a hole opened up in the net. The blue filaments looked as if a fish had snapped them.

“That was from Fauchard.” Camellia’s voice sounded like a smile.

Meladee grinned and shot through the gap. “Looks like Commander Rooks and Sten are still in, and they got away. Nice. Hey, Camellia got that path for me?”

“Yes, I do. I’m sending it to Fauchard too. It’s not straight to Iruedim for obvious reasons, but we’ll get away.”

“Great, let’s go.”