Lev’nan grimaced. “Doubt I’ll have any volunteers after what happened to Dr. Behati. Guess I’ll be joining you.”
Soon, Colm found himself strapped into the marlin again, zooming out of the Drake.
Honor’s hands cruised over the controls, her face set. “We’ll get to the location, and the first priority will be to drop the deterrent system.”
Colm grunted. He knew Honor needed to do what she could to protect her team.
“Then we’ll land and—”
An alarm sounded. It was loud and strident. Honor went stiff.
“Drake, talk to me?”
“Honor.” Agent Abora’s harried voice. “A ship has appeared on scanners! It came out of nowhere.”
Honor looked over at her screen and swore. “Where the hell did they come from?”
“Travelers? Explorers?” They’d never had so many ships in Markarian space before.
“I don’t think so,” Honor said. “Ning, I need details. What kind of ship?”
“Hang on…it’s an old model Zoorian starfreighter. But Honor, it’s got all kinds of illegal modifications. They’re lighting up my screen. There are a lot.”
Honor cursed again.
“What?” Colm hated being in the dark in a situation like this.
She looked his way. “That kind of ship. Those kind of mods. It’s likely space pirates.”
Markaria had its share of brigands. He knew pirates were not a good thing. “They know about the wreck…the treasure.”
Honor looked furious. “Yes, I suspect they do. Nik kept the news contained, but my guess is that we have a leak. We have to assume the pirates know.”
“What do we do?”
“Outrun them. Get back to the Drake, and then get the Magellan here. It’s the only thing that has the firepower to take the ship on.”
She changed the marlin’s course and touched the screen. “Marlin Beta, return to the Drake. I repeat, return to the Drake.”
Out the window, Colm saw the second marlin just ahead of them. As they turned again, Colm got a perfect view of the pirate ship and cold dread filled his chest.
The central part of the ship looked like two large, vertical discs. Extending off it were huge spikes, giving it an intimidating look. It made Colm think of the garga animals from the Darken Wilds, with their wicked, poisonous spikes.
“God.” Honor changed course. “Drake, we need—”
A high-pitched squeal cut across the comms. She slammed her fist against the console.
Silence filled the cockpit.
“They’re jamming our comms. I can’t contact the Drake or the second marlin.”
Suddenly another alarm sounded. “Warning.” A cool, female voice filled the cockpit. “Weapons are locked on the ship. Warning.”
“Goddammit, no.” Honor threw the marlin into a dizzying series of turns. Colm felt his stomach dip and pitch.
There was a flare of light from the pirate ship. Before Colm could comprehend what was happening, the second marlin ahead of them exploded.
Colm froze. Derek Wu and Dr. Lev’nan. He heard Honor’s shocked cry.
“No.” She pressed a hand to the canopy.
There was nothing left but a smattering of debris.
Honor exploded into action. She threw their craft into crazy zigzags. The alarm still blared.
“Weapons are locked on your ship. Warning.”
The pirate ship fired again. A brilliant flash of blinding light.
Impact.
The marlin shuddered. A shower of sparks rained over them and alarms blared. Colm gripped the edge of his seat, his gut rolling.
He was helpless. There was nothing he could do help save himself and Honor.
The marlin rolled like a dying animal, plummeting toward the icy moon.
Honor tried to right the marlin. But sparks were erupting under her hands, screens were going dead. The ship’s controls were not responding.
The pirates’ missile had clipped their starboard side. The engines were failing and the marlin was rocketing towards the icy moon below.
God. Derek and Dr. Lev’nan were dead. Her stomach felt sick. She knew the pirates would attack the Drake next.
And Honor and Colm were going to crash.
Panic rose, closing her throat and leaving her chest tight. Colm’s life was in her hands.
“Honor.” A big hand closed over hers. She stared up into gold-brown eyes.
“You can do this. You are the most frighteningly competent woman I’ve ever met.”
“We’re going to crash, Colm.”
He shot her a small smile. He reached out and pushed her hair back behind her ear. “What do you need to do to stop us from crashing?”
She swallowed, absorbing his warrior calm. “I can’t stop us from crashing. I’ve lost too many controls. The only thing I can do is slow us down. It’s the only chance we have.”