The Akseli

Book 4: Aldebarian Alliance

by Dianne Duvall, Kirsten Potter

Genres: Alien Contact; Genetic Engineering; Space Marines

Synopsis

Simone has hunted and slain psychotic vampires for hundreds of years and desperately needs a change. When the leader of the Immortal Guardians offers her an opportunity to guard ten mortal women who are venturing to another planet, she dives right in and finds traveling into space just as exciting as she'd hoped . . . until an enemy attacks. Simone saves everyone she can before she's thrust into an escape pod and the ship explodes.



Despite his fierce reputation and propensity for violating the law, Janwar has formed a friendship with strait-laced Prince Taelon of Lasara. When the prince's ship is destroyed, Janwar joins the Aldebarian Alliance-wide search and rescue mission and soon locates the Gathendien ship that launched the attack. Much to his surprise, someone else has reached the ship first: one of the very Earth women he hoped to rescue.



Fascinatingly fierce, Simone bands together with Janwar and his crew to search for her missing friends. The friendship that grows between Janwar and Simone deepens into love. But the enemy warriors they face boast more weapons in their arsenal than the alliance knows. Can Janwar, Simone, and such a small crew vanquish them?



Contains mature themes.

Release date: October 11, 2022

Publisher: Dianne Duvall

Print pages: 401

Sample

PROLOGUE

SIMONE SWUNG HER TREASURED katana with smooth precision, cutting down one opponent after another. One imaginary opponent, that was. The small training room she occupied was empty, save for herself. But back on Earth, she’d battled enough psychotic vampires over the centuries—and enough heavily armed mercenaries in recent years—to create some vivid practice scenarios.

She paused.

Back on Earth.

Smiling, she shook her head. Most days, she still found it hard to grasp her new reality. The old adage that life was what happened while you were making other plans had never been more accurate. Not that she’d had much in the way of plans.

Her mortal life had been a harrowing one. Like her father, she had been born in fourteenth-century France with unique gifts she’d hidden so others wouldn’t think them demon issued and try to kill her. She’d then lost her whole family to the Black Death and had been ready to succumb herself when a vampire attacked her and infected her with a virus that had rendered her virtually immortal, bestowing upon her extraordinary speed, strength, and regenerative capabilities coupled with photosensitivity and a frequent need for blood transfusions. A virus that caused progressive brain damage in ordinary humans and swiftly drove them insane.

Fortunately, the advanced DNA that lent her empathic and telepathic abilities also protected her from the progressive brain damage the virus caused in ordinary humans. So she’d spent the next six centuries hunting and slaying psychotic vampires every night with her immortal brethren to protect humanity.

Simone hadn’t learned until recently that aliens called Gathendiens had created the vampiric virus in a lab, then released it on Earth to eradicate humanity so those reptilian bastards could claim the planet and its resources for themselves. Had Immortal Guardians like herself not banded together under the leadership of Seth—the eldest and most powerful amongst them—to keep the vampire population in check, Gathendiens would’ve succeeded.

She smiled, thinking of Seth. Five months ago, the monotony of doing the same-old-same-old night after night had been weighing heavily on her when Seth had placed Simone in a room with four other Immortal Guardians and ten gifted ones (all female) and stunned the hell out of them by announcing that the petite redhead he loved like a daughter was an extraterrestrial from the planet Lasara. An extra… terrestrial.

Even more astonishing, he had revealed his intention to form an alliance with the more advanced Lasaran people and asked if she and the others would be interested in traveling to Lasara and seeking a new home there as part of a trial.

Um… hell, yes. Simone hadn’t even had to deliberate.

She glanced at the training room around her. Though it loosely resembled those often found in Immortal Guardians’ homes, it couldn’t be more different. This one was aboard an enormous Lasaran warship that currently hurtled through space at mind-blowing speeds, carrying her across the galaxy. A computer panel that doled out refreshments to thirsty warriors in response to verbal commands adorned one wall. And—

The door abruptly slid up.

As Simone glanced toward it, a small silver globe zipped into the room like a floating tennis ball. The door slid down, shutting her inside with it. Her eyes widened.

A Bex-7 stun grenade? “Merde!”

She swung her sword.

Bright white light filled the room, blinding her. Her body froze mid-swing, muscles locking as electricity crackled through her, making her brain feel like it was boiling inside a cauldron.

Pain seared her for several interminable seconds. Then the light dimmed, the energy surging through her ceased, and Simone toppled to the floor like a fallen statue. Her hand clenched convulsively around the katana’s handle.

The door rose, allowing a hulking male to enter. He must have been at least six and a half feet tall to her five feet five and packed a ton of muscle. His skin tone labeled him a Yona warrior. Tan with a hint of gray, it almost looked as if someone had used photo editing software to desaturate his image. Dark brown, formfitting pants and a matching shirt with a leathery texture hugged his big body. A lightweight vest that served as astoundingly efficient body armor protected his chest and back. Multiple weapons—advanced firearms of various sizes and numerous blades—adorned the rest of him.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Simone stared up at him as he moved to stand over her. He wore his jet-black hair shorn close to his head. The dark pupils and gray irises in his emotionless eyes were larger than a human’s, almost eclipsing all of the white as he studied her.

“M-merde,” she said again.

His face remained an expressionless mask, not that she expected otherwise. Yona warriors were incapable of feeling emotion.

With preternatural speed, she swung a leg and swept his feet out from under him. In the second it took him to hit the floor, she lunged up onto her knees, filched one of his daggers, and drove it down toward his chest, stopping an inch away from making contact.

No fear filled his features. Neither did chagrin or dismay. “The Bex-7s do not affect you,” he said stoically. “Feigning injury was a wise strategy.”

Smiling, Simone backed off a bit and drew his attention to how vigorously the hand holding the dagger shook. “Oh, it affects me.” When she rose stiffly to her feet, she felt every bit her age. “That hurt like a bitch,” she groaned, arching her back. “But now I know I can still function if a Gathendien ever hurls one at me. Thank you, Valok.”

The Yona warrior issued an abrupt nod as he rose. “Your argument for wanting to test one on yourself was a compelling one.” That argument being that a good warrior prepared for any eventuality.

While the Lasarans were a peaceful people with many friends in the Aldebarian Alliance, there were untrustworthy and warlike aliens. Understanding the weapons those unsavory characters might employ made sense. Unfortunately, her many attempts to coax a Lasaran into hitting her with a Bex-7 so she would know whether or not it would incapacitate her the way it would a mortal had met with refusal. All had been too worried they might hurt her.

The Yona, however, didn’t feel emotion. They weren’t plagued by worry and would feel no guilt after the fact. They knew only duty and logic. So when she’d cornered Valok and asked him to hit her with a Bex-7, he had viewed it purely from the standpoint of a warrior determined to win all future battles.

She smiled as her body swiftly shook off the effects of the stun grenade. “You get bonus points for catching me off guard.”

He tilted his head to one side as though trying to discern her meaning. “Bonus points?” The translator chips implanted in Lasaran and Yona brains didn’t always translate Earth slang correctly.

Simone lacked one of the fascinating translator chips. When she had transformed, the vampiric virus had basically destroyed her immune system, then taken its place like a symbiotic organism. And the damn thing had viewed the translator chip the Lasarans tried to implant in her head as shrapnel and pushed it right back out again.

Talk about pain.

As a result, she had to wear a translator that fit in her ear like an earbud instead.

“That just means you did extra well by catching me off guard instead of giving me a warning.”

“Ah.” He motioned to the control panel on the wall. “If you still feel the effects, nutrient water will help.”

“Good to know. Thank you.” She crossed to the panel and pressed a button. “Two nutrient waters, please.”

A hum sounded, then the panel slid aside to reveal two full bottles.

Simone grabbed them both and held one out to Valok. “Join me?”

He took the bottle and held it without drinking while he watched her sit on the bench that lined one wall. “For what purpose?”

She shrugged. “So I can pester you with more questions.”

He sat beside her, his posture rigidly correct.

“I don’t suppose I could talk you into shooting me with a troniumblaster, could I?” She downed several swallows of water.

“Such a wound would draw notice and land me in the brig. I cannot perform my duties adequately while imprisoned.”

And duty was everything to the Yona.

She supposed she could understand that. What else was there when you had neither wants nor desires?

Simone watched him empty his bottle in a few strong swallows. “What’s it like?” she couldn’t resist asking when he finished.

“Getting shot with a blaster?” He set the bottle aside. “It is painful.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, I guessed that much. I meant, what’s it like not to feel any emotion?” The concept was one she couldn’t grasp. As an empath, she had not only dealt with herfeelings all her life. The emotions of others had also bombarded her.

“I have nothing to which I can compare it,” he stated.

When she had first encountered Yona warriors, she had thought them some kind of highly advanced robots. They were that emotionless. “Do you… regret not being able to feel emotion?” she asked softly.

He shook his head. “Regret is an emotion. Emotion is a weakness. Soldiers cannot adequately perform their duties when hampered by weakness.” He said it like a student reciting something a teacher had drilled into him over and over again.

Which had probably been the case.

“You have no curiosity? No desire to know what emotion feels like?”

“Emotion is a—”

“Weakness. Right. But that’s not necessarily true. On Earth, there have been instances in which emotion gave ordinary humans extraordinary strength and enabled them to do things they otherwise would not have been able to… like a father single-handedly lifting a car to free his son who had been hit and was trapped beneath it.” Not that he knew what a car was. “That would be the equivalent of Prince Taelon lifting one of those sleek black fighter craft I saw in the hangers if it had landed on Abby.”

Valok turned his head to scrutinize her. “Truly?”

“Yes. Love. Fear. A thirst for vengeance.” She smiled wryly. “Strong emotion can empower and drive you to do things you normally would not be capable of.”

For just an instant, she saw a flicker of something in his eyes, there and gone so quickly she couldn’t identify it.

She held out her hand. “Would you like to experience emotion?”

His gaze lowered to her hand, then returned to her face. “I am incapable of feeling emotion.”

“Not necessarily. I’m an empath. I don’t just feel other people’s emotions. I can also alter them, imbuing them with any emotion I choose.” Granted, she felt absolutely nothing when she was around the Yona. They truly did seem to be emotionless beings. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t give him a taste of her own. Or try to, anyway. “If nothing else, it might help you understand what motivates your non-Yona opponents.”

The last argument swayed him.

Valok rested his large, grayish hand atop hers.

Simone curled her fingers around his and debated what emotion she should start with.

It might be best to start with the positive and work her way back to the negative.

She thought of her friends here on the Kandovar. A smile curled her lips as warmth and affection flowed through her. She loved them all like sisters and was so glad she could share this adventure with them.

Valok’s eyes widened.

“You feel it?”

His lips parted. Within his muscled chest, his heart began to thump a little faster. “Yes. What is it?”

“Affection. When you love someone, nothing can make you leave them behind in battle. You will fight to the death for them.” Next, she thought of a practical joke Eliana had played on Ava the previous day. Amusement bubbled up inside her.

The corners of Valok’s eyes crinkled as his lips turned up in a smile. A rusty rumble burst forth from his mouth. His eyes widened even more as his fingers clamped down on hers. “What was that? I’ve never made that sound before.”

She chuckled. “That was a laugh. It happens when you’re amused or sometimes when you just feel happy.” He must have heard Lasarans laugh many times in the past but hadn’t recognized the sound when he made it himself.

An alarm began to blare, piercing her sensitive ears and startling her so much that her feet nearly flew up. “What the hell is that?” she called over it.

Valok leapt to his feet. “The ship’s alarm.”

Simone rose. “Is this a drill?”

“All crew members to battle stations,” a male called over the ship-wide speakers. “Repeat—all crew members to battle stations. We are under attack.”

Valok headed for the door. “It is not a drill.”

Simone followed him out of the training room. At one end of the corridor, bodies began to pour out of the larger, gym-sized training room like fans leaving a football stadium at the end of a game.

Valok turned the opposite way and took off jogging.

Simone accompanied him, her preternatural strength and speed enabling her to keep up with his longer strides without effort. “What’s happening? Who’s attacking us?”

He tapped his ear. “Valok reporting. What are my orders?”

Several booms echoed through the hallways as the ship shook.

Lasarans jogged past, seeming to know exactly where to go and what to do, while Simone floundered in uncertainty. This was a massive warship! Who the hell would attack it?

“Affirmative. On my way.” Valok turned a corner and headed toward the rear of the large ship.

“Where are you going?”

“Lasarans are launching their fighter craft. I will pilot one and join the fray.”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

She staggered as the floor shook beneath her feet. “Fight who? Who’s attacking us?”

“Gathendiens.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she blurted as fury suffused her. Gathendiens had tried to commit genocide on Earth and Lasara. Now those bastards were trying to shoot them out of the sky? Or out of space? Or the wormhole or whatever?

“That did not translate,” he replied, evincing none of the fear, anger, or determination she saw on the faces of everyone else who raced around.

“Why are Gathendiens attacking us?”

“Unknown.”

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

“We’re still in the wormhole or qhov’rum thing. How is there even enough room to attack?” She still wasn’t sure how the qhov’rum worked but thought it was like being in a long narrow tube that shot you forward at incredible speeds.

“The qhov’rum leaves little room to maneuver. You should get your people to the escape pods.”

She nearly tripped over her own feet, hearing that. “Is it that bad?”

“Yes.”

Simone instantly halted and reversed course. “Be safe!” she called after him and raced toward the quarters Prince Taelon had allotted to the Earthling contingent. The walls around her blurred as she put on a burst of preternatural speed.

Halfway to her destination, she passed a fellow Immortal Guardian speeding in the opposite direction.

Skidding to a halt, Simone backtracked and stopped before a bank of escape pods. Ava and Natalie, two gifted ones from Earth, had already entered single-occupant pods. Eliana, an Immortal Guardian who was a few inches shorter than Simone, had two more gifted ones—Mia and Michelle—draped over her shoulder.

“Where are the other gifted ones?” Simone asked as Eliana deposited the two women on their feet. Both looked terrified.

“Their quarters,” Eliana said. “I’ll go get them. Help these get settled in the pods.” She left so quickly that she appeared to vanish into thin air.

Simone ducked into Ava’s escape pod and swiftly helped her secure her go bag.

Out in the hallway, Eliana returned with Sam and Emily, then darted away again.

Simone strapped Ava into the pod’s only seat and tugged at the harness. “All set?”

Ava nodded, face pale, her fear palpable.

Patting her shoulder, Simone left to help Natalie.

The ship’s alarm continued to blare as one explosion after another rocked the ship.

“Shield integrity compromised,” the ship’s computer announced in a pleasant female voice as Simone moved on to help Mia. “Shields at seventy-nine percent.”

“Oh shit,” Mia whispered.

The scent of smoke reached them.

Simone struggled to appear calm for her friends’ sake but felt as panicked as the others looked.

Dani, one of the other Immortal Guardians, arrived with Allison and Charlie over her shoulders as Simone left Mia’s pod. Rachel followed with Liz and Madeline.

Michaela—the fifth Immortal Guardian—skidded to a halt beside them, conducted a quick headcount, then zipped away again.

More booms rocked the ship as Simone, Dani, and Rachel secured everyone else in pods.

Eliana and Michaela zipped past regularly, conveying Lasarans to other escape pods.

Once the gifted ones were settled, Simone closed the hatches. “I’m going to help Eliana and Michaela evacuate the Lasarans.”

Rachel nodded. “We will, too.”

“Be safe!” Dani called before they each sped away in a different direction.

“Shields at fifty-four percent,” the computer announced in the same pleasant female voice.

Merde!

More booms thundered through the ship.

Simone skidded to a halt before two Lasaran women who wore maintenance uniforms. “Are you headed for the escape pods?”

Both nodded, eyes wide.

Simone bent, tossed them over her shoulders, and got them to the pods within seconds.

“Thank you!” one called after her as she sped away.

“Shields at fifty-four percent,” the computer announced in the same pleasant female voice.

Heart pounding in her chest, Simone sped up and down the corridors, helping every man and woman she came across get to a pod. None of the Yona she encountered intended to seek refuge in an escape pod. Each seemed determined to fight to the end… or, she feared, to the death. Because Simone didn’t know how many more hits this ship could take. The pungent scent of smoke seemed to intensify with every breath she took.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.

Faces grim, her fellow immortals worked their asses off to get as many people into pods as she did. And their work soon began to pay off. The number of Lasarans Simone encountered rapidly dwindled, leaving only the Yona guards and the Lasaran soldiers.

None of them would leave voluntarily, but maybe she could help them in another way.

Thinking of Valok, Simone raced toward the closest fighter craft hanger.

The big bay door was open, allowing one after another of the sleek black Lasaran fighter craft to rocket out. Simone stopped short and stared. Beyond the bay’s entrance and transparent atmospheric barrier, a battle straight out of a freaking Star Wars movie raged with black fighters engaging pale gray craft in deadly dogfights. Except the black fighters were the good guys. And they were severely outnumbered by the bad guys.

As she watched in horror, two gray craft fired simultaneously on a black craft.

The Lasaran craft exploded in a burst of flames.

Heart slamming against her ribcage, she glanced around.

Multiple black fighter craft remained in the hangar, awaiting pilots. Lasaran and Yona soldiers, garbed in hastily donned flight suits, ran toward them, jostling each other in their hurry.

Then Simone saw a large form she recognized. “Valok!”

His countenance stoic as usual, the brawny warrior turned toward her. “Why aren’t you in an escape pod?” he asked as she hustled over to him.

“Because I want to help. I can fly one of those fighters.”

“No, you can’t. You don’t know how.”

“Yes, I do,” she insisted. “I spent hours and hours hanging around the flight simulators, watching the pilots so I’d know what to do if I ever had to fly one.”

He shook his head. “Your life is too valuable to risk. The Lasarans need an alliance with Earth. You should get to an escape pod. Now.”

“Shields at thirty-two percent,” the calm computer voice announced over the noise of departing craft.

When he started to turn away, Simone grabbed his arm. “Your life is as valuable as mine, Valok. I don’t want you to sacrifice it. Let me help you.” He was her friend. She didn’t want him to get hurt. If having an additional ally out there flying with him and watching his back would help, she would damn well do it.

Sucking in a breath, he glanced down at her hand on his arm. “What is that?” he asked, his voice hushed. When he met her gaze, she saw what had previously been missing in his eyes.

“Emotion,” she said. “You’re my friend. I don’t want to lose you. Let me help you. Please.”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Shields at twenty percent,” the calm female voice announced.

Light flashed to their left. Fire flared, so bright it hurt her eyes, as a blast wave knocked her and Valok off their feet.

Simone landed on her back several yards away. Her head struck the hard deck with a crack. Pain careened through her skull, stunning her for a long moment.

Then Valok leaned over her.

Dizziness engulfed her as he scooped her into his arms and started running. “What…? What happened?”

He didn’t respond.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Shields at thirteen percent,” the computer announced placidly.

Simone gripped his shirt and struggled to think straight. “Valok?”

The light above her dimmed. Then her butt hit something cushy as he set her down.

A seat?

She glanced around, her vision a little blurry. “Where are we?”

“An escape pod. There is little time.” Valok’s voice carried an urgency she had never heard him express before. His big hands pressed her back in the chair and tugged straps across her chest.

“What?”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Her head began to clear. Her thoughts sharpened as the Yona warrior straightened and spun away. “Valok?”

He ducked out of the pod, then turned and met her confused gaze. “Thank you.”

Simone shook her head. “For what?”

“Letting me feel.”

The hatch closed.

“Wait!” She lunged forward but was jerked to a halt by the harness. Her fingers fumbled for the latches.

Boom!

Bright light flared beyond the crystal windshield as flames burst into being.

Her heart stopped as shock rippled through her.

That had to have hit Valok!

“No!” she screamed in horror.

The pod jerked, shoving her back in the seat like a roller coaster embarking on a ride. A roar arose, accompanied by thunks. The pressure pushing her back against the seat increased as light flickered on and off. Then black space filled the window.

A small gray craft shot past, followed closely by a sleek, black fighter.

The black fighter fired its weapons and blew the gray craft to bits. But Simone was too shaken by Valok’s death to cheer.

An escape pod flew by with two gray Gathendien craft in pursuit.

A deafening roar shook the pod as flames lit up the darkness.

Then the bright walls of the qhov’rum rose before her, blocking everything else.

Light exploded around her. A screeching, grinding noise filled the pod, so loud it magnified the ache in her head tenfold.

Then quiet fell, broken only by her pounding heart and gasping breaths.

Moisture filled her eyes as she stared through the window at calm, black space.

“Evie?” she asked, voice hushed.

“Yes?” the computer responded. One of the Lasarans had told her they named the computer after either the engineer who had installed it or designed it. But she was too shaken to remember if it was E.V. or Evie.

“Did the Kandovar just explode?” Please, say no. Please, say no.

“Affirmative.”

She closed her eyes. Tears she couldn’t hold back slipped down her cheeks. “How many crew members were still aboard?”

She knew Valok had been. She’d seen the explosion that took him.

Her hands curled into tight fists on her thighs as sadness warred with burgeoning anger. Why hadn’t he gotten into the damn pod with her?

“Unknown,” the computer responded.

“Did the other escape pods launch?”

“According to my last contact with the Kandovar, many escape pods launched successfully before the ship was destroyed.”

Then all of the gifted ones should’ve gotten away safely.

What of her fellow Immortal Guardians? The last time she’d seen them, they had been scrambling to get everyone else to safety. Had they made it to pods, too? Or had explosions taken them, as well?

Her hands began to shake. “Would you please attempt to hail the ship?”

“The ship is no longer intact,” Evie stated. “Any attempts to hail it—”

“Just do it!” Simone snapped as she swiped at her wet cheeks.

“Attempting to hail the Kandovar.” A moment passed. “Unable to make contact.”

“Try to hail the other escape pods.”

“Hailing escape pods now.”

She’d seen two Gathendien fighter craft chasing down an escape pod. What if those bastards were picking them off, one by one? Were they in there killing all her friends while she sat on her ass doing nothing?

“All attempts to hail other escape pods have failed.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Were they destroyed in the blast?”

“Unlikely. Escape pods are built to withstand extreme temperatures so they can provide shelter on planets with uninhabitable environments.”

“Then why can’t you contact them?”

“The range of this pod’s communications system is limited. The other pods may have already traveled beyond its reach.”

“How is that possible? The pods probably launched only minutes before this one did.”

“The qhov’rum propels craft forward at speeds that even the fastest engines cannot replicate. If the qhov’rum remained functional after this pod breached its walls, it has already carried any escape pods and fighter craft that remained within it a distance that would take this pod with its weaker engine many months to traverse.”

This pod only carried two months of supplies.

“What about the pods that were thrust through the walls of the quov’rum by the blast like this one?”

“They are likely scattered across vast sectors of space now. My inability to contact them supports that conjecture.”

Simone thought furiously. “Can we reenter the quov’rum?”

“Negative. This pod’s engine cannot generate the propulsion required to breach the walls.”

So the explosion must have hurled the pod through it. “Are there any Lasaran outposts near us?”

“Negative.”

“What about Yona outposts?”

“Negative.”

“Any space stations or spaceports?”

“Negative.”

“Are there any habitable planets nearby?”

“Negative.”

“Any ships belonging to members of the Aldebarian Alliance?”

“Negative.”

Frustration rose. “Well, there must be something nearby! Space may be vast, but it isn’t freaking empty!”

“Affirmative.”

She blinked. “What?” Then she frowned. If the computer told her that space was indeed vast, Simone would lose it. She’d just watched Valok die in a blast of fire. Her immortal friends might very well have been killed, too. Those small Gathendien fighter craft could be blowing up her mortal friends who managed to escape in pods. And the Lasaran and Yona soldiers who’d remained on the ship…

More tears rose.

“Affirmative,” Evie repeated placidly. “My sensors have detected something nearby.”

Finally! “What is it?”

“A Gathendien warship.”

Simone sat up straighter. “What? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“Gathendien ships were not on your list of inquiries.”

Computers could be so maddeningly literal! “Well, where is it?”

“It exited the quov’rum moments before this pod did.”

Simone unsnapped her harness and lunged for the window, peering all around. “I don’t see it.”

“It is too far away to see.”

“How is that—?” Oh. Right. The quov’rum moved everything forward so quickly that even a few seconds could cover vast distances.

Then the meaning of the computer’s words dawned on her.

The Gathendien warship had been inside the quov’rum.

Everything within her went still. Her tears ceased. Her jaw clenched. “Is the ship you’re detecting the one that blew up the Kandovar?”

“Though I cannot determine that with certainty, the timing and placement of the ship make such possible.”

Absolute fury filled her, accompanied by cold determination. “How far away is it? Is it close enough for us to reach?”

“Affirmative. Unless the Gathendien ship alters its current speed and trajectory, this pod can reach it in under two months.”

“And if they alter their current speed and trajectory?”

“I cannot provide an accurate estimate at this time.”

“But more than two months?”

“It is possible.”

“Will this pod keep me alive longer than two months if I slow my breathing and ration food and water?”

“Affirmative.”

“Then take me to that ship.”

“Setting course for the Gathendien warship now.”

Simone stared out the window, willing the time to pass quickly.

She would make those bastards pay.

She’d make them pay for every life they had taken.