Rhodes must have caught some of it because his brows dropped, and he said, “Focus, Xandros.”
“I am shaftzing focused,” Xandros snarled.
“On theNirzks,” Rhodes countered.
More muttering. Rhodes glanced to me. “My apology. His level of commitment to the cause is admirable.”
“What cause?” I asked.
“You.” Before I could absorb that, he added, “See that blue cloud? We—we are flying straight in. It is our best chance for getting lost.”
“Are we getting lost?” I asked.
His lips twitched. “We are getting lost.”
I took theStardrifterinto the blue cloud. All of our instruments immediately went offline. I was only flying by sight now.
“I will direct you through.” Rhodes’s voice was reassuringly calm as he kept one eye on the navcube’s static display. “Aim for that planetoid, full throttle.”
I aimed, and pushed the throttle forward.Stardrifterplunged through the brightly colored wisps of cosmic dust. The planetoid loomed large…
“Right,” Rhodes directed. “Straight through that hole that is forming. See it?”
Landmarks in a nebula were an ever-changing challenge, but Rhodes somehow managed to guide us. An alarm sounded, and Yani’s voice came over the comm.
“That actuator is burning up,” she said. “I recommend we get out of here.”
“Almost there,” Rhodes stated calmly.
I peered ahead to the swirling gases. “How can you tell?”
“Drakes have an unerring sense of direction. We never get lost.”
A snort sounded behind us, and I glanced to where Xandros nowstood in the doorway. I hadn’t even heard him approach. “Well, almost never.”
“Not my fault the navigation software malfunctioned,” Rhodes growled.
“You are the one who said ‘never’,” Xandros pointed out.
Rhodes ignored him as a planet appeared through the haze. “That is our way out,” he said. “I am ready to lock in the course to Givnia.”
I pointedStardrifterfor the planet as the gases dwindled to nothing around us and we broke through to clear space.
Rhode’s long-fingered hands flew over the controls. He hit a button, and the autopilot took over.
The navcube came alive, and I watched nervously for the yellow dots. There were many green ones, although none seemed particularly interested in us. The identifications rolled across the screen in front of Rhodes.
“Freighters and smaller transports heading for Givnia,” he said. “Cutting through the nebula put us a couple of hours ahead of the battlecruiser.” He tapped at the screen. “ETA to Givnia is five hours at current speed.”
“We still need a plan,” Xandros stated from where he leaned against the wall.
Yani appeared behind him. “Having thatbeforewe headed for Givnia might have been an idea.”
“Heading for Givnia makes sense for a number of reasons.” Rhodes adjusted the navcube so that it panned back, showing Nipslep well beyond Givnia. “As the slipstream drive we came through has us on their ‘to be detained’ list, our only chance to exit this system is the one at Nipslep.”
“So once we get Zyair free, that is where we can get out of the system,” I said.
Silence greeted my comment. I looked over—Yani was adjusting her hat. Rhodes and Xandros were locked in some weird silentcontest of wills, their eyes glowing as they matched gazes like some would swords.
