“Curious little creatures,” Jak’ri murmured as he maneuvered the pod down past large branches and hanging vines that were thicker than his biceps.
Ava nodded.
The little cuties followed their progress, leaping down to lower branches and peering through the window at them.
Ava’s gaze drifted to the larger forms that remained farther away.
They didn’t look like elephants. Now that they were a little closer, the animals looked more like giant freaking panthers. Crap. She really hoped they wouldn’t be as curious about the pod as the lemur things.
At last, the pod approached the ground.
“Computer,” Jak’ri ordered, “show me what’s above us.”
Another image appeared on the console, displaying a night-vision view of the canopy above them.
“Expand range,” he murmured.
“What are you looking for?” she asked softly.
“I’m trying to determine which trees will shield us best when we set down.”
“Ah.” They had broadened the hole in the canopy a bit, but she was impressed by how few branches they’d broken. Jak’ri was a good pilot.
She looked out the window. Some of the tree trunks near the ground were as wide as the pod. If he could tuck them in close to a couple, she thought they’d be pretty hard to spot from above the forest.
Ava returned her attention to the view the computer provided of the canopy. When several small faces with big eyes abruptly filled the screen and peered back at her, she laughed. “I think they’ve found the camera.”
Jak’ri smiled. “Looks like it. Fortunately, I saw enough before they did.”
The pod rattled slightly. Then he released the joystick. “All right. We’ve landed.”
Ava smiled at him. “That was a lot smoother than I expected.”
“I had to learn to pilot and land Akseli pods as part of my military training.” He grinned. “Fortunately, they started me with simulators because I crashed a lot before I finally grew accustomed to it.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m glad I didn’t have to try to land the Lasaran escape pod. I’m pretty sure it would’ve gone up in flames before I even finished entering the atmosphere.”
Unbuckling his harness, he shook his head. “Most pods are equipped with autopilots that would’ve guided you safely through the atmosphere.”
“Then hurled me at the ground like a ball?”
He paused. “Mmmmaybe?”
Ava laughed. “So now what do we do?”
“Computer, how much time do we have before the sun rises?”
“The sun will breach the horizon in approximately four hours and twelve minutes.”
Jak’ri arched his brows. “Want to rest a little before we head out exploring?”
She nodded. “I’d rather not run into those big cats. If they’re nocturnal predators, maybe they’ll be gone by the time we wake up.”
“I hope so. Let’s get some sleep.”
Three hours later, Jak’ri sighed. Despite his fatigue, sleep eluded him. His mind raced as he lay quietly with Ava snuggled up beside him, deeply ensconced in sleep.
How long would it take his message to reach Mila 9?
Would the Segonians send a rescue crew or merely relay the message to Purvel?
He had referred to Ava as a passenger aboard the Lasaran ship Kandovar. Since Segonians were members of the Aldebarian Alliance, he’d thought that might garner a quicker response.
If—as Ava believed—the Kandovar was destroyed, alliance members had no doubt already begun a massive search and rescue mission. Might some of them have ventured close enough to render them swift aid?
Considering how far away from alliance occupied space he and Ava were and the inoperability of the qhov’rum, he thought it unlikely but hoped he was wrong.
Jak’ri fought the need to tighten his hold on her, not wishing to wake her.
At most, landing here had bought them some time. The question was: how much? He had done what he could to make it harder for the Gathendiens to track them but thought the grunarks would find them nevertheless.
Then what would he and Ava do? Swim from continent to continent, island to island, hoping to evade them? Jak’ri could live in the ocean indefinitely and could tolerate cold temperatures. But Ava…
She may look Lasaran, but she didn’t have their hardiness or their incredible regenerative capabilities. Back on the ship, the wounds left behind by the Gathendiens’ surgeries had been as slow to heal on her as his had been. And he’d seen her shiver at temperatures he found quite comfortable.
What if the ocean water surrounding this continent was too cold for her body to tolerate?
Even if it wasn’t and the two of them made it to the island she called Plan B, what then? What if the Gathendiens followed them there? Would he and Ava just head for another island or continent to evade capture? The next closest landmass, according to the map, was days away from Plan B even when swimming at Purveli speeds.
Could Ava’s body tolerate being submerged in water that long?
Back when Purvelis and Akselis had been friends and allies, some Purvelis had found Akselian lifemates. Accustomed to living underwater for long stretches, the first Purvelis to bond with Akselis had thought artificial gills would allow their lifemates to reside underwater with them. But they had learned to the detriment of their partners that the water’s continuous pressure reduced circulation to Akselis’ extremities and weakened their bodies to such an extent that even after spending only a few days in the water, they often couldn’t walk for weeks when they emerged. Akselis’ skin also began to break down after a few days of constant immersion, spawning open sores and bacterial infections.
Would the same happen to Ava if it took them days to swim to the next island?
What other recourse would they have? Stay and fight?
If the three craft coming after them carried two soldiers each, Jak’ri was confident he and Ava could defeat the grunarks. But if they each carried ten, he thought their chances of achieving victory far slimmer. And as he’d pointed out to Ava, the Gathendiens had destroyed the Kandovar with three members of the royal family aboard to capture her. He had no doubt that the Gathendien warship from which they’d just escaped would soon follow.
If the two of them—armed with three osdulium rifles, two tronium blasters, and a couple of daggers—had to battle a warship full of Gathendiens with dozens if not hundreds of O-rifles, blasters, e-grenades, and stun grenades…
Well. The outcome would be grim.
After seeing the increased speed and strength Ava had gained, something he still didn’t understand, Jak’ri was certain he would be the first to fall during such a battle. When he did, he feared Ava would do whatever they demanded of her to keep them from torturing or killing him. And he couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let them recapture her.
But as far as he could tell, the only way to avoid that was either to evade the Gathendiens’ notice entirely or for him to die so they couldn’t use him to bend Ava to their will.
“Proximity alert,” the computer said, its voice loud in the silence that had fallen.
Starting, Jak’ri glanced down at Ava.
She didn’t so much as sigh. She’d been sleeping more deeply since the Gathendiens had injected her with that virus and appeared not to have heard the abrupt announcement.