Chet! I sent. The icon is gone!
What? he replied. Miss Nightshade, I didn’t have anything to do with it! I vow upon my—
I believe you, I said. I know you didn’t take it, Chet. But it is gone. How?
I have no idea, he replied.
All right. I’m coming to get you.
Wait. Coming to get me?
I had to steal the ship now instead of later, I said. I’ll explain in a bit.
With a growl of annoyance at the empty hole, I dashed back to the ship and hauled myself into the cockpit—keeping an eye on Maksim the whole way. He didn’t raise his weapon. I nodded to him, and in seconds I had M-Bot cruising toward Chet. I could feel him with my mind, but it was still an enormous relief when I saw him standing at the edge of the blue jungle fragment, one hand raised high in greeting, the other in an improvised sling, with the sleeve of his jacket hanging loose.
I pulled the ship up beside the fragment and popped the canopy—then immediately started my ship’s shield ignition process. It was a terrible shield, but better than nothing.
I began to climb out to help Chet aboard, but he deftly managed to scramble up the wing on his own. Standing just beside the canopy, he gave me a wide mustachioed grin, then gestured with one hand to the ship. “Our mighty steed. She is beautiful!”
“You won’t say that after you see her specs,” I said. I stood and pulled the seat forward, revealing the cargo space behind it in the cockpit. “Sorry about the accommodations.”
“I’ve known worse,” Chet said, squeezing into the spot. “But we have a problem. Without the icon, I worry about us traveling alone, long term.”
“You have the ashes I gave you though, right?” I said.
“I do indeed. They should last us a few weeks at least.”
“Good enough for now,” I said. “We’ll escape, then try to figure out what happened to my icon.” I closed the canopy and locked my seat into place. There was barely enough room for Chet behind me. It would have to do. Because we had a more pressing problem.
“All nine fighters are giving chase,” M-Bot said. “They have restored the two resonants. Everyone will be upon us soon.” He helpfully zoomed out the proximity display to show the Broadsiders as blips on the screen.
“With their scanner active,” Chet said, “I fear for our ability to continue our quest.”
“Any suggestions?”
“We could bolt for another pirate faction’s territory,” he said. “But that could backfire. The other faction would naturally assume us to be part of a Broadsider raid, and would react accordingly.”
Well, if it got the Broadsiders to drop off for a short time, then maybe we could use it. I turned the ship to the heading M-Bot indicated and started us flying.
“Spensa,” M-Bot said. “I have bad news.”
“We’re not going to make it?” I guessed.
“Judging our top speed against those of the faster Broadsider ships, no. We’ll be intercepted before we reach the border.”
Scud. I glanced to the side as I felt Chet’s hand on my shoulder, reaching from behind the seat.
“There is another option,” he said. “We could fly straight up.”
I glanced upward through the canopy into that infinite pink sky. “What’s up there?”
“I don’t know,” Chet said. “I’ve never explored that direction. Just as I’ve never left this larger region. There are distant sections of the belt, to the right and left, but those involve large gaps between fragments that are dangerous to cross alone, even when flying.
“I’ve warned you it’s dangerous to stray far from the fragments. We can quickly lose our identities if we fly upward, but we have ashes, which should delay the effects.”
It took me only a moment to decide. I pulled up, sending the ship—already rattling from our excessive speed—straight upward into that vast unknown.
The blips on my screen slowed. Excellent. We flew for a good fifteen minutes, and I started to relax as it became increasingly obvious that the Broadsiders were not giving chase.
“Spensa,” M-Bot said. “We’re being hailed by the Broadsiders. Do you want me to put them on the comm?”
“Go ahead,” I said.
The comm crackled in an old-timey way. I tried to see it as quaint, and not another indication that my ship was two shakes and a stern glare away from falling apart.
“Spin!” Peg’s voice blared into the cockpit. “You mulun-growing reprobate! Why didn’t you tell me you were a pilot!”