Have Nedder engage his IMP, I told him. Then Quirk can shoot the ship down and someone can grab the bomb with a light-lance. The safest place to take it will be out of the atmosphere.
Spensa had managed to carry one off once and survive, but it was dangerous. If the bomb was on a timer and that person didn’t get out before it exploded, they’d be gone.
Arturo didn’t like that idea. He knew that was what had to be done, he was just terrified to do it. I’ll take the bomb, he said.
No, I told him. You’re in command. You have to give it to someone else.
The hell I do, Arturo said. If someone needs to risk their life like that, I’ll do it.
No, I told him. You won’t. That’s an order.
Arturo cussed me out, and I understood. It was terrible telling your friends they had to be the ones to do it. Any of them would though. In a heartbeat.
Have Alanik carry the bomb, I said. She doesn’t have to use a hyperdrive to get out. Might save her the half second of communication time.
Scud, Arturo hated that even more. He was…oh, he was attached to Alanik. Nothing was going on between them yet, but he hoped for it.
I’m sorry, I told him. Spensa didn’t need me to order her to get into trouble, but it hadn’t been easy flying with her, knowing I might be the one to give her the order that got her killed. I get it.
I know you do, Arturo said. I’ll take care of it.
I pulled back, away from Arturo’s fear and pain. I tuned my handheld radio to our general channel—I wanted everyone to hear this next part, and that was the fastest way to talk to all of them at once.
“Kauri,” I said, “do you copy?”
“Copy, Jerkface,” Kauri said. “We’ve called in as many ships as we can. We have more, but they aren’t fighters.”
If we sent civilian ships, we’d be needlessly throwing away lives. “Are you in contact with your senate?”
“I am,” she said. “They have taken shelter, but they have encouraged us to defend the planet. They fear if we surrender, the Superiority will destroy us anyway.”
The ivory moonlight glinted off the shards of the canopy on my broken ship. “That’s exactly what will happen,” I said. “I want you to extend them an offer of evacuation. We can grant your leaders safe harbor. Detritus has a shield. It’s protected. We could get your senate out. Their families. Your family. Maybe some civilians from Dreamspring. We will continue to fight here, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to save the city, and at least this way your government will survive. Some of your people will make it out.”
We could fit a lot of kitsen on a human transport ship. We had the one we’d brought to carry Cobb and Gran-Gran. I could go get another or send someone else to get one. With a hyperdrive we might be able to get some of the kitsen out before the lifebuster arrived.
“I will send word to the senate of your offer,” Kauri said. “Thank you for your generosity.”
I believed her gratitude was genuine, but her voice sounded frightened. I didn’t blame her.
“Tell them to hurry,” I said. “I’ll have a transport ship meet them at the senate meeting hall.”
“Thank you,” Kauri said.
I looked up at the sky again. Wreckage smashed against the cliff maybe half a klick from me. I thought it was UrDail, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Jerkface?” Arturo said. “What can we do to support the evacuation?”
“I want FM and Sentry to land and orchestrate the evacuation effort,” I said. “Can you spare them?”
“Yes,” Arturo said.
“Good. FM, Sentry, get as many kitsen leaders on board the medical transport ship as you can. Alanik or I will jump them out as soon as the ship is full. We’re going to need plenty of cover over Dreamspring while we evacuate. Everyone you can spare.”
“I’ll tell them,” Arturo said.
“Are we planning to pull back?” FM asked.
“No,” I said. “But if that bomb hits the island, I want to have saved as many people as possible.”
“Copy, Jerkface,” FM said. “We’re on it.”
I saw FM’s and Sadie’s ships soaring down out of the sky above the city to land near the senate building. If anyone would do their best to save literally everyone they could, it was FM.
I reached out. Alanik, I said. Status?
We’re coming up on the bomb, she said. Shield is down. Kimmalyn—she hit the ship!
Alanik dropped off, probably swooping in with her light hook, and I reached out to the minds around her, finding Arturo.