Chapter 39
The silence on the Aquila was oppressive.
The ship's engines hummed as it flew through space. Selene sat in the captain's chair, tapping her fingers on the armrest. She felt tired and unsure after their narrow escape. Xara entered, her armor scratched and her hair messy. She sat down next to Selene and sighed. "That was too close," Xara said, rubbing her neck.
Selene nodded, her gaze fixed on the stars outside. “We’re alive, but the Syndicate won’t let this go. They’ll come after us harder than before.”
“We destroyed the data,” Xara pointed out.
"But they'll think we kept some," Selene said. "And that's just about right."
\---
Inside the ship's common room, Wren huddled over her portable drive, tapping away with her fingers. Kade leaned behind her, his arms crossed, eyes on the screen.
"How much did you salvage?" Kade asked, his tone low.
Not much, Wren said. Just a fragment of the prototype's design. It's incomplete, but it might give us an edge if we can figure out what it does.
Kade frowned. If the Syndicate knew you saved that.
They'd hunt us to the ends of the galaxy, Wren finished. She glanced up at Kade, her expression tired but determined. That's why we need to move fast. We can't just keep running.
In the med bay, Dante sat on the edge of a cot, cleaning his weapon. His movements were methodical, almost mechanical. He looked up as Selene entered, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
Dante gave a small nod. "Just doing what I can to be ready."
Selene leaned against the doorframe, studying him. "You did good back there."
"So did you," Dante replied, his tone soft.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The weight of everything they had been through hung between them like a shadow.
"We'll figure this out," Selene said finally. "We always do."
\---
The crew gathered in the common area, the tension palpable. Selene stood at the center, her gaze sweeping over the group.
"We've bought ourselves some time," she began. "But the Syndicate won't stop. We need to decide our next move."
"We can't just keep running," Xara said, her voice firm. "We need to hit back."
"With what?" Kade asked. "We don't have the resources to take on the Syndicate head-on."
"We don't need to take them head-on," Selene said. "We just need to stay one step ahead and figure out what this prototype was meant to do."
Wren tapped on her portable drive. "I've been analyzing the fragment I saved. It's advanced, but I think I can piece together enough to get a clearer picture."
"How long?" Selene asked.
"A day, maybe two," Wren said. "If we can find somewhere safe to stop."
Selene nodded. "Then that's our priority. Kade, plot a course to the nearest uncharted system. We'll lay low and give Wren time to work.
The Aquila fell into the cold silence of an undocumented system, engines quiet as she assumed orbit above a barren moon. The crew splintered then, each into their own niche.
In the engine room, Wren worked without stopping, her will unbreakable. She combed through columns of code, schematics laid out in every available space as she tried to knit together the bits and pieces into something coherent.
Xara and Dante had taken shifts patrolling the ship with weapons in hand, throughout. Gone was the tension; instead, there was a silent acknowledgment of how much was at risk.
Selene sat alone in the cockpit, running continuous diagnostics on the sensors for any sign of Syndicate ships. This, she knew, wouldn't last, but she was determined to make full use of such calm.