Emissary
Chapter 7 - Slip Speed

Ryn chuckled as Stel settled into an empty seat, her eyes fixed on the viewport.

"Then here- we- go-" He said dramatically as he increased the throttle and gently lifted the ship off of the hangar deck, out of the open bay doors, and lifted upwards into the upper atmosphere. Stel watched wide-eyed as the only home she had ever known, currently smoldering and smoking, fell away beneath her and the Motherwill rose into the outer atmosphere and broke away from the planet's gravity altogether.

Once free of the gravity well, Ryn sighed and leaned back in his seat. Stel turned in her chair to face him, "So... what's the plan? You're sorta the boss here, I'm just..."

"The hopeful? Yeah, I got that. Well, warp gate was supposed to be somewhere around here. But clearly that got fried, so we've got options now." Ryn stood and beckoned her over to a console and once powered on it showed a galactic map. Ryn touched the map and it highlighted a point of light. "We're here. We're trying to get here, Old Earth. By slip speed, we're a little over a week away." He touched the map marker for Old Earth, lighting up the Sol system. "If we go that way, it's eight days, give or take. We'll get there, but it's slow." He touched another spot much closer to their position, "This is the Cantarus system, they've got a warp gate too and are only a day from here. We get there, and we instantly warp directly to Old Earth."

"But? I sense a but." Stel interjected.

Ryn chuckled and nodded, his big fluffy ears bobbing slightly from the motion, "But, if their warp gate is down, or they don't let us use it, then we're an extra day away from Earth."

Stel paused and weighed the options. "So... eight days for sure, or potentially one, potentially nine."

Ryn nodded, a scowl forming on his face. "To throw a wrench into things, the, uh, Cantarans aren't too fond of me and my ship. I... may have been involved in a small heist in their system. Stole a planet."

Stel paused and stared at him. "You... stole a planet?"

Ryn grinned and stood back upright, heading for his chair. "Sounds like we have a plan then. Cantarus it is!"

Stel followed after him, "Wait, wait, what do you mean you stole a planet!?"

Ryn began tapping at his console. "Strap in, kid, warming up the slip drive. Ever ridden a slip before?"

Stel stammered her questions to a halt and strapped into her seat. "No? I'm colony born and raised."

Ryn laughed and settled into his seat. "Get comfortable then and try not to puke."

"What do you meaaAAAAAAAN?" Stel broke into a scream as the ship launched forward, throwing her into her seat as the viewport stretched into long beams of light and a purple haze. The inertia slowly balanced out and Stel lost the sensation of speed to hear Ryn laughing.

"Y-you should have seen your face! Priceless!" The fennec laughed, clutching his ribs. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Stel whirled around with a red face and a glare. "What the hell was that?! You-"

Ryn waved his arm to cut her off, "Switched off the inertial dampener. Thought it was a good prank, no?"

Stel shut herself up and sat in her chair, pouting. "No..." She muttered as she watched the space field whip by.

Ryn just chuckled to himself and they fell into silence as the ship raced on.

"Slip space," Ryn started, "is our term for all of this. Slip drive in the reactor bends gravity around the ship and we just sorta... race by, ignoring obstacles like gravity or light."

Stel turned and raised an eyebrow at him, "Is that how you break tension and apologize for pranking me? Monologuing?"

Ryn grunted and shrugged, "Sure. Call it whatever you want, I guess."

Stel turned back and huffed, "You don't have many friends, do you?"

- - -

"Kid. Kid! Wake up."

Stel shook herself awake and looked around, unfamiliar with her surroundings. Metal ship, humming engine, an unfamiliar red-colored planet in front of her. She sat up and looked back, the fennec pilot staring back at her. He had a blade of shrapnel in his chest, blood oozing everywhere. Stel looked down and it stained her hands, her shirt. He was gasping for help, begging her to help him.

Then she properly snapped awake as Ryn shook her, shaking his head when she finally focused her eyes on him. "Deep sleeper, it seems. Probably for the best; I snore."

Stel sat upright and checked her hands, clean, and looked around. The fennec pilot was nowhere to be found, but she was in the same ship. She rubbed her eyes and looked out of the viewport to see a blue and white planet in front of them.

"Cantarus Prime. You knocked out pretty quick there, guess you hadn't slept for a while, huh?"

Stel rubbed her eyes again and stood, stretching her limbs. She walked back to where Ryn sat and nodded, "Not since the day before the attack. I guess I was worse off than I thought."

Ryn huffed, "I know the feeling. Long hauls alone are a pain. Here-" He passed her a sealed bottle, "Drink. Get some fluids in ya, we might need you conscious in the Emissary."

Stel took the bottle and cracked it, drinking the fruity beverage and looking at Ryn's display panel. "Expecting trouble?"

Ryn shrugged, "The Motherwill is a fairly unique ship so they might recognize her visually even if the ID fake fools them. Just be ready to run, alright?"

"Okay. What... do I do? Like, how do we launch the Emissary?"

Ryn looked up at her for a moment before shaking his head and nodding, "Right, sorry. I have a button here to launch you, also to detach the entire launch bay, but you've also got a timed button at the hatch, gives you sixty seconds to mount up before the doors will open. After that, gun your thrusters and launch out. The bulkhead behind you can take the heat." He flicked a couple switches on his control board and leaned back, "To get back, just fly close and spin yourself around, you do not want to come in here front-wards. Either let inertia throw you in or I'll boost forward and scoop you up. Might get a little grindy in there, but the mag-wells should stabilize you and keep you balanced."

Stel nodded, committing as much as she could to memory. She looked up and thought she saw a couple of glinting ships heading their way. Ryn sucked in a breath.

"Here we go, system patrol is checking us out. Damn." He sat upright and gripped his controls a little tighter.

An imperious voice crackled in over the communicator, "Transport vessel Polaris, state your destination and cargo."

Ryn glanced at Stel and jerked his head back towards the launch bay corridor. "System patrol, Polaris here, just one passenger and some spare parts in the hold. Got a few preserved food bars, want to catalogue those?"

The communicator was silent for a long moment before the voice crackled through again, "Transport Polaris, your hostility is noted. Fortunately for you, we have bigger concerns. Go to ground on Cantarus Prime, sending coordinates for your directed destination."

Ryn and Stel, independently, felt a chill run through their spines. Ryn's fur stood on end. "System patrol, might I ask what that problem may be?"

The communicator was silent far longer than they wanted it to be. "Transport Polaris, turn yourself around and leave system, spaceport authority is ordering all vessels flee system, immediately. They are picking up numerous coordinated slip signatures on the far side of the planet."

Ryn turned to Stel and frowned, "That's where the warp gate is... we gotta get over there. But..."

"You think it's them? The Nalesh?" Stel asked, fear creeping into her voice. She had hoped only her colony had been attacked, if they were numerous enough to hit other systems too...

"System patrol, recommendation is noted, but our client very specifically said 'no excuses' for a late shipment. Mind if we buzz the capital and then dip out of here."

"Transport Polaris, we don't have any time for you any more, we're getting reports of an attack. Leave the system."

With a pop, the communicator disconnected and the two patrol ships turned around and raced for the planet. Ryn turned to Stel and gave her a long stare. "Moment of truth, kid. We going in for that warp gate, or we running?"

Stel stared back and gestured out of the viewport, "And leave them to the same fate home met? We have to help them."

Ryn's face darkened slightly, "You don't get it, do you? We owe them nothing, they aren't worth dying for. Now, I'll launch your mech if you want to take a few out on the way in, but if you aren't in the hold when I go through the gate, that's your deal." Ryn spun around and boosted the ship forward, racing towards the planetary orbit to slingshot around to the warp gate.

"Make a choice, kid. Die a hero, or be the messenger your colony needs."

Stel stared at the back of his head, glanced at the planet steadily getting closer, then escaped through the door and down the elevator, awkwardly getting into the Emissary as the hatch sealed shut behind her. Stel pinched the bridge of her nose as she wrestled with her options.

"Feeding targets to your display. It's definitely the Nalesh'ka. They're launching an assault on the planet, but a few are going for the gate. Make a choice, kiddo. Launching in three... two..."

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