When he found the controls again, he placed his hand on them; they lit up. It took a little experimentation and a lot of faith in the Force to bring up location holos, but Reath finally got them going—tiny circles of light hovering in midair. The language and the notation systems were very old…but not unfamiliar to anyone who’d done multiple studies on the ancient Amaxines.

Research, he thought with a glimmer of satisfaction. Don’t knock it.

Reath shifted the coordinates for each of the pods by a measure that should put them near, but not on, any planet to which they’d previously been headed, even for the largest inhabited planets known to science. Space stations and closer space traffic would also be safe. A distant moon or two might take a hit—but it was much more likely that the pods would simply appear in empty space and float there until they were smashed by random asteroids or harvested for scrap metal.

Once the coordinates were laid in, he pressed the central control. Instantly the entire lower ring began to vibrate—the power that had jolted through the station when he and Dez left but exponentially greater. Reath was nearly flung to the floor, but he held out his hands, keeping his balance as the pods zipped away to the far corners of the galaxy. The Amaxines’ work was undone.

It felt a little sad, spoiling a piece of ancient machinery that had worked so well for so long. But as Reath heard the continued clash of the Nihil and Drengir above, he thought, Nothing can last forever.

He clambered up and out of the tunnel, wincing as he realized how much closer the fight had come. They remained oblivious to him thus far, and to the loss of the pods. But Reath had no clear route to the outer ring of the station—to the Vessel, or to escape.

Then his comlink buzzed. Trusting the din of battle to cover the sound, he lifted it to his ear and heard Leox: “I would ask what the hell you’re up to, but I’m guessing it has something to do with the jillionty pods I just saw launch from this station.”

“Good guess,” Reath said. “Listen, my way back is blocked right now. I’ll try to get to you, but if I can’t make it—I trust you guys to leave in time to save yourselves.”

“Noble sacrifices are not currently of any use. We can’t leave. The Drengir have the Vessel tied in, literally. Sent vines to bind us to the station. We’re going to try breaking free, but we need to go as soon as possible—the vines are still growing.”