Clo reacted without thinking. She grabbed the Mors from Briggs and shot at one of the guards and Prince Damocles. Damocles’s face dropped in surprise as he darted out of the way. The Oracle’s programming would have prevented her from firing on Tholosian soldiers, and especially the Spare. But she was like Briggs—born, not engineered, the Oracle never in their heads.

Clo and Sher helped Briggs to Asteria, the craft shielding them from Mors shots.

“Leave me,” Briggs gasped. “Leave me.”

“We’re not doing that. You had better not die on me, you old son of a marsh cat. Sher, cover me.”

Sher opened fire once more, creating just enough of a distraction for her to haul Briggs the rest of the way into the ship. As the guards took cover, Sher scrambled after Clo and hurled himself into the craft.

Clo slammed the button to bring up the ramp and seal off the ship. Blasts sparked off the metal body from the hangar. Any moment, Damocles and that soldier would be in their spacecraft—

“I know this ship better than you,” Sher said as Clo took over the captain’s chair.

“I’ve worked on this damn ship from top to bottom,” she said, flipping switches to turn the engines on, “and you’re a shite pilot. Strap Briggs in.”

Sher locked the older man into the copilot’s chair. Briggs could barely keep his eyes open. His skin was pale. “Hold on, Briggs,” Sher said. “We’re getting you out.”

“Told you both,” Briggs said, sounding hoarse. “Asteria ain’t ready to fly yet.”

“She can fly,” Clo snapped. “She might not be able to outrun that monster of a ship he’s got, but I’m a better pilot.”

Briggs passed out.

Sher sat in the passenger chair behind her. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Alesca.”

“You and me both.”

Clo eased the gears by her side forward. When the spacecraft was up in the air, she slammed the side lever forward and the craft jetted up. This was going to be bad. Even if Damocles managed to get his own aircraft up and running, he would still end up calling—

She let out a foul curse when she saw the military spacecraft coming toward her as she exited Jurran’s atmosphere. She couldn’t outrun them. Asteria was a beaten old military junker that Sher had brought to her and Briggs with serious damage, and they hadn’t even finished repairs.

“You don’t have any speed-drive capabilities,” Sher reminded her.

“I know that,” she snarled. “We’re just going to have to outsmart them.” She flipped the switches for the ship’s program mainframe. “Find me the nearest planet within an asteroid field,” she told the ship.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sher leaned forward. “Alesca, you failed this simulation run on Nova.”

“I got farther than anyone else, including you!”