“Jax,” he murmured with dread.

“And the XO,” added Viera. They watched Jax narrowly dodge the swing of a lightsword—and barely another. “He is not going to survive.”

Fuck that.

Robb had already watched two people he loved die. He would not watch another—not again. Not when he could help.

From the other side of the docking bay came a loud screech. Metal hands wormed through the crack in the door, forcing it open. There wasn’t any time left. The HIVE had found them.

He twisted two wires together. There was a spark. The console blinked to life, holo-screens reading off solar core energy and oxygen levels. A counter blinked up on the screen, counting down.

00:08

00:07

00:06

Until the docking bay doors open, he realized with panic. Jax must’ve initiated the command from the control room. That stupid, arrogant, insufferable—

“Get in—NOW!” he ordered Ana and Viera, scooting over to the driver’s side again, Ana taking passenger, Viera in the back seat.

The Messiers came swiftly, running across the landing pad, reaching for their swords and halberds and Metroids. He closed the skysailer windshield and locked it.

“Robb!” Ana cried, “they’re coming!”

00:03

00:02

He fired the thrusters.

00:01—

The docking bay doors sprang open and, with a terrifying exhale, flung them out into space.

Jax

“Oh yikes, looks like she’s getting away—again,” said Jax, trying to catch his breath. The skysailer carrying Robb and Ana swirled out into space, followed by the bodies of at least a dozen Messiers. He turned his back to them and tiredly leaned against the glass window. A thin rivulet of sweat slid down his neck and under his space suit collar. He just had to keep this up long enough for Robb and Ana to get away.

That was his fate. He had seen it in the stars.

The XO glanced out at the skysailer, then back at him silently.

“Why didn’t you deploy all the other Messiers? The ones in those rooms? She wouldn’t have gotten away then,” he added, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm.

The XO swirled his lightsword. “Quality is better than quantity, nan c’zar,” he replied, and there was no mistaking Di in the voice. Or what was left of him after the HIVE. He outstretched his free hand toward the skysailer Robb and Ana had escaped in. The skysailer jerked—as if Di was taking control of it.

Ak’va. He didn’t know Di could do that.

“No!” he cried, lurching toward the XO, not sure what he could do, but he would do something—

A loud thud came from the ventilation shaft above them, and a small square bot shot out of the grate in the ceiling. It went careening toward the Metal and unfolded spindly arms from its side and weaseled them into the slats in the XO’s neck, into its wiring.

E0S’s lens flared a brilliant white.

“Hnng!” The Messier gave a jerk, its eyes flickering. It dropped its hand, and the skysailer was jettisoned out into space.