The engines primed, the ship loomed over the gathered Mzisoh, its wings casting a shadow over them. The ship took off with a powerful rush. Careening upward in a tottering trajectory, their flight course rocked in fits and starts as Epyc Ro and Robin got used to the navigation system. The wings began to retract as the ship entered the upper atmosphere. It banked over the horizon, ready to leave the planet behind them.

“How’s it look back there?” Epyc Ro asked.

“This thing’s awkward as hell. It was designed for lots of cargo. All sorts of bays.”

“Transport ship?”

“A well-armed one. With powerful engines, though it maneuvers for shit,” Robin said.

“Everything has a trade-off.”

“We have a go. I have…” Robin rechecked her instruments. “Five CO/IN ships. Three of them warships.”

Their ship climbed through Eshu’s atmosphere. The larger vessel withstood the buffeting of the atmospheric forces much better than the Hughes did when it dropped them. The orangish sky gave way to night. And with that, they found themselves back in space. As soon as they did, their viewer filled with images of starships.

Epyc Ro expected the firing to start immediately. A barrage of laser blasts or whatever weapons the Lei’den’s CO/IN forces used. Their cruiser exploding in a ball of fire and scattered debris. The story of the HOVA reaching its violent end.

“They expecting us?” Anitra shouted from the rear.

“Or investigating the party favors you just shot off down there,” Robin said.

“Quantum drive operational?” Epyc Ro asked.

“Yes. Not as good as our protophobic engines, but…” Robin continued to run diagnostics, familiarizing herself with the systems as she went.

“We can do upgrades later.”

“This drive might be better suited for combat. Especially close range.” Anitra ran her hand along some power conduits.

“Yeah, we don’t seem to have much of a choice on that front. Weapons systems?” Epyc Ro settled into the captain’s seat.

“Magnetic rail guns,” Robin said.

“Shit,” Anitra said. “We bump into the only species who doesn’t use energy weapons or some other futuristic shit?”

“Lasers are off line,” Robin said.

“Well, at least we have them.” Epyc Ro activated the thrusters. “Prepare for a jump. Chandra, begin the calculations and forward the protocols to Robin for my countdown.”

“What? We have to clear the atmosphere. And at the rate they’re closing in, it’s not going to leave a lot of room for error,” Robin said.

The ships orbited Eshu, their velocity already in sync with the rotation of the planet. They weren’t going to outmaneuver them by launching in the opposite direction. This was a battle of math. Their orbit elongated into an ellipse, needing it to stretch out to detach from orbit. Then they could punch the quantum drives. But Eshu needed to be at the aphelion for such a maneuver to work. They needed to buy some time. Every second counted.