Page 62 of Rebels Rising

‘How do you know that, Libs?’ I asked her suspiciously.

‘Because…’ she took a deep breath and levelled me with a guilty but determined look. ‘Because he’d Baldr’s biological father.’

CHAPTER 19

Dorian

Ididn’t think they realised the rest of us had followed. The conversation we’d all just overheard was a bit of a nightmare to process, more so for some than others, but the implications were major. There was someone on the ship that wasn’t supposed to be here, but his allegiance was still up in the air. Was he on our side because of his own child, or was he simply playing coy to keep tabs on them all?

I hoped it was the former, because the latter would break far too many hearts, one of which would undoubtedly be Liberty’s, which would lead to an angry Artemis on the warpath. Another one.

Unexpectedly, the entire ordeal just made me miss my family. I’d give anything to see my siblings right about now, to tousle with my brothers, to eat father’s cooking despite how ill it would make us on the nights ma would be out working. Stars, I’d even allow my sisters and nieces to dress me up however they saw fit or allow my nephews to climb over me like a playground apparatus. All the things that had annoyed me before, I couldn’t wait to experience them again.

I may have come from an impoverished planet, but my family was a lot less dysfunctional than all the others’, I was beginning to realise. At least I grew up with freedom to be who I wanted to be, with parents who were very much in love in a place that didn’t judge based on race, wealth, or status.

I couldn’t wait to get back.

Unfortunately, just as Bromm was about to leave for the cafeteria, an alarm bleated on the holo-table, interrupting Libby.

‘What’s happening?’ she asked, panic raising her voice as she glanced towards her son.

‘The scanners have detected an incoming ship. It’ll be on us in a day,’ Eloria informed us, switching to her professional personal in an instant and turning to Artemis. ‘Captain, we need to change course. They’re catching up.’

Artemis plucked Baldr from the GC’s lap, positioning him so Liberty could see for herself that he was safe, at least for the time being.

‘Are we still on course for the asteroid field?’ she asked the pilot.

‘Yes but therein lies the problem. We can no longer go around it and we can’t turn back without running straight into the enemy.’

‘There’s one more option,’ she prompted, causing the Yu’Rom female’s eyes to widen comically.

‘Captain, I may be a skilled and experienced pilot, but there isno wayI will be capable of manoeuvring this ship through such dangerous terrain.’

Artemis placed a grounding hand on Eloria’s shoulder, looked her in the eyes and spoke with a conviction I wished I felt in that moment. ‘You focus on flying this ship and leave the rest up to me. I won’t let us go down.’

I could see the indecision in Eloria’s expression, but her face quickly hardened and she gave Artemis a single, decisive nod. ‘Okay, I trust you, but how?’

She turned to face us, her eyes skirting over me and Xander only to land on Adara, Reece, Bromm and Cadmus. ‘I’m going to need your help.’

Bromm stepped forward without hesitation. ‘What do you need us to do?’

‘The nanites should have infiltrated your biology enough to enter the web. I’m going to need your help shielding the ship. We’ve got to think about the enemy ship’s fire powerandpotential collision with asteroids. It’s time to put your abilities to the test.’

‘What if it doesn’t work?’ Reece asked nervously. ‘I’ve never been inside the web before. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.’

‘I have,’ Addy spoke up from beside Xander who’s head whipped around at her admission. ‘I accidentally connected to the ship last night. I told Henrik, but then Bromm woke up so we didn’t have the chance to tell anyone else until now.’

‘I’ve been there,’ Cadmus piped in.

‘We know,’ I deadpanned, and he had the audacity to smirk.

‘I don’t know how reliable you’ll be, Cadmus,’ Artemis redirected the conversation back on topic. ‘Bromm collapsed randomly. It could happen to you at any moment, or it might not happen at all. The point is, we can’t just rely on using your abilities.’

‘Which is why you need us,’ Reece concluded.

She nodded. ‘Exactly. Do you think you could try and enter the web now?’

‘I can give it a go, but I don’t know how successful I’ll be. I don’t know what I’m doing.’

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