Page 48 of Einar

Wow, that is certainly different thanI’maccustomed to.

Flickinga glance up at the screens,Isee that nothing has changed soIrefocus on the male in front me, grabbing the rolling stool asIwalk over to where he is standing.Sittingdown,Itake a deep breath.

“Well,Iguess the first thingIwant to know is what the heck is going on right now?”

Einarlets out a low chuckle before he reaches out and presses a button on the side of the screen.Thesudden cacophony of voices emanating from the speakers overhead makes me jump.

“Bikar, what’s going on?”

Slavicbarks out the questions andBikaranswers just as fast.

“ThehyperdriveFalonjust installed is not getting enough fuel.Theremust be a vacuum leak somewhere due to the fuel hatch being open.EverytimeItry to engage, it shuts itself off.Falonis on his way toward the engine compartment now.”

“Havethe swarm ships spotted us yet?”

“No, the asteroid belt has us hidden at the moment.Butif they get a lock on us, we will not escape them without that hyperdrive.Theirships are too big, and theVoiddoes not have enough space for them to operate that feature safely within its borders.Whereaswe can duck in behind places they cannot.”

Myeyes bounce back and forth between the two of them asIwatch their exchange on the screen before me whenRuby’svoice catches me off guard.Slavicmoves, andIrealize she’s in one of the massive chairs in that room but was blocked from sight by the bulk ofSlavic’sbody.

“Slavic, are we being pursued by the bugs?”

Ifreeze.Forthe love of all that is good and holy,Ipray that we are not.IfInever see another one of those things, it will be too soon.

“Notnecessarily, but they are in radar range so theZenithalerted us once they were detected, giving us plenty of time to get away from them.Youhave nothing to worry about, little mate.”

Sighingin relief,Irelax.Atleast we don’t have to worry about that.

Thedoor to the room where everyone is opens andIthink it’s the one namedFalonthat enters, talking as he goes. “Thehyperdrive is starving for fuel.Thebatteries can provide long-term power; however, it requires both fuels for startup.EachtimeBikartries to activate it, the fuel line collapses.”

“Frack!Falon, do you have any suggestions?”

“Oneof us is going to have to go out and seal that hatch.”

Slavicruns his hand over his hairless head in obvious frustration. “Finda place to set us down,I’llgo suit up.”

“Slavic, it would make more sense for me to go.Iam the engineer on this ship and if something else needs to be fixed whileIam out there,Iwould have a better grasp on how to do it.”

“NoFalon,Ineed your eyes up here.Iwill wear a viewer so if you see something whileIam out there, you can advise me on how to proceed further.”

“FrackSlavic, you have a mate now.Sheis your first priority, let one of us go instead.”

“Sheis the reasonIam going, little brother.Iwill do anything in my power to make sure she is never in danger again.Ifsomething should happen to me,Iknow the five of you would protect her with your lives.Now, quit stalling and let us get this done quickly.”

Warmthfills me at his words.Imay be completely fucked up… but my sister deserves whatever gods gave her to a guy like that, and it makes me so happy that she finally has someone in her corner.IfRubyis to be believed,Ihave that inEinartoo… ifIcan ever be brave enough to risk my body and heart again.

Slavicspins on his heels and is almost out the door beforeBikar’snext words stop him in his tracks.

“Wehave a problem,Slavic.”

Isee thatEinaris frowning heavily as he leans toward the screen, watching the exchange just as closely, if not more so than me.

“Whatthe frack now?”

“Theasteroid’s surface is uneven and afterItouched down and anchored us,Inoticed the open hatch of the fuel cells is extremely close to the asteroid’s surface.Iam not sure you can fit under the ship to do repairs.”

“Canyou readjust the ship?”

“Notwithout the unattached material giving our location away.”

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