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This time when Ranvir stumbled, it had nothing to do with his injury. He hadn’t expected this. He’d brought up forming a new pod, but nothing had been decided. For Ganesha to word it that way meant it had.
“Taly’s the priority,” he said instead.
“We’re not leaving without you, Ranvir, so get your ass in gear or so help the Gods, I’m coming out there and getting you myself.” Taly’s beautiful voice filled his ear. The harsh tone left no doubt about how upset she was with him.
“Don’t you dare!” he growled and pushed his leg to its limits. He had to hurry because he didn’t doubt for one nanosecond that she didn’t mean the threat. There was no way he’d chance her getting off the Troubadour. “Ganesha. Status.”
“Ship is secure. Engines are primed. All we’re waiting on is you.”
“Nearly there,” he said as he burst onto the tarmac.
The Troubadour sat before him. Systems lit as proof she was ready to take off. Several guards surrounded the vessel. The ramp wasn’t out, preventing the security forces from gaining entry. The hatch had been left open, and he could see Pike standing in it.
The moment Pike spotted Ranvir, he raised his blaster and began laying cover fire. The security force dove for cover, clearing a direct path for Ranvir to the ship.
As he leaped for the hatch, his injured leg gave out. Adrenaline surged through his systems. He was going to miss the opening completely. Suddenly, Pike dropped his blaster and reached down. Rough hands grabbed Ranvir’s forearms and swung him into the ship. They both fell backward onto the deck.
“He’s on board!” Pike yelled, hitting his ear comm. “Close the hatch and get us out of here.”
In an instant, the hatch closed, and the ship wobbled beneath him as it lifted off.
“Thanks,” he told Pike as he gingerly rolled to his feet.
Pike was up faster, his gaze going to Ranvir’s pant leg soaked with blood. “We need to get you to medical.”
“I’m fine,” Ranvir told him.
“Right,” Pike huffed. “That’s why you couldn’t make a jump a day-old cyborg could.”
Ranvir looked at his leg and grimaced. “The second hit did more damage than I thought.”
“Second?” Pike questioned.
“Yeah. For bounty hunters, they were pretty good shots.”
“What about Ju and Feo?” Pike demanded.
“Dead.”
They both reached out to steady themselves as the ship tilted onto its side.
“What’s going on up there?” Ranvir demanded through his ear comm.
“If you want to know, get your lazy asses up here and find out.” Ganesha’s tense reply had them hustling for the bridge.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
“Strap your ass into the captain’s chair and stay there,” Ganesha ordered Taly as he did the same in the pilot’s chair.
“But…”
“He’s close,” Ganesha told her. “As soon as he’s in, we need to take off. Fast.”
Taly looked to the people that had risked their lives to save her and Ranvir. She’d refused to leave them behind. It hadn’t taken much convincing on her part. Not with all the blaster fire.
“There are seats along that wall for you,” she pointed to them. “Get strapped in. I have a feeling this is going to get bumpy.”
“There he is.”
