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"Shit," I muttered.
"Yes, come on." Brinley grabbed my spare hand and pulled. "I've been assigned to pod twelve. I was on my way there when I saw you." She blinked at Slek, who was still attached to my other hand. "You can come too."
"Thanks," he said dryly, but let himself be pulled through the crowds to the doorway.
"Pilot coming through," Brinley said, her voice brisk, businesslike.
The crowd muttered, but they parted to let us pass. I ignored the glares. They would all get on a pod, but without a pilot, they wouldn't leave. Without a nurse, their injuries would go untreated. I made every justification I could think of, but I still felt guilty for pushing in.
I forgot about it a moment later when Danec, with a worried look on his face, spotted me. His face split in a broad smile. My heart promptly flipped, because it has no idea about appropriate timing.
"You're okay," he said happily.
"Have you been assigned a pod?" Brinley asked. When he shook his head, she nodded. "You're with us then, ensign." She nodded up ahead. "Pod twelve. It will be up to you to make sure we have no more than fifty on board. That's more than I'd like and we'll have to recycle the oxygen more quickly, but any less and we won't all get off this ship."
"Yes, ma'am," Danec said. "I can do that." He drew himself up taller and made his face look stern. He looked a bit like he needed to pee, but when it came down to it, he would do as she asked. All of our lives depended on it.
We pushed through to our pod and Brinley keyed in a code on the pad beside the door. Silently, it slid open and we stepped inside.
"Stay by the door," Brinley told Danec. "Count them all."
"Don't forget to count us," Slek said helpfully.
Danec gave him a funny look, but nodded.
A shout came from outside, followed by the sound of people eager to board.
"Five. Six."
While Danec counted, I moved further into the small vessel. Really just a shuttle, the pod consisted of a cockpit, storage bay and a section for seating. Off to one side was a small room full of bunks, perhaps enough for twenty to sleep. We'd have to sleep in shifts if we were here that long.
Brinley hurried into the cockpit.
Slek followed. "The pod should be ship shape, but just in case—"
I settled into a spot at the front, near the window and sat facing the door. On a small craft like this, we'd have little more than a first aid kit, but I would be ready if I was needed. Okay, when I was needed.
"One at a time," a voice roared from outside the door. "Ensign, how many passengers are in this pod?"
I squashed down in my seat and grimaced. With any luck, he would keep moving.
"Forty-six, sir," Danec replied.
"Three more over here. No, I said three. No more."
Three evacuees, two women and a man, hurried inside and took the last of the seats. When the door slid shut, I grimaced. It deepened when I saw Commander J'avet firmly on this side of the door, followed by Danec, who looked like he wished the floor would swallow him up.
"Fuck," I said under my breath.
The pod's engine started up. J'avet strode between the seats to the cockpit. He stopped when he reached me and scowled, but he marched inside.
The pod rose and glided toward the outer door. It slid first into a small section, where we stopped. A door slid closed behind us and the space doors opened.
"See, no being thrown out the airlock." Danec slipped into the seat beside me and put a hand on my knee.
"No, we're just flying out of it instead." I watched the side of the ship glide by before we moved out into space.
"The IF will send help." Danec sounded so sure.
