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Selvia waved us toward the seats and sat behind us.
"Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?" I whispered.
"I have a bad feeling about it," Slek agreed.
A dozen Iri stepped onto the pod, along with Humar, an Agusian woman, and four more Freytaurians.
The doors slid shut behind us and Brinley turned on the ship's engines.
"They sound healthy enough," Slek said after a moment. "I saw no sign of damage to the exterior."
"That's good to know," I said.
Danec was quiet, his skin pale.
I took his hand. "Are you all right?" I asked.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should have done some-something."
"You would be dead too if you tried," I reminded him. "At least this way we have a chance." How, I didn't know, but we'd come up with something.
The pod jolted and rose off the ground. Out the window I watched the last of the refugees ushered inside the buildings. Some stopped to stare, but were soon hurried on. Was Kalvix amongst them? I hadn't seen her, but I had been busy with Jones. I hope she was all right. I hated to think the doctor had died on Infinity, or one of the pods.
"Uh, Iritauri leader," Brinley said awkwardly. "There's a ship in orbit. I'm pretty sure they've seen us. They aren't IF."
Selvia nodded and rose. She pointed her cannon at Slek and Danec.
"You two, into the cockpit," she ordered.
I opened my mouth to argue, but when she aimed her cannon at me, I shut it so hard my teeth clicked. I raised my hands and slumped in my seat.
"Contact them," Selvia said. She gestured for Slek to sit beside Brinley and Danec stood beside him, in front of Selvia.
"Tell them we're a Freytauri pod," she ordered. "Liberated from the IF."
Slek gave her a funny look, but cleared his throat and did as she asked.
The closer we got to orbit, the bigger the ship became.
"IF design," J'avet muttered. "But an older one."
"Older as in supposed to be scrap, but currently flown by pirates?" I asked.
He glanced toward me as though he'd forgotten I was there. "Pirates, or those who don't believe in IF ideals," he said.
"Like Jones?"
J'avet looked grim. "Far worse, if I'm guessing correctly."
I thought quickly. Why would Selvia want the ship to think we were Freytauri and not IF? Unless…
"Rogue Freytaurians?" I guessed. "Ones who want to finish off the genocide, but the IF won't let them?"
"Possibly." His eyes unfocused and he thought aloud. "Their plan may have been to slow us down, to keep us busy fixing Infinity so they might get it done before we reached orbit. Infinity was evacuated more quickly than they anticipated."
"Is it possible they tried to sabotage the engines first?" I asked. Maybe Slek was pushed after all. "If that's the case, then…" The blood drained from my face.
"There's a Freytaurian or two willing to kill us to finish their job, and they may be on this pod." J'avet looked toward the cockpit.
