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"What happened?" She looked dazed and confused.
I couldn't blame her. We had probably come close to dying only several minutes earlier, and she held the blaster. None of that was her fault, but she might not see it that way. It didn't matter what species someone was, people always seemed ready to blame themselves for all sorts of things.
"Nanobots happened," I said. "You're free of them and their influence." I needed her to know there were no hard feelings for anything the bots made her do. None of it was her.
"They're switched off." For now. "We're headed to another ship. They'll take you to wherever you need to go." I offered her a smile.
She replied with a confused frown. "Um. Okay, I guess." She looked around, obviously with no idea how she got there.
From what I'd seen of Iri nanobot infestation, she would remember everything in time. When she did, she'd need a lot of support to deal with it. I didn't envy her, or any of them.
I patted her shoulder. "Come on, we need to get into the other pod. This one isn't safe."
With my help, she stood and tottered on unsteady legs until she could flop down onto a bunk.
The other three managed by themselves, but the effort to move under their own power was obviously great. The strain on their faces spoke volumes.
I left them there to rest, then helped J'avet carry the food and fuel from one pod to the other. Even E'rel helped, once his corner was all moved over.
The old pod cleared of anything but inactive nanobots, J'avet closed the door.
"Disengage the clamps and move us a safe distance away," he said.
"Declamping and getting clear," Brinley confirmed.
We drew closer to Gamma, which was stationary until J'avet opened the comms.
"Gamma. Anytime you want to laser that pod, we're clear."
Marshall's voice came back. "Commander, I thought you'd never ask." She sounded as though she couldn't imagine anything more fun.
A weapons port on the side of the ship opened. Something inside it moved, like the muzzle of a canon turning to lock onto a target. A flash of laser shot out, so brilliant it lit up the galaxy. At least, our little bit of it.
I squinted against the glare.
The laser slammed into the pod. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the pod exploded, blowing it and all the nanobots into oblivion.
"You're cleared to dock," Marshall declared, satisfaction in her tone. "All aboard."
