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Uncertainty laced Vin’s reply. “If we can find all the parts? Maybe forty or fifty hours just to get us to the bare minimum of operational.
“Caryn has half that time…at best,” Onnika dejectedly replied.
Several expletives bounced around the room.
“I apologize,” the doctor said. “But I can be of no further use here. I’ll leave you to ponder your options.”
As he left, fat tears dropped from Onnika’s eyes, drenching her cheeks.
“We’ll do everything we can,” Aidan promised. “We won’t lose her. We won’t.” It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. Their choices were bleak.
“We’ll convince a race-hopper to lend us their ship in the promise of payment later,” Asher declared. “Or we’ll steal a ship.”
At that, Priya chimed in. “Do you know the kind of hell the commissioners would rain down on us if we set that precedent?”
“Who gives a shit,” Asher shot back. “They can disqualify us, for all I care. As long as we get Caryn there in time.”
“They’d do more than disqualify us,” she insisted. “Could you imagine if Phase Nine contestants just decided to start stealing from the fans? The commissioners will make an example of us. A terrible example, so no one would ever try it again. And besides, if the Serakian is there for contestants only, he or she may not help us if we get ourselves disqualified.”
Their desperation was dark and muddy, arduous, just as Onnika felt on the inside. Grief was crawling its way through her, making her body sluggish and heavy. Somewhere in the back of her mind she couldn’t believe Asher had suggested stealing a ship. She’d have laughed if she wasn’t trying so hard not to sob. Sadly, they couldn’t steal a ship, and no one was going to just hand one over…
Hope exploded in her so swiftly that she could barely catch her breath from the power of it.
“What is it?” Aidan asked.
She shot to her feet. “Come with me.” With that, she raced out of the ship, across the hangar’s polished floor.
“Where are we going?” Lear demanded, coming up beside her.
Asher flanked her other side. “What about Caryn?”
“She’s safe onDragoonnow that Tag and his goons are dead, and I’m going to need everyone’s help.” Onnika took a quick glance behind her and was heartened to see they had all followed. When they entered the huge arena, she was momentarily stunned by its size and opulence. It looked like a massive beehive with several stories stacked up to a domed ceiling and was decorated by maroon and gold tapestries and draperies that clung to the walls and decorated high arched doorways.
But there was no time to take in the beauty of her surroundings. She turned to face the group. “There’s a man who might be willing to help us. An older man. He’s about Zeek’s height. He has a beard and grayish-brown hair. He wears a hat, a dusty brown thing, and talks with a strange accent.”
Aidan shared a look with the others. “Sounds like a fellow we met in the pub,” he said. “We’ll check there first.”
“I think we should split up and search,” she said. When Aidan gave her a look that saidlike hell, she explained, “He might not be there any longer. He does odd jobs to get by. For all I know he could be working as a janitor or a boot polisher. But someone should definitely check the pub anyway. If he is there, just explain our situation and take him back to the ship until I return.”
“If we split up,” Zeek asked, already glancing around and scanning individuals. “how will we know for sure that we’ve found the right guy?”
“Ask him about our first meeting on the Armina spaceport. He’ll tell you I gave him a few chips so he could get something to eat.”
“We’re not bloody splitting up,” Aidan declared, his gaze hard and unwavering.
“Please,” she urged. “We have to find him before he leaves. He wanted to make it to the finish as badly as any contestant here. He could already be gone. I’m safe now. Tag is gone. So are the others. No one is hunting me.” She gazed up at Aidan with beseeching eyes. “He could be our only chance.”
He folded. “Fine, but you and I will stick together. We’ll look for one hour. After which I’m taking you back toDragoon, you hear me?”
Before she could agree, Asher darted off, calling back, “I’ll check the pub.”
That cued the others to dash off as well. Lear would check the upper floors, Vin and Priya would split the middle, while she and Aidan would search the lower levels. Zeek would sift through the many shops and markets that branched off the main arena.
As she and Aidan crammed into an elevator filled with wide-eyed fans, she braced for a sudden onslaught of uninvited attention.
“By the gods, it’s you,” one man said, scanning her with an awed and openly interested expression. “You’re amazing. I love you. Can I touch your hair?” He reached out to finger a lock before she could decline. “It’s so soft.”
“Hands off,” Aidan growled, his eyes flashing green with the threat of transformation. Sufficiently spooked, the man held up his hands and backed away.
