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Hu’oth chuckled. “It is a privilege. You are no burden if that is what you are worried about. When we reach our world, you will be surrounded by my people at all times, and you need to be aware of what that feels like. Our senses do not leave any room for concealment when it comes to issues of self or intimacy.”
“So, that is why I have to shower with the door open?”
“Heboren will descend on you like an autumn firestorm. There will be no part of you unexamined by the time he has completed your orientation.”
She drank the last of her water in one draught. “Why do I keep forgetting about that?”
He chuckled. “Take your bath. The water is ready.”
Nova got up and walked over to the pool, untying her robe and letting it slip. It was caught and whisked away. She was getting used to being naked. She never thought that would happen. Hu’oth had her itinerary, and everything would get done, no matter how much she tried to weasel out of it.
The ship shuddered, and Nova sat up. “What was that?”
“That was an impact.” Hu’oth came in from his private quarters and brought up the displays from outside the ship. “We are under attack.”
“What do we do?”
“You are to sit here and remain secure.”
She started to pace and whined in frustration. “I don’t want to wait.”
The ship deployed fighters, and the attackers began to fall back, but there were a lot of them.
“Where’s the hub? They should have the hub with them.”
Hu’oth looked at her. “No one pilots the hub. It is nauseating.”
She looked back at him. “I can pilot it.”
“Absolutely not.”
She grabbed her bodysuit and pulled it on. “You are not the boss of me.”
“No, but he isn’t here, and when he finds out, he will not be happy about it.”
“Well, he isn’t here, and I can deal with disaster later. It’s kind of my thing. Now, how do I find the launch bay with the hub?”
He sighed and opened the door, speaking to the guard. The man was startled but nodded.
She bound her hair in a clip and walked to the door, “Let’s go. Fast as we can.”
He looked at her and nodded. “I will go at your pace, mistress.”
“Fine. Let’s run.” She and her guards started running. It took eight agonizing minutes, and the ship rocked again and again. When they reached a locker room with a Hmrain five over the only tube with something in it, she asked, “How do I trigger it?”
“Stand on the platform and pull the handles. It will drop you into the pod.”
She settled on the huge footpads, turned to face the outer room, and pulled the handles. “Wish me luck.”
The floor dropped out from under her, and she fell down a tube with the hand grips and foot pads as her only support. She wanted to scream as darkness covered her and held her in a grip, and then she landed in the pod and was able to cross the floor and settle in the seat. Bands bound her to the seat, adjusting for her size, and then she gripped the controls while triggering the chute that would drop her out of the ship. Small rockets on the pod moved her down and out of the ship, but once she was out, the lights of her component warriors were bright on her console and display, and she cruised toward the battle.
She had done it. She was flying!
Chapter Three
Nova watched as the pod took control of the fighting units, collecting the six it needed. Her coms lit up with confusion, but as the energy tethers linked the seven ships together, the shouting stopped, and the firing started.
She heard a grunt. “Pod, you had better know what you are doing.”
