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I stared at the blinking green code and took a few deep breaths.
Resistance Strong.
This was my mission. I had trained for it for a long time.
I couldn’t know where Tulla and Braxl were headed, but even if they came to the engineering bay, they would have to hunt the separate side rooms to find the terminal where I was perched, ready to punch in the final command.
I patted the blaster at my hip. If it came down to it, I could defend myself. I had no idea what kind of recoil the blaster might have, but I had trained with plenty of Earthling and alien tech. The explosives were ready. There were quite a few already past the perimeter that would cause no harm to any of the mother ships. I could always execute the detonation and still kill most of the warlords.
The final three shuttles pulled away. I switched the video to another view, watching the shuttles float away, their cores flaring occasionally to give impetus in various directions.
The clock beside me slowly clicked the minutes through as I waited for my hastily sketched mathematics to reveal the perimeter bounds.
Some had already gotten into that perfect range. The last few were almost there, including Kressel’s. His would be the last to cross.
A blinking light appeared on the side of the screen. It was a message. Was it to me? Who else would it be for?
I licked my lips and thumbed it open.
I gasped as Braxl’s face appeared on a live feed.
“Jasmine, where are you?”
I just stared back at him. His back was tense as he leaned over a terminal. I was sure he could only faintly see my features gleaming green from the flashing code on the screen.
I didn’t know what to say.
“Jasmine, I know about Vishin.”
My hand hovered over the blaster at my hip, heart pounding in my ears. My mouth was parched. I stole a quick glance toward the shuttles.Almost there...
“You did me a favor, Jasmine. I never liked him. I don’t know how you did it, but I know you have his blaster. That can only mean one thing: you killed him.”
I swallowed as I tried to speak. “I didn’t have a choice, Braxl.” My voice was low, husky. He flinched as I spoke as if he had been afraid to hear the admission by my own words.
“You have a choice now, Jasmine. Whatever you are planning, don’t do it.”
There was some loud banging outside my room, and I looked instinctively over my shoulder at the locked door. Someone was in the main engineering bay. They were flinging open doors to all the side alcoves.
I tapped my fingers over the final execution button.
“I have to, Braxl. This is my mission. For my race. For humans. For so many planets that Prexis hurts.”
Braxl shook his head sharply, and his eyes flashed. “That’s not me, Jasmine. Right now, if you do this, you’re hurting me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. I… I have reprogrammed how this is going to happen. The shuttles with the Old Guard will explode. You can take over. You can rule the Prexis Empire. You can change how you treat us.”
Braxl’s fangs elongated. “You are threatening my people!”
I leaned closer to the screen so he could see my face. Tears were starting to blur my vision, but I blinked rapidly to clear them.
“You have never felt the same pain that my planet feels. This will be a tiny taste. Then, the choices will be up to you.”
Braxl took a deep breath. His eyes softened. “Please, Jasmine. I will have no other option than to arrest you if you do this.”
I glanced toward Kressel’s shuttle. It had stopped right before the perimeter. Braxl signaled to someone behind him as clanging grew louder outside my engineering room.
Kressel’s shuttle began to turn around. Some of the others flared reverse thrusters and began to move backwards, too.
