They weren't alone in their little stretch of space. Off in the distance, black orbs lurked. Their ominous presence felt unsettling for everyone. Ozla's stomach ached, and she dry-heaved.
"Dialorians," Scion muttered.
"But how?" Ozla wanted to know. "There weren't enough to stop us from leaving."
"We killed maybe two hundred at the base," Relda recalled, keeping a watchful eye on the growing orbs. "And a few on the ship."
Daly peered into the control center. Hunley rode on her back.
"They were the inhabitants of a whole galaxy," she reminded everyone. "Two hundred, three hundred, that's like a few drops in a whole water body."
"She has a point," Darrion agreed.
One orb was close enough now to see the shield panels. The pilot wore blue goggles. He lifted them off his eyes, and Raylay squirmed. His beard and hair mirrored Raylay's. That was, except Raylay's had a salt and pepper look--white and black interspersed--and this man's hair was snowy white.
"Dad," he gasped.
He gripped the headrest on Nessa's chair.
"Don't fire," he begged.
Too late. A brilliant orange laser missile sailed through space. The orange illuminated the black orb's exterior. The orb folded in as the missile penetrated it.
The slow approach of the first orb was a grace period, because the orbs that followed blinked and flashed in and out of visibility.
"They're too fast," Nessa lamented.
"Can your missiles go at light speed?" Relda questioned.
"No, but the lasers can."
Lasers burst forth, piercing some of the orbs at their weak points. Two fell. Then a third, but five still remained a threat.
"Make them follow you," Relda instructed. "Wait at the danger zone Ozla told us about."
Nessa clenched her teeth.
"It's a completely stupid idea," Eklun said. "We're going to die either way."
She manipulated the nose cone downward. The underside of the base offered shelter. At least for now. A red light flashed a yard or so up front. Nessa gulped. Behind them, they heard a hammering sound. A brief glance in the rear view cam revealed the Dialorians had fallen for their trick. Two feet from the red light, and Nessa turned the ship sharply to the right.
She enabled a speed enhancer, and they cleared the base by a long-measure before the enemy bas--and the orbs--exploded into fragments.
"Mission accomplished," she announced to the crew.
Cheers and applause sounded throughout the ship. All had clustered inside the control center. From behind them emerged from obscurity a grinning Maurian.
"Good work," he said.
He laid his hand on his nephew Orz' shoulder.
"We're free. For the first time in our lives, we're really free."