Nessa gripped the steering and leaned forward in a way that reminded Relda of Raylay. Relda grinned down at him.
"She's like me," he whispered through gnashed teeth.
"Are your transports--? Nessa inquired.
"Back at the Dialorian home ship," Annika affirmed.
Relda stood upright and gathered her garment.
"Who's going with whom?" Darrion asked.
"I--" Relda started.
"We're not just taking the whole ship?" Ozla wanted to know.
Relda and Raylay exchanged excited glances. They both shrugged.
"She's got a point," Raylay admitted. "We can't squish twenty-eight creatures into our transports."
Relda spent a moment pondering and calculating.
"Let's go," she said.
She sauntered past the children, and paused while staring straight ahead.
"We're taking the enemy home ship."
"How?" Anya said.
All of the children scurried in a bunch behind Relda.
"Do you know the start-up codes?" Brade questioned.
"Start-up codes?" Relda echoed.
She stopped mid-stride.
"Transports don't have them," Hunley chimed in, "but home ships would have to."
"We'll figure it out," Relda said, placing her arms around her grandsons' shoulders.
Acelynn and Silas trailed behind the other young.
"Excuse me!" Silas called.
Relda looked in his direction.
"We worked for them all our lives," Silas said.
"They took us from our nest just after we hatched," Acelynn added. "They killed the rest of our litter, and they took us as tax. So we've driven ships since we were four."
Relda couldn't muster the courage to tell their background story wasn't pertinent.
"So you can get it started when we get back?"
Silas and Acelynn nodded in unison. Time and space carried them onward. The home ship still drifted in levitation mode. It moved, but the progression was painfully slow.
"The docks are on the east side," Silas told Nessa. "They probably put Relda's and Raylay's and Ty's transports there."
Nessa readied the ship, and they powered ahead.