Where Nothing Ill Can Dwell

Chapter 29 - Miranda

I knew as soon as I'd reconnected with the main computer terminal, something was wrong.

My heart froze, and panic stilled my breath.

The compound was under attack.

And Mom was still there.

Ferdinand cast one look in my direction before pressing something on the control panel. The ship bolted forward with enough acceleration to push me back in my seat and turn the world outside into a nauseating blur of colors. The nearly half-hour trip had been condensed into a matter of minutes, but each second felt like an eternity.

Mom was in danger, and it was all my fault.

"Hang on, Miranda, we'll be there soon," he said in an attempt to soothe my rattled nerves.

It was enough to snap me out of my stupor. I tried to access the camera system to see what we were up against, but the images were distorted beyond recognition.

"Can you open the roof?" he asked as we closed in on the complex.

"I'll try. Whoever is attacking the complex has done something to the main system." But after some rerouting, I managed to open the roof of the hangar just in time.

I didn't wait for the ship to touch the ground before bolting from my seat. Ferdinand called my name, but I was too busy opening the hatch at the rear.

But as soon as I stepped off, the distinctive sharp zing of blaster fire greeted me.

A strong arm grabbed my waist and yanked me back inside. "What are you doing?" Ferdinand yelled.

The shooting ceased, and a shaky voice called out, "Admiral Santos, is that you?"

Ferdinand winced at being mistaken for his father. "No, it's Ferdinand."

"Saints alive, I thought you were dead." The voice grew closer, and even though the person expressed familiarity with Ferdinand and his father, it did little to ease the tense muscles in his shoulders.

Ferdinand peeked around the corner. "Trinculo?"

"You remember me!"

He took another step closer to the door. "Why are you shooting at me?"

"Well, um, you see, there's this monster, and well, um..."

The apologetic tone in his excuse was enough to lure me to look outside.

A skinny man in strange, mismatched clothing stood a few feet away with a blaster loosely hanging in his hand.

"What is this monster you speak of?" Ferdinand crossed his arms and stared down at the man called Trinculo.

"A big sort of chap, about six feet tall with yellow scales and—"

"Caliban." I had little doubt that he was the monster Trinculo was describing, and my fears doubled. He'd grown more and more antagonistic toward my mother ever since the day she'd placed the collar on him, and if he got to her first...

I jumped out of the ship, only to have Ferdinand grab my arm and pull me back.

"Where are you going?"

"He's going to kill her, can't you see?"

"You're talking about the tyrant that put that collar thing around his neck?" Trinculo asked. "To hear him talk, killing her would be a merciful end."

I wanted to throw up, but instead, I continued to pry my arm free from Ferdinand. "Let's go before he hurts her."

"Not without a plan." He tightened his hold on me, his grip strong enough to leave bruises where his fingertips pressed against my flesh. "I don't want you to get hurt."

I glanced at his hand. "But you're the one hurting me."

Horror flashed across his face, and his fingers went lax.

I slipped my arm free.

A split second later, the ringing of blaster fire filled the hangar.