The Dead Fleet (Juggernaut #3)

Seventy Three

Cockpits bloomed in the blinding white-blue light of the entry portal as three ships crossed the event horizon which separated here from there. A distance simultaneously measured in light years and plank's constant.

The portal closed. It twisted into a zero-point mass and vanished.

The cockpit shades of the Jubilee lessened in reaction to the lowered brightness, and Tila lowered her hand from her eyes, because sometimes even cockpit shades were not enough to protect against a jump portal.

The Jubilee's navigation system pulled in and assembled public information from the navigation bouys floating fifty-thousand metres away from the beacon. An abundance of data flooded the system, from sensors to cameras and communications.

One of the benefits of arriving in a populated system was that all the information they could want or need was already waiting for them, or at least no more that a few hours old. Light had already travelled to their position from every point in the system. Likewise, the light from their arrival would not be seen by the more distant planets for hours more, by which time their transit to the next beacon would be well underway.

Tila watched the navigation system update. The star glowed on the screen as a yellow circle. Thin white circles sprang from the star and took their positions as the orbital paths of the planets. Planet popped onto the display one by one, most of them radiating their own circles which were filled with moons. Finally, orbital constructs - space stations, trading posts, mining facilities and shipyards, were overlaid onto the display.

They weren't back in Celato yet, but they hadn't jumped back to Jenova either.

'Why did we come to Selah?' said Tila.

Grace finished laying in a new course before answering, and sent the navigation data to Malachi and Ellie.

'Two reasons. I wanted to avoid travelling back via Jenova in case there are any Cabal operatives looking for us there. We know they have a presence there.'

'How do you know they don't have one here. They could be watching us right now.'

'I don't,' said Grace simply. 'In fact it would not surprise me if they do, but I'll take that chance over the certainty they would be looking for us at Jenova. Besides, we've only just arrived. It will be some time before anyone knows we are here, and by then we'll be somewhere else.'

'And the second reason?'

'Your friends are still in stolen ships. The moment they show up near Parador, or anywhere in that system, both system and private security forces will be after them.

'Can I talk to them?'

'Comms are still on. Go ahead.'

Tila leaned over the console and pressed the transmit button.

'Mal? Ellie? Are you okay?'

Malachi answered first. 'I'm okay. How come we jumped to Selah?'

Tila explained. She could almost hear Malachi nodding along as he digested the answer. 'What about Ellie? She's not answering.'

Malachi disengaged the autopilot and swung his ship closer to Ellie's so he could see what she was doing. There was no movement from her cockpit. He smiled to himself.

'She's asleep.'

'Good. She must be exhausted.'

'Aren't you?' said Malachi.

Tila looked at her mother. 'I've felt worse.'

'You should get some sleep too,' Grace replied. 'You as well, Malachi,' she added, raising her voice to make sure she was heard. 'We have a long way to go and a lot to do when we get there. Get some rest. It's safe now. No one can sneak up on you in space.'

'What are you going to do?' said Tila. She heard Malachi yawn over the speakers.

Grace was already unbuckling her seat harness.

'I'm going to do exactly the same. We have hours until the next jump. Make the most of it. There are two bunks in the back.'

'Mal?' said Tila.

'Goodnight', said Malachi, and cut transmission.

There was nothing else to be done, so Tila left her seat, lay down on one of the bunks, and fell asleep.

An hour later, Ellie opened blurry eyes and tried to make sense of the system they were in. It wasn't home. Why weren't they home yet? She fumbled for the comms button.

'Tila?'

Nothing.

She yawned and tried again.

'Mal? Are you there?'

Nothing.

Ellie pressed the back of one gloved hand to her mouth to stifle the next yawn.

'Tila?'

'So lazy,' she mumbled to herself, and sleeptook her again.