Kira's response was stolen as the ship abruptly flopped onto its back, tearing the hand hold out of Kira's grip. She careened toward the ship's ceiling, flipping so her feet landed first.
The ship's thrusters fired as it prepared for its next maneuver. Jin had always called this series “a flea on a dog's back”. Kira was beginning to see why.
Anticipating its next move, Kira leapt sideways, landing on the ship's starboard wall and running along it before leaping again when the ship started its next maneuver. Lucky for her, she guessed right.
"Jin, I don't care what you have to do but get me control of this ship," Kira ordered.
Silenced answered Kira.
She'd worry if she couldn't still sense him through their link. A barely audible grumbling was coming from his side. She got a feeling he was concentrating. For now, she'd leave him to his task and hope he figured out quickly how to access the ship's brain before they all ended up as a burning tangle of wreckage.
Dumping Graydon and Harlow out of the ship like they were discarded trash was bad enough—and would definitely have consequences down the line—but what she really worried about was what the planetary defense systems had in store for them. There was a reason Elena and Odin hadn't tried to leave before now. Ta Sa'Riel was home to the emperor and the overlords of several Houses. There was no telling what sort of nasty surprises the Tuann had in store for unwelcome visitors.
Kira very much feared if she didn't take control of the ship soon that they wouldn’t have the time to regret the poor decisions that had led to their demise.
Kira pushed harder, an invisible clock in her head counting down the precious seconds.
Two more leaps allowed her to clear the cargo hold. It was easier once Kira reached the hall. She raced along the side of its walls, shifting her balance every time the ship tried to surprise her.
By the time she reached the bridge, the ride had mostly smoothed out. Elena was already strapped into the copilot's seat, her hands on the ship's manual flight controls.
"Good, you're here." Elena didn't look away from what she was doing. "Just in time too. We're being targeted by an unknown weapons system. Would you care to take over?"
Red flashed over the data screens and a recording of Jin's voice came through the speakers. "Uh oh. Looks like you've pissed someone off again. You should probably do something about that."
Kira plopped herself into the captain's seat, barely taking time to strap in before she assumed command of the controls. "This right here is why I would have preferred you didn't hijack my ship."
"Yell at me later. Save me now."
Kira bared her teeth as she jerked hard on the controls, sending the ship into a sharp barrel roll. The horizon outside the windows spun before Kira righted them again. Seconds later, she pulled hard on the control stick to send them into a hard right.
Whatever had locked onto them wasn't budging.
"Persistent little thing," Kira observed.
Elena clutched the armrests as Kira rolled the ship again. "Perhaps you could save your admiration for when we're not fighting for our lives."
Kira didn't answer, too busy trying to keep them alive.
If they couldn't outmaneuver their shadow, maybe they could outrun it. Kira hit the thrust. A great force punched her deeper into her chair.
"Warning. You're in danger of imminent death. Do something now."
"We are going to have a very long talk when this is over.” Kira didn’t look away from her monitors.
"Only if we survive,"
Here's hoping they lived long enough.
*
Graydon landed in a light crouch beside Harlow, already tensed to spring toward the ship again. Feared across half the galaxy yet outsmarted by a girl only a few years out of her first decade.
The emperor would laugh himself silly when he heard about this.
Above him, Graydon caught the squawk of protest as Jin's round form darted toward the exit Graydon had just been launched from.
All plans to return to the ship were abruptly abandoned as Graydon raised his ki shield an instant before heat from the ship's thrusters washed over them. A second's delay in his reaction would have seen him and Harlow distilled to ash and bone.
For now, they were safe enough behind the shield, but eventually the extreme heat would penetrate even Graydon's ki.
Behind him, Graydon sensed the flow and movement of ki. Years of working at the Overlord's side told Graydon what the Overlord planned.
As if they planned it, Graydon dropped the shield the second it was safe. A dark blur shot past him. Harlow reached for the ship, even managing to get one hand on it.
As if sensing his presence, it veered at the last second, bucking and rolling like a wild ooros intent on keeping its freedom. Even a Tuann as strong and versed in ki as Harlow had no chance to punch his way through.
He flew off the ship, hitting a tree and breaking it in half before sliding to a stop.
Harlow climbed to his feet, looking no worse for wear, his synth armor along with his ki protection enough.
Frustrated, Harlow looked up at the rapidly ascending ship which was being desperately pursued by Jin.
"This is an unwelcome turn of events," Harlow said.
Graydon grunted in agreement, watching the ship's dark shape disappear into the night sky.
They could have brought it down with a well-placed ki blast, but it would have been risky. Kira hadn't been strapped in and she’d barely been holding on the last time Graydon saw her. A crash landing could have proved fatal for one or both of the women.
That was something Graydon refused to chance. Even without asking, he knew Harlow felt the same.
"The emperor is going to have a lot to say about this," Graydon said.
A stream of yellow streaked across the sky, lighting it up for a brief second and highlighting Kira's ship.
It rolled, barely evading before the yellow streak swung around for another attempt at bringing it down.
"The planet's defenses just went active," Harlow snarled.
Graydon cursed.
"I'll buy you as much time as I can," Harlow said.
Graydon pressed a finger to his left forearm. "Open channel, priority. Access code, Stormfront.”
Next to him, Harlow brought his hands together with a harsh clap that sent the tops of the tree swaying away from him. His eyes closed as beads of sweat formed on his face. He ripped his hands apart in a quick movement, his left hand sweeping up, around, then away from his face. His right hand mirrored the move, sweeping down, around, and away, dark light following in each hand's path.
Ki built before bursting from the center of the pattern, shooting across the sky like a black spear. It crashed into the streak of yellow, its darkness eating away at its light as the ship dove in the opposite direction.
"This is a surprise," a warm voice came over the line.
"Shut down the defenses."
There was a startled silence.
"I expect you to have a reason for this."
Graydon heaved a sigh of relief. He was going to do it.
In the distance, countless streaks of yellow rose into the air. For a brief moment, they resembled a blossoming flower before they broke apart to arrow at the little ship.
Graydon could only hope and pray his interference was in time.