Ambassador of War

Chapter 4

Cobalt and Vicss sat on the lip of the Pit, watching the Exodus's last preparations. The next day, they would start loading refugees into the cryo-pods that would protect them from the extreme forces of lightspeed acceleration, and the effects of potentially years adrift in space. For the transit, only a skeleton crew would be required, including the Queen; Cobalt knew that, by the time she was thawed, she might very well be their leader, her mother too old and frail to rule effectively. She would be the last to be frozen on-planet, in three days' time, and then the military personnel would go under once they were out of orbit, out of danger and ready to jump.

"It's a glorious ship, isn't it?" Vicss asked her.

He was right. The Exodus, even resting at the bottom of this half kilometre tall pit, towered over them. The octagonal frame, unlike that of an attack ship, was barely marked, the ship being supplied with few control thrusters; manoeuvrability was not a priority for this vessel. There were also no weapons, which Cobalt thought worrying; they would be relying entirely on the Edge to defend them until they, hopefully with her father's cruiser safely attached to the airlock, could get accelerating. Around its base, eight large engines were built into the corners, the atmospheric boosters hiding from view the massive thruster that would carry them to salvation; at the ship's apex, the eight sides came together to a sharp point, customary of most Ambassador vessels and useful for cutting through the air.

"It is. And soon, we'll be flying on it."

"Yeah," Vicss snorted. "In the hold."

Again, Cobalt admitted, he had it right. Once they were frozen, they were in effect little more than cargo; a precious cargo, yes, but those cryo-pods were difficult to break. Once they were asleep and strapped down in the Exodus's hold, they would be almost invulnerable; at least until they were eventually thawed out.

"Where do you reckon we'll settle?" He turned to her, his head tilted to one side as it usually was when he asked her something; a gesture he did not show with others he would converse with.

"I don't really know," Cobalt replied. "Can't be anywhere near, that's for sure; the Protectorate would find us in months, and then we'd be back to square one!"

"If that's the case, a planet off the charts would be best."

"Would be risky. We'd have no idea what we'd find; we could end up trapped inside the Exodus, surrounded by toxic air and waiting for them to catch up."

"We should have enough fuel to drop out of lightspeed a couple of times."

"Don't think they're risking it; we have enough for one jump to, and one fall back. When we come out of lightspeed, wherever we are, that's where we're staying."

"Wasn't the Exodus intended to be a colony ship, and nearly finished when the Protectorate came? It'll have scanners; maybe they'll find something of interest."

"Maybe. All I know is we were going to go far enough that we won't be found, but not so far we'd never come back. I don't think Mum has given up on this war yet."

"Time to regroup?"

"Exactly."

They watched the happenings below in silence, the figures, so distant they were specks, milling about as if a colony of tiny insects. More Darks had survived than Cobalt had thought when they fled the capital; that in itself gave her hope.

"What do you think that planet will be like?" she asked, turning to him.

His brow furrowed in thought for a moment, as he contemplated her question before responding.

"Hopefully a bit colder," he suggested. "I've had enough of the desert. To be honest, that's all I care about."

"A change of scenery."

"Yeah. Not too cold though; freezing my fingers off is not my idea of fun."

"Hah! Coward."

"If you lose your fingers you won't be able to swing a manipulator. I'm thinking practically here, princess!"

She smirked; she'd got him using her pet name already?

"You'd do fine with a revolver if you were missing a couple. Trigger finger, middle and thumb; not much else needed, right?"

"That is a point. But I don't really see you using a revolver."

"You never know what might be necessary to protect the people."

"I suppose you don't." He looked at the ship again. "It's going to be strange waking up, isn't it? Knowing that you're now a few years behind the rest of the world."

"It certainly won't be fun," Cobalt grimaced.

Vicss agreed – they'd both heard what invariably happened when someone came out of a cryo-pod. The injections taken in those first few minutes were vital to keeping the occupant alive.

"Gods, we're putting children through that," she realized.

"Better than being gunned down, or worse."

She nodded, and sighed. "They'll have people on board to help them through it, at least."

"They'd be alive. That's all that matters. As long as the people are alive, we have a chance."

"You think the Protectorate will find us, wherever we go?"

"Sooner or later. They'll know which direction we went in. Unless we spend decades in transit, get so far away they give up searching – and give up our chance of coming back and ending this – we'll be found."

"I hope we'll be ready."

"You'll be leading us. We will be."

She glanced at him. "You have a lot of faith in me, don't you? We're only fourteen – we're still children. I'm a long way from commanding an army."

Vicss shrugged, smiled at her. "I don't know; I just have a feeling I'm going to be right."