Page 53 of Rogue Starfighter

Everything hurt. “Nothing important. You?”

“I am fine.”

I turned. Blood ran from a shallow slice near his hairline. His eyes were clear. His hands were already moving over the display, assessing the damage. “Then why are you bleeding?”

“A minor cut. Hull pressure falling,” he said. “Slowly. Core at eighteen percent. Starboard section sealed. Life support operational for now.”

I released the controls. My fingers shook the second they were no longer busy. “We landed.”

Vesh looked at me. “You landed,” he said. “On one engine, with no starboard control, under fire.”

“Controlled crash.”

“Tavik could not have done it. I could not have done it.”

Vesh did not give compliments to make people feel better. Hearing those words from him hit harder and hurt me more than the crash landing.

My throat tightened. Very inconvenient. I unfastened my harness and reached for the cut on his forehead. He caught my hand and pressed his mouth to my palm. One brief kiss. Then he put my hand against his chest and covered it with his. His heart was beating as hard as mine.

“They knew our route,” I said.

His expression changed. “Yes.”

“That wasn't a random patrol. They were powered down and waiting for us before we cleared the moon.”

“The same formation Tavik and I encountered. The same type of corridor.”

“Somebody gave them both flight plans.”

“Someone in command,” he said. “Someone with access to scout operations.”

The conclusion settled between us, ugly and obvious. “There’s a traitor back at base?"

“Yes.”

“And they know we’re carrying the information on their shipyard and production.”

“If the interceptors survived, they will report our position. They'll come looking for us.”

“Can we transmit to Arturri?” I asked.

“Not without giving the Dark Fleet our exact position. We also do not know who would receive it.”

I looked through the cracked canopy. The red sun was dropping behind the horizon. Beyond the glass, the moon was black rock and long shadows. No air. No help. The cockpit temperature had already begun to fall. We would freeze to death within minutes if the ship's power failed completely. “How long will the power in the core last?”

Vesh checked the numbers. “Until dawn, if we shut down everything nonessential.”

“And after dawn?”

“We repair enough to launch, or we die here.”

At least he didn’t soften it. I squeezed his hand. “Then let’s not die here.”

“Agreed.”

The last edge of red sunlight disappeared. Cold moved through the damaged hull almost immediately. Finding the traitor would have to wait. First, we had to survive the night.

9