The ridges on Trid’s head went pale, and his oval mouth opened. His teeth clacked together as he began to speak. “We’ve been waiting to access a particular Velibar outpost. The Hidan were attacked centuries ago, and they’ve been planning to liberate their people ever since. Zonrial will tell it better.”
The Hidan woman shifted in her chair and looked between Luther and R11. “I’ve personally been to our home. Five years ago. The Velibar abused it, meaning no one lives. The resources were plundered, the air toxic, the water spoiled. We believe the Velibar took my people to an outpost. It is their custom. They promise a smooth transition of power, and when you succumb, they destroy everything. My ancestors fled in time and lived with the cowardice their entire lives.”
“What choice did they have, Zonrial?” I meant it to be supportive, but her eyes burned at the comment.
“They could have fought. Stood their ground and defeated the Velibar.”
“There was no chance they’d win,” Trid told her.
“It would have been the honorable thing to do.” She averted her gaze, staring at the floor. “I’ve personally made it my mission to find the outpost and bring my people home.”
“What makes you think you’d locate the right one?” Luther asked.
R11 whirred. “We, the Stin, have determined their gateways are limited in distance capabilities. Since the Hidan are thirty-six light years from Refuge, a triangulation suggests that any gateway used by the Velibar to attack Refuge would come from the same outpost.”
Jade nodded in understanding.
“Let me get this straight. You prepared for this and have been waiting for the Velibar to arrive?” It showed a lot of patience, but the fact that we’d joined right on the heels of the attack worried me.
“That’s correct,” Trid said.
“This fake city and the transports were planned. You gave them a ship you intended for them to take through the gateway,” I finished.
“We did. It worked surprisingly well. And the Velibar will believe our city destroyed, finding little value in us any longer,” Trid said.
“What about resources? You said…” Luther stopped when Zonrial snorted.
“People. That is one of their primary resources. They thought us weak, almost uninhabited. But they don’t know the truth,” Zonrial said.
“And you think your people, the Hidan, are at this outpost.” I noticed Jade had her tablet. “Jade, can you pull up the data we found on the old Squid?”
Jade must have read my mind, because she smirked as she powered it up. A projection shot out from the lens. “These are all the outposts listed on their radar.” She scrolled through them and paused on one. “We think this is where our friend might have disappeared to.”
R11 fired a duplicate projection from his chest, overlapping Jade’s. “This is the same system our transport was sent to.”
“Then it seems we have similar goals. When do we go to this outpost?” I asked, finally breaking free from the chair’s grip.
Trid’s eyes closed, and he let out a strange sighing noise. “We leave in two days.”
ELEVEN
The gardens were quiet. Luther was in our rooms with R11, discussing attack plans with Zonrial and Trid, which left Jade and me some time to explore Refuge. I wore a fresh SeaTech uniform and was glad for the change. Jade’s hair was pinned back, showing her earrings. I scratched at my chin, feeling a few weeks of growth. I usually preferred to be shaved but hadn’t made the effort lately.
Gazing up to the sky, it was difficult to remember that the entire city was concealed by a hologram, making it appear like an empty forest. From here, I saw countless stars. No moon was visible around this fifth planet, and it was odd seeing the night sky without at least a sliver of the crescent we were used to.
“Here I am, missing the view of the Moon, and you used to live on it,” I said.
The path was empty, and soft yellow lights along the wooden barriers guided our way. The entire area smelled like sweet flowers. Jade pointed up ahead, where a particular plant was slowly unraveling, showcasing phosphorescent pedals. More of them opened in the cool night, and suddenly, the garden was brighter.
“Refuge. Can you believe those people out there earlier?” I stopped, leaning on the fence close to the blooms.
“It’s unbelievable. So many different species I’d never dreamed of meeting in my lifetime.” Jade rested her forearms on the wood beside me. “What are the chances we both want to hit the same Velibar outpost?”
My gaze followed a glowing insect’s flight pattern as it drifted onto the flowers. “We came for their help, not the other way around.”
“Maybe they’ll join us after we liberate the Hidan.”
“Fending off four of the Squids with a fleet of robot-controlled vessels is one thing, but ambushing an entire planet of Velibar is a whole different game.” I cracked my knuckles and turned around, leaning on the fence with my legs. “This is extremely dangerous.”
“Arlo, if we go home without these allies, we’re as good as dead anyway.”
“Maybe not. You saw us out there.”
Jade crossed her arms. “I doubt it’ll be enough. You heard what Garret Breaker said. The Velibar don’t give up. They’ll keep coming until they have Earth.”
“That’s why we think ahead.”
“The outpost?”
I started to walk, continuing down the path toward a glimmering pond. “No. Their home planet. Bryson wants Catarina. We want to be left alone. That’s where we strike next after the outpost.”
“I’m glad you have it all figured out. Were you going to tell your crew?” she asked.
“We’ve discussed it.”
“What about Octavia, or Eclipse? Are they on board?” Jade was full of questions tonight.
“We’ll get on the same page. It’s for the best.” Picking a fight on Velibar territory was daunting, but they would probably never anticipate it. Especially when they considered Refuge a success.
“I wish we’d outfitted the Pod Sprinter with the new communication system,” Jade said.
“We couldn’t have predicted this. We
