Dark Dodgers: A humorous space opera (Reassembly Book 6) by C.P. James

Author:C.P. James [James, C.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

By the following day, the full-scale evacuation of Temeruria was well underway. As promised, Bransel dispatched freighters to collect the Ophir. Most, Oz explained, had never even been in a starship. Even her family’s servant, Chafton, had only been allowed aboard the family’s Hovensby once. That was only because they were hosting diplomats from Zihnia and needed him to serve tea and coffee while they gave an aerial tour of the city. Since the freighters were jump-capable, they could leave as soon as they were full.

So far, the cordon had worked according to plan. Along with the Star Guard, Ogos and Tymeri quickly orchestrated the gauntlet leading into space, and the pairing off of conventional vessels with Alliance ships was already underway. The Stalwart was serving as overwatch.

But the controlled chaos over Medrikar was thirty clicks away in the valley, and the crew of the Armstrong was in the highlands, above the layer of green smog. If you didn’t know what was going on, you’d think it was another nice, if cooler-than-average day on Temeruria.

However, Geddy already wished he hadn’t agreed to escort Bransel off-world. He’d envisioned them throwing their valuables into a few crates, quickly loading them, and heading out in a couple of hours. Instead, he and Oz slept in the Armstrong, which was parked on the sprawling, manicured grounds of the Nargonis mansion while Bransel and Nandra apparently packed all their belongings into the Hovensby. Geddy only slept fitfully, and Oz not at all.

They sat in the bridge with their feet propped on the console, both drinking coffee as they watched hundreds of jump-capable ships throughout the valley streak into space on their own. Had they known that this would take so long, they might’ve checked on the Ophir to make sure they were safely away. But they got regular updates from Khetaka Central Command about how many had jumped inside, and things seemed to be going as well as could be expected.

Oz hadn’t talked much since the operation began, but her inner turmoil was apparent. She’d made peace with never seeing her family again, but now here they were. Her home world likely faced an apocalypse. As if that wasn’t enough, they were expecting but couldn’t even tell anyone or make time to be happy about it.

“I wasn’t allowed to play in this yard,” she mused, her hands interlaced behind her head. “My father had an area cleared in the woods for that.”

“I’m sorry,” Geddy said.

“No, it was good, actually. I preferred the woods. I felt more connected to it than to my family.”

“I never set foot in a forest until I was twenty-six,” Geddy said.

“Bullshit.”

He shook his head. “Trees didn’t grow on The Deuce. Or Kigantu, obviously. I just never had the opportunity. But the first time I met Zirhof, he basically made me visit the northern woodlands on Zorr.”

Oz’s mien, which had been sour since the moment they’d arrived at the palace, sweetened. “And?”

“It blew my mind that trees could grow so tall. After

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