The Melier: Prodigal Son by Poppy Rhys

Author:Poppy Rhys
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poppy Rhys
Published: 2019-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-FOUR

DANIA

Her lungs deflated.

A baritone chuckle broke the silence and Dania regarded Val’Koy. He held his head and laughed.

“How is this funny? What is wrong with you?”

“His mind has broken.” Jru lifted into a sit, hissing and shedding a feather. “He lasted longer than I calculated.”

“Fuck you,” Val’Koy snapped.

“Never mind.” Jru canted his head to examine his patched wound. “He is fine.”

The dire situation had her leaning against the island to keep herself upright. One shit storm after another. They got off the planet only to be stranded in space.

Okay, not stranded, but moving at a bygone speed. They’d die, starve to death, before they ever reached a trade planet.

Breathe, girl. Think this through.

She inhaled and exhaled. “Zed are there any inhabited planets within reach?”

“Yes, Captain. There are three.”

“Which ones have treaties with the Intergalactic Coalition?”

“None.”

Dania flinched at that single word. “What?” she asked, disbelieving. “Repeat.”

“No nearby planets have treaties with the Intergalactic Coalition.”

Jruviin groaned. “That cannot be good.”

Not good was right. Treaties fostered goodwill between worlds and species, and for situations like this, allowed for protection if in danger, or at least granted a call for help. It kept something like the Hae’deth games from forming.

“Okay,” she drawled and rubbed her temples. “Which planets have an atmosphere safe for us?”

“One.”

Dania exhaled, nodding as if Zed could see her. “Great, great, one is better than zero.” She had to think positively. “What planet? How soon can we reach it?”

“Planet Equah, Captain. It is viewable from this distance if you look outside. At current maximum speed, we will arrive in five months.”

“Five?! Are there enough rations on this craft to last us that long?”

“Calculating...”

Dania moved to the bench, eyes searching space through the window there. She leaned back when the viewscreen pinpointed and magnified a tiny, brown hued planet. Val and Jru drew close to get a look.

“That it?” Val asked.

“Must be.”

“Negative, Captain. I calculate there are enough food units to sustain current crew for four weeks.”

Dania buried her face into her hands and tried to breath correctly, think rationally, but her panic got away with her.

They would never make it home.

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