She nods, biting her lip. "Ships don't have feelings, right?"
"That's right, they don't."
"Just making sure." She glances over at Mathiras again and then takes another bite of her food.
I poke my noodles. "So do you think you'll be able to do that? Hook the controls of this ship up to yours?"
Mathiras hesitates. "It's a long shot."
"A really, really long shot," Kaspar adds. "Probably have to force a reboot on this ship's systems, which might not be a good thing. That means shutting everything down and starting it back up again…and hoping it all comes back up."
"I'm not a big fan of that idea," Alice says, her eyes wide. "What's plan B?"
Kaspar eyes her. "There is no plan B."
I'm not sure I'm a fan of that, either. I glance down the table at Adiron again. He's still wearing that hangdog expression on his face, and my heart squeezes with sympathy. This isn't his fault, even if he thinks it is. If Straik was going to betray everyone, he was going to do it anyhow, I reason. Better here where we have a safe place versus somewhere worse. "Adiron?" I ask. "What do you think?"
He seems to brighten visibly as I mention his name, and I feel warm when he straightens. "I have an idea, but I don't know if it's a good one."
"All ideas are good ideas right now," I point out. "We don't have many options other than just floating along and waiting for the next round of pirates…or hoping that Straik comes back."
Adiron looks right at me. "There's always escape pods."
31
JADE
"Escape pods." I taste the words in my mouth, weighing them. It's not a bad idea. The Buoyant Star still has four of them left, each one capable of holding two people comfortably. There's more than enough for the six of us at this table to get away…but only us. It's a flawed plan because it involves sacrificing those sleeping, or abandoning them to their fates.
"Escape pods?" Mathiras asks. "You guys have escape pods and you've stayed here for the last three years?"
"Where would we go?" Alice retorts. "You think if someone picks up a pod full of women, they'll be all, 'Oh, cool, let me take you to the closest embassy'?" She snorts. "Yeah right."
I reach over and squeeze her hand, because she looks ready to punch someone. "It's something we've considered, but we're safe and comfortable here, and so we stuck with the devil we know." I gesture at them. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, too. There's room for everyone."
"But not supplies," Kaspar says. "The amount of food you've got left is going to run pretty low very fast if you're feeding six people."
"And you're still heading for that ice field," Mathiras points out. "You're safe for another month or two…and then what? We're all dead. The ship systems will go into overdrive trying to regulate the temperature to support life, you'll burn through all your fuel, and then you're dead."
Helen says nothing, watching us talk, her expression grave as she absorbs it all.
Adiron finally speaks again. "I think the escape pods are a good idea…if we split up."
"Split up?" Kaspar asks. "How so?" He gestures at himself and Mathiras. "Like send us out to get help and leave the females here? I don't like that idea."
"I'm not a fan of it either," Alice retorts. "And what about Ruth?"
Kaspar grins over at her. "When we find Straik again to kick his ass, we'll get her back. If she hasn't already kicked his ass, that is."
I squeeze her fingers. "Ruth will be fine. She's a survivor." I keep thinking about what Helen said—how Straik didn't want to kill anyone. I think she's right. I think he's left us here until he can figure out what to do with us. He'll be back…eventually. I hope.
"When I said we should use the escape pods, I meant we should pair up." Adiron gestures at me. "One female, one male. So we can protect you."
My face flushes and I can just imagine who Adiron wants to pair up with.
"Are you still thinking with your cock?" Kaspar asks him with a roll of his eyes.
"No, I think he's right," Mathiras says. "The females are recognized by the ship so they would need to be split up between pods. And if something goes wrong, we're there to protect them or to try to override the system. It's really the best choice we have."
"So where are we going, then?" Alice asks. "Where exactly can we escape to? Or are we going to try and meet up with Straik and just hope he lets our pods on board?" Her brow wrinkles. "Because I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to be infested with human cooties."
I wonder if he's found Ruth yet…and I wonder how much hell she's giving him. I hope it's a lot. A whole fuckton of hell. It's the only thing that makes me feel better about knowing that she's gone…that she's going to make him absolutely, utterly miserable.