"Get in quickly," Shyra whispered, gesturing over her shoulder. The others crouched behind her, the masks over their faces obstructing their heavy breathing. "Is Naor causing his distraction yet?"

"Oh yeah he is," Arina said with a smirk. "He and his garud are causing quite the trouble in the docks. I think all the guards would have gone to deal with it."

"Perfect," Shyra said. "Let's get on then."

She pressed a button on the side of the ship and gave a voice command. Thanks to Fitoor's interference, her voice was temporarily registered as valid in the system. The gangplank whirred open with minimal noise, and Shyra looked around one last time before dashing up the metal slope with Hira and Arina at her heels.

She was left to deal with any guards straying back to the ship, while Arina and Hira ran to the cockpit to get the spaceship started. Shyra waited impatiently at the entrance with her sword gripped in her hand. She could hear the skirmishes going on outside, but she didn't dare join the fight and help Naor.

A low hum pulled her from her thoughts, and to her immense relief, all the lights around her flared to life. She could hear the wings expand and retract alternatively as they spread in the open air.

"Shyra! We're taking off now!" Arina called as they began the complicated procedures for lift off. Shyra had been surprised when Hira informed her that she knew how to pilot the ship. An empress learning that was questionable, but at that moment Shyra had been so happy, she just hugged Hira and put her in charge of the ship.

She now ran to the control room to join Arina and Hira, from where she could see that they were hovering in the air. Shyra bit her lip when she saw that the guards were beginning to take notice of their lone ship taking off.

"BC Malta," a voice said over the speakers, making all of them jump. "Are you taking off? On what grounds and authority?"

Hira picked up the microphone with trembling hands and held it to her mouth. For a terrifying moment, no words came from her. "We are taking off for patrol," she answered. "We have the tenth shift for today that begins at 1700 hours. I apologize for the slight delay due to the commotion in the docks."

For yet another terrifying moment, the command center remained quiet as they pondered on her answer. The voice crackled over the speakers again.

"Incorrect. There were no partols today, and plus, this is a military ship, not a patrol ship. Raiders, stay where you are. Do not attempt to escape. If you don't, your sentence may be reduced. If you do, you face the full consequences."

Arina and Hira breathed shakily as they stared at Shyra, waiting for answers from her. She bit her lip and stared at the microphone. She knew that there was no turning back. As royals, they wouldn't get large punishments. But then they wouldn't be able to continue their mission.

"Ladies, do you trust me?" she asked. Arina groaned and shook her head in the beginning. But when Shyra glared at her, she huffed at her and nodded.

"Goodness, yes, I trust you. Now get us out of this."

Shyra nodded and gestured to the controls. "Then let's run away with this. I'll deal with them while you guys can take care of where we are going. There's no way we're surrendering now."

Hira stared into her eyes for a kshana, then nodded and turned to the control panel. Her fingers flew over the various gleaming buttons as they were propelled forward and headed toward an Asteroid Path.

Meanwhile, Shyra picked up the microphone and enabled it. "Listen, whoever is in control right now. I'm very sorry, but this is a life or death situation. I am sincerely sorry for causing all this trouble, but I can't turn back now. If you can, please don't chase after us and add to our problems. Thank you. Over and out."

She heard Arina smack her forehead. "Don't chase after us? Is that really the best you could say?"

"It was the only thing I could think of saying. And besides, I had to try."

"Whatever. Where's Naor now? Don't tell me he's captured and we have to go back for him now."

A loud cry sounded over their spaceship and a giant mass of feathers landed on their open deck. Shyra and Arina ran to the deck and helped Naor down from his garud, who ruffled its feathers and squaked.

"He wants water," Naor breathed, leaning on his longstaff and looking barely winded for someone who kept a dozen guards at bay. He'll make a good kshatriya, she thought with a relieved smile.

When he raised his eyebrows at her, Shyra pursed her lips and tried to recall the typical structure of a spaceship. "I think I know a cabin where emergency supplies are stored. It may not last us for too long though. We'll have to dock somewhere soon and find supplies."

Naor nodded, and Shyra wandered around the ship looking for the water. By the time she made it back, Naor was stretched out on a lounge chair on the deck and recounting his exploits. To Shyra's ears, he seemed like he was exaggerating quite a bit of the tale.

"And then the guards started attacking me with their spears," he said in a low monotone, using hand gestures instead to convey his emotion. His tanned, slender fingers wove in the air and reconstructed his heroic tale, much to Shyra's amusement. She turned to the garud instead and placed the deep bowl of water in front of him.

"So what next?" Shyra asked, settling down next to Arina.

"I've put in the coordinates of their location. And no, there's no need to get up and check. They vanished as soon as I input them. Now only me, Narani and the ship know where the baan are."

Shyra nodded. "That's fine. As long as we're able to get–"

She never completed her sentence, for explosions soon resounded through the ship. The open and windy place they were seated in sharted shaking, and Shyra was sure that the rest of the ship was suffering from those unknown blows as well.

"Guys," Hira yelled. "We're under siege! The people from Ronin are on our tail now. I can't keep swerving for much longer. We are going to have to make an emergency stop somewhere."

Shyra stood up on wobbly legs along with Arina and Naor, but before they could rush to Hira's aid, a red fireball zoomed past their vision and smashed into their wing. Hira screamed, Arina screamed, Naor screamed... Everyone was screaming into Shyra's ears as they spun out of control and pummeled through the Asteroid Path.

A few more rounds were shot at the ship, and Shyra was pretty sure that they hit something significant. She was afraid that they would capture the ship and take it back, but when no anchor latched onto the ship, she realized that they left the ship alone because they thought that it was beyond help.

Somehow, in spite of her dire situation, she made another point in her mind's list of methods to improve security measures. Then she made her way to the cockpit by grasping on the walls and struggling to stay on her feet.

Hira had strapped herself to the emergency seat on the side with her long braid whipping the air, and was yelling something at her. Shyra's ears were beginning to ring now, and she ignored Hira, making her way to the controls instead.

"Now, which button is which," she muttered, placing both hands on the table and leaning over it. The black surface gleamed back at her, and the dizzying amounts of buttons and levers glinted in the dimming light. Even they seemed to mock her ineptitude at flying.

"Shyra," Hira yelled into her ear, placing her hand on her shoulder and making her jump at the unexpected contact. "I cannot navigate this alone, but we can get this under control together."

Shyra pursed her lips and nodded. "Just tell me what to do."

Hira directed her on righting the aircraft, commanding her to pull a lever here, push a button there, while she joined in by pulling on levers and flipping overhead switches. Sweat soon began to bead on Shyra's forehead as she realized that they were now crashing headfirst through the Path. If they happened to deviate from the Path, or fall off course... Shyra shuddered. The consequences would not be good.

"Shyra, this isn't working," Hira screamed over the whistling and creaking of the ship. Shyra resisted the urge to say yeah, go figure. "We're gonna have to land somewhere. Anywhere. If not, we're at a huge risk of falling through the Asteroid Path."

Shyra ran to the nearest locator system and compared it with her mental image of pranali's map.

"We're near Ilya right now," Shyra said, pointing at their blinking blue dot on the locator system. "So, it would be best if we made a landing there."

"Is it advisable to randomly make a landing in Ilya? Aren't there rules and regulations to prevent hazards like us from landing whenever we want?"

"I'm not saying we should make a landing on an official spaceport," Shyra pushed her hair out of her face. "Let's find an open field or meadow."

"Fine, fine." Hira grabbed a control stick and spun it around, capturing images from Ilya and scanning it. Shyra narrowed her eyes at the screen as they scrolled past all the images that the scan presented until she spotted an appropriate patch of land.

"Fill in these coordinates. We need to make a landing here." Shyra pointed to the picture. For a kshana, she remembered the meadow that Mahi had taken her to. The fort they had danced on. Tears struggled to break free from her eyes when Hira yelled 'Okay then, hang on tight!' and changed the ship's direction.

Shyra buried her sadness deep inside her heart and locked it with her unshed tears. Now wasn't the right time for unnecessary emotions. She would keep them under lock and key as long as possible.

She ran to the deck against the rocking movements of the ship and helped the others secure themselves to safety seats on the walls. She then strapped herself in and uttered a silent prayer to the Cosmos.

The rest of the journey passed by in a blur, and was interspersed with periods of blankness and dizziness. She couldn't glean too much from their environment, and resigned herself to watching the black void around them wrap her in its arms.

And all of a sudden, she spotted the lush green planet of Ilya zooming towards them. Or rather, they were zooming towards it. Among the expanses of rolling hills and green meadows dotted with trees, she could see the huge rocks that Ilya was famous for. At this kshana, however, she could only hope that they wouldn't crash into one.

"We're about to land! Both the wheels got damaged during the attack, so it'll be a rough landing. Be prepared," Hira called. Everyone tightened their hold on their safety straps, locked their legs and braced for impact.

With a tremulous whoosh, they broke through the atmosphere and spun towards the plain, their speed causing an eerie whistle that would haunt Shyra for days to come. The blue sky, clouds, green meadows, everything spun out of control and seemed to give up on the laws of bhautashastra.

A wail that may or may not have come from Shyra rang through the air as her heart lurched and she closed her eyes, thinking that this was her final kshana.

The kshana before they crashed seemed to elongate itself for an eternity, and everyone stared at each other with a closeness that they'd never felt before. Then it ended and they crashed onto the grassy meadow with a resounding bang. Soil and grass flew around them and sprayed across the windows as they skid across the meadow, leaving a trail of mud as wide as a trench.

Shyra got bumped over several times, and a few windows broke and pierced her arms when she raised them to protect her face. She was pretty sure that she'd gotten hit in the head and would have a concussion, but at that moment, the only thing she cared about was that she was alive.

When they finally screeched to a halt, Shyra realized that she'd been holding her breath for a long time, and inhaled deeply to make up for it. Around her, Naor, Arina and the garud were beginning to stir from the crash as well.

"Guys, are you alright?" She asked, unfastened the seat belt with shaky fingers. By the time she got groans from all of them as confirmation, she stumbled out of the harness and began helping them with their claps.

As she unclasped the final clasp from the garud's confines, Hira stepped through the mangled door and peered at all of them. "Are you guys okay? Any major injuries? Anybody going to die?"

Shyra pressed her hand to her forehead and swayed on the spot. Her head was beginning to pound now, and she was pretty sure that she was actually going to faint.

Hira noticed Shyra's discomfort and frowned. "Shyra, is everything-"

"What have you guys done?" someone yelled from outside the ship. "This... you utterly ruined my carrots!"

"Wha-" Shyra began, but the nausea overtook all her other senses and she collapsed like a rag doll.