[Celeste]

"Don't forget Bee-bot," Celeste reminded as Moon escorted Celeste to freedom, hand in hand. 

Moon held open a cargo pocket on his dark pants leg, allowing the miniature robot to buzz and shimmy inside. He tucked it into a leg pocket of his dark pants. They stepped through the doorway into a room lined with plastic crates on one side and a desk on the other, leading to another door that opened to a long vacant hallway.

Celeste stuck her head out of the door. "Umm, do you know where we are going?"

He shrugged. "Not really. But I brought someone who does."

"Who?" Celeste's eyes widened to a hooded figure that rounded the corner and approached them. Long blonde hair peaked out from the hood. "Angelique?"

The woman pulled back her hood and smiled. "Yes, Priestess."

Celeste began to speak, but Moon interrupted her. "No time to chat now. Let's get going."

Angelique produced three brown cloaks from a bag slung over her shoulder. "Here, put these on. Pull the hood over your head in case the security cams have your image."

Nanny-bot struggled with the cloak. "Sir, this garment is unacceptable. It interferes with my vision."

Moon grinned. "Sai, you have it on backwards. The hood opening should be in front of your face."

"Oh, yes, sir. That would improve its functionality."

"This way." With a motion, Angelique led them down the hallway.

The narrow hallway opened onto a wide causeway that curved off into the distance. White walls arched to a tall ceiling with narrow lighting panels above providing comfortable illumination. Large windows on one side looked out into the vacuum of space, the view dominated by green and blue swirling clouds of the gas-giant planet around which the Oracle Station orbited.

Streams of people moved past each other like rivers flowing in opposite directions. There were all manners of garb; from dirty overalls of mechanics and miners, to loose-fitting tunics of clerks and sellers, to slinky form fitting outfits on women hoping to turn eyes their way.

They merged into the crowd, walking beside the windows with Angelique leading the way. Few people took notice of them as they passed. Those that did seemed to show only passing interest in Nanny-bot, although an android-type robot was not entirely novel. Eventually they turned off at an alcove lined with casual eateries and bars, continuing on through a set of arched doors into a less crowded area.

Celeste stopped and bent over, raising her hand. She panted. "I'm sorry. I can't keep up this pace."

"Then I'll have to carry you." She yelped as Moon scooped her up into his arms, pulling her to his chest. He grunted. "Uhh. You've really gotten heavy, Celeste."

She narrowed her eyes. "I am pregnant with triplets."

As he walked on, Celeste nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. Her heart fluttered. This feels good.

Angelique led them through a doorway into an open area containing rows of white transport pods that resembled giant eggs with flattened bottoms. Each could accommodate up to six people with extra room for luggage. Large windows provided a full view of the journey. She swung open the gull-wing door on a pod at the front of the row.

Moon assisted Celeste into the front seat beside Angelique, then he and Nanny-bot took the middle row seats. The door descended and latched closed. Angelique inserted a plastic card into a slot and spoke a command. "Pythia sector. External maintenance deck."

The pod lifted on a magnetic cushion and accelerated forward. After a few moments, it merged into a transport tube, eventually running parallel to the massive cylinder that connected the habitat disk to the central core.

Celeste turned toward Angelique and put a hand on her arm. "Thank you for helping us, but you must understand, doing so may put you in danger. I am a fugitive and powerful people seek to kill me."

She nodded. "I understand. Your man explained it to me."

My man?

Angelique peered down at Celeste's belly. "Is it true? You carry the next Sol Empress?"

Celeste smiled. "Yes. Two daughters of Empress Iona grow within me. And a son." She drew a quick breath. "Ohhh..." With a hand on her belly, she said, "It seems they thank you as well."

Celeste placed Angelique's hand on her abdomen to feel the rumbling within. A beaming smile came over Angelique.

Celeste asked, "What will you and your son do?"

"I bought spaceliner tickets with the money you gave me. We leave this evening to go back home, to Ephenia." Angelique dipped her head. "I hope my parents will take me back. We had a big fight when I ran away and it's been such a long time."

"Reunification can be difficult. I can't promise you that will happen, but it is worth the attempt. I didn't and now wish I had. When you get there, look up a Sol Priestess named Sanva in the capital city. Tell her I send you. She will help."

For the rest of the hour-long journey, Celeste and Moon shared tales of their adventure with Angelique.

The transport pod announced in a droning voice, "Arrival in five minutes."

Moon said to the Nanny-bot, "What is the status of the Phoenix Star?"

"Both fusion reactors are operational, and the thrusters are on standby. Also, as you predicted, sir, mechanical locks were applied to the docking clamps. No further attempts to board were made."

"Okay. Deploy your minions and cut the ship away from the gantries."

"Deploying now, sir. I also took the liberty of initiating the dock depressurization alarms so the workers would have time to evacuate. That should minimize potential loss of life."

Moon nodded. "Good, Sai. I should have thought of that."

The pod slowed to a stop beneath a tall white ceiling. Five deck levels, each sided by walkways with different colored railings, spanned the height. An open crane lift at one end and a closed elevator at the other moved workers and equipment between the levels. Crates and maintenance equipment in orderly rows took up most of the bottom level, with several workers in blue overalls meandering between them.

After hugs and a wave, Angelique closed the pod door behind them.

Busy with their tasks, none of the workers took notice of the three hooded figures that entered the dock elevator. As the transparent doors closed, Nanny-bot tapped the button labeled 'Shuttle Deck'.

Celeste smiled as she watched Angelique's pod disappear into the transport tube. She is going to be alright.

Celeste leaned into a small window to catch the view at an angle. A dozen maintenance shuttles lined up outside like soldiers at attention, each connected to the dock by short tunnels. Moon chose the first shuttle he came to, looking back and forth down the walkway. Motioning to the rounded tunnel portal, he said, "Okay, Sai, do your thing."

Nanny-bot extracted a cord from her torso and plugged it into a blinking outlet near the portal hatch. After a moment, the hatch slid open to the side.

A shout came from behind them. "What the hell are you doing! Get away from there!" A tall woman in blue overalls raced toward them.

Moon pushed the others through the tunnel and into the shuttle, ducking because of the low entry hatch height. With a touch of a button, the hatch slid shut behind them. He then pushed a button labeled 'Lock'. They occupied three of the four seats in the small, rounded vessel. The large, curved window provided a panoramic view into space. A multitude of tools and probes mounted on pylons surrounded the shuttle perimeter.

Moon touched the blank control panel in front of him. Nothing happened. "Um, Sai, how do we activate this thing?"

Nanny-bot plugged herself into an outlet on the panel. "It appears, sir, that an external activation code is required. Accessing now. The cyber security program is fairly sophisticated, sir."

"You can beat it, can't you, Sai?"

"I predict a sixty percent chance of success, sir."

Celeste leaned forward. "Is something wrong, Moon?"

He turned his head back to her. "Oh, no. Everything is under control." He turned toward Nanny-bot. "Sai?"

Nanny-bot said in a monotone. "Still accessing. There is good news, sir. The Phoenix Sky is free of the dock."

He raised his voice. "Good. But we are not!"

Another maintenance shuttle rose up in front of them, coming close enough that they could see the frowning pilot. Moon waved and smiled with a toothy grin. Not in a friendly mood, the other shuttle extended a plasma cutting tool toward them, a bright blue arc dancing on the tip.

Moon turned to Nanny-bot. "Now would be a good time..." The control panel blinked to life in front of him. "Ah, excellent, Sai. I knew you could do it."

"Thank you, sir."

The shuttle separated from the docking bay with a hiss and forces pressed them back into the seat cushions as it accelerated. Moon steered toward the other shuttle. The pilot leaned back and lifted his arms to cover his face as Moon crashed into him. The collision sent the other shuttle spinning away.

Moon grinned. "See, Celeste? No worries at all."

She rolled her eyes.

Moon sped away from the space station. He pointed. "There it is. Sai, match velocity and open the port loading bay. We'll fly right in."

The side of the Phoenix Star, currently designated as the Raven Sky, loomed larger as they approached, dwarfing the small maintenance shuttle. Moon flew it into the side opening, sliding to a stop on the bay floor. "Sai, close the door and pressurize. Fire up the fusion thrusters and get us away. Full power."

"Yes, sir. We are being hailed, sir."

"Patch it through."

A stern voice said over the shuttle speaker, "Raven Sky, this is Oracle port. Power down and come to for boarding. If you do not comply, you will be fired upon."

Moon replied, "Oracle port, please repeat. You are breaking up." Moon turned to Nanny-bot, whispering, "Warm up the laser, Sai."

The voice came back, sounding angry. "Raven Sky! I said power down or you will be fired upon!"

Celeste's eyes widened. She whispered, "You have a laser?"

"Yeah. I sometimes go into pirate infested space. I rigged an old mining laser on the stern for missile and small craft defense. Been wanting to try it out."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "But no worries, right?"

"Absolutely."

Nanny-bot announced, "Pressurization complete."

Moon leaped from his seat. "Get to the bridge." He punched a button to open the back port of the shuttle, then raced out.

Celeste followed as fast as she could. After reaching the bridge, she leaned against the hatch frame, panting. "What... what is happening?"

Moon replied without turning. "Missile on our tail." He called out. "Sai, time to impact?"

"Forty-seven seconds, sir."

"Okay. Let's lock on the targeting system."

A graphic display of the missile and a green target ring appeared on the forward display panel. The ring moved over the missile, turned red, but then moved away, over and over.

Moon frowned. "The targeting controller is overshooting. Sai, cut back on the integral tuning function and increase the derivative. See if that might dampen the oscillation."

"Yes, sir. Retuning. Twenty-two seconds until impact."

The target ring closed on the missile graphic, then covered it, turning red. Moon touched the 'Fire' button. The missile glowed, then exploded in a bright star.

Moon pumped his fist. "Awesome!" He turned his chair toward Celeste. "See? No worries at all."

Sai interrupted the celebration. "There are three more missiles on intercept path, sir. Estimated time to impact is seventy-six seconds."

Moon gazed at the display. "Hmm, we won't be able to target all three, will we Sai?"

"Unlikely, sir."

"What is the quantum drive status?"

"I am still running alignment simulations. Initiating the drive now would have an implosion risk."

Moon shook his head. "No other choice, Sai. Bootstrap it."

"Confirm bootstrap, sir?"

"Confirmed. Get us out of here." His eyes caught Celeste's widened eyes. "Hold on, Celeste."

The ship shuddered. Celeste closed her eyes while her fingers dug into the chair arm cushions. The graphic of the missiles and the Oracle space station behind them disappeared. Within a few moments, the vibrations subsided.

Sai came on. "Drive parameters are within specifications, sir. Relative velocity is thirty-six C."

Moon grinned. "Slow us to twenty C and continue your simulations, Sai."

"Yes, sir."

Moon unbuckled his seat restraints, then helped Celeste with hers. She hugged him and his arms encircled her waist, pulling her close. A pleasant warmness overtook her. Despite everything that had happened, she felt safe here with him.

She grinned. "Life with you is one big scary adventure." She raised up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "But life it is. Thank you, Moon."