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They had been flying for twenty minutes.

And as the beeps of the passive radar and IFF devices grew faint, Nadim Samaya's lungs filled with oxygen.

But he did not sigh yet.

There was no time to feel relieved.

His instincts told him to look over his shoulder. <<Are they still there?>>

Wendy Olent's voice crackled right away. <<No hostile signals within oh-point-seven-five light seconds.>>

Nadim sucked back on his air supply. <<That's no good. We still have to find a ship or an open facility. We can't fly like this forever.>>

<<I know! But where the hell else do you think we should go?>>

Nadim, inhaling again, came on louder on the comms channel. <<Nowhere near here, Wendy. We'll just have to get them off our scent.>>

Wendy finally relented. She'd never heard Nadim like that, even when he was cross at someone, which didn't happen often. <<Alright.>>

<<It's fine, you two. Eri's sleeping now. I can at least keep her tethered here. She's okay. She won't be moved.>>

That now was Elnora's voice; clear as springwater, but still clearly tired. Only now could she hold back the panic, even for a moment. <<I'm taking navigation duties from here.>>

Both pilots in the earless Lfriths affirmed the call. After all, the Samaya family were one of the few who knew of safehouses deep in these Lagrange points.

After ninety seconds, Nadim opened the comms again. <<I'm sorry for shouting like that.>>

<<I've heard you louder when you have a poo, dear.>>

Nadim was offended, but laughed, then held the button down. <<Oh, no, don't remind me.>>

Wendy's eyebrow furrowed through the visor. <<Wait, so it was YOU I heard in the hold a month ago!?>>

Elnora was ahead of Nadim this time. <<He was; the chili got to him and even Eri was doubling over when he came back. He was spent!>>

Nadim could only laugh away the embarrassment. He supposed it helped, to laugh a little. Thirty days ago, they were hard at work building the machines they currently pilot, and were paid enough to get Ericht a knapsack, some party favors and, eventually, an educational plan. Wendy had even volunteered to shuttle her to school.

But they were too far away from anything to even think about that.

The laughter finally subsided.

Elnora gave the other two the good news: <<We're one light-second flush from anyone.>>

Nadim saw the docking mast lights glow green. <<There we are.>>

<<Station Eight-One-Three-Kilo. Folkvangr test pilot Elnora Samaya. We are three mobile suit units. There is a child on board. Requesting clearance to use docking mast three-three left.>>

The autonomous docking utility gave all three Lfrith models an electronic signal; their green light to land. It was a more cumbersome set of operations compared to a hangar docking sequence, but the three pilots were more than grateful to even get here at all. Still, they held their breath. The recharge would take a while to complete.

Elnora's husband sounded more somber as he gave orders. <<El, keep watch over this entrance. Wendy, go to the mess hall and med-bay so we can feed Eri when she wakes up. I'll try pinging other sites. They can't have gotten anyone.>>

<<Be quick, dear.>>

<<We will.>>

Wendy bolted for the crew living quarters that surely still had stocks of food, medical equipment and GUND-compatible batteries; Nadim inspected the digital logs for any staff remaining. Only droplets of blood greeted him when he saw the panel. Both of them came to the same conclusion. *They got everyone.*

Eventually, six overstuffed signal green duffel bags careened towards LF-01. Elnora, tethered to the cockpit, caught two marked with red crosses and slung them with care inside, flanking Ericht. The other four she caromed to a halt, floating motionless in the absence of gravity.

Soon, Wendy came into view, aghast. <<They killed everyone here, too.>>

Nadim was next tto arrive, lugging a stack of solid-state archival storage blades and a black box. At least the move from tape paid its last dividends.

His face couldn't lie to his wife. <<We have actionable evidence against Cathedra. Even if they try to enforce plausible deniability, we carry incontrovertible proof.>>

It only made Wendy worry more. <<But maybe that's exactly what they wanted. What if they tampered with the logs?>>

Elnora summoned all the power in her biological hand, trembling in quiet terror, to hold Wendy's. <<Dr. Nabo secured these with bio-signature encryption. Cathedra won't have a way to open this. I'm just glad they didn't destroy this place at all.>>

She then turned to her husband. <<We can treat Eri here and top up, but do we set up camp?>>

The choice weighed on Nadim's head. They can't afford to stop for too long in one place --  a military target -- but neither of them would last long when running on fumes. Especially Ericht. Her vitals indicate normalcy, but he, his wife and their friend understood that it can all turn for the worst in seconds.

Still, keeping Eri alive was paramount. <<We stay. Eri's gonna wake up and would need to eat. Let's get out the moment the recharge is done.>>

Elnora and Wendy nodded, then got to work.

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