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“Do you?”
“Not now,” she snapped at MC-1. Marisol glanced around the passenger area of the cabin. “Ears,” she mouthed. It was possible the pilot was listening from the cockpit.
The engines came online, and she breathed easier. When the shuttle lifted off the flight pad, she closed her eyes. Once they reached space, they’d be out of the ground cannon’s firing range. She started to pray that they’d make it.
The longest minutes of her life passed until Marisol felt relief when the gravity inside the cabin left. They’d made it into orbit. She opened her eyes right as artificial gravity stabilized. The clones looked a little unsettled over the experience. It was their first time traveling in space. She unbelted from her seat and quickly stood.
“Just like we rehearsed,” she muttered, heading toward the cockpit.
MC-4 followed.
The cockpit door stood open, and Marisol stepped in, motioning for the female clone to stay out of sight. “That was a very smooth takeoff.”
The pilot twisted in his seat and smiled at her. “That’s a compliment coming from you, Ms. Florigo.”
Marisol reached her hand back, and MC-4 passed her the syringe. She moved forward, hiding it behind her back. “Wow. I love the view from here. I always wanted to learn how to fly a shuttle.”
“Really?” His gaze ran down her body. “I’d love to show you whatever you want.”
She hesitated just behind his seat. “What’s that red button for on your left? The one by the green one. It looks important.”
He leaned forward a little. “That’s?”
She struck, jabbing the uncapped needle into his neck, and injected the sedative. He gasped and tried to hit her. MC-4 was suddenly there, grabbing him from behind his seat.
The pilot struggled, attempting to reach something on the front console. Marisol threw her body between him and it, partially landing on his lap as she grabbed his arms. He quickly went limp.
Marisol wiggled off him to stand again, sighing. “How long do you think that will keep him out?”
The female clone stepped forward. “He’s larger in size than we estimated. I think anywhere from seven to nine hours at most. For certain, six hours.”
“Bring in the males to carry him to the emergency pod. Have them eject him in four hours. The pod will send out an automated distress signal, so by the time he wakes up, someone from Clone World will have hopefully retrieved him already.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer for us to eject him farther from the planet?”
Marisol knew the clone was right. “I won’t risk his life. Once we leave this solar system, the possibility of a pod being picked up by pirates is high. Those thieving bastards are always looking for shuttles that experience mechanical difficulties to target. A pod would be easy pickings for them. I want to make sure this pilot is close enough to Clone World for them to be able to retrieve him as quickly as possible.”
It was clear that the clone wanted to argue more.
“I won’t kill someone,” Marisol firmly stated. “Pirates will demand a ransom if they capture him. My grandfather won’t pay to save his life. We’ll have a four-hour head start. Straton Miller wouldn’t put me on a defenseless shuttle in bad repair. He’d be too terrified of my grandfather’s wrath.” She took a seat once MC-4 dragged the unconscious pilot from it. “I’m going to shut off the transponder.”
“You know how to do that?”
“I’ve taken a lot of trips, and you’d be surprised by how much pilots will share when they are trying to impress the only known relative of Rico Florigo. I planned to escape once before and learned how to fly shuttles. And how to make it impossible for them to be tracked.” She flipped off the autopilot and prepared to reprogram the flight path. “They’ll believe we’re heading to Jabler, but then I’ll change course.”
“What is our destination?”
Marisol hesitated. “We’re going to intercept a transport heading this way from Earth and watch it. The important thing is that we’re off Clone World. There’s enough plasma to last us for half a year. My luggage is filled with energy bars. We won’t starve. There’s enough water in the tanks on these shuttles to last us for months if we ration it. For right now, we’re going to stay on course to Jabler until after jettisoning that escape pod.”
“Do you believe your grandfather will think you’ve been kidnapped?”
“Not when that pilot is questioned by Clone World security. He should remember that I’m the one who stuck him with the needle. I think my gramps will realize I know the truth about being a clone after he learns that not only am I gone, but I took you four with me.”
A slight sound had Marisol turn. Two of the clones entered the cramped cockpit to carry the unconscious pilot away. MC-2 and MC-3 were easily able to lift him from the floor. Clones were created to be strong.
“Be very careful with him,” Marisol ordered. “Put the pilot in the emergency pod and eject him in four hours,” she repeated her original orders, too. “I don’t want him hurt in any way.”
“It would be better if we didn’t do that. You’re not expected to be back for eight days, correct?”
