Page 48 of Commander’s Mate

Not Earth.

Please, not Earth.

“Everyone,” I said, because he looked as though he did not know how to begin. “Commander Maktu has something to tell us.”

Scarlet straightened. Zoe pushed her food away. Nora folded her hands so tightly her knuckles whitened. Kyanna looked down.

Zared’s gaze moved over the room without lingering on me. He was trying to speak as commander, not as the man who had kissed me.

That should have helped.

It did not.

“We have reviewed the auction records recovered from Ursaga,” he said. “For many of you, we have partial origin data. For some, confirmed homeworlds or broker records may help us arrange return transport after Halor. Other records were incomplete or deliberately altered.”

I could hear my own heartbeat.

“The four women from Earth were entered under an unknown low-technology world designation. Your coordinates were removed from the record before auction. With the information currently available, we cannot determine Earth’s location.”

Cannot determine.

Not do not know yet.

Cannot.

The room blurred.

Zoe made a small wounded sound.

Nora whispered, “No.”

Scarlet said nothing.

“What does that mean?” Zoe asked.

“At this time, we do not know how to take you home.”

“At this time,” Nora repeated. “But later?”

“We will continue searching. Slave-route intelligence, broker records, other databases, future contacts. But I will not give false hope. Your world may not be in this galaxy. Even if it is, we have too little data to identify the system.”

Scarlet stood. “That’s it? We’re just stuck?”

“You are not prisoners.”

“Not what I asked.”

“No.” His voice remained steady. “You are stranded unless and until more information is found.”

Stranded.

The honest word.

Somewhere deep, I had known from the moment I saw impossible color streaming past the slaver ship’s viewport. I had known when Zared did not recognize Earth.

But a human mind is stubborn. It keeps building doors after the walls collapse.

Someone would find us.