Astera:
Somehow we made it past the Imperial cruisers hovering in the sky without drawing more attention, but I had a feeling it was more than just luck. Hemlock had what he wanted, and the rest of the Imperials couldn't be bothered with us anymore. Their main concern was controlling the riot in the city.
Silence had befallen the ship since our escape, the only noise AZI's whirring repulsorlifts as he tended to all our exacerbated injuries once again. No one wanted to speak - there was nothing to say. We were all too busy wallowing in our own grief.
"There was no way to track Hemlock's ship," Echo said eventually from the cockpit, sounding like he hated hearing the words coming out of his own mouth even as he said them. "He could have taken Omega anywhere."
I didn't think it was possible for Hunter to look even more devastated than he already did, but I was wrong. He met Wrecker's eyes first, then mine, before turning back to stare at the gunner's mount, with all of Omega's things still set up in there. I reached out to take his hand, feeling like I needed to support him somehow, and he intertwined my fingers with his, his eyebrows slowly lowering into a fierce expression.
"We are going to get her back." Each word was punctuated with single-minded determination. "And we don't stop searching until we do."
I squeezed his hand in agreement, nodding firmly when he looked back at me again. No matter what, Omega was coming home with us. Even if it killed me to get her back.