Ember checked on her passengers.

Dag was comforting the two boys as they sat strapped in chairs designed to keep them safe just in case the ride got a little bumpy. The big man had one on each side of him. The boys were dwarfed into the chairs. T wore an expression of pure delight. Alt on the other hand looked terrified.

Red was sitting in the pilot’s chair, his brow furrowed in concentration as he shifted through the layouts of the ship. It occurred to Ember at some point he would have to possibly fly it. The thought was unnerving. She'd trained with a copilot practicing to let them *drive* when she was out of commission. Out of commission simply meant dead to Ember.

She felt possessive over the commercial vesper ship. Inwardly, she’s already named it The Ember after herself as was traditional for other vesper pilots. Each ship had been call signed to the name of the one flying it. She had no idea if Red would object given his prejudice towards Neo-Tokyo. But she stubbornly hung on to the idea that the ship was hers. Once she had gotten them all to New Elysium she would take off into the stars on her own. Considering she hadn't thought she would be alive at this point, it seemed like a good plan.

Red was downloading the schematics into his mind. She could tell he was getting used to the sensation of tapping into a system again. His neural links glowed bright blue against his skin as he used them. His palms were laid flat against the console, connected with the speed of thought. It was almost as sophisticated as her own set up.

She grinned inwardly, feeling giddy as she sprung upwards, the ship following her commands as if it was her own body. Her arms flew forward as if she were flying and she could see the blue sky racing towards her as she set to hit the black of space.

“Wooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Her cry echoed throughout the ship.

“Ember!” Red yelled, she chanced a glance at him, his hands were over his ears. A quick check on Dag and the boys told her they were doing the same. "Turn your voice off!"

“Sorry!” She tamped down on the controls to keep her voice to herself. Catching a glimpse of a small grin on Red’s face made her laugh. He was feeling her excitement. Unlike Dag and the boys, Red could see where they were heading.

The ships scanning the horizon all turned and banked towards her at the same time. They were smaller makes, many of them simply the scandroids looking for other escapees.

Ember ignored them. Her sensors told her, even at their current course they would not catch them in time. She doubted many were designed for space travel. Those were the ones they really had to worry about.

The Satellite’s feed she had originally detected was coming in full force now. Whoever had planted it in orbit knew how to hide it well. It still hadn't been detected. She knew it was only a matter of time.

<We are out, cease communications> She sent. It might take hours for the satellite, wherever it was hidden to cease and desist. Ember hoped it was shut down before the coordinates were found. If they had weapons she could lock on and take it out herself...but this model was strictly commerical. Picked the most defenseless thing out here, she thought.

The coordinates took them out further than the edges of the human Empire she’d once guarded. Ember doubled checked and sent them to Red’s screen for him to read. The ship vibrated as it surged upward, hitting the final barrier before space.

They broke out of the atmosphere with little fanfare. Ember's vision suddenly went from blue to black.

The black of space surrounded them, pin-pricked by stars in all directions, the planet below them.

…and ships, hundreds of ships, slowing into orbit around Helion.

Ember sighed. Father you certainly didn't waste any time, did you?

New Elysium, Chapter Fourteen: "Escape"