Ready to go? Arbron asked.
Yes, I am.
Then brace yourself, because I don't know how much of a kick these old Skrit Na ships have.
Arbron engaged the repulsorlift thrusters, and the ship gradually started to rise off the ground. The speed increased with almost painful sluggishness, and by the time they were high enough to accelerate out of the atmosphere the Yeerks were already launching Bug fighters to intercept them. Feeling a slight prickle of fear, Elfangor and Arbron both turned to regard each other.
At this rate it'll take us ten minutes just to get to escape velocity, Bug fighters will be all over us before we can even think about jumping to Zero-space!
Elfangor shook his head, there had to be another option. There had to be, he did not come all the way to this horrible planet just to be recaptured by the Yeerks just as he was trying to leave it. Arbron's head jerked up rather abruptly as a thought came to him.
I know! We can use the Time Matrix! We can escape through time before the Yeerks catch up to us.
Elfangor blinked, knowing that Arbron was only thinking out of desperation.
Arbron, we can't! The Time Matrix's activation would show up on every orbital sensor, every energy sensor-
I don't care! I can't stay like this. You've felt the hunger, Elfangor. You know what it's like. Would you want to be like that for the rest of your life?
Elfangor knew that getting into an argument now was something to be avoided at all costs, and so he didn't answer.
We have no idea how it works, how fast it would power up, or anything else we would need to know to safely operate that device. Besides, what if it takes ten minutes for it to activate, or more? Other than that, we don't know what else could happen if we use it, Elfangor said, hoping that Arbron could be made to see reason.
What? You're telling me that you're worried about what some Prince will say if we manage to survive the trip?
That's not what I meant. I don't think our superiors will care, since I guess my military career is pretty much a non-issue, Elfangor said morosely, remembering the transport ship full of unhosted Yeerks that War-Prince Alloran had ordered him to destroy.
Then what… Oh, you can't be serious, Arbron said, already beginning to laugh. You expect me to believe that you're afraid of some creature from a children's story. I thought soldiers were supposed to be beyond those kind of irrational fears, Arbron said, not even trying to hide his vast amusement.
Elfangor, torn between relief that Arbron could still find humor despite his rather bleak situation, and annoyance that Arbron would laugh at him, considered giving the other a healthy swat with the flat of his tail blade. But, since that might have injured his friend given how fragile Taxxons really were, Elfangor decided not to.
Just children's stories? That's what a lot of people have said about the Time Matrix itself, and we're standing in the same ship as it. Someone had to build it, and it would make sense that it was made by the Ellimists.
Arbron looked like he was concentrating, and Elfangor wondered if he had heard a word that Elfangor had said. Elfangor felt a bit stupid for believing the stories about the Ellimists, but it had seemed the most logical thing at the time. Arbron's next words pushed those feelings right out of his conscious mind, though.
Yeerk craft closing in to intercept. It's a Bug Fighter!
Can we outrun a Bug Fighter?
Are you kidding?! In an old Skrit Na ship? We'd be caught and killed before we could make it out of the stratosphere. Or worse, Arbron thought to himself.
What if we try to fight our way past it?
That Yeerk fighter has twin Penetrator-class Dracon beams, Arbron said, starting to sound like he was talking to an idiot. All the Skrit Na have is used, low-power Dracon beams that the Yeerks sell off for salvage, there is no way that we can trade shots with them.
Intellectually, Elfangor knew this, he had just been grasping at whatever hope he could. No matter how impossibly foolish or hopeless it sounded. Elfangor forced his thoughts to regain some semblance of order, and then he just managed to think up some sort of strategy.
It was desperate, but it was the only thing that his harried mind could come up with.
Wait, Skrit Na ships are faster in atmosphere than Bug Fighters, right? We might be able to outrun them if we stay at this altitude. Elfangor voiced his thoughts, knowing that they sounded crazy.
You want to try and outrun them in the atmosphere? Arbron sounded incredulous, Elfangor didn't blame him.
I'm open to any suggestion you might have, Arbron, Elfangor said, fear making him irritable.
There is a second Bug fighter on us, two more have just been launched, Arbron said, his voice full of barely controlled panic.
We're going to the grass, Elfangor said, hoping he sounded like one of the tough, confidant fighter pilots he had seen aboard the Star Sword. I need a direct view on the situation, real time, and real aspect. Open a window for me, will you?
Without further comment, Arbron's Taxxon claws flew over the control console, hitting more buttons than Elfangor ever could have in that space of time. The window opened quickly, and Elfangor saw the shields glowing under the blistering heat they were generating by flying so fast.
Elfangor took his place at the ship's navigation controls, knowing that Arbron would have his hands full with the shields. As he made the ship dive lower, their speed increased dramatically.
We're now passing three-thousand miles per hour! Arbron said, his composure slipping.
As the ship tore through the air at those incredible speeds, they threw up a wake of dust and rock behind them. Elfangor knew that no ship, not even one designed to fly at high speed in the atmosphere like the Skrit Na craft was, could handle traveling three-thousand miles per hour in this kind of environment for long.