Chapter Thirty-Six
Florian was being serious for once. His earnest face looked out at Cariad from the interface screen. “No,” he said. “No way. I’m not leaving them.”
“I know how you feel,” Cariad said, “but I wasn’t asking you a question. I’m telling you. You and Cassie must evacuate. Get the next shuttle down here. You can stay in someone’s spare room until the bomb shelters are built.”
“Cariad,” Florian replied, “I know you’re my boss and you can fire me if you like, but I’m not leaving a hundred and twenty-three babies to fend for themselves while the Nova Fortuna is under attack. The ship’s massive. It’s very unlikely it could be destroyed, but if it receives a hit the gestation systems could go haywire or even shut down. You know as well as I do that all it would take would be one
