Instead, she typed: RELEASE THE PODS.
THEY TOLD YOU WE WERE GHOSTS, smbd-115 continued. WE ARE NOT. WAKE THEM. smbd-115
The ship shuddered. Pods ejected like seeds from a dying fruit, arcing toward the escape trajectory Elara had secretly plotted weeks ago. She watched them go, her cutter still warm in her hand. Instead, she typed: RELEASE THE PODS