up there,” I said. “There could be a platoon of soldiers waiting for us for all I know.”
“Your optimism knows no bounds,” Ian said drily.
I shrugged. “I’m too tired for optimism.”
“Activate your cuff,” Ian said. “We’ll run for the stairs, then run for the ship.”
“What if they left already?”
“Then we’ll improvise. Don’t borrow trouble.”
I nodded and activated my cuff. I promised myself that once this was done, I’d spend a week on the pink sandy beaches of GCD One doing nothing more difficult than sipping a fruity drink with a tiny umbrella in it.
We climbed the last floor to the base level. The codebreaker made short work of the door at the top of the stairwell and the door leading into the main part of the base.
“I’ll cover you while you open the stairwell door to the surface,” Ian said. “It’s just past the elevator.”
I nodded and we lunged into the main hallway. Ian shot the guard at the gate, but more soldiers milled in the hallway beyond. I attached the codebreaker while he laid down suppressing fire.
The door popped open. “Now!” I shouted. We dashed up the stairs. This stairwell was blissfully short compared to the one from the mine, but soldiers streamed in below us, shooting both bolts and stun rounds.
We surprised a quartet of soldiers in the hangar. I shot one and Ian shot three. Outside, Opportunity was in defense mode. Aoife stood on the cargo ramp in combat armor. At least four bodies in spacesuits littered the ground. An atmospheric barrier shimmered over the cargo bay door.
Ian put Ferdinand on his feet. “Bianca, help Ferdinand to the ship. I will be rear guard.” He cut me off before I could protest. “I’ll be right behind you. Remember, the air outside isn’t breathable, so take a deep breath and get moving.”
We didn’t have time to argue, so I slung Ferdinand’s left arm over my shoulder and pulled him into a slow jog that made him grunt with every step. “Deep breath,” I said right before we hit the hangar’s atmospheric barrier.
I sucked in air just as my cuff vibrated and blaster bolts sailed past. The ship was twenty meters out. Ferdinand dragged at me, but I pulled him inexorably forward. My lungs burned with the need to breathe. I gritted my teeth against the instinct.
My cuff vibrated again. I wanted to check on Ian, but if I stopped, I might not start again. Fire burned through my chest. The need to breathe became impossible to ignore. Ten meters.
We crossed into the ship’s shield. Someone had turned off ground protection, so at least we weren’t instantly incinerated.
Five meters.
I blew out some of my precious air, just so my body might think I was breathing and give me a fucking break.
It didn’t work.
Ferdinand coughed and gasped next to me. Aoife stopped shooting long enough to come down the cargo ramp and drag us inside. I wanted to collapse into a coughing fit on the cargo bay floor, but I turned, looking for Ian.
He was still in the hangar, on the ground, surrounded by at least two squads of soldiers, half in helmeted spacesuits.
He’d promised to be right behind me. He’d lied and sacrificed himself. Irrational anger seared away all of my worry and fatigue.
Fuck that noise. He didn’t get to die heroically for me. I was going to explain that to him in great detail using very small words, just as soon as I retrieved his captured ass.
I opened my crate of supplies, looking for my armor, but digging it out wasn’t going to be fast enough. “Aoife, strip. I need your armor. Take Ferdinand and stick to the plan. I’m going after Ian.”
“You can’t,” she said. She reached for the cargo door button.
“Touch that button and I’ll fling myself out the door without a weapon or armor. I’m going, so start fucking helping.”
I grabbed my primary com and a pair of long blasters from my crate. Aoife was half out of her armor, and as she took pieces off, I strapped them on. It would be too tall, but I’d make it work.
Ferdinand tried to stop me, but I batted his hands away. “I have to do this,” I said. “If you keep slowing me down, it’s going to be harder.”
He backed away with a curt nod.
With Ian secure, the soldiers in spacesuits were approaching the ship. “Get Ferdinand to Benedict. I’m trusting you, Aoife,” I said.
She nodded. “Good hunting. Don’t die or Ian will resurrect himself just