of the convoy streaming out behind us, catch sight of distant flashing fire as the Zero continues to elude its pursuers. “Preparing to breach.”
Finian’s fingers dance on his uniglass, his eyes narrowed on his screen.
“Quickly now,” I urge.
“You wanna hack this, Pixieboy, be my guest,” he snaps.
Every second seems an eon, every moment we spend is another the Hephaestus SOS travels farther. Every moment it speeds toward more ears: bounty hunters, the Terran Defense Force, the GIA, my sister.
But finally, with a small grin of triumph, Finian looks up at me and nods. I feel a series of heavy clunks run through the metal, and I reach down and take hold of the hatchway. I strain, veins corded in my neck as I drag the airlock wide enough for Finian to squeeze inside. I follow swiftly, slamming the hatch shut behind us. Our Gearhead is already working on the inner hatchway as the airlock repressurizes, gravity and volume returning with a vengeance, red globes flashing, alarms screaming.
“They know we are here,” I say.
“We just breached their enviro systems and opened their ship into space—of course they know we’re here!”
“Keep your head down,” I tell him. “And stay behind me.”
The inner hatchway clunks, the door slides open with a soft hum, and immediately a burst of disruptor fire sprays into the airlock. I push Finian out of sight against one wall, take cover behind the hatch as the charged particles sizzle and flare. Another burst blackens the metal close by my head, setting my blood thrumming.
“Are you people insane?” comes a shout.
“Get the hells off my ship!” cries another.
The Enemy Within is close to the surface now. Swimming just below my skin.
These are not warriors, he whispers.
These are worms.
I wait until there is a pause in fire, poke my head around the doorway and back again. I count six men in a blink. All armed. No armor. Half cover.
Break them.
I step out into the hallway, and they rise from concealment to open fire. I weave aside from their volleys, feel a burst of charged particles burn past my cheek, all the universe moving in slow motion. And with six taps of my trigger, six short blasts from my disruptor rifle, all are lying senseless and drooling on the floor.
It is over. Almost before it began.
You should have killed them, he whispers.
Mercy is the province of cowards, Kaliis.
“Holy crap,” Finian whispers, peering out from cover. “That was …”
“Disappointing,” I say. “Come. We must be swift.”
Leaping over the fallen crew, we run on toward the bridge.
10
FINIAN
So this captain’s idea to send everyone he had was obviously a mistake, given that Kal left them sprawled in the loading bay like a bunch of cadets on shore leave.
I mean, I’ve heard that’s what happens on shore leave.
Obviously, I am personally a model of academy standards at all times.
Nevertheless, with the entire crew of the Totentanz consigned to dreamland for now, the tug is under the official control of Squad 312, and the mission is proceeding exactly according to plan. Which always makes me nervous. Of course things are still a bit exciting for Tyler and the gang outside, and there is the small question of how in the Maker’s name we’re going to get back to the Zero without being vaporized, but as my second mother always says, one thing at a time.
We’re up on the bridge, and I’m busy romancing the Hadfield’s black box (which I note with satisfaction is orange) and watching Kal out of the corner of my eye. If concealing a crush on Scarlett Isobel Jones wasn’t a full-time job, I would seriously consider adding him to the daydream roster. I get what Auri sees in him. Strong, silent, broody. All that good stuff.
He catches me looking at him and raises one perfect eyebrow.
“How long until your task is complete?” he asks, completely unromantically.
“I’m working on it, big guy,” I tell him. And so I am. I’m coaxing a stream of data from the orange crate on the floor onto my uniglass, murmuring sweet nothings to hurry it along. The salvage team carved the flight recorder out of the poor old Hadfield pretty neatly, but still, it’s a little creepy, just sitting there on the cockpit floor. You know, thinking about what kind of situation it was built for and all …
I give my head a shake to chase away that thought, which will lead directly to the ghost ship full of corpses we left behind if I’m not careful, and