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On the bridge of his warship, Lord Erama checked his chronometer. It would not be long before they knew if Corinthe’s invasion force would come.
He leaned over his communicator. “Admiral Garam, are all your fighting divisions in place?”
“They are. What about your own?”
Erama smiled. “All accounted for. I am assuming that while we’ll keep communication open between us, you will still be commanding your own forces and I’ll be commanding mine?”
“That’s what we agreed what was best.”
“Just checking, my friend. And all independent task forces will be operating under localized command. Now, I make it eight minutes until the enemy’s fleet arrives. How about you?”
“Eight minutes,” Garam replied.
“Good. With luck, Corinthe may even stand down this time. But if he doesn’t, I wish you happy hunting.”
“Likewise. Over and out.”
Lord Erama looked at the bridge’s holographic display and at the void around it that, if Corinthe carried through with his threat, would soon be filled with enemy ships.
For a moment, it looked as though nothing would happen. Then the Federation’s armada arrived with a massive warship at its head. The bridge fell silent and everyone listened as a transmission was broadcast.
“This is Vilastrian Corinthe, Minister of Security for the Federation Department of Security and Defense, and I am addressing you from aboard the Dreadnought Annihilator. Who is in command of this force?”
When Lord Erama replied, his tone was calm and courteous but his manner was firm. “Minister Corinthe, this is Lord Erama of the Phalamkian Defense Forces. I speak for everyone in this fleet you see before you and I must inform you that your task force is in violation of our sovereignty. Members of the Federation and vessels originating from within it are welcome at any time. However, we cannot allow your armed force within our system.”
“And what of the other armed forces I see here?” Corinthe countered. “You have in your midst Narvashae Galleons, Koratav gunboats, Hie’shi Tridents and countless others. As well as that, you have eight divisions of warships that bear the markings of a terrorist organization that is responsible for the deaths of numerous innocent citizens of the Federation.”
“Regarding the armed forces you mention, these ships are operating under Phalamkian command and as such are considered to be part of our own defense forces. As for your accusation that we are harboring known terrorists, we refute it outright. The organization that you refer to has only ever attacked military targets. However, if you would like to discuss these matters further, you are welcome to come aboard my flagship. You may bring your own people with you if you’d like, provided that they come unarmed, and you will not be harmed in any way or detained against your will.”
“I thank you for the offer, Lord Erama, but I cannot accept. I can offer you the same terms aboard my own ship though.”
“I’m sorry, Minister, but as this is our system, it is our right and duty to host any face to face discussions.”
“Then let us have our discussion as we are,” Corinthe told him and there was a distinguishable harsh note to his voice. “We have come to exact payment for damage done to Federation interests by Phalamkian parties involved with the terrorist network that calls itself the Resistance. If you surrender, there will be no loss of life. We will send Federation crews to take command of all your warships and soldiers to collect your weapons. You will then be transported to the surface of Phalamki and that will be the end of the matter. If you refuse though, then you will leave me with no choice but to declare war on this system. I would prefer not to do this as I’m sure you can imagine the loss of life would be extremely high. However, our fleet is prepared for this if necessary. It is your choice.”
Erama sighed. “We cannot allow the Federation to continue attacking independent worlds along the Frontier unprovoked. If you choose to carry out your threat, then we must defend our system.”
“Then war it is.”
“So be it.” Erama flicked the communicator off.
On the viewscreen, he saw the Federation cruisers moving into an attack formation, a sweeping arrow head with the Annihilator at the point. Today, the people of the Federation and the Frontier systems would find out if that ship was everything it was said to be.
“All ships,” he announced, “you heard what Corinthe said so there’s no need to be chivalrous. Mark your target once it’s in range and open fire. Divert all power from your rear deflection shields to the front and fire at will.”
Within moments, there was a barrage of exchanges between the two armadas.
“Damage report?” Erama asked.
“A lot of scorching down the port side but nothing critical,” the chief of engineering told him. “And one of the starboard weapons emplacements has been dislodged.”
“Copy that.” Erama set the communicator to address the other ships. “Are any vessels critically damaged?”
“Sir, the Hydra took a heavy barrage from the Annihilator and we’ve had to seal off several hull compartments.”
“Fall back and see to your crew. The Pegasus and the Gorgon will bridge the gap.”
“Sir,” the radar officer called out. “Enemy fighters coming in. Eighteen wings from different cruisers. Looks like the first wave.”
“Hold tight everyone,” Erama instructed. “Revert your shields to their default energy distribution levels. We won’t have to worry about our fronts as much now. Those cruisers won’t fire on their own fighters.”
The space between the two lines of warships was soon filled with Federation Wasps. They came in, firing at full power and making strafing runs over the cruisers. Meanwhile, from amongst the Phalamkian Battle Titans, squadrons of Phalamkian Kites emerged and while they were not as formidable in deep space combat as the Raptor-7s of the Resistance or their new Harskan Corteks, they could maneuver more closely between the capital warships and their rear gunners took a number of Wasp pilots by surprise.
Meanwhile, cutting their way through the sea of enemy fighters between the Federation ships and the Phalamkian Defense Forces was a small group of Resistance fighters with Sigma squadron at its head.
“Asten would have a fit if he knew what we were doing,” Carla remarked.
“And he’d be jealous he missed out,” Drackson added.
It was absurd though. Even if they avoided taking a direct hit from a blast, the chances of a fatal collision alone should have ruled out such foolhardiness.
“We’re breaking up their formations,” Zak pointed out. “And it’s working.” He veered the ship out of the way of an exploding Wasp. “And while they’re trying to avoid crashing into us, half of them are crashing into each other. Look.”
Carla had to admit that Zak’s reckless stunt was paying off. Flying across the enemy fighters instead of taking them head on had thrown them into disarray.
However, while they were having some luck, the Annihilator was on the move. Edging forward, it opened fire on one Phalamkian Battle Titan, concentrating its attack on this single ship while the surrounding Federation cruisers lay down a barrage of cover fire, and in under fifteen seconds, the massive Dreadnought had ripped the smaller ship to shreds.
Then when everyone was still trying to come to terms with that particular shock, it singled out a Resistance cruiser and systematically pummeled that. It was clear this time that some of the Annihilator’s batteries were overheating but this second assault ended as the first had, with a cruiser that had been running at full capacity with its shields intact disintegrating in a fireball.
The guns on the Annihilator fell silent but it brought little relief to the assembled forces defending Phalamki. It was clear they were simply recharging and it was only a matter of time before they opened fire again.
As the rest of the Lady Hawk’s crew stared in shock, Carla looked at her radar screens. “Some of our ships are leaving.”
Maia leaned over to have a look. “You’re joking.” However, the dots on the radar moving behind the main group and away towards the edge of the system didn’t lie. She scowled. “Cowards.”
Carla didn’t say anything. They had probably had no idea what they were heading into when they came to hold back the Federation’s attack and the Annihilator’s onslaught had taken everyone by surprise. But she understood how Maia felt. Abandoning comrades in their time of need was a pretty low thing to do.
“Forget them,” Drackson said.
“Sigma leader,” a voice cut in on the communicator. “Bank portside. I’m coming through.”
“Ah,” Zak replied. “I read you, Hurricane.” He adjusted the communicator frequency. “You heard him, Sigma squadron. Bank now!”
Following the Lady Hawk, the fighters of Sigma squadron corkscrewed back towards the Phalamkian defense line, while a lone Harskan Cortek shot through from the opposite direction. At its controls, Lieutenant Rillei “Hurricane” Brais from Epsilon squadron guided his ship towards the Annihilator and the center of the Federation fleet. He fired a torpedo that shot over the enemy cruisers and exploded into tiny fragments. Then, without decelerating, he pulled his ship around and gunned it back to the relative safety of the defense blockade.
In the void above the Annihilator, several of the torpedo’s fragments moved of their own accord. Lights activated on them and small lens surfaces swiveled down towards the Federation cruisers.
“Are the surveillance pods transmitting?” Hurricane asked.
“All good, Hurricane,” a man replied. “We should have a count of the Annihilator’s guns shortly. Good job.”
“Happy to be of service,” Hurricane said, heading back to join Captain Fera and the rest of Epsilon squadron.
Moments later, the count was done. The engineering officer who had just spoken to Hurricane swiveled around in his chair to face General Draedon. “The Annihilator’s stats have come through, General. Sixty heavy cannons, one hundred repeating cannons and ten torpedo tubes. The probes are still scanning for structural weak points.”
The figures had a sobering effect on the bridge crew.
“Well, that checks,” Draedon murmured.
“What was that?” the engineering officer asked.
“We’ll have to send the fighters in to do a strafing run,” Draedon said, brushing off the question. “There’s no way any of our cruisers can go up against it, broadside or head-on, unless we take out some of those guns.”
“Shall we send them in now?”
“Not yet,” Draedon told him, looking over his radar display. “We need to draw these fighters away first.” He switched on the communicator. “General Kalae. Do you read me?”
“Loud and clear, General Draedon. Go ahead.”
“I want your division to move towards those Federation cruisers at the far end of the assault formation. With luck, we might draw off some of the enemy fighters down here and clear the way for our own fighters to head into the Federation lines.”
“Lucky them,” Kalae replied. “If we go ahead with this though, I might hold the assault from that end and press on towards the center of the group.”
“That would work,” Draedon agreed. “However, I suggest you liaise with the Phalamkians over there and get them to cover you.”
“Will do. Good luck, General.”
“Thanks. You too.”
To the portside, he saw Kalae’s cruisers moving towards the end of the Federation armada and they crippled the first cruiser they encountered. Kalae pressed on as she’d said she would, moving head-on and attacking them on their broadsides, inflicting maximum damage on their ships while risking only minimal damage to her own.
The Wasp pilots in the meantime, or their commanders, realized that until a few more assault shuttles arrived, they were the only ones in any position to pose a substantial threat against Kalae’s ships. The Federation cruisers there could not move fast enough to get into better firing positions and the remaining cruisers were held down by enemy fire as well. Unanimously, the Wasp pilots abandoned their attacks on the center of the Phalamkian barricade and flew towards the end of their own lines to assist their cruisers. As they neared their destination though, groups of Phalamkian cruisers at the far side of the formation pummeled them.
Draedon smiled. All in all, the plan had gone well. However, there wasn’t any time to enjoy the show. He had work to do. “Epsilon leader. Sigma leader. Come in.”
“Sigma copies.”
“Epsilon leader. Go ahead.”
“We need to take out some of the enemy’s guns,” he told them. “You’ll be strafing the Annihilator. Don’t slow down for extra shots or you’ll be blown to pieces. Sigma squadron, take the starboard side on your way in and the port side on your way out. Epsilon group, port side in and starboard out. Don’t crash into each other on the turn.”
“We read you, General.”
Bracing himself, Zak drove the Lady Hawk towards the enemy lines with his fighters trailing behind him. The view outside was not daunting; it was terrifying. Enormous cruisers filled the black void and bright flashes of deadly fire shot towards them from all directions. Any one of them could rip the entire ship to shreds in an instant and for the most part, it seemed to be sheer luck that none of them hit.
Then before they had time to register it, they were flying over the vast hull of the Annihilator itself. The dark gray mass below was covered in protrusions of various sizes, including the distinctive shapes of weapons turrets and right now, all of them were firing madly at the Lady Hawk and the fighters behind it.
Not wasting a second on hesitation, Zak and the others fired back with a barrage of their own with a number of torpedoes for good measure. As a general rule, Zak never felt comfortable firing on enemy targets. There was a world of difference between destroying an abandoned hulk for target practice and attacking a crewed vessel. But in light of the destruction he’d just seen the Annihilator unleash, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of vindictive satisfaction as turrets and protrusions exploded across its hull.
He and the others then passed Epsilon squadron as they swooped around behind the Annihilator’s enormous rear engines and they lined themselves up for their exit runs. As they soared over the Federation’s flagship, their weapons blazed ceaselessly, while their torpedoes exploded into its hull, ripping armored plating apart and tearing turrets from their bases. Then they shot over the end of the ship and headed back to the Phalamkian blockade.
“That oughta slow them down a little,” Carla said.
“I hope so,” Zak replied. He wiped a layer of sweat off his forehead. He’d done a lot of crazy stunts since he joined the Resistance but that one left them all behind.
––––––––
Meanwhile, Asten was growing restless. Perhaps they’d all been wrong about those Phalamkians he’d seen on Nemasil. Maybe they had nothing to do with whatever was going on today. He met Selina’s gaze and she shrugged. With little else to do, they turned their attention back to the holographic display in the middle of the room. Stray shots from the Federation armada were hitting parts of the shield but overall, it didn’t appear to be under much strain.
Which was strange because right then, an alarm blared from some hidden speakers.
“What’s going on?” Asten asked Tallec.
The supervisor looked flustered as he leaned over one of the work stations. “I don’t believe it. We’ve got a malfunction. One of the main circuit breakers has melted down.”
“That can’t be right,” Asten murmured to Selina. “Otherwise, something down there would be overheating.”
“It could be a malfunction,” the Phalamkian seated at the console suggested, overhearing the remark.
“Possibly,” Tallec conceded, “but all the same, we have to bring in an emergency crew to have a look at it. Assuming the rest of our equipment’s in good order, that alarm should have been relayed to the base so a crew should be on its way right now.”
He moved for the exterior entrance and motioned some of the other staff to follow him. “Come on.”
Asten and Selina also went after him with their armed guard.
As they came outside, they saw a cable car coming up. In a few seconds, it stopped at a platform just below them and four figures leapt out, wearing gas masks and carrying bags of miscellaneous equipment.
“Tallec,” Selina said. “Check these guys for IDs.”
Tallec nodded and took several steps towards the newcomers but before he could say a thing, they barged right past him, mumbling apologies and running inside.
“What—?” Tallec cried out.
“I think these men might be saboteurs!” Asten said, chasing after them with Selina and the armed guards hot on his tail.
As they reached the main control deck, the four men disappeared down the ramp that led to the reactor room.
“Stop right there!” one of the Phalamkian guards called out, drawing his weapon. “No one enters this facility without an ID clearance.”
“Sorry, sir,” the last of them replied, turning around just long enough to answer. “It’s an emergency!”
“No one enters this facility without an ID clearance,” the guard repeated. “Regardless—”
A shot through his chest cut him short, leaving a smoking wound. With a gasp of escaping air, he collapsed to the deck dead.
Asten swiveled on his heels to see where the shot had come from and saw the Phalamkian who’d been in charge of the work station where the alarm had sounded. Tallec looked at him in an expression of disbelief and anger. “What do you think you’re—?”
The Phalamkian fired again and Tallec fell with an anguished cry, badly injured but alive. One of the remaining four guards rushed to his side while the other three opened fire on the traitor. However, he was too fast for them, crouching under the cover of his work station and retreating down the ramp.
“Get everyone out!” Selina shouted.
“But the shield—” one of the technicians exclaimed.
“It’ll hold for now!” she snapped. “Come on, Asten.”
As they rushed over, a cloud of thick black smoke poured out of the doorway to the ramp, forcing them back coughing.
“Smoke grenade!” one of the guards called out. “Get away, quickly.” He hit the release for one of the ladders that extended from the platform and it slid down to the walkway below. “Hurry, before they get to the bottom of the ramp.”
He scurried down and Asten and Selina followed with two more guards behind them. The last remaining guard assisted Tallec out from the control room with the rest of the staff who worked there.
On the deck below the main control room, everyone drew their weapons and ran to the reactor room. Several shots made them take a few steps back. One of the guards leaned out to see where their assailants were and saw that one of them was about to lob another smoke grenade. Before he released it from his grip though, the guard shot him. As he fell, he dropped it on the ground and contents enveloped the group.
“Stay back,” the guard warned the others. “They’ve got gas masks so they’ll still be standing. And now they’re hidden in the smoke.”
“That traitor from the control deck didn’t have a mask though,” Selina pointed out. “So he’ll be down at least.”
“Good,” the guard replied. “I’d like to have a few words with him later.”
“I’d like to throw him over the side of the landing platform,” Selina said.
“Yeah. Me too.” He leaned forward while he waited for the smoke to clear. “Don’t make this harder on yourselves!” he called down the space between the various pieces of machinery. “Surrender now and you might receive some clemency.”
“Save your clemency,” one of them called back, his voice filtered through his gas mask. “Everyone in the Phalamkian Defense Forces is a dead man, including you! Besides, while you’re offering clemency, Corinthe’s giving us money. Tons of it.”
“Only good if you’re alive to spend it,” the guard replied. “And you won’t be if you keep this up.”
The smoke cleared enough for him to get another shot in. One of the saboteurs was down, although he wasn’t sure if it was the same one he’d injured earlier or not.
“Just to show you we’re not screwing around,” he told the others.
Then something clattered across the mesh walkway and landed at his feet.
“Neither are we,” another saboteur called back. The guard had only a moment to react. He leapt away without looking at the object and crashed into the others behind him. A moment later, the walkway exploded where he’d been standing and a blast of hot shrapnel tore into his back. Then he slid into the gaping hole in the mesh the blast had left, pinned down by debris.
“Stay with him!” Selina told the other two guards. “Watch ahead!”
She gave Asten a gentle push but he knew what she wanted. He headed around the U-bend and ran up the other side of the walkway back towards the reactor room.
As he emerged, a saboteur fired at him and he ducked back. Then he heard a short hiss followed by the sound of some kind of electrical discharge, a blaster pack overheating. It was known to happen with some of the cheaper blasters around.
Taking a chance, he stepped out and fired. He caught one of the saboteurs in the shoulder but the remaining two were ready for him. One of them had opened one of the hatches he’d seen earlier when Tallec had shown him the room and as he looked around, the other grabbed him and threw him into the room beneath it. As he climbed back to his feet, he heard a scream and the sounds of someone struggling and a moment later, Selina crashed into him as well. Then the hatch was closed overhead and they heard something heavy sliding across it. They were trapped.
Selina tried to force the hatch but it was useless. With a scream, she hit it. Asten pulled her back and in embarrassment, she tried to turn away from him.
“We can’t get out that way,” he told her. “But there might be another way those creeps haven’t thought of.”
She nodded.
“Don’t worry,” Asten said with an easy smile. “We’re not alone down here. And there are only three of them left and at least one of them is injured.”
“You’re right,” Selina sighed. “All right, let’s have a look around.”
––––––––
In orbit, Lord Erama knew nothing of his daughter’s predicament as he had his own problems to deal with. A number of the Federation’s cruisers had broken through the lines. Some were attacking the allied ships where they were vulnerable and had few guns to fire back with, while others were moving on to pummel the planetary shield. Making it worse was the number of deserters. He didn’t know what these people thought battles were supposed to be like but clearly, they hadn’t expected the ferocious assault the Federation had unleashed. However, most of their allies were still holding fast and in the end it was more than he could have asked of any of them.
Still though, something had to change. The Federation was getting too confident and his own officers needed something to lift their spirits fast. Otherwise, it would be a toss-up as to whether they surrendered or were blown apart. It was time for an advance.
“All cruisers,” he announced. “Move in formation. We’re heading in between the enemy ships. Engage them broadside and hit them with everything you’ve got but steer clear of their flagship.”
“What about the shield?” one of his captains asked. “If we move out, we’ll give the enemy the chance of a direct bombardment.”
“We will,” Erama agreed. “However, we’ll have to risk it.”
––––––––
“Here,” Asten called out, throwing aside some boxes of cables to clear some space.
Selina rushed over and crouched beside him.
“I think we can move this paneling.” Asten looked around. “Here, hand me that rod over there.”
Selina got it for him and he pried it into a groove around the outside of the panel. He pulled down, groaning with the exertion. He tried to lever it a little more and finally, it came free. He tossed the rod aside and slid the panel across the flooring. Underneath the deck was about a foot of space and another panel bolted onto some metal support beams. He pulled out his blaster and tried to shoot the bolts out. It wasn’t entirely successful but they had melted slightly. Then, gripping the edge of the hole he’d made so he didn’t fall through, he kicked at the bottom of it several times until the piece of metal came free and fell away into empty space.
Asten recoiled in fright. It was a hell of a long way down to the ground. Outside, it was getting darker as the sun was setting and there was a howling wind.
Selina grabbed him to keep him steady.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Now what?” she asked him.
“Look.” Asten pointed down. “There are some external support beams down there. We can climb down and make our way back up on one of them. I saw them on the first day we got here.”
This time, it was Selina’s turn to recoil. She felt a wave of nausea as she leaned over the hole. “That’s insane. We’ll fall for sure.”
“No, we won’t,” Asten told her. “Also, it’s not going to be ‘we’. You wait here. I’ll come back for you.”
“No!” Selina protested, clutching his arm. “We’re going together. What if something happens to you?”
“It won’t,” Asten replied.
“All the same, I’m coming with you.”
“All right. But I’ll go first. Follow my lead and whatever happens, don’t let go.”
Selina nodded. For a moment though, neither of them moved. Selina pulled Asten towards her and kissed him. Then embarrassed, she pulled away and gave him a smile. “Good luck.”
Asten smiled back. He wanted to say something but no words came. He kept smiling a little longer and as he did, he realized he was in complete awe of this woman and the idea that she might feel something for him in return was more than he could have ever hoped for. Then, worried that he was just sitting there grinning like an idiot, he forced himself to move.
“All right,” he muttered. “Let’s see.”
He gripped the edge of the hole and lowered himself down. An easy step brought him onto the first support strut. He ducked his head so he could see better. The surface of the beam was rough, which made it easier to hold onto than it would have been otherwise. Also, it was large enough to provide a comforting sense of having something under him, without being so large that it was hard to grip.
“It looks good,” he told Selina. “Just crouch down and you’ll be on a good solid beam. Follow me.”
He crawled up the beam and waited for Selina to emerge.
She came out and steadied herself. Then she lay down on the strut, hugging it tight. She tried not to look down and at the same time, tried to ignore the sound of the wind. It felt as though a sudden gust would blow her off into the dusk sky at any moment. Hanging on, she made her way towards the end of the strut where Asten was waiting.
Once he was sure she was okay, he reached out and grabbed a thick cable. Taking a firm grip with both hands, he held onto it as he stepped out onto another support strut which branched off at a right angle to the one he was on. He was now standing underneath the platform outside the reactor room he’d seen when Tallec had given them the tour of the place. The strut he was standing on was one of several holding it in place. He stepped onto the next beam to make some room for Selina and gave her a hand up. “How are you going?”
“Terrified,” she said. “Aren’t you?”
“Absolutely. I’m not crazy.” Asten gave her a reassuring smile and looked at the platform above them. “Well, we’re almost there.” Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself up his support strut, grabbed hold of the platform and turned around. “All right. Your turn. You ready?”
“Well, the sooner it’s over, the better, right?”
“That’s the spirit.”
Swallowing her anxieties, Selina made the climb and Asten kept her steady as she turned around to hold the railing. Then he helped her over before climbing over himself, and he gave her a moment to catch her breath. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Selina let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what your basis of comparison is.”
Asten laughed a little too. The worst part of the climb was over. However, they still had a little further to go. He looked at the rungs he’d seen when he had first set foot on this platform, rungs that led back up to the control deck. He smiled at Selina, gauging whether she was ready for the last leg of the climb. “Shall we?”
She nodded and he saw some of her fiery determination coming back.
“Let’s go then.”
Hand over hand, Asten climbed up the side of the facility until he was standing on the landing platform outside the control deck. The others were there as well but the guard who’d been assisting Tallec earlier had gone. Asten hoped he was okay. He turned around to help Selina up.
“Come on,” he said and ignoring the questioning glances and queries from the staff of the facility, they headed back inside. As soon as they reached the all too familiar control deck, they were greeted by the sound of blaster fire from below. They leaned over the railing and saw that all the guards were all right. Two of them were covering the one who was wounded, while the one who’d been helping Tallec was now down there as well, covering the other side of the U-bend.
Asten tapped the railing just loud enough to get the attention of their comrades. One of them glanced up and the look of relief on his face was visible even from the distance Asten was above him. Asten mouthed a question and the guard held up three fingers.
He nodded. So the one he’d injured earlier was still fighting. He motioned Selina to keep quiet and led the way down the ramp. Thankfully, all the smoke from the saboteurs’ grenade had now cleared. As they reached the bottom, he looked around the corner.
There was one saboteur blocking each end of the U-bend walkway. Standing back behind the nearest one was the saboteur he’d injured earlier, making the best of his remaining limbs. He had two arms clutching his injured shoulder and supporting the arm that hung limp from it, while he held onto his blaster with his last remaining free hand.
Asten was thankful for the fact that with their attention entirely focused on the guards, all three saboteurs had their backs turned to him. But he had to be careful. He and Selina would only get one shot at this. He stepped out and motioned for her to join him. In silence, they raised their blasters. Asten nodded for Selina to take the saboteur who was nearest to the ramp and he indicated that he’d take out the injured one behind him.
He raised three fingers and Selina nodded her understanding. He nodded once, then a second time and with a third nod, he fired on his man, blowing a burning hole in the back of his head. Selina took her man out at the same time. Instantly, the remaining saboteur whirled around to open fire on them both but the guard who was covering him at the other end of the walkway got him first and, with a thud, the traitor hit the deck. When the gun he dropped stopped rattling and came to a halt, a heavy silence hung over the reactor room.
Finally, one of the guards emerged and Asten and Selina walked over to him.
“I think we’ve got them all,” the guard said, looking over the bodies sprawled across the deck. He paced around the room a little more, giving them each a prod with his boot to make sure they weren’t going to leap up and start shooting again.
“So,” Selina said to Asten. “are these saboteurs the same individuals you saw on Nemasil?”
“I’d be curious to find that out myself,” he told her, crouching down next to one of them.
He turned the dead saboteur’s head around and pulled the gas mask off. “Yeah,” he said, standing up while still keeping his eyes fixed on the lifeless face. “They’re the same guys.”
The guard who was with them looked at the control deck technician who had let the saboteurs in and checked his pulse and vital signs.
“I wouldn’t want to be him when he wakes up,” Asten remarked.
“Yeah,” the guard agreed, rolling the traitor over and cuffing his hands behind his back. “He’s going to be in more trouble than his little mind could even begin to comprehend.”
“So is anything down here actually damaged?” Asten wondered, pacing around and eyeing the thing up and down. “Everything looks fine to me.”
“I’d say there was nothing wrong with any of the circuit breakers,” Selina said. “The technician didn’t have to actually damage anything to get the saboteurs up here and I don’t see any way he could have. We pretty much knew where everyone was the whole time. But we couldn’t see what everyone was doing at those work stations all the time. And I imagine it wouldn’t be very difficult for someone with a bit of technical know-how to hack into the computer systems and program an alarm to go off.”
“I agree,” the guard said, standing up. “However, we can investigate that later. Right now, we’ve got injured people to look after and a shield generator to operate.”
“Right,” Selina said. “By the way, is your other man okay?”
“He’s still stuck back there,” the guard replied. “But he’s not hurt. And now that we don’t have to worry about being shot at, we should be able to pry him out without injuring him.”
Selina smiled. “Well, that’s a relief. Right then. I’ll go and tell the staff up there that the area’s secure. I’ll come back soon and give you a hand. And if he is hurt, I can put him on the cable car with Tallec and send them down to the medics at the base.”