"Oh good, another bloody prison!" Aart's familiar voice boomed through the cells.
Nova sprung to her feet and ran to the front of her cell. The guards led a line of familiar faces that made Nova's heart swell.
Aart sauntered at the front, surveying the cells as if he was looking for a new house. Gus walked behind him, scanning each cell as they passed by. The corner of Tyra's mouth lifted as she watched Aart, while Tanguin shuffled behind them. She looked thin and pale but still better than the last time Nova had seen her. Finally, limping and leaning heavily to one side, came Orion. He gripped a crutch and he was breathing hard by the time he got level with Nova's cell.
"In," the guard said, pulling open the door to Nova's cell.
The Hunters grinned at Nova and poured into the cell as if it was a pleasure ship. The guard slammed the gate shut behind them as they took it in turns to wrap Nova in warm hugs.
"You know," Aart said. "I don't know if this is an improvement."
Nova punched him in the arm and grinned. "It's a step. Crusader and the other ships are upstairs."
"You found them!" Tanguin said.
"Yep. Toro wants us to open them up though, he wants to steal the technology."
"Toro?" Aart said.
Nova waved her hand. "King of this God-forsaken planet. It's a long story."
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Gin said.
It took a second for Nova to process that the Hunters were still talking common-tongue whilst Gin had spoken the native language of Chindo. With Nova's translation chip she barely noticed the change in languages but the two groups wouldn't be able to understand a word.
"Of course," Nova said, speaking to Gin. "Gin, this is Aart, Gus, Tyra, Tanguin, and Orion."
Nova pointed to each of them in turn and they nodded their heads towards Gin.
"That's Gin, and that's Blade," Nova said, gesturing to each cell. "They want out of here as much as we do."
"I don't blame them," Aart said, looking around. "It's a bit depressing isn't it?"
"Try it for twenty years," Blade said from her shadowed cell.
Aart's eyebrows shot up as he gazed at her. "You can speak the common-tongue?"
"Well enough," Blade said, "Although it's been a while."
"Blade is from another planet," Nova said. "Captured here just like us."
"Sorry to hear it," Aart said.
"Okay, so what exactly are we planning to do when this Toro asks us to open the ship?"
"I don't know," Nova said. "I was hoping you would come up with something."
"Cal's still active?" Gus said.
"Yeah."
"Fire up the ship's weapons," Gus said. "Light the building up."
Nova tapped her chin, considering the plan. It was probably the best option they had so far. It was risky though; there was no telling what technology Toro might have. Although, she reasoned, if he hadn't found a way into the ships yet then he probably wasn't ahead of them.
"That could work," she said. "They're in a lab though, so we'd have to be careful."
"Don't forget the war that's coming," Blade added.
"War?" Tanguin said.
"Yeah, you know when the village was attacked by those hooded people? Turns out there's another nutcase on this planet looking to take control. He's planning to attack here in the next couple of days."
"That would explain all the tanks," Gus said.
"Tanks?"
"The streets were full of them," Tyra said. "The car that was driving us had to stop and we walked most of the way."
"Toro didn't waste any time…" Nova said.
"So what?" Gus said. "We get to the ships and get off of this planet before war breaks out?"
"That would be nice," Nova said. "But there's someone I need to save. And I don't know if the ships are repaired yet. Cal and I didn't have much of a chance to talk."
"I hope your robot is more competent than he sounds," Aart said. "That out-of-date thing doesn't fill me with confidence."
"You'll eat those words when Cal saves our arses," Nova said.
"When do you think Toro will summon us?"
"Damned if I know—"
Nova was cut off by a sudden boom that rocked the foundations of the prison and sent pieces of loose concrete tumbling out of the walls and ceiling. Chunks clattered to the floor and exploded into small pieces of dirt.
"What the hell was that?" Aart said.
His words were followed by another barrage. Distant booms filled the air followed by vibrations that sent cracks racing across the prison walls.
"It's beginning," Gin said.
"We have to get out," Nova said. "The middle of a war is the perfect time for us to get away."
Tyra ran to the gate and examined the door mechanism. "Internal computerised lock. Pity the computer's not nearby, Tanguin could probably knock it over in five seconds."
Another booming shudder knocked Nova off her feet and she landed hard on her hip.
"Can you open it or not?" Orion said, his face a grimace as he leant against the wall.
"Yeah, yeah," Tyra said. She pulled a small ball of grey putty out of her pocket and jammed it against the edge of the door. "Step back."
Nova and the others backed to the far wall while Tyra held a lighter to the putty and waited for it to catch fire. As soon as the spark caught, she dove away towards the back of the cell.
The putty fizzed and then exploded, sending out a bright flash of light and a loud shudder that buckled the metal gate.
"Bloody hell," Nova said. "Where'd you find that?"
"Made it," Tyra said with a grin. "I've been collecting materials since we landed."
"Have you got enough for the rest of us?" Blade said.
"You bet," Tyra replied, running to the next cell.
Gin grinned at Nova. "I'm glad your friends got here."
"You want out too?" Nova asked.
"Is Chindo round?" Gin said as way of reply.
It took less than two minutes for Tyra to blow off the remaining doors and then they were running from the prison. Nova led the way up past the other levels, straight to the lab.
Chaos reigned through the corridors, with people running and yelling in all directions, paying no attention to the silent group that scurried up from the prisons.
Two guards stood in front of the doors wearing body armour and open-faced helmets. As soon as Nova came into view, they drew their weapons and fired.
The Hunters rolled to either side of the corridor, dodging fire. Gin stayed back behind the corner, her arthritic hands curled into fists.
As soon as the gunfire fell silent, Blade dashed forward, faster than any human Nova had ever seen. Her dark skin created a blur against the metal corridors as she sprinted straight at the guards. They set their weapons on her but too slow. Before they had time to fire, Blade crashed into the leftmost guard and they both toppled to the ground.
The guard still standing waved his gun in the air, trying to get a clear shot, but Blade moved too quickly. Nova darted forward, accompanied by Gus and Tyra. Gus reached the standing guard first; he pulled back his fist and slammed it into the side of the man's head
The guard's head snapped to the side with a crack and he stumbled backwards.
"Shit!" Gus roared, hugging his hand to his chest. His fingers were already turning purple from where he'd hit the man's helmet.
Nova ran around Gus and kicked the guard's chest, sending him sprawling to the floor. She dropped down next to him, grabbed hold of his gun and yanked it out of his hand. She brought the weapon to her shoulder, aimed, and fired. A blast of yellow light shot out and engulfed the guard's chest.
The glow vanished, leaving a gaping hole where his lungs should have been.
Nova rounded on the other guard and Blade who were still rolling on the floor. His gun lay forgotten on the ground, Nova kicked it towards Tyra who grabbed it off the floor and trained it on the two bodies on the ground.
"Blade, get out of the way," Nova yelled.
Blade gave no indication that she'd heard. She tucked her leg behind the guard's body and rolled him over so that she was sitting on his chest. She grappled with the straps of his helmet while his hands clenched around her face, his fingers seeking her eyeballs.
With a click his helmet fell free, revealing a red-faced man, mouth twisted with fury. As soon as the helmet popped off, Blade drew back her fist and slammed it into his face. She pummelled him again and again until his hands fell limply by his sides and then she kept punching. Fountains of blood spurted out of his face and spattered her tattered clothes.
"Blade! He's down," Nova said.
She lurched forward and took hold of Blade's upper arm, pulling her away from the body. Blade resisted at first, getting two more punches in before finally allowing herself to be dragged away.
Nova caught a glimpse of the man's mangled face; he wasn't going to be getting up.
Gin and the others caught up and they went into the lab together. Each of them breathed a sigh of relief when they caught sight of the ships.
"Cal, please tell me you've got the systems repaired," Nova said.
"Confirmed," Cal replied. "It's mostly masking tape and blue-tac but it should hold together."
"It'll do," Nova said, dashing forward with the others.
They were nearly at Crusader's main entrance when footsteps erupted through the lab and a cold, familiar voice spoke from behind Nova.
"I knew you'd come straight here," Toro said.