Our determination got us very close to the arena, where I expected another fight. I had little doubt the enemy would protect their space elevator. It had been too expensive to create and appeared to be their only means of getting reinforcements to the surface.
It could be our toughest fight yet.
Chapter Sixteen
Several minutes and turns later, Reaver held her hand out for us to stop and get out of sight. Then, she turned back toward us and touched her collar. I snuck forward to see what had stopped us.
We’d reached the arena. Part of it had been destroyed and the rubble pushed to both sides to create a corridor to the arena floor wide enough for ten of us to walk through abreast. The Xeno had probably done it to ensure troops and material could be deployed faster.
I noticed the pens Reaver, Beatrix, and I had been kept in the last time we were here. I remembered how Beatrix had tried to kill us, only to join us after we defeated her and the Execution Squad.
“It’s too bad we don’t have anything suppressed,” Reaver whispered. “I’d love to go up into the stands, find a nice spot to hide, and pick them off one at a time.
“Sounds like fun,” I admitted. “But depending on what we find in there, I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to do it the hard way. And it’s still not going to be safe to use comms yet. I expect the elevator to be guarded.”
“Agreed.”
“Main entrance?” Reaver asked. “Shoot our way in?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t see any guards outside, but I doubt it’s been left unprotected. What did you learn in training regarding situations like this?”
Reaver turned back to the arena and studied it for a few seconds before she looked back to me. “Where you are strong, appear weak. Where you are weak, appear strong.”
“Sun Tzu,” I said. “Nice, Terran philosophy. So the only reason they’d leave the entrance to their compound open is if it was invisibly heavily guarded, if they’re anything as smart here as when they’re attacking anywhere else in the universe. Remember what that alien said. There’s a resistance. They’ve already fought the Xeno, and whatever the outcome was, they suffered losses as well as causing them. That’s got to make whichever one of them is in charge nervous. Find us another way in, one they won’t expect.”
Reaver nodded and waited for me to return to my position in the formation before standing. Everyone else followed her lead as she snaked her way through broken buildings and over piles of rubble until she stopped and took a knee. The rest of the team did the same and searched for threats before Reaver stood back up, turned to her left, and walked straight for the outer wall of the arena, the rifle at her shoulder moving back and forth as she searched for a target.
We got to the wall a few seconds later with no problem.
“Nyna,” I whispered. “Put Spirit-Watcher on and tell me what you see.”
She nodded, put the device over her eyes, and turned toward the wall.
“Not a lot,” she whispered. “Looks like the Xeno cut power to the whole place. Looks like there’s some busted equipment on the other side of the wall. I’m not seeing any movement, but I’m not sure I always can with these things.”
“That’s fine. Anything that looks like it could possibly be a trap?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Good.”
I took a knee to lower my profile in case there were unseen enemies, found the edge of one of the large stones, and dragged it away from its companions as quietly as I could. As soon as it was free, Reaver leaned toward the hole and peered in.
“Looks clear,” she whispered.
Over the next minute, I pulled several more stones from the wall one at a time. I moved slowly. I didn’t know where the Xeno guards were, but entering through a wall was far less risky than walking into a near-certain trap. Rather than walking in through an open door, by creating our own door we’d catch them completely off guard.
The hole was more vertical than horizontal, but each of us would be able to get through without too much trouble. I decided to go first.
With my pistol in my hand, I inched my way through the opening and found myself in a dark room. The tiny bit of starlight that entered the room through the opening I’d just come through revealed shelves full of glass bottles. It was a storeroom, and my only immediate concern was that someone would bump into a shelf and send all that glass crashing to the stone floor.
Beatrix was the next through and found a spot near the center of the room. When Skrew had followed her in, she grabbed him by his arm and held him close.
“Skrew is much of flattery,” he whispered, “but Beatrix is gross.”
“Do not fool yourself, vrak,” she whispered back. “I would rather be killed and eaten by a Xeno than lay with you.”
“Oh, good,” Skrew whispered with a relieved sigh. “Skrew almost did barf in own mouth.”
I winced and waited for the woman to break his neck, slap him, something. When I looked back, I found Beatrix suppressing an amused grin.
Nyna and Reaver quickly crawled after Skrew, and Reaver immediately turned around, kneeled, and pointed her rifle at the hole I’d made. She’d have to guard it until we left the room to make sure nobody snuck up to it and started shooting. It was best to keep our guard up; security would get ever tighter the closer we got to the elevator.
I pressed my ear to the door and closed my eyes. I could hear movement outside, but it seemed far away, so I put my hand on the knob and turned to my team.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Ready,” they each whispered in turn.
“Nice and slow,” I cautioned. “We’ll get as close as we can to the elevator car before
