“I… would rather not answer that on the grounds it would incriminate me,” Griel said, “but I’m also not saying you’re wrong.”
Niva sighed. “You waste a lot of time talking!” She crouched. “How many are almost here?”
“Like… sixteen.”
“All of them!?”
“Kinda.”
“I… have no words.” Niva fell silent. The only bit of good news came from the fact the hallway was too narrow for so many men to fit simultaneously. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t matter. Four or five at a time would be more than sufficient to kill her. I guess I’ll take a few with me. “I hope you have the data. I don’t want my death to be wasted.”
“No one said you’re going to die,” Griel replied. “And… I think this is it…” Footsteps pounded down the hallway around the corner. She figured they’d be on her within a minute, probably less. Whatever miracle he thought he might pull off, she didn’t believe in it. Not given his tentative comment. And the fact the door remained closed. “Almost.”
Niva drew a long breath, letting it out. She tried to calm her nerves, settle her heartbeat… prepare for what might be the end. A man peeked his head around the corner. She shot him without hesitation, catching him right on his crown as he drew back. That set off a chain reaction of shouts down the way, men barking at one another.
Though none of them seemed willing to be the next one out.
So much for Kahl bravery, Niva thought. At least until one of their leaders starts throwing around some genuine threats.
“If you want to be amazing,” Niva said, “now’s your chance, Griel.”
Three beams belched from the doorway, each one striking high above her head. Niva hunched against another shower of sparks falling over her. Fortunately, the only one who knew her position didn’t have a head. That’ll buy me seconds. “Griel!” she shouted, returning fire as a means of suppressing them, making them draw their weapons back.
The door opened behind her. Niva scampered backward as the enemy came charging. She fired wildly while sidestepping. As she took cover, their attacks hammered the wall opposite them, turning it red hot. The blasts abruptly stopped as the doors slammed shut, muffling the sound of metal responding to concussion hits.
“Now what?” Niva shouted. “Come on! There’s no time!”
“Left! No! Right! Right! Go right!”
“I got it!” Niva hustled off, sprinting in the direction he’d said. She made her way around a curve, making for an airlock dead ahead. The Kahl writing said emergency, likely for maintenance people to get outside in a pinch. How Griel got the Brekka attached to that tiny thing, she couldn’t begin to guess.
Maybe he deserves some of the praise. Heavy footsteps behind her reminded her that she was still being pursued.
“I’m opening that door,” Griel said. “On my mark, dive for it.”
“What?” Niva asked. “What do you mean?”
“Just… trust me, huh?”
“The Divines hate me so much right now.” Niva ran for the door. Griel shouted to dive. She complied, throwing herself at the door. It opened half a second after her feet left the ground. Suction yanked her in, throwing her through the small tunnel and into the Brekka where she slammed into two men waiting for her.
The three tumbled to the floor. One of them called out, “She’s in!” Niva looked back at the passage, watching as two Kahl rounded the corner. The doors slammed shut but she watched through the porthole as the Brekka disconnected… opening the main passage into space.
Both Kahl soldiers were sucked out before the emergency protocols closed it off, saving the rest of the deck. Niva crawled to her feet, helping the others. None of them were injured, just sore from her slamming into them.
“What in the fires was that?” Niva asked. “What did you do, Griel?”
“Pressurized the tunnel to give you a boost and get you aboard faster,” Griel replied. “Then popped the seal to get rid of our unwanted guests. Seemed to work pretty well, too. Get up to the bridge. I need you to interpret the data you took while I plot our course out of here. We’ve gotta make our rendezvous.”
Niva exchanged a look with the crewmen. They headed off without a word, one shaking his head. “I’m fine, by the way,” she spoke into the comm, “in case you were concerned about my well being after all that mess.”
“I assumed based on the question you asked me of how I did what I did. I know, I know, amazing. You can praise me later.”
Oh, I’ll do something to you later. Niva clenched her fists as she headed toward the bridge. “Are they scrambling any ships? Do we have to worry about pursuit? What’s going on, Griel? How bad is our situation?”
“How many times have I told you to relax? We’re already hopping into warp. I told you they couldn’t detect us with those buzzers.”
Research and development came up with a way to fool Kahl sensors. Griel volunteered to test them out on their mission to gather data. If it worked out, guerrilla operations would benefit in a major way. She saw it work on approach but she hadn’t been convinced it would continue functioning after a set period of time.
A starship gave off too much radiation, too much of a signature to be completely hidden. At least, that had been her opinion. Apparently, the scientists proved her wrong in a major way. Lucky I didn’t give them a hard time about it. I’d be making my apologies. Between her and Griel, they
