Rounding the nose of the shuttle, she spotted Doug shoving through the thinning crowd amidst cries of protest. Near the shuttle’s loading ramp, the doctor bent over a cryopod, adjusting dials on its front. One end of the unit floated on a mag-lift, while the other end rested on the floor where a second man in a white coat crouched making repairs. Two guards with reflective faceplates flanked the shuttle’s doorway.
A pair of crewmen shouted curses after Doug, and the doctor looked up. Eyes widening, he barked an order at a tech, then moved to the floating end of the cryopod and grabbed the handle.
The tech toppled backward when he realized what was headed their way and crab crawled toward the shuttle.
“Come back here!” shouted Dollard, straining to pull the unit. He glowered at the nearby guards. “Help me!”
In unison, the guards raised their pistols toward the oncoming cyborg.
Doug continued forward as pulse-fire sliced the air, scattering the remaining crowd. Benjy fired his makeshift laser gun, scorching a line through the nearest guard’s faceplate. The guard fell back against the side of the shuttle and slid to the deck like a rag doll.
Emilryde grabbed Attie’s arm and pulled her toward a low stack of containers. “Over here!”
Attie winced, feeling the rush of air from a near miss. Emilryde grunted, his grip on her arm tightening as he toppled forward. He dragged her down on top of him. The smell of burned flesh filled her nose. Nebulas, he’s hit!
His eyelids fluttered and his body twitched. Enayshuan physiology wasn’t familiar to her, but she was certain she felt him breathing. She needed to drag him to safety. Rolling off him, she crouched low, hoping to avoid any more fire as she looked for cover. Benjy was behind an abandoned crate twenty meters away, firing at the guard; she couldn’t gain his attention, and Emilryde was too big for her to pull alone.
Doug was only a few meters away from the doctor now. A blast caught him in the thigh, spinning him and sending him crashing flat against the deck.
“Doug!” Attie screamed.
Laser blasts lit the air as Benjy continued firing. The guard turned away from Doug to fire that direction. Ignoring the crossfire, Dollard continued tugging the cryopod toward the ship. Who is in that thing? Attie wondered.
Doug rolled over and began army crawling, dragging his legs behind him. The doctor was now only five meters from the shuttle’s ramp.
There was no one guarding the shuttle door now, just the downed guard slumped against the hull. If she could retrieve his weapon, she could stop the doctor and secure the ship for their escape. Keeping her head down, she darted in, skidding to a stop between the guard’s splayed legs. She reached for the pistol gripped loosely against his thigh.
His free hand snaked out and clamped onto her arm.
“Oh, shit!” She broke away, realizing he was about to shoot her point blank, and kicked him right between the legs.
He crumpled forward, pulse pistol flying from his hand. It skittered under the shuttle and out of sight.
“No!” She dropped to her hands and knees to search for the weapon. Beneath the craft, the floor opened into a maintenance pit. The gun must’ve fallen in.
“Self-destruct in fifteen minutes,” the emergency warning system intoned. “All ships must depart now to achieve minimum safe distance before detonation.”
With a rumble, the shuttle’s engine started in preparation for takeoff.
The guard Attie’d kicked was still bent over himself. It looked as if he wasn’t breathing, but Attie wasn’t about to take that for granted and kept her distance. A second guard now lay on his back against the deck. Doug dragged himself relentlessly forward.
Still towing the pod, the doctor had reached the base of the ramp. Sweat streamed down his reddened face, and he glanced toward Attie as he leaned into his effort, lips curled into a snarl.
Could she take him? More likely he’d take her hostage and force Doug to let him go. But if that ever-loving coffin was so damned important to him, she could at least slow him down. Doug was only about ten meters away now. Even without use of his legs, she guessed he could overpower the doctor. But only if he could reach him. She had to give him time to catch up. Never taking her eyes from the doctor, she edged sideways and grabbed the other end of the unit.
“Let go, you bitch!” He had one foot inside the shuttle, his face nearly purple with strain.
A tech peered around the edge of the open door, and after a moment of hesitation, grabbed the handle alongside the doctor. Together they heaved, dragging Attie along the deck as another shuttle passed overhead.
She realized the bay was nearly empty; from here she could only see one other shuttle besides the doctor’s, and the crowd had dwindled to nothing more than a few frantic stragglers.
“Self-destruct in fourteen minutes,” announced the emergency system.
“We’re your only hope now,” the doctor panted. “Stop fighting and come with us.”
He was right; his shuttle was their only chance to escape. But she’d be damned if she let this monster escape. He was going down, even if it meant she went down with him. She gritted her teeth and pulled. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Chapter 21
Doug dragged himself forward, the rough deck plating scraping along his chest. The pulse blast had taken his legs offline, but he couldn’t let that stop him. Less than ten meters ahead, the shuttle’s engine was running, ready for takeoff. He tried to hack the shuttle’s controls as he crawled, but his nanites were still not cooperating.
He had to reach Dollard before he closed the door.
Ahead, Attie dug in her heels, holding onto thecryopod for dear life. Even in his drive to reach Dollard, he had to shake his head at her sheer determination. What an amazing woman.
But at this rate, he wasn’t going to reach her before the doctor got that damned pod
