“Self-destruct in fourteen minutes.”
He wished he’d commandeered one of the laser guns. Benjy had stopped firing a few minutes ago, and Emilryde had gone down almost the moment the fight started. He wondered if the other cyborgs had secured a shuttle. Rust, where are you?
Kicking ass, Rust replied.
Of course there’d been resistance. He focused on his goal ahead. Almost within reach. He stretched forward, clawing at the deck.
“Self-destruct in thirteen minutes.”
The shuttle doors tried to close, bumping against the tech’s shoulder and bouncing open again as the safety protocol kicked in. “We have to leave it, sir!” The tech released his hold on the pod. “We’re nearly out of time to clear the blast radius!”
“I’m not leaving her behind!” Dollard continued tugging.
Doug’s gaze fell on the band around Dollard’s wrist. Twerp?
A familiar voice entered his head. Doug, the doctor is attempting to escape in a shuttle.
Doug had a crazy idea. Do any of your functions include tranquilizers?
No, I am only able to provide biometric feedback. The doctor is currently under a lot of strain. I’ve been trying to lock the shuttle before he gets on board, but I believe someone is standing in the way.
Doug stopped moving. You can hack the shuttle controls?
Only the door features. I believe I must be in close proximity... Twerp continued speaking, but Doug had stopped listening, gaze riveted on the doctor’s outstretched arms.
There was a way to keep Twerp out of Syndicorp’s hands. It would be gruesome and allow the shuttle to escape, but there was no way Doug was reaching them in time with his legs offline. The doctor gained another two inches, solidifying Doug’s decision. Twerp, disable the door safety protocols and close them. Now!
Twerp responded without question. The heavy sliding doors crunched through Dollard’s forearms like a guillotine. Both appendages dropped to the deck in a spray of blood.
Attie tumbled backward, nearly falling on top of him.
The shuttle lifted into the air and pivoted, heading for the bulkhead opening. It passed through the atmospheric shield with a popping sound.
“Self-destruct in ten minutes. Final evacuation pods have been deployed to reach minimum distance from blast radius.”
The siren stopped, leaving the bay in silence.
He stared at the glittering stars outside, dazed and reeling. Dollard was probably suffering a horrible death this very moment, but he found little satisfaction in the thought. It would a sour victory if he didn’t get Attie to safety, and she had little time to reach Rust at the shuttle. “Attie, get to the shuttle. Hurry!”
She had removed Twerp from Dollard’s severed wrist, grimacing as she wiped the device off on the bottom of her pant leg. “All the shuttles are gone.” Pocketing the AI, she moved to his side. “We have to find an escape pod.”
His blood turned cold. Lifting his head, he gazed about the bay, confirming what she said. In his focus to reach Dollard, he hadn’t realized the last shuttle had gone. The bay was empty of people jostling for shuttles. Emilryde still lay on his back several meters away, but he was the only cyborg in sight. Beyond that, the cavern was as quiet as a tomb. He muttered, “Should’ve known it would be too much to expect Rust to wait.”
Attie helped him sit, eyeing his leg where the fabric just above his knee had been burned away along with most of the synth-skin beneath. “Do you think you can stand if I help you?” Her voice was surprisingly calm. “We need to get to the lift. There are no escape pods on this level.”
“I’ll only slow you down. Go without me. Hurry!”
Attie stared at him, realization settling over her features. “We’re out of time to outrun the blast radius, aren’t we?”
He shook his head, trying to stay positive for her. “You have to try. Run!”
Shaking her head, she sank to her knees beside him. “Can you try to stop the self-destruct?”
Her gorgeous blue eyes staring into his were breaking his heart. He touched her soft cheek, drawing back when he realized how filthy his hand was. “Even if I could get my nanites to work properly, we’d need the admiral’s key. I failed you, Attie. I’m sorry.”
“You did everything you could.” Then Attie clutched his arm, eyes widening. “Wait! The admiral’s supposed to go down with the ship. We should go to the bridge!”
Doug smiled sadly. He loved her determination. “He was in on everything with Dollard. I doubt he was so honorable as to follow Syndicorp protocol and go down with the ship.”
Tears glossed her eyes, and she dropped her chin. “You’re probably right.” She sighed and met his gaze once more. “Kiss me one last time?”
His chest swelled with love. In her final moments, she wanted his kiss. “You are the bravest, most tenacious woman I’ve ever met.”
He leaned forward and met her lips, savoring their softness. Her rose petal scent washed over him, taking him back to the moments of pleasure they’d shared. She’d given him back his humanity, and although his time with her had not lasted nearly long enough, he was grateful.
The shush of the elevator doors carried across the quiet shuttle bay, interrupting his thoughts.
Rust stepped from the car and pelted toward them. Brix, Twobit, and Esben followed him.
“What the hell?” Doug asked. “You didn’t take the shuttle? I thought you’d escaped without us!”
“Twobit discovered the admiral was still on board, so I went and got the self-destruct key.” He brandished a flat, palm-sized card.
Twobit’s face contorted with regret. “I thought I could hack into the self-destruct. But even with the card, I couldn’t do it. There are too many firewalls.”
“Of course there are,” Doug snapped. “Self-destruct is supposed to be final.”
“You’re our best hacker,” said Esben. “You need to try.”
Rust tossed Doug the card. “If you don’t, we’re all dead. No pressure.”
Doug caught it, clenching his hand tightly enough to bend the polymer. He was a bit surprised the admiral had stayed behind, but that was beside the point. “This
