“Let’s go!” Jason stood and raised his weapon.
Tyler, Althaus, and Higgs joined him, blazing away at the Seekers now on the run.
A grenade exploded outside the door and the bulkhead collapsed inward, pushing the remaining soldiers into retreat. Through the smoke, like a knight in shining armor, Captain Marquez and the others pressed toward them. In all the carnage, Nash was somehow still on his feet. But he was scrambling as his soldiers fell around him.
While another Seeker fell in the crossfire, Jason took aim at the final holdout beside Nash. He hit him in the leg and then finished him off with a shot through the chest. Nash looked one way and then the other, defenseless, but standing firm. Marquez and his team held their fire while Jason walked toward him.
“It’s over, Nash,” Jason said to him, taking aim at his friend.
“Over? We haven’t even begun.” Nash’s arrogance reappeared. “What do you think you’re going to achieve here? This vessel is still standing.” His burned face produced a sadistic grin. “If I were you, I’d be more worried about your ship.”
A flurry of emotions swirled inside Jason. He didn’t know which one to react to first. He rushed toward him and let his fist do the talking, hurling a right hook at Nash’s jaw. His former crewmate fell to the deck on his ass.
Everyone else stood in shock and a hush emanated around the brig.
“Come on, let’s finish what we came here to do,” Jason said, leading them to the door.
Cargo Ship Argo
An alert sounded at the operations station and Aly watched a blip appear on the scanners from the far side of Psi-Aion’s moon.
“We’ve got a bogey,” she said to her dad. “It matches the configuration of the Seeker mothership from Orion V.”
Jason and the others had pissed the Seekers off, but without a direct commlink, they wouldn’t know whether their plan was succeeding or not.
“What’s their ETA?” he asked her.
“Eight minutes.” Aly shook her head in disbelief. “It’s unbelievable how that thing moves.” Her clammy hands ran over the console. “How are we supposed to go up against that?”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got Professor Petit down in our cargo bay. If there’s anyone who’ll help us defeat them, it’ll be him.”
She didn’t know whether her father believed that or not, but regardless, it was reassuring. “I guess even David beat Goliath.”
Kevin pressed in a series of commands on the helm. “I’m getting out of here. That should buy us a little more time.”
He kicked the Argo’s thrusters to maximum and proceeded toward the opposite side of Psi-Aion. While they’d have a head start, at the speed the Seekers moved at sublight, it wouldn’t be long before the small cargo ship was run down.
Seeker Weapon Ship
There was something both wondrous and frightening about the sphere sitting on its pedestal. Jason contemplated the energy the Seekers were hoping to generate and what they’d do with it once it was harnessed. While he’d second-guessed his plan several times since leaving the Argo, seeing Kione being led from the ancient relic in that near-death state he was in, was all the proof he needed that the Seekers couldn’t be trusted using the sphere for their own means.
He peered up at the catwalk where the trio of Marines and Althaus had fanned out, appearing as inconspicuous as possible, while around on the lower level, Tai, Marquez, and Tyler had gone to all the doors, sealing them shut away from the keen eyes of the soldiers doing their patrols.
Out of the corner of his eye past the technicians, the pair of guards near Kione stepped away from him and back toward the sphere. While it wasn’t part of the plan, Jason strolled up to him to check his condition. “We’re going to get you out soon, buddy.”
The alien didn’t respond, standing like a zombie, with his head slumped and his eyes shut.
Tyler approached his brother. “The doors are sealed. Everyone has taken their positions.”
“Good. We should do the same.” Jason took one last look at Kione, remembering the promise he’d given him earlier, and walked into position.
With the exits blocked from the inside, they only had so many soldiers to contend with. The technicians weren’t armed and likely would pose little threat.
Jason peered up at the catwalk once more. Althaus gave him a casual wave signifying they were ready. He raised his hand and gave the signal.
Then all hell broke loose.
Weapon fire rained down from above and the soldiers near Kione fell first.
The other Seekers were swift in response, ducking for cover behind the workstations. They launched an attack toward Althaus and the Marines, while Tyler and Jason blazed away, knocking four of the soldiers out in quick succession.
Another group of Seekers rushed them, firing in their direction, but Marquez and Tai joined the action in the nick of time, shooting from the opposite side of the chamber. The four on the catwalk also resumed with clear shots.
With the last of the soldiers falling, the technicians around the workstations all glanced at one another. They turned their attention to Jason and the others and unholstered hidden sidearms from behind their backs, pointing them in every direction.
Aw, crap! I knew this was too easy.
Forty-Three
Cargo Ship Argo
Kevin frowned at the lack of help they were getting from the scanners since fleeing to the opposite side of Psi-Aion. He knew it’d happen, but it didn’t make him feel any better losing contact with the Seeker ship that was hot on their tail.
He wiped his brow and peered over at his daughter. If Alyssa was feeling the same fear as he, she wasn’t showing it. She’d grown up to be a strong woman. One he was immensely proud of.
“What?” she asked, catching him staring at her.
“Nothing.” Kevin remembered the day she was born as if it were yesterday. The small baby he held in his arms for the first time had changed his life forever. He just hoped she had the opportunity to grow up a
