An alert sounded and Alyssa pointed at the operations console. “It’s the Seeker ship.”
“ETA?” he asked her.
“Now!”
Without warning, the Seekers fired.
Kevin ran his hands over the helm and maneuvered the Argo sharply to port. The viewport lit up with the sight of a green energy bolt whizzing by the hull by mere meters.
Seeker Weapon Ship
While the Earth-Centauri War had been over for more than four years, the last few days had given Susan far too many reminders of the dreaded conflict.
Nicolas crouched opposite her, behind one of the several workstations, under heavy fire. At the adjacent station, she aimed toward an open target and fired. Nicolas gave her a casual nod in thanks and he raised his hand and counted down.
Three… Two… One…
They both pulled out from their positions and launched a barrage each.
Their attackers fell to the deck and Susan rushed over to him.
“Just like old times,” he said to her.
“Too much so.” She darted her eyes from one firefight to the other. “Over there!”
Nicolas followed her vision toward the Cassidy brothers being pinned down on the opposite side of the chamber. “It’s up to us.” He peered at the catwalk where the Marines and Althaus were also taking heavy fire. “If we can get to the Cassidys and take those soldiers out, we can consolidate from there.”
Susan gazed farther beyond to another bank of computers. “We could take cover at those workstations and catch them in a crossfire.”
Nicolas nodded. “Works for me. I’ll take the right. You take the left.”
Susan put a hand on his. “We don’t die today.”
He squeezed her hand back. “We don’t die today.”
On the opposite side of the catwalk, the Marines had been immobilized by heavy fire from below. Whenever Conrad poked his head out to get a shot away, the Seekers immediately pinned him down as well.
“This isn’t working out how you expected, is it?”
Conrad glanced behind him to where he’d hogtied Christian Nash. There was an overconfidence about him that really pissed Conrad off.
And I thought the kid irritated me.
“You know you could just untie these ropes and free me. Why die a meaningless death?”
“Don’t you ever shut up?” Conrad aimed his weapon over the edge, but again failed to get a blast away.
“You won’t win. You realize that, right?”
Conrad rushed over to Nash and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, pushing him hard against the deck. “The kid told me not to kill you, but the two of us never got on that well. So you know what? If you do die, I figure it’s no skin off my neck. Shut your mouth, or I’ll throw you over.”
Before Nash responded, the Marines on the opposite side of the catwalk started firing again. Conrad let go of Nash and peered over the edge. Tai and Marquez had taken out the attacking Seekers. The pair yanked off their helmets to identify who they were and rushed toward the last few soldiers left shooting at Tyler and the kid.
Conrad turned to Nash to boast. But instead of the forlorn figure he expected to see, the traitor just smiled. “What?”
“Oh, nothing,” Nash said. “I just think it’s funny you believe once you’ve taken out my men this will be all over. You may have sealed the doors, but they won’t stay closed forever. When they reopen, hundreds of soldiers will be waiting to come through.”
Conrad lifted his weapon and aimed it at Nash. There wasn’t even so much as a hint of fear in the man’s eyes. He was telling the truth. Conrad drew back his gun and pointed it over the catwalk where he recommenced firing on the remaining Seekers at the bottom of the chamber.
The shooting stopped and Jason and Tyler stared each other with raised eyebrows. It was either a very good sign or a very bad one. Jason peeked over the conduit they’d taken refuge behind to find Marquez and Tai standing over a pile of Seeker bodies.
Tai broke off and went to Kione’s side. “Can you hear me?” she said to him.
The alien’s eyes fluttered.
“Are you with us?” Jason asked, coming to his aid as well.
Kione twitched, and his eyes opened. “You came back for me?”
“I told you I would.”
The Marines joined them from the catwalk, and Althaus followed, dragging Nash along like a dog on a leash.
Jason took his friend by the collar. “What the hell have you done to him?”
A thin grin appeared on Nash’s face. “What was necessary.”
“This was necessary?”
Althaus stepped forward. “While this little soap opera is fun and all, if what this bastard says is true, we’ll need to figure out how to keep those doors sealed. Otherwise we’re all dead meat.”
Cargo Ship Argo
Javier Petit was as far from the Tokyo Institute of Advanced Sciences as humanly possible. On a run-down old cargo ship at the edge of the frontier, three hundred light-years away, he couldn’t have been any more out of his comfort zone.
The near-misses of weapon fire from the Seeker ship echoed throughout the hull, making him wonder just how long he’d survive. The Argo banked from port and then to starboard. The extreme g-forces pushed Javier from one side of the cargo bay to the other. Their attackers had been relentless in their assault. Luckily the pilot on the Argo’s bridge was up for the challenge.
“Professor Petit, are you ready down there?” Kevin Rycroft asked him, over the ship’s intercom.
All the tritonium tanks were in position at the stern of the cargo bay while he’d strapped the rest of the cargo down at the bow. It was just a matter of getting out of the way.
“Almost,” he said, grabbing the bulkhead as another blast rocked the ship from side to side. He stepped on the elevator and ascended to B Deck. With a prod at the controls, he sealed the level below.
“Ready!” he yelled.
He resumed his rise and made it onto the bridge in time to see the pyrotechnics show.
“Cargo Bay open!” Alyssa said, toggling
