Loyalty: Old Mans Comeback Book 5, page 5
Flip disembarked, then started for the corridor. The door opened. A man stepped out, holding his hand up. “Wait right there!”
“Who’re you?” Flip asked. He kept his hands at his side. “Wait. Are you Harl?”
“Yes,” Harl replied. “And you have a great deal to explain! This shuttle is not the prize we’re after. It’s not in the system, so where? When will it be here? You’ll find I’m not particularly patient!”
“I got it.” Flip looked past Harl. The other eight men carried weapons, but they weren’t aimed in his direction. “You and I have something in common.”
“Oh?” Harl sneered. “I sincerely doubt it. And you failed to answer any of my questions.”
“We aren’t patient,” Flip said. He muttered, “Gia, bring the shields down.”
The shield protecting the shuttle dropped in an instant. Heat from the surface radiation instantly battered the area. Harl gasped, turning to flee as Flip drew his pistol. He opened fire, missing his primary target, but he got one of the soldiers.
Harl issued some orders before rounding a corner. He escaped the initial volley as his forces advanced. “Raise the shield!” Flip called. He didn’t want to flood the settlement. The coward would open one of the outer doors in a few moments.
The enemy fired back as seven of them advanced, heedless of the environmental danger. As the shields came online, automated systems kicked in to cleanse the area. Flip lowered his center of gravity, advancing on his targets.
A beam caught his shoulder. Flip jerked away, presenting another part of him while continuing to fire. Two of the Mahshi went down. They wore armor, but it didn’t defend against lethal shots. Not from the Kultarin fashioned pistol.
Three more shots got him. Flip continued the motion, moving in a circle as he made progress toward the door. At least one of the Mahshi fled. The others moved to take cover, just as he made it to the edge of the corridor and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.
The place he’d been shot ached, though no more than if he’d been given a punch. Flip stretched, flexing his arms before risking a glance. No shots came his way, and he knew he had to be bold to take the terminal.
“How many are out there?” Flip asked.
“Four,” Gia replied. “The Ilsin is in position.”
“Great.” Flip took a couple quick breaths. “I’ll make my way for the Lobby right away. Let me know if anything comes up.” He darted into the corridor, sprinting toward the opposite side.
The door remained open. A man leaned out to fire. Flip got him in the face, though not before a returned shot got him in the chest. He huffed, though he didn’t have the luxury to adjust his position to keep the shield modulation up. The military model must have been capable of taking the punishment. Or so he hoped.
Flip neared his destination as three more shots burst past him. He broke through into the next room, firing to his side to get one of the three remaining Mahshi. It knocked them to the floor as he spun around to engage the final two.
They shot him again, once in the shoulder, and another in the leg. The second of those knocked Flip off balance. He fell backward, while rapid firing in their direction. One of them darted down the corridor while the other took the brunt of his attack. Nearly six shots to the torso and face.
The shield absorbed some of the impact from falling. Flip got back to his feet, hurrying over to the corridor. The last Mahshi made for the shuttle, though he ran in a perfectly straight line.
Flip aimed… then fired. The shot got the target in the lower back, dropping him to the floor.
Another blast got Flip in the hip. He turned, shooting on instinct. The injured Mahshi took the hit to the chest.
“I did it,” Flip panted as he spoke. “The terminal’s secure. Harl got out. And I’ve been shot… I have no idea how many times.” He winced from a rush of pain with no specific origin. “How’s my shield?”
“Check the top,” Gia said. “If the line is blue, then it has fully recharged.”
The line was orange. “And another color?”
“Catching up with the damage you’ve taken… were you hit so many times?”
“This is close quarters,” Flip said, “and I trusted this thing because we’re in a hurry. Was that a bad idea?” He slumped against the wall. “How stupid was that attack?”
“They were not shielded,” Gia replied. “You used your advantage. But be thankful there weren’t more. A dozen may have been enough to bring the shield down. At least if they could concentrate in areas. Recommend you do not leave until the bar is blue.”
“Thanks.” Flip shoved away from the wall. “But I don’t think I have that kind of time. How’re things with you?”
“Progressing. We will be prepared to address the warship shortly.”
“Excellent. Let me know.” Flip hurried toward the exit. “I’m on my way to the Lobby now. Let Kesta know for me. I’m going to be too busy to answer any questions. Catch you soon.”
***
Kesta Orat
The Hostel
“Sir,” Rethus spun in his seat. “Shots fired at the landing pad. There’s some kind of commotion.”
Kesta clenched his fists. He worried about Harl’s response to Flip surrendering. But would he kill him? Or was it nonlethal shots meant to disable? He’d probably drag his prisoner back to the security area for a proper interrogation about Sorsha’s whereabouts.
Except the Mahshi soldiers standing guard at the door seemed nervous. They shuffled their feet, pacing a few feet away from one another. Perhaps things weren’t as simple as they appeared.
Was it possible Flip tried something? Surely, he wouldn’t risk himself and the settlement all alone. Which begged the question about Sorsha’s location? Did she come with him somehow?
Kesta leaned close to Rethus, lowering his voice. “Scan the area. Get me readings on anything that isn’t the ship above…” He paused. “Belay that. Maybe it’s better we don’t draw attention to anything.”
“Sir?” Rethus turned to him. “What do you think is happening? Because this seems strange.”
“I don’t know.” Kesta frowned. “But I’m sure we’re about to find out.” The two guards were the only men in the area watching them. More lingered outside, but that might not matter. “Be ready to move, if an opportunity presents itself.”
“Pardon?” Rethus shook his head. “You don’t think we could…”
“Be prepared.” Kesta clapped his shoulder. “You never know what might happen next.” He stiffened, turning to watch the guards. Neither of them seemed to be paying attention to him. But he wanted to be sure. “Hold tight. It won’t be long now.”
Chapter 8
The Space Station above the Hostel
Torma Wender
The temperature increased dramatically as they neared the reactor. Torma wiped sweat from his brow as he looked over his shoulder. The fact their captors hadn’t checked on their cell bothered him. They should’ve already known, perhaps even raised an alarm.
But nothing happened. Ergar led them through the corridor as if he were conducting a regular maintenance call. The man had been sitting in a storage closet with a couple strangers after being gassed. It felt odd. Enough so that Torma grabbed Bolst.
“What?” Bolst glared at him. “That vermin moves fast so you don’t want to lose him.”
“That’s the thing,” Torma replied. He kept his voice low. “I don’t know if I trust him.”
“What’s he going to do? They could’ve killed us in the room. Why bother to play games?”
“I don’t have a clue,” Torma said, “but he’s a civilian and he isn’t bent out of shape over what’s happening.”
“Maybe he’s that angry.”
“Or a liar.”
Bolst nodded. “Okay. What would you like to do? I’ll beat the stupid out of him if you’d like. You can ask him some questions.”
“Seriously?” Torma sighed. “That’s not the answer.”
“Not sure what is.” Bolst pulled away. “Now, let’s catch up, and we’ll see what his game is when we get there. If we get to someone capable of talking about the situation, then all the better. He’s our only lead.” He moved off again.
Torma cursed as he kept pace. The paranoia made some sense, though he also couldn’t come up with a good reason for their captors to play games. If they needed information, why not interrogate them? If they wanted them dead, why not shoot them? What could they possibly do that would benefit the Mahshi?
“Hold here,” Ergar said. He stood before a blank wall, remaining still.
The heat was enough to make breathing uncomfortable. Torma leaned against the wall, but jerked away. The metal was hot, even through his clothes. He looked at Bolst before addressing Ergar. “What’s going on down here? Is it normally like this?”
“No.” Ergar shook his head. “Not remotely.”
“Wait.” Bolst took a step closer. “You’re saying it’s too hot? Do you believe the reactor might be moving toward meltdown?”
“Yes.” Ergar hummed. “It’s on the other side of this panel. But I’m afraid to open it. We might experience a wash of heat.”
Torma scoffed. “Please. You think that a small piece of metal’s preventing much in the way of a meltdown?”
“It could,” Ergar said. “This is treated for such a thing. But when I remove it, whatever’s in that room will flood this tunnel. If the radiation’s intense enough, we won’t survive even for a few moments.”
“What do you propose?” Bolst asked. “You want to go back? Wait to find out what happens? Open that panel or I’ll do it.”
“You sure?” Ergar lifted his brows. “Sincerely?”
“I’m not.” Torma clenched his fists. “I also don’t think we have a choice. Unless you think we can go another way.” A clunk behind them made him jump. “What was that?”
“Someone else is here.” Ergar kicked the panel. It danced inside as a rush of hot air hit them.
Torma winced. “Whoa!” He held his arms up to protect his face, waiting for the moment when the temperature overwhelmed them. When it leveled out, he let out a heavy breath. “I guess we’re going to survive for another few minutes.”
“Maybe.” Bolst shoved past Ergar into the room. “Follow me close! I don’t think we’re alone!”
Torma followed him into the room as Bolst charged a figure off to the right. The man already appeared alert, likely from the panel flying through. However, he didn’t quite get his gun up in time to defend himself.
Bolst threw his weight into the man, driving him against the wall. They began to struggle as Torma joined them, ripping the weapon out of his hand.
Another person came from behind. Torma spun, firing twice. The Mahshi stumbled against a panel before collapsing on his side. The reactor took up the majority of the middle of the room, a round structure extending up into the ceiling. Any doors must’ve been on the opposite side of it, along with other guards.
“Shoot… him…” Bolst grunted. “Hurry!”
“Gah!” Torma shoved his weapon against the Mahshi’s side, then pulled the trigger twice. Each one made the target jerk before going limp. “You know, we could’ve taken him captive. Found out what they’re doing. But instead…”
“No time,” Ergar shouted. “You don’t have time to argue!” He approached the computer panel.
Bolst moved over to collect the gun from the other fallen Mahshi. “There. We’re armed. We can take the station back. There can’t be too many more on this thing. Plus, I’m sure that fool has some friends still alive. We free them, we turn the tide in this place. Get ourselves—”
“We have a problem,” Ergar said. “Someone’s fired the maneuvering thrusters. The ones we use to remain stationary.”
“What’re you talking about?” Torma approached. “Bolst, watch the door.”
“Look.” Ergar showed him the screen. The station began moving, rushing toward the settlement. “We’re on a collision course with the planet.”
“How do we stop it?” Torma asked. “What do we have to do?”
“I’m… not sure.” Ergar shrugged. “I guess we could try to fire the maneuvering thrusters to slow the momentum. Or… I don’t know. Blow the station?”
Bolst asked, “Can we do that from here? We’re at the reactor.”
“If you want to do catastrophic damage to it,” Ergar replied. “But if we did that, it would go up immediately. If you want to do it and live, we’d have to get to the admin center.”
“Why?” Torma frowned. “I thought you could do anything from a room like this.”
“There’s a safety protocol,” Ergar said. “So people can’t just come down here and destroy the whole place. Obviously.”
“Hey.” Torma nudged him. “Don’t get snippy with me. I never toured this place for good information about how this works. Besides, I figure…”
Weapon fire made him jump. Someone from the maintenance tunnel opened fire. A blast struck Ergar in the shoulder, knocking him against the panel before he fell to the floor. When he landed, he began screaming as his back started steaming.
Torma turned, opening fire on the newcomers. Bolst joined him. Together, they obliterated two Mahshi that came through.
“Ergar!” Torma helped the man up. “What the—”
“The floor!” Ergar panted. “It’s hot! I was burning!”
Torma looked. The man’s clothes were scorched, blackened with holes all over the surface. Red skin beneath made it clear he’d taken some reasonable damage. “We’ll get you help. Can we close that?”
Bolst said, “Not without touching the panel and I don’t think we want to do that.” He motioned with his chin. “The thing’s smoking. Fact is, I wouldn’t mind getting out of here fast. We should move toward the admin module. Or…” He grinned.
“What?” Torma asked. He wiped more sweat from his eyes. “Or what?”
“You can hang out here, blow the reactor after I’m at the ship so I can leave when the place blows up.”
Torma snorted. “You’re a real saint.” He turned to Ergar. “You ready? You don’t want to hang around in here waiting for more of them to come. We gotta get moving.”
“Maybe I should stay,” Ergar replied. “I could… you know… be here in case you get to the admin area and need me to—”
“You aren’t staying here alone,” Bolst interrupted. “Come on.”
“Let me just grab a gun then…”
“No.” Bolst stepped forward. “Listen, I barely trust you. And I certainly doubt your abilities with a weapon. So pick yourself up, follow us to the admin area, and help us there. We’ll get you off this thing before you die.”
“But… I want to save it.” Ergar scowled. “We have to try to save it!”
Torma said, “We’re going to stop it… if we can. Now move! We don’t have time to debate!” He grabbed Ergar, then pushed him toward the door. He turned to look at the passage they came through. If more of the Mahshi came through, they’d have access to do some serious damage.
Would they have the dedication to throw their lives away? Torma wondered. But they couldn’t stick around, waiting to find out.
Bolst took hold of Ergar’s arm, directing him to lead them to the admin area. Chances were good if more Mahshi soldiers remained on the station, they’d run into one another soon. Torma thought about Prenz and their ship. If he was still around, it might be the only way to escape if things went wrong.
And Torma had to be honest. The situation didn’t look good.
Chapter 9
The Hostel
Sorsha Ritaktha
The ramp closed, which meant Sorsha could take off again. Gia plotted a course to orbit. Shields flickered on as they rose from the surface, breaking into a forty-five-degree angle. The time for stealth ended as the rear thrusters pushed hard. The artificial gravity complained as pressure increased.
“Targets acquired,” Gia said. “Weapon systems will be online and in your control momentarily.”
“Put the Hostel…” Sorsha grunted as she fought against the weight holding her into her seat. “Give me a tactical reading of the activity down there, please.”
“Affirmative,” Gia replied. “The attack will commence at any moment. I’ve programmed the signal as we were directed.”
“I want to know the moment we have breach.” Sorsha let out a sigh as the pressure began to alleviate. The sky darkened as they made their way past orbit, directly toward their target. Though something caught her attention. A potential problem. “Gia… am I insane or is the space station in motion?”
