Asylum, page 28
While Zhor was focused on that, Kenji grabbed the man’s rifle. He tore it out of Zhor’s grip, hurling it toward the ceiling. Unfortunately, Zhor latched onto the sound generator. He yanked it out of Kenji’s hand and crushed it in his grip. Zhor roared as it broke, the squeal ending with a plaintive bleat.
Though agony assaulted his entire body, Kenji twisted and kicked out, slamming his boot into Zhor’s armored hip. Pain and fear lent him strength, and the blow hurled his foe a dozen feet. Zhor crashed into a solar panel, knocking it from its mount.
Panting, Kenji fired, again holding down the trigger for a sustained blast. It was his only shot at getting through the armor and hurting the big man.
As Zhor struggled to right himself and find a way to push off toward him again, Kenji kept firing. This time, he aimed for the seam between arm and shoulder, tracking it even as Zhor whirled about, looking for his rifle. Zhor spotted it, but it floated far above them. Kenji’s pistol fire bit through his seam, and Zhor yelled in pain, jerking around to hide the vulnerable spot from view. Kenji aimed at another seam.
Crashes and thumps came from the doors by the tunnel. Fearing the rest of Zhor’s men would spring on him now that the noise had stopped, Kenji risked glancing in that direction.
But Tigress and Qin had come back to help him. Not only were they engaging the six fighters, but the station’s security robots had come with them. They fired at and grabbed the men, trying to force them back into the tunnel.
Kenji was about to send a thank you to Mari, but Zhor got his feet behind him and shoved off one of the robotic arms. Once again, he arrowed toward Kenji with murder in his eyes.
Kenji fired, aiming at his faceplate, but there wasn’t time for his blast to melt through. Zhor reached out, resorting to using his hands, but he didn’t look like he would have any problem tearing Kenji’s head from his neck.
Kenji ducked low and shoved off another piece of equipment to dive out of the way. Zhor lunged for him, but Kenji jerked away, and the gauntleted fingers missed him by inches. Bracing his back against the floor, Kenji kicked upward. He caught Zhor in the crotch—too bad it was as armored as everything else.
As Zhor flew upward, Kenji realized he’d made a mistake. The man’s trajectory would take him close enough to his rifle to grab it.
But before he got close, something slammed into Zhor’s chest.
“Duck, Kenji!” Qin yelled.
The round from her anti-tank weapon blew with a boom and a flash of light. The shockwave struck Kenji, knocking him back against the floor. He already hurt all over, so it hardly made a difference. Through the smoke, Kenji saw Zhor fly backward across the bay. Relief surged through him. He didn’t know if that would kill Zhor, but at least it would take him time to get back into the fight.
Tigress clanked over to grab Kenji. “Come on. The rest of his team is locked inside again, but Laser said there are more ships, and that’s going to mean more men.
“Right.” Kenji hadn’t forgotten.
Realizing he’d lost hold of Mari’s device during the skirmish, he whirled and searched for it. If after all this, some inadvertent blow had destroyed it…
No, there it was. He pushed himself into the air and grabbed it.
Tigress caught him by the ankle and pulled him back down. “Your suit looks like hell,” she said. “Are you all right?”
Throbbing pain pulsed through his body as Kenji shook his head. “No, but I can run.”
He might collapse and die later, but he was determined to get the device back to Mari first.
“Good.” Tigress pulled him back into the aisle, where Qin gave him a thumbs-up.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
As their little team maneuvered toward the hole in the firewall door as fast as they could, the station’s security robots following on magnetic treads, another clank sounded. Kenji groaned, fearing some new obstacle, but as Qin had been about to crawl through the hole she’d made in the door, it rose back into the ceiling.
I am battling the enemy ship’s sentience for control of the station’s network, Mari messaged, but I have managed to command the firewall doors to release you. Unfortunately, we’re in a bind. Captain Laser says to hurry back, so we can leave, but I fear these other ships might object to our freighter departing.
Kenji, his injuries making it hard to keep up with the others, waved Qin and Tigress to sprint back to the arrival area ahead of him. Just as the airlocks came into sight, the two hatches to either side of the freighter’s dock flew open. Men—more of the canine troops—in combat armor rushed out, blocking the escape for Kenji and his team.
“Back, back,” Kenji ordered.
He shot twice at Zhor’s men, hoping to catch them before they were prepared to fight, but they returned fire promptly. Once again, Kenji dove for cover behind manufacturing equipment. They were outnumbered, so there was little more that he could do. Besides, he doubted his galaxy suit could take any more hits. A warning was flashing on his helmet’s heads-up display, letting him know that it had lost integrity. No kidding.
Qin and Tigress swore as they opened fire, but they were also forced to run for cover as crimson blasts pinged off their armor. Even the hardened warrior women knew when they were outmatched.
Kenji opened his mouth to suggest they run back to one of the tunnels so they could fight where they could limit how many enemies came at them at once, but more clangs and a wrenching noise echoed from the other direction.
The doors to Experiment Tunnel Three opened again, and four of Zhor’s men walked out. Their armor was dented and blackened, and one had a crack in his faceplate, but that didn’t keep them from striding back into the station.
Kenji and his team were surrounded.
20
“La madre que te parió!” Laser swore, lunging to her feet.
Mari didn’t know what that meant, but she agreed with the sentiment.
Kenji’s team was in trouble, the freighter was now surrounded by three enemy vessels, and it was only a matter of time before they all opened fire. Mari was keeping Zhor’s ship busy by fencing with the intelligent computer, but she still hadn’t been able to get past it, and she worried the two newcomers would also have astroshaman technology.
She was in the middle of investigating their network defenses when Laser slapped her on the shoulder.
“We have to help them.” Laser pointed at the camera feeds on the forward display, several showing the men streaming through the arrival area, firing on Kenji’s little team. “Those are my girls over there.”
Not waiting for an answer, Laser lunged out of navigation and raced to the ladder. Mari hesitated, thinking she could do more from there, but she ought to be able to watch Laser’s back at the same time as she battled virtual enemies.
As she followed Laser, Mari sent a quick message to Minister Dabrowski to let him know Kenji had acquired her terraformer. If only the Kingdom ships weren’t so far away. She and the others would have to get out of this mess by themselves.
As she descended toward the hold, Mari also rechecked the station’s network. She had been on the verge of finally slipping into the enemy ship’s computer when all the backup had arrived, distracting her. She scowled, aware of the intelligence over there spotting her and driving her away from its virtual borders again. For now, she had to focus on the station, on making sure she maintained control of the security robots and directing them to help their people.
When she reached the cargo hold, Laser was already halfway into her combat armor, growling and cursing as she donned the cumbersome gear. She tossed a rifle over to Mari.
Busy maneuvering the robots, and investigating the new ships, Mari almost missed catching it. “I’ve got ten of the station’s robots circling our people and deflecting fire. Give me a second, and I’ll get them shooting at their enemies.”
“Good. We need a female El Mago right now.” Laser headed for the airlock hatch, affixing her helmet as she went.
Mari didn’t know what that meant either, but she nodded as she groped for more that she could do. Ah, the firewall doors. If she could lower another one, she might be able to cut the remains of Zhor’s original team off from Kenji, Tigress, and Qin. Then they would only have to shoot their way past the newcomers to escape.
Since Kenji had the terraformer, all they had to do was get out of the station and figure out a way to escape the asteroid without being obliterated.
“Come on!” Laser ran through the airlock tube, fast and spry for someone Mari had assumed would be beyond her fighting years. She carried two rifles and a netted bag that held grenades.
With her new rifle in hand, Mari hurried after her. But the firewall door—she needed to drop that. She checked the cameras to make sure there was still time.
Watching the videos on her tiny lenses wasn’t ideal, and she had to cycle through the feeds to find Zhor’s men. They’d almost caught up with Kenji, Tigress, Qin, and the cluster of robots, all of whom were busy defending themselves, firing at enemies to both sides. There was one firewall door left between her allies and Zhor’s team.
Mari flicked a software switch, and the door slammed down, almost squashing one of the dog men. Zhor’s people would find a way through eventually, but Kenji’s team ought to be able to make progress toward the airlock now that they had a reprieve from behind. And they did. Tigress and Qin led a charge toward the enemies in the arrival area.
Kenji followed more slowly, his gait uneven. Had he been wounded?
Mari commanded the robots to roll along at the team’s sides, firing to help clear the way.
“Hah,” she whispered as she trailed Laser into the airlock chamber on the station. She felt triumphant at their team’s progress.
Laser glanced back at her.
“We’re evening the odds,” Mari promised, wanting the captain to know she was being useful.
“You keep doing that.” Laser had reached the open hatch into the station but paused there.
Shouts echoed throughout the arrival area, and DEW-Tek bolts streaked about, bouncing off the walls. Shrapnel floating all over the place promised some of them had found more vulnerable targets. A robot head tumbled slowly through the air not ten feet from the hatch.
More than a dozen armored men were either in the arrival area or firing from the protection of their airlocks. Tigress, Qin, and Kenji came into view, the security robots helping deflect fire as they advanced, but the team was still more than fifty yards away. Too many people were firing at them, and the women’s armor was charred and smoking. The heads and arms of several security robots had been blown off.
Fortunately, the firewall door that Mari had lowered was still intact, keeping Zhor’s original team from firing at their backs. But booms and clangs echoed from it, promising they were trying to get through.
Qin fired her anti-tank gun, the round slamming into the armored torso of a man leading a charge toward them. It exploded, smoke clouding the area as he flew backward, crashing into two of his allies. That weapon had the necessary heft to do damage to armor, but how many rounds did Qin have left?
“These are not good odds, kid,” Laser muttered.
She didn’t run out into the bay, instead dropping to one knee with her rifle pressed into the crook of her shoulder as she took aim from the partial cover of the hatchway. Mari activated her targeting software and leaned out beside Laser. She fired at enemies in the arrival area as she focused the rest of her computing power on finishing her investigation of the two new ships. She hadn’t yet detected sentient computers on them. Maybe, unlike Zhor’s ship, they didn’t have astroshaman technology. That would make them easier to hack.
As she worked on sneaking into their systems, Mari kept firing at enemies and guiding the robots that were helping Kenji’s team. She was glad she had enough chips and power for the multitasking, because her allies needed all the assistance they could get.
Laser kept firing as well, trying to drive people out of the way and clear a route for their team to reach them. By using sustained blasts, she burrowed into seams in their enemies’ armor. One man yelped, spun, and fired at them.
Laser calmly ducked back into the airlock as crimson bolts bounced off the hatch beside her. Mari was less experienced with firefights and sprang back into the airlock tube with a startled squawk, tripping over her own boots. One of the enemy bolts ricocheted back, missing her faceplate by inches.
“We’ve got their attention now.” Laser leaned out and fired again, then grabbed one of her grenades to throw.
Mari had lost her focus on the robots, but she hurried to regain control. Their team was only twenty-five yards away now. She sent the robots ahead of them, their big cannon arms booming.
One of the robots bumped into one of Zhor’s men, knocking his magnetic soles from the floor and sending him tumbling into the air. He could still shoot, but he struggled to control his body or find anything to hang on to.
Thanks for the help, a message came in from Kenji.
You’re welcome, Mari distractedly sent back as she directed more robots to knock enemies from their feet. Though she was busy concentrating, she felt a burst of gratitude that Kenji had noticed and appreciated her help.
She managed to take control of the weapons systems on the two new vessels and clenched her fist. That had been much easier than with the other ship.
But she couldn’t yet order them to open fire on their leader. Laser’s freighter was in the way.
Mari needed to take command of their navigation computers and maneuver them all to one side of the docking area. “One step at a time,” she breathed to herself.
The floor quaked as an explosive went off. It wasn’t one of Laser’s.
We’re going to try to make a rush and reach you, Kenji messaged, but— Look out! Some men are coming your way.
Laser swore, threw another grenade, then backed into the airlock tube with Mari. “We might have to retreat into the cargo hold and make a stand there.”
Several armored men stormed into view in front of the hatchway, one snatching a floating colleague out of the air and pulling him back down to the floor. They pointed rifles straight into the tube at Laser and Mari, barely noticing that Laser was firing at them, hitting their seams and faceplates with pinpoint accuracy.
Mari ordered several of the robots toward this new group of attackers, hoping to ram them so they couldn’t rush into the airlock tube. But the men were too fast. Shots hit Mari and Laser, forcing them farther back.
A bolt struck like a hammer blow to Mari’s galaxy suit. It wasn’t as painful—or deadly—as it would have been had she only been wearing clothing, but it made her cry out and brought tears to her eyes. She scrambled back, wanting to get out of there.
One man lunged into their airlock tube, swinging his rifle at Laser, who wasn’t retreating as quickly. She ducked and tried to ram into him. Her armor gave her extra strength, but he was young, enhanced, and fast. He had the advantage. When he grabbed Laser, and they grappled, her knee buckled. She swore with pain as he forced her down and tried to tear her rifle out of her hands.
Though Mari wanted to keep retreating, she rushed back in, drawing even with the fight. She braced herself on the side of the tube for support and side-kicked Laser’s enemy in the hip.
It startled him and knocked him back, his boots coming off the bottom of the tube. Laser yanked her weapon back from him and fired at his faceplate, holding down the trigger. As he struggled to right himself in zero gravity, she kept firing. The sustained blast melted through his faceplate and burned into his skull.
He screamed and tried to whirl away, but it was too late for him. Laser shoved him out of the way and rushed forward to face the next challenge, but Kenji, Qin, and Tigress had reached their airlock and were clearing it of enemies.
As Mari was about to let out an elated cheer, Viggo spoke.
“Bonita,” his voice came over their helmet speakers, “we have a problem.”
“Another one?” Laser growled, waving their allies into the tube.
“Yes, a large one. More ships have arrived.”
“We’ve got more company!” came Laser’s warning over Kenji’s helmet comm, and he couldn’t stifle a groan.
He had the terraforming device, Qin and Tigress were still with him, and with the help of all those robots, they’d made it to the airlock. He’d started to believe they could actually get away, but now…
“More ships, Viggo says,” Laser added. “That bastard must have brought an entire armada. Hurry inside. If there’s any way we can get out of here, we’ll take it.”
Kenji had thought Qin’s blast had put Zhor out of commission, if not killed him outright, but maybe he had survived. Maybe he was still back there giving orders to his legions of men.
“You go in first, Kenji,” Qin said, standing shoulder to shoulder with Tigress and firing into the arrival area, keeping the remaining troops from getting close. They nudged him back into the airlock.
He hesitated, reluctant to leave them to fight while he ran.
“We’ll be right behind you,” Tigress said, glancing back.
“Okay.” Kenji spun and rushed through the airlock tube, his hip, shoulder, and back pulsing with pain with every step.
Mari and Laser had already disappeared into the cargo hold. He hoped Laser could do something from navigation. He was sure Mari could. She seemed able to help from anywhere. He’d seen her firing at their enemies with the steady mechanical mien of an android even as she controlled a dozen security robots, directing them to fire as well.
When Kenji reached the cargo hold, he found Mari waiting inside, though she wore a distracted I’m-diddling-with-the-enemy’s-networks expression, and he knew she wasn’t simply standing there. Laser had already climbed up to navigation.
“I’ve got something for you.” Kenji pressed the terraforming device into her hands, making sure she had it before letting go, then turned to check on the others.
