The Sariceans had sprung the trap.
Ash rammed Tersa into an alcove. Bullets riddled the air, and something wet splattered Ash’s neck and jaw. She wiped it away and swatted at the branches of the tree that occupied most of the recess’s space.
“You injured?” Ash flattened her back against the wall, then eased out of the nook enough to return fire.
“I’m… No. I mean yes.”
Ash withdrew from the corridor, swiped her gaze down what she could see of the prime’s body. The damn maecen tree separated them.
Tersa swatted at the leafy branch in her face. She said something else, but her words were lost in the cacophony of bullets that hit the wall. Fragments from the fiber-plate panels pelted them.
“Damn it.” Ash grabbed the thin tree trunk, then heaved the heavy potted plant out of their alcove. The nutrient hose snapped off, spraying a stream of liquid across the floor. “Are you injured?”
Tersa blinked. Her hand gripped her left bicep. Blood leaked between her fingers, not fast enough to be life threatening yet.
“You’ll live.” Ash turned her attention back to the firefight. Her teammates had found cover. Rykus was in an alcove opposite Ash. He changed his pulse-pistol’s battery pack with sure, steady hands, then methodically targeted the Sariceans.
“Permission to kill the enemy?” Ash released her nonlethal battery pack.
“What?” Tersa watched Ash shove a modified pack into the charge-chamber.
“Do we have permission to kill the enemy who is trying to kill us?” Her words were scathing.
The prime’s brow wrinkled. Her gaze went from the pulse-pistol in Ash’s hand to her eyes then to the bullet-stricken corridor.
“Yes,” she said tightly.
Ash took out two more modified batteries. “Mandell! Hauch!” She slid the black rectangles across the floor to her teammates. She couldn’t see Liles. “Kill the bastards.”
Both men changed their batteries without question. Getting into position with her back against the alcove wall, she steadied her breathing, then aimed down the corridor and returned fire.
She repeated the pattern again and again. Despite the lethal charges, they couldn’t get enough of a break to retreat. Her team was outnumbered and held down. They wouldn’t outlast the Sariceans in this position. She needed a way to change the scenario.
Her mind recalled the schematics she’d studied. She ran through option after option in her head, dismissing the ridiculous and impossible as she took down the enemy one at a time. They kept coming though. Dozens of them. The eminences must have had a full regiment hidden away behind a bio-dampener…
Hmm. That might work.
She looked across the aisle. Sweat glistened on Rykus’s brow.
“D’nado.” Tersa grabbed her arm. “He’s not responsible for this. If I speak with—”
Ash jerked her arm free. “This is a coup, Minister Prime. He’s not on your side. He’s on his own side, and he’s fighting for his life.”
“He had everything under control.”
Ash laughed. “Does this look under control to you?”
A chunk of the alcove’s corner exploded. Ash fell backward, cursed. It was time to end this.
“Here.” She took out her backup pulse-pistol and thrust it into Tersa’s chest. Its battery was unmodified, but it would slow the enemy down. “You know how to use it?”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“After today, I’d say that’s debatable. Stay here.”
Ash fired down the corridor, chose her moment, then darted to the other side.
Her fail-safe took his gaze off the fight briefly to glare at her. His expression said she’d taken a stupid risk diving through the line of fire.
“I’ve got an idea.”
“I’d love to hear it.” Grimly he focused on the enemy.
“You noticed Avesti wasn’t wearing a voice-link?”
He nodded.
“None of the others were either, but they understood us.”
“And you understood them,” Rykus said.
“Yes, but Sariceans are notorious for shunning outside languages and cultures.” She leaned into the corridor, fired off several shots. “I think they had implants. Want to bet some of these assholes do as well?” Implants were invasive and unnecessary. The Coalition had banned soldiers from getting the procedure decades ago for very valid reasons.
Rykus’s scowl deepened. “What are you thinking?”
“The Kaelais didn’t pick up the Sariceans’ bio signatures,” she said. “They had to have been hiding behind a dampener.”
His quick glance indicated he’d picked up on her idea. “You think it covers this whole area?”
“I think it’s worth a try. If I can short it out, the feedback will ricochet over the entire field.”
“We’ll lose our comms.”
“We’ve already lost them.”
“If we’re separated—” He clenched his jaw, took down another Saricean, then slowly nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it. Any guess as to where they might have hidden it?”
“Four of Hauch’s alarms went off.” She called up the schematics on her cuff. “It has to be in one of those rooms.”
“It would pull a hell of a lot of energy.”
“Enviro is directly below us.” If their intel was accurate. “Looks like a conduit might pass close to the utilities room. That’s… behind us. Left side.”
“Got it,” Rykus said. “I’ll go.”
Shards of fiber plate strafed the alcove. “I’m quicker, Rip.”
“No, stay here.”
“I know what I’m looking for.” She moved to the edge of the wall.
“Stay back.” He pushed her deeper into the safety of the alcove, then unleashed a barrage of fire on the enemy.
Ash sucked in a breath to protest, but the air caught in her lungs. Her jaw worked. No sound came out, and when she tried to move her feet, she found they were rooted to the ground.
Rykus sprinted into the line of fire.
It took several more seconds to realize what had happened. She hadn’t erected a defense against the loyalty training. She hadn’t known she needed to. She’d been focused on the battle and the mission, not on resisting her fail-safe’s commands. But he had commanded her. He’d compelled her into obeying. With two words, he’d demolished her ability to do her job.
The air that was still stuck in her lungs began to burn. Her hands started to shake.
Across the aisle, the prime peeked around the edge of the alcove and fired at the enemy. When she ducked back into the nook, she gave Ash an odd look.
But Ash still couldn’t move. She couldn’t return fire, couldn’t cover Rykus or help the prime or her teammates. All she could do was stay back while her fail-safe put his life at risk.
Mandell let out a hell yeah.
It had worked. Rykus almost couldn’t believe it. He’d overloaded the bio-dampener, and the feedback brought half the idiot Sariceans to their knees.
Blood leaked from their noses. They fell to the floor, clutching their heads. Those who weren’t writhing in pain stopped firing long enough to drag their injured comrades to safety.
They dragged some of them to safety anyway. Team Trident began to take down twice as many targets. It was enough to make the Sariceans withdraw to regroup.
Rykus changed to his last battery pack, then stepped into the corridor. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Tersa emerged from where she’d taken cover, stepping over a maecen tree and chunks of the fiber-plate wall. Her shoes made prints in the thick layer of dust.
“You okay?” he asked.
Her hand held her blood-soaked arm. Her face wasn’t contorted in pain though. Instead, a wrinkle of confusion pinched her brow, and she stared at the alcove across from her.
The alcove he’d left Ash in.
Cold air froze inside his lungs. Ash hadn’t stepped into the corridor. Why?
Fighting down panic
, he ran to the alcove.
Ash was there. She stood toward the back of the nook holding her pulse-pistol in both hands. It pointed toward the ceiling and she looked…
She didn’t look okay. But she looked uninjured.
Apprehension gathered in his gut. “Ash?”
Her breaths came in long, deep inhalations.
When she took a step toward him, she stumbled. He steadied her with a hand on her arm, and she glanced behind her to the place where she had stood.
“What’s wrong?” She’d indicated there were no telepaths here. Had she been wrong? Had one launched a mental attack?
When she turned back to him, rage etched her face.
“If you ever—ever—use compulsion on me again, we’re done.”
“What?” he said. But then he knew. He remembered. He’d told her…
Shit. He’d told her to stay back. It had been an order, but he hadn’t intended to make it a command.
“Ash, I didn’t mean—”
She flung his hand away and shouldered past him.
Shit.
“Let’s go.” She jabbed her hand down the corridor and ordered Tersa to move.
Seeker’s God. He’d unintentionally violated Ash’s free will. She should have followed his order without compulsion, but he hadn’t given her a choice. He’d endangered her, the team, and the whole op.
Liles and Hauch moved past him.
Focus, he ordered. Focus on the mission now. Focus on everything else later.
He shut down the part of him that felt fear and guilt and regret, and he revved up the part of him that was pure soldier. They had a mission to complete. He’d deal with the fallout from his actions once they survived this fiasco.
25
Ash felt her fail-safe behind her.
She wanted to turn on him, get in his face and let him know again just how pissed off she was, but they were on an enemy space station in enemy territory with a high probability that the enemy was preparing to hit them again. She had to keep moving.
Ahead, Liles held up a fist, ordering them to wait. He peeked into a cross corridor. When he ducked back, the grim set of his face indicated they were about to have company.
The Sariceans had regrouped.
“Split up,” Liles ordered. He looked at Ash and Hauch. “Get the prime to the shuttle. We’ll keep the enemy occupied.”
“How long do we give you?” Hauch asked.
“First sign of trouble, you leave,” Liles said. “If we’re not there in ten, you leave.”
“Affirmative,” Hauch said. He took the lead. Ash followed, pushing Tersa ahead.
Rykus moved out of their way. His eyes met hers briefly before focusing on the intersection. No apology. No hint of remorse of worry. He was a war-hardened soldier focused on the mission. As he should be.
As she should be.
“Step it up,” Ash said to Tersa.
The prime shook her head. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“What did you expect? The Sariceans are insane.”
“No, not all of them. D’nado…” The prime pinched her mouth together. “If he’s killed, Lieutenant, we have no ally.”
“If you’re killed, he has no ally. Come on.” The prime was moving so damn slow—barely a jog—but it might have been the best she could manage. Her breathing came in short, shallow gasps. The politician had no experience controlling her fear and adrenaline, and with her arm still leaking blood, she’d crash soon.
Gunfire echoed down the corridor behind them: the team engaging the Sariceans. Ash kept her focus on the objective—getting the prime to the transport. One more turn and they’d be there. Hauch could get Tersa to safety and Ash could go back and help the others.
Hauch triggered the door lock beside the docking tube. It slid open. He stepped inside. Stopped.
Ash heard it a second later, the automated warning that repeated “Incoming. Incoming. Incoming.”
“Abort!” Hauch yelled. He spun Tersa around, shoved her away from the docking tube. “Run!”
Ash backpedaled, and the world exploded.
Ash burned.
Her ears rang, and her vision shifted between blinding white light and blackness. Something wet ran down her face. Body jerking, she tried to free herself from the bonds that secured her wrists.
She felt her head shake. Her lips moved, begging the Coalition’s interrogator not to press the nerve disc to her skin. She’d give him what he wanted. He didn’t have to hurt her.
Hot liquid leaked down her face. Pain burst through her stomach. A kick. The bastard had kicked her.
She opened her eyes to snarl in his face, but she wasn’t restrained to a chair on the Obsidian. She was…
Shit.
Her cheap-ass helm had deployed despite disabling the auto-sensor, and now it fogged with the moisture from her breath. She started to lift her comm-cuff toward her face to see if the environment was safe, but voices broke through the ringing in her ears.
Saricean voices.
More memories returned. She’d been running toward the transport. Hauch had stopped. He’d turned and yelled for them to abort. Abort what? Their retreat?
She remained immobile, listened to the Sariceans, and regulated her breathing.
One shade of white at a time, her mask defogged.
Five enemy soldiers stood among the wreckage. Metal hung twisted and broken from the ceiling, spilling wires and insulation across the floor. Where the transport had attached via a docking tube, a mass of thick, orange foam had solidified, sealing the station off from the cold blackness of space.
Ash eyed the foam. It was a massive amount. It didn’t seem possible for it to be stable, but the Sariceans weren’t wearing helms. They stared down at the debris on the ground.
“Is she alive?” one of them asked. Black soot smeared across the opalescent skin of his nose.
“Affirmative,” another replied. “Avesti wants her.”
They weren’t talking about Ash. They were talking about…
Tersa. A Saricean picked up the prime’s limp body and threw her over his shoulder.
Ash needed to move, but if she drew attention to herself, the Sariceans would take her out before she could reach her weapon. It was in front of her, about half a meter out of reach, and she wasn’t quite sure she could move yet. Her back hurt. She likely had broken ribs, either from the explosion or from the kick that had been delivered to her stomach. She would wait until they left the scene, determine Hauch’s status, and proceed from there.
“What about the others?” a Saricean asked as the squad carried Tersa away.
“Take care of them.”
The Saricean acknowledged the order. He turned, lifted his weapon, and aimed at the debris on the ground.
No. Not debris. Hauch.
The enemy pulled the trigger.
An image of the bullet exploding between Trevast’s eyes wrenched through her mind.
A haze of red fell across Ash’s universe.
Not again.
Ash rolled, grabbed her pistol, and fired.
Never again.
The first charge hit the Saricean in the shoulder. He spun, and bullets flew. She felt one impact. Two.
The Saricean’s body jerked.
Ash continued firing.
The Saricean staggered backward and dropped to his knees.
She squeezed the trigger again, and the Saricean crumpled to the deck.
Her vision blurred. Her arm grew heavy, but she continued firing into the space where the Saricean had been.
The pistol clicked.
It clicked again.
And again.
She lost consciousness, the dead clicks of her pulse-pistol echoing in her ears.
26
A hand grabbed Ash’s chin, forced her head to stop lolling, but it didn’t steady the universe. Everything spun, and beneath the memory of her weapon clicking dead, a deep, groaning vibration filled the air. It sounded as if someone had pl
ucked the string of an oversized bass. She felt the noise in her bones.
The hand gripped her harder.
Focus.
She needed to focus, get control of her body, and get this son-of-a-bitch off her.
Her fingers wrapped around the hand, but the man restrained her attempt to throw a fist at his face.
“It’s Liles… Can you… me?”
The ringing in her ears wouldn’t stop, but the face in front of her became less blurred. Unless she and her team lead had both ended up in hell, Ash was still alive.
Ash was alive. Her old team wasn’t and—
“Hauch.” She tried to sit up, but Liles held her in place. In some part of her mind, she knew she was hurt, but the beating her body had taken paled in comparison to the pain of another failure. She’d lain there while the Sariceans murdered her teammate. She’d lain there while Valt—
“Hauch is okay.” The simple, firmly spoken statement came from her left: Rykus.
Ash stopped struggling.
He stood in the wreckage that remained of this section of Ysbar Station. Behind him, the outer wall was gone. In its place was a bright orange foam. It had hardened over the breach in the station’s hull. Insulation and wires and broken panels were lodged in its surface. The darker shades of orange made her throat tighten. She’d been on a damaged ship once where her team had found bodies captured in the foam. It had looked like a grotesque memorial, but those were the only bodies that had been found. The rest had been ejected into space before the chemical had solidified.
Liles asked her something, but she couldn’t understand him through the high-pitched hum in her ears. She knocked away the hands that tried to turn her face back toward him. Hauch was on the ground several paces away. Mandell bent over him, breaking a small vial above his left leg. Its contents drizzled out. Similar to the breach-foam, the liquid fizzed and expanded until it formed a hard cast between knee and ankle. She couldn’t tell if Hauch was conscious, but she saw his chest rise and fall.
Ash closed her eyes. Trevast’s dead face twisted through her vision again.
Another murmur made its way into her damaged ears. She looked at her stone-faced fail-safe. His pulse-pistol was holstered on his hip. In his hand, he held a Saricean weapon. He was in a position to keep watch down the corridor, a position that kept him far away from her.
Shades of Honor (An Anomaly Novel Book 2) Page 24