The door slid open behind them. Dane’s stomach seemed to drop to his feet. He wheeled around, arms spread to protect Brigid.
No one was there.
“Ahem.”
Dane looked down to see Barbara standing in front of them, all four arms crossed and one eyebrow ridge raised. She shook her head and made a tutting sound.
“Ridiculous Sadirians,” she muttered. “So full of themselves.”
“How…” Dane began.
“Haven’t you read my file?” Barbara stepped back and gestured toward the room. “I’m a notorious smuggler with a huge bounty on my head for doing much more complicated things than this. Not to mention having four arms makes for quick work with simple chemicals like those.”
“Where’s my backpack?” Brigid asked, filing out of the bathroom with the others.
“I left it on the soldier’s head.” Barbara smiled, showing all of her sharp teeth. “It was very heavy and made an effective weapon once he’d started trying to strip out of his uniform.”
Dane hurried to the opening to the cell. The force shield was gone. The Sadirian guard was lying on the floor, his uniform half-off and, as Barbara had said, Brigid’s backpack sitting on his head.
“You might have moved it.” Dane picked up the bag and handed it to Brigid. “We don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Speak for yourself,” Barbara said.
Dane couldn’t use the bracer built in to the soldier’s uniform to check his vitals, so he visually inspected the man for injuries. He’d have a hell of a headache when he woke up, but he seemed okay otherwise. An orange, viscous fluid was still bubbling on the side of his uniform.
That’s a baking soda volcano?
It really did look like vorrat spit.
Dane stripped the soldier down to his undergarments, then dragged him into the cell. Brigid was squatting down by her pack with Henry. They had started pulling things from the pack and mixing them together in the containers she’d brought along.
“Dane is right,” Brigid said. “We aren’t here to hurt anyone. Besides, if the Vegans are going to be negotiating our release, we don’t want to give the Sadirians on this ship any reason to deny them.”
“The Sadirians on this ship will do whatever they damn well please.” Barbara leapt onto the control console outside of the cell, hanging on with one arm and her feet. Her free hands flew over the controls.
“What are you doing?” Dane asked.
“Memorizing as many of the ship’s schematics as I can while I have the chance.” She shrugged. “And opening that communications channel you wanted. I’m using my own encryption pathways, but you’ll need to use whatever code you have—and I truly hope you have one that will make your contact undetectable.”
“Of course we do.” Dane joined her at the console. As soon as she was done, he keyed in the code that would let him send a message to Marq.
Brigid looked up at them and asked, “What message are you going to send?”
His original idea was to let Marq know they were on the ship and ask for a place that they could ride this out safely. If he could get Marq to stall the mind-wipe procedure, that would be even better.
“I’m telling him to stop the mind-wipes,” Dane said. “Whatever it takes.”
He keyed in the message, then held his breath as he waited for a response.
Two words flashed on the screen. He knew Brigid and Henry couldn’t read the Sadirian text, and was grateful. But now, it was on him to tell them the news.
“What is it?” Henry asked. “Dane, what did Marq say?”
Dane shook his head. “We’re too late. The chamber is already active.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Henry, stop!”
Dane kept yelling after Henry, both men sprinting down the hallway. Brigid could barely keep up.
She hefted her backpack onto her shoulders again, trying to keep it in place while she also held onto the canisters that she and Henry had been working with when Dane told them the news. They still didn’t know who was in the chamber, but from the way Henry was running, he seemed sure it was Vay.
Barbara was leading them, somehow staying ahead of everyone. She would vanish from sight occasionally, then reappear to let them know the way ahead was clear.
The floor beneath her lurched suddenly, nearly knocking Brigid from her feet. Everyone staggered. Even Barbara stopped, looking at the walls. Alarms began to blare, red and gold lights flashing along the corridor.
“What was that?” Brigid said.
“Decompression alarms.” Dane’s eyes were wide. “Something hit the ship and took out part of the hull.”
“I thought this was the toughest ship the Coalition had,” she said.
“It is, apart from the Arbiter,” Dane said. “It must be the Vegans.”
Brigid’s heart started to pound.
“Do they know we’re on board?” Henry asked.
“I don’t know,” Dane said.
“Is it possible they’ll try to destroy the ship?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“This changes nothing,” Barbara said. “We must still reach the nestling.”
She turned and started charging down the hallway again. As she did, she let out a high-pitched, slightly-less-terrifying version of her signature screech. Henry ran after her, a grim set to his face.
“Well, the Sadirians know we’re here now,” Brigid said.
Dane took her hand in his and squeezed it. Together, they ran after the others.
“The mind-wipe chamber isn’t far,” Dane said. “They’re usually pretty close to the brig. We’re lucky that whatever is going on outside is distracting the soldiers, or they probably would have found us by now.”
“Right. Lucky.” She pushed as much sarcasm into the word as she could, given that they were running flat-out and she could barely breathe.
“I can still find you a place to hide,” Dane said.
She shook her head. “No way.”
“I never knew I could love and hate something about someone so much at the same time,” he said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she managed, through several breaths.
“You’re stubborn and brave.”
“Oh. Okay then.”
From far off in the ship, she heard the sound of rending metal. The walls around them made a terrible groaning sound, as if they were experiencing sympathy pains.
“Dane?” she said.
“It’s just ahead.”
That was great, unless the ship imploded or exploded or decompressed or whatever as soon as they got there.
Henry and Barbara didn’t slow as they ran into a large, open room. It was octagonal, with small chambers connected to it and a couple of sealed doors leading who knew where.
The alarms and flashing lights were going off here, too. Brigid was glad, because it was distracting the Sadirians scrambling around.
These soldiers didn’t seem like the guards from earlier. For one thing, their helmets were off, and she could see their faces. All of them looked terrified.
Barbara let out another screech as she leapt at the one closest to her. She latched onto his face, arms holding tight while she punched him over and over again with her feet.
Henry picked up a tray and slammed it into the back of the head of a Sadirian who was lifting his arm toward Barbara. The soldier wasn’t carrying a weapon, but the menacing way he pointed the metal bracer built into his uniform made Brigid wonder just what those things could do.
As the man fell, Henry said, “Sorry,” then immediately slammed the tray into the face of another Sadirian who was rushing toward them.
The last soldier held both of his arms in the air and backed away from the console in front of him. “Please don’t hurt me,” he said.
Just when Brigid thought they might have caught a break, one of the doors to the chamber whooshed open. Five soldiers ran in and pointed ray guns at them.
“Tell the Lyri
an to go visible and stand down or we vaporize everyone we can see,” the first soldier to enter the room said.
“Barbara,” Dane said. When she didn’t appear, he added, “Please.”
Brigid held her breath until she saw a shimmer of white in front of her. Barbara stood on all six limbs, blocking as much of Henry’s body as she could. Which wasn’t much.
“By order of the High Council, you are all—” The first soldier stopped speaking as a bright light flashed behind her. Four of their group crumpled to the ground, leaving only the one in the back standing.
He stepped forward, bracer raised toward the room. After a moment, he lowered his arm and tapped the side of his helmet. The metal separated into one-inch segments that folded back on each other, neatly settling into the collar around his neck.
“What?” Brigid gasped.
The man had spiky, light-brown hair, shorter on the sides and back than on top. His eyes were deep blue and his smooth jaw chiseled and strong. He had a straight, narrow nose, and lips that she knew would be full and soft if they weren’t pinched into a deep frown.
“Marq,” she said.
His gaze snapped to hers. There wasn’t a shred of warmth in his eyes that she could see. For all that he and Dane were identical—stubble and scruffiness aside—she could sense the difference in them immediately.
She couldn’t imagine what it would take to melt this man’s icy veneer. He marched toward Dane and stopped a pace away.
“I came as soon as I could,” Marq said.
Dane closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around the soldier in a huge hug.
“It’s good to see you,” he said.
Marq’s eyes widened a bit. He lifted his arms slowly and patted Dane on the back rigidly.
Okay, maybe Brigid could imagine Marq smiling. Eventually.
“You bring strange companions with you,” Marq said, eyeing Barbara warily.
Barbara and Henry were both outright staring. Barbara lifted a hand and pointed from one to the other.
“Are you… I mean…” she stammered.
“I thought the Coalition didn’t make clones,” Henry said.
“We’re not clones.” Dane glanced around the room. “So, let’s be careful what we all say.”
“I suspended the surveillance for this room before my squad entered it,” Marq said.
Dane let out a little breath. “Thank goodness for that.”
Marq cocked his head to the side as if he was confused by the expression. Brigid realized he didn’t have Dane’s accent in addition to Marq’s weird kind of stilted speech.
“Is Vay here?” Henry spun around, looking at the rooms that were attached to the central chamber. Each held a tank big enough for a fully grown person.
“V-21-b3 is in a separate holding area,” Marq said. “I can take you to her shortly, but first, you must call off your soldier who’s attacking the ship.”
As if to punctuate his statement, a loud boom sounded somewhere in the ship. The floor vibrated beneath them and the lights flickered.
“Our soldier?” Dane said. “What are you talking about?”
“How about we find our person in one of these pod things first so we can all get out of here?” Brigid asked.
Marq shook his head. “Once the chamber has been activated, the process can’t be halted. If you try to remove him now, he’ll have permanent brain damage.”
“Brendan…” Brigid said.
Henry let out a shaky gasp. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry. God, this is awful.”
“How long?” Dane turned toward the one soldier they had left standing before Marq arrived.
The man shook his head. “I’m… I’m not going to help you.”
They didn’t have time for this. Brigid turned and ducked down, keeping her back toward the soldier. She quickly added vinegar to the powdered concoction she and Henry had prepared, then stood and wheeled around as the mixture began to bubble.
“Tell us what we want to know, or I’ll throw this vole rat spit on you!” she yelled.
“Vorrat,” Dane whispered.
“Whatever.” She lunged forward, smiling as the soldier flinched.
“The process is almost complete,” he said. “And you’ll all be back in the brig before—”
Henry smacked the man in the back of the head with his now bent-up tray. The soldier crumpled.
“I’m getting less sorry every time I do that,” Henry said.
“Is that really vorrat spit?” For the first time since he’d arrived, there was a tremor of emotion in Marq’s voice. His face had even paled a bit.
“No, it’s a baking soda volcano.” Dane shook his head at Marq’s puzzled look. “I’ll explain later.”
“Dane, you have to do something.” Brigid set the container on the ground as the reaction fizzled out. “We have to help Brendan.”
“There’s nothing we can do for him but wait it out,” Dane said.
“You need to do something about your soldier immediately.” Marq tapped the bracer on his left forearm. A 3-D transparent display of a really cool—and scary—looking ship appeared above it. Several areas were flashing red. “The attacker is heading straight for this chamber.”
“They’re coming here?” Brigid turned to Dane. “Then it must be one of your friends, right? One of the Vegans maybe?”
“Vegans?” Marq dismissed the display. “There’s no such thing.”
“A lot has happened since we were last able to talk,” Dane said.
“Vegans.” Marq raised an eyebrow.
“They’re real, and they’re here,” Dane said. “On Earth. They’ve already claimed this planet as their new Homeworld, and if the Coalition dares to attack Earth, it’ll be war.”
“A war the Coalition can’t win.” Marq’s lips tilted up in a grim smile.
Guess I know what it takes to make him smile…
“A war we can avoid,” Dane said. “You see how one of their number can punch through our defenses. The Reckoning is our toughest warship.”
Marq nodded. “This is good. We can use this to stop the High Council from wasting lives pointlessly.” He turned to Henry and Barbara. “All our forces have been diverted to repelling the intruder. V-21-b3 is near.”
“Her name is Vay,” Henry snapped.
“Henry.” Barbara reached up and squeezed Henry’s hand. “I can find her.”
Marq tapped on his bracers a few times. “I’ve made sure the way will be clear for you and unlocked all necessary hatches between the locations.”
Barbara ran toward one of the doors, which whooshed open for her. Henry lingered, though.
“Go on,” Dane said. “The sooner we get Vay, the sooner we can get out of here. Brigid and I will help Brendan.”
Henry nodded, then ran after Barbara. The moment the pair had left, Marq spoke up again.
“There is no helping the human,” he said. “His memory has been downloaded and reset to the month before he made first contact with K-58-b7.” Marq paused briefly before adding, “Kira.”
A huge boom stung her ears as something hit one of the still-closed doors that led to the chamber. The metal bent inward. Brigid stepped closer to Dane as Marq moved to stand in front of them.
“Don’t,” Dane said. He grabbed Marq’s arm and pulled him back. “If this is someone from the Department of Homeworld Security, you don’t want to seem like a threat. Not with the kind of damage they’re doing to the rest of the ship.”
Marq scowled, the furrow between his eyebrows deepening, but he nodded and stood beside them.
Something hit the door again, then a silver spike smashed through it. Whatever was on the other side of the door used it like a crowbar to pry the door open.
Brigid let out a high, tight laugh. “Maybe you should have unlocked that one, too.”
“I was preoccupied,” Marq said.
She really hoped whatever this was, it was on their side. The doors screeched open and t
he Vegan stepped into the room, more terrifying than Brigid had even imagined. It was covered in silver armor, a long tail lashing back and forth behind it. Green light gleamed from the eye holes in its helmet, sparkling off the long claws at the end of its hands.
“I thought you said they were little lizard people,” Brigid whispered.
“They are.” Dane’s eyes were wide. He looked as scared as she felt.
That wasn’t good.
“That’s not a Vegan,” Dane said.
It stalked into the room, stopping only a few feet from them. Brigid could see the creature’s chest heaving as it looked all around, then locked its gaze on Marq.
The reptilian helmet suddenly segmented, just as Marq’s had earlier. The segments folded back on themselves, but only enough to reveal the person’s face.
Brigid gasped as she recognized her.
Kira.
“Where’s Brendan?” Kira said.
Chapter Sixteen
Dane wasn’t sure how to tell Kira what had happened. If she tried to pull Brendan from the mind-wipe chamber now, it would scramble his brain. It might even kill him.
“Where is he?” she demanded.
“We were too late,” Dane said. “I’m sorry.”
Kira shook her head and took a step back, but something blocked her path. Her brow furrowed as she glanced behind her and saw that the tail of her Vegan exosuit had connected itself to the control console. She twitched her hips, but the tail stayed connected.
Kira had been having trouble learning how to control her exosuit. It looked like she might still be having trouble with it.
The lights illuminating most of the side chambers dimmed, leaving only one visible.
“He’s there,” she said.
The tail of her exosuit retracted, coiling and flattening against her leg. Dane followed her as she ran to the sub-chamber, Marq and Brigid close behind them.
“Kira, wait,” Dane said. “You can’t pull him out.”
They stood before the large programming pod, Kira’s gaze searching the surface. He had no idea what she was looking for.
“How far along is the process?” she asked.
A yellow light at the top of the chamber flashed white. Dane’s mouth went dry.
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