by Aaron DeMott
Sorry about that. Rrrark sat down beside him and licked the moisture off his coat. The path I was following came to a dead end. He looked up and made a face as he shook his head. This water tastes like rust.
Could be worse. Tomed stood and waved forward. We’d better keep moving. Vincent is up to something in here.
Five meters ahead and slightly to the left, Rrrark replied as he pricked his ears forward. Be cautious, I can hear switches flipping and metal clinking together.
They emerged from the pipes and found Vincent. He stood beside a large metal half-sphere attached to the wall, and he had a blaster pointed at them.
“All right, Psygen witch—you’ve come far enough,” he said.
Tomed took a step forward. “Jonathan Vincent, you’re under arrest for starship theft, inciting violence, and violating treaties with the SeQish. You need to come with me.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Vincent snarled. He slapped a small panel on the side of the device and jumped into the maze of pipes.
An explosion threw Tomed to the ground. There was a large crack on the wall, and air hissed out. Something started to beep. Tomed tried to stand but his legs wouldn’t move. A large section of pipe lay across his legs.
Tomed craned his head around, looking for Rrrark. The black Meskka was stretched out on the floor, farther back in the corridor. He didn’t appear hurt, but he didn’t move.
The beeping noise grew louder. It came from what was left of the outer wall.
Bast, Hrrarr, are you okay? Tomed asked.
I’m fine. Bast’s mental voice sounded shaky. I think Hrrarr is chasing Vincent.
Good. Can you get to where I am? I’m stuck and something’s beeping. I think it might be another explosive. If it goes off, we’ll all be blown out into space.
While he waited, Tomed concentrated on focusing energy into healing his legs. They wouldn’t be as good as new, but anything would help. Fortunately, the NTO hadn’t been damaged in the explosion.
Seconds later, Bast jumped from the top of what was now a pile of pipes and landed in front of Tomed.
“What can I do?” she asked.
“First, see if you can find the thing that’s beeping.”
Bast stepped behind a pile of pipes. “Okay, I found it.”
Tomed tried to peer around to where he could see her. “I can’t see it from here. What’s it look like?”
“It’s a small box with some wires running into a big pile of gray goo that looks like clay.”
“Pull the wires out of the clay.”
“Okay, I did, but it’s still beeping.”
“That’s all right as long as the box and wires aren’t anywhere near the clay.”
Bast re-appeared from around the pile of pipes. She carried the trigger in her mouth. She set it on the floor and helped Tomed lift the section of pipe off his leg. He rose slowly to his feet and limped over to Rrrark.
Bast reached down and licked the Meskka’s cheek. Rrrark sat up and shook his head. “What happened?”
A blast shook the floor before Tomed or Bast could reply.
“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here!” Tomed jumped to his feet and then immediately sank back down. A moan escaped his lips.
“Can you walk?” Bast asked. She glanced around the room, her ears swiveled all over, and her tail twitched.
“Yeah,” Tomed slowly rose to his feet. “I think I sprained my right leg, and both of them are severely bruised, but I—” Another explosion sounded off in the distance. “Looks like I’m going to have to run whether I can or not.”
Bast followed behind Rrrark as they made their way back through the tangle of pipes. She had lost count of the number of explosions in the distance, and no longer jumped each time one went off. It was slow to make their way back through the pipes. There was no longer any clear path through the maze, only a jumble of broken and sometimes sharp metal to climb over.
Bast watched as Tomed worked his way over a pile of the fallen pipes. He had said he could make it back to the shuttle, but his limp grew more pronounced with every step. Rrrark was the next one over the current obstacle. Rrrark didn’t seem injured, but to Bast, it looked like he moved more slowly than usual. Could just be caution due to all the sharp edges and unstable surfaces, but…
Tomed and Rrrark sat on what had to be the only clear floor space in the entire room. They both stared at the doorway out of the pipe-room. Or rather, at the large pipe that had fallen from the ceiling and embedded itself into the middle of the doorframe.
“I don’t suppose we can squeeze around it?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” Tomed said.
Bast walked forward and poked her head into the opening. The edges bumped into her whiskers right in the middle. She pulled back out of the opening and shook her head as she flexed her whiskers.
“Nope. I’d get stuck in there for sure,” she said.
Another explosion rocked the floor and threatened to bring more pipes down on them.
“Do I want to know what’s exploding?” Bast asked.
“Probably different sections of the station decompressing,” Tomed said. “We’re lucky the station is new enough to have auto-seal gel in the walls or we’d have been blown out when the first bomb went off.”
“What about your blaster?” Bast said. She didn’t know if Tomed’s blaster could get them out or not, but a change of topic was preferable to contemplating being blown out into space.
Tomed drew the blaster from its holster. “Well, it doesn’t appear damaged, but I’m worried about bringing all this mess down on us if I just try to blow a hole through all the debris.”
“The blaster emits a beam of plasma, correct?” Rrrark asked.
“Yes.”
“If you could alter the intensity, we might be able to use it to cut enough of the doorframe away so we could squeeze out.”
“Hmm.”
Tomed popped a side panel off the blaster and poked around at its innards.
“All right.” Tomed replaced the cover. “Stand back.”
Rrrark followed Bast back to the edge of the pile of pipes and lay down in front of her.
A narrow red beam sizzled out from Tomed’s blaster. Smoke drifted up from where the blaster beam intersected with the wall. Bast followed the beam with her eyes as Tomed slowly moved it across the doorframe. The beam left a black scar behind.
After what seemed like an eternity, Tomed turned off the blaster. “Well, here goes nothing.”
He clipped the blaster back onto his belt and rolled over onto his back. He lifted his legs and placed both his feet on the section of the wall he had just cut out.
“Wait!” Rrrark placed a paw on Tomed’s shoulder. “Allow me.”
Tomed grinned and rolled out of the way. Bast noticed he didn’t bother to stand up. Was it because he would have to crawl through the hole anyway? Or had the explosion injured his legs more than he admitted?
Probably the latter. He was a male, after all.
As soon as Tomed was out of the way, Rrrark lined up with the wall and kicked out the cut-away section. He turned around and stuck his nose through the hole. He sniffed about and his whiskers twitched.
“Nothing out there right now,” he said.
Tomed gestured at the hole.
Rrrark nodded and slipped out. Tomed followed him, and Bast was right on his heels. There was less smoke in this section of the station, but the sounds of creaking metal still filled the corridor. Bast sniffed the air, twitched her whiskers, and looked for anything dangerous.
Rrrark stopped at a junction in the hallway and tested the air.
“I think Vincent went this way.”
“All right.” Tomed waited for Rrrark to again take the lead. “Has Hrrarr located him yet?”
“No,” Rrrark answered after a moment. “He has Vincent’s scent, and is closing on him, but hasn’t caught up yet. With any luck, we’ll all catch up with him at the same time.”
“Good
. Keep an eye out when we find him. He might have a few more tricks up his sleeve,” Tomed said.
Bast wondered what Vincent could fit in his sleeve that would be so dangerous.
A few lengths down the hallway an explosion slid the floor out from under Bast. She skidded backward until her claws caught on an uneven seam in the floor. Her tail flailed as her hind legs scrambled to find a hold. The section of the floor she was on lay at a fifteen degree angle to the rest of the corridor. Tomed was ahead of her, flat on his stomach, and clinging to the top of the chunk of flooring with both hands.
“Is everyone all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” Rrrark’s voice came from somewhere ahead of her.
“I think I’m okay.” Bast said.
Tomed hauled himself up the edge and sat.
“Can you make it up here?” He looked back down to Bast.
“I think so.” She dug her claws into the seam and heaved.
She flew up to the top of the broken chunk and caught the edge with the tips of her claws. Tomed grabbed her leg and helped to pull her to the top. Rrrark waited for them on the opposite edge.
“Can you make it over?” Tomed asked.
The hole in front of them looked deep, but it was only about a length across.
“Sure, That’s an easy jump,” Bast said.
She tensed her leg muscles and sailed across to land next to Rrrark. Tomed landed in a heap next to her a moment later.
Bast shook the dust off and licked the fur down at the base of her neck. “I hope that doesn’t happen again.”
“No kidding.” Tomed rose to his feet and brushed off the front of his shirt. “Well, we’d better keep going.”
They continued down the hallway and around a few corners. Bast’s ear twitched. She stopped and swiveled her ears around to listen.
“What is it?” Tomed asked.
Bast waited a moment before she answered. “I don’t know. It’s kind of a high-pitched sound, but shuffling too.”
She looked up at Tomed and waited for an explanation. He shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know what it might be. We’ll just have to be careful.”
Rrrark, Hrrarr’s mental voice said. I caught sight of Vincent. He fled into a room with a door that says ‘lab’. I believe you and the others are on the other side of his location.
Tomed stopped, turned down a side passage, and waved for the others to follow him.
We’re here. Tomed leaned against the doorframe. I don’t know what he’s up to, and I’ve lost my blaster. There’s another door around the corner. I think our best option is for Rrrark and Bast to go to that door, and we all rush in at the same time.
Agreed, Hrrarr said.
Rrrark trotted down the corridor and around the corner. Bast was right behind him.
When we get the signal to enter, Rrrark said privately to her, stay behind me.
I can help too! I’m not injured like you and Tomed are, Bast said.
That’s not the point. Rrrark stretched his neck forward and brushed the side of his muzzle against hers. I don’t want you to get injured.
Bast’s body temperature rose, and she took a step closer to Rrrark. She had gotten to know him over the last few months and found she liked him. A lot. And that touch was practically—
NOW! Tomed’s mental voice yelled.
Bast growled in frustration as Rrrark swatted the button by the door. She bolted into the lab right behind him and took a quick look around before she jumped behind the closest piece of furniture.
The lab was full of the sound of human and Meskka yelling, firing blasters, and overturning tables. The room stunk of chemicals so badly that Bast could hardly breathe.
She poked her head out from behind the table. Tomed ran around the room, diving from table to table to avoid blaster fire from an armored figure in the middle of the room. Vincent.
He didn’t look at all the same. Some big metal thing was on his head, and angular metal plates covered the rest of his body. His blaster was one of the biggest Bast had seen.
There had to be some way for her to help. The brown and black blur that flew around the room was probably Hrrarr. It didn’t look like his claws had any effect on the suit Vincent wore. Bast didn’t see Rrrark anywhere.
The table Bast hid behind was empty. Another table held several bottles of various colored liquids. Bast crept over and sniffed the bottles, but the containers seemed to block any smells.
Bast looked over her shoulder at Vincent. He still shot at Tomed and Hrrarr but hadn’t managed to hit them yet. She reached up, grabbed a bottle of clear liquid, and slowly lowered it down to eye level.
Bast shook the bottle. The liquid sloshed around inside but didn’t do anything. It looked like water. She rotated the bottle around in her paw. It was covered with warning labels. She held it out in front of her and took off the lid.
She sniffed once and sneezed. Most definitely not water. She waited for Vincent to turn away from her. As soon as he did, she threw the bottle at him.
The bottle struck Vincent in the back and shattered. A foul stench filled the air and Vincent’s armor hissed and smoked. He whirled around, and Bast ducked just in time to avoid the beam of plasma that slammed into the wall above her head.
Vincent shouted something. Bast heard a loud crack, and Tomed dropped down beside her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine.” Tomed crouched down lower. “I took advantage of your distraction and took a swing at his gun. What’d you throw at him anyway? It looks like its burning holes through his armor.”
“I’m not sure.” Bast looked over at the table where she had gotten the bottle. There weren’t any others like it left. “I grabbed a bottle from over there and threw it at him.”
“Well, good work.” He popped his head up for a moment. “Looks like I did get his gun. Stay here, and when I say, we’ll all rush him together.”
“Okay.”
Tomed glanced at Vincent again, then dove for the next table over and rolled behind it. A moment later he yelled and leapt over the table. Bast ran out from behind hers and took a flying leap at Vincent.
His armor now had several holes, and he looked like he was attempting to repair his blaster. He looked up as Bast and the others charged him and spun around faster than Bast had seen any other human move.
She sailed through the space where he had been standing and gyroed her tail rapidly to land on her feet. She spun around and saw Vincent struggle to remove Hrrarr from where he clung to his back and ripped at the armor.
Tomed brandished a table leg and bashed at Vincent’s blaster to further disable it. Bast ran forward to pounce at him and saw Rrrark out of the corner of her eye. He also charged at Vincent.
Vincent took a swing at Tomed to force him back and then spun around to knock Rrrark away.
“Rrrark!” Bast cried.
She skidded to a halt and ran over to where Rrrark lay sprawled across the tile.
“I’m okay.” Rrrark panted heavily. “Well, I will be, anyway.”
He rolled slowly over and lay on his stomach, purring softly. That wasn’t good. Purring helped the hurt, but it also let your opponent know he injured you. Bast knelt next to him and licked his shoulder.
“I’m fine, really.” Rrrark stood and glanced about. “There must be something else in here we can use.”
Bast looked around too. There wasn’t much. Not in the way of weaponry, anyway. Cabinets lined the far wall, and most of the tables in the room had a variety of computer equipment. A red cylinder hung on the wall next to one of the doors. One of the tables had several small rocks on it.
Bast smiled at the thought of throwing rocks at Vincent. They were too small to really do much damage, but it might be satisfying.
The fire extinguisher. Perfect, Tomed said with thought-speak.
What? Bast asked.
Tomed sent her a mental picture of the red cylinder, and how he thought they could use
it.
Bast ran over, pulled the fire extinguisher from the wall, and jerked out the safety pin. She carried it closer to where Hrrarr and Tomed still fought with Vincent.
Tomed stepped back a few paces and then ran at Vincent. He swung the table leg and screamed. Hrrarr leapt from Vincent’s back. Bast aimed the nozzle and pulled the trigger.
Clouds of white fog belched out of the device with a roar. The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. Bast wondered if this thing just plain scared fires into being extinguished. She heard several loud thumps, and it sounded like everyone in the room was screaming. Bast was startled to discover it was her. She closed her mouth and blinked.
Just then the Fire Extinguisher of Doom hiccuped a few times and went silent. Bast looked down at it. It looked so innocuous now, as if it were incapable of making all that noise and cold. Bast dropped it and peered through the dissipating fog. She tried to see if the others had captured Vincent.
When the fog cleared, Rrrark sat on top of Vincent, who shivered and was covered in a layer of frost. Tomed stood on one of Vincent’s wrists and tapped the table leg against his shoulder. Hrrarr stripped what was left of the armor off him.
“All right, I think we’re ready to go now.” Tomed blew out a large breath. “Somebody want to volunteer to carry him back to the shuttle?”
“I’ll do it,” Bast said before anyone else had a chance to say anything.
Rrrark tried to hide a limp, and so did Tomed. Bast looked a little more closely at him. He had several fresh bruises. Apparently Vincent had put up quite a fight, even with a broken blaster.
Bast reached down and picked up Vincent by the collar in her jaws—and almost dropped him when several more explosions rocked the station.
“I had hoped there wouldn’t be any more of those.” Tomed struggled back to his feet and led the way out of the lab with Bast and Rrrark right behind. Hrrarr brought up the rear.
Well, we haven’t run into those other soldiers that were here with Vincent yet either, Bast said.
Tomed didn’t say anything. He just turned around and glared at Bast for a moment.
I think all of you should get back here. Nilre’s mental voice sounded worried. The station’s starting to vent atmosphere, and it looks like none of the emergency systems are online.