Page 20

Chapter

Twenty

Morgan

M y arm was wrapped firmly around Ariana's waist as our bedraggled group moved down the corridor. With my free hand, I gripped the blaster Tivek had given me, my finger resting lightly on the trigger. Ahead of us, Tivek and Vyk led the way, with Torq still slung over the commander’s shoulder.

"Thanks for coming back for us," Ariana whispered, her voice hoarse from screaming. “We thought they got you as well.”

"We couldn't leave you," I replied, helping her navigate around debris that had fallen from the ceiling during an explosion.

She leaned more heavily on me as we rounded a corner. “Are you sure Sasha is safe?”

"We found the cells where she was being held," I explained, pausing as Tivek held up a hand, signaling us to stop while he checked the next junction. "But she was gone. According to Tivek, his brother and your sister tricked a guard and escaped."

A weak laugh escaped Ariana's cracked lips. "That doesn't surprise me. Sasha was always up for a sneaky plan."

Another explosion rocked the facility, this one close enough to send vibrations through the floor beneath our feet. Dust and small fragments of ceiling rained down on us.

"Your brother's going to bring the whole building down on our heads," Vyk growled at Tivek as he swung a newly conscious Torq to the floor.

"He's creating a distraction," Tivek replied calmly, "not demolishing the structure. This facility was built to withstand a lot. A few explosives won't compromise its integrity."

The confidence in his voice was reassuring, though I wasn't entirely convinced. The way the walls shuddered with each blast didn't exactly inspire confidence in the building's structural soundness.

Torq shook his head groggily, but accepted the blaster Tivek handed him. It didn’t bode well that half our group was in less than peak condition, but there wasn’t much we could do about it.

Guttural shouts echoed from a connecting corridor, accompanied by the thunderous sound of multiple Kronock running our way. Tivek and Vyk exchanged a glance, then pressed themselves against opposite walls, motioning for us to stay back.

The moment the first Kronock rounded the corner, Vyk fired, the energy beam catching the beast squarely in the chest. The creature went down with a roar that made my skin crawl, but three more appeared behind it, their scaled faces contorted with rage.

They charged forward, moving with surprising speed for their bulk. Tivek dropped to one knee, firing at the legs of the lead Kronock. The alien stumbled, crashing into its companion and sending both of them careening into the wall.

The third Kronock leaped over its fallen comrades, its clawed hands reaching for Vyk.

The commander ducked at the last moment, using the alien's momentum to flip it over his shoulder.

The Kronock crashed into the railing overlooking a multi-story drop, the metal giving way with a screech of protest. The creature's howl faded as it plummeted into the darkness below.

Adrenaline surged through my system, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. Yet strangely, I wasn't afraid. The fear had been replaced by a fierce determination and a clarity of purpose that made every sense sharper, every movement more precise.

"Move!" Tivek ordered, already in motion himself.

We raced down the corridor, with Ariana keeping pace better than I'd expected, and Torq bringing up the rear. Whatever the Kronock had done to her in that interrogation chamber hadn't broken her spirit.

As we approached another junction, a group of four Kronock security forces appeared, their weapons raised. Tivek reacted instantly, shoving me and Ariana into a recessed doorway as energy beams sizzled past where we'd been standing.

Vyk returned fire, forcing the Kronock to take cover. "We're pinned down!" he shouted.

Tivek assessed the situation in a heartbeat, his eyes scanning our surroundings with tactical precision. "Cover me," he said to Vyk, then looked at me. "When I give the signal, run for that corridor on the left."

Before I could ask what signal, he was moving, sprinting not away from the Kronock but toward them, firing as he went.

The aliens, clearly startled by this suicidal charge, broke formation, which was probably just what Tivek had wanted.

He slid beneath their blaster fire, coming up behind a console that provided both cover and access to the facility's systems.

His fingers flew over the controls, and suddenly the lights in the section went out, plunging us into darkness broken only by the flashing red of emergency beacons. The Kronock hissed in confusion, their bionic implants glowing eerily in the dark.

"Now!" Tivek's voice cut through the chaos.

I pulled Ariana with me, running as fast as her weakened condition allowed toward the corridor Tivek had indicated. Vyk and Torq followed, laying down covering fire that kept the disoriented Kronock at bay.

Tivek rejoined us as we rounded the corner, his breathing barely elevated despite the exertion. I couldn't help but notice Vyk eyeing him with newfound suspicion and respect. The security chief was realizing there was considerably more to the admiral's adjunct than he'd previously thought.

"The exit is two levels down," Tivek said, leading us toward a back ramp. "This will get us there faster than the main corridors."

We descended quickly, the pitch of the ramp steeper. The sounds of pursuit grew fainter as we put distance between ourselves and the Kronock security forces, finally emerging on the ground level.

"Almost there," Tivek murmured, checking around the corner before waving us forward.

We were heading toward the hidden entrance we'd used to enter the facility when a figure suddenly rounded the corner ahead, moving at a sprint.

Vyk raised his weapon, finger already tightening on the trigger, when Tivek knocked his arm upward with surprising strength.

The energy beam struck the ceiling instead of its intended target.

The Drexian who'd appeared skidded to a halt, his own weapon half-raised before recognition dawned on his face. "Tiv?"

The shock in his voice was matched only by the surprise on Tivek's face. Despite the same angular features, they couldn't have appeared more different. Where Tivek’s hair was short and his skin unmarked, his brother had long hair and black marks etched his arms.

“Deklyn," Tivek acknowledged, his voice strangely tight.

A movement behind Deklyn caught my attention. Then a human woman with long dark hair stepped into view. She was painfully thin and in desperate need of a good scrubbing, but I instantly recognized her. Ariana sagged against me, as if the relief had robbed her of her ability to stand.

"Sasha!" The name escaped her like a prayer.

The missing pilot rushed forward, enveloping her sister in a fierce embrace.

I stepped back, giving them space for their reunion, a lump forming in my throat as I watched them cling to each other.

After all the months of planning, all the sleepless nights Ariana had spent worrying, and all the risks we'd taken, this moment made everything worth it.

I glanced back at the brothers and found myself witnessing a very different kind of reunion. Deklyn had punched Tivek in the shoulder hard enough to make him wince, then pulled him into a rough hug, scruffing the top of his head like he was a child instead of a grown man.

"The academy pencil-pusher finally grew a pair," Deklyn laughed, his voice carrying a rough edge. "Wait until I tell everyone my little brother actually saw combat."

Tivek's expression was a complex mixture of affection, exasperation, and something else. Shame? Hurt? Frustration? He opened his mouth to reply, but another explosion rocked the facility, sending chunks of ceiling crashing down around us.

"Save the reunion for later," Vyk growled, already moving toward the exit. "Right now, we run."