They moved silently down the passage, but suddenly a door opened just up ahead and she shot the person who stepped out before she even realized she’d lifted the laz.
Ethan glanced at her, eyebrows raised, and she shrugged.
“Got to keep up with you,” she said. “That was some seriously impressive fighting with Nirro.”
He shook his head, amused, and she grinned back.
Someone screamed up ahead, and they both moved faster, running into the lounge together.
There were four Caruson soldiers fighting five Cores crew, and the one screaming was a Cores guard who’d been cut by a Caruso blade, and was trying to stem the bleeding.
She and Ethan opened fire with the Caruson laz, taking down three before both sides turned on them.
And then it felt as if she went weightless, as if time slowed down.
She knew where Ethan was, what he was doing, and she left him to his side, as she got busy on her own. She leaped forward, flipping herself up and over a Caruson soldier and a Cores guard, putting out a hand as she flew over the Caruson, using his shoulder to help her move faster.
She landed behind them and shot them as they tried to turn around, spun, and took out another two Cores crew.
Ethan finished off the last Caruson on his side, and there was sudden, sweet silence.
But it wasn’t over.
It couldn’t be that easy.
Velda looked over at the bridge and saw the double doors had been levered partway open, so there was a gap between the two halves. There was even more damage on the left side, as if it had been hacked with a blade.
They approached cautiously, skirting the gap so that no one inside could fire out at them.
It would probably be foolish to peer through the gap, Velda decided.
“I can try to pull one side open, if you’re ready to fire,” Ethan said.
It looked like the best option, so she stood close to where the two doors met.
Ethan took a deep breath, hands closing around the thin gap, his feet bracing. His muscles flexed as he pulled as hard as he could.
Before the door even moved, a shot lit the air, coming from the passage to the right, and they both dived away.
They were crouched down, weapons up, but exposed, and Velda rose to her feet and ran to her right to draw the shooter out as Ethan stood, angled toward the passage.
Brink stepped out, weapon raised, saw Ethan, and ducked back down the passage.
Damn.
“If I can open the door wide enough for you to squeeze through onto the bridge, then I’ll go after her.” Ethan was back at the bridge doors, ready to try again.
Not ideal, but they needed to take the bridge, and they had to deal with Brink. She might not be alone.
“I’m ready.” She took up position again, weapon in both hands, and Ethan strained, giving a grunt as he hauled the door toward him.
The gap widened a little and the moment she could fit through, Velda threw herself at it, rolling as she landed and then coming up on her feet. She dodged a laz strike, running toward a chair and jumping so she could use the chair’s arm to boost herself even higher.
She pointed her laz downward and moved it left to right, lighting the room up.
A few of the panels had their covers removed—she guessed as part of the crew’s effort to get the Caruso bug out of their systems—and they sparked as they were hit. Still, she got everyone who was standing.
She landed lightly in the middle of the room, then darted to the right. She moved silently because she’d seen someone duck behind a console just in front of her.
