The Zantharian at the console straightened and gave her a questioning look. “Lieutenant Brunt ordered us to remain here and secure the bridge.”
“The bridge looks pretty damn secure,” she spit back. “There’s nothing here. And besides, even if a Hareema got to the bridge, it could do nothing to escape. It’s tethered to the scout ship, and it has almost no engine power, remember?”
“I don’t know…” the soldier replied. “We’d be disobeying a direct order.”
“From a human! Who knows if he’s even still alive. They could all be dying in the engine room right now!”
Kat hated the words as soon as she said them.He better be alive, she told herself.
“I agree.” This came from the soldier guarding the door. “Nothing’s happening here. I’m tired of waiting like sitting seagulls. Let’s find these Hareema sharks and dispatch them.”
Kat moved forward and slapped the soldier’s shoulder. “Good man. Let’s go.”
They started out into the corridor. “You coming?” she asked, looking back at the remaining soldier.
He followed after them. “No one should be alone. It’s against protocol. But if we take any heat for this, I’m telling the human that you countermanded his order. So it’s your ass on the line.”
“Understood.”
They proceeded with caution down the corridor. Kat relied on her memory of the ship’s interior map, walking in a straight line, through the mess, past the entry hatch, until she found a door. It was open, and she and her soldiers stepped inside.
There were what seemed to be broken machine parts all over the floor, as well as containers that were opening and spilling contents everywhere.
It must be a storage hold of some kind, she told herself. They picked their way around containers and human junk, searching for any sign of movement.
“It seems all clear,” she said.
“That’s the engine room back there,” her team member said, pointing to a door in the rear of the chamber.
“Let’s check it out,” she said with a nod.
The made their way back to the door, which was closed. The door panel looked like it had been smashed, wires hanging out loosely. Pushing buttons did nothing to make the door function.
She took a deep breath and let out a tendril of energy, right into the panel. There was a shower of sparks, and then door finally opened.
Kat stepped forward, motioning for her team to wait while she checked that things were clear. She could see a metal walkway before her, could hear the engines grinding and groaning, but couldn’t see anything that seemed dangerous.
She moved into the room, checking to the left and to the right. Then she turned around, about to give her men the all clear.
Suddenly a metal blur fell from above her. Kat threw herself back, then watched in shock as a metal panel, several feet square, slammed down in front of the door. It blocked the way out, cutting her off from her team.
Looking upward, she could see nothing above her that could have dislodged the metal. A strong chill passed over her body, almost making her shake. Perhaps it had come loose, and that was what the warning light was about.
Or maybe the Hareema had cut her off purposefully.
Still, with no enemy in sight, there was nothing to do but to try and get out. Kat moved forward, considering whether she could lift the metal. She could hear the soldiers banging on the other side. The metal was obviously heavy, wedged against the door by the narrow railing that circled the room.
She turned and headed for the walkway that spanned the engines.Maybe there’s another way out of this room.
She stepped out onto the walkway, looking down to the see the fiery insides of the engine as it chugged along. Kat doubted that any Hareema could be hiding down there. It was too blasted hot.
Reaching the other end of the walkway, she searched the room for another door. But there appeared to be nothing there. Only more panels with flashing lights. The railing that circled the room provided only a narrow gap. She could slide through if she pressed her front to the panels and her back to the railing, but it would leave her vulnerable.
Kat stood there, unsure of what to do. There did not seem to be any way out of the engine room besides the one that was blocked. Staring at the panels, she realized that one read ‘comm.’ Grateful for her crash course in Earthling operations, she took a deep breath and pressed the button.
“Hello,” she said, her voice sounding more tentative than she liked. “This is Lieutenant Yarr. I’m trapped in the engine room. My team is trying to move the obstruction but it’s too heavy. Please send reinforceme…”
Her words trailed off as a shadow covered her vision. From the ceiling, something swung down. Something red.
