He didn’t answer, but he moved sideways, drawing the creature’s attention away from her as the rest of the huge body climbed out of the tunnel. It followed his movement, head swiveling, forked tongue flicking out to taste the air. It took a step towards him and Phantom neighed loudly, stamping his feet, and the creature’s head snapped towards the horse.
Her fingers threatened to tremble as she started on the controls of the second generator but she forced them under control and the device hummed to life, its power indicator glowing blue. She scurried to the third with Roland at her side, acutely aware of the creature’s movements as Zach and Phantom alternated in drawing its attention.
“Almost there,” she muttered, connecting the final circuits. The third generator activated with a soft ping. “Ready!”
Before she could start deploying the containment units, the creature suddenly lunged at her, its powerful body moving across the floor with terrifying speed. Everything seemed to go into slow motion. She heard the sizzle of Zach’s weapon and Phantom’s neigh and saw blood splatter from the creature’s side, but she knew nothing was going to stop it in time. Then Roland leapt in front of her, just as he’d done in the tunnel, impossibly small compared to the huge predator.
“Roland!”
The creature’s claws struck Roland’s small body, sending him flying, and she heard a pained squeak as the creature recoiled, hissing violently. Her heart broke, but there was no time to mourn—they had to contain the creature.
“Zach! We need to position the units in a triangle around it!”
He nodded, snatching the first unit from her hands and placing it on the far side of the hangar as Phantom drew the creature’s attention. She slid the second one into position and grabbed the third one.
“On my mark, herd it into the center!” she yelled.
“Got it.”
She waited until the creature’s attention was fixed on Zach, then darted forward, placing the third unit in position. The creature whirled at her movement, its scaled body tensing to strike.
“Now!” she shouted.
He fired another shot, this one closer to the creature. It jerked back, moving exactly where they needed it, and she slammed her hand down on the activation sequence.
Blue light erupted from all three generators, arcing upward to form a triangular prism of energy. The creature screeched as the field closed around it, throwing itself against the invisible barrier. Energy crackled where its body made contact, but the field held.
She exhaled shakily, keeping one eye on the creature as she hurried towards Roland’s crumpled body. “It worked.”
Zach followed her, his weapon still aimed at the trapped creature. “For now. How long will it hold?”
“The power cells should last twelve hours at least. Long enough for us to figure out what to do next,” she muttered as she bent over Roland. He was curled in a tight ball, only his armored shell visible. “My poor brave boy.”
He made a faint, high-pitched squeaking noise, and his tail twitched.
“Roland?” she whispered as she gently stroked the edge of his armor. “Are you okay?”
He uncoiled further, revealing his face. His whiskers quivered, and he blinked up at her. She exhaled a shaky breath of relief and hugged him.
“Oh, thank God, you’re okay. You scared me.”
“He saved your life.”
She looked up and realized that Zach was crouched beside her. He was still watching the creature, but his free hand was extended, fingers outstretched.
Roland bumped his head against Zach’s palm. He didn’t look away from the creature, but he scratched behind the armadillo’s ears and the corner of his mouth curved up. Phantom had joined them as well and he snuffled curiously at Roland’s armored plates.
She was about to warn him when Roland suddenly retracted his armor, tucking his head beneath his segmented shell. Phantom jumped back, shaking his head, and Zach laughed.
“Looks like Roland’s going to be okay,” he said.
“Yes, he is.” She settled Roland back against the wall. “Now you stay here.”
Leaving Phantom hovering protectively over Roland, she turned her attention back to the trapped creature as Zach joined her.
“What exactly is your plan here?” he asked. “We’re trapped in a remote station during a dust storm with a very dangerous life form.”
“I know.” She ran a hand through her hair, mind still racing. “But think about what this means. We have proof of indigenous life on Mars. It changes everything we thought we knew about this planet.”
