When the machine beeped to show it was finished, CJ moved it to the next patient that needed it. And so on for hours, until the battle suddenly went silent.
Domik. I have to get to him. I have to see if he’s OK.
She lifted her head, looking across the room to meet Amelia’s eyes.
“Go,” her friend mouthed, nodding toward the door.
CJ didn’t need to be told twice and ran, dodging around stretchers and medics, dashing to the door and racing outside.
It was chaos. There were people rushing everywhere. A truck was on its side, smoke coming from inside. She stood, mouth agape, as she looked around at the carnage. How the medical tent had been spared, she did not know. A large hole was in a nearby tent, a group of marines spraying fire suppressant foam on a blaze that was threatening to overwhelm it.
A honking horn had CJ leap back to prevent being run over by an ambulance, the vehicle screeching to a stop next to her, and the driver and passenger jumping out to open the back door.
“Get out of the way!” One of them shouted, and CJ dashed away.
Which way had Domik gone?
He would have been operating one of the heavy guns on the perimeter of the camp. That was his area of expertise. But those guns - of his own design, she now knew - were scattered around the edge of the base, and it would take far too long to find him on her own.
The familiar noise of a rapidly approaching Xakul fighter had her ducking, hands over her head. She looked up to see the fighter being chased by two Taurean vessels, one a stealth ship. Neither was bothering to use the cloak now, preferring to be visible to the ground-based guns.
A stream of rapid plasma fire shot from one of the Taurean ships and the Xakul fighter lurched off course, tumbling in a spiral toward the distant hills.
Then another Xakul ship flew overhead, to be taken out by a volley of shots from the ground. A gigantic explosion rose from somewhere behind CJ, and she turned to see a fireball rise rapidly into the sky, followed by a cloud of smoke.
The wind picked up, blowing smoke and dust, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
One of the Taurean shuttles circled overhead, before slowing and starting to descend near the edge of the camp.
CJ took off at a sprint. That was a stealth ship, like what T’arq flew, and she bet that would be where she would find one of the team to tell her about Domik.
Please be all right. Please.
Her booted feet pounded on the hard-packed dirt, her arms pumping. The afternoon sun hit her in the eyes as she ran, and she lifted a hand to shield her face. She watched as the shuttle turned and disappeared behind a row of tents and CJ dashed between them, tripping over a box and going sprawling.
She ignored hands that offered to help, blind to anything but her need to see Domik.
To know that he was all right.
To know.
No matter what happened to him, she needed to know.
And so she ran. Faster than she had ever run before. She slid around a corner, booted feet skidding on the gravel, arms wheeling as she fought to keep her balance.
Her tank top was slicked with sweat, her breath coming hard as the stealth ship finally came into view, settling down on the landing pad. She came to a stop, holding her breath as she watched the stealth ship power down and the hatch pop open.
She pressed a hand to her chest as she gasped for breath, watching as a curly brown head popped out. CJ sagged to her knees.
At least one thing is going right today.
“CJ?” The voice came down from above. “Quick, lift me down, T’arq.”
And then there were soft footfalls as her friend ran toward her.
“CJ? What’s wrong?” Krystal skidded to a stop next to her, laying a hand on her back.
CJ looked up, tears flooding her eyes. “Domik.” The single word was all she could say before
