Eon ducks under a passing bullet. He gives me a wild look, breaks contact, then takes my hand again, and we phase back to translucent beings.
We could do a lot with this,I say with a waggle of my brows.
Eon looks down at the hatch.Then we do it.
I fist bump him, phase back to reality, rip the hatch open, and let him jump down. I close the hatch behind me as I follow him inside Aidathrin.
We drop into a room filled with Solcrue. Eon bashes into two, steals a gun, and begins firing. I throw a shoulder into the closest soldier and launch him against a wall. Two charge at me from a corner of the gunners’ seats. I run toward them, jump, and bring my feet up, kicking them back the way they came. I land hard, look up, and see an entire squadron filter in through the doorways to the long stretch of gunners’ seats. They’re going to see us.
Snatching up a grenade from one of the soldiers I’ve taken down, I throw it, then I dive for Eon’s hand. He catches me, and we phase out as the blast takes out twenty.
Eon pats my hand and phases us back in. He picks up the rifle he’s dropped and lays down cover fire as we back out of the room. I steal another grenade, fling it down the hallway, and chase him out of the munitions rail. It blooms in a cascadingboom-boom-boom.
We phase out as we enter the main levels until we get a sense of the room and combatants, then we tap in, lay down our assaults, then tap out again. Climb stairs. Repeat.
The ship takes hits. As we phase back in on the upper deck, we hear Raven, Esthi, Kelta, and Aera talking over the network, coordinating the escape.
Eon phases us out. “We’re going to be left behind.”
“I know.” I direct his attention to a prison at the far end of the security deck. “But they will be safe. And we can do this. You must hear the ping.”
He nods. “It’s going to be hellfire to get to him.”
“But we have to. Then we evacuate this ship,” I tell him. “And we take it.”
Eon studies me like he isn’t sure if I’m serious. Then a sly grin curls on his face. “If you think you can do that.”
“I can take control.”
Eon lifts a hand, hesitates, then taps us in. We pick up rifles from the bodies around us and fire at the security crews forming up for battle. We catch them with their pants down. Many return fire. And the hall becomes a radiant storm of gunfire.
The crews aren’t ready for our kind of assault, and this has been a long time coming. My speed picks up as I find combatants, take them out with single shots, and move on to the next.
Any time Eon or I are in danger of getting shot, we tap out. Our rifles fall. We move through the space to a secure location, phase back in, collect new weapons from downed soldiers, and keep moving, clearing the way to the prison at the back.
Aidathrin is in bad shape. But it has a few engines and a lot of supplies still inside. The majority of the ship has been freed of Solcrue. But a few soldiers will still cause trouble.
When we make it to the door to the prison, I guard while Eon smashes the control panel and rewires it, unlocking the door. He knows if I dive into a computer system or another life form, that we can’t phase because I become what I touch. As it swings open, I tap us out. We peer inside at the only occupied cell at the back.
A squad of guards, confused by the mayhem, walksthroughus and into the room with downed soldiers, then continues deeper into the ship.
Eon chuckles and studies his translucent hand.Man, I love this.
A single Titan sits on a metal bench behind multiple layers of glass. Bands bind his body, arms, legs, and neck in a metal cast so that only his head is somewhat mobile.
Eon finds the control center. “Can you merge with this?”
I look it over and hover my hand above the controls. “You’ll have to guard.”
“Do it.” Eon fist-bumps me, phases us back into the fight, picks up a rifle, steadies it against his shoulder, and places himself between the door and me.
Resting my hand on the touch screen, I pull up the programs, find the security system for the Titan’s cell, and try to unlock the doors, but it gives me a warning.
“It’s DNA-coded. I can’t.” I break my contact and walk around to the glass doors.
“What are you doing?”
“What I did to free Aera. I hope.” I set my hands on the glass and focus on the tearing feeling that is Rogue Brother Chasm. I blend it with the shattering feeling of Fracture, then I push the feeling away from me. Glass cracks.
