Page 66
“He’s not my Captain. He’s just a killer living on borrowed time.”
Captain Ghal paced in front of Dallin. “Unless you’ve got backup coming, I don’t see how you can do anything to change our plans.”
Dallin wished he could check the countdown timer, but there must be less than two minutes to go before the first grenade detonated. “Don’t be so sure about that.”
Captain Ghal lifted his head. “Dram, gather a small team and sweep the mine. We need to make sure there are no more Apexians paying us an unwelcome visit.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Dallin said.
“So there are more of you here.” Captain Ghal sneered at him. “This is good news. We need Apexians for our program.”
“Program?”
His smile held no kindness. “We have to fine tune our work. Having live subjects will speed things up. And an Apexian army under our command will be the ultimate achievement.”
“There’s no one else out there,” Dallin said. “I was just giving you a warning to leave while you still can.”
“You lie. We will find your companions. You made a mistake coming here.”
He shook his head. “It was the right thing to do. This ends today.”
“The only thing ending, is you.”
There was a quiet knock on the door.
“Come in,” Captain Ghal said.
A Siblet entered the room. He was carrying a small case. “Captain. Here’s the dose of the poison you requested. Are you certain you want to use this much?”
Dallin’s heart stuttered, then he growled as Captain Ghal removed a syringe full of liquid from the case.
“You’re not so brave now.” Captain Ghal smirked at Dallin. “Where’s that Apexian fighting spirit you’re always bragging about?”
“I don’t care what you do to me. This will be over in a few seconds.”
“Not for you. We’ve made sure this poison is slow acting, thanks to the salnite component. We wanted to ensure our enemies suffer and know not to fight us. They must know we’ve done this to them and there’s nothing they can do about it.”
“That’s not true. We have an antidote. It’s being administered right now.”
Captain Ghal snarled at him as he jammed the syringe into Dallin’s arm. “Even if that’s true, it’ll be too late for you. This dose will destroy you.”
“It’s too late for both of us.” Dallin grinned as a swirl of pain hit him in the chest. “I’ve rigged this place to blow.”
Captain Ghal slammed a fist into Dallin’s face. “Guards! Search the mines. Disable the explosives.”
The two guards had only just left the room, when the ground rocked and a roar echoed along the corridor.
“Too late, asshole,” Dallin said.
More of the grenades detonated, and a chunk of the wall next to Dallin collapsed.
“What have you done?” Captain Ghal snarled at him.
“Shut you down, just like I said I would.”
Captain Ghal advanced on him, his fist raised.
Dirt and stones rained down on Dallin’s head, and the ground rolled. He braced as the ceiling collapsed.
