“I don’t know. I’ve never used them on an Antogin,” Jadis called back.
“What have you used them on?” Betta knelt down and confirmed that the Antogin was still breathing. The last thing she needed was one of the five dead at her hands. There was still room to negotiate with the queen and killing her long-lost brethren would have made that difficult.
“Nothing. No one. It never came up. I held onto them—” Jadis’s voice was pitched higher than normal. She was worried he might go into shock and she needed him to move.
“Because they’re cool,” Betta grinned. “I get it. So, you gonna come out from behind the bar, Jadis?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Cool. Cool. I’m going to check on Big Dee,” Betta called back.
“Don’t call him that. You don’t call him that!” Jadis snapped.
“Seems like you’ve got a lot of hang-ups.” Betta crossed the room to knock on one of the doors, suppressing a smile that was both relieved and a little tense. “Hey, Big Dee! It’s Betta! You can come out now. We have to move.”
“Why do we have to move?” Jadis asked from behind the bar.
Betta sighed again, turning back to him. “Because the Queen of The Five entered the sector about an hour ago and I think she’s commanded all of The Five to kill you. There are thirty-two Antogin onboard. I’ve suppressed two. What do you think the odds are they’ll all come running here in a few minutes? You know, with the hive mind and all.”
“Oh.”
“You ready to come out from behind that bar, Jadis? I’m thinking now is a good time to get you to your ship.”
Big Dee’s bald head quickly peeked out of the door, then slammed it shut. He repeated the action twice, and then held his head out for a longer look. “Hello, Miss Reganta.”
“You all right, Big Dee?” Betta asked.
“Yes. Yes. You?”
“I’m really sorry about earlier. It was my first real drink—” Betta tried to explain.
“No need. No need. Did they give you the shot in your ass?” Drew asked with empathic remorse.
“Yes! It hurt so much.”
Betta kept her eyes on the dark man hidden behind the bar. Jadis gritted his teeth, crossed from the bar, and grabbed the force-rifle from the prone Antogin. He looked to Betta again. “Can I get my knives back?”
“No,” she smiled. “I’ll protect you, don’t worry.”
Jadis frowned in response, though Drew was right beside her.
“You are a remarkable woman, Miss Reganta,” Drew said, looking from her to the Antogin on the ground.
“Let’s go!” Betta moved at a quick jog, joining her guards at the door. She could tell by the way Jadis held the force-rifle in his hands that he had little to no experience with the weapon.
Clearing the entrance, one guard led the way forward and the other took up the rear. Betta followed the taller woman toward the lifts that would lead to the shuttle bay. They were about ten paces out when the heat of a force-rifle singed their hairs. Jadis was a few paces behind her and she saw him turn to shoot out of the corner of her eye. She tried to shout to stop him, but it was too late. The recoil tossed him back, and Betta, seeing him coming, snatched rifle from his grip as he passed. She lowered the setting from “incinerate” to “burn”, forced it to cast a wide swath, and increased the dampers. The electronic hum of the weapon was now near a whisper. She had probably two shots and then the weapon would be useless.
The rear guard turned and fired two pulses in the direction of the Antogin that fired. He slowed in the wake, but the weapon had little effect. Betta raise the force-rifle and fired. The recoil was insignificant. Her shoulder moved a fraction and she aimed lower than her target as she’d been taught. The Antogin was off its feet and Betta could see the smoke from a thousand hairs burning across its body.
Jadis was on his feet by now. Betta handed him the force-rifle. His eyes were wide and he nodded at her. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but it made her feel good. Betta regained her pace, Jadis now running beside her. They rounded another corner and met an Antogin that raised its force-rifle. Her front guard didn’t hesitate, squeezing off several pulses in succession. The Antogin flew out of their path. They ran into the lift that stood open without waiting to see where it landed.
Betta leaned against the wall of the lift, breathing heavily. Big Dee clutched his middle, covered in a layer of sweat, his black body suit gripping his round frame tightly. His face was pale and each breath became a wheezing inhalation that worried Betta.
Jadis was at his friend’s side, a hand to his shoulder. “You did good, Drew.” He looked to Betta. “They’ll be swarming my ship. Can we let him off at one of the other floors?”
Betta punched in an authorization for the floor below the bays.
“I never got your name,” Betta was amazed at how easily she forgot simple niceties.
The guard that had their front bowed. “They call me Friz, Miss Reganta. And over there is Tey.”
“Friz and Tey,” Betta mused.
“Short names make actions quick,” Tey offered.
“Friz, can you stay with Big Dee. Make sure he gets back to his ship. Tey and I will get Jadis to his ship.”
“Yes, miss,” Friz bowed again.
Big Dee looked as though he might pass out when the elevator opened.
Friz was at his side, helping him out the elevator. Betta saw an Antogin barreling down the corridor a second before the doors closed. She could only hope that Jadis was the target and his friends would be left alone.
The lift stopped. Betta had her stun knives in-hand. Tey raised her pulse-rifle to her shoulder. Jadis aimed the force-rifle in his hand straight ahead.
All Betta could think about was her father. How had he faced the end? Was it like this? Resolved to die, but still fighting. A single tear escaped her notice. Her eyes met Jadis and she set her face to one of determination. She gave him a nod that she hoped told him that she didn’t regret it and that she didn’t blame him.
All three figures set their backs to the wall of the lift and the doors slid open.
Chapter Eight
Isolation
The way his hearts thundered, he was certain his torso would be slick with fluids, but when he did a quick check, he saw nothing. Betta was staring at him. It was like she was waiting for him to respond. He decided that he didn’t understand Human women. If she were a Drafer, she would have made her intentions clear. Humans weren’t like that. They were all innuendo and mystery.
Taking a few more deep breaths, he decided to focus on the thing he could control. The force rifle in his hand hummed to life with a charge. It took him a moment to find the safety mechanism, but he did find it… he hoped. He’d never thought it took much skill to point and shoot. After watching Betta in action, he promised himself he would take time to practice. Clenching his teeth, Jadis steadied his nerves and centered his core, his muscled thighs solid as he took a stance.
The doors of the elevator slid open without warning, revealing more than a dozen force rifles pointed in their direction. It was the first time in his entire life that Jadis felt comforted to see the scattering blue lights coming from the skull caps of the federal agents.
Jadis lowered his weapon and was quickly disarmed. Both his arms, and soul, felt lighter. Having someone else take responsibility for their safety was far better. It was difficult to see over the crowd of feds, but he could make out the occasional body of an Antogin lying to the side.
“Are any of them hurt?” Betta immediately chimed in.
Jadis sighed. “Does it matter? They were trying to kill us.”