“I’m blind,” she said, softly, as if overcome with wonder. “But I can see everything.”
“What are you talking about?” Katz screamed, keeping hold of the bar on the wall. His feet kicked to the side. “Jump. Get back to Beta.”
Having seen Bonnie carry out the same action moments ago, Haloo ran toward the outer door and launched herself forward.
Her body twisted over three-hundred-and-sixty degrees like a corkscrew.
Tripp, Jaycee and Katz heard her wail a cry of death as beads of blood revolved out from her visor, glinting in the light reflection from Saturn.
She made it into Beta’s airlock, very worse for wear. Bonnie clung to the handlebar in the airlock and looked at Haloo gasping for air, coughing up blood. “Haloo? What are you doing?”
“Caaa-aaan’t b-breathe…”
“Meaaoww,” Jelly yelped from the airlock door, scratching at the glass panel. “Maaaahh…”
“Keep the air out of your lungs, Haloo,” Bonnie screamed, “Don’t breathe.”
Katz turned to Tripp and Jaycee. “Okay, you two go—”
A loud rumbling followed the debris funneling out of the ship. A huge ball of fire rumbled toward them.
Zillah’s apparition floated in front of the ball of fire, ten seconds away from impact.
“Pink symphony,” Zillah’s mouthed opened nearly as wide as her arms, “Come to me.”
“Go,” Katz shouted and turned to Tripp and Jaycee. “Go, now. I’ll keep the door open.”
“But, Captain,” Tripp said as Katz barged him out of the way and grabbed the handle on the door.
“Don’t disobey me. Both of you go, now.”
Tripp nodded and stepped out of her airlock, twisting on his axis in the space. Jayce ran forward and jumped, holding Tripp around his waist.
“Hold on tight, Tripp.”
Jaycee kicked them away from the airlock door and stretched out his legs. He aimed the tip of his foot toward the Zillah as she approached Katz at the airlock door.
“Let’s kill two birds with one shoe.”
BLAM-BLAM-BLAM!
Jaycee fire the cannon on his foot at Zillah as she entered the airlock. The force of the bullets pushed Jaycee back towards Beta as he held onto Tripp.
The bullets flew through Zillah’s body and into the oncoming rush of fire barreling up the airlock.
“Daryl!” Tripp said.
Katz released the door. It slid across, blocking his final view of Tripp and Jaycee.
“Look after my crew, Tripp,” Katz’s final communication came through the headset.
“No!”
The door slammed shut, sealing Katz in with Zillah and the forthcoming explosion.
Tripp and Jaycee tumbled into Beta’s airlock, along with Haloo, Bonnie and Jelly.
Tripp palmed the button on the outer door. It slammed shut sealing them off in the airlock.
Everyone turned to the glass door.
Space Opera Alpha vibrated. The airlock filled with fire, sending a magnificently aggressive wave through its structure.
The outer panels broke off, forcing the exterior of the ship to inflate along the ripples.
A brief period of silence, followed by a whooshing noise.
And then… everything went white.
Haloo, Bonnie, Jelly, Tripp and Jaycee held their forearms over their face and closed their eyes.
A brilliant white light grew from the center of Space Opera Alpha, flooding the interior Beta airlock.
Everything fell utterly silent.
Then, an almighty explosion woke up God himself. The ship exploded in sections.
First to go was the front of the cone.
Followed by its centrifuge, the ring itself shattered out, propelling the back-end of the ship away. It detonated impressively, adding to the already-spectacular firework show.
The pieces of the explosion briefly arranged themselves into the shape of Zillah’s face, although Tripp knew it could have been his mind playing tricks.
The force of the explosion was enough to throw Opera Beta off track. Saturn bleached into view. What little remained of the dormant carcass of Space Opera Alpha hung in the vacuum of space.
All of this, and with no sound whatsoever. The explosion sucked back in on itself the moment it ejected.
No air in space. A deafening silence.
The only way the team knew the destruction of Space Opera Alpha was a reality was through the vibrations felt from the components of their craft they clung to.
Haloo coughed up some thick, pink blood, indicating at least that she was still alive and breathing.
Jelly slid down the airlock wall, utterly petrified.
“Is everyone okay?” Tripp asked, wiping his outer skin down.
Sure, everyone was essentially fine, if a little rattled.
Jaycee was without his firearm, lost in transit. The K-SPARK gun spun around somewhere between what remained of Alpha and the steady Beta.
“Lost my gun, but we’re good.”
“Bonnie?” Tripp asked, approaching her and holding the side of her visor. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes,” she said, looking into his eyes. “I’m okay.”
Haloo climbed to her knees and pressed her gloved palms to the floor, spitting a few lumps of bloodied phlegm to the floor. She looked up at Tripp with her bleeding eyes.
Her face had turned pink.
“Tripp?”
“Haloo, are you okay?” He darted over to her and tried to lift her to her feet. She didn’t have the energy to do it.
“I c-can’t move,” Haloo wiped her bloodied eye. “I don’t know what’s happened to me.”
Jelly sauntered over to Haloo and investigated her legs. “Meaaaooowww…” Jelly’s cries seemed a bit deeper.
Tripp addressed Jaycee and Bonnie as he opened the inner airlock door. “We need to find Tor and take him out.”
“Tripp?” Jaycee reached into his boot and took out a Rez-9 firearm. “Wool is on board with him.”
“And Baldron is in N-Carcerate,” Bonnie said, waiting for Tripp to open the door. “We need to know where he is.”
“Yes.” Tripp opened his visor and grabbed at his mouthpiece. “Manuel, this is Tripp. Can you read me?”
“Good after-afternoon, Tripp,” Manuel’s scrambled voice was full of static and sounded dislodged. “Did you r-r-r-rescue Aaaa-lphaa-aaaa—”
“Eh?” Tripp tried again. “Manuel? Do you read me?”
No response.
“Tor’s interfering with him,” Tripp said, “Jaycee, escort Haloo and Jelly to Medix. Find Wool, and have her run a health check on both of them.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Tripp nodded. “That’s right. Have her run a check on you, too.”
“Understood.”
“Bonnie and I will find Tor and deal with him ourselves.”
“You’d better take this, then,” Jaycee unclipped a second Rez-9 firearm from his belt and handed it to Tripp.
Bonnie watched Tripp take it and slip it into his belt. “Be careful with that, Healy.”
“I’m hoping I won’t have to use it.”
Bonnie punched the airlock wall, opening the door. “If I find him first, you won’t have to.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jaycee helped Haloo across the hub. Jelly followed behind, meowing and whining.
Haloo’s body threatening to buckle as she walked. The only thing keeping her moving was Jaycee’s grip on her shoulder.
“You’ll be okay, Haloo,” Jaycee said as they made their way to the Medix center, “We’ll get you seen to.”
“Maaaah!” Jelly hopped in front of them and up the corridor. She ran her head along the side of the door to Medix.
“What is it, Anderson?” Jaycee said.
She scratched her metal claws up the window and rammed her head onto its surface.