The gas was thick — thicker than anything she’d experienced back home. She could barely see Fehn an arm’s reach away, and Shy was nowhere to be found, probably already offing the ship’s pilot. She expected screams or the sounds of combat, but that same silence as before lingered.
Fehn tiptoed toward the city street. Tayel followed, feeling along the alley wall with her hand to familiarize her position. She activated her shield bracer before bringing her mag baton off of its sheath. Even its etchings didn’t glow bright enough to shine through the haze.
She slid her fingers off the wall, keeping Fehn’s silhouette in sight as she inched toward where the ship would have landed. He kept right, shotgun at the ready. Every one of Tayel’s senses was on edge as she covered left.
Something scraped along the ground. She stopped. The sound whispered in the haze. It could have been coming from anywhere. She turned her head to listen, and started at the raider’s silhouette dragging a Varg body along the cobblestone only an inch from Fehn. Tayel opened her mouth, but hesitated too long. The raider backed into him and both men whipped around, firing their weapons.
Fehn cried out, but Tayel turned to the sound of hammering footfalls behind her. A raider materialized in the murk and ran into her, letting out a startled cry as they both toppled. Tayel scrambled to a stand, but the other guy moved faster. Her shield cracked at the shot he fired. She ran forward, shield dispersing at the impact of another hit before she swung at his head. Her baton landed with a crunch. The raider reeled back, spare hand gripping at his shattered mask. It came away bloody as he fell, and her stomach soured at the garbled sound he’d made.
“Fehn!” she shouted.
A scuffle sounded ahead, and she stepped forward cautiously, wary of making the same mistake her opponent had. But the ground shuddered beneath her, and a wave of dark aether knocked her down. It pushed the murk aside with its force, leaving Fehn standing alone, his cyonic palm swirling with dark tendrils against the cobblestone. A pair of unmoving raiders laid at his feet. Tayel blinked at the open sky above her.
“Red!” Fehn ran to her. “Are you okay? Did I — did that hurt you?”
“It knocked me down,” she said, willing the tremor out of her voice. “I guess I was standing far enough away that…” She trailed off, eyeing the bodies. “Where’s Shy?”
“Here,” Shy said. She rolled an unconscious raider out of the cargo vessel. “You got rid of the gas?” she asked Fehn. At his nod, she took off her mask and signaled to the group still on the roof. “Handy trick. That speeds this up.”
She looked at Tayel. The desire to say something was plain by the strain on her face, but she tongued her cheek and went back inside the ship instead.
“Help me with this, Red.” Fehn dragged one of the decoy Varg toward the vessel.
“Oh, sure.” She grabbed the Varg’s legs and heaved, shocked by the weight.
“You okay?”
“I got it.”
“I meant with everything else.”
“…I got it.”
The others arrived, proving Tayel and Fehn’s attempts useless. Balcruf slung the Varg they’d been trying to move over his shoulder, while another of his kin found the second decoy. Both young were brought onboard and strapped in, while others ensured the signal jammer was safely stored. Jace made it down from the roof unscathed, but fear etched itself clearly on his face, even as Fehn gave his best go at a cheery greeting. Given the situation, even the effort was impressive. Tayel leaned against the cockpit doorframe, gripping the hold strap overhead.
“Everyone on board?” Balcruf asked.
One of his pack checked outside and nodded.
“Then shut the door.” He moved to the other side of the doorframe as Tayel, and stuck his head inside. “Can you fly it?”
“Engines are on,” Shy said. “Whenever we’re ready.”
“Good. Get us out of here. Another patrol might come.”
Tayel bent her knees for balance as the ship ascended. It angled steeply, and without windows to see out of, it was hard to adjust for direction. Everyone in the hold strained to stay upright as the carrier turned sharply, spiraling a steady path upward.
Balcruf leaned into the cockpit again. “Any tails?”
“Not yet,” Shy said.
Tayel got used to the pull of upward flight, enough that she was able to lean into the small pilot’s area, too. She was just in time to see Shy level out at the same altitude as the mothership before them. Tayel bounced nervously. From the plains below, it had been huge. City-sized, even. But from up here it was monstrous. The intricate details of the ship’s hull were carved deep, each glowing line ebbing back and forth between lighter and darker shades of purple — almost like aether-tech. It seemed impossible they would be able to locate what they were looking for in such a massive structure.
Shy circled to find the underside hangar bay. There were hardly any ships inside.
“Are the fighters still out there chasing everyone else?” Tayel asked.
“It’s probable. Hopefully Locke’s jammer will keep it that way,” Balcruf said.
“The ships may be gone, but there are still people,” Shy said.
Balcruf crossed his arms. “Does this thing have a cannon?”
Shy stiffened. Tayel leaned forward. Raiders patrolled the hangar bay, some with tools to work on the docked vessels, others with guns, guarding the interior entrances. Tayel recognized the Sinosian clothing they wore, and that Shy stopped moving forward.
“If we fire on them from here,” Tayel said, “there’s a good chance we either blow up all the docking stations or trigger hangar doors to lock down.”
Balcruf considered the thought, his ears twitching. “Then land close enough we can fire on them upon exiting.”
Shy nodded, and steered them inside. Tayel tried to stay calm as the ship lowered to the docking platform. She’d made it this far. They all had, and they were all still alive. There wasn’t a reason to be scared. It was a decent attempt to lie to herself, but fear flared as their ship locked into place.
The side door slammed open, and Varg unloaded with their weapons drawn. Surprised raiders dove for cover, firing sloppily aimed rounds against the advancing war pack. Tayel ducked back into the hold, and met eyes with Jace.
“Ready?” she breathed.
He nodded.
She jumped onto the docking platform first, holding her arm out to keep Jace from moving past her. Shy and Fehn dropped next, but there wasn’t any action left for any of them. Aside from the few raiders lying unmoving around the bay, there was no opposing force. No troops from any of the doors leading deeper into the ship.
“So we’re going to the center of the ship,” Shy said.
“Locke said the command center is the best bet,” Jace said.
Tayel surveyed the back of the bay. Three doors stood out on the back wall, all of them as promising-looking as the next. None gave any clues as to what might lay beyond them. Two Varg set up a defensive barricade in the hangar with Balcruf, but the rest bounded away through the door the furthest to the left.
Balcruf bounded toward her. “Do you have the sphere?”
“I do,” Jace said.
“Good. I’m going with you.”
Shy leaned back. “What?”
“Your brother is a scattered man, princess, but his intellect has given our people chances where there should have been none. If he insists this data is important enough to risk your life, then I will risk mine, too.”
“What about your people?” Tayel asked.
“My kin are strong. They will accomplish their task to free their brothers.” He removed his overcoat, revealing flowing black garb which left his arms uncovered. He tore off his snow shoes, leaving his paws bare, and removed a crossbow from his back the size of his broad chest, loading it with an icy bolt from a quiver to his side. “Do you accept my help?”