“They can't seal that hatch.” April said, suddenly. “If they get in there and we don't blow them, theu're inside.”
“That's what these are for.” Elaine pointed at the long guns. “Soon as we're done here, we'll get those all warmed up.”
A flash caught their eye, and the temporary covering to the bay blew out in all directions, sending metal fragments raining down into the bay.
“Clear!” Dev yelped into the comms. “There is danger! Take cover!”
A moment later the bay was lit with landing lights and six destroyers came in fast, all wing and angled body in stark contrast to the stolid carriers hunched on their pads.
“Where's the other two?” Mike asked. “I don't see them on scan.”
Dev scrambled to get comp on the back side, and widened her scan, pulling in the signal from her own carrier for as long as she figured she'd get it. “No sign.”
Jess felt a jolt of alarm. “The back door.” She said. “If they've got Bain's keys that might be one of them.”
“It is.” Kurok stood up. “One you like to accompany me? I don't much care for surprises.”
April stood and joined him. “Doug, stay here and help blow things up.” She picked up a long blaster and energized it. “Let's go, Doc. I'm in the mood to kill people.”
Doctor Dan paused and looked at Jess, one pale eyebrow lifting in question. Jess waved her hand at him, and was glad to restrict her reaction to that as she slowly put her arm back down.
“The'yre down.” Brent said. “Light the trigger?”
Jess looked back at the screen and saw the hatches opening, judging the distances. “Blow the two nearest them.” She instructed, shading her eyes just in time as Brent lit off the explosives, setting off the emergency destruct systems on the two carriers designed to keep them from ending up in enemy hands.
The screen whited out. Seconds later, the ripple of the blast transmitted through the rock followed by a scream of sound that cut off abruptly as Brent slammed a control. “Got em.” He grunted.
Dev touched her ear bud and listened intently. She could hear booms and thumps, and then, high pitched screaming that was human and not mechanical. The white hot engine systems of the two carriers were scorching the interior of the bay with super thermal heat, and she hoped hard that Clint, and the other sets had gotten out.
Another signal and she tuned it. “Dev! It's April! Send h..” She turned. “Jess, April is in distress.”
“Uh oh.” Jess said. “Get those blasters ready, kids.” She managed to get to her feet and headed towards the far wall, where the guns were leaning. “Check scan.”
“Scan's down.” Brent said, suddenly. “We're dark to the wall.”
“Shit.” Tucker got up and went to an emergency station .”I'll see what I can get on the manuals.”
Jess picked up a blaster and cradled it against her arm. “Dev, c'mon over here and take cover behind the console. There rest of you techs too.” She took a slow, deep breath, shoving the jangling pain in every nerve ending down and bracing herself against the rock surface.
“No sense blowing the others.” Elaine got up and picked up one of the longer guns, coming over and putting the bulk of the main console between herself and the door, bracing the blaster against the top of the stations and un-safing it. “I can hear shots.”
Jess could hear them too. “Sounds like a lot of them.” She said. “They must have popped that back hatch wide open.”
“Probably loaded most of the troops in the ones that hit that, and only skeleton in the bay.” Elaine said, regretfully. “We guessed wrong.”
“Yeah.” Jess looked up as the lights changed, from the standard emergency stations to stark red, and the alerts started to go off on every board she could see.
“Ops compromised.” A harsh voice sounded. Bricker's, Jess realized. “Systems deact, standby for lock out.”
The systems would lock themselves and then destruct. Jess exhaled, and got the blaster in position, sensing, and then feeling Dev slip in behind her. “Been fun, Devvie.”
Dev put a hand on her hip, the touch warm and comforting all out of proportion to the motion. “We all hope we get to do good work and make our contracts happy.” She said. “I did both.”
Jess smiled wryly. “You sure did.”
“And I got to be in love.” Dev continued. “I think every single set in the creche would wish they were me.”
Jess turned her head and regarded Dev. “You glad you're you?”
Dev stretched up and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Yes.”
And so. Jess felt the discomfort fade, and her disappointment with their failure ease off and her mind steadied and eased as she stopped trying to force the future and let her decisions fall where they might. The time for questions was over, and now, it just was what it was.
“We fought the good fight.” Elaine commented, peering down her blaster's spine. “Time to pay, Jesslyn.”
“Time to pay, El.” Jess drew in a breath and got her hands on the triggers, as she heard the thump of boots in the hall, and the crackle of power slamming the outside of the hatch. “Just keep shooting.”
“We will.” Tucker had a blaster. So did Brent, and Doug, and they joined the agents shoulder to shoulder as the hatch buckled and slammed inward to the floor.
The room lit white and blue with fire.
**
“Keep down!” Jess yelled back over her shoulder, as she aimed and took a shot at the edge of an armored shoulder she spotted outside the door.
The room was full of smoke, and the red lights made it dark and hard to see anything. The first wave had come flying it shooting, and now a half dozen armored forms were piled in the front part of the room, their legs blocking the hatch open and giving their comrades a shot into the ops center.
No way out. Jess could see shadows flickering on the far wall, and then a second later a mine flew in. “Shit!”
Tucker leaped over the console and booted the mine back out the way it came, getting just behind cover before it exploded and filled the entry with golden fire that rippled out and flowed towards them.
Jess turned and dove for the ground, taking Dev with her as the force flowed up over the console and over their heads. “Watch for them behind it!”
“On it!” Mike said. “Bastards!”
Jess looked up to make sure the plasma had dissipated, then she got back up and leveled her blaster, letting off a long burst as one of the enemy came right at them, clearly expecting them to be stunned. She trained her sights on his face plate and watched it heat to white hot, as he hauled up and tried to turn back out of the way.
Too late. His head exploded inside his armor and he dropped, reeling backwards as two more came in, skidding to a halt when they saw the body heading towards them and turning to retreat as two beams hit them from Mike and Elaine's guns.
Another mine. Another ducking, but this time the energy ripped through the bottom of the consoles and Tucker went down in jerking agony, his blaster flying from his hands and nearly hitting Dev in the head.
Brent heaved one of their own mines out the door and they ducked as the booming roar filled the space.
“We should just charge them. They'll just pick us off.” Elaine got over by Jess. “If we're going to die, might as well do it fast, Jess. We can't hold out forever.”
“Hang on a little longer.” Jess half stood and got off a shot, hoping her knees would hold her. She felt Dev grab and steady her and got wedged into place agaisnt the console, forcing her body to behave. “Any idea how long we've been fighting? How long till that storm was due over?”'