Kovas

KOVAS

That last fight had taken more out of me than it should have.

Conii's soldiers weren't known for their training, instead choosing to rely on sheer numbers and trickery.

I clicked my tongue in irritation at myself.

It had certainly worked on me.

However, their trap had brought me to Mera's side, so perhaps I should not be entirely angry about it.

But still, despite my reassurances to her, I was not fully recovered.

Worse, not all of the guards I killed on the way to Garlku's chamber had been armed.

Giving one of the weapons to Mera meant I only had three blasters and four knives, and no idea if it would be sufficient to take out whatever obstacles were in the way.

I glanced at Mera.

Her pressed-together lips spoke of her fear, but that raised chin made it clear she was not planning to back down.

And neither would I.

It didn't matter how many soldiers waited for us, or what the state of our armament was.

We were getting out of here, and I was taking her home.

I stopped and shook myself.

Home to her friend, Tessi, of course.

That was all I meant.

As the lift slowed, I handed Mera the bag we'd taken from Garlku's room, tightening it over her shoulders.

"Stay close."

A blaster in each hand, I waited for the doors to open.

And when they did, I did not hesitate.

Firing a nonstop stream of plasma before me, I fanned the muzzles back and forth until the walkway before us became nothing more than a killing zone.

There were no branching corridors here, nothing but a straight, short walk to a massive steel door at the end of the hall. It stood tall and imposing, its surface slightly weathered, yet still a lustrous metallic finish that gleamed under the ambient light, its thickness evident from its deep-set frame, hinting at the layers of reinforced perma-steel that lie within.

At the center of the door, a sizable locking wheel demanded my attention. The circular mechanism, constructed from the same metal as the door, featured a series of spokes that radiated outward from its core, providing a firm grip for anyone attempting to operate it. The wheel's circumference was lined with intricately machined teeth, which I assumed would interlock with the door's internal system.

This would take more than a moment to open.

But on either side of the door, two box-like rooms jutted out from the wall, made of reinforced perma-steel with only thin slits for windows.

Sentry posts.

I ignored the shouts and screams, all of my senses alert.

Heartbeats, breathing, whimpers, all combining to make a map of where to aim next.

Six targets, crouching in the boxes.

One came too close to a window.

Five now.

The blaster in my left hand began to heat. These weapons were not designed to be used like this.

Quickly, I dropped it, pulling the third blaster out from my waistband, and kept firing, advancing step-by-step.

I didn't have to say anything to Mera.

She stayed close behind me, moving in tandem with my steps as we approached the twin boxes before us.

…send back up …overwhelmed… assistance…

How annoying.

Laying down another arc of fire before me, I spun quickly, pulling Mera close to my chest as I fired behind us, disabling the lift, then resumed our attack.

There would likely be another way down here, but with luck that would slow our pursuers down.

Three more Nazoks spilled out of the guard rooms only to lay still, outstretched before us.

I kicked them out of the way so that Mera would not have to step over them.

One target in each box was left.

The first popped up and began firing.

I shifted to the side to keep Mera covered as I dropped him, then filled the other box with plasma. We were so close now that the ricochet would do the work of aiming for me.

Muffled shouting from behind us caught my attention.

Of course. The reinforcements were on the way. Without another corridor leading to this area, the only way down was to rappel down the lift shaft.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been so hasty to lock the doors open.

Never mind.

We'd just have to leave quickly.

"Keep watch while I get the door," I commanded, then pulling at the wheel with all my strength, a symphony of mechanical clicks emanated from deep within, signaling the disengagement of the heavy-duty bolts.

This must have taken two of the Nazoks to open every time someone came through. No wonder it was so heavily guarded.

"Kovas," Mera whispered, and I glanced over my shoulder. She stood with her feet spread slightly beneath her, the blaster in her hand shaking only slightly as she kept it leveled at the lift. "I think they're getting closer."

I knew they were.

The banging and rattling that echoed down the shaft grew louder with every second.

But it didn't matter anymore. The door to freedom was open. Just barely over a crack, but it would do.

"Let's go!" I called to her. She carefully backed towards me, and together, we slipped through the gap.

The moment we were through, I fired the blaster at the middle one of the enormous hinges.

"Do we have time?" Mera asked.

"If we don't block them here, we'll have even less time. I suspect we'll need every advantage we can get."

She nodded, then aimed her own blaster at the upper hinge.

Sweat poured down my face from the terrible heat, but finally the hinges were slag.

And two more of the blasters were empty.

I sagged against the wall, catching my breath as Mera sprawled on the floor next to me.

But before we had a chance to recover, the banging started.

"They're here."

I reached my hand down for Mera and lifted her to her feet. "Just a little longer. Can you bear it?"

She rested her head against my chest and I relaxed into her scent. "I can do it if you can."

Lacing her fingers with mine, she headed down the darkened tunnel. "Let's see where this ends up!"

I let her pull me along, my attention still split between the path ahead and our enemies behind.

And then she stopped. "Maybe we need that map after all."

The passage opened up into an oval room, four doors set into the far wall.

"Which way do we go now?" Mera looked up at me. "Can you see any tracks, or smell which passageway has been used the most?"

The floor was a mess, scrapes and grooves crisscrossing, the prints all in a muddle. I moved closer to the first passage and then flinched.

"Let's hope that's not the right one," I announced, moving to the next opening. "Because there's something foul down there."

Unfortunately, each of the three other passages smelled just as rank.

"This is a problem," I admitted to Mera. "Not only can I not tell which one leads out of here, I can't sense what's down there at all. The smell just blots everything else out."

But instead of looking downcast or worried, she simply shrugged. "Then I guess we'll just have to take our chances." At her wink, I nearly stumbled, caught between surprise and exhaustion. "It's pretty much how humans have to live their entire lives. We'll make it work."

The banging behind us stopped, only to be replaced with a hissing sound. "They've brought down a cutter. We need to move."

Picking a corridor at random, we ran, my senses overwhelmed by the sharp, acrid scent.

What was it?

Something familiar, tantalizingly so.

Mera stumbled and I pulled her up. "I am sorry," I told her. "It would be easier if I carried you. However?—"

She cut me off sharply. "I'm not that useless yet," she snapped, then her face softened. "You can carry me later, when we're out of this place."

Carefully, I lifted her hand, licking her palm. "Is that a promise?"

I did not need the enhanced vision of my kind to see the glow of her cheeks.

"Yes," she finally whispered.

"Then let us proceed."

A warmth I could not identify wrapped around my chest, dulling the pain. Why had I asked such a thing? And why had she said yes?

And then the answers to any questions fled my mind as the floor beneath us collapsed.

Twisting midair, I cradled Mera to my chest, curving around her body, doing my best to protect her from the coming impact.

The fall was longer than I'd expected, and just when I'd started to wonder how much further, we hit the ground with a bone shaking thud.

"Are you okay?" Mera's voice echoed off the tunnel's walls.

"I'm fine," I groaned in response as I tried to stand.

My left leg gave out, and I tried to catch myself on the wall but fell forward instead, barely catching myself with my hands. My arms trembled beneath my weight before my chest hit the ground.

"Kovas!" Mera yelped and knelt down to look over my wounds.

I managed to steal a glance at her strawberry blonde hair, wisping over her green eyes as she knelt.

There was that bewitching scent again. How could she still smell like orli blooms, even in these wretched places? Despite everything, it stirred my blood, making me want to forget everything but her.

If I had been in better condition, and we weren't on the run, I would have taken her again right there.

"Kovas, what hurts?"

Everything, but I couldn't have let her know that. As I was about to open my mouth and tell her I was fine, shouts descended through the tunnels in the layer above us.

We had to keep moving, or the consequences would be dire.

"Nothing hurts," I groaned as she helped me up and put my arm around her shoulders.

None of that mattered at that moment. I tried to keep my mind on putting one foot in front of the other as we continued down the dark tunnel.

Where were we?

A tunnel under others.

Was this some hidden part of maintenance that even regular workers didn't go to?

There must have been a reason the Uune built this passage, but clearly, they hadn't been down here in years.

They were elusive and mystifying creatures, mostly left alone by everyone. They worked in mysterious ways but always provided the space we needed on Thodos III.

What had they made here?

"Shit," Mera exclaimed. "What now?"