Chapter 30

They landed under the foliage of what could only be described as a tree although it looked more like a gnarled steel monstrosity. Its snake-like branches crisscrossed tightly, giving their pods the perfect cover.

Just as Zyair was about to scramble out of his pod, a transmission came in from the general. His taunting face smiled at Zyair from the screen. "How are you doing, Zyair? I'm a little disappointed you've not been in touch to negotiate yet. So, I thought I'd send you a little reminder."

Layla appeared on the screen. She had an angry red welt on her cheek and she looked terrified. "Zyair, help me please. I need you. Hurry!"

"Layla!" he cried, touching the screen where her bruised cheek was displayed.

"Come on, Zyair, talk to me," the general coaxed him.

Layla frantically shook her head, signaling for him not to take the bait, but he hit the return button anyway. "You hurt her and you'll never see the damn stone again!" he hurled.

"Now, now, Zyair. That was just a little mishap. She must have tripped over something."

Layla was desperately trying to get his attention. "Stall him! Buy us some time," she hissed.

It took all of his willpower, but once again Layla was correct. He really needed to fall back on his military training if he were to stand any chance of getting his Layla out of there alive and keeping his crew intact.

"I don't have the stone," he said through gritted teeth. "I sent it back to the mothership. I'll have to go and get it. I need more time."

The general shook his head. "Wrong answer, Zyair. The clock is ticking!"

"No, wait. I'm telling you the truth. I had already sent it off planet before I knew you had her. Then I couldn't call it back because you blocked our signal."

The general paused, a look of consideration on his face. "You have another three flicks from now. Message me when you have it. This will remain the only radio channel that's open."

The monitor flashed off. "Well done, sir," mouthed Astrid when the others weren't looking.

"Okay, so we have some time. Faran, I want you to fly back to the Top Asteroid and return with Fez so he can get the comms back up and so Bacca can make contact to bring a paramilitary team from Lorr."

He wanted to tell them to bring the Desolation Stone back planet-side, too, for a bargaining chip in case everything went wrong. But he hesitated, knowing his emotions were talking, not his rational judgment.

A strange fatalistic resolve swept over him. Layla was his responsibility, but if he turned traitor defending her, he would be doing a disservice to them both. And she would be seen as the reason he put a doomsday weapon into the hands of the enemy.

"Anda and Masora, we'll secure a safe path to get as close as we can safely get to Layla's position while Faran gathers with Fez and Bacca. We'll regroup in the tunnel in two flicks. It should be dark by then, so we'll have a bit more cover."

He checked Layla's location on his comm. She was still in the same place, and more importantly, the little red light was still constant. If the device was removed from her, or if Layla died, the red light would flash. It had been attuned to Layla's bio-rhythms when he'd given it to her, so no one but Layla could make that little red light solid.

Zyair, Masora, and Anda hid under the cover of the vegetation that grew so thickly in the area. This was obviously a long-abandoned part of the base. Vines and creepers grew up over the buildings and pried their way in through a broken window.

"The tunnel should be just over there, sir." Anda pointed to an area thick with undergrowth. It took them some time to fight their way through it, leaving a marked route for the others to follow when they arrived.

Masora discovered that the tunnel entrance had once been blocked by a heavy grill. Time and weather had rusted the bars, however, so they found the obstacle easy to clear. The cave they discovered behind it, however, did not look so easy to enter.

The roof had completely collapsed, blocking their passage. "Damn!" Zyair cursed. "Is there another way around, Anda?"

"Nothing easy, sir. We need to get down three levels. The only other route is through a maze of corridors and staircases. We could easily get lost. This tunnel comes out within a hundred meters from where they're holding Layla."

Zyair ran his hand through his dark hair. He was aware of every passing moment. "Okay, we'll dig here until the others come. If we aren't getting anywhere by the time backup arrives, we'll have to try the other route."

They set about clearing the tunnel, often using their strong horns to break through areas that might have taken hours by hand, even with basic implements.

For Zyair, the hard physical work was a balm for his soul. He found his concerns easing as he flexed his muscles to carry out the task at hand. It wasn't that the fear for his woman diminished but that he could think more clearly about it when his body had an outlet for his mind.

His decision to leave the Desolation Stone, his only bargaining chip, on the Top Asteroid had been an emotional one. Now, he truly understood how reckless it would have been to bring the stone back. If the Jorvlens ever got around to using that stone on Lorr, he would have no world to bring his son into.

My son,he thought, the gravity sinking in and giving him extra strength. He picked up a huge boulder and threw it crashing into the tunnel.

"Sir, we're nearly through!" cried Anda in relief. "Look, air's flowing through that gap." She held a cloth up as she said it, and sure enough, it visibly fluttered in the breeze that came through the gap Zyair had just made.

With renewed vigor, they started pulling out rocks and debris.

"Shh," said Zyair. "I think I can hear someone."

They fell silent, carefully placing the rocks they were carrying on the ground and reaching for their weapons. Zyair turned the flashlight down to a dim red light so as not to attract attention.

"I think it's coming from behind us," whispered Anda. "Could be our guys."

"Let's take cover and ditch the light altogether, just in case."

They crouched down behind the boulders, hiding their equipment with them. Whoever was approaching was well-trained. They were keeping their hushed conversations to a minimum, which made it impossible to tell their numbers, and they moved gingerly down the tunnel.

Zyair gave his comrades the signal to be ready, but he didn't need to worry.

"Fez! Bacca! Faran! Thank the gods!" Zyair's crew had returned.

"Good to see you, too!" Fez yelled back. "We took the fifteen-seater pod so we can all get the hell out of here together. In and out."

"Best crew in the galaxy," Zyair announced.

"Definitely the best crew on this planet, at least." Faran grinned.

"Now, for positions," Zyair said. "Once we break into the complex, Masora, you stay with me. The rest, pair off—two here at the tunnels, two coming along to battle Jorvlens."

It felt good to have his whole crew back safely. Now he just needed Layla to stay safe for a little while longer until he could get to her.