Chapter 32

They raced in the only direction open to them. Zyair leapt out in front of Layla. He had no idea what was up ahead. They approached a corner, and Zyair put up his hand to signal for them to stop. Zyair could hear footsteps approaching, so he gripped his phaser tighter.

"Stay back," Zyair whispered angrily as Layla came up beside him.

She didn't listen, and Zyair could do nothing about that fact. The Jorvlens came around the corner firing. He fired back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her deftly use the tray to block, and, with a quick turn of her wrist, redirect the beam back at their attackers.

The guards retreated back around the corner. Zyair turned to Layla to see if she was okay.

"Watch out!" she screamed.

Zyair's armor absorbed the direct hit to his chest. He felt the mild buzz of the charge dissipate through the suit. The suit hooked up to his phaser, which absorbed as much of the current as it could to recharge. The rest of the pulse went down through his feet into the floor.

That was a big one,Zyair realized.

"Stay behind me," he growled at Layla.

He wasn't sure if she knew what a phaser could do to her, let alone their baby. Conventional human weapons were less sophisticated but capable of wreaking a lot of external damage. With a phaser, the damage was almost always internal.

"We can't get back," Masora said.

It took a second for Zyair to realize that her words were the hard truth. Zyair gritted his teeth and cranked the power up on his weapon all the way. Then he hit the trigger and leapt around the corner. Before his brain could even register what he was seeing, he swung his weapon and fired nonstop in a wide arc across the hall.

The first Jorvlen he hit was blasted off his feet and thrown back against the wall. The second Jorvlen in his phaser's path had the wherewithal to duck. The beam grazed his helmet, which cleaved off and left a strip of burned skin. Howling, the wounded oaf turned and retreated.

"Fall back, regroup," Masora yelled. "They have more firepower."

The guards retreated around the next corner.

Zyair started frantically dialing on his comm, trying every channel. That was the military protocol. The assets in the field scanned while the base tried one channel—or multiple channels if they had the personnel and equipment—until they connected. If both ends were changing constantly, the odds of making contact went down drastically.

"Come in," he said over and over again.

He almost missed it.

"Zy…"

He quickly dialed back.

"Zyair here, talk to me," Zyair said urgently into his comm.

"Hold for encryption."

Zyair waited, cocking his ear and motioning for Masora to peek around the corner while he covered her.

She gave him the all-clear, and the three of them crept forward.

"We have your location. Two more turns and you're in the correct hallway. We're going to start a fire as soon as you're through. They won't be able to follow you, but you have to get here. Fast."

"We have to push them back," Zyair said, both into the comm and to Masora, who nodded.

"We can't push them back into the tunnel, though," Masora said.

"That's true," Zyair said.

"The suits are fireproof?" Layla asked.

"Yes," Zyair said.

He spoke urgently into his comm, and they quickly made the plan. They'd have to push the guards back one hallway at a time. They could be methodical, take it slower—well, as slow as the enemy would allow. When they got to the hallway with the tunnel, that would be the optimal juncture to light the fire.

The guards wouldn't run into the fire. They'd retreat from both the flames and the phasers being fired at them. Then Zyair, Layla, and Masora would dash through the fire. Once they were through, the additional combustibles would be lit. The guards wouldn't be able to follow them.

"Save your charge," Zyair said to Masora. "We'll need to give them all we've got for that final push."

"What…"

Zyair heard the movement, footsteps coming toward them. He grabbed the tray from Layla's hands and flung it around the corner. Instantly, they heard an ear-splitting amount of firepower. It halted, and Zyair stuck his head around the corner. Nobody was there. Zyair realized guards were just around the next bend. He had no idea how many.

Zyair pushed Layla behind him again and charged down the hall with Masora on their heels. Zyair was ready, and he easily dispatched the two guards who jumped out into the hall. He grinned as a bunch of Jorvlen swear words came from around the corner followed by the sounds of retreating footsteps.

"These weapons are crap," Masora said, kicking the guards' phasers away from them.

"Can we get a charge from them?"

"I'll try."

Zyair crept down the hall while Masora hooked her weapon to the Jorvlen phaser to try to steal some of its juice. He stopped and listened. Masora and Layla came up behind him. Zyair noticed Layla had a small phaser. He was about to say something when more shots rang out.

The three of them hugged the wall until the barrage stopped. Masora made the universal surrender sign. Zyair and Layla nodded, understanding the tactic. They would feign surrender, throw the extra weapons to them, light the fire, and get the hell out of there.

"We give up," he yelled. "Hold your fire."

"What do you mean?"

Zyair rolled his eyes.

"We're surrendering. Just, uh, give us a minute."

There was no answer. Zyair pointed at his phaser and then down from where they had come. Masora motioned for Layla to follow her. They ran down the hall and came back with some more phasers. Layla had taken one of the biggest ones, which under different circumstances would have looked rather comical.

"How far are we from the exits?" Zyair whispered into his comm.

"A hundred, hundred fifty max."

"Get ready to start the fire," he said into the comm and motioned to Masora and Layla.

"We're throwing our weapons into the hall to show you we're serious about surrendering," she yelled.

"Do it," a voice with a thick Jorvlen accent said. They heard quite a bit of snickering too.

Oh, I'm going to enjoy this,Zyair thought.

"Weapons in three, two, one," he yelled.

Masora and Layla threw the extra weapons as hard as they could. Then they all jumped into the corridor, firing wildly. He couldn't hold Layla's hand, so he prayed she was right behind him.

The remaining guards retreated. They had no choice. They ran down the hallway. One guard ran past the tunnel, glancing in as he went. He screamed something in Jorvlen. The other guards stopped so suddenly, they all but skidded down the hall in their boots.

Zyair didn't think. He just ran backward and pulled Layla with him. They went back around the corner.

"Where's Masora?" Layla asked.

"She can take care of herself," Zyair replied.

I can't leave her, either,he thought.

Fighting their way through the guards to the tunnel entrance was enough of a long shot. If he had to carry Masora as well, if she was stunned and lying unconscious in the hall or worse…

"We need to move," Zyair said. "Now."

Layla nodded grimly. "Let's go."