Jaxon cursed, jerking the knife to the side at the last second. “Starfire, kid! Don’t scare me like that!” 

Mik’s eyes were wide, fear and shock mingling in an unsettling way with his restless pupils. “Jax, you’re bleeding!”

“I noticed,” he grunted, leaning against the wall. “Are you alright?”

Mik stared open mouthed at the wounds in his side. The kid’s face was as white as a sheet. 

Jax kicked him in the shin. “Snap out of it, kid! We’ve got to get moving.”

Mik nodded slowly, swallowed, and carefully got to his feet. “Ok…I’m good.”

“Where’s that Federation snake?”

“Right here.” Eralis lowered himself down more gracefully than Mik had. He stared hard at Jaxon, assessing the amount of blood covering him. 

“Enjoy the view, Fed?” Jax snarled. 

Eralis ignored the jibe and scanned the passage in both directions. “I assume the hallway is clear, judging by your appearance.”

“If not, you’ll be the first to know!” Jax gripped Eralis’ shirt, spun him around, and shoved him down the hallway. “Move it!” 

Eralis stumbled a bit before catching his balance and glared at Jax, eyes smoldering with hate. Jax ignored him and turned to Mik. “Let’s move, kid.”

Mik was still staring at him, eyes wide and face pale. Jax swore under his breath as he noticed the kid’s hands were shaking. 

Battle shock. He’d seen it many times in The War. There wasn’t time for it then, and there certainly wasn’t time for it now. 

“On your feet, Soldier! Let’s move…” The impact of Jaxon’s shout was slightly lessened by devolving into a hacking cough at the end, but it was still enough to galvanize Mik into action. 

He started running after Eralis, pointing to a hall on the right. “That way!” 

Eralis kept his gun up, making his way down the hallway and looking out for any more turrets. Jaxon steadied himself against the wall for a second, willing adrenaline to flood his veins. He took a deep breath and pushed off the wall, stumbling after the others and leaving a trail of bloody footsteps behind him. 

Just a bit further. If we can get that ship in the air, we’re good. 

Honorbound transferred her unblinking stare from the radar panel to the space station floating in the distance at regular intervals. The engine wasn’t running, and with the ship empty the only sound was the occasional beeping from one of the blinking lights on the console. There hadn’t been any chatter on the earpiece for a while, and all of the Steeleyes’ instincts were screaming at her. Something was wrong. 

The radar suddenly blared an alarm as several large blips began to appear at the edges, moving quickly in their direction. Honor’s ears perked up in alarm and she looked out the front window, eyes peeled for any sign of movement. She could just barely make out the silhouettes of large ships blocking out the stars in the distance behind Ventura. No details were visible, but there was only one type of ship that large. They were in trouble. 

“Captain, we have Federation Warships headed our direction.” She waited for an answer. “Captain, do you read?” 

Continued radio silence. 

Honor’s hand hovered over the engine control switch as she considered her options. As soon as she powered up the engines the Federation ships would be aware of her location. If she made her move too early they would take her out before she could get to the others. But if she waited too long, they would deploy fighters around the laboratory, cutting her off from the crew. At the clip those Warships were moving, she estimated they only had a few minutes left. 

“Captain, if you can hear me, you have about five minutes before Federation Soldiers beginning swarming your location. Does anyone copy?”

Darryn crouched behind the cargo ship, waiting for his pistols to recharge. Rocky stood at the other end of the ship, calmly aiming his rocket launcher as lasers scarred the wall behind him. He pulled the trigger and stepped back behind the ship as an explosion went off on the other side of the bay. 

Darryn poked his head out and saw the shattered remains of one of the Razers in the midst of the blaze. He could just barely make out several figures aiming guns their direction from the cover of the security room, and he could hear the screeching whine of the final death machine from somewhere beyond the smoke and flames.  Several lasers came flying through the smoke, heading in his direction, and he pulled back behind cover. 

“One more down!” he yelled at Rocky. 

The Gath gave a slow nod as he carefully reloaded his weapon. “Take care of little men. Rocoram have spinning robot.”

Darryn nodded as he finally heard the rising tone that meant his weapons were ready for use. “Just don’t hit me!” 

He dove out of cover, somersaulting into the middle of the room as the guards began firing again, lasers drilling into the floor seconds after he had passed. He came up firing, twin pistols aimed at the dark forms he could see crouched behind what was left of the guard shack’s window. Two of them went down in the first volley as his lasers flew through the smoke with pinpoint accuracy. 

The smoke and flames parted as the final Razer rolled through, shrieking angrily. It rolled over the remains of the other machines, bouncing into the air and appearing to hover for a split second. Sparks flew as it slammed into the ground and went squealing off in the direction of the cargo ship. 

Darryn threw himself sideways as the other guards continued to train their weapons on him. Lasers sprayed across the floor and walls, following him across the room as he sought cover behind the housing for the mechanism that opened the outer door. 

There was another explosion across the room and the Razer’s screaming whine came to a sudden halt as pieces of it rained down across the room. The figures in the guard shack took cover as they were peppered with shrapnel, and Darryn took the opportunity to dart out of cover. He raced across the room and leapt through the burning remains of the Razers, landing in the doorway to the security shack. He took two quick shots, bringing down both of the surprised guards before they could even bring their rifles up. 

For a moment, the only sound was the continuous alarm and the crackling of flames. “You good, Rocky?” Darryn called out, looking back into the docking bay.

The Gath appeared around the edge of the ship, waving one massive hand. “All is clear, Captain.”

“Clear the ship of any guests and get her ready to go. I’m going to make sure we don’t have any more visitors.”

Rocky nodded and began climbing into the ship’s cabin. Darryn picked his way through the remains of the guard shack and stepped into the hallway outside, taking a good look in both directions. 

There was no sign of any more guards. No sound of any Razers. He settled into the doorway and waited for the others to arrive, guns at the ready. 

“C’mon, Jax,” he muttered. “Don’t let me down.”

There was a heavy thud and Mik whirled around to see Jaxon sprawled on the floor of the hallway, bloody hands pressed against the ground as he struggled to push himself to his feet. 

“Jax!” Mik ran back to help, falling to his knees next to his friend and helping him sit up. 

Jaxon coughed and slumped against the wall. Mik felt a rising sense of dread as he realized just how pale the man’s face was. “No, no, no, no. Come on, Jax! Come on, we’re almost there!”

Jax’s boots pushed against the floor as he tried to use the wall as a ladder. He fell back again with a groan and Mik started to panic. 

“Get up, Jax!” He tried hauling the other man to his feet, but Jaxon was about twice his size, and Mik just didn’t have the strength to do it. 

“It looks like he’s had it.” Eralis had realized what was happening and come back.

“Help me get him up.” Mik grabbed one of Jaxon’s arms and looked expectantly at the Fed. 

He shook his head. “We don’t have time. He’ll slow us down.”

“I’m not leaving him!” Mik shook Jaxon’s shoulder. “Wake up!” 

Jax groaned and weakly clutched the front of Mik’s jacket. “You got to go, kid.”

“No! I’m not leaving you here to die!” Mik shook Jaxon’s shoulder urgently. “Just a little farther, ok? We’re almost there!”

“We don’t have time for this!” Eralis grabbed Mik and pulled him back. 

Mik jerked himself out of the Fed’s grip and turned to glare at him, eyes blazing. “Don’t touch me!” 

Eralis gestured with his gun. “He’s clearly not going any farther. We have to get that data out of here before any more guards show up.” 

“Is that all you care about? He’s dying!”

“Casualties happen.” Eralis’ voice was completely cold. 

Mik stared at the man in disbelief, his face growing hot with rage. He yanked his glove off and threw it at the agent. “Here! Keep your precious data if it means so much! I’m staying with him.” He knelt down next to Jax again. 

Eralis picked up the glove and shook his head. “You’re wasting your time, and I won’t wait for you.” 

Mik didn’t even look at him. “Just go.” 

Eralis shrugged and started running towards the docking bay. 

Mik listened to his receding footsteps. Jaxon coughed up blood. “You should go with him, kid.” 

“Stop. Just stop.” Mik blinked away tears. 

“Go, kid.” Jax’s head lolled to the side and he closed his eyes. “I’ll be ok.”

“I’m not leaving you, Jaxon.” Mik grabbed ahold of his friend’s hands and pulled with all his might. “I’m getting you out of here if it’s the last thing I do!”

Darryn kept his ears peeled for footsteps on the metal floor. It was hard to do with the alarm blaring overhead, but he concentrated, and was eventually rewarded by the sound of hard boots clicking against the floor. He turned to face their approach, guns up just in case it was more guards. 

He nearly gave a sigh of relief when he saw Eralis approaching. Then he realized the Fed was alone. 

“What happened?” he called out as the man approached. 

“We need to go.” Eralis moved to step past Darryn, but he moved to block the door. 

“Where are the others?” he demanded. 

“They’re not coming. We need to leave before more guards show up.”

“What do you mean, ‘not coming?” Darryn noticed the glove in Eralis’ left hand. His heart stopped for a second, and his hand moved like lightning. Eralis protested as Darryn snatched the glove out of his hand, shaking it in his face. “Where did you get this?”

“From your pilot. Could we get moving, please?”

Mik. Jaxon. “What happened to them?” Darryn growled, eyes flashing with a barely controlled threat. 

“The kid wouldn’t leave…” 

Darryn didn’t need to hear more. He turned and began running down the hallway. 

“It’s a lost cause! We’re all going to die if we don’t leave right now!” Eralis called after him, voice pitched high with panic. 

Darryn ignored him, racing down the hallway, glancing down every hall he passed and hoping, praying, he would make it in time.