Scent of Treachery by Smith, T.L. (free books to read txt) 📕

hit him. “He won’t be calling for help.” She pulled her laser back, pretending to blow smoke from the tip, a wicked half-smile as she offered Jayda a hand up. “I’m a marksman too.”

“Too soon for bragging.” She took Breeze’s hand anyway. “We got six more on board and two on the GR ship.”

“The GR crew?”

“Dead!”

“You sure?”

“The kid was too fucking scared to lie.” Jayda loosened the flap on the pocket holding her other pistol, just in case. “We gotta go!”

She moved past the two pirates. “Nick, status!”

“On my way to medical.”

“So are we.” Jayda could already hear laser fire. Breeze took the lead. The corridor curved gradually. Except for doorways and short passages into the outer ring of the station, there was no cover. Fortunately the med lab was on the inner wall, letting them get a few steps closer without being seen.

Jayda saw a grey-clad body sprawled in the corridor. “Five still standing.”

“You sure?” Breeze tried to get a better look around the corner, but dodged back as laser seared the air, absorbed into the opposite wall.

“Boy couldn’t lie.”

“Umpf, never trust a pirate’s word.”

“My sentiments too.” Nick slid up behind the women. “This vantage sucks.”

“You didn’t figure that out in the drills?” Jayda snapped at him.

Nick ignored it, pointing down the corridor to a doorway. “Our other crewmen are pinned down.”

“For the moment. We need to push these guys back.” Breeze rolled back. “Team One, grenades. Team Two, standby to rush. Get them away from the med lab.”

Nick grabbed Jayda, pulling her back from the bend, blocking her with his body. She started to push him off her, but a round of explosions made her cover her ears. The percussions made the floor feel like it was melting away beneath her feet and she clutched at Nick for support.

“One more!” Breeze crowded up to Nick too as the next round of explosions almost sucked the air out of their lungs.

Jayda couldn’t hear anything, but Breeze jumped into the corridor, laser firing. Nick let Jayda go. “Get into the med lab. Make sure they’re okay.” He followed Breeze.

 

 

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

 

Jayda was still gasping for air. “Son-of-a-bitch!” No one said anything about grenades. The shockwave destabilized her servos. Waiting for them to equalize on their own would take too long. Jayda tore her suit open, jabbing at the power unit on the control belt, forcing a reset.

Everything shut down for the five seconds it took to resurge power into her leg braces. A long five seconds. “Come on! Come on!” She kept her eyes on the corridor, expecting an enemy face to appear any second.

It felt more like five minutes, but a tingling at the side of each knee told her the unit was up and running. She pushed herself off the wall and her legs held her. Following the sound of laser weapons, Jayda moved along the curve of the wall.

The med lab doors were closed. She tapped her comm-link. “Taylor, everyone alright in there?”

“Some injuries, nothing I can’t deal with.” She sounded a lot more confident than when she’d first arrived.

I’m setting an additional lockdown. No one can get in.

“Can I get out if needed?”

“Out, but not in, unless we’re in third-level lockdown. Red light over the door. Just try to stay in there.” She slipped away from the door, over the body of another pirate. Four left. A few more steps and she recognized a Dolan uniform. “Damn.” She knelt over him. He opened his eyes, still alive. “Can you move?”

He groaned, clutching at his right side as he tried to sit up. “Not dying yet.”

“That’s the spirit.” Jayda forced herself to recall her anatomy. There was a good chance no vital organs were involved and he could move, so nothing spinal. “Come on!” She forced him up, her servos whining until he was on his feet. She pushed him back to medical, calling Taylor. “Got a patient for you, hit bypass next to the door.”

Jayda kept an eye on the corridor both ways, virtually shoving the crewman through the doors as they slid open. Taylor and another patient grabbed him. Jayda rushed back to her pursuit of Nick and Breeze.

With the additional crewmen released from their cabin and the two fakers from the medical bay, they had the four pirates pushed back halfway to the airlock. She caught up, earning a scowl from Nick. He slipped off the front line and back to where she checked the wound on a crewman’s arm. “I told you to hold medical.”

“They’re locked down. No one can get in without me or Taylor letting them.” She let go of the crewman’s sleeve. A laser had sliced up along his forearm, exposing muscle and flesh, destroying nerves. “You can’t hold a weapon. Get to medical, before you tear open the cauterization and start bleeding all over the place.”

He looked to Nick, getting a nod. “Yes, ma’am!” Cradling his useless arm, he trotted away, keeping close to the wall.

“Go with him!”

“Stop ordering me around!” She hissed. “We need them off my station.”

“No, as much as I want them gone, we need information. They killed an Alliance crew to gain access to your station. We need to know why.”

As much as she hated to agree with him, he was right. First the sabotage, now these men pretending to be Alliance. “I’m in. Too many innocent people have died to let them escape.”

“Grenades.” Breeze whispered a warning over the comm. Jayda danced back along the corridor, Nick following. They both covered their ears just in time.

After the second explosion, he backed off. “You okay?”

Jayda stood up, the servos still working. “Yes, I just need enough warning to get a bit of distance. The shock waves disrupt my suit.”

“All the more reason to stay out of this.” He said the words, but gripped her arm and drew her forward. The team had advanced again, but the enemy was fighting hard. A sane person would cut their losses when they found their target outgunned them. Unfortunately,