I move down the hall, and when another guard arrives, I shoot.
And shoot again.
It’s chaos all around me. Someone races past, and doors start sliding shut. I continue marching down the hall, my blaster raised, looking for notes of Mathiras’s scent. Find him. Rescue him. Nothing else matters.
Those three sentences repeat in a loop in my head, over and over again. Find him. Rescue him. Nothing else matters.
The roaring in my head continues. Smoke drifts into the hall, but I recognize this tactic. I hold my breath and move toward the nozzle that extends from the ceiling, shooting it. It sputters and dies, and I continue forward. There’s a closed door to my left, with a window inside. I move toward it, peering in. One of the ooli scientists cowers there, a szzt at his side. They both crouch in front of a piece of equipment, with rows and rows of tubes lined up behind them.
Find Mathiras. Rescue him. Nothing else matters.
I move on.
I’m utterly cold inside as two guards—male, judging by their size—covered in body armor emerge from another door and race toward me. My blaster is useless against them, so I toss it aside and engage in hand-to-hand combat. One reaches for my arm and I block his hand, chopping at his neck. When he wheezes and stumbles backward, I grab him by the arm, flip him onto his back, and then pull on his limb until bones crack. I stomp on his spine and then move forward to the other one. He traps my arm against his, catching on to my movements, and I sag against him, feigning defeat. When he relaxes an iota, I grab him between the legs, twist, and then disable him with a neck break.
Both men tumble at my feet and I continue forward. There’s a haze over my thoughts and vision, and the blood roars in my ears. Adrenaline, I realize, but I let it carry me. As long as it brings me to Mathiras, that’s all that matters. I snatch my blaster up again and move farther down the hall.
There’s an elevator at the far end and I pause, considering. Do I continue on this floor, searching every room, or do I move to another floor? I take a deep breath of air, but there’s no hint of Mathiras, so I step onto the elevator and push a button. Any button. Doesn’t matter. I’ll find him and stop anyone that tries to prevent me.
The elevator ticks up a half a floor and then stops, the lights going off.
Disabled.
I glance up at the grate overhead. I can probably climb to the next floor. With two well-aimed shots to the corners of the grate, one side falls open and I tug it down. I use the garrote like a rope, tying one end to the blaster and tossing it up, then making sure it’s anchored before I haul myself to the top of the elevator. I pick up my weapons and continue climbing, holding my breath again just in case.
When I get to the floor above, I squeeze the elevator doors open just enough to wedge myself inside.
My brain registers a note of surprise when I see two others in the hall. They’re mesakkah women, dressed in environmental suits, and a few dead bodies are scattered at their feet. One lifts a blaster at the sight of me. “Stop right there and we’ll let you live. Tell us where Helen and Mathiras are.”
I pull off my helmet because it seems easier than answering. “I’m rescuing Mathiras.”
“Helen?” Bethiah pulls off her helmet as well. “How’d you escape?”
I shrug, stepping past them. “Find Mathiras. Rescue him. Nothing else matters.”
“Oooookay,” says the other female. Zebah. “You all right, Helen?”
“Find Mathiras. Rescue him. Nothing else matters,” I reply.
“Riiiight.” Zebah shoots a look at Bethiah as I pass by her. “That was the plan, yeah.”
“We’re taking over this ship too,” Bethiah says. “We’re not leaving the humans to suffer.”
“Not right now,” I say. “Rescue Mathiras. Nothing else matters.” If they stand in my way, I will be forced to stop them, just like I did Ruth. The small part of me deep inside crumples a bit more at the thought, but I know what I have to do. “Don’t stand in my way.”
“I’m not. But you’re going in the wrong direction if you want to free Mathiras,” Bethiah says. “I know where he’s at. We’ll get him first, and then you can help us take over the ship. Sound good?”
I say nothing. Instead, I fix my gaze on the two females, waiting. If they make me wait for too long, I’ll have to continue without them. The roaring chant continues in my head. Find Mathiras, Rescue him.
Nothing. Else. Matters.
CHAPTER 93
MATHIRAS
I wake up to someone tugging on my arm. Or at least, I try to wake up. My head feels heavy, my limbs made of lead, but I can hear voices and those insistent hands yanking on me. I can’t see anything, because my eyes are too heavy to open, but I can hear talking.