Page 7 of On a Rogue Planet
Then they tripped over some scrap steel and overbalanced. Xander fell to his knees and groaned.
Mal tugged at him. “Up.” Sweat was dripping down the side of his face now and his mouth was pinched. “Can’t you block the pain?”
“No. My systems…are not functioning at optimal levels.”
The reluctance in his tone was front and center. She guessed bad-ass CenSecs disliked admitting weakness. “The weapon did something to you.”
A nod. “It disrupts my advanced systems and implants.”
“Makes you mortal like the rest of us, huh?”
Those amazing green-gold eyes flicked her way. “Yes.”
“Don’t worry, tough guy. Not much farther.” She grunted. He was really heavy
“Thirty-three and a half meters to the landing pads.”
Who needed a computer to do calculations when you had a CenSec? “There she is. TheFirebird.”
Xander managed to lift his head. They were coming up on the salvage yard landing pads and sitting on the pad closest to them was her small starfreighter.
She didn’t look like much. TheFirebird’shull was a dull, striated gray. The back was larger for cargo storage, and the front tapered to a rounded nose forming the cockpit. Mal loved every inch of her.
They passed through the fence surrounding the pads. Ahead, she saw clouds of smoke rising above Haxx. Xander made a small noise, and she saw he was staring at the smoke as well.
The icy look on his face chilled her.
Whoever was behind this was going to pay and she suspected this cyborg would be the one collecting.
Another stumble. This time Xander cursed.
“Hey, keep it together a bit longer, tough guy.” Mal bumped her shoulder up against his side and tightened her arm around his middle. Damn, the man was all hard muscle under his black uniform. “Nearly there.”
“Fifteen meters.” His voice was hoarse.
A roar sounded behind them and they both stiffened.
“Fuck.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Double fuck. Move it!” Her pulse surged, blood racing through her veins.
Three giants were running in their direction.
Mal and Xander managed a shambling run toward the ship. Shit, they weren’t going to make it.
The whine of laser fire sounded from nearby. Mal expected to feel the burn of it cut through her. Instead, she spotted Traxan huddled beside a starship engine, firing at the giants.
The giants scattered, and Mal focused on reaching the ship. At the entry, she slapped her palm to the pad beside the door and it hissed open. “Let’s go!”
They made it inside. She leaned Xander against the wall to keep him upright. The giants were nearly on them. Trax was nowhere to be seen.
She pressed the control and closed the door.Please stay safe, Trax.
“They’ll bypass…your…security.” Xander barely managed to get the words out. The run had clearly taken it out of him.
“They can try,” she muttered fiercely. She touched the matching pad on the inside, yanked off the cover and disconnected some wires. “We need to take off, like yesterday?—”
A heavy weight hit the door, making her stumble back.
It was followed by morethumpson the metal, and the faint sound of growls and snarling.
