HAWK

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: BREACH (2/6)

Within the Pegasus, the four bio-mechs started to stir. In a flash, Kymeira leapt into the air and ran straight for the door, followed by her three shiny human companions who sprinted after her.

The X1 inside the F-88's cockpit saw none of this. It stood behind the gold-skinned alien in the pilot's seat and watched as it began powering the ship up. A low hum filled the cockpit as a hologram of the small ship appeared over the control panel.

The alien touched a sequence of buttons to its left and the words STEALTH MODE ENGAGED appeared in the viewport. The nose of the ship promptly started to dissolve and turn transparent while a silver coat spread itself over the hologram until the model was completely consumed by it, at which point the words in the viewport changed to STEALTH MODE ACTIVE. The alien took the control column and pulled it up, raising the ship off the ground before piloting it smoothly into the hangar.

The vast space was mostly empty except for the scattering of ships. The alien turned the ship around until it was facing the huge exit, finding it already wide open. Pressing the control column forwards, the F-88 eased towards the exit and slipped silently into darkness.

* * *

Kas grabbed President Mantana by his lapels and lifted him to his feet. She spoke in a harsh whisper, hoping the gold-skin was more concentrated on Swanne than listening to her.

'Do you know where my friends are being held?'

'What?' Mantana looked shell-shocked.

'Worm and Captain Mack - do you know where they are?'

'One of the holding rooms, probably. That's where they kept me.'

'How do we get there?'

'We walked past them on the way here. They're right next to the hangar.'

'Is there a weapons cache nearby?

'What?'

'Is there a weapons cache near--'

Boom.

Kas and Mantana turned to the door where a small dent had appeared in its centre. The alien stopped torturing Swanne and looked at it as well.

Boom.

'Get against the wall,' Kas said to Mantana. 'Now.'

The President hesitated but Kas was already pulling him towards the wall beside the door.

Boom.

The alien dropped Swanne and started walking casually towards the sealed exit. Swanne lay motionless on the ground, her wide eyes glowing like green embers.

Boom.

Kas pushed Mantana flat against the wall with one hand.

'What's going on?' he asked.

'Just get ready to run,' she replied.

'What are you talking ab--'

BOOM!

The door flew across the room and struck the alien head-on, the force of it slamming it into the centre of the oval window.

Kas held Mantana in place as Kymeira charged in past them preceded by the Black Chains. The alien threw the dented door aside just as the four bio-mechs descended on it. Kas had no time to watch, though. She grabbed the stunned President by his tie and hauled him out of the breached doorway.

Thankfully, the tunnel was as empty as it had been when they'd entered - though Kas suspected that wouldn't last for long.

'They're going to kill us,' Mantana said.

'Shut up and move,' Kas replied. They broke into a run and had barely managed thirty meters when Kas saw a doorway opening ahead of them on the far side of the tunnel. She tackled Mantana to the floor, landing behind an idle auto-conveyor just as two X1's emerged from the door. Kas and Mantana flattened themselves against the floor, peering under the low vehicle while the X1's stomped towards them.

'This is suici--' Mantana muttered before Kas slapped a hand over his mouth. Kas was sure one of the X1's was about to order them to come out but gratefully they ran straight past the auto-conveyor in the direction Kas and Mantana had just come from. Kas waited until the footsteps were barely audible before taking her hand away from Mantana's mouth.

'There'll be more of them,' he said. 'A lot more.'

'Then we'll have to be fast,' Kas replied. They both stood up.

'Even if we get to your friends alive, there's nowhere else to go. Running's just going to get us both killed.'

'So will staying. Now let's keep moving.'

'Wait a minute!'

'There's no time to argue!'

'I'm not arguing; I just had an idea.' He put one hand on the auto-conveyor. 'We can get there on this. It will take slightly longer, but we'd at least get there unseen.'

Kas gave the conveyor a quick glance and frowned. It was nothing fancy, just a ten-foot rectangular platform meant for loading equipment onto its back and sending it on its way. It had four wheels and that was about it.

'There's nowhere to hide,' she said. Mantana went to the corner of the conveyor and pulled out a six-inch screen from its body. He started tapping on it furiously, typing in some kind of command. The conveyor's suspension kicked into action and lifted its chassis another foot off the floor. Mantana knelt and looked underneath. 'We can hide under here.'

Kas knelt beside him and examined the underside of the conveyor. There were several cavities big enough to hook their hands and feet in.

'How long will it take this thing to get there?' she asked.

'Three minutes at most.' Without waiting, Mantana lay on his back and rolled under the vehicle. Kas did the same and found herself lying shoulder-to-shoulder with him. While Mantana entered their destination on his screen, Kas poked her feet through a couple of crevices in the conveyor's underside and wrapped her fingers around a slim bar above her head, preparing to lift her weight.

'Ready?' Mantana asked.

'Ready.'

Mantana braced himself the same as Kas before pressing a button on his control screen. The conveyor hummed and started moving, at which point he tried to balance the screen on his belly, but it slipped and landed on the floor. Mantana swore but there was nothing he could do. The conveyor was already picking up speed.

Within seconds, the controller was left far behind.