HAWK

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: BREACH (6/6)

Worm leapt through the air, both blades raised high above her head while Kymeira propelled herself towards her. Her paws unsheathed their razor-sharp talons mid-jump, ready to sink metal into metal.

The two bodies met in a clash of sparks and fell spinning to the ground. Kymeira's jaws were angling for the robot's broad neck but she couldn't find any purchase. Worm tried to push the animal away but its claws had sunk deep into her metal body. Kymeira realised the biting was futile and changed targets, snapping at Worm's left armoured elbow, desperate to get to the stick of flesh within.

Kas didn't know what she was more concerned about - the battle before her or the sound the X1 fighters still firing upon the Pegasus without mercy. The shields wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Worm grabbed the end of Kymeira's tail and yanked it hard. The panther unhinged its jaw from Worm's arm and snarled - a move it quickly regretted. With Worm's left arm now free, she raised it up and slashed down. Kymeira let loose a terrible howl as her tail came away in a single slice. She fell away, allowing Worm the brief moment she needed to get back to her feet and grab the bio-mech by its head with both hands. While the Pegasus started to shake, Worm began spinning on the spot, her momentum lifting Kymeira into the air and swinging her around like she was some legendary athlete about to launch a satellite into orbit.

Kas and Captain Mack both dived for the side wall in the same moment, timing it well as Worm let go of Kymeira just half a second later, hurling her across the entire length of the cargo hold and straight into the cockpit. There was a loud and horrific smash.

From the floor, Kas heard the Pegasus's ramp start to lift and saw the Black Chains stepping onto the Wraith. She scrambled to her feet and ran after them, but by then it was too steep to run up.

Worm realised and jumped for the gap at the top, arriving just in time to plant her hands on the ceiling and stop the ramp from closing any further.

'Peggy, open the rear doors!' Mack shouted, but the Pegasus was making an unhealthy grinding noise. 'Peggy, open the doors!'

Worm's mech-suit was starting to buckle under the pressure.

'Can't hold much longer,' she said.

A metallic snarl reached Kas's ears as Kymeira arrived to join the effort, bounding up the ramp with ease thanks to her claws.

But by then it was too late.

Worm had succumbed to the pressure of the Pegasus's bite and let go, tumbling down to join Kas and Mack in a heap on the floor. Kymeira clung to the top, and for a moment it looked as though she was going to risk a narrow escape, but she didn't. The doors closed and locked tight. Kymeira snarled as she jumped away and landed on the floor. She looked at Kas, Mack and Worm, now to be her companions in death. The Pegasus would soon be parted from Swanne's Wraith, taking with it the protection of its shields.

Kas made a move to run back to the cockpit, thinking she might still be able to fight the X1's off, but a hand grabbed her shoulder and turned her back.

Captain Mack had a sad but contented smile on his face. He didn't need to say anything for Kas to know his thoughts. She looked at Worm and saw her stepping out of her mech-suit which was leaking sparks. The kid looked up at her and put on a brave face, but like Captain Mack, she knew the game was over.

The Pegasus rumbled and moaned as though every part of it was being slowly torn apart.

And then there was silence.