The Dead Fleet (Juggernaut #3)

Twelve

Two minutes later, Malachi stuffed the now full data chip into his pocket. "Done."

"Let's go," said Tila.

Ellie was already at the door they came in by, and she unlocked it as they approached.

"Do we run?" Ellie asked.

Tila shouldered her pack and checked her staff once again to make sure it was secure, and in easy reach. "We go back the same way we came in. We go quietly, quickly. No talking. Okay?"

"So we run?" said Ellie.

"As fast as we can," promised Tila.

Ellie opened the door. Tila checked left and right, then pulled back quickly.

"What's wrong?" said Malachi.

"Footsteps. Hide!"

"Where?" Ellie whispered loudly.

Malachi pushed Ellie in front of him and pointed to the space under the steps that rose to the command deck. "Under there, at the back." Tila closed the door and ran to join them.

"Great timing," said Malachi as Tila crouched in the shadow beside him.

"It's going to be okay, "said Ellie. "We'll just wait for them to leave and then we can go."

"When they can't open the door they'll circle around to try another one and then we can leave," said Malachi.

"Oh no," said Tila.

The door panel lit up and the door slid open.

"You forgot to lock it?!" hissed Ellie. She glared at Tila in the dark.

"Maybe they won't stay long," Malachi whispered.

"How many are there?" Ellie said quietly.

Tila held up two fingers so Ellie and Malachi could see them as silhouettes.

The men chatted to each other about nothing as they walked through the room. Their words were soft and indistinct, but their voices rose and fell as they talked. They saw shapes of legs and bodies as they passed between the consoles. One of the men turned toward the command deck. They trio shrank back into the darkness, trying to remain as small and quiet as possible. Ellie grabbed Tila's hand so tightly her nails dug into Tila's skin. Tila said nothing and watched the man take the stairs over them two at a time. They heard him scrape a chair across the command deck and settle down.

Tila extricated her hand from Ellie's fingers, gave Ellie's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and shook her other hand in pain. She leaned toward Malachi and whispered in the dark. Her mouth was so close to his ear her breath tickled him.

"What do you think they're doing?"

"I don't know. Hopefully this is just a routine patrol."

"Is it anything to do with the ship that just arrived."

Malachi shrugged in the darkness, then realising Tila couldn't see the gesture he whispered back, "I don't know. It might be."

"How long?"

"I don't know everything, Tila."

The conversation between the men was louder now. They had raised their voices as they spread about the room, but the rhythm and intonation was the same as any discussion where nothing of importance was being said.

And then it changed.

"Hey, you leave this console on?" said the voice above them.

"No," said the other voice. "Hey, this one's on too."

"Which one?"

"Navigation. You?"

"Flight control."

"You didn't turn them off?" Tila whispered accusingly at Malachi.

"You didn't lock the door," he whispered back.

The command deck scraped again and the man above them descended the stairs. "Shut it down. The boss just arrived. We'll report this to him and watch him tear into the last shift."

The other man cackled at the suggestion as he worked the controls. "Check out the approach. Looks like we have three visitors this time."

His friend reached the last step. "Three?"

Tila stiffened. "That's us. That's our three ships. They know."

"Wait-" Malachi began, but Tila was already moving.

She pulled her staff free and thrust it through the steps and between the legs of the man above. Then she opened it. It snapped to its full length, smashed against the inside of his knees and he twisted and fell down the last step. Tila dashed forward, fury from shadow, and charged the man sitting down even as he turned and rose. Tila speared him low in the belly and kicked him in the face. He tripped over the chair, fell onto the flight control console and slid to the ground in an awkward heap.

Tila turned back to the man on the steps. He was clutching his knees, his face screwed up in silent pain. She stood over him.

He looked up at her in agonised confusion. "Y...you're Cabal?"

Tila balled her fist, and his pain ended.

"Mal. They know."

Malachi ran to the flight controls and reviewed the images. "Uh, they don't."

"But they saw us. Three ships."

"This three. Look." Malachi stabbed the little screen in the console. It showed the first ship Ellie had identified followed by two more she hadn't seen.

"What happened to being quiet?" said Ellie.

Tila relaxed. "So they don't know we're here after all."

Behind her a comm unit bleeped for attention from a belt clip.

"Well now they do!" said Malachi.

"Why? No one's going to to answer it and tell them," said Ellie.

"Exactly. No-one's going to answer. Then what do you think will happen?"

The communicator bleeped again, demanding attention. Malachi clipped it to his own belt and muted it.

"Someone will come looking for them," said Tila.

Malachi nodded. He knew the danger they were in now. Tila didn't need to spell it out. "Ready?" he said.

Tila took Ellie's hand and pulled her to the door.

"Okay, Ellie, now we run!"