Free Branded By Kesh by Lee-Ann Wallace Page A

to the conduits open, a body halfway through climbing in.
    So, they were trying to get to the bridge through the conduits. Tor’Arr and the crew on the bridge would pick them off one by one as they emerged onto the bridge. Indicting with his hand that the men behind him should step back, Kesh fired off three shots before retreating. Shouts came from down the corridor, harsh cursing and the sound of shuffling movement. Laser fire slammed into the wall of the corridor right where he’d been standing only moments before.
    Devral moved up and took a look before firing off a series of shots. More fire peppered the wall, stray shots firing down the corridor. There had been seven Delarians, not including the one-half in the conduit. Kesh had downed two, Devral had fired two shots, and from the thud of a body hitting the floor, he’d succeeded in killing one. That left four.
    Kesh inched forward, the laser fire that hit the wall missing him by centimetres. His arm hung useless by his side, more of a hindrance than anything, the pain an insistent throbbing that was starting to annoy him.
    A break in the laser fire had him stepping forward and firing off two more shots before ducking back around the bend.
    There was one left. He holstered his weapon and held up two fingers to Devral to show how many Delarians were remaining. At some point, they’d have to clear the conduits, but at the moment, the most important thing was getting away from the Delarian’s ship and stopping the influx of men pouring in.
    Devral stepped forward and fired off two shots, with the sound of a Delarian hitting the pile of bodies following the shots. Silence reigned down the corridor. After the sizzling hiss of laser fire, it was too quiet.
    Kesh headed for the lift, his men close behind him. A pile of bodies lay on the floor that he stepped over. The Delarian’s blood smelled odd to his acute senses. The fluid welling from a wound on one of the downed men was an odd shade of blue, rather than the red he was used to seeing.
    Turning to Devral, he saw that the man had his eyes closed. He was already hacking into their systems. The light above the lift blinked twice before turning green.
    Devral opened his eyes, “All set,” he said.
    Kesh had often wondered what it would be like to have a computer in your brain. The things the man could do without being anywhere near a console were astounding, where he could run the whole ship if he wanted to.
    “Shut down the other lift and shoot any Delarians who come up the conduit. After I get to the bridge, shut this lift down, too. We’ll be free of these bastards soon and then we’ll have to clean the ship up,” Kesh added.
    Devral nodded and Kesh stepped onto the lift.
    “Bridge,” he told the computer.
    The lift whooshed upwards, the sensation pulling his stomach through his boots. He stood back against the sidewall of the lift. Knowing Tor’Arr like he did, he’d have a weapon aimed in his face the minute the doors opened.
    “It’s Kesh,” he called out as the doors opened.
    Tor’Arr appeared in the doorway to the lift, a weapon in his hand.
    “I almost shot you, you crazy son of a bitch.”
    “That’s why I’m in this spot,” Kesh told him from where he was still standing against the wall of the lift.
    “You’re just in time.”
    “We need to pull away from the Delarians—too many men are dying.”
    “That’s what we’re about to do,” Tor’Arr said over his shoulder as he walked back to his seat.
    Kesh walked out of the lift and moved into place at the console that oversaw the whole ship, the flashing red warning lights reflecting off the plexi glass surface. The blaring of the warning had been ringing in his ears since the Delarians had turned up. He could ignore it if he tried hard enough, but along with the pain in his arm, it was starting to get on his nerves.
    “Ready?” Tor’Arr called out from his seat in the centre of the room.
    A chorus of acknowledgment sounded around