Free X-Calibur: The Trial by R. Jackson-Lawrence Page B

world around her.
    She moved slowly, shining the torch left and right until she located the smaller door again. It was only a short distance away and she crossed the room in seconds. A small panel beside the door opened it, and she stepped through into the decontamination room and out into the corridor beyond.
    Two steps along the corridor, a red icon appeared in her vision. She focussed on it, enlarging the map so she could see it in more detail. The path behind her was clear, but the sensors in her armour had detected an anomaly. The path ahead of her was electrified, a fine mesh that covered the floor for the remainder of the corridor.
    An electrical charge could explain what had happened to the others, all except Merlin. It might also explain why she couldn't communicate with them; if the charge had been sufficient to knock them unconscious, it could have just as easily shorted out the capsule. The nanobots inside would repair it eventually, but at least she was starting to put some of the pieces together.
    Unconscious, that was the word she clung to. She knew any electrical charge could have done much more than that, but she refused to think of them that way. Why would someone have gone to all the trouble to bring them to the hive just to electrocute them? They could have destroyed the ship before it got close enough to dock if that was all they wanted.
    Unconscious then, somewhere ahead, that was what she chose to believe. They were somebody's prisoner, bound and secured, and they were waiting for her to free them. All she had to do was get past the electrified floor.
    Triltan clipped the rifle onto her back and removed the scanner from the pocket on her hip. Without the light from the torch the corridor grew dark again, but within moments the slowly sweeping beam from the scanner gave her more light than ever. The scanner highlighted the mesh, making it visible with her naked eyes, and she was also able to trace the electrical conduits which powered it.
    The closest conduit was behind a desk to her left, a small junction box housed behind a small panel. Triltan knelt down and prised the panel open, moving the scanner closer to the collection of cables and plasma fuses behind it. She scanned it quickly, identifying the circuit responsible for the electrical grid, and disconnected the cable from the corresponding fuse. There was no change around her, but the flashing red symbol disappeared from her vision.
    “What happened?” a deep and intimidating voice said from the other end of the corridor. Triltan froze, her hand still holding the cable.
    “Defence mesh is down,” a second, equally terrifying voice replied.
    “Follow me,” the first voice ordered.
    Triltan slid the scanner back into her pocket as quickly and quietly as she could. The desk offered little protection, and even though she was small it wouldn't take a genius to spot her hiding behind it. She considered reaching for her rifle, but she couldn't think of how to move it from her back without making more noise than she wanted too.
    Her mind was a flurry of thoughts, each more urgent and insistent than the last. She wanted to run, to flee back to the safety of the ship and call her father to come and rescue her. She wanted to help her friends, to be just as brave and courageous as they were. She wanted the strength to fight off those who were coming, but equally the thought of hurting them terrified her. Most of all she wanted to know exactly what to do, what the right choice was, with all the certainty her father and Arthur seemed to possess.
    Light appeared in the corridor ahead of her, then another, handheld torches mounted on weapons like her own. She couldn't make out who was carrying them, but they were getting closer with every beat of her heart, and the time had come for her to act. She took a deep breath and steadied herself, deciding on a plan.
     
    *****
     
    Arthur dusted himself off as he got to his feet, pausing to offer a hand to Merlin.