ahead, she heard Kyosti yelling her name.
Metal rang beneath her boots, and she was through the double doors. Her first sight was of Kyosti wrestling down the gunner at the laser emplacement. Opposite, a guard drew himself to his knees and aimed a rifle down the ladder shaft. It took Lily two shots to cut him down, and then she saw a head emerge from the shaft: Jenny.
People stirred at the consoles. A woman reached for a gun. Lily turned, dropping to her knees, and fired over the heads of Yehoshua and Alsayid into a line of guards pounding up the ramp. Held her fire, noticing in an abstract way that Yehoshua was struggling behind his cousin, and that red trailed after him.
Then one of the laser guns woke and swept fire through the first two lines of guards. They fell back, hesitated. Lily whirled to cover her back, dropping to her belly, but Jenny was methodically picking off everybody left in the command center from behind the body of the guard by the ladder. Behind her, Rainbow fired in bursts down the shaft. And singingâ
âBach! Shut the damn doors!â
Laser fire from the ramp. A moan. Lily moved to Alsayid, helped him drag Yehoshua out of the line of fire. Alsayid, bleeding from one leg, staggered up to the laser emplacement, shot the still-stunned man in the chair, pushed the body aside, and seated himself. The fire on the ramp doubled, devastating the guardsâ advance. Lily knelt beside Yehoshua. Blood leaked out of him onto the metal floor. He writhed, coughing spasmodically.
âJenny!â
Jenny appeared at her side.
âTake Kyostiâs position. Send him out here.â
Jenny moved.
Lily glanced toward Rainbow. The Ridani woman had paused to switch rifles, taking one from a dead guard, and a burst of fire ricocheted up from below until she stuck the muzzle into the shaft and set off shooting again.
Without a word, Kyosti knelt beside Lily and began to strip the suit from Yehoshua with a small, red-handled knife.
âDo you need me?â
He shook his head.
The power went out. Black. She froze in the act of standing, surprised, until Kyosti switched on his helmet light and resumed his work.
She switched on her light and stepped over corpses to reach Bach.
âTopside guns disabled?â
Affirmative. Opening hangar doors. Auxiliary ventilation systems engaging â now.
A low whine signaled their advent.
âNow we wait for Callioux.â Lily picked her way carefully around the command center, checking each body for signs of life. All were dead. She placed five rifles by Rainbow and returned to Bach.
Progress? she whistled, pulling the dead comm-officer off his console and seating herself in his place.
All hangar doors open. All locks on all levels sealed shut.
Lily switched on the outside channels and toggled until she caught comm.
âThis is Heredes. We have control of thirties main command center. Please acknowledge main strike.â
As if in reply, an explosion shook the dome. In the silence of its aftermath, Lily could hear the fire of the mounted laser guns stutter and cease.
âAssault up the ramp has stopped,â called Jenny, hidden from view by her emplacement.
âWe did it,â Lily breathed.
âStrike acknowââ
A second explosion shuddered through the dome. Jenny fired a single burst from her gun.
âMy cousinââ Alsayidâs voice, strained with worry and physical hurt, came from the opposite emplacement.
âHeâll live.â The auxiliary lights came up, casting an eerie glow on the litter of bodies, on Kyostiâs pale hair as he drew off the helmet and mask and laid a gentle hand on Yehoshuaâs motionless form. âBut heâs going to lose his right arm. Iâm sorry.â
Alsayid murmured a phrase, solemn as a prayer. Lily shifted her foot, accidentally nudging the bloody head of the dead comm-officer. She began to shake, gasping hard to fight it, but even so, she was still