Free Vall's Will by Linda Mooney

Captain,” Plymon said. “Peersoff and his men
are fully capable of bringing the Vall back to the ship.”
    Will gritted her
teeth. Hearing her second in command refer to Vall as an object more than
irritated. Her respect for the man slid down another notch.
    “You’re
right. Peersoff is head of security. But Vall will not go with him voluntarily,
and it’s crucial we get on that station, find him, and be away before those
warships arrive.” She leaped from her chair to head for the transport
tube. “I’ll be waiting in the bay.”
    Peersoff was
already present when she arrived. With him were all eleven of his security
squad. They nodded when she stepped out of the tube.
    “Magnus,
what’s our position?”
    “Slipping
into engine bay fourteen, Captain.”
    Everyone froze
in their tracks. Will shook her head in disbelief. “Magnus, did you just
say we’re docking in an engine bay?”
    “It was
disabled by Objurian fire, Captain. You said you wanted to get on board as soon
as possible. Consider it a short cut.”
    They slipped on
their armor just as the Trinity jerked to a halt. Felderen lowered the
walkway before Will could order it done.
    “Captain!”
    Will paused
halfway down the gangplank. “Yes, Peersoff?”
    “Let me take
the lead. I’ve downloaded Vall’s exact coordinates.”
    She stood aside,
and the security officer hurried past her. She followed close behind, along
with the rest of the men.
    It was an eerie
feeling to be inside the space station’s immense engine bay. It was one of six
that not only powered Precorut, but also kept it anchored to this section of
space.
    Will knew that
she and her men were miniscule specks of light within the massive black cavern.
Every so often a flash of light from an outside source would illuminate the
still hot interior.
    Magnus had done
a great job of getting the Trinity as far inside the bay as possible.
The distance to the nearest doorway was less than a hundred meters. As they
climbed over chunks of still smoldering metal, one of the security guards spoke
up.
    “I don’t
get it, Captain. Why fire on the station in order to get to one man, and risk
killing him in the process?”
    She and Peersoff
glanced in each other’s direction. It was the same question that had been
rolling around in her mind ever since they came upon the scene.
    “Good
question. Any ideas, Peersoff?”
    She caught the
sparkle in the older man’s eyes, even through his body shield. “I thought
you’d already figured that one out, Captain.”
    “Enlighten
me. I’m focused more on the mission at hand.”
    “The Ben
Objure aren’t trying to destroy the space station. This is just a diversionary
tactic.”
    Understanding
burst inside her with incandescent clarity. “That’s why they’re not using
warships! The weapons on the warships would wipe out Precorut!”
    The security
chief nodded, but his sub-chief needed further explanation. “What kind of
diversionary tactic are we looking at, sir?”
    Rather than
answer, they hurried to reach the airlock used by engineers. Peersoff paused
once he reached the portal. His soft grumble did not bode well. “We have
problems, Captain. The airlock is fried. We can’t get inside unless we cut open
a hatch, but then we risk losing the atmosphere inside.”
    “And
suffocating everyone inside,” Will finished for him, and glanced around.
“Is there a second airlock?”
    “On the
opposite side,” Peersoff told her.
    There was no way
they would have enough time to reach it and get Vall off the station before
Objurian reinforcements arrived.
    She turned to
observe the men standing nearby. “Then we’ll have to seal it
ourselves.” Pointing to two of his stoutest men, she said, “We’ll cut
our way in. You two will remain in place to prevent the air from escaping, and
keep our exit open.”
    Motioning to one
of his men, they quickly sliced a narrow opening through the airlock. As soon
as they were all inside, two men adhered their