I was about to suggest we go back when I heard it, the low-level thrum I’d heard before. I twisted and yanked on the line connecting me to Angh. “There. Did you hear that?”
“Yes. It is just ahead of us.”
He was right. I could feel it, too.
As if summoned, suddenly it was there. Black as tar and shaped like a strange oblong egg at least ten times the size of our shuttle, the Hive master control hub floated like a ghost in the darkness.
It was completely smooth. No nooks or crannies. No handles or doors or exhaust pipes. It was level and even as black marble. “Angh, did we bring enough…stuff?” I didn’t want to use the word explosive just in case the Hive was somehow listening.
“I do not know, my lady.” We exchanged a look and moved closer to the object. I was very sure the thing was unmanned. This was an automated system, an artificial intelligence controlled remotely by the Hive. God only knew how long this thing had been out here. Days? Months? Years?
When we were close enough to touch it, I reached into my bag and pulled out the first set of explosives, quickly attaching it to the side. They’d all been set for five minutes. When we placed the last one, or hit the main switch, the countdown would begin.
Still connected, we floated along the outside of the thing, making sure to place explosives everywhere we could reach. I ignored the battle I knew raged behind us. If we didn’t take this thing down, we wouldn’t just lose a few fighters and freighters, we’d lose everyone.
We’d completed a circle around the object and stopped at its apex where Angh noticed the first visible difference in the smooth exterior. He pointed to a hub that looked like a communication antenna, crystal and silver, the buzzing in my head intensified as we drew closer. “I shall place my last piece there.”
I nodded and double-checked my bag. Empty. “Okay. I’m out.”
We drifted c
loser. I bobbed around like a kite in the wind at the end of the connection as Angh used his fuel pod to pull us both toward the top of the orb. He reached into his back, drew out the final explosive, and attached it to ship, just below the crystal protruding from the tip. I shuddered with relief as the explosive locked on and a light in my helmet went red, indicating the countdown had begun.
Angh’s smile looked more like a snarl as he lifted his hands from the orb and braced his legs beneath him to push us both away.
A jolt of blue lightning rose from the floating Hive hub, up his legs, encompassing his entire body. He looked like Frankenstein’s Monster being brought to life.
“Angh!” I yanked on the connection between us, igniting my jet pod to separate him from the orb, pulling him behind me, dead weight, as we moved farther away. I didn’t care what direction we were going, only that we were getting away from the huge-ass Hive control center.
And the massive number of explosives that were going to go off in a matter of minutes.
“Angh. Can you hear me?” My heart pounded so loudly in my ears I nearly missed his soft moan. “Angh. Wake up. Warlord, shake it off. We have to get out of here.”
His hands moved and I sighed with relief. To my surprise, he unhooked me from the cord that connected us and pushed me away from him, back toward the net, and our ship. “Go, my lady. Get out of here.”
“No. I’m not leaving you.”
His voice sounded tired. “That blue light. It did something. My fuel pods are almost empty. I can’t make it back. But you can. Go. Go now. Go to your mates. I am nothing. Leave me.”
“No. God dammit, Angh. You are not going all noble on me.” But it wasn’t completely noble. He was right. The blast from the Hive orb had fried his fuel pods, and we were a long, long way from the shuttle. I might be able to make it back on my own. But dragging a beast? I wasn’t sure.
“Go. Return to your mates.”
“No.” I got closer and he shoved at me with his arms, trying to force me to abandon him. “God dammit, Angh. Hold still. I’m not leaving you, and that’s an order.”
In the end, I had to grab the stubborn beast from behind, wrapping my arm through the straps of his fuel pod where he couldn’t reach me, and fired my jet packs, gaining as much momentum as I could.
If the net didn’t go down when the explosives fired, we’d fry when we tried to pass it. But if the net didn’t go down, we were all doomed anyway.
The explosion was blinding. Brilliant. So hot I felt like my space armor was melting to the back of my legs, burning my flesh. I ignored the pain and kept going, fired my fuel pod until I had nothing left.
And then we drifted.
Trapped. Out of fuel. Running out of oxygen.
And the net was still there.
Dorian