on.”
“You appear to have access to some rather advanced equipment for a rebel on the run.”
“Friends in low places. We can stand here discussing this all day if you want, but I think we should consider getting out of here.”
“I bow to your superior wisdom in these matters.”
Stepping over Tarrant’s unconscious form, they raced down the corridor, scrambling up the ladder to ground level. Orlova kept her gun in her hand, and as she reached the top, heard a trio of cracks from above; she peered out to see one of the Ragnarok troopers cautiously making his way inside, disobeying her orders and providing her with backup.
“Car’s waiting outside, Lieutenant,” he yelled. “We’d better move.”
“Right, Talbot,” she said. “Commandant, let’s go.”
She stepped out to bask in purple light, shaking her head; Harper had excelled herself this time, though it was not a trick she ever wanted to repeat. A crowd had gathered outside the building, the noise of the gunshots drawing those whose curiosity overrode their common sense, but she forced her way through the crowd towards the getaway car, scrambling into the passenger seat as Talbot took the controls.
“Move it!” she yelled, tugging on her seatbelt. This was likely to be a wild ride, and the grin on Talbot’s face confirmed her suspicions as he slammed on the accelerator, just giving the crowd enough time to dive for safety as he raced down the street.
“What’s the score, Lieutenant?” he asked.
“We got what we came for. How are things out here?”
“Harper’s hanging on to finish our daring getaway. I’ve got Fitzroy in position to get her clear at the end. You want to speak?” he replied, tossing her a communicator.
“Harper, this is Maggie,” Orlova said. “We clear?”
“Security’s sorting out the mess I made right now. You can expect company inbound any time now, but I don’t think you’ll have too much to worry about once you get outside the dome. Someone seems to have thrown an invasion alert practice into the defense subroutines.”
“How the hell did you hack into the defense mainframe?”
“I didn’t have to. It’s a lot easier to hack into the messaging computers, and hell, who’s going to question putting the planet on a higher defense status?”
“True,” she replied.
“That and Triplanetary Intelligence taking an extended vacation is making this simple. I haven’t had this much fun in weeks.”
“I can tell.” The car sped up as it reached the end of the road, the long vehicular airlock up ahead, a tunnel a quarter mile long that would give them ample room for a quick getaway. “Get the doors open.”
“Wait one.”
Orlova’s face fell, and she said, “I can’t, Harper!”
“Estimate twenty seconds to doors,” Talbot yelled. “What do I do?”
“Working on it, working on it,” Harper muttered. “Someone smart at the other end’s on to me.”
“Fifteen seconds.”
The hatch was made of solid metal, and the car was going to make an awful mess when it slammed into it. She could hear sirens from behind, the local security services belatedly responding to their escape.
“Harper, get that damn hatch open!”
Finally, reluctantly, the hatch begin to slowly grind open, making a narrow gap just wide enough for the car to glide through, and Talbot adjusted the steering to s l ide through the gap with just a few sparks on either side where metal scraped against metal, quickly opening up to the familiar corridor beyond, out to the red surface in the distance.
Behind, the sirens were still sounding, fading away as the pressure dropped while the car raced towards the exit, and the rear door slammed shut, sealing them off as the airlock completed its cycle. The car bounced on the sands as it sped across the desert outside, racing to gain distance before their pursuers could get after
“You appear to have access to some rather advanced equipment for a rebel on the run.”
“Friends in low places. We can stand here discussing this all day if you want, but I think we should consider getting out of here.”
“I bow to your superior wisdom in these matters.”
Stepping over Tarrant’s unconscious form, they raced down the corridor, scrambling up the ladder to ground level. Orlova kept her gun in her hand, and as she reached the top, heard a trio of cracks from above; she peered out to see one of the Ragnarok troopers cautiously making his way inside, disobeying her orders and providing her with backup.
“Car’s waiting outside, Lieutenant,” he yelled. “We’d better move.”
“Right, Talbot,” she said. “Commandant, let’s go.”
She stepped out to bask in purple light, shaking her head; Harper had excelled herself this time, though it was not a trick she ever wanted to repeat. A crowd had gathered outside the building, the noise of the gunshots drawing those whose curiosity overrode their common sense, but she forced her way through the crowd towards the getaway car, scrambling into the passenger seat as Talbot took the controls.
“Move it!” she yelled, tugging on her seatbelt. This was likely to be a wild ride, and the grin on Talbot’s face confirmed her suspicions as he slammed on the accelerator, just giving the crowd enough time to dive for safety as he raced down the street.
“What’s the score, Lieutenant?” he asked.
“We got what we came for. How are things out here?”
“Harper’s hanging on to finish our daring getaway. I’ve got Fitzroy in position to get her clear at the end. You want to speak?” he replied, tossing her a communicator.
“Harper, this is Maggie,” Orlova said. “We clear?”
“Security’s sorting out the mess I made right now. You can expect company inbound any time now, but I don’t think you’ll have too much to worry about once you get outside the dome. Someone seems to have thrown an invasion alert practice into the defense subroutines.”
“How the hell did you hack into the defense mainframe?”
“I didn’t have to. It’s a lot easier to hack into the messaging computers, and hell, who’s going to question putting the planet on a higher defense status?”
“True,” she replied.
“That and Triplanetary Intelligence taking an extended vacation is making this simple. I haven’t had this much fun in weeks.”
“I can tell.” The car sped up as it reached the end of the road, the long vehicular airlock up ahead, a tunnel a quarter mile long that would give them ample room for a quick getaway. “Get the doors open.”
“Wait one.”
Orlova’s face fell, and she said, “I can’t, Harper!”
“Estimate twenty seconds to doors,” Talbot yelled. “What do I do?”
“Working on it, working on it,” Harper muttered. “Someone smart at the other end’s on to me.”
“Fifteen seconds.”
The hatch was made of solid metal, and the car was going to make an awful mess when it slammed into it. She could hear sirens from behind, the local security services belatedly responding to their escape.
“Harper, get that damn hatch open!”
Finally, reluctantly, the hatch begin to slowly grind open, making a narrow gap just wide enough for the car to glide through, and Talbot adjusted the steering to s l ide through the gap with just a few sparks on either side where metal scraped against metal, quickly opening up to the familiar corridor beyond, out to the red surface in the distance.
Behind, the sirens were still sounding, fading away as the pressure dropped while the car raced towards the exit, and the rear door slammed shut, sealing them off as the airlock completed its cycle. The car bounced on the sands as it sped across the desert outside, racing to gain distance before their pursuers could get after
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