Chapter 15
955 Words
Damn Cross for his timing.
Iasa Finsa cursed the man as she raced from the link-stair to see the lab section filled with billowing clouds and beyond, moving, dark figures. The air was filled with the rush of the halon and the background whine of the station alarm.
She’d forgotten about the challenge she’d set him. At the time it had seemed like a perfect excuse to keep him busy and out of the way. But he’d turned up in just the wrong place at exactly the wrong time.
She could see him, or at least the shadow she suspected was him, crouching on the far side of the glass-walled labs. No doubt he wanted to rush in and evacuate the scientists within to the relative safety of the main corridor.
It was a wasted effort. He likely didn’t know that yet, but she knew he’d still be taking the same action even if he did. However, did such a bleeding heart ever make it into the LSS? It was a shame in a way. If it weren’t for his dreadful tendency to cling to his empathy, he might have been useful enough to live through what was coming next.
It was too late now though. The virus was spreading fast through the station; sucked into the main airflow by the halon system she had engaged on the bridge and distributed to every deck. Even if Cross wasn’t about to run blindly into the contaminated area, he would still be just as exposed as everyone else.
Iasa crouched in the rolling clouds, hidden from sight, close to the floor. She would deal with Cross and Blist when the time came. For now, they could at least be useful hauling bodies for her. Helping her reach her ends without even knowing it.
>“Update.”“I’m heading for the Earth-side evac bay.”“You should be there now.”“If we lose the targets to your tardiness, I’ll inject you and stay to watch this s**t turn you into a puddle.”“We won’t lose them,”“See that we don’t.”“Commander, we have an issue in the labs. The halon system is firing but there’s no sign of the cause. Can confirm two occupants, ID’s unknown. Possibly more but we can’t tell without getting inside. Permission to proceed?”“Understood. I’m on the Bridge deck. Looks like there’s been a malfunction. Consider all persons inside to be high-value targets and effect immediate evac.”<
He didn’t send a further reply, but she could see flashes of darkness moving as indistinct figures fought their way into the smoke.
Cross and Blist could do the heavy work for her, get the scientists where they needed to be so the information could be gleaned from them before it was too late.
All she had to do was follow and wait for the right moment. If pity was a feeling she had any use for she would have applied it to Cross and Blist. They were honourable, skilled agents and both carried a long list of hard-won victories for the Deorum. Right now they believed they were in the midst of earning another. Once they’d done what she needed they would find out that wasn’t the case at all.
Iasa relished the irony for a moment. Two people, both so dedicated to serving their race and both so entirely unaware they were even now working against it. If it weren’t for the choking confines of the bio-suit she would have laughed.
She dedicated another few seconds to wondering about the crew on the bridge. If she’d judged them right the outcome could only go one way. They were frightened; self-saving cowards beaten into obedience by the cane of their civilisation, just like all the others.
She smirked at the thought of their choice. She’d told them it would be quick, but she very specifically hadn’t promised it would be painless.
As if in answer, the sound of the alarm cut off abruptly. The crew had made their decision. They’d done exactly what she wanted them to. Now there truly was no hope of anyone escaping the station alive. No one who didn’t know what was coming anyway.
Iasa adjusted her stance and made ready to move after Cross and his cargo of scientists. She had to calculate every step from now on. She had to move close and unseen and she had to move fast.
Now the button had been pressed, they were all running out of time.
- Writer
