Two shrieking whines filled the cell, and then the only sound was footsteps until Beka remembered to breathe. "Yeah, well, I do a little, you do a little..." A smile spread across her face, almost lovely enough to make one forget the blood smeared across it. "I'm glad you came."
Tyr chuckled softly. Bruised and beaten, Beka could still send a Nietzschean weeping to his knees.
"I mean, who would have believed me without a witness? Beka Valentine making a Nietzschean cry like a baby." She laughed. "Now toss me a gun and let's blow this popsicle stand."
Tyr complied immediately, and the two sprinted out the door. First he went ahead, and Beka covered his back, then caught up with him and took the lead. They switched places every few hundred feet. "Our honored captain is whisking Harper away to safety aboard a slipfighter. We will not know if he succeeded until we return to the Andromeda. We arrived within a few minutes of each other but on opposite sides of the compound."
Beka shot a guard peering around a corner. "They'll be fine. Gaheris has all that black ops experience under his belt, and Harper really likes shooting Nietzscheans." She hopped back from approaching weapons fire and winced.
Tyr noticed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you injured?"
Despite the pain shooting up from her ankle and the impending danger, Beka laughed. "Do I look injured to you?" She could taste a metallic bitterness from her swollen lip. "But I can walk. You just say where."
Tyr led them around the underground building without hesitation, although Beka suspected that they were running in circles. The walls looked alike wherever they ran. Finally, they rushed up several flights of stairs, shot several Nietzscheans, and dashed into a sunlit stretch of empty plains. Beka cried out and shaded her eyes, blinking and stumbling. "Hey, Tyr, some of us haven't been outside in a month and a half." She groaned. "Have I ever told you how much I /hate/ planets?"
When she could look up again without squinting too much, Beka gasped. "The Maru!" She turned to face Tyr. "I officially withdraw everything I've ever said about you. Everything, you know, bad." Her blue eyes danced merrily, and without warning, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and laughing. "Usually, my strong female instincts would forbid me from saying this, but you're my hero." She pulled back to face him. "At least for now."
A small group of pursuers emerged into the sunlight and shouted. The escapees ran to the Maru, opened by Beka's secret voice-activation code (for which she made Tyr close his ears and sing 'I'm a Little Teapot' at the top of his lungs), and the ship's captain threw her into flight. Tyr fired as Beka lifted straight off the ground. Several slipfighters flew near the planet in pre-programmed paths, further confusing Charlemagne's forces.
Tyr chuckled softly. Bruised and beaten, Beka could still send a Nietzschean weeping to his knees.
"I mean, who would have believed me without a witness? Beka Valentine making a Nietzschean cry like a baby." She laughed. "Now toss me a gun and let's blow this popsicle stand."
Tyr complied immediately, and the two sprinted out the door. First he went ahead, and Beka covered his back, then caught up with him and took the lead. They switched places every few hundred feet. "Our honored captain is whisking Harper away to safety aboard a slipfighter. We will not know if he succeeded until we return to the Andromeda. We arrived within a few minutes of each other but on opposite sides of the compound."
Beka shot a guard peering around a corner. "They'll be fine. Gaheris has all that black ops experience under his belt, and Harper really likes shooting Nietzscheans." She hopped back from approaching weapons fire and winced.
Tyr noticed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you injured?"
Despite the pain shooting up from her ankle and the impending danger, Beka laughed. "Do I look injured to you?" She could taste a metallic bitterness from her swollen lip. "But I can walk. You just say where."
Tyr led them around the underground building without hesitation, although Beka suspected that they were running in circles. The walls looked alike wherever they ran. Finally, they rushed up several flights of stairs, shot several Nietzscheans, and dashed into a sunlit stretch of empty plains. Beka cried out and shaded her eyes, blinking and stumbling. "Hey, Tyr, some of us haven't been outside in a month and a half." She groaned. "Have I ever told you how much I /hate/ planets?"
When she could look up again without squinting too much, Beka gasped. "The Maru!" She turned to face Tyr. "I officially withdraw everything I've ever said about you. Everything, you know, bad." Her blue eyes danced merrily, and without warning, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and laughing. "Usually, my strong female instincts would forbid me from saying this, but you're my hero." She pulled back to face him. "At least for now."
A small group of pursuers emerged into the sunlight and shouted. The escapees ran to the Maru, opened by Beka's secret voice-activation code (for which she made Tyr close his ears and sing 'I'm a Little Teapot' at the top of his lungs), and the ship's captain threw her into flight. Tyr fired as Beka lifted straight off the ground. Several slipfighters flew near the planet in pre-programmed paths, further confusing Charlemagne's forces.