Chapter 35
Xena slipped the hard soles of her boots into a small knapsack along with pistols and grenades. "What Du'lakar is doing is not right," she announced.
"Agreed," Nemay said, checking the charge on his gun. "But how to keep the Drago-Katsov from retaliating against Beros Prime?"
Xena grinned as she outlined her plan.
Nemay matched her grin, sliding the cartridge into place with a click. "Let's bring it," he ordered, pulling a cross brace of ammunition over his chest.
-
Jade wrapped her arms around Cynthia, attempting to keep the Earther warm. "Don't give up on me now, Cyn," she said. "That's an order."
Cynthia's teeth chattered uncontrollably. "When have…I ever…followed orders?" Her head drooped down and her eyes closed.
"No!" Winter slapped Cynthia across the face. The human woman's head snapped back up, and Winter started rubbing Cynthia's hands to keep her warm.
Corrin stumbled around the prison, clumsy from the cold. He kicked at one of the metal walls. "Hey guys!" he said with false cheerfulness. "I actually do have toes!"
The eight pilots' prison was actually a ten-by-ten freezer. The temperature was kept somewhere below zero, and by now Jade was worried about the non-Nietzscheans getting hypothermia.
"How long do you think they'll keep us here?" Giani asked, blowing on his hands and rubbing them together.
"Until my brother comes for me," Jade said softly.
"Will he?" Nuria asked patiently.
Jade shook her head. "I don't know."
-
Telemachus guided the Dusky Rose into the Dragon hangar. Promises of an extra bonus convinced the female dock manager that Telcontar Alkatran out of Ursa by Alkatran would be trusted. Telemachus checked the charge of his Gauss pistol.
"Good luck," the Rose's viewscreen said to him. "You'll need it."
-
Xena and Nemay walked calmly and confidently down the middle of the hall. No one gave either of them a second glance, even when Xena accessed the override for the internal defenses, switching them to an automatic cleaning cycle.
"It'll last about three hours," Xena told Nemay in a low tone. "Then all hell will break loose. No one noticed?"
"Everyone seemed totally uninterested," Nemay answered. "One thing you have to love about our people: we're completely self-absorbed."
Xena laughed. "Thank the stars for that."
"Where are the hostages being held?" Nemay asked as they kept walking so as not to attract attention.
"In a freezer," Xena replied.
Nemay growled low in his throat. "Even if they are the Draog-Katsov's prisoners, they should still be treated with respect!"
"Well, we're here to remedy that situation," Xena responded. "By giving the Dragons no prisoners at all." Her attention was drawn to a passing Nietzschean male, and she was not entirely sure why. While others rushed about on their own business, this male seemed more cautious, as if he had never been down this hallway before. "Nemay," she said. "Do you notice anything odd about the male at one o' clock?"
"What's at one o' clock?" he asked jokingly before glancing casually over Xena's shoulder. "If you get rid of the beard, he'd look just like Telemachus Rhade."
-
Telemachus was walking down a corridor when a female stepped out in front of him. "You are Telemachus Rhade, are you not? Here to rescue Jade?"
Telemachus paused, not entirely sure what the hell was going on.
"I am Xena Teraskasi, out of Ursa by Teraskasi," she continued in the same tone. "Come with us, it is not secure here."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
Xena laughed slightly. "You don't. But ask yourself this: even though we know who you are, we have not given you to the Dragons."
"Can we get a move on?" Nemay requested. "They're being held in a freezer, dammit."
"What?" Telemachus demanded.
"The pilots are being kept prisoner in a giant cold-storage room," Xena told him bitterly.
"In that case, lead the way," Telemachus said.
Preview: the rescue attempt goes horribly wrong.