Page 53 of Only Cold Depths
I glanced back over my shoulder, but I didn’t hear or see any more blaster fire. The mercenaries must have already overpowered the guards, which meant I was running out of time.
I hurried over to the ladder and started climbing. The rungs stretched up and up . . . while the ground got farther and farther away. Maybe Kyrion was right about heights not being the best thing in the galaxy. I shuddered and forced myself to climb faster.
A few seconds later, I reached the final rung of the ladder and swung my body into the cab that topped this part of the machine. I dropped into the operator’s seat and stared at the holoscreens, levers, and buttons on the dashboard. The workers in the Quill Corp production plants used similar cranes to move large pieces of metal, especially when building spaceships, but as a lab rat, I had never operated such a machine.
Frustration simmered in my chest. I couldn’t use the crane to stop the mercenaries if I couldn’t even turn the blasted thing on, and the seconds just kept ticking by.
Think, Vesper, think!
I drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then I leaned forward and stared at the numbers and letters next to the holoscreens, levers, and buttons, trying to figure out what each one controlled . . .
My gaze snagged on a large green button on the right side of the dashboard. Green almost always meant go or start, so I punched the button.
One after another, the holoscreens powered up, and an engine rumbled to life deep inside the crane. I pumped my fist in the air in triumph, then swiped through screens and menus until I found a hologram that showed the dashboard. I stuck my fingers into the hologram, enlarging it, then flicked it off to one side and studied the information.
Next, I started pulling levers and punching buttons. Slowly, the operator’s cab swung around, and the long arm of the crane came into view in front of me. I leaned to the side, making sure the enormous magnet was still attached to the bottom of the arm. Then I hit some more levers and buttons, and the cab, arm, and magnet all started moving.
After about fifteen seconds of slow, steady turning, I was facing the mercenaries’ blitzer, which was still parked close to the mineral exchange. I studied the dashboard hologram again, making sure I knew which button I should use next, but I didn’t do anything else. Not yet.
Thirty seconds later, the Serpens Corp mercenaries ran out of the mineral exchange. Each man was still armed with a blaster, and heavy, bulging packs were now strapped to their backs, although I couldn’t see what they had stolen.
Pollux appeared, still clutching his hand cannon, with a large pack strapped to his own back. Esmina followed him, and the two of them headed toward the blitzer at a more leisurely pace than the running mercenaries.
My eyes narrowed.Come on, you thieving bastards.Get on your transport and try to fly away, just like you planned.
Esmina abruptly stopped and lifted her hand. Pollux also stopped, but the other mercenaries kept hurrying forward.
I ground my teeth. Esmina had heard my thoughts. That was the only reason the psion had stopped moving.
Stupid, stupid, Vesper!
I grimaced and cut off the rest of my chiding words. That had been stupid too.
Esmina’s head snapped up, and she spotted me in the operator’s cab. “Stop!” she yelled. “Stop running! Get away from the transport!”
The other mercenaries skidded to a halt and whipped around, not sure what was happening.
Esmina stabbed her finger up at me. “Shoot her! Shoot her now!”
The mercs raised their blasters, but Pollux was quicker, and he lifted his hand cannon, aimed it at the crane, and pulled the trigger. I ducked down.
Boom!
The permaglass windshield shattered, and chunks of safety glass cascaded all around the operator’s cab in a tinkling, musical rain.
Boom!
Another blast of cannon fire zipped through the shattered windshield and punched into the wall behind me, scorching the metal. Hot sparks and noxious smoke boiled up, stinging my skin and eyes and making me cough. Tears streamed down my face, but I blinked them away, leaned forward, and punched the green button on the dashboard again.
With a loud snap, the magnet broke free of the cable attaching it to the arm of the crane. The magnet plummeted downward like a meteor barreling toward the earth . . .
BOOM!
The magnet smashed into the top of the blitzer, crumpling the ship and pinning it to the ground like an aluminum can. I grinned. The mercenaries weren’t getting away so easily now.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Blaster bolts pinged into the sides of the operator’s cab, making me duck down again. I was an easy target up here, so I hit another button, and the cab swung around, turning away from Pollux and the other mercenaries who were still firing at me.
