Page 85 of Salvation for the Alien Mercenary
Davis looked at the loader, then back at her. "It's Mira. She's controlling it."
The M'Suun scattered. Several fell to concentrated fire from Spot-Mira and Jex. Her head pounded with the effort of maintaining the connection, each moment stretching her mental capabilities.
Just a little longer.
Through Spot's sensors, she detected movement on her flank… a M'Suun squad repositioning. The drakeen swung the power loader around, its targeting systems locking onto the lead soldier.
The enemy's formation shifted.
"That's a drakeen core," one of them yelled. "Find the pilot."
Her blood ran cold.
The enemy split, half engaging Spot-Mira and Jex while others headed toward the other reapers. Spot-Mira tried to intercept them, but controlling the connection became increasingly difficult as the neural strain intensified. Her vision blurred, reality and the dual perspective merging in nauseating waves.
"Mira!"Davis's voice was distant. They must have gotten separated in the battle."They're coming. Mira, run! Break the connection! Spot's got this!"
She tried to respond, but her muscles wouldn't obey, and her vision went black at the edges. Slumping to the side, she tried to lift her head as she sensed movement to her right. It was Davis as he engaged three M'Suun soldiers, his transformed body moving with inhuman speed. But there were too many. For each one he stopped, two more advanced.
"Mira!"His voice cracked."Disconnect!"
A gentle chirp sounded in her mind as Spot closed the neural link and the dual perspective faded. Blinking, she tried to clear her vision as she fully settled into her body. What felt like every one of her muscles protested as she lurched to her feet. Just as five M'Suun surrounded her, weapons trained from all sides.
"Well,shit."
* * *
Davis's heartalmost stopped in his chest. Five M'Suun surrounded Mira, weapons raised as she swayed from the neural strain of controlling Spot. One of them swung his rifle toward her head.
Thirty meters away. Too far.
He pushed harder, legs burning as he sprinted across the debris-strewn floor. The warrior's finger tightened on the trigger. Mira had no idea death was seconds away.
Twenty meters.
Not enough time. Not enough speed. The realization hit hard. He'd been too slow, too far away. He'd already lost her once when she'd discovered his secrets. Now he'd lose her forever, gunned down while he watched.
Ten meters.
NO.
Something snapped inside him. Energy surged through his body, raw and molten. Pain flared through every cell as his muscles seized, then released with explosive force. His vision narrowed, his hearing sharpened until he could pick out each beat of Mira's pulse over the chaos of battle.
Three meters. The trigger depressed.
He lunged, his fingers closing around the barrel a millisecond before the weapon fired and shoved it upward. The weapon discharged into the ceiling. With a savage twist, he tore the rifle away… taking the M'Suun's arm with it.
Blood sprayed as he spun, throwing the severed limb aside. His fist connected with the next warrior's armored chest, crumpling the plating like paper. The impact shattered ribs and sent the warrior flying backward, dead before he hit the ground.
The third warrior fired point-blank. He caught the bolt of energy on his forearm. His skin blackened, but he felt nothing except cold rage. One grab, one squeeze, and the warrior's windpipe collapsed beneath his fingers.
The final two raised their weapons. Before he could reach them, the power loader stomped forward. Hydraulic arms seized one warrior and tore him apart, spraying blood in an arc across the floor. When the last M'Suun turned to flee, the loader caught him mid-stride, crushing his spine with a single blow.
Davis reached Mira and yanked her behind a fallen section of machinery. Just in time. Plasma fire erupted from reinforcements pouring through the western entrance, cutting through where they'd been moments before.
"You're hurt," she said, staring at his blackened forearm where he'd caught the energy bolt.
He ignored the wound, focused only on the immediate threats. The power loader moved to engage the new attackers. Three more M'Suun fell before concentrated plasma fire struck the machine's control systems. The loader staggered, sparks erupting from damaged joints, then collapsed in a heap of twisted metal.
