Page 19 of Neverwylde 6
Chapter 9
Shuttle
Kyber burst from the conference room, taking the guard waiting outside by surprise. Jabbing his elbow into the man’s face, he snatched the Seneecian’s weapon from his belt and began running down the corridor, toward the lifepod bay. He only had a short time to make it there before Duruk hit the alert—
A high-pitched blare filled the ship. Kyber continued running through the ship, bypassing confused warriors who had paused to listen to the explanation for the alert that would immediately follow. He paused momentarily at a juncture, glancing both ways. There was the remote possibility they hadn’t been taken where he suspected. Knowing his brother, there was another way the man used to be rid of—
A familiar, beloved scent hovered in the air.
He sniffed again, and his body tensed with recognition.
Kelen.
If he hadn’t stopped, he would have missed it.
He took another step toward the lifepod bay, and her scent was stronger. Barely detectible, but stronger. He took off, following it.
He was almost to the bay when Duruk’s voice came over the intercom. “D’har Kyber is the enemy of Seneecia! Stop him at all costs! Stop D’har Kyber!”
As Kyber neared the end of the corridor, he couldn’t help but inwardly smile in amusement. Less than a handful of these warriors knew who he was. Add to that, the chevron emblazoned on his skin still noted him as being a Por D’har. One glance at his emblem, and the majority of the crew would dismiss him. He prayed those precious few seconds gained because of it would be enough.
The bay door slid open a split-second before he entered the large room. His brain took in the scenario before him as he raised the blaster to take out the four guards preparing and placing Kelen and the rest into individual lifepods. Several called out his name, but this was not the time for a welcome ceremony.
After removing the controls from one unconscious guard, he freed them from their shackles. “Get everyone out of those pods! Now!” Not waiting to watch them help those who had already been placed inside the single unit containers, Kyber raced back to the door and slammed down the inner locking mechanism. On every ship there were two such locks—at the lifepod bay and at the shuttle docking bay. Since both bays opened directly into space, the locks were a safety measure, meant to prevent the ship from decompressing and imploding.
He turned around to see everyone waiting for him. His eyes locked onto Kelen’s, and the need to pull her into his arms was almost overwhelming. Steeling himself, he strode over to where they were gathered.
“Is everyone all right?”
“We’re fine,” Cooter assured him. The man had taken possession of one of guards’ blasters. Fullgrath, Kleesod, and Massapa had the others.
“What’s happening, Kyber?” Sandow asked tightly.
Kyber shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain. We have to get out of here. Now. Before they manage to get the ship to unlock the bay.”
“Is the ship under siege?” Mellori questioned.
Kyber threw him a wry smile. “Yes. I’m the siege.”
“But they were evacuating us,” Jules informed him.
“Yes. They were going to jettison you out into space to die.”
His remark left them momentarily stunned, and they didn’t have time for that.
“We need to get out of this baynow!” he repeated with a growl.
“How? And go where?” Massapa questioned.
Kyber glanced around the bay as he tried to recollect the schematics for the ship. It was Gaveer who reminded him of what he was trying to recall.
“The access tubes!”
“Yes! Hurry!”
The Seneecian led them to the farthest end of the bay and dropped to his knees to begin undoing the plating in the floor. Kleesod joined him, quickly removing the panel to reveal a square-shaped tunnel. “Go to the shuttle bay,” Kyber tersely ordered.
Gaveer nodded and dropped into it head-first. Kyber shoved Kelen toward the opening. “Go!” he urged her. She entered without comment.
