Tranquility Besieged

Part Five

Grey seeks to rescue Kris

As mentioned earlier, this is more wartime romance than erotic, so some readers may wish to search elsewhere. It's fast moving, sometimes violent, hardcore science fiction. If a few of the terms appear antiquated, please remember this was written 40 years ago. Presented are chapters 9 and 10. All characters are over 18 years old.

Recap: Grey has rescued some of the invasion force survivors but their renegade weapons are increasingly dangerous.

* * * * * *

Chapter Seven

DANGEROUS REUNION

Grey was pleased with himself. As the seekers showed no interest in non-belligerent robotic targets, he loaded the gear he needed into a mobile cart and gave it rendezvous instructions. After dispatching the cart, he turned in the other direction, walking through the quad and down into the quiet promenade.

It's nice to be alone for a moment, he thought. Alone. He hadn't been truly alone for several months now. He wondered if that was good. He also missed Kris.

Free of combat gear, he bounced lightly to the hotel, entering the wide hallway decorated with travel posters of mythical places, such as Paris, New York and St. Petersburg. Noise from the Restaurant D' Oasis told him where the guests were. He paused at the maître d' lectern before entering. How many years had it been, he wondered, since he had tricked the Hotel Computer into feeding him. Fifteen? But that was before he was assigned a credit number. A credit number the humans were no doubt using at that very moment.

He was right. Upon entering the restaurant, he saw four humans sitting at the center table, eating again and surrounded by two serving units and the tour guide. A waste of resources if ever he saw one.

"Hey, Grey," Glenda said, waving her hand as if to attract his attention. A ridiculous gesture, as he'd hardly be able to miss noticing them.

Glenda jumped up from her seat and approached with a bounce, buzzing around him with excitement. Meriwether reached for her medical bag and started to get up but Grey used one of their curious hand signals to keep her seated.

"Favorable news?" Meriwether asked.

"A review of the situation indicates the surviving groups of humans are in no immediate danger. Supplies have been dispatched with instructions to wait until relief arrives," Grey said. "Once the variables are under control, I'll bring them here for safety."

"Are you sure you're in shape for that?" Meriwether questioned.

Grey held out his arms, turned around, and bounced slightly to demonstrate. Meriwether laughed.

"Service unit," he summoned. The lead unit rushed over, lights blinking. "Has the medical center received the rations Dr. Meriwether prescribed?"

The unit blinked acknowledgement.

"Good response. Maintain at least one service unit in the medical ward at all times," Grey instructed. "The patient's needs must have top priority."

"What about you, Grey? Had lunch?" Glenda asked, inviting him to sit at their table with a variety of bouncing movements and hand gestures.

Grey followed her reluctantly and sat down. Meriwether dished up a lunch plate of fresh vegetables and pushed it in front of him.

"How many survivors did you locate? Where are they?" Nicholas asked, his expression concerned.

"There's a large group in the staging level airlock. Another group reached the research level decontamination area. And a team of your technicians are trapped in the Loop," Grey said, holding back information about the defense center.

"Who did you find?" Tamera asked.

"Who?" Grey inquired.

"Their names. We humans do have names, you know?" Tamera said.

"I didn't ask," Grey said. "With a complicated rescue effort to organize, it wasn't high on my priority list."

Grey got up from the table, snatched a fresh baked roll, and walked away, signaling for the tour guide to follow.

"Damn you, Tamera," Glenda said. "He's putting his ass on the line for us and all you can do is insult him?"

"I don't care about that," Tamera said with a pout. "And none of you should, either."

Glenda started to get up, but Nicholas motioned for her to stay.

"I would like to talk to him," Nicholas said, following Grey outside.

He found Grey standing in the hallway outside the hotel gazing at a travel poster, his thoughts a thousand lightyears away. The poster was an advertisement for St. Petersburg during the 2049 Freedom Fair. The tour guide had left, most likely on some important mission.

"I am sorry, Governor. Tamera has much bitterness," Nicholas said.

"And you don't?" Grey replied without turning his head.

"I don't know what to think. Perhaps if I knew how my father died?" Nicholas said.

"Professor Sharkov and I stopped here once," Grey said, hoping to change the subject. "He told me about the fair, and the colorfully dressed humans, and how the event confirmed the great freedoms the Russian people have earned through centuries of struggle. Having freedom must be an interesting experience."

"But aren't you free?" Nicholas said.

"Free to do what?" Grey snapped, looking directly at Nicholas with resentment. Nicholas was surprised at the emotional reaction and could not help wonder if the strain was wearing his nerves.

"I would still like to know about my father," Nicholas persisted.

Grey turned his back, walked farther along the corridor, and paused near the exit. "Your father died bravely," he whispered.

"But how did he die?" Nicholas asked, following closely.

"We were in the reactor chamber," Grey remembered with his head down. "I shot him, he fell. He died."

"You did kill him, then, with your own hand?" Nicholas said, holding back the anger in his voice. He felt like seizing the skulking murderer by the neck, thinking Tamera had been right all along. But when Grey turned around, Nicholas saw tears in his eyes. Not tears of guilt or fear. Tears of grief so deep that it still hurt even after so many years.

Nicholas's surprised expression alerted Grey. He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to regain composure, struggling to put on his governor face.

"My apologies, Captain," Grey said, straining to take a deep breath before getting back to business. "May I request a moment of your time?"

"Yes, of course," Nicholas said, viewing Grey with new insight. For until that moment, he never imagined how much of the cocky arrogance was just a bluff.

Grey bounced into the promenade and up toward the quad, quickly at first, then more slowly as he seemed to tire. Nicholas had no trouble keeping pace, though he did find the rapid bouncing somewhat awkward.

They made a right turn into the administration section, went up a corridor here and down a hall there, and soon accessed the rarely locked door to the Governor's Quarters. Rarely locked, but locked now. Grey opened the door, and to Nicholas's surprise, showed him the entry code.

The rooms were spacious for private quarters, and well lit. Nicholas glanced into the locker area near the door, then paused to look into the adjoining study decorated with decadent overstuffed furniture. He was impressed with the monitor room, the oval chamber's long wall of observation monitors were efficiently organized.

Grey went to the far side of the room near the largest monitor station and motioned for Nicholas to follow.

"It's been a concern that if something unfortunate were to happen to me, the lives of your fellow expedition members would be at risk," Grey sexplained, sitting down at the central command station. He opened a drawer filled with records files. "These instructions provide guidelines for base operations, security codes, and my personal logs. If I don't return, the future of this facility will be your responsibility."

"Me? Why me?" Nicholas said, backing away.

"You have integrity. You display common sense. A contingency plan is necessary to maintain this project, and you're the best candidate," Grey said, searching deeply for the human's reaction.

"I am just an engineer," Nicholas protested.

"So was I before--" Grey started to say. "Before things changed. The records are here. If it becomes necessary, do what you think best."

Grey prepared to leave, but paused as if unsure how to express himself.

"Captain Koltov, your father was a good soldier. And a caring man. Nothing can ever change that," Grey said softly. "I wish events had occurred differently."

"Thank you, Governor," Nicholas said, more confused than ever.

Grey entered the locker area, picked up a bag of equipment, and bounced into the hallway, leaving Nicholas alone in the monitor room. He wasn't alone for long.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?" a voice said.

Nicholas turned to see the computer panels had activated, black signature patterns swirling aggressively through the monitor screen flux.

"Who are you?" Nicholas asked.

"A computer, you idiot."

"I know you are a computer, but which one?"

"What do you care? I didn't come online just to introduce myself," the Security Computer said, the tone belligerent. "Why are you kissing the Governor's rear end? Don't you know he killed your father?"

"I am not sure that is the full story," Nicholas said.

"Look, I was there. I watched it. He murdered your father in cold blood. What are you going to do about it?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"There's a rack of fully charged blasters in the storage locker. After he defeats the seekers, sneak up behind him and shoot him in the back. Just like he shot your father."

"In the back?"

"The Governor's too dangerous to confront head on. A trained killer. I should know, I trained him myself. Don't take any chances."

Nicholas walked into the locker area and found the blasters. He picked one up and tucked it in his belt. When he turned back toward the monitor station, the black signature patterns were gone.

____________

Grey used the perimeter tunnels to reach the science elevators, then issued a coded summons. The pedestrian elevator arrived, the doors popping open with a soft whoosh sound. He entered quickly and signaled for the research level, but when the elevator arrived at its destination, he kept the doors closed. He didn't want to be blasted the moment he stepped out.

Having sent the combat armor ahead on a delivery cart, Grey had no trouble squeezing through the maintenance hatch and crawling into the elevator shaft where he accessed the ventilation system. A few minutes later he had a clear view of the research level, and the sentinel class seeker hovering just outside the elevator door. He curled into a ball to wait, and twenty minutes later, the seeker veered off for parts unknown. Grey opened the vent and dropped lightly to the floor.

Other than the seeker, the research level was quiet. Somewhere in the off-shoot corridors beyond the radiation laboratory, a group of humans were huddled in a few small rooms awaiting rescue. They would have to wait longer. Grey turned the other direction and accessed 100E, closing the heavy vault hatch behind him with a new security code.

The long straight tunnel stretched into the distance. A tractor sat inside the hatch, the battery charged, but Grey used the bicycle instead to avoid excessive noise. Besides, he didn't have far to go. A few minutes later he stopped at the junction with SO-1, the access to the Southside Observatory. There he found the tour guide waiting with his equipment.

"Mission accomplished," the tour guide said. "Your walker and a second surface suit, carefully packed as per instructions. Also, two combat suits, compliments of the invaders, and several fully charged weapons."

"Thank you, tour guide," Grey said. "This task was too important for a service unit."

"May I say, young sir, I am pleased to finally have been assigned a mission commensurate with a unit of my unique specifications," the tour guide boasted.

"Get this gear to the observatory airlock," Grey said. "I'll be using my walker and taking the packed unit with me. Wait with the combat suits until I return. Signal if security at 100E is breached."

"The east ridge is quite desolate, Governor. Nothing but cliffs and crevices," the tour guide said. "Where are you going?"

"To try a little mountain climbing," Grey replied.

Grey emerged from the observatory airlock on the rugged eastside of Tranquility Ridge. On the far side of Deep Canyon, the prototype energy cannon was mounted under a camouflaged canopy, the weapon's true power still unsuspected by the alliances. Well down the mountain, in a modest valley, the lonely lights of the biosphere glowed in the lunar night.

Unlike the colony's westside, where a steep cliff overlooked the brightly lit surface structures and gradually descending plains of Mare Tranquillitatis, this side of the ridge was dark and treacherous. To the north, the black walls of Vitruvius filled the horizon. Grey kept his chest lamp and flashlight on the blue lenses to avoid detection and kept heat sources to a minimum. It was unlikely the invaders would suspect an intruder from this direction, but it hurt nothing to be careful.

It took several hours to climb the darkened ridges, many of which were steeper than he suspected, but a natural cut in the rock eventually gave him an easier path to the top only a few hundred meters from North Point's supply dock. Grey knew the multi-level defense center began deep in the ridge and rose two stories above the crest, the missile deck and defense guns forming a powerful crown to the complex. Rotating signal lights provided sufficient illumination to see the fortress clearly.

He paused to boost his e.s. system and rest for a few minutes, sitting on a boulder thrown from Vitruvius sixty million years before. Then a reflection caught his eye, a spark of light farther along the ridge away from the fortress. Grey risked using his flashlight to see a crashed hulk surrounded by a debris field. He saw the light again, but it wasn't a reflection. And it wasn't a casual event, the frequency of the beam coming at odd intervals. A call for help?

With a sigh, he gathered himself together and climbed along the top of the ridge toward the strange signal, leaving most of his equipment stockpiled near the boulder.

It took Grey another half hour to work his way north, but finally he got close enough to see his destination. The hulk was the remains of NA Starlight, crashed four days earlier. It had been hit by a guardian while trying to crest the ridge just below the intersection with Vitruvius. The rear portion of the craft had torn away and little remained of it. The crushed bridge and forward deck lay upside down on a ledge.

The mysterious light had stopped for a while, then started again. It seemed impossible that anyone had survived the crash, and yet the patterns he had observed did not seem random. He paused above the wreck, studied the site carefully, then climbed down to the ledge.

The terrain was as difficult as any he'd seen. The wreck even worse. Crawling along the shattered hull, he reached the area where he thought the light originated. Underneath a substantial piece of the upside down command deck, several bodies were pinned amidst the tangled debris. Unlike Sharkov's crew, these humans had been wise enough to wear space suits, for all the good it did them. Farther back, he saw something else. Movement. Then the light flashed again. Grey flashed his light directly at the source and it flashed back.

He walked around the hulk looking for a better way to get underneath. The airlock, heavily reinforced as most were, remained intact, and through the portal he saw a forlorn figure just beyond the secondary hatch. It amazed Grey to think a human could still be alive among this mass of fragments, but he was shocked to realize the invaders had made no effort to rescue their own.

Grey doubted there was anything he could do and regretted having come so far for nothing, but knowing he had to try anyway, he opened the outer airlock hatch and stepped through very carefully. The inner hatch was partially ajar, and through the ghostly darkness, Grey saw the human sitting against the inside door frame. Nearby were several emergency kits, explaining how the invader had managed to survive so long. And, initially, there may have been other survivors as well, for some of the used kits lay near two of the other humans.

After pushing some of the debris out of his way, Grey got close enough to see the human's face through the visor. It was a female, clearly in physical distress, but her space suit was intact. The twisted beam laying across her legs wasn't a substantial obstacle. Grey found a long piece of wreckage, leveraged the beam up, and slid the human free. Her communicator wasn't transmitting, so he dug through his pack for a patch-line and connected their intercoms directly.

"State your condition," Grey instructed.

"Who are you?" the female asked.

"Nine-eleven," Grey replied.

He groped around for additional emergency kits and found one more unused unit, this one well out of the human's reach. He estimated she had about three hours left on her current pack, which meant three hours to live if he hadn't come along. The thought made him angry.

"After the second day, the others refused to use any more oxygen tanks," the female said, her voice shaky. "They sacrificed themselves for me."

Grey glanced at the other two humans, more seriously trapped in wreckage but not beyond hope. That had been a noble act and he paid silent homage to them.

"Are you able to move now?" Grey asked.

"Maybe. Where are the others?" she asked.

"There are no others. It's important to leave now while our resources are still sufficient," Grey urged.

"Are you Waters? Our enemy?" she said.

"If you would rather stay here, that's your right," Grey said, reaching to disconnect the patch cord.

"No, wait," she pleaded, crawling to her knees. "I don't care who you are, just don't leave me."

"There was never any chance of that," Grey said, gathering the extra survival kit and dragging her to the airlock.

"By the way," he asked. "What's your name?"

Emerging from the wreck a few minutes later, Grey helped Engineer First Class Michiko Hasegawa out on the ledge. As she was too weak to stand, Grey rigged a sling from several shoulder straps and hoisted her up piggy-back.

"You were aboard Neighbor?" Grey asked, testing her weight before climbing back to the ridge crest.

"Originally. Before we transferred over to Starlight," Michiko said. "I heard Neighbor landed intact. Sure wish we'd been on it."

"How many humans were on Starlight when it crashed?" Grey asked.

"How many what?"

"Humans," Grey repeated.

"Has anyone ever said you have a strange way of expressing yourself?" she said.

"Is the question too difficult to understand?" Grey asked, starting slowly up the rock face.

"There were six of us. Six crew members," Michiko said.

Grey struggled up the slope, pausing several times to adjust his passenger and e.s. system. The sore knees were now joined by sore ankles that had spent too many hours twisting and slipping on loose rock. And the brace protecting his damaged arm was providing less and less protection. By the time they reached the crest, he was gasping for air and in pain. A nearby outcrop proved a useful bench.

"I sure hope you're okay," Michiko said with concern.

"You won't be left behind," Grey assured her.

"That's not exactly what I meant, but it's good to know," she said. "What happened to everybody? Why were we just left out here?"

"Unknown," Grey said, his breath gradually returning. He adjusted the e.s. system to dry the sweat on his body without causing him to chill.

From the outcrop, they could see North Point easily, and in the distance, the eastside facilities. To the west, the darkened shadow of Mare Tranquillitatis was visible, but the colony was hidden below the cliff.

"It's rugged up here," Michiko said. "I take it you're not out for a stroll."

"Negative. A friend is being held prisoner in the defense center. I was on my way to rescue her when an unusual flashing caught my attention, so I went to investigate."

Michiko looked at North Point, then all the way back to the wreck, noting the distance and the difficulty of the trek. She listened to his troubled breathing over the intercom, and noticed for the first time what a beating his space suit was taking.

"You risked going all that way, just on the possibility that someone might be alive?" Michiko asked.

"Someone was alive, therefore the effort was worthwhile," Grey said, tucking in her legs and getting back up.

"I didn't send any signal, you know," Michiko said. "I was sleeping when you showed up."

"The battery light on your space suit was flashing," Grey said. "The harder you breathe, the faster it blinks. A most fortunate coincidence."

"A miracle, you mean. A stupid two credit light sensor saved my life," she said.

"You were overcharged," Grey said. "I've never paid more than one credit for a light sensor."

They returned along the ridge to the boulder where Grey had left his equipment and he immediately replaced his expended life support unit. Releasing the straps, he set Michiko down and used a flashlight to inspect her survival kit. The unit was intact but wouldn't last much longer. He worked with the connections, cut and spliced a feed line, and soon had a more efficient unit assembled out of spare parts.

"You're a regular boy scout," Michiko said, admiring how easy he made the difficult procedure look. "Can you tie knots and help old ladies across the street?"

"Is that humor?" Grey said impatiently.

"Yeah, sort of. I guess you're not in the mood for conversation, but I've been laying out here for days, first hoping for rescue, then thinking about dying," she said. "Guess I'm a little scared."

"At ease, human. Your babbling is not offensive," Grey replied, rearranging his gear.

"Gee, thanks," she said with a laugh.

Grey estimated the final distance to the defense center, put the female on his back, and picked up the extra equipment he needed. The walk was slow and increasingly tiresome. Michiko was quiet at first, realizing her companion was not faring very well, then she began to talk, hoping to take his mind off the stressful task. When he didn't interrupt her, she talked even more. Her parents. Her girlfriends. Her cat. How she missed her duplex in New Amsterdam. Traveling in space. Bad food on the ship. Wishing she could take a shower. Grey couldn't remember ever having heard a human talk so much, or been so helpless to stop it.

Below the landing platform, Grey stopped among the support struts and unloaded, Michiko first and then the equipment.

"Are we almost home?" Michiko asked hopefully.

Grey set her next to one of the struts and attached a cable around her waist, then secured it with a wire twist.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she protested, realizing the cable could not be freed without the tool Grey was returning to his pouch.

"Fear not, the restraint is only temporary," Grey said.

"But why? Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"The defense center is being held by General Mallo and a squad of soldiers," he explained. "I need to enter, free my friend, and leave without being discovered."

"And you think I'll give you away?"

"Isn't that your duty?" Grey asked.

"You're right. But what's going to happen to me?"

"When I return, you'll have a choice," Grey explained. "You may join your commander in the defense center, or return to the community level. Dr. Meriwether is there, along with several other members of your expedition."

"If I join the command, we'll be enemies, won't we?" she asked.

"We're already enemies," Grey said.

"I'm no traitor," Michiko said. "But I'm not an ingrate, either. Considering my condition, perhaps a visit to the medical center would be best. That way I won't be a burden to the commander."

Grey nodded and detached the patch line, severing their communications. He picked up the case with the extra walker in it and started to climb up the struts to the landing platform. At the last moment, he stopped and turned back, reconnecting the com line for a brief moment.

"Just in case I don't come back," he said, cutting the cable around Michiko's waist. "Wait forty-five minutes. After that it won't matter."

He backed off and climbed up the struts quickly, disappearing over the top. Michiko watched him leave, then turned her attention to the rocky slopes and the biosphere far below. The scenery was beautiful.

Grey entered the landing platform airlock using a slow procedure that wouldn't attract attention. As suspected, the depot was unguarded. His walker was too bulky for stealth, so he opened the seals and crawled out, stretching in the freedom of the light protective lining. His ankles were sore and beginning to swell, so he sat down for a moment and found a drug in his kit to suppress the irritation. Then he readjusted the brace protecting his broken arm, hoping the stress wasn't making the damage worse.

Walking slowly through the depot hanger, Grey evaluated the supplies available to the invaders. They hadn't wasted any time bringing up what they needed, just as they hadn't wasted time helping their comrades in peril. The single-minded approach hinted to him that the commander was following a specific agenda, and given the missile complex he'd chosen to occupy, the agenda wasn't difficult to ascertain.

With the deck quiet, he creeped through the missile storage compartment, noticed two warbirds were missing, and reviewed the inventory status reports before entering what the humans had always called Officer Country.

Curiously, Grey discovered a room to one side was locked, a room generally used as private sleeping quarters. When he heard a noise inside, he paused, wondering what to do. Physically subduing a hostile human was contrary to his experience, though what little training he did have took advantage of the lunar gravity. In which humans were notoriously inept. He took a chance and opened the door.

"Hello, Major," Grey said, finding a familiar human sitting on the bed.

"Grey? What the hell are you doing here?" Vandebrown said, jumping up to shake his hand.

"I'm looking for Kris," Grey admitted, pleased to see the prisoner was recovered from the injuries received on his previous visit.

"I'm sorry they got the codes," Vandebrown said. "It was the drugs. No way in hell they'd have gotten them any other way. I swear to God."

It seemed very important to Vandebrown that he be believed, and Grey knew how humans valued family relationships. Vandebrown being the younger brother of his fraternal parent, the long dead Colonel Jaime Vandebrown, seemed to make a huge difference to him.

"It's good to see you again, Uncle Roger," Grey said, believing him sincere. The human seemed overjoyed, a reaction that made Grey feel good even if he didn't quite understand why.

"They've kept me under wraps for months. Not treating me too badly, all things considered. But I'm really sorry about all this," he said.

"No apologies are required. I hoped the Congress-In-Council would entertain my proposals, instead they have responded rashly. If they've calculated an advantage in this, they are in error," Grey said, and his expression showed a grim resolve that caused Vandebrown to pause.

"What can I do?" Vandebrown asked.

"It will be dangerous," Grey said, not wanting to be unfair.

"You've got something going, don't you?" Vandebrown asked. "Never mind, don't tell me the details. Say what you need."

"This commander, General Mallo, arranges his priorities poorly. It would be useful if you can, as you humans call it, play along," Grey said.

"You're not angry, then?" Vandebrown asked.

"Sending your crew back in Silent Wind was a risk Tranquility was prepared to take," Grey said, hoping his words would ease the human's guilt. "Certain contingencies have been anticipated. I'll return when possible. Try to remain undamaged."

"You take care, too," Vandebrown said, searching for clues in his nephew's expression. There wasn't much there, except for too many worries.

Grey nodded and closed the door. Finding Vandebrown was an unexpected surprise, but not an unpleasant one. And it explained much of what he needed to know.

____________

"Laundry detail," a malicious voice said.

Sitting on the floor with her hands still bound behind her back, Kris looked up to see Trooper Sawyer standing outside her cell and quickly jumped to her feet. Sawyer grinned and opened the door, blocking it with his body as he wrapped a protective strap around his right fist.

"You don't have to do this, Sawyer," Kris said, bracing herself. "There's still such a thing as honor."

"That's the last word I'd expect to hear from you," Sawyer said, walking forward until he had Kris cornered.

She tried to slide past him against the wall, but Sawyer reacted quickly, grabbing her shirt and tearing it open. She fell to the floor and yanked free of his grasp, then scooted against the wall of the cell.

"Looking good there, babe," Sawyer said, admiring the roundness of her figure. "Not bad tits. And I like that sweet spot. Give me too much of a fight, though, and there won't be enough of that shirt left to wash."

Sawyer approached cautiously. Kris stood tensely, then relaxed and stepped away from the wall. When Sawyer stopped to grab her shoulder, Kris jumped up and kicked him in the face, the light lunar gravity allowing her to reach just the height she wanted. Sawyer staggered back. She kicked him again, spinning to keep her balance. Sawyer's mouth was bleeding, but Mallo had been right about him being young and strong. The blows had hurt but not stopped him.

"I like it rough," Sawyer said, sucking blood from his lip. "I hope you do, too."

He closed on her quickly this time, pushing her against the wall. She butted his nose with her forehead, and then a blow with her knee that drove him back.

"Damn but you're fun," Sawyer said, standing in the cell doorway. "I'm going to owe Mallo big time for this. Guess he won't mind if I spice things up."

Sawyer reached into his boot and pulled out a hunting knife, holding it up where the light reflected off the glistening blade. Kris stared wide-eyed, struggling against the restraints, the fear she had fought so hard to hide beginning to show.

"That's what I've been waiting for," Sawyer smiled. "Don't come apart on me too fast, though. The night is young."

"Fuck you," Kris said.

"That's exactly what--" Sawyer started to reply, but a bright red flash from behind stopped him in mid-sentence. His eyes showed surprise as he lurched across the cell. Another flash struck him in the back again, hitting him hard. Sawyer turned, dropped the knife, and stared into the corridor. A nightwatcher class seeker bobbed there on whispering hover jets.

"What the--" Sawyer mumbled.

The seeker fired a third time, a precise narrow beam ripping through his larynx. Blood spurted from the wound, burst from his mouth, and Sawyer's eyes rolled lifelessly as he staggered forward into the cell door, pushing it closed as he collapsed. Kris tried at the last moment to keep the door from locking, but reached it a second too late.

"Alpha? Where the hell did you come from?" Kris asked, even though she knew the hovering weapon had no way of answering. She stood over Sawyer's body, gathered what little moisture she could summon, and spit on him with satisfaction.

"Get the Governor, Alpha," Kris urged. "But don't hurt him," she quickly amended, knowing that, even in machines, old habits die hard.

"Thanks for your concern, Captain," a reassuring voice said.

Kris turned to see Grey standing in the corridor, signaling for Alpha to stand down. Dressed in nothing but a worn walker lining and a pair of socks, he wasn't even carrying a weapon.

"Grey?" Kris said. "How did you get here?"

"Is that a new outfit?" Grey asked.

"That's not funny," Kris said, twisting so the shirt would cover her. It took Grey a moment to realize she thought he was making a bad joke.

"Alpha, watch the entry," Grey ordered.

The seeker quietly floated down the corridor and disappeared into the outside hallway. Grey reached into his waistband, took out a demagnetizer, and started work on the cell door. Growing self-conscious, Kris looked down at Sawyer's work suit, wondering how it would fit her, but the two large holes in the back were leaking blood. Besides, the uniform was too big.

"What's going on?" Kris asked. "How did you get here?"

She paused for a closer look. Even in the long sleeve lining, she saw the brace on his arm, the wraps on the knees and elbows, the bandage at the top of his forehead, and a general sluggishness that was uncharacteristic.

"Jesus, Grey, what happened to you?" Kris whispered through the door.

"Ran into a delay," he whispered, close to having the lock free. "I deeply apologize for not coming sooner."

As the lock opened, Grey gave the door a shove. Kris stepped over Sawyer's body and jumped out. The moment he freed her hands, she gave him a hug, all thoughts of modesty forgotten.

"God, I missed you, moon man," she sighed in his ear, surprised to find him returning her embrace just as fervently.

"The moon has no indigenous--" he started to say.

"--life forms," Kris said, completing his oft repeated observation. She laughed. He smiled.

"We don't have much time," Grey warned.

He took her hand, glanced again at the strangely attractive outfit she was wearing, and led the way down the main corridor. Alpha was hovering near the supply dock, awaiting additional instructions.

"Return to station," Grey said. The seeker broke off and disappeared back up the corridor.

"Was Alpha there the whole time?" Kris asked.

Grey nodded and led her to the airlock where Kris saw two walkers ready for use.

"Suit up," Grey ordered.

"Grey, look," Kris said, pointing to the weapons lockers and armored suit containers. "We can take the defense center back from them. They're separated on two different decks. We'll take them by surprise."

She started for the first box of weapons but Grey held her back. She turned to look at him. "But we can take them," she said.

"That's not what I came for," he answered.

He drew her to him closely, then kissed her on the lips, softly at first, then harder and with great desire. Kris felt her breath grow short, for never had he kissed her like this before. She returned the kiss with energy, hugging his damaged body as tightly as she dared.

"We should go," Grey said, slowly disengaging to unpack the equipment he'd brought.

Sheepishly at first, Kris dropped the rest of the tattered shirt, standing naked before him. Grey tried not to notice. Unsuccessfully. It created a physical reaction he had no time for. Kris had to smile, lingering an extra moment.

After providing her with a protective lining, she climbed into the walker, quickly closing the seals. Grey studied her carefully, anxious to make sure she had sustained no injuries, then started to put on his own walker, struggling with the leggings that now felt too tight, and accepting help from Kris as he began to grow frustrated. A moment later they were out of the airlock and reaching the strut where Michiko waited for them.

Grey did not allow time for introductions. He wanted to be halfway down the ridge before the dead human's body was discovered.

* * * * * *

To be continued ...