Star Storm

Chapter Thirty-Six

Best Served Cold

The trail of scarlet took Kael through service passages and down a set of stairs. He passed fleeing Sorii on his way, but they were too preoccupied with Astorer's failing systems to care about a stranger wandering among them.

He stopped at a sharp left turn. A body was leaning against the wall, its face covered by a Celestial Watch mask. Kael brushed his sweating palms against his trousers before picking up the officer's fallen weapon.

Checking the blaster was loaded was second nature. He would not make the same mistake he had with Hu Waan. This fight would be swift and clean.

Because if things were not, Kael suspected he might not escape alive. If Amara hadn't been there for him, if she hadn't taken care of Hu Waan, Kael would no longer be breathing.

At the thought of losing now after everything he had gone through Kael's heart skipped a beat. He had to stop Lezorith or the danger he had put his crew – his friends – through would have been for nothing.

As the station swayed around him, violently jittering back and forth, he quickened his pace.

Cautiously, he edged into the power chambers. The blood trail continued but the lights were much dimmer than in the hallways, making it near impossible for Kael to keep following Lezorith's tracks.

Tanks containing electric particles rocked around him in their glass chambers, their energy crackling as separate partials were forced into each other. Several containment tanks had been cracked and Kael edged around the puddles of liquid power which were spreading over the floor.

Cold air was pumped into the room by large ventilation shafts to ensure the particles were kept at the right temperature. Kael's breath clouded in the air and he batted it away with the blaster.

Metal clanked in the shadows. He snapped to attention, his finger itching on the blaster's trigger. Desperately he scanned the room for any signs of the sly ambassador.

"I know you're here," he called. He felt stupid for trying to lore Lezorith in such a manner, but Kael was painfully aware he was running out of time.

The base's supports groaned and shuddered, undoubtedly caused by a star crushing something important. Kael could only imagine the mess the place was in. In his mind, he saw Astorer break into tiny pieces, each of which drifted into space alone.

Amara would not take off without him and if he didn't resolve their problem with Lezorith she would be part of the station's wreckage, along with the Rapid and those Kael cared for most.

Something rolled to a stop at his feet and Kael swerved, backing up into a tank. His breath caught in his throat as he stepped aside, the metal tube which had startled him sliding away with the station's change in direction.

He caught sight of Lezorith's blood again – a small patch on the corner of a container. Kael had one last look around, then chased the proceeding blotches of red.

Lines of metal tubes covered in valves and smaller tanks of power cells greeted him in at the end of the chamber. One of the thinner tubes had been cracked open and sparks flew out of the hole. Kael inspected the damage and smiled to himself.

Nona had done a good job of disabling the power. She had completely ruined the power cord as well as smashing a random assortment of tanks. There was no chance Lezorith could get the power working again.

The light flared long enough for Kael to catch a pale hand slither between two of the pipes. He fired his blaster in the space and hopped back to his full height.