Galactic Gale

Chapter Thirty-One

Meeting the King

The King's interior, just as Ry had suggested, was the same as any other cruiser of its kind. Kael and Amara weaved their way through the cruiser's wide corridors, not stopping to chance a look out one of the shielded windows.

To think of the chaos outside would be a mistake. They had a job to do – one that every Red Runner and Celestial Watch member out there was dependant on. Not to mention their friends would also suffer the consequences if Kael let his worry take over.

Amara held up a fist and Kael's feet rooted themselves on the floor. Ahead of them, a pair of guards exited a room and started walking up the corridor. Neither of the blue-skinned strangers turned around.

Letting out a sigh, Kael picked up his pace again. He would have preferred Amara to be the one watching their backs, but with his terrible aim it was logical for Amara to take point.

Not to mention his brain had forgotten all the information it had contained about B-Series vessels. With everything that had happened over the last few days he was surprised he could remember any piece of random trivia at all.

Kael bent his knees while tugging open a service hatch. The tunnels through the walls were designed to allow messages and fine foods to be passed to those on the other side without meetings being disturbed by a courier. They would well to Kael and Amara's advantage, even if it would be a tight squeeze.

Going first, Amara clipped her blaster onto her belt and hunched over. She slipped through the tunnel. When she disappeared from view, Kael followed, making sure he reattached the hatch to cover their tracks.

Running through the walls of the level they were currently in, the tunnels kept them safely hidden as they crawled from the rear of the King to its north-western point.

Kael was not sorry to escape their confinement, regardless of the protection the tunnels granted. They ducked into what appeared to be a conference room and kept low. Sticking their backs to a table, Kael and Amara waited until the two officers in the room had left before moving through the door.

Shield control was a doorway away.

It took them less than a minute to get there.

Kael swept his blaster across the hall, marking each of the entrance points, the stairs, and the archway, then stood guard while Amara dealt with turning off the shields. He heard a click and turned, ready to make a quip about how quickly she had gotten the job done.

Only Amara had not turned off the shield.

Instead, she was retreating from the service station in the centre of the room, weapon raised at a shadowy figure perched atop the circular computer station.

"Gondru," Amara breathed. "I thought they were extinct."

"Unfortunately, that fact appears inaccurate."

Kael hit the door lock with the side of his hand, closing them in. They could not afford to let a passer-by catch sight of them. And this thing – this impossible beast before them – was undoubtedly going to delay them.

A small red leaver with a few buttons to its side. That was what they had to reach. All that was needed for Amara to be able to shut down the shields and expose the King and allow their allies to attack.

The Gondru snarled from atop the panel, its flat head jutting forward just enough to catch the light. Two bulging yellow eyes sat perched at either end of its long snout, a row of triangular teeth oddly sticking out from its top jaw.