The Starlight Lancer

Chapter 128: Freedom Protocol

"Those who put their faith in circuits and steel over flesh and mind will always be severely disappointed."

—General Jindar Morgenstern

Kazlo nodded and faced Zaina. "Okay. Throw the mag-pulses into that corner. Then throw the smokies, and we'll make a run for it."

Zaina nodded, unsure if Kazlo had seen their ship was locked down. She had no choice but to assume he had a plan for that. She deposited ten small mag-pulse grenades into each hand and chucked them in the direction Kazlo had indicated. Before they landed she programmed a batch of smoke grenades and threw ten of those, too.

Low, thunderous booms filled the room—the mag-pulses were off. Zaina's chest tightened from the volume. Moments later, a few hissing pops rang out—the smoke grenades.

Kazlo didn't waste a moment. "Go, go!"

Zaina leaped out. Now she saw the ambush, or what it was supposed to be—thirty androids arranged in rows were hidden behind a ship, with two heat signatures she assumed were Kyral and his human enforcer standing behind them. The human and Kyral immediately began taking shots, so Zaina stopped and summoned her hex-shield, moving alongside Baeus and Kazlo to protect them. The smoke still obscured their enemies' vision, but it was best not to leave lives to chance.

"Override! Override!" Kyral shouted. "Aim on my sights!"

By now some of the androids had shaken off the mag-pulses, and were starting to open fire. The smoke cleared slowly, but was helped along by the beads flying through. It didn't last long enough—they had only made it halfway to the ship before the smoke had cleared enough to restore visibility to their foes, and the androids had all returned to normal.

Scrap beads pelted the hex-shield at will, sounding like summer rains from Demelia; Zaina's hex-shield wasn't going to hold out forever—she needed to get Kazlo and Baeus to cover fast. Looking around, the only viable option was a stack of metal crates. She grabbed Kazlo's arm and the edge of Baeus's bed-pod and rushed them behind the stack. Her hex-shield gave a moment after she ducked to safety.

"What now?" Baeus asked. "Why aren't we invisible to them?"

"He overrode it," Kazlo replied. "As long as we can get to your ship, we can get the hell out of here."

"It's locked down," Zaina said. "They put restrictors on the landing gear."

Kazlo frowned. "Well. Guess we die."

Like hell, Zaina thought. There was no way she was leaving Gizmo in Reida's care.

"I'll get my shield up again. We should be able to make it to the ship. You guys stay down, find whatever cover you can—I'll deal with the restrictor." She looked into each of their eyes to make sure they understood. "Baeus, if I don't make it, see this through."

The color drained from his face. "What do you mean? You've faced worse, right?"

"Not on a bum leg," she replied. "It's okay. We have to go soon, before they spread out too much. Ready?"

Before she could give the word to go, an explosive boom startled her. She peeked her head out—ten or so of the androids were gone, replaced by a sea of flames and burning metal. She looked for the source—one of the larger, more heavily armed ships in the landing bay was hovering.

Another incendiary round rocketed from the ship's belly and struck close to the human enforcer and Kyral, who raised a hex-shield of his own.

Now was their best chance. Zaina furiously waved her arm and shouted, "Go! GO!"