Joseph would never complain. Neither would the others. He pushed on despite the burning and sense of weakness in his legs. Captain Grant wanted a full sweep of the ship, and he was going to give him one. The safety of Pioneer and the thousands of people inside was at stake, and that was more important than being tired.

  Joseph split his attention between the area ahead and the status of the other Guardians, checking their vitals and watching their feeds. Team Charlie—Madani and Morales—had reached one of the valleys into the hull, pausing to shine their helmet lights down into the chasm. Joseph enlarged their feed, observing as the light revealed the hull.

  “Actual, this is Fatcat with Guardian Charlie,” Morales said. “I’m going to drop into the gap to scan along the length.”

  “Copy that, Fatcat,” Siraj said.

  Joseph kept Morales’ feed active, only glancing out to his part of the hull every few seconds while he watched the Marine. Morales went forward to the chasm, lifting his foot up and over the gap, and then softly jumping. At the same time, his vectoring jets fired puffs of air that pushed him downward, allowing him to sink into the valley. He landed gracefully, locking to the surface and turning to shine his light along the length of the space.

  Joseph didn’t realize he was holding his breath until Morales turned, the light reaching far across the gulf.

  Nothing.

  He exhaled, grateful the area was clear. Then he shrank Morales’ feed again, looking out at the hull. They were halfway from their airlock to the forward hangar, with only one similar chasm between them and the larger entrance into Pioneer, which was also his re-entry point. The wonderment of being out here was beginning to fade, replaced by an eagerness to return to walking normally and breathing regular air.

  Only another hour and they would be back inside.

  “Prime,” Nori said, getting Joseph’s attention. “Do you see that?”

  A red mark flashed onto his helmet overlay, outlining the edge of the chasm. At first, Joseph didn’t understand what Nori was talking about. He didn’t see anything except the thick, dull metal of the hull and the black line of the break. He was about to tell Nori as much when he realized the line wasn’t straight across, the way a ninety-degree seam should be. There was a bump in it, a convex lump of black protruding from the clean edge.

  “Actual, do you see that?” Joseph asked, activating the helmet camera’s zoom to get a closer look.

  “Copy Alpha,” Siraj replied. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. A shadow maybe?”

  The zoom increased, the dark lump becoming clearer.

  It wasn’t a shadow or a trick of the light.

  “Actual, this is Bravo!” Chun shouted. “I have contact. I have—”

  Joseph’s eyes flicked to Chun’s feed just in time to watch a round mouth dense with sharp teeth drop on top of the Marine.

  His feed went dark.

  24

  Cross

  Pioneer. Exterior. 11.11.2052. 1915 hours.

  “Chun!” Joseph shouted. “Chun!”

  He didn’t expect a response, and he didn’t get one.

  “Guardian Delta, Bravo needs fire support,” Commander Siraj said, tracking the feeds and the locations of the Guardians from the bridge. “All Guardians, we have hostile contact. You’re cleared to fire at will.”

  “Copy, Actual,” Joseph said. He found Sykes’ feed a moment later. The Guardian was backpedalling as best he could, a monster clinging to the hull in front of him, in the middle of devouring Chun. Balls of blood floated around the scene of the attack, adding a new level of gruesome violence to the assault.

  Joseph had never seen anything like the creature before. It wasn’t a trife. Not even close. This thing was more horrible than that, something out of a nightmare. Something that could somehow survive in the vacuum of space.

  Tentacles emanated from the massive central body that had pounced on Chun, each appendage terminating in a toothy mouth beneath dozens of small eyes. The body had eyes too, larger and more numerous, positioned above the huge, grinding mouth. Two of its tentacles held it lashed to the hull while the others writhed and twirled like strands of hair before fixing on the remains of the dead Guardian.

  Sykes yanked his rifle off his back and began firing, bullets smacking into the huge lump of flesh, rounds cutting close to its eyes. It’s tentacles swung around to cover the wound, taking the punishment of Sykes’ assault rifle while it finished its meal.

  “Actual, I have contact!” Turani said, voice trembling. Joseph found her feed, watching in horror as a pair of the creatures crawled around the side of the hull fifty meters ahead of her. She already had her rifle out, and she and Alesso started shooting.

  “Sarge, we’ve got company,” Nori said, forgetting Joseph’s new title. The lump they had spied earlier was growing, the tentacles spreading out from it, the huge body coming into view. This one was larger than the one that had taken Chun out. It was closer to three meters in diameter, with thicker appendages.

  “Take it down,” Joseph replied, opening up with his rifle. Nori joined him a moment later.

  Their bullets chewed into the creature, forcing it to throw up its tentacles to take the brunt of the punishment. It began rushing toward them, practically rolling across the hull on its limbs. Joseph didn’t give any ground, muscle memory and training taking over as the monster bore down on them. He kept shooting, shifting his aim slightly each time a tentacle blocked his shots, getting a few rounds through before repeating the process.

  The creature’s mouth opened in a silent scream as it suddenly lifted off the hull, releasing the ship and floating toward them.

  “Zen, evasives!” Joseph snapped. He disengaged his magboots, using the controls embedded in his left glove to fire the vectoring jets. He twisted as he pushed himself sideways, trying to synchronize his movements with the jets. The maneuver was too complex for his first time, and he began rolling end over end, perpendicular to the creature.

  And out into space.

  “Shit!” Joseph shouted, watching Pioneer quickly begin separating from him. He focused on getting himself level while the monster spun and lunged toward Nori, the Marine vanishing in a sea of arms, still firing on the thing’s body. “Nooooo!”

  He rolled over, firing his jets and pushing himself straight down, back toward the ship a few meters away from Nori. Overcompensating for his first mistake, he was coming in too fast. He tried to roll again, slamming against the hull instead. The impact sent a wave of pain through his back, but he managed to get his hand on the hull and activate the maglock before he bounced back out into space. Using his single point of contact, he rolled flat and replanted his feet on the hull.

  He looked at his team’s vitals. Chun was gone. Nori was injured. The creature that had hit him was off the ship, floating limply away. Dead.

  “Zen!” Joseph said, trying to run to the downed man. Frustrated with the magboots, he copied the monster’s maneuver, releasing them to float across the surface before reactivating them to come down beside Nori. “Zen!”

  He crouched beside the stricken Guardian, whose space suit was ripped open at the chest, globules of blood spilling out into the vacuum. He was still breathing, but if Joseph didn’t seal the suit it would fatally depressurize inside of a minute.

  “Man down. Man down,” Joseph said, barely able to keep from shouting over the comm. His space suit was clumsy, the whole thing thicker than he thought it needed to be. The design made it hard for him to get his hand into one of the suit’s storage pouches to grab a patch, and he cursed as he fumbled for it, afraid each breath Nori took might be his last.

  “Prime, you’ve got incoming!” Siraj shouted.

  Joseph looked over his shoulder. A second creature had emerged from the chasm. Smaller than the first, it was barely bigger than he was, though its smaller size seemed to help it move across the hull more quickly.

  “I need to patch Zen or he’s going to die,” Joseph said. “I need backup.”

  “Negative, Prime,” Siraj replied. “The rest of your team is engaged.”

  “You should have gotten the damned pilots out of Metro!” Joseph snapped, suddenly furious. There might not have been time to get them out during the initial encounter, but there had been more than enough to launch them before sending the Guardians out. He had said as much to Grant, but the captain refused to so much as contact Governor Nash to ask about them.

  Why?

  He wasn’t sure if Siraj would rebuke him. She seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders, and the experience to know some things came out in the heat of battle. It didn’t matter now anyway. What mattered was getting Nori patched up and getting the hell away from the approaching monster.

  His fingers finally found the inside of his suit, and he grabbed one of the emergency patches from the pocket, yanking it out. He dropped his rifle, letting it float beside him as he tore open the patch and then stuck it down hard on the tear, pressing around the edges. He didn’t know if it had a complete seal, but it should be enough to get Nori home.

  “Actual, this is Delta,” West announced over the comm. “Bravo is clear. Mark Alpha and we’ll head for their position.”

  “Negative, Delta,” Siraj replied. “Echo requires immediate backup. Sending marks. Prime, I’m opening the forward hangar bay doors. It’s the closest egress point from your current position.”

  Joseph cursed silently as he grabbed Nori, looking back over his shoulder. The creature was almost on them, and he wasn’t sure he could move quickly enough to get away.

  But maybe he didn’t want to move away.

  The forward hangar was behind the creature, the light of its interior suddenly splitting the darkness as it began to open. All he needed to do was get past the monster. He didn’t think it would be able to change direction fast enough to stop him from making it to safety.

  But could he get past it without one of those tentacles latching onto him? Without one of those hellishly toothy mouths digging into his suit.

  Siraj gave him a way out. He just had to reach it.

  He grabbed Nori by the bottom of the helmet where it locked into the suit and turned to almost face the creature straight on. He kicked out backward to free Nori’s boots from the hull. It sent the Guardian floating out behind him. He took three steps forward, growling from the effort it took to move in the boots.

  The creature was almost on him, and he didn’t have a hand free for his rifle. He needed to try to break free of the hull, jump over and then get maglocked back onto the hull. It was risky, but there was no other way.

  He released his magboots, diving forward firing the jets to add speed and height. The push carried him upward, Nori pulling on his forward momentum, his gun dragging along by its tether to his suit. The monster slowed as it realized what he was doing. It planted one of its tentacles on the hull and began to stretch, reaching up for Joseph.

  Too low. He was too low. The tentacles rose toward him, ready to wrap around his legs.

  Joseph let go of Nori, cutting off his jets as he grabbed the tether and yanked the rifle to him. He grabbed onto it at the same time a tentacle closed the distance to his helmet, the toothy mouth already snapping in the vacuum between them, the eyes looking right at him.

  He swung the rifle downward and fired, cutting the tentacle apart, the recoil pushing him further upward and farther out into space. He kept shooting as he crossed over the creature, hitting it with enough rounds to force it back and leaving him free to float away into oblivion.

  An hour ago he might have panicked in this situation. He didn’t now. Instead, he turned back toward space, firing his rifle into the emptiness, the force slowing his forward momentum and pushing him down, back toward Nori. He dropped the gun again as he reached the other Guardian, grabbing him around the waist. They continued to sink together, Pioneer passing by beneath them.

  The ship was going too fast. They would come down behind it before they could get down to it. Even with the thrusters idle, the heat from the exhaust would burn them to death. And even if they somehow escaped that end, they would be left behind. Stranded.

  He had to think of something. Fast.

  He triggered his vectoring jets. Though new to the controls, thankfully someone had thought to put a stabilization button into the system. Pressing it stopped his spin, flattening him out, but Pioneer was still passing by, the hangar almost beneath him.

  He shifted his grip on Nori, wrapping his legs around the man’s waist and grabbing his control glove with his free hand. Then he carefully rolled himself over so they were both facing the ship.

  His eyes locked on the hangar, he tried to judge their speed and distance to the hangar opening. He triggered both his and Nori’s jets, the spouts of air shoving them toward the ship with more force than Joseph expected.

  He could see the Bayonets inside the hangar—twelve of them in two rows of six—a handful of orbital transporters beside them. The sight sent a moment of panic through him, his senses suddenly confused about up and down. His stomach tied itself in a knot.

  The work was already done. They continued descending, clearing the hangar doors with a couple of meters to spare. They had made it.

  Except they were still hurtling toward the rear bulkhead. Crashing into it wouldn’t be pretty.

  Joseph pulled Nori into a hug before rolling them again, just in time. He hit the wall with his back, the suit’s armored powerpack taking the brunt of the impact, but it still sent ripples of pain up his spine.

  They bounced off the bulkhead, tumbling wildly through the hangar.

  “Prime, I’ve got you,” Siraj said. “I’m increasing gravity to the hangar.”

  He felt the pull a moment later, slowly easing the two men toward the floor. Behind them, the hangar bay doors started closing.

  “Actual, this is Prime. I need an emergency medical evac in the forward hangar asap.”

  “Copy, Prime. It’s already on the way.”

  He and Nori finally came to rest in the small open area close to the Bayonets. Joseph stayed down. Letting go of Nori, he rolled onto his back and listened to his people report over the comm.

  “Actual, Echo is clear,” West said. “I think we got them all.”

  “Copy that, Delta. Regroup at the nearest airlock and await further orders.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” West replied.

  Joseph let out a long sigh. Except for Chun, they had all made it. He looked over at Nori. Unconscious, but breathing.

  He never wanted to do that again.

  25

  Cross

  Pioneer. Forward Hangar. 11.11.2052. 1945 hours.

  It took less than a minute for the emergency vehicle to arrive from sickbay. The doctor and medic were there so quickly, the hangar doors were still closing. They had to wait at the closed hatchway for air to be pumped back in. As soon as that was accomplished, the hatch slid open and the ambulance pulled into the hangar, screeching to a stop beside Joseph and Nori. Doctor Okoye jumped out of the front carrying a satchel.

  “Prime Cross, step aside please,” he said as Joseph slowly got to his feet and backed away from the injured Guardian, refusing to take his eyes off him.

  The vehicle’s driver hurried to the other side of Nori, joining Okoye.

  “Jules, we need to get him out of the suit,” Okoye said.

  “Yes, Doctor,” his assistant replied. They both started working on the clasps and snaps that kept the suit airtight. Joseph realized he could help, and he went around to Nori’s feet, unlocking the seals on his boots and tugging them off.

  “Prime, how do I remove the helmet?” Okoye asked.

  “I’ve got it,” Joseph replied, rushing to the other end and unlocking the headgear, careful to disconnect the wires leading to the suit’s power pack.

  They had the suit off inside of thirty seconds. Nori’s undershirt off in less than five. Joseph expected to see bite marks along his flesh, but there was only a single puncture, though it was close to three inches in diameter.

  Okoye removed a cleansing patch from his satchel, using it to wipe up the blood and sweat and sterilize the site. Then he pulled a twelve-inch square piece of plastic from the bag, putting it down on top of the wound. A wire connected it to the tablet he pulled out of the bag next, and he began tapping on it. “Jules, give him a dose of painkiller.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jules replied, opening the small pouch hanging from his hip and taking out a needle. He jabbed it into Nori’s neck. There was no clear reaction from the Guardian, but Okoye seemed pleased.

  “He’s lucky,” Okoye said, turning the tablet to show Joseph. The pad created a clear view of Nori’s internals, and while Joseph didn’t know how to read it and couldn’t tell one organ from another, he could see none of them were punctured. “It missed everything vital by millimeters.”

  Joseph stared at the image, and then pointed to a small dark spot that didn’t seem like it belonged. “What’s that?”

  Okoye looked at it, and then zoomed in. It was a cracked piece of something dark and mottled. A broken tooth? “It left something inside. We need to get him to sickbay so I can get it out. He should be stable. Can you help me lift him?”

  “Of course.”

  Joseph took Nori’s shoulders, while Jules took his feet and Okoye took his midsection.

  “On three,” Okoye said. “One. Two. Three.” They lifted evenly and carried him the short distance to the emergency vehicle, which had a gel surface lining the flatbed in the back. They placed him onto it and he sank in up to his ear, enveloped in the gel like it was a cocoon. Jules and Okoye climbed back onto the vehicle. “He’ll be okay,” the doctor offered. “He’s very lucky.”

  Joseph remained fixed in place as the ambulance made a tight turn, pausing for the hatch to open and then zooming off through the corridor. He stayed that way for a few more seconds, staring at the hatch as it closed and left him alone.