Excerpt
The lights in the corridor turned off for a split second as something crashed into the ceiling above him. The floor shook, sending them tumbling from their feet. He hit the wall hard, managing to keep his hold on Ellie and preventing her from falling to the ground too. Whatever had crashed above must have been of a reasonable size. He shoved himself away from the metal wall and ran for the door of her suite, which was missing its usual guard detail.
He was surprised to see the door wide open.
Looking every inch the wealthy and powerful woman that she was, Ellie’s mother, Rose, stood in the middle of the opulent living area, her arms folded against her spare chest, speaking to two of the station's security personnel. She turned to Axel, as if she'd been expecting him, her disapproving stare cutting at him as she dismissed the heavily armed guards with a nod.
"Axel, you've come to save us," Rose said, her voice dry with sarcasm. Then she was moving toward Ellie, her green eyes flashing. “What's happened to my daughter?”
He focused on Ellie, still leaning on him for support, avoiding the question as he quickly shut and locked the door after the guards. "The station is under heavy attack. You need to leave. Now." He nodded toward the room's assigned emergency escape capsule on the far wall. Due to the station`s emergency status, it was lit up, the oblong door panel glowing softly for easy discernment in dim light.
"My security is adequate. We don't need you, Axel Ryan," Rose said and the cold look in her eyes as she assessed him made him question how much she knew of his involvement with the attack. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about your own safety right now." She reached for her daughter and slid her arm around her shoulders, her expression full of concern as Ellie tried to stand on her own, but couldn't. "Ellie, love. What the hell has he done to you now?"
"Snot...safe..." Ellie mumbled. "Axel?" She blinked at him, her hand gripping his shoulder tightened as if she was afraid to let go. Her eyes steadied on his as she focused on him. "Don't—"
An explosion rocked the room. Throwing them all to the floor.
"Warning, hull breach imminent,” the station emergency system said in calm, female tones.
Axel, blinked, shaking his head. A buzzing sound filled his mind. He thrust himself to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body, and sought out Ellie. She was on the ground a half meter away, her mother kneeling beside her. He shook his head again, but it didn't stop the ringing in his ears. Had he blacked out? How long did they have? Not more than a moment or two before the pirates gained entry and came gunning for the wealthy hostages he`d promised them they could have.
"Warning, hull breach imminent,” the station emergency system repeated.
"I know!" Rose shouted. "What the hell happened to the emergency bulkheads?" She struggled to help Ellie to rise, but Ellie was batting her hands away.
"No, no, no," she whimpered, as if in pain.
“Christ.” Axel lurched toward her. What the hell had he done? No ship was worth this.
"Warning, hull breach imminent.”
“Escape pod. Now!” he shouted. Built for two, the women would be protected by the automatic defence system on board, while the pod sped them to the safety of the nearby Terran colony on Europa.
“Oh God,” Rose said, panic clear in her voice as she checked Ellie over. "I think its her leg."
“I’ll bring her. Just go!” Axel picked up Ellie, ignoring the way she winced and screamed as her left foot banged his thigh, and hurried in the direction of the escape pod.
Smoke was seeping in around the edges of the main door, making the red light of the emergency system a hazy mist. The sound of stressed metal reverberated throughout the room. As did the resonant hum of blasters being fired.
“This is all your fault, you bastard!” Rose screamed at him, speaking aloud what Axel already knew to be true. It was his fault. All of it. The betrayal. The hurt. All of it.
The pod door slid open with the touch of Roses hand. Her expression sparked with hatred as she pressed herself into the upright harness of the cylindrical tube and reached for her daughter. Axel helped Ellie into the other tether as he counted the seconds in his mind, willing the main door to hold just a heartbeat longer. One, two, three—
Boom!
The stressed metal exploded, breaching the room.
“Axel!” Ellie screamed. She reached for him, her green eyes wide.
“Only room for two,” he said and hit the release button.
The capsule door slammed shut, separating the two women from his view. Then it was gone, disappeared down the launch tube.
