CHAPTER 46
MATHIRAS
Helen hovers behind me so close I can feel the filmy dress brush against my tail. It makes it difficult to focus, but I do my best to concentrate, knowing that the situation could escalate at any time. The moment they realize I’m out here, hacking into the security programs instead of approaching them? All kef will break loose.
But I believe in taking control of a situation. I won’t put Helen in danger if there’s no need to. And if Zebah is truly here to be an ally, she’ll understand my caution.
Adi pings me just as I shut down all the doors. “Big problem. Another ship just docked.”
Kef. I’ve been so busy locking Zebah in that we’re now officially locked out and stuck in the hall. “On it,” I tell my brother. To Helen, I say, “Stay at my side. I’m figuring this out.”
“I’ve got your back,” she tells me, pulling out her blaster and wearing a fierce expression that also manages to be adorably cute.
I pull up a schematic on the security panel, squinting at the tiny drawing. There’s no bot storage compartments built into the walls here, but I do see a package chute down the next hall over. We just have to get there. I flick through the schematic. It looks like the tunnel we’re in only has one door—the one I’m standing in front of—but once we get through that doorway, it opens up into a semi-circular hall that hugs the main processing silo and control room. I can keep the control room—which is probably where Zebah is—locked down. If we get to the semi-circular hall, we can hide in the package chute until we figure out who these newcomers are.
I know we’re running low on time, but I do a quick full-station scan for intelligent life-forms. Sure enough, Zebah is in the control room, along with two other unknowns. There are six coming down another hall, which worries me. I’m sure they’ll be able to hack as well, but at least what I’ve done will slow them down. I tap a finger on my comm. “Get ready to move, Adi. Something tells me we won’t be here long.”
“On it.” My brother isn’t fooling around for once, thank kef. “You coming back through the tunnel?”
“Not just yet. I want to see what our friend Zebah has for us.” Plan hasn’t changed. We knew it was a trap, we just didn’t know the logistics. Now that we do, we can act. I disable our door’s locks and manually drag it open. “Follow me, Helen.”
“Following,” she sings out, and I don’t know if she realizes there’s danger yet. She sounds entirely too happy.
I pull her through and then race down the hall, looking for the package chute. There’s a processing center ahead of us, and I spot what we need. “Helen, love, do you trust me?”
“Yes!” she sing-songs out.
“Great. I need you to climb in after me, all right? I’ll go in first. I know you don’t like small spaces, but I’ll be with you.” And I approach the chute, climbing onto the stopped conveyor belt and pulling open the metal door that leads into the shaft. I glance back at her. “Can you do this?”
Helen immediately holsters her gun and tucks her skirts into her belt, then gives me a firm nod. “Just don’t leave me behind.”
“Atta girl. And I’d never leave you behind. Hold my tail if you get scared.” I’ll just have to tune out how it feels if she grabs it. With one last look around, I head for the security panel and check it. Sure enough, they’re trying to hack into my program. I set it to scramble passwords every five seconds, hoping to buy us a few more minutes, and then head into the chute. It’s a tight fit, my horns and shoulders about to scrape the sides, but I’m more worried about Helen. When she climbs in behind me, I pause. “Can you close the chute behind you?”
She does, and then immediately reaches for my tail. “It’s dark,” she whispers, clutching the fuzzy end. “I’m not sure I like this.”
“I know, love. You’re being so damn brave.”
“Does it get you hard?”
“As a rock,” I agree, grinning into the darkness. Her hand on my tail isn’t helping things.
“Then I’ll be braver.”
I couldn’t be prouder. “I’ll lead the way. We’re going to move along this belt for a bit and then surprise Zebah and her buddies. Follow my scent if you lose me. We’re going straight ahead, and then I’m going to turn left and then right.”
“Okay.”
I start crawling ahead on hands and knees. Well, since I have to duck my head so my horns don’t scrape the metal, it’s more elbows and knees. Still not the most dire situation I’ve ever been in. Maybe years of corsairing have destroyed my sense of danger, but this is nothing. We just need enough time to shake Zebah down, get what she knows (if anything) and then head out.