But it was the right choice. The only choice. Because somewhere in the past two weeks, his priorities had shifted without his permission or awareness. The Vault was still out there, still calling to him. But it wasn’t the only thing that mattered anymore.
Emma mattered. Ari mattered. The family he’d never asked for but couldn’t imagine losing. Right now, getting them off this asteroid was the only thing that mattered at all.
He reached the junction where the passages branched. The docking bay was to the right, maybe five minutes at a quick pace. If the Grorn hadn’t found theVagabondyet, they could be in hyperspace before anyone knew they’d been here.
Perhaps he could come back another time, better prepared, with reinforcements if necessary. But right now, his only priority was getting Emma and Ari to safety.
He moved quickly through the remaining tunnels, no longer bothering with stealth. Speed mattered more than silence now. Every second he lingered was a second for the Grorn to discover their presence, to stumble across his trail, to find theVagabondwaiting undefended in the docking bay.
The corridor widened and the walls smoothed. They were back in the station proper, the industrial construction a welcome change from the rough mining tunnels. He could see the blast doors ahead, the entrance to the docking bay?—
Voices. Again. But closer this time. Much closer.
From the docking bay.
“...ship wasn’t here before. Recent arrival. Someone else is searching for the artifact.”
“Notify Commander Veth. He’ll want to interrogate the pilot.”
“What about the ship? Standard protocol is?—”
“Leave it. Could be booby-trapped. We wait for the Commander’s orders.”
His blood ran cold.
They’d found theVagabond.
And Emma and Ari were still on board.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Doren’s heart slammed against his ribs so hard he could feel it in his throat.
Emma and Ari.
Their names pulsed through his mind like a heartbeat, drowning out everything else—the distant voices and the cold press of stone against his back. None of it mattered. Only the two females waiting on the ship while Grorn warriors stood between them.
He forced back the instinct to charge into the docking bay and listened. Based on the voices there were two at the bay entrance and at least two more inside. They hadn’t attempted to breach the ship yet, because they were waiting for orders. That gave him a few precious minutes, and he forced himself to catalog his resources. A plasma pistol with two charge packs, thirty shots total. A sonic grenade, nonlethal but enough to disorient the warriors for a few seconds. A knife. A medkit. The data crystal
He quickly decided the sonic grenade was the best option. It caused disorientation and temporary hearing loss and it would be especially effective against the Grorn because of theirsensitive hearing. It would disrupt them for fifteen seconds, maybe twenty. Not much time, but maybe enough.
He crept closer, close enough to see the two guards at the entrance to the docking bay—their massive silhouettes against the brighter lights of the bay beyond. Their scaled skin gleamed like wet stone, their solid black eyes reflecting nothing.
He could take both of them down before they had a chance to react, but the noise would alert the other warriors inside the bay, the ones who stood between him and the ship. Instead he circled around to the maintenance hatch that opened into the bay’s far corner, closer to the ship, the quietly slid the hatch open. From here he could see two more Grorn standing in front of the ship’s sealed hatch, plasma torches in hand, trying to cut through the reinforced metal.
He deliberately tapped the emergency beacon, to alert Emma that he was coming. Then he plugged his ears with pieces ripped from his shirt, and pulled the pin. The grenade sailed through the air in a perfect arc and landed at the Grorn’s feet with a soft clink. Both warriors looked down, their massive heads tilting in confusion.
Then the world exploded into sound.
Even with his ears blocked, the pulse threatened to knock him off his feet. His vision blurred, his teeth ached, and for one horrible second he couldn’t remember which way was up. But he’d been prepared. The Grorn hadn’t.
Both guards crumpled, their weapons clattering to the floor. One of them clawed at his ears, mouth open in a silent scream. The other had simply collapsed, his massive body twitching.
Now.
He was running before his legs fully agreed to cooperate. The Grorn by the entrance were further away and not as affected by the grenade and he aimed at them as he ran. His first shot took one in the shoulder, spinning him around with a spray of dark blood. The second shot went wide as the other warrior dove for cover.
“Emma, the hatch!” he yelled as he ran, and he heard the hatch hiss open.
