Page 126 of Bride of the Enemy Alien

“You do not.”

“Probably not, but this is a terrible time to explain.”

He looks past me at the line disappearing into the wall.

“The rail carries it.”

I follow his gaze.

The same transport rail holding his cage runs under the receiver. A narrow green conduit is clipped to its side, almost hidden beneath black brackets.

Of course.

Everything in this place shares a route.

“Can you reach it?” I ask.

Rhazek looks at the torn bar in his hands.

“Yes.”

Gray lunges for me, but I duck.

“Do it!”

Rhazek drives the bar down between the cage rail and the green conduit. The chamber flashes white-green. The receiver screeches. Gray spins toward the console.

“No!”

I grab the loose edge of the cracked panel and yank with both hands. The metal tears open far enough to expose a cluster of pulsing lines. I don’t know which one matters. So I cut all of them.

The bone-handled knife bites through the first line and throws sparks into my face. The second melts against the blade. The third snaps with a sound like a tiny scream.

The light running toward the wall stutters and then stops.

Gray makes a sound I’ve heard from ration thieves when they realize the last jar is empty.

Despair.

Then the zemlja hits.

The floor rises in a rolling wave. Metal bends. Stone cracks. One transport rail peels upward. The receiver tears free of its remaining mount and slides toward the widening gap.

Gray grabs it. I grab the floor. Only one of those choices works.

The receiver drops into darkness with Gray still clinging to it. Green light spins once below us, shrinking fast. Then stone slams over the gap. I don’t wait to see if Tajss spits him back out.

“Kessa!” Syin roars.

I scramble up.

Renn and Syin have the service panel nearly open. One guard is down by the wall. The other is running for the outer passage. I wish him luck. Not much, but some.

“Rhazek!”

He has both hands around the bent cage opening. The overload twisted the front frame, but not enough.

I run back and jam the bone handle into the damaged latch.