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"She … offered us power," a guy with blueish-purple skin replied slowly. "The galaxy at our feet."
"If you follow her, the galaxy is going to be at your door," I said. "Bashing it down to get in and stop you."
"An IF fleet is a couple of days away," J'avet said. "This is your last chance to surrender."
"Never," Yinika hissed. She twisted and lunged for a button on the console behind her. Before she could hit it, a flash from a blaster shot out toward her. It hit her in the centre of her chest. She let out a gurgling cry and sagged onto the console. With her fingertips, she made a last swipe at the button, but slid down the console and onto the floor.
There she lay, surrounded by nanobots.
Danec looked stunned.
For a moment, I thought he shot her. Then I saw a blaster in J'avet's hand and satisfaction on his face.
"Now you have to live with it," I said softly.
His brows rose slightly. "Better me than Danec."
I wasn't sure it was that simple, but it was done now.
"I'll accept unconditional surrender from all of you," J'avet said to the remaining baddies.
I couldn't think of them any other way. They were all complicit.
"You have mine," the man said.
"And mine," a weary-looking woman agreed.
"Mine also," said a third.
Before anyone else could speak or move, a ripple passed through Yinika's body. The hole in her chest, where she was hit by the blaster, became wider and wider. A trickle of nanobots drained out of her, onto the floor. The trickle became a flood. They headed for the consoles and started to eat through the metal.
"I think we need to switch these off," I said.
"Now," J'avet said. He swapped his blaster for his anti-bot device and started to fire. "Is there a master switch?"
"Yes," the Freytauri man said. "Over on the—"
"Just use the fucking thing," J'avet snapped.
"Yes, of course." The man stepped carefully around the bots and hurried to the console on the other side of the room.
J'avet and Zarex followed and I was close behind. Danec slid a hand into one of mine and Slek moved in close enough for our arms to touch.
"We have company," Brinley said.
I glanced toward the door. Every Iri in the complex looked to have congregated and were pushing through the door toward us. The ones who had already been in the room formed a half circle around us.
"Quickly," J'avet snapped.
The man nodded. "This will take two to three minutes."
"We might not have that long." J'avet waved Slek and E'rel over. "Help him. The rest of you, use your devices."
I turned so my back was to Slek and fired off a few shots from the anti-bot device. I missed one, but hit three who froze, slowing down the Iri behind them until they fell. The Iri stepped over them, only to be shot as well.
The bunker creaked.
The nanobots ate their way up the console, almost to the ceiling. Their numbers were double, maybe triple by now.
