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The trio had left Jarrah and Kowalski at the bottom of the stairs.
Jazz tried to look both ways at once and asked the most important question. “Why?”
Haru explained in crisp sentences. “We’re under attack. A military contingent arrived in the last shuttle of subs. They’re holding everyone at gunpoint.” He saved the worst for last. “And they’re planting bombs throughout the station.”
Aghast, Jazz looked at the two men by the stairs. Hours ago, she could have left with the first evacuation group. She had been asleep up in the women’s dorm when the evacuation order had been announced. Byrd had assured them it was of no concern, that it was a decision made through an abundance of caution. She had taken the man at his wordand, rather than leaving immediately, had gone down to the biology lab to secure all her research and collect samples to take with her. It was all too important to abandon.
That’s what I get for being so diligent.
She should have taken a page from her older brothers, who believed idleness was a great virtue and that the mere act of getting out of bed should be applauded.
Byrd reached a slanted door along one side of the tier. It lay directly across from the emergency airlock on the opposite side. Jazz knew this door led down to a set of auxiliary controls, a redundant system of batteries and generators, allowing each tier to be self-contained in case of a disaster.
This certainly counted as one.
Byrd hauled open the door and freed a large key hanging from a chain around his neck. He then climbed down the two steps to a dark chamber below.
Haru and Jazz remained at the door’s threshold.
“Better do something quick!” Kowalski called over, raising his pistol higher.
Down in the chamber, Byrd inserted his key into a console and gave it a hard twist. Lights flickered, then flared across a secondary bank of controls.
Directly behind her, a thunderous gunshot made her flinch and duck. The blast deafened and stung her ears. Still, she heard a sharp shout of surprise from the tier above.
Behind her, Kowalski shifted around the stairwell, angling for a second shot.
And luckily, he did.
Automatic gunfire sparked where he had been standing. Rounds pinged and ricocheted off the steel floor. They struck all around, even off the glass.
Jazz winced and ducked lower.
Kowalski fired again with the cannon in his hand, then shouted over to them. “Now or never!”
“Hang on!” At the auxiliary controls, Byrd pounded a fist on a red button with FIREstamped on it.
Immediately, a warning alarm blared across the tiers. Overhead, large bulkhead doors slammed closed, one after the other, sealing off each tier. The force was strong enough to shake the floor.
Two objects tumbled down the steps, bouncing and spraying blood. They landed at the foot of the steps.
A pair of severed legs.
Jazz gasped and nearly fell back into the compartment with Byrd. She realized the shooter must have been perched at the level of the hatch—and suffered for his trespass.
Kowalski stepped over the limbs, as if they were a couple of logs. He had to shout to be heard over the fire alarm. “This trick won’t buy us much time. They’ll just plant one of those Semtex charges right on top of us.”
Byrd shifted over to a pair of red levers. “Then let’s not be here when that happens.”
He pulled the smaller lever marked with the word ANCHOR. Sharp muffled bursts sounded outside. Beyond the window, thick cables fell away from the station’s sides and slithered to the seabed. Freed now of its attachments,Titan Station Downspun slightly over the reefs. The stabilizing thrusters kicked in, thrumming loudly as they fought to stop the station’s wobbling.
“How’s this gonna help us escape?” Kowalski asked.
“Like this.”
Byrd flipped four toggles, lighting each up—then hauled on the larger lever. It required both hands and some body weight to pull it down. It was stamped with the word UNCOUPLE.
As he snapped it into place, the entire station shook with a series of chunking clanks. Jazz lost her balance and grabbed the door jamb. The fire alarm immediately ceased. In the silence that followed, the noise of the thrusters grew in volume, tremoring the floor.
