The tentacles on his rib cage functioned almost autonomously in the heat of battle. One made repeated strikes on her head, aiming for her eyes and with a scream of frustration, she retreated, clawing at her ‘face’. “What did you do? What have you done to me, you unspeakable monster?”
He noted the irony of a Shemdylann calling him a monster but didn’t allow himself to be distracted. She’d taken a number of his most poisonous hits but was still functioning at a high level and he was sure she was going to try to fake him out and get past him to strike at Gianna.
Trevor threw himself in her path as she did indeed spin and juke and their bodies clashed with a force that left him breathless, the commander yanked out one of his wings, tearing it from his body by the root and he screamed in pain and defiance. Her injured eye was oozing yellowish ichor now and he aimed his tentacles at her other eye but either through luck or increasing knowledge of him as an opponent, she fended him off.
There was the whine of a pulse rifle, the energy bolt striking the Shemdylann at the base of her neck and she reared up, dropping him. Immediately Trevor pinpointed a gap in her armored underplates with his barbs, sending all six to the target in a barrage which threw him off balance. Falling to the deck, he rolled away. She emitted an ear splitting scream and collapsed, narrowly missing him. Head lolling, tail flaccid, legs twitching slightly, the Shemdylann lost control of her bodily functions and venom and other excretions flowed in a stinking stream across the deck.
Out of breath, Trevor looked for the member of his military team who must have fired the shot but there was no one in the chamber other than himself, the dead captain, the paralyzed guards…and Gianna. He spun on his heel, nearly toppling over, to see her clutching the weapon awkwardly. “You shot her?”
“I had to help,” Gianna said. “I aimed for the places you seemed to be targeting and mostly I missed, but I got lucky with one shot.”
“That’s all that matters.” The agony from his back where the wing had been ripped out was crushing. He didn’t dare transform to human yet though. He had to reach the sortie ship to ensure Gianna’s survival and he might have to impress more Shemdylann on the way. “We—we have to hurry. We’re past the deadline but Jake will wait.”
She came to his side, handing him the weapon. “Lean on me and tell me where we need to go.”
He was reluctant to touch her in his transformed shape but he was badly hurt and having a hard time focusing. Verlaine barked behind the muzzle and raced to the door, craning his neck to look over his shoulder at them impatiently. Trevor gritted his teeth and limped after the Tajikka, putting more of his weight onto Gianna than he wanted to.
He paused briefly to set the mine he’d been carrying and leave it on the deck.
“You have to promise to explain all this to me later,” she said as they emerged into the hall, which was empty. Trevor was glad the captain had come alone to gloat over her prisoner. He wasn’t positive he could immobilize any more Shemdylann right now and combat was out of the question.
Verlaine moved fast, whining and running to them, then going ahead again.
“How far do we have to go?” Gianna asked, breathing hard and staggering under his weight.
“Not—not too far. But there should be explosions by now. We’re cutting this awfully close.”
They made it past the first alien he’d paralyzed, who remained unconscious. As they stepped cautiously around Trevor’s victim, the ship shuddered. Alarms shrilled and there was a series of explosions. Trevor lost his balance and fell, taking Gianna with him. Verlaine pulled frantically on her dress, trying to help her up.
“You go ahead,” Trevor said, afraid he might lack the strength to rise. “See the door there? Our team will be inside. They’ll get you to safety.”
“I’m not leaving you—I love you and we’re in this together.” She got both hands on the remnants of his shirt and yanked. “Come on, on your feet, soldier, the job’s not done yet.”
Rather than waste time arguing, he braced himself against the bulkhead with one hand and made it to his feet as there was a second series of explosions. He heard Shemdylann voices approaching and smelled their scent, which gave him the adrenaline necessary to pick up his pace. Now he was the one dragging her as he made his last, best effort, getting them both inside the cargo bay and slamming the portal shut behind them as a squad of soldiers scuttled by.
Jake and Owen materialized out of the gloom. “Lords of Space, could you cut it any closer?” Jake asked.
“Take her and go,” Trevor said, slumping to the floor. “Don’t worry about me.”
Jake gave Owen a glance, conveying an unspoken order, grabbed Gianna by the wrist and pulled her into a run toward the exterior bulkhead as Verlaine loped alongside. Using his immense strength, Owen got Trevor onto his feet again, arm slung across the cargo master’s shoulder, and moved as fast as he could to follow Jake. “You know we never leave anyone behind, lieutenant.”
By the time they reached the spot where the combat dock gave access to their ship, Jake was boosting Gianna into the opening. Then he scooped Verlaine up and bodily shoved the hound into the hole. Someone grabbed the Tajikka from above and he disappeared with a yelp. Jake ran to assist Owen and together the two men hoisted Trevor into the aperture. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he was dragged through the opening by his other team members and deposited on the deck of the sortie ship.
“We gotta go,” Red shouted. “Damn ship is breaking apart.”
Gianna knelt beside Trevor’s head, stroking his hair. “Hang on, please hang on.”
Verlaine laid down next to him, nudging his hand until he rested nearly nerveless fingers on the hound’s head.
Owen appeared in the ship, turning immediately to grab Jake’s wrists and yank him to safety. Red leaned over and sealed the combat dock and Jayna already had them in motion, exiting through the same design flaw she’d exploited to enter the ship and dropping away from the dying Shemdylann vessel. Head pillowed in Gianna’s lap, Trevor struggled to remain conscious. He whistled at the destruction shown on the vid screens.
“Do we know where to plant the damn ordnance or not?” Red said, catching his eye and giving an exuberant thumbs up. “No rusty skills here!”
“Hitting hyperdrive now,” Jayna said through the com.
The small ship jolted before settling into the smooth rhythm of traveling through hyperspace.
His teammates got an antigrav litter under him and then Jake went to work with the first aid kit, attempting to stem the bleeding. Trevor was in and out of consciousness but every time he opened his eyes, Gianna was right there by his side, trying to assist.
“Guess I took more hits from the bitch than I realized,” he said. Shemdylann venom was coursing through him, bringing waves of pain. He could hardly catch his breath.
“Should you shift back to human?” Jake asked.
Trevor didn’t have the energy at the moment and he was afraid to try so he stalled for time. “I’ll wait for the doctor’s opinion, no offense.”
“None taken, soldier. Emily will fix you right up once we hit the sickbay.” Jake squeezed his shoulder, checked Gianna’s outward state and walked away.