“Two left!” Warner called as another Drudger rushed up behind him. Emery swept its legs out from underneath it, but its talons tore a bloody gash in Warner’s thigh on the way down. He growled, but the pain seemed to fuel his strength as he spun to pin the Drudger while Emery dealt the killing blow—another swift knife deep into its throat.
Cavalon had just wondered where the last remaining Drudger went when a metal-clawed hand burst through the small observation port in the braced door. The glass shattered, raining down his shoulders. He ducked as the bloody arm clawed blindly. Jackin spun away too slowly and the metal claw caught him across the top of the shoulder, tearing three long slices through his uniform.
The optio growled and blood seeped from his shoulder, but he didn’t hesitate. He lunged and crossed both knife blades through the inside of the rogue arm, slicing it to the bone, right at the fleshy inside of the elbow. The Drudger bellowed a roar and ripped its arm back, bloody flesh catching on the jagged glass shards.
Cavalon grimaced and fully pressed his back against the door again. He clenched his teeth, glaring at the floor as sweat dripped off his forehead and onto his boots.
“Another squad’s incoming!” Warner bellowed, hissing as he gripped the bloody gash on his thigh.
Cavalon twisted to look down the hall. Emery pulled her knife free from her target’s chest—the mangled-arm Drudger, who twitched violently before slumping the rest of the way to the ground. Behind her, five more stood just inside the secondary airlock door frame. They looked at their fallen comrades, then their overlarge eyes trained on Warner and Emery.
Cavalon took a deep breath, and his skin ignited as his Imprints flew into action. They sped his movements, boring down into the muscles of his back as he turned, flipping around to cradle the door in his open arms.
“Watch out!” he called.
Emery and Warner dashed to either side of the air lock as Cavalon stepped forward, spun the door horizontal, and threw it down the hall into the clump of Drudgers.
All five toppled to the ground as the door flew through their ranks. The gnarled metal landed with a resounding clang against the doorjamb of the secondary air lock, then fell back onto the pile of prone Drudgers.
Warner scoffed a laugh. “Shit.”
Cavalon stumbled into the wall below the hatch, panting as the full strength of his Imprints subsided. His skin and muscles burned as the squares slid back into their standard formation.
“Install that core!” Jackin ordered.
Emery rushed past Cavalon, warp core clutched under one arm, filled to the brim with glowing acium. She scaled the rungs and disappeared into the ship.
Warner stumbled up, gripping his thigh in one thick hand. Blood poured between his fingers, though he seemed mostly unfazed. He gave Cavalon a weary grin. “Nice one.”
Cavalon panted and nodded, but there was no time for warm fuzzy bonding, because half a second later, the discarded, beaten door clanged as it flew aside and the Drudgers scrambled to stand back up. Jackin grabbed Cavalon’s shoulder and threw him toward the hatch as a bolt pinged off the metal beside him.
“Inside!” Jackin barked.
Cavalon scrambled up, then fell through the hatch into the SGL. His Imprints rushed to protect him, coating his knees and palms before he landed hard on the metal floor—though it was actually the wall.
“Core’s up!” Emery called. Her neon-laced boots appeared, and she gripped Cavalon’s arm to help him stand. Warner slid through the opening and down the wall, with a great deal more grace than Cavalon had managed.
Jackin immediately swung from the hatch into the cockpit as bolts flew through the opening, burning streaks into the ceiling. Warner pounded the control switch with his open palm, wiping blood down the screen. The hatch slid shut and the din of plasma fire dampened.