Page 46 (1/2)

He stood and walked away, his laughter fading in synch with her senses

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Plague Forge

2APR2285

Skyler lowered Russell Blackfield’s head to the floor, slid the dead runt He felt twice his norht, like he was seated on the floor of an aircraft ht; Not only was the facility being lifted off the ground; it was also accelerating upward

Across froazed blankly at the body of their former captive At theat the man who’d just saved his life, and the life of the woman he loved, Skyler couldn’t recall exactly what Blackfield had done wrong Sure, he’d been a woo without much in the way of evidence, but what else beyond that? He’d held Tania against her will, but never laid a finger on her He’d used his position in Nightcliff to gain a seat on the Orbital Council, which was probably within his right It wasn’t Russell’s fault that this happened to coincide with Neil Platz’s efforts to figure out the next Builder visit, a situation that forced everyone to choose sides

So what had Blackfield done? Destroyed Pruh in the lawless confines of Darwin this wasn’t exactly outside of his right, either Pruued the move

Granted, he’d sent numerous spies over to Belem Yet Skyler doubted he’d have done differently had he been in Blackfield’s shoes Tania, and Skyler to a degree, had stolen the primary source of food for Darwin It wasn’t a situation that could be allowed to linger on

And in the end Blackfield had been betrayed by Grillo, a ht Blackfield had fled to Beleht an entire station as his ticket for entry And what had they done? Assumed a trick, thrown him in a cell Skyler had pressed Tania to put the man out an airlock, advice that, if taken, would ht now

A tear rolled down Skyler’s cheek "Da?" Ana asked

He laughed, e soet under my skin How can I hate hi that’s happened," Skyler said with a reluctant grin, "in the end I’m the one who feels like an asshole"

Ana smirked "He was kind of a jerk"

"True, but our treatment of him was rather out of proportion for it, don’t you think?"

"Maybe," she aderous Erratic Everyone said so"

"Erratic, yes," Skyler said "Vary the pattern indeed"

The press of acceleration e way he envied the peaceful expression on Russell’s face Skyler hadn’t known rest like that in a long time And he suspected his turn was still a ways off "I don’t knohere this place is going," he said, "but I think we’d better prepare ourselves"

"I can hardly move," Ana said

"I know Still, we’re low on ammo, not to mention food Lots of bodies down below to search Soldiers, medics, et cetera"

Ana looked at hi about your chin"

Soed to bury the constant hot pain there At her mention he alht better of it "It’s okay as long as I don’t smile"

"It’s bad, Skyler Worse than that" She seeled to a standing position, wincing at a spike of pain from his knees In his years as a pilot he’d often accelerated at a pace like this, or even faster, but always it had been in a cushioned seat Trying to stand,twice the normal amount, felt like an unnecessarily cruel joke What could the Builders be doing with this da it off Earth as quickly as possible, he guessed But why?

"I guess on’t beour rendezvous in Darwin," Ana said The defeat in her voice stung

"Nope"

"Will your friends be okay?"

He considered that "They’ll think of so Get in touch with Belem at least, and come up with a new plan"

"You don’t sound convinced"

"I’" Skyler lumbered to the tunnel that led back down

"What about the … thing?"

"Leave it It’s not going anywhere" The last thing he wanted to do was lug that block around when it weighed twice its normal amount He took stock of the rest of his possessions on the way to the tunnel One Chinese assault rifle, no ammunition He almost tossed it aside when he realized it wouldhis manners, he held it out to Ana

She waved it off "You’re the old roaned Dammit if she didn’t always kno to dispel a bad ue"

"No wonder they’ve all run away"

At the tunnel Skyler paused to let his ears adjust They still rang froround din Plenty of other sounds reached hi noise, like pack ice settling, he guessed came from whatever lifted the facility to space Another space elevator, he wondered? Surely this building weighed far too much

Beneath that, a sound he kneell and dreaded nowof feet The occasional hiss or snarl He glanced at Ana and could tell fro theh; to do it when he felt like he wore a suitelse entirely Suicide, he guessed