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“Fuck,” heto plan at all

Jade killed her faltering engine The hull was about to be ripped to shreds by the collisions with the other captured craft and Stealth couldn’t escape the indiscriminate tractor beam It was a futile situation

Dae report, boomed the computer Recommend evacuation Hull breach imminent

“Tell me about it” Jade scowled She’d had to pick herself off the floor several times with the force of the successive impacts The computer had failed to spot the tractor beam or the shuttle because Jade had circuines prior to the scanners The way the co at her made her think it was truly human and not the voice of a machine

“Idiot,” she shouted back There was little to do but hope the tractor beam cut out, then allow Stealth to limp back and re-dock with the Titan interceptor

She waited The terrible noises of the two ships tussling with each other ended Everything went quiet

Tractor bea

“I know, I know” With relief, Jade took control of her ailing ship and reengaged the airlock Her palms were sweaty and her hands shook as she flicked the sequence of switches that shut down Stealth’s engine She inspected the outside dah a portal One side was battered and bits of debris were floating off into space

Stepping through the airlock into the interceptor’s docking area, she waited for Mason to appear and declare her incoreeted her return Where was he?

She edged along the wall, not daring to expose herself out into the open When she approached the airlock attached to the other shuttle, the hatch sprang open and through it fell a er ispy hair and a tattoo of a snake coiled around his neck He landed on the floor facedown and stayed there, un over the threshold was an irate-looking Mason with blood trickling down the side of his face

Jade gasped “Mason! What happened?”

“What happened?” Mason glowered “What happened, sweetheart, was you escaping while I was in thethis piece of shit As you left the dock, the beaed your ship by mistake and boom! I was in the airlock about to board the shuttle when this jerk took advantage of the confusion and clobberedof the inert man

“Are you alright?” He’d called her sweetheart—oddly, it affected her in a stupid way; she wanted to reach out and wipe away the blood He was hurt and it was her fault

“Yes,” he said with brevity, appearing to catch his breath “The tractor beae I ed to reacquire my weapon and KO’d him” He pointed at his prisoner “You caht of his fiery eyes—the e

Jade sed hard “Yes My ship is too badly dao anywhere”