For a moment there was no movement as the crew of the Icarus stared at the shattered remains of Crayt’s robotic bodyguard, lying in a smoldering heap. It was less than a second.

But it was still long enough for Number One to look at the back wall of the hangar where all of the hulking black mining bots had been left to gather dust. Her eyes flashed, activating protocols, sending a wake-up call.

Then the entire wall came to life.

Leo had seen mining bots in action before. Back on Earth, swarming the giant chasm outside his hometown, disappearing inside only to hover back out again. They never made contact with humans; there was no need. The Aykari handled all of the elemental extraction themselves. As such, Leo had only ever observed these robotic workers from a distance, like all of those silver ships streaking across the sky.

From far enough away, just about anything looks harmless. From far away, you can’t actually see the deadly sharp saws spinning.

The mining bots disengaged from their charging stations, advancing en masse upon the crew. Like Boo, they had four arms each, but unlike Boo, one of those arms ended in a buzz saw and another in a high-speed drill capable of putting a hole through stone. The two remaining appendages tapered down to sharp pincers that Leo knew could crush his bones the way he might snap a twig.

Also, they could fly. Or at least they could hover. Miniature repulsor engines capping off their undercarriage allowed them to levitate. They looked like giant floating spinning tops crossed with something out of a horror movie about a psychopathic dentist.

And they seemed highly interested in Leo. Or in what he was holding.

“Go, Leo!” Kat said, snatching the rifle from Crayt, who looked happy to be rid of it. The next instant she was firing at the closest mining bot, needing three shots just to bring him down. “Seriously, ship rat, run!”

Leo scrambled back up to his feet, then spun around in circles. He would gladly do as ordered, but there wasn’t really anywhere to run to. Everywhere he looked, pirates were already locked in combat with mechanical miners. There was Baz, still balanced precariously on top of the Icarus, his pistol in one hand, a wrench in the other, taking shots however he could get them. To Leo’s left stood the Queleti in a twisted arm-wrestling contest, using all his strength to keep a saw from splitting his head. Kat stood in front of Zirkus Crayt, emptying the bounty hunter’s rifle of its charge at the oncoming wave.

And then there was Skits, treads leaving marks on the hangar floor as she charged toward Number One, every metal appendage extended, screaming obscenities as loud as her emitter would let her.

“Leo, watch out!” Kat shouted.

Leo ducked just as a spinning saw blade came sweeping down from above, aiming to separate his head from his shoulders. The mining bot turned and bore down on him again, until a volley of energy bolts fired from Kat’s stolen rifle sent it reeling.