The other drone filled in a few of the missed spots, but it hadn’t reached the room with the people in it yet. “Any way you can get the second drone past the room? I’d like to know if they have another exit.”

Kee grunted and tapped on the screen. “I’ll try, but I doubt it, considering how fast they took down the first one. The telekinetic is likely in the room.”

I forced down the fear. Attacking a fortified telekinetic would be suicide without Torran’s assistance. But since he was going to be the first through the door, I assumed he knew what he was doing.

We entered the hallway with Torran’s nimtowiadwu leading the way. It seemed like scant protection, but it was better than nothing. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

We’d made it only a few meters when Kee cursed again. “Second drone is down. It registered four before failing.”

Four soldiers could probably hold the room, especially if they had cover. But were they merely buying time for the rest of their squad to escape, or were they fighting for their lives? The first meant they’d break and run if they met too much resistance, but if it was the second, they would be relentless.

At the final corner, Torran paused and peeked around the edge of the wall. I’d gotten used to the cool feel of his mind against mine, but the temperature dropped until it felt like I had an icicle in my brain. Torran jerked back and a plas pulse sailed by. It hit the far side of the hallway with a sizzle.

“Come out, General, and bring your humans with you,” the telekinetic woman called in heavily accented Common. A child cried out in pain. “Unless you want this one to die.”

“How many did you see?” I asked, directing my thoughts at him.

“The telekinetic, two humans, and Cien.”

Cien’s voice broke on a scream, and Torran’s fists clenched. “Stay here,” he ordered, then he surged around the corner, the nimtowiadwu floating in front of him.

Shit.

I couldn’t let him face the enemy alone. I muttered a string of curses and followed. The rest of the team fell in behind me. I didn’t want to give the telekinetic another chance to grab me, so I stayed behind Torran, my rifle covering his left. His broad shoulders blocked most of my view, but I quickly snuck a glance past him and wished I hadn’t.

The telekinetic wore a full set of Valovian armor, hiding her face. Two soldiers in human armor stood next to her with their plas rifles trained on Cien. Based on their height and thick builds, they were likely both men.