There was a loud crack, then Suriya stumbled to a halt, so close to Maren that she could feel the other woman’s breath on her face. Suriya’s eyes, bloodshot and wild, met hers, then Maren scrambled backwards, putting space between them.

A glitter of silver to her right caught Maren’s attention. The knife, its blade dented, lay on the carpet. Maren glanced to her left and saw smoke coming from Saul’s gun.

Saul finally raised his gun to point at Suriya’s face, his eyes hard and unforgiving, his voice dangerously low. “Move so much as a step closer to her, and I will kill you.”

Suriya’s eyes darted from Saul to Maren to the knife. Sweat stood out clearly on her face, plastering her hair to her forehead and neck as she chewed the inside of her cheek. Then the red screen in the corner of the room emitted a beep—a final warning in advance of the lockdown ten minutes away—and Suriya turned in a flurry of motion, snatched her knife off the ground, and ran for the door she’d come through.

Saul waited until she’d disappeared from sight and the door slid back into place before lowering his gun with a heavy sigh. “Come here.” He held one hand out to Maren. She went to him gladly and gripped the offered hand, acutely aware of how grateful she was that he hadn’t been hurt.

“You came through the vents?” he asked, and she nodded. “Clever girl.” A smile spread over his face. It was a genuine toothy grin that crinkled his eyes, and it made Maren feel like her heart might be melting through her ribs. “Well done, Maren.”

She reached out to brush his hair off his forehead then pressed her cheek to his in a gentle nuzzle. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said.

“Same to you.” He kissed her neck then pulled back, his grey eyes concerned. “Where’s Gin?”

“Jeeze!” Maren had completely forgotten about the friend she’d left in the vent. She turned towards the hole in the wall and saw Gin’s blue eyes, round as saucers, peeking out of a white face. “Gin! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, course,” Gin said, the rest of her face coming into view. “There was just a lot of gunfire and yelling, so I thought it might be smart to stay hidden. I was going to come out when it went quiet, but, well, you two seemed to be having a moment, so…”

Maren, feeling heat grow over her face and ears, jogged to the vent to help Gin down. “Come on, we don’t have time to waste. Saul, we were able to get in touch with the ship. They’ll be touching down in a few minutes, and we’ve got to get to them before the flare.”

Saul glanced at the screen in the corner—eight minutes left—and his frown deepened.

Maren knew what he was thinking. “Yeah, it’ll be close. We won’t have time to go back through the vents.”