‘Get ready!’ she called. Mersadie nodded again, her mouth and throat dry. ‘Now!’ shouted Aksinya and half rose, pistols blazing through the hatch. Mersadie started up. She made it two strides. A trooper in heavy red armour was already at the hatch. Whether Aksinya had not realised how close they were, or if they had simply waded through her fire to reach the door, Mersadie would never know. She ducked to the side of the passage as the gun in the crimson trooper’s hands boomed. A round tore a hole in the floor where she had been.

Aksinya did not pause. Her first shot hit the crimson-clad trooper in the chest. The second hit the same mark a second later and punched through the red armour. The trooper tumbled back. Blood flared bright. Aksinya twitched aside as a beam of light stabbed through the doorway. Mersadie heard the air hiss as the beam pulsed. Aksinya was turning, spinning low with the momentum of her dodge to kick her heel into the crotch of the next figure through the door. Aksinya came up, a blade in hand. The crimson trooper brought its hand up to block the thrust, but the point of the blade slid up under the chin of its helm. Aksinya activated the blade’s power field, and the trooper’s skull exploded in its helm. The corpse began to fall. Aksinya let go of the dagger, yanked the pins from the grenades hanging from the trooper’s bandolier, and kicked the corpse back through the doorway before it could hit the floor. She ducked to the side, scooping up the knife as she moved. Beams of light snapped through the door at her.

Mersadie met the bodyguard’s gaze. There were scorch marks on Aksinya’s clothes and a spreading dark red stain on her stomach. Rage burned in her eyes as they met Mersadie’s.

‘Get the children to the shuttle!’ she shouted.

An orange blast wave punched through the open door. Pieces of burning fabric and broken armour scattered across the decking. Smoke clotted the air. Mersadie yelled in pain as the pressure broke over her. Beams lit the smoke pall, strobing out of time with the red pulse of alert lumens. Aksinya snapped a shot off through the hatch. For a second, in the red flash of light, Mersadie saw pain contort the bodyguard’s face.

‘Go!’ Aksinya shouted, and fired around the door again.

Mersadie pushed up from the wall and ran to the two children huddled beside the pipe. Noon was weeping, wet tears pouring down his cheeks. Mori was wide-eyed and breathing hard as she looked up at Mersadie. The girl said something, but the ringing was still filling Mersadie’s ears, blurring into her skull. She felt like she was going to vomit.