Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

breeze. But then her guns fell silent, and the Ghost Warriors kept coming. Pearce was back on his feet again, reaching for her. Frost grabbed up her sword again, determined she'd die before she let them drag her off to Shub's bloody laboratories.
    Silence and Cross got to the elevators and used their amplified strength to force the doors open. The two security men charged into the lift, pulled the control mechanism out of the wall, and began quickly preparing an override.

    Silence would have liked to turn and see how Frost was doing, but he needed all his strength to hold the elevator doors open. They strained against his hands with an almost malevolent urgency, and Silence could hear a faint straining sound from the servomechanisms in his suit's arms. He was wearing an exploratory suit, designed for protection, not the stronger and better-equipped battle suit.
    It wouldn't last much longer. One of the security men yelled out in satisfaction, and the pressure from the doors was suddenly gone. Silence and Cross let go of them and hurried into the elevator. They turned as one and opened up with their disrupters, the energy bolts blowing away Ghost Warriors to either side of Frost.
    "Get your ass over here, Investigator!" yelled Silence. "We are leaving!"
    Frost turned and ran for the elevator without hesitation, There was no dishonor in running from Ghost Warriors. They'd keep coming as long as their computer implants remained intact, no matter what state their bodies might be in. The only answer to this many Ghost Warriors was massed disrupter cannon. She threw herself into the elevator, and the security men let the elevator doors close behind her. Dead fists beat against the doors, denting the metal, but Silence had already hit the up button. He hit it a few more times, just in case, and took a deep breath as the elevator began to rise.
    "Dauntless, this is Silence. Do you hear me?"
    "Loud and clear, Captain."
    "Check the sensors. Any life-form readings on the Champion's bridge?"
    "No, Captain."
    "Damn. All right; we are heading back to the pinnace in a hurry. This ship is crawling with Ghost Warriors. You are not to allow the pinnace or any other vessel from the Champion to dock with you until sensors have confirmed that only
    the living are aboard. Once we've docked, open up with everything you've got until there's nothing left of the Champion but a few glowing atoms. If we can't get to you and you consider the Dauntless to be in danger, forget us and blow the Champion apart anyway. We are expendable. Is that clear, Dauntless?"
    "Clear, Captain," said the calm voice of his Second in Command. "We'll give you every second we can, but you must be docked before we open fire. Otherwise, the energy will fry you."
    "I know. But the Dauntless's safety comes first. Confirm."
    "Confirmed, Captain. Good luck."
    The elevator slowed suddenly, catching them all off balance. The security man at the controls swore dispassionately. "Something's fighting my override. I don't know how much longer I can maintain control, Captain."
    "Stop at the next floor," said Silence. "We're getting off. Can't risk being taken back down again."
    The security man nodded, and the elevator lurched to a halt. The doors opened, and Silence and his people spilled out into an empty corridor, swords at the ready. Silence accessed his map of the Champion again, displaying it on the inside of his helmet. They were seven floors down and quite a distance away from the air lock that would give them access to their pinnace. They'd have to stick to the walkways and hope the Ghost Warriors didn't have some way to block them.
    He dismissed the map and looked at the two security men. Their blank helmets stared impassively back at him, waiting for orders.
    "There's no point in going back to the bridge," Silence said evenly. "Your comrades are dead. And I never even knew their names. Tell me yours."
    One of the men indicated himself, and then his friend. "Corporal Abrams and
    Corporal Fine, sir. Don't mind Fine. He doesn't say much."
    "Pleased to meet you, Corporals. If we get back to the Dauntless alive, you're both Sergeants. Now let's get moving. Frost, take the point. Cross, watch our rear. Move it, people!"
    And so they ran, back through the deserted corridors of the death ship, the hammering of their armored boots on the steel floor a constant roll of thunder, prophesying a storm to come. Silence flashed the map up on his inner helmet again, counting off the