walls.”
“And it will minimize the exposure to the population.”
“Correct.”
“Right. I will make the hole.”
Zez nodded and watched the aliens crowd the embassy as they dropped into position.
“I need that hole, Immune.”
A whirring sound reached her ears, and a blast sounded. The folk near the embassy recoiled, but someone inside was in communication with Immune, and they started to move toward the ship.
“They need to surround me, and we will walk out together.”
“Understood. Embassy security will do a live briefing. They are ready when you are.”
She unhitched her links to the ship and jumped to the ground. She ran toward the evacuees and arranged them to her satisfaction. “If anyone falls, pick them up. We can’t go back, so we all have to go forward. Stay together, move as quickly as you can, and we will get you out safely.”
The crowd murmured her instructions, and she lifted her hand in the air, moving forward.
The attackers were only just arriving at the hole in the gates, so it was easy to lock them. The group picked up speed.
It was exhausting keeping the spaceport locked down while walking three kilometres with weapons pointed at them, their owners locked in a temporal seizure.
Zez kept them moving until her feet touched the tarmac. The evacuees separated and headed for their ships. It was a relief to release the crews as the first of those who were being rescued made it onto their ships.
Ten minutes later, Zez cleared the tarmac and watched the ships taking off. She held the insurgent army back and cleared her throat. “Well, Immune, if you wanted to come and get me, that would be great.”
“I am in the air. See you in two minutes.”
She looked around at the men and women aiming guns at the sky, locked up and frozen at her whim. “Oh, yeah, that can’t possibly go wrong.”
While she waited for the shuttle, she carefully disarmed the fighters near her. She laid their weapons on the ground, carefully aiming them toward the distant hills.
All pulled triggers were going to remain so the moment she released her confined targets.
When the shuttle reached her, a ladder descended, and she didn’t hesitate. In seconds, she was hanging from the metal rungs and the ship was lifting off.
Climbing quickly was part of her training. She held the folk on the ground as long as she could until she was flopping into the ship. The weapons fire kicked in as she squirmed to safety and hit the door closure.
Lying on her back, she fought for breath as the hours of tension rippled and relaxed. She kept breathing slowly and let her body normalize.
The shift from gravity to the artificial system was obvious to her. The pitch of the engines changed, and she could sense the smooth engagement of the navigation computer.
She got up on her hands and knees, working her way toward upright.
Immune came into the hold with a ration bar and a bag of water. “Here you go.”
She nodded and took the sustenance. “Thanks.”
“You are impressive.” He had an amused look on his features. His eyes were a shade of purple so deep they were nearly black.
“That is the idea. If I were crappy at this, I wouldn’t be here.” She tore into the ration bar and drank some water. “Are all the evacuees accounted for?”
“Each and every one. They picked up the stragglers and stayed in the group.”
“Good. I wasn’t sure we got them all, but everyone seemed pretty calm when we got to the ships.” She munched and paused for a yawn.
“You are tired?”
“Little bit. If you don’t mind, I will rest a little on the journey back to Citadel Necridid.”
“Rest by all means, but we are not returning to Necridid.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“There are more events needing your particular talents. You have been assigned to the Sector Guard for the foreseeable future. This was your test.”
“I have to be home in the next few months.”
He shrugged. “It may be possible. It may not be.