Seonaid said:
Ktarle's eyes narrow to slits as she looks at Ruzz'koff. "You need to wear the suit. You won't survive a drop in pressure without one. Your injuries are too great. Unless you can find another suit, we're leaving that"--she points to the suit--"for you." She turns to Vyrkris. "Put on a mask," she says. "You'll be fine with just that."
Ruzz'koff looks to the doctor, stifles a cough so as not to spew blood and prove her point, and then to Vyrkris who nods. Ruzz'koff lets his ears droop. "You sure about that, girl? We can put you in the human suit - you won't be able to move much, but at least it would be sealed--"
"And sit there on a possibly hostile ship completely helpless? No thanks. I'd rather at least be able to make myself useful somehow. " She mutters under her breath: "I can't believe graduation was only three weeks ago...."
Ruzz'koff quickly dons the vac suit, aided by Vyrkris after she finishes affixing the air mask to her muzzle. The he programs a quick, and apparently random autopilot course into the boat's computer. "I'll start the timer when we've got the hatch open, then we've got thirty seconds to get into the airlock and get the hatch shut again. If that missle is going to hit the boat, no sense having the boat anywhere near us."
Vyrkris opens the boat's hatch, and the airlock hatch opens without trouble - Tomas has disabled the security pad, not just bypassed it. "Okay, let's go. When we get aboard, first priority is find the others. We don't know if they're jammed inside the ship, too. We stay together, both of you behind me, until we find them. Vyrkris, give that pistol to Ktarlewaweikye.
[*she does*] If we encounter hostiles, you move back and take cover. Your only job for now is to keep that mask firmly in place. Ready? Go!" He grabs the unused human-sized vac suit and pushes the button activating the countdown on the auto pilot.
All three move into the airlock, and close the hatch quickly behind them. Ruzz'koff opens the inner door, and the channels on Ktarle's and Ruzz'koff suits patch into both the Dvonn's network and the suits' workgroup net in time to hear the following:
"-gineering. And we've got a body."
"Copy that. I'm on my way."
Ruzz'koff and Ktarle both notice the footprints in the dust on the floor, which lead toward the iris valve at the end of the corridor beyond the airlock.
****************
Beta.
As Trelene works on establishing communications, she hears Zaedhrarrg gasp, "Now where are they going?"
She looks up to see Alpha disengage from Dvonn and begin following a course that, if she's not mistaken, will take it closer to the missile, not farther away.
"No! You're going the wrong way! I always knew the Navy had no business being in sp--" His voice dies as the missile connects with the boat. After a brief burst of light, there is nothing but debris. A large chunk of the engines is blown backwards and crashes silently into Dvonn's armored bow bouncing off, apparently harmlessly. The rest of the boat drifts off in other directions.
****************
Dvonn
Both teams, just a few seconds after Quinn's transmission, feel and hear the thud of Alpha's engine colliding with Dvonn.
