Orphans - Kevin Killiany [24]
He staggered, barely keeping his footing as the ground rose and fell. Something slammed into his temple; pain brought him to his knees. He tried to rise, but a second shockwave of choking dust knocked him to the ground. He had a vague impression of Soloman blown out over their heads like a kite on a string as his vision faded from red to gray.
For an instant he was leaning over the hatch above a narrow access ladder, his eyes locked with Eddy’s as the da Vinci died around them. Below her a gush of molten hydrogen from Galvan VI’s atmosphere filled the shaft, melting Lipinski and boiling upward. Before he could move, before he could shout, Eddy calmly shut the emergency bulkhead between them; saving him and dooming herself.
No!He fought up out of the blackness, his body thrashing to action before his mind was clear. Not this time!
Desperately Stevens hauled on Pattie’s safety line still clutched in his hands. The hot polymer burned his flesh, he could smell it, but he ignored the pain, ignored the weightlessness of the line, trying to get her out before the corridor collapsed completely. He grabbed empty air before he realized the polymer had melted through.
Kairn violated his own order, scanning the cave-in from where he lay.
“Solid for at least twenty meters,” he reported.
“Beyond that…”
He stood and adjusted his settings, then scanned again. At last he shook his head, shutting down the tricorder.
The sound of Eddy’s body thudding hollowly against the bulkhead echoed in Stevens’s ears.
CHAPTER
13
“I’m not a doctor,” Abramowitz said for the third time, “but I think that should hold until we get back.”
Lauoc’s grip on the safety line had prevented Soloman from flying over the ledge and down the mountainside, but the Bynar had landed hard. He’d fractured a set of bones analogous to a human’s collarbone—a quick fix with an osteostimulator, if they’d had one. Instead Abramowitz had made do with a spray cast from the medkit, immobilizing his neck, right shoulder, and upper arm.
Stevens suspected getting Soloman back in his environmental suit would present a problem, but decided not to say anything until he had worked out a couple of possible solutions. Instead he focused on redistributing the supplies from Soloman’s and Carol’s packs among the other four.
Lauoc joined him and began transferring items from Pattie’s smaller pack. He nodded in grateful acknowledgment; he wasn’t quite up to dealing with Pattie’s pack yet.
“We cannot effect rescue with our current resources,” Tev said, “even if—”
Kairn cut him off. “Agreed.”
Stevens wondered for a moment if he’d just seen proof Klingons were more sensitive than Tellarites. More likely Kairn was just heading off another of Tev’s expositions on the obvious.
“Natives will be here soon to investigate the explosion,” Kairn added. “We need to move before they arrive.”
“Natives are arriving now,” Lauoc said quietly.
“What?” Tev demanded.
Lauoc tapped an ear. “Iron-shod animals on a stone road.”
“ Khest’ncarbon dioxide stench,” Kairn said. He sniffed the air for a moment, then pointed. “Sixteen individuals, perhaps a hundred meters distant.”
Without a word the four men slipped into their packs as Abramowitz helped Soloman to his feet.
Stevens noted Tev had found time to fashion a quarterstaff. Kairn’s hand rested on the hilt of the d’k tahg at his belt; no doubt he did not consider the engineer’s stiletto at his breast to be a weapon. Lauoc’s hands were empty, but Stevens knew the Bajoran had that wicked knife concealed somewhere.
Unarmed, he moved closer to Abramowitz and Soloman, ready to assist in any rapid retreat.
“Left the road,” Lauoc said.
Kairn grunted as eight riders cleared a copse of trees below and split into two groups, moving to surround them.
Their clothing was a mixture of quilted fabric, leather, and metal, enough alike to suggest uniforms, and they were variously armed with swords and lances. Narrow shields hung from every saddle, and two riders had crossbows slung across their backs. The animals were enough like horses to pass for