The Union sergeant’s lifeless body lay on the cold floor, sprawled out between the rows of bunk beds. Shock slapped the other two Union soldiers across the face, but they were not given time to process what had just happened. Kline fired two more shots and dove across the aisle, taking cover behind the rows of bunk beds. His first shot slammed into the elevator door. The second embedded itself in one of the security guard’s shoulders. Both soldiers shoved Hector to the ground and hustled for cover. Hector dropped low next to the wounded guard, who cursed and grabbed at his wound.
“Give me your rifle!” said Hector.
“No—way!” the soldier grunted.
The other soldier scrambled across the aisle and fumbled with his communicator, but in his haste to call for reinforcements he neglected to stay low enough to remain out of Kline’s line of fire. As the guard lifted his datapad up to his ear a bullet tore through his hand and splintered the datapad into shards. A second shot cut the soldier’s scream short. He slumped over. The wounded guard at Hector’s side froze. He stared across the aisle at his fallen comrade. Hector rolled across the aisle and wrenched the assault rifle from the dead soldier’s hands. He fired a quick burst of haphazard, wild shots in Kline’s direction.
“Give me your datapad!” hissed Hector.
The soldier was still shaking his head when a bullet ripped through his neck. Hector fired another stream of bullets as he scurried back across the aisle. He dug into the soldier’s protective vest as two bullets whizzed over his head. As soon as his fingers grasped the datapad, Hector darted for the elevator.
Ping! Ping! Ping! Shots ricocheted off the wall. He ducked into the elevator and punched the ‘close door’ button. The door slid shut.
On the other side of the room, Kline checked his watch. Five minutes, forty-seven seconds. No time for a firefight with a rival timeslinger. He had to get to the subassembly before the spider nuke obliterated the Exodus ship and its production facility. Kline bolted for the corridor that would lead him to the ship’s power core. Operation Yamato’s final minutes were about to unfold.
