“You’d betray the Union for her.”

It wasn’t a question, but something in Jack’s tone begged for clarity. Hector shook his head. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to betray anybody. We all win if they let her go. They get the power core. I get my sister back—or at least a second chance.”

The loudspeaker interrupted their discourse. “Threat level red! Evacuate the facility immediately! Attention! Evacuate the premises immediately!”

Jack ground his teeth together. Time was running out. If the XLS had managed to set the spider nuke, it was likely to go off any second.

He engaged his communicator, turned on its speaker, and held out the datapad so that Hector could hear. “Colonel! We have the power core.”

“Good. Get back here! Everything is prepped–”

“Sir,” Jack cut him off. “We’re not coming back unless you release Alexandra.”

A brief moment of silence. “She’s already gone. She escaped.”

Hector took a step forward. “What!? Where’d she go?”

“We have a set of coordinates, that’s it.”

The alarm continued to wail with growing intensity. The evacuation warning played on a loop, disorienting them and setting nerves on edge.

“Come on, Hector! This is–”

“No!” Hector clutched the power core tighter to his chest. He spat his words, “I’m not going back until I have full assurance that you will send me after her! She needs immunity! I need immunity!”

“Colonel?” Jack pleaded. “We’ve got to get out of here now!”

“Yes, fine! Immunity! For both of you! But get back here right now! I’m losing my window to make this happen!”

Jack stuffed the datapad in his pocket, took a cautious step toward Hector and held out the teleportation drive Taylor had supplied. His eyes begged Hector to accept it.

Hector grabbed it. “Thank you.”

“These are the coordinates.”

Before Jessica could ask a question, Alexandra shoved her toward the transfer room’s door. Jessica’s fingers danced over the access panel’s keypad and the door slid open. The two stepped into the transfer room.

Everyone inside turned in unison. Alexandra held the spider nuke out in the palm of her hand. Shocked silence. No one moved. If the bounty hunter set the device off, the Subdivision was finished.

Jessica’s eyes darted to the molecular teleportation chamber. Remnants of energy still crackled and hissed. Jack had just transferred out. Falko’s fingers wound into fists, but Alexandra didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“One move and I set it off,” she said. Something in the words was clear—she was not afraid to die. Stepping up behind Jessica, she whispered, “Go. Enter the coordinates. You’re the only one I trust.”

“No,” said Falko.

Alexandra’s eyes narrowed. Without warning, she turned her pistol on Falko. An azure blast exploded from the barrel of the gun. Falko lost all muscle control and tumbled backward. His body writhed and twitched for a second, and then he lay dormant.

“The next shot is lethal,” Alexandra spat.

The onlookers watched with growing concern.

Jessica moved to one of the terminals. The station operative looked to Taylor, who nodded for him to let Jessica take over.

“Nobody moves, except her,” Alexandra said before slowly making her way down to the teleportation chamber. Tense seconds passed as she worked her way through the pre-transfer process and finally into the glass teleportation tube.

Taylor’s face appeared as though it were set in stone. “Jessica…are you sure about this?”

Jessica didn’t answer. She waited for Alexandra to enter the tube.

And then she started the transfer process.

Jack rushed into the room. Relief flooded his expression when he saw Hector still standing. Both Union agents circled the pedestal to find Kline clawing weakly at the power core with an outstretched arm. Too far out of reach. And Kline didn’t have the strength to pull himself toward it. A drop of blood eased out of his mouth and slid down his cheek. Anger and pain rippled across his brow.

Hector grabbed the power core with his free hand and hugged it tightly to his chest. Jack kept his weapon trained on Kline.

“Where’s the spider nuke? Is it in play? Has it been armed?” Jack asked.

Kline offered a bloody grin. His right hand trembled as it snuck into his right front pocket, out of Hector and Jack’s field of vision. He grasped his datapad and tried to enter a teleportation code that would transfer him to safety. Nothing happened. Must have entered it incorrectly. He sucked in needed air and tried again.

Jack hissed, “We need to get a medic-”

Energy crackled and swirled around Kline. Jack swore and darted forward as though he could prevent the transfer from happening. It was too late. The XLS timeslinger vanished.

Jack turned to Hector. “We need to get outta here! If they armed a spider nuke in this facility it could go off any minute.”

Hector pressed his lips firmly together. “What did they do to her, Jack? Did they hurt her?”

“What? Hector, we don’t have time for this! We have to get that thing back to the Subdivision!”

Hector knelt, scooped his weapon off the floor, and trained it on Jack. “Not until they let her go.”

Realization hit. Her hand darted to her throat. She scrambled to her feet. A wave of dizziness overtook her, and she stumbled toward the wall.

“Alexandra!” she gasped.

As if on cue, the station’s door slid open to reveal the bounty hunter. She leveled her pistol at Jessica. “Come with me.” When Jessica bristled, Alexandra turned her other hand over to reveal the silver, baseball-sized sphere. The spider nuke. “Do what I say or you’re all dead. Got it?”

Alexandra tucked the nuke into her backpack and grabbed Jessica by the shoulder. She pushed her out into the corridor and held the gun to her head.

“Enter the access code,” Alexandra instructed, handing Jessica’s datapad back to her.

Jessica glanced at the DNA match report still on the front screen. “Did you-”

“Enter the access code!”

Jessica hesitated. Giving Alexandra access could be disastrous. Something about the bounty hunters’ desperation, though, seemed to make Jessica relent. She entered the code, closed her eyes in a silent prayer, and handed the datapad back to Alexandra.

“Take me to the transfer room.”

Alexandra shoved Jessica forward and engaged the datapad’s communicator. Someone on the other line answered. “I need you to perform an analysis for me. I’m forwarding you two DNA samples. Test the relationship between them.” A brief pause. “Yes. Call me back on this line, and hurry!”

Jessica led them down the corridor toward the transfer room. “I ran those myself. They’re accurate-”

“Shut up!”

They reached the transfer room. Jessica took a deep breath. The fate of the Subdivision hung in the balance. If she gave Alexandra admittance into the transfer chamber, they could all die.

The datapad chirped. Alexandra answered. As she listened to the caller her features grew hard and dark. Some inner fury threatened to explode. She turned to Jessica, “Open the door.”

Kline shifted his weight and glanced at the clock on his tactical suit. Each second that ticked away brought them closer to oblivion. The XLS was on the verge of the most critical operation ever attempted. All he had to do was capture the power cell and teleport back to XLS headquarters. Hector Salazar was the only obstacle standing in his way.

The subassembly loudspeaker boomed, “Sector 9 secured! Enemy units retreat-” There was a short pause. “Sector 4 also secured! All available units report to the Subassembly Chamber! All other sectors are secure!”

The countdown reached the four minute mark. All XLS soldiers were falling back to the tunnels, which meant the spider nuke had been activated. Fortunately, Kline had a teleportation drive, which meant he could transfer out within seconds of the bomb’s detonation. He tensed, but remained silent, calculating.

“Step back,” Hector said. “Drop your weapon!” He kept his weapon leveled at Kline and inched closer. His finger slid over the trigger. “Drop it! All your buddies are leaving you behind. No need to be a hero. Just put your gun down. Three seconds, then I shoot.”

Kline held up one hand. The other inched toward the sidearm strapped to his right leg. His thumb and forefinger gripped the pistol’s handle and he pulled the gun out of the holster. It teetered loosely between his fingers as he held it out away from his body.

“Put it on the ground,” said Hector.

Kline flinched slightly as he knelt. The tactical suit adjusted the pressure against his wounded thigh in response. The tip of his gun kissed the floor. He paused.

“Let it go-” said Hector.

The last syllable had barely left his lips when a call echoed down into the Subassmbly, “Hector? Where are you?”

Hector’s eyes darted to the side. “Down he-”

With a twist of his hand, Kline seized the hilt of his pistol and lunged toward the power cell.

Both men opened fire.

Falko threw him an angry glare, but ignored his question. Instead, Falko spoke into his datapad’s communicator. “Get me the coordinates to the security barracks now!”

Jack turned to Taylor.

“Sir, I need a teleportation drive.”

“You’ve got one–”

“For Hector, sir. I need to bring him back.”

The colonel paused, but then nodded. “All right. Falko will have the coordinates any minute. Get back down to the tube. I’ll bring the drive to you.”

Jack was about to leave when Falko ended his call. “I’ve got the location. It’s a security barracks next to the subassembly. Let’s go!”

Taylor strode to the other end of the room and grabbed one of the station operatives. “Get me another teleportation drive that’ll sync up quickly. Hurry.”

“Hold it!” said Falko. The operative stopped dead in his tracks. Falko’s brow wrinkled. “What for?”

All eyes locked onto Taylor.

“Hector. We’re bringing him back here.”

Falko shook his head. “No. His access to this facility has been revoked.”

“What?” Jack exploded. “He–”

“Jack!” said Taylor, who sent the station operative to fulfill his task before addressing Falko. “We’re bringing Hector back.” Falko swore. He was about to retort when Taylor cut him off. “I’m bringing both my soldiers back.”

Falko’s face reddened. His fingers wound into fists like a snake coiling before a strike. For a brief moment it seemed as though he would lash out, but he turned to Jack instead. “What are you waiting for?”

Jack pulled the helmet back on and darted toward the door.

Without warning, the speaker system blared, “A prisoner has escaped! Repeat, an escaped prisoner is loose inside the facility!”

Falko growled. “Do not stop this operation! The Exodus is our primary objective! We protect it at all costs!” He strode to a nearby terminal and shouted into the speaker system. “All agents are authorized to kill on sight! Weapons free! Do not let the prisoner escape!”

The soldiers opened fire. Bullets streamed past Kline. One sliced through his leg. Kline dove forward, loosed a grenade from his belt, and hurled it toward the soldiers.

BOOM! The explosion brought a quick end to the rattle of machinegun fire. Both guards grunted as they lost muscle control and slumped to the ground. Kline grabbed his thigh. Blood began to seep into the leg of his tactical suit. He grimaced.

His suit chirped, “Right leg bleeding. Wound not serious. Slowing blood supply to area.” The suit tightened just above the bullet hole as if Kline had wrapped a belt around his leg. He struggled to his feet and limped to the end of the corridor.

The subassembly access door required a keycard and retinal scan. Kline searched the soldiers. Neither had a keycard. Pulling a set of pads from his belt, he slapped them against the door. Then, standing back, he pushed a button on his datapad. The door blew inward, leaving a smoking hole. An alarm sounded inside the subassembly room.

Kline entered a rectangular room with monitors and terminals lining the walls. Ignoring them, he focused instead on the silver-coated cylinder about the size of his own arm that hovered over a pedestal in the center of the room. C19H. The Exodus ship’s power core—a cell that offered enough propulsion to transfer a million people outside of the Milky Way Galaxy. Kline limped up to the edge of the pedestal. His pupils dilated. The prize hovered right in front of his face.

“Don’t move!” came a shout from behind Kline. “Turn around!”

His jaw clamped shut as he turned to face Hector Salazar.

Alexandra’s vice-like grip tightened. Jessica’s muscles began to go limp. The bounty hunter increased the pressure until her prey lost consciousness. Then, she let go.

Taking Jessica’s sidearm, she moved to the door. Then stopped. Jessica’s datapad lay at her feet. She knelt to pick it up. Two charts were displayed on the datapad’s screen. One read “Hector Salazar,” and another “Alexandra Salazar.” A summary of the DNA analysis indicated that the strands were nearly identical:

“…results suggest a genetic link between test subjects: 99.99% likelihood of genetic correlation.”

Alexandra stuffed the datapad into her pocket before opening the medical station’s door. A single guard stood watch in the corridor. He glanced over his shoulder. By the time his face registered surprise Alexandra had already put the newly acquired sidearm to his head and pulled the trigger.

She eyed the way finding signs on the wall before finding the room labeled “Armory.”

She took off at a jog. All Subdivision personnel were on high alert at their posts. She met no resistance. Minutes later she found herself at the armory’s entrance.

She entered a tight, square entry room. To her left, behind an energy-shielded window, sat a security guard. The only other door was fortified with a keycard entry and reinforced plating.

The security guard’s voice came through the speaker system. “Can I help you?”

“Two medics in the medical station just passed out,” said Alexandra. “I don’t know what happened. Everyone else is busy. I need your help! Quick!”

The soldier’s dumbfounded look swiftly turned to skepticism. “What? That doesn’t make any–”

“Check the security cameras,” Alexandra said. “Hurry! They need help!”

He checked his monitor. The medic and Jessica were both sprawled out across the medical station’s floor. The guard cursed, jumped out of his chair, and then disappeared into the adjacent room. Alexandra shifted her position so that she was closer to the armored door. It opened. The guard stepped through.

“How did you–”

Alexandra’s weapon flared. Paralysis spread through the guard’s body. He stumbled to the ground. She stepped over his unconscious body into the armory.

“Loud and cl–” Jack cut the sentence short. The HUD flashed: “INCOMING TRANSMISSION.” The transmission ID read “CLASSIFIED.” Jack frowned. “Just a second, sir.” He clicked over to the incoming call. “Jack Harrington.”

“Jack! It’s me!” said Hector. His heavy breathing came through Jack’s audio unit like thunder rolling across the plains. “XLS agents are inside the Assembly Center!”

“What? How–”

“I’m forwarding you the coordinates of my location. You need to get here as soon as possible!”

A chirp notified Jack that Hector’s message had just made it through. Jack displayed it on the HUD. Instead of detailed coordinates, he received a set of large, red letters: “NO DATA – LOCATION UNAVAILABLE.”

“It didn’t come through. The location is encrypted or something. Where are you?”

“I’m not sure. I was being taken to the Assembly Center’s holding cells when we were ambushed. I’m in an elevator next to some sort of barracks. That’s all I’ve got.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Stay put. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Negative. Can’t stay here, Jack. Something’s wrong. They’re scrambling. We’re running out of time. I’ve got to keep moving!”

A high pitched alarm screamed through the tactical suit’s audio system. Jack cringed. The Assembly Center’s loudspeaker boomed through Hector’s datapad. “Enemy breach in Sector 4. All units report! Repeat, enemy breach in–” There was a confused pause, and then, “Enemy breach in Sector 9! Enemy presence in Sectors 9 and 4! All units report!”

“Hector? What’s going on?”

“Hurry, Jack!”

Hector’s line went dead.

Jack switched back over to Taylor’s channel. “Colonel! Hector just contacted me. The XLS has troops all over the Assembly Center! I need to get to his location right away!”

Taylor’s pause was brief. “Where is he?”

“He was being taken to the holding cells. He’s in an elevator next to the barracks.”

“Does he know what are they after?”

“No.” Jack clenched his fists. “But I need to get there before…”

Tense desperation coursed through Jack’s features.

“She going to be okay?”

He nodded. “I think so, but we cut it very close.” He put his face in front of Alexandra’s. “How do you feel?”

She stared back up at him. Two long seconds passed. Then, without warning, Alexandra’s left hand shot up and latched onto the back of the medic’s neck. She yanked his face downward as her right hand seized a syringe from the instrument tray. Placing the tip of the syringe against the medic’s throat, she turned to Jessica.

“Don’t move or he dies.”

Jessica’s mouth fell open, “But–”

“Bring me everything I had on me when I got here.”

“Wait! You don’t know what you’re–”

“Shut up! Start moving!”

Jessica held out her datapad and spoke in a slow, easy tone. “Hector was right. You’re his sister. I’ve got it all right here. The DNA is a perfect match.”

Alexandra barred her teeth like a junkyard dog. “You’re all liars.” She pressed the syringe into the medic’s neck until it drew blood. “Bring me my things!”

“I’m not lying! I didn’t believe it either, but it’s true! He’s your brother!”

Alexandra shoved the syringe through the medic’s throat and kicked him backward into the wall. Speechless, Jessica moved to help him, but Alexandra cut her off. Rolling off the bed, the bounty hunter lunged forward, tackling Jessica to the floor. Jessica’s datapad skidded to the door. Out of reach.

Jessica shoved both feet into Alexandra’s gut and pushed. The bounty hunter rolled off, but pounced again. This time Jessica managed to catch her arms in mid-charge. The two women rolled across the floor.

Alexandra slapped Jessica’s arms aside. Her fingers wrapped around Jessica’s throat and squeezed.

“You’re going to help me get out of here, or I’m going to kill you.”