SHILOH

  Shiloh’s surroundings blink in and out as her eyelids flutter. The world, it’s coming back into focus. The real world.

  Her eyes snap open. She’s slumped against the circular console. She’s back in the command center. That shadowy room. The only sources of light are the screens and neon lights from buttons and other electronic indicators. The room pulses with the omnipresent hum of the ship’s high-altitude flight.

  Revenant.

  The Corsairs.

  The HERALD.

  Shiloh’s heart pumps hard and loud, jolting her.

  She jerks upright, unplugging her connector from the console and letting the cable wind back up into her neck with a snap.

  She’s alone.

  A loud crash, somewhere on the other side of the door. Gunshots.

  The Corsairs? Where’s Echo and Cade?

  Out there?

  Shit.

  She eases toward the door. Everything in her is telling her to stay. But there’s no guarantee she’ll be safe here. Besides, is she just supposed to wait in here while Cade’s out there, probably getting shot at? There’s nothing special about Cade, not really. He doesn’t have any powers, any strange abilities. He’s just a guy. Physically, he’s just as defenseless as she is. It’s not rational to stay, but it doesn’t feel right, either. It feels like cowering in a corner. If dealing with Gavin has taught her anything, it’s that cowering doesn’t work. Waiting for the problem to solve itself doesn’t work. Sometimes you just have to confront it.

  Still, her feet are a bit heavy.

  She gets to the door. She presses the button on the wall next to it with her thumb.

  The door hisses as it slides open, revealing a long hallway lit with little radium green lights, and three soldiers in black fatigues sprinting toward her.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Get down on the ground!” the one at the front yells, raising his rifle.

  Shiloh presses the button again. The Corsairs are a mere hand’s reach from the doorway when the door slides shut.

  Shiloh takes a step back. She tries to remember if there’s a code lock on the outside.

  From the loud bang of a rifle butt slamming against the door, it would seem there is.

  But it’s only a matter of time before they break in…right?

  She glances about the room. There are no weapons to be seen. No means of defending herself. Even a fire extinguisher would be welcome. But it’s just a bare room. Bare except for all those buttons and computers and lights.

  What she wouldn’t give for a gun, right now. Echo took the rifle away, along with the rest of their stuff. Seems a bit shortsighted at this point. Which is a weird thing to say about Echo.

  They’ll still banging on the door.

  Shiloh moves back into the corner of the room, behind a tall console that looks like a computer tower.

  It gets quiet for a second. Then….more gunshots.

  They’re not shooting at the door. Sounds like they’re aiming back down the hallway. Loud, deafening, fully automatic bursts of gunfire.

  A startled yell. Something slams against the door. Accompanying the gunshots is a series of pinging sounds, bullets ricocheting off metal.

  Another bang, something slamming against the wall in the hallway. An intense crunch, like a bite out of a big, hard apple. A thump as a body slumps to the floor.

  Then, a knock on the door. Five knocks. That is, three knocks, a pause, and then two more.

  She knows that knock. It’s a Cade Special.

  She leaps out from behind the console. She opens the door.

  The bodies of the three Corsairs are scattered in the hallway. Standing over them, in the middle of a pool of blood, is—

  Well, she’s not sure what it is. Some kind of male Biodroid? But that’s not quite right is it? He’s too smooth, shiny. Like a silver, iridescent material stretched tight over human skin. His face is covered by a flat mask, one devoid of personality. The platinum muscles in his neck shift as he tilts his head. Blood drips from the fingers of his right hand. He flexes those fingers in a specific pattern, like he’s pressing invisible buttons. His mask splits in the middle, making a bunch off pieces that retract backward behind his head.

  It’s Cade.

  Without a thought, Shiloh jumps him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His metal suit is smooth and cold. He feels tense. But after a second or so he relaxes against her.

  She plants a kiss on his cheek before stepping back. Her heart’s going a mile a minute. “Thanks for saving my life.” She looks him up and down. “What are you wearing?”

  “A gift from Echo. Nanotech.” His face is a little red. Just a little.

  He materializes a little round handheld radio in his palm. “Take this. We can use it to talk.”

  Shiloh takes it. “Where’s Echo?”

  “Dealing with Corsairs, just like I was,” Cade says. “Shy, you need to take back control of the ship, turn us around. We need to evacuate the Cloister right now. Silas and the HERALD are both down there."