"Medic!" Markus screamed through the comm in his helmet, but even as the words left him, Crishul was coming to pavi's side.

The man didn't even try to use a medical scanner but was already pulling out the medi-board crammed into a backpack he'd been carrying. Medic Farmire extracted pavi out of the tub with Gayle's help, and they gently placed him on the medi-board Cristal now had ready.

Markus had broken away from the tub to let them take care of his father as he rushed toward the three downed Shixx. Two did not look like they were ever going to get back up, but the one that had tried to break through Markus's mental defenses was twitching on the floor.

Markus dropped to one knee beside the twitching alien, his sidearm drawn and aimed at its head. The Shixx's violet eyes were open but unfocused, it's a rasping noise came from the creature. It might not be dead, but it soon would be.

"Stay down," he growled. Its limbs spasmed weakly, and a thin pale fluid leaked from its mandibles.

Behind him, he could hear the urgent voices of the medical team working on his father. Gayle's clipped tones cut through the noise. "If you can't stabilize him, then just seal him in flash-cryo until he can be put into a Remaker."

Those words made Markus's insides clench. Flash-cryo was only used when a person was hovering at the edge of death or had just died. It was a final attempt to preserve someone in stasis until they could be brought to a Remaker. The effort to revive someone from flash-cryo was often unsuccessful, especially if they'd been damaged by whatever had killed them in the first place.

Markus's jaw clenched as he fired several more blaster bolts into the surviving Shixx. This time the light died in the creatures' eyes. He immediately started scanning the chamber for any other threats. Except for the heavy sound of fighting from outside the chamber, the place was eerily quiet.

"How long before we can move him?" Markus asked.

"Two minutes," Crishul responded, his hands moving in a blur over Pavi's still form. The medi-board hummed as it encased Markus's father in a thin, translucent field. "His vitals are dropping. Whatever those creatures did—it's like nothing I've seen before."

Markus nodded grimly, scanning the perimeter. The sounds of battle outside seemed to intensify rather than diminishing. Not good. They needed a clear path for extraction.

"Gayle," he called, "take point with me. We need to secure our exit route."

She was already moving, her weapon drawn as she took a position on the opposite side of the doorway. Her eyes met his briefly through her visor—no words needed between them. Years of training at the College had forged that silent communication.

Markus tightened his grip on his blaster. If they couldn't get his father to a Remaker in time... No. He wouldn't allow that thought to take root.

"Fifty seconds," Crishul announced, making final adjustments to the medi-field's parameters. The translucent barrier shimmered as it stabilized around Pavi's body, the diagnostic readouts pulsing with warning indicators.

Markus positioned himself at the chamber's entrance, his combat senses heightened. It seemed he could hear the ship itself breathing. He steadied himself, knowing the fight to get back to the ship would be far more intense than getting to the chamber.

"Incoming," Gayle warned, dropping to a defensive stance. "Six hostiles moving in formation."

The corridor beyond erupted in weapons fire, the distinctive chittering of Shixx communications systems cutting through the chaos. Markus caught Gayle's eye and nodded once and gave a short and sharp hand signal, letting her know the maneuver they'd be using next.

"On three," he murmured. "One... Two…"

They moved in perfect synchronization, Gayle rolling left while Markus pivoted right. His first shot caught the lead Shixx in what passed for its throat, dark blue ichor spraying across the corridor walls. Gayle's precision fire took down two more before they could react.

"Cryostasis is stable," Crishul called from behind them. "Moving now."

Markus ignored them as he focused on the enemy in front of him, determined to clear a path for the medic team and his father as quickly as possible.

A high-pitched whine cut through the corridor, followed by long tentacles lashing out in all directions from the corridor walls. They slashed out at anything that was standing in the corridor, including their own people. Markus watched as two Shixx in front of him crashed to the floor with deadly black arms pierced through the creature's bodies.

"Down!" he shouted, throwing himself backward as a long arm rushed to attack Markus, but it missed him by several inches.

Another arm sliced through the air just over Gayle's head as she rolled away. "The ship's targeting everything that moves!"

Markus pressed his back into the wall behind him as he carefully watched the arms whipping through the corridor with deadly precision, their movements almost mechanical in their efficiency.

Gayle flattened herself against the opposite wall, her eyes tracking the pattern of the attacks. "There's a rhythm to it," she said, voice taut with concentration. "Three-second intervals between sweeps."

Markus nodded, already calculating. "Medic team, stay back until we clear a path."

He saw the gap that Gayle had caught. He started a count in his head, and at the next open window, he threw himself forward down the gauntlet. As he moved, he caught sight of a sentry node embedded in the wall. He aimed at it and fired. The appendage nearest him spasmed wildly before going limp. Gayle mirrored his action on her side, disabling another cluster of the deadly arms.

A few more meters and they found their first teammate. The black-suited body was still. A rifle was flung across the corridor from the man, and a large hole bored through the chest plate. Dark red blood dripped from where the heart should have been. Gayle rushed to the downed soldier's side to check his vitals, but Markus knew he was dead; not even a Remaker could do anything for that kind of injury.

"It's Kell. He's gone," she said.

"Leave him. We need to clear the rest of the corridor." Markus replied. He didn't like leaving bodies behind, but everyone on this mission knew the risks and that they wouldn't have time for any sort of body recovery if people fell.

Gayle hesitated for only a heartbeat before nodding sharply. "Copy that."

They advanced through the corridor, methodically eliminating the remaining sentry nodes. Each disabled unit bought them precious meters toward extraction. Behind them, Crishul and Farmire maneuvered the floating cryo-field containing pavi with practiced efficiency, keeping pace without jostling their patient.

A few more meters and they came to a cross section in the corridor where they had parted with the other members of their team. Another body lay dead in the corridor. Again, Gayle checked the downed form and shook her head.

Yavit.

Sounds of blaster fire came from the right corridor. Markus rushed forward to find three of their team pinned down by a cluster of Shixx forces that had taken defensive positions on what looked like organic barricades growing from the ship's walls.

"Report!" Markus called over his comm as he rushed up to take a position behind them.

"We are all that are left. The rest are down. The enemy has barricaded themselves up ahead. They know it's our way out." Nathias's voice came over the comms.

Markus felt relief his friend was still among the living as he quickly turned his attention to assessing the situation and how to get past the blockade in front of them. The organic barricades pulsed with a sickly bioluminescence, their surface rippling like living tissue. Markus counted at least eight Shixx positioned behind them, their weapons trained on the corridor's chokepoint. Getting through would require more than standard tactics.

"Gayle, do you have any more sonic charges?" he asked, keeping his voice low over the comm after Markus noticed he must have to drop the other one he had.

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"Two," she confirmed, already reaching for her small pack at her belt.

"Nathias, on my mark, lay down suppressing fire. We're going to punch through their left flank." Markus studied the barricade's structure, noting how the organic material seemed to connect to the ship's walls through root-like tendrils. "Aim for the base connections—if we can destabilize the barrier itself…"

A wet, tearing sound echoed through the corridor as one barricade began to shift, extending upward toward the ceiling. The Shixx were adapting their position, cutting off more of the passage.

"Commander, the cryo-field is drawing too much power." Crishul's voice carried an edge of urgency. "I can give you maybe ten more minutes before system failure."

Ten minutes. Markus's mind raced through possibilities, discarding plan after plan as to time-consuming or too risky with his father's life hanging in the balance. The direct approach would have to suffice.

"Toss the charges, maximum dispersal pattern," he ordered.

Gayle nodded, her fingers already programming the charges. "Setting at highest output. Might want to duck and cover."

Markus positioned himself at the edge of their cover, timing the Shixx's firing patterns. They seemed to coordinate their shots in waves—three would fire while the others reloaded or adjusted position.

"On my mark," he said, voice steady despite the pressure building in his chest. They were so close. They couldn't fail now. "Three, two, one—mark!"

Nathias and his remaining team unleashed a barrage of covering fire as Gayle rolled forward, sliding the first charge across the floor. It skittered beneath the lowest part of the barricade, coming to rest directly under the leftmost section.

The second charge followed seconds later, arcing through the air to land behind the Shixx position.

"Down!" Markus ordered, dropping flat as the charges detonated in rapid succession.

The explosion sent shockwaves through the corridor. The sonic concussion, at the same time, expelled an intense frequency that caused the organic barrier to buckle as if an invisible hand was crushing it. Shixx screeched in alien agony as portions of the barrier—were they somehow connected to it?—crumbled into ruin. Three of them collapsed immediately. They lay like deadwood with only an occasional twitch in their limbs to suggest they might still be alive.

"Move!" Markus was already up and charging through the gap, Gayle flanking his right side. They fired in synchronized bursts, catching the Shixx still standing in a deadly crossfire as they struggled to reorientate themselves.

The last Shixx fell with a gurgling hiss as its blue blood decorated the hull of the ship around him. Markus didn't slow his pace, scanning ahead for further threats.

"Corridor clear," he announced, gesturing for the medical team to advance. "Nathias, take rear guard."

Crishul and Farmire guided Pavi's cryo-field through the smoldering remains of the barricade, the shimmer of the stasis field flickering ominously. The readout on the side panel pulsed amber, then red.

"Field integrity at sixty-three percent," Crishul reported, his voice tight. "The sonic discharge affected the power distribution."

Markus felt his stomach lurch. "How long?"

"Six minutes. Maybe less."

Gayle had already moved ahead, securing the next junction. "The Wraith is about thirty meters to the left," she called back. "Corridor is clear for now, but don't expect it to stay that way."

Markus pressed forward, every second pounding in his mind like a countdown. "Move double-time."

As they rounded the corner, the sleek outline of their extraction vessel appeared at the end of the corridor—a welcome sight amid the alien architecture of the Shixx ship. The Wraith's loading ramp was already extended, its entry hatch glowing with the soft blue light of home.

"Almost there," Markus breathed, but experience had taught him that the final stretch was often the deadliest.

Right on cue, the enemy ship's internal defense systems activated. The corridor walls began to pulse with an ominous violet light, and a thick, viscous fluid started seeping from seams in the ceiling.

"The ship's trying to seal us in," Gayle called, her weapon trained on the advancing liquid. Where it touched the floor, it began to harden almost instantly, forming thick crystalline structures that grew upward at an alarming rate.

"Farmire, get that cryo-field moving faster!" Markus ordered, firing at the crystalline formations as they sprouted in their path. His shots shattered the structures temporarily, but they reformed seconds later, denser than before.

Nathias lobbed one of his sonic grenades at a particularly large crystal formation blocking their path. It exploded in a shower of gleaming shards that instantly began to reconstitute.

"Commander!" Crishul's voice was tight with panic. "Field integrity at forty percent! The cryo-stabilizers are failing!"

Markus's heart hammered against his ribs as he waved the medics in front of him. He could see the ramp. It was only ten meters more away. "Get him to the Wraith. Lieutenant Vex, make sure we are ready to take off as soon as the last of us is on board."

"Copy that," he heard Vex's voice over the comms.

The fluid continued to pour from the ceiling, creating a maze of rapidly growing crystal structures that threatened to entomb them. Gayle fired methodically at the formations directly blocking their path as she stayed several steps ahead of the medics, creating temporary openings just wide enough for the medical team to maneuver the cryo-field through.

"Almost there!" she called, her voice steady despite the chaos.

Markus was right on the heels of the medic team, blasting the crystalline growth that was threatening them from the sides. A particularly large formation erupted from the right as it rapidly grew to intercept the team. Markus aimed and with three quick shots shattered the formation, sending prismatic fragments spinning through the air.

One sliced across his armor, leaving a deep gouge in the composite material. Warning lights blinked on his helmet display. The shard had caused a breach in his suit. He was losing air. He ignored it and kept running.

Another of the shards had sliced right through the front of Crishul's helmet. The medic crashed to the floor. The medi-board with pavi on it halted. A shard had also embedded itself into the side of the medi-board, causing the cryo-unit field around pavi to flicker dangerously, revealing glimpses of his father's ashen face beneath.

"Farmire, take the board!" Markus shouted, dropping to his knees beside Crishul. The medic's face was pale behind his cracked visor, blood streaming from a gash across his forehead where the shard had struck.

"I'm okay," Crishul gasped, struggling to sit up. "Just dizzy. The field—"

"Field integrity at twenty-eight percent," Farmire announced, her hands flying over the medi-board's controls as he took over. "I can't stabilize it. The shard damaged the primary power coupling."

Markus helped Crishul to his feet, the medic swaying slightly but managing to stay upright. Around them, the crystalline growth continued its relentless advance, the corridor narrowing with each passing second.

"Five meters!" Gayle called, her voice strained as she fired continuously at the formations sprouting directly in their path. "But we've got company!"

Through the chaos, Markus caught sight of movement coming in from a side corridor—more Shixx forces.

Markus didn't hesitate. "Gayle, get to the ship! Nathias, cover the medics!"

He pivoted to face the approaching Shixx, dropping into a firing stance as he raised his weapon. The first alien rounded the corner at full speed, its limbs moving in that unsettling, too-fluid motion. Markus fired four times in rapid succession, each shot finding its mark. The creature collapsed in a spray of dark fluid, but two more scrambled over its fallen form.

He sent another volley of blaster fire to greet them. He missed the second, but the first Shixx went down. He adjusted his aim and got the second Shixx, sending it to ground with the others.

Blaster fire attacked the crystal structures growing around him. Another several pieces of shards puncture his suit, including one breaking the glass of his helmet. The air coming in was breathable, but it was heavy and thick, causing him to grasp for clean air.

He ignored the strain on his lungs and the master alarms blaring at him in his helmet. As he greeted a third wave of Shixx rushing over the bodies of their downed comrades.

"We are on the ship! Move it, Markus!" Gayle yelled.

He slowly backed up in the direction of the ramp, but didn't dare take his attention off the corridor. Yet another assault team was rushing toward him. The Shixx moved with unnatural coordination, their chittering growing louder as they advanced. Markus fired in controlled bursts, dropping two more aliens, but they kept coming—relentless, determined. The crystalline formations were closing in from both sides now, leaving him only a narrow path of retreat.

"Markus, now!" Gayle's voice cracked with urgency in his comm.

He fired three more shots, then spun and sprinted for the Wraith. The ramp loomed just a few steps away, Gayle and Nathias providing covering fire from each of its edges. His lungs burned with each breath of the ship's heavy atmosphere. Another shard sliced across his thigh, cutting through the armor and into flesh. Pain flared hot and immediate, but he pushed through it.

Five steps to the ramp. Four. Three.

A Shixx warrior lunged from his right, attempting to grab him with its spindly arms. Markus didn't slow—instead he pivoted, using his momentum to drive his armored elbow into the creature's center mass. The impact sent them both sprawling, the alien's claws raking across his damaged chest plate.

Gayle's precision fire caught the Shixx in the head, its skull bursting in a spray of blue ichor. Markus rolled to his feet, ignoring the searing pain in his thigh as he lunged for the ramp. He stumbled across the threshold, Nathias grabbing his arm to haul him the rest of the way in.

"Seal it!" Markus shouted, his voice ragged. The ramp began to rise as Gayle slammed her fist against the emergency close control.

A final Shixx warrior hurled itself toward the narrowing gap. Nathias and Gayle fired simultaneously, their shots catching it mid-leap. The creature crashed against the closing ramp, half its body inside the ship. Markus drew his sidearm and fired point-blank into its face. The alien went limp as the ramp sealed with a pressurized hiss, severing the remaining portion of the creature's body.

"Get us out of here, Vex!" Markus shouted, already pushing past Nathias toward the medical area where his father lay.

The Wraith lurched as its engines fired at full capacity, artificial gravity struggling to compensate for the sudden acceleration. Markus stumbled against the bulkhead, leaving a smear of blood from his wounded thigh.

"Status of my father?" he demanded, limping to where the media-board was now plugged directly into the Wraith's systems.

Farmire looked over at Markus. "We got here in time to stabilize the field at least. As long as we don't get any critical hits on the way to Vigilant, it should be fine until we get to a Remaker."

Markus looked down at the pale face of his father. He looked dead. "Will a Remaker be enough to revive him?"

Farmire frowned. "That I do not know."

Markus nodded as he took a seat nearby, feeling a wave of exhaustion make him feel shaky and ill. He removed his helmet, glad to finally have fresh air to breathe, but a heaviness still sat in his lungs, making his breathing raspy. Markus laid back against the headrest of his seat and hoped they made it away from the Shixx ship and out of the asteroid field without being blown to space dust.

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