Diversion in Raziel_Orphan Corps Shepherds by Earl T. Roske

Author:Earl T. Roske [Roske, Earl T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-08T22:00:00+00:00

10

Kori pulled himself out of the comm station. As he pulled himself around and used handholds to assist him in pulling the hatch shut, he began to sink to the ground. The queasy feeling in his gut answered the question his mind hadn’t yet formed. They’d turned on the gravity plates. In the near distance, muffled by the partially opened hatch to the stairwell, he could hear deck boots hard against the metal stairs. If they later decided to cut the gravity, he’d be the only one unable to stay on his feet.

With nothing else suggesting itself, Kori sealed the comm room hatch and moved away from the direction of the stairwell. There wasn’t far to go. The corridor merely circled the comm station and returned to the stairwell. Perhaps he could sneak up behind them? Or perhaps they had a schematic of the station, too, and would break into two teams.

If he could have gotten to the ladder, he could have gone down a level, maybe found a place to hide. The sounds of their footsteps had been too close to risk it.

Service panels.

He realized he’d been staring at service panels while thinking. There were two pairs, each opposite the other. One went into the comm station, the other into the walls of the station. That was an idea.

With his pocket knife, Kori quickly popped the panel on the station wall free. He bent part of one corner and then put it back in place. More carefully, he removed a panel from the exterior wall of the comm room and slipped behind it, pulling the panel with him. It was difficult work, pulling the panel into place while standing sideways in the narrow space available to him. Sharp edges and corners dug against his side while he slowly wiggled the panel back into place, feeling the plastic catches popping back into place.

Barely a second later the pirates came around both bends in the corridor.

“You’re sure he wasn’t in the comm room?”

An exasperated voice responded, “Am I blind? No, he’s not there. Did you walk right by him?”

“Ease off, the pair of you.” The voice came from next to where Kori hid. The voice was deep enough that Kori could feel it vibrate the panel. “Balla, you get back and guard the comm room. Raczy, you man the stairwell. Everyone else, down to the next level.”

The boots clumped away.

Kori relaxed a little but a sharp poke to his left scapula returned the tension to his body. He hadn’t been discovered, but he was still trapped down here and not safely hidden with the children. He also had another problem. He’d been discovered in some way. If he got back up to the second ring, they would start going through the entire station. And who would win the race? The pirates? Or the rescue ship sent by Hospitaller HQ?

Could he keep the pirates distracted long enough for help to arrive? There was one way to find out. He rattled the panel hard, making plenty of noise.

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