Chapter 22

Drake poked his head around the corner, on the lookout for Hareema. The corridor was empty, so he led his party down the hall. He was trying with every ounce of his strength to remain calm, but he had to admit that he’d never been more keyed up.

When he’d seen that creature with his tentacle around Jamie’s throat, he’d never been more frightened, more enraged. When he’d stomped the asshole to death, it had felt right. He didn’t think he could have stopped himself from killing the creature, even if he wanted to.

He looked down at the small female by his side. She knew, now, about the frenzy, and she’d seen him murder the creature who had threatened her. Although she was still devoted to accomplishing their mission, Drake didn’t think there was any way she’d accept him after this.

Their relationship had barely started, and already he was trying to claim her for life. If they made it off the Hareema base alive, she would probably be excited to say goodbye.

He wondered which would kill him first, the frenzy, or his broken heart.

They reached the entrance to the large central room they’d passed through earlier. There were hundreds of cages there, stacked on each other and full of alien creatures captured by the Hareema. The control room was along the far wall.

Drake took a deep breath and spoke softly. “We need to make it across this room without causing a disturbance.”

At that exact moment, a loud alarm sounded. Fuck. Perfect timing.

“They’re on to us,” Lakewood muttered, and Jamie nodded. Drake saw the fear in her eyes and it made his urge to protect her overwhelming. He pulled her closer to him, his head swiveling to keep alert for danger.

“I have an idea. It’s worked before.”

Drake turned to the Hareema who’d spoken. The creature nodded to him. “When I helped you escape once before. You remember?”
So this was the same Hareema rebel who had helped free him when Ontarii and Captain Brooklyn had been captured. “The bubble,” he said with a smile. “It could work.”

As they looked on, the Hareema formed itself into something resembling a silver bubble. The outer surface was reflective, the inner disguising them entirely. It left a slit in its surface for them to squeeze inside, and then closed around them.

The confines of the bubble were transparent from the inside so they could see their surroundings. “Now what?” Jamie asked.

“Now we walk and hope we stay invisible.”

They walked slowly in silence while the bubble rolled around them. The massive, cage-filled room was full of strange sights and sounds, but Drake refused to be distracted. He kept his eyes on the prize: The control room at the far end of the chamber.

Suddenly the doors on either side of the room burst open. Guards came pouring in through the chamber, rushing down the central path on which they walked. They were on a collision course with the bubble, and Drake frowned.

“Quickly,” he whispered, “side step!”
The bubble rolled between two cages and out of the main thoroughfare just before the group of guards passed by. He let out a big relieved breath and heard it echoed by his companions. Slowly they stepped back on the main path and continued their march towards the control room.

Jamie looked up at him with her big green eyes. “Are you sure this is the right plan?” she asked. “We could just stay hidden in this bubble thing until we get to your ship.”
Drake shook his head. “They’d see my ship take off, remember. We need them so distracted that they aren’t able to deal with one little ship.”
He saw the uncertainty in her eyes and gave her a smile, putting his arm around her. “It’s a good plan, dear heart, and you’re a genius for coming up with it.”

She blushed, returning his smile, then went back to concentrating on the control room. It was a small half-circle that came out from the wall and into the central chamber, with entries on either side. Two guards stood inside, keeping their eyes on the multitude of cages.

“Almost there,” Drake whispered. “When we get inside, we have to keep those two guards back from the controls long enough for our Hareema friend to figure out how to release them.”

The bubble shook ever so slightly around them as the Hareema rebel acknowledged his words.

“Herman has no charge, so we can’t fry them. We’ve just got to keep a hold on them.”
Jamie frowned. “How are we supposed to do that? They’re shape-shifters. They can change into anything. And they’re stronger than me.”

Dr. Lakewood spoke up. “I have an idea. What about if we create a diversion before our diversion?”

“What are you talking about?” Drake asked.

“What if we let Herman out? He can roll in there and distract them, get them to leave the control room long enough for the rebel agent to deactivate the cells.”

Jamie shrugged. “It’s a better idea than trying to hold them down.”

Drake nodded. “Fine.” He looked up. “Hey, bubble, let’s halt this thing.”

The bubble stopped rolling around them within yards of the control room. A small slit opened at the bottom, and Herman moved towards it. “Wish me luck,” the little robot chirped.

“Good luck,” Jamie said, putting a hand to her lips and miming blowing a kiss.

Drake’s arm shot out and he mimed intercepting the kiss. “This belongs to me,” he said.

She rolled her eyes in response but then laughed good-naturedly. “Greedy.”
“When it comes to you, you know it,” he said, his eyes burning into hers.

“Okay you lovebirds,” Lakewood said, ruining the moment, “let’s keep an eye on my robot.”

Herman had rolled to the entrance on the right and stopped. He was emitting a series of bleeps, bloops, and whistles. The Hareema guards had turned in his direction, and one had walked towards the little robot, but neither had left the control room.

“Come on, Herman,” Jamie whispered. “You’ll have to do better than that!”

As if the robot ball heard her, he began to speak. “There is a disturbance among the cells. One of the creatures has gotten free and is attempting to free others.”

One of the Hareema, having taken the shape of an alien creature with four arms, frowned down at Herman. “I’m not showing any disturbance on our screens,” he said. “And just who are you?”

“Hareema Emulating Robotic Assistance Negotiator, or HERMAN, for short,” the robot responded. “The human, Dr. Lakewood, has created me to assist you. I have been given the task of patrolling the base and reporting any disturbances.”

“Well you missed a heck of a disturbance already,” the other guard, who had the form of a lizard-headed creature, said. “How come you didn’t warn us about that?”

“I have been patrolling the cells in central holding. I did not see any earlier disturbance. But I would urge you again to follow me. The creature seemed close to unlocking another cell.”

“Go check it out,” the four-armed guard said. “I’ll stay here.”

The lizard-headed one nodded, then followed Herman as he started to roll away. “I don’t know why we’re building robots to do our jobs. Soon we’ll all be out of work. Maybe I should just kick you out an airlock.”

“That’s the best we’re going to get,” Drake said when Herman and the guard were out of sight. “We’ve got to make our move now.”

The silver bubble opened a slight at the rear, down low, and the three of them climbed carefully out of it, crawling to remain out of sight. Once they were free of the bubble it collapsed on itself. The Hareema then turned himself into a look-alike of the lizard-like guard who’d followed Herman. “Stay here,” he said, “and follow my lead.”

The Hareema strolled into the control room. “You won’t believe what that stupid robot ball did,” he said to the four-armed guard. “You seriously have to go see it.”

“What?” his companion asked, his features showing his curiosity.

“Oh no, it’s too good. I’m not going to ruin it by telling you. Just go see. I’ll hold things down here.”

His companion shrugged, then laughed. “Why not?”

He headed out the entrance on the left and Drake motioned for Jamie and Lakewood to hustle into the opposite entrance before the guard could catch sight of them. “Stay down,” he said, then looked up at the Hareema. “Good job.”

The Hareema nodded and immediately set to work on the controls. “You want me to release the lock on every cell, right?”

“Yes!” Jamie said. “Free them all!”

“It will definitely create one hell of a diversion,” he replied, then started going down the console rows, flipping switches. There was a loud buzzing sound that repeated as he flipped. It was near deafening.

Drake risked a peek out the window. As he watched, cages began to open, the creatures inside them spilling out. The buzzing stopped, and suddenly he heard a scream.

He wondered which guard had been attacked.

Another scream. Well, he no longer needed to wonder.

“Done,” the Hareema said after flipping the last switch.

“Let’s get out of here,” Drake said, standing up and pulling Jamie towards him.

“Should I form the bubble again?” the Hareema asked.

“No need,” Drake said. “The shifters are about to be so overwhelmed, they’ll be spread too thin to worry about us.”

The group departed the control room, but Jamie paused before the exit to the massive chamber. She turned towards the cages.

It was pandemonium, with creatures of every shape and side flowing out of cages and wandering around in waves. Some were fighting, some coming together. Others were starting to move towards the exit.

Drake pulled Jamie to the side to let the first group of freed prisoners through the doors. “What are you waiting for?” he asked her.

“Herman! We can’t leave him behind!”

She cupped her hands in front of her mouth and let out a yell “HERMAN!”

They waited. She yelled again.

Drake’s skin was itching, his anxiety reaching a fever pitch. “We need to get out of here. Some of these prisoners might be dangerous.”

Jamie started to pull away from him, heading towards the now-empty cages. Drake tugged her back, his features tightening with anger. “There’s no way I’m letting you go after him.”

“HERMAN!!!!” she screamed again.

At last, the scrappy little ball rolled out of the melee, heading towards them. “Thank Noruma,” Drake muttered, moving them all towards the door. “Nice of you to join us, Herman.”
“Don’t yell at him!” Jamie said, her eyes full of fire. “He was just trying to help.”

“We’ve got to go,” Drake countered. “If you want this diversion to mask our departure, then we have to go right now.”

Jamie stuck her tongue out at him, then shoved her way through the exit door. He scowled, following right behind her.

The hallways were complete chaos. Herman led the way through the masses of alien bodies and the shapeshifter guards who were trying to get things under control. It was a losing battle, as wave after wave of prisoners rushed towards their freedom.

Drake fought his way through the masses, his fists and elbows becoming bloody in the process. It felt like an eternity before they reached the entrance to the hangar where his ship was parked.

They ran through the space, headed towards his craft, when there was a large explosion. Jamie screamed and he grabbed her, throwing her to the ground. Looking up, he saw that one ship was already in the air and it had used its weapons to blow a hole in the hangar. It shot through the hole, and another followed close behind.

“Get off me,” Jamie grunted from beneath him, and Drake hurried to pull her up and brush her off.

“Apologies,” he said, “but your safety will always be my first priority.”

“I thought being an asshole was your first priority,” she grumbled, but he thought he detected a hint of humor beneath the words.

Drake pulled her hand into his and tugged her towards his ship. He tapped against the entry panel and the hatch opened. Then he walked inside, and immediately froze.

The Hareema who had taken the form of his own brother stood there, a weapon pointed in Drake’s direction.