“Life support,” Hugo said frantically.

Oh, God. The AI was watching.

“The tunnels,” I urged. The grilles on the hatches had sealed when the air filtration had stopped. They were kept on a separate life support system, I was sure of it.

“Quick,” Hugo said, heading toward where we’d entered. “Get the civilians inside first.”

Johnson and Armstrong started rounding up those civilians still in the hub and still alive. I refused to think of the ones who were dead. And I had to hope those who had returned to their quarters when this all started were safe for now. They hadn’t been resisting arrest, and I got the impression, for all the AI’s craziness, Aquila was inherently honest.

Or at least I hoped so.

The civilians started piling into the tunnels, Armstrong leading them deeper inside, while Johnson helped them climb up and Hugo kept the hatch open. I turned to look for Mandy and saw her standing over one of the mercs, trying to get his helmet undone.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“They can’t move, right?” she said. “Their suits are locked down?”

“Ah, yeah,” I said.

“Good,” she replied. It sounded a little off.

I noted her arm was bleeding quite badly. The gel floor was having trouble wicking the blood away.

“Mandy,” I said, stepping closer.

“Adi!” Hugo shouted. “Get in the tunnel!”

“Wait!” I called back, crouching down by my friend. “Mandy, leave them. Come on.”

“There’s time,” she said. “Big room like this takes time to evacuate all the oxygen.”

I wasn’t so sure. Already I could feel my limbs getting heavier and my vision blurring.

“Adi,” Hugo said at my shoulder.

The hatch was closed again, but all the civilians and Johnson and Armstrong were inside. Hugo wore the wrist comm still, though, so they would be doomed to starvation if he didn’t get in there with them. And what of the other decks? The other habitats?

“Oh, God,” I said. “Habitats Two and Three.”

“Exactly,” Hugo said. “Mandy, come on.”

“Go,” she said, moving off to the next merc. The one she’d just finished with was mercifully unconscious. But he would die here along with her.

I took a step back.

“Mandy?” I said.

She stood up from the next merc, his helmet discarded. His eyes blinked rapidly, but no words formed on his slack mouth. Then she looked directly at Hugo and pointed her steak knife.

“Get her off this deck and into those tunnels.”

“And you?” he said, tugging me with him towards the hatch.

“I’m finishing this while I still can.” She moved to the next merc, removing his helmet quicker this time.

“You’ll die,” Hugo said at the gel wall. The hatch had opened and sweet, sweet filtered air spilt out.

“We could keep this open and get some air in here,” I said. It might be enough.

“Get to the other decks and get those people out!” Mandy said and then stumbled.

Hugo looked torn. Half his body was turned toward Mandy and her struggles to expose the mercs to Aquila’s form of justice. And half of him was already pushing me in the tunnel.

Mandy was onto her fourth merc’s helmet. Hugo stood there in indecision for a moment longer and then said, “You’ve done enough. As captain of the ship, I order you to return to the tunnels.”

Mandy stood up. She smirked at him and then saluted.

“I’m outside your chain of command, Captain.”

They shared a look, and then Mandy fell to one knee.

“The habitats,” she growled. “Get to the lower habitats and save who you can.”

“You stubborn, stupid woman!” Hugo yelled, then took his wrist comm off and handed it to me.

My hand shook as I held the device near the hatch so what little air there was could still come in. Hugo ran to the closest merc and clocked him in the face with the butt of his gun. And then he hit the release mechanism on the back. The armoured LSU retracted around his form.

“Your screwdriver, Adi!” he shouted.

I threw it to him.

He used it to reactive the settings on the armour.

Mandy was sitting by the fifth merc, struggling for breath. Hugo got up and ran toward her and then dragged her almost inert form back to the armour he’d released from the unconscious merc.

“Damn you for making me a part of this,” he snarled and threw her down beside it.

He staggered. Stumbled on his feet. Then reached down and rolled Mandy into the armour, fumbling with her legs and arms and head. He struggled with the helmet for a few precious seconds and then finally hit the button on the back that reactivated the unit.

“Go!” Mandy said through the speakers. “Get to the lower decks. I’ll follow when I’m done here.”

She wouldn’t be following us through the tunnels. But in armour, she could get from deck to deck using more conventional methods. If Aquila allowed her.

I took one last look at my friend as Hugo staggered toward the hatch, gulping in air as it finally reached him, and then I slipped into the tunnel. Hugo had done all he could for her; stubborn woman that she was. And there were other decks, perhaps worse off than us.

Hugo climbed in at my back and looked out at Mandy’s armoured form. She was working on the fifth merc again.

“We could wait,” I said.

“No,” Hugo offered. “We’ve taken too long as it is.”

He took the wrist comm back and shut the hatch, his breathing still elevated.

Sweat coated his pale skin, and his lips looked a little blue around the edges, but he smiled at me when our eyes met. It was a sad, regretful smile. I was sure mine back matched it.

“Come on,” he said moving off.

Johnson was waiting. “Armstrong’s taken the civvies to Deck C,” he said. “He’ll keep them quiet until we get there.”

Hugo nodded. “We go down.” He looked at me. Then undid the wrist comm again. He placed it in my hand and closed my fingers over it like I’d done for him. “You wait at the hatches on each deck,” he said. “And if it doesn’t go how we plan, then you hightail it up to those waiting on C Deck.”

“But…”

“Adi,” he said. “They can’t be left in the tunnels to die. I need you to do this.”

I nodded my head, lip firmly between my teeth. It made sense. I hated it.

He smiled. And then leaned forward and kissed me.

Johnson made a sound, but turned around, giving us his back.

Hugo took advantage of the moment and kissed me harder.

Then gasping a little for breath, he pulled back and said, “Come on. We’ve got habitats to rescue.”

“Plan, boss?” Johnson asked.

“I want one of those suits,” Hugo growled.

“Yeah, me too,” Johnson added.

“And then I want to rain down hell on Aquila.”

“Oh, yeah,” Johnson said with feeling. “It’s time to get even.”

Hugo snorted and headed out. Johnson winked at me and followed. I stared at the hatch a moment longer, then pushed my tumultuous thoughts and feelings aside.

It was time to get even.

With Aquila.

And my father.

It was time.