Page 7 of Alien Knight Teddy Bear Troubles

“Got it.” Seth responded for the team.

“Greig?”

Greig’s voice came through loud and clear. “We’re going to have to carry them out, but they’ll live. All buy Lyari.”

Taeger felt his chest nearly crumple with relief. One casually when he’d expected them all to die. Grieving for Lyari would have to come later. He looked at Cassie. “Thank you. Most of my men are going to make it.”

“Great. Can we get the hell out of here now?”

Ion nodded, his little body relaxing, his eyelids drooping sleepily. His innocent expectation that everything would be all right now that ‘Uncle Taegie’ was there making Taeger dread the next few minutes.

“Move out.” Taeger yelled loud and clear so that as many people as possible would hear him in the corridor. In his headset, he heard his men greeting other Lumerian Knights and friends from Mora Five as they exited their cells. The Dark Ones had not left many people behind. “I’ll take lead. Women and children next. Seth, you’ll be the last man in line. Pick up the light sticks on the ground so everyone can see, then pass them up the line to be thrown in the front. I don’t want to leave a light trail. Understood?”

“Understood,” Seth replied grimly, his weapons at the ready.

The women stayed directly behind him as they made their way up the ladders one by one to the upper level. Greig stood above them, helping lift people up the last couple of steps to speed the process. On the ground around them the dead bodies of the Dark Ones they had taken out lay forgotten.

“Have we taken control of the lift?” Taeger asked through his comm.

“Affirmative,” Greig responded. “Before they went down, Belsaran and Almar killed the last of them in the control room, This level is sealed off, and it’s ours.”

“Good.” Taeger reached down the ladder and pulled Ion up first, then Cassie. She’d put the boy in between them. He approved.

“Can we get a message to Earth from the control room?” she asked.

Taeger looked her over like she was insane. “Not happening.”

“Why not? Take me there. I can do it.”

“No.” Taeger denied her request.

Ion tugged on her hand when it looked as if she would argue. “You can’t, Cassie. The Dark Ones will track it and kill everyone you talk to.”

For a child, Ion had learned much of their enemy. Too much, perhaps, but the boy’s knowledge saved Taeger an argument.

“Okay.” She looked from the boy to Taeger as the corridor filled up behind them. “Now what?”

“One more level. Then we split up. Greig, what’s your status?” Taeger waited for the Knight to respond.

“Approaching control center now. It’s empty. Looks fully remote. Escape pods intact.”

“Good. Load our injured onto one of those pods and get out of here. We’ll meet you back at base.”

“Understood.” Greig turned, lifted the unconscious body of Lyari as another Knight lifted Elduin to his own shoulder and disappeared.

Taeger turned to Cassie. “You stay with me.”

Cassandra nodded, pulling Ion closer.

Lifting his hand to activate his comms, Taeger ordered his Knights, “Team up. Get the civilians that we know we can trust from Mora Five. Set charges every few yards to blow in ten minutes from now. It might slow them down for a while, at least. We won’t be able to detonate remotely while they’re jamming signals. Once you get to the escape pods, put them in charge of splitting up the other civilians. Get as many people into each pod as you can. One Knight in each pod. Stay visible so people don’t panic. Let's get off this damn ship.”

“On it,” Seth replied first, followed by the others.

Moving quickly, Taeger climbed the service stairwell with Ion behind him and Cassie following behind Ion. When they reached the level with the escape pods, he moved to the farthest pod and waited for one of his knights to join him with others who wished to return to Mora Five. He had Knights down there. They would have been far from the Dark Ones during the attack and left behind.

Seth shut the door to another pod with a nod and moments later a blast of thunder sounded in the ship’s corridor as the pod detached and shot off into space like a rocket.

“This is us?” Cassie asked as Taeger opened the door to the next pod and waited.

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