Page 39 of Marked By the Bounty Hunter

“I’m-”

“If you say ‘fine’ one more time...” I growled.

“Stubborn,” she muttered, but leaned into my support. “Five minutes. Let me send the message.”

Dr. Gondon busied herself with her equipment, pretending not to notice our exchange. The station groaned around us, systems shifting as the Consortium prepared for their endgame.

“Message sent.” Nalina straightened with visible effort. “Odra will have people standing by near the quarantine bays. They’ll help move the children once we get them out.”

“Then we’re ready.” I kept my arm around her waist, no longer caring if it showed weakness. “Doctor?”

“One moment.” She gathered the last of her datapads. “These contain everything - my original research, what the Consortium did with it, how to reverse the changes. If something happens to me...”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Nalina said firmly.

“Nevertheless,” Dr. Gondon said. “The data needs to survive, even if we don’t.”

A deep mechanical shudder ran through the station. Emergency lights flickered as power surged through modified systems. Somewhere above, heavy equipment was being moved into position.

“Time to go.” I checked our path one final time. “Stay close. Move fast.”

“And try not to die?” Nalina’s attempt at humor couldn’t quite hide the tremor in her voice, but her eyes were clear and determined when they met mine.

“That too.” I squeezed her hand once, memorizing the feeling of her fingers against mine.

We moved into the station’s darkness, following paths only Nalina seemed to fully understand. Through maintenance shafts and forgotten corridors, past the ruins of Nova’s Edge’s original systems.

And everywhere, signs of change. New power conduits spliced into old infrastructure. Strange equipment humming behind makeshift walls. The station’s bones being twisted into something new and terrible.

I kept one hand near my weapons, the other ready to catch Nalina if she stumbled again. Dr. Gondon followed, her skin shifting colors to match our surroundings.

Ahead lay the lab, and the compound that might save Nalina’s life. Ahead lay the children, trapped in their modified stasis units. Ahead lay the chance to stop the Consortium before they could implement their station-wide neural control.

If we could reach it in time.

If Nalina’s strength held.

If I could keep her safe, despite her determination to save everyone but herself.

The station protested around us, metal twisting as new systems came online. Through the walls, I heard the whine of equipment powering up, the thunder of heavy machinery being moved into place.

Time was running out.

For all of us.

NALINA

Iled the way through the maintenance tunnel, my feet finding secure holds without conscious thought. Behind me, Tyrix moved with predator’s grace, his breathing steady despite the confined space.

My hand brushed against a control panel, steady this time. Small victories. The tremors came and went, each one a reminder of the countdown ticking in my blood. I pushed the thought aside and focused on the next section of tunnel.

“Wait.” I held up my hand as we approached an intersection. The security feed showed an empty corridor, but something felt wrong. I studied the pattern of dust on the deck plates, the way the emergency strips cast shadows.

“Someone’s been through here recently.”

Tyrix nodded, one hand dropping to his weapon. But before either of us could move, the camera above our heads flickered, its indicator light shifting from red to green.

“Odra,” I breathed. His network at work, clearing our path one section at a time.

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