Sayeeda groggily came to her feet.

"Neil," she groaned, "Think... think I'm bleeding internally." A spatter of red droplets had appeared on the inside of her helmet despite the faceshield's static charge. That was a worrying sign, but not something she couldn't handle. They needed to get moving soonest if there was to be even a vague hope of salvaging this.

"There is vaspopressin in the pouch on my back, green phial, red markings," she directed. The pilot patted at the ruins of her webbing for a moment.

"No pouch back here Junebug," he said, "must have lost in the...whatever it was."

"Well dosen't that just fucking figure," she sighed. That didn't bode particularly well for her chances but it wasn't like she was playing it safe as it was.

"They are Love Bugs," she said shakily as she pointed Neil in more or less the right direction. They made a fine pair her drapped half over him as she staggered along at the best speed she could. There was a worrying stiffness in her legs as the clattered down the corridor. She noticed that he didn't have her submachine gun but she supposed if that was all she lost she would be doing well.

"They had an adult one, down there, boom," she said breathily. The markings in the hall directed her towards an emergency airlock. There was some skittering in some of the side passages but she ignored it as they hurried towards their goal.

"A whole bloody mess of incoming signals!" crackled over her comms in a thick Scottish accent. Sayeeda breathed a sigh of relief that degenerated into a racking cough.

"Lonny, bring the ship around to airlock," she paused to read the number, "Alpha Alpha one niner." They had reached the airlock antechamber now and Neil bolted the door behind them though there was no sign of pursuit. He set her down and looked around frantically for a few moments, clearing out lockers and dumping their content onto the floor.

"Lazy bastards have no suits," Neil complained in a rising voice.

"Probably sold them, no real need," Sayeeda said and clicked her commlink.

"Lonny you in position?" she asked.

"Aye Cap'm!"

"You have a sensor feed on the airlock exterior?"

"Of course but without a docking tube..."

"Shut up, I want you to prepare to vent the main hold, starting with lock starboard two and opening starboard one two seconds after. Understood?"

"Yes Capm," Loney replied. DId the fucking computer sound dubious. Neil looked at her speculatively.

"Your not suggesting..."

"Loney execute my instructions immediately following the opening of the station airlock. Close hatches and pump air as soon as we are aboard."

"Cap'm the odds..."

"Shut up. Confirm your readiness to execute."

"Ready Cap'm!" Junebug reached up and punched the airlock manual overide. There was a sudden woosh louder than a tornado and Sayeed, Neil and all the trash in the airlock room where ripped up and out of the airlock into the void. For a moment a bone chilling cold seeped over her and her faceshield began to fog with condensate. The Highlander drifted not fifty meters away and she saw the puff of air on the far side. A moment later the port hatch opened. The rush of air hurtled the two of them towards the ship, and right into the sucking tumult of air rushing through the highlander. With an inaudible clatter they were sucked into the air lock. Sayeeda hit one of the coffee crates at well over thirty kilometers an hour and the world crashed into blackness.

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