Colt didn't take long.

Lenna dropped out of the air duct first, landed face-first—but in Mars gravity, it barely hurt. Colt followed, feet down, low and ready.

She found a control panel. Wiped dust from the screen.

"We better move," Colt said.

"We've got time. They'll have to double back through Nina's corner." Lenna tapped quickly. "Idiots never changed the root password. They'll learn to fear my digital skills."

She hit a command. Bulkheads slammed shut behind them.

"They'll have trouble getting out now."

Colt scanned the schematic Lenna pulled up—power usage overlaid across the facility.

"Can we find Riley with this?"

"This shows where people are breathing," Lenna replied, pointing. "Here's the guards—stuck behind sealed corridors. Pressure's dropping on the upper decks. Small groups near the airlocks and garages. Most civilians are down low."

Colt tapped a mid-level sector, blinking high usage.

"What's that?"

Lenna zoomed in. Checked the label.

"Julie's old flat," she said. "Now it's called Principal Surgery."

"They're getting ready to operate," Colt said.

Lenna glanced at him. "You think they have Riley?"

Colt shook his head. "Doesn't matter. We go for the head. Elsharif will be there. We take him, we bargain. Or we kill him and extract Riley."

Lenna switched to security cams. Guards were pounding on the sealed bulkhead behind them. Other squads swept corridors. Outside, smoke coiled over the solar field. Trucks rumbled back toward the garage.

"Oh fuck," Lenna said. "They're coming back."

"Then we move fast," Colt said.

Lenna froze. The ground outside the base began to shimmer. Light bent. A shadow fell across the outpost.

"What the hell...?"

She rotated the external camera. A large transport rocket dropped out of the sky.

"Someone's doing point-to-point," she muttered.

The rocket landed hard. Hatches blew open. First came the robots. Then the people. Gunfire cracked across the field.

The General's men opened up. The newcomers fired back. One logo stood out—StarMines.

Colt grinned. "Marcus. He got my message."

Lenna kept her eyes on the feed. "Elsharif still has my daughter. And they're about to operate."

"Then let's go," Colt said.

Lenna opened access near the operating theatre. Slammed shut routes everywhere else.

They moved. Fast. Through hallways, under flashing lights. They passed people trapped behind sealed bulkheads. Glass walls. Panic in their eyes.

Eventually, Lenna stopped short at a corner. Pressed flat against the wall.

"If the theatre's where I think it is, it's just around there," she whispered. Gun raised.

Colt crouched, found a polished steel panel on the floor. Angled it around the corner. Reflection showed two guards.

"Two," he said, raising his pistol. "I'll take the left."

Fuck, Lenna mouthed.

"Three. Two—"

Colt swung low around the corner. Fired. Lenna followed.

The left guard went down. The other flinched, raised his weapon.

Colt fired again—missed.

"I said the left!" he barked.

"Your left or his left?" Lenna shot back as bullets pinged down the corridor.

Colt fired blind to suppress. One ricochet clipped something vital.

"Fuck—" the guard gurgled, clutching his throat.

He dropped, blood spraying. But not before he emptied his magazine. Rounds sparked off metal. The hallway turned into a war zone of noise and light.

Colt and Lenna hit the floor. Huddled tight. Shots ricocheted overhead. Then silence. The guard hit the ground hard.

"You okay?" Colt asked.

"I can't believe we made it," Lenna said, checking herself.

"We won't keep getting lucky." Colt reloaded. "Let's go."

"Wait." Lenna pushed one of the guards aside. Crawled to the control panel.

"Oh yes," she grinned. "They locked the theatre doors. But I can unlock them."

She typed fast.

"Even better—they've got the blast walls sealed."

"They don't know about Marcus," Colt said.

"They will in a minute." She typed faster. "I can lift the locks. Set a delay."

"Creates a distraction," Colt said.

"Exactly. And if they're smart, they won't shoot. They'll risk depressurisation."

"How long?"

"Three minutes."

"Make it two."

"Ten seconds," Lenna said. Colt reached to help her up.

"I can get up myself," she said.

"I know," Colt said. "But I try to help my friends."

She looked at him, then nodded. "I don't care if I die. I care about Riley. Make sure she gets out. Tell her I love her."

She paused. Voice quiet.

"Always have. Always will."

Colt looked down at the countdown.

Four.
Three.
Two—