The sensation of not quite existing washed over her for a fraction of a second, and then they were in another part of the ship. Together they dropped about six inches before hitting the deck.

Amber took the impact and held Farrier upright as they landed. Then she opened her eyes, to find a long empty corridor stretching away into the distance. She looked back over her shoulder but no guards waited for them. A shudder of relief passed through her. They'd both come through the transit safe and sound.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly. Farrier nodded and with reluctant slowness released her vice-like grip. Amber took hold of her Compac once more, ready for any unwanted arrivals.

A twinge in the back of her mind signalled Hekket's transport from the rear compartment. She glanced back to see him emerge from the shimmering bend in space-time, cannon aimed as he scanned left and right. When he spotted them his grim expression softened and he padded forward.

"You both okay?"

Amber nodded. "We're good."

"Stay behind me," he told them. Then he started walking, quickly and quietly down the passage toward the ship's shuttle bay. Tugging Farrier gently along behind her, Amber followed. Two turns later they reached a double set of doors with thick white letters emblazoned overhead reading HANGER BAY.

After letting Hekket move forward to check the passage, she crept up behind him as he examined the control panel. A moment later he pressed the release and the two slabs came apart with the hiss of metal on metal. He glanced back once and beckoned. Amber raised her cannon and edged into the room after him.

For a ship this size its shuttle bay was comparatively small; a half-barrel shaped chamber barely one hundred meters from end to end. A series of flat disc lights illuminated six of the heavily modified Bulldog shuttles below, their boarding ramps lowered and ready. In front of them built into the hull were the maws of six corresponding launch tubes. Keeping Farrier behind her, Amber moved up alongside Hekket, her eyes searching the bay for any sign of life. She saw nothing – no guards, and none of the other operatives.

"You can fly one of these, right?" Hekket murmured.

"Of course I can." She gave Farrier a reassuring nod, hoping she looked as confident as she felt. The girl still looked terrified, shooting furtive glances left and right as they moved towards the closest shuttle.

Amber and Hekket moved up side by side with their companion, cannons aimed into the dim interior of the empty shuttle. Low level standby lights revealed the geometric corridor leading into the body of the ship, through the small cargo hold and up into a passenger compartment. Eight seats ran up and down each side of the claustrophobic space and she felt Farrier grip her arm like a vice as they continued on.

At the end of the passenger hold was the open door to the cockpit, revealing the innocently bleeping pilot controls beyond. Amber paused, gently easing Farrier's grip from her arm.

"It's okay," she said softly. "We'll get you out of here." Then she stepped past Hekket and sat down in the pilot seat, scrutinizing the controls as quickly as she could. Thankfully the layout wasn't far removed from the standard navy design; there were a couple of toggles whose purpose remained a mystery to her, but the main flight controls looked good.

"What do you think?" Hekket asked from the doorway.

She frowned. "I can fly it, but there's a landing lock engaged. I'll need to override it."

"Can you do that?"

"Watch me." Her fingers rattled over the controls, determination gripping her as she began routing the docking protocols away from the main ship to bypass its landing-lock. Again the security measures seemed almost token, as though the builders of the vessel never expected anyone to make it this far. It was, Amber supposed, a reasonable assumption. Without the gift her and her companions possessed no-one would have boarded this vessel.

It took a matter of minutes for her to override the landing lock and release the controls of the hanger's launch tubes. She flicked through the engine start up sequence and heard the faint rumble from the rear compartment as the powerful turbines warmed up. Once they made it home she wanted to be among the first to tear this little ship's propulsion system to pieces. Watching the read-outs carefully, she looked for any surprises, any special features that could throw a curve-ball, but so far she saw nothing. She suspected one of the unfamiliar controls would direct the fire of the cannon slung under the shuttle's shovel-like nose.

Eventually, satisfied that the pre-flight sequence was ready, she tapped her earpiece.

"Darien, this is Amber," she said, speaking quietly even though there were no guards around. "We've got our ride. Engines are on standby and I've overridden the docking controls. What's your status?"

"En route," Darien barked back – then the unmistakable thud of a Compac firing ripped over the comm channel.. "We are minutes from the shuttle bay and we are not alone! Keep the ship ready."

"Copy that." She turned to Hekket. "Come on – we'd better get down there." Without waiting for him to reply she guided Farrier back to one of the passenger seats and sat her down. She took a moment and made sure the girl's harness was secure. "Just stay still and stay quiet," she said. "We'll be back soon. Our friends are on their way."

Farrier's fists clenched, knuckles white as she strangled the straps holding her, but she nodded her understanding. Checking the magazine of her cannon, Amber took a deep breath then led Hekket back down to the boarding ramp of the shuttle. Taking up a position crouching on one knee at the base of the ramp, she tapped her earpiece again.

"Uther, Idas, come in."

"Idas here. Go ahead."

"Are you guys ready? We're running out of time."

"We'll be there," Idas replied. "Just putting the finishing touches to this boomer."

"Darien is on his way with the prisoners and it sounds like the guards are onto them."

"Yeah, I heard. Just keep the seats warm; we won't be long. Idas out."

With that brusque comment the channel went dead. Amber looked to Hekket at the opposite side of the ramp. He shrugged, hugged his cannon stock up against his shoulder and took aim at the open door of the hanger bay. She followed suit, training her Compac's short range scope on the shadowed aperture.

Darien emerged from the darkness first, moving fast and quiet with his Compac locked against his shoulder. A couple of meters in his wake came the group of former prisoners. A bolt of anger tore through her when she saw them – an emaciated band of youths clad in shapeless sludge-grey overalls. They glanced left and right through hollow, disbelieving eyes, shuffling along like a herd. Her jaw snapped tight and she glanced at Hekket. He shook his head slowly. Behind the stragglers Niamh appeared, with her Compac aimed back down the way they'd come. The cannon thumped twice as she fired back down the passage.

At the head of the group Darien stopped and started gesturing furiously for the group of young men and women to get to the shuttle. As a group of frightened eyes flashed in their direction Amber lowered her Compac and waved them forward. A boy at the front cast one fearful glance over his shoulder before breaking into a run towards the shuttle. After a moments' hesitation the others followed.

The boy skidded to a halt in front of Amber and looked dubiously up into the shuttle.

"Go!" she barked, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him up past her. "Straight ahead through cargo hold. Get strapped in." As he disappeared up the ramp she and Hekket repeated their instructions to the others clattering along in his wake. One by one they went up into the ship, driven on by fervent, fearful energy.

Then she turned her attention back to Darien and Niamh at the hanger bay door who were both still hunkered down, firing back at their pursuers.

"Darien!" she yelled. "We're loaded!"

Instantly he tapped Niamh on the shoulder and turned, sprinting flat out for the boarding ramp. Amber braced herself and aimed, waiting for what she knew would come. Sure enough, the head of a guard poked around the door frame a moment later, and she fired. The shot from her Compac went deliberately wide, biting a crater out of the framework and causing the guard to duck quickly back out of sight.

When he reached them Darien skidded to halt, turning, aiming and firing at the guards in a single smooth motion. There was a whirring click as his current clip ran empty.

"Nice work," he grated, slamming another drum of ammunition into his Compac. Then he looked back to Amber. "Get to the cockpit and get ready for take off. We'll hold here until Uther and Idas arrive. Hekket, make sure those kids are secured in the passenger section. We might be in for a rough ride."

Giving him a stiff nod of understanding, Amber whirled and bolted through the passage, Hekket hot on her heels. She forced herself not to stop as she raced past the group of terrified teenagers currently buckling in to their seats. She heard Hekket stop, speaking in hushed, soothing tones to them as he helped to secure their straps.

Instead, Amber shot through the open door of the cockpit and hurled herself into the pilot's chair again. She spun up the main engines and punched in the in the command initialising the hanger's launch prep, priming the gaping launch tube to fire them into space. One everyone was on board they could raise the ramp and lock the shuttle into place.

Fingers poised over the controls Amber waited, acutely aware of the hammering of her heart. This was it – one final sequence and they would be off the ship that had caused so much misery across the human colonies. Now they just waited for the last two members of the team.

Where are you?

She bit her lip, fingers drumming anxiously against the side of the control console. If Uther didn't time the overload correctly he'd blow them all up along with the main ship, but she still couldn't shake off her impatience. The muted thump of Compac fire bled through from the hanger as her companions continued exchanging gunfire with what remained of the vessel's security force.

Then the transmission finally burst over her comm.

"Amber, all operatives are now on board. Get this rock into space!"

"Copy that," she grated. She keyed in commands, bringing the engines fully online, their rumble shaking the deck beneath her feet.

A dark form flashed in her peripheral vision and she glanced right to see Darien strapping into the co-pilot seat.

"Everyone's aboard," he gasped. "Get us off this hulk."

"Sounds good to me," she muttered, before speaking into the shuttle's internal comm net. "All hands, prepare for launch. Anyone not strapped in find something to hold onto."

Then she keyed in the final pre-launch sequence. A warning alarm blared through the hanger and the shuttle's boarding ramp clanged into place. Bulkhead doors automatically slid shut, sealing them off from the rest of the ship, and the guards. Then the whole bay depressurised.

"How long?" she asked.

"Overload in two and half minutes." Darien gave her a dubious look. "Can we...?"

"As soon as we're clear of the launch tube give me full engine," she snapped as she eased the shuttle into position. "We're going to need to slam hard and fast to clear the blast radius."

He nodded his understanding, turning his attention to the co-pilot station. The maw of the launch tube swallowed them into darkness. Amber tensed, gripping the control stick tightly in preparation. Lights flared into life in long line down the ceiling, illuminating their path. She glanced at the heads-up-display.

The docking clamps released their hold and the shuttle shot down the launch tube like a bullet from a gun. One minute they were in the metal chamber and the next they burst free into the void, faced with the glittering canvas of billions upon billions of stars.

There was no time to dwell on the spectacle though.

"Full burn," Amber barked. "Now!"

Darien's hands danced over the controls. "Full burn on my mark. Three...two...one..." He took a deep breath. "Fire!"

Amber rammed the throttle lever forward and the main engines blazed into life, blasting the diminutive craft away from the capital ship. Even with the formidable inertial compensators the converted military craft boasted she felt the force press her gently against the pilot seat. Without the compensators such brutal acceleration would have killed everyone on board in an instant.

Amber didn't waste any time. She simply pointed the ship in a direction and funnelled every scrap of power she could into the engine burn. Their speed increased and red warning lights began blinking on the heads-up-display. With an effort of will she ignored them.

"Count?"

"Detonation in thirty seconds." Darien looked at her. "Have we cleared it?"

"We'll know soon enough," she replied. "I've never actually blown up a Goliath reactor before." Amber pressed her lips together, unwilling to say anymore. She knew the theory; knew what a standard capital ship's drive was capable of and what would happen if you disabled its safeties. Still, theory, as she had found out more than once, was a long way from reality.

She kept her eyes ahead, every part of her body taut, holding onto the shaking control stick as she maintained a straight course. A few seconds later a blinding, effervescent flash lit up the local volume of space thousands of kilometres behind as the Goliath reactor of the ship's engine detonated. Warning alarms bleeped on the shuttle's dashboard but she ignored them, cranking the last vestiges of thrust through the propulsion system.

So that was how it ended, in a searing ball of nuclear fire.

Exhaling the breath she'd been holding, Amber slumped back against the seat, settling the shuttle into an easy cruising speed. Running clear and free of the ship's interference at long last she was able to check their position. When she did, her eyes widened in surprise.

They were a long way from anything and anyone. Theodore Logan had planted his base well beyond the Black Line, beyond the reach or sight of colonial authorities. How he'd managed to move the raw materials out so far without being detected she could only wonder at, but it raised another problem.

"Darien," she said. "We used too much fuel to burn out of the blast. We don't have enough left in the tank to reach the colonies."

"Put us on a course for the nearest Blink satellite station," he replied, unphased. "All we need to do is get close. We'll power up the transmission beacon and Blink will find us."

Amber bit her lip and looked away, keying in the course he suggested. His plan made sense, but the cold practicality of his tone did not. He was still acting for all the galaxy like the incident on the ship's bridge hadn't happened. Who knew how many men and women they'd left to be obliterated in that explosion. Her jaw tightened at the thought.

He unbuckled the straps and stood up, looking at her grimly. "I know you don't agree with what I did back there, Amber."

She stayed silent, not trusting herself to speak.

"I don't need you to agree, or even understand. But I needed you to do your duty, and you did that. So...thank you."

Amber shook her head. "I don't want your thanks," she replied coldly. "What happened there was wrong, Darien, and I'm not going to forget it."