A jolt of terror galvanised Jett into action. She swept Gallant out of the way and rattled a disconnect command into the rig before tearing the plug free and bundling it back into the safety of her backpack. Wrenching the straps tight, she looked at Rapid.

"Tell me there's more than one way out of here?" she asked, a hint of desperation squeaking into her voice.

He rolled his eyes. "Course there is—how stupid you think I am, girl? Problem is it's on the far side of the damned room, and there's a lot of bolts flying between here and there."

"Well, we can't stay here!"

"Oh, ya think so?"

"SHUT UP!" Bronco bellowed, silencing them all in an instant, his eyes blazing with frustration. "Just shut up and get behind me."

For a moment, Jett didn't know how that would be much help.

Then the vulkin reached round and simply lifted the heavy table in the centre of the room, sending Rapid's documents scattering in all directions and hefting it across his body to form a mobile barricade. Sinew stood out on the sides of his neck as he strained, clumping towards the door with his burden.

"Right, I'm not going to be changing direction or slowing down," he rumbled, his hackles up and lips curling in a snarl. "So everybody get close and stay close."

No-one argued. Seeing the big vulkin riled up saw off any potential disagreement, and the group tucked themselves in tightly behind him as he positioned himself. Jett moved up behind him, taking a light grip of her hulking companion's belt. Then she reached back and took a tight hold of Karno's paw.

"Stick close," she whispered.

He nodded, squeezing her paw back reassuringly.

"Venzer," Rapid hissed to the injured guard. "Get outta sight and muzzle yourself, eh?"

"Yeah, boss," the foxkin coughed through gritted teeth and crawled awkwardly away to tuck himself into the shadows between some filing cabinets.

Gallant's face blanched with surprise. "You're leaving him?"

"Some medi you are," Rapid growled, grabbing her by the coat and dragging her forcibly to the door. "He's not gonna be running anytime soon with that big twig stickin' out of him. We can't wait, so unless you wanna stay here with him, shuddup and get in line."

Reluctantly the deerkin allowed herself to be shoved into place behind Bronco and the others, Rapid right behind her with his axe drawn.

"Let's get out of here!" the albino spat. "Whenever you're ready, Bronc!"

Bronco's heavily muscled frame tensed in readiness, and then he surged forward out into the mayhem of the workshop, his powerful legs propelling him with a surprising turn of pace despite his makeshift shield.

A series of metal-on-metal thunks rang in the air as several bolts impacted against the table, but Bronco didn't break stride. Dragging Karno along behind her, Jett kept the vulkin between her and the shooters, but in glimpses, she could see the chaos unfolding. There were enforcers everywhere, sleek, black-armoured frames spilling into the space with murderous intent. A dozen of Rapid's guards were fighting a losing battle against the highly trained wolfkin, bolts flying back and forth and brutal close-quarters combat erupting in amongst the workspaces.

Most of the enforcers didn't bother with weapons beyond their armbows, instead relying on their natural armaments of claws and teeth while their body armour protected them from the blades and bolts of the foxkin gang. But in the midst of the melee, she saw one figure she recognised.

Hera moved with predatory grace, butchering any guard or worker unfortunate enough to cross her path. The talons of her gauntlet flashed in vicious, precise strokes, spraying crimson across the hangar floor. Her blazing golden eyes locked onto them even as she opened the throat of a fleeing felkin, uncaring of the gore that spattered her armour.

Forcing herself to look away, Jett joined the others as they continued their mad rush across the open space, Rapid barking out a direction to Bronco. With an effort, he changed the angle of his run, hurtling towards a small door on the opposite side.

"Look out!"

The shrill shout came from Gallant, but it was too late. Jett whipped her head up to look and watched in horror as three wolfkin came flying straight at Bronco, hurling themselves at full tilt into the flat slab of the table with devastating effect.

Behind the makeshift barricade, Bronco never saw them coming, and their bodyweight knocked him off balance, smashing the vulkin to the ground and sending the heavy table crashing through the rest of the group. Jett let go of Karno and sprang into the air, hurdling the table as it skidded across the floor before landing on all fours.

Looking up, she saw one of the wolfkin leap onto Bronco, pinning him to the ground with jaws open wide, ready for the kill. The second ploughed into one of Rapid's guards while the third flew straight at her.

She whipped her longclaw free as the enforcer leapt at her, only for a blurred dark shape to flash between them. Karno slammed into the other wolfkin with a snarl, and the two of them crashed to the ground, rolling in a storm of gnashing teeth and slashing claws. Her gaze lingered for an instant, but she twisted reluctantly away, her attention returning to Bronco.

He struggled with the wolfkin, one forearm jammed beneath the snapping jaws. Flat on his back and reeling from the dizzying impact, that was the only resistance he could manage. Jett sprinted over to him, lashing her blade at the enforcer's face.

The wolfkin saw her at the last instant and jerked back, flicking an arm up and deflecting her strike away with the thick armour plate wrapped around his wrist. He shoved himself up off of Bronco and pounced, flinging himself forward in a low tackle. Jett tried to twist her body and swing the knife, but she only caught him a glancing blow to the shoulder before he slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. She let out a screech of pain as claws raked her flank before the enforcer's face appeared over her, jaws wide as he bit down towards her throat.

He never made it. Before she could scream, the wolfkin's throat exploded in a red fountain as Rapid's axe thudded into it with a sickening crunch, dousing Jett's face in blood. The gang leader carried the swing through with all the force he could muster, tearing the enforcer's windpipe open before kicking him in the shoulder to send him tumbling away, spluttering his lifeblood onto the workshop floor.

"C'mon!" Rapid growled, hauling her unceremoniously to her feet.

More wolfkin were piling onto them now, brawling with the foxkin guards. Her intervention had allowed Bronco to get to his feet, however, and the vulkin was occupying two of the enforcers by himself already, one trapped in a crushing headlock while he snapped and snarled at the other.

Karno.

She whirled around to see him still in combat with the enforcer he'd tackled, their jaws locked together as they tumbled, clawing viciously at one another. Without the protective armour, however, Karno was getting the worst of the exchange, his body a mess of bloody scrapes and his clothing torn in a dozen places.

She was over to him in the blink of an eye. Not willing to risk her blade in such a close exchange, she sheathed it and flung herself into the jumble of limbs, snaking an arm around the enforcer's throat from behind and locking her grip into a chokehold. She heard the female enforcer let out a gurgle of surprise and hissed in pain as claws raked across her forearms. Wrapping her legs around the wolfkin's waist, she squeezed with all her might.

Karno got a hold of the enforcer's arms, throwing himself on top of them and pinioning their adversary between their bodies. They struggled for a few more seconds until Jett felt the wolfkin's struggles weaken.

Not waiting around to finish the job, she shoved the half-suffocated enforcer aside and kicked herself free, scrambling upright. Karno leapt to his footpaws, breathing heavily and bleeding all over.

"Let's GO!" Rapid screamed above the clamour, even as he dragged the blood-caked blade of his axe from the gut of another enforcer. The foxkin's stark white fur was lashed all over with startling streaks of blood, but she doubted much of it was his. Another vicious swing of the axe tore the enforcer's face open and sent them crashing to the ground with a gurgling yowl of agony. Then Rapid was off and running again.

Stumbling along with Karno beside her, Jett joined the others as they extracted themselves from the warzone. Rapid led the way with Gallant alongside him, dragging the deerkin forcibly along by her jacket while Bronco followed on. She glanced back at the chaos, and a bolt of terror shot up her spine when she saw Hera and three more wolfkin breaking loose of the bloodshed to follow them.

"Rapid, we have company!" she screamed.

Out in front of them, Rapid glanced back once before twisting to his left and bolting towards one of the chemical vats that lined the far edge of the hangar. It stood maybe four meters tall and half that across, with swirling whorls of steam peeling off its bubbling surface.

She watched, confused for a moment, as he raced over to the rickety-looking scaffold that held the vat upright. A wild swing from his axe smashed the rusted bolt of the crossbar, and she saw the whole container wobble dangerously. Then she realised what he was doing. He scrambled up the makeshift stairs to the far side of the vat and braced a shoulder against it, pushing for all he was worth.

But the thick metal of the vat did not yield.

"Keep going," she hissed to Karno before letting go of him and sprinting over to help. In a handful of long, lunging steps, she was beside him. The chemical fumes made her head swim, but she ignored them, hurling her body against the vat with a scream of effort. Rapid did the same, and after a couple of seconds, she felt it start to tip towards the onrushing wolfkin.

It gave away so suddenly that Rapid pitched forward with a yelp of surprise. He would have followed the vat down had Jett not managed to clamp her claws into the belt loop of his kilt and heave him back onto the stairway, where they fell in an ungainly tangle.

Meanwhile, the huge vat of noxious chemicals toppled like a felled tree. The metal of its structure buckled and screeched when it slammed to the hangar floor, vomiting its contents out into the path of Hera and her comrades. She and one of the other enforcers managed to leap back in time to avoid the wave, but the others were too far forward. The chemicals engulfed them, knocking them flat and coating them in whatever volatile—and definitely illegal—compound Rapid's people had been cooking up down here.

The two enforcers slunk backwards, choking and coughing, shaking the fume-laden chemicals from their bodies and retching out blood onto the ground. Hera and the other wolfkin skidded to a halt as the deluge swept past them, hesitating for just a moment as they weighed up just how dangerous the liquid was. The diversion bought the fugitives a few precious seconds.

"C'mon!" Rapid growled, heaving Jett to her feet and propelling her back down the wobbling scaffold. They rejoined their comrades just as they barrelled through the doorway that Rapid had directed them towards.

Jett looked around in a panic as she entered the chamber. It looked like nothing but a windowless storage room full of lockers and filing cabinets. Rapid, however, didn't break stride. Tucked against the back wall were several equipment lockers—tall metal things packed with spare parts and tools, and he bolted straight over to one. With a snarl, he ripped it open and sent its contents scattering across the floor with frantic energy before ramming a shoulder into the back panel. It gave way with a clang, revealing a narrow, pitch-black passage.

"In, now!" Rapid bellowed, shoving Gallant through and beckoning the others to follow. The rest of them piled into the shadows after her without hesitation, and the albino foxkin ducked in at the rear. Glancing back, Jett saw his silhouette, one arm reaching to fix a box-like shape to the wall. A light on the shape blinked red, and Rapid roared down the passage, "Get down!"

The next instant, the charge exploded and collapsed the entrance of the tunnel. Smoke and hot dust belched through the narrow space, engulfing them and forcing Jett into a hacking cough. Scrubbing the muck from her eyes, she picked out Karno's frame opposite her, leaning on the wall. Bronco and Gallant were slightly further down. Her sharp eyes adjusted to the lack of light quickly, only to find Rapid already striding past them, shoulders square and axe in paw.

His eyes glinted with rage as he spoke.

"Follow me if you wanna stay alive."