He took a wide berth around Pio until he stood at the platform portal.

Lacey looked down at Pio. "Good luck. And thank you for all your help." She paused and added, "If we don't return, please help Reene send Oliver to Earth."

The creature bobbed his head in understanding. Lacey glanced at the countdown monitor. Thirty minutes before all hell broke loose. Everything hinged on her success. She blinked back any misgivings. Now was not the time to second-guess her decision.

Torrie stepped up behind her. "I've got handsome here covered. Go get Zain."

"See you on the other side." Lacey gave Torrie a final smile, then told Reene, "Activate the lower portal."

The portal opened with a flash of light. When she walked through it, there would be no turning back. No chance to run home and hide. No safety net. No second chances. But Zain was on the other side and that's all she needed to know. She'd spent her life letting other people make her decisions. No more.

With unwavering determination, she stepped through and felt the familiar pull of teleportation. She fought the urge to flee for her fragile Earth life. A moment later, she found herself in the center of a large portal area in a football-field-sized courtyard. A quick look around confirmed this was the building from the holo-image. Arched balconies lined each floor, including the bottom level where she could see guards standing in the shade of a high noonday sun. Overhead was the familiar sheen of holographic camouflage.

She turned just as Ferretu stumbled through the portal behind her, doubled over and clutching his stomach. Torrie must have given him a hell of a send-off. Lacey pushed him a short distance from the portal and trained her rifle on him, while three guards crossed the courtyard with weapons drawn.

Hold your ground, she told herself, even as more guards materialized and the empty courtyard filled up.

The first man reached her and aimed his rifle at her head. "Freeze." His command translated through her earpiece. And since he wore more junk on his uniform than the others, she figured he must be the top dog.

"You freeze," she countered, and dipped her gun at Ferretu. "Or your pal will be silenced permanently and I'll disappear faster than you can say Shazam."

The guards had completely surrounded her, and she could feel the sweat trickle down between her breasts.

"I want Zain Masters," she said clearly.

One of the guards stepped forward menacingly, and a laser flashed mere inches from his face. He fell back in surprise. The rest shielded their eyes from the sunlight and gazed to the rooftop from where the shot had come. Several guards turned their gun sights from her to the rooftop sniper. More lasers backed them away from her.

Little did they know that this was part of her plan: Torrie sat up there with her pistols while the krudo were disabling the turret guns and running nonstop through the portal to keep it from being accessed from the inside by InterGlax.

"I have friends in high places," Lacey told the now more respectful crowd. "Bring Zain here."

The head guard pursed his lips and spoke into his comm unit. As the minutes ticked by, Lacey tried not to focus on the arsenal pointed at her.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. She might never watch that movie again, even if she did get back to Earth in one piece. From one corner of the courtyard, a small group of men marched toward her. She searched for Zain's face. Please be here. Please be alive.

The guards parted as a single man walked up to her. Not Zain. The man walked military-straight with a bearing and weight that told her she was dealing with the head honcho. As he drew near, he scanned the situation with sharp eyes.

He stopped, bowed, and gave her a disarming smile. "I am Major Schuler. And you would be?"

"Lacey Garrett."

He glanced at her pajamas and purple slippers, and smiled smugly, condescendingly like Robert would have. She tightened her grip on her rifle.

"And what can I do for you, Lacey Garrett?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said in her own patronizing voice. "I was thinking we could make a trade. You give me Zain, and I'll give you back your assassin. He's a little banged up, but I'm sure he'll be as good as new by morning."

Schuler cast a rather dismissive look at Ferretu. "And what of the others?"

"I shot them," she said.

One eyebrow went up on Schuler's face. "Zain does find some interesting partners."

"Where is he?"

Schuler studied her for a moment, giving her an amused look that told her he was toying with her. She was tempted to shoot him on the spot.

Then he turned and nodded at the head guard. Seconds later, she spotted Zain. Several guards flanked him, but he wasn't otherwise restrained.

On the downside, he looked pretty pissed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked as soon as he was within yelling range.

"I was in the neighborhood," she snapped. Dammit, didn't he know a rescue when he saw one?

He stopped just short of her. "I told you to go home. Just once couldn't you follow orders?"

"I'm saving your ass," she growled in a low voice.

He looked around at all the guns pointed at them, and his eyes narrowed. "Have you told them that?"

Schuler stepped in, looking quite entertained. "Zain, perhaps this partner might like to join our operation as well. I'd be willing to give you an ..." He looked her over. "Assistant."

She blinked at Schuler and then into Zain's hard stare. "Assistant? You're joining these bastards?"

"I was thinking about it," he said with a grumble.

She shook her head, bewildered by his sudden change. What was he saying? He couldn't have turned against her. The Zain she loved would die before he'd turn on his partners and principles. "How can you even consider that after what they've done to you and Crista? After all those innocent people killed in the attacks? You know damn well IG will never stop."

"You are right, but the Avakurians are trying to save the galaxy from InterGlax's brutal policies," Zain replied firmly. "I've seen the entire operation."

She stared into his dark eyes and they softened, almost pleading. "Join me," he whispered, his tone persuasive. "We'll be fine together."

Together? What was he doing? Trying to protect her again? Well, not this time. Dammit, she had a plan.

She leaned forward until she was inches away from him. "No. You join me." Then she said into her comm gear. "Reene, launch Phase Two."

A chorus of high-pitched whines filled the air, and the sky darkened. Thousands of InterGlax fighters swarmed down, hovering over the rooftops. All the guards looked up, some running for cover as ships blanketed the sky.

"There's about ten thousand fighters up there, in case you were trying to count them all," she told Schuler. "They should look quite familiar to you. I reprogrammed them to level this base. I also rerouted your other ninety-four armories to attack each other instead of all those poor planets."

Zain raised a single inquisitive eyebrow, and a slow smile crossed his face. She could see the relief in his eyes. He hadn't turned on her.

"I love you," he said.

She batted her eyelashes. "You haven't seen the best part yet."

Schuler pressed his wristband. "Everard, status."

A man's voice came back, "Sir, we have lost control of all the armories. The program appears to have been modi-" Schuler cut off the comm.

Lacey smiled. "This town ain't big enough for the two of us, Schuler. Surrender or be blown to bits."

Schuler's face reddened with rage, but there was no offer of surrender.

Lacey raised her chin. She wasn't leaving without Zain and that was final. "Phase Three, Reene," she said. Nothing happened. Lacey began to wonder if she'd asked too much of Pio and his people. Maybe they hadn't had enough time to dig back up the dead guards and drag them to the portals.

"Execute them," Schuler snarled. The head guard raised his rifle, only to have it shot from his hands by Torrie. A volley of shots followed that scattered the other guards.

There was a sudden burst of light in the center of the courtyard, about twenty feet away, followed quickly by another, and then a deafening and terrifying bellow.

For a split second, everyone froze. Their collective gazes were drawn to several new additions. Then the ground shook with thundering footsteps and, like a bad B-movie, all decorum disappeared; guards scattered for their lives.

Lacey had to admit, the pair of Bobzillas didn't look at all happy about being tricked through the portal to another planet. However, they quickly adapted and started snapping at the plentiful morsels with their massive jaws. The challenge, of course, was keeping Zain and herself away from those teeth.

"Stop them!" Schuler called out, but the guards were panicked, completely ignoring him. Chaos reigned as most of them fled for the safety of the building. Some remained around her and Zain. Luckily, they had more important things to shoot at.

"Phase Four, Reene," Lacey said into her comm.

Engine noise joined the roars and screams as lasers rained down. The hovering fighter drones started pummeling the base, and the courtyard filled with dust and rubble. Lacey had reprogrammed the fighters to avoid humans and target critical systems, but there were no guarantees. Balconies crashed to the ground, and windows shattered from the heat and battery. Schuler was racing around, trying to organize his troops as the Bobzillas continued to chomp them at will.

Zain took out a nearby guard with one punch, then relieved him of his rifle.

"I assume you have a plan for getting us out of here," he said over his shoulder as he began firing.

"Phase Five," Lacey called above the insanity.

Reene appeared through the portal and landed close by. His guns lit up, providing cover fire so Zain and Lacey could reach the safety of the ship.

"Go," she yelled to Zain. He ran ahead of her, both of them shooting at anything that looked dangerous, which was pretty much everything.

Halfway to the ship, Schuler stepped between them, forcing a halt. He pointed a gun at Lacey but kept his eyes on Zain. Lacey glanced at the rooftop. Where was Torrie?

He called out, "Stop this attack now, or I'll kill her."

Years of frustration overtook her. "I am not invisible!" she yelled. "The name is Lacey Garrett!"

She raised her gun, but before she could pull the trigger, a colossal head knocked Schuler to the ground. Then she watched as foot-long teeth picked him up, threw him in the air screaming, and snapped him in two. Pieces of Schuler thumped to the ground. Lacey stared at them, too horrified to move.

"Lacey!" Zain yelled, and she looked up to find a Bobzilla eyeing them. Her rifle was up and firing before she even realized she was the one shooting. Bobzilla roared in anger, backed off, and went looking for easier prey.

"To the ship," Zain called out. They ran the short distance across the yard and into Reene's open rear hatch.

"Where's Torrie, Reene?" Lacey asked, heading to the front.

"I believe she is still on the roof. I have notified her to leave now. The krudo have already returned home. What would you like to do about the Bobzillas?"

Lacey tossed her rifle aside and took a seat. "Leave them."

Her hands were shaking, and she was out of breath but felt damn good. Zain wedged into the seat next to her. Out the viewport, the courtyard looked like a war zone.

"I am detecting incoming ships," Reene reported.

Damn, she thought. Schuler must have called in local reinforcements. "Time to say good-bye. Keep those fighters away from us until we can run through the portal. And make sure Torrie gets back before you let them level this place."

The lasers outside ceased seconds later, and Lacey heard Reene's engines whine as the ship began to lift. They were almost free.

"Was this your plan?" Zain asked. She turned to find him watching her with a wide grin.

She frowned. "Are you surprised?"

He leaned over and kissed her. "No. I'm just wondering why it took you so long." He murmured against her lips, "I always believed in you."

A blast rocked the ship, separating them. Reene listed hard to the right, sending Oliver yowling across the floor. The ship compensated to the left before dropping to the ground with an earth-shattering crunch. Laser fire rained on the courtyard from above.

"What the-?" Lacey started. "Reene, I thought we called off the drones off until we were clear."

There was heavy static, and then Reene's voice- "You must evacuate now."

Zain said, "Reene, bring your console up. I can't see anything."

"Good-bye, sir," his garbled computerized voice responded.

"Reene, no!" Lacey cried.

Then another blast shattered the viewport, sending bits of glass flying.

"Get out!" Zain shouted, and Lacey dove from her seat. Another laser flashed a foot away, and the console exploded. Lacey crawled on the floor with Zain behind her. The cabin filled with thick, black, acidic smoke.

"Oliver," she coughed. A pair of incandescent eyes peered at her from under the bunk, and she scooped his trembling body into her arms. They stumbled, coughing and blind, to the rear cabin where sparks hissed and fire lapped at Reene's ceiling. The heat drove them to their knees, and Lacey crawled, hanging on to Oliver with one hand.

The back hatch was already open, and they half-staggered, half-fell from the ship into the courtyard. She moved forward, pushed from behind by Zain. Smoke billowed around her as she twisted to take in Reene's charred, misshapen hull.

"Oh God, Reene," she cried.

Past her burning lungs and eyes, she realized she'd left her rifle inside, but she was retching too hard to do anything about it. She could hear Zain next to her, fighting for air. Oliver was somewhere nearby sneezing.

That was when a rifle barrel came into her line of vision. Through her tears, she gazed up to find a wall of uniforms surrounding them.

Oh, no. She'd failed. She'd let everyone down.

The rifleman moved forward and jabbered a bunch of words in a language she didn't understand. But one word came through loud and clear: "InterGlax."

Chapter Twenty-six.