He all but ran into the opening elevator, then snarled the word “engineering.”
“They aren’t talking much, Wulf,” Iolyn said. “But I’m patching you through.”
“How long have they been out there?” he asked.
“Two standard hours and counting.”
Wulf growled. “You should have awakened me.”
“Melina asked me not to,” Iolyn replied, “she thought she would be done before you woke up.”
“Ansu bhau, Iolyn,” Wulf snarled, “don’t ever cover up for Melina again.”
“She outranks me. Should I have disobeyed an order?”
Wulf mulled that over. “No, she is your superior officer … but—”
“That’s what I thought. You’re connected.”
Iolyn must have told Melina and Huw he was awake and now connected, because the first words he heard were Huw addressing him.
“Wulf, your gemate is amazing. She repaired all the defective couplings in less time than I ever could and now she’s making sure the others are sound.” Huw paused, taking a deep breath. “We’ve accomplished so much, so fast that she decided to do a quick external scan of the weapon systems arrays to make sure nothing more was done to them than draining power. We should be done here soon, if nothing comes up.”
“Are you spotting her?” he asked, his voice low and shakier than he would’ve liked.
Diew! All the things that could wrong skittered across his mind like leaves in the wind.
The space dock was long-abandoned. The super-structure consisted of rickety metal girders and other pieces of equipment that could fall apart from a lack of maintenance.
With no active shields on the dock, anyone working outside could be hit by an errant meteor or showers of space dust and rocks, especially in this region.
The main, and only, reason he’d selected this particular dock was because it was close and the best option, not because it was in the best shape. And, of course, he’d expected to be the one outside the ship with his brother—not Melina.
Wulf ran shaking fingers through his hair. Roiling emotions still churned his gut. He was close to losing all semblance of calm. He wasn’t proud of it, but couldn’t help it. No matter how upset he was that she’d felt the need to sneak behind his back, his primary concern was for her safety. She was out there, in danger, and he could do nothing about it. He felt helpless—and that was a feeling he had never experienced before.
“Yes, he’s spotting me,” Melina answering his question to Huw. Her voice was calm, but breathy from her exertions. Zero-G work was exhausting for a large, well-rested male—and she wasn’t large or male and couldn’t have had much rest. “Wulf, don’t be mad at Huw, Iolyn or the crew. I ordered them. I was the most qualified to do this—and you know it.”
Wulf left the elevator and ran down the main corridor dividing the engineering level into halves. Reaching the staging area door, he strode into the control room, his eyes fixed on the large monitor displaying the exterior view of the ship as the robotic cameras followed the EVI team.
“I know you’re qualified, lubha, but this space dock creates more risk than most EVIs,” he said. The words came out more calmly than he felt; his voice was only slightly husky from the tension trapped in his throat. “I want you to come in now. I’ll come out and help Huw with the rest of the external examination.” He wanted her frail body inside, away from any stray meteor that might hit her.
The two figures floated along the surface of the ship, tethered only by one cable to the ship. The falling apart and pockmarked docking bay was worse than he remembered.
Streams of meteors streaked past the space dock, visible through the many holes made in the superstructure of the docking bay by previous hits.
Fear speared his heart, causing him to gasp.
“Don’t bother suiting up. We’re almost through.” Melina’s voice held a hint of exasperation and, damn her, amusement. There was no evidence she was even aware of the large rocks whizzing all around her. Although she had to be.
“You’ll be happy to know, Captain Wulf,” Melina said as her suited figure turned to follow the ship’s surface back toward the air lock, “that the weapons look untouched. All the main shields are now fully functional. We’ll have a much better chance of surviving to make it to Tooh 10 now.”
“Captain Wulf?” growled Wulf. “You shouldn’t poke a stick at a Prime warrior when he is justly concerned over his gemate’s safety.”
“That’s the Wulf I love so much,” Melina said with a laugh. “Those growls of yours kept me going that time in the tunnels.”
Melina took a deep and shaky breath. She missed a handhold but quickly recovered the slow, painstaking motion that would bring her back into the ship.
“Get in here now, Melina.” She was weakening. “Or, do I have to come out and bring you in?”
Wulf turned to order an EVI suit prepared for him when she spoke. “Calm down, gemat. We’re coming in. Just one short leap and we’ll be in the air lock.” The two figures shoved off the ship to make the short journey toward the exterior access and safety. Two suited crew members stood in the open hatch, monitoring the winch that retracted the two’s tethers and making ready to assist the EVI team inside once they were close enough.
Wulf let go of the gut-wrenching fear that had completely engulfed him since he’d learned Melina was outside the ship. She would be inside soon. She was safe, or she would be only until he delivered some blistering home truths about closing her mind and her lack of trusting him enough to discuss her plans before she executed them.
Several large thuds resounded through the ship.
He’d relaxed too soon. The view screen showed multiple large rocks, bigger than a full-grown Prime male, and definitely bigger than Melina, streak across the view provided by the robotic cameras paralleling Huw and Melina into the ship.
“Sensor reports on the meteor shower.” His horrified gaze locked onto the screen. He winced as one rock whizzed through the space just vacated by Huw. “Winches on top speed,” he ordered.
“Already are, sir,” the technician monitoring the two space-walkers’ suits and connections to the ship.
“Shower is two kilometers in width. No way is the space dock going to avoid getting hit. No end in sight. A large number are getting through the dock’s superstructure. So far the hits on the ship are minor. No breaches reported.” Another tech said, then turned from his monitor. “Sir, we need to raise our shields. Potential hull damage is a high probability.”
“We’ll wait. As soon as the EVI team is on board, raise the shields.”
“Yes, sir.”
Wulf, along with every other man in the EVI staging area control room, held their breath and watched the progress of the two fragile figures making their way back to the ship. The silence was fraught with tension.
Finally, Huw entered the air lock then held out a hand to help the others pull Melina inside. At the last minute, she kicked away and toward the aft of the ship as far as her tether would allow.
Gasping sounds of shock escaped each man in the room.
A large space rock hit where she would have been if she hadn’t moved. Now, a small hail of rocks and dust bombarded the area where the air lock opened into the space dock bay. Through the dust, nothing could be seen. Nothing was heard but static and the rat-a-tat-tat and thuds of rocks and dust hitting the body of the ship.
“Melina!” His cry echoed in the once-again still room. Wulf turned to enter the staging room air lock. Two crewmen grabbed him and held him back. “Let me go.”
“Sir. It is still depressurized. You have to wait.”
Wulf took several deep breaths. Shrugging off the hands of the men, he let out a shaky breath. “You’re correct. Thank you.” He turned to the crewman monitoring the two spacwalkers’ com devices. “Any communications?”
“Communications are disrupted, sir. Electromagnetic disturbance from the dust.”
“Life signs?” Wulf didn’t even recognize the strained voice as his own.
“Still online, sir. They are both steady,” replied the technician monitoring the suit operations. “Balcon’s balls, sir, neither one of their pulses has even elevated. It’s like they were taking a walk on a beach on the home planet.” Wulf let out the breath that had stuck in his throat.
“Status at the door?” he asked, his tones sharp, but more calm now that he knew her heart still beat.
“Ensign Roh has reported that both are inside and safe. Dirty, but safe.”
“Dirty?”
“Roh reports that the suits shredded somewhat, sir, but the damage was nothing the resealing fabric couldn’t patch.”
“Get the room pressurized, now.” Wulf paced the area in front of the door that led to the hatch. As he paced, he commed the bridge. “Navigator, get us out of this tin can. Full shields. Plot an intercept course for the rest of our squadron at top speed.” Iolyn entered the EVI staging control room and joined him as he paced. Wulf shot him a narrow-eyed look. “I’m going to spank her and tie her to the bed.” After he made sure she wasn’t hurt—and he kissed her senseless.