Page 16 of Alien Burn
Dhomhes couldn't see him.
He crossed the damaged ground, stepping over a length of torn cable, and caught the guard by the back of his harness before the male could lean farther out.
“Who?”
The guard looked up.
“Who went down?”
“The liaison. The Gol-Vett with the—”
“I know which one.”
He looked over the edge.
Green branches shook below them. Farther down, smoke spread between the trees. There was no clean line to the ground. No sign of anyone falling, no moving figure, nothing he could reach.
“He caught her,” the guard said. “I thought he had her.”
Dhomhes gripped the harness harder.
Fiviel's laugh. Barely minutes ago.
“Gol-Vett.”
He released the guard. The male scrambled back from the edge.
“Get a descent line,” Dhomhes said. “And a team that knows this slope.”
“The fires—”
“Find them. Let them tell me what they need.”
The guard ran.
Dhomhes made himself turn away from the drop. Khalzin had gone with Janae. He had seen them leave, a medic ahead of them and his friend's arm tight around the little female. Both alive. Stron was by the ramp.
Fiviel had been alive too. Standing. Helping.
A vibration passed beneath his feet, stronger than the steady hum of the backups.
He raised his head.
Three minutes had passed since the first blast. There had been time to get people on their feet. Time for medics to arrive. Time to believe the platform would hold.
The next explosion threw him against the rail.
Armor burst across his shoulders and arms. He struck the metal hard enough to bend it and went down, one hand clawing for a hold in the decking.
The GA ship flashed white at its middle.
He saw the hull split. A line of smaller eruptions ran along it, too fast to count, blowing panels outward. He put his face down as something hot struck his raised armor.
The platform lurched again.
Through the smoke he saw the ship sliding, its broken bulk moving toward the edge. The ramp tore away. Metal screamed against stone until the vessel vanished from sight.
The impact came from below.
