Tyger climbed out from the hatch which was against the wall inside the maintenance tunnel. After he helped Maya out, they followed the pipeline toward an open door where they could see their companions. They stepped out and met up with them in a corridor. The hallway was clean without bodies or debris.

Patterson looked around. “We should be close to the nearest escape pod.”

“But what about our ship?” Jage asked.

The admiral pointed his finger at him. “Your ship is not our top priority! I am your top priority!”

Jage glared at Patterson. “But what if the escape pods are gone? Our ship might be our only hope.”

“We are taking the escape pods! Come hell or high-”

An explosion shook the entire hallway, and then the team floated up into the midair. Red waved his arms as if he was trying to swim.

“What the heck is happening?” Jage shouted.

“The gravity generator probably got blown!” Patterson shouted.

“Good thing we got magnetic boots.” Tyger pushed a button on his lower leg.

His boots buzzed until they touched the floor by a click. The rest of his team activated their magnetic boots and landed on the floor. All of them, except Patterson, who was wiggling in the air like an angry baby.

“Dammit! I am not wearing any magnetic boots!” he shouted.

Red and Jage chuckled, but they stopped when Tyger glared at them. He turned to the admiral. “Don’t worry Admiral. We will protect you.”

Red grabbed the admiral’s hand and pulled him down. “I got you.”

“You better not do anything funny!” Patterson shouted. “I am still your number one commander!”

“Sure, no problem comrade. I will treat you like a balloon.”

Patterson covered his face by the palm of his hand.

The team moved forward although each step was like carrying heavy rocks.

Through the open door, they marched into the mess hall. There were bodies and food, floating everywhere. Behind the debris, there were a few ant soldiers, wiggling in the midair.

Tyger aimed his rifle at the bugs. “Enemy in position! Maya, give us support!”

Maya held up her hands and projected her blue shield around the team.

The bugs blasted their cocoon rifles at them. Their blasts bounced off Maya’s shield.

“Move forward!” Tyger shouted.

The team marched forward as they fired their blasters. Their shots hit the ant soldiers, spraying green blood about. But one shot hit a canister and exploded.

The blast blew the team back out of the mess hall, and they slammed against the wall. The magnates in their boots clicked off, and they float off the floor.

“My ass hurts!” Patterson cried.

“Good thing Maya’s shield protected us,” said Red as he floated next to her.

“I hate being a crash dummy,” Rila complained. “But thank god I wasn’t turned into scrambled eggs.”

“You mean flat as a pancake?” Red asked. “I think that would make more sense.”

Tyger spotted one escape pod hatch at the end of the corridor. Above the hatch, a green light was flashing.

Tyger smiled. “I see an available escape pod up ahead of us.”

Patterson stared at the walls after the walls shook by the sound of thunder. “Then let’s hurry the hell up!”

Tyger nodded his head and pushed himself forward. Before he reached the hatch, a loud explosive sound echoed, and a space vacuum pulled him back.

He grabbed onto a wall and looked down. His teammates grabbed onto the wall too, except Patterson was flying backward in the vacuum.

“Help me!” he cried.

Maya held out her left hand while her eyes glowed blue. She shot out a blue energy beam, reaching for Patterson until it touched him and formed a blue shield around him. He stopped flying backward, and then Maya pulled him back toward her.

When her shield vanished, she grabbed Patterson’s hand and held him close to her.

“Thanks,” he said. “I think I pissed myself.”

A blast door closed behind the team, and then they fell to the floor.

Patterson got up and glared at the ceiling. “Why the hell didn’t the backup gravity generator started earlier? I am going to sue those assholes for doing the poor maintenance here!”

Tyger approached the hatch first and pulled the lever down near the hatch. After it opened, Red looked inside. “I hope there is enough room for us.”

Patterson pushed Red aside and stepped in first. He sat down in one seat and strapped the belt over him.

After the Star Cats got in, Tyger closed the hatch and sat down with his team.

Patterson reached for the lever at the center. “Hold on to your furry asses!”

After a few clicks, the pod got shot out into space. The window next to Tyger looked like it was spinning inside a washing machine.

The enemy outside were still ripping the starbase apart, but very slowly. They must be taking out the last defenses on the station while their foot soldiers cleaned the inside of the station.

“I hope we all don’t get sick and die,” said Red.

Patterson glared at him. “Red! Shut up!”