Humanity Unlimited 1: Liberty Station by Terry Mixon

strike.
    If it wasn’t the locals, odds were it was Nathan. His father’s men hadn’t arrived. He’d have heard the helicopter. That little bastard was still around here somewhere.
    “Liberty Team, this is Liberty Six,” he said over the radio. “Be advised we have advanced hostiles in the area. If you see someone, light them up. Long Gun, what is the status of the locals?”
    “Holding position and conferring,” Sandra said. “I don’t think they liked the sound of that explosion. Some of them seem to be circling around, maybe to get a look from the other side of the clearing.”
    “Keep the main group in sight. I’m going after the client.”
    “Scout to Liberty Six, you need to charge extra.”
    As if he wouldn’t make his father pay through the nose for everything. “I will. Go find that bastard, Rex. Bring me his head.”
    “Copy that.”
    The opening looked wide enough for Harry to wiggle into. Hopefully the slab wouldn’t shift and crush him.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Jess looked at the rock pile with dismay. It completely cut off the stairs and there was no telling how much rubble was there. If she started digging, it would continue to fall out. All she had were her hands, anyway.
    A few minutes later, the sound of stone scraping stone startled her. That wasn’t falling rock. It came from the other side of the chamber from the collapsed stairway.
    The sound was too steady to be natural. It was as though someone was dragging a rock across the floor every few seconds. She jogged to the side of the spacecraft and aimed her light over at the wall.
    Part of it was open a little. It slid an inch more as she watched. Its jerky movement gave her the idea that it was almost jammed. She couldn’t see inside it, but it had to be some kind of hidden entrance. That meant there was a way out.
    And that someone was sneaking in, probably to do bad things to her.
    What should she do? Hide in the ship? If she closed the hatch, she’d probably be safe for the time being. And trapped. If she stayed outside the ship, they’d see her.
    She could try to bluff them with the gun, but that seemed stupid. What would she do if they called her on it? Give up, most likely. She didn’t see herself getting into a gunfight.
    Jess decided stealth was her best course of action. She ran back into the ship, ducked into the engineering space, and chewed her lip. Taking a deep breath, she opened the cover shielding the glowing cube and yanked it out.
    Nothing terrible happened. Hopefully, she wasn’t getting soaked in lethal radiation. She couldn’t leave this for them to find. She stuffed it into her pack.
    She raced back out of the ship and yanked the key from the lock. The hatch slowly slid shut. The cube must not be its only power source. It didn’t budge when she tugged on it.
    Most people were right handed and they tended to go around things on their dominant side. She slid to the other side of the ship and turned off her light.
    The door scraped along for another minute and stopped. She knew her eyes would reflect any light they carried, so she looked at the ceiling. There was one source of light moving toward the other side of the ship.
    So far, so good.
    Once she judged that they were rounding the ship, she started around her side. With the bulk of the vessel between them, they’d be none the wiser as long as she didn’t give herself away.
    The reflections of their light were just strong enough for her to see the door. Refusing to run, she walked toward it as quietly as she could.
    The door opened onto a dirty chamber scarcely three feet across. A passage led straight up from there with holes cut into the rock for climbing. Dim light filtered in from somewhere above.
    She considered closing the door, but even if she could move it, she might be trapping those people down here to die. She’d just have to take the chance that they wouldn’t come up and catch her in the act of escaping.
    Jess made it about two thirds of the way