Learning to Dance

robot, at the end of the corridor, exploded in a mess of
wires and burned metal. There was only one, thank dead
God.
Up turned on his heel to find Taz behind him, looking at
the robot, her mouth a very round “o.”
“Dammit, Taz, I told you to stay in the bunk!”
She crossed her arms. “You’re not my commanding
officer yet, sir.”
He glared at her, and she glared back.
“Fine,” he said. “Just stay out of my way.”
He took off down the corridor with Taz close on his
heels. They had to pause at one or two intersecting points –
Up put his finger to his lips, and they waited for a robot to
pass. The robots were all heading in the same direction –
for the bridge. Might as well see what they were up to
before blowing them all into the seventh level of hell.
They had just reached the last bunker before the bridge
when the wall to their left exploded. Reacting out of
instinct, Up rolled and landed hard against the far wall.
He shook himself as got to his feet, squinting through the
acrid smoke. There were other people here, other Rangers
coughing and struggling to get up. Lieutenant-Commander
Rogers emerged from the haze.
“We’re blocked in,” he said, slinging his gun over his
shoulder. “Explosion took out at least four decks above us.
It’ll take hours to move all the debris.”
Up was listening, but his eyes were raking the darkness.
“Dammit, where’s Taz?” he burst finally. If that reckless
girl had gotten in the way of the explosion-
“Estoy aquí,” she said, coming up beside him. “I’m here,
Up.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he gave her a rough pat on
the shoulder before turning to the Lieutenant-Commander.
“What’s the situation on the bridge?”