{Enki | Gait}

“Armageddon.”

Matt was sure this was it.

Puk’s physical and mental stress strained his voice over the earpiece. “Fan-fucking-tastic timing, bro. Truly, this is the proudest moment of my life and all sixteen seconds left of it.” Sarcasm dripped from every word.

With no one around to see, Matt preened. He’d finally guessed the movie relevant to their current mission: destroy a planet-sized asteroid heading for the hull of Enki. Specifically, into one of several oceans on the surface of the Dyson’s Sphere. Any minute now, the Tritans would blow the charges which Matt, Puk, and the other members of the demolition crew had peppered across the rock. The Tritans had hoped it would protect Enki’s hull.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Until then, the artificial gravity had kicked the bucket. Primary Rem, a.k.a. Remorse, had left the demo team for dead, clinging to the rock.

So now, Matt was preening in an abandoned space scraper, letting its walls keep him tethered to the half of Gait careening toward their doom.

Matt wished Lucy were here, and couldn’t wait for the moment when she saved them, and he could thank her properly.

“She’ll make it in time, right, Ginger?”

This was about the third time Puk had asked the same question. Given their circumstance, Matt couldn’t blame the Monarch 3 drone. They were seriously about to die, but Matt had placed all his faith in his woman. “She’ll make it in time. Trust me. Trust her.”

Puk sounded more confident. “You know I do.”

Yeah. He did.

Hang on.

Don’t die.

Wait for Lucy.

Even as Matt gripped rebar hanging upside down with all his strength while the inertia threatened to fling him from the planet, he knew they would make it.

In the meantime… “It was a pretty stellar soundtrack.”

“Fuck. Off.”