Once everyone was in the APC, Megan closed the rear hatch, fired up the engine, and headed for the supposed evac point. About five minutes down the road, she stopped the vehicle with a nervous sigh.
Eddie noticed this, looking up to the panther and asking, "Why are we stopping?"
"It doesn't make any sense," Megan said. "Gilliam Circle is right in the center of town; we'll be surrounded by those things!"
Mesmerin looked over at her. "Wait a second - what are you saying?" He asked.
Megan inhaled, as though getting ready to share something she shouldn't. "I think the Colonel was lying," she stated.
Darcy shook her head. "That's crazy; the UNSC Army doesn't like to people!" She protested.
"This isn't the work of the Army; Colonel Stevens isn't UNSC Army... He's from ONI. I know him well enough to know that he thinks about containment first, regardless of casualties. He won't risk this getting any worse."
"Help is a few miles down that road and they're waiting for us; now, if you won't drive us there, I will," Eddie said.
"Eddie, if she's right, the only thing down that road is more of those things," Mesmerin said.
"You're not seriously considering this?" Eddie queried in disbelief.
"I'm considering whatever keeps us alive!" Mesmerin responded.
"Which means getting off this planet - undetected," Megan said. There was a brief pause after this, before Darcy spoke:
"There are only two places with shuttles that can reach orbit; one is the spaceport--"
"Too far at this point; we'd never make it in time," Mesmerin cut her off.
"And the other one is the Hospital," Darcy finished.
"The people at the hospital probably used the shuttles already to get out," Eddie said.
"That's a chance we have to take," Megan replied.
"If you're wrong, and the shuttles are gone, we're all dead!" Eddie exclaimed.
"If I'm right, they're dead if they follow you!" Was Megan's response.
K'Tath, who had been silent until this point, chose that moment to speak up: "You can all waste time arguing this tactical scenario - until the birds above nuke us from orbit, or the Xenomorphs find us again, whichever comes first - or we can take the option I provided, and take my ship off-world, avoiding detection and, in some cases..." He looked to Emila. "... Escaping the clutches of others. Weyland-Yutani and ON I won't have any proof any of us are alive. They'll assume, along with... Certain others... That we died, and we'll just slip under the radar unnoticed. But we have to stop fighting among ourselves and make a decision, fast, before we get vaporized."