I fired.
The golden spiral hit the containment field dead center. The white light surrounding the crystal flickered like a dying fluorescent bulb, and I poured more energy into the pulse, keeping the output steady while Belle's fingers flew across a tablet that apparently controlled half the vault's security systems.
The field crackled. Purple lightning arced between the pedestal and the crystal itself.
"Almost there," Belle whispered. "Keep it stable."
My stamina bar dropped to sixty percent. My arm started shaking from the sustained output, which was ridiculous since Bronze rank was supposed to make this easier.
Turns out disabling million-credit security measures still sucked.
Jordan's voice came through again, sharper this time. "Two minutes. They're jogging."
"Copy." Belle didn't look up. "Jace, increase output by twenty percent on my mark."
"That'll drain me to forty."
"Do you want twenty thousand credits or not?"
Fair point.
