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The Universe, 3029


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As the lights came back up, I found myself amidst a sea of carnage. Debris, corpses, and blood were afloat in the corridor, twisting and undulating in the weightless environment, enveloped in tendrils of smoke. Glancing around, I came to realize that every Capellan in the compartment, without exception, was deceased - and some had passed in truly horrific fashion. Standing before the surviving civilians, awash in battlefield grime and gore, was Lieutenant Weyland, a blood-soaked crowbar clenched tightly in his fist. The instrument was bent at an odd angle, as though Bishop had, through some unfathomable act of strength, stuck something with it under such force that the steel itself had yielded.

Ahead of me, Captain Maxwell stood in a tense face-off with Captain Harlow. The pair both had their weapons drawn on one another at point-blank range, a tense negotiation already underway between the pair. I had to hand it to Maxwell - not every mercenary was especially adept at the finer points of diplomacy, let alone crisis de-escalation - but in this case, it certainly seemed as though the MechWarrior was holding his own in the conversation. I cautiously approached, arriving beside Maxwell just as Harlow pointed at a crumpled form behind a cargo crate. In an instant, I recognized the Crayven Corporation-issue spacesuit and its shattered helmet glass.

Nathan!

"Go ahead and take him. He's not good for much now," the woman responded, gesturing with her firearm at the lifeless body. As Maxwell continued to maneuver through the conversation, I glided over to the fallen Lyran. His skin was already draining of color, his expression a deathly pallor. I quickly pulled my gloves and helmet off, magnetizing my boots to the deck directly alongside the young man, and felt his neck for a pulse. Eventually, I was able to locate one, though it was weak and thready. To my surprise, the youth's skin was quite warm to the touch - feverishly so.

"Stay with me, Nathan," I murmured, unclipping what was left of his helmet and moving his hand away from the massive chest wound he bore. The pistol round had punched through the young man's right pectoral muscle, just above his right breast and below the clavicle, ripping through his spacesuit and shredding the fabric layers beneath to tear into his flesh. He was extremely lucky - had he suffered the same injury on the left side of his chest, he'd likely have been killed instantly. As things stood, I wasn't certain how much longer he had, or what his odds of survival were - the fact that the wound had stopped bleeding was a worrying indicator that either Nathan's blood pressure had dropped dangerously low, or that he'd suffered such catastrophic blood loss that there remained little to lose. 

I rifled through my hip-mounted personal medkit, locating bandages, a stimpack of adrenaline, and a vitals scanner. Flipping the unit on, I moved it over the site of injury. The bullet was lodged far too deep inside the Lyran's body for me to attempt to extract it in the field. So I went about doing the next best thing - applying pressure and bandages to the wound, while administering the stimulant in an attempt to boost Nathan's vitals and perhaps rouse him from his unconscious state.

"He looks to be in a really bad way, Major," Captain Donovan's voice crackled in my headset. "Do you require evac?"

I paused to listen to the conversation between Maxwell and Harlow. It sounded as though the mercenary had actually managed to make inroads with the freighter captain, who'd displayed concern at the news that she and her crew may have been unwitting accessories to an abduction, and who was now agreeing to be shown what we believed to be in the cargo bay.

Nice workMaxwell...

"Have a shuttle on standby, Home Plate, but do not launch until my command. Understand?" I replied to the Mendacious.

"Understood, Major," Donovan acknowledged.

"Captain Maxwell," I called out to Charles, whose head turned toward me in tandem with that of Harlow. "Nathan's alive. I'll be transporting him with us. We need to hurry, though. I don't know how much time he's got left. Lead the way."

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Meanwhile...

"What are you doing? Get back out there and defend the hall - wait, who are you?" Doctor Wen's voice cried out. The sound of a large blade being drawn from a sheath cut through the laboratory.

"Weren't you a lady a minute before?" a higher-pitched, unfamiliar voice asked in a puzzled tone. I raised an eyebrow in equal confusion at the absurdity of the question.

"NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT!" Doctor Wen shouted back. Then, a primal scream, followed by the unmistakable sounds of physical combat, pierced the darkness. I flinched against the table's straps, startled by the sudden commotion, although I'd known that something was amiss as soon as the freighter I was aboard had come under attack, our forward momentum unexpectedly stopping, as though we'd been grappled. Now, it seemed we'd been boarded - at least, according to the announcements that the frenzied crew periodically shouted over the vessel's decrepit public address system. And within the last few minutes, the Capellans in the lab had also flown into a panic, shuffling about with great haste, barking what I could only assume were Chinese-spoken orders at the guards stationed outside the laboratory, and intermittently reminding me to stay put on pain of punishment, as though it were possible for me to do anything but lay in place, as I had been indefinitely, helpless to do anything but watch. When the EMP device detonated - I was certain that it was an EMP device, as the entirety of my physical augments were, in an instant, violently and painfully knocked offline - and the world was plunged into black, I suspected that the boarding party must be close.

Still, the nature of the melee that was now erupting just a short distance away was unexpected. A loud crash reverberated off the side of the pod, followed by what I was certain was vomiting. A litany of punches and pummeling ensued, punctuated by the blast of a handgun going off, the round striking a computer within the laboratory.

Blake's blood, they're close... I thought to myself, trying to formulate some kind of a plan to defend myself, though in my restrained state, there weren't many options for doing so.

A sudden explosion thundered through the modular building's frame, accompanied by a heavy smell of cordite. A deadly silence ensured, broken moments later by the voice I'd heard previously. As it called out again, I realized that this time, it was much closer.

"HELLO? IS ANYBODY IN HERE?" the speaker asked. After a moment's hesitation, I replied.

"Please help me, I'm over here," I answered quietly. I still wasn't sure who or what was present. The EMP effect had done more than simply turn out the lights. My vision, being almost fully bionic, was without function.

I was, at least for the moment, blind.

After a long pause, the speaker made his presence known again. This time, he was at my bedside. "Are you William Kauffman? I'm Steve Jenkins, and I'm here to save you," he announced, enthusiasm and a smile in his voice. In an instant, my spirits rose. The man's name was familiar from a roster I'd reviewed on Sheratan months ago - Jenkins was a MechWarrior in the employ of Aegis Division.

"You've found him, Mister Jenkins - and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," I whispered, my voice hoarse from lack of use and what I could only assume was a combination of malnutrition, atrophy, and dehydration. "I was hopeful that the Crayven Corporation would be able to find me. Have you come alone?"

Before the MechWarrior could reply, I heard the room's overhead lights begin to buzz. Myriad computers throughout the laboratory roared back to life.

 "Uh oh, there isn't much time, you better get up fast and put on this space suit," Steve pleaded. I couldn't help but chuckle with amusement.

"I would be happy to accommodate your request," I answered, "but for the fact that I am completely restrained - and blind as well. I'll need your assistance to get free. Are you able to cut away the straps holding me to the table?"

Steve paused for a moment. "Well," he finally replied, "I'll see what I can do!"

Seconds later, I felt a large knife sawing at the restraints. Over the course of the next several minutes, one strap after another popped free. At nearly the exact moment the last encumbrance fell away, my vision gradually began to return as the EMP effect wore off. Slowly...painfully...I sat up, focusing my eyes on my rescuer. Youthful in appearance, he was of average height, bedecked in a Crayven Corporation spacesuit, a tousled head of dark-colored hair beneath his helmet, and a manic grin stretching across his freckle-bedecked complexion from cheek to cheek. Across his back was slung a very prominent sword, and in his outstretched hand he held an emergency vac suit.

"Oh, there you are," I mused. Jenkins nodded approvingly.

"You got un-blind?" Steve asked with bewilderment.

"Yes, I have augmented vision," I replied, "and in the wake of the electromagnetic pulse earlier, I became temporarily impaired. But it seems that the issue is passing quickly, which is good. I'd hate to try to change into one of these spacesuits by myself otherwise." With that, I stepped into the spacesuit, pulling it up and over my tattered dress shirt and slacks, zipping it at the front. "Tell me, how did you get here? Does the return trip involve a hostile atmosphere?"

"You could say that," Steve quipped. "But right now, there are a bunch of guards and robots right outside the door, and I'm going to need your creativity so that I can get you out of here."

"I'm very grateful that you came to my aid, and if I can help us both safely escape, I will," I nodded. "What did you have in mind?"

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"WELL....." I Said. Then I picked up the gun from the dead science guy that was floating it all over the place. I loaded it and handed it to William. "Sorry about the blood all over it, the guy who it used to belong to died by exploding all over the place, anyway somebody will probably clean him up. You should put that in your pocket right now in case you need."

William nodded sternly, all of a sudden one of the radios in the lab started blaring all kinds of yelling in Chinese. A lady's voice came on and was saying "HELLO?? HELLO?? SCIENCE LAB! THIS IS THE OTHER SCIENTIST! DR. WEN RESPOND!," 

I should probably answer that. I said.

"Wait, that's Crazy, what if they don't believe you?" said William. "They will figure out that you invaded and send troops down here."

"There's already a billion troops outside the door! it's better if I Try to than if we ignore them and they come busting in here and kill us!" I Yelled. Then I grabbed the radio and started talking. 

"This is Dr. Wen!" I Said in Chinese. "What do you want?? I am with the Patient!!" 

"Dr. Wen! This is the other Scientist! Why do you sound different!!?" the lady shouted 

"I Accidentally zipped my junk up in my pants on the way back from the Toilet!!" I said. "I did not need to know that Dr Wen." The lady scientist intoned. "Anyway you need to get ready to send the troops to the Hall, a bunch of our Troops aren't answering anymore and look Dead. '

" I already put them in the hall! " I Said. " You better lock the cargo bay so they don't Try to Flee in here if they try to have Cowardice." 

"Thats a good idea Dr Wen, I will order the Control Center to lock the door, only You will be able to let them retreat, also we have sealed the air Vents so no one can climb in." Said the radio. All of the sudden I thought I was going to barf from fear, that was supposed to be our way out! 

" OK, I have to go interrogate the Prisoner now, Dr Wen out! " Then I hung up on the other scientist. 

"That seemed like bad news" said William. 

"Yeah, we're trapped, the only way out is all the guys at the door, unless you can turn invisible that doesn't seem like its a good idea." 

William looked like he was thinking about it... 

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Elsewhere...

"You know, your antics are going to cost me a shit load of money," Captain Harlow grumbled as she, Bishop, and I moved down the corridor toward Cargo Bay One, weapons at the ready. Behind us, Major Hayes ferried an unconscious Nathan Schmidt in his arms as the other two civilians, a man named 'James' and a woman named 'Colleen,' brought up the rear.

"You'd rather get paid for delivering an abductee into the hands of the Capellans than take the moral high ground?" I asked, my gaze locked straight ahead, senses on high alert.

"I'm not talking about that," the captain answered. "In case you hadn't noticed, we've got a cargo bay full of livestock. I was scheduled to unload it at the planet along with the abductee."

"Well," I countered, "you still might make that rendezvous."

"In case you hadn't noticed," Nikki repeated, "I also now have a cargo bay full of dead government-issue Capellans. I don't think I'm getting paid."

We rounded a Y-shaped junction, sweeping and clearing all three points of the intersection before continuing down one of its arteries.

"Well, maybe the Crayven Corporation would be willing to cover some of your expenses in appreciation for aiding in the rescue," I speculated.

"I wouldn't count on it," Harlow responded, dubiously. "I've seen the pay for humanitarian aid contracts. Peanuts. No one's going to be paying a king's ransom for someone who got snatched up for organ harvesting or whatever."

"He's not just any abductee," I explained. "He's William Kauffman, the Crayven Corporation's founder and CEO."

"Oh," the captain replied. "Well, in that case..."

The distant sound of voices and machinery caught my ear. Simultaneously, Bishop drew to an abrupt halt, silently raising his hand to stop the group.

"Captain Maxwell; Captain...uhh  -  " Bishop began.

"Just call me Nikki," Harlow replied.

"Nikki - do you hear that?" the Lieutenant asked.

Nikki and I nodded quietly in reply. "Do you have crew in any of these sections?" I asked.

"Not at the moment," Nikki answered with concern. "This corridor leads directly to Cargo Bay One. That intersection we just crossed through leads to the crew quarters, the mess hall, and the bridge. The Capellans have kept a detachment in rotation in the cargo bay throughout the trip, but I would have expected them to be out here, what with all the commotion you people have been causing. And something else seems off..."

Without further comment, Harlow pressed forward with us in tow, leading us down the passageway until we reached a closed hatch. There, she slowly teased the door open, weapon raised in preparation for an ambush, leaning forward to peer into the low light beyond.

"Goddamn it..." Nikki whispered.

"What is it?" Bishop asked.

"They've dropped the emergency bulkhead, and they've got their troops on the other side. We're not getting through this way," Captain Harlow explained. "They're planning something."

"What makes you say that?" Major Hayes interjected.

"I've had Doctor Wen and Doctor Tao onboard long enough to come to know two things about them. One: they're a couple of assholes," Nikki retorted, dryly.

"And two?" I asked.

"They're definitely not to be trusted." the captain continued.

"Alright," Major Hayes nodded, "I'm open to suggestions. Bishop, you're our strategic operations man. I can only assume those gears in your head are already turning. How do we get past a blast door fortified by - how many Capellans are on board, Captain Harlow?"

"I'm estimating they're down to six or seven out of the twenty on board. They've also maintained a number of security robots. I can't be sure, but I think they have eight total of those, divided into two lances. You guys wiped out about half of them."

"...fortified by four security robots and seven soldiers with just our group and no backup?" the Major continued.

"Well, we could probably just order the bridge to lift the blast door and let us get massacred," I replied with a chuckle. Hayes raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Weyland? Captain Harlow? Thoughts?" the Major asked.

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Simultaneously...

"Yeah, we're trapped, the only way out is all the guys at the door, unless you can turn invisible that doesn't seem like it's good idea," Steve lamented.

Mister Jenkins' radio shenanigans had been both bold and creative, I had to give him credit for that. Unfortunately, the unexpected twist introduced by Doctor Tao relegated creativity to a solid back burner position. It now seemed that boldness was the order of the hour.

"Let's have a look around, shall we?" I asked. Jenkins nodded in reply. Together, we made our way out of the pod and into the cargo bay. I was thankful that we were currently operating in a weightless environment. Even under the lightweight locomotion of mag boots alone, I could feel significant atrophy in my muscles, no doubt brought on as a result of having spent what I could only presume were months on end laying prone, strapped to a table, fading in and out of some kind of stasis as Doctor Wen and Doctor Tao attempted an electronic lobotomization of my brain. It seemed decidedly certain that when gravity was finally restored, I would be unable to walk for some time.

The cargo bay was a large, vaulted compartment, stacked high on four sides with containers of all shapes and sizes. In the center of the space was the portable laboratory, a long, windowless, rectangular enclosure that, save for a bevy of antennas and receiver dishes on its roof, looked for all the world like a shipping container. A gridlike system of lights was inset into the ceiling, blazing brightly and casting stark white light into every corner of the space. A large, single hydraulic door, emblazoned with the word 'ATMOSPHERE,' was inset into the far wall of the room, next to which was a wash of gore and blood that I presumed to be the late Doctor Wen. On the opposite side of the hold was a larger set of doors, trimmed with black and yellow warning tape, bearing signage that read 'VACUUM.'

I gazed toward the ceiling, studying the myriad utility pipes that snaked behind the lighting grid. My eyes traced across an open hatchway in the ceiling; presumably the one through which Steve Jenkins had entered. A small, almost imperceptible shape to the left of it caught my notice. With a subtle thought, I zoomed my vision in on the shape. As my eyes re-focused, I could see that it was a fire suppression nozzle of some kind.

"Mister Jenkins - I'd like to take a look at the safety equipment in this bay. Care to join me?"

###

Steve and I floated next to the sprinkler head as I examined it, attempting to ascertain whether or not it was pressurized or connected to an alarm system. I saw no evidence of an electronic hookup - by all appearances, the device was an old-style, temperature-activated unit. But I couldn't tell what it contained. There was only one way to know.

"Mister Jenkins - I'm afraid I'm in less than ideal physical condition at the moment. Would you be able to forcibly remove the head from this sprinkler?" I asked. "Incidentally - do be careful. I'm not sure what's going to come out of it."

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Bishop exhaled loudly, taking a moment to think about the tactical situation that confronted them. He could still feel his body tremor, it was radiating through his massive frame. It was the aftershock of the rage fueled violence from minutes ago. The dark truth of it was, he had enjoyed it, every second of it. 

“Security bots” he growled 

“Say what?” the female ship’s Captain questioned. Her tone had an underlying distain for now blood soaked mercenary.  Almost as if she was annoyed the beast had spoken at all. 

Ignoring her the Skinwalker turned to the Captain and Major who now locked eyes with him. 

“The EMP device, it fried their CPU... they come built with a manual override and an emergency power pack. They weren’t heavily damaged. We go back and switch them on, hook up a datapad and manual control them to here. When the door opens we let them do what they do best” said Bishop through clenched teeth...the pain raked is body. The last battle had cost him. 

Captain Maxwell started to say some thing, but was cutoff by the second female crew member. 

“What’s the catch?.... there more to this” she said. 

“I have to stand with them to control the targeting and movement.... they don’t have a CPU. Think of it like a vid game” Bishop responded half distracted by pain. 

Major Hayes cleared his through,

“Bishop, what about other security units... they engage as soon as the door opens”

The beast growled in Bishop’s mind, it was growing tired of waiting. 

“Negative sir... they are programmed not to engage friendly units. It’s a fail safe programmed in from the factory. Our units will auto broadcasts a friendly signal, but I’ll will be controlling their actions. They engage us, but not them.” 

“Well that’s fresh... coming from the guy who just butchered a bunch of people, real hero I guess” the woman’s voice was just background noice to Skinwalker. He was battling the demon in his spirt.  Instinctively Bishop fidgeted with Mother’s neckless. 

As quickly as it started, it was over. The demon drifted back in the shadows of his mind. 

“No ma’am.... I’m not the hero you wanted.... I’m the monster you needed”... whispered the Skinwalker. The hulking mercenary didn’t hide the sinister smirk that crossed his blood caked face. 

Locking eye with his two officers he waited to hear there response to his suicidal idea. 

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"Hooo Kay! I'll see what I can DUUUUUUUU!" I screamed, copying one of my favorite yells from an ancient "cartoon" I had found from something called "The Internet" which was a hobby from ancient Earth according to Zoodle. Then, I pulled my arm way back and started amping up my zen level as high as I could get it by doing a deadlier and deadlier scream, when my scream hit so much power that it felt like my throat was bleeding and my lips were on fire I did a power drive forward and smashed the sprinkler with the palm of my hand as hard as I possibly could hit it. Suddenly, time slowed down, as I began to remember the last time I had did this martial arts move..... 

*FLASHBACK*

I am 18 years old again and I am on Archimedes. It is the last day of the SohoJitsu tournament and I am in the final exhibition match against Dojo Snake Condor, which was another martial art place from down the street from Sensei Ronald's Power Fists Dojo. I am here to earn my belt by beating Billaim Jameswater who is a kid 2x my size. He is the 4 time champion of the Belt Match. The last 5 seasons he won 4 of the matches, it probably would have been 5x5,but he had got disqualified last year on account of kicking a kid in the balls during the meditation Phase. So this year, he is back and has burning Vengeance to win his belt again.

The referee yells sponsor names into the microphone and I turn around to look at Sense Ronald who is having a smoke. 

" Do you think I am ready for this one, master Ronald?" I ask as my voice is of worry. "Don't call me that or I'll make you do push ups again. You call me Sensei Ronald. I Work for a living." he says. 

"I'm sorry Sensei Ronald. I won't Dishonor you again." 

" I know you won't, cuz I'm the one who's here and master Ronald is back in the hospital with food poisoning again, So you get just me and the audience this time. Me and the entire class anyway." Sensei Ronald points and I see the entire martial arts class from our Dojo watching me. I can't believe it. It's all on me to get out there and do some fighting. Suddenly, I felt like I had to barf and go to the bathroom real bad. "Sensei Ronald, do I have time for a bathroom break?" I asked. 

"No, you're up Next, ignore it, it's probably just the Horse Testosterone I had you drink before we got here." Sensei Ronald says. 

"OK" I say back, I tried not to sound too desperate. Then the DJ starts announcing us into the Ring. First he announces me in. 

"IN THIS CORNER, JUNIOR BLACK BELT CANDIDATE STEVEN TYCHOMIDIOS JENKINS FROM POWER FISTS DOJO!" 

"THAT'S SENSEI RONALDS POWER FISTS DOJO ASSHOLE!!" I hear Sensei Ronald yell as I walk up to the stage, halfway up I stop to barf in someone's baseball hat that is sitting on a table, as I Walk the rest of the way up I drop the hat and wipe my face up with my Sleeve. I go under the rope and walk into the Ring. 

"AND IN THIS CORNER THE 4 TIME IN A ROW BELT CHAMPION OF THE INNER SPHERE ON ARCHIMEDES BILLIAM JAMESWATER!!" 

I look over and Billiam Jameswater is coming into the rink. He is like 6 feet tall and has huge muscles and tattoos really long black hair and a goatee. You would not know he was 14 years old.  I start to feel weak and faint. 

"AND NOW I WILL READ THE RULES" the announcer says. Then he starts saying the rules for the next 5 minutes as I get more and more Fazed out. The next thing I know the bell is ringing and the DJ says "DESTROY EACH OTHER!" The match is on and Billiam is coming at me! 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I Scream and I pull my fist back in a Dragon Punch and Billiam runs right into it as I hit! I see Billiam start to come down at it but then I drive my fist back and then forward so fast that my sleeve rips off! But then I....black....out....can't see where I'm punching 

* END FLASHBACK *

".......AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I Shriek and my fist rams into the Sprinkler Head and busts it into a billion pieces, but before I can do anything there was a big explosion of Brown Water that came blowing out all over the place! I was so surprised that I didn't get out of the way in time and the Brown Water blew all over the inside of my helmet! Which was open! I heard a bunch of Frying out noises and saw electricity go flying past my eyes and I got a bunch of the disgusting water in my mouth! It was Septic fluid!! 

"AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" I Screamed with sobs, the water tasted so bad I didn't know what to do, then I saw the most Awful thing, all of the sprinklers were busting off and putting Brown Water everywhere on account of the no gravity!! 

"WILLIAM WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE OR WE'RE GONNA GET COVERED IN TURD WATER!!!" I yelled as I tried to get away from the Flood. 

 

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"No ma’am.... I’m not the hero you wanted.... I’m the monster you needed,” the towering mercenary in the blood-spattered space suit whispered, with a slight smile that didn't reach his eyes. Something about this man was downright unnerving, and that was in addition to having watched him maul an armored soldier to death with a crowbar. 

 "Uh, anyway," I said, "there's a way to make your plan a bit less suicidal. Keep the robots between you and the Capellans, they make great cover. That's what Colleen, James and I did during our, uh, previous engagement. I'll have Gretta transfer control of the door to my padd, and once you've got the bots in formation I'll open up."  

"That certainly sounds better than diving head first into the laser-powered meat grinder," the mercenary captain said. "What do you think, Bishop?" 

 "The only thing deadlier than a snake in your path, is one hidden in the undergrowth" the hulking mercenary said. 

I turned to Colleen and silently mouthed, "the fuck?" Colleen shrugged. 

"I don't suppose those robots have a non-lethal setting?" James asked. "The Capellans would probably appreciate it, and I'd appreciate not having more gore to mop up."

"Ugh, same," I sighed. "But somehow I doubt non-lethal is an option with Capellan technology controlled by this guy." 

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Approximately twenty minutes later...

"Well, this would have been a goddamned fair sight easier if our electronics whiz kid wasn't KO'd, but I think we're ready," Bishop announced, slamming the rear access panels of the two still-serviceable security robots. "Here, Cap. This one's yours. Go easy on the controls. It's basically held together with chewing gum and duct tape, neither of which is a metaphor."

I nodded, taking one of the two data pads from Bishop. A tendril of cables snaked from its input port, entering the back of the armored platform in a spider web of connections.

"How is he, Major?" I asked, glancing toward Hayes, who knelt beside Nathan Schmidt, resting a gentle hand on his prone body to keep him from drifting away in the weightlessness.

"Well, he hasn't gotten any worse -- if anything, it seems like his vitals are on the rise. It's the damndest thing. I can't explain it. It's honestly the only reason I haven't called down a medevac yet," the Major replied. "He's still out cold, though, and he feels like he has a high-grade fever, which doesn't make any sense."

"Alright - when we go in, I think you should hang back and let me and Bishop go into this meat grinder...er...into this engagement first," I recommended.

"That doesn't feel right," the Major replied. "I think I ought to secure Nathan and be on the front line with the two of you. I can't hang behind cover while you're getting shot at."

"We're going to need Captain Harlow up with us to override the door, and her crew needs someone to look after them. I suspect that the Capellans are not going to discriminate when they figure out that the crew is no longer on their side," I explained.

"You're making one hell of an assumption about whose side we're on, flyboy," Nikki interjected. "So far, both you and the Capellans have taken shots at us."

"Point taken, and I'd consider it a kindness if you'd wait to pass judgement on us until we can get you into Cargo Bay One," I chuckled. "In fact, I was about to recommend that the Major take point to cover your crew and Nathan while we're making the frontal assault."

"That I can do," Major Hayes nodded. "But I need you to know that when we get to Kauffman, assuming that he's in there, I may have to switch out with one of you guys depending on what condition he's in."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Hayes looked slightly aloof as he considered his answer.

"William's very selective in whom he places absolute trust," Hayes began, "and for reasons I still can't fully explain, he's identified me as that individual. I'm the only one who knows the full extent of his augmentation and his medical needs. And depending on what they've done to him, I may need to intervene before we can move him."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're a doctor?"

"No, I'm a soldier. I just happen to know a few parlor tricks when it comes to science and medicine. Enough to satisfy my boss, evidently," the Major answered. "And hopefully enough to help Nathan pull through until we can get the hell out of here. To be honest with you, I'm surprised that we haven't seen hide nor hair of the Capellans since we came back over here."

"They can't do much with a blast door in their way," Harlow advised. "I'd be content to leave them there, too, except for the small detail of your man being in there."

"Two of our men, actually," I clarified. "We sent Private Jenkins up through the air duct earlier to take out the network repeaters between our location and Cargo Bay One, and then infiltrate it to see if he could locate William. We haven't heard from him, and we can't raise him on the radio, but presumably, he succeeded in both destroying the access points and reaching the cargo bay. The robots suddenly got a lot less accurate with their marksmanship, and he pulled the pin on the EMP device."

"He tore up my repeaters?" James, one of the freighter's crew, asked with horror.

"That would seem to be the case," Major Hayes offered.

"And you are?" James asked.

"Hayes, James Hayes, Crayven Corporation," the Major answered.

"Oh my god. We have the same first name," James abruptly gushed. "It's like we're the same person."

Major Hayes looked quizzically at James for a moment, fumbling for a response. "Not...exactly?"

"In that case, I'm sending you the bill for that repair, too," Nikki answered, pointing at the Major. "Because this James doesn't have any money."

"Only because you refuse to give me a raise!" James exclaimed.

Suddenly, the gravelly baritone of Bishop Weyland interrupted the conversation.

"With all due respect, I don't mean to get in the way of anyone's bonding, but we should probably get these things into position and get this party started before the Capellans get the drop on us," the Lieutenant advised. "Assuming you're ready to move out, sir."

I nodded. "Agreed. Let's roll."

###

Driving the robots down the hall with jury-rigged datapads had proven more challenging than I'd assumed. Bereft of CPUs, the robots were unwieldy and tended to navigate unpredictably, their motivators and balance units no longer communicating with each other. I silently hoped that we'd have better results with the guns when the time came.

I rolled my automaton into place directly against the blast door as Bishop did the same. Behind us, Nikki Harlow took up position at an override console tucked behind a sliding utility door built into the ship's bulkhead. Flanking her were Major Hayes, James, and Colleen, taking a defensive posture around Nathan.

"You ladies and gents ready?" I asked, arming the robot's weapons. I heard a flurry of weapons being drawn and chambered in response.

"We're ready," Major Hayes replied.

"Alright," I nodded. "Captain Harlow - if you would, please do your thing."

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Near the crash location of Grail Lords Combat Transport (Space) VTOL
Somewhere on the Carrigan Continent, Errai II
Errai System, Davion Space
March 3, 3029
____________________________________

"Orlex, we've got a problem," called Emma on the comms a moment before a ruby red beam of coherent light blasted through the trees to the North.

Without waiting I burst into a sprint moving as fast as the exoskeleton could, closing the distance to the clearing as quickly as possible, "I see that, I'm enroute what have we got Emma?"

"A tank, they have a Blake damned tank in there. It's not big, but its still a tank. Don't recognize the model, but can't exactly get a good look at it right now, it obviously knows we're here."

"Lovely, I'll see what I can do," I respond just as I reach the edge of the clearing.

Pulling up just short of stepping fully into the clearing I quickly locate the tank, and take note of what must be an IR masking camo net that was still half hanging off the comat vehicle. It was small, only slightly larger than a regular Humvee truck, but the relatively large barrel protruding from the turret indicated firepower that was still more than sufficient to end our little mission prematurely. It was probably only a small laser, but that was still enough to turn my entire exoskeleton to slag if I got hit by it. A smaller barrel that protruded on the far side of the main cannon was most likely a coaxial machinegun of some sort and this was confirmed a moment later as the gunner opened fire with it into the treeline along the North side of the clearing where the rest of the team was most likely taking cover. The high calibre rounds ripping through the trees with a deadly whir as the weapons fire rakked across the full width of the clearing. I drew a bead with my underslung autocannon and squeezed the trigger, letting loose with my own barrage of powerful ballistic rounds. While individually the bullets fired from the autocannon had no chance of penetrating the tactical armour of a combat vehicle the sheer volume of fire the support AC was capable could wear down even the toughest of ablative armours, given enough time.

..... Inside the 10-ton mini-tank .....

"What the hell is that?" asked the gunner, as a ringing sound belted across the confined space repeatedly from one side of the vehicle.

"I don't know," replied the driver with a hint of worry from deeper within the tank, "there must be more of them than we thought, almost sounds like a support weapon."

"Don't worry about it, they can't pierce our armour," stated the commander roughly, "stay focused."

The ringing grew louder as multiple rounds continued punching into the vehicle's side, the sound changing slightly as the rounds penetrated deeper and deeper into the relatively thick armour. A sudden warning klaxxon drowned out the sounds of bullet hits as the cramped confines of the cockpit lit up awash with orange warning lights. The gunner starting looking around frantically before scrambling out of his chair towards the turret hatch.

"Fuck this, I'm out!"

"Get your ass back in your Blake-damned seat son!" yelled the commander, partly to be heard over the klaxxon and partly out of anger, "I'll shoot you myself if you don't."

"Fuck you," replied the gunner over his shoulder as he swung open the hatch.

The commander bound from his position, an incredibly agile move considering the limited space, and forcibly grabbed hold of the gunner by his leg before yanking him backwards violently. He then grabbed hold of the younger man's belt and threw him roughly back into his seat before smoothly drawing a pistol and aiming it at the gunner's face.

"I said sit, the fuck, down."

..... Back outside the tank .....

I was halfway through the magazine of the semi-portable autocannon when the barrel starting glowing red hot with thin wisps of vapour steaming off the rotating steel cylinders. Unexpectedly the hatch on the vehicles turret suddenly popped open and a young man's head half popped out before disappearing quickly back inside. Well that was strange, I thought while I continued to hold down the trigger. Round after round slammed into the rapidly thinning armour on the tank's flank as the turret slowly began rotating towards my position, having stopped firing towards the North shortly before the hatch opened. Before the turret reached me however the sound of high speed ricochetting rounds from the autocannon changed pitch as one by one holes began to appear in the weakened side of the tank, as the magazine ran dry and the multi-barrel autocannon slowly spun down I could count no less than a dozen distinct holes punched through the now severely damaged tank. The turret stopped rotating and smoke began to billow out of the open hatch before a figure slowly emerged with their hands up, it appeared to be the same young man from before.

From the North side of the clearing Sergeant Major Emma, and Sergeants Vincent and Melina advanced from their cover on the disabled tank. I took the opportunity to reload the autocannon as Vincent took the young man into custody while Emma and Melina advanced on the only building, more of a small shack, within the clearing which clearly housed the jamming equipment judging from the large pair of radio antenna jutting into the air beside it. Just beyond the building was another vehicular shape shrouded beneath layers of camo netting, as I moved into a firing position on the possible new threat around 7 gang members burst from the side door of the building with their guns blazing. Melina and Emma opened fire with their own weapons as they ran for cover while Vincent dragged our prisoner around to the backside of the tank before opening fire himself. Laser blasts and buckshot pellets saturated the area the gang members were but none found their mark, they did however manage to ensure that the enemies shots were just as erratic. With my teammates now in cover, and my autocannon fully reloaded, I squeezed off a quick burst that sent 25 high velocity rounds ripping through the scattered thugs, cutting two of them down before the rest scrambled away. 

Two of the enemies rushed towards the covered vehicle but were pulled up short by a steady stream of laser pulses from Emma's Mauser 960, Melina then peppered them with a full burst from her pulse laser rifle wounding both men though their limited armour seemed to absorb most of the attack. The other three enemies at first tried to run for the tank, until they saw the hulking frame of my exoskeleton climbing onto the smoking wreckage, they then made an abrupt turn and ran for a stack of empty cargo crates. My elevated position forced them behind the taller stack of crates and prevented them from having a clean shot at Emma and Melina, who were using the building as cover from the previous two thugs. Clearly these men were not soldiers, just brutes that were used to their sheer size and reputation being enough to make most opponents cower, sadly for them they weren't the big dogs here and intimidation wasn't going to do anything against the hardened DMI agents. A flurry of return fire from the first group of gang members forced Emma and Melina back into cover for a moment but it wasn't enough, most of their shots were going high and Emma stepped out low in a crouch with her Mauser held tight against her shoulder, with a smooth, practiced trigger pull she sent a compact grenade flying towards her targets which exploded in a blinding flash powerful enough to temporarily overcome the Golem's sensors. As the exoskeleton's external cameras came back on a second later I could see in my peripheral vision both Emma and Melina rushing towards the stunned and disoriented enemy who were firing blindly in completely the wrong direction. Turning my attention back to fully focus on the three opponents that were still cowering behind the cargo crates I fired a quick burst of autocannon fire into the crates themselves to keep them suppressed, the rounds piercing into several of the crates and even causing the lids of a couple to break open, their cover would not withstand concentrated fire for any meaningful duration. To their credit they did manage to blind fire a few rounds in my general direction, even managed to land a singular hit, though it did little more than scratch the paint.

While all this was happening Vincent had apparently incapacited his charge and was creeping up around the south side of the cargo crates his combat shotgun at the ready. He cleared the last stack of crates and the crack of the shotgun resounded across the clearing as he fired off three precise shots. Two of the thugs must have been dropped instantly as only one backed out from behind the crates, still holding his gun and pointing it in Vincent's general direction. I could hear Vincent demanding the man's surrender over the comm but couldn't hear the gang members response but judging from his body language he was refusing, he then made the fatal mistake of firing his weapon. I heard Vincent's grunt on the comms at the same time that a laser pulse bored through the man's skull from behind, it happened faster than I could react to the point where the man was already dropping to the ground by the time my autocannon starting winding up.

Melina walked over to the clearly deceased man and shook her head, "Should have taken the surrender offer, might have come out with a head."

Vincent groaned over the comm, and it was clear it wasn't from getting shot as he walked out from behind cargo crates shaking his own head. Melina just shrugged with a beguiling look of innocence on her face.

"Alright you two, Vincent where did our prisoner end up?" interupted Emma before Vincent or Melina could say anything more.

"He's unconcious behind the tank, don't worry he's not going anywhere."

"Good, I'm going to go have a chat with him. Vincent, you and Melina go check out what they have stashed away under that camo netting. Orlex, you're on overwatch, I don't think there's any more enemies here but I'm not taking any chances. Once we know what's under the tarps we'll look at taking out the jamming equipment."

A few minutes later Vincent and Melina had uncovered a tracked APC which clearly must have been used to transport the goon squad to this remote location and had secured it. Emma had succeeded in waking the lone survivor and was currently questioning him beside the tank while I continued on overwatch. Another few minutes later, after it had been decided for Vincent to try and appropriate the communications equipment for ourselves instead of just destroying it, we successfully managed to shutdown the jamming signal and Vincent was able to raise Leftenant Isla on the radio. We updated them on our situation, including our new prisoner, and determined it was best if we rejoined them as soon as possible, they had reason to believe the enemy had narrowed down their location a troubling amount and could use the extra firepower as the VTOL was still only partially functional and not yet flyable.

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