by Jan Domagala
He turned to the lab tech standing just behind him and said, “Monitor their vital signs closely, the moment we have anything I want to be informed.”
“Yes, Doctor,” replied the tech as he watched his boss walk towards the door.
“I’ll be in my quarters. I just need to lie down for a while,” he said then turned and left the lab.
* * * * *
Stryder knew something was going on; he wasn’t sure how he knew, he just did.
He’d pondered how to get out of his cell for the last few hours and all he’d come up with was that it was impossible. There was no way he could see of escaping without any weapons.
He would just have to wait until they came for him and hope that a chance arose once he was out of there.
* * * * *
Norsky was in his quarters contemplating the evening meal with Hardy when he was notified of new orders concerning Stryder and her, which would be issued to certain personnel on the base. It was a little bit of a shock even though he had half expected it. They had been listed for termination pending the results of the serum tests to be carried out by General Solon’s personal guard.
The news hit him like a fist in the guts. Hardy was to be terminated! The feelings he felt for her came to the surface making him feel sick at the thought.
What could he do to prevent it happening? Wracking his brains for some solution to this new problem he began to pace up and down his quarters. Nothing seemed to work out of all the scenarios he came up with and each one was discarded with equal rapidity.
There seemed to be nothing he could do to prevent their deaths and then it occurred to him that if he approached the problem from a slightly different angle then he might just come up with something that could work.
The tests would be concluded soon. He had tracked the lab’s progress through a remote monitor and so would have to move soon before the order to terminate was carried out.
The injections had been administered and they were simply waiting for the serum to begin taking effect. From the lab records he knew that would not be long. They must be expecting positive results because more of the serum was to be produced from the blood sample they had taken from Stryder. From this, a batch of replicated blood had been produced so that they had an almost endless supply from which to produce the serum.
Things were progressing quite nicely which could only be regarded as bad news for Stryder and Hardy.
If he was going to do anything, he would have to do it now.
Making a decision fast, he knew once he made his move there would be no going back. What he was contemplating was tantamount to treason and if he went through with it, he would end up a wanted man.
He had to ask, was she worth it? He would lose everything he had worked for, trained for and loved about the Alliance. It would all be lost to him, forever.
There was only one answer he could come up with. He had no idea how it had happened, but he had fallen for this woman, he loved her. He could not stand by and allow her to be killed, even if it meant he would lose everything he had. If he had her at his side then all the rest didn’t matter.
The decision was made; he had to save her.
Foregoing all the plans he had thought of for the night, he left his quarters and headed straight to where he’d left Hardy.
* * * * *
Inside her quarters Hardy had been pacing the small room wondering what she could do. She felt trapped and it was beginning to get to her. Low in her stomach she could feel panic begin to bubble up and threaten to engulf her. It didn’t seem there was anything she could do to escape. Having evaluated her situation she came to the conclusion that she was royally screwed.
After her brief conversation with Stryder her spirits had lifted slightly, but it had been a while now since she’d heard from him and despair was beginning to set in again.
When the door to her quarters suddenly opened she thought Kurt had been as good as his word.
Spinning around to greet him she exclaimed, “Kurt, you c- You!” as she saw who it was.
Norsky couldn’t help but show the hurt he felt as he heard that name, and then as her expression changed, it was like she was turning a knife in his gut.
“No, Miss Hardy I’m afraid I can’t help your friend, but I can help you,” he said quickly entering the room.
“I don’t understand?” she replied as she watched him.
“You will be terminated shortly, you and your friend. I’m here to help you escape,” Norsky explained.
“Good, let’s go get him then, no doubt we haven’t much time,” Hardy said as she made her way past him towards the door.
“Excuse me, didn’t you just hear what I said? I can’t help your friend but I can save you,” Norsky reiterated.
“Well, that’s not good enough, either we all go or we all stay. No, we all go or we all die!” she said stepping up to face him looking him in the eye, her gaze not wavering at all.
“You would die for him, you love him then?” he asked.
“We are both Recon Delta and we don’t leave a fallen comrade behind” she replied evading the question.
“Yes, but do you love him?” he asked again.
There was a pause until finally Hardy said, “That’s none of your business,” watching for his reaction hoping that his feelings for her would outweigh his patriotism.
She readied herself to take action just in case he would not go along with her wishes. Balancing herself lightly on the balls of her feet, she was ready to move in any direction. She waited hoping that he would agree and help her to free Kurt, but if she had to she would attack him and then go to find Kurt on her own.
Norsky was going through hell in his own head. On the one hand, he wanted to get her out of there and out of danger but on the other hand, he was loyal to the Alliance. He had grown up and been nurtured by the Alliance his entire life and if he helped this woman he would be betraying all that he believed in. It was a quandary that seemed to have no answer. How could he choose between that which had nurtured him and the woman he loved? It seemed an impossible choice but he realised it was one he had already made just by standing there. He had chosen the woman he loved.
“Okay, let’s go, we haven’t got much time,” he said.
They walked down the corridor and luckily for them, met no one. When they came to a corner Norsky stopped her and turning to her said, “Wait here, there will be guards outside his room. If they see you they will ask questions.” Hardy nodded her approval and watched as he rounded the corner on his way to Stryder’s cell.
The second Norsky was out of sight she accessed a combat channel through her NI and said, “Kurt, we’re coming to get you out of there. The door will be opened in a moment, be ready to move.”
Stryder heard the call and prepared himself, not questioning the veracity of it for he knew it to be true the moment he recognised the voice. All his senses went into overdrive, ready to move in an instant. His hearing picked up the approach of footsteps. He felt his pulse quicken as adrenalin flooded his bloodstream ready for the upcoming action.
Outside the door two guards stood dressed in battle fatigues with blast-resistant body armour and combat helmets. As Norsky turned the corner and walked towards them they turned to look in his direction eyeing him warily. When they recognised him their stances altered slightly, becoming more relaxed as they saw he was no threat.
“I’ve come to take the prisoner to General Solon’s office; he wants to question him further,” he said amiably.
“We’ll have to check first, sir, you understand,” replied the guard standing to the right of Norsky.
Before he could access the comm channels Norsky struck, slamming the heel of his hand into the throat of the guard to his left then punching the other guard full in the face slamming his head back against the wall. Both guards went down quickly and he opened the door to Stryder’s cell.
“Come on Captain, it seems my loyalties have changed,” Norsky said.
/> Stryder came at him with surprising speed, his right hand balled into a fist striking him square on the jaw rocking his head backwards with such force he was sent staggering across the corridor to slam into the wall opposite. Norsky was caught completely off guard by the speed of the blow and could do nothing to dodge or block it. His head hit the wall across from Stryder’s cell further adding to the effect of the punch. He slid down to the floor as his eyes rolled up inside their sockets and he was out for the count.
Hardy came around the corner the second she heard the commotion just in time to see Stryder calmly strolling out of his cell. Without turning to look at her he said, “What took you so long?” He knew she was there without the need to look.
“I got caught up in traffic,” she said with a smile beginning to blossom across her full sensuous lips.
He turned to look at her and smiled.
“C’mon, more guards will be coming soon so we need to get the hell outta here. Grab their weapons and let’s go.” He stooped down to retrieve the pistol and assault rifle from the nearest guard while Hardy did the same with the other one.
“Where to now, Kurt?” she asked
“I seem to remember the route we came in by, so all we need do is retrace our steps back to the entrance and the spaceport where we should be able to find our transport off this dump,” Stryder said with complete confidence.
“And what if we meet some opposition en route?” Hardy asked more than a little concerned by the simplicity of his plan.
“Simple, we remove it,” he said as he started to walk off.
“Er, please tell me you’re not planning on us taking on the entire base on our own?” Hardy said catching up with him.
Stryder looked across at her and his smile told her all she needed to know. He was just going to barrel his way through and anyone who got in his way had better watch out.
“Oh shit!” she said. She jacked the slide on the assault rifle to prime the battery clip and was ready to go.
“Have you any idea where we’re going?” she asked as they steadily made their way down the corridor.
“Yes I do, strange but I seem to remember clearly everything from the moment when we arrived,” Stryder answered.
“How do you mean, strange?”
“Well, I wouldn’t normally remember details with this much clarity. I remember every step of the way in here and that’s unusual for me. I’ve normally a good memory but this is like I’ve got double my normal capacity. Normally I’d remember certain details that blend together to give a mental picture that makes the whole, but this is phenomenal! Every single detail is etched into my memory like an engraving, a permanent record of our journey through this base.”
“Well, it should help us find our way out but what good will it be if we meet any resistance?”
“We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“That could be sooner than you think,” Hardy said as they neared the end of the corridor.
Stryder put his hand up to shoulder height, his fist clenched in a Marine signal to stop the advance. He was using hand signals, which told Hardy they must be quiet so as not to alert the enemy. They both stopped in their tracks and Stryder’s brow knitted as he concentrated. He was listening for something; Hardy realised he was listening for any sounds around the corner out of sight.
Stryder held up two fingers indicating that there were two people approaching from the direction they were headed.
Hardy brought up her assault rifle ready to fire and Stryder did likewise.
* * * * *
Norsky regained consciousness, saw the two guards he’d taken care of and knew he was in deep trouble. Stryder had got the better of him and was on the loose in the base somewhere. There were two courses of action he could take; the first was to raise the alarm and take his chances with General Solon and the subsequent consequences and the second was to find Stryder himself and carry out the termination order. In that way he might negate the consequences or at least lessen them.
Slowly he got to his feet, a little unsteady with the after effects of the blow from Stryder. Norsky was still trying to decide what to do when a third choice came to him. He could raise the alarm and still go after Stryder himself. With the alarm raised, the base would be closed off and it would make chasing him down a little easier.
With that choice he covered all the bases and kept his ass covered too, the best he could under the circumstances. Accessing his NI he called the base security centre and raised the alarm.
Within seconds the audible alarm was screeching throughout the integral speakers situated throughout the base.
* * * * *
When the alarm went off Stryder and Hardy looked at each other, an unspoken thought passing between them. They knew the shit had just hit the fan and an almost impossible task had just been made even harder.
Stryder went around the corner fast. There were two guards in front of him. They had stopped as they received instructions on the alarm status over their NIs. Stryder fired his assault rifle on burst fire sending several shots of pulsed plasma into the two unsuspecting soldiers. The energy blasts stitched across the two soldiers chests cutting them open as they were sent flying backwards in a mist of blood. They were dead before they hit the floor.
Hardy was just a step or two behind Stryder unable to match his speed. It was over by the time she reached his side.
“Wow! You don’t take prisoners do you?” she said as she viewed the aftermath of his little action.
“Not got the time here. Things have just got worse,” he replied, concentration knitting his brow as he listened, trying to pick out sounds beneath the strident alarm.
“We’ve got company coming?” Hardy looked both ways down the corridor to see what he meant; when she saw no one she looked at him quizzically.
“Some soldiers are coming at us from both directions. I can’t make out how many, the alarm’s messing with my hearing but I know they’ll be here in less than a minute,” he said when he saw her expression.
“You can hear that, above this noise?” she said incredulously.
“Yes, don’t ask me how but my hearing, along with my other senses, was boosted with the original test and somehow they’ve gone off the chart since being here. Anyway haven’t got time to ponder that now, we have to move.”
“Where do you suggest if they’re coming at us from both sides?” she asked urgently.
“We need a map of this base,” he said stating the obvious.
“What if we try to access the main computer?” Hardy suggested. Stryder thought about it for a second then said, “Might work, but we’d have to distract them from searching for us, give them something else to think about for a while.”
“What have you got in mind?” Hardy asked hoping he would come up with a plan soon because she had nothing to offer. All her training meant for nothing at that moment, her mind was a blank as panic was beginning to grow inside her.
“First things first,” he said as he strode towards the edge of the corridor. He leaned back against the wall at the edge of the corridor, his assault rifle held high across his chest, and she could tell by the expression of intense concentration on his face that he was listening to the sounds of the approaching soldiers. Suddenly, he strode around the corner, his assault rifle aimed down the corridor and he fired a continuous stream of pulsed plasma bolts which stitched across the soldiers’ chests sending them flying backwards in a mist of expelled blood. If they had been wearing body armour they would have survived the attack, as it was, they only wore regulation uniforms, which were no protection against the high intensity bolts.
Stryder walked down to them to check their vitals and to search for something.
“What’re you looking for?” Hardy asked as she followed him down towards them.
“The security codes for their combat comm channels. If we can access them, we can cause all sorts of mayhem until they realise their system has been compromised,�
� he replied from his squat position as he checked the fallen soldiers.
Standing to his full height he said, “Nothing, damn!”
“Have you tried accessing the comm channels anyway?” Hardy asked what seemed to her an obvious question. He looked at her as if she had lost a cog, then a thought occurred to him.
“Never thought of that,” he said and concentrating he accessed his NI searching through the comm channels available to him for one that he could use. All this information was downloaded directly to the brain so that it seemed like a thought.
“Any luck?” she asked and with a wave of his hand he quietened her. He probed the channels for one particular channel that would give him the results he required. They were slightly different to those used by the Confederation, similar in most ways but different enough so that any interloper or hacker would be spotted by the security protocols and it was these protocols that he was desperately trying to avoid. The particular channel he was searching for would give him access to all the security personnel on the base and he could direct them to bogus locations and, most importantly, away from them.
A smile suddenly crossed his face, followed by deep lines of concentration across his brow as he connected to the channel he had been searching for.
“All personnel report to the main lab area immediately!” he ordered. Then turning to Hardy with a broad grin on his face said, “Done!” Beads of sweat spotted his forehead, a testament to the fierce concentration and mental effort required to fulfil the task just completed.
“Are you sure?” she asked a little dubiously.
“I’m sure. I’m monitoring the channel so if anyone on the base uses it, I’ll know, just like using our own combat channels when a unit is in action and the members of that unit are linked. I’m now linked to their combat channel with one notable exception,” he explained.
“Which is?”
“They don’t know I’m logged in.”