The lizard didn’t wait, instead breaking cover and sprinting for the T junction. Xar and Vakkon were right behind him, the others staying behind cover and watching their backs. Reaching the junction, the Gekkon stomped on the guard’s throat with a strangely satisfying crunch, ensuring the man was dead. There was no sign of the second guard, but down the corridor he was hiding in, there was an open hatchway about fifty meters down. Apparently the death of his comrade had caused his spine to evaporate.
“Do your thing, sir,” Plonall said, sweeping the corridor with his eyes and the muzzle of his weapon, keeping the stock tight to his shoulder. Corajen had trained him well, it seemed.
Xar wasted no time. Going up to the door, he pressed the button to open. It beeped, but the door didn’t budge. Checking around the panel, feeling as though a bullet or blaster shot was about to hit him in the center of his back thorax at any second, Ka’Xarian forced himself to calm down. He wasn’t a soldier, that was obvious, but he wasn’t supposed to be. There was a problem in front of him, a closed door, it was up to him to open it. The quick and dirty method was out, no explosives, so he’d have to get it open by other means. Besides, with prisoners inside, he wasn’t sure explosives would have been the best way anyway. Turning back to the dead guard, he rifled through the man’s pockets, looking for an access card, data key, anything. His search turned up nothing. There was no handprint or retinal scanner in the access panel. Humming to himself slightly to try and get his head in the right space, he pulled a multitool from his belt pouch and set to work removing the panel from the wall.
There was a burst of static from Plonall’s communicator, but the zheen ignored it, focusing on his task. “Don’t want to rush you sir,” the Gekkon said, drawing out the last word. “We’re going to have company real soon.”
“Just keep them off me for a few more moments,” Xar hissed back. Just a stuck door. No problems. You’re back on the Grania Estelle, we’re just trying to get to some crewmen who are trapped in a room because the door won’t open. That’s all we’re doing here. He stripped a wire and then made another connection, pulling out another one in the process.
There was a heavy, metallic clunk and the door popped open, sliding about four centimeters to the side. “Yes!” he crowed. Holstering his stun pistol and putting the multitool back in his pouch, he gripped the door and pulled. It easily slid open and he entered.
There were the three of them, looking as though they’d been through the wringer. “My name is Ka’Xarian,” he told them, gently. “I’m an engineer aboard the Grania Estelle. We met several months ago. We’re here to get you out of here.”
The captain was lying on the nearby bunk, his eyes not really focusing. His wounds had been treated, based on the bandages, but he was clearly in a great deal of pain. The other two, another male zheen and a human male, looked up at him.
“Oh, thank the stars!” the man replied in relief. “They’ve told us they were going to sell us to the pirates! They took our ship. The medic has only been by to make sure we weren’t going to die, that we’d be healthy enough for sale. Thank the stars you’re here!”
The other zheen nodded, showing for the first time his own injury. His left hand had been severed just below the wrist and it had been wrapped in a bandage, crudely since there was green ichor seeping out of the wound. It hadn’t been cleaned or treated at all, based on the smell, just wrapped. The younger zheen could barely hold himself upright and his antennae drooped, though the buzzing noises he was making told Ka’Xarian clearly that he was alive. He needed serious medical treatment as soon as they could get him out of here.
“Can you walk?” he asked them.
The man nodded. “I can. I think that Kay’grax can too. But the Captain can’t.”
Xar swept his gaze over the man; big muscles, large for a human, possibly a hint of heavy-worlder in his blood. “Can you carry him? Or at least help him travel?”
The big man nodded again. “Yeah, I should have thought of that.”
“How about you, Kay’grax is it? Can you walk?”
The buzzing sound didn’t stop or change in volume or pitch, but the younger zheen pushed himself to a standing position, wavering a bit. Xar rushed forward and caught him before he fell. “Lean on me,” he ordered, putting his left arm around the young one’s waist, staying to the opposite side of his injured hand. He drew his pistol with his right. “Come on. I’ve got people waiting outside. What’s your name?” Xar asked the man.
“Marcos, sir,” he replied, gently lifting the human captain into his arms. It appeared to take no effort, and Xar hoped the big man could continue carrying him.
“All right, Marcos. Let’s go.”
“Let’s go, sir!” Plonall yelled into the door. He nodded as he saw them all coming to the door. “They okay? Never mind. Doesn’t matter, does it?”
“They’ll be better if we can get to the shuttle and then back to the Grania Estelle,” Xar agreed.
“Mmmm,” the captain muttered in Marcos’s arms. “My ship…” he whispered.
“We’re getting out of here, Captain,” the zheen told him.
“No… can’t leave my ship.”
“He’s delusional,” Marcos said, hefting the man’s weight a bit, adjusting his grip. “He thinks we’re trying to take him off the Emilia Walker.”
“Can’t leave the… ship behind…”
“I think he’s aware of what’s going on, Marcos,” Xar replied. “But it doesn’t matter. We have to get to the shuttle regardless. Lead the way, Plonall.”
“Yes, sir. Let’s go.”
Chapter 26
Goris Hana was for the first time in as long as his bloated, toad like brain could remember, afraid. The station was, to his mind, coming apart at the seams. The computer systems, which were normally so powerful and reliable, were now working erratically, giving false commands and output, when they worked at all. His suite’s power had completely failed, forcing him to fish out a flashlight from one of his desk drawers, which game a strong, if small amount of light. But that only added to his growing terror since he could only see a short distance in front of him. He was desperately afraid that the gravity would fail and he would be flailing around in the blackness with only a small flashlight to see with.
He slammed his comm panel with his palm, but it didn’t activate. Nothing but the stars forsaken static, which only increased his panic. Hana knew he couldn’t stay here any longer, not knowing what was happening. Grabbing a blaster from the drawer, he held it in his left hand, keeping the light in his left. Getting up, he waddled to the door and pressed the command for it to open. Thankfully, it did. The lights in the corridor were still on, but flickering erratically. But it was a relief from the otherwise utter blackness of his suites. He moved as fast as his bloated body could travel down the corridor, heading for operations. The command staff would bristle at his presence, but that was just too bad.
“This is my station,” he huffed to himself. “And they will follow my orders.”
“Almost there, Captain,” Ka’Xarian said, coming around the corner of the corridor. They were less than two hundred meters from the hangar, once there, they could board the shuttle and take off. The trip this far hadn’t been uneventful, in fact Plonall had decided it was simpler to just stun anyone they came across rather than try to answer awkward questions. This time it was much easier, for as soon as they approached the people working on the systems, or hustling through the corridors, Xar and his people simply fired their stun weapons. Bodies dropped to the deck, unconscious, and the freighter crews simply stepped over them and kept going.
He was actually surprised that they’d made it as far as they had without any serious opposition. Captain Vosteros hung limply in Marcos’s arms. He was conscious, but clearly in great pain and they didn’t have anything to give the man. Kay’grax wasn’t doing so well either. He leaned heavily on Ka’Xarian’s arm and swayed with every step. He continued his humming and Xar felt for the young
er zheen. When a zheen made a sound like that, it was clear that zheen was in a considerable amount of pain. It was the equivalent to going into shock in humans. Zheen would still be able to function, but they would continue to emit that humming noise until either they died or medical assistance was provided.
“Hold it right there!” a voice barked from one of the side corridors.
“Damn it,” Plonall grunted, turning and firing his weapon. The owner of the voice took a hit directly in the chest and went down, chest perforated by bullets. “Move!” he barked to the others.
“I… can’t…” Kay’grax intoned, his voice a low hiss.
“You must,” Xar told him, increasing his pace, gently tightening his hold on the younger zheen. “We can’t stay out in the open like this.”
“Hurtsz…” he buzzed, trying to grip onto Ka’Xarian’s arm.
Plonall and Vakkon knelt, firing down the corridor. They each only let off a short burst, three bullets from the security officer’s assault rifle and three blasts from Vakkon’s stunner. There were no other people in the corridor and in seconds the two were back on their feet, racing to catch up with the others.
“What the hell is happening?” Goris Hana demanded, bursting into Operations.
The workers all looked up at the boss in fear, nay in abject terror. Goris Hana was not known for his gentle and understanding nature. And with the problem not yet dealt with and his arrival here in Ops, they were all afraid he might try to vent his frustration by venting one of them. Either with new holes, or by having someone tossed out an airlock.
“We’re working on it, sir,” the XO replied. “We’ve been under a cyber attack but we’re starting to get some of the systems isolated and back up.”
Hana grunted, shifting his bulk across the room with surprising speed. “What the blazes is taking so long?”
“These attacks are insidious. They seem to be able to completely replicate themselves and if any of the virus escapes our purges, it seems to be enough for it to self-replicate and attack the systems again.” He clenched one fist. “It’s maddening.”
“So where are we?”
The XO nodded. “We’ve got life support fully isolated, and we should have the reactors locked down and secured within the next ten minutes.” He sighed. “But the communications array is completely burned out. The virus caused the array to start broadcasting all sorts of crap on all channels, effectively blocking everything. We’re trying to purge the systems but with that system, as soon as we start virus scrubbing procedures, it changes tactics and causes the system to burn itself out.”
“So what are you saying?” Hana asked menacingly, causing the nearby workers flinch.
But the XO refused to be bullied. He knew his own worth and he knew that Hana wouldn’t dare try to have him killed. “I’m saying, sir, that the communications array, actually all the comms arrays are completely dead. We’re going to have to tear the whole thing out and replace all of it.”
“Damn it!” the toad screeched, bashing his fist against the nearby bulkhead. He winced and rubbed his sore knuckles, then turned back to glare at the workers, daring anyone to say something. No one did, they were all fastidiously working on their consoles, trying to get the system back to some semblance of function. “Get us back up!”
“Sir,” the XO replied in a very calm tone. “We’re working as fast as we can. As I explained, we cannot…”
“Don’t you patronize me!” the bloated toad roared, drawing his weapon. It wasn’t pointed, but everyone in Ops was no longer pretending to be busy, they were hustling to get as far away from Goris Hana as they could. He realized what they were doing and raised the weapon, turning quickly and waving it around. “Get back to work! Get back to work!”
The XO stepped forward. “Sir, that’s not helping!”
He whirled back to his executive officer his weapon aimed right at the man’s chest. “You are not giving the orders here. You work for me!”
“Sir, you’re just scaring the workers,” the XO explained. “They’re moving as quickly as possible. This is delicate work; they can’t make any mistakes. And if you start shooting people, it’s only going to slow things down.” He faced down his boss, apparently unfazed by the weapon aimed straight at him.
“Do you think this is a joke?” Hana demanded. “Or that this is some sort of exercise? That this is something that you can just execute some prearranged plan for?” His deep and throaty voice was getting higher as his agitation grew. “We cannot lose this station. We cannot lose the functions we have here. I have plans that must continue unimpeded.” Though it was clear he was agitated, what was also clear was the near plaintive tone his voice was taking.
The XO sighed. “Yes, sir. I know and we’re going as fast as we can. The instant we can continue with normal operations, we will.”
Hana only growled and began stalking around Operations, looking at all the consoles as he did so, his weapon back in his belt. The workers went back to their stations, though the tension level in Ops had ratcheted up significantly.
“Sir, I believe I have some more news,” the XO said, gritting his teeth against bad news and the inevitable explosion.
Hana looked up at the man. “What is it now?”
“I believe that the two of Vanku Maakan’s ships tried to call in to determine our status and it seems that their ships were infected with the same malware.”
The toad screamed in fury, actually stomping on the deck in his small tantrum. “So we’re defenseless? Wasn’t Maakan’s ship in because of damage?”
The XO nodded. “Yes, sir, it is. Though I believe the Vanku was expediting repairs as much as possible. In fact, I believe she’s cutting as many corners as she can possibly get away with to get her ship back into space.”
“Good, I won’t kill her just yet.” The nearest workers flinched at that, but continued doing their jobs. “So that brings us down to one viable ship to protect us.”
The XO shrugged. “Four of the shuttles are armed. A single laser cannon on each, but they are still armed.”
“Get them ready to launch,” Hana ordered. “They can stay on the hangar deck though until called for.”
The man nodded, grateful to finally have some sort of news that the boss would accept. Then the next report came in.
“Doren, the systems are acting hinky,” the pilot of Defense Pinnace Three reported.
The commander of the ship looked up from his own display, which was starting to flicker. “What do you mean, hinky?”
“I mean hinky,” the woman replied, pointing at the screen. “I’m starting to have major slowdowns here. The systems are acting really sluggish and my controls are not responding properly.”
“Whoa!” the gunner exclaimed. “Missile controls just went down.”
“Shit,” Doren said, checking his own systems again. “Confirmed, missiles are offline. What the hell?”
“No shit, what the hell,” the gunner shot back. “What the-!” The ship’s forward laser cannons began firing on their own, alternating back and forth. “I lost control of the cannons.” He beat his fists against the controls, trying in vain to stop the weapons.
“What the hell?” the commander demanded again. Sensors and communications went out. He was starting to hyperventilate. He couldn’t understand it, he couldn’t understand how this could be happening. “How is this happening?”
“We got a comm return from the station when we sent them a query,” the gunner replied. “I think there was a virus or something in the communication.” He raised his hands in confusion. “Well, guns are offline now. Least they’re not shooting randomly anymore.”
And then all the interior lighting went out.
“Captain, I’m getting something here,” George reported.
He looked up from his displays, over at his Operations officer. “What is it?”
“The two pinnaces that were nearby the fueling station have suddenly gone dark,” George reported. “Their courses
are unpowered.”
“They’re adrift?” The captain tapped his chin with one finger. “Stella, more of your knock-knock?”
She nodded from her position on the main display. “I believe so, Captain. According to my sensors, they’re just completely dark and adrift.”
“I think I know what happened, Captain,” Serinda piped up from her console.
“Well?” he asked, turning to her.
“They sent communications to the fueling stations about ten minutes ago and a return signal came through. About a minute after that, they went dark.”
“So presumably they called in to find out what the hell was going on, and then got snared themselves,” Eamonn mused.
“It certainly looks that way, Captain,” she agreed.
A smile began to form on the Captain’s lips. “I think that’s the first real spot of good news we’ve heard since the Emilia Walker entered the system.” He nodded. “Continue on course for the fueling station. I just hope that Ka’Xarian and his people are doing all right.”
“Where did this attack come from?” Goris Hana asked. The others in Ops glanced at him, but then quickly looked back to their consoles. The XO pursed his lips.
“I’m not sure, sir. The systems started going down in what seemed like a random pattern. By the time we started tracking, there were all sorts of rabbit programs and such running in the background. Our systems slowed down to a crawl and then stopped altogether in some cases.”
But the bloated leader was staring off at a distant display, but it was clear he wasn’t trying to view it. He blinked very slowly before speaking. “Where is that bug?”
The XO blinked. “Sir?”
“The bug. The one that came here to collect his own fuel for their big ship,” Hana explained. “Where is he?”
The XO shrugged. “I have no idea, sir. Internal sensors are still down. But at last report, before the systems went crazy, he and his crew had been recalled to their shuttle in the main hangar. They were slated to depart about forty minutes ago.”
Pursue the Past: Samair in Argos: Book 1 Page 63