I am Iron Man

by Colin Cook

  "Then you shall wait indefinitely, for this is our mode of transportation," the Serpent leader retorted sharply before he too stormed up the ramp as the last of the group

  boarded the ship, with Torrvk quickly following behind him after the Turian allowed himself an amused shrug.

  Moira gave out an exhausted breath before sagging back lazily in her seat, massaging the joints in her fingers to ease the soreness they were experiencing after having

  typed so fast. The red symbol that was flashing on the main screen disappeared abruptly; with the beige military file re-materializing back in the spot it had been before

  the Erosion warning had popped up. Bailey smiled genuinely as Sydow's copied information began slowly downloading into the brand new file Moira had created.

  "Great job Moira! I'll see to it C-Sec gets you accommodated for this," the lieutenant said while clapping her on the shoulder jovially.

  "Just make sure they foot the bill for any up'n-coming arthritis medication," Moira added with a light scoff as she clenched and unclenched her fingers to work the strength

  back into them. While Bailey walked around her desk and came to a stand in front of the wall screen, Moira and Chellick stood up from their own seats and walked over to

  either side of him.

  "Alright Capitaine Sydow, time to see just what kind of a person you were," Chellick stated smoothly as he folded his arms in anticipation, pronouncing Sydow's rank with

  a surprisingly convincing French accent.

  By now Sydow's name and rank had finished downloading into view, but while the three awaited the rest of the dossier they already started to notice that something was

  wrong with it.

  No picture was coming up, no legible date of birth appeared within its designated area, no description.

  …No history could be seen.

  "Oh no…" Moira uttered out, her face dropping as the entirety of the file unfurled across the screen. All of the information was still there in front of them, each piece

  digitalizing one after the other into the brand new pages of the of the folder, but it was completely unintelligible.

  Other then the mystery Captain's name and designation, all of the words and sentences had been replaced by sequences of numbered computer-code to make up for the

  corrupted text that had initiated the Erosion warning in the first place!

  "Is this it? Where's the information?!" Chellick asked after a moment of awkward silence had passed, allowing the weight of this disappointing outcome to sink in.

  "I was afraid this would happen. My copy trick was able to get everything out of Sydow's original file, but the degradation in the text was too much for the computer to

  reconstruct. It basically translated everything it recognized into its own software dialect," Moira answered.

  "So that means we can still decode it to find out what was written?" Chellick asked, unable to hide some of the hopeful enthusiasm in his voice. Placing her hands on her

  hips, Moira bobbed her head from side to side, half shaking half nodding with a scrunched up face of dramatic uncertainty.

  "Think you could do it Moira?" Bailey asked after looking to her out of the corner of his eye.

  "I could decode all of that if I had three or four free days to work on it, plus a shopping list of equipment I'd need to hook up to the Academy's archive drives," Moira

  finally summed up with an arching of her mouth and a cocked eyebrow.

  "Then get your list together and send it in to the Requisitions Office upstairs, I'll cover the fees…" Bailey began to her quickly, hoping that they would be able to get the

  tools she needed within the day and maintain the momentum they had built up around this investigation.

  However before he could speak any further a Turian voice rose above the usual ambient noises that drifted around the office from the dozens of other C-Sec agents

  surrounding the trio, a voice that was directed at them specifically.

  "Lieutenant Bailey!" The young Turian agent that had spoken to Bailey earlier in the interrogation room housing Steve Irwin called across the labyrinth of desks, hastily

  making his way over towards the older Human while bumping into or brushing past any other people in his way.

  "Lieutenant sir. You remember those four Turian suspects we arrested at that Med Clinic in the Upper Wards? They just offered to give us information on their employer in

  exchange for a bargain," the agent explained while out of breath after he rushed over toward the trio and snapped off a hasty salute.

  "We're in the middle of our own investigation here officer, you'll have to find someone else to negotiate with them," said Bailey after gesturing up to the wall screen.

  However though the winded agent quickly shook his head.

  "You don't understand sir, they asked for both you and Lieutenant Chellick by name. They said it was a matter of life and death, and that their offer was only going to be

  on the table for the next few minutes unless you two came to see them in person!"

  Bailey and Chellick turned to the agent with grave looks on their faces, both officers glancing at each other for a second before Chellick gave a conceding nod.

  "Moira, lock down your terminal. You're coming with us on this one," Bailey ordered over his shoulder before he quickly reached toward his desk, snatching up Alexandre

  Henri's flintlock as he began following the Turian agent out of the office.

  "I-I am?" Moira blurted out after him in surprise, even as she eagerly spun around and imputed a code into her keyboard that shut down her terminal and the wall screen,

  all of that being done from an upside down perspective while reaching far over her desk.

  "Welcome to the team partner," Chellick stated with a smirk before he and Moira ran after Bailey and the other man.

  The Xenomorph quietly sagged to one side as the Predator-Killer lowered it from his shoulder into the large oval cryo-freezing pod that had been built specifically to house

  it. Upon ensuring that the creature was still sedated and not faking its current condition, the Predator reached down and tapped the activation button located on the rim of

  the pod. Two heavy curved doors on either side of the coffin-like capsule slid up from the floor and sealed together with a heavy thud, locking the Alien inside before its

  cryogenic sequencing came to life, thus placing the creature into a deep…and cold…hibernation.

  Seeing that their prize was secure for the long journey ahead the Predator sharply turned from the pod and marched out of the Tel'Tak's large aft cargo bay leaving behind

  Anubis, the singular Horus-Guard, both Serpent Guards, and the three Sardaukar to act as security for the Xenomorph.

  The whole interior of the Goa'uld cargo-ship was very dimly lit, its various lights reflecting a faded orange off its black marble floors and golden walls that bore thousands

  of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics across their surfaces. The dim illumination was a result of the ship operating at minimal power and its engines running cool, with most of

  the energy being supplied to the vessel's cloaking device and to partial life support only, in order to further conceal its presence from the Citadel's sensors.

  While the black door for the makeshift prison chamber slid closed behind the Yautja-Hunter after he stepped into the ship's spacious cockpit, Torrvk turned around to the

  narrow windshield that crescented across the hull near the nose of the Tel'Tak's bow.

  Behind him the squad of Stormtroopers began taking up a guarding formation around the door to the cargo bay, while off to the side the two barefaced Jaffa were sealing

  the starboard airlock after reeling in the mobile ramp the team had used to board the ship with.

  Allowing himself an evil grin as the pair of Goa'uld warriors crossed over and quickly sat in the two pilot seats set up in front of the flight consoles spread out just under

  th
e windshield, Torrvk placed both hands on the gold and black triangular island positioned in the center of the room a few feet behind them, craning his neck to see

  through the slanted glass to the endless Nebula swirling out in front of the ship's line-of-sight.

  Victory was almost within their grasp.

  "Do not allow yourself such satisfaction prematurely, we have not yet completed our escape," rumbled the deep voice of the Serpent leader from off to the side, having

  pretty much read Torrvk's mind after noticing his gleeful expression. Scoffing in sardonic amusement the Turian traitor glanced over to his right as the large Serpent Guard

  came up beside him.

  By now the leader had removed his Cobra headpiece and left it leaning against the cockpit's bulkhead next to his discarded staff-weapon. While standing next to the Turian

  in the remainder of his Jaffa armour with his hands clasped firmly behind his back, Torrvk was able to make out the tall Guard's revealed facial features despite the sparse

  lighting engulfing them.

  The man was dark skinned all over with a large bald head and a very strong wide jaw. His lips were full and his nose evenly broad, while his black eyebrows were thin and

  trimmed. Up above those, positioned directly in the center of his forehead was the familiar symbol of Apophis, looking very nearly identical to the black tattoos branded

  onto the foreheads of the Tel'Tak's two front pilots.

  Except this man's brand was special, his being made of pure gold raised upon the surface of his skin!

  This shining brand was a clear indication of the rank this man held. He was, or at least had been at one time in his life, the First Prime to Lord Apophis himself.

  As Torrvk observed every detail in the Jaffa standing next to him, he also noticed one striking feature that he had seen many times on the thousands of warriors he'd met

  during his months of training within Viraden's secret fortress.

  The First Prime's eyes were a deep gold colour, almost as gold as the brand that adorned his forehead!

  Both his irises were of this unusual colour, surrounding the black of his pupil perfectly like he had been born naturally with them. And to top it all off, as if to add to the

  already eerie effect this colour created, the gold of these eyes seemed to be giving off a faint glow that lightly shined outward in the darkness of the Tel'Tak's interior.

  (And made him look like a freakin' vampire in the process!)

  "My lord. Our sensors detect multiple gunship-class vessels moving fast toward this location!" one of the Jaffa pilots suddenly called back to the First Prime. Snapping his

  head away from the Serpent Leader, Torrvk craned his neck again to see out through the windshield in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the mentioned ships.

  Within seconds he saw them, four sleek black hulls belonging to A-61 Mantises rising over the top of the Presidium Ring before diving down below the underside of the

  Citadel Tower, jet-streaking through the misty clouds of the Serpent Nebula at high speeds on a direct heading for their position.

  With a sneer of contempt Torrvk turned back to the First Prime, sharply jabbing a talon at the approaching wing of fighting ships.

  "I warned you Citadel Security would investigate!" he spat angrily. But to Torrvk's surprise the gold glowing eyed Jaffa merely regarded the Turian with a cold glance before

  cocking one of his thin eyebrows, his chiseled features remaining firmly set without the slightest show of concern.

  "Indeed," he stated flatly before turning his gaze back to the windshield.

  "Bring the engines to half thrust, keep all other ship functions operating at minimum power. We shall glide past them un-noticed before setting a course for the carrier

  itself," the First Prime ordered up to the front, cutting Torrvk off before he could take the opportunity to make another outburst. The pilots immediately complied, tapping

  a series of codes into their consoles before the Jaffa on the right placed both his hands on either side of the glowing red control sphere that extended out toward his

  abdomen, the sphere acting as the Goa'uld version of a steering system.

  At his touch the Tel'Tak shifted, its marble deck slanting slightly to the left as the pilots maneuvered the cargo-ship in that direction away from the rectangular hole gaping

  in the side of the Citadel's gargantuan hull. Everyone in the cockpit who was standing, aside from the First Prime and the Predator-Killer who was leaning against one of

  the bulkheads with his arms crossed, had to grab hold or brace themselves against something to keep their balance.

  While the First Prime miraculously maintained his footing against the continuing movement of the ship, all with his hands still placed comfortably behind his back, Torrvk

  had to firmly grab both sides of the central island to keep himself from staggering over.

  After weightlessly drifting several dozen meters away from the Presidium's hull, the pilot brought them to a sudden stop and leveled the Tel'Tak out, allowing Torrvk and

  the Stormtroopers a chance to regain themselves.

  Directly ahead the four C-Sec Mantises had just flown to within shooting distance of them, each of their twin-engines screaming as they continued blazing on their

  intended flight-path, none of them slowing down or giving any indications that they had detected the cargo-ship.

  With a masterful manipulation of the controls the Jaffa pilots gently began gliding the ship forward, pushing the cloaked vessel across the endless void of clouds at a slow

  cruising speed, aiming the sharp nose of her bow straight at the oncoming gunships!

  Torrvk clenched his jaw as they floated closer and closer to the speeding wedge of vehicles, his hands tightening in anticipation, expecting at any second for the ships to

  unload a salvo of missiles upon them.

  For what was only seconds in real-time by felt like hours, the two forces continued to approach one another, causing the Turian to grind his teeth in restless frustration for

  the inevitable outcome.

  Finally though, preceded by a tense last-second intake of breath, the Tel'Tak easily skimmed underneath the bellies of the four screeching craft as they shot over them,

  the quartet narrowly passing their invisible hull in under a second. The wake generated by the wing's rough passage made the ship shudder violently for a brief moment,

  causing everyone including the First Prime to glance up at the ceiling expecting something to give way on them!

  But nothing did, and soon with another manipulation of the controls the pilots were bringing the Tel'Tak's engines up to full power, soaring further out before pulling the ship

  into a heavy climb through the negative space in-between the inside of the Presidium Ring and the Citadel Tower, shooting them up through the Nebula clouds on a

  speeding trajectory toward Widow's Mass Relay.

  Within moments they were completely in the open, flying out of the vast encompassment of the five Station Arms in full view for C-Sec or any of the dozens of ships

  floating about the Citadel to see, and yet remaining invisible to both their sensors or any random eyes that may have been glancing out of windows at this very moment.

  The knowledge of this assured camouflage and anonymity gave Torrvk a deep sense of security, allowing him to blow out a relieved breath and relax his tense body. The

  First Prime however stayed rooted to the spot, his large muscles and posture remaining just as rigid as they had the moment he had stepped onto the ship.

  "I believe now would be an appropriate time to deliver our little parting gift to the Citadel, and dispose of any major evidence that would inform the Council of what truly

  happened here today," Torrvk suggested shortly over to him before turning back to look out through the windshield, which was now starting to show sections of the Mass

  Relay poking through the swi
rling purple-ish mists far up ahead of them.

  Cocking his eyebrow again in a sort of silent agreement, the First Prime brought one of his hands from behind his back to the piece of plated chest armour that covered

  his pectoral region all the way down to his waist. Slipping this said hand underneath the chest-plate, the gold-eyed Jaffa pulled out a small black cylinder barely any bigger

  than his palm.

  Built into the top of it was a barely noticeable button.

  The Jaffa's thumb rose above the button and made to press it. But before he did however he hesitated, his features taking on a very subtle expression of indecision. It

  must have been Torrvk's imagination, but from his perspective it even looked as though the First Prime were suffering from a momentary attack of…doubt.

  Without a word the Jaffa turned his head to the side so that his eye could look over his shoulder back to the squad of Stormtroopers behind him.

  "What of the survivors? How much longer do they have?" he asked to the leader of the squad. Glancing down at his chronometer again, the Storm Commander looked

  back up immediately.

  "Their internal capsules will break within the minute," the trooper reported. Just as the First Prime was opening his mouth to say something else, Torrvk interrupted by

  reaching out his hand and wrapping it around the fist in which the man held the device.

  "Then may Lord Viraden have mercy upon their souls," he quoted coldly, mashing his thumb talon down onto the cylinder's button before the Jaffa had a chance to stop

  him.

  Citadel Control, this is Mantis Wing Bravo-9. We have reached the specified coordinates," reported a Turian agent in a radio-garbled voice, who at this moment was

  piloting one of the Mantis gunships that had been ordered to investigate the breach in the station's hull. All four gunships that had been sent here had come to an abrupt

  hover around the rectangular hole, with three of them positioning themselves at different vantage points a fair distance back from it. The fourth Mantis operated by the

  Turian was the one to take point, slowly maneuvering closer toward the Presidium's shiny silver plating until he and his co-pilot could look through the canopy of their