by Marc Stevens
“We are waiting Troop Master.”
For reasons known only to the Tibor, he gave me a cheesy grin. He turned back to the door and activated the portal device in the spot Sael had indicated and got a good hole. Sael made elbow contact with him as she bulled her way into the portal. We piled in after her and got pop-up target warnings as soon as we cleared the portal. There were three Prule maintainers in the engine room. One was very close to our entry point. Klutch and Sael boosted into the Bio-machine before it could turn in our direction. There was a loud crash, and sparks went flying as the two started tearing the machine apart with their hooks. Tria and I went after the second target. We boosted across the open deck area and collided with the Prule smashing it into a large control panel. It tried to wrap me up in all its arms and kick at Tria as she went for its biomass vessel. I lopped off one of the arms pummeling me and twisted two more together before Tria drove her hook into the machine's biological think tank. It finally went still. I looked to where the last target was and saw that Coonts had engaged it. He was being gripped by two of the machine's arms and taking a bludgeoning from the rest. Klutch plowed into the flailing machine and wrenched its legs apart. He jammed his hook and arm up to his elbow in the machine’s guts. He ground it around until the Bio-machine went still.
Coonts rolled away from the machine. “I was doing just fine without your help.” He said indignantly to Klutch.
The Troop Master snickered. “How come you are the only member of the Grawl race dumb enough to try and mate with a Prule.”
Before the two could get into a full-blown argument I put a halt to it. “Knock it off you two!”
Sael was ignoring us all and busily inspecting instruments that lined a huge control panel. She then turned and disappeared back into the maze of machinery that comprised the star drives.
Not knowing exactly what she was doing or looking for, I finally asked. “Sael, what are you looking for?” When I didn’t get an answer, I quickly added. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
Sael finally walked back in our direction. I could tell she didn’t like what she found and was thinking hard about a possible solution. Either way, her silence was unwelcome.
“Principal Investigator, I need a sitrep!”
She finally looked up like she was noticing us for the first time. “Commander, for unknown reasons the Prule or one of my crew jettisoned one of the anti-matter fuel cells and left the other in place. The power transfer switches on the remaining cell are locked out and cannot be tampered with from here. Any attempts would lead to it being jettisoned as well. That leaves only two ways to restore power to the ship. Both involve going to the bridge.”
Her statement was in no way a confidence builder. Every minute that crept by was another that put us closer to wherever we were going. Unless we could better prepare ourselves for that eventuality, our final stand might be a short one.
“Sael, we need to have a plan of action and we need it yesterday. Fighting our way to the bridge could be a very nasty proposition. What are you thinking?”
Sael looked at me with determination in her eyes. “Tria was correct, we need to make our way to the armory.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration. I needed a little more than that. “Sael, we need to stop wasting time.”
“Commander, if the armory is still intact, we will rearm. From there we will reconnoiter by fire until we make it to the bridge deck. My cabin is just off the bridge and if we can gain access to it, I will have the means to override all the lockdowns the Prule or anyone else could have initiated. I can restore enough power to get the ship underway if necessary, but more importantly, activate the emergency anti-boarding protocols.”
Coonts knew what that entailed, but wanted Sael to spell it out for us. “So, your plan is to flood the ship with weaponized nanites?”
Sael turned and stared down at the over-muscled Grawl. “Yes.” She stated flatly.
Coonts slowly shook his head leaving us to wonder what Sael had overlooked. “Principal Investigator, I had serious reservations when you first mentioned your anti-boarding systems, but the Prule attack had me as the Commander might say, push them to the back burner. Now that you have confirmed my suspicions, I would like to point out a few facts while we are still upright and breathing. You do realize we are all wearing very unique armor. Unless the nanites were programmed to ignore armor such as ours, they may decide we are just another Bio-machine trying to take over the ship. While the battle suits we are wearing have contingencies to combat a nanite penetration, I would also like to point out we have sustained serious battle damage that might negate those fortifications.”
That gave Sael pause. She grimaced, and slowly rubbed at her faceplate with one of her hands. Then looked down at the Grawl. “Your point is duly noted, Engineer Coonts. I have to believe that the military scientists that designed the systems would take that into consideration. After all, there is a large amount of tech on the Fury that was reverse-engineered from your Oolaran designs and other discoveries.”
I gave Tria a questioning look but she just shook her head and gave me an Earth gesture that she had picked up from me. She shrugged her shoulders.
If Sael thought that would end the conversation, she was mistaken. Coonts crossed his arms and gave her a withering stare. “And as past experience has proven on more than one occasion if you are wrong, what then, Principal Investigator?” The sarcasm was evident in his retort.
Sael winced and turned away, but just as quickly turned back to Coonts and replied. “Then I apologize to you all in advance, and hope that if we meet in another life, that you do not hold a grudge.”
Coonts scrunched up his face for what I was sure would be a venomous reply. I had heard enough. “Troop Master! Take point, I’m sure you remember where the armory on this tub is!” I commed over the group net.
“Yes, Commander! Down two decks and the second hatch from the shuttle bay.” Klutch replied.
Sael commed us on the group channel. “The lift tubes are not far from here on your left side. We need to take the second one you come to.”
“Let’s get moving people, we have wasted enough time,” I called out.
Klutch went back to the blast door and looked over his shoulder at me. I nodded and he made a portal. We went through rapidly and boosted to a sidewall. The Troop Master took a knee and started scanning for targets and the location of the lift tube that Sael recommended. There were six at different locations on both sides of the large corridor.
“Commander,” Klutch said. “It’s about one hundred yards down the corridor with no cover. You should hold tight and cover me while I take a look.”
It made sense but I didn’t want him going alone. “Take Coonts with you for backup.”
“That won’t be necessary Commander, his incessant whining could alert the Prule we are making a move.”
My boot made solid contact with the Tibor’s armored ass. It was like kicking a fire hydrant. The noise it made might as well have been a cannon shot in the deathly quiet passage. “There! Now everyone knows we are coming. Get moving you two!”
Without further theatrics, they crouched and moved down the passage, staying close to the sidewall. As they neared the first lift tube they slowed even more and then stole a peek up and down the tube. I heard the Troop Master grumbling over his suit mic. He was wanting a grenade or two. It was wishful thinking, but after the firefight that got us this far, we were lucky to have our lives, let alone a spare grenade. They bent low and moved further down the tunnel. So far so good. Maybe we had killed all the Prule on board. I pinched my eyes shut and frowned. It was a bad omen every time I thought things were going our way. They made it to the second tube and took a knee. I could see their negative scan results in the corner of my HUD.
“All clear Commander,” Klutch called.
Tria, Sael, and I boosted to their location. “Commander,” Coonts said. “We are getting very little in the way of scan returns due to the sh
ielding built into the Fury’s hull. If there are still hostile forces on board, they will know this and use it to their advantage.”
Coonts wasn’t telling me anything that I hadn’t already figured out. I also knew that a drop tube was a death trap in an ambush situation. We could be taken under fire between decks with no place to go. Rather than point out the obvious, I would ask his opinion.
“If you have an alternate plan let’s hear it. We are burning a clock.”
“Commander, you Tria, and the Principal Investigator should set up at another drop tube and let Klutch and I make a feint down this one to see if the Prule are lying in wait for us.”
I looked over at Klutch and he was nodding in agreement. It was something he rarely did when it came to Coonts having a suggestion.
Sael leaned in close to me. “Coonts is correct. We have already made a large disturbance and this would be the most direct route to the armory. I don’t believe the Prule would leave it unguarded if it still contains weaponry.”
“Okay, I agree with you both. If I remember correctly, we can go to the forward lift tube on the right side of the passage and go down a deck.”
Sael took over from there. “Yes, then access a maintenance tunnel that will put us at the opposite end of the hangar deck. If there are Prule forces guarding the armory we should be to their rear.” She added.
I looked back at Coonts and Klutch. “If you start taking fire from the deck below us or the hangar deck, retreat back here, and wait until we engage the hostiles. Give them a minute while we get their full attention and then give it another go.”
I was hoping like hell none of this would be necessary, but not having a plan could prove to be fatal. I could tell that the Troop Master was sour grapes about me using the term retreat. I should have said fall back even though they meant the same thing. Tibor as a rule didn’t cotton to the idea of turning their backs to the enemy, regardless of how dire the circumstances might be. Klutch would gladly go to his death rather than not hold up to that tradition. Unless I gave him a direct order, he would see it as his duty to die while taking as many of our enemies with him as possible. It was time to get moving because the clock was still ticking on our unknown arrival time.
“I pointed at the two. “Give us ten minutes to get to the hangar deck before you move. If we run into trouble on the deck below us, come after us, but make sure of your targets before you use your beam weapons. Oh, and Klutch, I order you not to get killed, you got that?”
The Tibor gritted his teeth. Coonts thought it was funny and let slip a snicker. He lost all humor when Klutch jerked him around to face me. “Does that order include this Throgg?”
I drew back my boot and Klutch disappeared down the tube pulling Coonts along with him. Tria turned me around and gave me a lighthearted shove down the corridor without saying a word. Sael however, mumbled under her breath loud enough for me to hear her say the two fools would be the death of us all. I just shook my head and let it go. We have been fighting for our lives for more than fifty hours straight. If my two favorite stooges wanted to make light of the situation, I didn’t let it worry me. Sael had been on enough missions with us to know that by now, but still couldn’t let it slide. I hoped one day soon, she would finally dislodge the stick from her ass, and just go without a comment.
We boosted across the passage with our gravity drives and worked our way toward our target tube. I fully expected the Prule to jump out of the other tubes and light us up. I let my sphincter loosen up a couple of notches when it didn’t happen. We gathered at the tube and Tria put her back to mine and covered our rear. I leaned over the edge but pulled back when my audio pickups detected a faint transient noise.
Tria commed me. “I heard it too, but cannot say if it is enemy movement or the natural sounds of the ship.”
I looked to see what Sael thought and she shook her head negative. She decided to take a look herself, and see if it repeated. She leaned over the edge and jerked back so violently it knocked both Tria and me over. She still had her Kala Mor Dee reflexes and they may have saved her life. An energy blast struck the lip of the deck and blasted us out into the corridor. Tria and I were dazed, but Sael took the brunt of the blast and flying debris. She was lying in a heap twenty yards further to our rear and not moving. My HUD showed she was still alive, but her life signs were now flashing a yellow warning. She was unconscious and concussed. Her suit AI would treat her condition, but she was out of the fight until she regained consciousness.
To make matters worse the armored claws of a Hunter grasped the mangled edge of the deck and lifted its capsule-shaped dome over the rim. Its power whip came up to strike, but Tria saved me from the smashing blow by blocking it with her climbing hook. The whip severed and went flying. The Hunter let out a warbling screech that rattled against our armor. We were way too close to the damn thing to use our beam weapons but had no other weapons. I threw my arm up to take the shot but was sent flying when the Hunter blew apart. We were pelted with high-velocity pieces of its armor and appendages.
Tria and I found ourselves sprawled out on the deck not far from Sael’s prone body. We crawled to her and started dragging her back toward the engine spaces. My audio pickups had not reset or possibly my ears. I was also having trouble focusing my eyes. The lift tube was now a large gaping wreck and pieces of the Hunter were still glowing red and scattered about the deck.
The ringing in my head subsided enough for me to make out Coonts and Klutch hailing us. They were both frantically calling over our group net to check our fire, they were coming up out of the tube. Tria acknowledged their call and pulled me upright. I was still disoriented but seeing her pretty face pushed up against my helmet made me smile. What was going through my mind at the moment had nothing to do with being blown up.
“Not now darling, I could use a hot shower first,” I mumbled.
She barked a laugh and gave me a heart-warming smile. “He will be fine.” She commed back to my crewmates.
I looked around for Sael. She was on the deck beside me and now conscious. She was holding all four of her arms up to her charred helmet. Coonts and Klutch came up out of the demolished lift tube and took a knee beside us with their beam weapons up and ready.
“Commander, it might be a could idea to get moving. The Prule have a good idea where we are at.” The Troop Master said.
I shook the rest of the cobwebs from my brain. “I am good to go. Sael are you ready to move?”
I put my hand out to her, and to my surprise, she took it and pulled herself upright. “Yes, I think we should stick to our original plan. Although we were the ones to trigger the ambush and not the Troop Master and Coonts, it still worked perfectly.”
“I agree. Let’s go down one deck and try it again.” I said.
We made our way back to the crater that used to be the drop tube and Klutch went down first followed closely by Coonts. They called back. “Clear!”
Tria, Sael, and I went down to the deck below. The tube on this end did not fare much better than the topside. It now resembled a bulging blister. Coonts and Klutch went aft and Sael took the lead and went forward. I was not familiar enough with the ship to know which maintenance hatch could take us to the hangar deck. Sael would also know how to open it manually. My answer to problems like that would add more repair time to what will already be an extended period. I shook my head thinking, that would only happen if we managed to get out of here with the ship and our lives.
Sael led us to a narrow hallway. She gave it a quick scan and quickly moved down it. High up on the wall of the passage was a rectangular box. Sael reached up to the box and lifted the lid. She reached inside and extracted an inch thick three-foot-long bar. Moving to the end of the passage we found ourselves at a closed hatch. There was a hole in the bulkhead next to it. Sael inserted the bar into it and pushed it up and down like a jack handle. The door opened a little further with each cycle of the handle until the opening could accommodate our armored frames.
She took a careful peek inside and then turned back to us. “It is clear all the way to the hangar deck. The passage will be large enough for our armor to pass, but the diameter will not allow a Prule to enter it.”
My mind’s eye relived the scene of the Prule Hunter being blown out of the lift tube. The Bio-machine must have thought it was a safe bet crawling through such a tight hole. I blinked the image from my brain and held my tongue on the uncertainties making the rounds in my think tank.
Tria must have thought the same thing. She pulled me around and hugged me, then put her faceplate against mine and blew me a kiss. The human gesture always made her smile, as it was doing to me right at the moment. Sael just grimaced and got down on her hands and knees. After giving me one more frown, she inserted her torso into the tunnel. I kneeled down but decided to let Tria go next. I turned and gave her arm a playful tug to pull her in front of me. She would have none of it and returned the favor with a shove. I banged my helmet into Sael’s butt before she could wiggle her way any further into the passage. It elicited a not-so-friendly comment from the Principal Investigator.
“Do that again you primate, and I will insert this prybar where you keep your brains.”
Everybody was showing signs of stress, and Sael was no exception. When she was far enough into the narrow passage, I crawled in behind her and followed. This was not going to be a quiet process. Our armor was rubbing against almost every cable, line, or piece of machinery stuffed into the maintenance tunnel. If I were a betting man, the odds were leaning in our favor of tripping another ambush if the Prule were waiting anywhere near our exit point.
Tria decided I was lallygagging while exploring all the possibilities of our demise. I felt her repeatedly bump her helmet into my posterior. I crawled a little faster and the additional noise reflected my extra effort.
When my faster pace got me another bump, I could hold my tongue no longer. “Tria, if I go any faster, I am going to know what the Principal Investigator’s scat smells like.”