“Bien sur,” he responded, purposefully not revealing what that was as he followed her bounty hunters into the hallway.
The engineering section of the TGFS Intrepid was a massive section of the ship. It sprawled over two levels and took up about forty percent of the space in each of those levels, expanding to the point where it even surrounded the security stationhouse. Unlike the rest of the ship, there was no streamlined or futuristic feel to the engineering section. Rather than being made of molded plastic or metal, the corridor walls were a mix of different colored pipes, some with nozzles, vents or control pads, tight bundles of electrical and communications cable, and every fifty feet or so a fire hydrant that could blast fire suppressive foam onto electrical systems without shorting them out. Pale yellow lights attached to the ceiling that felt claustrophobically close to their heads cast the corridor in a sickly, shadowy sheen.
“Which way?” Vosler demanded as they stepped into the hallway.
Lafayette jerked his head to the left. Going to the right would take them past the water purification tanks and then the main entrance to engineering where all the guards would be posted. Heading down the corridor, they passed doors for Sensor Relay & Alignment, Communications Sub-Systems, Plasma Cannon Tracking & Targeting, and Sublight Engine Control. None of the rooms were occupied and all were protected with security fingerprint and retina challenges. The hallway was equally deserted and terminated in a hatch that was labeled SUBLIGHT FUEL EXCHANGERS.
Lafayette was about to ask Minerva for assistance in opening it when Fix pushed a button on the control pad to the right of the hatch and it slid open. The room they stepped into was larger with huge metallic cylinders connected to large steel pipes that ran into the walls on their left and right.
“Hold your fire in here,” Lafayette hissed quickly. “Those are fuel tanks. We don’t want a stray shot hitting one of those or we’ll all be in deep shit.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a technician appeared from around one of the large fuel tanks and eyed them curiously. He was wearing a lab coat and had thick black glasses. Lafayette sensed one of Petrova’s men getting ready to attack despite his warning and knew that he had to do something.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Lafayette demanded of the scientist.
The scientist looked confused. “Checking the intermix ratios,” he responded. “It has to be done every eight hours when we aren’t at FTL.”
Remembering all the times that Jennings had dressed him down both in the service and as the first mate on his ship, Lafayette adopted the air of an annoyed superior officer and demanded, “Did you not notice the alarms and red lights flashing, son?”
“Yeah, but I…” the technician’s voice trailed off, before he murmured, “I thought it was a drill.”
“It’s no drill,” Lafayette said. “If you don’t want to end up caught in the middle of a gun battle, why don’t you get the hell out of here?”
“Yes, sir,” he responded as he then hurried away, headed back the way they had come.
“Fast thinking,” Petrova said. “Shooting him vould have been easier though.”
“And if you missed and hit the fuel tanks?” Lafayette demanded.
Petrova smiled. “I don’t miss,” she said.
They headed through another hatch and into another long, cramped corridor, passing by locked doors for Temperature Control, Water Distribution, Power Consumption, and Recycling Plant. The corridor curved around a gigantic steel bulge that appeared to be a vast water reservoir, and as they rounded the corner, they saw that their hallway along with several others terminated in an open area that was being guarded by two TGF soldiers. They stood in front of a large steel door that seemed to be made of two pieces connected along a vertical line in the center and that was at least twenty feet wide. Lafayette recognized them as blast doors, doors that were large enough to keep radiation, fire, explosions, and even vacuum confined to the room that lay beyond. They had at last arrived at the main engineering section.
The two guards straightened and tightened their grip on their weapons as Lafayette’s group approached, but Lafayette tried to disarm them with a gruff, “Anything?”
The two guards exchanged glances and one replied, “All quiet.” They did not lower their weapons.
“What’s your business in engineering?” the second demanded.
Lafayette did his best to give him an incredulous stare. “We were ordered her as back-up,” he replied.
The rest of Petrova’s men had crept up closer to the guards, although still trying to seem as innocuous as possible. One of the guards leveled his weapon in response, not buying the pretense that they were on the same side. “We weren’t notified of any reinforcements coming to the engine room,” he said. “Our last was that reinforcements were going to the entrance to engineering.”
The second guard also raised his weapon and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of you before.”
Vosler was the first to act, covering the distance between him and the first guard with amazing speed, kicking the guard’s rifle out of his hand and swinging his one good arm across the guard’s chest, knocking him to the ground. Another of Petrova’s men was on him in an instant and hit him with a lightning prod. Fix had gotten to the second guard before he could react and injected him with something that knocked him out immediately.
“Vhat is our escape route?” Petrova demanded again as the brief battle was over in a second.
“For the second time, I’m not telling you until the mission is done,” Lafayette answered.
Petrova scowled. “You don’t have to tell me vhat it is or show me your little schematic your pet NAI is feeding you,” she said. “I just need to know if it is in that room,” she nodded in the direction of the main engine room. “Or back the way we came.”
“It’s in there,” Lafayette said after a moment’s hesitation.
“Very vell,” she said. “Rodriguez and Mason vill take these two back to the vorkshop and lock them inside. Bring Ingarsson and Singh back vith you.” The two men left, carrying the bodies of the unconscious TGF guards. Petrova turned back to Lafayette and asked, “Do ve have any idea how many guards are in there?”
He checked his monitor. “There are fifteen lifesigns in there,” he responded. “Whether or not all are guards, I can’t say.”
Petrova turned back to her men and said, “Smokers.”
Half of Petrova’s men readied their plasma rifles and put on gas masks they had stolen from the stationhouse armory, while the others grabbed smoke grenades off their belts. “Remember, there may be civilians in here,” she said. “Ve should do vhat we can to minimize collateral damage so that ve don’t upset our new friends.” There was a smattering of laughter from the bounty hunters as the dour Russian turned to Lafayette and nodded.
“Minerva, do your thing, cherie,” he said as he too readied his weapon and pulled his shirt up over his mouth and nose.
There was a whirring sound as the lock in the center of the two sections of the door spun around and then the doors parted, retracting to the side. As soon as there was the smallest amount of open space in the door, Petrova’s men chucked their smoke grenades into the main engine room and then peeled back away from the door. There was a series of flashes and several loud bangs, followed by smoke drifting through the widening doorway.
Under the cover of the dense smog now permeating the engine room, the bounty hunters moved in, their rifles tracking and looking for targets. A hail of plasma fire greeted them and two men fell. The bounty hunters returned fire as Lafayette and Fix followed them into the room.
The main engine room was large and looked more like the bridge of a ship than what they had seen in engineering so far. It had a sleek feel to it as there was a small office in the center of the room encased in retractable glass windows- the chief engineer’s office- surrounded on all sides by rows of steel desks covered in tan plastic, with monitoring stations built into the desks themselves. The walls
to their left and right were covered with large screen monitors displaying diagnostics, oxygen usage, engine efficiency, fuel status, and dozens of other pieces of information on the Intrepid. Swivel chairs in front of them were bolted to the floor and were mostly unoccupied. The chief engineer’s office was empty as were most of the desks surrounding it. There were a dozen security guards scattered throughout the area, firing wildly in their direction, coughing uncontrollably, or trying to take cover.
With a brief burst of fire, Lafayette brought down one of the guards, before having to duck behind one of the desks as three guards popped up from behind a desk on the far side of the room and opened fire on him. The glass windows of the chief engineer’s office shattered and exploded as Fix and one of Petrova’s men returned fire, catching at least two of the security officers before they too took cover. Vosler was leading a group of bounty hunters down the right hand side of the room, occasionally trading fire with one of the security guards, but not slowing his advance. Lafayette looked to Fix, jerked his head indicating that they should go left, and slowly got up from behind his cover and started moving around the left hand side of the room.
They had quickly felled two more TGF personnel, and it looked like Vosler was having an equally successful time on his half of the room. The remaining TGF security squad positioned to the right of the chief engineer’s office offered to surrender, and Vosler accepted. On the left-hand side, a terrified technician raced out from behind one of the desks, headed straight forward Lafayette. He was not certain if he was making a run at the exit or was trying to attack him, but Fix decided it was best not to take any chances and threw a fist out into the technician’s face. The man crumpled to the ground hard.
Lafayette turned to compliment Fix, but saw Petrova over Fix’s shoulder aiming a pistol at him. He should have known it, he thought to himself. The Russian was always looking out for herself- there was no way he should have trusted her. She fired, and he felt the warm rush of plasma brush past his face. There was a sound of impact, a muffled cry and the sound of a man falling to the deck. Lafayette whirled around and saw the body of a fallen TGF soldier who had apparently been hiding behind a desk Lafayette had not yet cleared.
He turned back to Petrova, nodded, and said, “Merci, mademoiselle.”
Petrova eyed him coldly for a moment before answering, “Pojalsta.” She turned back to where Vosler stood on the other side of the room and called. “Report.”
“Five prisoners- two technicians and three soldiers,” he answered. “We got two men down.”
“We’ve got this tech too,” Lafayette said as four more men came into the room and caused a brief moment of raised weapons before everyone realized that they were the other four members of Petrova’s crew.
“Get the prisoners tied up and get the blast door closed,” Petrova said. “The shots vill bring the rest of security down on top of us any moment.” Her men started moving to carry out her orders, and she turned back to Lafayette, “You might ask your pet computer to scramble those lock codes so they can’t get the blast door open.”
“Not sure if she can keep them out forever, but I’m on it,” Lafayette answered. “Minerva?”
“One moment, monsieur,” she responded.
As quietly as he could, hoping that Petrova would not hear it, he added, “And the lift?”
“Locked down, ready for your use,” she replied.
“Now, let’s get on vith this,” Petrova interrupted. “I don’t vant to overstay our velcome.”
Lafayette nodded as he turned away from the closing blast door and looked at a small hallway that terminated in a steel pressure hatch that was opposite where he now stood. Walking in between the desks that had been blasted apart by weapons fire and stepping on shards of broken glass from the chief engineer’s office, he moved away from the scene of the battle and into the hallway, Fix following behind him. There was a small utility locker set into the wall next to the pressure door which Lafayette opened and then withdrew an atmosphere suit.
Petrova had been studying him with interest for a moment from across the room. “Vhat are you doing?” she demanded.
“Setting the bomb,” Lafayette responded.
“Out there?” Petrova said, stunned.
“Apparently,” Fix answered.
“Unless you have a couple of tons of explosives with you, we have to mount the bomb directly to the engine,” Lafayette explained as he pulled the space helmet on. “And that means taking a little walk.”
Petrova shook her head and muttered, “Better you than I.”
“Keep an eye on her,” Lafayette said to Fix under his breath as he extended a hand to the Scotsman.
Fix rapped knuckles with him, passed him the duffel bag full of explosives, and strode back into the main engine room. Lafayette turned and walked awkwardly to the hatch, his magnetic boots thumping loudly off the decking. He punched in a series of commands into a control panel and the door slid open, revealing a small chamber and another hatch directly in front of him, emblazoned with multiple warnings. Inside the chamber, there were several coiled tethers mounted on electric wall dispensers. Lafayette grabbed one and attached it to a loop on the atmosphere suit at the beltline after struggling with it for a moment. He then opened a small locker and grabbed a pair of bulky steel and plastic gloves that had a small hole in each palm and ran the entire length of his lower arm.
“Lafayette to Jennings,” he said into his comm.
“Go ahead,” came the captain’s reply.
“About to go for a walk,” Lafayette said. “How are things on your end? Did you get the girl?”
“Yes,” Jennings replied, his voice sounding a little strained. “But things have gotten more complicated.”
3
“Sir!” Colonel Maliq al-Ansari called across the bridge’s observation dome. “Sensors are showing weapons fire coming from the main engine room.”
General Dominic Ounimbango looked confused for a moment. “From the main engine room,” he repeated as he strode over to stand beside al-Ansari at the computer monitor he was staring at. “Don’t you mean the entrance to engineering?” he demanded.
“No sir,” al-Ansari confirmed. “Sensors confirmed weapons fire in the main engine room.”
“How the hell did they get there?” he roared. “Get me the commanding officer of the squadron guarding the engineering entrance.
“Corporal Drake,” came a voice over the comm a moment later.
“Corporal, what’s your status?” al-Ansari demanded.
“All quiet here,” Drake responded.
“Then can you explain why there is a firefight occurring in the main engine room right now?” Ounimbango demanded angrily.
“Sir?” Drake asked, surprised.
“Get down there and capture the intruders, corporal!” Ounimbango roared. “Or you’ll have latrine duty for the rest of your natural life!” He cut out the comm and turned to al-Ansari. “Get every available soldier into engineering now,” he ordered.
“General, we are stretched too thin as it is,” he replied. “Unless you want me to take men off the bridge or hangar details…”
“Dammit,” Ounimbango spat.
“There are a few men with Security Chief Jacobson, still trying to clear a path into the stationhouse,” he pointed out. “I could order them to engineering.”
“Do it,” Ounimbango agreed readily. “We’ve got to get this under control.”
Chapter 35
1
Michelle Williams raced through the hallway, headed back toward the lift, ignoring the stares of curiosity she received from the crewman who were still trying to get to their assigned locations in the event of a red alert. She bowled over one midshipman and barely got out an apology before she jumped up and started running again.
Matthew Jennings and Selena Beauregard raced behind her, the former bellowing, “Make a hole, people! Make a hole!”
The crewman parted to the side of the hallway, and they
at last caught up to Michelle just as she reached the lift and called for it. “Michelle, what the hell are you doing?” Jennings demanded.
“We have to get the rest of them,” she said.
“The rest of whom?” he followed.
“The other people taken as part of Operation Aurora,” she forced out quickly as she tried to catch her breath from the sprint. “They were never traitors or terrorists. They’re people that the Gael need to get home.”
“You’re not making any sense,” Jennings said loudly.
“Damn it, Matthew, they have children down there!” Michelle cried out as she grabbed him by the crisscrossing weapons bandoliers and shook him, nearly sobbing while stomping her foot angrily.
Jennings still looked confused, but he recognized the sense of urgency on her face. “Fine,” he said. “Lead the way. Tell me what the hell is happening.”
“Are you serious?” Beauregard demanded as the lift arrived and the doors opened.
There were two crewman inside. Jennings stared at them for half a moment before barking, “Security business. Take a hike.”
The two crewman hopped out of lift, and Jennings and Michelle got on. Beauregard waited for a moment and she met Jennings’ eyes. Shaking her head at herself, she looked down to the floor and strode onto the lift.
“I don’t know why the hell I’m doing this,” Beauregard muttered, but said nothing else.
“We need to go to the supply station,” Michelle said and pushed the button for it, immediately receiving a prompt for a password.
She turned to Jennings who immediately said, “Minerva?”
“Multi-tasking, captain,” she said. “Trying to avoid being caught, helping Monsieur Lafayette…”
“Please,” Michelle said.
A moment later, the password prompt vanished and the elevator was moving again. A combination of Minerva’s hacking ability and some well-placed lightning prods got them past the electronic security and the two soldiers who were guarding the supply depot of the Intrepid.
“It’s this way,” Michelle said, pointing down the corridor.
111 Souls (Infinite Universe) Page 34
