by Kal Spriggs
The guard he'd stabbed had gone still, either dead or unconscious from blood loss. Forrest tried not to think about whether the man had been a volunteer or forcibly brainwashed as he pulled off the guard's helmet and began stripping his gear.
"You three," he pointed at prisoners near the other downed guards, "change into the guard's uniforms. The same for anyone else who's a rough match."
There'd been no time to discuss a plan and Forrest didn't dare to tell anyone anyway, there was too much threat of an insider.
Even as he thought that, he looked around. Now would be the perfect time...
His eyes locked on one of the Shogunate prisoners. The man had started to edge down the corridor and as he saw Forrest's eyes lock on him, he turned to run. "Stop him!" Forrest shouted.
Two of his crew reacted, tackling the man to the ground. Forrest continued to strip the guard and then pulled on the guard's black uniform and body armor, then strapped on the helmet, even as his crewmen dragged the informant over. "Anyone know him?" Forrest focused on that problem instead of the warm, sticky blood that soaked his black pants.
"He's Subato," Kaigun Haro said, his voice subdued. "One of my men. They took him and returned him not long after we were taken prisoner."
"Reese uses some kind of mental conditioning," Forrest said. "Anyone here could be a potential informant or spy." As the others looked around at each other in sudden suspicion, Forrest went on, "our best bet is to keep everyone together. We have some of our group dressed as guards, we march everyone down to the hangar bay and right up the ramp onto a ship."
"What then?" Kaigun Haro asked.
"Then we blast out of here and go get help," Forrest replied.
"They may have exterior defenses, patrolling ships," one of the Centauri officers protested. "They could destroy us before we even know they're there!"
"They may," Forrest nodded, "but if we stay here, we'll all be processed. That's part of their plan, anyway, they want to break us down physically so they can program us to be their loyal subordinates." He saw many prisoners blanch at that. "We have an opportunity, we need to take it."
The others nodded and he saw several of Kaigun Haro's people start to strip the guards they'd downed.
Haro stepped close, "Even if we get a ship and get it unlocked," he said, "we'll still need to open hangar doors. Someone will need to do that... they may be left behind. Are you willing to do that?"
Forrest shook his head, "We all get out of here. I'm not leaving anyone behind."
"You may not have a choice," Haro growled. He pointed at the dead guard that Forrest had stripped, "That was Ikaro, he was one of my people. I let these koshinuke take him away. I didn't know better. Anyone who opens the hangar bay doors will have difficulty fighting their way to any ship we take. We don't have ship suits, how will they get to us?"
"We'll think of something," Forrest said. He wasn’t going to send any of his people on a suicide mission, especially not when capture meant being turned into a brainwashed thug for Reese.
He waited a moment more as some of their people dragged the bodies of the guards away, then he nodded at Kaigun Haro, "Let's get moving."
***
There seemed to be even less activity than usual in the hangar bay. Only one battered transport and the Widowmaker remained in the massive space. Forrest listened to the cryptic chatter on the stolen helmet's radio even as he gestured for the "prisoners" to line up in front of the Widowmaker.
Looks like this might work, he thought to himself. "Line up, start loading these boxes," Forrest barked out, even as he gestured to Lieutenant Elvis Medica and a cluster of his engineering personnel, "help to load it aboard ship."
Elvis gave him a nod of understanding. Once aboard ship, he and his people would start bringing systems online.
Forrest scanned the area as the other prisoners began to shift boxes. Haro walked up to him, "Incoming," he said, his voice tense.
Forrest bit back a curse as he saw an officer and a pair of guards headed their way. The tall, vulture-like officer had a scowl on his face.
"Just what do you think you're doing?!" the man demanded. Like the rest of Marius Giovanni's people, he didn't wear a nametag, but he had a Captain's rank on his uniform.
"Sir," Forrest said, hopeful that his voice would be muffled by the helmet, "I was ordered to have the prisoners begin loading crates onto this vessel, sir!"
"This vessel is not to be loaded. We need it for the upcoming attack on Kapteyn's Star!" the Captain barked. "Who is your superior officer?"
"He's aboard the vessel, directing where the cargo is to be stored, sir," Forrest replied, thinking quickly, "I can have him come out, Captain..."
"I'm Captain Tagg. Lead me to him at once!" the Captain replied.
"Sir," Forrest nodded sharply and spun on his heel. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Haro fall in behind the Captain's escort.
Forrest hadn't been aboard the ship yet, but he followed the train of personnel up out of sight and then gestured towards a side corridor, "Just down here, sir."
The officer frowned, almost as if he suspected something, yet he stepped past Forrest, stooping to look through the hatch. "I don't see..."
Forrest swung the butt of his rifle around and caught the officer in the side of the head, slamming him into the hatchway combing. As Captain Tagg dropped, Forrest lunged forward at the first escort, bringing the buttstock up and driving it into the man's sternum. The blow knocked the guard back and Forrest brought the rifle back around into the man's helmet and bounced the man's head off the bulkhead. As the guard tumbled down, a pair of prisoners swarmed over him.
Forrest looked over to see Haro cleaning blood off his knife, his escort down on the deck, blood sprayed everywhere from where he'd cut the man's throat. "What do we do?"
Forrest started pulling off his gear. "I think I'm the best match for this guy's uniform. I'll deflect any further questions."
"What if someone notices he's missing?" It was a Centauri officer who asked. Forrest had already begun to think of them as cowards and the nervous way the man stood reinforced that opinion. He’s been a prisoner for months, Forrest told himself, don’t judge him too harshly
"Then we start shooting," Forrest growled. "Look, I don't have all the answers, but we've got one opportunity to get out of here. Go outside, make sure things are still moving, and tell people to start slipping aboard, one at a time. I'm going to check out the bridge."
Haro had a stubborn look on his face, but he just gave Forrest a nod. "Oh," Forrest said, "go to channel..." he pulled the officer's comm unit off his belt and adjusted it, "Two-two-four. If something comes up, give me a call."
He checked for a pulse on Captain Tagg, even as he thought about what the officer had said about the eminent attack on Kapteyn’s Star. Damn, he thought as he found no pulse and saw the way the man's head flopped around, must have broken his neck. It would have been useful to learn what he'd meant about the attack timing.
Forrest waited until Haro left, then turned to one of the prisoners, "Which way to the bridge?"
***
"Hey boss," Lieutenant Medica said as Forrest came onto the bridge, "Nice duds."
Forrest looked down at the uniform, it hung off his frame and he could tell that he'd lost weight since their capture. "Thanks," Forrest said. He looked around the bridge, startled by the lack of positions. "This is the bridge?"
"Yeah," Lieutenant Medica nodded, "lots of automation here, I think most of the ship can be operated from the bridge, even a lot of the damage control systems."
"Huh," Forrest said. He'd heard that the Centauri Confederation made use of more robotics and automation than most ships, but he still had expected more crew positions, especially on a warship's bridge.
"Well," Forest said, "How are we looking?"
"I've started to bring the main systems online, but..."
"Sir," Petty Officer Chap Godbey looked up from the communications console, "I'm getting a trans
mission!"
Forrest moved over to the console and gestured for the others to move out of the way so they wouldn't be seen. "This is Captain Tagg," Forrest said.
A rating appeared, "Oh, uh, sorry sir. Captain Anoshav noted the Widowmaker's systems coming online. He didn't see that the vessel had any scheduled departure or activities."
"We're just running some systems maintenance in preparation for the attack," Forrest replied, keeping his face stern. "We're activating a variety of systems to run diagnostics. You may see some further activity, but we should be done in a couple hours at most."
"Very well, sir," the rating looked off the screen. "Uh, Captain Anoshav asks that you notify him of any further activities."
"Of course," Forrest said. "Tagg out." He cut the transmission and then straightened his uniform a bit, "Apparently Captain Tagg’s name carries some weight around here."
"That or else that rating had no clue who you were and decided to roll with it rather than risk getting in trouble," Lieutenant Medica said.
"Either way, how long to get everything up?" Forrest asked.
"An hour would be plenty of time," Lieutenant Medica said. "But we got two problems."
Of course, Forrest thought, "Go on."
"One, the hangar bay doors. We could try to blast them, but in the hangar bay's atmosphere, we really risk some kind of shockwave that could damage the ship, not to mention the risks of bringing part of the ceiling down on us. There should be controls for the hangar bay at their landing control, but we'll have to send someone to unlock it."
That sounded just like what Haro had said. Forrest nodded in reply, "Okay, what else?"
"They've got a mechanical lockdown system in place," Elvis said, "I'll need to cut power to the lockdown in order to release the ship." He brought up a schematic on the main display and Forrest frowned as he saw the large clamps that held the Widowmaker's landing gear in place. "Where do we cut power?"
"It's got to be one of the main power breakers at the far end of the hangar," Lieutenant Medica said. "I can go..."
"No," Forrest shook his head, "you're needed here." He chewed his lip, "Okay, I'll deal with the hangar bay doors, we'll send Haro and his people for the mechanical interlock.
"Skipper," Lieutenant Medica began, "If you go for the hangar bay doors, you won't be able to get back..."
"I'm in charge, it's my responsibility," Forrest said. He headed for the door, "Get this ship ready to fly, Lieutenant."
***
As Forrest came down the ramp, he saw that something was wrong. There weren't enough of the "guards" present. He looked around and then started to swear, even as he brought up his stolen comm unit, "Kaigun Haro, where are you?"
"Headed for the hangar bay landing control, with my surviving people," the Shogunate officer replied calmly. "We will get the hangar doors open."
"Damn it," Forrest hissed, "I'm the one in charge of this operation..."
"I am senior in rank," Kaigun Haro replied, "and they have brainwashed more of my people. I warned you that it would not be your choice. Make my sacrifice worthwhile."
"Dammit, Haro, we need to shut down power to their lockdown system, too," Forrest said. "As soon as we do one or the other, they'll realize that there's a problem."
"You should see to that, then," Haro replied. "We will be in position soon. Kaigun Chusa Haro out."
Forrest bit back another curse and turned to a couple of his people, Petty Officer Richard Cartwright and Corporal Lin Wicklund, both of them dressed as guards. "You two, come with me." The far end of the hangar was at least five hundred meters distant. He started off at a light jog, one hand on the holstered pistol as he hurried towards the far end of the hangar. "Lieutenant Medica, change of plan, I'm headed to the breakers and I need you to tell me what to do when I get there."
"Uh, sure thing, Skipper," came the response.
Forrest went past several other personnel, but either his apparent rank, the intent look on his face, or the two armed guards following behind him dissuaded any questions. As he came to the end of the bay, he noticed a fenced area with cautionary signs. "Alright, I'm here." Forrest gasped.
A moment later, he heard what sounded like distant gunfire. Apparently Haro had reached the hangar's landing control.
"There should be a set of large switches," Lieutenant Medica said. "You need to find the one labeled Alpha Six and flip it. Don't flip any of the others, you cold trip the power for the doors or something."
"There's a fence and it's locked," Forrest said.
"Uh, I can't really do anything about that from here..."
"Excuse me, sir," A tech rating walked in their direction, "the power distribution area is off-limits." The man held a comm link in one hand, but his other hand was close to his holstered pistol.
"I'm doing a security inspection," Forrest snapped, just as he heard more distant gunfire.
The technician looked in that direction, then back at Forrest. He saw the tech's eyes go wide as he noticed how the uniform didn't fit him properly. Shit, Forrest thought, even as he started to draw his pistol.
"Intruders in Hangar Five!" The tech shouted into his comm unit, "Intruders in--"
Forrest shot him. On the catwalk above he saw several guards start to turn and he brought his pistol up and fired. He aimed low on them, punching the bullets through the open grate decking and up under the guards’ body armor. Both men fell, but Forrest heard gunfire from off to the side.
Corporal Wicklund started to return fire with her rifle and Forrest hurried over to the downed technician. He yanked a lanyard of keys off the man's belt and hurried to the locked gate. He fumbled through the first set of keys, then the second, even as he heard more gunfire.
The lock came open and Forrest rushed over to the panels. The big, heavy switches all had labels and Forrest searched frantically for the right one.
He found it and yanked downwards and then heard a loud pop as the circuit disengaged.
"That's done it," Lieutenant Medica shouted over his comm.
"Lieutenant Commander Perkins," Haro rasped over the comm. "We've secured the hangar landing control. I won't be able to hold out for long, I'll give you two minutes to get aboard and go and then I'll open both hangar doors."
That would depressurize the entire hangar, Forrest knew, along with any sections of the base that didn't have automatic doors or people standing by to secure them.
Forrest turned and ran, waving as his people to follow.
Down the length of the hangar bay he could see prisoners scrambling aboard. We're going to make it, he thought.
Just then a half dozen guards came running out from the side hatch. One of them opened fire and Corporal Wicklund stumbled and went down. Forrest dove to the ground and snatched up the fallen woman’s rifle.
He fired first, scything rounds into the two men and then firing at the other four as they rushed through the open hatch. Three of them fell, but the fourth had returned fire and bullets bounced and whined across the hangar, striking equipment and thudding into people.
As Forrest fumbled to reload, he heard more shots from behind him and additional shouts and screams. He gave up on the rifle and drew his pistol, firing off hand as he rose to his feet. Petty Officer Cartwright fired as well, and one of them must have hit the last guard, for he dropped soundlessly.
Forest hoisted Corporal Wicklund over his shoulder and he and Petty Officer Cartwright rushed towards the Widowmaker. As they stumbled up the ramp, one of the waiting prisoners flipped the switch and the ramp went up. "See to her!" Forrest shouted as he passed off the wounded Marine and raced for the bridge.
The Widowmaker wasn't a large vessel, so Forrest made it to the bridge in only a few minutes. "Status?" He asked.
Elvis gestured at the open doors and the gleaming stars beyond. "Haro got the door open, Skipper. Thrusters are online, weapons are online, and drive is coming up."
"Alright!" Forrest hurried to the command chair. He brought up the control
s and took a moment to familiarize himself with them. "Any word from our hosts?"
"No," Elvis looked at his console for confirmation, "and call me crazy, but that has me worried."
Me too, Forrest thought. But he didn't say that aloud. Right now his people needed hope. Forrest focused on the maneuvering thrusters. He brought the ship up and then forward, taking it through the open hangar-bay doors and out.
Petty Officer Godbey worked at the sensors and Forrest concentrated on flying, "Where are we?" He asked.
"Uh..." Godbey checked his display, "The 737A36 system, we're still in the same system!"
This was the same system that the bastards had ambushed the Bowie, Forrest realized. "Some kind of mining base?" he asked.
"Maybe," Petty Officer Godbey brought up a visual from the rear. Forrest saw the hangar doors withdrawing, but the surface looked rocky and pitted. He zoomed out and Forrest could see that the base was in a rocky chunk of debris in orbit around the gas giant. He saw no other outward signs of the facility
"What else is out here?" Forrest asked.
"I'm seeing lots of contacts," Petty Officer Godbey replied. "Range is long, there's a lot of traffic and..." He looked up, "We're being hailed."
"Bring it up on the main display," Forrest said.
"Ah," Marius Giovanni nodded at him. "I must say, the uniform does look good on you."
Forrest flushed as he realized that he still wore the Nova Roma Imperial Fleet uniform. "Well, it's the last time I'll be wearing it, so… if that's all you have to say?"
"No doubt you've some exciting plan of going out and warning others about our plan to attack the Kapteyn's Star blockade and to give the location of my base," Marius smirked. "Before you do that, let me remind you that I have tremendous resources... that you will not be able to stop this. Your efforts will only put United Colonies personnel in harm’s way... put my daughter in harm’s way. I ask that you power down and surrender."
