TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE, MENTIONS OF DEATH, SUICIDE!
Blood steadily dripped down Romeo's arm as he ran into a closet next to the ladder. "Jarvis, are you with me?"
The British AI replied, "Yessir, I am here now."
Romeo said, "Seal this room. Quick!" Janitorial supplies were in the corner of the poorly-lit closet.
There was a click sound, and the British-accented computer replied, "The door is sealed."
Romeo breathed frantically as he ripped a well-hidden false panel away from the wall. With a pained grunt, he pulled the lever it concealed, and another section of the wall popped open nearby. A quiet buzzer clicked on and off unsettlingly. The fusion core produced an ambient rumbling sound that made the entire ship hum with a soft bassy note. The ambient hum almost muffled the buzzer entirely.
Inside the other hidden panel, there were several yellow and black striped warning labels and two odd screw-like apparatuses. He was in mind-numbing pain from pulling down the lever; tears flowed from his eyes as Romeo started unscrewing a bolt atop one of the screws. Once the pain subsided, Romeo read the header of one of the labels: FAILSAFE WARNING. "Jarvis, you know what's going on, right?"
"Yes, sir." Pause. "Catboy and his friends were kind enough to inform me."
"Good. Standby." Romeo quickly removed the first screw-like apparatus and stuck it in his pocket. "Okay, there. Unseal the door, Jarvis." Romeo held onto his arm but still couldn't stop the flow of blood from his wound.
The door clicked again, and Romeo opened it quickly. He walked down the hall briskly. "Jarvis? Thanks for being there for me all the time."
With a semi-optimistic tone, the British computer voice replied, "The honor is to serve, sir."
Romeo walked into a room with a metal desk, a nice chair, and a computer console. There was also a lamp and several kinds of tools scattered on the table. Romeo closed the door behind him, and he took a seat in the chair, he said, "Seal this door, too, Jarvis." He grunted in pain as he moved his injured arm in a way that sent a tinge of agony through his entire body.
"The door is sealed."
Romeo chuckled as he grabbed a hammer on the desk and took the first screw-like apparatus from his pocket. It was only partly metal; on the inside, there was glass with a thin metal ribbon stretching between the ends. In a theatrical whisper, Romeo said, "...and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" He chuckled halfheartedly and then cried out angrily when he used the hammer to smash the device, shattering the glass and destroying the delicate metal ribbon inside. He hit it again for good measure. He smiled. "Jarvis."
"Yes?"
Romeo threw the hammer across the room and asked, "How long until the positron cannon is completely charged?"
"16 minutes, 53 seconds. Be advised, the PJ Masks have just launched on an intercept course for this ship."
Romeo nodded. "Alright." He took a deep breath. "How long until we rendezvous with the PJ Masks?"
"The PJ Masks will intercept the Jenolan in 13 minutes, 52 seconds."
Romeo closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. "Fuck! I was afraid of that. Even Catboy can't stop all this that fast!" He took a breath and cradled his head with his uninjured arm. Shakily, Romeo said, "Jarvis, eject the other escape pod on deck two if it's empty... Nobody is leaving this ship..."
The ship rumbled, and Jarvis stoically replied, "I have jettisoned the escape pod, sir, but I don't like where this is going."
Romeo took a haggard breath and laughed. He whispered, "Computer." A beep acknowledged him. "Initiate the self-destruct sequence, authorization Romeo-pi-one-nine-zero." A single, quiet alarm buzzer responded.
Instead of Jarvis, a female computerized voice replied, "Identity confirmed. Danger! Disarming relay circuitry has been damaged. Option to abort destruct order is unavailable. Additional authorization is required to arm destruct order."
Jarvis chimed in and said, "I must remind you, now that you have destroyed that fuse, you have permanently disabled the circuits needed to disarm the sequence, sir. If you start it, the auto-destruct sequence cannot be canceled. As a result, you must enter the reserve-code to complete the self-destruct sequence. Are you sure you wish to do this?"
Romeo took a deep breath and typed on the computer console. "I've thought it through, Jarvis. There is no other way. If Roman is allowed to charge that positron cannon, millions will die." He sighed and leaned back in the chair; it had become so cold. Romeo struggled to keep his teeth from chattering. "Computer, the reserve-code is two-alpha-one-bravo."
The female computerized voice replied, "Reserve code confirmed." The lights in the hallway turned crimson red. "Self destruct sequence armed."
Romeo's teeth had begun to chatter now. "S-set destruct sequence for... for fifteen minutes and mute voice warnings." That seemed like enough time to prepare to die, right? Romeo took a deep breath and winced in pain. He whispered, "Engage." The computer beeped.
Ahoooga! An alarm klaxon sounded once, and the female computer voice said, "Warning! The self destruct sequence is now activated. Emergency override function is not available." A flashing red countdown timer appeared on the computer screen.
Chills ran down Romeo's neck as he listened to the alarm klaxon continue to bellow once more. His entire body went ice cold. Was it from the blood loss or because he had just committed suicide? He couldn't really tell... Although, there was a strange prickly feeling through his arms and legs that he was sure had something to do with the blood loss.
The female computer voice spoke once more, slowly this time. "Fusion core overload in fourteen minutes, fifty seconds. You now have fourteen minutes to abandon ship. There will be no further audio warnings." The alarm klaxon stopped, but the red lights in the hallway continued to flash ominously.
Romeo found himself feeling darkly amused; in the event of self-destructing the ship, he had always intended to be able to get out on one of the escape pods, which was why he included that warning feature. Fat load of good that did. After several seconds, Romeo tearfully said, "Jarvis? W-will you play that Mozart piece that I like? I might as well die with some nice music in the background..." He decided he didn't like that warning feature... He didn't need to be reminded that he was going to go down with his ship; it wasn't like he was going to just forget about it.
Jarvis replied, "Now playing Mozart Clarinet Quintet, K number 581, in the key of A, movement 1, Allegro." A clarinet began playing a lively tune. It was followed by various string instruments. Romeo struggled to slow his breathing; he was taking rapid, shallow breaths. His heart desperately pounded away in his chest, each beat steadily forcing more hot blood out of the wound on his arm.
The tension on Romeo's face faded slightly. His stomach still felt like a twisty-turny mess, and he could not pin down what emotion he was feeling. After a few moments, he said, "Thank you, Jarvis." He took several shallow breaths; everything around him seemed to be slowly fading. "I could just sleep..."
Through rapid, shallow breaths, Romeo gritted his teeth and said, "No! I can't die like that... Jarvis… Help me find my first aid kit. I have to stop… the bleeding… Gotta talk to the PJ Masks… I have to stay awake. I'm not going to die… like a coward, dammit."
For a minute, with Mozart playing in the background, Jarvis talked Romeo through the process of finding the first aid kit in a desk drawer and applying a hemostatic agent to the wound. Finally, the blood stopped dripping from his arm.
Romeo laughed when he saw that blood coated everything near him; there was a small puddle of it next to his chair, and his pants and shirt were ruined. "Ahh, it's almost like a murder scene in here." He laughed a bit harder when he realized, if the blood loss killed him first, it wouldbe a murder scene. He wasn't sure why he was laughing; everything was just so hazy, and his mind felt… Fuzzy.
Jarvis partly snapped him out of his hazy state. "Master, you mentioned the PJ Masks? Only eleven minutes are remaining in the autodestruct sequence."
Romeo laid back in his chair and willed himself to put his legs up on the desk; he needed to stay conscious. He had to keep the shock from all the blood loss from getting any worse. He replied, "Y-yes... Open a video channel to the PJ Masks, please... I have some things I want to tell them. Like, that they shouldn't approach this ship..."
"Opening channel. Standby."
As Jarvis worked, Romeo vaguely realized what emotions he was feeling in his belly. Regret, anger, and, above all, terror. The icy hand of death drew ever nearer. Not even Mozart could keep that fear at bay. After a moment, a glimmer of hope entered Romeo's heart. Ralphie, I'm coming home, buddy.
⁂⁂⁂
On the PJ Seeker, they were halfway into orbit when Gekko said, "What the heck?" There's a pause, and he says, "...Amaya, there's a strange radio message on one of the frequencies you have programmed in, listen."
He clicked play, and a slow alarm buzzer sound repeated over the speakers.
Owlette frowned from her controls. "He's initiated the emergency destruct sequence."
Catboy looked over from his chair. "Oh, no." PJ Robot also appeared distressed, babbling quickly.
Gekko sighed. "Aaaand... Looks like he's calling to tell us."
"Answer it," cried Owlette.
This is a work of fiction, remember that. There is never any reason that YOU should consider suicide!