Scission: The Old-fashioned Way

Harper watched as Rommie closed the airlock.  He shivered even though his EVA suit was a warm room temperature.  It was like stepping into a horror show.  The lights came on and off in slow uneven pulses making their multiple shadows ebb in and out of existence.   The air smelt so foul he considered putting his helmet back on.  Greasy stains marred the floor in front of the airlock.  Probably from where Tyr had stacked the bodies before spacing them.

Rommie started off down the corridor heading aft. "We need to access the ships systems and bring it down, then go to the hanger bay where Beka and Tyr were last seen."

"Well Rom-babe, if we didn't know where they were they left us enough clues to follow. Look." Harper stopped by a prison cell, the first of three. A wall panel had been pulled from the wall beside the door and the door itself was opened and slightly askew.  Harper walked inside.  There was the same bad odour and a panel was peeled from the inside wall as well; wires, cables and circuit boards spilled out into a party-coloured mess on the floor.

He took one more scan around the room and this time noticed a black patch on the floor.  He bent and snatched it up.  Taking it out into the brighter light of the hall he recognized it as the lower part of the shirt Beka had been wearing.  He handed it to Rommie.

The avatar studied it for a few seconds.  "It is Beka's.  This upper edge was ripped and this edge was cut with a clean sharp knife.  The blood was smeared like it was used to clean a wound."  She flipped it over again, "interesting.  There are traces of Tyr's DNA and nanobots as well. Seems to be saliva. Hmm." She tossed it back to Harper.

"Yeck."  Holding as little of the fabric as he could he stuffed it into a pocket.  He looked up just in time to catch Rommie jumping into a vertical tube and disappearing. "Wait up."  He jumped in and slid down the ladder.  He landed beside Rommie, who stood arms crossed waiting for him.

Together they walked down the lower row of cells.  "This must be where Madam Prevor and Ambassador Orgo were held."  She approached the centre door and looked in through the window. "And here we have the new Commonwealth first public captive.'

Harper looked in beside her "Severin." He shook his head. "Why don't we leave him like Beka and Tyr did.  He'll only slow us down."

"I agree with you Harper, but Dylan won't.  He'd want him to go to trial."

"Yeah, yeah for the good of the Commonwealth."  He pulled a small panel pry bar out of one of his many pockets and expertly removed the panel from beside the door.  He surveyed the party-coloured tangle inside. "Now if I was an ugly gobliny alien from another universe what colour would I make my primary data-line?"  He tugged free a selection of colours.

Rommie turned and ran her hand over them then plucked out a thick grey cable. "That one."

"Yes, Mam'am."  He rewired a few things and then there was the click of the door release.

Rommie started to open the door.

"Wait, wait, wait.  Before you let Psychoboy out.  Let me try tapping into the ship." He pulled out a male data-port connector and his nano-welder from a thigh pocket, and soldered a connection. "Here goes nothing." He winced in preparation for pain.

There was nothing, not even a tingle.  He unplugged the connection and checked his soldering.

"Let me try."  Rommie took the cable from Harper and clutched in her fist. "The modulation of the signal may be outside the range of your data-port." 

Well it wasn't like he ever had the thrones to buy any upgrades. He watched the android.  She stared at her fist for what seemed like several minutes, and then suddenly looked up her eyes focussed on nothing.

Harper paced nervously, alternately checking the halls and Severin's cell.  Finally Rommie moved, tossing the cable away with a disgruntled sigh.

"What happened?"

"Nothing.  The ship's systems are even more decentralized than mine.  It would take even me too long to locate all the essential components to bring the ship completely down.  Plus I was being watched." Rommie set her force-lance to stun and handed it to Harper.

"So I guess we do this the old-fashioned way?"  The engineer took the weapon and bumped the settings up a notch.  Enough punch to stun an elephant. Well, if one existed

"The old-fashioned way."  Rommie stepped to the door and pushed it open while the engineer covered her.

Rommie leaned in to check the Dragon's state.  He grabbed her hand and tried to knock her off balance with one hand, the other sweeping her legs from under her.  She recovered quickly, leaping up into a fighting stance.

Harper followed the fight with his gun unable to get a bead on the Niet through the explosive exchange of blows.  He didn't have to wait long.  Severin hesitated over one dodge a nano too long and Rommie caught hold pinning him too the wall. Harper hit him square in the chest and the Dragon went limp.

"Nice one, Seamus."  Rommie hauled the tall long-limbed Nietzschean up onto her shoulders. "You know you could have made me bigger."  She huffed as she walked off easily carrying her awkward burden.

Harper shrugged.  "You're perfect Rommie.  Your size spoke to me."  He hastened after her.  "Besides you're based on the best of the service druids the Andromeda had to offer."

"Harper, the service druids are taller than me."

Rommie was still carrying the unconscious Nietzschean when they found the cargo bay.  Harper quickly scouted around analyzing the signs of weapons fire. There's nothing here Romdoll. Nadda, nein, 'nichego', ruyot, du'ht-"

"I've got your point on 'nothing'."  Rommie scanned the room. "Look."  She pointed to the access hatch on the ceiling.

It looked like it had been forced open then forced back into place. The avatar looked at it for a few seconds and then sighed.  "Sorry Dylan."  She dropped the Nietzschean.  "Looks like we go up." Without a backward glance she started to ascend the far wall.

Harper sheathed her force-lance and followed her.

When he climbed in beside her she said.  "I'm reading traces of Nietzschean pheromones and a faint DNA trail matching Beka's and Tyr's."

"Great first saliva, now pheromones. The Big Guy's got it all." Harper watched her crawl off, enjoying the view. 

They had just reached a 'y' juncture in the tunnel when the ship under them surged.  "That's just freak'n great.  They've started demolishing the XD's fleet.  While we're still in it!"