Chapter 19
"This is a horrible idea," Gabel grumbled as he punched in the door code. He looked up at Tilyer as if he wanted to say something more but shook his head, turning back toward the door lock. He hit the last digit and stood back as the blast doors hissed open.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Gabel whispered under his breath.
"So do I."
Tilyer didn't give the larger man a chance to respond as he stepped through the doorway and into the engine room. Inside, the din of thrumming engines reverberated around the compartment, filling the whole room with a low rumbling vibration that Tilyer could feel pulsating in his chest. The lights overhead cast a continual shade of red over the normally pristine white bulkhead, and the air laden with the smell of disinfectant left an uncomfortable tingling sensation on the inside of his nostrils.
He turned to the side, making his way over to the engineering station beside the door. The engineer on duty turned toward him, an obvious frown upon his face. "Hey, what are you doing here? You don't have clearance."
"We need an engineer up on the bridge. Are you the only one on duty?"
"Well of course," the engineer said in confusion, "but I don't understand. Why wasn't I informed that there was any emergency?""
"Check your console. The information should be there."
The engineer shook his head as he turned in his chair toward the console. He hit the communications tab, squinting down at the display. "No, I don't see it. You—"
He stopped mid sentence as the stun bolt from Tilyer's blaster caught him in the back of the head. He went limp, slumping forward over the console as consciousness fled his body.
Tilyer holstered the blaster and plucked his commlink from his breast pocket. "Okay Gabel," he said into the device, "It's done. Get in here."
The large technician moved into the engine room, casting a worried glance around the chamber before moving to the engineering station.
Tilyer moved the unconscious engineer from his seat and sprawled him on the floor, then gestured for Gabel to take his place. "Have a seat."
Gabel gave the engineer a sad look but dutifully slipped into the chair.
"Okay," Tilyer said, coming up behind the larger man to rest his hands on his shoulders, "you know what to do, right?"
"Well, I think so. I mean, I looked at the schematics and all, but I'm not sure about this . . . "
"You'll do fine Gabel," Tilyer reassured him. "Now, are we ready to do this?"
Gabel sighed and nodded, "Yeah."
"Good." Tilyer picked up his commlink once more and cycled through to the proper channel. "Linia, you there?"
Her voice cracked through, "I read you."
"We're in position here. It's your turn."
"Understood," she said evenly. There was a click, and then the connection went dead.
Linia lowered the commlink and took a steadying breath, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.
"What was that about?"
Linia opened her eyes and looked down several stations to where Ensign Curtis Luwall sat regarding her curiously.
She blinked a several times as if trying to focus her eyes. "Just the engine room checking in."
"You don't look so hot. You okay?" he asked with genuine concern.
Linia nodded, forcing a tired smile onto her face. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just tired." She stood, placing her commlink onto the console before her. "I'm going to go get a cup of caf. Can you hold things down here until I get back?"
The young officer nodded and gave her a wink, "Sure thing Linia. Take your time."
She nodded her thanks and turned, moving out the door and past the storm trooper stationed there. Once out in the hallway, she quickly crossed the short distance to the officer's lounge and hit the door release.
As expected, it was deserted at this time of night, but that was what she had been counting on. She approached the counter, but instead of accessing the caf brewer, she stooped, opening one of the lower cabinets. She reached past napkins, disposable plates, and a box of unused condiments until her hand touched upon the weapon Tilyer had hidden away the previous day.
As a bridge crewman, Linia wasn't cleared to bear a sidearm while on duty. As a pilot, however, Tilyer had access to the pilots' weapons lockers for use in case of a crash landing. Still, the locker was kept under lock and key for security reasons, but Tilyer had found another source. The impounded munitions the Enforcer had picked up in orbit around Malastare provided a good alternative. She didn't know how, and perhaps she was better off not knowing, but somehow he had been able to procure the weapon without anyone catching on. A momentary pang of doubt gripped her as her fist closed around the cold black metal, but she forced it down and headed out the door, hurrying back to the bridge.
As the bridge door opened once more, the stormtrooper stationed there didn't even move. He kept his eyes face-forward locked in his rigid pose even as Linia quietly stepped up behind him. She fluidly raised the blaster pistol in her hand and pressed it into the crease between the soldier's helmet and breast piece. Before he could move, she pulled the trigger. The azure burst of energy lanced into the base of his skull, and the trooper's body clattered to the ground like dead fish.
Ensign Luwall shot to his feet, looking back to where Linia stood, smoking blaster in hand. "What the—"
She cut him off with another blast aimed in his direction. Somehow he managed to dive to the side, and the wave of blue energy coursed by him, blasting into one of the bridge consoles. A shower of sparks from the ruined console cascaded over him as he foundered on the deck, knocking over several chairs in his frantic scramble for the master alarm. Linia strode forward, squeezing off two more shots at her fellow officer. The first blast caught him in the legs, pitching him forward onto the deck. He started to doggedly claw his way forward, but the second blast caught him full in the chest. His body shuddered and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he finally fell limp on the deck.
Linia took a shuddering breath as she calmly stepped over her fallen comrade and rightened the chair at her console. She cast one more glance at Luwall's unconscious body before picking up the commlink again. "Linia here," she said quietly. "Situation under control on my end."
It was a second or two before Tilyer's voice came back over the other side. "Understood. Initiating phase two. Stand by for further instructions."
od. Initiating phase two. Stand by for further instructions."
