"Unfortunately, I can't go with you. I need to get reinforcements. There are probably more Skedar we have to worry about." Elvis sounded disappointed.
"Don't worry about it," Joanna reassured him. "We'll meet up with Jonathan and the remaining agents. There are still enough of us to get through."
He nodded and got back into his ship. It flew out of the hangar. "So, no Maian help this time?" Ray asked.
"Like I said, don't worry. You seem to underestimate our chances here."
"Well, that and I've got no gun."
"Why don't you still have the Maulers?"
"I gave them to that other Maian guy. It seemed like he would need it."
Velvet pulled out her Falcon 2. "Well, then, we'll just have to get you another gun."
Joanna pulled out her RCP-120 as well. "Let's get a move on. I don't think we should stay in one place for too long." The girls started to run.
"Wait, Joanna!"
"What is it?"
"Remember how I said standard dataDyne building plans include an alarm system?"
"Yes." She groaned, already knowing what he would say next.
"We need to find the security room and shut it down again. I have a feeling I might know where it is. Try that door, to the left of the hangar."
Joanna and Velvet walked to the door, with Ray cautiously behind them. Joanna opened the door to find three guards, armed with K7 Avengers. The guards fired, and she jumped back behind the wall. Cloaking herself, she stepped forward again and shot all of them, this time before they could react. Ray peeked in and, seeing that they were dead, ran over to get the guns. "Alright, follow me."
"You know where you're going?"
"Nope. But I have a feeling I can find the room."
They continued down the hallway. Though there were many doors, but he never stopped to see if they were even unlocked or not. Reaching the end of the hallway, he looked around. He opened one door and killed the two guards inside. He then walked in, Joanna and Velvet close behind.
Ray was right. The room was filled with computers and he went to each one, typing in keys. "Alright, I'm shutting down alarm systems… there seems to be a (weaker) secondary shield around the satellite, I'll shut that down too… here we go! I found a map for this place."
"It seems like the standard dataDyne floor plan also includes a map." Joanna said sarcastically. Ray pulled up a holographic image so all three could look at it.
"Okay, the room we want to get to is here. That houses the core of the satellite, which takes in the energy the solar panels get and provides power to the satellite. That's why it's called a power core." Joanna and Velvet rolled their eyes and he continued. "If we can destroy the power core, all of the energy wouldn't have a place to go, so it would build up. Think of it like filling a balloon with air until it pops. I'd say we'd have about three minutes until the satellite 'pops.'"
"Is that all we need?" Velvet asked. Ray nodded. "Then let's get going."
They walked out of the room opened the door right across from the previous one. A set of stairs led up to another door, which opened onto the second floor. They opened the door and a timed mine exploded, sending Joanna flying back into a wall and filling the doorway with smoke. Velvet and Ray grabbed her and ran back, while six guards chased after them.
Velvet ran backwards to fire at them, while Ray got cover for Joanna while she recovered. She threw down her Falcon 2 for a moment, grabbed Joanna's gun, and unloaded a clip into the guards. They tumbled down the stairs, dead.
By now, Joanna was standing up straight, without Ray's hand. She took her gun back and Velvet picked up her Falcon 2. They walked up the stairs again, opened the door, and this time no mine exploded. They stepped through, finding only one guard who was surprised that his allies didn't win. Ray came out first and shot him.
"Where are we now?" Joanna asked.
"I believe the cells are close by. We are in a very small, isolated area of the satellite, so these levels will be small."
"Good! We haven't seen any of the other agents. We can find out who was captured, and get them out."
"No. We don't-"
Velvet interrupted him angrily. "What do you mean no?"
"We would have plenty of time after destroying the core. Besides, we don't have extra weapons for them. I don't want any other agents getting killed."
Joanna hesitated, looking at Velvet. "We should get out who we can," Velvet answered. "We can get weapons for them, the extra firepower wouldn't hurt, and I really don't want them stuck in there for more than they have to." Joanna hesitated for a moment, thinking about both sides. Finally, she made a decision. "I don't like any people getting killed who don't need to either. If we're sure that we can get them out in time, I'd like to keep them safe."
"It's the right choice," Ray reassured Velvet. She just sighed, and they continued on.
They came to a part where the hallway forked, one part continuing forward and one part turning right. The girls looked at Ray. "From what I remember on the map, we should continue forward." They both nodded, and continued on.
In this hallway, there were many doors. They were all locked, and Joanna assumed that these were the holding cells. Ray confirmed that as they walked on. They came to a door, and opening it, found another set of stairs. And found two more guards patrolling the stairs.
One guard was right in front of the door, so Ray smacked him with his gun. With one headshot from Velvet, the other guard went down. Joanna had raised her gun, but didn't get time to shoot. She just shrugged and continued behind them.
The door opened into a small corridor. At the end of it was another door. "That door should lead to the room with the power core." Joanna just nodded and led the way. Pausing to let everyone get ready, she opened the door.
Inside, the room was a dark shade of blue. The lighting was poor, except for a column in the center. It had lights, screens, and buttons on it, to monitor everything on the satellite. Another flight of stairs was at the right, leading to a grated catwalk that circled around the room. William Faww was standing on the catwalk opposite of the door. Ten guards, including Jonathan, surrounded the door, pointing their guns at the intruders.
"Throw down your guns. I think they've won this round." Ray threw his down, and the other two followed. Three guards ran to pick them up; then returned to their spots.
Faww began to laugh. "Well, I suppose that's what I get for underestimating Carrington. I didn't think he had any competent agents. Too bad you won't get any farther."
"You think hiding behind a few boys is going to stop me from killing you?" Joanna spat out.
He laughed again. "I'd love to see you try it. Especially now."
She ran at him. "Don't kill her," Faww said casually. Two guards grabbed her and held her back, while a third punched her in the stomach. She was dragged back, gasping for air.
"Well, you're more foolish than I thought. That doesn't matter now. I think you can guess what the first target of this satellite will be. I'm going to be getting you later; I'll enjoy seeing your face as the Institute is decimated. Won't you, Ray?"
He smiled as he crossed over to the guards' side. "It will be enjoyable." He took his K7 Avenger back.
"What?" Joanna and Velvet both growled at the same time.
"Come on. You think I knew the layout of the dataDyne building and satellite by glancing at a little map for a few seconds? You think I was worried about the agents' safety?" It was his turn to laugh.
"How? Faww shot you in the chest earlier!"
"Special armor. Slowed bullets down. They still got in enough to bleed, for the effect, but he could have shot my heart at point-blank and I wouldn't have died. You really are foolish."
"Yes, yes, enough talking," Faww cut in. "I'm getting tired of it. Jonathan, take the girls away. We'll let them out again so they can get front row seats for the end of their precious Carrington."
Ray's eyes lit up as he heard Jonathan's name. "Wait a second. We were planning on meeting up with Jonathan." Ray pointed at Jonathan. "That man is a traitor!"
Jonathan looked around nervously; then turned to Faww. "Come on. Why would you believe something so ridiculous?"
"Because it's coming from my second-in-command."
Jonathan cursed, shot one of the guards and tried to run. More ran at him to stop and disarm him. "Let him live as well. They can all watch it. Ray, I can trust you enough to take them away."
"Yes sir." With his gun at their backs, Ray led them out of the room, through the corridor, and down the stairs. At the stairs, Jonathan suddenly turned and tried to kick him. He grabbed the leg and twisted it, causing him to tumble down the stairs. The girls turned around as well, but his gun was already at them. "No, no, no. You see, I won't hesitate to shoot you."
They scowled, but turned back around. Jonathan got up and steadied himself. "Go. And stop trying all of these tricks." They continued down and into the hallway where the cells were kept. Ray opened one and shoved them in. "We'll come for you soon." The door slammed shut in front of them.
"Asshole. Well, sorry for pulling you into this too early, Jonathan." Joanna crossed her arms.
"Eh. Forget about it. Can you think of any ways to get out of this?"
"Well, when he opens the door again, you think we could overrun them?"
"I don't know how many guards he'll have. There's a good chance of us getting killed, or at least seriously hurt…"
Velvet wasn't even paying attention to their conversation. She reached down her shirt and pulled out a Data Uplink. She caught them staring at her. "What? I got it before Elvis picked me up. I wanted to make sure it stayed safe."
Joanna was the first to speak. "Wow. You certainly came prepared. Wish I'd thought of that."
"You know, I would've gotten that out for you if you'd asked."
Velvet rolled her eyes and walked over to the door controls. "Good thing these are on both sides. It's locked, of course, but this will do the trick." They heard the familiar scanning sound, and then a beep. "We're ready." She opened the door and peeked out. "All clear."
Joanna and Jonathan followed her. "Well, we know where two of these corridors lead. I wonder where the third goes…" Joanna thought aloud. An alarm broke all of their concentrations. They looked up.
"Why didn't anyone notice that before?" Jonathan demanded.
"The alarms were off! It wasn't a problem before!" Joanna jumped up, grabbing hold of the camera, and ripped it out of the wall. Guards were already running at them, so Joanna threw the camera at them. The guards flinched for a moment, and the three ran up, grabbing guns and knocking them out. Joanna, Velvet, and Jonathan stopped once every guard was on the floor and each had a K7 Avenger. "We need to go back down and disable these alarms. And let's hurry, before anyone else comes." Joanna led the way back and down the stairs. They only stopped to kill the flood of guards that were either chasing or confronting them.
They burst through the door at the bottom floor, killed the guards in this hallway, and ran across to the security room. More men were guarding it, and were easily killed. "Which one did Ray say shut off the alarm?" Velvet pulled out her Uplink again.
"I think it was over here." Joanna went over, helping her sister find the right computer. Jonathan watched the door, his trigger finger itching. He got his chance as more guards came in. After emptying his clip, he tried to reload, but another guard came in. He quickly struck him over the head with his gun. "Hurry up and shut off that alarm!"
After a few more seconds and typing, Velvet yelled triumphantly, "I've got it!" She used the Data Uplink and the alarms were finally silent. "Finally. Let's see what else we can damage from here."
The number of guards thinned out, and Jonathan had no problem taking out anyone else who came inside. The girls continued typing on the computers. After a few minutes, they walked back up to him. Joanna began. "Okay, we've done all we can here. The shields, power to the laser, that all can be stopped once the power core is gone. Ray said we'd have about three minutes to get out."
"The guards have stopped coming, thankfully," Jonathan responded. "With the alarms off, they probably just assumed we're dead. There are plenty of hangars, easily accessible from here, and enough ships to get everyone out, even if all of our agents are only captured. Which, in reality, is highly unlikely."
Joanna nodded. "Okay. Let's go up, rescue the survivors, hopefully find enough weapons for them, and take out that power core."
"Ray and Faww will also die," Velvet said angrily.