Chapter 17

Belly of the Whale

Disclaimer: Yeah, Landmark owns it all. This is the same disclaimer you read all over the internet and web. Let's be truthful, though – this could have been a great show that Landmark and Mattel let slide into oblivion. Shame on them for being before their time in the entertainment business.

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As soon as Scout and Kasich had opened the door, the firestorm began. Tank was the first to take a hit, though it knocked him back only slightly before he returned fire. Burgess joined him in firing back at the troopers. Power heard the clatter of mechs as they broke apart with shots from Tank and Burgess. Scout and Kasich took cover behind an abutment to the left, taking a few shots at targets when there was a lull in the rate of fire from the mechs.

Hawk stood back with Power, making sure there was no attack from the rear. The captain knew full well that his second-in-command wanted nothing more than to be up in the front, taking choice shots at the mechs, but the chain of command and the structure of their mission was set. Tank and Burgess were clearing the mechs inside rather quickly. Still, enemy shots hit dangerously close, pinging off the walls in a shower of sparks before their energy died off into a missed target.

Tank and Burgess stepped inside the threshold of the interior room as the wall of mechs lessened, continuing to fire at anything that moved. Power knew that might include human beings, overunits who were assigned to the area, but there was nothing to be done about it. If they stood in the way, they would have to be eliminated by whatever means necessary. That included firing on them and probably killing them.

Suddenly, there was silence. The mechs in the room were dead, torn apart by blaster fire that eliminated the threat. In the center sat the processing core, a large box the size of troop transport. It would take all the charges they had brought to destroy the unit.

Kasich and Scout removed Sabre from the equipment bag and carefully placed it on the floor. Kasich activated switches on the device. A light on the control panel blinked steadily, indicating that it was in proper working order.

She looked up at the ceiling of the corridor. Removable panels lined the way. She looked to Hawk.

"Major, think you can fly this Easter egg up there and hide it?"

Hawk stepped close, looking down at the Sabre device. "No way I'm going to accidentally set it off, am I?"

"No, sir," Kasich responded. "Just put it up there and put the panel back in place."

"Sounds easy enough," Hawk said. He activated his jet and rose into the air toward the panel, sliding it on top of another panel, creating an opening. He descended again to pick up the device. Again, he carefully rose into the air, placing the Sabre onto the ledge of framework just visible inside the hole.

"Just out of curiosity, Sergeant," Jon said to Kasich, "isn't it a little dangerous to be putting that so close to something that's about to blow up?"

"The Sabre can take quite a beating, sir," Kasich said. "The firecracker we're going to use down here won't even scratch it. We're good to go," she concluded confidently.

Jon watched Hawk complete the task, pulling the ceiling panel back in place. Unless someone went intentionally looking in that area, there was no sign of the box from below in the corridor. Sabre was ready for the using, and all at his discretion. The full impact of the idea hit him at that moment. With the simple push of a detonator button, he could blow a hole in the planet and change the course of human history once again.

Scout and Kasich wasted no time in moving forward to the control panels in the center of the room once Hawk was finished. They ripped off the metal covers to the electronic guts of the core processor and went to work. The myriad of circuits and lights underneath was a dizzying sight. Power could barely fathom how the sergeants knew what to do. It was a maze of wires and fiber optic cables that wound around in a fashion that was chaotic to the untrained eye. Still, they approached it with vigor, believing they could do what they had to do to accomplish the mission. Power was less confident in the job they faced, knowing it was because the science of machine technology was not his gift. His gift was leadership, the ability to command his team. He had learned the art of trust in his own people, and he was not about to forsake all that he had learned.

Kasich got down low and peered inside the panel. "They've been busy, haven't they?"

Scout joined in the view. "Looks like they've been working on their integration since the last time I got a look in one of these things."

"On the bright side," Kasich said, "we can blow it all in one shot. We'll run the secondary bypass and send it through the network on a timer. That should be enough of a delay to get out of here in time. Hand me the charge."

Blalock stepped forward and opened his pack. The egg-shaped charge looked rather benign, but they all knew the power within it. He carefully placed in Kasich's outstretched hand. She cradled it, confidently leading it inside the console. Scout helped her attach it to the key points of the circuitry. They started to back out when Kasich suddenly stopped, as though something had caught her eye. Her body moved forward into the console again.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked, her voice rising a bit in disbelief.

Hawk stepped further inside the area. "We don't have time for a sightseeing trip. More mechs will be here soon."

"I'm serious," Kasich protested. "Robert, look."

Scout obliged her, examining the area she was pointing at inside the box. "Captain," he called urgently. "You need to see this."

Power moved forward and got down low to see the object of their attention. A small black box lay buried behind the cables in the fore of the console. "What is it?"

Kasich pulled away some of the cables for a better view. "If my rebel upbringing is correct, you're looking at an engram repository."

It took a moment for Power to connect all the dots of what she was saying. There were lives contained in the pod. It was where the innocents who had been absorbed by the likes of Blastarr and Soaron had been stored for Overmind's pleasure, learning curve and appetite. Power's mind whirled with the thought of what it contained.

"How many?" was all he could muster.

"A million," Scout answered, staring intently at the box. "Maybe more."

Jon felt a weakness at the revelation. In that tiny box were so many lives ripped from the planet, from the very human race. "Can we get it out?"

Kasich was quick to disagree. "Not without Overmind getting an earful. That's the bread and butter of the system, sir. You rip it out, and Overmind's likely to have a meltdown. It's like taking food away from a hungry baby. We could do it if we knew we had the time, maybe substitute something that would satisfy Overmind for the moment until we could get out of here."

Power considered his options. He straighted up and keyed his comm. "Power to Chase. What's the mech movement looking like?"

There was a pause before the corporal answered. "I'm going to have to get back to you on that, Captain." Her voice was strained, stressed. "We're working on it."

Power immediately sensed it, not liking the sensation of shock he felt at her compact answer. "Understood," he said carefully, giving her the benefit of the doubt that she would do her part. "We'll be waiting."

"Copy that," Chase answered quickly, almost tersely. "Pilot out."

Scout gave a curious glance at his captain. It was unlike Pilot to speak with such shortness. From the look on his sergeant's face, Power was sure they both shared the same sense of wariness at her limited answer.

Power stood up and withdrew his blaster again. "Hawk, you, Tank and Burgess set up a staggered front in that hall. We need to give them some time to work on this thing. Until we hear from Pilot and Tobias, we'll need real eyes on what's coming."

Hawk approached Power and pulled him to he side. "Jon," he said in a low tone, "you know we don't have time for this. It's not a part of the mission plan. We need to set those charges and get the hell out of here."

Power's anger snapped forth. "Those are people in there, Hawk," he said vehemently. "We can save them."

"And if we do take the time we need, we may lose everything. We have to go – now."

Jon's chest felt tight with the stress of the moment. Hawk had a point, but those were real people stored in that box, real lives that would be killed if they detonated the charges and did not give it a second thought. The concern of collateral damage had been over those who were still walking. No one had taken into consideration the people who lay trapped in the matrix of Dread's network.

He weighed the options. In the end, just a few seconds later, he deemed himself commander of the missions. Commanders were in charge because they were able to make the difficult decisions.

"We're not leaving them," he said resolutely. He turned to Scout. "Get them out of there. We'll watch your back."

He was pleased to see the satisfaction on Scout's face at the chance to detach the engram storage from the main core. The sergeant called to Kasich so they could begin the process.

Hawk uncharacteristically grabbed Jon's arm in protest. "This is a mistake, Jon," he said in a low tone.

"Maybe so," Jon said, though he made sure he did not sound as though he were conceding the argument. "But we'd be wrong if we didn't try. Take point with Tank."

Hawk gave a lingering look, one that said louder than words that he did not agree with the decision. Power gave him that latitude, but he also dismissed the warning. Hawk was a military man. He thought in terms of military strategy and acceptable losses. To Power, though, a million lives in a box were not an acceptable loss. No matter what reasoning Hawk wanted to apply, there were lives in that box. It was bad enough they would probably kill everything living in the vicinity of Volcania. There was no reason Power could fathom to destroy more than was necessary.

Hawk complied with Power's order and took his place down the hall at Tank's side. The captain turned to watch Scout and Kasich's progress. Kasich had already physically crawled into the processing core in an effort to reach the engram storage box. Scout handed her tools when she requested them. It took longer than any of them felt comfortable waiting, but Kasich finally succeeded in detaching the box from the core, redirecting connections so that the link in the lines did not suffer disruption. She carefully backed out of the core's housing, carrying the box in two hands toward her equipment bag. Scout followed behind her, opening the bag and making a space for the engram case. She put it in the bag and pulled out one of the egg-shaped charges.

Scout and Power steered clear of Kasich as she returned to the core with a second charge at a much faster pace than she had used with the engram case. She looked at them curiously.

"It's not going to bite you." Then she smiled. "At least not yet."

She crawled back in to the console, calling for Scout to bring the rest of the charges from the bag. He took his cue from her, bringing the rest of the charges in his arms. She held out a hand behind her for one of them. Scout placed each one in her hand when she requested it. In a few moments, the explosives were in place.

Kasich wiggled out of the core once more and headed for the equipment bag. She withdrew the detonation catalyst for the charges and walked toward core one last time. Power knelt down on one knee and watched as she connected the charges to the black tube. Her hands were careful and steady as she joined the couplers on the charges to the tiny cylinder that would set them all off, blowing Volcania off the map. Each charge lit up in a soft green glow as she connected them.

She got out one last time and inspected her work. "They look pretty when you hook them up. Kind of like a string of Christmas tree lights."

Kasich returned to the bag, rummaging until she found the detonator to the string of bombs. She cradled it in her hand, studying it. She looked sad, as though the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. Her eyes connected with Power. It rested on all of them, really, he knew.

A rear access door opened. Power could barely react to the surprise of it. Troopers swarmed in at them. Their first volley seemed to be in slow motion. He followed the trail of one shot until it impacted in Kasich's back. She tumbled forward, her eyes wide, her mouth agape. Her body slammed into the floor, skidding forward until the forces of gravity and friction stopped it on the smooth deck plating.

Power drew his weapon and began returning fire, dropping two of the mechs immediately. The rest of the assault team followed suit, finding defensive positions in support abutments and the core's housing. He had a moment to assess their situation. Burgess, Lyle and Tank were taking fire at the other end of the corridor. The team was being sandwiched with nearly an unlimited number of troopers.

Scout tried to make a move to get to Kasich but was immediately pinned back by more fire. Laser volleys zinged back and forth between friend and foe, with no side making any more progress. A stray shot glanced off Jon's suit, stinging but not stopping him. The mechs were going to have to do better than just a glancing shot to take him out of the game. By the same token, half the team lacked the luxury of armor. He realized quickly that they made up for it by simple accuracy in their return fire. Blalock was dropping mechs one after another, as though it were a game. His shots were careful and efficient, more than anyone in the group.

Kasich had recovered enough find cover for herself. She crawled toward the wall and leaned up against a slanted abutment, using the steel frame for cover. She began firing back intermittently, using all her strength just to bring her sidearm to bear against the impending attack. None of her shots hit, but they were enough to cause some of the mechs to halt their forward progress. She held the detonator securely in her other hand, fighting with her very life to protect it.

In the distance down the corridor, Power could see more mechs moving in to finish the job. His team was not going to last long against the waves of intruders. Soon, the mechs would overwhelm them, ending the mission. Dread would finish his task, and the world as they knew it would end.

"Scout!" Power called over the din of the attack.

Scout took only a moment to look toward the captain. "Yes, sir!"

"We need to get these doors closed! If I get you to a panel, can you do it?"

Scout fired off two shots. "No, sir. We have to be at a main junction box," he yelled.

It was not the answer Jon wanted to hear. The only way they would survive was to cut off mech access to their position.

"Power to Pilot!"

There was a pause before Chase answered. "Pilot, here."

Power took another three shots. "We need these doors closed! Where's Tobias?"

"We need a few minutes, Captain."

"We don't have a few minutes! We already have one casualty!"

Tobias' voice broke into the conversation. "Who's down?"

"One of your own, Doctor. We need these doors closed, now!"

There was a response, but it was drowned out by mech shots pinging into the steel of the fortress, disturbingly close to Power's head. He called for a repeat of the response. Chase's voice sounded in his ears.

"Captain, Doctor Tobias is going to get the doors closed. We need time."

"Make it quick!" Power snapped, firing off another shot, dismantling a mech's head from its body. The body clanked loudly on the floor. "Power, out!"