Chapter Six : ...into the fire
"Right, Officer Leeuwin" ordered Harrigan once they were inside the armoury "We need outfitting for a spot of Scarran-smashing, with a pinch of sabotage and demolition thrown in for good measure"
Officer Leeuwin quickly reviewed her training on Scarrans. Pistol fire was useless, she knew; 'Pistol fire will not kill a Scarran before he kills you' her trainers had stated emphatically and frequently. So she decided on the biggest stuff they had. "In those lockers are stealthsuits" she explained "Made specially for infiltration and recon missions, they have cloaking units built in. We'd better suit up". Fifteen minutes later, all had finally found a suit that fitted and put it on.
"OK, weapons" she continued "We'll take long-barrel heavy rifles. Even with these, we need to aim carefully; only a head shot will take out a Scarran first go." They each grabbed on of the heavy pulse guns. Harrigan and Mary accustomed themselves to the new weapons quickly, but the corporal looked very ill at ease. "What's wrong with him?" whispered Officer Leeuwin "Surely he's used guns before?". "He's an engineer. We brought him along to watch our instruments. He's a passable shot close-in, but forget him hitting anything but the walls and floor further out". A tech! Officer Leeuwin fumed. They were going into combat with someone more accustomed to cleaning the muck out of Prowler engines than blood off his uniform. Well he'd better improve fast, she thought, or I'll kill him instead. "We can't aim properly firing from the hip like this" complained Harrigan "Is there anything else we could use?". Officer Leeuwin grabbed a couple of components from the lower locker, fiddled around with both guns for a couple of minutes, then handed them back. "You're lucky. This weapon system's modular. We were given the best stuff available before we left" . Harrigan hefted the newly reassembled weapon, getting the feel of it. "Better" he stated "Now how about explosives?"
Officer Leeuwin reached across the other side of the armoury for a large box. "Tarvek grenades" she explained "Variable fusing, variable yield. Don't set yield past one-quarter if you're going to throw it, because you won't throw it far enough. Fuse options – variable time, set as follows" She twisted a couple of tiny knobs on the top of one of the grenades "Impact – just twist the master fuse knob one more stop, then it'll explode wherever it lands. Proximity – Twist the master fuse knob one more stop again, then stick it on a wall. After you've pressed the arming button, you have five seconds to get out of sensor range, which is about fifty hentas" Seeing the blank looks coming back, she explained "About twice your height" pointing at Harrigan. They nodded. "Anyone coming within range afterwards, BOOM!". "We'll take them all" Harrigan decided "No knowing how many we'll need. Everyone stuff as many as you can into your suit pockets"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Officer Leeuwin was staggered by Harrigan's attitude. Here they were, in a Scarran dreadnaught about to encounter one of the most aggressive species in the entire region, and this man was acting like he was picking his luggage for shore leave to a pleasure planet! She hadn't known Harrigan long enough to know this was how he dealt with combat. "OK" he finished "Last but not least, rations. I haven't gone on a mission on an empty stomach before, and I'm not starting now. Four ration packs each" They barely managed to cram them into their packs alongside the tarvek grenades and spare shakan oil canisters. The Harbringer lurched as the Scarrans guided the web into the cargo bay. Mary quickly peeked out of the bunkroom window.
"They're starting to lower the ship to the floor" Mary explained "Once we're below the level of those crates out there we get out of here unobserved. If we're lucky. Which way is out?" she finished. "Combat drop hatch" Officer Leeuwin urged "Back here". She pressed a green button on the wall, and a circular section of the floor irised open. "Neat" said Harrigan "Very cool". "Just a bit more..." muttered Mary "Come on...Teeny weeny bit more...GO!" she yelled. All four of them jumped out through the hole, which closed up after them. They hit the bay floor hard, and rolled behind a handy crate. While the others caught their breath, Officer Leeuwin approached Harrigan. "If I can't get back" she said "Just press your palm to the reader by the door or combat hatch. I programmed your palmprint in while you were recovering from the gas". Harrigan was very surprised by her show of trust, and said so. "It's obvious even to this trainee that you're a trained soldier, even an officer" Harrigan nodded to show the truth of this "I'm only a trainee! We were on a test flight when we found you stumbling around close to our base. You'll have far more chance of survival than me".
"As far as I can help it" Harrigan replied "We'll all get out alive. But we obviously can't stay here. Which way's engineering?". Officer Leeuwin racked her brains for the layout of a Scarran dreadnaught. "That way" she decided "We'll have to take the back way – it takes about twice as long, but we avoid the main routes around the ship" The group bolted for a side door in the cargo bay wall, and managed to exit without attracting the attention of the cargo handlers. "Down here!" Officer Leeuwin directed, pointing to a maintenance conduit. "What?!" Harrigan hissed "Stuck in a pipe for who knows how long is not my idea of fun!". Mary cut in with "Mine neither. But if it means that the locals don't find us, that's the way we go"
Meanwhile, unaware that the crew had escaped, Scarran infantry surrounded the Harbringer. "Area secured" whispered the squad leader to the Captain over comms. "It had better be. We're in transit for home base,. Scheduled arrival in four arns. Apparently the Commandant and head scientist will be waiting for us. Just make sure nothing and no one comes in or goes out". The Captain turned to his first officer "You have the bridge" he stated "I'm getting some rest. Don't wake me unless the Commandant calls for me, or we're under attack"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The first officer turned to the helmsman. "Flank speed" he ordered "Let's get back to base ASAP. I need to get off this ship before I go nuts". The helmsman slid the throttle all the way forward "Speed to hetch 4.5 as ordered, sir" he reponded.
"How long do we stay in this damn pipe?" growled Harrigan, half an arn later. "About another half an arn" replied Officer Leeuwin. "Then we have to use the regular corridors once we're closer to engineering. What do you want there, anyway?". Harrigan replied "We blow the main engines or power source. Then waste recycling, water treatement, helm controls, every essential system we can find. With any luck they'll get so fed up with us, they'll throw us out at the next planet". Or more likely kill us, pondered Offcier Leeuwin in the privacy of her own head. But I certainly haven't got a better plan.
Just before Harrigan was about to blow his top again, Officer Leeuwin called a halt. "We drop down to the corridor here" she explained. "Scarran hearing isn't perfect, but we'll have to be careful. Avoid confrontation wherever possible". Seeing Harrigan's frown, she added "Or at least hide the bodies where they won't be found". "Much better" Harrigan grinned "But yes, it will be better to stay out of the way for a while. Once we blow our first target, it probably won't matter so much; but we still can't survive a full-on fight. Hit and run's the name of the game here" he finished. Mary lifted the grating clear. The corporal climbed out first, followed by Mary, then Harrigan, then Officer Leeuwin, who replaced the grating after them. After the obligatory stretches to work the cramps out of their muscles, they moved off towards the main generator room.
Harrigan stuck his head around the corner, into the generator room. "Not like any generator I've ever seen" he muttered. Then the Scarran engineer moitoring the systems entered through the other door. "That guy's huge!" exclaimed Harrigan. Officer Leeuwin took a quick look, before replying "Fairly normal size for a Scarran" she shrugged. "Looks like a two-legged crocodile" Harrigan replied nastily. Officer Leeuwin wasn't familiar with Earth creatures, so Mary explained that it was an aggressive, meat-eating reptile with a tough, scaly skin. "Sounds just like a Scarran" she replied "They are similarly aggressive and territorial". "That one seemed glued to his console" said Harrigan "Probably the Scarran equivalent of our corporal here" and crept quietly around behind the Scarran tech. Picking up a large metal wrench from the tech's toolbox, he was just about to smash the tech over the head when he turned around. Harrigan immediately kneed him in the groin, but the Scarran just thumped him hard in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying into the wall. Wiping the blood off his mouth, Harrigan got back up just as the tech moved in, and swung the wrench hard across the Scarran's knees. On a human, that blow would have broken a knee, but it just knocked the Scarran down. Harrigan grabbed his combat knife from his suit scabbard and plunged it through the Scarran's left temple with both hands before the Scarran could rise.
"That was either divine providence" Mary hissed "or sheer blind luck that you're still alive!". Harrigan didn't say anything, he was occupied with rubbing his bruises and catching his breath.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- He got up after a couple of minutes. "Let's plant our charges" he wheezed "Since I can't see anywhere obvious to put them, we'll have uniform dispersal over the whole room just to make sure. Officer Leeuwin, how much time should we need?". "About a quarter-arn on the charges" she replied "should give us enough time to get clear. I'd say we have about the same before that tech is missed". They hurried about the room, placing and arming the tarvek charges. "Time to go!" Harrigan ordered. "600 microts remaining!" added Officer Leeuwin. That galvanised even the corporal into action. They found a maintenance office a short way down the corridor to catch their breath and grab a quick snack. About half way therought the corporal's drink, the charges detonated. A thunderous wall of noise, dust, and miscellaneous debris flew throughout the generator room, blew out one wall, and stopped just short of their hideaway. This, naturally, made the corporal vomit the mouthful of hot food currently in his mouth all over the floor.
Up in the bridge, all power had gone off-line. None of the consoles worked, and neither did the lights. The first officer grabbed a battery- powered handset and contacted the chief engineer. "Number one generator room has gone off-line, sir" came the reply to the first officer's yell. "I've got a crew going in there now. Wait..." he responded. After pausing to decide the best way to break the news, he said uneasily "Sir?". "This doesn't sound good" muttered the first officer "What's going on?". "Number one generating plant has been destroyed, Sir" replied the chief engineer "My lead tech reports the stink of residue from tarvek charges. I've called for a bomb-bot sir; there may be traps still present". "Thank you, chief" the first officer responded "That will be all". He turned to his infantry commander. "They escaped" the first officer growled "How?"
The infantry officer took his time replying. "It would seem most likely, sir" he mused "that the vessel's crew left by some kind of emergency hatch before the ship had been fully lowered. If it were me, sir" he continued "I'd make my move as soon as the ship reached those crates in the middle of the bay. You can't see past them from the observation lounge. You could then drop from the ship to the floor and disappear into the corridors without too much trouble".
"Was the officer in charge aware of this problem?" the Captain enquired. "I informed him of the possibility personally" replied the infantry officer "However, he replied somewhat flippantly, with 'But when are we likely to get any prisoners more intelligent than Sebacean colonists, that's what I'd like to know'". It was obvious to the Captain what the infantry officer thought of such complacency. "I'd say we had that exact type of prisoner right now, don't you?" stated the Captain, to which the infantry officer replied "Indeed so, sir. Probably Peacekeeper soldiers. Certainly NOT colonists. No half-baked farmer picking mud from his fingernails could work like that". The Captain didn't like that idea at all. A squad of Peacekeepers loose on his ship, evidently with the intention of destroying everything they can reach! If I get out of this alive, he mused vengefully, I'll get cruel and unusual on that cargo controller. And if I don't get him, the scientists can have him for their experiments instead.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Time to go!" barked Officer Leeuwin. "Second that!" added Harrigan "Let's try for an engine room. That'll really rile the Captain of this bucket of bolts no end. Make him aware we won't go quietly". As if he doesn't know that already, muttered the corporal, Harrigan really likes thumbing his nose at authority. Especially when that authority doesn't like him. "That way" decided Officer Leeuwin, pointing to a side corridor "It should lead to the engineering spaces for number two engine. But we'll have to pass a security station on the way, so keep those guns ready."
They quickly ducked into the corridor, narrowly missing a Scarran with an odd-looking tracked dronegoing the other way. "Bomb-bot"replied Officer Leeuwin, in response to Harrigan's odd look "On it's way to the generator room we just left". They sped up quickly after that. Harrigan was wearing a particularly nasty grin at the prospect of killing Scarrans. They had to dispose of one sentry on the way; but as he was fortuitously facing the wrong way, a Peacekeeper dagger applied vigourously to the neck soon solved that problem in a most satisfactory manner. A couple of minutes later, Officer Leeuwin brought her hand up, signalling a halt. Mary and the corporal didn't catch on until they had piled into Harrigan. "Come on guys!" Harrigan moaned "Even the most brain-dead Scarran would hear that! Be careful!". Harrigan went forward to Officer Leeuwin.
"What's up?" he whispered. "Security station" Officer Leeuwin replied "We can't go round it. There's a camera on the wall over the door. We can take that out, but the loss of the camera will bring any guards running". Harrigan quickly passed this on his companions. "Killin' time, people" he explained "There's a security station between us and our target that won't go away. We have to make them. Come on!" He stationed the corporal on the right of their passageway. "When I give the order" Harrigan whispered "you take out that window by the door". He then turned to Mary "When that window shatters, that door will fly open and the guards will come out fast. As soon as it lets go" Harrigan added, stressing the 'soon', "Heave a tarvek grenade on one-third straight through the hole. The walls should absorb the blast". Lastly, Officer Leeuwin. "Once the blast dies down, you and I will lead the way and mop up any resistance. If there's anything intact we can use, sing out". "Aye, sir" she replied.
Just then the door opened. This revealed two guards about to leave, and two more that they could see at control banks. Mary lost no time in taking advantage of this, and hurled her grenade straight through the doorway. After bouncing off one guard's weapon belt, it clattered to a halt in the middle of the room. Two microts later it exploded, vapourising the guard patrol, the two Scarrans monitoring the security panel, and a considerable expanse of computer equipment. The walls held barely, but bulged outwards massively. "Go, go, go!" barked Harrigan. They wasted no time rushing into the remains of the security station. Unfortunately, three soldiers came through the other entrance, drawn by the sound of the explosion. "Blast 'em!" Harrigan yelled, bring up his pulse gun. It took four shots to the chest before his first target went down, but down he went. Mary took a little time to aim; her target went straight down, head and neck blown off. Officer Leeuwin did likewise – her target got one in the head. The corporal didn't do too badly; for five shots fired, three scattered over the chest and the othe two took the top of the head off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Silence that alarm!" yelled Harrigan. Officer Leeuwin grabbed the corporal and pointed at the panel and ordered "Big red button, go!". Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough – three more soldiers came in throught the smoking remains of the other entrance. Harrigan and Mary quickly blasted them to pieces. "Officer Leeuwin!" Harrigan yelled after he'd calmed down. "Yes?" she replied. "Anything we can use?" Harrigan asked hopefully. "A couple of comm units are left" she replied after a short look around "Even if these uniforms would fit us, the word's out now. There'll be troops out looking for us, and disguise won't help against Scarran infantry; they're not that stupid"
The emergency sirens were still wailing in the bridge. Emergency lighting had been restored and all controls were still operational, though only just in some cases. The Captain thumbed his comm "What the frell's going on?!" he yelled. A security trooper came back with "Security station outside engine three just went off-line, sir. No reponse from the duty personnel, and the patrol that went to examine the situation hasn't reported back either". The Captain thumbed the comm off and turned to his infantry commander. "These supposed prisoners" the Captain growled "have made a mockery of ship security! First they evade capture when brought on board...". The infantry commander interrupted with "That was the fault of that asinine cargo controller sir, not my troops! If that cargo had been laid out according to proper security guidelines, instead of left lying about all over the place like children's toys, we wouldn't have this problem! That cargo controller should lead the next patrol. Either he'll redeem himself with recapturing the prisoners" he continued, his face showing just how unlikely he thought that was "or they'll shoot him for us. Either way works out fine; he gets suitably re-motivated by a little combat, or our enemies rid us of an embarrasment to this ship and Scarran High Command".
"Very well" decided the Captain. He reached for the comm "Cargo officer Tarkish to report to infantry barracks for patrol duty" He paused for a while. He hadn't had to resort to this next course of action on any of his previous two commands, but his options were wearing thin. He got back on the comm, switching to whole-ship mode. "Now hear this! Now hear this!" he yelled "General Quarters, General Quarters! This is not a drill" Some of the crew were getting slack, he knew; much punishment was necessary to get them sufficiently motivated "Escaped prisoners at large. Generator room one has been destroyed along with a security station. Last seen outside engine room three. Seven of this crew have perished. Bring those prisoners back to me! Unfortunately" he added "Commandant's orders require them returned alive and unharmed for experimentation. So stunrifles, tanglenets, and stungrenades only! Captain out!"
Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin were listening in on their stolen headsets. "Not good" Harrigan said "We'll have to move quickly. No time for subtlety. Charge the engine room, kill everyone, blow the place and leave. Mary, corp" he ordered. They tuned towards him "Tarvek grenades through the entrance, then go to guns and follow us in. Move!" he finished, taking off at a run. Mary and the corporal came up, one either side of him. "Throw 'em!" Harrigan ordered. Two tarvek grenades sailed through the entrance and detonated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin charged through the smoke into the engine room. However, the remaining occupants were not milling around aimless. They had heard the explosions from the security station outside, and the chief engineer had ordered them to draw sidearms. This was done just as the first grenade sailed into the engine room and blew away three junior engineers and two troops. The second caused some damage to equipment but didn't kill anyone.
"Repel boarders!" yelled the chief engineer. He and his three remaining personnel bolted for cover and raised their pulse rifles. Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin immediately did the same. A criss-cross pattern of deadly pulse fire flickered over various parts of the room as each side sought an advantage. The corporal and Mary scuttled over to Harrigan's hiding place. "Any ideas, people?" Harrigan asked, a little out of breath.. "How good's a Scarran's night vision?" asked Mary. "Passable" replied Officer Leeuwin "but Sebaceans have a slight edge there". Harrigan leaned over to Mary and said "What are you thinking?". "I'll turn out those lights" she replied "As soon as they go, the rest of you take out those two on the right...". Officer Leeuwin cut in then, bringing up something they had forgotten. "They have emergency lights in here, you know" she explained "You'll have about fifteen microts before they kick in. We've got no margin for error at all. They catch us in the open, and..." she drew her fingers across her throat.
Mary quickly brought up her gun and fired. Two blasts went into each main lighting unit, shrouding the room in blackness. The whole group immediately charged the rightside group in dispersed formation. The chief engineer himself stuck his head up to see if the emergency lights had come on, and got it blown off by Mary. His comrade tried to bolt for the dubious safety of his squadmates on the other side of the room, but Officer Leeuwin cut him down before he made three steps. Not two microts after they had ducked behind the deceased engineer's hideout, the dim glow of the emergency lights kicked in.
The Captain had just been updated on the situation on their escaped prisoners. "Sir" reported a junior comm officer "The security staion outside engine three has been destroyed, all personnel killed. The chief enginner has ordered sidearms drawn and is currently engaging the prisoners". The Captain yelled "I DISTINCTLY ORDERED THEM CAPTURED, NOT KILLED!" After their ears had recovered, the same junior comm officer spoke up. "Yes , sir" he replied "but that order only went out on the infantry comm-net. Regular crew will attempt to engage with standard pulse guns unless ordered not to". The Captain immediately got on the regular crew comm net. "This is the Captain" he stated "The prisoners must be captured alive. Orders from base Commandant are that they be returned to base for use by the scientists. Stunguns only! Stow the pulse guns NOW!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Officer Leeuwin heard this over her headset. Harrigan was busily directing the others in placing the charges, plus sabotaging the power cables present there. She tapped Harrigan on the shoulder. "Yes?" he responded. "Good news and bad news, sir" she explained "The Captain himself came on the the shipwide comm. Good news - He's ordered nonlethal weapons only. Bad news – That's because we're supposed to be shipped back to his base for scientific experimentation". Harrigan almost exploded at that. "No way!" he yelled "I'll be leaving this ship free or dead! Mama Harrigan didn't bring her son up to be anyone's lab rat, no way! Those charges laid yet?". "All done" replied the corporal. He'd been hit a couple of times in the recent battle when the lights had come back on. Fortunately they had been able to use their first aid supplies to patch him up, as he'd only been creased in the leg. However, the other shot had creased his head, causing his head to be covered in bandages over the left side. "We've got five minutes before this engine's permanently out of commission! Go!"
The wasted no time in bolting for the lift. After consulting briefly with Officer Leeuwin and Mary, the decision was made to head for the recyling plant. The corporal slammed the lift door shut and slapped the right button. Ten microts later the engine room charges blew, which only put the ship's Captain in an even worse mood. "Number three engine offline, sir" stated the helmsman. "I've just lost 20% of my speed and 35% of manoevreability". The Captain got on the infantry comm-net. "Progress report!" he barked. "The security monitors showed them entering the main transit lift for portside engineering, sir" his infantry commander replied "We won't know their next target until they at least leave the lift. However, it seems most likely that they would go all the way up to engine one, further degrading our speed and manouvreability; or they could hit air and water treatment on the tenth floor With your permission, Captain, I'll deploy three squads in each of the remaining three engines. Then I'll lead my remaining troops and herd them into cargo bay two. We're doing no good skulking in the corridors. In the open bay, we can use our superior numbers to best advantage". "Do as you see fit, Lieutenant" replied the Captain "Just bring me those prisoners by the time we reach base, or it'll most likely be us on the scientist's table".
Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin had been following this conversation on their headsets. "Well?" queried Harrigan "What do you think?". Officer Leeuwin took her time replying. "Either one would be a good target" she stated cautiously "...except that the enemy is sending troops to both places. I don't know about you, sir" Officer Leeuwin continued "but I'd rather avoid a pitched battle with Scarran infantry, if that's OK with you". Harrigan laughed at her turn of phrase, glad to hear something amusing for a change; then another thought struck him. "If they're sending troops..." Harrigan mused, scratching his chin "They are" Officer Leeuwin replied, wondering where this was going. "Then let's hit a barracks" he finished nastily "Quick and dirty. Hurl a few tarvek grenades through the doors and windows, then move on". "So we're resorting to terror raids?" questioned the corporal, not too pleased. "Welcome to the war, corporal. Wake up and smell the blood!" barked Harrigan, annoyed "We use what works. They have numbers, we have stealth. Raiding like this plays to our strengths, and lowers theirs. We keep moving, so they can't marshal a huge force and grab us. Anything else?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Yes, sir" muttered a very browbeaten corporal. I don't like this at all, he muttered in his own mind, but Harrigan's right on one thing – we need to twist the odds in our favour, and this seems the only way to do that.
Officer Leeuwin finished tapping keys on the small keyboard under the wall map. "If that map's right" she explained "there's two barrack room complexes, housing twenty troops each, on the seventh floor. They're fairly close together, so we can hit them both; however, the second one is close to a major thoroughfare through the ship. We could run into problems". Harrigan replied with "It's a risk we'll have to take. We'll have to smash quickly through any hostiles, and grab the next lift"
The lift stopped at the seventh floor. "A couple of hundred metras ahead" whispered Officer Leeuwin "One right side, one left". "I'll take the corporal and hit the left one" cut in Mary "You take Officer Leeuwin here and take the right one". Harrigan nodded his agreement "OK, let's do it. Pity we don't have any incendiaries – they'd come in right useful about now".
They crept closer. Faint voices could be heard, which cleared up into an squad leader berating his troops. Harrigan flicked his hand to the left, causing Mary and the corporal to position themselves beside their barrack door. Everyone grabbed tarvek grenades. "Yield one-quarter, impact fuse" Harrigan whispered "3..2..1..Go!" and the whole group hurled their grenades as one. Explosions and screams of pain were their reward as the grenades exploded in the midst of troops preparing to apprehend them. "Another one!" yelled Harrigan "Don't let up!". In it went. Bits of furniture and Scarran bodies and internal organs flew over the walls and out of the doors. "Move in!" Harrigan ordered "Kill all who remain!". "Aye, sir!" responded Mary "Come on, corporal, move yourself!" she muttered at the corporal, pushing him inside. He immediately brought up his gun and pulsed a Scarran trooper who had been partially shielded by a collapsed wall cabinet. "That's the way, corp!" encouraged Mary "You're picking it up already!". Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin scouted out their side. They pulsed three wounded Scarrans trapped under fallen furniture and wall pieces, but their search was otherwise uneventful.
A comm officer ran up to his Captain. "Sir" he stated "They hit seventh floor aft barracks. Both complexes were full with troops preparing to go to engine one on guard duty. Every last one was killed, sir. No survivors". The Captain almost blew his top over that. "Lieutenant!" he yelled at the infantry commander "Is there any good excuse why you've just let those four prisoners completely pulverise the seventh floor aft barrack rooms, along with everyone in them?!" "No, sir" he responded flatly "They must have stolen comm units from dead troopers. If they had, and were listening in on the comm chatter, they could have changed their plan and hit the barracks before we could respond". "You'd better hope so" the Captain replied "I'm locking down all the elevator shafts. You'll have to use the stairs"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Damn!" snarled Officer Leeuwin "They've got wise to us". She ran a little faster to Harrigan, who was punching the elevator call panel. "Elevators have been taken offline, sir. Stairs are this way" she urged, leading them down a new corridor. Four troopers were just coming off the stairs they needed. Mary and Harrigan immediately blasted them, sending pulped Scarran innards all over the wall. "Up! Up!" urged Officer Leeuwin. No prompting was needed, as another four troopers were coming down the corridor. One saw the disappearing up the stairs and yeled "Stop them!" Mary immediately set a tarvek grenade to proximity fused and stuck it on the wall at ankle height. "Move!" she barked "I've just left a little explosive surprise for our pursuers down there" she finished in a more subdued voice.
They bolted up two more flights of stairs before stopping on the ninth floor. "Let's stop for a while" pleaded the corporal "My knees are killing me, my elbows are about to fall off, and I've got a stitch!". Harrigan pondered the adviseability of this. "May as well" he decided "Get some food and water down you as well, people. It'll be very hard going from here on. No knowing when we'll get the chance for another food stop". Everyone immediately slumped to the floor, huffing and puffing, and immediately started wolfing and scrunching down the ration packs like they might never see food again. Even the corporal made his way through two packs.
Harrigan finished his last ration pack. "Right!" he ordered "Fun's over. We're definitely on the back side of all this now. The whole ship's alerted, so we've got time for one last strike before we bolt for the landing bay and the Harbringer. There's three more floors to go before recycling. Too far by a long shot. Anything a bit closer?" he asked Officer Leeuwin.
This is stretching my memory to breaking point! she raged. We only covered the basic schematics of dreadnaughts in training! Thankfully this one hasn't been altered, otherwise we'd be dead by now. "We've been going here, there, and everywhere sir. I've just about lost my sense of direction" she replied, feeling very out of her depth. "If we are where I think we are..." she pondered. "Yes?" enquired Harrigan and Mary simultaneously. "Then we've got storerooms above us. Don't know what's on this floor" she continued "but we may be able to force our way through the ceiling into a storeroom. If it's got essential equipment in it, we blow the place to pieces. Then we bolt for the ship, I think". "Good thinking" Harrigan replied, patting her on the shoulder "Let's do it. Corp!" he whispered "Sir?" he replied. "Stick you head out and see if there's anyone around".
Why, oh why, do I have to be the only enlisted soldier in this group of maniacs? the corporal moaned to himself. Sticking his bandaged head around the corner slowly, he swung his gaze from side to side. He saw a guard patrol, but they were facing the other way, towards the nearest corridor. He got back to the others and explained the situation. "Four soldiers with stunguns and some kind of net thing" he reported "Facing the corridor, not us. There's an open door between us and them, with some writing on it. Can't read Scarran, though".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "OK, here's what we'll do" decided Mary "Slowly and quietly, and I mean quietly, we get into this room the corporal saw. Then, after shutting the door, we'll see what we've got".
Officer Leeuwin led the group towards their temporary sanctuary. She made it as far as the door without arousing suspicion. She turned and beckoned the rest of them into the room. They quickly scampered through the door and into the as yet unidentified room, Officer Leeuwin following them in and shutting the door. She immediately flipped the light on, which illuminated a mess of uprooted floor panels, multicoloured wiring, and exposed piping. Plus one somewhat tight, but accessible conduit beneath the hole. "Which way?" Harrigan asked Officer Leeuwin. She pondered this for a few microts, then spoke up. "That way" she decided "We'll have to play this by ear – just keep going until we find a grating to get out of". Just then, there was a boom and several screams as Mary's booby-trap went off. More growls and snarls from the pursuing troops filtered up the stairs towards them.
Harrigan immediately yelled "Go!" and jumped down the hole and started crawling down the conduit. Officer Leeuwin came next, followed by Mary and the corporal. Harrigan had to shove a couple of repair bots out of the way, but the crawl continued without incident for about ten minutes before Harrigan pulled up short. Everyone piled into the one in fron of them. After much muffled cursing, they managed to sort themselves out. "If we have all finished?!" Harrigan snarled. Then he continued in a more subdued tone "Right, we've got a grating in the floor. There's no-one close. Strange smell, though. Down here, Officer Leeuwin, or press on?". "Down" she responded "We need to figure out where the frell we are, and we can't do that in here. Plus I don't like tight spaces like this".
Harrigan unhitched the grating and stuck his head through the hole. Large crates stretched as far as the eye could see, from the floor almost as far as the ceiling. There was only a three-foot drop before the first container below them. "Watch out for the drop, people!" he called, and pulled himself out. A hard thump later and a "Damn!" later, Harrigan called out "Next!" Officer Leeuwin came next, and landed straight in Harrigan's arms. They stared into each other's eyes until Mary broke the tension with "This is a battle, guys! Not a romantic cruise! Let's get moving!". They smiled sheepishly, but broke apart and helped Mary and the corporal down. Officer Leeuwin stuck her head over the side, then turned back. "Down here" she called "A series of depressions down the side of the container stack enough for us to get close enough to the ground to jump" and started down.
The rest of their little group followed her down. Apart from one incident where the corporal almost lost his grip about half way down, they reached the ground quite safely. Harrigan looked around, testing out the lay of the land. "Seems to be a cargo bay of some kind". Officer Leeuwin replied from the other side of the crate with "No, sir. Flight deck. Mid-portside if I read the wall labelling right. Right next to..." she twisted round to the door next to them "Yes! Air filtration! We blow that and leave! I'll have to activate the Harbringer's auto-destruct remotely" she stated somewhat sadly. Then she pulled herself together and continued "But there looks to be a patrol vessel here. A bit like a Peacekeeper Vigilante-class craft"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We'll find out what it is when we fly it out of here" replied Harrigan "Let's get those charges set, and get out of here!"
"Captain!" crackled the comm. "Yes?" growled the dreadnaught's Captain nastily. His ship was being blown to pieces inch by inch, and those responsible had so far escaped unharmed! "Sir, the escaped prisoners have been tracked to the mid-portside launch bay" explained the unfortunate infantry officer "They may intend to board the patrol vessel there and make their escape". The Captain wasted no time in calling a general alert. "Attention, this is the Captain!" his voice boomed over the shipwide PA "Prisoners located in mid-portside launch bay. Subdue and capture alive. Repeat, alive. Captain, out"
Harrigan's head snapped round when he heard the call over the wall speaker. "This isn't good" he stated uneasily "Are the charges set?" The corporal looked up from where he was setting a charge "This is the last one, sir!" he yelled. "The Scarran welcome mat is being laid out, people" Harrigan explained "Their orders are to capture us alive and take us back to base for use as lab rats, as you know by now. Officer Leeuwin!" She looked up from where she was sitting by the door, scanning for approaching Scarrans "Yes, sir?" she replied. "Get that bucket of bolts ready for take-off" Harrigan ordered "Hopefully this dread's big guns went off-line when we took that last engine out, or this trip will be very short". Officer Leeuwin bolted for the Scarran patrol craft, opened the door and headed for the bridge.
"Until she gets that ship on-line, we'll have to hold the Scarrans off as best we can" Harrigan stated "I won't lie to you. It will be very, very hard. They have numbers and firepower on their side. But we shouldn't need to hold them off for long. Dig in, guys". Two hundred microts later, the final set of charges blew, taking out air filtration and forcing two- thirds of the ship onto emergency systems.
On the bridge, the general situation, especially the Captain's temper, was getting worse. "Air filtration's down, sir!" reported an engineering officer "Everywhere except the bridge and CIC is on backups. Since our scrubbers never got replaced before leaving, I'd not bet on them lasting more than a couple of solar days, sir"
The Captain paced up and down the bridge, muttering and growling. Finally he snapped out of it and issued some orders. "Since the air's going to get beyond even Scarran tolerances within a few hours, all crew not on essential duties are to return to their quarters. The less people moving about, the longer our air will last. Lieutenant!" he yelled at one of his infantry officers. "Yes, sir?" he responded. "Bring those prisoners back to me. Quick!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We got company!" yelled Mary. She returned fire at the attacking Scarrans, killing two and sending the rest of that squad ducking for cover. "Corp!" howled Harrigan. "Yes, sir" he replied. "Get over to Mary and help her out. I'll cover the escape route. Go!" The corporal grabbed his gun and few remaining tarvek grenades and scuttled over to Mary's position. She smiled, and pointed at the approaching Scarrans, now coming from three directions. He immediately started laying down fire at those attempting to flank Mary's position on the right . Harrigan chose that time to hurl a tarvek grenade straight at the nearest squad. The senior NCO tried to throw it back, but just as he picked it up it detonated, taking out half his unit and stalling the first wave.
"Sitrep!" commanded the senior infantry officer. "Superior Officer Nalkra killed in action!" responded a very rattled trooper "You are the only officer left, sir. We're getting pulverised!" The Lieutenant turned to his senior NCO. "We'll have to blow the aft bulkhead. Once that's down, all units will englobe and subdue. We can't avoid losing people" he explained on seeing his NCO's frown "That bay's got crates all over it. The advantage lies with the defender. But we have numbers, and I will use them!"
The chief engineer was not happy. "Captain..." he reported haltingly. The Captain turned, unnerved at the chief engineer's tone of voice. That tone was only one step above "Uh-oh" and two above "Abandon ship". "I'm not going to like this, am I?" he inquired. "No, sir. The remaining two engines aren't holding up well" the engineer lamented "Temp's in the red zone constantly. Since the air went off, the backup cooling system overloaded on number two engine. We'll have to shut it down in five arns. The last time I tried to jury-rig it, we lost five techs when a major coolant pipe exploded and shorted out the monitoring equipment. I've sealed that room off until we get into a repair dock. Sir" he added. The Captain turned to face him "I'd suggest we take the remaining engines off- line, call base and request a tow in. We're in-system now, and close enough for assistance from the other dreadnaught". If we didn't do that, the engineer added in the privacy of his own head, all there'll be to find is corpses and hull fragments – because the last engine will explode, taking the ship to pieces, if we try running the whole ship off it. "Do it" the Captain ordered the chief comm officer. Then he put his armour on and headed down to the flight bay "You have the conn until I return"
Harrigan called out "How's it going?" up the gangplank to Officer Leeuwin. "We have manoevreing, but one of the engines isn't responding." she reponded bleakly "We could probably take off, but we won't have much speed, and minimal firepower. I can't do much more without getting a tech squad tearing down the engines". Harrigan pondered this, and responded by ordering her down to join them. "We'll need to hold off this wave, then we should be able to jump aboard, blow the hangar door, and leg it out of here"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Officer Leeuwin grabbed her gun and rushed down to meet Harrigan. He growled "Down!" and yanked her down by the collar just as a wave of stunrifle fire flew over, too close for comfort. "Here we go" he muttered under his breath "If I survive this, I'll have earned a promotion when we get back". Then he called Mary and the corporal back to join him. "Here's the situation" Harrigan explained "We give this lot a right kicking. While they recover and send for reinforcements, we run up that gangplank, shut the door and get out of here as fast as that thing can take us". Harrigan didn't know about the Captain's arrival, or the Lieutenant's sneak attack – they were coordinated on scambled frequencies his gear couldn't break.
The Captain slapped the infantry Lieutenant on the shoulder. "Ready?" he asked quietly. After recovering from the shock of seeing his Captain wearing armour and carrying a weapon, he continued "Breaching charges are in place, sir. We are ready to proceed whenever you give the word". The Captain contacted the senrior NCO of the other group and gave him his orders. Then he nodded at the Lieutenant, who pressed a button, detonating the breaching charge.
The blast almost knocked Harrigan down, but he recovered his footing and fired, hitting the lead trooper of the ambush group in the right eye and blowing blood and brains all over the Captain and the floor. "Mary, corp!" he yelled "Cover the left! Kill them all!" Then he turned to the biggest Scarran, who just so happened to be the Captain. "We won't go easily! Come and get us, if you can!" he howled "You will find that human special operations troops are better than any moth-eaten Scarran thugs any day of the week! While I have one breath in my body, you will be denied! I am First Lieutenant John Harrigan, and I am in command. Death before dishonour!!".
Then Harrigan gave final orders to his comrades. "We kill as many as we can" he stated bleakly "Make them pay in blood for every inch they advance into this room". He lifted his head up towards them. "I failed" he said quietly "I should have anticipated an ambush like that. I should have at least seen to your escape. Now all we can do is die".
Officer Leeuwin cut in. "Don't bring yourself down, Sir!" she barked "We all knew the risks! You did the best you could, better than many Sebaceans would have. You are a truly exceptional leader" she added more softly " and my only regret is not meeting you in more, um, relaxed, circumstances" and kissed him him long and hard on the mouth. Another volley of stunbolts flew form both directions, causing them to duck for cover and breaking the mood. The corporal threw his last tarvek grenade, which halted that push temporarily. "While I wouldn't put things quite that way" added Mary, with a light laugh "You have done as well as any of us could expect, and better than many other officers would manage" finishing off with a quick hug. The corporal said simply "Let's do this thing".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The Captain stared at Harrigan, extremely surprised and somewhat awed at the most un-Sebacean courage he displayed. What is this 'human' species he describes himself as? he pondered during a lull in the firing. His actions would not be out of place for a Scarran! And special operations as well! No wonder we had such trouble catching them, this is what they train for. My troops don't usually do anything more than jog around the corridors and check ID cards, which explains why one-third of them died in the pursuit. "Charge!" he howled "Englobe and capture!"
A roar of acknowledgement came back from the Scarran infantry as they charged across the open ground separating them from Harrigan and his people. Twice they charged and twice they were beaten back, barely. The corporal had lost the use of one leg, and had propped himself up on the gangplank. Officer Leeuwin had many minor bruises and cuts from where she and Harrigan had beaten off one Scarran in hand-to-hand; neither were completely unscathed. Harrigan's uniform was ripped and torn, several strips had been used for makeshift bandages, and a large bluish-purple bruise over his left eye.
The infantry Lieutenant had had enough. He snuck around one side, below crate level, and reached his goal almost undetected except that he tripped on a loose ration packs from an opened crate. The corporal tapped Harrigan on the shoulder, and pointed at where the Lieutenant was hiding. Harrigan nodded, and raised his rifle.
The Lieutenant rose to lead the charge, yelling out to his forces "Follow m- ". He go no further, as Harrigan put a carefully aimed bolt through his right eyeball, blowing his brains all over the wall and floor. The Captain knew he had to finish this before morale hit rock bottom. "Charge!" he yelled. The entire infantry detachment moved as one, straight for them. Harrigan's little group felled many Scarrans, but for each one they killed two more took his place. The corporal stuck his head around a crate to look for more enemies, when an entire squad open fire on him. The overload of stunblasts to the head completely fried his brain, killing him. Harrigan saw his crewman fall, and screamed out "I'll get you for that!". He took careful aim at what he could see of the most ornate unifrom and fired, blowing the Captain's right elbow all over the floor.
The Scarran's scream of agony and rage filled the room. Dropping his rifle and taking the now ex-Lieutenant's pistol in his left hand, he howled "Get them!". Mary responded with "How'd you like that, then? There's more waiting for you, come and get it!" The Captain pointed at one small group. One slowly sighted in on Officer Leeuwin at the base of the gangplank. Harrigan saw the enemy sniper squad, and lunged for his comrade in arms. He shoved her down, but not entirely out, of the line of fire. Unfortunately, the concentrated stunfire caused massive heart failure and she fell. "Harrigan..." she stuttered, with her last breaths "Gi...give them hell, sir..." and breathed her last.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Mary hurried over to Harrigan. "Just you and me now, John" she said sorrowfully. "Bolt for the gangplank when I give the word, Mary" declared Harrigan "I'll follow. We have to see if that ship will hold together long enough for us to escape. Damn!" he raged. A suspisciously odd smell came from the gun. "That damn shakan oil's gone flat!" Mary sniffed at her own gun, and read the charge gauge. "I've got one or two left" she replied, just as Harrigan threw a bundle at her. "Our pistols" he explained "Grabbed them when Officer Leeuwin wasn't looking. Let's move!"
However, this was not to be. The Captain's squad moved from one side of the ramp, and a bloodied but functional NCO from the other and threw them to the floor. "You have caused me much embarrasement, as well as the loss of my men" the Captain growled at him. "Don't forget your right elbow" sniggered Harrigan, struggling "A little present from me" Then Harrigan's hand came out from behind his back "And you can have this too" he added, emptying the remaining rounds of his FiveSeven into the Captain's left leg. Then he felt Scarran fists thumping him into unconsciousness, and the whole world went black.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
"Right, Officer Leeuwin" ordered Harrigan once they were inside the armoury "We need outfitting for a spot of Scarran-smashing, with a pinch of sabotage and demolition thrown in for good measure"
Officer Leeuwin quickly reviewed her training on Scarrans. Pistol fire was useless, she knew; 'Pistol fire will not kill a Scarran before he kills you' her trainers had stated emphatically and frequently. So she decided on the biggest stuff they had. "In those lockers are stealthsuits" she explained "Made specially for infiltration and recon missions, they have cloaking units built in. We'd better suit up". Fifteen minutes later, all had finally found a suit that fitted and put it on.
"OK, weapons" she continued "We'll take long-barrel heavy rifles. Even with these, we need to aim carefully; only a head shot will take out a Scarran first go." They each grabbed on of the heavy pulse guns. Harrigan and Mary accustomed themselves to the new weapons quickly, but the corporal looked very ill at ease. "What's wrong with him?" whispered Officer Leeuwin "Surely he's used guns before?". "He's an engineer. We brought him along to watch our instruments. He's a passable shot close-in, but forget him hitting anything but the walls and floor further out". A tech! Officer Leeuwin fumed. They were going into combat with someone more accustomed to cleaning the muck out of Prowler engines than blood off his uniform. Well he'd better improve fast, she thought, or I'll kill him instead. "We can't aim properly firing from the hip like this" complained Harrigan "Is there anything else we could use?". Officer Leeuwin grabbed a couple of components from the lower locker, fiddled around with both guns for a couple of minutes, then handed them back. "You're lucky. This weapon system's modular. We were given the best stuff available before we left" . Harrigan hefted the newly reassembled weapon, getting the feel of it. "Better" he stated "Now how about explosives?"
Officer Leeuwin reached across the other side of the armoury for a large box. "Tarvek grenades" she explained "Variable fusing, variable yield. Don't set yield past one-quarter if you're going to throw it, because you won't throw it far enough. Fuse options – variable time, set as follows" She twisted a couple of tiny knobs on the top of one of the grenades "Impact – just twist the master fuse knob one more stop, then it'll explode wherever it lands. Proximity – Twist the master fuse knob one more stop again, then stick it on a wall. After you've pressed the arming button, you have five seconds to get out of sensor range, which is about fifty hentas" Seeing the blank looks coming back, she explained "About twice your height" pointing at Harrigan. They nodded. "Anyone coming within range afterwards, BOOM!". "We'll take them all" Harrigan decided "No knowing how many we'll need. Everyone stuff as many as you can into your suit pockets"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Officer Leeuwin was staggered by Harrigan's attitude. Here they were, in a Scarran dreadnaught about to encounter one of the most aggressive species in the entire region, and this man was acting like he was picking his luggage for shore leave to a pleasure planet! She hadn't known Harrigan long enough to know this was how he dealt with combat. "OK" he finished "Last but not least, rations. I haven't gone on a mission on an empty stomach before, and I'm not starting now. Four ration packs each" They barely managed to cram them into their packs alongside the tarvek grenades and spare shakan oil canisters. The Harbringer lurched as the Scarrans guided the web into the cargo bay. Mary quickly peeked out of the bunkroom window.
"They're starting to lower the ship to the floor" Mary explained "Once we're below the level of those crates out there we get out of here unobserved. If we're lucky. Which way is out?" she finished. "Combat drop hatch" Officer Leeuwin urged "Back here". She pressed a green button on the wall, and a circular section of the floor irised open. "Neat" said Harrigan "Very cool". "Just a bit more..." muttered Mary "Come on...Teeny weeny bit more...GO!" she yelled. All four of them jumped out through the hole, which closed up after them. They hit the bay floor hard, and rolled behind a handy crate. While the others caught their breath, Officer Leeuwin approached Harrigan. "If I can't get back" she said "Just press your palm to the reader by the door or combat hatch. I programmed your palmprint in while you were recovering from the gas". Harrigan was very surprised by her show of trust, and said so. "It's obvious even to this trainee that you're a trained soldier, even an officer" Harrigan nodded to show the truth of this "I'm only a trainee! We were on a test flight when we found you stumbling around close to our base. You'll have far more chance of survival than me".
"As far as I can help it" Harrigan replied "We'll all get out alive. But we obviously can't stay here. Which way's engineering?". Officer Leeuwin racked her brains for the layout of a Scarran dreadnaught. "That way" she decided "We'll have to take the back way – it takes about twice as long, but we avoid the main routes around the ship" The group bolted for a side door in the cargo bay wall, and managed to exit without attracting the attention of the cargo handlers. "Down here!" Officer Leeuwin directed, pointing to a maintenance conduit. "What?!" Harrigan hissed "Stuck in a pipe for who knows how long is not my idea of fun!". Mary cut in with "Mine neither. But if it means that the locals don't find us, that's the way we go"
Meanwhile, unaware that the crew had escaped, Scarran infantry surrounded the Harbringer. "Area secured" whispered the squad leader to the Captain over comms. "It had better be. We're in transit for home base,. Scheduled arrival in four arns. Apparently the Commandant and head scientist will be waiting for us. Just make sure nothing and no one comes in or goes out". The Captain turned to his first officer "You have the bridge" he stated "I'm getting some rest. Don't wake me unless the Commandant calls for me, or we're under attack"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The first officer turned to the helmsman. "Flank speed" he ordered "Let's get back to base ASAP. I need to get off this ship before I go nuts". The helmsman slid the throttle all the way forward "Speed to hetch 4.5 as ordered, sir" he reponded.
"How long do we stay in this damn pipe?" growled Harrigan, half an arn later. "About another half an arn" replied Officer Leeuwin. "Then we have to use the regular corridors once we're closer to engineering. What do you want there, anyway?". Harrigan replied "We blow the main engines or power source. Then waste recycling, water treatement, helm controls, every essential system we can find. With any luck they'll get so fed up with us, they'll throw us out at the next planet". Or more likely kill us, pondered Offcier Leeuwin in the privacy of her own head. But I certainly haven't got a better plan.
Just before Harrigan was about to blow his top again, Officer Leeuwin called a halt. "We drop down to the corridor here" she explained. "Scarran hearing isn't perfect, but we'll have to be careful. Avoid confrontation wherever possible". Seeing Harrigan's frown, she added "Or at least hide the bodies where they won't be found". "Much better" Harrigan grinned "But yes, it will be better to stay out of the way for a while. Once we blow our first target, it probably won't matter so much; but we still can't survive a full-on fight. Hit and run's the name of the game here" he finished. Mary lifted the grating clear. The corporal climbed out first, followed by Mary, then Harrigan, then Officer Leeuwin, who replaced the grating after them. After the obligatory stretches to work the cramps out of their muscles, they moved off towards the main generator room.
Harrigan stuck his head around the corner, into the generator room. "Not like any generator I've ever seen" he muttered. Then the Scarran engineer moitoring the systems entered through the other door. "That guy's huge!" exclaimed Harrigan. Officer Leeuwin took a quick look, before replying "Fairly normal size for a Scarran" she shrugged. "Looks like a two-legged crocodile" Harrigan replied nastily. Officer Leeuwin wasn't familiar with Earth creatures, so Mary explained that it was an aggressive, meat-eating reptile with a tough, scaly skin. "Sounds just like a Scarran" she replied "They are similarly aggressive and territorial". "That one seemed glued to his console" said Harrigan "Probably the Scarran equivalent of our corporal here" and crept quietly around behind the Scarran tech. Picking up a large metal wrench from the tech's toolbox, he was just about to smash the tech over the head when he turned around. Harrigan immediately kneed him in the groin, but the Scarran just thumped him hard in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying into the wall. Wiping the blood off his mouth, Harrigan got back up just as the tech moved in, and swung the wrench hard across the Scarran's knees. On a human, that blow would have broken a knee, but it just knocked the Scarran down. Harrigan grabbed his combat knife from his suit scabbard and plunged it through the Scarran's left temple with both hands before the Scarran could rise.
"That was either divine providence" Mary hissed "or sheer blind luck that you're still alive!". Harrigan didn't say anything, he was occupied with rubbing his bruises and catching his breath.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- He got up after a couple of minutes. "Let's plant our charges" he wheezed "Since I can't see anywhere obvious to put them, we'll have uniform dispersal over the whole room just to make sure. Officer Leeuwin, how much time should we need?". "About a quarter-arn on the charges" she replied "should give us enough time to get clear. I'd say we have about the same before that tech is missed". They hurried about the room, placing and arming the tarvek charges. "Time to go!" Harrigan ordered. "600 microts remaining!" added Officer Leeuwin. That galvanised even the corporal into action. They found a maintenance office a short way down the corridor to catch their breath and grab a quick snack. About half way therought the corporal's drink, the charges detonated. A thunderous wall of noise, dust, and miscellaneous debris flew throughout the generator room, blew out one wall, and stopped just short of their hideaway. This, naturally, made the corporal vomit the mouthful of hot food currently in his mouth all over the floor.
Up in the bridge, all power had gone off-line. None of the consoles worked, and neither did the lights. The first officer grabbed a battery- powered handset and contacted the chief engineer. "Number one generator room has gone off-line, sir" came the reply to the first officer's yell. "I've got a crew going in there now. Wait..." he responded. After pausing to decide the best way to break the news, he said uneasily "Sir?". "This doesn't sound good" muttered the first officer "What's going on?". "Number one generating plant has been destroyed, Sir" replied the chief engineer "My lead tech reports the stink of residue from tarvek charges. I've called for a bomb-bot sir; there may be traps still present". "Thank you, chief" the first officer responded "That will be all". He turned to his infantry commander. "They escaped" the first officer growled "How?"
The infantry officer took his time replying. "It would seem most likely, sir" he mused "that the vessel's crew left by some kind of emergency hatch before the ship had been fully lowered. If it were me, sir" he continued "I'd make my move as soon as the ship reached those crates in the middle of the bay. You can't see past them from the observation lounge. You could then drop from the ship to the floor and disappear into the corridors without too much trouble".
"Was the officer in charge aware of this problem?" the Captain enquired. "I informed him of the possibility personally" replied the infantry officer "However, he replied somewhat flippantly, with 'But when are we likely to get any prisoners more intelligent than Sebacean colonists, that's what I'd like to know'". It was obvious to the Captain what the infantry officer thought of such complacency. "I'd say we had that exact type of prisoner right now, don't you?" stated the Captain, to which the infantry officer replied "Indeed so, sir. Probably Peacekeeper soldiers. Certainly NOT colonists. No half-baked farmer picking mud from his fingernails could work like that". The Captain didn't like that idea at all. A squad of Peacekeepers loose on his ship, evidently with the intention of destroying everything they can reach! If I get out of this alive, he mused vengefully, I'll get cruel and unusual on that cargo controller. And if I don't get him, the scientists can have him for their experiments instead.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Time to go!" barked Officer Leeuwin. "Second that!" added Harrigan "Let's try for an engine room. That'll really rile the Captain of this bucket of bolts no end. Make him aware we won't go quietly". As if he doesn't know that already, muttered the corporal, Harrigan really likes thumbing his nose at authority. Especially when that authority doesn't like him. "That way" decided Officer Leeuwin, pointing to a side corridor "It should lead to the engineering spaces for number two engine. But we'll have to pass a security station on the way, so keep those guns ready."
They quickly ducked into the corridor, narrowly missing a Scarran with an odd-looking tracked dronegoing the other way. "Bomb-bot"replied Officer Leeuwin, in response to Harrigan's odd look "On it's way to the generator room we just left". They sped up quickly after that. Harrigan was wearing a particularly nasty grin at the prospect of killing Scarrans. They had to dispose of one sentry on the way; but as he was fortuitously facing the wrong way, a Peacekeeper dagger applied vigourously to the neck soon solved that problem in a most satisfactory manner. A couple of minutes later, Officer Leeuwin brought her hand up, signalling a halt. Mary and the corporal didn't catch on until they had piled into Harrigan. "Come on guys!" Harrigan moaned "Even the most brain-dead Scarran would hear that! Be careful!". Harrigan went forward to Officer Leeuwin.
"What's up?" he whispered. "Security station" Officer Leeuwin replied "We can't go round it. There's a camera on the wall over the door. We can take that out, but the loss of the camera will bring any guards running". Harrigan quickly passed this on his companions. "Killin' time, people" he explained "There's a security station between us and our target that won't go away. We have to make them. Come on!" He stationed the corporal on the right of their passageway. "When I give the order" Harrigan whispered "you take out that window by the door". He then turned to Mary "When that window shatters, that door will fly open and the guards will come out fast. As soon as it lets go" Harrigan added, stressing the 'soon', "Heave a tarvek grenade on one-third straight through the hole. The walls should absorb the blast". Lastly, Officer Leeuwin. "Once the blast dies down, you and I will lead the way and mop up any resistance. If there's anything intact we can use, sing out". "Aye, sir" she replied.
Just then the door opened. This revealed two guards about to leave, and two more that they could see at control banks. Mary lost no time in taking advantage of this, and hurled her grenade straight through the doorway. After bouncing off one guard's weapon belt, it clattered to a halt in the middle of the room. Two microts later it exploded, vapourising the guard patrol, the two Scarrans monitoring the security panel, and a considerable expanse of computer equipment. The walls held barely, but bulged outwards massively. "Go, go, go!" barked Harrigan. They wasted no time rushing into the remains of the security station. Unfortunately, three soldiers came through the other entrance, drawn by the sound of the explosion. "Blast 'em!" Harrigan yelled, bring up his pulse gun. It took four shots to the chest before his first target went down, but down he went. Mary took a little time to aim; her target went straight down, head and neck blown off. Officer Leeuwin did likewise – her target got one in the head. The corporal didn't do too badly; for five shots fired, three scattered over the chest and the othe two took the top of the head off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Silence that alarm!" yelled Harrigan. Officer Leeuwin grabbed the corporal and pointed at the panel and ordered "Big red button, go!". Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough – three more soldiers came in throught the smoking remains of the other entrance. Harrigan and Mary quickly blasted them to pieces. "Officer Leeuwin!" Harrigan yelled after he'd calmed down. "Yes?" she replied. "Anything we can use?" Harrigan asked hopefully. "A couple of comm units are left" she replied after a short look around "Even if these uniforms would fit us, the word's out now. There'll be troops out looking for us, and disguise won't help against Scarran infantry; they're not that stupid"
The emergency sirens were still wailing in the bridge. Emergency lighting had been restored and all controls were still operational, though only just in some cases. The Captain thumbed his comm "What the frell's going on?!" he yelled. A security trooper came back with "Security station outside engine three just went off-line, sir. No reponse from the duty personnel, and the patrol that went to examine the situation hasn't reported back either". The Captain thumbed the comm off and turned to his infantry commander. "These supposed prisoners" the Captain growled "have made a mockery of ship security! First they evade capture when brought on board...". The infantry commander interrupted with "That was the fault of that asinine cargo controller sir, not my troops! If that cargo had been laid out according to proper security guidelines, instead of left lying about all over the place like children's toys, we wouldn't have this problem! That cargo controller should lead the next patrol. Either he'll redeem himself with recapturing the prisoners" he continued, his face showing just how unlikely he thought that was "or they'll shoot him for us. Either way works out fine; he gets suitably re-motivated by a little combat, or our enemies rid us of an embarrasment to this ship and Scarran High Command".
"Very well" decided the Captain. He reached for the comm "Cargo officer Tarkish to report to infantry barracks for patrol duty" He paused for a while. He hadn't had to resort to this next course of action on any of his previous two commands, but his options were wearing thin. He got back on the comm, switching to whole-ship mode. "Now hear this! Now hear this!" he yelled "General Quarters, General Quarters! This is not a drill" Some of the crew were getting slack, he knew; much punishment was necessary to get them sufficiently motivated "Escaped prisoners at large. Generator room one has been destroyed along with a security station. Last seen outside engine room three. Seven of this crew have perished. Bring those prisoners back to me! Unfortunately" he added "Commandant's orders require them returned alive and unharmed for experimentation. So stunrifles, tanglenets, and stungrenades only! Captain out!"
Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin were listening in on their stolen headsets. "Not good" Harrigan said "We'll have to move quickly. No time for subtlety. Charge the engine room, kill everyone, blow the place and leave. Mary, corp" he ordered. They tuned towards him "Tarvek grenades through the entrance, then go to guns and follow us in. Move!" he finished, taking off at a run. Mary and the corporal came up, one either side of him. "Throw 'em!" Harrigan ordered. Two tarvek grenades sailed through the entrance and detonated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin charged through the smoke into the engine room. However, the remaining occupants were not milling around aimless. They had heard the explosions from the security station outside, and the chief engineer had ordered them to draw sidearms. This was done just as the first grenade sailed into the engine room and blew away three junior engineers and two troops. The second caused some damage to equipment but didn't kill anyone.
"Repel boarders!" yelled the chief engineer. He and his three remaining personnel bolted for cover and raised their pulse rifles. Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin immediately did the same. A criss-cross pattern of deadly pulse fire flickered over various parts of the room as each side sought an advantage. The corporal and Mary scuttled over to Harrigan's hiding place. "Any ideas, people?" Harrigan asked, a little out of breath.. "How good's a Scarran's night vision?" asked Mary. "Passable" replied Officer Leeuwin "but Sebaceans have a slight edge there". Harrigan leaned over to Mary and said "What are you thinking?". "I'll turn out those lights" she replied "As soon as they go, the rest of you take out those two on the right...". Officer Leeuwin cut in then, bringing up something they had forgotten. "They have emergency lights in here, you know" she explained "You'll have about fifteen microts before they kick in. We've got no margin for error at all. They catch us in the open, and..." she drew her fingers across her throat.
Mary quickly brought up her gun and fired. Two blasts went into each main lighting unit, shrouding the room in blackness. The whole group immediately charged the rightside group in dispersed formation. The chief engineer himself stuck his head up to see if the emergency lights had come on, and got it blown off by Mary. His comrade tried to bolt for the dubious safety of his squadmates on the other side of the room, but Officer Leeuwin cut him down before he made three steps. Not two microts after they had ducked behind the deceased engineer's hideout, the dim glow of the emergency lights kicked in.
The Captain had just been updated on the situation on their escaped prisoners. "Sir" reported a junior comm officer "The security staion outside engine three has been destroyed, all personnel killed. The chief enginner has ordered sidearms drawn and is currently engaging the prisoners". The Captain yelled "I DISTINCTLY ORDERED THEM CAPTURED, NOT KILLED!" After their ears had recovered, the same junior comm officer spoke up. "Yes , sir" he replied "but that order only went out on the infantry comm-net. Regular crew will attempt to engage with standard pulse guns unless ordered not to". The Captain immediately got on the regular crew comm net. "This is the Captain" he stated "The prisoners must be captured alive. Orders from base Commandant are that they be returned to base for use by the scientists. Stunguns only! Stow the pulse guns NOW!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Officer Leeuwin heard this over her headset. Harrigan was busily directing the others in placing the charges, plus sabotaging the power cables present there. She tapped Harrigan on the shoulder. "Yes?" he responded. "Good news and bad news, sir" she explained "The Captain himself came on the the shipwide comm. Good news - He's ordered nonlethal weapons only. Bad news – That's because we're supposed to be shipped back to his base for scientific experimentation". Harrigan almost exploded at that. "No way!" he yelled "I'll be leaving this ship free or dead! Mama Harrigan didn't bring her son up to be anyone's lab rat, no way! Those charges laid yet?". "All done" replied the corporal. He'd been hit a couple of times in the recent battle when the lights had come back on. Fortunately they had been able to use their first aid supplies to patch him up, as he'd only been creased in the leg. However, the other shot had creased his head, causing his head to be covered in bandages over the left side. "We've got five minutes before this engine's permanently out of commission! Go!"
The wasted no time in bolting for the lift. After consulting briefly with Officer Leeuwin and Mary, the decision was made to head for the recyling plant. The corporal slammed the lift door shut and slapped the right button. Ten microts later the engine room charges blew, which only put the ship's Captain in an even worse mood. "Number three engine offline, sir" stated the helmsman. "I've just lost 20% of my speed and 35% of manoevreability". The Captain got on the infantry comm-net. "Progress report!" he barked. "The security monitors showed them entering the main transit lift for portside engineering, sir" his infantry commander replied "We won't know their next target until they at least leave the lift. However, it seems most likely that they would go all the way up to engine one, further degrading our speed and manouvreability; or they could hit air and water treatment on the tenth floor With your permission, Captain, I'll deploy three squads in each of the remaining three engines. Then I'll lead my remaining troops and herd them into cargo bay two. We're doing no good skulking in the corridors. In the open bay, we can use our superior numbers to best advantage". "Do as you see fit, Lieutenant" replied the Captain "Just bring me those prisoners by the time we reach base, or it'll most likely be us on the scientist's table".
Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin had been following this conversation on their headsets. "Well?" queried Harrigan "What do you think?". Officer Leeuwin took her time replying. "Either one would be a good target" she stated cautiously "...except that the enemy is sending troops to both places. I don't know about you, sir" Officer Leeuwin continued "but I'd rather avoid a pitched battle with Scarran infantry, if that's OK with you". Harrigan laughed at her turn of phrase, glad to hear something amusing for a change; then another thought struck him. "If they're sending troops..." Harrigan mused, scratching his chin "They are" Officer Leeuwin replied, wondering where this was going. "Then let's hit a barracks" he finished nastily "Quick and dirty. Hurl a few tarvek grenades through the doors and windows, then move on". "So we're resorting to terror raids?" questioned the corporal, not too pleased. "Welcome to the war, corporal. Wake up and smell the blood!" barked Harrigan, annoyed "We use what works. They have numbers, we have stealth. Raiding like this plays to our strengths, and lowers theirs. We keep moving, so they can't marshal a huge force and grab us. Anything else?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Yes, sir" muttered a very browbeaten corporal. I don't like this at all, he muttered in his own mind, but Harrigan's right on one thing – we need to twist the odds in our favour, and this seems the only way to do that.
Officer Leeuwin finished tapping keys on the small keyboard under the wall map. "If that map's right" she explained "there's two barrack room complexes, housing twenty troops each, on the seventh floor. They're fairly close together, so we can hit them both; however, the second one is close to a major thoroughfare through the ship. We could run into problems". Harrigan replied with "It's a risk we'll have to take. We'll have to smash quickly through any hostiles, and grab the next lift"
The lift stopped at the seventh floor. "A couple of hundred metras ahead" whispered Officer Leeuwin "One right side, one left". "I'll take the corporal and hit the left one" cut in Mary "You take Officer Leeuwin here and take the right one". Harrigan nodded his agreement "OK, let's do it. Pity we don't have any incendiaries – they'd come in right useful about now".
They crept closer. Faint voices could be heard, which cleared up into an squad leader berating his troops. Harrigan flicked his hand to the left, causing Mary and the corporal to position themselves beside their barrack door. Everyone grabbed tarvek grenades. "Yield one-quarter, impact fuse" Harrigan whispered "3..2..1..Go!" and the whole group hurled their grenades as one. Explosions and screams of pain were their reward as the grenades exploded in the midst of troops preparing to apprehend them. "Another one!" yelled Harrigan "Don't let up!". In it went. Bits of furniture and Scarran bodies and internal organs flew over the walls and out of the doors. "Move in!" Harrigan ordered "Kill all who remain!". "Aye, sir!" responded Mary "Come on, corporal, move yourself!" she muttered at the corporal, pushing him inside. He immediately brought up his gun and pulsed a Scarran trooper who had been partially shielded by a collapsed wall cabinet. "That's the way, corp!" encouraged Mary "You're picking it up already!". Harrigan and Officer Leeuwin scouted out their side. They pulsed three wounded Scarrans trapped under fallen furniture and wall pieces, but their search was otherwise uneventful.
A comm officer ran up to his Captain. "Sir" he stated "They hit seventh floor aft barracks. Both complexes were full with troops preparing to go to engine one on guard duty. Every last one was killed, sir. No survivors". The Captain almost blew his top over that. "Lieutenant!" he yelled at the infantry commander "Is there any good excuse why you've just let those four prisoners completely pulverise the seventh floor aft barrack rooms, along with everyone in them?!" "No, sir" he responded flatly "They must have stolen comm units from dead troopers. If they had, and were listening in on the comm chatter, they could have changed their plan and hit the barracks before we could respond". "You'd better hope so" the Captain replied "I'm locking down all the elevator shafts. You'll have to use the stairs"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Damn!" snarled Officer Leeuwin "They've got wise to us". She ran a little faster to Harrigan, who was punching the elevator call panel. "Elevators have been taken offline, sir. Stairs are this way" she urged, leading them down a new corridor. Four troopers were just coming off the stairs they needed. Mary and Harrigan immediately blasted them, sending pulped Scarran innards all over the wall. "Up! Up!" urged Officer Leeuwin. No prompting was needed, as another four troopers were coming down the corridor. One saw the disappearing up the stairs and yeled "Stop them!" Mary immediately set a tarvek grenade to proximity fused and stuck it on the wall at ankle height. "Move!" she barked "I've just left a little explosive surprise for our pursuers down there" she finished in a more subdued voice.
They bolted up two more flights of stairs before stopping on the ninth floor. "Let's stop for a while" pleaded the corporal "My knees are killing me, my elbows are about to fall off, and I've got a stitch!". Harrigan pondered the adviseability of this. "May as well" he decided "Get some food and water down you as well, people. It'll be very hard going from here on. No knowing when we'll get the chance for another food stop". Everyone immediately slumped to the floor, huffing and puffing, and immediately started wolfing and scrunching down the ration packs like they might never see food again. Even the corporal made his way through two packs.
Harrigan finished his last ration pack. "Right!" he ordered "Fun's over. We're definitely on the back side of all this now. The whole ship's alerted, so we've got time for one last strike before we bolt for the landing bay and the Harbringer. There's three more floors to go before recycling. Too far by a long shot. Anything a bit closer?" he asked Officer Leeuwin.
This is stretching my memory to breaking point! she raged. We only covered the basic schematics of dreadnaughts in training! Thankfully this one hasn't been altered, otherwise we'd be dead by now. "We've been going here, there, and everywhere sir. I've just about lost my sense of direction" she replied, feeling very out of her depth. "If we are where I think we are..." she pondered. "Yes?" enquired Harrigan and Mary simultaneously. "Then we've got storerooms above us. Don't know what's on this floor" she continued "but we may be able to force our way through the ceiling into a storeroom. If it's got essential equipment in it, we blow the place to pieces. Then we bolt for the ship, I think". "Good thinking" Harrigan replied, patting her on the shoulder "Let's do it. Corp!" he whispered "Sir?" he replied. "Stick you head out and see if there's anyone around".
Why, oh why, do I have to be the only enlisted soldier in this group of maniacs? the corporal moaned to himself. Sticking his bandaged head around the corner slowly, he swung his gaze from side to side. He saw a guard patrol, but they were facing the other way, towards the nearest corridor. He got back to the others and explained the situation. "Four soldiers with stunguns and some kind of net thing" he reported "Facing the corridor, not us. There's an open door between us and them, with some writing on it. Can't read Scarran, though".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "OK, here's what we'll do" decided Mary "Slowly and quietly, and I mean quietly, we get into this room the corporal saw. Then, after shutting the door, we'll see what we've got".
Officer Leeuwin led the group towards their temporary sanctuary. She made it as far as the door without arousing suspicion. She turned and beckoned the rest of them into the room. They quickly scampered through the door and into the as yet unidentified room, Officer Leeuwin following them in and shutting the door. She immediately flipped the light on, which illuminated a mess of uprooted floor panels, multicoloured wiring, and exposed piping. Plus one somewhat tight, but accessible conduit beneath the hole. "Which way?" Harrigan asked Officer Leeuwin. She pondered this for a few microts, then spoke up. "That way" she decided "We'll have to play this by ear – just keep going until we find a grating to get out of". Just then, there was a boom and several screams as Mary's booby-trap went off. More growls and snarls from the pursuing troops filtered up the stairs towards them.
Harrigan immediately yelled "Go!" and jumped down the hole and started crawling down the conduit. Officer Leeuwin came next, followed by Mary and the corporal. Harrigan had to shove a couple of repair bots out of the way, but the crawl continued without incident for about ten minutes before Harrigan pulled up short. Everyone piled into the one in fron of them. After much muffled cursing, they managed to sort themselves out. "If we have all finished?!" Harrigan snarled. Then he continued in a more subdued tone "Right, we've got a grating in the floor. There's no-one close. Strange smell, though. Down here, Officer Leeuwin, or press on?". "Down" she responded "We need to figure out where the frell we are, and we can't do that in here. Plus I don't like tight spaces like this".
Harrigan unhitched the grating and stuck his head through the hole. Large crates stretched as far as the eye could see, from the floor almost as far as the ceiling. There was only a three-foot drop before the first container below them. "Watch out for the drop, people!" he called, and pulled himself out. A hard thump later and a "Damn!" later, Harrigan called out "Next!" Officer Leeuwin came next, and landed straight in Harrigan's arms. They stared into each other's eyes until Mary broke the tension with "This is a battle, guys! Not a romantic cruise! Let's get moving!". They smiled sheepishly, but broke apart and helped Mary and the corporal down. Officer Leeuwin stuck her head over the side, then turned back. "Down here" she called "A series of depressions down the side of the container stack enough for us to get close enough to the ground to jump" and started down.
The rest of their little group followed her down. Apart from one incident where the corporal almost lost his grip about half way down, they reached the ground quite safely. Harrigan looked around, testing out the lay of the land. "Seems to be a cargo bay of some kind". Officer Leeuwin replied from the other side of the crate with "No, sir. Flight deck. Mid-portside if I read the wall labelling right. Right next to..." she twisted round to the door next to them "Yes! Air filtration! We blow that and leave! I'll have to activate the Harbringer's auto-destruct remotely" she stated somewhat sadly. Then she pulled herself together and continued "But there looks to be a patrol vessel here. A bit like a Peacekeeper Vigilante-class craft"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We'll find out what it is when we fly it out of here" replied Harrigan "Let's get those charges set, and get out of here!"
"Captain!" crackled the comm. "Yes?" growled the dreadnaught's Captain nastily. His ship was being blown to pieces inch by inch, and those responsible had so far escaped unharmed! "Sir, the escaped prisoners have been tracked to the mid-portside launch bay" explained the unfortunate infantry officer "They may intend to board the patrol vessel there and make their escape". The Captain wasted no time in calling a general alert. "Attention, this is the Captain!" his voice boomed over the shipwide PA "Prisoners located in mid-portside launch bay. Subdue and capture alive. Repeat, alive. Captain, out"
Harrigan's head snapped round when he heard the call over the wall speaker. "This isn't good" he stated uneasily "Are the charges set?" The corporal looked up from where he was setting a charge "This is the last one, sir!" he yelled. "The Scarran welcome mat is being laid out, people" Harrigan explained "Their orders are to capture us alive and take us back to base for use as lab rats, as you know by now. Officer Leeuwin!" She looked up from where she was sitting by the door, scanning for approaching Scarrans "Yes, sir?" she replied. "Get that bucket of bolts ready for take-off" Harrigan ordered "Hopefully this dread's big guns went off-line when we took that last engine out, or this trip will be very short". Officer Leeuwin bolted for the Scarran patrol craft, opened the door and headed for the bridge.
"Until she gets that ship on-line, we'll have to hold the Scarrans off as best we can" Harrigan stated "I won't lie to you. It will be very, very hard. They have numbers and firepower on their side. But we shouldn't need to hold them off for long. Dig in, guys". Two hundred microts later, the final set of charges blew, taking out air filtration and forcing two- thirds of the ship onto emergency systems.
On the bridge, the general situation, especially the Captain's temper, was getting worse. "Air filtration's down, sir!" reported an engineering officer "Everywhere except the bridge and CIC is on backups. Since our scrubbers never got replaced before leaving, I'd not bet on them lasting more than a couple of solar days, sir"
The Captain paced up and down the bridge, muttering and growling. Finally he snapped out of it and issued some orders. "Since the air's going to get beyond even Scarran tolerances within a few hours, all crew not on essential duties are to return to their quarters. The less people moving about, the longer our air will last. Lieutenant!" he yelled at one of his infantry officers. "Yes, sir?" he responded. "Bring those prisoners back to me. Quick!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We got company!" yelled Mary. She returned fire at the attacking Scarrans, killing two and sending the rest of that squad ducking for cover. "Corp!" howled Harrigan. "Yes, sir" he replied. "Get over to Mary and help her out. I'll cover the escape route. Go!" The corporal grabbed his gun and few remaining tarvek grenades and scuttled over to Mary's position. She smiled, and pointed at the approaching Scarrans, now coming from three directions. He immediately started laying down fire at those attempting to flank Mary's position on the right . Harrigan chose that time to hurl a tarvek grenade straight at the nearest squad. The senior NCO tried to throw it back, but just as he picked it up it detonated, taking out half his unit and stalling the first wave.
"Sitrep!" commanded the senior infantry officer. "Superior Officer Nalkra killed in action!" responded a very rattled trooper "You are the only officer left, sir. We're getting pulverised!" The Lieutenant turned to his senior NCO. "We'll have to blow the aft bulkhead. Once that's down, all units will englobe and subdue. We can't avoid losing people" he explained on seeing his NCO's frown "That bay's got crates all over it. The advantage lies with the defender. But we have numbers, and I will use them!"
The chief engineer was not happy. "Captain..." he reported haltingly. The Captain turned, unnerved at the chief engineer's tone of voice. That tone was only one step above "Uh-oh" and two above "Abandon ship". "I'm not going to like this, am I?" he inquired. "No, sir. The remaining two engines aren't holding up well" the engineer lamented "Temp's in the red zone constantly. Since the air went off, the backup cooling system overloaded on number two engine. We'll have to shut it down in five arns. The last time I tried to jury-rig it, we lost five techs when a major coolant pipe exploded and shorted out the monitoring equipment. I've sealed that room off until we get into a repair dock. Sir" he added. The Captain turned to face him "I'd suggest we take the remaining engines off- line, call base and request a tow in. We're in-system now, and close enough for assistance from the other dreadnaught". If we didn't do that, the engineer added in the privacy of his own head, all there'll be to find is corpses and hull fragments – because the last engine will explode, taking the ship to pieces, if we try running the whole ship off it. "Do it" the Captain ordered the chief comm officer. Then he put his armour on and headed down to the flight bay "You have the conn until I return"
Harrigan called out "How's it going?" up the gangplank to Officer Leeuwin. "We have manoevreing, but one of the engines isn't responding." she reponded bleakly "We could probably take off, but we won't have much speed, and minimal firepower. I can't do much more without getting a tech squad tearing down the engines". Harrigan pondered this, and responded by ordering her down to join them. "We'll need to hold off this wave, then we should be able to jump aboard, blow the hangar door, and leg it out of here"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Officer Leeuwin grabbed her gun and rushed down to meet Harrigan. He growled "Down!" and yanked her down by the collar just as a wave of stunrifle fire flew over, too close for comfort. "Here we go" he muttered under his breath "If I survive this, I'll have earned a promotion when we get back". Then he called Mary and the corporal back to join him. "Here's the situation" Harrigan explained "We give this lot a right kicking. While they recover and send for reinforcements, we run up that gangplank, shut the door and get out of here as fast as that thing can take us". Harrigan didn't know about the Captain's arrival, or the Lieutenant's sneak attack – they were coordinated on scambled frequencies his gear couldn't break.
The Captain slapped the infantry Lieutenant on the shoulder. "Ready?" he asked quietly. After recovering from the shock of seeing his Captain wearing armour and carrying a weapon, he continued "Breaching charges are in place, sir. We are ready to proceed whenever you give the word". The Captain contacted the senrior NCO of the other group and gave him his orders. Then he nodded at the Lieutenant, who pressed a button, detonating the breaching charge.
The blast almost knocked Harrigan down, but he recovered his footing and fired, hitting the lead trooper of the ambush group in the right eye and blowing blood and brains all over the Captain and the floor. "Mary, corp!" he yelled "Cover the left! Kill them all!" Then he turned to the biggest Scarran, who just so happened to be the Captain. "We won't go easily! Come and get us, if you can!" he howled "You will find that human special operations troops are better than any moth-eaten Scarran thugs any day of the week! While I have one breath in my body, you will be denied! I am First Lieutenant John Harrigan, and I am in command. Death before dishonour!!".
Then Harrigan gave final orders to his comrades. "We kill as many as we can" he stated bleakly "Make them pay in blood for every inch they advance into this room". He lifted his head up towards them. "I failed" he said quietly "I should have anticipated an ambush like that. I should have at least seen to your escape. Now all we can do is die".
Officer Leeuwin cut in. "Don't bring yourself down, Sir!" she barked "We all knew the risks! You did the best you could, better than many Sebaceans would have. You are a truly exceptional leader" she added more softly " and my only regret is not meeting you in more, um, relaxed, circumstances" and kissed him him long and hard on the mouth. Another volley of stunbolts flew form both directions, causing them to duck for cover and breaking the mood. The corporal threw his last tarvek grenade, which halted that push temporarily. "While I wouldn't put things quite that way" added Mary, with a light laugh "You have done as well as any of us could expect, and better than many other officers would manage" finishing off with a quick hug. The corporal said simply "Let's do this thing".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The Captain stared at Harrigan, extremely surprised and somewhat awed at the most un-Sebacean courage he displayed. What is this 'human' species he describes himself as? he pondered during a lull in the firing. His actions would not be out of place for a Scarran! And special operations as well! No wonder we had such trouble catching them, this is what they train for. My troops don't usually do anything more than jog around the corridors and check ID cards, which explains why one-third of them died in the pursuit. "Charge!" he howled "Englobe and capture!"
A roar of acknowledgement came back from the Scarran infantry as they charged across the open ground separating them from Harrigan and his people. Twice they charged and twice they were beaten back, barely. The corporal had lost the use of one leg, and had propped himself up on the gangplank. Officer Leeuwin had many minor bruises and cuts from where she and Harrigan had beaten off one Scarran in hand-to-hand; neither were completely unscathed. Harrigan's uniform was ripped and torn, several strips had been used for makeshift bandages, and a large bluish-purple bruise over his left eye.
The infantry Lieutenant had had enough. He snuck around one side, below crate level, and reached his goal almost undetected except that he tripped on a loose ration packs from an opened crate. The corporal tapped Harrigan on the shoulder, and pointed at where the Lieutenant was hiding. Harrigan nodded, and raised his rifle.
The Lieutenant rose to lead the charge, yelling out to his forces "Follow m- ". He go no further, as Harrigan put a carefully aimed bolt through his right eyeball, blowing his brains all over the wall and floor. The Captain knew he had to finish this before morale hit rock bottom. "Charge!" he yelled. The entire infantry detachment moved as one, straight for them. Harrigan's little group felled many Scarrans, but for each one they killed two more took his place. The corporal stuck his head around a crate to look for more enemies, when an entire squad open fire on him. The overload of stunblasts to the head completely fried his brain, killing him. Harrigan saw his crewman fall, and screamed out "I'll get you for that!". He took careful aim at what he could see of the most ornate unifrom and fired, blowing the Captain's right elbow all over the floor.
The Scarran's scream of agony and rage filled the room. Dropping his rifle and taking the now ex-Lieutenant's pistol in his left hand, he howled "Get them!". Mary responded with "How'd you like that, then? There's more waiting for you, come and get it!" The Captain pointed at one small group. One slowly sighted in on Officer Leeuwin at the base of the gangplank. Harrigan saw the enemy sniper squad, and lunged for his comrade in arms. He shoved her down, but not entirely out, of the line of fire. Unfortunately, the concentrated stunfire caused massive heart failure and she fell. "Harrigan..." she stuttered, with her last breaths "Gi...give them hell, sir..." and breathed her last.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Mary hurried over to Harrigan. "Just you and me now, John" she said sorrowfully. "Bolt for the gangplank when I give the word, Mary" declared Harrigan "I'll follow. We have to see if that ship will hold together long enough for us to escape. Damn!" he raged. A suspisciously odd smell came from the gun. "That damn shakan oil's gone flat!" Mary sniffed at her own gun, and read the charge gauge. "I've got one or two left" she replied, just as Harrigan threw a bundle at her. "Our pistols" he explained "Grabbed them when Officer Leeuwin wasn't looking. Let's move!"
However, this was not to be. The Captain's squad moved from one side of the ramp, and a bloodied but functional NCO from the other and threw them to the floor. "You have caused me much embarrasement, as well as the loss of my men" the Captain growled at him. "Don't forget your right elbow" sniggered Harrigan, struggling "A little present from me" Then Harrigan's hand came out from behind his back "And you can have this too" he added, emptying the remaining rounds of his FiveSeven into the Captain's left leg. Then he felt Scarran fists thumping him into unconsciousness, and the whole world went black.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------