Fate of Frailty Chapter 22
By Karen Hart
The soft hum of lifesupport systems cut through the silence, fans and filters working off of backup power. Emergency lights came afterwards, a sullen red glow enveloping the bridge. No one had moved, though Jr.'s gun had somehow found its way into his hand.
"What just happened?" the redhead hissed in alarm, his voice a touch too loud for his surroundings. He looked around the bridge, noting that various monitors had started up again, though they flickered slightly, no doubt due to the loss in power.
chaos frantically ran a diagnostic through the Lorant's systems. "I don't know… Power was drained, but the emergency systems are back. We've lost weapons and shielding though. Looks like propulsion is shot, too." He looked up at the others, face gone to ash under his dark complexion. "I think we're stranded."
"Like hell we are," Matthews and Jr. responded in unison. Matthews continued. "Look, something made that happen. Automation, another ship hiding somewhere, I don't know, but there's got to be something here. Don't tell me all that fancy equipment you put on my ship was worthless."
Keys beeped as chaos's hands flew over the touchpad. "I'm not seeing any…wait."
"You got something?" Jr. slowly approached chaos's station, and peered at the screen.
"I'm not really sure," chaos responded slowly. "But it looks like there might be something in that dark spot." He tapped the screen, the image rippling slightly. "That don't quite look natural, does it?"
Matthews hopped out of his seat for a better look. "Yeah, you're right. So what're we going to do about it?"
"Well, we can't blast it with weapons, since those were taken out." Jr. muttered.
"Who says?" Matthews through back at him with a snort. "Are armaments down due to power loss, or were they taken offline completely?"
"Power loss," chaos answered immediately "You think we've got enough power in the emergency generator?"
"We might, if we shut down lifesupport to certain areas." Matthews's expression was grim. "We might have enough for a good shot. Maybe two if we're lucky. All right, cut lifesupport to the cabins , the galley, the mess hall and all of b-deck. Let's see if this works."
All three of them waited in tense silence while chaos did as Matthews had ordered. That silence was broken as all three of them lurched forward, an impact violently rocking the ship. Jr. snarled something appropriately profane as he stumbled into chaos's console, and rubbed his bruised side.
"NOW WHAT?"
---
Pandemonium broke out on the Kukai Foundation minutes after Wilhelm's communiqué. Someone had fired a shot on the docks. People raced about mindlessly, having since gone mob. More shots were fired, with probably-innocent civilians taking hits that were meant for unknown assailants. Security teams had been quickly dispatched, though they were not quite enough to cut through the chaos.
Gaignun watched the scene from the security station, arms crossing and uncrossing at regular intervals, his lips pressed together tightly. He paced from one station to the next as though he were some caged creature. "Anything?" he asked tersely.
The tech nearest him shook his head. "Nothing specific. We're thinking snipers, so we've got our people checking vantage points. Whoever's doing this planned well."
"I don't like this," Foster murmured from behind Gaignun. "Too coordinated. A director leaves for an investigation and now this." His eyes narrowed. "Damn it! Acker! Play back all video feeds for Dock 8 for the past hour. I want to know who fired that shot!" Acker murmured a quick affirmative before settling in to his task. "Just what the hell is happening?" Foster asked no one in particular.
---
Yellow eyes stared at the floating bubble that was the Kukai Foundation, deceptively placid despite his briefing. Traffic was still. Communications were silent save for emergency lines, and even those seemed hushed.
He leaned back in his seat, finding something akin to comfort in being back in his craft, and began going through pre-launch checks, the sequence familiar as breathing. He opened a channel to the dropship's bridge. "E.S. Asher, startup sequence complete. Requesting launch."
"Launch confirmed. Since communications were cut we're not sure what's going on down there, so be careful."
"Right," he assured the woman on the other end, tonelessly.
"Good luck."
They let him go.
Canaan savored the brief moment of exhilaration as Asher dropped towards the Foundation, before his suppressor kicked again. A brief look at his displays showed that he was well on target, minutes away from touchdown. He tensed slightly, eyes fixed on his goal. It couldn't be this easy.
It was.
With a soundless clang Asher landed on a thick strut, and he searched for a way in.
---
Alarms sounded in the security station, annoyingly persistent until someone silenced them.
"We've got an unidentified craft on the Foundation's outer hull." E.S. Asher appeared on the main screen, the large craft moving with almost dangerous quickness through the hostile environment.
"That was quick," Gaignun murmured to himself. Had Wilhelm waited until the last possible moment to inform him? "Open a channel; that's an ally out there."
Within seconds Canaan's face replaced Asher's image. Gaignun stared back at him, remembering little about the realian that'd rescued him from Miltia those six or so years ago. "Thinking of sneaking in?"
A humorless smile crossed Canaan's face, a short-lived quirk of the lips. "Comm channels were down. A quiet approach seemed best."
Gaignun's own expression remained fixed. "So I see."