30: Laboratory

They were getting deep into the facility now. Resistance had increased, with just about every Calsharan soldier in the compound now alerted to the fact that they had been infiltrated. John knew they had to move quickly, and they had to be absolutely certain of where they were headed. Not to mention, they had to be sure of their way out. Exfiltration had apparently not occurred to Kav'rak, who had been so confident about getting in that his plans at escape seemed wholly reliant on the destruction they would cause when they hit the main laboratory.

Several makalvari prisoners had got loose, thanks to John's tampering with the security controls. They had been rampaging about the facility, attacking any guards they found and seizing whatever weapons they could. It provided the kind of confusion Kav'rak had intended, allowing the team to progress a little easier than if there had been no distractions present. The layout of the facility had become a series of winding tunnels, wide enough for a truck to fit through, suggesting another way out somewhere ahead. And the team, as a whole, moved through the latest tunnel at a rapid pace, John near the front with Aithris and Kav'rak. Sha'Pek and Hur'Par kept at the rear, with the others staggered between the two subgroups. From somewhere ahead, weapons fire echoed down the tunnel length. More chaos brought on by the escaped prisoners, presumably.

John had his rifle with him, as well as the Calsharan plasma pistol. According to Kav'rak, the way into the laboratory would be somewhere ahead, in the heart of the facility. An elevator most likely, which would limit their potential means of approach. So far, they had met some light resistance. That was only likely to change once they got closer to their objective.

The tunnel ended at a larger central chamber, filled with stacks of containers. There was an opening to the right, leading into a shorter corridor which appeared to go to some living quarters. Further ahead, at the end of another hall, was a checkpoint complete with a locked gate and computer terminal. A pair of Calsharan soldiers were there, and they were firing at a trio of makalvari prisoners who were at the other end of the hall. John motioned for the team to spread out. He took up position by one stack, his eyes searching the surrounding chamber. Another, narrower tunnel branched off to the right. A Calsharan soldier appeared on a walkway above, overlooking the chamber as a whole. This one spotted the intruders right away, plasma rifle coming to bear and bolts lancing forth in a steady stream.

John ducked as part of the container next to him exploded under the onslaught, a spray of molten metal flying outwards. Aithris was there next to him, his rifle raised in turn, firing a volley that sent the soldier stumbling. He hit him again with another burst, the focused fire necessary to penetrate the soldier's armour. The Calsharan landed in a heap upon the catwalk, rifle falling from their grasp and clattering onto the floor below.

The makalvari prisoners up ahead were a dirtied, bedraggled sort. Their uniforms were torn and filthy, the plumes of feathers on their heads caked with dried blood and dirt. They looked like they had been through hell. None of them had guns, rather they had picked up whatever implements they could find that had some weight behind them. The two soldiers standing guard at the security gate were laying down the fire, forcing the escaped prisoners back into cover.

Elsie was off to John's right, and she propped her Barrett upon a container at about waist height and took aim. The noise of the shot that followed was deafening, like the thunder of an artillery piece, and one of the soldiers fell backwards with an abrupt jerk. Blood splattered behind him as the bullet tore through his armour vest, ripped into numerous ragged shards that shredded through his chest and out the other side. The other soldier backed into a small alcove in the wall, firing his rifle haphazardly around the corner.

John signalled for Aithris to follow. Another pair of Calsharan soldiers appeared on the catwalks above, emerging from a door on the upper level. Jonas and Natalia and the others turned their attention to this latest threat, laying on a withering hail of fire that ripped into the concrete wall behind the pair, dented and pinged off of the metal guard rail and clanked loudly into the armour suits both soldiers wore. Under the consistent fire, the two Calsharan soldiers stumbled, blood spilling as they went down.

John hurried over to the start of the hall ahead. The makalvari prisoners turned to look at him, seemingly both pleased and surprised to see him here. Even more so when they looked to Aithris, although it was Kav'rak who was first to speak to them, rushing up with the Colonel.

"Status?" The makalvari Captain asked them.

"Some of us made it out of the cellblock," the makalvari escapee replied. "Most of us died during the escape. The others are running for the exits, but I thought my friends and I should do something about the experiments going on down here." He ducked on impulse as the Calsharan at the security gate fired again, a plasma bolt clipping the edge of the doorway. Blue vapour wafted from the impact, rapidly fading as it dispersed.

"Experiments?" Kav'rak asked.

"Something to do with some sort of new energy, I don't know. They even have poison gas down there."

Kav'rak nodded in acknowledgment of this information. It was as they had suspected.

"All right, Corporal." He noted the rank insignia on the makalvari escapee's torn uniform. "You and your friends should make an attempt to escape. We'll handle the laboratory."

The makalvari Corporal frowned, seemingly reluctant to leave.

"You could use our help…"

"You've already helped enough. Now go." Kav'rak was being unusually lenient, and for a moment there John thought he was seeing the kind of person he truly was underneath the officer exterior. Whoever that was, they were gone quickly. "The Calsharan weapons should work for you all, for the time being. Grab what you can and leave."

"Very well, sir." The makalvari Corporal nodded, some relief in his voice, before he and his two friends started to run for the other, narrower tunnel at the other side of the large chamber. Kav'rak turned to John then, ducking again as another stream of plasma fire erupted from the soldier at the security gate ahead.

"We're close, Colonel." Kav'rak's yellow eyes positively gleamed at the prospect of being upon their objective. "Once we're in that elevator, we're set."

"We'll be descending into an ambush," John said.

"I doubt it. They won't want to damage the lab equipment. The guards will be much more conservative with their shooting down there." Kav'rak lifted up the respirator mask hanging around his neck, designed to fit his raptor-like snout. "And like the prisoner said, poison gas, Colonel. We'll see how much they like having their own toxins turned against them."

John looked back at the others. They were in cover, with Elsie and Natalia attempting to get a bead on the Calsharan down by the security gate.

"Elsie, you and Jonas stay up here with the two birds. Watch our backs and wait for our return. If things work out, we shouldn't take too long down below." The 'birds' he referred to were Sha'Pek and Hur'Par, who were crouched partway down the chamber, keeping an eye on their flanks. "I'll take Aithris, Natalia and Kav'rak down into the lab."

Jonas gave a nod in acknowledgment of the instructions. Elsie looked about ready to protest, but seemed to stop herself. No use having them all go down into the laboratory, especially if it meant bundling into the one elevator.

"We'll come back up when we're done," John said. "And then we'll get out of this place together." He turned to Kav'rak. "You do have a way out for us, right?"

Kav'rak motioned to the tunnel at one side of the chamber, where the makalvari prisoners had fled.

"That should lead to a way out," he said. "Either that, or we go back the way we came. Chances are both paths will be full of hostiles by the time we leave."

"Great." John did not mean this at all, of course.

He was about to add more when Elsie fired her rifle, having finally gotten a proper bead on the Calsharan at the end of the corridor. The shot tore into the alien's upper chest and he was flung backwards a few short steps, his back slamming into the security gate, blood spilling down his torso. John moved ahead as soon as the soldier was down, Aithris and Kav'rak following, with Natalia coming up from the rear. The security gate was comprised of solid metal bars, although the lock itself was not much different to the kinds of keypad affairs one might find in secure installations on Earth.

"Sergeant." John stepped aside, allowing Natalia to work her skills on the obstacle. She pulled a small, circular charge from a pouch on her vest, a mouldable plastic explosive that she set firmly upon the lock. She did so quickly, and seconds later she had jammed a fuse inside the putty and stepped back. The others with her did the same, turning their heads as soon as she uttered the expected warning:

"Fire in the hole." There was a loud bang as the small, precise charge detonated. The lock exploded, metal sizzling, small slivers flying about. John kicked open the gate, allowing them access to the short stretch of corridor beyond. It finished at a freight elevator, a large platform intended to transport heavy materials up and down the facility's heart. Kav'rak took the lead here, setting foot in the elevator first, before setting his attention to the control pad on their left as they entered. Waiting a moment for everyone to get on board, Kav'rak slipped on his respirator, covering his snout and his eyes with an airtight seal and filters in place against pollutants in the air.

"I suggest we all protect ourselves," he said, and John followed suit, fitting his respirator mask over his face. Natalia and Aithris also donned their masks in expectation of the airborne trouble they were likely to find down below.

Kav'rak hit a button on the control pad. The doors of the elevator slammed shut and it started on its descent in earnest, the going steady, the anticipation building within the occupants riding it. John checked his rifle, ensuring that the magazine was close to full. The others did the same with their weapons, readying themselves for the fight that was ahead.


Major Dravesk, commander of the weapons facility, had been caught off-guard by the sudden breakout at the cellblock. The cell doors (and just about every secure door in the facility for that matter) had opened simultaneously. This set free about twenty makalvari prisoners who immediately pounced upon their guards and started making a mess. Dravesk had initially headed for the cellblock to take direct control of the response. Instead, he was waylaid by news of intruders at the other side of the facility, which had struck him as odd for an intruder alarm had been sounded on the opposite end of the facility earlier. Someone was messing with them, drawing their attention from one spot to another, and now a prison breakout was no doubt intended to plunge them into further disarray. The whole thing was by design, and so Dravesk figured it best he attend to the most important part of the facility instead: the laboratory.

Of course, he was hit with another wall when he started for that part of the facility. There were intruders blocking the way to the central elevator. Given the design of the facility, a design made by the original makalvari builders, the central elevator was the only real way in or out of the main laboratory. A security measure, one Dravesk had not had the time nor resources to properly alter. He had had teams working on constructing a tunnel from the laboratory and to the outside, a means of escape if there was ever a problem down there, but it was far from finished. The guard presence down there and the science team would likely not be enough to fight off an organized team of saboteurs.

Dravesk, flanked by four of his soldiers, paused by the entrance into the loading bay for the central laboratory. The intruders were in there, watching every approach. Humans and makalvari working together. Judging from the weapons those humans wielded, they were from Earth. He had been warned about them, briefed by his superiors about the kind of problems the Earthers could bring. Still, he had not expected to find any on Dalabrai. It appeared that the makalvari had found themselves an ally, which to him indicated a much greater concern. The makalvari were trouble enough; the Earthers could bring with them a whole new world of trouble. He would have to report this to the home-world as soon as possible, once the current crisis was contained.

First and foremostly, he needed reinforcements. The soldiers on guard within the facility had become too spread out from the false alarm and the prisoner breakout. There were plenty more at the train station depot several kilometres away. He needed them here, quickly. With this in mind, he left his soldiers to keep the intruders distracted whilst he hurried into the nearest office back down the corridor a short distance. Inside was a landline, one of the few on the base in place for such emergencies. It put him on a direct line to the depot. Seeing as how their wireless communications were being scrambled, he had no choice but to use a much more reliable, if limited, technology.

It took a moment for the call to go through. The soldier who answered the call sounded bored. He was not likely to be bored for much longer:

"This is Dravesk," the Major said. "I need every available soldier at the weapons facility now. We are under attack. Infiltrators have broken in and are intent on sabotaging the laboratory. They must not be allowed to escape." It was better to go straight-to-the-point in a situation such as this, less chance of miscommunication. And the soldier on the other end of the line at first sounded disbelieving, but Dravesk was quick to snap at him: "Do as you are ordered! Send me every available trooper."

"Every one of them, sir?"

"Everyone."


The elevator came to a stop at the end of a short corridor. There was a solitary Calsharan soldier standing guard here, and as soon as the door opened he was hit by the combined fire of John, Natalia, Aithris and Kav'rak. As such, he did not last very long, twitching and jerking as rounds tore through him, sending him falling upon the concrete floor with blood spilling out around him. The team hurried forwards, rounding a corner that put them on another corridor. Here, there were a few more soldiers, taking cover behind pipes and tanks that were up against the walls. Lengths of metal pipes ran along the walls and ceiling, further adding to the otherwise dreary industrial appearance of the underground facility.

John darted into one alcove as plasma fire shot down the corridor towards him. Aithris was at the opposite side, pinned behind a similar alcove where a section of pipes was located. Natalia and Kav'rak were a short distance behind, returning fire from similarly covered positions. It was a standoff, and it was the one delay they did not need right now.

John slung his rifle around his shoulder and pulled out the Calsharan plasma pistol. It was a sturdy weight in his hand, but he felt like something was missing. He turned to Natalia, who was somewhat closer to the soldier they had taken down outside the elevator.

"Sergeant, grab that rifle." He pointed in the direction of the dead soldier. Natalia did not hesitate to do as instructed, racing back down the corridor several metres, keeping low as plasma fire zipped overhead. She picked up the fallen soldier's rifle, hurrying back to her position before she threw the weapon to John. He caught it in one hand, surprised by how light it was. It was barely any heavier than the pistol; the wonders of energy weapons, he supposed.

"I'm going to go for it," he said, and he gritted his teeth. There were Calsharan soldiers at either side of the corridor ahead, taking cover within alcoves and shorter, branching corridors that in most cases finished at closed doors. John had the rifle in one hand, the pistol in the other. Behind him, Kav'rak, Aithris and Natalia continued to pour on the suppressing fire, trying to keep the handful of soldiers pinned. The whole situation was a standoff neither side was likely to come out on top of, and with this in mind John did the one thing the enemy likely was not expecting: he ran straight for them.

Running down the middle, he opened fire with both guns to either side, sending the nearest of the Calsharan soldiers crumpling under several hits. A volley of plasma fire darted by him, but John kept going, running by one of the branching tunnels in which a Calsharan soldier had backed into. The plasma pistol he had pointing that side fired, and the soldier slammed hard against the door behind him as a cluster of plasma bolts tore through his chest. And to John's other side, another soldier in an alcove behind some old pipes; John blasted him before he could get a line on the human. The Colonel kept running, diving to the floor as the last of the soldiers stepped out from cover and opened fire.

Plasma bolts zipped overhead as John hit the floor, his breathing loud through the respirator mask he wore. Both plasma guns turned to the Calsharan soldier, and John hit him with a solid hail of fire, planting several burning holes through his torso before he fell backwards and tumbled upon the concrete floor.

The others rushed on up ahead after John, whilst he rose to his feet and took a moment to catch his breath. John paused at the opening ahead, finding himself looking into what could only be the main laboratory. It was a large space, banks of computers spread out to either side of a central, circular platform. And upon it, a cylindrical object with cables snaking from it, connecting to the various computers. There were several large grey tanks at the far end, with pipes running from them and valves at various points. More were at the opposite side, indicating an elaborate system of fuel or energy distribution.

There were a pair of Calsharan soldiers across the way, but between them and the intruders came running a male Calsharan in a grey uniform. Three more dressed similar to him were crouched behind the computers closest to him. This Calsharan did not appear to be a soldier or an officer for that matter, and he carried no visible weapon. A frantic gaze was in his eyes, his ageing features having adopted a fearful, worrisome look.

"Hold your fire!" He shouted. Kav'rak did not let him add anything further, and instead he shot the Calsharan scientist with his mag-rifle, blowing a fist-sized hole through his chest. The scientist fell backwards, eyes wide with shock. They took on the all-too familiar glassy, vacant appearance of the deceased, and the scientist landed against the central platform with a steady trail of blood spilling out of his chest and soaking his uniform. The two soldiers across the laboratory opened fire, bolts singing past the intruders as they scattered.

Kav'rak fired another shot, the noise of the mag-rifle echoing loudly about the laboratory. He sent it between the two soldiers, putting it in one of the tanks at the wall behind them. Right away, a steady plume of blue-tinged gas began to billow out. More followed as Kav'rak shot further holes into the tank. The soldiers closest to it began to run. The scientific personnel also did the same, but their movements slowed and they began to stumble around as they caught some of the escaping gas. Coughs and sputters could be heard, even from the pair of soldiers nearby who collapsed to the floor, writhing about and holding their throats as more of the blue gas seeped into the laboratory space.

"Colonel, there is a reactor somewhere in here," Kav'rak said, turning to him, satisfied that the escaped gas had done its purpose. John had to wonder if letting it out had even been necessary, but he supposed this was something the makalvari Captain had decided on well in advance. "Put your explosives on it. That should demolish this entire facility."

John looked about the laboratory. The gas had spread all around, reducing visibility to some degree. John noticed an opening further down on the right, and from there a series of much newer grey conduits snaked forth, running up the wall and towards the ceiling. Some cables were connected to a box where the conduits branched off upon the wall, providing power for the computers in the laboratory space. He had to assume the power core was where those conduits started.

He turned to Natalia, who stood a little way off to his right.

"Come on, Sergeant. I need your expertise." John started for the opening, Natalia following whilst Aithris gave Kav'rak cover. The makalvari Captain had run for the device in the middle of the platform. There, he was looking it over, unplugging some of the cables as he went. One seemed to catch his attention, for he followed it to one of the computer terminals. John had a feeling as to what he was up to, but his own task took up much of his focus for the moment.

There was a Calsharan-built reactor in the next room. He had seen them before, being roughly the same size as a zero-point module but comprised of grey and silver metal. A blue glow emanated from within it, suspended upon a short waist-level bench and surrounded by Calsharan computers. These power cores were not as volatile as a zero-point module, but they could still make a tremendous explosion. That was what they wanted, and John motioned Natalia over.

"Put charges around the base," he ordered. He checked the watch he wore at his left wrist. How long had it taken them to get down here? Twenty minutes? If the Calsharans had called for help, then their way out might be more difficult than the way in had been. "Set a timer. Give us twenty minutes."

"Twenty, sir?" Natalia had pulled off her pack, setting it upon the podium upon which the power core sat. She had cocked an eyebrow at the time given, her thoughts on it clear: it might not be enough.

"Just do it, Sergeant." Make the timer too long, and they risked the Calsharans getting down here and deactivating the charges. They would have to sabotage the elevator once they were out of the lab, keep them from doing just that.

Natalia went to work, setting the C4 charges she had brought along upon the podium and surrounding conduits. With this done, she slung the pack back on, setting her watch to the time given: twenty minutes. The displays on each of the charges also blinked back the same amount.

The pair hurried back out to the main laboratory space. Kav'rak was already heading back for the elevator. Aithris waited for the Colonel and Natalia before following, his eyes carrying their dim violet glow even through the visor on his mask.

"Colonel." He spoke quietly, his voice slightly muffled through the respirator.

"What did the Captain do?" John asked, having a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"He took a control crystal out of one of the computers," Aithris said, and he nodded for one bank of computer terminals nearby. John could see a panel on the back of it had been opened, with the row of control crystals within now conspicuously accompanied by one vacant spot amongst them. John had figured as much, that Kav'rak would take the Calsharans' research for himself and his superiors. He may have claimed that his people had 'abandoned' the research here, but that did not mean they would not simply start it up again.

"I'll talk to him about it later," John said, even though he was uncertain of just what he would say. He doubted that Captain Kav'rak would take kindly to his suggesting that maybe he, and by extension his superiors, had ulterior motives for the whole mission. Even though that very conclusion was probably the most obvious one of all.

"That is, after we get out of here," John added, and he slapped Aithris on the shoulder. "We've only got twenty minutes before this whole place goes up."

Aithris did not appear fazed by this news, even though he likely thought the same thing: not enough time. With their decreasing window of escape in mind, the group bundled into the elevator again and rode it back up to the main facility. Kav'rak said little, his mind elsewhere. When the doors slid open, the gas was no longer present, lingering well below them in the laboratory. They all freed themselves of their respirators, and for John at least a thin layer of sweat had built up under his own. He hated wearing those things.

Jonas, Elsie, Sha'Pek and Hur'Par were waiting for them. They were scattered amongst the containers and barricades about the warehouse space, exchanging fire with a group of Calsharan soldiers at the entrance they themselves had used to get inside. John caught Jonas' gaze, motioning for the other corridor.

"Twenty minutes, people!" He called. It was probably more like eighteen now, when he thought about it. "Cover each other. Let's get out of here." He ducked as an errant plasma bolt struck the wall behind him. Natalia, meanwhile, had already taken the initiative and had readied a satchel charge.

"Fire in the hole," she called, before she threw it into the elevator. The group ran for cover in the moments before it exploded, blasting the elevator doors off of their hinges and causing the entire platform to rattle and break free of the cables that kept it suspended. The whole bottom of the elevator fell out from underneath it, the metal sheets clattering loudly down the shaft. A cloud of smoke blossomed out of the wrecked elevator, spreading about the warehouse.

"They're pulling back!" It was Sergeant Hur'Par who shouted this, referring to the way in which the Calsharan soldiers at the entrance had started to retreat. There had to have been only a few of them, and they appeared to be reconsidering their approach. John was not sure if that was a good or bad thing. Regardless, they had to get out of here, quickly. He ordered the team for the other corridor, hoping that Kav'rak was right that there was another way out that way. Even if there was not, he supposed there was some small consolation in the fact that they would not have much time to really worry about it.


Major Dravesk had pulled his squad back because he knew then that the laboratory was lost. With the elevator destroyed, he could only assume they had sabotaged the device and, most likely, the power core itself. He was headed back for the outer compound now, with three regulars following him. Today, it seemed, had only gone from bad to worse. He could not wait much longer for the additional help.

As if reading his mind, another soldier appeared, stating that they had received a status report from the reinforcements: they would be here shortly, and they sought further instruction. Dravesk ordered the soldier to relay the message that they were to head for the northern entrance, where they would be best suited to intercept the intruders. He was not going to allow them to escape. Losing the facility was a big enough failure in itself; letting those responsible escape would ruin his prospects where the High Protector was concerned. He could at least salvage some part of this fiasco.

"Another thing," Dravesk said, and he stopped at the end of the corridor, his squad members pausing with him. "I want my rover ready and waiting for me at the compound. Bring out the calsagri hounds we have on hand. I want these intruders hunted down. If the reinforcements cannot reach them in time, it'll be up to us to find them."