Seventeen
Olaf looked ahead trying to assess a solid pathway as he and his meal ticket made their way across the swamp. From the hard tracks that seemed to make their way around each pool Ianto realised they were most likely animal tracks of some kind. They reached a small rise covered with some sort of scraggly plant life. Ianto took a moment to tie a marker ribbon as he had done to the few large plants that stood out along the entire trail.
'How much further?' Ianto asked, double-checking that the marker was not going to blow away in the breeze.
Olaf looked around then pointed towards what appeared to be a structure with hard lines almost invisible against the grey sky in the distance. Ianto narrowed his eyes; it took a moment but then he saw their destination.
Ianto now took the lead and Olaf followed. They were getting close now and Olaf and he had thought long and hard about how to exploit the opportunities now before him. He had concluded that as tempting kidnapping and ransom demands were it only led to either a single payment or series of payments if he decided to give Jones back to family in bits. The key to wealth was selling the key to matter transportation. The royalties would make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. A thought came to him; once he had extracted the information and built up his empire maybe he could then ransom Jones for the millions he was worth. Persuade him to hand over his ten percent in exchange for his life or 50% of the family's wealth if they were that rich.
Olaf felt a tinge of anxiety. This had been easy; too easy. That said Harkness's assessment of him was a little too close for comfort, but Jones actually appeared to trust him. More fool him; that trust would cost him every dignity he had.
Olaf knew needed to keep wary. The pair had already led to one miscalculation. He had assumed that after taking back the ship Harkness and Jones would choose to scarper and call for back-up, and would need some persuading to come to this location and attempt a rescue. But rescuing the crew seemed to be in their minds the whole time and didn't require any manipulation on his part to call on their better natures and information about the trials the captured crew would face. They were so gung-ho they were going to try anyway. Talk about hubris and overconfidence. Well, their heroics would be their undoing, well for Jones anyway. Now all he needed was a bit of luck to get the Commander inside and towards the rift. If they were captured Olaf realised he could claim he had tricked the Commander into bringing him there and then tell them about the crew abandoned on Netzan 3 and then he would be the hero, his place in the cartel would be assured.
Ianto stumbled over a rootlet and landed on his knees. Ianto had been so concentrating on his footing he saw the stark walls of the base about a 100 meters away.
'Almost there, once we've passed this group of pools we hit solid ground,' Olaf encouraged him by helping Ianto to his feet.
As they approached the stiff breeze that had been such a feature of their crossing the swamp picked up and a thick fog formed and then swirled around their feet, causing the path they had been following to become invisible. Olaf was the first to fall into one of the many pools, followed by Ianto. Each pool was filled with layers of rotting vegetation which seemed to cause them to sink to their waists in stinking black mud. After falling into three pools a breeze cleared away the fog just as they reached the side of the building. There was no fence which in itself was a surprise but then again if their captives were all air breathers leaving the building was a death sentence.
The building appeared to modular. Olaf took a moment to orient himself then pointed to the left. There was no entrance Ianto could see just meters of grey wall, covered in some kind of grey mossy growth. The thick slap of super-crete the building sat on provided a path way, something Ianto was grateful for even if it was slick with the same mossy growth that covered the sides of the building.
After about one hundred meters Olaf stopped in front of what look like an arch shaped indent in the side of the wall. 'Where are we?' Ianto asked.
'Entranceway Sub Beta,' Olaf replied wiping away some of the moss with hands revealing some large lettering in basic.
'What's on the other side of the door?' Ianto asked.
'This side of the base hasn't been used for decades. The current section being used is on the east side close to where the shuttle bay, landing area and processing areas are.'
Ianto helped Olaf and together they began to clear away the moss around the door frame, revealing a panel. Forcing it open revealed a large manual switch.
To Ianto it looked rusted solid but when the switch was lifted they both heard a groan and the door appeared to lift a couple of centimetres.
'Give me a hand.' Olaf bent down and put his fingers under the rim. Together after much straining and grunting they lifted the door enough for them to slip under. Turning on his torch Ianto found himself in a room that appeared to be in a serious state of decay. Whatever had been used to cover the walls and ceiling was hanging off in great strips some reaching to the floor.
Four steps away from the entrance was another door with an embedded panel with a numeric pad and small screen. Ianto wiped the moisture away with his hands. Opening the panel he did a quick visual check. He recognised it as an airlock operating component. The wiring was not subject to the same type of corrosion seen in primitive electronics so the system should still operate. After putting back the panel cover Ianto reached into backpack and pulled out an engineering pad with a universal connector.
'That will never work,' Olaf told him. 'The systems on the Torchwood are too far advanced to even allow a handshake. The best we can do is to open the airlock and go further into the base.'
Plugging the pad via a universal connector Ianto now pulled from his pocket what looked like gaudy brooch and placed it on the pad screen. Olaf's eyes widened as within seconds the pad filled with a menu.
'As long as there is a central computer system then that's all this needs.' Ianto pointed at the broach.
'How? Why? What? Where?' Olaf stuttered.
'Never mind that. What you need to understand is after this mission I'm going to destroy it.'
'But it's incredible! You could break into any computer system!' Olaf burst out not able to tear his eyes away from the object.
'That's the problem. It was given to me as a gift and as a secret but now too many people know about it and that makes it very dangerous,' Ianto said as he worked.
Olaf felt his control slip and he reached out to take the brooch right there and then but pulled back just in time. He looked at Jones, concentrating on the information flowing across the screen of the pad. 'Of course,' Olaf found himself replying.
Marcus Truby, second lieutenant engineering first class, peered around the corner and down the corridor and saw another door.
This place was a maze. Escaping from their cell had been the easy bit. The problem was the nature of this prison meant they had gotten lost. It would have been simple as Aashif and Yasti had argued to mark in some way where they had been. However that would have led any pursuers right to them. However after hours of wandering around he had conceded and for hours now the group had left tiny marks that hopefully only they understood.
'Hannah?' Marcus watched as she checked the wall for their marks.
'We've been here before. Down the corridor there is a junction,' Hannah told him.
'Junction crossroads,' Cheng said under his breath in frustration.
'Fourth time's a charm. At least there is only turning left to try,' Brian added as they quietly headed down towards the door.
'All roads lead to Rome,' Yasti said trying to lighten the situation.
'In this case all roads don't lead to Rome. And we are running out of water,' Hannah said, throwing a quarter-full bottle of water at him which he caught.
'We just need some luck?" Marcus said as they reached the junction and looked east, west then south.
'The slavers are smarter than they look. I bet we're not the first prisoners to escape and get lost,' Yasti said taking a small sip from the bottle Hannah had thrown at him.
'We are not lost,' Marcus pointed out. 'We bloody know where we are.'
'Stuck inside a slaver base,' Cheng spoke up.
'Exactly,' Marcus replied.
'What I can't understand is why the slavers have not been chasing us about. I mean at least half the cameras are blinking red so that means they are on,' Brian spoke up.
'They know there is nowhere for us to go,' Yasti said looking worried. 'There is no escape. Outside it's deadly; all they have to do is wait for us to run out of food and water.'
Marcus put his arms around her shoulders. 'They will not get us that easy. We just need to find some sort of central control system, turn off the collars, and then we could release everyone in one go. Then we fight back.'
Marcus looked up to see everyone nodding. 'The great thing about having been here three times is that all or choices are reduced to one,' Marcus commanded.
'You definitely a half glass full person,' Yasti laughed.
'I argue it's what liquid is in the glass that determines if the glass is half empty of half full,' Cheng expounded. 'Slug slime half full. Nectar of the gods in this case half a glass of fine Indian pale ale, it's half empty.'
'You know in some places slug slime would be considered nectar of the gods,' Aashif added and the group disappeared around the corner.
As Ianto expected the base was laid out in a series of boxes. There was a central command and control on the east side heavily fortified and guarded. From what he could tell the crew appeared to have arrived mostly unscathed and had been placed into cells. From the manifest the base was trying to fit in more prisoners than the modern centre was set up for thereby stretching all their resources to the limit. Around one-eighty were in central section, and the remainder incarcerated in the other two sections. A fourth section which this airlock led to was in a state of serious disrepair and had not been used at all.
Other than putting the crew into cells the slavers appeared had gone into some sort of wait and hold pattern. 'Waiting and holding for what was the question?' Ianto asked himself. From the evidence the crew was being fed and were in good shape physically. Checking again he saw four crew members had been injured and were in the small hospital. The surveillance systems from the section with the hospital wing gave a clearer picture of what was happening there than the two other sections housing the vast bulk of the crew. It was with some relief Ianto saw Owen his intern Rupesh Patanjali in attendance.
From the map on his pad Ianto indicated that the airlock bedside him led to an abandoned corridor. Olaf confirmed it would be oldest and had not been used in the few years he had been there. In fact the only system functioning appeared to be door control and that was only down to keeping the base air tight. Ianto counted between he and Olaf they had twenty breathers, this meant realistically clearing two cells. The shuttle could hold eight being the smaller of the two they had on the Torchwood. His dilemma was to lead the groups back here which meant someone had to man the airlock. Ianto looked at Olaf and at the control, he couldn't send Olaf because the crew has been traumatised and think it was a trick. Only he could go. Ianto opened his backpack and pulled out marker tape and began to prepare to enter the base.
Brian looked at the walls they seemed to be in even worse shape than the last section they had travelled through. The last corridor was the only option left, the hope they held it would lead somewhere important slowly ebbed as it appeared to be leading them towards a true dead end the very outer part of the base and outside. Hannah worked at the door control and the door slid aside and heard the one behind them clang shut.
'Is that light, real light?' Hannah asked as they saw what looked like a narrow window with a shaft of natural light.
'It's a true window.' Cheng raced ahead and placed his face against the glass. 'Maybe this is the back way to the landing bay.'
Ianto directed the system to disable any alarms operating the airlock might alert central control. The door had a narrow section of glass that meant you could look through and see the other side. Peering through he saw a face pressed against the glass blinking in surprise. It took a moment to realise it was Ensign Cheng Wu, one of the navigation students. Ianto turned away and placed a breather mask up against the window. Removing it he saw another face, this time Aashif, an engineering student, his face split into a huge grin.
His fingers moving as quickly as they could Ianto set the airlock to cycle then opened the door leading into the corridor. To his amazement six bodies piled in. Within moments Ianto had repeated the cycle in reverse and the door opened. Quickly he and Olaf handed out breathers.
'Second Lieutenant Marcus Truby, Engineering.' Marcus took Commander Jones's hand and shook it vigorously. The others hugged each other in relief.
'Does this mean the ship has been taken back?' Hannah asked, her arm around Yasti.
'Yes,' Ianto replied.
'We've been wandering about for hours. We were hoping to find a way to disrupt the base and find a way to free the crew. If nothing else, find a way to turn off the slave collars,' Marcus explained.
'Did Space Command arrive?' Yasti asked excitedly.
'No. Captain Harkness is on his own and he needs assistance to run the ship,' Ianto told them bluntly. 'Any of you a pilot?' Ianto asked slapping Marcus on the upper arm.
'I have some basic experience. I'm not a pilot but I did finish basic training at the academy.' Cheng spoke up.
Ianto handed him a tracker. 'Better than me I have none. Olaf and I got here with the shuttle on auto. The shuttle is exactly three kilometres due west.'
'What's the plan? Marcus asked, eyeing Olaf.
'I was going to open the doors to the nearest cells, go in and then lead them here,' Ianto told him.
'This place is a bloody maze. We've been wandering around for hours,' Marcus told him then smiled. 'However getting lost means we were forced to mark the way.' Ianto indicated the map on his pad. Marcus traced lines with a finger. 'The issue is all the doors in the main corridors have two settings: close or open. As soon another door is opened any open door closes. We didn't find any kind way of setting up a counter command that would leave the doors open. If there was a way we could form a corridor leading directly to here.'
Ianto moved aside and Marcus called Hannah forward to show Ianto which doors could do this. 'To simplify things even more, we…myself included,' Marcus pointed to his crewmates, 'could set up a relay at the junctions and direct the crew to here.'
'Two problems,' Ianto said after taking taken a moment to think. 'Captain Harkness needs help badly. There is only a limited time he can maintain the systems in orbit on his own before they go into imbalance making it impossible to recover. I don't need to point out what that means. Second issue, I only have twenty breathers with the six you are using that leaves fourteen but there are around forty more in the shuttle.'
Hannah spoke up. 'Cheng and I will go to the shuttle, and bring as many breathers back as we can. By that time you will have released two cells. Cheng will then return with them to the shuttle. The first group we can take back to the shuttle and back to the ship and I will bring their breathers back here. The second group can wait until the shuttle returns and just repeat.'
Ianto turned to Cheng and Hannah. 'First, grab some more breathers then come back here. The pathway is marked but be careful because ground fog can obscure the pathway. The pools we fell in were not deep but that does not mean all of them will be as shallow. I marked a way through which does follow a sort of track. Then by the time you return the first group of seven should be ready. The shuttle is set to auto so if all else fails just order it to return to the Torchwood and report to Captain Harkness. Come back with as many breathers as you can. Make sure you land in the same place. There is very little solid ground out there.'
'How do we communicate inside the base?' Aashif asked as Hannah and Cheng dipped under the half-open door that led outside.
Ianto handed out some button-sized communicators. 'I've matched them to a frequency beyond the capability of the slavers' system. That said you are to keep to radio silence except to request a cell door to be opened.'
'Yes Sir.' Marcus saluted and he, Yasti, Brian, and Aashif stepped back into the airlock.
'Good luck,' Ianto said as the airlock door slid closed and sealed.
John remained still as the woman before him looked him up and down with a predatory gaze. She was younger that he had expected and her soft face gave her an air of vulnerability. John was not fooled; no doubt she had used it to full advantage to reach any position of authority within this operation. All slavery required callous cruelty with a streak of ruthlessness a mile wide and John was in no doubt this woman had all of these in abundance.
'You are very scrawny. I like my men with bigger guns.' She ran her hands over his biceps.
'Looks can be deceiving. It's what's in the package, not the covering, that counts,' John replied sultrily.
'Prove it,' she repeated the familiar phrase John had come to loathe, which was a shame because had been one of his favourites.
'And how would madam like her proof?' John ran his tongue slowly across his lips and gave her a look he hoped would be interpreted as enthusiastic lust with a more than a pinch of enthusiasm.
'Kiss me like you really want me.' She leaned in and John leaned forward and their lips touched.
An appreciable time passed and she stood back, wide eyed. Trying to catch her breath she turned to free his hands. 'If you continue to be this good I may keep you for myself.'
Moving forward for another kiss her eyes widened as she saw a tiny cricket-type weapon pointed directly at her heart and she backed up.
She lifted the slave collar control hung around her neck, almost fumbling it then directed it to un-leash maximum pain.
John threw his head back and laughed at her attempt. 'You really are stupid. I nullified that days ago.'
'You should know so there is no escape off this base. Even if you could get outside this moon has a toxic methane atmosphere,' she told him.
'I didn't work my way up the ranks to escape,' John spat out in disgust at her comment
Gaffer looked confused.
'So what is this then? Some pathetic attempt takeover of the base by holding me captive in exchange for your crew? There is no honour amongst thieves. Trust me; every slaver here will be climbing over themselves to take my place.'
'Nice bunch,' John sneered.
'It's survival of the fittest. So you've got to the highest person on this base…woo hoo. From what I can see you have nothing to back up that little pea shooter except bravado.'
'So, just to double-check…you are the highest representative of this operation on this planet?' John checked.
'Guilty as charged,' she said flicking her eyes around the room to discern any advantage.
'You have no idea who you captured have you?' John said ignoring her question as they stared each other down. 'The Torchwood is a training vessel filled to the brim with Space Command's finest, the ensigns are the best and the people who are their mentors are Space Command's most talented. It's a ship full of future leaders and subject matter experts. From the conversations I've overheard they don't need my help escaping. Every single one of them is working towards either escape or taking over. And my crew outnumbers the slavers on this base 20 to one.'
'But Space Command still have need for someone like you,' she sneered.
'So you know the sex is a hobby. My day job is Chief Engineer.'
'So if you're not escaping and your crew don't need any help what the hell is this?' she demanded.
'This is personal.'
'You don't know me how can this be personal?'
'I know who you are. I checked and you confirmed it. You are the Gaffer of this base. That makes you the highest member or your organisation here in this moment.'
'And?' She crossed her arms.
'His name was Ira Boston.'
'Why should I care?'
"He was the Captain of the Torchwood. He was more than my commanding officer; he was my friend, more than a friend. I loved him as much as it's possible for me to love anyone. So this is very personal. I figure it was the energy which stunned the crew caused him to have a heart attack. So I'm here to return the favour. You killed someone dear to me. I figure as a slaver your life is the only thing of real value which would be dear to you.'
'I'm just a Sub-Gaffer. There are others above me who are more responsible,' Gaffer stuttered as the realisation this were her final mortal moments hit her.
'That's the problem with chains of command: the reasonability goes up. You are in the wrong place and the wrong right time just as he was.' John squeezed the trigger. The woman crumpled to the ground.
John kicked the dead body to confirm she was dead. John leaned over her form. 'And one last thing…never and I mean never get between an Aurelian and his quest for the most perfect addition to his obsession!'
Jack watched as the shuttle began to manovoeur itself into the shuttle bay. He readied himself just in case it was not crew but slavers. If slavers were aboard it was all over. As advanced as the ship was it still needed a human being at the controls. Another hour and the ship would not be able to maintain orbit.
The door opened and a young woman stepped out and snapped a salute. 'Permission to come aboard,' Hannah Levin said proudly.
'Permission granted,' Jack snapped back and seven other crewmembers crowded around him. One fell into his arms and began to sob. 'I'm sorry about this,' Jack said as the very young woman sobbed into his chest. 'After what you've been through you more than deserve time to recover but I seriously need your expertise. Right now the crew is myself and you.' The young woman in his arms took a breath and pulled back wiping her face dry with her hand. One of the group closest to her put his arms around her in support.
'Right now the rest of the crew are depending on us to keep this ship in orbit. You are Space Command and I am proud of each and every one of you,' Jack continued.
'Where do you need us?' Jack recognised the young man as an engineering student.
'Engineering and navigation. Both have been set up in Engineering. I released all command codes so you can do what you need to. First, stabilise the core and send the power to the engines to correct the orbit. Report to me every twenty minutes. And don't blow up the ship,' he told them and saw them hesitantly smile as they headed towards the lift.
As the group parted for the lift Cheng stepped forward. 'My orders are to return with as many breathers as we can carry.'
'Report,' Jack commanded as he began to load the shuttle with the breathers he had replicated after Ianto had left.
'Commander Jones found an airlock into the base. He first made contact with a group commanded by Second Lieutenant Marcus Truby. We had escaped our cell two days ago and made our way to the outer corridor to find Commander Jones. Commander Jones has infiltrated the slaver base operating system. The base is a maze so he has set up a safe passage from that part of the base to the airlock. Four others including Marcus volunteered to set up a relay system to guide released crew to the airlock. There they are being shepherded to the landing area to wait for the shuttle to return.'
'Can you fly a bigger shuttle?' Jack asked as he double-checked how many breathers were now loaded
Cheng shook his head. 'I have basic training only but I can fly a Viper Domestic X2 and that has very familiar controls.'
'Cheng, once you have released a pilot regardless they must be given priority to return here to pilot the larger shuttle. You are to remind Commander Jones that he is to hand over command of the rescue to the first senior officer and return to the ship'
'Yes sir.' Cheng snapped and started working on the controls. Jack stepped out onto the deck as the back door began its slow close.
Cheng saluted as he approached Commander Jones. He dropped the breathers he was carrying on to the large pile in the right hand corner. 'First group returned safely to the Torchwood. Captain Harkness reminds you to hand over command of the escape to the first senior commanding officer and return to the ship'
Ianto pursed his lips. 'Thank you Ensign Wu. When you return to the ship tell Captain Harkness the rescue is at a critical point I am unable to comply with his order.'
Ianto looked across at the twelve crew who had been waiting to move out into the swamp. 'Go with Ensign Cheng and set up another relay within waving distance so we can start to shepherd crew more quickly to the landing zone,' Ianto ordered.
'Yes Sir,' Cheng snapped.
It was not until approximately the fifth rotation Jack took a moment to review progress. Thirty crew members had returned. The third return had included an experienced pilot who would be returning with his second load of crew in and was now setting the shuttle down on the cargo bay floor.
The door opened and he saw Commander Zheng, who snapped a salute.
'Why did Commander Jones not hand over command of the rescue to you and return to the ship?' Jack asked before the man could speak.
'I was unaware of the order,' Commander Zheng replied.
Jack held out his hand and stifled his annoyance. 'Good to have you back on board. I need you in Engineering. Currently it's being manned by several ensigns. Please ensure they take a small break as soon as possible but they are to remain on duty until otherwise relieved.'
'On my way sir.' The man headed for the lifts.
Jack walked into the shuttle to find the pilot readying to leave. 'When you get down there send a runner to Commander Jones and remind him that he is to hand over the rescue to the first available senior officer and get back to the ship. Tell him this is a direct order from his commanding officer'
'Yes sir,' the pilot said and began his start up process.
Monitoring the final group from this section Ianto did a quick tally. He had sent nearly one hundred and eighty crew members to the shuttle waiting area. They had cleared the first and were now clearing the second area. All that was left was those nearest to the command and central control and those in the central area around; one hundred and twenty by his calculation including those in the sick bay along with Owen and Rupesh. So far they had been incredibly lucky; it was only a question of time before this operation was discovered. He had an emergency plan but he was loath to use it until there was no other choice. For some reason he couldn't understand Olaf was becoming more and more unsettled and was becoming more distracted by the moment.
As the airlock cycled and six more crew came through he handed them the breathers. He pointed to Aaron Levi who was standing waiting to lead them out.
'I know you want to get out of here as fast as you can. However there are several of those who were rescued earlier who have been helping show the way to the shuttle waiting area. As you come to each please swap over so that they can now be taken to the ship.' One of the newly rescued crew almost burst into tears.
'I promise you will not be left behind even if I have to come back and get you personally,' Ianto promised.
'Okay,' the young crew member said uncertainly, her voice wobbling from emotion.
Ianto pulled her aside. 'I know this has been hard but you are on the home run. You won't be there for long before I send a replacement for all of you'
'Yes sir,' she stated and began to move off.
Stepping back to the airlock control Ianto found a young ensign by his arm who he could have sworn he had sent off to the shuttle area less than an hour before.
'Commander Sir' she said almost hesitantly 'Captain Harkness has sent down a direct order that you are to hand over command of the rescue to the very next senior officer and return to the ship.'
'Thank you, Grace,' he said kindly. 'You tell Captain Harkness…' He paused, pursed his lips, and looked into the distance. 'Tell Captain Harkness that I am currently unable to comply,' he said after several long moments had passed.
Olaf stifled a smile, the first for many hours. Whatever the antipathy held between Harkness and Jones was now in the open for all to see. Refusing a direct order was rank insubordination. This was the fifth message and fifth refusal. He felt a stab of regret he wasn't going to see this play out between the pair because it would have been volcanic.
Jack felt the heat rise in his chest as the shuttle door opened and saw Commander Jones was not a passenger.
'I gave you a direct order to take over command of the rescue operation,' Jack said, with a tinge of disbelief as he spoke Commander Rodger Wilco.
'He told me to give you this.' Jack snatched the paper and read the note.
'With all due respect this operation is at its most delicate stage and has gone without a hitch. This is about trust! I am perfectly capable of handling this. For me to withdraw at this point is an absurdity.'
Jack found an anger rise momentarily making any words he might try to form impossible to speak out loud. How was he supposed to keep Jones safe and get him home if he refused to follow orders?
Jack channelled his frustration and tore up the note into tiny pieces. After squeezing them into a tiny ball Jack realised his power of speech had returned 'Return to Commander Jones and tell him if he is not on the next shuttle I will send down a security detail and escort him back if he does not hand over the rescue to you without any further argument'
"Yes sir,' Commander Wilco headed back towards the shuttle.
Broda Venga scratched then stretched. Looking at the wall clock he was counting down the minutes. The backup was almost here; just four hours to go and they could finally start to process the units of merchandise and readying them to be transported across the rift.
The Gaffer had gone quiet, and he was close to a break. He double-checked his systems. The monitors were all showing zero activity which was perfect. Venga sat back scratched again then lent forward flicking through the cameras.
'Oi Nurmeen, get in here,' he commanded. A few seconds passed as she pushed her way into the central control section.
'I thought I told Branford and his crew to hand out another set of rations to the units of merchandise. Get down there and tell him to get his lazy arse moving. The takeover team are nearly here and I want everything to be in order.'
'I saw him a short time ago loaded up. They were starting from the central area and moving outward,' Nurmeen replied.
'Then why are they not showing on any of the monitors?' Venga flicked through the screens.
He was about to say more when a slaver burst in 'Slave break out! Branford was attacked,' he panted out. 'I managed to escape.'
Broda Venga stood up, leaned right and pressed the main base alarm and complete lock down and the security door that was their main protection slammed shut.
Wide eyed he watched as the lights on his control board do seem to flicker on then off. He swung around as to his horror he saw the security doors slide open.