/ Duel Universe

/ Author: The Cowboy of Oklahoma

/ Ch 6: Interrogation, Secrets and Love? pt2

/ word count: 2259

Coronado Base:

A woman sat down across from the young female, and gave her a softer look than what she had been getting from that other guy.

"Howdy. My name's Shelly, what say ye' and I talk some, girl to girl like?" Shelly said politely. "Like for starters, what's ye'r name?"

The young girl didn't answer at first, but the almost joyous look across from her made her resolve melt a little.

"My name's Akiza III." She relented.

"Third huh. So ye're the third person in ye'r family named that. What's so special about that name any how?" Shelly asked.

"My great, great grandmother was the first named Akiza. She was considered a exceptional duelist during her time." Akiza explained.

"Whoowee, sure would have liked to have met her. We could use more duelists of that caliber." Shelly said.

"What about you? What's so special about you?" Akiza asked.

"Nothin', I'm just a really good naval aviation pilot. Oh, and I'm currently third in command of this here base." Shelly said, then looked at Akiza with a sad expression in her eye. "So, the Commander, I know he can be a bit harsh at times…" Shelly began.

"You mean Mister Attitude Problem, right? Puhlease! He's just all talk, if my father knew about what is going on here, he'd have this place shut down in an instant!" She said smugly

"Do ye' know what we do here?" Shelly asked.

"No, maybe, yeah. You're crafting one of those hovercrafts." Akiza answered.

"So ye' was aware of it, before ye' came, and ye's wonder why a lot of people here are angry with ye'?" Shelly questioned.

"All that guy did was yell at me!" Akiza stated.

"Well, okay, but ye' do realize y'all came in here guns blazin' and shot this here place up but good. He's gonna have words for that, and yellin' wouldn't be out of the question." Shelly explained.

Akiza looked away, her expression was one of sadness. "Look, I was at the briefing, and they didn't say anything about shooting! We got here and the first thing one of them did was shoot the gate guard in the head with a big rifle." Tears were threatening to fall.

"Ye' mean a sniper rifle?" Shelly asked.

She nodded, "I was looking through a pair of binoculars, I thought they were tranquilizers, you know, put him to sleep. Just shoot and the guy would just fall down, but he...he...HIS HEAD EXPLODED!!!" She couldn't hold it in anymore. "I WANT TO GO HOME!! I WANT MY FATHER!! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!! IT'S NOT FUNNY ANYMORE!! I THOUGHT WE WERE THE GOOD GUYS!! THEY LIED TO ME!!" She screamed while sobbing.

Shelly moved closer to let her cry into her chest, undoing the cuffs so she could hold her closer. "Shhshhshhshhshh, it's okay, it's alright, just let 'er out now."

The screaming took a few moments to stop, but she wasn't done sobbing. "There ye' go, let 'er out now. Ye' won't have to do that anymore."

They stayed there for about five minutes like that. The security cameras catching everything. The girl finally pushed back and breathed deep and sighed heavily.

"Now, who is this person that made ye' come all this way out here to do what ye' did?" Shelly asked.

The Baddeck:

"Jackson!?" I said in a hushed tone. "What's the matter?"

She turned and buried her face into my chest, breathing deep.

She spoke, but it was muffled, "Sir! I think we need to go to someplace more...private." She looked up at me with pleading eyes.

"Uh, I, uh, sure, I...guess." I stammered.

Damn me and my awkwardness around women! I can keep a straight face, but only for so long damn it! We moved out of the galley, she walked ahead of me at a brisk pace. It took me a minute to realize where we were going, straight to the captain's quarters.

"Uh, Ensign…?"

"Not yet! Come on!" She said, hushing me.

She pulled me inside and pushed the door shut behind us. Again, I tried to ask what was going on, but she just shushed me and then put her ear to the door.

"Okay, nobody followed us." She said finally.

"Followed us? Ensign, what is going on here? And why did we need to meet in the captain's cabin?" I asked all at once, my tone of voice betraying me.

She just grinned at me with a sidelong glance, an element of mischievousness dancing in her eyes.

"Oh Commander, can't you tell?" Her eyes were a mix of sultry and puppy dog at the same time.

Shitshitshitshit!!!

"I just wanted some alone time with the man that helped save our lives back in Canada. To show my..gratitude." She got right in my face, her eyes half shut. "And to tell you I found something in the Baddecks computer system." She paused.

It took a moment, then I went beet red from sheer embarrassment.

"Dammit Ensign!!" I shouted, shoving her away from me.

"Hahahaha, you should've seen your face!" She pointed while doubling over laughing. "You really thought I was into you!?"

"I don't know! Maybe! Shut up!" I blustered.

She kept laughing for a solid minute before my irritation slipped through.

"Alright enough Ensign! Tell me why you brought me here now!" I growled.

She snickered, laughter dying down. "Ha, ha, oh, okay." Wiping a tear from her eye, she breathed, regaining some control. "It's about..the general sir. There's a video, but he's not talking to us, or the camera, that is."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's all one sided, he appears to be talking to someone on the other end of a communication. That's about two minutes before you found him. Then he...you know." She said with a little apprehension in her voice.

"Show me." I said.

She reached for her computer, and brought it closer to us.

"Sit over there." I deadpanned, pointing across the table.

"Aw, spoil sport." She got up and moved. Then hit a button on the keyboard and a video began playing.

Northface Base, 69hrs ago:

A static filled screen was soon replaced with a spotty image of the general sitting at the comms station with a headset to his ear.

"This isn't what we agreed to!" The General sounded furious. "No! I won't let my men die! I've never failed them before! You can't ask me to do that!"

A long pause.

"What!?" His expression changed, he almost looked as if he saw death. "Alright. I'll do it." He relented to whoever he was talking to. "Just promise me, she'll be safe. PROMISE ME!!" He was very determined about whoever's he's talking about. Then he tapped a few controls on the Baddecks computer, reached up and turned a key. "It's done. The bomb is set for 72hrs. No one will know about it until it's too late. No tech can break this encryption." He hung his head. "Either way, the goo or the bomb will end us first." He looked down and then asked. "Why couldn't I just bring the ship to you as agreed?"

Another pause.

"They do!? Are you sure? So the plan to only take the Brethren to the stars is in full swing?" He suddenly sounded elated. "Okay. I understand. Praise the Gods. Goodbye senator, and food luck."

The general hung up the headset, then sat back, lighting a cigar and pulling out a small bottle of what I can only assume to be liquid courage.

A moment later, "bridge? Bridge!? Is anyone in there!?" A voice came on the overhead, and someone banging on the hatch outside.

He reached for a console, "Commander? What are you doing here!?"

Coronado Base, Present day:

"..so the plan to only take the Brethren to the stars is in full swing?"

"Brethren?" I mouthed to Jackson, her response was a shrug of the shoulders.

"Okay. I understand. Praise the Gods. Goodbye senator and good luck."

"SENATOR!?" I shouted at the screen.

A few moment later, you can here my voice on the monitor, "bridge? Bridge!? Is anyone in there!?"

The general reached for a console, "Commander? What are you doing here...!?"

I shut it off, I didn't want to re-live what came next, I breathed a moment then I got serious about the situation.

"So, some senator is responsible for all that's happened the last couple of days..?" Jackson began.

"That's not important right now Ensign!" I interrupted. "The general enacted a silent countdown to a bomb! We either find it in the next 3hrs or the Baddeck could take out this entire base! Get to your team and have them check every single system where you found those malware's on! Find that device and shut it down!" I shouted

"Right, yes sir." She said and ran out of the room.

I made my way to the bridge and reached for the ship wide intercom and external speakers.

"ALL HANDS!! THIS IS A RED ALERT!! I REPEAT, THIS IS A RED ALERT SITUATION!! ALL GROUND CREW AND SHIP PERSONNEL GET AWAY FROM THE BADDECK NOW!! A BOMB HAS BEEN ACTIVATED!! I REPEAT, A BOMB IS SET TO GO OFF IN THREE HOURS!! GET AWAY FROM THE SHIP NOW!!" I announced.

I turned to the COB, "Chief, start evacuation of any personnel not needed to get the Baddeck underway and have them all vacate the area!" I ordered.

A few moments later the XO came onto the bridge. "Sir what's going on!? What bomb!?" Michaels asked hurriedly.

"Long story, and we don't have time to go into it right now! Take charge of the evacuations for now. We need the bare minimal crew onboard in 15 minutes to make the Baddeck ready to fly out of here!" I answered.

"Yes sir!" He affirmed, then turned and grabbed the comms officer and told her to follow him off the bridge.

I began checking the computer systems on the bridge for anything that could help me find or disable the bomb.

The comms chimed and Lee's voice rang out. "Commander!?"

I activated my communicator and answered, "Go ahead Lee."

"Ensign Jackson and I found something down near the weapons room sir. It may help us deal with the current situation."

"On my way. Chief, I want all personnel off the Baddeck as soon as she's flight worthy!" I ordered.

The Chief turned to me, "Sir, with all do respect, I and the XO will not leave our commanding officer behind!" He stated.

"If this incident goes south, the remainder of humanity will need all the able bodied people we can muster together. No one is going to selfishly sacrifice themselves just for some dept of honor. If the Baddeck doesn't make it out of this, honor her and her memory by being the best sailor or soldier you can be in the future! Now go!"

He grunted his disapproval, "Aye sir, but we still won't like it."

"Noted." I said as I left the bridge.

I'd gone to a ladder and made my way below decks to the weapons room. The radio on the bridge lit up and the base commanders voice rang through.

"Baddeck!? Baddeck answer!" Fleetfoot's voice sounded over the comms. "Commander you better be pulling my leg, other wise I.."

The Chief grabbed the headset and interrupted the Admiral. "Sir! This is Chief Garrack, the Commander is currently trying to discern the situation."

"Situation!? What situation!?" Fleetfoot demanded.

"It's a bomb sir, someone has activated a bomb on the ship and the Commander is trying to shut it down. Currently all personnel are making their way off the ship. I recommended sequestering anyone getting off the ship into a holding area until we can resolve this sir." Garrack suggested.

"Understood. Alright, have the Commander contact me ASAP!!" Fleetfoot ordered.

"Aye sir." Garrack confirmed.

The Admiral hit a button on his comm screen and the bases security personnel answered.

"Sir?" Came the response.

"I want this base locked down yesterday, this is not a drill. There is a red alert at hanger 217 and I don't want anyone getting away, understood!?" He ordered.

"Aye sir!" The sailor saluted.

The base MP turned and hit a big red glowing button on the console and the entire bases alarm system sounds off.

He grabbed a communicator and alerted all the active and standby MPs, "All MPs to hanger 217! Apprehend all personnel in the vicinity of hanger 217!!" He ordered.

The MPs all rushed to grab gear, arm bands, and weapons. Jumping into Jeeps and driving directly to the hanger. There were about two dozen sailors and soldiers moving away from the hanger while questioning what was going on. The MPs stopped their Jeeps about 50yrds from everyone else and brandished their weapons, barking orders for everyone to get down on the ground and don't move. The whole situation was about to turn south if somebody made even one wrong move. Then the Baddecks engines roared to life, and the hangers top doors began to open. More crew were still spilling out of the hanger, and heading straight into the waiting arms of the MPs.

"ON THE GROUND! GET ON THE GROUND NOW!!" The MPs orderd.

As the Baddeck rose into the air, a rush of wind from the engines nearly push all nearby personnel to the ground.

A chorus of murmured voices all asked, "Where's the Baddeck going!? Who's piloting it!? Commander!"

To be concluded...