XXXIII

Breakout

The air traffic in Bay 17 abated an hour ago. Dock workers hosed the space debris that came in with the ships. Officers and crewmen grabbed their personal effects and headed home for the evening as the night shift came in. Mario and Fox stood together on the landing dock outside the Great Fox. Mario's chest grew tight as his eyes flickered across the docks only to realize there was no sign of her. Fox waited patiently alongside his commander as was his station, but there was no optimism in him.

"She's late," Mario said through clenched teeth.

Peppy exited the freighter and joined his two crewmates. He wore a frown and planted his hands on his hips. "That was C-Sec," he said in his southern drawl. "They haven't seen hide nor hair of her. But they're gonna continue to comb the place through the night. They've got a profile from the attendant on the creep that was sniffing around her."

"I should never have sent her alone. I'm an idiot." He took his cap off and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You made a call," said Fox in an apathetic tone.

Mario turned on his heel and confronted him, huffing a hot breath in his face. "That's all you have to say?"

"You made the wrong call," he responded with an edge in his voice that sounded like condemnation.

"Why didn't you say something?" His ears blistered with rage as if steam would burst from them at any moment.

"It's not my place to," Fox said with a shrug. "Your ship. Your crew. Your orders." He was an old soldier. Orders were followed or people would die. That's what he was taught. That's what he knew.

"That's a piece of shit thing to say," said Mario, raising his voice. "We're a team. We're all responsible for each other. If something doesn't smell right, it is your obligation to let me know. If you see something, say something. You got that?"

Fox gave a small nod. "Sounds like an order."

Mario hung his head. Was it all a game to him? Was he messing with him? Did he really have to be told what to do? No, that wasn't it at all, Mario realized. It was a test. He was testing his leadership and he failed. A fear took hold of Mario, then. Fox kept saying he was an old dog. Perhaps, his judgment was impaired. For, if this was a test, he picked the wrong moment and now, they lost the princess again. Fox saw the quizzical look on his face and figured that his thoughts must be spiralling. He placed a paw on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry, we found her once, we can do it again," he said and added, "Commander." He gave him a reassuring smile and Mario's expression softened a tiny bit. It felt like hope until…

Bang!

An explosion rocked the Lower Decks. A strange fire of a violet hue lapped up the stairwell, followed by black acrid smoke. Odd geometry pierced through the smoke like lightning bolts. It was unlike any biotic energy Mario had ever seen. Most biotic powers manifested as formless waves or explosions of energy. But these constructs were rigid and angular and each of a separate color as if formed for specific purposes. Whatever created them was a very talented biotic, indeed.

"That looked like it came from C-Sec," shouted Peppy over the cacophony of the now screaming crowd who were fleeing the blaze. He tugged at his ears and paced.

A sudden thought struck Mario. "Fox," he called. "Where is Processing in relation to the prison quarters?"

"On opposite ends of the Citadel," said Fox, not understanding. Then, he too, realized what Mario was getting at. "Oh no."

Mario tapped on his omnitool to open his communicator. "Daisy, Luigi, Falco, Toad. I need you out here right now."

"Now?" whined Toad. "I just started fluffing my mushroom cap."

"You can finish that later," Daisy barked through the earpiece. "Mario, we're on our way."

A moment later, they all scrambled out onto the landing dock together. Each of them took in the scene in their own manner. Falco folded his arms and scoffed that this would surely mean another adventure with this ragtag crew. Toad smacked his forehead at the thought of more trouble coming his way. Daisy shed a tear at her sister's absence and quickly wiped it on her sleeve. And Luigi farted.

"What the hell was that?" asked Luigi, fanning the fart away.

"And where's my sister?"

"I think someone took her," said Mario.

"A diversion?" asked Fox.

"They knew that taking the Princess of Mushroom Kingdom would draw out the guards from C-Sec."

"C-Sec?" said Daisy. "She never called C-Sec."

"No," said Mario. "But we did."

Daisy's eyes went wide with horror. "So, what they were really after was…"

"Lady Bow," said Luigi, finishing her thought.

They made their way down the stairs to C-Sec, crunching over shards of glass. The prison sector was blown to bits. Purple fire still burned, sending clouds of smoke bouncing off the low ceiling. A guard sat in an observation room to the side of the main quarters. He was a small toad with yellow spots and was coughing violently through his salt and pepper mustache. Mario approached him and asked if he saw who conjured the biotic blast.

"I didn't get a good look at the guy," the officer said through coughs. "Some hooded figure. Then, all of a sudden. Boom! I see triangles bouncing off the walls."

"Triangles?" said Daisy. "That's not any biotic ability I'm familiar with."

"That's what they were. These glowing red shapes. Then, they detonated like sea mines. I could see the air bend. After that, it was all fire and smoke. If I wasn't behind the glass, it would've singed my mustache off."

"To say the least," said Toad, kicking at a piece of rubble.

"Did you see anyone leave?" asked Mario.

"Darndest thing," said the guard. "I went back to the holding cells and the only one damaged was Lady Bow's. For all that flash and bang, it turned out to be a precision strike. Besides the blown force field, there was no sign of where they went. I know how they got in but I'll be damned stumped on how the hell they got out."

"The trail's gone cold then," said Toad. Annoyed, he kicked at another piece of rubble.

"Not quite," the guard countered. "We tag everyone who comes in here. Y'know, just in case. And Lady Bow's tracker is ringing out loud and clear." He turned his monitor towards them so they could see the bright red ping on the star map.

Luigi gasped. "That's impossible."

"The Outer Rim," Daisy muttered.

"That journey would take weeks from here," said Luigi. "Three relay jumps at least."

"I don't recognize the area," said Fox. "What the hell's even out there?"

"I don't know what's out there now but I know what was," said Luigi. "Back during the Air Raids, that is."

Mario turned to his brother. "And what would that be?"

"The Battlerock."