“Five…” Reidar tips the nose of the ship down and cants the roof toward the Solcrue cruiser. Our chambers seal off with radial glass walls. “Four…”
Launch lights climb along the vertical ejection mechanism in the wall beside me.
“Three.”
Aera inhales deeply enough that I see her shoulders rise. She has done this before. I tell myself again and again, and yet I can’t help but think bringing her was a mistake.
“Two…” The roof hatches open. “One.”
Aera lets her breath out as the floor rises upward in a quick burst, and we launch out of the ship into the void.
Momentum carries our cluster toward the Solcrue ship and our designated hatch access. A Stealth model has already opened it, and other crews have entered. Our crew is the backup plan.
To my surprise, Aera changes her positioning mid-flight with a nudge from a boot thruster that rotates her so she lands feet first on the hull while the rest of us simply catch ourselves and crawl our way to the hatch.
Vandal>>Evo: Show off.
I’m relieved to see Aera has such advanced skills and draw my rifle from my back, climbing into the hatch first. She pulls herself in behind me before I can offer her a hand.
The thruster maintenance room we’ve entered has five dead Solcrue already floating in its depressurized space. We clomp across the floor on magnetized boots and down the passage way to where the exterior weapons systems have already been disabled.
Banshee closes the hatch. He’s the last member inside. The ship pressurizes the system, and gravity kicks on again.
We scan each room we pass for useful supplies and take whatever we can carry. Weapons, ammo, food, tools. I can pack a lot into the pouches on my armor. Anything larger will need to leave on a ship.
Exiting into an interior passageway that loops around lower decks of these types of battleships, I’m certain the maintenance zones are clear, and we should head up.
Evo>>Local: We’re inside. Where are we needed?
Wraith>>Local: Most of the ship is secure, but the officers have locked themselves in the core of the ship. Coms are down, and no beacon went out. Shields are offline, but we need to breach that stronghold to eliminate targets so we can ensure they won’t override hangars.
Chaos>>Local: Trio of Terror has cleared bunk quarters on Level Three.
Terror>>Local: Squad of Terror, thank you very much.
Scimitar>>Local: Sabers have cleared Level Two.
When I check on Aera, she has her rifle trained on a Solcrue in StarJumper armor, whose hands are in the air.
I push her rifle down. “Don’t. Cara isn’t the only Solcrue on our force. That’s Sythius.”
“Jeris is around here somewhere, too,” Castor remarks.
“He’s trying to hack his way into the officers’ quarters,” Sythius says, regarding Aera with caution. “We need Evo’s help.”
A flash of green down a perpendicular hallway makes Vandal snarl, “Finally! Come here, you little slithery bastard!”
Vandal takes off down a corridor. Banshee and several Rebels join them, leaving Aera, me, Castor, and a few others to follow Sythius.
He leads us up two levels to a nicer area of the ship, one that I know well. Apprehension fills me as I move up the steps like I used to, like I’m on a mission to serve my Master of the day.
Vandal>>Evo: I don’t suppose you know the access code to the kitchen service corridors.
As Vandal asks, a recording comes back to me, one buried deep.
Evo>>Local: All service passageways behind a coded pad are not service passageways. They are backup munitions holds. Open with caution. The last code I remember was 69 plus a vertical infinity snake. I did not get codes for other secured areas of the ship.
“But you got the ones to the extra bombs?” Castor mutters.
