Synthesis, p.26
Synthesis, page 26
The runner leaned over and whispered again, only to be grabbed by the neck by Malachi and thrown clear across the room. It looked like a blood vessel in his forehead was about to pop, and his blood red eyes glowed with malice. “You’d better listen closely if you want to live. I need every ship, guard, and employee in the streets of Port Vega. Every one of you needs to be armed. And every one of you needs to put down the fucking rioters.”
“Rioters, sir?” Kayden asked.
“Yes, fucking rioters. There are rioters in the streets, hauling my politicians out of their beds and burning my company property. You need to go do your duty and stop them.”
“Yes sir!” Kayden said, doing his best to supress his glee.
“Go. Do it now. I’ll send the order myself.” Malachi said as he ended the call.
Kayden grinned from ear-to-ear. “That couldn’t have gone better.”
“What?” Dawn replied. “You heard him. They’re sending everyone. They’re going to clamp down on this hard, and people are going to die.”
“Oh yeah? You told me once that the Black Company is Port Vega’s biggest employer.”
“Yeah, so?”
Kayden walked over to the group of office employees. “Alright folks, give me a show of hands. How many of you are from Port Vega?”
Reluctantly, they started to raise their hands. Kayden waited a few moments until three quarters of the group had their hands in the air before speaking again. “Now, you just heard what Mr. President over there said. He wants you to go get some guns and kill people – your family, your friends, your neighbors. How many of you are going to do it?”
Their hands immediately dropped. Kayden turned back to Dawn. “It’s one thing to order someone to shoot someone else. It’s another thing to order someone to shoot friends and family. Between his order and the evidence that just went out… we might have just sparked a revolution.”
“I think that’s a bit of an overstatement.” Dawn responded.
“Oh yeah?” Kayden challenged, walking back to a workstation and inserting the control cable again. “Ali, are there security cameras around the base you can pull up a live feed for, and put it on the screen here? I want to see what the guards are doing.”
Images flashed in front of them on the screen. In some, guards were obediently gearing up to fight, putting on combat armour and loading weapons. On others, guards were looking dumbfounded at tablets, trying to make sense of their orders. Several shoving matches suddenly erupted which quickly turned violent. They changed to one camera just in time to see a large group of guards enact a mutiny against their commanding officer, shooting him and killing him.
“Holy shit.” Dawn said softly. “This…this is huge.”
“Ali, are there cameras showing the rest of the city?” Kayden asked.
The viewscreen in front of them changed again – this time showing a government building. Rioters were outside – some of them armed with guns, others armed with improvised weapons. Next, the screen showed a firefight breaking out between the guards at the entrance to the Black Company offices, with the transport tube opening and dozens more people spilling out.
“There are reports of several mutinies coming in from Black Company ships in orbit around Port Vega.” Ali announced.
“Holy shit.” Dawn responded. “It’s happening so…fast.”
Kayden nodded. “I agree, but we also can’t waste this opportunity. Ali, can you show us the view outside of the elevator doors upstairs? I think the Black Company is going to have their hands full for the next little bit, so I think now would be a very good time to leave.”
The screen changed one more time. In front of them there were the dead bodies of dozens of guards, with the remainder of them having scattered somewhere else. For the moment, it looked like the way was clear.
“Let’s go.” Kayden said, grabbing Dawn’s combat suit and hauling it into the elevator.
As they rose steadily, Dawn shifted back to her corporeal form and began to put on her armour. “You realize this means Selina’s going to be in trouble very soon, right?” She said.
“What do you mean?” Kayden asked.
“They were holding her because they wanted to get all copies of the information she stole. Now that the information is publicly available, it doesn’t matter. They’re going to be distracted for awhile, sure – but once they realize they don’t need her anymore…”
As they reached the top floor Kayden handed her the assault rifle she was using earlier with a nod. “We’re not going to let it come to that. Ali, get us directions to the Black Company’s shuttle bay. I’d rather not leave the way we came in.”
“Me neither.” Dawn agreed with a shudder. “Shouldn’t we get the Broken Shackle though?”
“I’d rather not. It’s too conspicuous, and it doesn’t have much fuel left anyways.”
They stalked through the corridors of the offices at Ali’s instructions, backtracking several times to avoid groups of guards who were patrolling. They weren’t sure who was on which side, and didn’t want to risk any unnecessary confrontations.
As they crouched in the doorway of the large hangar bay they realized they may not be able to avoid fighting altogether. Two groups of guards were entrenched on either side of the bay, firing at each other from behind shuttles and whatever improvised barricades they could create. Most of the overhead lights were destroyed, but the room lit up every time an explosion from a grenade bloomed.
“Fuck. Which side do we support? Everyone looks the same.” Dawn said.
Kayden considered it, examining both groups and realizing she was right. Their armour, weapons, and tactics were exactly the same – which made sense, given that they were all Black Company employees. There was no way to distinguish the mutineers from the loyalists, and he didn’t want to give away their position by asking. “Neither.” He said finally. “Us getting involved in this fight will only make things messier.”
“Then how are we getting out?” She countered. “The shuttles are in no-mans land between their barricades. We run out there, we’re getting shot.”
Kayden nodded. “We need to get them to leave the room.”
“How?”
An idea occurred to him. “We’re going to open the shuttle bay doors and vent the atmosphere.”
“Won’t that just kill everyone?”
“No. See that siren up there?” He responded, pointing to a red light on the ceiling. “That will flash and an alarm will sound for 60 seconds before the atmosphere is vented. It’s a safety measure.”
“Okay. What do you need me to do?”
Another explosion boomed, and several guards cried out. “Once I start the process, run for the least damaged shuttle you can find.”
She nodded in reply, looking out into the hangar. Kayden crouch-walked silently forward to a control panel and began punching in commands. Stray rounds sizzled by him but he ignored them, working for several minutes to override the security controls. Finally, looking back to Dawn he nodded and pressed the button.
The alarm blared overhead as the warning lights began to flash red. “Alert. Hangar bay will be decompressed in 60 seconds.”
Dawn raced towards the shuttles as Kayden fired wildly above the heads of both barricades, causing the guards on either side to duck and run for the exits. She crouched by one of them, inspecting the burns from energy rounds along the sides – it was damaged, but looked operational. She pressed the ‘door open’ button just as Kayden joined her and they boarded together.
They could still clearly hear the sirens and the automated voice in the hangar. “Decompression in 30 seconds.” It announced.
“Close the door!” Kayden shouted as he threw himself into the pilot’s seat.
Dawn scrambled to the door and closed it as he plugged in his control cable and sprinted through the start-up sequence. Based on the readouts the engine looked mercifully intact, and Dawn took a seat next to him just as he started it.
“Hang on. This might get rough.” He warned her as the hangar decompressed.
Everything that wasn’t tied down was immediately sucked out the door as the hangar bay doors opened. Shuttles, discarded weapons, crates – all of it thrown together and tossed into the void. Kayden did his best to maneuver the shuttle away from the worst of the debris but they still took several more hits, damaging the hull.
When they finally cleared the shuttle bay and soared into open space, Dawn looked ahead. “Holy shit, are those Black Company frigates shooting at each other?”
Glancing up, Kayden realized she was right. The space around Port Vega had turned into just as much of a battleground as the streets below. Fighters were engaged in pitched dogfights, and larger spacecraft launched barrages at each other. It was chaotic and impossible to tell who was winning, but it was also the perfect cover for them to slip out unnoticed.
“Alright Ali, let’s go get Selina.” Kayden said finally. “How many shuttles left during the 8 hour period that Selina was captured? And where did they go?”
“There were 22 shuttles which left during that time period.” Ali responded. “Displaying the destinations of all 22 now.”
The list popped up on a screen between Kayden and Dawn, and they examined It as they flew. “That’s…a lot. Any way to narrow it down?”
“I would recommend starting with this location.” Ali responded, highlighting one.
“Where is that?” Kayden replied.
“One of the shuttles departed Port Vega for the Black Company’s privately-owned prison ship, the Alcatraz. It has remained there since, and seems like the most probable location.” Ali responded.
***
10:22, June 4th, 2134
Surprisingly, the Alcatraz was still in Andromeda, only a short in-system hyperspace jump away. The ship itself was the size of a cruiser but relatively lightly armed, as it was designed to keep people in as opposed to out. It seemed to be arranged around a long central spine, with thousands of boxy-looking blocks attached to either side of it. At the stern there was a rectangular block which ended in a set of undersized engines, and at the bow there was a matching rectangular block which looked like it housed the bridge.
“So… how are we getting on?” Dawn asked.
Kayden shrugged. “We’re wearing Black Company guard uniforms, and we’re in a Black Company shuttle. Why don’t we try posing as guards who came from Port Vega? Our shuttle’s damaged enough to look like we escaped.”
Dawn nodded. “We can try. Let me do the talking though, ok? You’re…not good at this. Keep your helmet on, and don’t say anything.”
Kayden keyed the radio and nodded to Dawn, letting her know it was open. “Alcatraz, this is the Black Company shuttle 2,000 kilometers off your port bow. We’ve escaped and are bringing orders from Malachi Black himself for your commanding officer. Requesting permission to dock”
The screen between them flickered to life, showing a man in a grey uniform. He was bald, with an impressive-looking mustache and bushy eyebrows. “Shuttle, this is the Alcatraz. We see you. The warden is a busy man – you can give me the orders and I’ll pass them along.”
Thinking quickly, Dawn shook her head. “Negative Alcatraz. These orders are confidential. I’m under strict orders to deliver them personally.”
The man shook his head. “Shuttle, I’m not going to interrupt the warden unless I know what’s going on.”
Dawn pressed him. “They have to do with the events in Port Vega. That’s all I can tell you. Now, can we dock or not?”
The man squinted slightly. “Standby, shuttle.”
The screen went blank for a few long moments. “Do you think it worked?” Kayden asked.
“No idea.” Dawn responded. “You might want to think of a ‘Plan B’ though, because I have no idea how we’re going to fight our way into a ship in the middle of-”
The screen flickered to life again. “Shuttle, your request to dock is granted. Please proceed to docking tube 3-C. Transmitting coordinates now.”
“Thank you Alcatraz.” Dawn replied before cutting off the transmission.
They descended towards the strange-looking ship. “Remember, we’re supposed to be escaped guards.” Kayden said as they docked. “I’d rather not have to shoot our way through the whole ship.”
Dawn nodded as she handed him his shotgun. She grabbed her assault rifle before punching the ‘open door’ button and proceeding through the tube onto the ship.
The hallway they entered was made of sterile white metal. they were greeted by 6 people wearing Black Company guard uniforms, all of whom were pointing guns at them as soon as they saw Kayden and Dawn were armed. “Weapons on the ground, now.” One of them ordered.
With a sidewards glance at each other, they slowly dropped their weapons on the ground. “We’re here to see the warden, we don’t want any trouble.” Dawn said.
“We’ll take you to him.” One of the guards replied, stepping to the front. “But we don’t allow non-crew to have weapons in the prison. They’ll be returned to you when you leave.”
The 6 guards took up positions around Kayden and Dawn and began to march them through the prison. Looking around, Kayden realized he was walking through the spine of the ship. On either side of him were 2 meter by 2 meter individual cell blocks, all of which had metal doors leading to the spine.
“First time?” The lead guard asked as he saw Kayden looking around.
“Yeah.” Kayden responded.
“The prisoners are mostly docile, don’t worry.” He reassured Kayden, misinterpreting his intent. “If they make too much trouble the warden can just press a button and they get ejected from their cell into space. Tends to prevent them from doing anything too stupid.”
“Doesn’t that vent the atmosphere from here too?” Kayden asked.
“Nah. Each cell is completely isolated.”
Kayden nodded, supremely uncomfortable with this revelation. He began to count the doors as they walked, estimating that there must be room for almost 1000 prisoners on the ship. “How do you feed all of them?” Kayden asked.
The guard shrugged. “We only feed the ones we need to keep alive, and even then we don’t normally need to keep them alive for long.”
They finally reached a door at the end of the long spine. The guards reached it and turned around. Kayden and Dawn stopped, waiting on the door to open.
To their horror, it didn’t open. Instead, two cell doors opened beside them, leading to empty cells. As one, the guards levelled their weapons at Kayden and Dawn. “What the fuck is this?” Dawn asked.
Kayden could almost hear the sneer in the lead guard’s voice as he talked. “The warden heard about the little mutiny on Port Vega. He knows the shuttle was stolen from the Black Company headquarters. You’re both going in a cell where you belong.”
Kayden turned to him and began laughing. “What’s so fucking funny?” The guard asked.
“You think we’re mutineers.” He said, shaking his head.
“You’re…not?” The guard responded hesitantly.
“Oh no. No no no. We’re much…worse.”
As Kayden said the last word, he lunged towards the guard, forming the nanobots in his hand into a hammer and swinging it with all his strength. Sensing his intent, the nanobots moved together with inhuman speed, crashing into the guard and sending him flying into two more.
The move distracted the 3 remaining guards, causing them to take their eyes off of Dawn. She instantly made them regret it, lunging and grabbing one of their assault rifles while kicking the guard between the legs. His hands reflexively went downwards to cover himself, dropping the rifle directly into her hands. Thumbing the safety, she spun and crouched before letting off a short burst of energy rounds into the next closest guard.
Seeing the opportunity in front of him, Kayden’s nanobot hammer became a spear and he stabbed the now shield-less guard in the chest, taking him out of the fight. He hadn’t even finished withdrawing his spear before Dawn fired off another burst of energy rounds, leaving the final guard standing open to Kayden’s next spear thrust.
The lead guard and the two others who he’d been thrown into staggered to their feet just in time for Kayden and Dawn to leap on them, killing them in just moments. The entire exchange was over in mere seconds, leaving them both panting. Kayden slowly recovered an assault rifle and extra rounds as Dawn finished off the guard who was still holding his crotch.
Kayden tossed Dawn some of the additional rounds and she reloaded as he turned to face the locked door. There was no control panel to hack, and no visible hinges or handle to pull. It was obviously designed to keep prisoners away from the bridge in the event of a mass prison break.
“Kayden, your nanobots will be helpful here.” Ali said as he ran his fingers along the seam of the door.
“How?”
“The door is made of starship-grade titanium. Your nanobot swarm is down to 3% capacity. Order them to eat through the door and use its metal to create more nanobots. It will remove the obstacle while adding to the size of your swarm.”
“Uhh…okay. How do I do that?” Kayden asked.
“Hold out your hand and visualize them eating through the door. Ensure you imagine more of them returning to your hand when they are finished than the volume you originally dispatched.”
Kayden held out his hand tentatively, and did as she asked. The swarm does look a little smaller than when I started. He thought to himself as they surged forward, attacking the door. Gradually a small hole appeared in the door, but it quickly widened until he saw the face of a terrified looking guard on the other side.
Dawn wasted no time in firing through the rapidly-widening hole, killing the guard efficiently. The sound attracted more guards, and soon Dawn was laying down suppressive fire into the hallway beyond as the nanobot swarm buzzed around Kayden’s hand. He formed them into a tower shield and began advancing with Dawn firing over his shoulder, forcing the guards further down the hallway and up a set of stairs.
As they continued to push towards the bridge, Kayden swiped a pistol from the body of a guard as they stepped over him. He added his fire to her own, taking pot-shots around the shield before retreating. Each of the guard’s shots into the shield caused a clump of nanobots to fall to the ground, but he had more than enough to continually replenish them. “This is too easy.” Dawn said between bursts of fire. “It’s like they never really trained for this.”
