Toy Soldier

Another impact reverberated through the station, rattling everything with a millimeter of slack and dropping Lara to her knees. Kat might have joined her if she and Vette hadn't been wedged against the compartment doors working to pry them apart. So far it was going as well as one might expect. They hadn't budged.

"Bell?" Kat hissed. "Not to rush you but..."

"I know." The Mechanic replied, far too calmly for the situation. She had her arm elbow deep in a panel she'd some how pried loose. "Almost... got it..." there was a hiss before she jerked her arm free. "Ow, Damn it! Got it!"

The doors went slack and jerked apart. Not enough for anyone to get through yet, but progress. Kat braced her feet, levering her door away from the other. The weight of the thick metal panel was substantial but exponentially less impossible than whatever mechanism had been holding them shut.

With a gap between the shutters, the angle got easier. Kat forced the side she was pulling on a little further. Far enough to push a shoulder in and really put her enhanced muscles in to it. "There!" she shouted, bracing the gap open. "Squeeze through! Make for the hanger!"

"Not to be a downer..." Drawled Bella. "But even if we get there, we don't actually have a ship." She pressed herself up against Kat, squirming through the small space, only smirking a little as she squashed herself against her fellow ex-soldier.

"But that's where the ships are." Vette chipped in. "Bunch of hot, enterprising mercs like us should be able to work something out." She'd gotten Lara back on her feet and was pushing the Medic past Kat. "Everyone's gotta be trying to bug out. Hopefully we can hitch a ride." Once Lara was free, she followed. "You always take me to the most interesting places." She breathed as she passed, brushing her cheek against Kat's.

Kat levered herself free of the doors. "Hey, this or the penal system." She grumbled. "Though I suspect this was in the cards when the council gave us that 'deal'. It explains the urgency. And they probably assumed we wouldn't make it off the station. Two birds, one stone."

"So what if we don't get off the station?" Lara huffed. She was less experienced then the others, but she'd proven her worth thus far.

"Two options really." replied Kat. "They blow the place up and we get a quick death in the void."

"Or they take the station." added Vette. "If that happens, best case scenario is they sell us to *human slavers. Second best is they kill us on sight."

"Ah." said Lara. "So get off the station then."

"You got it." Said Vette. "Next right and straight ahead. I'm showing no doors. Path is clear." She did her best to hustle while tapping the Holographic Processor on her wrist. "Shit. That big freighter is gone. That would have been a sure ride if we didn't mind fucking lonely spacers all the way back to civilization."

"Better than death, I suppose." Sighed Bella. "A little. What's left?"

"Couple of smaller craft." Replied Vette. "But we're going to have to find the crews. I might be able to hotwire one, but even an older ship would take too much time."

The station rocked again, pitching them all to the left side of the passage, though thanks to their forward motion and the narrow passage, no one went down. The overhead lights began to flicker intermittently and a few distant, blaring alarms cut off abruptly.

"Well, that's not great." commented Bella. "Any idea who's hittin' us Vette?"

"Intel's spotty at best." replied Vette. "My money's on the Quonians. But I couldn't tell you if its just raiders or The Fleet."

"The difference being?"

"If it's the Fleet, it's a one way trip to the home world breeding pens." said Kat. "We'd be livestock 'til they ate us. Raiders don't keep livestock, generally."

"Great." said Bella. "Rough when pirates are the good option."

"We're not dead or livestock yet." put in Kat. "I can see the hanger ahead. Lara, how you doing?"

"Hating you less for those 2k runs." Lara huffed. "Still on my feet."

"Not long now, one way or the other." Kat said. "Hanger must still be pressurized; I'm not feeling any suction. Stay together once we get there. We find a ride, I want no one left behind."

"Two working craft left, Kat." put in Vette. "Let's hope someone else is cutting it closer than we are."

They didn't quite sprint the remainder of the hall; the floor was not stable enough to go all out, but they made it in to the massive, and yes, still pressurized space dock. Also, luckily, the gravity fields on the cat walks were still functioning. It was a mess though, with several ships loose and drifting, and several more smashed together in the same berth.

"We're looking at a dock tug and a large yacht." reported Vette. "The tug will get us off the station and probable even to a close port, but it will be a long uncomfortable ride. Haven't got much on the yacht. Be preferable, obviously but a newer model like that, we would absolutely need the Command Tablet to do anything. A utility ship like the tug might have the keys in it, so to speak.

"How far apart are they?" Kat asked.

"Same wing anyway." Vette supplied. "That way."

"Small miracles." Said Kat. "Cross your fingers, girls. A tug's got two bunks, half a bathroom and maybe enough food to get us anywhere. We're heading for the yacht first, but we're not giving it much time. Better sardines than dead."

"Ha!" barked Bella. "Tell me that again after a month in that can."

Vette directed them and the intact yacht came into sight. It was a large craft, void black, sleek and aerodynamic, likely cosmetically, though a ship like that might be called on to go planet-side on occasion. It would easily handle triple their small group or more, if they could even get in.

"That is a sweet ride." whistled Bella. "Looks like some pretty heavy shields. Not seein' much for weapons; might be a couple of hidden lasers."

"Doesn't mean a thing if we can't get in." Vette had crossed the short gangway to the craft. "And she's locked up tight. Even if we had our breaching gear, I doubt we'd have enough time to crack this nut. And we still wouldn't be able to fly it."

"And she's not powered up." said Kat. "Figure if someone was in there, they'd have the engine hot. How far to the tug?"

"Not quite a klick that way." supplied Vette, pointing down a catwalk.

The station lurched again and Bella caught herself on the catwalk's rail. "Fuck, Kat. How long we gonna give it? Not looking forward to the can, but..."

Kat inhaled. It would take the at least a few minutes to get to the tug and that was if the station held still. And would they be any better off than this? If it was locked down too they were royally screwed. Her mind worked for a solution but nothing jumped out. They'd been worked over good. First, whoever had set them up for that demo job, then the Council's amnesty deal in exchange for this data transfer out on the edge of known space. She glanced around at her crew, modestly proud that none of them were panicking. They were all just looking evenly back, waiting for her word. And as she opened her mouth to give it, she stopped as she heard a distant voice. "At least one more minute." She said as she turned to look back the way they'd come.

There were two people hustling down the cat walk toward them, still some distance away. One was a slim, young woman with blonde hair. She seemed to be wearing a very brief cross between a maid's uniform and a pilot's. The other was a man. From this distance. he looked fit and handsome, but was moving all wrong. Like an older man. Rejuvenation treatments, probably. And he was wearing a fancy suit. Exactly the type of guy to have a ship like this.

"Here we go." said Kat. "We'll try the nice way first. You're up Vette. Don't spare the charm."

Vette rolled her eyes. "Judging by what the girl's wearing, Bell's 'charm' might be a better fit." She briefly pushed up on her breasts to emphasize the difference.

"Just 'cause I got good genes, don't mean I'm friendly." put it Bella.

"Oh, but you can be." teased Vette, stepping around Kat. "With the proper motivation."

As the two approached, their conversation became more clear. "But Mr Fleck," the girl was saying, "what about the others? We can't..."

"They had their warning. I told them to get to the ship. We haven't got time for stragglers. You can fly it, right?" The man's voice, similar to his movements, was also wrong. It had a thick, raspy quality to it. It didn't match his body at all.

"Yes s-sir." The girl went on. "But I'm just the co-pilot. I can do navigation and flight systems but anything else? Engineering? Shield harmonics? I've barely touched on any of that and it's going to be a... l-long trip... if we can't use the jump launcher."

"We're not going to wait." The man replied with irritation. "The others are probably stuck behind some blast door. You'll have to..." He took note of the small crowd between them and the ship. Not very subtly, he reached his hand into his jacket, likely resting it on some sort of weapon. "What the hell is this?"

"We're looking for a ride off the station, sir." Vette started in. "And this is one of the few intact ships left. Fortunately, it sounds as though we can help one another."

"And how's that?" The man growled, somewhat hostilely.

Kat stood back a pace or two behind Vette, letting her companion take the lead, and doing her best to appear non-threatening. Not only was Vette between her and the probably armed man, but the girl was in the way as well. The girl clutching what looked to be a command tablet. Someone was going to take a hit before she could get to the threat if things got violent. Best a avoid that.

"We heard as you were coming up." Smiled Vette. "You're short a crew. Now that one back there," she pointed out Bella, "is an engineer. She's a med-tech," a gesture to Lara, "And I'm a software specialist. My tall friend there, did a tour as a dropship pilot in active combat on Monros-4, and, wouldn't you know it, it sound busy out there right now."

"Yeah, it does." The man looked initially skeptical, but it had been no accident Bella had been pointed out first. As the crew was gestured to, the man's gaze tracked somewhat lower than eye level. As planned. His face was still calculating, but between Bella's chest and Lara's slim hips, he was hopefully thinking in the wrong direction.

Kat had to suppress a shudder as the man's eyes lingered longer than expected on her own lean body. Generally the others drew that sort of attention, and they were right. It was creepy. No, it was more than creepy. He was leering, yes, but he was also appraising. This guy was dangerous, and not just because of whatever he had in his pocket. Worse, considering the circumstances, he looked far too confident.

"Yeah." He finally said with an unsettling grin. "I imagine we can arrange something."

Kat did her best to remain impassive, leaving the social engineering to Vette. Instead she turned her attention to the apparent 'co-pilot'. She couldn't read people like Vette or even Lara, but the girl's body language was obvious even to her. She clutched the control pad tightly to her chest, her body slightly inclined away from her boss. Also, while she kept her face turned away from the man, her eyes constantly darted in his direction. She thought he was a threat too. Great.

"Well, not to be pushy," said Vette, "But perhaps we can 'arrange' in transit. This place is coming down around our ears."

"Yeah." Fleck agreed with that predatory grin. "Yeah, we should go. Don't worry. Once we get on the ship, I'll take care of you."

Well aware of her limitations, Kat had no doubt the rest of her team got a worse vibe from Fleck than she did. He would need to be dealt with at some point. He was going to be a problem, but she wanted to get her people on the ship before anyone tried anything. Fortunately, the universe chose to intervene.

Fleck put his hand on his companion's back, guiding her forward towards the ship, and provoking a noticeable shudder from the girl. As he did, another explosion rocked the station. The catwalk jerked violently, sending all its occupants staggering and somewhere, very nearby, there was a horrendous tearing of metal. Fleck and his co-pilot collided, sending them stumbling in opposite directions. The girl came pitching toward Kat's squad.

Kat herself, wasn't as stable as she'd have liked, but having hip checked a hand rail, she was still on her feet. She saw Vette stumble but left her to her own devices, darting past to reach for the tumbling girl. It was an ungraceful move, but successful as she felt her fingers catch on the girl's 'uniform' and was able to reel her in. If nothing else, they now had the command tablet. Keeping a tight hold on the girl, she finally grabbed a rail to steady them before looking for Fleck.

He was further away, on his ass. He raised his eyes, meeting Kat's. His face twisted into a sneer, seeming to know exactly what she was thinking. His arm tensed, starting to draw whatever it was in his jacket. Definitely a pistol of some sort, judging by the stock edging into view. But as his eyes flicked around, taking in his four opponents, he froze, an expression of sudden horror shooting across his features.

"Kat! Down!" Bell's voice. They'd worked together long enough that Kat didn't question or hesitate. She dropped flat to the catwalk, wrapping her arms around the co-pilot as she went, and turning her back to absorb the impact. This meant her eyes were facing upward and she saw the massive piece of machinery tumble silently through where her head had been seconds before. The majority of the port had no gravity to accommodate the ships, but as the hurtling metal passed over the catwalk, its gravitation field acted upon it, skewing it downward. Right onto Fleck.

He might have screamed. It was impossible to tell with the noise of the impact. The catwalk jolted wildly and started to warp. Kat was sure for a second, that she and the girl were going to slide off into the open bay before she felt several sets of hands on her ankles. She tighten her grip on her new friend and let herself be dragged to relative safety.

Kat felt herself levered upright, probably Bella. "Feel that?" The engineer asked. "The air movin'? That's a hull breach. Close. We got to go."

Kat turned to their lifeline but Vette was already on it. "Hey, Miss. What's your name?" Kat would not have wasted time with pleasantries, but she was never a people person.

"What? I'm Amelia. Where's Mr..." The girl, Amelia, turned, looking for her boss and saw the mangled remains of the catwalk. There was also large globs of blood floating around the tangled wreck, and.... a leg. Amelia didn't scream immediately, but the awful horror twisting onto her face indicated it was coming.

"That's truly terrible and I'm sorry." Vette pushed gently. "But we need to escape before the station is destroyed. Will you help us? Please. You can let us in the ship, right? You have the control tablet. And we're kind of in a hurry!"

Amelia turned slowly to Vette, still trying to process the last few seconds. Kat would have liked to just give her a good shake and taken the tablet. But she held her tongue. "Ye-yes. The ship." The co-pilot stammered. She was frozen for a brief second, before thrusting the ComTab it to Vette's arms.

They all moved at once. Vette made for the hatch. Lara slipped an arm around the traumatized Amelia's shoulders, guiding her after. Kat and Bella followed, alert for more incoming danger. Having the 'keys' so to speak, Vette made short work of the sealed hatch. "All right, Amelia. Show us to the bridge." Vette's order came off more as a polite suggestion.

The girl pointed the way and the crew hustled ahead, Lara lagging behind to gently guide Amelia after them. The bridge was not hard to find, nor was it secured. Vette took the captain's chair and slotted the ComTab, the panels all lighting up around her. "Kat, I hope you can fly this thing!"

Kat slid into want looked like the pilot's seat. "Oh, sure. Like falling off a bike." She keyed a few panels, watching indicators light up. "I'll get this fired up. See if co-pilot can set us up an FTL jump to the edge of the system. Bell, get on sensors and find us a way out. Don't think anyone will catch the door for us."

"On it, Kat. But I can already tell you there's a new sunroof where that scrap tore free." Bella slid into another station. "And it looks exciting out there."

"You said this thing had heavy shields. Light 'em up and give me a vector." The engines whined as they spun up. "We're good to go!"

"There's the hole." Bella announced. "Plenty big for us. Shields are up."

Kat glanced over her shoulder to make sure Lara and Amelia had arrived and buckled in. This was going to be an energetic exit. She blew out a breath. "All right, ladies. Cross your finger." With a pulse of energy they shot toward their opening.

* * *

"Looks like we're clear, Kat." Bella announced. "No ships within two hundred thousand kilometers. We weren't tracked or chased."

"Good." Kat replied. "Gives us a little time to get our shit together. Vette, what have you got?"

"All bad news, I'm afraid." Vette answered. "The warp Launcher was right near the station, so if it's not completely destroyed, at the very least it won't be launching us anywhere. And the ComTab is at least partially encrypted. I can't access anything not related to flight systems. No idea how were doing for inventory. I can probably hack it, but it will take some time, and without the launcher it will take who knows how long to get to the next nearest launcher at regular FTL. We can't just go until..."

"What is it, Amelia?" Lara interrupted gently.

The bridge turned to the copilot who shrank a little under the attention. "Um," she squeaked, "It will take t-two months and tuh-twenty eight days to the next launcher at our t-top speed. Marta, the p-pilot had me figure it out. Marta. Oh god, she..."

"I'm very sorry about your friend." said Lara quietly. "But we'll take whatever you can tell us. You're still alive and we want to get you and all of us out of here."

"Okay." Amelia sucked in a breath. "Mr. Fleck had the ship provisioned at the station. I helped fill the freezer. We should have more than enough for the trip. But aside from me, the crew was all indentured penal... slaves, I guess. So Mr. Fleck kept everything locked in the Command Tablet except for flight systems. I don't know the password."

"That's very helpful, Amelia." Vette put in. "With that information, we can start on our way before anyone comes looking for us. Getting into the ComTab will just take a little time."

"It, uh would be great, uh, if you could help me with the course. Amelia." Kat stumbled. "FTL is a little out of my comfort zone."

The slim copilot nodded weakly and allowed Lara to guide her to a chair near Kat.

"Good." put in Vette. "So this is going to be a long trip, crew. I want to set up constant rotating bridge watch. I'll take the first one, since I got a tablet to crack anyway. Bell, go take a look at engineering. See what you can see. Lara, give me a report on medical. I'll hopefully have it soon enough, but I'd like your input anyway."

"Yes, ma'am." agreed Lara. "I want to take Amelia with me so I'll wait until the course is set. She's had a rough day and I want to keep an eye on her"

"Good idea. And, Kat..."

"Oh, you have a job for me too?" Kat said it with kind of a smirk. She tended to take the lead in tactical settings, but conceded to Vette when it came to logistics.

"Of course I do." smiled Vette. "Once were underway, you're going to go claim Fleck's cabin. Take a nap. Get freshened up, then come back and relieve me. By that time I should have cracked the tablet, and we can work out a watch rotation."