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THEY ROLLED THROUGH the tight confines of the bot access tunnel, Ruhger’s shoulders scraping the sides if he let himself lie flat. Lying half on his side was the only way he could make it through without expending a lot of energy and making a lot of noise. Propped up on his left shoulder, his rifle was steady below him, so he took the tail position and let Tyron take lead, pulling them both down the meter-square passageway.
“Got another one,” Tyron said.
So many sensors and traps. Borgia’s family was incredibly paranoid. Ruhger consulted the map and checked the remote floating just a couple of meters in front of them. “We’re almost there, Tyron. The trick will be getting through the two ninety-degree bends at the end of this tunnel.”
“Harder for you than me.”
Tyron’s taller, leaner build came in handy again. Well, he’d make it work, somehow.
“Made it.”
Ruhger reported back to Porter via text and got an acknowledgment. He’d listened while Doc and Borgia discussed terms, but Borgia was simply delaying and they all knew it. Wreck had chimed in too, baiting them, but Doc refused to engage with Wreck.
Chief and Saree worked targeting solutions continuously, and displayed one or two of their new weapons every fifteen minutes or so. The first three revelations, Wreck made sarcastic comments, but fell silent on after new weapon number four was exposed. Hopefully, the idiot was thinking twice about this. Or maybe he was waiting for his other two folders to come in? If they were coming, this mission would get rad-blasted real quick. Wreck’s main shuttle had launched, but they were orbiting Spear One, not attacking.
“Okay, I’m at the master suite entrance. Neutralized all the traps I found, but there may be more. Found an airlock too, probably an alternate escape route, and jammed it shut with a locking wedge,” Tyron said. “Map shows this is the secondary sani-mod. Just have to activate the bot hatch and I’m in.”
Ruhger adjusted his comms to bring them fully back in the loop with the larger assault force. “Porter, ready to enter master suite, secondary sani-mod.” Ruhger still couldn’t believe a master suite needed more than one sani-mod, but this one had three. One small sani-mod, just off a separate seating and entertainment area, and two larger sani-mods connected to the bedroom, one on each side, with huge clothing storage units between the bedroom and the sani-mods. The rich lived different lives than the rest of them.
“Doc?” Porter asked.
“He’s still delaying, thinks PE is going to save his sorry hide. And I don’t think he cares at this point. Tyron?”
Interesting that Doc picked up on Tyron’s ability to read people.
“Concur. I think he’s weighing taking us all out with him.”
“Nothing to lose,” Porter said. “We go. Fisk, cut the hole on three; Ruhger, go after the cutter fires.”
“Wilco,” Ruhger told her.
“Cutter ready,” Fisk said.
“Three, two, go.”
BOOM!
“Entering,” Tyron said. “Blast, missed one. Acid. I’m in.”
Ruhger rolled off the bot chassis, pushing it back, and rolled into a ball to face forward. He squeezed around the first ninety-degree bend and up the short riser, wrestling his shoulders into the second bend and... “Stuck.”
Tyron grabbed, Ruhger shoved with his legs, and with much creaking and cracking of decorative plas panels, Ruhger finally emerged into the clothes storage unit. Tryon had wisely closed the decorative door to hopefully muffle the sound of his exit. Borgia should be too preoccupied to pay attention; Ruhger could hear the whine of laser fire.
Tyron turned to the door and Ruhger grabbed his arm.
“What?”
“Acid?”
Tyron shrugged. “Not bad. Helmet, shoulders.”
Ruhger beckoned him with two fingers. A heave of Tyron’s shoulders, with what Ruhger knew was a look of exasperation masked by the mirrored helmet, and Tyron bent down, letting Ruhger see his head and shoulders. Smoke curled up from his armor. Ruhger found the neutralizer in his suit’s controls and sprayed it on Tyron.
“Clear, let’s go.”
Tyron strode to the door and opened it, standing off to the side. Nothing there but an elaborate, sparkling white sani-mod. Ah, it wasn’t quite white, it was lined with some sort of natural stone, faint lines of grey running through it. Rich beings were crazy. Why not just shove credits out the airlock? Bringing stone from a planet just for show in a sani-mod no one else would ever see? Plas would look the same and was easier to clean. They crossed the ridiculously large sani-mod, walking quietly and carefully across the highly polished surface, and reached the hatch, a full pressure hatch. Rich beings were paranoid too.
“Porter, Ruhger, at the sani-mod hatch.”
“Copy. We’re in a living area. The bedroom is reinforced; the cutters can only punch one layer at a time. Can you get eyes in?”
Tyron pulled a vid fiber out of his suit. “Sani-mod hatch is reinforced and closed, but I might be able to wriggle a fiber in.”
“Tyron, how about the imager?” Katryn asked.
“Good idea. Worth a try.” He pulled off his small backpack and pulled out a package about fifteen centimeters square. Unfolding it, he placed it on the bulkhead next to the sani-mod hatch and activated the glue.
“It’s for regular walls, but it can penetrate water to some extent,” Katryn explained. “It might work through double walls with a little processing. It won’t be truly real-time. Stand by.”
A heavily pixelated black and white vid popped up, slowly resolving into a usable view. A bedroom, with a big four-post bed, a figure sprawled across it. Another seating area, with couches, chairs and low tables. Storage chests stood against the walls, all of them strewn with objects. Where was Borgia?
“Where’s Borgia?” Porter asked, echoing Ruhger’s thoughts.
“Rats,” Doc said. “Bet he’s got a safe room. Maybe in the other sani-mod and closet combo?”
“Priorities, Ops?” Porter said.
Chief said, “PE’s shuttles and folder are inbound. We need to leave before they can target us effectively. We can get to Nari, if that’s her on the bed, but we won’t get Borgia.” Chief’s tone softened. “Al-Kindi, is that a chance you’re willing to take? He could blow a kill switch or leave some sort of nasty poison in her.”
“Yes. I would rather chance getting her back now with long-term risk than leave without her.” Hope and fatalism warred in Al-Kindi’s voice.
“Tyron, you get to Nari; Ruhger, you open the hatches for Porter and crew. Porter, command back to you.”
“Accepted. Go!”
Tyron activated the hatch opener and ran through, Ruhger on his heels. Ruhger sprinted for the master suite main hatch, watching for traps as he went, but relying on speed. He didn’t look at the still form on the bed.
“Watch for traps in that main hatch. Opening from inside should disable them, but...” Los said.
Ruhger activated the main hatch, and turned back to the ridiculously decorated entry area. He grabbed a small table with spindly legs and threw it through the hatch. Something sprayed and a laser fired.
“Problem,” Tyron said. “Explosives, failsafes, all kinds of hazards. She appears to be unconscious, but alive.”
“Ruhger, throw another one,” Porter said.
Ruhger grabbed a tall spindle with hooks at the top and hurled it. Nothing this time. He spun and sprinted to Tyron, the others thundering behind him.
Ruhger halted on the other side of the bed. As Tyron said, it was rigged with explosives and other nasty-looking things attached to a network of straps clamping her to the bed. Nari was breathing, but so still and pale. Dark circles under her eyes were obvious even with her bronzed skin, and a bruise darkened one side of her chin. Her robes were gone, but she still wore tight-fitting black, covering her from ankles to neck. Long, coffee-colored hair lay on the pillow around her slack face. Poor Nari, to be in the hands of the crazy Borgia for so long.
“Hmm,” Porter mused. “Can we take the whole bed and deal with it all later?”
“I don’t think so. It appears to have a connection here,” Tyron said, on his knees, peering under the bed. “A net connection. Hah. Hold on, I’ll tap it.”
“Careful,” Katryn said.
“Of course.” Tyron extruded a cable from his armor and pulled a few things out of his backpack. “Here we go...ah. Encrypted, but...thanks, Los. Wait one... and we’re in. See what you can do, Los, Katryn. I’ll work on the physical traps underneath the bed. There are a bunch.”
“What kind?” Porter asked.
“All kinds. Motion, pressure, vibration, all kinds of fun.”
“Well, that explains why all these appear to be dummies,” Fisk said, surveying his side of the bed. “What about that side, Ruhger?”
Ruhger took a closer look. “All the obvious ones are dummies. But look at the bedposts, up high.” He pointed at the top of the bedposts, where the ridiculous red velvet canopy attached. “Stunners, lasers, and oh, nice, a dart gun.”
“Well, fiddlesticks,” Porter said.
Ruhger stared at her for a moment. What in the suns did that mean? Didn’t matter. “I think they may be linked; one going off sets all the others off.”
Porter sighed. “So, four armor shields, all slid into place at exactly the same time, from the backside of the bedposts, but not leaning on them, because there’s probably a surprise built into the posts too.”
She was undoubtedly right. “Maybe others around the room, too,” Ruhger said.
“Probably. But if Los and Katryn can get the net under control, we might have a chance.”
“Got it,” Los said. “But there’s a local component we can’t get. Some sort of electronic device there in the room. So, you need to slide those shields in place all at the same time and create a big white noise bang, like an electromagnetic pulse, just as you slide them up. And Tyron needs to disable all those traps below the bed now that we’ve got the network shut off.”
“Is that all?” Porter asked dryly. “Because I’m guessing all this noise cuts off our comms, too.”
“Correct,” Los said.
Tyron backed out from under the bed and shook his head. “Got everything I could find. So we’re clear to start. But rather than all the fancy stuff with shields and timing, why don’t we spike cables into the bedposts, and use a laser to cut through all four at the same time, pulling them away? This thing is real wood. A laser will go through wood faster than ice.”
“Good idea, Tyron,” Ruhger said.
“You want to destroy a priceless antique from Old Earth?” Porter said, an incredulous look on her face.
Ruhger said, in an equally incredulous tone, “Nari’s life is at stake, so yes. If they didn’t want their stuff destroyed, they should have controlled Borgia.”
Porter snorted. “Good point. Let’s do it.”
All of them had cables and spikes, so it didn’t take long to set it up. To get the timing right, Ruhger and Fisk knelt on opposite sides of the bed and each took two of the cables. Porter was cutter, and Doc stood by to cut the remaining straps and pull Nari away. Tyron watched for Borgia or other surprises while they worked.
“Ready?” Porter, crouched slightly, rifle pointed at the bed, looked at each one of them, and waited for a nod of acknowledgement.
Ruhger nodded and put tension on his cables.
“On go. Three, two, go!” She sliced through the posts just above Nari.
Ruhger yanked.
Lasers and a stunner fired and darts spewed into the air. Ruhger shot out the weapons on his side so Doc could reach the bed safely.
Tyron sliced through the straps on his side of the bed and Doc slid Nari’s unconscious form out. Ruhger took point and led the way out of the chamber of horrors. Borgia was insane. Poison had rotted his brain.
“Nooo! Don’t take my muse!” Borgia’s voice cried out behind them.
Ruhger spun. A stunner fired and Borgia dropped, unconscious.
“Doc, containment bag,” Porter said.
“Ruhger?” Doc asked.
Ruhger attached his rifle to his armor and accepted Nari’s limp form.
“Get her to the shuttle.”
“Tyron, point for Ruhger. Fisk, point for me and Doc. I’ve got six,” Porter said. “Tyron, pick up the rest of the team on the way.”
Ruhger followed Tyron from the master suite and down the passage, Tyron picking off remotes as they went. Using his grav generator to cross the collapsed section sucked his power down to twenty-eight percent. They reached the kitchen where Katryn, Los and Pits waited, ready to go. Pits slid in behind Tyron, Katryn behind him, and Los took their six. They made it to the shuttle airlock without further issue. Los entered codes on the shuttle hatch and both airlock hatches swung open.
“Med station to your right, Ruhger,” Los said.
Once in the Clobbered Turkey, Ruhger turned right and maneuvered around the still-opening hatch, into a medico station. He laid Nari down on the medfloat and dropped the hood over her face. Los grabbed shears and began cutting her shirt off, so Ruhger pulled his knife and did the same on his side. Appendages rose from the float, clamping around her arms on both sides, another closing around her neck. They started cutting her pants.
“Launch!” Porter’s voice came over the comms.
Boots on plas thudded behind him and he turned to see Doc and Porter entering with a big black bag. Porter dropped her end and spun, running back out, Doc staggering a bit. Ruhger put his knife down fast and picked up the end of the bag.
“Launching,” Pits said.
They braced for the push-away from the station, then Ruhger followed Doc to a clear plas enclosure on one end of the compartment. They put the bag down the decking outside the compartment.
Doc did something on his holo, and muttered, “Blast.” He retracted his helmet and unfastened his armor’s latches.
Ruhger grabbed the back half of Doc’s armor and raised it, letting Doc duck under and out. He laid the armor to the side.
Doc put his hand on the clear place compartment’s sensor and locks snicked. “We’ll put the bag and all on the float. Then go strap in. I’ve got this.”
Ruhger helped him heave Borgia’s body in the bag up and on to the medfloat. Doc plugged a plas tube into a valve on the bag and motioned Ruhger out, Doc exiting behind him. Ruhger noted the plas enclosure had deployed an airlock; this must be the bio-hazard compartment. “Sure you don’t need help?” he asked Doc.
“No,” Doc said with a grim smirk. “After I look at Nari, I’ll get my full containment suit on, and take him out of the bag. I don’t want anyone else near this rotting pile of excrement.”
Ruhger smiled with relief. “Good. I don’t envy you.”
Doc snorted. “Yeah, this is the not-so-fun part. Go; Los will assist with Nari.”
Ruhger nodded and left the medico compartment, which now that he had time to look at it, was far more than a regular medico station. He dropped into a seat next to Tryon and retracted his helmet. “All good?” he asked Tyron and Katryn.
“Yes,” Katryn said.
Tyron nodded.
“Chief, status?”
“Beta shuttle is docked, Loreli on defense, Grant on offense. Gianni Station is still threatening Phalanx Eagle and levying fines for failure to comply. PE is ignoring them, but has recalled their shuttles and is thrusting to an orbit to get a good shot at Lightwave. Saree has multiple orbits and folds planned. I’m negotiating with the station. They’re uncooperative so far, but they’re busy. They’re not happy with Borgia, because some sort of failsafe went off when the Clobbered Turkey launched. There were multiple explosions and fire in the family compartment. They tried to evacuate the air from the compartment, but found out they don’t have control. They think extinguishers put out the fires, but they’re not going in to check yet. They are sending techs out to make sure there’s no hidden connections between the compartment and the rest of Gianni Station.”
“That’s quite the list.”
Chief grunted and Ruhger heard the slap of wrench into palm. “They’ll be glad to see us go. And even if they won’t protect us or take out PE, we’ll be in range of other stations soon. I’ll talk to them. Get a nap, Ruhger; you can take over when you get here.”
“Copy that, Chief. Thanks.” Another grunt in reply and Chief swept off the comms.
Porter said, “Debrief after fold. Pits and Fisk, you’ve got it, let me know if you need anything. Doc, same. Rest of you, plug in your armor and get some sleep. We’ll have a fight on our hands to get out of here.”
Ruhger pulled a charging cable from his armor and plugged it in, reclined his seat and relaxed. Porter and Chief were right. He’d sleep now, ready to take on the battle before fold. With any luck, he’d take out this part of PE once and for all.