Seraph’s Gambit- Episode 47

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Squee

“Port intruders have reached deck four!” the Martoth’s security officer shouted, “The intruders on deck five, starboard side have been contained.”

“Redeploy defense teams from deck five to engineering,” Cru ordered, his voice measured and level, despite the chaos going on around him.

“You do not want to stop the intruders on deck four?” Squee asked, curious about Cru’s decision.

“There is nothing vital on deck four. Just crew quarters and the brig. We cannot let combat drones reach engineering.”

Squee felt his muscles tighten. Olivia and Javi were trapped there, defenseless in their cells. They were there because of him. Without a second thought, he started for the door off the bridge.

“Where are you going?” Cru asked.

“You must protect the ship. I must protect our mission. And my friends.”

Sprinting, Squee reached the stairs in under a minute. The sounds of weapons fire echoed in the stairwell. He couldn’t tell if the sounds came from below or above. He realized that he didn’t have a weapon.

Putting that fact aside, he pushed forward and dashed up the stairs. When he reached deck four, he turned left and almost immediately stopped. Scattered across the floor before him were several crumpled forms of crewmembers. Penetrating a Rokma’s skin was not an easy achievement, and the results when you succeeded made quite a mess. It took him a concerted effort to pull his eyes away from the horror.

Trying to focus on his goal, Squee shifted his gaze from the carnage to trying to find a weapon. Several rifles lay scattered across the deck. Reaching for the nearest one, Squee bent over. As he did, an energy blast flew over his head and blew a hole in the bulkhead.

Reacting instinctually, he dove backward toward the stairwell. He tumbled a few steps down before stopping himself. Scrambling back up he poked his head around the corner. A combat drone stood at the far end of the corridor, illuminated by only the single emergency light. Instead of arms, the drone had large weapons in their place.

Squee glanced at the rifle he had been about to pick up. While only two meters away, it might as well have been in another star system. Reaching it would leave him exposed. Given the scale of the carnage, the drone must have very effective targeting software. He had been lucky to survive the first barrage.

Struggling to come up with a plan that didn’t result in his death, he glanced back at the drone and was surprised to see it moving away from him. Beyond the drone, he saw several other figures. The bulbous shape of a Slu stood out among the others.

“Javi!” Squee yelled at them.

In response, the drone fired several shots his way. Still protected by the stairwell, the blasts did nothing but discourage him from attempting pursuit. After a few seconds, the barrage stopped. He waited for a count to twelve before poking his head around the corner again. This time he saw nothing but dead bodies.

Not wanting the opportunity to pass him by, Squee dashed out of the stairwell and swept up the discarded rifle. Running down the corridor, he almost slipped a few times on the bodily fluids marring the deck. He reached where the drone had stood and saw the door to the brig just beyond it.

Scared of what he might find behind the door, he nevertheless forced himself to enter. To his immense relief, the carnage ended here. Olivia stood in the open doorway of the brig, her arms crossed across her chest, her face drained of color and her mouth hanging open.

Gently, aware how fragile humans were, Squee grabbed Olivia’s shoulders. Despite him now standing right in front of her, the girl continued to stare at nothing. He started shaking her shoulders as firmly as he dared. After a second, she shook her head, and her eyes lost their glassy look.

“Squee?”

“Yes.”

“It looked like everyone was dead.”

“I know.” He said gently, “But we are both still alive. As is most of the crew.”

“They took Javi.”

Squee nodded, “I saw. I thought they had taken or killed you. I am very relieved to see you still well.”

“They wanted me to join them. Serene did.”

“I am glad to see you turned them down. I would not want us to be enemies.”

“How could anyone side with people who could do this? Turn drones against people?”

“I do not know,” Squee said honestly. “Come, let us get to the bridge. It is more secure there.”

Olivia let him lead her out the door and part way down the corridor. Her eyes returned to the carnage as soon as they left the brig and her eyes became distant again. But after a moment, she recovered herself.

“No, we need to get off this ship.”

“We have the boarding parties contained. They may have taken Javi, but the ship is still ours.”

“They’re going to blow it up.”

Squee stopped short, and turned to stare at Olivia, “We are disabled and no longer a threat to them. It would be pointless to destroy us.”

“That’s what their leader told me. And I believe him. He got what he wanted. We’re nothing to him now.”

Squee considered Olivia for a moment. She was apparently still not all here, but she was coherent and very adamant. Given the goals of LFD, he realized they probably were not particularly honorable fighters. Destroying helpless ships would not be beyond them.

Activating his comm, he connected to Cru, “The intruders have captured Javi. They intend to destroy the ship as soon as they get clear.”

“What makes you believe that?” Cru asked.

“They told Olivia. I have no reason to doubt they will do this.”

Cru said nothing in response, but suddenly a new alarm sounded throughout the ship, “Abandon ship. All hands abandon ship.”

“This way,” Squee said, directing Olivia toward the nearest escape pod.

Continue to Episode 48

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