02.04 - The Slow Thaw
A short, pop-n-fizzle sound broke the silence, attracting their attention back to the chamber doors. A cloud of electric smoke was dissipating in the doorway. Behind it stood the security officer from downstairs. He had evidently destroyed the lock mechanism with his blaster and was poised for running. But, instead he beckoned frantically for the group to follow him.
"We've got to go! Hurry!" he shouted. "Bring Gorluun!"
Smith maneuvered his chair towards the door. Telly and R/D followed, supporting a befuddled Gorluun between the three of them.
Before they were close enough to ask the guard what was going on, he ran back down the hallway to the staircase. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he turned and waited, waving his arm in exasperated encouragement. "Let's GO!"
As the group approached the top of the stairway, they saw a few more soldiers on the landing, wearing the same uniform as the man at the top of the stairs. They were standing next to a hole in the wall where a panel had been removed. Daylight streamed in from the outside and they were wearing filtered masks.
Whether it was Ricky's hackles, or Dewey's, no one will ever know. But stand on end, they did. Something was very wrong with this picture. Smith immediately reversed his hover chair and indicated to Telly to prop Gorluun up against it.
"What's going on here?" demanded Smith.
The security officer looked down the stairs. An act of deference to a higher authority. One of the men on the landing, the one looking the least apprehensive tried to wave in casual assurance. As he called out to them, the guard raised his gun to fire at Gorluun. Telly dove into the guard, causing him to miss.
R/D's blade sang through the air, "I was meant to be meeeeeeee," as it separated the guards arm from his body. Telly grabbed the gun and rolled back from the edge of the stairs to stay out of the line of sight from the soldiers on the landing.
As the guard rolled into a sitting position against the wall, he raised his arm to shoot again. His mind not yet aware of the missing limb. Smith, in a fit of reluctant indignation, slammed his chair forward into the man, pinching his head between the velocity of the hover chair and the mass of the chamber wall. He did not prevail.
The men on the landing took two steps up the stairs when a commotion at the foot of the stairs bade them to reconsider. More soldiers were entering the stairwell, but these ones were obviously legit. The impersonators dropped some flash grenades down the stairs and egressed through the hole in the wall.
As their waiting ship detached from the wall, the atmosphere pushed mini-cyclone of dust and gravel into the stairwell. The soldiers at the bottom fitted themselves with their filter masks and set to replacing the panel and securing the stairs. This gave Smith & Co. time to flee back down the grand hall.
They passed back through the chamber and out the other side to the north wing of the building. They could hear voices coming up the mirrored stairwell at the end of the hall. Telly and R/D detoured into a staff restroom. They dropped Gorluun down the trash shoot and followed after him, sustaining small injuries along the way. They didn't smell great, but they had bought themselves some time.
Smith proceeded drive his hover chair in circles in the middle of the hallway, effecting a dazed and harmless government official unsure of what to do in all the confusion. As the tactical team converged on Smith, two soldiers escorted him back to the stairwell as the rest of the team advanced to the stasis chamber.
Upon reaching the first floor, Smith assured his escorts that he felt safe enough to proceed on his own to the emergency exits. The guards, glad to be relieved of their senile burden, let Smith hover away as they sprinted back to the action upstairs. Smith waited until the guards were safely out of sight and then hurried to the basement to collect his gang.
"We've got to go! Hurry!" he shouted. "Bring Gorluun!"
Smith maneuvered his chair towards the door. Telly and R/D followed, supporting a befuddled Gorluun between the three of them.
Before they were close enough to ask the guard what was going on, he ran back down the hallway to the staircase. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he turned and waited, waving his arm in exasperated encouragement. "Let's GO!"
As the group approached the top of the stairway, they saw a few more soldiers on the landing, wearing the same uniform as the man at the top of the stairs. They were standing next to a hole in the wall where a panel had been removed. Daylight streamed in from the outside and they were wearing filtered masks.
Whether it was Ricky's hackles, or Dewey's, no one will ever know. But stand on end, they did. Something was very wrong with this picture. Smith immediately reversed his hover chair and indicated to Telly to prop Gorluun up against it.
"What's going on here?" demanded Smith.
The security officer looked down the stairs. An act of deference to a higher authority. One of the men on the landing, the one looking the least apprehensive tried to wave in casual assurance. As he called out to them, the guard raised his gun to fire at Gorluun. Telly dove into the guard, causing him to miss.
R/D's blade sang through the air, "I was meant to be meeeeeeee," as it separated the guards arm from his body. Telly grabbed the gun and rolled back from the edge of the stairs to stay out of the line of sight from the soldiers on the landing.
As the guard rolled into a sitting position against the wall, he raised his arm to shoot again. His mind not yet aware of the missing limb. Smith, in a fit of reluctant indignation, slammed his chair forward into the man, pinching his head between the velocity of the hover chair and the mass of the chamber wall. He did not prevail.
The men on the landing took two steps up the stairs when a commotion at the foot of the stairs bade them to reconsider. More soldiers were entering the stairwell, but these ones were obviously legit. The impersonators dropped some flash grenades down the stairs and egressed through the hole in the wall.
As their waiting ship detached from the wall, the atmosphere pushed mini-cyclone of dust and gravel into the stairwell. The soldiers at the bottom fitted themselves with their filter masks and set to replacing the panel and securing the stairs. This gave Smith & Co. time to flee back down the grand hall.
They passed back through the chamber and out the other side to the north wing of the building. They could hear voices coming up the mirrored stairwell at the end of the hall. Telly and R/D detoured into a staff restroom. They dropped Gorluun down the trash shoot and followed after him, sustaining small injuries along the way. They didn't smell great, but they had bought themselves some time.
Smith proceeded drive his hover chair in circles in the middle of the hallway, effecting a dazed and harmless government official unsure of what to do in all the confusion. As the tactical team converged on Smith, two soldiers escorted him back to the stairwell as the rest of the team advanced to the stasis chamber.
Upon reaching the first floor, Smith assured his escorts that he felt safe enough to proceed on his own to the emergency exits. The guards, glad to be relieved of their senile burden, let Smith hover away as they sprinted back to the action upstairs. Smith waited until the guards were safely out of sight and then hurried to the basement to collect his gang.
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