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The room rumbled and Tech froze.
What was that? An explosion? It had to be. And from the sound and feel of it, it was very big and came from deep within Tantiss.
Another rumble rocked the room followed by the sudden blare of alarms and shouting voices.
He couldn’t see what was happening. He was sat in a chair with a virtual headset strapped on, his feet were bound to the frame of the seat while his cuffed hands were tied to a length of cord allowing him a short range of movement. He heard the trooper who was left to supervise him rush to the door to the room, supposedly looking out to see what the commotion was.
In a split second decision Tech reached up and tugged the headset off his face, gazing across the small room to confirm the position of the trooper by the door. He reached to his left and picked up the simple wire frame glasses that he was allowed to wear between this room and his cell.
He’d figured out some time ago that he could use the temple tips of his glasses to pick the cuffs open. He’d just never had the chance to do it until now.
He picked the cuffs open with practiced precision and reached down to do the same to ankle bindings.
Now freed, he placed the glasses on his nose and looked up at the now in-focus room. The trooper had now stepped outside and was speaking into his comm, not noticing Tech’s quick work of the cuffs.
But he didn’t have much time.
Disconnecting the drip attached to the cannula in his right hand, he estimated about a 30 minute window before the drugs wore off. Whatever they were pumping into him, it had kept him awake for about 3.5 days now. As soon as it wore off he’d be fast asleep.
Carefully, he stood up and allowed himself a moment to let the vertigo pass, then he picked up a syringe of sedatives off of the table and crept towards the door. As he got close, he stumbled, a combination of sleep deprivation and his not being used to the prosthetic that now replaced his lower left leg.
Unfortunately the sound alerted the trooper, but before he could fully turn his head, Tech had plunged the syringe between his helmet and torso armour and into his neck. The syringe took a moment to kick in, but left the undertrained trooper shocked enough to not think to comm for help. Soon enough he was an unconscious heap on the floor.
Tech dragged him into the room and unholstered his pistol before looking out into the hall.
Alarms continued to blare and red lit up the empty hallway.
Quickly he rushed towards an elevator, checking down each end of the T-section for people. As soon as it was clear, he entered the elevator and pressed the floor he knew the hangar was on.
He didn’t know the full layout of the base, but in his time here he’d made sure to eavesdrop wherever possible.
An advantage to working silently while hooked up to a headset for days on end was that the troopers and scientists in charge of supervising him assumed he wasn’t aware of them. Why they thought that he couldn’t hear them was something that he couldn’t really grasp, but it worked in his favour so he rolled with it.
Even then, Tech didn’t really have a plan. All he knew was that he needed to get to the hangar. He doubted he’d be able to access a ship, as it was likely the hangar doors were shut in response to the alarm, but he was sure the level the hangar was on had multiple access points to the outside, which was all he needed.
As long as he could get outside, he could find his brothers.
They were here, he just knew it. This kind of chaos screamed Omega’s input and he knew that they would find her eventually, that they wouldn’t rest until she was rescued.
Tech wasn’t worried about trying to find Omega, she would have a plan, and finding her would only throw her off balance.
She didn’t know he was here, that he was alive. So if he found her, she would likely experience some form of shock, which would disrupt her plan to escape and he could not let that happen.
She would make it to their brothers and he would find his way back to them on his own.
He braced himself before the elevator door opened, pistol lifted and ready to fire if needed.
A wave of heat hit him as the door slid open, fire engulfing parts of the hangar and lights sparking and flickering, damaged.
He ducked behind a stack of crates and crept through the wrecked hangar. It seemed to be deserted at the moment.
Ahead he spotted a white light and peered past a crate to see a functioning ship, active and prepared for use.
There must be someone here. Whoever was using it wasn’t in a hurry, it didn’t seem like any of the base staff were frantically trying to escape in it. This was different and it had him on high alert.
There! That scientist, he recognised her. He had only interacted with her briefly once, but she seemed to have a high position here from what he’d seen. Dr Karr, Hemlock had called her.
And beside her, a trooper and- Omega!
And… three children and an infant? Omega and the other children were all dressed in the same simple jumpsuits. Clearly they’d all been held in the same place. The implications of this were disturbing. Why would Hemlock be holding such young children on Tantiss?
He watched carefully as they all spoke, not hearing what they were saying over the alarm and crackling fire. But they all seemed to be on good terms with each other. It was intriguing and he wished he could make out what was going on.
He noticed that the trooper’s right hand never moved, his fingers never shifting or flexing. Tech’s mouth tilted into a slight smile, recognising the trooper to be Echo. Good.
He watched in confusion as Dr Karr led the children onto the ship, while Echo and Omega turned and ran back into the hallway. That was not a good sign.
If Echo was here that confirmed his brothers were here too. But if he and Omega were going back into the facility that could only mean something was preventing them from meeting Omega, Echo and Dr Karr. They must’ve been captured.
Tech shifted as he watched Omega and Echo descend back into Tantiss, listening to the shuttle take off.
He had to help them. His brothers were in danger and so were Echo and Omega for going back in. They’d need all the help they could get.
He looked around and spotted a security room on the next level, looking over the hangar. If he could get up there, he might be able to find out where everyone went.
Tech took the elevator up to the next level and entered the security room. Most of the screens were functioning but some were black or flickering.
He sat down and started working through the system, pulling up every camera he had access to. Some areas had high levels of security that he couldn’t quickly break, so he started with the main areas, rewinding and scanning to find where his squad went.
There. He saw them. All of them. Hunter, Wrecker, Echo and- Crosshair.
Tech drew a breath.
They found him. He didn’t know when or how but they did it, they got Crosshair back. The relief was dizzying but he had to pay attention. Where were they now?
He continued to scan until he found where they went. He heart sank when he saw it. They had been captured and were taken into a high security area, confirming his suspicions. On a different screen he watched Omega and Echo sped through Tantiss, searching for their family.
He flicked through the cameras, locating Dr Hemlock and watching as he entered the same room his brothers were. He had gone in there some time ago it seemed and had not since left. Worry pooled in his gut. He did not want that man anywhere near them.
He watched as Omega and Echo entered a room and tried to switch to the camera inside, but it wouldn’t respond.
He searched for nearby cameras, trying to see when they exited the room and entered a new hallway, but the area they were in was damaged.
Tech leaned back in his seat and took a breath, reaching up to scrub at his eyes.
He closed them and tried to think, noting how fuzzy his thoughts seemed to be. He was running out of time.
He was so so tired, but worry kept him alert. He had to find a way to keep track. He had to find his brothers and make sure they all got out safely.
Time dragged on, each screen skipping and flicking as he switched between cameras, trying and failing to hack into the security to allow him video access to more rooms.
He couldn’t find them. Echo and Omega had disappeared and Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair hadn’t left that room.
Outside the security room, footsteps caught his attention. He stood and pressed himself beside the door, pistol drawn.
He breathed steadily as he waited. But after a beat, the steps passed on.
He waited a moment before walking back to the console and pulling up video feed of the outside of the security room. Two troopers had passed through, scanning the hallway, but seemed to be heading somewhere in particular and had looked past the room he was in.
He kept the feed up on a screen so he could keep track of anyone else coming nearby.
All Tech could do was watch and wait.
There was no chance he’d find them if he went looking. He felt useless where he was. But somehow he had felt as if watching them would keep them safe. Like he could will them into escaping safely if he just kept an eye in them.
It was illogical, he knew that, but lately emotions had more often won out.
So he sat and pulled up the camera feeds and flicked through each one again and again and again.
An empty hallway.
A darkened lab.
The fiery hangar.
The pouring rain- wait. There.
On the catwalk he saw them. Dr Hemlock, his wrist bound to Omega’s, and a trooper trailing behind them.
Tech stared at the screen as Hemlock called in a ship and he couldn’t help but flinch when shots flew past and hit the ship’s engines, causing it to fall down out of view.
His viewpoint from the camera was limited but he could see Hunter and Crosshair approach, guns drawn as they fired on the trooper, sending him careening over the railing. He also saw them freeze in response to Hemlock holding a gun to Omega’s head.
Tech desperately wished to pull Omega and his brothers through the screen to safety, and he shivered as his brothers and Hemlock stared each other down.
A moment passed, a silent message sent between Omega and Hunter and Crosshair, and then action. Omega stabbed Hemlock in the leg and he jolted. Their bound wrists raised up and Crosshair shot perfectly between them, breaking the cuffs.
Tech held each side of the screen and felt a rush as Hunter and Crosshair fired shot after shot into Hemlock, sending him reeling over the edge of the catwalk.
Tech’s vision swam from the flood of emotions and he sunk in his chair, eyes still glued to the screen as he saw Omega run into Crosshair’s arms.
He’d clearly missed a lot, but he was pleased to see Crosshair hug her in return. And even more so pleased to see Hunter hold them both tightly.
Dr Hemlock was dead.
Omega was safe.
Hunter and Crosshair had found her.
But what about Wrecker and Echo?
Darkness swam at the edges of his vision but he pushed on.
Reluctantly, after a moment more to savour the sight of Omega, Hunter and Crosshair standing and holding each other as they walked back inside, he switched view to find Echo and Wrecker.
This time he found them quickly and found they were leading a group of rescued clones behind them. It seemed like they were heading back towards the hangar.
For a moment more, he watched as his family made their way back, confident that they’d find their way back and reconvene safely.
The screens melded together and his hearing buzzed. Time was almost up.
Tech stood with the help of the console holding his weight and turned to exit the room.
Get back to the hangar. Just one floor down. Get there and he’d find his brothers.
He leant against the wall as he stumbled to the elevator and stepped inside.
The buttons shifted and swirled before him, making him nauseous. But he found the button for the hangar floor and pressed it.
The door slid shut as he slid to the floor, unable to stand any longer.
The door opened and the wave of heat he was expecting never came. He watched the fire flicker and swirl into the air but felt nothing but a shift in the breeze.
He attempted to pull himself to his feet, but only managed to get to his knees. Shuffling forward, he got out of the elevator before the door stuttered closed, and began to effectively crawl forwards.
He looked out across the destroyed hangar. One functioning ship remained.
Despite the blazing fires, the room seemed to darken, and the crackling and sparking had blended into white noise.
He slumped against a crate, watching as a small group of figures approached the ship. He could make out Wrecker and Omega among them, identifiable by their sizes.
The ramp opened and Tech watched as each person stepped up into the safety of the ship.
Something deep inside him screamed out for them to notice him. To take him with them. To free him.
But he was just so tired. And really, as long as his family was safe, then that was all that mattered.
His vision narrowed, the towering broken beams, storage crates and remaining fires disappearing from sight. The glowing white of the ship remained.
He watched as the fuzzy figure of Omega stepped up and disappeared from view and sighed. She was the last one on. They were safe.
They were safe. And that was all that mattered.
As his eyelids slowly fell shut, a shadow fell over his slumped form.
Tech felt something squeeze his shoulder before losing consciousness completely, now completely gone to the world.
