Orivar: Deep Black

24 - Three Brothers Syndicate

"Intruder alert. Level four security breach."

There was only one thing that came to Doctor Souq's mind when he heard the words echoed by Fiori's adjunct. His daughter was somewhere aboard this ship, and so long as there was an active security breach, Lieren was in danger. With nothing left to protect in his life but her, he leapt from his desk chair and put on the Accellus boots that he had been encouraged to wear for his own safety. He didn't like the feeling of having his body wrapped in a bodysuit, but at least he could don his usual attire over it. Though the suit easily covered his male anatomy, it could not as easily hide it, and that made him uncomfortable. As soon as he was dressed, he threw away common sense and opened the door. He poked his head out only to be shoved back inside by passing Auroras.

"Remain in your quarters!" they commanded him.

"I need to find my daughter!" he pleaded.

One of them, knowing who he was and reasoning who his daughter might be based on names, said, "Adjunct, locate Lieren Souq."

The adjunct responded, "Cadet Lieren Souq is in main engineering."

"It's a war zone over there," one of the Auroras stated.

"Please, I'm begging you," Souq pleaded once more. "She's all I have left." The man was on his knees now and grabbing the hand of who he perceived to be the leader. The leader of the group sighed through her helmet. Her Accellus was mostly exposed bodysuit.

"Armor up and you can follow us," she told him.

"H-how do I do that?"

"I really don't have time for this," she told him. She grabbed him by the wrist, dragged him to his feet, and used his lumionic interface to recall his clothing and fabricated for him a suit of SIRAC.

"Just remember this," she instructed, "do not get in our way." The scientist nodded. The Aurora in the phantom armor configuration motioned to her girls and they set off down the darkened corridor. Bold lumigraphs on the walls visually announced the ongoing state of emergency aboard the battlecruiser. The group moved swiftly and cautiously from hallway to hallway as they followed the sounds of weapons fire. When they arrived at one of the local arteries, they encountered a firefight that forced them to hang back. In the wide corridor beyond, a line of three white, hovering battle drones lobbed plasma bolts from their twin cannons toward a group of heavies. Each drone was under Fiori's direct control. The phantom knew that the only one who could authorize their use was Atara. The captain made the right choice, she thought.

"Colonel Teseri," said one of the Auroras, "how should we proceed?"

"Hold your ground," Kyora told them. "Let the drones do their work."

The battle drones were only a quarter of the size of an ALAT, and they were truly the only heavy infantry in the Federation's arsenal. As most of Civilized Space—including the Federation—was still leery of using fully autonomous weapons systems for frontline combat, their deployment was rare and always required senior level authorization. One of the drone's lumionic systems eventually gave up, reset, and exposed the drone's armor to direct kinetic bombardment. It wasn't long before the drone's exterior had been penetrated. The syndicate bullets shredded its innards, and the drone stopped firing. It's dying husk drifted to the floor, shooting off sparks and flames. The other two battle drones soldiered on, completely immune to the psychological aspects of battle. Their persistent advance was enough to drive the surviving marauders back down the corridor.

"This is our chance," Kyora told them. "Make for the other side! Now!" The group, led by Virn, charged across the open corridor, past the dead drone, and into the other hallway. Kyora brought up the rear until all of them were safely across, including Souq. The group moved about twenty meters down the hallway before something made them stop.