(Battletech/Doctor Who) Operation: Revival

Tainted Heritage - 12

Wolf Compound WC-217-Epsilon
Olympia
Thurston County
Washington
North America
26th March, 3052

Justin crouched behind the low stone wall beside Peter and Gabrielle, watching the two ProtoMechs as they patrolled outside the detention facility. If it wasn't for the ComStar issue sneak suits that Mark had provided them they wouldn't have got anywhere near this place with all the patrols around. That was one thing Justin was grateful for; the second was for the caches of Mechs, tanks and heavy weapons that the ComGuard had put into safe keeping. One such cache was even now being activated in preparation for the strike on Nisqually.

All the planning that had gone into this indicated that stealth alone would never get the trio into the facility. A diversion was required, one big enough to draw off most of the defenders and enable Justin's team to sneak into the base.

They'd been waiting here for ten minutes so, according to their chronometers, the attack should be happening any minute now.

Right on cue bright contrails arced across the sky announcing the arrival of a score of long range missiles. Within seconds dozens more missiles flew into the facility grounds smashing buildings, equipment and shattering ferrocrete roads and walkways.

The ProtoMechs turned in the direction of the contrails and accelerated towards the attackers at top speed, leaving the way clear for Justin, Peter and Gabrielle to run across the open ground to the facility's main door.

A quickly placed charge was set then the trio took cover. Seconds later the main doors were blown open accompanied by the screams of people behind them. The three ran forward, sidearm's drawn, and entered the main lobby. Shrapnel had peppered the room and shredded the bodies of two personnel.

Peter led Justin and Gabrielle through an inner door into a reception area. They dived behind the reception desk as they heard boot feet running towards them from a corridor to their left. A secondary door burst open and a five man security detail entered reception. Peter sprang to his feet followed quickly by Justin and Gabrielle and let off a quick shot at an officer as the guards dived for cover. The shot missed high and to the officer's right then a hail of return gun fire forced them to drop behind the counter again.

The return fire eased but was quickly followed up with several quick shots intermingled with a lot of confused shouting and swearing. Then the room fell silent.

A couple of seconds passed then a voice startled Justin. "It's clear, Peter, come on out."

Peter stood up with a smile and leapt over the counter to greet the man standing on the opposite side. He wore a Wolf Clan security uniform and was holstering his automatic pistol when Peter clasped him by the other hand in greeting.

"Justin, Gabrielle! Come out and meet Roose."

The two MIIO agents stood and walked out to also greet their savior.

Roose smiled back at them. "So you're the two that we're risking our lives for, huh?" Then he looked back at Peter. "I can appreciate saving her, but him?"

Both Roose and Peter laughed then, noticing Justin and Gabrielle's expression, stopped. "Don't worry about Roose, he's just messing with you." Peter then addressed his ROM contact. "We'd better move anyway."

Roose nodded, suddenly serious. "Hunter's got the other teams going to shore up roof and the side entrance but we don't have long. We've got to get to level three and in an emergency they shut down the lifts. Hope you two are fit. Follow me."

The trio followed Roose through to the main stairwell then upwards as they quickly ran up the flights of stairs to the third floor.

Roose held open the door at the landing, check the corridor beyond then signaled the all clear. "To the right, then take the second door on the left. He's in cell three. I'll wait here and keep watch. Hurry!"

Justin was first into the corridor followed closely by Gabrielle then Peter. They took the second door on the left at a run and found themselves in a short passage with three doors to either side. To the left the doors were labeled one to three moving down and, on the right, four to six coming back up.

"Peter, wait here by the door in case Roose needs help." Justin said as he and Gabrielle moved quickly down to the door marked three. Justin peered through the barred window in the door and saw the Doctor lying on the small bed, apparently asleep.

Justin drew his sidearm, pointed the barrel at the lock and fired two shots into the door. The second shot shattered the lock and the door swung open. Justin was about to enter the small room when the Doctor burst out, startling both him and Gabrielle.

"Justin! How nice to see you alive!" He turned on Gabrielle with a smile. "Hello! I'm the Doctor. You are?"

Gabrielle was stunned. "Um....uh....Gabrielle."

The Doctor turned back to Justin. "You've got yourself a livewire there, young man! Come on, we can't stand around talking all night." The Doctor stalked back the way they had come and met Peter at the door.

"Hello! I'm....ah, introductions later. Which way?"

Peter indicated the stairwell door. "Over there. Roose is waiting in the stairwell."

The Doctor looked confused as he continued into the corridor. "There's a ruse in the stairwell? How strange."

The Doctor had just got to the door with Justin, Gabrielle and Peter behind him when a shot rang out. Peter collapsed clutching his stomach as Justin and Gabrielle drew their weapons and returned fire down the corridor. Two men in Wolf uniforms took cover around a corner of the corridor peering out to take another shot.

The Doctor scampered through the door into the stairwell as Justin laid down covering fire, yelling at Gabrielle to go through next. Gabrielle stood at the doorway and snapped off two quick shots just as Justin emptied his clip. The corridor fell eerily silent for a second then a single shot shattered the silence and catapulted Gabrielle into the stairwell with a cry of pain. Justin quickly ran through the door into cover.

He knelt down where Gabrielle had fallen. "Come on, I can carry you."

Gabrielle cried out again as Justin tried to move her. "No! Justin get out of here! Get the Doctor to safety."

"Gabrielle we can all make it."

"Damn it, Justin, get the hell out now! I can hold them off!"

Roose grabbed Justin by the shoulder. "She's right, we've got to leave now."

Justin shook off Roose's hand angrily and stood. "Thank you Gabrielle."

"My pleasure, Sir. Now please, go." Gabrielle's breathing was ragged now.

Justin turned and pushed past Roose and the Doctor, leading them down the stairs to the ground floor. As they reached the bottom they heard the third floor door open. There was a second of silence then gunshots and yelling. It lasted only a moment and it served as the only indication of Gabrielle's sacrifice.

As they made their way back to reception Justin took a small comm. unit from a pocket of his sneak suit. "Courier this is Delivery Man. Do you read? Over."

The com unit crackled once. "This is Courier. We read you loud and clear. Over."

"We have the package, Courier. Pick us up out front. Over."

"Affirmative Delivery Man. Rendezvous in twenty seconds. Over and out."

As the small group reached the front doors a hover APC pulled up at the front of the building. Justin, Roose and the Doctor ran to the vehicle and clambered into the open door which awaited them. The three men dropped into seats in the infantry bay as the hover vehicle sped away.

Justin's face was grim."What a mess."

"If it wasn't for Gabrielle that security detail would likely have pinned us down in reception." The Doctor stated.

"I know." Justin sighed.

"So we won't let her sacrifice be in vain."

Justin looked up. "Damn right we won't. We're getting off this rock."

"Not yet we're not." The Doctor contradicted.

That surprised Justin. "What?"

"If we leave now we will never have another chance of putting things right, he will be too powerful."

"Who, Doctor? Who will be too powerful?"

The Doctor's expression was more serious than Justin had ever seen. "Ulric Kerensky, the Khan of Clan Wolf, though I know him as Fenric."