Union of Worlds: Deception

CHAPTER 22: EXECUTION

From the reports, it sounded like the Reds' defence had let them down. They had been so reliable this season, I guess they could be forgiven one bad game. The offence had performed well but...

"Bud!"

Warden Bud Magree gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, readying himself to roar at his colleague.

"Bud, it's serious. Supervisor Smith had no knowledge of an order to move the prisoners. I have him on comms right now, and he's trying to make contact with Pritchard for verification."

Colonel Jon Pritchard surveyed the helpless prisoners on the screen before him with satisfaction. The naïve Prince Ory, his brawny but stupid sidekick Dax and the two street urchins. Their names didn't matter. He had never been a fan of the Eternal and their sneaky, underhanded ways, but he had to admit they had been useful this time. Even that insufferable Burgo. Now the game was finally over, and he would get due credit for apprehending these dangerous criminals who were in league with the Eternal Group. This would mean promotion for sure, more money, more control and most importantly, more power.

His daydreaming was abruptly interrupted by the buzz of his communicator. It wasn't the usual call signal but rather the unique sound signifying an urgent message. The execution order could wait for thirty seconds, he thought. Pritchard accepted the call. He listened intensely as prison supervisor Smith from Amotus asked him to verify that he had ordered release of the remaining prisoners from their cells. Pritchard paused for a few seconds before responding with a tirade so vile that even Smith blushed.

Meanwhile, back in the prison facility, at last warden Magree accepted that just maybe something was wrong.

It had worked. Rhona Browne could see on the screen in front of her that the three prisoners had left the prison facility. That was a start. Now, what could she do about the others? Suddenly, the picture in front of her changed. The screen border flashed red indicating an emergency override protocol.

Blast, the Union network administrators must have discovered that something was wrong. It was only a matter of time now before she was found out. Once they knew about the false Pritchard order, it would be easy to trace it back to this terminal. Thinking quickly, Browne casually got up from the station and stretched out, pretending to yawn. Around her, she saw the faces of familiar Red Hand administrators, working away feverishly at their terminals.

"I'm going for another coffee, anyone else want one?"

A couple of people looked up and shook their heads 'no'. Browne shrugged, grabbed her cup and walked calmly towards the exit door, her mind frantically thinking of what to do next. The job was only half done, but how else could she help? Then, a thought struck her. Pritchard's office. If he wasn't there, she might be able to access his terminal. It would be a matter of when, not if she was caught, but she was already in serious trouble. She pushed the elevator call button as a patrol of Red Hand Knights rushed past her on the way to the data analysis suite. Time was of the essence.

Meanwhile on Amotus, the elevator doors swung open on level four of the Union facility. Epicurus was right, it was deserted. The old man leapt out of the elevator and beckoned to the others. He looked puzzled.

"Epicurus is not exactly sure what is going on here, but it seems we have been left alone for some strange reason. Anyhoo, I know where we are, follow me."

He started down the corridor at a surprisingly fast pace. There didn't seem to be anyone around and the various offices and control rooms, although functional and equipped, were empty. As usual, the grey walls were undecorated. Unlike Union Hall on Crade, however, the budget was tighter on Amotus and everything looked cheap and breakable. It reminded Ton of his apartment back on Joffton.

"Perhaps there's been some sort of mix up and we got lucky?" Ton suggested.

"Yes, perhaps, perhaps. But perhaps not. The Union is famous for its organisational abilities, Ton, and I would have thought they'd be keeping an especially tight eye on prisoners as important as you two."

"Are we important, Daddy?" asked Amma. The two adults ignored her as they veered left down an identical corridor.

"It seems to me most likely that someone is trying to help you escape. Do you have any other friends out there?"

Ton thought for a second. "The Eternals. Of course, it must be their doing. I knew we could trust that Commander Burgo. She'll get us out of here, Amma, wait 'til you see."

"Get them out of my sight and down to the execution chamber immediately." Droplets of spittle issued forth from Pritchard's mouth landed on the comms screen in front of him. He terminated the call line with Amotus and stood hunched over the console, panting in a half-hearted attempt to contain his rage. The low-ranking Red Hand Knight that waited patiently behind him knew things were about to get worse. His voice quaking, he gently interrupted the colonel.

"Very sorry to interrupt, sir, but we have located the source of the erroneous order to Amotus." Pritchard turned, baring his teeth at the private, but not saying anything. "S-S-Sir, the order originated in a work terminal occupied by Captain Browne. I believe she..."

"Browne!" Pritchard slammed his fist into the dark screen in front of him. "Of course, Browne. Who else could it be? Who else would betray me and the Union in this way?"

Standing up from the terminal, Pritchard walked away from the private. Somewhat regaining his composure, he said, "I want every single knight looking for her immediately. Get her apprehended and brought to me. I will not excuse failure."

Browne was acutely aware that the mood had changed in Union Hall. A yellow alert status had been activated and as a result, everyone was tense. The elevator door swung open onto the Union Hall executive level and gripping her coffee cup as casually as she could, she walked out, only a short way now from Pritchard's office. She smiled at Chi the cleaner, who was looking busy as usual. He was used to seeing Browne on her way to Pritchard's office and greeted her with a smile.

"How are you today, Captain?"

"Busy, Chi. Can't keep him waiting."

Rushing onwards, she hoped he didn't detect the nervousness in her voice.

Then she was there. The door to the office was open. Walking inside, everything was quiet and still. She gently closed the door behind her. No point drawing attention to herself. Browne moved quickly towards the terminal and held her breath. Yes, Pritchard was reliably lazy as usual. It was Union and Red Hand policy that a user should always log out of their terminal when they were finished working. Pritchard didn't believe that such petty rules applied to him. He was still logged in. Browne sat down and pulled up the Ory file. Last entry - four prisoners en route to execution chamber. Three other prisoners still at large. Okay, the three would have to look after themselves. At least the little girl was in that group. Although the Amotus facility wasn't large, it would still take a few minutes for the other group to reach the execution chamber on the ground level. What could she do to stop them? She ran a complete diagnostic test on the facility looking for weaknesses. The entire place was badly built. It was low-budget, and cheap materials had been used in the construction. The scan showed several critical structural deficits as a result. The place was very unsafe and would never pass Cradian building regulations. The smallest thing could cause major damage. The smallest thing... If only this was one of those old-fashioned movies, there would have been some sort of convenient self-destruct mechanism she could set off. It was, however, real life and no such thing existed. The only facility-wide systems were related to safety rather than destruction. Still, what if? What if she set them all off at the same time, security alerts, gas alarms, fire sprinklers and sprays? Without thinking twice, Browne systematically went through the facility maintenance interface and activated every safety and security protocol she could find. If it was confusion she wanted, this would deliver.