The transport moved slowly into position next to the mooring bays on Essen Station. The ship locked on to the station and innitiated the airlocks. As soon as the doors were open, passengers disembarked hastily, most of them workers on the station. Corruptor walked out into the docking bay and stretched. The journey had been a long one, having to use three different civilian transports to get to his final destination safely and un-noticed. Dressed in Rheinland work overalls 'aquired' from an unlucky gentleman on New Berlin, he blended with the crowd effortlessly. After a while he detatched from the majority of the crowd and wandered into the bar. Some Kruger employees were huddled around a table near the door, others were scattered around the place. A few Military officers were also having a drink. Corruptor crossed the bar and headed straight for one of the officers, who was sat alone.
"Ah hello, Officer. I believe I owe you a drink?"
"Yes," said the officer, stiffly. "I'll have a Liberty Screwdriver."
Corruptor grinned, "Oh? I'm not sure they serve that here. You sure you wouldn't prefer a Rheinland Fireball?"
"No, I'll stick with the Liberty Screwdriver."
Satisfied, Corruptor sat opposite the officer, leant back in his chair and smiled. "So, you have something for me?"
"Not if you've come empty handed."
"Now now, it's all here," Corruptor flashed a credit card just long enough for the officer to read the ?100,000,000 print.
The officer smiled, "Good. Now, the information is too noticable here, you know that. You said you'd have a distraction prepared?"
"Indeed I do, Officer. When I say, remove the package and place it on the table. I shall do my bit, then you may remove it and place it back on your person. Understood?"
The officer frowned, "You aren't taking it?"
Corruptor's gaze turned steely, "Is that understood, Lieutenant?
"Yes."
"Excellent."
There was a slight pause as Corruptor removed two small devices from his overalls. One he placed on the table. It was long and thin with a small tube light embedded into the underside. He held on to the other. A small hand-held radio.
"Ready?"
The officer nodded. Corruptor grinned widely as he lifted the radio to his mouth and depressed the comm switch. He whispered softly,
"Boom."
A loud bang and a violent tremor resounded throughout the station. There was a mass of light, blinding the entire bar, from the windows. Corruptor's grin became a teethy smile as the light flooded the room from behind him.
"Do it now, Officer."
The officer fumbled with his jacket in the blinding light; removed a brown, card covered file and placed it on the table. Corruptor placed it infront of him and opened it. He then picked up the tube light device, turned it on, and began to wipe it over the documents inside the file. He quickly glanced at the information on them as he did it, just to check the content himself. He knew he didn't have much time, however, and pressed on with the copying.
The explosion of light began to get dimmer as Corruptor just finished with the final page of the document.
"Perfectly timed, if I do say so myself. Now if you wouldn't mind removing the evidence, Officer?"
The officer scratched at the desk for the file, his eyes still blinded.
"Ah, I love it when a plan comes together." Corruptor whispered to himself as he toppled his own chair to the floor and lay down in a heap; his radio and copier safely in his overalls.
In the rest of the bar, Workers and Military a-like were trying desparately to see what was going on. Their eyes burning from the now dimming light. Some had been knocked to the floor, some holding their heads in their hands still trying to shield their eyes. As some gained their sight back, they looked in the direction of the light and saw a moored transport with a huge hole in the hull. Parts of the ship were floating passed the windows of the bar. A recovery opperation was already in space. A repair ship had a hold of the transport and was ready to yank it from the fixture, the temperature of the explosion having welded the ship to the station around the airlock.
In the bar, no-one knew what had just happened between the officer and the 'employee'. Everything had worked exactly to Corruptor's plan, although it wasn't yet finished. Corrputor pulled himself off the floor rubbing his eyes and squinting. He would look back over this momment later and laugh. He picked his chair off the floor, placed it upright, and sat back down. The officer's eyes were watering, and he looked unpleased. Corruptor smiled back at him,
"I told you I'd have it sorted."
"You could have told me about that! My eyes are killing me!"
"Keep it down, you fool! I'm afraid I can't rely on your acting abilities so I decided not to tell you."
The officer grumbled, "Whatever, just give me my part of the bargin."
Corruptor's smile widened, "Now, here we come to a quandry. You see, I have what I wanted, well most of it, and I don't exactly feel inclined to give you what you want."
The officer's jaw fell slightly, "You bastard. You better be joking, or I'll expose you right now, Hessian!"
"I'm afraid this is no joke, and I'm afraid I am no Hessian either. You could never comprehend what I am, or what I can do, but I think you'll be co-operating anyway."
Corruptor, with unimaginable speed, whipped out a sheet from his overalls and placed in on the table with a slap. The officer realed back in shock, looking from the paper to the man infront of him.
"Yes, my friend, I am something you see in those dreams when you wake in a cold sweat. I have caused more attrocities than you could ever dream of. And I could rip your spine out through your chest and snap it in two before you even realised I was out of my chair."
The officer's eyes were wide open, staring in horror at the man infront of him, sweat dripping from his forehead. He began to move.
"Stay right where you are, son. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen now, would you? I didn't think so. Now, it wouldn't do me any good to expose myself here, but the same applies to you. You're a Rheinland Military Officer, in a bar whilst on duty, carrying defense secrets on your person. And this sheet is a published warrant for your arrest as a Hessian spy. If you so much as move a single muscle without my say so, I'll hand this to one of the other Military fools in here."
The officer choked. His eyes almost left their sockets. The man before him was a complete monster.
"Now, unless you want your life to be ruined I suggest you do as I ask. Hand me your access card to your ship."
The officer removed a thin green card from his jacket and placed it on the table next to the warrant. Corruptor looked at the card and then pocketed it. He was almost at the point of laughter.
"Wonderful. I must say you've done a good job. I'll leave it to you to explain how you lost your bomber when you were docked."
Corruptor laughed a little and stood up. The people in the bar were talking avidly about the explosion and how they thought it must be the Hessians. Corruptor wanted to tell them all it was his doing, wanted them to fear his very presence, and wanted to see their looks of horror as he ripped his way through each one of them. But now was not the time for mindless violence, as much as he longed for it. He moved towards the door and eventually disappeared from sight.
Corruptor entered the docking bay. The bomber stood out next to the humpbacks and wraths.
"Such an ugly ship, but no matter. I'm sure I can have a little fun in it."
He walked up to the bomber and began to climb the ladder up to the airlock.
"Excuse me, Sir. Would you mind stepping down from the ship, please?"
A Rheinland police officer was standing at the foot of the ladder, his blaster raised.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. One of my friends is in the Military and asked me to grab something from his ship. He's a little tied up at the momment dealing with the terrorist attack, station-side. He gave me his access card."
"Ah, I see. Well, I must accompany you into the ship, you understand."
"Of course."
Corruptor opened the airlock and stepped inside. The police officer followed him, his blaster now holstered. The outer door closed and the inner opened.
"Could you be quick, please Sir?"
"Certainly."
As soon as Corruptor had finished speaking he leapt back and grabbed the police officer in a headlock. He began to squeeze, the officer's helmet buckling under the pressure, fragments being slowly pushed into his skull. He was soon lifeless. Pieces of the helmet littered the airlock, blood leaking from the officer slowly enveloping them on the floor. Corruptor removed several pieces from his own arms.
"Damn flimsy helmets, eh pal? Haha!"
Corruptor walked through into the cockpit of the bomber and sat in the pilot's seat. He looked around at the controls. Frowning, he began to set up the ship for undocking. The engines roared into life and the noise echoed around the docking bay. People began to run for the exits as the ship released it's bay floor locks. A voice rang over the bomber's comm system.
"This is Essen Station control. You do not have permission to undock. Please lock up your ship and cut the engines."
Corruptor grabbed the comm radio whilst still prepping the ship for launch.
"This is the Phantoms. I don't particullarly feel like staying."
He released the comm radio and grasped the weapons control on the left arm of his seat. He knew exactly which trigger he wanted.
BOOM!!
The two antimatter pulses blew the docking bay doors completely open. The pressure difference began to suck everything unattached out of the bay. Flailing bodies of engineers and pilots slid along the floor and out into space where they were ripped apart at the seams. The bomber was dragged out into space with them. Corruptor engaged the cruise engines and headed for the trade lane to New Berlin. The station's turrets had taken it out long before the bomber reached them, but it didn't matter. He cruised straight through them and headed for the second gate on the same lane. Police and Military ships close on his tail. He reached the lane and began the docking sequence. The Rheinland ships were too far behind to make a difference, as the bomber entered the lane, releasing a mine as a final parting gift which disrupted the lane and stopped any would-be followers.
Corruptor knew he was safe now. Nothing could stop him from reaching the Sigma 13 Jumphole. Laughing in his bomber, he disengaged from the lane two gates before the planet and set a course for his destination.
