The End of the Slavers: The Dawn of a New Era

[Mantrid Brizon]

Chapter 6: The Great Escape (Final Chapter)


Michael Cost and Frank Tanner approach the horde of drones in the tunnel. Michael looks over his troops.

“This is what we’re reduced too? Electron-whips and batons?! Pitiful.” Michael scoffs. “Make sure you kill as many as you can. Kill every last one of them if you can. If nothing else, hold the line, and allow Frank Tanner to return to the Baychimo unharmed so that he can launch.” Michael orders.

His army of drones nods silently.

“Alright my minions…” Michael begins. He takes a few long breaths. “Charge!”

The drones all stand, yelling as they sprint out of the tunnel entrance. The Lagos Guards begin firing. “Sweep your rounds across the horde! Drop them all!” George commands. Drone after drone falls to the floor. The bodies pile up as they charge through the entrance into the docking hub. Drones begin to trip over the pile of corpses as they attempt to push towards the barricade.

“I should’ve bought more blasters…” Michael mutters to himself. “I didn’t expect them to put up such a fight.”

Frank Tanner turns his head, looking to Michael. Michael places a hand on Frank’s right shoulder and pats him gently. “Try to get to your ship, my minion.” Frank nods, then marches behind the charging drones, using them for cover.

James sees Frank emerging from the tunnel. “Men, concentrate your fire on Moor #7. Don’t let him reach the Baychimo!” He commands. The Lagos guards turn to fire on Frank Tanner.

“I’m going to kill that bastard!” George growls.
“I’ll help you…” Harvey says, checking his machine blaster.

The duo crouches down and moves slowly around cover as they push towards the Baychimo’s tunnel. They drop down into the valley where George had previously hidden himself, crawling their way towards their target. James and the Lagos guards keep firing, distracting the drones that now armed with only melee weapons. The drones keep pushing through, forced to climb over a large pile of bodies in the docking bay and sliding down the other side.

Michael returns to his command post, the bridge of his ship, the Governor Parr. He looks over the panels and checks the life signs of his army. “What?! That can’t be right!” He yells. “Is this a glitch?” He asks a sitting crewmember.

“No sir.” He replies. “They’ve killed 809 drones.”
“Prepare to launch! Call in the rest of the crew and seal the airlock!” Michael demands.
“What about the remaining drones, Master?”
“Hmm…” Michael places his left hand on his head, gently rubbing his scalp. “Pull back 60. That’s a nice round number. We want enough to commandeer another ship if we need too.”
“Yes, Master!” The crewmember responds with a nod.

As Michael turns and storms off, the crewmember presses a button. Activating the intercom for all of Lagos, he leans toward a small microphone mounted on the control panel. “Attention, crew of the Governor Parr! Collect 50 strong drones and return to your Master. We are preparing to launch! Airlock will close in three minutes!”

“That damn coward! We can’t let him escape!” James yells. “What are your orders, sir?” A Lagos guard asks.
“Go back into the tunnel and gather all of the reserves. We’ll push as hard as we can towards the Governor Parr and see if we can’t get on board before they launch.” He commands.

The guard nods and rushes back towards the tunnel. James doesn’t wait for the reinforcements. “Forward!” He yells as he stands and fires, walking around his cover. He fires his blaster at numerous drones as the slide down the pile of bodies, adding them too it like a twisted, flesh sculpture. The remaining reinforcements charge past James as he walks, scrambling up the mountain of glistening, blood soaked corpses.

As they reach the top, they fire wildly at the remaining drones at the bottom. Commanding the artificial high ground, they sit or crouch atop the bodies and lay down suppressing fire. Unfortunately, the drones can’t be suppressed or routed; feeling no fear, they charge into the Needler and blaster rounds, dying by the dozens.

The Lagos guards begin to slide down the mountain of corpses as James reaches the top. He fires his blaster as he slides down the pile, leaning to his left side to balance himself, his right foot extended. The Lagos guards push forward into the tunnel as the close in on the corner.

Near the entrance to Moor #7, George and Harvey climb out of their metal valley. They run towards the tunnel entrance; George fires his custom blaster, holding his Falcata in his right hand, and Harvey fires his machine blaster in short controlled bursts. Drones fall left and right as they move into the tunnel. Harvey shoots a burst into the center-mass of two drones. George fires a single round into the head of another, and then thrusts his right arm out, impaling a second on his sword before pulling back and dropping his body on the floor.

The Baychimo’s airlock begins to close as they watch Frank Tanner walk aboard his ship.

“This one isn’t getting away!” Harvey yells.

George sprints towards the door. As he closes on the airlock, he trips on a damaged floor panel. Stumbling, he lands on a knee and slides forward. Holding his Falcata forward, he manages to place the first half of the blade between the airlock doors, preventing them from sealing. As Frank approaches his few crewmembers at their stations on the bridge, a loud buzzing alarm sounds off.

“Master! The airlock hasn’t sealed. The ship cannot launch. The computer will not allow it!” They shout out, turning their chair towards Frank.

Frank stands there silently before exhailing deeply. George and Harvey grab onto either airlock door. Counting aloud, they pull on “three” and slowly pull the doors open. George’s Falcata falls to the floor with a loud clank as they open the airlock enough to slip through. George kicks his sword past the door before allowing Harvey to slip through. Just before the doors close, George swings his body around from one side to the other, falling into the Baychimo as the doors slide shut.

“What are your orders? … Master?!” The crewmember asks frantically.

Frank continues to stand there, watching the panels. The alarm continues as the holographic airlock light flashes a yellow-orange. Suddenly, the light turns bright green and the alarm falls silent. Frank chuckles to himself, then turns around and faces the hallway.

“Master?!” The crewmember asks again.

Frank reaches back and grabs their throat, squeezing as hard as he can. A loud crunch is heard as he breaks the crewmember’s vertebrae, killing them instantly. As he holds their throat, George and Harvey step around the corner. Frank pulls the crewmember’s body out of the chair and drops it on the floor, taking the seat for himself.

“Crew… Kill the intruders…” He says calmly as he leans back in the chair, crossing his arms.

Back at Moor #5, James and the Lagos guard curve around the tunnel’s corner. They charge forward as they spot the last of the Governor Parr’s crew and drones rushing into the airlock. They fire at the drones only for them to turn around and return fire.

“Damn it!” James says as he ducks behind the corner with some of the Lagos guards. “He armed his last few drones. Smart move Michael… Alright men! Move forward. Double column formation! The first two crouch down! Take careful aim and kill them all!” James commands.
“Yes sir!” the Lagos guards respond in unison.

Moving around the corner, they follow James’ orders to the letter. Their quick but careful aim kills the few remaining drones without a single loss to the Lagos forces. James turns the corner and runs for the airlock doors as they begin to close. The last few crew push through the airlock door as the drones are forced to the back. James fires his blaster at the door. Nearly all of the crew and drones make it through to safety as James’ anger affects his aim.

As the last drone tries to slip through the closing airlock door, James makes one hit, splattering his brain matter on the doors as they clank shut. James runs into the door and pounds his fists on it.

“No!” He screams. “You can’t get away with this!”

Aboard the Governor Parr, Michael returns to the bridge. Standing next to a crewmember, he chuckles. “How many did we lose?” He asks them.
“941 drones, Master.” They reply.
Michael sighs. “59 drones left. Not as pretty a number as 60, but I’ll take it. I’ll simply make more!” He says with a pleasant tone. “Launch the ship. We have places to be…” He says as he walks away, humming to himself.

In Moor #5, James watches in furious anger as the inner door and outer door slowly separate. The Governor Parr pulls away from Lagos Depot as her engines slowly hum to life. James’ anger turns to horror as he looks through the thick window of the airlock door. The ships engines flare silently, the sound unable to penetrate the vacuum of space.

“He got away…” James mumbles to himself as he turns around, placing his back onto the airlock door. “He got away, and he has his ship.” He says, sliding down and sitting on the floor.

Zane, the Lagos guard, approaches James and kneels beside him. “We can still find him, Sir…” He reassures James.
“He has the technology to make drones. It’s not just him; it’s the rest of Sirius? Who’s to say he won’t come back ten years from now with a fleet of thousands of drones?” James says, horrified.
“A Pilgrim Liner is tough, but deep space is tougher. He’ll probably meet his fate out there in the fringe.” Zane adds. “There’s still his right hand man, and George and Harvey are fighting him right now!” He says as he stands. “Now get up! Let’s help them burn him and his crew to ashes!” He says with a cheerful tone, reaching out a hand to James.
“You’re right…” James says, looking up at Zane and taking his hand.

James and the Lagos guard rush back through the tunnel and around the corner. They turn towards Moor #7 and head towards the Baychimo’s airlock. They come up to the doors and set down their Needlers and blasters as they try to pry open the doors.

Aboard the Baychimo, Frank’s crew lunge out of their chairs, charging at George and Harvey. They pull batons and small blasters. The Lagos duo, blasters already in hand, fire at Frank’s crew. In seconds, they kill most of them, and injure the others. The lower their blasters and stare at Frank.

“Well that wasn’t very entertaining.” Frank says as he leans forward. “Perhaps we should ta-”

Frank is suddenly cut off as George raises his blaster and fires. Frank groans and tries to speak again, only to be interrupted by Harvey raising his machine blaster and firing a burst into his chest armor. George and Harvey both fire their blasters for what seems like an eternity as they char Frank’s armor.

As their blaster’s power cells run dry, they holster them and walk towards Frank. George swaps his Falcata into his left hand as Harvey looks around for a melee weapon, taking a coiled Electron-Whip from a dead crewmember.

“So much for my villainous speech…” Frank says, standing up and taking off his armor.

He charges George who swings his sword, clipping Frank’s arm. He groans in pain as he grabs George by the shoulders and shoves him backward. George drops his sword as he flies backward almost 10 feet. Shocked by how physically powerful Frank Tanner is, Harvey swings the Electron-Whip. It uncoils as the tip sways above the floor, the spikes on the metal links glowing as the blue light of the electrical charge envelopes it.

Harvey swings the Electron-Whip, nicking Frank’s right arm. George pushes himself up and scrambles across the floor, picking up his sword. Frank turns to Harvey who swings the whip as he backs up. He strikes Frank’s left leg, and then nicks his chest. George lunges at Frank, sliding the Falcata’s blade across his left side, cutting him deeply. Frank turns to the right and swings his arm, smashing George against the side of his face.

As George falls to the floor again, he turns to Harvey who takes another swing. As the Electron-Whip comes down on Frank’s neck, he reaches out with his left arm. The whip coils around his arm, the spikes digging deep into his flesh. He yanks back, pulling the handle of the whip out of Harvey’s hand. It dangles from Frank’s arm as he steps forward, grabbing Harvey by the throat with his right hand. He pushes Harvey against the wall and lifts him off of the ground.

Harvey’s feet dangle a few inches off of the floor as Frank slowly squeezes his neck. George struggles to pick himself up off of the floor. Grabbing his Falcata, he charges Frank one more time. Harvey looses consciousness and his body becomes limp as Frank holds him up in the air and against the wall. George swings with both hands, lopping off Frank’s right arm at the elbow. Groaning, more out of anger than pain, Harvey drops to the floor; Franks right forearm landing just to his left.

Frank spins around and swings his left arm, bringing it up to his chest, swinging the Electron-Whip attached to him. It slams against the right side of George’s face, the electrical charge and spikes both burning and tearing flesh. George screams in pain as he flies back, falling onto the floor. Frank closes in and reaches out for him with his left arm. He grabs George’s neck and lifts him up. George grips his Falcata tightly as he pulls his arm back before thrusting it deep into Frank’s stomach.

George’s grip on the hooked brass handle loosens as Frank slams him against a control panel. His left leg catches a sharp edge and is gashed open as Frank bends him backwards over it. As George also begins to lose consciousness, he stares up at the ceiling. Blood streams down his mangled face and down his leg. Suddenly, a hand grabs the handle of the Electron-Whip still dangling from Franks left arm. It pulls up and to the right of the hunched over Frank, wrapping the electrically charged, spiked links around his throat. Frank lurches back as James holds into Franks back, pulling harder and harder on the Electron-Whip.

Frank tries to spin around as the spikes slowly start to pierce the flesh of his neck. James grunts as he tries to maintain his hold. Frank lurches again as James falls off of his back, but refuses to release the handle of the whip. It pulls back tightly and cuts deeply into Frank’s neck. Blood begins to spurt out of his neck as his heart beats. He drops to the ground as he reaches for the whip around his neck. He grabs onto it; the electrical charge burns his fingers. With a final groan, Frank falls forward onto the floor.

“I hope it hurt…” James says with a sigh.

Turning to the control panel, he sees George lying over the control panel. Rushing up to him, he sees George’s face. Turning to Zane and the other Lagos guards, he motions for them to come towards him.

“We need to get him to the med-lab right now, before he bleeds out!” He yells.
“Yes Sir!” Zane replies as he picks up George and slings an arm over his shoulder.
“Activate Harvey’s surgical drones right away. They’ll handle the rest.” James adds.

A second Lagos guard takes the other side as they drag George off. James walks over to Harvey and checks his pulse. He motions to a few more guards.

“He’s not dead, just unconscious. Take him to the med-lab as well. Let’s make sure he’s not seriously or permanently injured.” James says.

James walks up to the windows of the bridge. Looking out, he sees the faint lights of the Governor Parr fading in the distance. “You’ll get yours… Someday…” Turning, he walks behind the Lagos guards as they drag George and Harvey to the med-lab. Lagos guards begin activating maintenance droids and start collecting the weapons and bodies. Some guards begin to reprogram the Baychimo’s computer, giving control to the Woods brothers. Others work on the Lagos Depot computer core, undoing the damage that Michael Cost had done.

Hours after the battle ended, George was in surgery, his leg being stitched up and his face being partially reconstructed. Harvey quickly awoke, finding himself on a gurney with James sitting nearby.

“Are you alright?” James asks.
“Yeah…” Harvey replies as he sits up on the gurney. “Just a splitting headache and some very sore muscles.”
“Well, the tests and scans came back. You’re fine. No serious damage. You’re free to go. You should go to your quarters and rest.” James says, standing up.

Harvey nods in agreement as his turns on the gurney, placing his feet gently on the ground. He leaves the med-lab and walks towards his quarters, swerving around a maintenance droid every now and then. He presses his hand against the wall as he faces the closed door, almost too weak to press the button and open it. He manages to do so, and steps inside. The door closes behind him as he sits on his bed.

Opening the drawer of his nightstand, he grabs a glass, a bottle of green liquor. He reaches for a small bottle of painkillers hidden deeper within the drawer. Unable to reach it, he pulls hard on the drawer in frustration. The force shakes loose a small drive that was placed inside. Taped around it is a handwritten note. Harvey grabs the bottle of pills and takes a few, drinking the liquor straight out of the bottle. He pours more into his glass, then caps the bottle and sets it down, grabbing the drive and gently peeling off the note.

Opening it he reads,

“Dear Michael.

I’m sorry that things had to happen the way that they did. I apologize for any pain I may have caused you, especially if you are dead and someone else is reading this for you. If you are in fact alive, then please accept a copy of all of my work on this drive. I’m sure you’d love to use it someday for yourself. Perhaps our two slave armies will collide in the future? Wouldn’t that be fun?!

Sincerely,
Michael Cost”

Harvey holds the drive up to the light and thinks to himself. He looks over the drive, and then sets it down on the nightstand. He finds the strength to get up and walk to the door. Opening it, he looks outside and whistles to a Lagos guard.

“Yes, Sir?” The guard says as he stands at attention.
“I need you to go down to the med-lab and tell James Woods that I found something extremely important that he’ll want to see. He should come see me in my quarters as soon as he is able.” Harvey says.
“Understood!” The guard says before turning and marching off.

As James sits outside of the room where George is being operated on, the Lagos guard approaches him, delivering Harvey’s message. James stands and knocks on the door. A Lagos crewmember with medical training opens the door.

“How much longer?” James asks.
“We’ll be done in a matter of minutes. The damage was extensive but mostly cosmetic. He’ll be awake in a few hours and ready to be discharged tomorrow, although he’ll need to come back for regular wound cleaning and a bandage change for a good week or so.” The doctor replies.
“Alright then. I’ll be back.” James says as he leaves with the guard.

Six hours later, George wakes up. He’s lying on a medical bed with the back arched at a gentle 30 degree angle. The doctor enters and explains the damage to his body. Handing a small mirror, George looks at his face.

“We were able to fix the damage almost entirely, and although the scarring will be extensive, it’ll heal. In a few years, it’ll look like you had moderate acne as a child.” The doctor says.
“So much for my stunning good looks. I’ll have to make do with just my charming personality.” George replies, lowering the mirror.
“Grow a thick beard.” The doctor says with a chuckle.

As he takes the mirror and walks away, George looks at his scarred face in the shiny chrome handle of his hospital bed. Taking up his right hand, he covers the stitches and staples, his positive façade quickly fading.

The next day, George is discharged from the med-lab. He immediately walks down to the docking bay, looking over the mass of corpses, still being cleaned up. He takes a seat on the floor and watches the Lagos guards executing the remaining living drones, as the maintenance droids clear up the bodies and repair the Depot. He watches on and sees James in the crowd, managing the cleanup. “It’s time for a change…”

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