Demise

[Boss]

Mason sat on the cot in his cell and counted the number of tally marks on the wall for the thousandth time. There were still four. No more, no fewer. He sighed. The day of his execution was two days away.

"...I just sort of shrugged my shoulders, you know? No point in fighting the inevitable. I mean, hell, I was going to be dead in a few short days. There isn't a whole lot to do, physically, anyways, in one of those cells. I had some time to think. Pacing got old fast, and so did rehashing that scenario over and over, and over. I did what I had to. It doesn't make what I did right though.

"I don't think I slept at all those four days."

*******************

"Mathers, hurry up! If we can't get it all loaded, leave it! We don't have time to spare; everything has to be in place soon, and I mean soon!" Johnson hefted a steel case onto a hovering platform and stacked it with about a dozen others just like it. Mathers placed several large spools of cord and a smaller box on top, then waved to the Marines guarding the door. "Let's roll this out. Boxes one through seven go on the power conduits at these junction boxes. Eight through twelve go on the consoles here, here, here, and here. One for turrets, one for cameras, one for doors, and one for the shields. Oh, and this one" he tapped the smaller box, "Goes on the backup reactor console here. Sergeant Hollis, is your team ready?"

The leader of the Marines nodded grimly. "It's treason, sir, but Captain Mason did nothing wrong. We're in this for the whole ride." The rest of the Marines glared fiercely, weapons at port arms, before giving present arms as one with a roar. Johnson nodded. "Good. Let's load the shuttle."