Distant Fire

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 5

The shuttle bounced as it finally touched down at the
loading platform that was at the end of the Slingshot. We
rolled for about a second before coming to a complete stop.
The system having drained off the rest of the speed.

The loading dock was smaller there I would have expected,
barely long enough to hold the shuttle. The only light came
from the rings outside, but even that was fading as the
doors behind us closed.

"They dock will be pressurized in about three minutes."
Aster said from his place behind Oria and I. Nodding to her,
I pushed some hair out of my eyes, and started shutting down
the systems on the shuttle.

It had been modified more then I had let on, replacing a
large portion of the basic systems with small ones, that
where considerably faster and far more evident. The power
system hadn't been changed though, to much still relied on
it. I wasn't sure how much of a drain it could take, so I
felt it was better to shut everything down then risk
damaging anything important.

Sitting back in my seat I adjusted my hair a bit, some of it
had come lose during the trip and was getting in my eyes.
Oria chuckled softly as he watched me. "You don't even have
to think about that anymore, do you?" The question was
sincerer, but the look in his eyes was one of worry. The
same look I saw every time he talked to me about how I was
acting.

I nodded, happy with how I had it pulled back, and dropped
it against my neck. "Yes, it's become more of a reaction
then a thought."

His look of worry seemed to less, but only slightly so.

"Everything is finished," Aster announced, it's safe to go
outside now.

I smiled, slipping out of my seat and past the others and to
the airlock. Opening it just a crack a breeze of cold air
blew accost my face. Taking a deep breath I opened it the
rest of the way, at the same time hitting the control to
lower a ladder down to the floor. The drop being something
like thirty feet.

Terminus was right behind, looking out over my shoulder into
the darkness. "Everything looks all right." He comment,
though from the tone of his voice I could tell he didn't
believe that for a second.

"Aster," I called back, "can you get some lights in here?"

As a response the lights in the dock started to brighten,
providing enough light for me to see by. There wasn't much
in the room to hide behind or under, the only way out was a
steal door that looked to be tightly closed.

Sliding out of the small airlock I padded carefully down the
ladder, the sound of my passage almost none existent.
Stepping onto the floor I felt myself shiver, the cement
under my feet was almost ice cold, chilling the rest of my
body.

I hadn't been able to where shoes sense the change, Oria's
race never had the need for them except under extreme
conditions. Oria as well had not taken to the idea of shoes,
instead walking around barefoot in my body.

Shaking the chill off a bit I looked back up the ladder.
Terminus was already half down with Page right behind him.
Oria had his head stuck out the airlock, watching the others
decent before he to started down to the floor.

Once on the floor Terminus walked over to me, taking one of
the plasma riffles he had on his back off and handing it
over to me. Giving it a quick once over I found it to be in
working condition and swung it over my own shoulder.

He handed one to Page as she reached the floor. She refused
though, not giving a reason, but just shaking her head and
started walking towards the door.

Oria took the one offer to him though, holding it gently,
almost as if he was frightened by it. After a second though
that seamed to fade, and he tucked it under his arm.

Aster came last, caring his equipment with him. Ignoring the
rest of us and going over to Page to open the door.

Terminus shrugged, setting the two extra riffles on the
ladder. He didn't need them, having come prepared with his
sword, the only weapon he's ever needed. If the plan we had
worked, no one would need to fire at all, and everything
would be wrapped up nice and neat.

Assuming of course that we've out thought Grasion. The odds
of which I really gave us a fifty percent chance. He may not
have expected us to come in this way, but it wouldn't
surprise me if he had considered it.

My biggest hope was that my being alive would throw him off
a bit.

With a loud thump, and a series of hisses, the steal door
opened. It was almost two feet thick and opened in four
sections, each one sliding back inside of the wall.

Quickly I walked over to the pair, Terminus and Oria at my
side. On the other side of the door was a pair of motorized
carts. There to help cover the three miles of tunnel that
separated us from the actual base. One was enough for all
five of us to fit inside.

Aster took the controls, starting up the cart as Page closed
the door. We all got inside and Aster gunned it, sending us
very quickly down the tunnel.

It took only five minutes of travel to reach the other end
where we were greeted by another large door. That one seemed
to be easier to open. Page handling it in a few seconds this
time.

Of all of these type of things, this is the part that I
hated. the lull before everything is about to start. The
long it is the worse it becomes. Where you think over all
your plans over and over, starting to become convinced that
they are all flawed, that they could never work.

I hated it, the feeling always seem to make me ill as it
went along. During things like this, where there was so much
of a delay between one thing and another I was fighting the
urge to throw up.

Oria fell in step with me as we walking through the door.
"Fox, are you ok, you look a bit pail."

I shrugged. "Just seeing how absurd this plan seems."

Aster scoffed. "Glad your finally seeing things my way."

"You would just shut up." I snapped towards him, feeling my
ears twisting back a bit.

He rolled his eyes and keep walking. He and Terminus lead
us, the knight just a bit ahead of the wolf. Page was behind
them, then Oriana and I.

Oria sighed. "I think it's too late now to make a new plan."

"I know," I said with a nod, relaxing my ears. "I always
feel like this, usury there just isn't so much time to hash
it over in my head."

"We don't exactly have much time," He said, adjusting his
glasses. "We only landed about ten minutes ago. Usually
there is far more time to wait."

I flicked my tail as we turned a corner. "Not with Grasion,
never with him. I barely have time to plan anything when he
is involved."

"What did he do to you Fox?"

I grimaced. "Not something I want to talk about. Or is safe
to talk about."

"That bad?" He asked, stepping a bit closer.

Shaking my head I smiled at him, "oh no, far worse."

Oriana gulped slightly. I could see in his eyes that he
wanted to know more about what had happened, I could also
see that he knew not to ask.

After another minute we entered into the tunnel connecting
this building to the next, the one with the control room for
the bases defense system. The first target of this
adventure.

The control room was easy to find, not being hidden in any
way. The door was marked 'Defense System Control' in the
local language. It wasn't even locked, Aster tried the
handle and it opened right up for him.

A fact that suddenly had me very worried. Grasion had been
hear before, or at least one of his guards, he would not
have done something as stupid as leaving the door unlocked.
He would never assume that no one could get in this way, he
would lock it so no one could do what we where planing to
do.

As the others entered the room I stopped to cheek the door.
Moving my fingers around the door frame and poke and prodded
a bit, pushing what I could, to see if anything move. On the
bottom edge something gave. Tucked into a hole cut into the
frame was a small transmitter, set to go off when anyone
opened the door.

"Hell," I said standing up.

Terminus turned as did Oriana, "What?" They asked in time.

I shook my head. "Grasion knows we're hear. I want the
guards locked down now, don't worry about the defense system
until then."

Aster turned to look at me. "How could he know we're here,
he couldn't know."

I let a low growl slip from my lips. "That thinking will get
you killed. Lock the guards down now, before they can get
here."

Grabbing Aster, Page turned him back to the computers in
front of them and telling him to do the same things I just
did. This time he listed, bending over the controls and
starting to bang on the keyboard.

Terminus was down by the door, looking at the transmitter.
"I see, very clever. Even if we had checked the door from
the outside we would not have found it. I ask though, why?
Was he so sure someone would come in the way we did?"

I bent back down next to him. "No... I don't think so. It
may have been an option, but I'm not sure he would have
given it much credence. He left the door unlocked, I'm
betting this was to catch any of the hostages who got away
and tried to shut the system down."

"The guards are confined." Page said with some frustration
in her voice.

"And Grasion?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Once we got the doors down around the
guards the whole monitoring system went down. We can't track
him."

I nodded, "well, there goes having this be easy. Are you
sure the guards are locked down?"

Aster nodded himself, bending over the computer. "Yes, I'm
sure."

Oriana started to speak up, but I waved him down. "Right
then, how long do you think it will take to get the password
for the defense system?"

He snorted. "Nothing, I know the password already. It's just
a simple matter of logging in and..." he trailed off,
looking down at the screen. "He changed the password!"

"Yep, he made it easy to get in here, so he would make it
hard to shut the system down. I'm sure you can get around
the password."

He shrugged, "if that's all he changed, it would take about
ten minutes to get through the system."

"Which would have been long enough for the guards to come
get out," Oria said with a smug grin.

"Right then, Aster get around that password, I need the
system down ASAP. Page, do you know enough about the systems
to open any doors we may run into?"

She looked at me, "yes, none of the security outside of the
labs are very tight."

"Ok then, Oriana, I want you to stay here and stand guard."

He blanched, very obviously not liking the idea. "Ok," he
still said. Understand... mostly, what I wanted him to do
here and why.

I nodded to him, then left with Terminus and Page. Walking
down the corridor to the next building I looked over at
Page. "I don't suppose you have any idea where to start
looking for him at?"

She snickered. "I though you where suppose to be the expert
on Grasion?"

I shrugged. "I am, but I always feel five steps behind when
I deal with him. It helps to have someone else input so I
don't look over something obvious."

She sighed, taping the tip of her nose with one finger.
"There is his office?"

"He has an office?"

Giving a quick node she continued. "According to the ones
that have been released. He's talked to most of them there.
I know where it is already."

Brushing some hair out of my eyes I looked at her. "Why
didn't I know about this already?"

"I was told about it right before we left," she explained,
"there was no time to pass it on."

"All right then," I said as we entered the main building of
the base, "care to lead us to it?"

She gave me a smile and started down one of the smaller side
corridors. Watching her tail swing as she went down the
hallway, I started to wonder when she had found out. There
had been plenty of time to tell me, from before we left the
ship until just now.

There was also the nagging fact that if everyone Grasion had
let go had been inside of his office, why had it not been in
any of the reports or statements we had gotten. I was once
told to take a closer look at Page, now I was starting to
wonder if I really should.

I glanced over to Terminus, walking at my side. He looked
back at and made a motion with his free paw. He knew nothing
about this office either. Which made me start to worry about
how safe this information was.

"Here we are," Page said, stopping in front of a door
halfway down the hall. It was unmarked except for an office
number. I was unimpressed.

Lifting the riffle to my shoulder, I primed it. Holding it
gently I took a deep breath. I didn't really like using
riffles, to bulky for my tastes, but I had never stocked the
_Phoenix_ with anything else.

Terminus smiled towards me, walking up and slamming open the
door. He dove to the side and I started to tense up, but the
room was empty of people.

I relaxed a bit, lowering the rifle from my shoulder. Page
slipped past and into the office, going to the one desk
inside of it and started to dig through the papers that
covered the top.

"What are you doing?" I asked her as I walked into the room.
She didn't answer, just keep digging through the desk. I
gave the room a once over, to see if there was anything that
could be of use in tracking Grasion. The room was pretty
much empty, the only thing in it that wasn't on the desk was
a rolled up bunch of papers throw in the corner of the room.

Walking over to the papers I picked them up from the floor.
It was actually a binder of some sort, about two dozen
papers bound on the short edge. Unrolling them I look at the
top sheet and felt my spine grow cold.

"Page," I said, walking over to the desk, "tell me I'm not
seeing what I think I'm seeing." I told her, showing her
what I had found.

She whistled, setting them onto the desk. "How the hell did
he get these?"

"What are they?" Terminus asked from the position he had
taken up by the doorway.

"Plans for the Council's ship power system." She responded,
flipping through the other pages. "This is amazing, he's
worked out how to build around some of the block boxes in
the system." She looked back up at me, "from what he has
asked for, and received, he has enough to build this right
here."

I took a deep breath, "I though this felt to easy. We're not
in the middle of this but already at the end. You say he has
enough equipment to build this already?"

Page nodded.

"Why build it though, if he's planning on selling it, the
plans are enough. Why make a working modal?"

"Maybe," Terminus said, "he plans to use it to get away?"

Page shook her head, "not entirely, he wanted this before we
destroyed the folds on the base. So he was more then likely
planing on building it already. Though getting away now my
be an option."

I frowned. "I think he wanted a prototype to prove that his
version actually worked. He used the hostages to provide the
materials to build it."

"He could never have taking it through the fold. He must
have always planed to take it out on a ship."

"Will that work though?" I asked, rubbing my head. "He would
know we would be watching for him."

"A Hyper-bubble then," Page said, walking around the desk.
"You need a small ship to use it, a two man craft would be
perfect. He probably used it to get here in the first
place." She looked back down at the plans, "If you hooked a
hyper-bubble up to this power system you would almost skip
over real space, and," she looked back up to me, staring me
in the eyes, "You can use it inside of an atmosphere, he
would only need to go up a few miles before turning it on."

I sighed, "anything fast enough to catch it?"

"Oh yes, the Council ship would have no problem, it just has
to get far enough out from the star to turn there Hyperdrive
on."

"So no then," I said.

Page nodded to me.

I chewed my lip. "He's already gone then."

"What? And miss all the fun?" Grasion's voice asked, echoing
through the room.

I turned in a full circle, seeing no signs of him in the
room. Looking up a found a speaking on the wall. "Damn it
you bastard, where are you?"

"Have some patients my lady Fox," he said with a chuckle.
"Tell me, did you enjoy watching yourself die? Hum?"

Grabbing Page I whispered to her to try and contact to
others back at the control room. She nodded and went out
into the hall.

"Come now Fox, stop whispering." He snicker, "though should
I call you Vixen now?"

"Fox will do. Now, where the hell are you?"

He laughed. "Don't worry you're pretty little head Fox, I'm
not leaving with out you. That wouldn't be very much fun now
would it? So, I'm in bay fifteen, come quickly or I may get
mad."

There came a short laugh over the speaker which cut off
after a second. With I sigh I stepped out of the room and
into the hallway. Page was already there, adjusting a small
phone-like radio that we all of us carried with us.

"You got that working?" I asked her.

She nodding, handing it over to me. "I couldn't get the
radio portion working, but I was able to patch it into the
local communications relay system. If the others haven't
fiddled with there's it should lock onto the first signal."

I smiled, taking it from her and giving her my own. "Do mine
and Terminus' as well." Then activating the radio I lifted
it to my face. "Oriana, you there?"

There was a few seconds pause before I got a response. "I'm
here Fox." His voice echoed over the small speaker.

"Good, how's Aster doing with the password?" I asked,
watching Page as she adjusted my radio.

"He's through it, the defense system is down, and there is a
small squad of ships heading down to the base now."

I smiled, "Great, how long until they get here?"

There came some slight conversation in the background.
"Aster says about ten minuets until they land."

I did some mental calculations, then covering the microphone
I leaned towards Terminus. "Do you remember where Bay
fifteen is from this building?"

He though for a few seconds, closing his eyes as he sifted
through what he remembered. "It's the next building to the
west, on the far side, I think."

I nodded, making some of my own calculations. Uncovering the
microphone I started to speak again. "Ok Oria, this is what
I need you to do. Get to there ship as fast as you can and
meet what ever troops come down. Then get your self and them
to bay fifteen. You must be in the lead and the first one
into the bay."

"Why?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it yet, just do it please. It maybe our
last chance to stop Grasion." With that final request I
snapped the radio off, handing it to Page.

She shook her head with a smile and traded mine for
Terminus', to which she started to work on.

I took a deep breath. "Terminus, I want you and Page to stay
here. I don't truly trust Grasion, and he may come back for
the plans."

It was a weak excuse and I knew it, Terminus knew it as
well. He pulled me to a side and looked at me. "You're
planing to go meet Grasion alone?"

"Yes."

He frowned, "And you know it's a trap."

I nodded slowly. "Of course it's a trap, he wouldn't invite
me in if it wasn't, but, he's not planing on me walking in
alone. I've never done that before, it should throw him off.
At least a bit. If I can distract him long enough for help
to arrive, we can get out of this with out having to fire a
shot. Which, frankly, is the best end to all of this that I
can see."

With that said I turned and started down the hallway, no
calls came for me to stop, nor did anyone try and grab me. I
was truly on my own for this. I hoped I wouldn't regret it.

I dallied as long as I could, though once inside the same
building as the bay the directions where posted on the walls
around me. Still though I managed to stretch it to eight
minutes before I reached the door.

Taking a deep breath I tried to relax, then keyed the door
open and stepped inside. The bay it self was not overly
large, but still big. The whole room was three stories tall
and maybe a fifty feet long. The far wall was dominated by a
set of massive pressure doors, sitting in front them was a
small space ship, twenty feet long and half that wide. Squat
and ugly, made for just one person, and not in very much
comfort. The rest of the room was covered in a dozen shelf
like racks that reached up nearly to the ceiling.

Stepping to the side of the door I closed it.

"Hello Fox," Grasion said, walking around from the front of
his ship. "Nice tits."

I huffed and started walking towards him.

He chuckled, leaning against the side of his ship. "You came
alone, I'm impressed, you normally don't go against me
alone."

I stopped about half way accost the room, my tail swishing
slowly behind me. "I impressed you, that's a laugh."

"Oh no, do you know shocked I was to check my alarm to see
you and your friends? You're method of entry was so useless
I never planed for it. You may have the potential I first
saw in you."

"Right," I snorted.

He nodded, starting to walk closer to me. "Oh yes, it's
still there. You're mind is sharp, you just need the proper
training. I'm willing to give you that."

"I don't want it," I replied, moving to one side, keeping
away from him.

He moved sideways well, keep the same distance between us.
"Why not child, you have nothing else to go to. You're body
is *dead*, you can't go back to your home, your life. The
people who once trusted you don't know you anymore. You have
nothing left, so why not come with me, it will be an,
adventure." He said the last word with a smile.

I stopped walking and crossed my arms. "And that is suppose
to change my mind."

He laughed. "No, it's an ultimatum. You can take it, and we
go off and rule a few solar systems, or you don't, I drug
you, blow away your mind, and we go back to the first
option." He smirked, "I much rather you come with me, it
would be far more entertaining."

Shaking my head I smiled. "You make an interesting offer."

He started to walk towards me, slowly. This time I didn't
move. "You seem far more confident then I've ever seen you.
You're humoring me, you would never go willingly."

Turning my back to him, I patted his ship. "How much are you
being paid for the power system?"

He chuckled. "The plans are worth a dozen fortunes, the ship
is my toy. What ever your planing, it's not going to work."

I turned back around, he was standing a dozen feet away from
me. "What, I can't turn suddenly evil?" I asked with a
smile.

"No... It's not your style. You would never just chose to
work with me, you would have to be forced. What are you
planing?" He was starting to look concerned.

Smiling at him, I took two paces closer. Meanwhile the door
to the bay, to which his back was to, opened. Oriana walking
inside, being followed by a dozen guards, another dozen
outside the door.

"You see," I explained with a smile. "There is one, slight
problem. I think you should turn around."

His face started to fall, slowly he turned his head, letting
out a low yelping type sound. "How could you be alive!" he
cried, seeing Oriana in my body.

I chuckled. "The elf from my ship, the one you threw in with
the rest of us, was a healer."

He turned back around, starting at me. "Where are my
solders? Did you kill them?"

"No, we just dropped some doors around them."

His glare became stronger. "You out thought me. You've never
done that before."

I nodded, "Luck was all it was."

He gave me a very disturbing smile. "Oh not, not luck,
prophecy." Then turning back around he looked to the solders
with Oriana. "I am ours, take me, I shall go willingly."

Five ran up to him, searching him as one bounding his arms.
He never even put up a fight. In only a couple minutes he
was placed under arrest and escorted out of the bay.

Oriana walked up to me, "do you know what he was talking
about?"

I shook my head, "no, I don't. I'm afraid to ask about it."

He nodded.

I pulled the radio from where I had put it. "Page," I said
into it.

There was a slightly pause. "Did we win?" She asked.

"Yes, we won," I said. "Listen, you stay put but send
Terminus to the shuttle, Oriana and I will be there as soon
as we can."

"Got it," she replied. "What should I do?"

"Stay there." I answered, then shut the radio off.

-----

This story is (c) 1998 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.