Dynamic Patrol: Gel-Squad (Remastering!)

Chapter 15: Take Off

With D1 taking control of the bridge and Russell running a sweep of the ship for any extra stowaways, Tommy made his way onboard after his crew, using his superior mobility in small spaces and slipping right into the vessel through an emergency hatch located near the landing gear. Such a feat would not have been possible had it not been for the droid rebellion, which was probably the result of D1's mainframe takeover. They didn't plan that. But Tommy and Russell requested a distraction, and D1 delivered. Tommy after regaining his solid form. Tommy's job was to make sure the ship stayed secure. He located a control panel by the large door after a short trek into the large cargo bay. He raised the ramp and locked down the piece of machinery. As Tommy watched it rise, he listened to the sound of gunfire and heavy crates being thrown fade out as the thick layer of titanium rejected all exterior sounds. Once the door was sealed, Tommy ripped the entire control panel off the wall, the wires sparking and the lights flickering off as the panel lost power. Repairs could be made later. They planned to lock it down but didn't say how that was accomplished, and the ship's security protocols would've probably prevented him from establishing a new access code.

Tommy ran across the cargo bay again and found a ladder. Using it, he ascended to the main deck, where D1 settled in, having moved from the engineering bay. She circled the bridge deck as the ship was designed to be operated by a crew. She had to perform all pre-flight operations herself. She used her graspers to throw switches and push buttons on the flight deck, preparing to lift off. "We are affirmative for pre-flight clearance. Flight will be bumpy; I strongly suggest you strap in. Launch will commence in T-minus 2 minutes." D1 sounded as Tommy entered the area. "Well, I can't say the droid revolt was part of the plan, but it certainly is working," Tommy commented as he stepped into the command center, which was more compact than he had expected. "How did you handle the security lockouts?" Tommy asked as D1 operated the consoles. "I have not; I have encountered a firewall; the computer core seems to be rewriting itself. It is some kind of drive scrubber; it deletes the entire operating system, the database, and everything, which is to be expected of a vessel operated by poachers. I am unable to stop it. This ship is a shell and A.I will no longer work for us." She was right; it couldn't have been that easy. Tommy moved to one of the consoles, watching as lines of green code scroll across the display, 'System Erasure In Progress.' Another three seconds later, the entire database was deleted, and all the screens went blank. Tommy looked around frantically, the same thing across all of the consoles. "What does that mean?" Tommy pointed at a monitor that displayed a bright 'SYSTEM ERASED' in all caps and red on all of the screens.

"It means we must boot flight systems manually now. Assist me," D1 ordered, moving over to the middle of the bridge, where a massive navigation console was installed in the center. She reached up and threw a few switches before moving over to the end of the room to throw a few more switches, twist some dials, and start the launch sequence. "How long?" Tommy asked, watching her frantically operate the consoles with precision and practice, "An hour, perhaps an hour-thirty." She said simply, "D1, this is no time for jokes!" Tommy said sternly, crossing the bridge to follow her as she continued hot-wiring the ship, "I know we have only been together a short time, but you should know that I rarely joke. Now assist me, or we will be here longer." At the same time, the soldiers defeated the rebellious droids and were now looking to retake their property; already sawing at the entrance hatches, it seemed like the droids had not taken all of the equipment aboard the ship after all, because those men still had access to some angle grinders. "I usually have a copilot, but something tells me you are needed on the upper hull, defending the ship. I trust you still know how to fight?" Tommy did not think twice about it. He had just made his way down the corridor and up to the top deck. Quickly.

D1 continued to begin the launch sequence but was continually thwarted by the ship's eased computer, but she was adapting. Tommy used the top hatch to leave the ship; he popped up to meet five men, one of them holding one of those angle grinders being used to slice open one of the top hatches. Tommy wasted no time in fighting them. Usually, he was a hugger, but today, he was punching lights out, or at least pushing them off the ship by stretching his arms out. So far, Tommy was emerging victorious, but of course, one of them had a stun baton, which reminded him of the first time he'd met D1 weeks ago. The man did not hesitate to deliver an electrical discharge right into Tommy's forearm, which was stretched out and exposed. "Ah!" Tommy yelped in pain as his arm rapidly fell asleep. It stung with a tingling sensation and drooped until he lost all feeling, and it fell to the ship's hull with a thunk. "You've got to be kidding," Tommy huffed to himself; his arm suffered from pins and needles, and this guy was now rushing him.

Using his one good arm, he attempted to throw a punch but became embarrassingly entangled in his own arm, which was tased and stretched out; he tripped over his heels and fell onto the ship's deck. The man charged toward the downed Omeocoon, intending to use his baton as a blunt weapon. Tommy screamed in horror at that, with quick reflexes. Tommy kicked him in the waistline. The man grunted; the weapon chattered to the ground and deactivated as its owner tumbled. Just in time, Tommy regained full control over his arm. He used that control and grabbed hold of the brute's angle as he lost his balance. He was entirely over the side of the ship. The soldier let out a scream of terror. Feeling triumphant but not heartless, Tommy, on his hands and knees, shuffled across and leaned over the ship's side, "Sorry, but you left me no choice!" Before he could return to the ship's inside, he was surprised by yet another group of men, ten now, who all had those stun batons. Tommy rolled his eyes and returned to a fighting stance.

Russell gained a sizable bulbous sphere inside his tail, which was annoying and inhibiting his performance... so he sought a brig to deposit his prisoner. Unfortunately, he'd yet to find one and was now stuck to waddling down the hallways. You'd think on a ship that kept prisoners. There'd be some kind of receptacle to keep those who did not need to be seen. His search of the lower deck was complete, and so far, he'd only taken the one prisoner... who had insisted on struggling against Russell's goo. He fought against it every once in a while, wriggling annoyingly. This caused Russell to turn around and strike the bulb several times in an effort to make the solid being cease. But that usually made him stop for the next few minutes and caused Russell unnecessary pain. He stepped onto the bridge and spotted D1, about thirty minutes into a manual start-up. "Where's the squirrel?" D1 nearly cut him off as she responded rapidly, "On the top deck fighting soldiers. It turns out that when you steal a ship. The owner typically wants it back. Who knew? What is transpiring with your tail?" D1 said with intense electronic fascination, despite having a very clear and important job to do. "Don't you have something you should be doing?" Russell responded with his usual irritation; D1 paid him no attention and returned to her tasks. They would certainly talk about it later.

Just like D1 said, the ship was ready to go in an hour. Whether the entire crew was inside the cabin or not, "Engaging engines, standby." The VTOL thrusters whirred to life with powerful fury as D1 continued pushing buttons and throwing switches; the ship rumbled as it took off from the cave's ground, "Hold on!" D1 called out; the thudding of the men as they fell off the craft was quite audible. D1 hoped that Tommy was not one of them; she did not forget he was on the ship's top. Of course, his reflexes were faster than the poachers', so he was probably fine, but still.

On the other hand, Russell fell victim to the turbulence and lost balance because of his suddenly bloated tail. He landed right on it, using it as cushioning, causing a muffled groan within the bulge. D1 didn't warn him like she warned Tommy.

Unlike the larger transport ship, D1 found this one to handle lightly; it had a different personality, that was for sure. D1 seized the steering controls, easing into the helm just a little as she adapted to the learning curve. She was able to take the ship up to hovering altitude flawlessly. In accordance with the plan, she launched a distress beacon for the rest of the humans on the surface. Other than that, there would be no other assistance from them; they had whatever equipment was left on the island, and the beacon was much more powerful than whatever she and Tommy had when they crash-landed, so they would be okay. Once up in the air, D1 threw the throttle forward. The engines whined loudly as she flooded the lines with fuel. The ship raced forward out of the mouth of the cave and into the blue, bright skies of Omeocoon. D1 could see the entire island and just how massive it was. She brought the ship around to calibrate the systems again and then started the journey to search for the mainland. Unfortunately, the maps had also been deleted, so they were on their own in terms of trying to navigate.

She got communications up and running manually and was skimming the channels. In search of a signal, but there was absolutely nothing. So either they were far from the mainland, or nothing was left after that attack. She couldn't even raise the orbital stations, but she had made an effort to try and bring the ship back to at least semi-functional status while trying to fly the damn thing.