The X Pathogen

Chapter Twenty-Five

"JAY?!" Adar practically shouted.
"Keep it down, would you? Do you want the whole ship to know we're here?" Jay rolled his eyes and kept working.
Ash stood dumbfounded.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were busy with your... other mission," Adar muttered as he started helping free the prisoners.
"I was. Turns out the GSA can help get me some answers. And since the GSA was here, I figured I may as well help you out while I'm at it."
Ash, Saji, and Nadil started helping as well, not sure if they should say anything.
"Granted, I wasn't expecting kids," Jay said, glancing at them out of the corner of his eye."
Adar glared at him, "at least they're here, unlike you half the time."
"C'mon, I'm here now, aren't I?"
"Are you serious?"
"What?"
Adar snorted, "forget it."
Jay gave him a baffled look but stopped talking.
A few minutes later the prisoners were out of their restraints. The collars had been keeping them unconscious and oblivious to their surroundings. Little by little, people started to wake up. As they regained consciousness, they started asking questions. Adar and Jay did their best to explain the situation quickly and keep everyone calm.
Ash had never felt more useless. They could do nothing but stand there and watch as Jay and Adar did their jobs. Then a small hand reached up and tugged on their arm.
The face of a tiny, tear stained boy stared up at them. In his arms was an even tinier girl. Both of them had bruises running up their arms, probably left by countless needles and IV's.
The boy whispered, "don't let them hurt her anymore."
Ash's eyes welled with tears. The scene triggered a flood of memories of their own older brother, protecting them when they were kids. Ash blinked back their tears and scooped up both the girl and the boy, "no one is going to hurt either of you ever again, okay?"
The boy buried his face in their shoulder, "okay," his muffled voice was barely audible.
Jay peeked out the door, "alright, let's get moving."
They lead the terrified humans through the halls. "I can't believe how little security they have," Jay muttered, "this feels like a trap."
Adar shook his head, "The GSA agent is distracting them."
"What? How are they going to get out of here?" Jay whispered.
"No idea. He said to leave him here."
Jay froze, "absolutely not. Where's the ship you came in on?"
"What?"
"New plan. Get the prisoners out of here, I'll get our new friend out on my ship and meet you back at Verdome."
Adar hesitated, "Jay, I don't know-"
Jay held out his fist and gave Adar a half-cocked grin.
Adar sighed and tapped his fist against Jay's, "don't die."
Jay split off from the group and dashed down the hall. Adar shook his head and kept moving.
When they got to the ship, Ash helped the humans into the cargo hold of the ship. It wasn't ideal, but given the circumstances it was the best they could do. The little boy gave them a tight hug before letting go. He huddled in the hold clinging to his sister, with a brave smile on his face.
Once all the prisoners were safely on board, Adar told the cadets to get inside.
None of them moved.
"What are you doing?" Adar hissed.
"We can't leave Agent Kyo behind." Nadil said firmly.
Adar's eyes darted between the hatch and the cadets.
"We're staying. Get them to safety," Ash said.
Adar hesitated for a moment then said, "I'm surrounded by crazy people," and climbed through the hatch. A few minutes later, the GSA ship had disappeared through a tunnel and alarms were blaring throughout the cargo ship.
"Agent Kyo is going to kill us," Saji whispered.
"This may have been a mistake," Ash said.
"Too late now," Nadil snapped, "c'mon, let's go."
They started sprinting down the halls, turning randomly at each intersection.
"We have no idea where we're going, do we?" Ash finally said.
"Shut up," Nadil snapped.
Then they ran head first into someone sprinting in the opposite direction.
"What the-?" Jay stammered, "what are you kids doing here?"
"We couldn't leave Agent Kyo behind," Saji said quietly.
Jay's expression shifted from shocked to annoyed to understanding in a matter of seconds. "Okay, okay. Fine," he sighed, "follow me."
Jay led them through the halls, ducking behind walls as guards ran past.
Nadil's whole body stiffened every time a guard appeared, his eyes glued to the Rygnar skulls tattooed on their necks. Saji gently touched his shoulder. He jerked away but when he saw the look on her face he relaxed a little and gave her a grateful nod.
Jay pulled them through a door and behind another wall. He stuck his head out for a moment then ducked back. "Alright, the agent's cell is right ahead. Just one problem, there's at least six guards and one of me."
Ash drew their daggers, "four."
"Huh?" Jay blinked.
"There's four of us."
Nadil drew his pistol. Saji unsheathed her staff and activated the electricity.
Jay glanced at them skeptically but didn't raise any objections. "On three," he muttered. "One... two... three..."
Everyone darted out from behind the wall except Nadil, who used the wall for cover while he fired his pistol.
Jay dropped to his knees and slid into two of the guard's legs, knocking them both down in one fell swoop. Once they were on the ground, Jay plunged his fists into their chests, energy pulsed from devices around his wrists, and both guards fell unconscious.
Ash used the same technique they'd used in the lab, slicing the tendons in the legs to incapacitate their opponent. Saji managed to knock another guard out with her staff's electricity, and Nadil's sharp aim dealt with the final two in seconds.
Ash unlocked the door and quickly rushed inside the cell. A battered, exhausted Kyo hung from restraints on the wall. Ash froze. They couldn't move a muscle. Kyo didn't even seem to register what was happening around him.
Jay gently pushed past them and started removing the restraints. "You idiot," he muttered, "what is wrong with you?"
Kyo collapsed the instant his arms were out of the restraints. Jay caught him and held him upright.
"I told you to get out of here," Kyo mumbled without lifting his head.
Nadil wrapped Kyo's arm around his shoulder and helped Jay support him. "When have we ever listened to you?" he smirked.
"Fair point," Kyo winced.
"Let's get you out of here, sir," Jay said.
They carefully worked their way through the ship. Kyo's jaw was clenched tightly the entire time, his face twisted with pain.
Several agonizing minutes later, they were onboard Jay's ship; a beat up old transport barely clinging to life.
Jay opened a tunnel as quickly as he could. The second they were safely in the tunnel, he dug out some medical supplies. "I can't do much here, but this should at least help with the pain," he said sympathetically as he injected a syringe into Kyo's arm.
"Thank you," Kyo muttered. Just before he passed out he added, "do me a favor and yell at my kids for me."
Jay fell into his chair with a sigh and closed his eyes. "If he asks, I yelled at you for being reckless, and stupid, and not following orders."
They all nodded wordlessly.
"Is- is he going to be okay?" Saji whispered?
"Huh?" Jay opened one eye, "oh, yeah, he'll be fine. They beat him up pretty good, but he's not in any danger of dying or anything like that." he closed his eyes again and was snoring a few minutes later.