Depth Of Sacrifice

Part 5

All is dark and computer data readings until a door slides open and reveals the ship cabin. It takes a moment for him to make sense of what he sees. Before him there are four chairs, two left, two right. Beyond them sits the command chair, center front. He stares at the back of it before realizing it's his body sitting there.

In the opening of the backrest, the injectors run down his spine. Scorpion tails penetrating spine, arms, legs. Two big ones entering either side of his head. He should have a morbid sense to go look upon his body, but it isn't there. The mission takes priority.

This form he's in is more familiar, it's humanoid. Looking down, he flexes black armored arms. Combat Droid. The computer helps him integrate with it as he takes a step forward.

A circle in the floor slides aside, big enough for two people to easily pass through. He sends commands, and the ship arcs to pass over the research center. The second circle in the floor, the outer hull, retracts.

Looking down, he sees the building's roof gliding past. As the end appears, he steps out into the hole and drops into free-fall. Calculations flash across his mind as he adjusts his descent. The building rises up past him as he just misses hitting the edge of roof. Windows flash by upwards before he hits the ground with a powerful impact.

Two soldiers in a Jeep race towards him as he straightens himself and steps out of the hole his feet made in the parking lot asphalt. He raises his arm and shoots a white laser beam, striking the front of the vehicle. Steam pours out as the vehicle swerves and brakes hard, coming to a halt.

A guard jumps out and raises a rifle at him. Before the guard can fire, he shoots the weapon itself. Screaming in pain from the reverberating force, the guard drops the weapon and dives behind the Jeep.

He turns to the building before the soldiers guarding it have time to do more than close and lock the doors. Infrared augments his vision, revealing the occupants behind the wall. Building blueprints overlay on top of that, giving him a clear path to his goal's probable location. He and the ship systems are becoming one now, working to achieve a goal.

Taking aim, he cuts a rectangle into the concrete wall, away from the heat signatures, then runs at it at over 70 kph. It explodes inward, a cloud of masonry and dust. Scanning ahead without slowing down, he runs through the empty office at a door. It, too, explodes. His metal feet thud as he races down the corridor to a T-junction and slides to a halt in front of a checkpoint desk. The guard is not present.

Firing a flash-bang grenade, then a smoke grenade back the way he came as deterrents, he scans left and right, going from infrared to the visible light range and back again. He takes the hallway to the left, his droid helm almost scraping the ceiling. Faces pop out of doorways ahead, curiosity and alarm morphing into fear as they see him, and another non-lethal grenade ejects from his now-raised arm to discourage them.

Computer sub-programs analyze his optical input, assisting him. Labels on doorways are identified and cataloged. Facial identification scans then rejects anyone peeking into the hallway. They do not match his target. Analysis for weapon signatures continuously observes, although none are detected. The data flows across his consciousness as a part of him.

Shouting behind the walls and doorways triggers subroutines to triangulate locations and scan for voice identification as he swiftly walks through the smoke. His steps reverberate with his solid weight. At the end of the hallway, he finds a heavy steel door, the label beside it matches the lab he is looking for. A flashing red light indicates emergency lockdown protocol is in effect.

His optics penetrate the door to reveal its metal bars are secured into the door jam. Stepping back, he turns to fire a smoke grenade back the way he came before facing the door again.