The Madman's Clock

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

The bottom of the stairwell leading from the command deck was still deserted. The doors slid open, revealing a quiet, empty deck 2. We stepped out, rifles ready, expecting fire from the Edra. It didn't come. The passageway flowed fore and aft, and the lights cut out far enough down each end that the passageway seemed to simply disappear into nothingness. I kept straining to see further down, as if the Edra would emerge from the blackness. After a few seconds, we knew we were clear.

"Alright," I started, closing my helmet over my face. "Here we go. Keep it tight and fast. Run like your lives depend on it, because they do. Grab and dash, no negotiations. Triggers are free, but don't go wild. Questions?"

There was nothing but silence over my comm gear. The looks in my men's eyes said it all. Ready to go. Ready to do the job, and knock down anyone in the way.

"Let's do it!" I barked, and off we ran.

Kyle and I dashed aft, down the passageway. Our boots clanged loudly on the deck as we ran, our weapons raised and ready. We were staggered; Kyle three paces behind me and along the right bulkhead. The bulkheads went by us as we ran, the few consoles streaming by at the edge of my vision. I came to a corner and turned left, stopping and scanning for signs of movement.

"Clear," I called out, just as Kyle caught up.

"Clear," he confirmed.

We raced on, down the passageway. As we turned another corner, we spotted a crewman wandering the passageway. He was carrying a repair kit, and was jogging toward us. He stopped dead in his tracks, dropping his kit at the sight of two armed men pointing rifles at him.

"Just a wog," Kyle said.

I opened my external speakers so the crewman could hear me. "Marines! Go back where you came from." He was frozen, so I barked at him. "Fuckin' move! Now! Go go go!"

The frightened engineer dashed around a corner, and as we hurried down the passage, I looked to see him still running away from us at full speed. I didn't even stop to see where he went, hurrying on to my own destination.

After a few minutes of turning, we came across a ladder leading downward. I pulled it open and Kyle dropped a flashbang down the hatch. The light-and-sound grenade exploded, and he jumped down to the deck below. I followed. The grenades were designed to go off without a smoke cloud, so its thrower could charge right in, where nobody in range would be left standing. Our helmets protected us, but a lone crewman nearby wasn't so lucky. He was unconscious, leaning against the bulkhead opposite us. He would live. We had more important things to worry about.

The rest of the run down to deck 6 was quiet, empty. The passageways seemed to be empty, though we did hear clicking and hissing a few times on deck 5. We were at a full run, and didn't stop to check it out. When we made it to another down-ladder without being hit, we assumed they hadn't heard us, despite the racket we were making. Maybe they did see us, but thought we were just crew.

We hurried aft, eventually finding the hatch leading to engineering. The door opened, and that same impenetrable fog still hung in the air before us. This was where the time fragment ended, and engineering at +1 hour began. We stacked up at the door, with Kyle's left hand on my right shoulder and his pistol pointing over my right.

"Ready," we both said, one after the other.

I took four steps forward, through the fog. It was enough to get us both clear of the barrier. The other side was clear, and the doors leading into engineering were right there, just as we had left them. Kyle holstered his pistol and unslung his rifle. We checked our radiation counters, and they were clear. I flipped back my helmet, and the sweat on my forehead started to evaporate, leaving a sudden cooling sensation on my skin.