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Krystal and Chase: Hidden Threat

Part four: Reinforcements

As the elevator rose, Krystal pocketed her final empty magazine and slung her assault rifle over her shoulder. When she glanced over to Chase, the fox was quickly checking where he kept the magazines for his handguns. Sadly, each one he pulled out to check was empty. With a sigh, he put them back into the pouch on his hip.

"Ok, so let's recap what we know so far." Krystal said, "Whatever those robots are, they've probably overtaken most of the lower level we didn't see. If there are any survivors, they'd have to be up here on the second floor or probably rounded up somewhere if the Stone Ghost colony was anything to judge by."

Chase nodded, "And according to Jen, there's no defensive weaponry on the lower floors, so we can't head back down without something to clear the path. Worse news is that you're out of ammunition, and all I have is two frag grenades and a single EMP grenade that would fry Jen if we're too close to the blast."

Krystal sighed, "We really did it this time huh?"

Chase shook his head, "I don't know Krystal. Maybe we did, and maybe we didn't."

A soft 'ding' sounded as the elevator reached its destination. When the doors began to open, Chase removed a frag grenade from his belt. If anything attacked them now, he'd have to try a move he'd learned years ago.

"If we get attacked, hide." Chase ordered.

"What? No way am I leaving you to take them all on." Krystal replied sharply, "Just give me a grenade and I'll be fine."

Chase sighed, knowing well that this was an argument he wouldn't win. The fox handed her a grenade and slowly stepped out of the elevator. When he was sure nothing would jump out at them, he motioned for Krystal to follow.

As they walked, Jenny ran through the files she had picked up while inside the terminal. While her orders had been simple, it didn't seem logical that the outpost would cut off its connection to the corporate command center so suddenly. The shutdown of a major system like the communications array should have taken longer than it had to lose all communications as it had.

"This does not make sense." The AI huffed into Chase's communications channel, "A major system like the communications array should not have simply shutdown during the loss of power we currently have fixed. There are certain systems that would remain online using a very limited power source. And those would still send out a signal."

"Jenny, concentrate on the current objective of keeping us alive." Chase replied, "You can figure all of that out later. But right now, can you try to find maybe a map or something of this floor? I mean, you got all those files right?"

The AI appeared on Chase's recon HUD beside his vitals. Brushing a holographic strand of hair away from her eyes, the wolf girl shook her head.

"I will search for one." She replied with a slight sigh, "I am simply worried that the loss of communications will lead to further troubles you do not foresee."

"I understand." Chase replied, checking around a corner, "But if we don't have a map, we can't find the control deck and fix that."

* * *

It took a few minutes, but finally Chase and Krystal had managed to reach the control deck. But there was one problem.

Krystal tapped at the keypad beside a large, steel sliding door. But as she did, a loud whirring sound and a sudden triple click signaled that it was locked up.

"Looks like they managed to lock it down." The vixen sighed, crossing her arms as she thought.

Chase examined the door as Krystal sighed, "That door has got to be three feet thick Chase. You can't just blow it off like the last one."

"Yeah, but there's got to be a way in." Chase stated, "I mean if anyone was alive in there, they'd need some sort of way for air to get in and out."

Once he said that, Krystal looked up at the ceiling. What she saw made her smile. Directly above the door was an air vent. Luckily, it was large enough that she might be able to slip into it.

"Hey Chase, can you give me a boost?" she asked.

Looking back at his partner, the fox shrugged, "Sure, but to where?"

The vixen smiled and pointed up to the vent, "I should be small enough to fit through there. With any luck, I can get onto the other side of the door."

Chase nodded and put his hands down. When Krystal placed her foot in them, the fox lifted her up so she could reach the vent. After using a spent bullet casing to unscrew the bolts that held the cover in place, the vixen pulled herself up into the vent.

"It's a bit tighter than I thought." The vixen thought as she crawled through the vent, "At least it's not too long."

With a soft grunt, the vixen moved to the nearest source of light, the other side of the vent above the door. As she did, the vixen silently cursed to herself. She'd forgotten that the only way to get out was if she could undo the bolts holding the vent cover in place. With some effort, she managed to get herself turned around.

As quietly as she could, Krystal made her way to the vent cover. Once she reached it, the vixen placed her foot firmly against it.

"Good, it's weakened." The vixen thought to herself, watching it bend slightly as she put pressure against it, "Maybe with a bit of force, I can kick it out."

It was worth a shot. Krystal backed up a bit and aimed her armored boot at the mesh. Putting as much of her strength into the kick as she could, the vixen struck the mesh! She smiled as the mesh bent where she had kicked it. She lined up another and kicked again and again. Within five kicks, the mesh had finally dropped away from the shaft, clattering noisily to the floor. Krystal held her breath, afraid that the sound could alert those new robots to her presence.

After a few minutes, there were no sounds of any sort of alert. Krystal edged towards the opening in the vent she had just made. Once she had checked the room quickly, the vixen lowered herself to the floor.

* * *

After boosting his partner into the ventilation shaft, all Chase could do was wait. As he propped himself against the steel door, he emptied out his pouch. After pulling out empty all of the magazines for his Stingers, the fox felt something at the very bottom of the pouch. With a smile, he held the object.

"Well, this is my lucky day." Chase thought as he rolled the single, armor piercing, 9mm bullet in his palm, "One shot. I'd better save it."

Drawing a Stinger, the fox slipped the single round into a magazine, driving it home into the base of the grip.

With a sigh, he holstered the Stinger and waited. But as he did, the fox kept his eyes down the hallway he and Krystal had just come up. If anything attacked him, it would have to come from that direction.

Suddenly, there was a loud clicking sound and Chase fell backwards. With a startled yip, the fox fell flat on his back, the steel door he had been leaning against having opened quicker than he had expected. But quickly, the fox got to his feet and looked at the smiling vixen that had opened it.

"Sorry." Krystal giggled, "I didn't think you'd be against it."

Chase felt himself blushing, "That's pretty obvious."

Taking the grenade off his belt once more, Chase advanced towards the control deck, Krystal staying close behind.

* * *

As another set of steel doors opened, the two foxes walked into the area marked as the control deck. As Krystal locked the door behind them, Chase ran up to the main console, typing in a series of pass codes Jenny brought up onto his recon HUD. Krystal kept an eye out for anything that looked suspicious.

"Alright, I'm in." Chase said, "Jenny, time to do your stuff."

"I am here to assist." The AI replied before Chase pulled the drive from his armor.

Krystal looked over at Chase as he input the AI into the console. With a sigh, she walked over to him.

"Looks like no one's left." The vixen sighed, "Do...do you think they killed them all?"

"I highly doubt it." Chase replied distractedly, "They were probably captured and sent planet side. We wouldn't have an outpost here if there wasn't something valuable below. And let's face it, a trade outpost is a good tactical assault point."

Krystal nodded, knowing her partner was right.

Suddenly, her ears perked. Krystal's eyes darted across the room and noticed that something was hidden in the shadows.

"Give me a Stinger." She whispered.

Chase nodded and handed her the one without the bullet he'd found.

Quickly, Krystal took up a firing position behind a fallen canister, "Alright, come out of there! If you have a weapon, drop it!"

Chase looked over at her, confused until he saw a hyena in a tattered mechanic's jumpsuit walk out from behind another console. She placed a Stinger on the ground and then raised her hands.

"Who are you?" Chase asked, walking over and picking up the handgun.

"How about you tell me first?" the hyena asked, "Did those things send you to kill us all?"

Chase dropped the clip from the grip of the handgun, inserting it into his own, "The corporation sent us to figure out what happened. I'm Ronin-1 and this is my partner, Ronin-2."

"I'm Sandy," The hyena replied tiredly, "and as far as I know, I'm the only one who's still here."

Chase nodded and looked to Krystal who was looking over the communications console Sandy had been behind.

"What happened to everyone else?" the vixen asked, "We didn't see anyone coming up. Just those new Sev`fel bots."

"They might still be locked in the dormitory level." Sandy replied, "When the lockdown occurred, I was up here with my partner trying to fix this console. He went down there a few hours ago when it first started and I haven't heard back."

"You don't seem to shook up by all this." Chase said.

"I have worked with cloaking tech before." She replied, "I recognized that when the first wave of those things came through. But the others...I don't know what is happening to them. But I'm positive that Tucker is with them."

Chase sighed and walked over to the main console. After a few seconds, he asked, "Can you get this thing working again?"

"I've been trying to." Sandy replied, "I can get it to power up, but I can't activate it."

Suddenly, a wolf appeared on a pedestal next to the console. The holographic female was clad only in a bikini instead of the flight suit she had been wearing while in the Phoenix.

"I believe you cannot activate it because of the bio-lock password security protocol, am I correct?" Jenny asked, "And do not ask Ronin. I do not understand why the previous AI was designed like this."

"That's right." Sandy replied, walking over, "But only the officers have the code. I just worked on the hardware. Tucker's the software guy."

Jenny focused a minute, "I have disable the codes protocol and have accessed the main systems. In short, I now control the entire station. I still need either you or Ronin-2 to activate the communications relay and input the commands."

Krystal sat down at the controls and began typing in commands. During the time she'd been retraining to become Chase's partner again, the vixen had learned how the corporation's communications relays were operated. Now, her fingers danced across the keyboard in front of her, the tapping of keys sound more like quiet machinegun fire as she worked. Line after line of text scrolled rapidly down the screen in front of her.

"Activating now." The vixen stated, "All we can do is hope someone's listening

* * *

The control center of the Sauria outpost was active as usual. At her station, a female wolf straightened her skirt as she watched a small carrier leave the outpost. Another series of corporate troops were being sent out to defend a colony from the possibility of a Sev`fel assault and she was their CO. Usually, she would have ignored the light that began flashing urgently at the corner of her monitor. But this time, she answered it.

"Calling anyone who is within range of this transmission, this is Ronin-2. Can anyone hear me, over?" A female voice said.

"Responding Ronin-2. This is Sauria Outpost responding." The wolfess replied, "What's your situation?"

"We've encountered a hostile Sev`fel force." Krystal replied, "Situation is critical, possible casualties with little to no medical support. We are seriously outnumbered with no ammunition. Requesting reinforcements be sent to orbital defense outpost MA-Zero-Six. Repeat, requesting reinforcements and a medi-vac team ASAP. Advise extreme caution."

The wolfess nodded as she replied, "We have a troop carrier heading past that sector. They will be re-directed to assist. They shouldn't be more than a few minutes away."

"Warn them of possible unknown enemies." Krystal warned, "The enemy has cloaking tech."

"Roger that, they will be warned." The wolf replied, "Stay put and hold out until they arrive, over and out."

* * *

Krystal placed the headset against the console and shook her head. Chase paced nearby as Sandy sat down in a chair next to Krystal.

"They're on their way. It shouldn't be too long." The vixen said, "Jennifer, can you disable the missile array?"

"It has been disabled since we arrived." The AI replied, "According to the system, the last few EMP warheads were fired at us. Without confirmation of a hit, the HE missiles will not fire. The carrier should be safe as long as it maintains a god distance between it and the debris field around the station."

"Ghosts!" Chase said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Krystal asked, looking back to him.

"That's what we'll call those bots. Ghosts." Chase explained, "Think about it, ghost are invisible mostly, and so are those bots. Plus, they seem kind of ghostly when you look at them. That white glow and all."

Krystal smiled and nodded, "That makes sense."

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise. Krystal leaped from her chair as Chase instinctively pulled out his fully loaded Stinger.

"What the hell was that?" Chase asked.

Another crashing noise was heard, but this time it was closer. A muffled, metallic cry sounded from the air vents.

Chase cursed as Krystal stated the obvious, "They must have broken through the elevator shaft doors!"

Chase looked at Sandy, "How much can those steel doors take?"

"They've never been tested against this kind of stress." Sandy said nervously, "But we should be safe. They're blast doors designed to handle missile impacts."

Chase sighed, "And they don't have missiles. At least there's a little good news."

Krystal's eyes widened. She knew there was another way in.

"Ronin, there's another way in remember?" she asked.

Chase groaned, "You're right...the air vents. That's how you got in and they could do the same."

"Or maybe they can't." Krystal replied, "From what we've seen, I don't think those bots thrusters can support their weight enough to really get them into the air. It may only be enough to propel them in a certain direction and keep them in a hovering position."

Chase thought for a second, then pulled his grenade off his belt, "Well, let's make it so we don't have to test that theory. They sure as hell didn't get up here by taking the elevator. They probably just cut their way into it."

Krystal nodded as Chase drew his Stinger. After a quick check to be sure this was the one with ammunition, the fox handed the weapon to his partner.

"If you run out, just get back behind this door." Chase said as he unlocked the steel door, "And don't you dare look back, because I'll shove you through and lock it myself if you hesitate."

Krystal tried to argue, but the look in Chase's eyes forced her to ask, "You have a plan, don't you?"

The fox smirked, "Maybe."

Krystal sighed and shook her head, cocking the handgun.

* * *

On the opposite side of the first set of the steel doors, the bots were working on a way to get inside the room. Several were slashing at the steel doors, their long claws screeching against the steel as they attempted to claw their way in. While each slash cut deeper into the toughened steel, it just wasn't enough to breach the door.

One of the bots stopped attacking the door, switching to its logic processors instead. It examined its surroundings, the bots processor instantly analyzing everything it looked at. When it saw the metal grating for the air vent lying on the ground, it came up with a way inside. Quickly, it sent the commands to the other robots that had now also stopped their assault. Now, all of them looked up at the vent above them. One by one, they cloaked.

As the first one entered the vent, it found it hard to navigate. The vent wasn't large enough to give it room to activate its secondary thrusters. But even worse was when it heard the words "Fire in the hole!"

Not a second later, a round object was tossed into the vent. It bounced once, then twice before rolling to a stop in front of the cloaked bot.

* * *

After tossing in the grenade, Chase and Krystal had ducked back behind the steel door leading into the control deck. Not a second later, a resounding explosion made itself known, shrapnel flying out of the vent as the grenade detonated. Now Krystal came around the frame, the second grenade already in her hand. Chase quickly boosted her up to the vent. With a soft grunt, the vixen tossed the grenade into the vent, ignoring the destroyed robot inside.

Once the grenade dropped out of sight, Chase let Krystal down and took cover. Not a second after Krystal ducked down as well, the grenade detonated on the other side of the door, having dropped right in the middle of the Ghosts! The muffled explosion was accompanied by a loud, wailing metallic screech.

"Nice throw." Chase commented as he tapped at the keypad beside the door, "I think you may have got them all."

Krystal smiled as the doors opened slowly.

Once the steel doors had opened, the two were greeted by the remains of what had once been the newly dubbed 'Ghosts'. Metallic parts were strewn all over the place before the two, oil splatters on the floor and walls from Krystal's grenade detonation tearing through the once whole bots. Even the vent above them was now warped and peppered with shrapnel.

"Guess that takes care of that." Chase smirked.

Krystal nodded as she and Chase walked back into the control room, locking the doors once again. All that was left was to wait out the rest of the mission.

* * *

Meanwhile, a carrier had positioned itself just outside the debris field around the outpost. After launching from it, the two drop ships had navigated their way through the field and were now landing in the hangar. With the power restored, their entry was much easier than Chase and Krystal's had been. And with the lights activated in the hangar, the twin ships could see the party awaiting their arrival.

Inside the hangar was a swarm of Ghosts. They had been investigating the pair of Phoenix interceptors that had landed there before the intruders had been reported. Now, they had been planning an ambush when the hangar doors opened wide, the reactivated force field keeping the artificial gravity inside the hangar normal.

"Targets in sight." The first pilot said, "Take them out?"

".22 mm rounds only, non explosive." The second pilot replied as the gunner painted the bots with thermal sensors, "We don't want to damage those interceptors. They're expensive."

"You say it as if I'd actually hit them." The gunner smirked.

The first pilot nodded and called in the order to the second drop ship. Within seconds, the twin chain guns on the front of the drop ships began to spin. The ghosts put up their cloaks, but couldn't hide their heat signatures. Without a second thought, the gunners of both drop ships fired, a deadly hail of metal streaming into the hangar as round after round was pumped into the robots.

The fight was over quickly. With no long ranged weaponry, the Ghosts were simply mowed down. As soon as the last one was taken out, the drops ships entered the hangar and landed, the bay doors opening as two squads of corporate troops moved carefully into the station.