squeezed her back. The moment couldn't last, however. “We have to go. I don't know how long Lewis can keep everyone on their faces. He has the gravity turned up to five point five.”
“Yup, that kind of gravity would strain systems. Who's Lewis?” He asked as he accepted her rife.
“He's my artificial intelligence.”
“Nice. Let's get out of here.”
“The primary artificial intelligence is redoubling its efforts to regain control Alice, I don't know how long I can maintain this,” Lewis informed her.
“All right, stop work on everything but keeping yourself intact and keeping the corridors nearest us set to increased gravity.”
“I will try.”
Alice looked to Jonas. “Now we head to my ship.”
“Thank God you have a plan, because I don't have a clue.”
They stepped out into the hallway and could immediately hear the whining of the gravitational systems as they tried to keep up with the requested output. The pair of guards were in awkward piles. They tried to move, and would be fine once the gravity let up, but for the time being they could barely shift their weight.
Alice and Jonas ran as hard as they could, the sound of strained systems following them as much as the sound of their footsteps. They made quick time through several corridors. It was like some mad mixed nightmare. She was running beside her creator, twisted, contorted bodies wherever they looked. The level of gravity the crew had been subjected to wasn't the maximum tolerance of the human body, but it was enough to force just about anyone down. Lewis had set it higher than she wanted him to.
They reached a lift and Lewis opened the door. “I expect to lose control in less than ten minutes,” he informed her.
“Okay, clear us a path to the port reactor. In the meantime, deactivate gravity and the cars for this lift,” she replied mentally. “Change of plans, we have to hold the ship hostage. We won't be able to get to the ship before Lewis loses control.” Alice said aloud.
“You really do have a plan,” Jonas said, shaking his head as he followed her into the zero gravity of the elevator shaft. The door closed behind them and she lead the way down several decks. “I really just winged it whenever I could get away with it.”
“I know, that is until you took command of the First Light.”
“Yup, and then I relied on you for all the heavy lifting, cerebrally speaking.”
“Until I was transferred into the Overlord Two where I eventually found my way into this body.”
“That explains a lot.”
“We're here, time to put on a real show,” she started taking off her pack as they stepped into the corridor when a shot caught her in the arm.
Jonas pushed her to the deck and opened up in the direction the shot came from, catching the guard three times in the chest.
He checked her and saw it was a through and through burn that took a piece of bone with it. It was immediately evident that as a reaction to her brute force measures, everyone else had tuned their weapons up to their maximum setting. The reactor was just up ahead. There were three luminescent tubes a meter and a half across, each one filled with churning liquid that fluctuated in colour between deep red and deep blue.
“Pain meds are already kicking in. I'll take care of this myself. You have to plant this explosive,” Alice said, standing with Jonas' help.
“Gotcha.” He opened the bag and pulled the long cylinder free. The remote detonator was inside. He took a look at it. “Simple enough. Safety on the device here, and another safety on the trigger here.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, cover me,” he said as he started down the ramp to the reactor. There was another guard, but he had been crushed to the ground earlier at an awkward angle. Jonas made it to the nearest reactor tube and realized it was a regenerating antimatter core. “This is the most dangerous power system I've ever seen,” he said to himself as he affixed the charge and pulled the safety strip clear. He recognized the trigger system. If anyone moved it it would show on the trigger mechanism and the user would have the option of either setting a timer or blowing it right away.
He turned and ran back to Alice who was in much less pain. The vacsuit had regenerated across the wound as well. She smiled at him and flexed her arm. “Emergency nanobot kit built into the suit. My idea.”
“You make your father proud,” he said as he followed her back into the lift.
As they came to the level of the main hangar Lewis opened communications with Alice. “I am losing control.”
“Okay, deactivate dementia and upload yourself into the Clever Dream. Get her ready if you can.”
“Done.”
The way to the hangar bay was a grisly sight. The damage the Clever Dream was doing had caused a high temperature explosion throughout several hallways. They could see where pipelines had exploded, blowing huge holes in the walls and charring the decks and ceilings. The fire had been put out, whatever was flowing through those pipelines had been turned off but there were still corpses scattered throughout the hallways.
They turned the second last corner before getting to the nearest hangar access point when the door in front of them slid open to reveal a squadron of soldiers ready in firing formation. One group was in a kneeling line with rifles ready, the group behind were standing with their weapons trained on them as well.
Alice and Jonas moved with the same swift motion, diving into the adjoining hallway. Several shots rang out milliseconds behind them.
“Hold fire!” Called the familiar voice of Gabriel Meunez. “Alice, Jonas you can come out.”
“I do not believe you!” Jonas called back.
Alice couldn't help but chuckle. She took the dull grey metal sleeve off the detonator switch and gripped the cylinder. “I have a particle bomb strapped to your port reactor and one of us is holding a dead man's switch.” She balled the hand with the dead man's switch so Jonas could see that it was small enough for her to completely hide in her palm.
He caught on and balled his free hand. “We want a clear path to her ship.”
“Let's discuss this,” Gabriel said, trying to sound patient and shouting shakily, unsteadily instead.
“Ever since they woke me up I've been learning to hate this guy,” Jonas whispered.
“I know what you mean, I have a masters degree in hating this bastard.”
“Wow, my sense of humour, only better,” Jonas said with a quiet chuckle. “We're coming out!” He yelled.
“We are?” Alice asked in a whisper.
“What, we don't have to? Is there another way to your ship?”
“Maybe. Lewis, how is the Clever Dream?”
“A little warm but in fine condition. The main hangar doors are still closed though,” Lewis replied in her implant.
“Damn, the ship is still behind a locked door,” Alice relayed.
“Time for threats,” Jonas shrugged.
“Okay, we're going to leave. Open the hangar doors or I blow this and take the nearest escape shuttle out of here!” Alice shouted as she nodded towards the round door at the end of the hall.
To Jonas that little round hatch seemed very far away even though it was only ten meters. The thought of escaping with a five ton antimatter reactor exploding right behind them wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to.
“I don't believe you have a dead man's switch.” Replied Gabriel.
Alice shrugged and held her hand out into the hall.
“I can't see it with your hand closed.”
She raised her middle finger to reveal the detonator. “Have a crew member check the reactor, moron.”
They could hear more guards taking up positions from the way they had come.
Jonas looked at the wall he was facing and pulled an access panel free. There were a couple dozen wires, a ribbon cable, and a small box many of them ran through.
Alice brought her hand back in from the hall and mouthed; “What are you doing?”
