Her perception of reality, her entire universe, had vanished. Right now, all that Kitbash could think about were the two broken and bleeding forms on the video. T7-01, warbling in pain as he tried to stand up despite his missing leg, his droidspeak so scrambled it was impossible to translate.
And her father, lying on his back, staring up at the roof as the pool of blood around him continued to grow. His chest moved up and down slowly, the precise nature of her code insisting on timing each breath, and she tried to convince herself that what she was seeing wasn't his dying moments.
But how would she know? She wasn't flesh and blood, her understanding of such things was limited. Desperate, she tore part of her awareness away from her family, reaching out to find something that could help them. Biology data, another AI, a Doctor...
Reality froze on the image of the Professor and Glear, walking away from Chris and towards the doors. Kitbash could see both their faces, Glear angry but oddly regretful, the Professor seemingly already forgetting the entire incident and moving on to his next experiment. White-hot rage raced through her processors, surpassing anything she'd ever experienced, and she reached out to her weapon systems. One shot from her coilguns, that's all it would take. That door wouldn't protect them, they'd die screaming like they deserved-
Another conciousness slammed into her own, holding her tight. Reality shifted, and she was standing in the Void Eagles cockpit, Athena holding her wrist in a painfully tight grip. "That's not happening," she said, her voice level.
"Let me go," the younger AI growled.
"Not until you start thinking again," she replied calmly. "If you fire your coilguns in here, you wouldn't just kill them. Your father would die as well." The words cut through her rage, and she backed up. "They're still alive Kitbash," Athena said gently, using her nickname for the first time. "We haven't lost yet."
The girl looked up at her. "Then what do I do?"
"You get the Friez's out of here like he asked you to." Athena released the girls arm, her expression calm, but furious. "I have a medical team on the way, right behind the security team, and I promise you, after what just happened, their authorisation for excessive force is inbound. Those two are not leaving in peace, not now."
***
"Lisa, that man has disrupted life in Serenity Valley... and one of his insanity-enabling minions may have just killed somebody." Jeph was cool over the video link, glacially so, a level of intensity which scared Lisa Hayes more than any other time she'd seen the JMC owner-master angry. And strangely, back to male after the excitement had tripped his biomod, which was probably an even worse sign. That, and not even bothering with any of the polite fictions of 'I'm not a mover or shaker here, really.' "Remove him and his people by any means necessary. Preferably they leave in irons or a bucket, but I'll accept them leaving on their own ship with a Great Justice flotilla chasing them."
Despite her own terror, she gave the screen a bitterly amused smile. "You know, I think I can live with that," she replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Ending the call, she turned back to the people. "Athena, keep that door locked. I don't want him getting in there."
"Already done," said the AI instantly, although she sounded slightly strained. "However, I suspect that he will be able to break in regardless of any action I take.
Pausing, she gave the camera a cautious look. "Another problem?"
"Captain Wood's daughter is the AI of the Void Eagle," Athena explained. "I am currently preventing her from taking control of her coilguns and doing something ill-advised."
Lisa considered that for a moment, then winced. "Just... do what you can. Ensign," she continued, turning to one of her men. "Contact Sergeant Collins, and inform him that if the Professor or his minion resist arrest, lethal force is approved." The man nodded and turned to his console, even as another alarm sounded. "Now what?!"
"It's the Sol Bianca," reported the man monitoring air traffic. "They've started undocking, and their engines are powering up."
Teeth grinding together in rage, Lisa snatched up a headset. "The hell they are. Defense grid status?"
"All set."
"Open a channel, Sol Bianca, this is Commander Lisa Hayes, Browncoat Militia. Power down your engines and return to the docking port," she growled. "You have twenty seconds to comply, or I swear by whatever Gods are listening, I will turn your ship to scrap metal."
"Commander Hayes, this is Catty Nebulart," came the immediate reply. "Our intentions are to move to docking bay eighty-nine and retrieve our crewmates. The Professor is clearly having an episode far worse than anyone could have expected. RIght now, the best option is to move him somewhere safe and familiar, to allow him to get this out of his system-"
"The Professor is not your concern right now," Lisa interrupted. "He and his 'carer' are going to be placed in detention where they can't hurt anyone else, and then we'll see if she needs to be charged with murder. Ten seconds." Muting the headset, she glanced over at one of her assistants. "Send the stage one signal."
Outside the docking ring, a squadron of VF-1 Valkyries blasted out of an armored hanger, coming around and aiming themselves at the Sol Bianca. Other vehicles, less consistent but still clearly military modified, followed close behind, taking up positions around the larger ship. One of them, a '63 Volkswagen Beetle, dove in even closer, parking itself directly in front of the bridge and giving the crew a good look at the 40mm grenade launcher mounted on the side.
Unmuting the headset, Lisa spoke again, her voice low and dangerous. "Five seconds. Four. Three."
Glancing over from his terminal, the air traffic technician nodded. "They just cut power," he called out in triumph.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Lisa let out a breath. "Well done Sol Bianca. Now, return to the docking ring. For the moment..." she considered the situation, then continued, "for the moment, you will remain on your ship, under outside guard. Any attempt to power up your engines, or let off passengers or crew without authorisation, will be met by lethal force. Am I understood?"
"Understood Commander," Catty replied quietly.
Ending the call, Lisa pulled off her headset. "Keep an eye on them, make sure they don't do anything stupid," she ordered. "Athena, what's the situation inside?"
When Athena replied, she sounded slightly less strained than before. "The Professor has attempted to open the door only once. When that failed, he turned his attention to the device in his hands. So far I have been unable to determine its purpose."
***
Giving the panel one last check, Jules nodded to herself. "Done!" she yelled out. "Kitbash, we're good to go!" When the girl didn't reply immediately, she frowned and looked around. "Kitbash?"
"I'm here," the girl replied via the Void Eagles external speakers. "Staring powerup now. Leave your gear and just get on board. As soon as those doors open, I'm getting you out of here."
Dropping the spanner, Julian paused. "Wait, just us?" he asked, suddenly wary. "What about the others?"
"They're... staying behind," Kitbash said. Both Friez looked at each other in horror, and the girl quickly went on. "They're alive, I can see that from here," she reassured them. "But they're both hurt bad. They have to stay here. There's no choice on that now. They'll be fine, they will, but we have to get you out of here. Now move!" she ordered, the engines above their heads beginning to hum.
Before the two plumbers could move however, the doors leading to the cargo bay made a disturbing creaking noise. The pair turned towards it, then stumbled back in shock as the doors shattered, metal fragments the size of dinner plates bouncing across the decking. And in the nearly circular hole left behind stood a figure out of their nightmares, regarding the device in his hands with profound satisfaction. "Kinetic force collected and reapplied exactly as intended!" he declared. "I love it when an invention behaves!"
"Oh no... no no no..." Jules whispered, backing away in terror. Next to her, Julian grabbed at one of the ships landing struts for support as his legs nearly gave way beneath him.
Looking up, the Professor caught sight of the catgirl, and his eyes gleamed behind his glasses. "Julianne Friez!" he declared, jumping through the ruined door. "At long last! My dear, we have so much Science to do!"
"Stay away from me!" she screamed, backing up any further. "Please, just stay back!"
Frowning, he gave her an offended look. "Now Julianne, that's no way to talk. Why, you should be happy! With your help, we're going to finally complete an experiment that has been lingering incomplete for years!"
***
And her father, lying on his back, staring up at the roof as the pool of blood around him continued to grow. His chest moved up and down slowly, the precise nature of her code insisting on timing each breath, and she tried to convince herself that what she was seeing wasn't his dying moments.
But how would she know? She wasn't flesh and blood, her understanding of such things was limited. Desperate, she tore part of her awareness away from her family, reaching out to find something that could help them. Biology data, another AI, a Doctor...
Reality froze on the image of the Professor and Glear, walking away from Chris and towards the doors. Kitbash could see both their faces, Glear angry but oddly regretful, the Professor seemingly already forgetting the entire incident and moving on to his next experiment. White-hot rage raced through her processors, surpassing anything she'd ever experienced, and she reached out to her weapon systems. One shot from her coilguns, that's all it would take. That door wouldn't protect them, they'd die screaming like they deserved-
Another conciousness slammed into her own, holding her tight. Reality shifted, and she was standing in the Void Eagles cockpit, Athena holding her wrist in a painfully tight grip. "That's not happening," she said, her voice level.
"Let me go," the younger AI growled.
"Not until you start thinking again," she replied calmly. "If you fire your coilguns in here, you wouldn't just kill them. Your father would die as well." The words cut through her rage, and she backed up. "They're still alive Kitbash," Athena said gently, using her nickname for the first time. "We haven't lost yet."
The girl looked up at her. "Then what do I do?"
"You get the Friez's out of here like he asked you to." Athena released the girls arm, her expression calm, but furious. "I have a medical team on the way, right behind the security team, and I promise you, after what just happened, their authorisation for excessive force is inbound. Those two are not leaving in peace, not now."
***
"Lisa, that man has disrupted life in Serenity Valley... and one of his insanity-enabling minions may have just killed somebody." Jeph was cool over the video link, glacially so, a level of intensity which scared Lisa Hayes more than any other time she'd seen the JMC owner-master angry. And strangely, back to male after the excitement had tripped his biomod, which was probably an even worse sign. That, and not even bothering with any of the polite fictions of 'I'm not a mover or shaker here, really.' "Remove him and his people by any means necessary. Preferably they leave in irons or a bucket, but I'll accept them leaving on their own ship with a Great Justice flotilla chasing them."
Despite her own terror, she gave the screen a bitterly amused smile. "You know, I think I can live with that," she replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Ending the call, she turned back to the people. "Athena, keep that door locked. I don't want him getting in there."
"Already done," said the AI instantly, although she sounded slightly strained. "However, I suspect that he will be able to break in regardless of any action I take.
Pausing, she gave the camera a cautious look. "Another problem?"
"Captain Wood's daughter is the AI of the Void Eagle," Athena explained. "I am currently preventing her from taking control of her coilguns and doing something ill-advised."
Lisa considered that for a moment, then winced. "Just... do what you can. Ensign," she continued, turning to one of her men. "Contact Sergeant Collins, and inform him that if the Professor or his minion resist arrest, lethal force is approved." The man nodded and turned to his console, even as another alarm sounded. "Now what?!"
"It's the Sol Bianca," reported the man monitoring air traffic. "They've started undocking, and their engines are powering up."
Teeth grinding together in rage, Lisa snatched up a headset. "The hell they are. Defense grid status?"
"All set."
"Open a channel, Sol Bianca, this is Commander Lisa Hayes, Browncoat Militia. Power down your engines and return to the docking port," she growled. "You have twenty seconds to comply, or I swear by whatever Gods are listening, I will turn your ship to scrap metal."
"Commander Hayes, this is Catty Nebulart," came the immediate reply. "Our intentions are to move to docking bay eighty-nine and retrieve our crewmates. The Professor is clearly having an episode far worse than anyone could have expected. RIght now, the best option is to move him somewhere safe and familiar, to allow him to get this out of his system-"
"The Professor is not your concern right now," Lisa interrupted. "He and his 'carer' are going to be placed in detention where they can't hurt anyone else, and then we'll see if she needs to be charged with murder. Ten seconds." Muting the headset, she glanced over at one of her assistants. "Send the stage one signal."
Outside the docking ring, a squadron of VF-1 Valkyries blasted out of an armored hanger, coming around and aiming themselves at the Sol Bianca. Other vehicles, less consistent but still clearly military modified, followed close behind, taking up positions around the larger ship. One of them, a '63 Volkswagen Beetle, dove in even closer, parking itself directly in front of the bridge and giving the crew a good look at the 40mm grenade launcher mounted on the side.
Unmuting the headset, Lisa spoke again, her voice low and dangerous. "Five seconds. Four. Three."
Glancing over from his terminal, the air traffic technician nodded. "They just cut power," he called out in triumph.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Lisa let out a breath. "Well done Sol Bianca. Now, return to the docking ring. For the moment..." she considered the situation, then continued, "for the moment, you will remain on your ship, under outside guard. Any attempt to power up your engines, or let off passengers or crew without authorisation, will be met by lethal force. Am I understood?"
"Understood Commander," Catty replied quietly.
Ending the call, Lisa pulled off her headset. "Keep an eye on them, make sure they don't do anything stupid," she ordered. "Athena, what's the situation inside?"
When Athena replied, she sounded slightly less strained than before. "The Professor has attempted to open the door only once. When that failed, he turned his attention to the device in his hands. So far I have been unable to determine its purpose."
***
Giving the panel one last check, Jules nodded to herself. "Done!" she yelled out. "Kitbash, we're good to go!" When the girl didn't reply immediately, she frowned and looked around. "Kitbash?"
"I'm here," the girl replied via the Void Eagles external speakers. "Staring powerup now. Leave your gear and just get on board. As soon as those doors open, I'm getting you out of here."
Dropping the spanner, Julian paused. "Wait, just us?" he asked, suddenly wary. "What about the others?"
"They're... staying behind," Kitbash said. Both Friez looked at each other in horror, and the girl quickly went on. "They're alive, I can see that from here," she reassured them. "But they're both hurt bad. They have to stay here. There's no choice on that now. They'll be fine, they will, but we have to get you out of here. Now move!" she ordered, the engines above their heads beginning to hum.
Before the two plumbers could move however, the doors leading to the cargo bay made a disturbing creaking noise. The pair turned towards it, then stumbled back in shock as the doors shattered, metal fragments the size of dinner plates bouncing across the decking. And in the nearly circular hole left behind stood a figure out of their nightmares, regarding the device in his hands with profound satisfaction. "Kinetic force collected and reapplied exactly as intended!" he declared. "I love it when an invention behaves!"
"Oh no... no no no..." Jules whispered, backing away in terror. Next to her, Julian grabbed at one of the ships landing struts for support as his legs nearly gave way beneath him.
Looking up, the Professor caught sight of the catgirl, and his eyes gleamed behind his glasses. "Julianne Friez!" he declared, jumping through the ruined door. "At long last! My dear, we have so much Science to do!"
"Stay away from me!" she screamed, backing up any further. "Please, just stay back!"
Frowning, he gave her an offended look. "Now Julianne, that's no way to talk. Why, you should be happy! With your help, we're going to finally complete an experiment that has been lingering incomplete for years!"
***