Muunraker/Chapter 10

Muunraker

Chapter 10 "I've got a bad feeling about this."

On the trip out of Kalee's atmosphere, Holly Goodlekku mentioned to the MI5 agents that the workers in the space station all wore yellow jumpsuits. The light freighter they were currently in had a small storeroom that contained some spare jumpsuits. So Holly and the five agents put them on to help disguise themselves.

As they approached the space station, the tractor beam pulled the freighter in to a docking bay and the six of them exited the ship. The workers in the docking bay recognized the ship and the jumpsuits so they didn't give them another thought, allowing them to enter the space station like any other worker.

As they headed out of the docking bay and deeper into the space station, they saw signs posted in the corridors giving directions. "Control room," Pandolfo read, pointing to the sign. "Shall we head there first?"

The group followed the signs toward the control room. Just before they reached it, they stopped at a connecting corridor, allowing workers to pass by. Behind those workers were a half-dozen Yam'rii. The MI5 agents watched the insect-like sentient species walk past them.

Bont glanced over at Shasta.

Those Yam'rii did not look like prisoners. They looked like regular visitors to the station that were being escorted somewhere.

The agents continued on to the control room with Holly. When they got there, the five workers in the room questioned why they had come. It wasn't time for a shift-change. MI5 quickly subdued them and took their weapons.

Pandolfo sat down at one of the consoles while the others pulled the unconscious workers to the far side of the room. "Uh, anything in particular I should be looking for?" he asked.

"Just start opening files," Bont said.

"We need to find something we can use against Drax," Shasta added. "And find out where he is."

As Pandolfo began searching the system, Gruu said, "If there are Yam'rii here, dat probably means Drax is siding wit' dem in da war."

"But I can't understand why he's getting involved in the Huk War," Shasta stated. "Everything we've found out about Drax..." she paused for a moment, quickly running through things in her mind, "there's nothing that connects him with the Yam'rii nor the Kaleesh."

"Hey, guys," Pandolfo interrupted. "I've got something." The others gathered around him. Pandolfo continued, "Just since we've been here, this space station has drifted away from Kalee. We're heading for Muunilinst."

Europa asked, "Now what does Muunilinst has to do with any of this?"

"The headquarters of the InterGalactic Banking Clan," Bont said.

Shasta turned to look at him. Their eyes met and instantly they knew they were thinking the same thing. She said, "Drax isn't getting involved in the Huk War. He's using it as cover."

"It all makes sense now," Bont said. "Drax is using that ion cannon to destroy the Banking Clan and blame it on the Yam'rii and their war. Drax then steps in with his little financial organization and takes over where the Banking Clan left off."

"Making Drax one of the wealthiest and most powerful beings in the galaxy," Pandolfo concluded.

"Oh, frak," Holly muttered under her breath.

"We've gotta stop him before he fires that cannon," Bont said. "Pandolfo, how much longer 'til the space station is within range?"

"I'm not sure, but I think I just found Drax." Pandolfo found a security video feed of Drax standing in a large room with windows looking out into space. Drax stood with his back to the windows as he faced a mass of beings in yellow jumpsuits mixed with a bunch of Yam'rii. Drax was up on a podium giving some kind of speech.

"Can you get audio on that?" Bont asked the Nosaurian.

"Yup." Within seconds, they could hear Drax as well as see him.

In his monotone voice, he said to the crowd before him, "--and with that, my Yam'rii friends, I present to you, the turning point in the war." He paused for dramatic effect. Then, "I give you..." he turned around to the windows, "the Muunraker."

Out the windows, a thick, articulated durasteel arm slowly extended outward from the space station revealing a rather large ion turret on the end of it. It was neither large enough nor powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, but it could certainly do some damage on it's surface. It would be the perfect weapon to level a small city.

Holly took a step back from the vid-screen. "There's your ion cannon."

Bont looked at the screen. "That thing looks like it's on some kind of movable arm. Can you hack it and control it from here?"

Pandolfo responded, "I should be able to. Why?"

Bont smiled, "I've got a little surprise planned for Drax."

Seeing the grin on his face, Shasta shook her head. Knowing that Jace Bont had a reckless side, that she had seen first-hand on Bakura, she could only image what he had planned. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

- - - - - - - - - -

In the main room of the space station, some of the Yam'rii were in an uproar. They questioned why it was named "Muunraker" and wondered what Drax was up to. They wanted it to attack Kalee, not Muunilinst.

Drax didn't say a word. He simply raised one hand, palm facing out, as if to quiet the restless Yam'rii. When the Yam'rii stopped, they waited for him to say something.

Drax only said two words: "Restrain them."

All the workers in yellow jumpsuits pulled out blasters and aimed at the Yam'rii. They quickly rounded them up into a circle in the middle of the room. One of the Yam'rii noticed a little blue speck out in space. He pointed with his huge clipper-like forelimb.

Drax turned to the windows. "Ah, yes. Muunilinst." He turned back to the captured Yam'rii. "If you hadn't figured it out by now, I will be firing on the Muun homeworld. It requires a long backstory with which I will not bore you. Because, you see, you are going to die anyway. I only needed you so I could disguise the assault from the Galactic Republic."

"Uh, sir?" one of the workers interrupted.

"You dare interrupt me?"

The worker pointed to something behind Drax. Drax turned back around to see the Muunraker's robotic arm twisting and bending at the articulated points. A confused look suddenly crossed Drax's face. The ion turret stopped when it was pointed straight at Drax. His eyes grew wide. He knew immediately it had to be Jace Bont and MI5. Drax knew that after Bont had escaped his ground complex on Kalee that he would have problems.

The green rings around the turret began to glow. It was charging up.

The workers, the Yam'rii and Drax all headed for the doors. The tip of the turret started to glow as well. Within a few seconds, one ion blast loosed from the turret. It blew through the glass and ripped right through the durasteel of the space station. The pink ionized plasma shot directly through the space station and exited the other side.

Yellow-clad workers and a few Yam'rii were immediately sucked out into the vacuum of space. Drax was lucky enough to have reached the door. He pulled his way through against the gravity that was tugging at him. When he made it through the door, he punched security codes into the control pad, sealing the door. He took a moment to catch his breath, then headed for the escape pods, pushing his way through the disoriented crowd of workers and Yam'rii.

- - - - - - - - - -

In the control room, Pandolfo was watching everything unfold on the vid-screens. "Nice idea, Jace. But it looks like Drax managed to survive it."

"He's probably heading for an escape pod," Bont concluded. "We've gotta get him before he escapes."

The whole room suddenly rumbled, knocking him off-balance.

"This whole space station is gonna fall apart!" Europa exclaimed.

After steadying himself, Bont said, "Pandolfo, you head back to the docking bay and secure our ship so we have a way outta here. And take Holly with you. The rest of you, come with me. We're going after Drax."

Chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Epilogue