...And Into The Fire

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 10

I followed both Oria and Mike inside Mike's house. Pulling
my jacket on, I was still panting a bit, and really did need
to sit down for a spell.

Mike offered both of us a chair at a small table. I pulled
one out with my foot, and sat down. Resting my shoulders on
the table, I asked. "I don't suppose you have any Rithen
tea?"

He chuckled to himself, pulling out a few glasses. "Sorry,
not a blend I like. The most I can offer you is some water."

I shrugged. "No big deal."

Oria grinned at me from accost the table. "You and your
tea."

I grinned back. "Hey, I love it, some of the best stuff I
ever had."

She raised an corner of her mouth. "I'll have to try and
convert you."

"To...?"

She giggled a bit, more of a chuckle actually. "Oh, you'll
see when you see."

Mike sat down in another chair, setting a glass of water and
ice in front of each of us. "As much as I love this witty
repertoire, I think in front of me is not the right place."
He gave a deep grin.

Oria grinned, and leaned back in her chair, sipping at her
water. I just shook my head.

"So, what are you two doing way out here, a long hike?" He
asked.

I nodded. "Back. I have a place out here, about a days walk
south-west. Twenty miles I would say."

He chuckled. "Ah, my only neighbor."

I grinned. "Well, my house is large enough. Maybe we can
have a small party someday."

He smiled back at me. "I hope so, though it is a long walk.
I don't suppose there is a faster way?"

"Maybe, are current problem is are teleport curtain is
toast. When we get that fixed." I shrugged.

Mike grinned a bit. "Now that is an interesting problem.
Lack of maintenance?"

I shook my head. "A less then nice enemy. Destroyed the
equipment on are side, I assume he did the same to the
other."

"Have anything to do with all the shit going on?"

I slowly nodded. "Yes. What shit exactly?"

He paused for a second. "Well, lets see. For one, the Marble
Hall is total closed off from the rest of Prid, all portals
are collapsing in on themselves, the only noise out off the
Hall is that some kind of major terrorist group has take
over the place."

I put my head in my hands. "Anything else?"

He shook his head. "Not much, some rumors that most of the
Council was involved. Also some partly confirmed reports
about the HammerHeads trying to stop them."

I groaned. "Nice plan. They keep up this kind of information
feed, and when they come out, there heroes, and control of
the multi-verse."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "The Hammerheads?"

I nodded. "There running this from the word go."

"And Jenner?"

"Looks like he's running it."

Mike leaned back. "Well, I always did think he was a bit.
megalomaniacal when I was growing up." He said, sipping at
his water.

"He's your brother?" Oria asked, sounded a bit aghast.

He shook his head. "No, he's my father."

I put my head back in my hands. "I should have seen that
coming."

He chuckled. "Yes, you should have."

"I don't suppose you can help us get back to the Hall." Oria
asked.

"Well... I do have a teleport curtain into the Hall, but I
haven't used it sense the communications died."

I looked up. "How do you get news if you're lines are down?"

He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "I have a big dish
in the back. It picks up some of the stuff bouncing off the
atmosphere."

I nodded again. "Now about the t-curtain?"

He stood up. "Right that way." Then walked out of the
kitchen.

We followed.

* * *

I pulled myself up the ladder, onto the second floor of the
Hall's communication center. Below me I could here Kalie
doing something to the door. Which was, as far as I could
see, the only door into the place.

Walking along the second level, which really was just a
large grate like floor move most of the room, I headed to
one of the five rooms on the floor.

Ducking into the first one, I found myself into what looked
like some kind of archive room. Shaking my headed, I moved
accost the floor, to the next room.

"Bingo," I muttered, finding myself in a control room.
Sliding behind one of the chairs, I ran over the control
board. It wasn't much different then other ones I had used
before. I made a quick check, and found that all the
external links where active, showing that they had to be
physically cut elsewhere.

I also saw that one of the video feeds was being shunted
into the archive room, and that the ship to space dish
(which is rather badly named, but it was for a space ship)
was out of sync with anything above the Hall.

Cutting off the shunt, I slid the chair over to the audio
board, and set up a channel scan. I doubted they where using
the video links for there communications, because with the
utility rooms shut down, they where less then reliable with
there routing, about half the time, they didn't get out of
this room. It was an inherent fault in the system, never had
been tracked down.

Running through the scan, I hopped that the random scan
would stumbled upon one of the channels they where using. If
it didn't... well there where over fifteen-hundred-million
different auto channels in the system. It could take months
to find it.

I ran my fingers over the desk in front of me, watching
useless information pour over the screen. Behind me I heard
the door open, turning I saw Kalie walk into the room. "What
are you doing up here?"

"Trying to find any of the com channels they use."

She nodded, sitting down backwards in a chair, her tail held
behind her. "Any luck?"

"I don't know. I'm hopping we'll get lucky."

She grinned, and held out a watch. "Will this help?"

He sighed, taking it from her paw. "No, I doubt a watch..."
I trailed off, it wasn't a watch, it was something better.
"A wristcom."

She nodded, grinning wider, showing me the points of her
teeth again. "Yes, the guard was wearing it."

"Keyed to his DNA I assume?"

She nodded again. "Yep, I already tried to get pasted it.
Nothing doing."

I grinned myself, and picking up a screwdriver that was
laying around, I started to pry of the back. "Kalie, a
question. How did you learn that little trick you pulled on
the guard?"

She leaned forward a bit. "Advanced training."

I raised an eyebrow, "for what?" I asked, still working on
the back.

She leaned closer. "Lantra ground based army, rapid recon,
group seven, e-point, retired."

I blinked, finally forcing the back off. "Retired?"

She nodded. "Well, discarded. The war toned down, and with
my three months of AWOL," she shrugged, "even being in
e-point doesn't keep you from being sweeped under if they
fell the need to."

"Sorry." I said, a bit weakly, pulling out the wristcom's
tuner chip.

She grinned again. "Hey, it's nothing bit. Those three
months where some of the best of my life, and also partly
why I here."

I slipped the tuner into a slot on the audio-board that was
made for it. "Oh, what did you do, go gallivanting off with
Fox?"

She laughed. "You know Fox!?"

I looked over at her, as I sent the tuning information on
the chip into the channel scan. "Ya, we're sort of in this
together."

Kalie blinked. "Shit, your the Page he keeps taking about,
the computer genius!"

I grinned. "I'm flattered he talks about me like that, but
I'm just an expert, not a genius. Now why was he telling you
about me?"

She shrugged. "He was explaining why he needed me, and
another of his friends, to watching Ken for a time."

I blinked this time. "What, your who he sent Ken to?"

She nodded. "Ya, Ken, Fox and I sort of worked together for
a time."

I was going to reply, well actually, trying to think of how
to, when the computer beeped at me. Turning around I
watching as the display started listing different channels
it had found usage on.

I smashed my paw down against the desk. "Got you, you son'
bitch!"

Kalie slide over to me. "Now what to we do?"

I grinned, "Well now--" I was cut off as Kalie clapped her
paw over my muzzle. Holding a finger to her muzzle, she
slowly let go. "Do you here that?"

I listened, in the distance, I could here a faint pounding.
"Yes..."

Kalie stood, pulling her gun already in her paw. "I think
someone is coming."

I shook my head. "No, I know that pattern. It was something
Fox had us learn. 'S.O.S.' he called it."

"It sounds like it's coming that huge air vent in the center
of the room."

I nodded. "I though I saw a door into it when climbing up
the ladder."

She nodded. "So did I."

I stood, and started out of the room. "Who have to get who
ever it is out." I called behind me.

As I ran, I could here Kalie following me.