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The plan was simple. All our drones, jets, Humvees, computers, and so on relied on energy. Energy we derived from solar generators. Once those generators were destroyed, it was only a matter of time before the charges on all the machines ran out. After that, if the representatives of the Terran Confederation here still wanted a war, at least it would be a fair one.
An alarm beeped on Svelvick's tablet, and I swiped it to see if it was in response to my announcement and what they would do about it. Nobody had tried to get in here yet, which made me think they hadn't figured out where I was broadcasting from, but soon, somebody would need to talk to Svelvick, and then I would be trapped in here for good.
The alarm was about a fire outside the gates and heat ran through my veins when I realized it must have something to do with Kendryx. I should have known better than to think he would just let me walk in here alone and stay outside. Well, he had stuck to the first part of the plan, but there was no doubt in my mind that he had either followed me or was about to.
Dammit, I cursed and tried to figure out how to use this to my advantage, but the more I did, the more I became convinced that I would probably have to rescue his ass, because he would stick out like a sore thumb.
First, though, I needed to deal with the two guards outside.
I dragged Svelvick's body behind his desk. The general was still out, which made my job somewhat easier. Then I marched to the doors, disengaged the lock, and strolled outside as if nothing had happened.
"The general wants to see you about the fire," I told the two men, pointing my thumb into his office.
Used to following orders and the chain of command, neither of them questioned me since my insignia still marked me as a colonel and nobody had told them otherwise yet, despite my earlier message. They did give me some curious glances, but I figured the members of the Terran Confederation were still trying to decide on how to deal with me. Soon, though, they would want to talk to Svelvick, in whose office I was still supposed to be, demanding him to have me executed. I figured I might have five, ten minutes tops before an entire squad or more would show up to arrest me. That they hadn't done so yet was a small miracle, because once I started my speech over the radio, they must have known something was up.
I wasn't about to question my good fortune though and closed the door behind the two guards after I heard one say, "I don't see the general."
A bullet from my gun took care of the keypad and locked the door automatically, locking Svelvick and guards inside. Voices from down the corridor alerted me to the squad's arrival that I had been dreading. Quickly, I turned on my heel and made my way down the hall in the opposite direction before they saw me.
The blinking red light of a camera in a corner reminded me that the hallways, rooms, elevators, really every inch of the entire FOB, was monitored. If I wanted to move freely, I needed to get to the communications center first and disable it.
The question was how to get there since they probably already had me in their sights. An assumption that was soon supported by a blaring alarm.
"Attention, red alert. Be on the lookout for Colonel McGuire. Extreme measures have been granted for her apprehension. She is to be assumed armed and dangerous," came the announcement sealing my fate.
The voice broke off, but the alarm kept blaring for a few more minutes. I would never make it out of this hallway, let alone to the elevator and to the floor housing the communications center.
Frustrated, I shot at the tiny camera in the corner. A small, momentary victory, but it helped clear my mind somewhat and hid me from view long enough to dive into an unoccupied office, where I shot that camera out as well.
They would still know where I was. The cameras going black were a dead giveaway, but it bought me time. I locked the door from the inside and, standing in place, circled the room for anything that would prod my mind for a plan.
A smoldering bit from the camera fell to the ground, and I raised my head. My eyes fell on the air vent. That would work.
They would know or at least suspect I was using them, but there were no cameras in the duct system so they would have no idea where I was, and it would take a lot of manpower to search for me in there. Manpower they would be short of thanks to Kendryx's little fire stunt.
I climbed on the desk, not caring about papers I disturbed or the keyboard that went clattering to the ground, and punched out the lid to the air vent. The place hadn't been built long enough for dust to have accumulated, so I was spared a rain of dirt. I grabbed the outer edges and, with a kick against the desk, propelled myself up into the hole.
Darkness greeted me, but the light of the tablet in my hand gave enough illumination to find my way down the narrow shaft. For a moment, I contemplated that they might be able to trace me through the tablet, but first they had to know it was in my possession. It would probably take them a little while to figure out I took it from the general, so I decided to take that risk for now, otherwise I would have been bathed in total darkness.
I had no idea where I was going, but again, the tablet came in handy. The general had no restrictions on his security clearance, and it didn't take me long to pull up a three-dimensional plan of the ductwork.
The problem was, when I reached the intersection going up, it was a ninety-degree vertical ascent, too tall for me to jump. Cursing, I decided on another plan of action. I would have to chance the elevator.
I had to crawl through the narrow passages and remain mindful of keeping noise down to a minimum. The last thing I needed was for somebody to look up, form their conclusions and decide to use the airshaft as target practice. The announcement had made it pretty clear that they didn't need me alive.
Luck was on my side though, and I found a hatch that led me out of the airshaft into a hollow area between floors, kind of like an attic, to give engineers access to what I discovered was an array of fuse boxes. I doubted these would service the entire building, but I hoped at least this floor. Pushing my hand against the levers, I switched them all off and prayed it wouldn't also shut down the elevator, but I counted on the elevators being on a separate power system.
I found another hatch that led into a hallway and, careful not to make any noise, I shimmied my way down.
The elevators were only a few steps away, but here, my luck ran out. Emergency lights that had turned on after I flipped the fuses and dipped the entire floor into darkness gave out a weak green light that made the situation even more eerie when my eyes fell on two security guards stationed by the elevator bank. Whoever was in charge of the manhunt for me was doing an excellent job.
The moment I peeked around the corner, one of them noticed me. "Stop right there!"
I ducked back around the corner and pulled my gun with adrenaline spiking through my system. As much as I hated the idea, I would have to shoot those two men if I didn't want them to arrest or, worse, kill me.
Heavy footsteps moved toward me. They were coming after me in a full run, assuming I had fled down the corridor. Big mistake. A rookie mistake.
With my back against the wall, I waited for the first man to round the corner and plowed into him, catching him off balance and propelling him against the wall across from us. The other didn't hesitate and began to shoot.
