Chapter 21: Chapter 7 – Operational Error

Chapter 7 – Operational Error

Sitting quietly within a darkened office, the security guard relaxed into his chair, sighing quietly as he stared at the numerous screens in front of him. Each showing the quiet, action-less corridors of the long stay wing, the many carpeted corridors and numbered doors built to look akin to planet side hotels. Built from cheap lumber, each plain brown door had anywhere between one and five guests behind it and the corridors had a slightly eerie quietness to them as the carpet damped the noise from those strutting its lengths.

This was a far cry away from the hustle of the mall, the people who came here were looking for somewhere quiet to get away from it all or to just do some work from their personal computers in their own space. This was not the sort of place to get security problems or any kind of excitement at all and as such, its paltry security force was more a formality than anything else, more used to dealing with minor disputes and lost luggage than any sort of violence.

It paid well enough, but it was damn boring work.

The guard sighed again, another shift, another 12 hours of staring at screens and watching absolutely nothing happen. Taking a sip from his coffee, he leaned back into the chair, the fabric creaking slightly under his weight. The security office was small, with only himself present, the other guards were relaxing in the break room as they tended to between the odd patrol.

A pair of knuckles rasped against the door to the office, causing him to slowly spin his chair away from the screens, coffee still in hand.

“Come in!”

The door pushed open and revealed a tall bunny female with brilliant white fur, perfect emerald eyes surrounded with black sclera and a sensual figure, looking like it was trying to pop free of her shirt and miniskirt.

“T-Tani...? Is that you...? You look different!” The guard stumbled over his words, eyes zooming all over her features and figure. “W-What are you doing here?”

“Mind if I come in sweet pea? Thought you might be bored.”

“Sure, come on in. You can say that again, sometimes I wish just something would happen in this place, every day is exactly the same!”

She strode forward confidently, hips swinging subtly from side to side. There was no denying it, she was a lot taller than the last time he'd seen her. She pushed his chair back around to face the screens and leaned over him from behind, the guard getting tingles across his skin as he felt her breath dance over him and warm his back.

“It's a little quiet down my way too... who's about tonight?” She pushed her hands onto his shoulders and began to rub his muscles and neck.

“Me, Darel, K.T, couple of newer guys, they've just come back from patrol so they'll be relaxing now. Gotta say Tani, I like this goth look you're rocking. Are those contacts in your eyes?”

“Yeah... glad you like 'em!” She stared at the screens, taking in what information she could. “Say... do you wanna try something for me?”

“I'm on duty at the moment Tani, maybe in a few hours?”

She span his chair around and perched upon his lap, wiggling her hips as she put her arm around his shoulder.

“Oh I would never pull you away from your duties... I know how crazy things get here...” she giggled cutely and watched him as he began to blush, his member beginning to harden as he felt her soft butt cheeks press against his legs. “I just want you to try something me and Mina put together, see how you feel in a few hours? Its nothing crazy, should be fun though!”

The guard seemed intrigued as he heard her pop the lid on a container and she brought her hand up to his face, two of her fingers covered in thick neon blue slime.

“Tani... if you're planning on getting me riled up so I stop by later... I don't really have the money right now...”

“Oh shush, I wouldn't charge you this time if you did pop down after your shift... not if I've been winding you up! What kind of shrewd business woman do you take me for!?” Her fake offence was followed with a dramatic rolling of her piercing eyes.

Before he could argue back too much, she brought her goo covered fingers up to his mouth, tracing the edges of his lips before gently pushing them into his maw. He lapped up the goo, sucking on her fingers and making her giggle as she pulled them free, winking at him and wiggling around on his lap again.

Quickly though, she pulled herself off him and made her way towards the door, making sure to sway her hips once more as she left.

“God dammit Tani... this shift cannot end fast enough... that stuff tasted kinda good, what was it?”

“Top secret. Can't say.” She winked again, running a hand down one of her ears playfully before slowly closing the door behind her. “See you soon!”

“Yeah, see you s-soon. I uh.. I feel kinda weird...”

Like the drop of a guillotine, her playful expression ceased immediately upon turning away from the guard. She closed the door behind her quickly, grabbing the handle and twisting it sharply until the metal bent out of shape, sealing the door closed.

“~Camera's will be off in a few minutes once Plasia's goop kicks in, guards aren't due to patrol for another couple of hours yet but they'll be easy pickings in the break room if you wanna get the jump on them, waiting on your call~”

“~CORRUPT THEM ALL! SAVE SOME FRESH BODIES FOR ME! I AM LISTENING TO THEM TALK NOW, BAD-BAD-BAD-BAD, DRASTIC ACTION MAYBE-MAYBE?~”

***Back within the main security station***

“I am NOT letting you put a tracking chip on me, that is NOT the issue here!”

Several worried looking guards were tip toeing around Seeth as she argued loudly with Venner in the middle of the floor, Diego standing to her one side, Geralt and Oxyi on the other.

“And what would you say is the issue here?” Venner stood defiant and calm, even as Seeth stared down at her.

“THAT!” Seeth pointed the cell containing the corrupted rabbit, who was standing idly and staring at the group, her eyes flittering between the different members but mostly focusing on Seeth, her ears twitching as the group spoke. “She is feeding them information! This has already gone too far! Why aren't you taking this seriously?! You need to round up your men and stop this! Or hell, we'll do it!”

“What is there to stop? I don't understand what you're talking about. One drugged up prostitute is not a good enough reason to send the station into lock down.” The rat shook her head, placing her hands on her hips firmly.

Before Seeth could retort, Oxyi spoke up, stepping forward towards Venner with a steely gaze.

“What did you do to her?”

“I don't know what you mean.” The two met eyes, judging each-other intensely.

“Yes you do. You were eye fucking Plasia since we identified her to you, you knew what size equipment to give them before they arrived- you're screwing with us! You did something to Plasia!” Oxyi scowled as she spoke, exhaling sharply through her nose.

“That is a staunch accusation, I'd suggest holding your tongue before you say something you regret-” Venner scowled back, feeling her thigh for her taser.

“I will not! You're not taking this seriously! You're putting the entire station at risk and you've done something to one of our crew mates! I saw how you were looking at her! You wanted her in a specific room! Why would you care about that unless you were doing something to her in that room specifically?!” Oxyi let her thoughts free, causing a variety of reactions around the room, a lot of the guards seemed to agree with her.

“What the hell did you do to her?!” Diego hissed, stepping forward as well, the group slowly advancing on Venner. The guards around the room went for their weapons but weren't sure what to do and instead, urged the two parties to calm down, looking to keep the peace rather than shoot anyone.

“I didn't do a god-damn thing! You're the ones who brought this aboard the station! How am I responsible for any of it?!” Venner broke her cool composure as the group stared her down.

“Because of you, we need to execute that rabbit in the cell and all the people she's corrupted! How is Plasia staying twisted?! What did you do to her?!” Seeth raised her voice, her bellow causing several guards to shudder and point their weapons.

“E-execute?” Venner stumbled over her words, losing her aggression instantly. “Wh-what do you mean? We can cure her, can't we?!”

“No! Its over, she's already dead! She's just a tool for the enemy now! As is everyone who's been corrupted!” Seeth scowled, clenching her fists. “I need to get into those brothels immediately! I can get them to kill themselves and stop this from growing out of control.”

The guards around them asked for the others to confirm if the corruption was incurable, which Geralt and Diego both nodded to, causing the atmosphere in the room to drop quite suddenly. They all turned to face the rabbit, who was staring back at all of them, open mawed and empty eyed.

“B-but she spoke... she spoke to me?” Venner looked at the group with great guilt written all over her, the tone drastically different to just a mere few seconds ago.

“She spoke...?” Seeth questioned, her mind suddenly racing.

“S-she asked where she was... I thought that would mean she was like... still with us?”

“Slaves do not speak. Please do not tell me you told her... please...”

“I pointed her towards the sign for the station.... I don't understand why this is a problem?”

The colour drained from Seeth's face as she realised what had happened, Diego following suit after a couple more seconds and the two looked at each-other as it dawned on them that they all needed to leave, immediately.

“You... you've given away our position... they're coming- they're fucking coming- You need to evacuate the entire station immediately!” Seeth looked around the room frantically, putting a plan together in her head.

“Who is coming?!”

“The ones who started all of this...” Seeth turned to face Diego, getting his attention with a sharp snap of her fingers. “We cannot fight Moltezz on a space station, you saw what she was like planet side, imagine that in a confined, pressurized container floating in space...”

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The guards around the room lowered their weapons but kept talking to one another, trying to decide what was best to do, but through the panicked chatter of the men, a whimper began to leak out.

“I need a d-direct answer- Is there any hope for those corrupted?! For that rabbit in the cell? Anything at all?!” Venner was shaking where she stood, fighting to hold back stinging tears that formed in the corners of her eyes.

“None.” Seeth replied with a furacious stare. “The Slaves are as good as dead and the Nodes will rape you the first chance they get, they cannot be cured, believe me, we've tried.” Like a deer in the headlights, Venner quivered under Seeth's glare. “Do you have something to get off your chest, Venner?”

“How do I know you're telling the truth?!” She half yelled, her voice cracking.

“You don't. I have zero reason to lie to you and I'm offering to go fix this providing your guards don't shoot me for leaving this office. What incentive do I have to lie to you about it?” Seeth folded her arms, her vision still fixed upon Venner who was looking anywhere but at Seeth.

Venner took a deep breath, clutching her fists and rocking a little on the spot, building up to something, the room muted as they witnessed her internal conflict peak. It took her a few more seconds before she began to speak again.

“I... I-I.... I was blackmailed.” Her chest was rising and falling rapidly from under her flak jacket as she attempted to calm her nerves. “An agent from the DA got in touch with me, said he wanted data and details about you and the condition you have. He promised me the corruption was easily reversible... He swore he could fix it.” Her tears intensified, streaming down her face as she spat the truth out from between gritted teeth. “T-the DA have my husband in prison and this guy said he would release him if I helped! But- I-I never would have agreed to do this if I knew it wasn't reversible!”

A number of guards shook their heads but some appeared to be more understanding.

“I swear on my life, I never, never would have agreed if I knew how severe it would be...”

“What did he make you do to Plasia?” Diego chimed in, his face softening as Venner pleaded her case.

“He gave me these weird green vials, I don't know what they were but I stuck them to the inside of the mask I gave to your blue friend...”

“Green vials...? Must be something from Leech to make Plasia lose her shit... how did this creep get his hands on them though...?” Seeth thought loud to the group, finally shifting her cold gaze away from Venner's quivering form.

“Not important right now. What we need to do is stop this from getting any worse and then evacuate the station, the rest of the corrupted forces are coming and there won't be enough guns on this station to stop them.” Diego huffed, biting his lip as he mulled the situation over.

“W-what can I do to help?” Venner wiped her cheeks and straightened her back out. “You tell me what you need and we'll prevent any more damage being done.”

“Have you seen Plasia on the cameras at all?”

“I haven't seen her leave the brothels in the adult wing, I have seen Tani, the owner of one of said brothels, head towards the long stay wing a few minutes ago though... I can't imagine she's going there for innocent reasons any-more, she looked different too.”

“Different how?”

“Taller, bustier, black eyes- like the ones you and him have.” Venner pointed at Seeth's and Diego's eyes. “Is she a Node now?”

“Sounds like it, tell your guards to shoot her on sight... Right-” Seeth began to address the room. “Venner, you need to deal with the rabbit in the cell, just shoot her in the head, make it quick, no need to make Slaves suffer. Can you also get a guard unit together and get them down to the long stay wing? Send your big guns, Nodes can take a punch and won't go down easy to low tier weapons, you give them an inch and they'll take a mile. Me and Diego will head to the brothels and deal with Plasia. Oxyi, you and Geralt stay with the guards up here, get them up to speed on what we're dealing with and keep in touch, if you see anyone corrupted on the cameras, let us know. Once me and Diego have cleaned out the adult wing, we can focus on evacuating the station- any objections?”

The guards around her nodded, including Venner.

“You heard her, get that armoury open! I want Scaser cell rifles on everyone and 60. cal repeaters on anyone who doesn't have a Scaser!” The rat addressed her men before spinning around towards Seeth again. “Will you need support in the adult wing?”

As ordered by Venner, the guards dashed off, the distant jangling of keys rattled loudly, followed by the clatter of several armoured cabinets being swung open.

“No. The corruption and horde pose no threat to me, even if Plasia is there, at short ranges, our competing influence will cause paralysis in the Slaves, its your guards you need to be worried about, none of them are immune to the corruption and neither are you, so stay alert and get some hazmat gear on just in case Plasia tries something dirty. Diego, do you have enough psyonic power to fight or do you need a weapon?”

Diego swivelled around and looked at Seeth with a softening face despite the serious circumstances. I knew she'd be serious about stopping this...! He thought to himself.

“My psyonics are ready, commander Seeth! But I could use a melee weapon!” Her saluted her, causing her serious expression to break for a split second with a smile but then she nodded and focused back into the situation. A guard marched out and threw Diego a large studded baton made of solid metal, weighty and significant to hold.

“Will that work?” Seeth questioned, watching Diego test its swing and heft.

“Yeah, I can defend us with this. You ready?”

“Absolutely. Lets gut this infection and save Plasia, shall we?”

The two turned to leave and marched out of the office quickly, heading for the stairs back to the mall.

In the jail area, Venner had fetched herself a bulky looking lever action shotgun and stood in front of the bars of the cell, watching the corrupted rabbit who was now pushing herself up against the bars and stretching out with her arms, clawing at the air as she tried to get to Venner.

The rat looked up with guilt written all over her face, loading shells into the bottom of the gun.

“I don't know if you can understand this... I'm told that you talking earlier was someone else controlling you rather than you but... I'm sorry. I put my interests ahead of yours and now... now you pay the price for it.” Venner shook her head bitterly. “I let you down. It was my job to protect this station and I've done the exact opposite of that.”

She shouldered the shotgun and pointed it at the rabbit, who was still clawing between the bars.

“But I promise, I will do everything I can do put this right. And I will never, never make the same mistake again. It was wrong. I'm just... I'm sorry you had to be my victim before I realised that.”

She steadied her arm, fingers rattling against the trigger as she attempted to pull it, but her muscles wouldn't move. She shook herself out, lowering the weapon and raising it again, re-aiming and trying again to pull the trigger but once more, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She went to try a third time but a guard patted her on a shoulder.

“Its alright, boss. Let me take care of it. You... catch your breath, we need to focused to help us stop this crap.”

He slowly took the shotgun off her and she nodded, patting him on the back and making her way to the rear of the room, facing away from the two.

“I'll uh... just wait for the sound I suppose...”

“We'll fix this, boss. We'll get your husband back, too.” He smiled from under his helm, Venner seeing the corners of his eyes soften through the glass visor. The guard then turned back to the rabbit in the cell, addressing her. “Sorry about this, hun. Its not right but I'll make it painless.”

He raised the shotgun and pointed it at her head, the weapon just a few inches away from her hungry, scrabbling hands and he pulled the trigger, the gun unleashed a blast of flesh shredding buckshot that tore through the rabbits head but as the pellets cracked and punctured her skull, a blinding white and blue flash erupted from her form, accompanied by a thunderous CRACK...

In the blink of an eye, just as the rabbits life ended, a vaporising plasma arc jumped from her cracking bones and leapt at the guard, connecting to his shoulder. In an instant, his body was reduced to a burnt, half aflame mess. His body armour melting and spilling over the floor, his entire shoulder gone and his upper body in ashen tatters, completely dead and drowning in white noise.

It took a few seconds for the ringing in Venner's ears to stop, but the sight of her fellow guard's melted skin and body armour oozing across the floor would stay with her forever...

Diego and Seeth hurried down the stair cases as fast as they could, hearing a distant bang coming from above them, they both skidded to a halt.

“Should we... go back and check...?” Seeth asked, worried about why a noise like that would be coming from above them.

“The longer Plasia gets to maraud unhindered, the worse this gets. We need to stop this at the source, once she's out of the picture, you can just control all the Slaves and Nodes anyway, right?”

“Yeah. We'll go back to check on them after. Lets keep-” The two immediately broke their conversation as a stultifying noise echoed up the staircase. An amphoric husk rattled both of them, the crackling sound of slime being pushed through air filters...

Footsteps approached rapidly from below and the two prepared themselves, Diego bringing the baton up whilst Seeth flexed her shoulders.

“YOU WON'T STOP THIS! YOU-CAN'T-YOU-CAN'T-YOU-CAN'T! THEY'RE COMING!”

Plasia's form thudded up the stairs below and stopped at the bottom of the level, just in front of Diego and Seeth. Her mask had a bloody, half dripping hand print on its left side, deep blue goo dripping out of its filters on the right and she stared at the two with maddened eyes.

“You know you can't win versus both of us, right?” Seeth shook her head, wondering what exactly Plasia was doing.

“YOU PLAN TO KILL MY ARMY! NO HURT THEM! MUST STOP YOU!” Plasia hissed, muffled under her mask.

“She wants to preserve her forces, I think its a last ditch move... I'll restrain her, you get that mask off.” Seeth spoke quietly to Diego as they faced off, watching Plasia's every move. Despite being outnumbered, Plasia didn't stand down, instead, she growled loudly from her throat and launched herself up the stairs, swinging for Seeth.

*** Asset is exercising poor decision making skills -/?\- Operational data will be compromised if asset is not preserved -/!\- Emergency protocols activated -/.\- ***

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