--Point of View: Katie--

The room once again fell into silence as Tom’s question hung in the air. How were we going to keep the Old One’s from simply following us back home through the gate? In fact, their ship was still hovering over the planet. Even if we snuck around and escaped, what was stopping them from coming after us again? We were no match against them in a fight except for Crim but even he had his limits. I thought hard about it for a moment but genuinely did not have an answer for him. Crim looked just as lost.

“I figured that was the case.” Quickly added Tom as he took a position beside me. “So, I propose we make it so they can’t.”

Both Crim and I stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was meaning to do what we both had in mind.

“You want to blow up this ship. Right?” I asked bluntly, wondering if he was a genius or just a crazy lunatic. Perhaps he was a bit of both.

“Well, I figured if you found the gate, then the reactors are close by.” Tom started to explain.

“And if that is the case, it would only take a small detour to accomplish it.” I added, starting to see what he had in mind.

The idea made a lot of sense considering he had already done it once before. Although, it was also the reason we were in this predicament in the first place. If we did this, we could very well just summon more ships here, like a beacon. On the other hand, if the Old Ones followed us back, they would surely finish us off this time around.

“We would just need to locate the reactors.” Said Tom, his hands doing most of the talking for him. “That is, unless you two happened to pass them on the way here.”

“Yeah. Crim was able to sniff them out to put it bluntly. They are a little different than the ones we found before though. That may pose a problem.” I continued, wanting to make sure he was caught up.

“I will not know for sure until I sit down and have a look at the controls, but I reckon they can’t be that different. Regardless, if I don’t think it is going to work, I can just stop and return to the group. No matter what happens, we are going through that portal. If we need to flee once we do, so be it.” Tom finished with a smile. That was very much like him.

Tom and Crim both seemed to be satisfied but the rest of the room looked even more pale than before. The original plan was a bit much but now we were talking about blowing the ship up shortly after we departed. Maybe we were all a little bit crazy.

“Okay, so let us get this figured out. How long do we have before the guard arrives?” I asked quickly, turning to Robert.

“About an hour.” Robert replied, glancing down at the watch on his wrist. I always teased him for using that archaic thing, but I guess it came in handy in times like this.

“Good. So, we are all going to bust out of here and make our way to the gate room. Crim will take out the guards and we will bunker up there while I start it up. It took a while last time so we may be sitting there for a good thirty minutes to an hour.” I said, looking over the room. I never imagined I would be leading anybody but here I was. It was hard to believe.

“Exactly. We were told the gate may actually be prepped and ready to go, but I’d rather plan for the worst. Regardless of how long it may take to get the gate up and running, I still need to rig the reactors. I will head over to the control room and start tampering with them. As Katie said, it may or may not work. I will not know for sure until I try.” Tom Continued.

“Precisely. Also, Crim is going with you.” I added, looking back at Crim who gave a nod.

“Fine. I know better than to argue. You better just hope nobody shows up on your end. We are practically defenseless.” He retorted, giving me a very concerned look.

“Listen, as soon as you start tampering with the reactor, they are going to send guards. Not to mention there were half a dozen workers in there when we passed by. When you and Crim burst into there, it is going to get loud very quickly. You two are going to get swarmed if you are not quick enough.” I countered, giving him the same worried look back.

“If they know where I am, they will focus their attention on me.” Interrupted Crim, looking at both of us. “I am the only genuine threat to them on this ship. They will probably ignore everything else and try to capture me. Hopefully that makes a bit easier on your end Katie.”

Both Tom and I nodded in agreement. Crim was right. They would not risk him causing havoc on the ship. The rest of us at the gate will probably go unnoticed for quite a while. Assuming that is, we do not do anything rash.

“Crim is right. Most of the guards will head to wherever he is. Even still, I would prefer if we kept under the radar for as long as possible. I would rather not fight.” I commented, looking to Crim. I knew he could handle himself in a fight, but I could not afford to lose even a single person in the crossfire.

At those words, I saw Crim close his eyes. He was thinking something foolish. I knew it.

“No Crim, we are not leaving you behind as a distraction. Do not even think of suggesting that.” I said before he could open his mouth again.

Crim looked at me puzzled for a moment before turning to Tom, his eyes seeking help. Tom merely chuckled.

“You should know better by now.” Tom said simply.

“I suppose I should. Still, it is an option. I am what they want after all. They may not pursue or even notice you are gone.” Crim started to explain before his eyes lit up. He had remembered something. “Actually, maybe not.”

“Ozark, right?” I asked, his eyes full of worry.

“Correct, he planned to use all of you as leverage against me so I do not think he would simply let you all go.” He finished, hanging his head.

“Do not worry about it, buddy. You were not going to get rid of us that easy anyway.” Joked Tom, giving Crim a hearty pat on the back. “If you thought we were going to let you sacrifice yourself to save us, you better think again. We got into all this together and we are all leaving together.”

Finally, we were all in agreement and the plan had come together. The final details were being ironed out when Crim alerted us to the guard that was scheduled to arrive. He slithered out of the room and hid a few hallways down out of sight. We all did our best to act normal, but it was a miserable attempt. Everybody was on edge and eyeing the guard nervously. The guard noticed nothing though. If anything, I would have guessed he deliberately tried to not look at us. I guess maybe he thought this was beneath him. The military had jobs that existed only to punish those people foolish enough to break the rules. Maybe that was the case here as well? It mattered not.

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The guard slid our evening meal through the tray door and left just as quickly as he appeared. A few minutes passed before Crim’s furry face came into view outside the door.

“It is clear.” He said quietly, turning to look back down the hall, his ears like little turrets.

“Good, let us get this door opened again.” I called back as Tom gave me a leg up like last time so I could swipe my hand across the control panel outside.

We went over the plan one more time to ensure nobody was confused before heading off down the corridor as a group. It was slower progress with a group this large because we could not take any risks. Being spotted now would jeopardize the whole operation. Extra time was taken to ensure nothing went wrong. After a very stressful hike down several hallways, we eventually came to the doorway we were aiming for. The gate sat at the end, still guarded by two soldiers.

“Okay, like I said. Crim, you go in there and well, do what you do.” I explained, looking up at Crim who seemed eager to toss a few Old Ones around.

“Understood. I will call you all when the coast is clear.” He replied, his body tense and ready. I opened the door.

Crim shot down the hallway and just moments later, screams could be heard pouring out of the door. I closed it hastily to drown out the sound. It proved effective but the quiet yells of pain were almost worse. Thankfully, they did not last long.

A tapping sound on the other side of the door made me jump. I hesitated for a moment, paranoid, but just as quickly realized it could only be one person. I reopened the door and was greeted by Crim’s toothy smile. His crimson fur did a good job hiding the blood.

“The guards have been taken care of. Sorry about the mess though. I may have gotten a little carried away” Crim said, his face full of guilt.

I waved his comment away as I leaned into the hallway to take a look. Being a soldier meant you witnessed some gruesome sights. I had seen my fair share of blood and gore. It came with the job. Despite that, I was still not prepared for the scene Crim had created. The blood was everywhere and what was left of the bodies was torn to shreds. My hand shot up to my mouth as I recoiled slightly.

"What is the holdup, Katie? Crim said it was clear.” Asked Tom as he stepped past me for a split second before spinning on his heel and exiting the hall just as quickly. “Wow. Just wow Crim.”

“I did not want to risk them alerting the others, so I used a bit more force than normal. I didn’t realize it would be so...” He said quietly, glancing back down the hall at the mess he had made.

“No, you made the right choice. Come one everyone, file in.” I commanded, motioning for the group to move forward.

Everyone marched into the long hallway that eventually opened up to a larger room. The gate sat in the dead center and looked very similar to the one we had seen on Draya’s ship. This would be our way home. The console stood a few paces in front of the archway and just like last time, was filled with Old One characters. I was thankfully able to translate most of it or at least enough to use the device. I quickly checked it over.

“It looks like Draya wasn’t completely wrong. The gate was prepped until a few hours ago when somebody used it. Looks like they didn’t bother to ready it up again though.” I said with some frustration.

“We pretty much expected that though. Also, any idea what’s through there?” asked Tom as he pointed to a door tucked along the back wall.

I turned to look at where he was pointing and noticed a door we had not previously seen. Crim walked over cautiously, and the door opened on its own. It must be automatic.

“It looks like a dressing room. Lots of lockers and showers.” Crim answered as he disappeared through the door before reappearing a moment later. “Probably should have dragged the two guards in here now that I think about it.”

“A locker room huh? Is there anything inside we could use?” I asked quickly as I brushed past everybody else to look for myself.

Tom joined me as we both started to throw open the lockers. There were dozens of them, all individually numbered lining the walls of the room. Most of them were empty but a few did have some supplies we could make use of.

“Tom, come look at this!” I yelled, my voice echoing in the small room.

Tom hurried over and smiled when he saw its contents.

“Armor and a rifle of some sort.” I commented, pulling out the armor and holding it up against myself. It was incredibly heavy and way too big for me.

“It is better than nothing.” Tom added, taking it from me and hefting it in his hands. “I reckon this will probably block a few rounds from their weapons.”

“That is what I am hoping for. As for this though.” I said, reaching in to pull out the rifle. It was once again too big for me, but I could manage to shoulder it if I tried.

“Draya said we probably would not be able to use these, right? We need mana to make them work.” Tom explained as he stared off into the distance, remembering her words.

I nodded, remembering what she had said too but it was still worth a try, right? I was able to open doors and Crim himself said the air was heavy with mana. Perhaps that was enough to get it working. The longer I looked at the rifle though, the more peculiar it became. Nothing about the weapon looked too far from standard issue, besides its sheer size anyway.

“Tom, doesn’t this rifle look, well…” I started, trailing my fingers across the body of the weapon. “Kind of normal?”

“Now that you mention it, yeah, kind of.” Added Tom as he took it from my hands to inspect it further.

I watched Tom tinker with the weapon for a moment before he smiled, giving a portion on the underside of it a tug. It popped free, revealing a magazine filled to the brim with huge, oddly shaped rounds.

“I don’t know about you, but I’d say this is pretty familiar.” Tom said, this voice full of excitement. This was a good sign.

I stood there perplexed while I tried to find an answer. Why would they use traditional firearms when they already had weapons far more advanced. There had to be a good reason for it, but what?

“Its so bizarre…” I muttered to myself.

“What is?” piped up Crim who had come over to see what we had discovered, eyeing it cautiously.

“Well, this weapon doesn’t use mana, which sort of goes against what Draya had told us to expect.” I explained, taking the magazine from Tom to take a closer look.

I watched as Crim stared at the rifle, his brow wrinkling as the gears started to turn in his brain.

“Hmm, it could be because of me. They surely know my body can absorb mana. Maybe that would interfere with how it worked?” he said slowly.

Tom and I both looked at each other. Could he be right? It definitely made some sense but if that was the case, this rifle was literally made to harm Crim. What sort of firepower could it unleash?

“That’s the best explanation we have at the moment. Regardless though, I don’t think the reason matters much now.” I finally said after some thought.

“True. What matters is this gives us a way to fight back at least.” Tom added, reaching down to pick up the rifle. He seemed to be struggling with the weight of it as well.

I agreed with Tom and started to rummage through the rest of the lockers, hoping to find more supplies we could use. In the end, we ended up with a dozen or so armor vests and two rifles. With the help of Crim, we ripped some of the lockers free from the wall and blockaded the hall leading up to the gate. We draped the extra armor over the lockers in hopes it would provide ample protection for us. Two pieces were saved for Robert and Chris who volunteered to take up position to defend us all.

“I am counting on you two to cover me while I try and get the gate going, okay?” I told Robert and Chris who had already armored up with the Old One rifles readied in both hands.

“We will buy you as much time as we can.” Replied Robert with a salute. It was weird to be giving my boss orders.

“Likewise. I will take down as many as I can!” responded Chris in turn. He almost seemed eager which was a little concerning.

Those two took up their positions behind the makeshift barricade as Crim and Tom readied to depart. Crim had insisted Tom ride on his back, much like I had been told to. Tom did not seem thrilled at the idea considering the last time ended up with us all sliding down a thousand-foot elevator shaft.

“You two be safe as well. I know it is going to get dangerous out there. I just hope by some miracle you go unseen, but we all know this is probably going to get busy real fast.” I started, sweat starting to drip from my brow.

“We will be back before you even realize we are gone.” Said Tom with confidence but it quickly faded as he added. “But do not wait forever for us. If we are not back shortly after you get that gate opened, you all better leave without us.”

I did not know what to say at first. Of course, I could not sacrifice the whole squad for Tom and Crim but at the same time, I did not want to leave here without them.

“We will wait as long as we can. If it gets dangerous here, we will go without you but not a moment before. You better make it back!” I yelled at the end.

“We will. Let’s go Crim.” Called Tom as he and Crim bounded down the hall and disappeared. I am sure they will be fine. Crim was there after all. What could go wrong?