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Welcome to Percotran -Part VIII By: Richard Davidson on 11/21/2002; 10:21 PM Zalibar was bored. Hed been working the nightshift far too long, and he longed for something, anything to happen; some kind of action. Zalibar was one of 64,000 security guards working for Percotran International, and for as long as he could remember, hed been stationed at the big Oak desk in Lobby 233NEESW of the Southwestern Division. He was a big man, about 63, and 240 or so; not all of it fat, either. He was armed with a Technotronix 1181 Sonic Distractor, which was a device that emitted a high frequency pulse that caused nerve damage, and semi-temporary paralysis in any person who wasnt fitted with ear canal implants that matched it exactly. Only employees with a Security Clearance B21 or higher had such implants, which could be terribly inconvenient should an employee be present when there is an incident of any kind. Technotronix was, of course, a division of Percotran International, as were the manufacturers of all approved equipment. Few employees could forget the commercial catch phrase, if its not made by Percotran, youre fired. The huge double glass doors of the lobby faced out onto a small concrete area that overlooked the ocean. In all the years Zalibar had worked there, no one had ever walked through them. On each side of the lobby were walls made entirely of glass, that flowed along seamlessly until they disappeared into the rugged stone that made up this small peninsula. The night was quiet, the air was perfect, and there was nothing unusual to report, except for the huge Pirate ship coming towards him at tremendous speed. Zalibar thought that a bit odd. Hed heard of Pirates, of course, but hed never actually seen one, and hed had no idea they had such big ships. He picked up the phone, and was about to start explaining the situation, when the ship crashed right into the concrete, and actually smashing through, right into the glass double doors, and Zanzibar leapt out of the way, just as he saw hundreds of men in Red uniforms come rappelling down the rock wall on ropes, streaming towards the hole in the lobby. As the Red Guard closed, men and women started leaping from the ship, and as the lobby filled, and the mob closed in on Zalibar, he fired a long, loud pulse from the Technotronix 1181 Sonic Distractor, set on high. Those closest to him began writhing around on the ground with blood coming from their ears, but most of the horde was unaffected, and continued rushing him. Two pirates closed the remaining distance between them and Zalibar, and thought to make short work of him with their swords. Zalibar broke the first pirates neck, and took a deep cut on his thigh from the other. He jumped the man, and was easily getting the upper hand, when several more men reached him, and knives and swords were thrust into him from every angle. The last thing Zalibar did before he died, was set off a small switch that was surgically implanted behind his left ear that signaled the Security Robot. Captain Pearson was leading his party to the Main Elevators, and heard only a loud rumble as the doors closed behind him. He had studied this for months. He made his way past three Brain Scanners, using the disembodied head of a Percotran employee who hadnt been missed yet, and down the hall to the office of J.P. Wilson, Assistant Director of Marketing for the 12th Wing of the Southwestern Division. Wilson was a small man, and wouldve been bald six times over if not for Hair Rejuvenation Therapy, and he owned just enough stock to keep him from being a Worker. He was asleep in his chamber when he heard a crashing in the outer office, and he pushed the button that made three inch stainless steel panels enclose the entire room, effectively trapping Captain Pearson, and his hand picked raiding party. Captain Pearsons men had been counting on this, and began cutting through the metal with their Fragmation 1200 Laser Torches, which were definitely not Percotran approved, but seemed to be doing an efficient job nonetheless. It seemed like hours, but it only took them a bit more than 20 minutes to cut their way through to Wilson, who stood defiantly on his night table, and said, you may have gotten me, but youll never make it out of here alive. Captain Pearson laughed, as he tied Wilsons hands behind him. Ive got nearly 800 men downstairs, and the L-4 Complex at Haiihu Kuwana is disabled, so youve got no troops coming, he informed the slightly deflated Wilson. Theres nothing to stop us taking you to our ship, and once were aboard, well put in for an Emergency Meeting. Wilson had to admit they did seem to have a pretty good plan, up until that meeting part, of course, and there was an ever increasing chance theyd actually get him to the ship. He also knew they didnt have anywhere near 800 men downstairs. Not any more. A monitor appeared on the East wall, showing explosions at the L-4 Complex at Haiihu Kuwana, with a voice over and graphics telling employees the company was under attack, showing detailed maps of where the attacks were coming from, and instructions on how to protect company interests. Captain Pearson shot it out with a 17th Century pistol hed had modified to shoot 1200 rounds per second of Lymosium bullets, and hauled the bound and gagged stockholder back into the elevator. He pushed the button for the lobby, and leaned back with a smile. The elevator lurched to a stop just above the third floor. Theyre onto us, lads; do yer stuff! he commanded. First Mate Calvin Briggs fired an 1/4 inch steel cable through the roof of the elevator, and into a thick wooden beam supporting the fourth floor doorway, as another crewman climbed up and cut the main cable. They dropped the remaining distance at a slightly sickening rate, their heads bouncing with the shock of the landing. Two crewmen pried the doors open, and Captain Pearson couldnt believe what he saw. The entire lobby was filled with blood, and pieces of chopped up humans. Chunks of flesh hung from the walls and ceiling, and the Security Desk was mostly sawdust. He had never seen such devastation, and he wondered if any of his brave soldiers had survived, but he suspected he knew the answer. Security Robot, mumbled Wilson through his gag, and Briggs whacked him across the face. Those men were my brothers, he sneered, but his usual bravado was tempered just a bit by fear. Briggs had never imagined a force as destructive as had been unleashed in this room, and whatever it was, it probably wasnt far away. The Security Robot was not all that sophisticated a device. It was Percotrans most basic level of defense, simply designed to dispose of large numbers of attackers. It was nothing more than a mass of spinning blades, knives, hammers and saws, about seven feet tall, and three feet wide. It dispensed a paralyzing chemical, the formula to which was updated every two weeks, and had flamethrowers and machine guns at regular intervals between all the devastating cutting devices. It was nowhere to be seen at the moment, and Captain Pearsons party decided to haul ass back to the ship, with Wilson slung over the shoulders of a mountain of a man named Swig. Briggs was up the rope first, handing down another to tie around Wilson as he climbed. He thrust one leg, then the other over the wooden railing of the Main Deck, and then the others heard a very brief scream, and a puff of red mist wafted out over their heads, falling lazily towards them. Everyone in the entire party heard the ominous click of hundreds of rounds autoloading into chambers, and they knew the robot was on the ship. Three of the men ran for the elevators, only to be cut down by machine gun fire. Captain Pearson kicked out a window on the lower deck, and he, Kasheeba, Swig and Wilson crashed their way through to the Aft Galley. How come they never make any food down here? asked Swig, to which Kasheeba couldnt help but answer, its not a galley. With that she lifted an electric mixer, and several lights began blinking on the small panel that unfolded from the top. Ill fire the rockets, she panted, looking directly at Captain Pearson, you sweep the deck. Swig was confused. Hed never heard anyone order the Captain to sweep a deck before, or for that matter order him to do anything at all. The Captain dashed up the narrow wooden stairs, as Kasheeba strapped herself to the chair she sat in, welded to the floor. Swig, why dont you strap Mr. Wilson to that lovely table over there? she asked sweetly. Swig eagerly complied, causing Wilson a good amount of pain in the process. Is this really necessary? whined Wilson, and he was going to keep on whining, but as Swig hurriedly strapped himself to some restraints on the wall, and Kasheeba furiously entered the correct sequence, the ship rumbled to life, and took off with a G-force that could easily have killed them. They headed straight into a bank of fog at close to 300 knots, as the rag tag security team from Percotran that had hastily assembled in the bloody lobby opened fire, with armor piercing rounds, and little heat seeking missiles that were exploding like fireworks in the intense heat of the ships exhaust. Soon they would be far from the reach of Percotran International, but their raid hadnt quite gone according to plan. So let me get this straight, said Wilson as the ship leveled out a bit. Theres only three of you left? Three? thought Kasheeba, my God, there is only us three left, and only two of us down here. Wilson read her thoughts on her face. Youre worried about that Captain, arent you? You just shut up about the Captain! shouted Swig, ready to pound Wilsons face into a piece of bruised meat. Now now, Swig, we need Mr. Wilson, remember? Kasheebas voice was soothing. The Captain can take care of himself. On deck, the Captain had a very effective sweeper. Mounted on several turrets, he had flamethrowers, that fired a sophisticated type of Napalm that reached temperatures of over 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. He had heavy iron bars that swung like flippers in a pinball machine, covering every inch of the deck. All of this was perfectly timed within microseconds, as to make the entire deck uninhabitable by man or machine at any given moment. It had wiped out many a would be conqueror, but Kasheeba knew Percotran Internationals security robot was a truly amazing device. The problem, as she saw it, was whether Captain Pearson would get to the control center before the robot came below deck, and just how strong the hatches really were. Its a hell of a ship, and hes a hell of a Captain, Kasheeba said under her breath. For now, all they could do was wait.
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