Gavon stopped just short of the cargo hold exit and scanned the hatch using the datapad strapped to his forearm. This would give him a short-ranged sweep of lifesigns or possible activated traps on the other side, before proceeding, although interference from both the ship and the asteroid field outside caused a few unknown spikes in the readout. Nonetheless, he saw no immediate threat, and triggered the door release, opening up to a large area that went for several meters before angling ninety-degrees to the left and giving the appearance of an L-shaped room. He slipped behind a shallow wall column a few steps away, and pulled out two fist-sized spherical probe droids from his belt satchel.
“E-V, I need you to sync up Enforcer One’s scanners to the probes. Copy?” He whispered into the comm, as he twisted each probe to activate and sync with both his wrist control and the scanner on his ship.
A response came back riddled with static, but well enough to decipher E-V’s acknowledgement, as he continued the process of syncing the units. After a few moments, the probes repulsor systems kicked in and each one floated about eye level, reaching out their scanning tools for a preliminary test. Gavon, satisfied with the results, keyed in their scanning protocols, and released them to execute the mission parameters. He slowly followed several meters behind them, ensuring that all visual and auditory sensors were online. The probes were outdated but still functional, built and customized by Imperial Intelligence to scan through most solid objects, and to be as inconspicuous as possible due to their onboard stealth technology. The exterior of each probe allowed it to blend with the surrounding environment, lessening the chance of being sighted, although enhanced scanning tools or a sharp steady eye wouldn’t have trouble spotting it. Overall, the probe’s AI was tactical enough to stay out of obvious visual range, and even moreso if they sensed nearby hostiles.
The sudden sound of an explosion could be heard, and the ship vibrated, causing Gavon to press flat against the wall in order to keep balanced.
“E-V, what the hell was that? Was the Milano hit?” The Agent tried to keep his voice to a low roar, even as the ship’s emergency alert systems blared momentarily, and internal lighting was replaced with the red glow of security and auxiliary lighting.
“Sir…multiple explos...immediate evac…” E-V’s voice crackled and cut out over the poor transmission. Gavon heard the vessel’s engine roaring to life, and before he could brace himself, the ship’s powerful thrusters blasted away from the docking port, sending the Agent, and several loose cargo items, sliding across the cold durasteel floor to a dead stop against the wall.
“E-V!...please tell me you released the umbilical tunnel that was connected to the rear cargo hatch?...” This time he wasn’t so silent, knowing that the Enforcer would be violently towed behind, and potentially torn apart by the wayward asteroid field. Gavon clenched his teeth, hoping that his ship was still operational...
“Agent, the airlock rel….the tunnel shortly after the Mil….left the dock. The Enforcer was towed a fai…....is back in control, Sir.” The EV droid’s calm tone brought some reassurance to the Agent, knowing that the EV-12 navigational droid’s protocol was to continue pursuit at any cost. Gavon pulled himself up from the floor and checked both probes status.
Still online…
Frantic, yet indecipherable, voices were picked up through the probes, placing the sounds somewhere in the main corridor that ran down the middle of the ship. Gavon headed toward the door leading out, and noticed it hadn't sealed all the way, leaving a small enough gap for the probes to have slipped through apparently.
“Damn, the release is jammed” He mumbled to himself, peering out through gap into the long corridor ahead. He opened the door’s control panel, and plugged his datapad interface cable into the appropriate spot, pulling up a view of the door override system.
“Let’s hope this works…”
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