"Okay, we're in," Atlas whispered as the inmates jogged down the corridor in a rush. "Kai, Milo, watch our backs. Nova, you're right behind me. I'll yell if I need a hack."
The Scapula - a repurposed Oberon-class freighter - was headed to dock at Feldspar Station in only 30 minutes. When docking was successful, their corvette would definitely be noticed and fired upon by the Feldspar if they tried to escape, which meant a tight schedule.
They passed an access point and Nova hacked it effortlessly; a blast door raised and a restricted maintenance door opened to the side; Nova barely slowed as she passed it. Atlas faced forwards again as they kept jogging, grinning behind his helmet. His team was used to tight schedules.
Through the maintenance door, down a hallway, down a flight of stairs. Nova slid to a stop next to the bulkhead doors and plugged into an access point, checking the camera feed for the next room. "It's clear," she said, giving a nod. Atlas nodded in return, giving finger motions to Kai and Milo, who positioned themselves behind crates - no taking chances. Not this time. Not with what could potentially be a live Paranai specimen. They'd hacked into the Scapula's computers and found the shipping manifest after a tip from an underworld ally, and ohhhhh boy, what a jackpot.
The bulkhead doors hissed open as Nova slid the connecting cable back into her arm and rolled her scout ball out into the cargo hold, her eyes glazed as she viewed the world through its feed. Suddenly, she jumped - gasped. Kai bristled, electricity crackling around her palm as she readied herself for combat...
...because somehow, there in the middle of the hold, his foot atop the scout ball, was the Quartermaster. Slowly, he bent down, retrieving the scout ball carefully in his hand and looking at it as a clerk and two battlesuited enforcers stepped out into the light.
"Get ready," Atlas whispered to the others, making hand signs. Milo's drones whirred to life, hovering above his head.
At that moment, the Quartermaster blinked forwards 15 meters - truly jarring to see - and gently rolled the scout drone back to Nova like a bowling ball. "This doesn't have to get bloody," he announced, glancing between the inmates as his enforcers and clerk caught up with him. "You're a squad from the Hermes, right? Got a briefing on the Hermes recently, wondered what it was about. Now I know. Don't know how you came aboard, but you'd better turn around and leave."
"Can't," Atlas said, stepping forwards, his boots clanking across the floor grating. His overshield flickered, pulsing to life with a gentle blue glow before it faded. He rolled up his helmet's visor, making his face visible in the dim light. "You've got something we need. Thinking maybe we can come to an agreement."
"Not bloody likely," the Quartermaster scoffed. "I've got an audit in less than thirty minutes. Anything turns up missing, they'll chew me out. Jake, Corvas," he called out, motioning to the enforcers. The big, bulky-suited men stomped forwards five paces until they passed the Quartermaster on either side, machine guns at the ready.
Atlas inclined his head. "Really? You're threatening us with two enforcers? You know we're from Hermes, so you know we're the same squad that sabotaged the military station on Il-tarsis that's been all over the news. Or did you not piece that together? I'm sure you remember the electrical storm, no? Or how a mini black hole swept through the base?" He glanced back at Kai, who already had a small singularity hovering above her palm, a cruel smile flicking at the corner of her lips.
The Quartermaster seemed slightly unnerved - but it was barely visible. That's all Atlas needed to know - in a fight, they'd win. And the Quartermaster knew it too, even if he wouldn't admit it. "Let's say I believe you," the Quartermaster said slowly. "What are you looking for - the Hsilkorian museum piece?" He watched their faces closely. "No? Ipspeca Qisbit's hi-plat bank transfer?" He paused, then said, "The artifact from Maelstrom?"
Behind Atlas, Nova made a little sound - barely audible, but the Quartermaster caught it, and a grin spread across his face. "Ah. You're here for the specimen. So let's say I step out of your way and let you roam the cargo hold yourself. You've got fifteen, maybe twenty minutes." He gestured around himself. "It's a big hold. Do you even know where to look?"
Kai cocked her head to the side; the black hole crackled above her palm. Electricity arced from her boots. "No, we don't. But you're going to tell us."
"And why should I do that?" the Quartermaster laughed. "No, I don't think I will."
Behind him, the clerk raised a hand to an earpiece and Milo shouted suddenly. "Hey! Hands down. No radio contact or we'll end you right here." His drones whirred fiercely, splitting out into a group of three, surrounding the Quartermaster and the others at a distance.
The clerk looked shocked and taken aback, clearly surprised that anyone had noticed. The Quartermaster held up his hands to smooth things over. "Whoa! Easy now, everyone. Remember, we don't need a bloodbath here."
Nova smirked. "There might be one anyway if you keep stalling," she murmured. "We're extracting in less than fifteen minutes regardless of whether we accomplish our goals. We can't risk that specimen falling into enemy hands, so if we don't have it, our friends are blowing the Scapula's antimatter engines to wreck the cargo bay. Or didn't you notice?" She tilted her head to the side, playfully. "Didn't the reports mention a squad of six? We're only four. Do the math. Where do you think my friends are right now, hmm?"
Atlas looked over at Nova, impressed by the little bullshit quip, and then back at the Quartermaster, who looked shocked as gears turned in his mind - and then angry. "Fine. Let's make a deal then. I want it to be worth getting my ass chewed out by inspections. I'll let you explore the cargo bay. Sweeten the deal with 2500 plat and I'll point you to the right crate and let you look at it. 10000 and I'll let you take it with you. 15000 and I'll wipe the cameras, too."
"Cameras are already wiped," Nova piped up. "They're looping a feed of you sitting in your office looking at your manifests on the holo."
The Quartermaster frowned - but only momentarily. Milo grumbled behind him as Atlas took a cred chip out of his pouch and transferred some cash onto it, and then slid it across the floor. "10000 creds, plus 5000 if you help us out a little more." He held up another chip and transferred some more onto it. The creds were paid by their employer in case of a bribe, for them to keep if they didn't need it. Seems like they did. Milo would get over it eventually.
"Help you out how?" the Quartermaster asked suspiciously, picking up the chip. He touched it to a bracelet on his arm and read the display. "10000, as you said. Kingly. All right. What's the deal?"
"Your clerk's a hacker. Right, Nova?" Atlas glanced over at Nova, who gave a quick nod. "Have your clerk insert some data into the logs: we're a merchant vessel that did a legal transport. We've got some forged cargo manifests you could use."
The Quartermaster hesitated for a moment, thinking, and then shook his head and waved his hand for the REKT squad to follow as he started to walk away. "I'm not letting you get off scot-free. 10000 is fine, so keep your chip. You're down to a tight window, so if you really want your cargo, you'd better hurry. I hope your PSI Adept can lift it."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Kai said, the black hole fading from above her palm as she and the rest of the inmates began to follow.
But yes, well spotted, that is ugly.