Free Revolution: The Ship Series // Book Two by Jerry Aubin Page B

civilians. Any exterior hatch you find will have
a manual override which will let you exit the system. Be careful, though. If
you let a hatch shut behind you, you’ll be stuck wherever you exited because
neither of you has the access credentials to get back into the tunnels.”
    Aleron leaned against the wall and pouted. The bully
clearly didn’t appreciate being stuck in a situation where Zax’s low
Leaderboard status actually provided the advantage which left him in charge.
Kalare appraised Zax with a worried expression. She took a deep breath and
opened her mouth in the fashion which usually kicked off a monologue, but then
she appeared to think better of it and turned away. When she looked back, she
graced Zax with a tight smile and simply wished him luck.
    The journey through the crawlspace was uneventful. Zax
stopped to listen at each hatch he passed, but every compartment below was
empty until he came to the one which held the Boss and Sergeant Bailee. He sat
quietly to ascertain whether the two men were by themselves inside the
compartment or if they were being more closely guarded. He couldn’t make out
their words but after a few mins had only heard their two voices. Civilian
guards wouldn’t be likely to let them carry on a conversation for so long
uninterrupted and Zax hoped the lack of unknown voices meant they must be
alone. There was no other way to find out for certain, so Zax took a deep
breath, triggered the manual override, and lifted the hatch.
    The utter confusion on the gruff Marine’s face when he
saw Zax’s head pop down from the overhead was priceless. The Flight Boss was
speaking with his back to the hatch, and it took him an extra moment to react
to the sergeant’s expression and follow his eyes up to the hatch opening. Once
he made eye contact with Zax, however, the Boss didn’t waste any additional
time before addressing him in a forceful whisper.
    “You’re not quite the rescue party I was hoping for, but
I suppose you’re not entirely worthless. Get down here and get our hands
loose!”
    Zax was tempted to shut the hatch and leave the
obnoxious Omega to whatever fate the civilians had in mind for him, but then he
thought about Kalare waiting back in the tunnel counting on Bailee’s
assistance. He shimmied out of the hatch and lowered himself down slowly so as
to land on the deck as quietly as possible. He cut the binds holding the Flight
Boss’s hands and then freed Sergeant Bailee. There was something about the
expression on the Marine’s face and the way he carried his body that made Zax
think something was wrong, but the Boss started hissing commands before Zax
could ask any questions.
    “I’ll boost you up first, Zax, and then Bailee. You can
both help me climb up. From down here the hatch looks just like every other
panel in the overhead so if we can manage to do this without moving any
equipment underneath then just maybe these idiot civilians won’t be smart
enough to figure out where we went.”
    Without waiting for any form of acknowledgement, the
Flight Boss grabbed Zax and roughly heaved him up to the hatch. He almost
clambered back into the crawlspace, but then he lost his grip and slid back
out. Only the outstretched arms of the Boss prevented Zax from crashing to the
deck. The officer slammed him down onto his feet and then spun Zax around to
look in his eyes.
    “Boy—you need to do this right and you need to do it now !
If you screw this up, I will kill you with my bare hands and stand on your
lifeless corpse to boost myself up into that hatch.”
    Zax certainly hadn’t expected much in the way of
gratitude from the Boss, but even so he was taken aback by the way the man was
treating him. Before he could say a word, he was once again spun around and
launched up towards the hatch. This time, he established a firm grip and pulled
himself into the crawlspace. Zax turned around and poked his torso back out
with his arms outstretched to assist Bailee. The Marine was