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The four of us were greeted back at the lounge by a new face. The man was in his late seventies. His hair and beard were a light grey color and his eyes were an icy, cold blue color with flecks of silver threaded into them. The man was wearing tan cargo pants and a white long sleeve shirt with a black center with a "Blaze Bio Science" logo on it and had a shotgun in a scabbard over his back. There was a holster strapped to his leg that was carrying what looked like a silver plated Desert Eagle with synthetic Ivory grips and gold parts. He also had a few scars on his face, from getting mauled on a few occasions by my guess.

"The sample?", Sarah asked holding her hand out.

"Here", Mike said handing her the bag.

"I'll get on it right away", Sarah said disappearing around a corner.

"Thanks for the save", I said turning to Allen and Matt.

"No sweat", Matt said, acting as if he was a combat hardened veteran, which amused me a little. Allen and Matt went back to the lounge as Mike and I turned to the old man.

"You must be Skyline", he said holding out his hand, "James Ryan. Nice to finally meet you in person."

I shook his hand, "you to."

"Mike Taylor", Mike said shaking James' hand, "I worked security down in the desert section of the Biome's."

"One of the most dangerous areas", James answered, "you guys were doing a damn good job for what I was paying you,"

"The pay was good sir", Mike said, "the job was just hazardous, but of course, I was a jarhead marine, so what do I know about hazards?"

James laughed, "good point, so bring me up to speed, I've been shut up in the control room for these past few weeks and don't know much other than were in a quarantine."

"Were in a Class 1", Mike said, "Allen said they won't disengage until every specimen in the lab has been terminated."

"He's wrong", James said, "I made that change after Rhino 23 got lose and nearly killed everyone, now any quarantine protocol can be disengaged from any terminal with out the permission of CHDISK."

"Can you do it from ours?", I asked.

"Probably", James said as we arrived at the lounge. Jacob and Tyler were sitting at the table playing cards, Matt was reclined on the sleeping bag and Allen as always was hunched over the monitor in the security room.

"Well shit I thought Dr. Frankenstein in the tower would have killed you by now", Jacob said.

"Not like he hasn't tried", James answered, "how did the Project on the Synthetics come?"

"Pretty good", Jacob said, "in fact, Matt back there was the first prototype that didn't...you know...explode."

James shook his head and walked back to the security room. Allen took notice and immediately stood up.

"Director James", Allen said, "I would have thought something would have gotten to you by now."

"You and me both Chief", James said, "let me have a crack at these protocols, go back and get your people ready to get out of here."

Allen nodded as James sat down at the console. He and I walked back into the lounge.

"Listen up guys", I said, "James said he can bring the quarantine down. When he does, were making a mad dash for my ship. If you have a backpack, stuff it full, even with Warp drive it's still a long ass trip to the Confederate border."

Without saying a word everyone jumped up and produced military grade backpacks, probably lab surplus. It scared me a little with how well armed everyone in this lab was. I assumed that they probably needed it with all the shit here that could melt your eyeballs out of your face if so much as looked at them sideways. I went back to the lockers and pulled out everything I had left in them before slinging my FAL over my back in favor of the High-Power. While I was in the middle of that I heard James talking.

"Come on...come one...one more brake!"

"What's going on?", I asked leaning over the chair.

"It's broken four of five of Martin's encryption codes", James said, "once it brakes the last one were Scott free!"

I watched the blue lines of binary code and jumbled letters trace across the screen, casting a blue and white light on James' face. A green box with five smaller boxes inside of it popped up.

"CHDISK is verifying user ID...accepted, state user request."

James typed in, "Disengage Quarantine, Class 1, authorization 0034126781"

"CHDISK is verifying authorization...accepted", the first box checked off.

"CHDISK is processing quarantine code ¼...processed, disengaged", the second box checked.

"CHDISK is processing quarantine code 2/4...processed, disengaged", the third box checked.

"CHDISK is processing quarantine code ¾ ...processed, disengaged", the fourth box checked.

"CHDISK is processing quarantine code 4/4...processed, disengaged" The fifth box checked and a voice came over the intercoms, "quarantine protocols disengaged, personal are advised to evacuate the facility."

"Were out!", I said.

"Let's get while the getting's good!", James said as we returned to the lounge.

"Let's go!", I shouted, "were making a brake for it!"

Everyone heaved their packs to their shoulders and we started back down the hallway that led into the big circle room and to the small, lounge like area where I had first entered the lab. I still couldn't punch a signal through to Magellan so I would have to start the ship manually. Once we made the door, Jacob pryed it open and Magellan began to spin up the ship's twin High-Compression V 40 twin turbocharged propane engines. The hatch fell down and just as my boot touched the metal I heard a faint click, but one I knew too well, the memories of watching Aegean run through his course back home were what made me realize. Rocket launcher.

"GET DOWN!", I shouted turning around and throwing myself on top of my friends. The rocket flew down and smashed into the engine bay of my ship, sending it up in a giant, blue burning gas ball.

"Y'all seriously thought you was gonna get outta here alive?", Martin asked over the sound of a large bolt sliding a round into a chamber and closing, from the sound alone, I guessed 20mm Long Range Rifle, "wrong. No one leaves unless I say so. Do you guys like games? I want to play a game with you."

We pulled ourselves up as the first gunshot rang out, taking a gash the size of Mike's head out of the landing pad and pelting us with rock and hot lead.

"It's called dodge the very pissed off scientist's 20mm sniper round!",Martin laughed letting off another shot that came too damn close to my tail.

"Get to cover!", I shouted.

We managed to scramble to our feet and take off down the hallway as the second round went off, shattering the plate steel ceiling like it was fine China and raining metal fragments down upon us, leaving a fucking enormous hole in it's wake.

"Pop goes the cover!", Martin laughed over the intercom as he worked the gun's action, "how do Android heads sound when they pop?"

A third round came through the gaping hole in the ceiling, clipping the back of Matt's back pack and sending him into the wall. Before he could even get up, a fourth round came down at us, bouncing off the side of the hole and flying away.

"Damn", Martin laughed, "free shot!"

I helped Matt up and we ran down the hallway with the glass domed room at the end, which Martin shattered with very little difficulty, trapping us in the hallway.

"Run through that area back to your hideout!", Martin laughed, "please! Try and run so I can run a few tests and see how a brain reacts to a 1250 grain 20mm Long Range Hollow Point! For science!"

"Loony Tunes must really think were a bunch of dumb asses", James' said, "no way in hell can any of us go out there."

"And I can't step out to shoot back without getting my head sheered off", I growled, "we need a flashbang, or smoke, something that can screw over his optics!"

"Or we make him shoot at us!", Mike said taking off his helmet.

"Are you fucking insane?", James asked.

"Maybe a little", Mike said, "but trust me, this will work in our favor, let me take point."

Mike slid in front of the line. He stuck his helmet on the butt end of his M4 and stuck it out into the hallway.

"Oh lookie!", Martin said, "a head!"

Click.

"GO! RUN!", Martin shouted.

We took off across the atrium as the sounds of the bolt being pulled back and the empty 20mm magazine hitting the ground played over the intercoms. The new mag clicked in place and the bolt closed, the sixth round coming down range, missing us by miles and kicking a huge gash up out of the marble floors.

"Fuck!", Martin shouted as the coms shut off.

We made it back to the lounge and Allen slammed the door behind us. For the longest time, no one said a word, we just dropped our packs and sat down where we were, everyone was shaking from fear as well as exhaustion. After several minutes of the situation sinking into our minds, Matt looked at me and spoke up.

"Dude...were screwed."

"Yeah", I said laughing sarcastically, "yeah...that's putting it lightly."