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out of the now clearing smoke and was
within ten centimeters of getting a hit on him.  The other men were also
backing up, though they were concentrating more on putting fire on the enemy. 
They were still very exposed, and if not for all the preventive jamming going
on through this part of the station, electronic warfare that really didn’t
affect their systems as they were able to adjust for what was coming, they
would all have already been dead meat many times over.
    “Let’s do this, people,” he said over their
implant coms, now willing to risk them since the enemy already knew they were
here.  “Hit them with another one, Owusu,” he told the Specialist who was
carrying the small hyperv launcher.  “Then you and Falstaff keep up the
particle beam fire.  I want them to think we’re still coming from here.”
    Cornelius linked into the com to contact Senior
Agent Jimmy Chung, the leader of the other, larger element that was to be the
decoy for his force.  “How’s it going, Agent Chung?” he asked, knowing part of
the answer as he heard the angry buzzing of particle beams in the background
through the ears of the augmented Imperial Secret Service Agent.
    “We’re getting slaughtered here,” yelled the
Agent into the com. “I hope you're making some progress with your part of the
mission.”
    “Nothing good to report here either,” said
Cornelius as he slid around the corner of a cross corridor and got back to his
feet.  “We’ve lost the negative matter, along with two of the men carrying it.”
    “Shit.  Well, isn’t that just the best news
I’ve heard all day.  I’ve lost twelve agents here, and I’m not even sure we’re
causing them slight anxiety.  We just don’t have the weapons and equipment to
go up against heavily armed soldiers.  And now we don’t have the stuff we need
to disarm the bomb.”
    “This Ranger isn’t about to give up on the
mission, Agent Chung,” growled Walborski into the com.  “We die from those
things taking out the station, or we go forward, with a chance of achieving
something, even if we still die.  And I’m going forward.  I’d appreciate it if
you would support us.”
    “What do you want us to do, Lieutenant?”
    “Leave enough people there to keep up some fire
on the Cacas, while keeping to the best cover that they can.  Then send the
rest of them around to this position.”
    “You think this is going to work, Walborski?”
    I sure hope so.  Because if it doesn’t, there
won’t be enough left of us to make a nanite.   “I can’t guarantee that it will work,
but if you have a better plan, tell me about it now.”
    “We’ll follow your lead, Ranger,” said the
Agent after a moment’s hesitation.  “I’ll be bringing my people around as fast
as we can.”
    The link cut off, and Walborski ran around to
the door that Satrusalya had opened, following the rest of his men into the
chamber.  The Commando had opened the hatch in the far corner that led into a
ventilation duct.  The station had an enormously extensive ventilation system,
with state of the art security systems that were in place to prevent just what
they were attempting.  But, since they weren’t the enemy, those systems would
not be engaged to stop them.
    “I’ll lead the way, if that’s OK, sir,” said
Satrusalya, nodding toward the opening.
    “Go ahead, PO,” agreed Walborski.  “You know
this shipboard stuff much better than I do.  Just get us behind them, and I’ll
be happy.”
    *   
*     *
    “We’ve gotten two of them, Doctor,” said Marine
General in charge of trying to boot the Cacas off the station.
    “What about the other two?” asked Lucille Yu,
sitting on the edge of her seat as she stared at the holo schematic that showed
one of the outer lower cables cleared, as well as the bomb set to the other
side of the lower central cable.  Unfortunately, the bomb set up at the other
outer lower cable was armed and ready, as was the other