Chapter 3-Empty Handed

<p> I cannot believe that they ordered us to take NFS NorthStar crew members hostage. Plus we were supposed to find something in Drako's lab. Of course they told us very little of what we were looking for.

<p> "James Cathaway," I heard Jake call.

<p> "Yes, sir?" I answered.

<p> "Is your team ready?"

<p> "Yes, sir."

<p> "Good..Then begin."

<p> My team was in place, so we quickly cut all the ships power controllers, including backup power. We knew this could cause alarm in the crew, for there were no warnings. Beside that point, we were not of the federation, we didn't belong where we were.

<p> We heard people rushing to the main computer room. We had to act quickly. Before we could think, we were taking hostages and dragging them all to waiting buses. I knew that Drako was in the middle of a meeting with the Aquilian High Councel. Those POS bastards, giving the human-Mewtwo hybrid information. Now he will expect something from us, and be ready to fight.

<p> We wandered trhough the ship, using arm-lights for our lighting source, snatching up crew members and hauling them away. I wondered why they wanted to take the crew hostage, and how long that would last before the federation assisted their earth borne vessels. To be honest, I didn't like the idea of doing this, but I have to follow orders.

<p> I took a small group of four people to Drako's lab. Little did anyone realize that without power, it would be difficult to do anything in that lab. I'm not mentioning how hard it was to actually get around in the ship. We had to manually open what is usually automatic doors.

<p> When we finally got to the lab, it was darker than dark. We could not gain access to anything, and the main storage areas were sealed shut. We tried several times to pry the seals open, but we failed, somehow setting off some sort of alarm. Little did we realize the labs alarm system wasn't even connected to ships power. We quickly left upon hearing the alarm beeps.

<p> "Holy shit, what was that?" Genesis asked.

<p> "Geez Gen, watch the mouth. But I think thats an alarm. Move out!" I ordered.

<p> We gathered all the troops together out on the main deck. That took about an hour. The buses quickly drove away, taking the new hostages to the base. We had three team members waiting to see if any other federation crew came out from below decks. They waited another hour or so, before we fully cleared out.

<p> I drove a balck van, carrying the small team back to the base. It wasn't very far, we were all based out of the Seattle underground labs. The central lab being the main base. As to why we were assigned to this project made no sense to us. Most of my friends were sent off to Iraq. Why did the eyes of terror have to befall upon this country?

<p> I pulled the van into an unmarked underground parking lot downtown. This was our new "oficial" parking garage. Only a short distance to the back entrance into the main lab. I was regretting the fact that we were indeed "empty handed," and I knew we were not going to hear the end of it.

<p> "Well, did you find it?" Jake asked as we entered.

<p> "Sir, there were new locks put in place in that lab," I gestured, hoping it would be good enough.

<p> "WHAT!!!!!! You mean you FAILED!!!" Jake screamed.

<p> "Yes, Sir."

<p> "WE NEED THAT ITEM FOR THE EXPERIMENT." God, he was pissed. "THIS ONLY MAKES THINGS MORE DIFFICULT. NO 'NEW LOCKS' SHOULD HAVE STOPPED YOU!!!!"

<p> "The lab had a backup security system."

<p> "I told you to kill all power to the ship!"

<p> "We did, sir. Apparently the lab has a seperate backup power source."

<p> "WELL, THEN!!! We will just HAVE to re-lookup the ships schematics."

<p>

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<p>

<p> After noting the military men clearing out, and getting the ship back online, Stephen, Stephanie, and myself went to the ships lab. Dat3, the labs computer system, was still offline. I went to a small control box, labeled "Biohazard..Viral Chemicals," opened it, and flipped a few swtiches.

<p> It took only seconds for the lights and systems to come online in the lab. Dat3 came online, noting her trinomic boot up sound.

<p> "Dat3, access your backup security protocols." I ordered.

<p> "Yes, sir." she respoded. "Sir, I have had unauthorized visitors. Fortunately, the new security protocols prevented them from accessing any storage panels."

<p> "Thank you, Dat3."

<p> "Anytime, sir."

<p> I knew they would be back, so I kept the labs new updates out of the schematics. Just so they will not know about the new security protocols. This will keep them from my new PokePotions. Especially since some of the potions are still ver strong, and must be used properly. I don't know the consequences for messing up the dosages. Just to make sure, we checked the storage compartments, finding everything in place.

<p> At least that was taken care of....For now.