The clang of the cell door closing and auto-locking echoed through the hangar. Nairobi pushed her back against the concrete wall and let her body collapse, sliding down to a seated position. She let out a long sigh, rubbing her eyes with her paws as she did.
“Just another day in paradise,” her cellmate, Jax, grinned as she sprawled out on the thin mattress of the bottom bunk of their bed.
A halfhearted smile cracked the wolf girl’s lips. She knew Jax was just trying to lighten the mood, but it was hard for her to relate to her human companion at times. Jax had been in captivity for just a year, for Nairobi it had been most of her young life.
She looked up to the cell’s lone window. Faint stars twinkled in the distance. The sun had gone down hours ago, while she and Jax had been working on some final touches on the Federation’s newest ship. Nairobi was honestly very proud of the work she had put into the ship, she had worked hard to implement some new technologies to make this ship faster, stronger, better than any ship the Federation has currently in their arsenal. She had also memorized most of the blueprint for the ship. Nairobi knew every entrance, every gps tracker, every button and knob and it’s importance. She made sure of it. 14 years of captivity had weighed on her and taught her to remember every bit of information she could. When the time was right, she was ready to strike.
Jax sneezed, startling and breaking the young engineer’s concentration.
“Jumpy tonight, eh Puppy?” A voice came from outside the cell.
Jax sat up, meeting the gaze of a young, pink haired soldier. It was Tylos, one of the private contract soldiers who had been hired as extra help while the ship inched closer to completion.
“Leave her alone, Ty.” Jax yawned, seeing Nairobi turn away from the guard. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Something better than guard you two lovely ladies?” He grinned, one hand on the bars the other holding a Federation rifle at his hip. “Never.”
Jax felt the blood rush to her cheeks, embarrassed but deep down, flattered. Tylos was always hanging back from the other guards, either flirting with the female mechanics or trying to start some kind of trouble. She often wondered why he always came back to herself. She opened her mouth to boast a snarky reply, but was interrupted by a booming voice that came over the loud speakers.
“All Federation personnel report to your stations! Report to your superiors for further orders!”
“Guess you better scram.” Nairobi growled, not turning to face the guard.
Ty smirked, winking at Jax. “Aww, I’ll be back soon, Puppy. Try not to miss me too much.” He called behind him as he left.
Jax turned to her cellmate, “He’s not that bad, Nai.”
“There’s something off about him,” Nairobi huffed, pulling her legs in and resting her chin on her knees, “Anyone who works for the Federation can’t be trusted.”
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, both savoring the peace while it lasted. Nairobi let her eyes close, just for a moment.
————————
Boots clicking echoed down the hall as Tylos approached the private contractor lounge, a conference room that had been temporarily set up with an espresso drink machine, soda fountain, snacks, weapons, riot gear. The slender young man put his hands behind his head as he entered the room, stretching and taking a deep breath, breathing out contently.
‘What a fuckin’ life...’ He thought, grinning as stopped at the espresso machine. Grabbing a cup and placing it under the machine, he pressed a button and the machine whirred. He turned to lean his back against the counter as the cup filled with hot coffee. Guards filed into the room, taking a seat at the long conference table, or standing around talking amongst themselves.
“What the fuck‘re you so happy about?” A large gruff man with a bushy beard and arms covered in tattoos eyed Ty’s devilish grin.
Ty grabbed the cup of coffee as the machine turned off and lifted it to his lips, blowing across to cool it off.
“Oh, nothing. Just admiring some of our lovely young prisoners-“
“They’re workforce,” Another guard hissed, “Not prisoners!”
Tylos shrugged, taking a seat next to him. He didn’t get a chance to respond before their captain entered the room, walking briskly to the head of the table and them slamming his fists on the hard wood. Every head turned to face the man as he spoke.
“There has been a situation. Federation officers are in pursuit of criminals. May be armed,” He held up a remote in his right hand, clicking the button brought up surveillance footage the drones had taken of the group.
“We’ve been asked to wait for potential distribution to aid assistance. All guards hold position until further orders are given. I’ll read your location assignments...”
Tylos had to frown to hide his widening grin. He had infiltrated this group of guards over two months ago. The work was easy, the ladies loved a man in uniform and sometimes you get to be there when the trouble starts so you can cause more.
“Fleet, Tylos - Back to classified workforce personnel. Report over walkie every 15 minutes.”
“Aye aye, sir!”
——————-
A faint alarm grew louder and louder, startling Nairobi awake. She scrambled to the top bunk, waking Jax in the process. Out the window, she could see drones passing by, lighting up darkened windows and alleyways. ‘What could be happening...’ she wondered.
“What’s happening?” Jax joined her on the top bunk.
Before she could answer, something caught Nairobi’s eye. Over by the Energy Cell building, what was it? She pointed that direction and Jax’s gaze followed. Jax narrowed her eyes, moving closer to the window.
The girls watched the shadows as the seemed to move closer. Nairobi felt her fur bristle all the way down her spine. The shadows moved closer, revealing four figures. No, three? They continue moving closer. Two armed guards rounded the corner on patrol, she watched one figure take out both. Nairobi felt her heart stop as she realized what was happening.
“It’s time!” She scrambled out of bed, leaping to the ground and landing on all fours.
“Time for what?!” Jax hollered, looking back at the wolf before watching the figures slip out of view. “What’s happening?!”
Nairobi pulled out a bobby-pin she’d hidden in her hair and quickly bent it, unlocking the door in a matter of seconds. “Jax they’re going to steal the ship! They need us! We can get out of here!!”
The two ran out of the cell and down the hall towards the hangar where the new ship was housed. They quickly brushed past a few closed doors, trying not to worry if a guard was hiding. There wasn’t much time and Nairobi couldn’t bear to get left behind. A faint squeaking noise grew louder as the approached the end of the hall. Nairobi grabbed Jax’s hand, running as fast as her furry little legs could vary her. They were going to have to just run past whoever was there. The two girls rounded the corner only to find Tylos pushing a Federation Beta Mecha suit on its personal hanger.
The girls stopped in their tracks, fumbling over their feet.
“Ty!?” Jax exclaimed, out of breath, “Wha-?”
The guard impersonator took out his keys, unlocking the padlock that kept the suit locked in place. He dropped the keys and put his hands in the air, surrendering playfully. Ty met Nairobi’s gaze, who nodded understanding. She ran to the mech suit, unlocking a hidden panel and pressing the buttons inside in a sequence. The suit lit up.
“Jax, get in!” Nairobi commanded.
Jax didn’t need any further instruction. She climbed up and into the suit, sliding her hands into place and flexing her fists. The suit responded to her movements effortlessly, flexing its fists as well.
Tylos lowered his arms, removing one of the energy rifles slung across his chest and handing it to Nairobi.
“You know how to use that thing?”
The wolf girl ran her paw across the rifle, checking the ammo and safety before hanging it across her back.
“I helped design this thing.” she scoffed.
“Alright then,” Tylos removed his badge and flung it down the hall. “Let’s fuck shit up!”
“Yeah” Jax pumped her fist to the sky and the three took off toward the hangar. As they approached, Jax punched the air in front of her releasing two small bursts of fire. They crashed into the huge hangar doors and blew it open, leaving a cloud of smoke as the three entered and ran towards the ship.
