Sarah and Jacob started pounding at the door, screaming at no one or nothing in particular, their shouts echoed throughout the building, announcing our presence to every escaped creature in the lab. The little boy hid behind my leg, hiding his face in my pants leg. I don't know what caused it and  I wasn't sure why I did it, but I draped my tail over his shoulder and pulled him close to me, which seemed to calm him down. The security guard shouldered his 240 Bravo and stepped in between Jacob and Sarah, pulling them away from the door.

“Shut up”, he scolded, “I told you they get smarter!”

“Question”, I said, “who is they?”

“Every single thing in this lab”, the guard answered, “we were researching a group of parasites that can take over most biological life forms. They get smarter the harder you come at them, a little like the predators. Their senses develop depending on how their prey acts. Meaning if they make a lot of noise, their hearing develops. If they don't make any noise, like you, then they learn how to hunt by vibrations.”

“Then we need to escape”, I said, “right now.”

“Are you blind and deaf you fucking dome head?”, Jacob snapped, “the entire facility is in a Class 1 quarantine. No way in or out.”

“Then we'll blast our way out”, I said, “I have enough explosives to level a mountain.”

“Fat chance”, the guard said, “the walls are 4 inch thick plate steel with ball bearings in between them.”

I sighed, “why are humans always building shit like that? What's the upside? ...okay, security guy, what's your name?”

“Allen”, he said.

“Where's the safest place we can hide right now?”, I asked.

“That would  be...”, Allen thought for a minute, “the lounge, there's food and water and it's right next to the security room.”

“Then that's where we're going”, I said.

“Hell no”, Jacob said, “no way are we following your orders you Chitin covered freak.”

“Are you hoping some other freak will come along and save your skin asshole?”, Allen asked, “you know before you get eaten?”

Jacob started to protest, sighed and gave up, scowling at me.

“Everyone single file”, I said, “first the kid, then the scientists. Allen bring up the rear and keep that Bravo of yours ready to rock, it's the biggest gun we have right now.”

“Got it boss”, Allen said pulling his 240 off his shoulder.

I shouldered my rifle in exchange for my sword, grabbed my flashlight and we started down the hall. I led the scientists down the hallway we had come to the large, circular atrium. I herded them all to the middle where we all crouched.

“Okay”, I said, “Allen, which hall do we go down?”

“Hang on a minute”, Allen said pulling out his PDA. He set down his 240 and pulled up what looked like a map, “down that hallway about 500 feet and to the right, second door on the left.”

“Lets go”, I said standing, “it's dark down that way, so hold on to my tail, at least that way you won't get lost.”

The little boy didn't hesitate to take a hold on it. Sarah and the other scientist didn't either, Jacob, however, gave me a dirty look.

“Maybe you'd rather take your chances with what ever worm is waiting to crawl into your brain in the dark?”, I asked.

Jacob growled at me and grabbed my tail where it met the razor.

“I got NV so I'll be fine”, Allen said lowering his goggles.

“Let's roll”, I said as I started down the hallway. I put my flashlight away and drew my Automag to use alongside my sword, relying on my telekinetic abilities to see. The hallway, like the one I'd been down earlier, was fill of doors, some ope, slightly ajar or closed up. Also like the previous ones, there was nothing alive expect some bacteria in any of them. I slowly walked the scientists down the hall and to a 4 way intersection. To the right was the lounge, it was a three windowed room. Inside I could see a counter with a microwave, a coffee maker, a sink and several cupboards.  Just to the back was the security room. The heavy plate steel walls were blocking my telekinesis, so I couldn't see inside. Down any of the three hallways was nothing but more rooms, all of which were labs, and empty of any life or survivors.

“Allen”, I said, “watch them, I'm gonna clear the security room.”

“You'll need this”, Allen said holding up a small black card and tossing it at me. I caught it in mid air. The card was about the size of detonator. It had Allen's picture on it and had a gold in several, equal lengths spaces about a millimeter apart.

“Your security card?”, I asked.

“You'll need it to un lock the security room”, he said. 

“Right”, I said putting it in my jacket, “I'll be back in a minute.”

I holstered both my weapons and went to the lounge door. I still couldn't see inside the security room. Not sure I like that. I'll bet there's something living in there. The lounge door wasn't locked, so I slipped in without to much trouble. The front of the lounge had a Samsung flatscreen hanging in the corner with a DVD player manufactured by the same brand mounted into the side of the wall below it, along with an Xbox 3. Do I still have Forza Autosport 2 in my back pack? In front of the TV was a wide, four seater sofa that had a snack tray in between each seat and there was a coffee table in front of the sofa with two bean bag chairs in front of that. Off to the side was a Samsung Apex 4 PC that was in sleep mode. On the same counter was a Samsung microwave and above that were a few cupboards.

In the back of the lounge, was a small hallway that had a door to two different restrooms, which were empty and then to a second room. There was a couch against the back wall and a small coffee table in front of it.. In the opposite side of the room, there was another counter that had a few cupboards above and underneath it. There was a water jug and dispenser with cups next to it beside another microwave. In the middle of the room was a metal table that had three chairs at each side and one at the end. There was also a napkin dispenser and a salt and pepper shaker. In a nook between the cupboards was a large, Samsung refrigerator. There was a gas fired stove in the set in the counter top as well. Might come in handy. The floor in both rooms was a heavy carpet that would make a more comfortable stay, seeing as how I assumed we'd be here a while.

In the back of the lounge was another heavy steel door that had a glowing sign that said, “security” on it. I grabbed my FAL off my back and folded the stock in before swiping the card and kicking the door in. A quick telekinetic burst showed me that the room was empty. The room was a sizable ten by ten. In the front of the room there was the control panel which held all kinds of dimly glowing dials. On left, there was a cage that held all kinds of guns and below them were lockers that held boxes and boxes of ammunition. To the right were lockers. I wasn't sure what they had, but I guessed uniforms and other personal items of the guards. I placed Allen's card in my pocket and left the room, placing my pack on the couch in the lounge as I passed.

“Hey guys”, I whispered sticking my head out the door, “get in here.”

I heard rustling and soon footsteps. I counted as the five of them came in and then shut the door behind them. Allen ran straight to the security room and I followed him.

“Awesome”, he said, “the console still has power...which means I can do this.”

He flipped a few switches and there was a grinding sound. I left the room to see what was going on and found that metal shutters had been drawn over the lounges windows, a few seconds later, the lights came on, revealing a tan painted room with blue carpet and brown furniture. In the better light, I was able to get a better look at the people who hired me to protect them.

Sarah was a short, 5'9 woman with green eyes and brown hair. Her skin was tan and she had a wedding ring on her finger that had a couple of birth stones on it. She was wearing a long, white lab coat with silver patches on the shoulders and blue scrubs underneath it.

Jacob was a tall, 6'3 man with almost no hair and blue eyes. He was wearing basically the same thing as Sarah, expect his coat had red patches instead of silver, signaling to me that they were a ranking system, a little like how Primal Xeno's were seated in power based on combat skill and loyalty to the Queen.

The third scientist had red hair and blue eyes. It looked a little weird, but it worked for him. He had gold patches on his shoulders, which seemed to indicate that he was a lead scientist.

The little boy appeared to be around ten or so. He had black hair that hung down in his face and neon green eyes. He was dressed in a red shirt and blue jeans with old sneakers. I could tell just by looking in his eyes that he was deathly afraid of what was going on.

I walked back into the security room where Allen was unlocking the armory. He was dressed in a black security uniform with a grey camouflage vest that held several boxes of ammunition for his 240 Bravo. He had brown eyes and blond hair and a scar that traced across his neck. He had a Desert Eagle in a holster on his leg and a gold badge on his vest that read “Head Of Security.” Wonder where the scar came from?

“Are those shutters plate steel too?”, I asked.

“Sort of”, Allen said as he screwed around with the locks, “there a Tungsten 3 Titanium 5 alloy, even Chitin can't get through that stuff.”

“So in other words the door is the only way in and out?”, I asked.

“Yep”, Allen said as he unlocked the cabinet and pulled out a huge, double barreled rifle.

“I thought you might like this”, he said handing it to me.

“What is it?”, I asked.

The gun was extremely heavy. The barrels were heavy steel and the weapon was out fitted with a polymer stock. There was a tactical rail that ran the entire length of the barrels and was playing host to a pair of Magpul fixed shotgun sights as well as an Eo Tech high power red dot with a 1x-4x zoom. There was a “potato” grip clinging to the bottom of the rifle and there was an polymer shell on the side of the gun that held six, enormous bullets. This gun is....big.

“It's a Tactical High-Power”, Allen said, “we keep it around because from time to time something big gets out. As well armed as we are, the creatures here are smart, some are smarter than humans even.”

“How much ammo for it?”, I asked.

Allen pulled out a metal box, “two boxes containing 30 rounds each.”

“Caliber?”

“950 Tyrannosaurs Magnum”, Allen said, “25% larger than the 20mm Long Range Cartridge.”

“Biggest gun you got and you only have 60 rounds at a time?”, I asked.

“Well with that monster if it's not dead in 2 shots you probably shouldn't be shooting at it”, Allen said.

My tail swished behind me. If I had eyes I would have rolled them, “fair enough. Can you disable the quarantine protocols?”

“No”, Allen said, “not from here. For that I'd need the master override password, which only the Security Master has. And the creatures would all have to be dead.”

“And I'm assuming that it will look at me and go “dangerous”. Am I right?”, I asked.

“No”, Allen said, “other...less primal Xenos have worked here in the past. Most of them were extremely friendly, just like you, others not so much, but it was enough to resister them as non hostile in the system.

“K Classes aren't usually bad”, I said, “It's the primal ones you gotta watch out for. Anyway, what are we gonna have to do to get outta here?”

“First”, Allen said, “the main generator has gotta be fixed. Secondly, I imagine that we'll be here a while, so we'll need to gather food and water as well as any survivors we cross. Only after a set amount of time or after the creatures have been captured or killed off can we escape.”

“Sounds like a task”, I answered, “what should we handle first?”

“Food and water”, Allen said, “the outbreak started weeks ago, none of us had much to eat since.”

“I'll handle that shortly”, I said, “for now, I'm gonna check on the others.”

“I'll see what I can do from this console”, Allen said turning back to it, “that locker at the end of the row is empty if you wanna use it to stash a few things, were gonna be here a while. By the way, hand me your PDA and i'll put a map on it.” 

“Sure”, I said handing it to him. How long is a while?

I left my FAL in the locker and slung the High-Power over my shoulder, walking back into the lounge. Sarah was sitting on the couch next to the security room, Jacob was sitting a table in the kitchen and the little boy and the other scientist were occupying the two bean bag chairs.

“Listen guys”, I said, “Allen thinks we'll be here a while.”

“How long is a while dome head?”, Jacob asked.

“I didn't ask”, I answered, “Sarah, my FAL is loaded and in the locker, I'll leave my magazines here and there's an AK-74U in my backpack, but you'll need to put it together.”

“Got it”, she said, “where are you going?”

“I'm going out to find as much food and water as I can”, I answered, “if I'm not back in an hour, then I'm probably dead.”

The little boy looked at me and spoke for the first time, “but your not going to die are you?”

His voice came out raspy and scratchy sounding. Under use maybe. I remember not speaking for months with vocal cord damage and when I finally got it back, it was raspy and deep. They said that's what all Xeno's should sound like.

“No”, I answered as assuredly as I could, “I'll be back. I promise.”

The little boy hugged me tightly, as I had in the lobby, I draped my tail over his shoulder. I wasn't sure why he seemed to feel so safe when I was around him. He acts as if I'm his father...I'm not sure that I mind. I mean it certainly doesn't feel bad. Jacob walked over and pryed him off me.

“Don't touch him”, Jacob spat, “I'll not have what ever diseases you have infecting him.”

“You need to chill out”, the third scientist, who, by his name tag was named Tyler, interjected.

“Butt out Tyler”, Jacob said preventing the boy from even looking at me. What's wrong with this asshole?

Sighing, I walked back into the security room.

“Your PDA is ready”, Allen said handing it to me, “I put the map in a folder on your home tab called Lab Data. I also upgraded the software to Apex 11, now it will automatically record data on any creature you come across as well as any weapons you may find.”

I nodded and placed it in my vest, “nice, I do like learning new things. By the way, if I'm not back in one hour, assume that I'm dead and come up with plan B.”

“You are gonna come back right?”, Allen asked, “we won't survive much longer without you.”

I nodded, “I gave the kid my word, and now I'm giving it to you.”

Allen nodded and turned back to the console. I left the mag pouches and the ammo for my FAL in the locker and replaced it with 14 of the rounds for the High-Power. I walked back through the lounge and opened the door, stepping out into the dark hallways.
Sarah and Jacob started pounding at the door, screaming at no one or nothing in particular, their shouts echoed throughout the building, announcing our presence to every escaped creature in the lab. The little boy hid behind my leg, hiding his face in my pants leg. I don't know what caused it and  I wasn't sure why I did it, but I draped my tail over his shoulder and pulled him close to me, which seemed to calm him down. The security guard shouldered his 240 Bravo and stepped in between Jacob and Sarah, pulling them away from the door.

“Shut up”, he scolded, “I told you they get smarter!”

“Question”, I said, “who is they?”

“Every single thing in this lab”, the guard answered, “we were researching a group of parasites that can take over most biological life forms. They get smarter the harder you come at them, a little like the predators. Their senses develop depending on how their prey acts. Meaning if they make a lot of noise, their hearing develops. If they don't make any noise, like you, then they learn how to hunt by vibrations.”

“Then we need to escape”, I said, “right now.”

“Are you blind and deaf you fucking dome head?”, Jacob snapped, “the entire facility is in a Class 1 quarantine. No way in or out.”

“Then we'll blast our way out”, I said, “I have enough explosives to level a mountain.”

“Fat chance”, the guard said, “the walls are 4 inch thick plate steel with ball bearings in between them.”

I sighed, “why are humans always building shit like that? What's the upside? ...okay, security guy, what's your name?”

“Allen”, he said.

“Where's the safest place we can hide right now?”, I asked.

“That would  be...”, Allen thought for a minute, “the lounge, there's food and water and it's right next to the security room.”

“Then that's where we're going”, I said.

“Hell no”, Jacob said, “no way are we following your orders you Chitin covered freak.”

“Are you hoping some other freak will come along and save your skin asshole?”, Allen asked, “you know before you get eaten?”

Jacob started to protest, sighed and gave up, scowling at me.

“Everyone single file”, I said, “first the kid, then the scientists. Allen bring up the rear and keep that Bravo of yours ready to rock, it's the biggest gun we have right now.”

“Got it boss”, Allen said pulling his 240 off his shoulder.

I shouldered my rifle in exchange for my sword, grabbed my flashlight and we started down the hall. I led the scientists down the hallway we had come to the large, circular atrium. I herded them all to the middle where we all crouched.

“Okay”, I said, “Allen, which hall do we go down?”

“Hang on a minute”, Allen said pulling out his PDA. He set down his 240 and pulled up what looked like a map, “down that hallway about 500 feet and to the right, second door on the left.”

“Lets go”, I said standing, “it's dark down that way, so hold on to my tail, at least that way you won't get lost.”

The little boy didn't hesitate to take a hold on it. Sarah and the other scientist didn't either, Jacob, however, gave me a dirty look.

“Maybe you'd rather take your chances with what ever worm is waiting to crawl into your brain in the dark?”, I asked.

Jacob growled at me and grabbed my tail where it met the razor.

“I got NV so I'll be fine”, Allen said lowering his goggles.

“Let's roll”, I said as I started down the hallway. I put my flashlight away and drew my Automag to use alongside my sword, relying on my telekinetic abilities to see. The hallway, like the one I'd been down earlier, was fill of doors, some ope, slightly ajar or closed up. Also like the previous ones, there was nothing alive expect some bacteria in any of them. I slowly walked the scientists down the hall and to a 4 way intersection. To the right was the lounge, it was a three windowed room. Inside I could see a counter with a microwave, a coffee maker, a sink and several cupboards.  Just to the back was the security room. The heavy plate steel walls were blocking my telekinesis, so I couldn't see inside. Down any of the three hallways was nothing but more rooms, all of which were labs, and empty of any life or survivors.

“Allen”, I said, “watch them, I'm gonna clear the security room.”

“You'll need this”, Allen said holding up a small black card and tossing it at me. I caught it in mid air. The card was about the size of detonator. It had Allen's picture on it and had a gold in several, equal lengths spaces about a millimeter apart.

“Your security card?”, I asked.

“You'll need it to un lock the security room”, he said. 

“Right”, I said putting it in my jacket, “I'll be back in a minute.”

I holstered both my weapons and went to the lounge door. I still couldn't see inside the security room. Not sure I like that. I'll bet there's something living in there. The lounge door wasn't locked, so I slipped in without to much trouble. The front of the lounge had a Samsung flatscreen hanging in the corner with a DVD player manufactured by the same brand mounted into the side of the wall below it, along with an Xbox 3. Do I still have Forza Autosport 2 in my back pack? In front of the TV was a wide, four seater sofa that had a snack tray in between each seat and there was a coffee table in front of the sofa with two bean bag chairs in front of that. Off to the side was a Samsung Apex 4 PC that was in sleep mode. On the same counter was a Samsung microwave and above that were a few cupboards.

In the back of the lounge, was a small hallway that had a door to two different restrooms, which were empty and then to a second room. There was a couch against the back wall and a small coffee table in front of it.. In the opposite side of the room, there was another counter that had a few cupboards above and underneath it. There was a water jug and dispenser with cups next to it beside another microwave. In the middle of the room was a metal table that had three chairs at each side and one at the end. There was also a napkin dispenser and a salt and pepper shaker. In a nook between the cupboards was a large, Samsung refrigerator. There was a gas fired stove in the set in the counter top as well. Might come in handy. The floor in both rooms was a heavy carpet that would make a more comfortable stay, seeing as how I assumed we'd be here a while.

In the back of the lounge was another heavy steel door that had a glowing sign that said, “security” on it. I grabbed my FAL off my back and folded the stock in before swiping the card and kicking the door in. A quick telekinetic burst showed me that the room was empty. The room was a sizable ten by ten. In the front of the room there was the control panel which held all kinds of dimly glowing dials. On left, there was a cage that held all kinds of guns and below them were lockers that held boxes and boxes of ammunition. To the right were lockers. I wasn't sure what they had, but I guessed uniforms and other personal items of the guards. I placed Allen's card in my pocket and left the room, placing my pack on the couch in the lounge as I passed.

“Hey guys”, I whispered sticking my head out the door, “get in here.”

I heard rustling and soon footsteps. I counted as the five of them came in and then shut the door behind them. Allen ran straight to the security room and I followed him.

“Awesome”, he said, “the console still has power...which means I can do this.”

He flipped a few switches and there was a grinding sound. I left the room to see what was going on and found that metal shutters had been drawn over the lounges windows, a few seconds later, the lights came on, revealing a tan painted room with blue carpet and brown furniture. In the better light, I was able to get a better look at the people who hired me to protect them.

Sarah was a short, 5'9 woman with green eyes and brown hair. Her skin was tan and she had a wedding ring on her finger that had a couple of birth stones on it. She was wearing a long, white lab coat with silver patches on the shoulders and blue scrubs underneath it.

Jacob was a tall, 6'3 man with almost no hair and blue eyes. He was wearing basically the same thing as Sarah, expect his coat had red patches instead of silver, signaling to me that they were a ranking system, a little like how Primal Xeno's were seated in power based on combat skill and loyalty to the Queen.

The third scientist had red hair and blue eyes. It looked a little weird, but it worked for him. He had gold patches on his shoulders, which seemed to indicate that he was a lead scientist.

The little boy appeared to be around ten or so. He had black hair that hung down in his face and neon green eyes. He was dressed in a red shirt and blue jeans with old sneakers. I could tell just by looking in his eyes that he was deathly afraid of what was going on.

I walked back into the security room where Allen was unlocking the armory. He was dressed in a black security uniform with a grey camouflage vest that held several boxes of ammunition for his 240 Bravo. He had brown eyes and blond hair and a scar that traced across his neck. He had a Desert Eagle in a holster on his leg and a gold badge on his vest that read “Head Of Security.” Wonder where the scar came from?

“Are those shutters plate steel too?”, I asked.

“Sort of”, Allen said as he screwed around with the locks, “there a Tungsten 3 Titanium 5 alloy, even Chitin can't get through that stuff.”

“So in other words the door is the only way in and out?”, I asked.

“Yep”, Allen said as he unlocked the cabinet and pulled out a huge, double barreled rifle.

“I thought you might like this”, he said handing it to me.

“What is it?”, I asked.

The gun was extremely heavy. The barrels were heavy steel and the weapon was out fitted with a polymer stock. There was a tactical rail that ran the entire length of the barrels and was playing host to a pair of Magpul fixed shotgun sights as well as an Eo Tech high power red dot with a 1x-4x zoom. There was a “potato” grip clinging to the bottom of the rifle and there was an polymer shell on the side of the gun that held six, enormous bullets. This gun is....big.

“It's a Tactical High-Power”, Allen said, “we keep it around because from time to time something big gets out. As well armed as we are, the creatures here are smart, some are smarter than humans even.”

“How much ammo for it?”, I asked.

Allen pulled out a metal box, “two boxes containing 30 rounds each.”

“Caliber?”

“950 Tyrannosaurs Magnum”, Allen said, “25% larger than the 20mm Long Range Cartridge.”

“Biggest gun you got and you only have 60 rounds at a time?”, I asked.

“Well with that monster if it's not dead in 2 shots you probably shouldn't be shooting at it”, Allen said.

My tail swished behind me. If I had eyes I would have rolled them, “fair enough. Can you disable the quarantine protocols?”

“No”, Allen said, “not from here. For that I'd need the master override password, which only the Security Master has. And the creatures would all have to be dead.”

“And I'm assuming that it will look at me and go “dangerous”. Am I right?”, I asked.

“No”, Allen said, “other...less primal Xenos have worked here in the past. Most of them were extremely friendly, just like you, others not so much, but it was enough to resister them as non hostile in the system.

“K Classes aren't usually bad”, I said, “It's the primal ones you gotta watch out for. Anyway, what are we gonna have to do to get outta here?”

“First”, Allen said, “the main generator has gotta be fixed. Secondly, I imagine that we'll be here a while, so we'll need to gather food and water as well as any survivors we cross. Only after a set amount of time or after the creatures have been captured or killed off can we escape.”

“Sounds like a task”, I answered, “what should we handle first?”

“Food and water”, Allen said, “the outbreak started weeks ago, none of us had much to eat since.”

“I'll handle that shortly”, I said, “for now, I'm gonna check on the others.”

“I'll see what I can do from this console”, Allen said turning back to it, “that locker at the end of the row is empty if you wanna use it to stash a few things, were gonna be here a while. By the way, hand me your PDA and i'll put a map on it.” 

“Sure”, I said handing it to him. How long is a while?

I left my FAL in the locker and slung the High-Power over my shoulder, walking back into the lounge. Sarah was sitting on the couch next to the security room, Jacob was sitting a table in the kitchen and the little boy and the other scientist were occupying the two bean bag chairs.

“Listen guys”, I said, “Allen thinks we'll be here a while.”

“How long is a while dome head?”, Jacob asked.

“I didn't ask”, I answered, “Sarah, my FAL is loaded and in the locker, I'll leave my magazines here and there's an AK-74U in my backpack, but you'll need to put it together.”

“Got it”, she said, “where are you going?”

“I'm going out to find as much food and water as I can”, I answered, “if I'm not back in an hour, then I'm probably dead.”

The little boy looked at me and spoke for the first time, “but your not going to die are you?”

His voice came out raspy and scratchy sounding. Under use maybe. I remember not speaking for months with vocal cord damage and when I finally got it back, it was raspy and deep. They said that's what all Xeno's should sound like.

“No”, I answered as assuredly as I could, “I'll be back. I promise.”

The little boy hugged me tightly, as I had in the lobby, I draped my tail over his shoulder. I wasn't sure why he seemed to feel so safe when I was around him. He acts as if I'm his father...I'm not sure that I mind. I mean it certainly doesn't feel bad. Jacob walked over and pryed him off me.

“Don't touch him”, Jacob spat, “I'll not have what ever diseases you have infecting him.”

“You need to chill out”, the third scientist, who, by his name tag was named Tyler, interjected.

“Butt out Tyler”, Jacob said preventing the boy from even looking at me. What's wrong with this asshole?

Sighing, I walked back into the security room.

“Your PDA is ready”, Allen said handing it to me, “I put the map in a folder on your home tab called Lab Data. I also upgraded the software to Apex 11, now it will automatically record data on any creature you come across as well as any weapons you may find.”

I nodded and placed it in my vest, “nice, I do like learning new things. By the way, if I'm not back in one hour, assume that I'm dead and come up with plan B.”

“You are gonna come back right?”, Allen asked, “we won't survive much longer without you.”

I nodded, “I gave the kid my word, and now I'm giving it to you.”

Allen nodded and turned back to the console. I left the mag pouches and the ammo for my FAL in the locker and replaced it with 14 of the rounds for the High-Power. I walked back through the lounge and opened the door, stepping out into the dark hallways.