Chapter 252: The Escape
Elsewhere, Lieutenant Colonel Cross and her adjutant, escorted by two patrol officers, hurried to a nearby gunboat. Just as she was about to climb aboard, she heard cries from behind her.
It turned out that the ships were equipped with an access control system. Normally, these could be unlocked remotely via the base network, but with the energy system disabled, the administrative and medical staff lacked the required permissions to open the hatches.
Cross paused, withdrawing her foot from the ship’s steps. After a moment of deliberation, she gritted her teeth and turned to run toward the other ships, ignoring her adjutant’s calls to stop.
As the highest-ranking officer at the base, Cross had the authority to override all systems, but she needed to be physically close to the ships to do so.
Fortunately, the ships were not too far apart, and the Swarm was pinned down at the hatch by the intense firepower of the wounded patrol team. They had switched their weapons to explosive energy mode, which caused unstable energy beams to detonate on impact.
This mode, while less effective at penetrating the hatch, created a barrage that kept the Swarm at bay. The hatch held firm under the chaotic red energy blasts, buying Cross precious time to unlock the other ships.
Even so, the hole in the hatch was visibly expanding. Cross had to move faster.
Luckily, despite her status as a “connected” officer, she had genuine talent and was a graduate of an elite command academy. Her physical conditioning was impeccable.
Within two minutes, both the transport ships and gunboats began to lift off, and Cross returned to her original gunboat.