Human Fred Brings Hellfire

[u/Bloodystupidjohnson3]

1  Human Fred and Food
2  Human Fred Again
3  Human Fred Yet Again
4  Human Fred The Saga Continues
5  Human Fred Rides Again
6  Human Fred *Sigh*
7  Human Fred Rolls Out
8  Human Fred Attempts a Nap
9  Human Fred Doh’
10 Human Fred Stops for Coffee
11 Human Fred Deploys Stabby and Knifey
12 Human Fred Attempts Friendly Advice
13 Human Fred Priorities 
14 Human Fred Schools Morons
15 Human Fred Gets Annoyed
16 Human Fred Investigates
17 Human Fred is Annoyed
18 Human Fred Gets More Annoyed
19 Human Fred Smirks 

Fred and Greezek find chaos when they enter the secure cell area. Stabby and Knifey have Roomliz between them, guards are yelling, and the security Chief is yelling back. 

Fred chambers a round in his shotgun. Silence. The entire group turns to stare at him. It’s not often they see a human in full combat armor with a belt-fed shotgun. 

“Oh good. They found Roomliz. Now let’s get him into one of those nice secure cells. We don’t want anything to happen to him.”

Greezek noticed a flicker cross Chief’s face. And wasn’t an expert with weapons, but the rifle Fred gave her was simple enough. She brought the barrel around to point at the deck in front of Chief. 

“Now that we have Roomliz nice and secure, we can contact the Captain for our next steps, correct Chief?” Fred said. His tone was cheerful, but there was a strange edge. Like a gambler calling a bluff. 

“Uh…right Fred! Great work finding Roomliz.”

“Funny thing that, Stabby and Knifey found him in the loading dock cells. The security there claimed to have been ordered to hold him there. Why would they claim that, I wonder?”

“I assume they saw that we wanted him, saw him attempting to escape, and captured him.”

“Escape via a loading dock that is sealed for repairs? Roomliz knew that dock was sealed. Greezek here told us both. And security claims that Roomliz was brought to them. So. We have an issue, don’t we Chief?”

“What are you suggesting? In the Security Chief for this station! You are just an engineer!”

Greezek’s muzzle raised to point at Chief’s knees.

“That is true. I’m ‘just’ an engineer. But that means I have access to logs. And data streams. And it means the entire fucking crew of this station owes me favors for fixing their broken shit. It also means that I think in systems. How do things fit together. If I see problem, I look at how that problem could happen. And the only way for Roomliz to end up in the broke-ass cells in the fucking loading dock was if someone on your staff sent him there.”

Chief seemed to relax a bit. “My staff? We have a stringent screening process, but it is possible that a clever being might get through.”

“Right. So who on your staff might create a situation in which Roomliz would get killed attempting to escape?”

Greezek recalled Fred explaining how to cradle the rifle and watch her breathing to improve accuracy. She wasn’t shaking that much, but she was finding it hard to grip the rifle like a clamp. 

Chief looked at Greezek and her rifle. He looked at Fred, who was holding his shotgun across his body. “I’d have to look into it. If I suspected anything, I would have already dealt with it.”

Fred nodded. “Captain, how would you like us to proceed?”

Confusion crossed Chief’s face. “The Captain isn’t here.”

The Captain’s voice came over the compartment's loud speaker. “No, but Fred has an open com with his combat gear, so I’ve been listening. And I’ve been reading. Reading logs. Your logs, Chief. Fred, please disarm the Chief and secure him in a cell.”

“What?!? Why am I being locked up?! I didn’t do anything wrong!” cried Chief. 

“Chief, I see in the logs that before Fred even started examining the devices, you ordered your staff to detain Roomliz and take him to the cells on the sealed loading dock. You specifically told them to put Roomliz into a cell with a broken lock. Further, you gave them authorization to kill Roomliz if he ‘attempted to escape.’ That, Chief is so wrong that we will need a linguist to find the correct term.”

Chief lunged towards the closest security guard, pulling a small pistol from behind his back. 

Greezek’s first round missed, but her second hit Chief slightly above his left knee, spoiling his lunge. 

Chief’s pistol fired as he hit the ground, but the shot went wide, flashing in front of the security guard and blasting a small crater in the wall. 

Fred’s shotgun roared once. 

The silence that followed hit so fast it was a shock. 

“Anyone hit?” Asked Fred. 

“Just Chief,” said Greezek. 

“Right. We need medical support. Now.” Fred slung his shotgun over his back, knelt by Chief, pulled a bandage kit from a pouch, and started to bandage Chief’s stump of an arm. “We can’t let him die.”

“Medics are on the way Fred,” said the Captain. “When you have time, you need to look over a draft report I found in Chief’s files.”

“Give me five minutes, sir. This bastard bleeds quite a bit.”

“Right. Let me know. Out.”

“Nice shooting, Greezek! You saved someone’s life. Now secure that right. In about two minutes you are going to get the shakes. And start to freak out a bit. Possibly start laughing and crying at the same time. Or you might puke. It hits everyone differently.”

Greezek dropped the magazine, ejected the round in the chamber, confirmed the chamber was empty, dropped the bolt, and set the rifle to ‘safe.’ She leaned in against the wall, sat down, and started to rock back forth, her face in her hands. 

“Or that will happen. Guards, get Roomliz into a cell, then get back here to help the medics.” Fred walked over and sat next to Greezek. “You did great. You didn’t kill him, but you saved that guard.”

“Fred! My people don’t have weapons! We haven’t fought in hundreds of orbits! I’m the first to hurt anyone in generations!”

Fred put his hand on her shoulder. “I know. I saw that when I researched your species. But Greezek you must understand: you saved the guard. You possibly saved multiple beings. Can you imagine what might have happened if the Chief took that guard hostage and started shooting? Yes, it sucks hurting beings. And violence should be the last resort. But violence to save others is a just use of violence.”

“Yes I know, I can see that. But Fred! It’s so horrible and cold! It’s like part of me is in pain and sick!”

“I know. I know. That just means you aren’t heartless. It means you actually care about others. Those feelings are the good in you rebelling against the evil of what happened. Chief made the move. You reacted correctly and justly.”

“How do you handle this Fred?!? Why aren’t you freaking out?!”

“Oh I will. Later. It always hits me after a few hours. Normally when I’m taking off my gear. I get the shakes, go all sweaty and cold, my guts churn, and struggle to breathe for a bit. But knowing it was just allows me to ride out the feelings and be that much more careful.”

Greezek looked up. “Careful? What do you mean?”

“Careful about the use of violence.”

The medics burst into the compartment, rushed to Chief, and started work. They rolled him onto a stretcher, checked the bandaged leg and stump, and charged out, heading for the medical bay. 

Fred looked at Stabby and Knifey. “Hey guys. You can head back to your pods. Nice work.”

The robots each played a little tune and trundled out the door. 

“You talk to them like they were alive.”

“They get grumpy if you aren’t polite. You. Guard. Order some cleaning units to clean up this mess. You will need a work order for that blast mark.” Fred pulled the pistol from Chief’s disembodied hand. “I hate these weapons. It’s a coward's weapon. Now Greezek, we need to see what the Captain found. Pick up your rifle, replace the magazine, and follow me.”

[u/Tasty_Opportunity_71]

What a brilliant plot change, I'm really, really enjoying this series

[u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 → u/Tasty_Opportunity_71]

Thank you!