"The orbital drop suit was designed as a multi-stage system. First, the user dons a polymer nanoweave mesh that operates with lines of none extension (LNE) to create a lightweight self-contained environment capable of surviving in the rigors of space. Next, the user dons an armored suit made from crystalline carbide plating that also has a high heat resistance factor. The suit has built in thrusters on the feet, a pneumatic landing system, and flaps that allow the user to further control and slow his or her descent. The landing is violent, but due to the way the suit handles the impact, the user inside is left unaffected. A shield is built into the right arm and is made of a micro thermal protection system able to absorb up to 1,650°C (the heat of reentry). The user then dethatches the shield and uses it as a skimmer to further slow reentry once in the earth's atmosphere by putting the terminal velocity into forwarding movement. Military versions of this suit have been employed in black op missions and come outfitted with non-combustible weaponry on the hands, feet, sides, and shoulders." – NASA internal documents

፨

In the blink of an eye, Dane dodged to the right, just past the line of fire, and raced forward. He ducked down and delivered a rising uppercut palm slam to the guard's neck.

The guard's feet left the ground. He grasped him by the throat, punched his other hand into his opponent's sternum, and pile-driving him head-first into the ground. A loud snapping sound ensued as the guard’s spine was broken on impact.

The elder guard fumbled with a weapon at his side, but Dane was in front of him before he could fully maneuver. He delivered a roundhouse punch to the guard's chin. The hard carbon nano weave armor not only broke on impact, shattering across the air and falling to the ground in pieces but caused the guard’s neck to twist and snap with a crunch.

The guard’s com sparked to life. "Report. Report situation."

Dane extracted the helmet from the corpse and raised it to his mouth. "Situation under control."

"Name and ID soldier!"

"Uh, Bob... 5"

The com went dead. "Prisoner 6264 has escaped his holding cell,” came over the loudspeaker. “Requesting further assistance in D block, no contact wing. Eliminate with extreme prejudice."

He raised an eyebrow. “Isn't that a bit harsh?"

But he had no time to slow, so Dane took off down the corridor. "Dennis, are you there?" he tapped his head. Then he knocked his fist against his head again. "Dennis! I need you!" still silent. "Damn." He continued racing along.

Up ahead the hallway arced to the right, and he saw a group of three guards take up firing positions with their kiptik assault rifles aimed at him.

Dane smirked. "You guys never learn."

They let loose a rattling barrage that lit up the hallway. Bullets that missed Dane bounced about the hallway, some of them impacting against his back, others causing him to jerk with each hit. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" he yelled. "Damn it! I wish the durability was also painless! Bring it on!" he yelled, and let the guards continue to punish his body as he moved inexorably forward.

The guards fidgeted nervously. Dane knew that no one should have been able to survive that much punishment, and that, he speculated, was what that they had to be thinking.

Quickly, he dived forward and then ran up the side of the wall, continuing his forward momentum. Then he jumped off and dashed right at the lead guard.

Dane could feel the parts of his body that were ripped, torn, and bruised from the impacting bullets. The voice in his head responded to his unspoken desire—"Initiating self-repair function. Stand by."—and felt the tendons of his overextended muscles begin to heal almost instantaneously. He felt the bruises slowly quell and the tears reforming into ta healthy formation.

He impacted like a shot, driving his opponent into the ground, then flipped forward and disregarded his pursuers all together.

Dane knocked his head again with his fist. "Damn it, Dennis! I know you’re in there!" he yelled.

He felt a slight warm feeling spreading through his mind and the voice in his head spoke again. "Kinetic redirection and interaction system now at three percent. Initiating D.N.I.I.S. system startup." After a moment of silence, a transparent overlay appeared in his right eye. It displayed a holographic representation of his current system standings, the different points on his body, and a beating rhythm of his heart. "D.N.I.I.S. system online," the cool voice said.

Then a proper British male voice spoke. "D.N.I.I.S. system at your service sir. It is good to see that you are well."

Dane tapped his temple impatiently. "Well is a matter of perspective, and we have no time, Dennis. I need an escape and I need it now!"

"One moment sir. I will access the cloud servers of the station and locate a suitable exit route for you."

The gunfire followed from behind and he felt bullets clipping into the ground and wall around him. "Dennis! I don't think I can outrun these guys for much longer!" he yelled.

Seeing a group of guards up ahead, he rounded another corner into a hallway that led to a door. Dane aimed his shoulder at it and was intent on barreling through it, but as the door opened with a smooth swift hiss, he found himself overbalanced. He rolled across the floor and onto the ground before he popped up.

What Dane saw caused him to scratch his head in embarrassment. "Hi there fellahs." He was facing a locker room filled with half-naked guards climbing into their gear.

፨

"The orbital drop suit was designed as a multi-stage system. First, the user dons a polymer nanoweave mesh that operates with lines of none extension (LNE) to create a lightweight, self-contained environment capable of surviving in the rigors of space. Next, the user dons an armored suit made from crystalline carbide plating that also has a high heat resistance factor. The suit has built-in thrusters on the feet, a pneumatic landing system, and flaps that allow the user to further control and slow his or her descent. The landing is violent, but due to the way the suit handles the impact, the user inside is left unaffected. A shield is built into the right arm and is made of a micro thermal protection system able to absorb up to 1,650°C (the heat of reentry). The user then dethatches the shield and uses it as a skimmer to further slow reentry once in the earth's atmosphere by putting the terminal velocity into forwarding movement. Military versions of this suit have been employed in black op missions and come outfitted with non-combustible weaponry on the hands, feet, sides, and shoulders." - Article on the orbital drop suits from the U.S.N.C. monthly magazine. 

፨

As soon as they saw Dane, the guards immediately threw caution to the wind and grabbed assault rifles from their holsters.

He advanced, vaulting over the first guard, then rolling forward. He put his foot on the second guard’s shoulders and jumped up on top of one of the center aisle of lockers top. "Dennis!” Dane cried, dashing forward. “Is there an exit on the other side?"

"Yes, sir. There is a door at the other end that leads out to a hallway. One moment. I am almost done finding you a suitable exit route."

Dane was still running when he felt a hand clasp his ankle. "Aw crap!"

The guard yanked downward, pulling him from the top of the locker to the ground. As soon as he hit the ground, over twenty naked men piled on top of Dane.

"He can't fight all of us off!" one of them yelled.

"Watch me," Dane said, and grabbed the first, throwing guards this way and that with his increased strength from the K.R.I.S. suit that he wore.

D.N.I.I.S. sparked from within his mind again. "Sir, if you would, I believe you should allow them to give you more punishment to give you more energy."

Dane was breathing hard from the exertion of having his muscles tearing, reforming, and the basic effort of lifting and throwing fully-grown men as he climbed out from under the pile. "Oh, I love it when you talk dirty, Dennis." He delivered punches and elbows every time he saw a face. It was like a barroom brawl, except that he was the only attraction in town.

"There is nothing dirty about it. You need to absorb more punishment to bring the suit's other functions online. The thermal energy needed to power our systems is still quite limited, and I cannot sustain these levels for very long without the continued pressure of earth's gravity."

"Yeah, well, I'm glad—" he huffed as he threw another guard over his head "—we got that out of the way... because being covered in a large number of mostly naked men is not my idea of a good time. Find me an exit, now!"

D.N.I.I.S. let out a long sigh. "As you will. Go out the door on the other side of the dressing room and turn right. Once you are to the hallway, go left and you will find yourself at an orbital drop bay. You will need to find a way to stop anyone from intruding while you adorn the LNE liquid poly weave, followed by its associated counterpart, the armor of the orbital drop suit.”

Dane heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the metaphorical daylight above him and threw the last guard off his body. He was surrounded by groaning men who had varying levels of damage to their bodies. Most had broken noses, collar bones, arms, and legs.

Dane took not a second look as he dashed toward the door and turned through the corridor.

An announcement over the loudspeaker drew his attention. "Attention: prisoner 6264 has eluded capture, recommend reacquire immediately."

Dane continued to run, following Dennis' instructions. He saw a sign above one of the doors ahead that depicted a stick figure wearing a jet pack and dove through the open threshold when he heard signs of pursuit not far away. Once inside, he tapped a button on the wall, causing the door to hiss shut. "Dennis, do they have a lock on my position?"

He listened for a moment and heard the rapid footsteps running past.

"No, you appear to have eluded capture for the time being. I recommend that you immediately don the required materials for an orbital drop."

To the right of the door was a small holo keypad that projected outward about two inches. Dane slammed his fist into it, crunched through the outer shell of the wall, and grasped the wires inside. He then ripped the internals with him. “This should hold them off for a bit.”

The inside of the room was darkened slightly, and unlike the brightly-lit and clean white hallways, he could see the blackness of space outside. There was a set of armored suits arranged along the wall, contained within glass structures, and there was a tall circular curvature console in the center of the small room, with an entry point aimed right at the door.

Dane shook his head and bit his lip. "Orbital drop, orbital drop... I hate orbital drops." 

- End of Episode 2 -

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