Sci-Fi Dogs: Episode 5.5

##### Character Appearances

This episode features the characters Howel, Leon and details a mission that the commander asks Leon and Howel to embark on.

##### Mission Briefing

The speakers crackle to life and the crew hear from the commander: "hiiii guysss, (a static sound plays) so I umm have a *small* problem, a *small* animal problem. I was shipping a little something something on a cargo ship *illegally* and kinda need you guys to go there and deactivate the distress beacon before the Wolfenstein find out... i could get into a lot of trouble along with you guys so suit up." Howel and Leon are requested by the Commander to run the mission whilst the rest of the crew are left to work on ship maintenance. The Commander briefs the pair with his situation and they find that it should be a relatively linear mission. Leon and Howel have to go to a Wolfenstein-owned cargo ship and disable a distress beacon. Things have gone south on a smuggling operation for the Commander and he needs the D.O.G.S to prepare the ship for the cleanup crews by turning off the distress beacon. The Commander tells the pair that there is a crew onboard and if they can save the crew then they should, however, he says that it is not mandatory. Saving the crew complicates the situation as the Commander will have to bribe and debrief them on the situation so they do not blab and smear his role in command.

##### Arrival

Howel and Leon get into space suits and the Commander preps the two ships for boarding. Howel and Leon are ejected to the other ship and they enter through the cargo bay door. Howel opens the door and the pair enter cautiously. Leon and Howel make their way to the command room when they notice outside the command room a man lay slumped against the wall. His neck is scored with a deep gash which causes concern in Leon and Howel. Leon contacts the Commander and he and Howel begin to interrogate the Commander for information on the smuggling operation he has sent them on clean-up for. The Commander refuses to give Howel and Leon precise answers and the two begrudgingly continue, now on high alert. They reach the command room door. As Leon presses the control panel to allow their entry, the white lights that had lit the corridor now switch drastically to red and all of the doors along the corridor open, aside from the command room's door. It seems that the power relay has failed and that Howel and Leon would need to restart the power in the breaker room. Howel shocks the door to try and force entry but there is little hope.

Howel and Leon retract themselves down the hallway to a staircase that sits next to an elevator and they head down to where the Commander tells them the breaker room is. They make it to the breaker room successfully and both heave to flip the switch to restart the power relay. After this, Howel and Leon return to the command room and open it using the control panel. When they enter the room they disable the ship's distress signal and are greated by a wall of security camera monitors. On each monitor there lay a different maimed man littering the halls of the ship. Leon voices his concern to the Commander again, receiving little-to-no competent response. Howel and Leon discuss saving the remaining crew and head to the cafeteria where they are hiding. Howel takes an observation pad and accesses ship layout information as they make their way to the stranded crew.

On the way to the cafeteria, Howel and Leon are met with a screaming struggling man who appears to be locked inside of a closet. The man asks Howel and Leon to retrieve a key to help him escape the locker. Leon offers to shoot off the lock of the door and the man refuses the offer telling them that the room is too small and it would be dangerous to shoot in at him. Leon scoffs and then he goes to retrieve the key a little down the hall. On the way back, Leon opens the door and for a moment or two he peers into the locker when he begins to hear the reving of a chainsaw and ambient red lights beam at him. The locker contained a Brotanium knight holding a chainsaw. Leon slams the door on the knight and immediately the knight's chainsaw begins to rip through the door to get to Howel and Leon. Leon narrowly dodges the chainsaw however it nicks his skin creating a gash in his shoulder. Howel and Leon escape down the hallway as the knight breaks out and trudges after them. Leon moans and whines in agony as he tries to withstand the pain of the wound he had acquired. They devise a plan to go to the Medbay to retrieve a Medstim. They make it to the Medbay allowing Leon to use a Medstim, clearing his wound. During the time it takes for Leon to use the Medstim, the knight has caught up to them and is revving his chainsaw, ready to take the swipe at the two. The knight mutters to himself in a miserable tone retorting how the Wolfenstein had taken his skin from him. He sounded delirious and distressed and had Howel and Leon pinned against the Medbay walls. Howel fruitlessly tries to use Mindpop however he detects the presence of a inhibitor chip rendering his abilities essentially useless. Leon begs the knight for his mercy and ends up convincing him that killing them will have no value to him. No matter if he kills them, he will never get his skin back, the only way the knight will ever get his skin back is if he was to kill himself and live again. The knight tells him that he'll consider it and slugs away from Howel and Leon. Within moments, the knight has completely abandoned the pair in the Medbay.

##### Extraction

Now that Leon and Howel are free they make haste to the cafeteria where they rally the remaining men and lead them to the cargo bay. They signal the Commander for extraction. Leon enlightens the crew that they will have to stay quiet on everything that has happened on the cargo ship and that they will be further debriefed once they have made safe extraction.

The remainder of the crew and the D.O.G.S make safe extraction as the Commander picks them up. The crew are taken to a hall and are fed. Howel and Leon stand on a stage and Leon debriefs them on the situation per instruction from the Commander. The Commander gives Leon the all-clear to inform the crew that they will be able to return to their families and will be issued compensation by the Commander for the incident. There is little arguing as Howel issues an aura of intimidation to the crowd. Leon and Howel disband from the crew after returning them home to their planets. Leon asks Howel if he is willing to get a drink and Howel accepts the offer.

##### Post-Extraction

Leon and Howel enter the bar and Leon removes his comms. Leon commands Howel to take off his mask, to which Howel resists and refuses to before ultimately taking it off. Howel glares at Leon and the pair order drinks. Leon tells Howel to turn off his comms and Howel also appears to turn off his comms as Leon asks. Leon begins to ask Howel why he follows the Commander, why he chooses to kill innocent people, and tells Howel to think about who he wants to be. Leon begins to lecture Howel about protecting people rather than listening to the Commander's insolence. Howel puts Leon down retorting with asking him where his loyalty lies, why he chooses who dies, and how he picks his victims. Howel reminds Leon of the first mission where he commands Howel to put his gun down, however, he then proceeds to kill mercilessly. Howel awaits a response, however, the two sit in silence with a heavy tension in the air. Howel finishes his drink and discards his glass. He sweeps out of the bar leaving Leon sitting alone to finish his drinks and ponder.