Yes, I know it's been a while, again, but you know the issues. Failing two classes, maybe even three by now, but still keeping work progressing nicely on my stories. I hope you enjoy this, because personally I'm not exactly thrilled at how well I wrote it... but that's neither here nor there.

Chapter 23: Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Gecko stuck his head out through the machine room door, furtively glancing up and down the corridor outside, then gave the all-clear signal, indicating to the rabbits behind him to follow. They quickly cleared out of the room, and progressed stealthily through the innards of the satellite, eventually arriving at the hub of the rotating arms without being noticed.
The entrance to the hub was only marked by a nondescript metal ladder leading up into a hole in the ceiling, and an arrow, marked “Reactor Arms Hub”, pointing up at the hole.
Gecko hopped onto the ladder, and climbed up and through the hole rapidly. Jazz was right behind him, and the other rabbits were not long in following the lizard and the green-furred hero up the ladder.
Once inside, Gecko quickly organized the group around him. “Okay. There are six reactors, and twelve of us, so ten of you will take out the reactors in groups of two. The other one comes with me. Makes sense, right? Math skills. Partner up.”
Jack blinked. “Wait a sec. Six? But there are only five arms on the satellite…”
Gecko frowned. “There’s a sixth one, smack-dab in the middle of this floating death wish. Now, less talking, more destroying. Time is crucial, if you hadn’t figured that out already.”
Headcheese was immediately taken by Spaz, leaving Jazz to partner up with Lori. Electrik chose Firefox, Blaze appeared next to Jack, and Acid rolled his eyes as he found himself partnered with Foo.
Gecko nodded as Wizard moved to him. “Good. Now you get to take a ride on the evil moving floor.”
It was Jazz’s turn to be puzzled. “The what?”
Gecko leaned backwards, pushing a button on the wall with his shoulder, and a door slid open to one side of him. Beyond the door, the metal floor was stable for a few feet, but past those few feet the floor rushed past them, its small, indented rivets glinting as they practically flew by.
Firefox stared at the moving floor in disbelief. “You expect us to— We can hardly even get on that thing!”
“Oh, sure you can,” Gecko retorted. “Just only on your butt. You try to land on your feet, and you’ll end up on your face. Land on your butt, and you’ll be fine.”
Firefox was not placated by the lizard’s words. “It sounds too easy. I want to see you do it.”
Gecko sighed in exasperation, then jumped onto the moving floor. As soon as he touched the metal rivets, his feet were pulled underneath him, and he was thrown head-over-heels onto his stomach. Firefox winced as the lizard made a thwack on the metal flooring, but Gecko got up quickly, and he flashed a thumbs up at the group before the moving floor carried him away.
Roughly three seconds passed, and Gecko reappeared. He leapt off of the moving floor, landing feet forward on the small ledge. He fell forward again, sprawling on his front before the rabbits, and got to his feet, dusting himself off. “See? Easy.”
Firefox frowned, but Headcheese took a running jump over the moving floor, landing butt first on it as Gecko had done. She fell forward onto her chest, but she was up on her feet again in an instant. Gecko gestured indicatively at her as she disappeared from view.
Not about to be outdone, Spaz followed Headcheese’s example, and he was on the moving floor before anyone could stop him, had they wanted to. He was somersaulted end over end upon landing, and he landed hard on his back, to his siblings’ great amusement.
Before long, all of the rabbits except for Wizard of Odds had made the jump, and Gecko snickered as he watched the group whiz by roughly every three seconds, before turning to Wizard. “Come with me. We’ve got us a reactor to destroy too.”
The rabbit nodded, and followed the lizard back out of the arms, on the way to the unseen sixth reactor.

Jack saw the other groups off to the entrances to their respective target reactors before leading Blaze to their own, stopping in front of the door marked “Moebius”. It didn’t take long for Blaze to bypass the keycard lock holding the door closed, and Jack was practically on tenterhooks waiting for it to open. As soon as the gap was wide enough for a lagomorphic body to get through it, Jack squeezed his BIAS-laden form between the doors, and was about to bolt headlong down the corridor when Blaze stopped him short with a hand on his shoulder.
Jack turned around. “What?”
“Don’t just dash in, Jack; not yet, anyway. We have the element of surprise already. Let’s not lose it, ‘kay?”
“Elem—” Jack caught himself, and lowered his voice to an indignant whisper. “Element of surprise? If we had the element of surprise, how did all those reptiles know we were coming?”
“Listen. If Tank was going to send any of his goons after us, he would have done so by now. He doesn’t know we’re here.”
“I am not being paranoid.”
“Did I say you were being paranoid?”
“Wh— well, no… I just want to get all this over and done with. I really don’t like this place.”
“That’s why we’re taking it apart. Now then, let’s do that, instead of sitting here like easy targets.”
“Right.”
Blaze stepped past Jack, and peered around a corner, flattening his ears back along his head to avoid being seen. After a few seconds, he waved the white rabbit forward, and together they delved deeper into the arm housing the Moebius reactor.

“He’s in the Moebius arm, sir, and he’s with the spy. Not very far in, and moving warily.”
“Release Rager.”
“Done.”
“Good. Now all we do is wait. They’ll be sorry they ever crossed Buster Tank once their leader is dead.”

As Jack and Blaze progressed further, they noticed more and more guards paying little attention to their task. As a result, it was not difficult for Jack to pick them off with a well-placed blaster shot when he saw them. Blaze always alerted him to guards that he had missed, and he quickly dispatched them before they could get far.
It was becoming more difficult by the second to stay covert with so many guards around, and they both knew it. Blaze was continually pointing out more targets that Jack had missed, and it didn’t bother the white rabbit as much that he was doing this as it did that said targets were missed in the first place. Against his conscious will, Jack was subliminally convincing himself that he was slowly beginning to break down.

“We’re just losing lizards in there, aren’t we?”
“Well, yes, sir.”
“I don’t know why I care about those weak-minded idiots, but pull them out nonetheless. They may be brainless, but they’re loyal.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where’s Rager?”
“Closing in on the rabbits, sir.”
“Perfect.”