Last updated on 1/21/98
Deck 4, airlock C - 05:03:50
<< Farouk to Captain. Requesting permission for emergency power to close Mess door and any others not closeable by hand. Over. >>
<< Non-vacc doors ONLY. Out. >>
<< Lazer, Yorblin. Weapons to Bishop. DaSilva in place in the mess, where would you like me? >>
<< Jan, Boris is lagging, and I want this hall free soonest. Help him to the lounge. >>
<< OK, I'll be joining you at lift B. >>
While waiting, Jan whips out a small autoinjector, quickly performing a digital block on his throbbing thumb. "No pain, lotsa gain."
As Lazer speeds by, Jan falls in behind. Staging himself just fore of the 4-3 airlock, he pulls out the actuator "E" and prepares to grab Merkle and then close the door when Lazer falls back.
Jan says, << PATER, route image of intruders in cargo bay #2 to my HUD >>
Suddenly, Christian stares at the tactical holo for a moment. His left hand reaches out to the comm holodyne and configures it for a low priority voice packet. << Van Der Merwe to Blaine. Good luck to you all, and Zben... go with God... >> Christian sends off the burst with heartfelt concern and distress at his inability to help further.
He returns to his task of damage control with all due speed.
Goughzar hits the comm panel, "Goughzar to ACE and Aurora, have received some damage to fuel nacelles. Ship still operational. Are you both okay?"
Goughzar takes a moment to unbuckle the straps holding him into the acceleration couch, moves to the ship's locker and unloads the Laser carbine, and returns to the pilot's seat. Strapping the carbine to the chair, he thumbs the telltales to insure full power and restraps himself into the seat.
<< Aurora here. Damage to engineering; j-drive and fire control offline. Otherwise okay. Standing by. >>
Etienne records a message and has the laser comm squirt it to Aurora and Paladin...
<< ACE here, no damage, but then I'm not as large a target as you two are. >>
When he gets no reply from the Aurora he resends the message by radio.
With agonizing slowness, the group of Engineers makes it way forward to the safety of the Bridge. The impulse to panic, to run and lose control, is kept in check by years of training, cool nerve, and the bulk of a gigantic Virushi blocking the tube as he makes his way steadily forward, unflappable.
Suddenly a sound is heard in the Tube: a loud, sharp clang. Then others. "What's that," Grey gulps, hauling himself forward on the periodically spaced handholds in the corridor.
"Gunfire," Silvmane shrugs, not hurrying any faster.
One by one, the Engineers squeeze through the opening and into the relative safety of the corridor beyond door 4-3. Merkle, the last one through, unlimbers the welding torch as Silvmane activates the power-crank shutting door 4-4, sealing off the Tube.
Concentrating HARD and perspiring twice as hard, Merkle finally squeezes through the doorway, and into compartment C.
Not surprisingly, Boris finds himself face to face with a grim masked Lazer Farouk. What *does* come as a surprise is the remarkably strong and able pair of hands that come out of no where, deftly slapping the control at his waist that deactivates his mag boots, and then, yanking him off his feet and sending him through the next airlock door into the corridor beyond.
With a pat on the butt, Yorblin indicates Merkle should keep going.
J.J. brings up the rear of the Engineers. As they head for the Bridge, he turns to the Armoury. As he enters the Armoury he chins his commo,
<< Lazer, Engineers to the bridge, you want me to take an ARL, or just two combat snubs with HEAP? >> He moves over to where Edmondsen has been working and then says << Also, where do you want me stationed? >>
As 'Vouf issues detailed orders from the bridge, Munro moves through the open door and rips the actuator off of its socket on that side and fits it into its receptor. Munro motions for the others to get going and that she will close the door behind them after Aaron makes it through. When 'Vouf finishes, Munro comms the bridge. << Bridge, Engineering. The doors leading forward are closed. Closing E-7 now. We are about to start our jaunt to M-Drive Deck 2. Engineering out >>.
The answer is short. << MOVE!! >>
A vaccsuited figure appears in the open doorway of the Bridge, moving clumsily in the lack of gravity. It sketches a salute at the Captain's back. << Engineers to the Bridge, sir. >>
<< Stations, >> 'Vouf replies without turning around. This exchange is on the Engineering channel, and is heard by Munro's team in the aft part of the ship. Aaron heaves a sigh of relief.
As the other engineers file in, they take their positions per the drill-- Silvmane at station 8 by the doorway, then Grey at Station 11 just behind Blaine. << Yo, Zben. Fun wow, huh? >> Morgan grimaces as he straps into his chair at the Damage Control panel. << Station Eleven, Damage Control on line, and a pretty mess it is, too. >>
<< Shut up, Grey, >> Silvmane says, calling up the Drives data. << Station Eight, Drive Control on line. Calling up Life Support on secondaries to free Station Ten for MacLaeran. >>
The sight of a Virush in Zero-G is something you never forget once you see it.
Hur'Shurvan enters the bridge, walking ponderously and setting each magbooted foot carefully down before picking up another. He gets to the Power Plant Station, tucks the chair out of the way, and suddenly realizes that he can't get his rear end around to let him face the console. He pauses for a moment, then scuffs his feet against one another to click off the magboots. He grasps the front of his console with his massive lower hands, and gently pushes off with his rear feet, sending his body floating upward. He hangs there for a moment, looking embarrassed, until Silvmane reaches up and gives him a hard push on the flank.
Zben ducks, for cover as a Hur'Shu, err, horseshoe, umm Large Magboot swings slowly past his head.
Shurv's rear end pivots gracefully around his front, sailing over the railings until it bumps into the back of Grey's chair. Grey looks over his shoulder at the huge tush in his face, grins, and grabs one hind leg, pulling it down to the deck. Shurv quickly re-engages the magboots and settles in facing directly aft, his face by Station 9 and his back up against Blaine's and Grey's chairs.
Zben looks over. << Whew! Glad to see y`all! When you get a sec jack into the Bridge loop at your station. I Know they're secure... >>
<< Station Nine, Power Plant on line, >> Shurv pants. << Thank you, Dan and Morgan. Next time I shall remember to go around the long way. >> There is a hint of embarrassment in the gentle voice.
<< De nada, big guy, >> Grey smiles.
<< Shut up, Grey, >> Silvmane adds.
<< PATER, requesting quick count and description of forces in cargo bay, >> asks Lazer somewhat distantly, his concentration on setting the charge.
_Based on external appearances,_ replies PATER, _a ten individual assault squad consisting of two human-types, three vargr-types, one droyne-type, and four unknown species. All are clad in heavy armor, resembling Imperial combat standard, and all appear to carry laser longarms. One of the vargr- types is carrying what appears to be a heavy weapon._
Talon continues to the portside XO cabin, lets himself in, and hastily stows any items that are loose in zero G. << Talon in position, >> he finally radios. << Abdul, you got a choice of which cabin to hole up in-- we have one laserman in each. >>
Once in the armoury Tar begins to get 2 ARLs and another Laser Rifle ready to move when Lazer's voice crackles in his helmet speakers.
<< Tar, I need this hall clear. Help the engineers along if you can, then get into the bridge and get the door _closed_. One centimeter crack >>
<< Tar here, engineers should be on the bridge, I will take one more rifle and 2 ARLs up with me unless countermanded. Tar out. >>
Tar gathers up the weapons and heads to the bridge, a little faster than usual.
<< Shrike to Bridge and Security, boarding Peltast now, we'll be hot in 1 minute. >>
Shrike climbs in and buckles himself down.
<< Pater, give me the emergency checklist. >>
Switches are thrown and gauges checked as Pater reads through the checklist.
<< All green here, how about you Hfolraw? >>
<< Guns are hot. Lift when you're ready. >>
Alliara mops the sweat out of her eyes. "Blasted ZeroGee. Blasted Space!" Resting a moment from the nervous meneuvering in Zero-G, Alliara "ons" her boots to the floor and examines the "rear" wall with interest - when will they come...?
<< DaSilva, Farouk. Confirm you are in mess. Confirm door is open; I'll be coming in fast when. Find something half a cim to a cim thick and have it ready to wedge the door. >>
Lazer sets the detonator in place, but does not start the timer. He then asks, << PATER, securecam of cargo bay 2 on my HUD. >>
_Affirmative, major._ acknowledges PATER. _On channel twelve._
Farouk's HUD lights up with the see-thru image just in time to see the small 1 meter humanoid approaching the computer terminal. The other boarders are fanned out across the starboard cargo bay, and Lazer now has his first look at the wierd metallic centipede-like creatures forming part of the invading team.
Lazer finishes molding the charge, and fishes a detonator out of the pack. As he is setting the timer to 00:00:10, he announces, << FAROUK TO ALL HANDS. EXPLOSIVE DECOMPRESSION OF FORWARD COMPARTMENT IMMINENT REPEAT IMMINENT. ANYONE NOT SHELTERED SPEAK _NOW_. IF YOUR COMPARTMENT IS NOT SECURED, SEAL THE DOOR. EXPLOSIVE DECOMPRESSION IMMINENT. FAROUK OUT. >>
<< Dan, >> 'Vouf snaps over his shoulder. Silvmane quickly cranks the vac-door shut with the actuator Aiwi had left there.
Rafe hurries slowly over to the door, closes it, finishes wedging drawers closed and such, then reopens the door to 1cm, jams it in place, and stands in the corner, theoretically in the eye of the hurricane, bracing himself....
<< Lazer, I'm on station in the starboard exec's cabin. Secured for decompression. >>
<< OK, Jan. On mark, start four-three. I start the timer and dive. I'm going high; you stay low. Clear? >>
<< Clear. >>
Thinking twice, Lazer resets the timer to 00:00:15.
Well, the Moshe Dayan of the spacelanes has got his hands on explosives, thinks Alliara and barks a short laugh.
Fishing in her pockets, she comes up with the soft helmet and gloves and begins putting them on. After a few short hours, or maybe seconds, they are on. Unclamping the boots and floating to the nearest bolted-down chair, Alliara hugs it like a long lost sweetheart.
<< Alliara to Sci-Section, am secured and on suit-air. >>
As Tar slows down coming through the bridge airlock, Laser anounces the prepare for deompression. Berana snaps,
<< Some one secure these weapons, bridge airlock closing now. >>
With those words Tar starts the airlock closing.
As the large human form in the group floats forward and shakes the now motionless figure violently. As no response appears to be forthcoming, the small vacc-suited character is booted across the cargo bay, while a pair of what obviously must be sappers go to work on the airlock.
"Another one bites the dust," Abuko nods in satisfaction.
A couple metres away, on the other side of the airlock, Lazer waits, knowing there will never be a better chance than this.
<< Mark! >>
As he yells, Lazer squeezes the timer start key. Jan hits the lock close button. Lazer kicks strongly, away from the ticking pancake of doom.
_WARNING. DETONATION IN FIFTEEN SECONDS. POTENTIAL EXPLOSIVE DECOMPRESSION,_ announces PATER.
Lazer clips the side of the closing vac-door and bounces. Jan's hand snakes through and grabs him by the ammo belt.
Working swiftly and professionally, the two sappers unroll a length of daisychain and begin fastening it to the iris valve.
There is a moment of panic as Lazer's body is wedged in the door. Jan gives the door a momentary nudge open, yanks him through, and then starts it closed again. Precious seconds have been lost....
The length of daisychain, floating free in the lack of gravity, is worked quickly into an efficient diamond shape pressed against the metal door. The Vargr hauls out a detonator from a satchel and clips it to the Droyne's belt as the Droyne works to complete the diamond, then backs away quickly. The Droyne continues working, alone.
Lazer swings into the corner of the corridor, out of the way of the door.
<< Close that door, PATER. Emerg power. >>
Jan huddles back against the other corner.
The diamond's ends are fused together as the detonator is emplaced.
PATER gives the door a tiny nudge of power from the ship's batteries, nowhere near enough to close a wide-open door all the way, but enough to hurry the door through its last few centimeters. The door hisses closed, just as a muted thump is transmitted through the deck.
"Uh-oh," 'Vouf whispers, then hits his commdot.
<< Bridge to Deck 4. Clear and seal Airlock 4-3, we're OUT OF TIME! >>
Last on to the Bridge is MacLaeran, who sees Shurv in the way, tries to find a way around the huge Virush, and finally turns off his magboots and VERY gingerly goes OVER Shurv to get to his station, Number 10 in the corner, which he reconfigures from Life Support to Gravitics. << Station Ten, Gravitics on line. All we need is power, sir. >>
'Vouf ignores him. He is watching the display of Boris Merkle preparing to spotweld door 4-4, as sappers are preparing to blow the only door between him and instant death....
Rigo snaps shut the explosives locker, picks up the laser rifle that has never been more than an arm's length away from him, and carefully moves towards the monitors. He reports his task finished to Lazer and then gets PATER to put various views of the Elissa's interior on the monitors. With a mounting sense of frustration he watches his zero-G trained crewmates performing their assorted tasks and silently vows to do some intensive zero-G training if he gets out of this alive.
As the fireworks proceeds and airlock 4-1 becomes the only thing standing between the armoury and vacuum, Rigo is torn between the desire to close the armoury door to avoid getting sucked out in the event of 4-1 being breached and the desire to be able to get out of the armoury fast. In the end he compromises by closing the armoury door as much as possible while still leaving just enough space for a man in combat armour to squeeze through.
The spalling charge detonates, setting off the daisychain right in the face of the Droyne sapper. The wrecked vac-door blasts outward in jagged pieces, the sapper instantly mangled beyond recognition in the concussion. For a few seconds, the Cargo Bay is filled with a howling wind as the tube leading aft to Engineering decompresses. Many of the other attackers are struck down by flying debris, and one has to patch a hole in his armor, but no more of them appear to be seriously injured.
On the Bridge, 'Vouf nods. << One more down, eight to go. Wire 4-3. >>
Merkle floats gently, up the corridor and through the doorway at 4-2.
Opening a line to the Bridge, in a voice that's calmer than even he expects,
<< Bridge, Merkle here floating toward iris 4-1. My last destination was the Bridge. Should I continue or head elsewhere? >>
Boris cautiously extends an arm to avoid tumbling into the wall, flicking his wrist on contact, to try and keep up his momentum.
For a long adrenaline-stretched moment Lazer braces himself, waiting for the tornado to spill through a cracked seal. Then he slowly exhales, turns, and touches fists with Jan.
Jan grins and gives a thumbs up. << Get going on the next one, I'll be cranking down on 4-2 >>
Lazer gets immediately down to setting the next charge: smaller this time, and cruder. This one is a race.
'Vouf makes an irritated gesture to Silvmane, who flicks on the link.
<< Take Station 7 on the Bridge and reconfigure for Life Support. Let him in when he gets here, Tar. >>
Boris continues to float along the corridor, concentrating on getting to the Bridge and relative safety.
In slightly clumsy fashion Merkle twists into position so that when he bounces into iris 4-0, he at least isn't going head first.
<< Merkle to Bridge. Permission to enter the Bridge? >>
Turning on his magboots, Boris guides his feet to the floor as the iris cranks open.
Boris nods briefly and smiles at Mr. Berana. He notes the concentration on everyone's face, and quietly takes his place at Station 7, and tries to catch up on the action and location of his fellow crew members.
The door to Deck 3 is opened, and the Engineers pile through, noting the angry red light above the door leading into the Power Plant Area. Touching the surface of the door, Aaron breathes, << It's not vibrating. The air must be nearly out. Mynheer Munro, you'd better call the Captain-- Doejin, seal the door leading back to Deck 4. >>
<< Engineering team to Captain. In position awaiting your orders. Out >> A slightly quavery voice is the only indication of what Munro is going through in her own personal hell.
<< When I give the all-clear, open the door. Once pressure equalizes, don't look back-- GET THAT PLANT ON LINE. Bridge out. >>
Immediately after the Bridge orders are received, the signal cuts out. It reopens a moment later, on Munro's personal frequency. The voice is very soft.
<< Courage, Yolanda.... >> *click*
Aolrkhea' delicately floats away from door 3-M to give the others room to work on its opening. Grasping the maneuver drive's access rungs, she climbs the length of the machine. Leaving enough room between her and the corner for the others, she faces the maneuver drive and locks her mag-boots to the deck without a vibration. Carefully she hooks a utility clamp on her belt onto a rung, then verifies all her equipment is strapped tightly to her body.
_Engineering Team, you are now in position._ The walls shudder under Aaron's touch for a moment. _Deck 2 Life Support compartment now undergoing explosive decompression. Hostiles have separated into two squads of nine, one of which is immediately proceeding to Deck 3 Power Plant._
"They're right outside this door," Aaron breathes.
The lock is humming slightly from the dying hurricane on its other side as Lazer begins pressing out the explosive. << PATER, do we still have a working securecam in compartment C? >>
_Affirmative, Major,_ PATER replies. _Routing to your HUD now._
The scene in Compartment C is surprisingly ordinary if one ignores the torn airlock door at the far left. The red lights dimly illuminate the long corridor stretching aft to Engineering. As Farouk watches and works, a metallic centipede, weapon at the ready, crawls through the opening cautiously, and looks around the compartment. It crawls up the wall and across the ceiling, looking from side to side, and for a moment it looms huge in the securecam image, but it apparently does not see or recognize the carefully-hidden aperture of the fiber-optic cable leading to the camera itself, hidden safely in the wall. After a rapid search around the room and a quick check with a portable power-crank to see if the floor, ceiling, and port doors are locked (they are), the centipede crawls out of the compartment again, and is quickly replaced by the Vargr sapper who had been working with the Droyne outside.
The Vargr's tail is between its legs, and its hands shake slightly, but it goes to work on door 4-3 as quickly as it can, spreading the detcord over the doorway in a rough diamond shape. No one else is in the Compartment as it works, and it is barely halfway done when Lazer finishes with the spalling charge on the other side of the door....
Jan eases through the 4-2 lock and starts with the E-key, closing it down to a generous Lazer sized squeeze space.
<< PATER, HUD image of Compartment C if you got it. Stand ready to power 4-2 shut >>. Hopefully after Lazer is through it, Jan thinks.
<< Bridge and Security, Peltast is ready, guns hot, over. >>
<< Hold position, stand by. >> comes Vouf's reply.
Following to 'Vouf's command, Lazer adds,
<< Roger, Andon. Start targetting through PATER. Do not fire. Farouk out. >>
<< Azani, DaSilva, take positions in conf room. Horne, position in Armoury. Take an ARL. >>
<< OK, Mr Edmondsen, I'll take an ARL and four clips of HEAP. >> J.J. smoothly holsters the Combat Snub Pistol that he has been holding in his left hand, making sure that the pistol is strapped in its harness. J.J. then grabs the ARL that Rigo left floating in front of him and places one of the clips in place. Taking time to lock and load the weapon, double checking the safety, making sure that it is in the ON position. J.J. then takes his time placing the remaining three clips in pockets on the Combat Armor that he is wearing. He then moves cautiously to the forward-starboard corner of the Armoury, setting himself in the corner where he can cover the door and have some cover from the Weapons Lockers. If anyone is watching they may notice that J.J. handles the rifle as a lefty.
With the explosive hurriedly pressed in place, Lazer reaches back and slides a detonator out of the pack. He squints to restore the securecam image to his HUD, and is relieved to note that the Vargr sapper on the other side is just starting. He then jabs the detonator in position and squeezes a clip. The detonator springs into halves, exposing a coil of fine wire connecting the two.
<< Jan, ready to close it? >>
Lazer kicks backward softly, reeling out the wire as he floats through lock 4-2, already half-way closed, and closing further before he's half-way through.
The locking pins chunk into place as the doors squeeze together around the hair-thin wire. A blinking light insistently announces, imperfect seal.
As Jan kicks back toward 4-1, Lazer thumbs the detonator key.
A chunk of door about the size of a beachball explodes into the vacuum, neatly severing the Vargr sapper's head from its body. Its fist clenches on the detonator it had just armed, setting it off and blowing the arm off at the elbow. The daisychain hangs limply against the door, unaffected by the small burst. Blood pumps from the neck and arm stumps, boiling in the vacuum and coating the walls in red-brown crust. Scarcely five seconds later, the tiny airlock between 4-3 and 4-2 is in vacuum.
As Jan passes the mess, he gives DaSilva a quick thumbs up. << DaSilva, I'll be the other side of 4-1, stay low >>
Jan floats through the lock with little difficulty, noting with some satisfaction the preparations that had been done over the last weeks were paying off. As yet no need for his team, but they are ready.
"Igor, reduce air pressure to one half A, all rooms. Rotate Zhodtenna to starboard. Also, prep the E.S.C."
He hurries off the bridge, and goes to the Emergency locker by the forward hatch. Inside he grabs 4 small square `bricks', a flare gun, a case of (10) illumination flares, something that looks like an sawed off gauss rifle, a roll of thin line,and 4 spear-like objects. This arm-full he deposits inside the `airlock'. Moving rapidly he makes his way to the shop, where he picks up 2 each of two different gas tanks (the size of disposable propane tanks), a roll of duct tape, a hammer, and several metal rods about a meter long by a 1/2 inch diameter. These he also takes to the front hatch. He takes a metal rod and tapes a gas tank to one end, a brick to the other. He repeats this three more times, then looks up.
"Igor! Time Check!"
_It is 05:06:20_
Dropping everything, he steps back into the bridge. The pattern has almost stopped moving. The line connecting the enemy ship is solid yellow. Limner waits....
'Vouf nods in satisfaction. << One more down, seven to go. Now we have to hope they're going to try to cover their next sapper... Farouk, wire 4-2 but do NOT detonate until you receive my orders. Bishop, are you ready? >>
<< Yes, Captain, >> Bishop's voice returns on the commlink.
<< Good. Watch the lock and blow it at your discretion any time before they're ready to set off 4-2. Try to catch as many as you can in the airlock. This is our best shot, let's not mess it up. >>
Aolrkhea' savors the primordial instincts in her heart, then balances it with her head. The hand rubbing the near-useless gauss pistol is relaxed and she reviews weapon discharge injuries with simultaeous decompression. Eyeing Jonson's laser rifle, another emergency response reflex might be needed. A difficult dilemma indeed. She stares at his backpack straps more to avoid looking at the hatch than to determine the most honorable contigency.
"Doejin." Munro's voice is a half octave higher than normal. She stops and people can see her eyes close momentarily as if listening to some other voice. She draws a deep breath and then lets it out. Her eyes open again, once more piercing green.
Doejin floats with Munro over to the door. Munro's movements giving her strategem away. Possibilities pour through Doejin's mind. And Doejin starts moving toward the aft end of the compartment.
Pulling one of the E-actuators from her stash, she floats over to the receptacle by the door and turns to look at the far distance corner of the deck. "Doejin, find some wiring. We need to modify this E-tool. About 65 meters of wire should do it. I'll get the tools."
And Munro turns to find Doejin already on his way. She notices a small fluke flick in confirmation of her request.
Looking at the others she continues. "We need straps, cord, cabling. Aolrhkea, what is the best way to tie us to the equipment in that corner without getting torn in half or badly bounced around when the compartment decompresses?"
"There are plenty of access rungs to attach utility belt clamps, two pipes to hang onto... We could inflate an emergency rescue ball or bubble suit and use it as a pillow between us to hold us against the walls. We may have to hold Doejin or insert him inside the rescue ball.
And Doejin, picking this up over the head set stops very briefly. Anyone looking will see a faint shudder going through Doejin's body and he continues on his task.
"Doejin, do you have any hooks on your skysuit?"
"I have both the waldos and the waldo tie down points. If not the former then the latter should be sufficiently strong," says Doejin over the comm link.
Aolrkhea' looks skeptically at the prostheses, but submits to his judgment and experience with them.
Thul picks himself a stategicly advantagous spot where he can effectivly cover the engineers and...
<< PATER... give me a posit on the bad guys! >> >>
_The eighteen hostiles are still in the Power Plant Area of Deck 3,_ PATER replies._ They appear to be composed of two separate squads of nine; one is attaching an explosive device to valve E2 leading to Deck 4, and the other is preparing to enter Deck 3 Life Support._
Jan has passed through the lock and takes cover behind whatever warrior types are there. He rechecks his vest, once again able to transition to the medic role. Slinging the ARL, he rests on the ceiling for whatever is next. On his HUD he watches the evolving scene around lock 4-2.
Airlock 4-C is suddenly full of flashing light and flying scraps and shavings of metal; the Vargr with the heavy laser gatling leaps through the breach, firing into the newly-made hole as it floats by. Its gunfire scars door 4-2 but does no damage. It huddles back out of the line of fire from the new hole.
A few seconds later, also under cover of laser fire, one of the metal centipedes crawls in along the ceiling, and quickly takes shelter on the far side of Airlock 4-C. Several seconds pass.
Suddenly, vac-door 4-3 shudders, then ratchets open. Not all the way, but enough for an armored man to squeeze through.
<< Tsakha! >> 'Vouf glares at his HUD. << PATER, why wasn't that door LOCKED?! >>
_According to my monitors, it is locked,_ PATER replies. _Apparently the blast damaged the locking pins._
<< Hell, >> 'Vouf mutters. << Well, maybe this isn't such a bad thing. They think they have more cover now.... >>
On the Bridge, 'Vouf watches the Cargo Bay securecam as the attackers, one by one, squeeze through the hole into the airlock and take up positions of shelter in the corners. The Vargr with the heavy laser and one of the centipedes are huddled in the forward-port corner, opposite the blown 4-CS vac-door; the two humans, the remaining Vargr, and the other two centipedes are back against the remains of 4-CS. One human taps the Vargr on the shoulder and motions it ahead; it nods, and slips through the half-open doorway into Airlock 4-2. Watched carefully by the others, who cover the closed door with their weapons from behind the half-open 4-3 doors, it sets to work building another door busting charge.
Out of the corner of his eye Zben catches a blip in the upper band widths. << PATER, reduce jamming in band centered on 600MHz. >>
As PATER complies, a clear signal resolves out of the chaos of jamming. Actually, it's several signals which Zben recognizes quickly as a standard Imperial multiplexed audio/video channel attached to a carrier of 604.83MHz. Sliding his audio reciever to the expected 605.75 he hears...
<< "Hailing ISR Elissa...Hailing ISR Elissa...." >>
Quickly tapping a couple of contact Zben connects to `Voufs private channel, while scanning for resources;
<< Captain! We're being hailed, voice AND video! If you wish to respond in kind I can patch (pause) #4 Bridge camera in and display their transmission on your panel. >>
During this conversation Zben preps the transciever to handle two UHF channels, and sets up, but doesn't activate, all links needed. Two squares appear at the bottom of his display, the left containing the incoming video, the right showing outgoing.
<< Oh, really? >> 'Vouf looks over at Zben, then turns his chair to face the main holodisplay directly. One hand drops to the butt of his snub revolver as if seeking comfort. << Straighten your uniforms, everyone. Put it on the main screen, Zben. >>
The holo clears, showing a starship Bridge center in close-up. Sitting in the Captain's Chair is a large, florid-faced Human with curly red hair and a thick, bushy red beard. His helmet faceplate is pushed back to reveal a pair of piggish brown eyes that regard 'Vouf coldly from under folds of flesh. Standing at his side is a small, frail-looking Vargr, pure white in color, with a pair of dark lenses over its eyes.
It regards 'Vouf impassively, and he stiffens in his chair, growling. His hand tightens convulsively on the grip of his pistol.
Growing tenser with each passing second, Etienne belatedly notices the hole in Elissa's jamming and checks to find out what the gap means. He pulls out both the transmissions and sets up two small screens to display them.
Limner does a final, but unnecessary, cross check on the program that Igor has been building. The screen shows an almost solid mass of light, pulsing ever so slightly. The program is reacting to the minute surges and automatic changes in the fusion hell that is the heart of the enemy ship. Finally, everything seems ready.
<< Bridge. This is Limner. I'm ready to give this a shot. IF it works it *should* cause their powerplant safeties to trip, and scram the reactor. We should know in 20 seconds or less. Here Goes! >>
For obvious reasons, his message is not answered from the Bridge.
A switch is closed, sending an inticate, complex burst of mesons from the Khtaliyr directly into the enemy ship's fusion generator. Inside that shell mesons deteriorate, releasing energy. The energy pulses, mated to the rhythms, then skewing them, just a little.....
Unnoticed by Morton Limner in the tense seconds as he activates his meson tuner, the psionics alarm flashes an alert signal.
<< This is Captain Julian Stamerra of the FlareShip Nikaido, >> the man says softly. << You've caused me a lot of grief. I don't like that. >>
The white Vargr smiles thinly....
Adrian Bishop hugs the wall. Behind him, airlock 5-1 is closed. In front of him, airlock 5-2 is open 5 centimeters, just enough to allow passage of a small, insulated wire. One end is affixed to an explosive squib, imbedded in the pancake of TDX plastered to the underside of grav-lift valve 4-C. The other end stops at an electrical detonator in Bishop's right hand. Bishop's eyes are closed, as images from the 4-C SecureCam, one deck up, fill his mind.
"Come on, you bug-eyed sonsofbitches." he murmurs. "Just a couple more seconds."
His eyes are instantly drawn to the enemy Captain and his odd Vargr sidekick. When he finally pulls his eyes away from the enemy and looks at the second transmission, an expression of pure horror crosses his face.
Etienne's hands quickly lock the laser-comm on the Elissa. "ACE to Elissa. Cancel video transmission," his voice raises to a shout, "CANCEL VIDEO!"
By the time his attention refocuses on the comm-view of the Elissa's bridge he knows his message, even if anyone received it, was too late. Somehow, watching the carnage on the screen is far worse than watching a wingman's ship disappear in a ball of flame, although the death is neither more nor less real.
The Vargr sapper, not quite done, flashes a thumbs-up to those in the wrecked airlock behind him. One of the armored humans gives one sharp nod.
The Vargr carrying the gatling laser vanishes into thin air.
"DAMN!!" Bishop mashes the detonator button.
A Vargr materializes directly in front of the holo display, wearing full combat armor and holding a gigantic gatling laser at the ready. The weapon is poised to sweep the entire room, starting with Zben. The bright red dot of the aiming laser brushes the console--
'Vouf's right hand moves in a blur as his body twists sideways and upward out of the chair, propelled by one foot yet firmly anchored by the other. 'Vouf's sudden motion attracts the other Vargr's attention, and it whirls toward the Captain's Chair. It fires....
_TELEPORT ALERT!_ PATER's voice sounds on all channels.
_Teleporter on the Bridge_
<< Lucan, with me to the bridge, DaSilva, stay with Lazer, Tabor be ready to receive casualties. >>
<< Tabor aye aye. >>
Jan once again turns and kicks his way fore. Lucan pulls out of the conference room and speeds towards airlock 4-0.
The floor erupts in a wall of flame and smoke, followed by the crushing slam of a fifteen-psi overpressure wave, as the pressure differential sucks the entire fireball, and shrapnel from a ragged one meter chunk of shattered iris valve, into the compartment of airlock 4-C. One deck below, Bishop releases his grip on the detonator and watches it get sucked through the narrow airlock crack as he thumbs the power-crank switch, closing the remaining gap. Above, several aftershocks occur as grenades and explosive shells carried by the invaders detonate, spraying the small chamber with even more jagged metal.
The gatling laser fires a burst into the exposed seatback, setting it afire and blowing out a huge chunk just above the tail-hole. A needle- fine beam of laser light tracks across the Bridge too quickly for the eye to follow, flaring into a tiny pinprick of red on the intruder's collarbone. 'Vouf's snub revolver lets out a roar that would be more appropriate on a .44 magnum, and a tongue of lurid chromium-red flame from the snubgun's muzzle is matched by a burst of similar color at a point just under the intruder's chin. A red flash appears *behind* the intruder's eyeslits for an instant, and it is slammed backwards against the holodisplay as if swatted by a giant fist. Its hand convulses on the trigger one last time....
_Teleporter on the Bridge...._ PATER's warning is a trifle late.
When the ricochets die down and the smoke begins to settle, only the SecureCam adjacent to airlock 4-2 remains, showing the Vargr sapper, a human, and one of the metallic centipedes frantically applying swear-n-tear patches to their suit breaches. Beyond them, the remains of a human and the last two centipedes float lifelessly, rendered into grotesque positions by the force of the multiple explosions. One of the centipedes has been squashed almost flat against the ceiling, and its weapon appears to have exploded and torn itself to bits. A faint red mist spreads outward and boils away in the vacuum.
Screams and howls mix with yells of warning and surprise and a loud hissing sound rather like a punctured groundcar tire, as the body of the armored Vargr continues to jerk spastically, fountaining blood into the air in messy globules that quickly cover everything.
On the holo, Stamerra jerks away from the white Vargr, who howls in pain and anguish, clutching at its head and slumping into a heap on the floor. Stamerra looks from it to the holo, his face twisted with shock and fury.
'Vouf howls in agony, clutching at his head and hunching into a fetal position. His left foot is still hooked under the footrest, so the action slams him down into his seat, which is still smoking. The snub revolver floats away, leaving a trail of pink smoke behind it. 'Vouf rocks back and forth in his seat like an autistic child, his whimpers quickly fading to silence.
Hur'Shurvan hisses again, sparing a glance over his shoulder at the crimson oozing from a huge gash in his flank. Tears well up in his eyes and he begins to shake, but he doesn't cry out.
Nishu has no warning before the flash blinds him. In the same moment as the light, there is pain, as something agonizingly hot attaches itself to his cheek. "Eyaah!" he shrieks, throwing up his hands to scrabble uselessly at the remains of his helmet. He tries to throw himself away from the pain, but the straps hold him securely in his seat. He starts to fumble at the neck ring, trying to release the bowl, all the while screaming, "Getitoff getitoff GETITOFF!"
And Dan Silvmane's chair slowly turns to face forward as his legs go limp and stretch out in front of him. His head bobs limply in the lack of gravity, his arms raise up and float unattended at his sides, and blood mixes with the smoke rising from the huge hole in the back of his seat, just above his hips...the hole that matches the one in the front of his suit, just below the navel, and the scorched spot in the panel in front of him.
_MEDICAL ALERT,_ PATER announces. _Trauma team to the Bridge._
Doejin reaches one of the tool storage lockers, opens it, reaches for something inside at the top and says, "Munro, I have..." He stops in mid-sentence. A few seconds pass and any who look see Doejin utterly still.
Aaron looks over at the Phin curiously. << Doejin? Hey, wake up! What's-- >>
PATER pauses a moment, then says, _TELEPORT ALERT! Teleporter on the Bridge. Medical Alert. Trauma team to the Bridge._
A sudden squeal, almost a shriek comes over the comm link from Doejin. His body thrashes and spins as if he was trying to get away from something. The waldos whip from side to side under no control. And then he is still...free floating away from the open locker.
<< Uhhghhnn...! >> Aaron's head ducks instinctively and he crouches in place for a few seconds, shaking his head vigorously inside his helmet. His breathing becomes raspy and labored for a few seconds, then he lets out a loud WHOOOOOSHhhh. << Ach du meine gutte, that hurt, >> he says to no one in particular, straightening up. Then he sees the Phin and yells, << DOEJIN?!! >>
Munro has moved quickly to another locker containing the needed electronics tools for re-wiring the E-tool's switch. She is listening to Aolrkhea's description of how to tie off in a hurricane when Doejin's scream whips her head around causing her body to skew in the other direction, directly into the open locker. Seeing Aaron's reaction to some unseen attack, she looks for danger. What she sees is Doejin's stillness.
'Vouf's voice comes over Thul's comm channel in a hoarse scream: << Security, hold your positions! Bridge is secure! >>
And then silence.
<< Aolrkhea! Doejin's hurt!! >>
Aolrkhea' hastily unhooks her belt clasp from the rung and climbs back.
Munro pushes off from her locker and snags Doejin, stopping his drifting/tumbling motion. Looking closely, she sees droplets of blood come from his mouth, which is limp and hanging slightly open. The tongue is coated with blood with no indication of where it is coming from. It appears he is still breathing.
Aolrkhea' arrives, breaking to a hard stop. Whipping out the med scanner she checks his vitals. Her free hand locks her boots down and pulls the med kit around from her back. Then she start to work.
Suddenly Rigo hears on J.J.'s open comm channel << JESUS CHR.... >>. It is as if someone has bodily lifted J.J. off his feet and hurled him into the suit lockers. His Combat Armor clangs off the lockers with a loud crunch and a grunt on the comm channel.
Rigo whirls from the monitors and watches Horne's antics in consternation. "Horne! What's the matter?" he exclaims.
J.J.'s body bounces off the lockers, at an oblique angle, floating out of control, toward the middle of the Armoury. His extremities twitching as if he were having a Grand Mal seizure. << Grrr... Uhhhh.... blrle >>.
Rigo suppresses an impulse to try anything fancy and shuffles clumsily towards Horne, trying to catch him without loosing contact with the floor.
Then the siezure seems to have past and J.J. floats in the middle of the Armoury arms and legs extended. All that can be heard is Horne gasping for breath over the suits commo channel.
Rigo gently draws Horne's floating body towards him with one hand and attaches his pocket medscanner to the medical data outlet of Horne's combat armour. Anxiously he examines the readouts.
While waiting for the firefight to approach his current location, Abdul suddenly tenses and becomes rigid for a brief moment inside his armour. His sorry state is only recognised by Rafe when he starts twitching and spasming throwing himself away into a gentle floating spin.
Rafe is practicing the Second Active Meditation, focusing his mind entirely on his senses and waiting for something to happen, when Schmud appears to experience some sort of seizure. Rafe's attention is severely distracted, though he tries to keep one eye on the door and one on Schmud, like a chicken. He sidles over to Abdul, ducking flailing limbs.
When the seizure ends, Rafe hauls Abdul down, slowly to avoid breaking his own contact with the deck. "Abdul? Talk to me!"
After being resuced from his plight, Abdul's face is slightly bloodied and ghostly white. He moans weakly, "It's over now, I'll be right."
Rafe shrugs mentally and turns back to the door. Seconds later, the "bridge secure" announcement comes from 'Vouf, and he turns back to Schmud.
"What the ordkrepussevtre happened?"
"I'm not sure, felt like somebody mashed my head with a large red hot brick," stutters Abdul as he shakingly tries to clean up his face. "I just hope it doesn't become a regular feature of my life. Any nasties appeared yet?"
"No. They held the fallback line at 4-1, I guess, except for a teleporter who got to the bridge." Rafe inspects Schmud's hemorrhaging cranial orifices with something of the air of an art critic. Looks like the teleporter got to Abdul, too, he thinks.
He turns back to the door. "PATER, what's the current disposition of the boarders?"
_There are three hostiles in Cargo Bay Two,_ PATER replies. _They have retreated from vac-door 4-2, leaving it intact. There are nine hostiles in the Deck 3 Power Plant and nine hostiles in Deck 3 Life Support--_
PATER pauses as a distant THUMP and rumble can be felt through the deckplates.
_Deck 4 Jump Drive is now undergoing explosive decompression._
Amidst the tense waiting, Christian drums his fingers on his console, thinking, trying to... *WHAM* As if struck a massive blow, Christian slams back into the padded couch and jerks spasmodically, as if a pliable rag doll. His consciousness dances around the edge of the chasm and teeters on the brink of falling.
_Christian?_
His head lolls loosely upon his shoulders and he makes no reply.
_*Christian?*_ Moira amplifies her request with a more insistent tone which penetrates through the painful pink haze. He groans, loudly, and his head straightens up as a hand scrabbles for the neck release. After a moment of futility, a soft *snick* releases the helmet to reveal the good doctor's contorted visage, blotted with blood about the nose before a reflexive wipe clears it away.
"Yeah..." He blinks several times in rapid succession to force his mental cobwebs away. "Yeah... okay, Moira... I'm here."
_Do you require medical assistance?_
"No.." A weak laugh. "..I'm the only doctor here, anyway." He drags himself straight in his seat and returns his pained attention to the holodyne readouts and tactical HUD display.
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