Eric Reese In the dust left by Jax and the Specter the group barley noticed the arrival of another Specter. Without giving them the chance to wipe the dust from their eyes it launched itself at the purple shard proudly on display... "Einstein, Shield!!!!!!" Eric raised his left arm between him and the specter. The beast was a mere second away from tearing off Eric's arm when something quite interesting happened. The several small nobs on his bracer started glowing. In a heart's beat the glow connected from nob to nob until it made a perfect circle and in another beat it enlarged has a whole making a perfect purple shield that covered him from his shoulder half way down his thigh. The beast's claw slammed into the purple shield throwing Eric against the bar. It pulled back a nub where it had previously formed a claw and changed tactics, quickly generating a blast that slammed into Eric's shield keeping him pinned. "Help Me!!!!" Eric exclaimed has he balled up to get all of this body under the shield. "I can't breathe..." Eric was gasping... At this rate his shield would fail in minutes. He can't hope for it to hold up to a specter's blast, no matter how concentrated the shield is. He didn't know what was going to happen first, his shield failing and the specter vaporizing him or being suffocated from the pressure on his lungs, He hoped it was the first.
Amber heard the noises without looking. She could feel quick death of their leader as they ravaged the bar. And the only thing she could actually stare at was the exit. Could I do it all over again? Could I leave them to die? Jay calmly told her to run. Told her to get out the second entrance, since she’d never make it to the first. But all Amber had ringing through her head was the screams of desperation and agony, but not of those in the present. She heard her mother cry out over her dying brother, and her father curse her name, over a dull receiver. And all she could think about visibly was the vast dark of space from the cockpit of the ship she was escaping on. Amber dwelled on the pain for what seemed like hours, but it was only seconds. Then she looked over to the trapped Eric, and ran at the specter, knife pulled and ready to strike. What in God’s name am I doing? I’m going to die here. I’m going to die like everyone else who’s attack a specter. She jumped on its back and started chipping away at its head, doing whatever she could to hit it. It released Eric, but grabbed her right shoulder with the same arm, and its claws cut into her skin, burning. It was like five sautering guns started to dig into her appendage. Then it through her forty feet across the room, breaking her rib with a table she flew into. I’m not going to die that easy damn it! Amber got up, despite the agony, and ran towards the creature, but noticed Eric free of its grasp, and alive. She changed her course and made it to him. Amber grabbed his arm with her one usable one, and pulled him towards the exit. “Run Eric! Get the Hell out of here!”
“Run Eric! Get the Hell out of here!” Eric was pulled to his feet and stumbled after the escaping Amber. "Wait!" Eric shout pulling himself free of Amber, "We can't leave it to destroy this settlement!" Eric raised his bracer again, extending a tach rod from the tip. "Einstein lock it down!" At once the small rods glowed with the purple energy again swelling in the back two nobs and in a flash all the energy was siphoned into the large tach rod extending a good foot past his fist. The field was then blasted from the tip of the rod slaming into the specter. The beat was expelled from the bar and skidded to a stop out into the street. he purple field grew around him holding him in place. Eric knelt down to his knees and supported his extended bracer with his other arm. A faint trail of purple radiation connected the now encased Specter with his bracer, his shard was glowing brilliantly. "Attack it and attack it now!" Eric grunted, shaking with fear "I have absolutely no idea how long this will hold." In fact he had never tried this on anything bigger than a single Fyer. "Remember concentrated blasts to his core. We should be able to disorient it enough to get out of here and make it to the ship yard!"
Gabriella Escalante "Internal systems are 100%." Michael spoke in her ear, and Gabriella didn't hear what the medic girl was saying from behind her. Relieved of the results of her scan, Gabriella turned around before tending to the barman. The X-Ray vision switched off and she looked the girl directly in the eyes. She was so young, and reminded Gabriella of herself when she had just finished nursing school, before she joined the military. She had that innocent, naive look. Gabby smiled. It was good to know that she would have someone she could relate to on this trip. Just then sirens sounded, and Gabriella's smile was wiped off her face. There was only one thing that could mean. "SPECTERS INCOMING!" Came a scream from outside. The barman stood up, despite probably having suffered a concussion, and held his rifle like he meant business. "EVERYBODY OUT!" He bellowed. Bear gave instructions for everyone to save themselves and regroup later, and then a moment later something ripped through the ceiling of the converted spacecraft. Steel debris fell at them, and as Gabriella ducked to avoid it, the barman took a plate to the face, blood spattering in all directions. He fell over almost as quickly as it happened - dead. Gabby forced herself to get up, coughing at the dust the impact rose from the floor. She quickly scanned the room, and amidst the sound of steel bending, screams, and unearthly screeches coming from all directions, there was Bear, with what Gabby had only seen pictures of on top of him. The Spectre ran an ethereal claw through the great Shard Seeker's chest. No, Gabby thought. How was she supposed to find Hawkins now? She stood still, perplexed by what had occurred. Michael brought her back from her reverie. "Danger Level High," The AI spoke, scanning over the ghostly creature, "Possible casualties: two." Michael placed circular scanners over Bear and the Barman's bodies. "Casualties confirmed. Status: dead." The spectre leapt at the scientist next, throwing several of the other prospective mission members out of the way. Then an idea struck Gabby - maybe the mission wasn't over. She looked at Bear's slain body, then at the Spectre, only several feet away, being attacked by her companions. This was the perfect opportunity. "Plan escape route," She told Michael, and before the AI could begin to process the command, Gabriella ran forward, diving onto the great shard seeker's body. She tried not to look at the huge wound that had been cauterised on his chest, and moved her hands to his earpiece, removing the AI. It would have all the necessary mission details - especially Hawkins' location. "Escape route located." Michael's voice came again, placing a map-like image of the enclosure in her view, detailing a safe path to the nearest exit. "Remember, concentrated blasts to his core. We should be able to disorient it enough to get out of here make it to the ship yard!" The scientist was saying from behind her. Gabriella looked at what he was referring to. The group had somehow managed to trap the spectre within a shard field. If she was going after Hawkins, she would definitely need help, and some of these people looked and sounded like they could actually be useful. Gabby drew the pistol from her hip. She didn't know exactly where the core was, but if anatomy was similar across so many other species, why not this one? She took almost perfect aim at the creature's centre, and emptied her round. Then she turned to the rag-tag group Bear had assembled. "Right. If anyone is still on for this mission, let's move out." She held up Bear's AI, "I've got all the details right here." She then looked directly at Jax. Desperate times call for desperate measures. "You said you knew where we could steal a ship?"
Jax Roberts As the specter charged, Jax slashed his whip across its neck, using its momentum to swing up on its back. The specter arms strained and stretched but couldn’t reach him. Jax balanced precariously as the specter buckled, trying to fling him off its back. His whip cackled and popped as energy bit into the specters neck. Like a rearing bull the specter charged through a wall in attempt to shake him off. But Jax miraculously stayed on, as the specter reared into the street. Outside, people were running for there lives, buildings were demolished and a massive fire had started over on the east end of town. The Specter under Jax ran, zig zaging across the street, and crashing through side market booths. As Jax held on, he began to feel heat under his boots. He looked down and could see smoke drifting off his feet. “Crap!” The energy from the specter was eating through his boots. Jax, realizing his only option jumped off the creature, rolling as he hit the street.
Flint Richards Flint had been in fights before. Organised fights with rules, and a Master of the Code presiding over the bout giving points and reprimands. When someone fell the bout stopped. He had also been involved in street fights - people with knives and bats who had turned to mugging others as their source of income. Even out numbered there was a chance that you could win. But this was chaos. It appeared that just like everyone else, Bear needed the organs in his chest to live, and as they were currently spread from the motionless Bear to where the spectre now stood trapped in a purple bubble, this mission seemed to be over before it began. Jax had slowed his whip from the glowing blur, and Flint had quickly moved to the bar to gather some wet towels. The small line of fire that was created when Jax had advanced on the spectre was beginning to catch on the wooden floors. Flint began smacking the flames with the wet towels with only small effect. 30 years of alcohol had been soaked into the wood and was now releasing its repressed anger on the tables and chairs as the flames began to lick up their legs. It will soon be out of control. "I've got all the details right here." Gabriella turned from Bears body and looked directly at Jax. "You said you knew where we could steal a ship?" Flint didn't really care where they were going - but out of this building was a good start. his wet rags had caught on fire and had joined the fire in their revolution against the chairs and tables, the walls also began to feel the wrath of the floor's might. "Guys" flint said to the group still preoccupied with the spectre-in-a-bubble. He didn't want to cause more panic and so simply stated "we are on fire"
Eric Reese "Guys... we are on fire" The charge slammed into Eric's bracer, shattering the extended tach rod and overloading the electrical systems. 'Systems malfunctioning Mr. Reese. Please standby...' Einstein's voice was broadcasting from his bracer, His view screen was flashing in and out. "AWW Damn!" Eric muttered defeated. He sulked over to his harness that was tucked under the edge of the now inflamed bar, grabbed it under the shoulder pad and started walking towards Gabriella. "It was almost perfect..."
Tremors continued to shake the earth as more and more specters pummeled the planets surface. Shuttles and ships began lifting off all over the temporary outpost. Fear was thick in the streets as men's true colors began to show in the face of certain death. Specters never left survivors. Outside the bar, the specter within Reese's field raged it pummeled the field repeatedly then paused. With a flash of radiation the field burst and sent a charge back up the energy stream toward the man's bracer. But just as the field broke a shot from the medic caught it in its glowing core. The specter immediately burst apart and shards scattered in all directions. More and more specters landed, they could be seen coursing through the skies now, the sounds of crashing shuttles now joined the ongoing quakes of more and more specter impacts. This was not a typical specter raid, but a full on assault, getting off the planet alive would be a miracle. The shattered remains of the specter that was shot by Gabriella began to glow and tremor as the began to glow as they slowly moved toward one another.
Andrea Dawson "Full training-" Andrea started to respond to the other medic, but she was so focused on her victim that Andrea was quite sure she wasn't listening. After her AI confirmed that the man was not in fact going to die, the other woman turned around and looked at her then smiled. Andrea could see a kind understanding in her eyes and felt herself calm down a little bit. Regardless of who else was in the group, it seemed that this other medic she could get along with. She opened her mouth to introduce herself, but was cut off by a shrill alarm. “SPECTERS INCOMING!!” “EVERYBODY OUT!” Everything happened so fast Andrea could barely react. A creature made up of shards glowing with engery burst through the ceiling and killed Bear in a second. Andrea gasped, unable to comprend what was going on. Never in her life had she seen or been part of a spector raid. Her father had occasionally mentioned them, but that was as close as she got to them. Shouts and bangs and the sounds of destruction were everywhere. Andrea ducked behind the bar, watching in horror as the barman fell to the ground right in front of her, covered in blood. She didn't need to scan him to know that he was dead. She peeked around the corner, watching some of the others fight the creatures. On the one hand she felt like a coward for not doing anything, but on the other she had no clue how to fight these things and the last thing she wanted to do was get in people's way. The other medic was bending over Bear's body. Straightening up with something in her hand. Taking careful aim, she blasted one of the specter's through the chest with her pistol. It blew apart with a floor shaking tremor. If I'm going on this mission, I have got to get a weapon. And some training. Somehow. Andrea thought desperately. "I've got all the details right here.You said you knew where we could steal a ship?" The last part of her sentance was directed at the pirate-Jax. Andrea decided her best bet was to follow them right now while one spector was trapped and the other blown apart. She stood up and edged around the debris strewn bar. "Guys... we are on fire" And indeed, fire was spreading gleefully across the floor infront of her. Andrea jumped over the flames and quickly made her way over to the other medic. "We need to get out of here before this whole building goes up."
Jax Roberts Jax opened his eyes as he lay on the rough dirt road. The world around him was spinning and blurred as he tried to get up. Bile rose in the back of his throat, causing him to puke out the contents of his stomach. Their that was better. Jax vision was beginning to come back into focus. A sticky liquid was running down his face. He reached up to reveal that he had a nasty cut on his forehead. Well at least the specter seemed to have fled and I’m still alive. Jax got up slowly his head still ringing. He walked back over to the bar, black smoke drifted out of the windows and Jax knew the building wouldn’t last much longer. Jax couldn’t believe it when he saw the remains of a specter out side or that all of the crew seemed to be still alive. The medic Gabriella stood in the middle of the bar carrying a deadly looking pistol. This one knows how to handle herself, and Jax made a mental note to remember that. "You said you knew where we could steal a ship?" “Yeah, but we have to get out of here now!” "Guys... we are on fire"
Gabriella Escalante “Yeah, but we have to get out of here now!” "Guys... we are on fire" "Danger levels high," Michael spoke into her ear. Immediately the planned escape route began to flash red in front of Gabby's eyes, and a thermal sensor was initiated, illustrating how their surroundings were about to become lethal for more than one reason. A particularly red pattern shone from behind the bar, when a casket of what was probably Euronian Firespitter Ale combusted. "Shit, let's get out of here!" Gabby holstered her handgun and started towards Jax, disregarding Michael's planned route, which then faded from the goggles' interface. "Lead the way!"
Rael Searwin “SPECTERS INCOMING!!” Rael's hands clapped to his ears as piercing sirens rang out. “Everybody save your own skins today; I'll put out a beacon to regroup on within 16 hours. Now get the ...” Bear was inturupted as something smashed through the canopy and into the floor behind him. The impact scattered the crew, Rael smacking into the wall as a spectre tore a hole into Bears chest. He started to get to his feet, freezing as he heard a creak from above. A steel beam, melted at the end, fell towards him. "X full power to the drill, now!" Rael said into his AI. The cover on his hand fell away as his drill roared into action the steel beam being destroyed in seconds. He turned as a small spectre resembling a wolf landed behind him. "Oh sh-" Was all he could mutter as it barreled into his chest. They rolled its claws tearing into him as he tried to drill its face. "X divert power to glove." He barked into his AI before firing of a blast. The spectre flew through a wall as Rael got to his feet feeling triumphant. His triumphance was short lived as he heard shout of fire. Flames flowed over the floor, eating years worth of spilled alcohol. He could see the two medics by the door and headed towards them.
Artemus Antair Artemus Antair's hands shook with each tremor as the specters attacked. 'No this couldn't be my fault,' he thought to himself as he swiped his thin comb-over back across his bald head. His narrow eyes focused on the job in front of him. He had deactivated all of his shard devices, including the sails, before leaving his ship. It was probably the only reason his ship was still intact. Uncharged shards give off less signal and draw less attention from pirates, thieves and specters. But it would only be a matter of time before his ship was blasted apart too. They always took out the ships first. 'Its just a coincidence,' his thoughts continued, 'But... they've never attacked this far in before...' "Leo, power up the sails and get us in the air as soon as the Albatross is fully online. Begin plotting a course to Solaris." He shouted as he made the last of the connections and closed the maintenance hatch. "Of course sir," came the calm male voice from the ships speakers. Artemus walked to a locker next to the cockpit and retrieved a long barreled blast rifle. One can't be too careful with pirates and desperate shard seekers about.
Jax Roberts "Shit, let's get out of here!" Jax ran down the street not looking back to see if they followed. Streams of light crashed into the ground, as more specters landed. Jax kept running knowing that their options of escape were dwindling. The fire had spread, and was now demolishing most of the buildings he ran past. He ran up onto the main faraway. The normally busy street was ominously empty, except for the unlucky ones, ravaged by the specters. Jax tried not to look at their mutilated bodies as he ran on. He was almost there; he could see the shipyard just up ahead, its rusted fence leaning in disrepair. Jax figured there had to be at least one ship there that was still running, since there had been no time for evac. As he ran through the gates, he could see a pristine ship gleaming like the most beautiful shard. “Hey guys we made it…” Jax words were cut off as flash of light slams into the ground in front of him, the shock wave flinging him backwards.
Eric Reese Eric followed Jax in the escape, He saw the way he took on the last Specter and figured it would help his own odds a bit. He was in no way as fit as Jax and encumbered by his bulky harness he started falling behind. WHOOSH! A splash of color screamed by Eric's head and exploded into the bare ground before him, he thought it was a Specter but he didn't stick around to find out. He knew Jax wasn't looking back, You can't expect that from a pirate. So he dodged down a alley, only to be confronted by another Specter dissecting the corpse of what looked to be a merchant, strewn beside him was a metallic case that must have once hoarded his shards. "Damn! What in the hell were you thinking!" Eric was panicking, he had only seen death this close twice before. This takes the cake. He kept running glad that the Specter was too busy with his prey to notice him. There was a safe distance growing between him and the chaos when he started thinking about the shard strapped to his wrist. He blinked down to see his view-screen distorted still. "Einstein?" Eric asked tentatively. "Yes Sir?" his AI replied in a calm, inquisitive voice. "Any tips?" Eric was being sarcastic, he just wanted to know if his bracer had any functionality. "I would sug.." BAM! Einsteins reply was drowned out by an explosion in the old building next to him. The debris blasted Eric into the adjacent building, and knocked the harness out of his hand. The Specter walked slowly out of the shop, examining the pile of debris that held Eric. Eric was trying to stay quite has possible but he knew the Specter could feel his shard. "I suggest you run....Sir." Einstein's snobby voice broke the silence. Eric threw a section of paneling that was covering him into the Specter, it merely broke and caught flame. But it broke the Specters line of sight long enough for Eric to dive for his harness! He slid the bulky Harness over his head but before he could make his next move the Specter threw a 2x4 at him, the force of the blow knocked the air out of him and sent him sprawling... 'He's just playing games with me, he knows im harmless.' Eric thought, trying to catch his breath. 'Even if my plan works he will still chase me...unless I give him what he wants." "Einstein, locate a current and ready my tachyon field." Eric whispered to his AI. Time for the bluff, Eric reached into the pack on his harness and takes out a red shard. This one is much smaller than the one on his bracer, it was about the size of his pinky. But the glow and the radiation leaking from it would gather his attention all the same. "You have a 5.36 second opening in the atmosphere for you to catch the channel." "What!?" Eric was holding the shard in front of him taunting the Specter. "Your current location is not viable for take of. I have found you a 5.36 second opening for you to catch a channel anyways." "When?" The specter acted without warning and sent his claw flying at Eric's outstretched hand. "Now....Sir." "Do it!" Two brilliant yellow sail erupted from the two Tach-rods on his harness. It stretched up and caught the Solar Channel jerking Eric of his feet. The force of the pull caused him to drop the shard just before the specter snatched him. It immediately went after the red shard completely disregarding Eric. "We Did it!" Eric shouted triumphantly has he drifted along the current in what looked like a golden parachute. "We are almost to the shipyard sir, I will adjust the sail for our decent now." BZZZZ! One of his tach rods went down causing him to hang from one shoulder, drifting clumsily to the ground, "Einstein!!!!" He was answered by a buzzing noise on his bracer.... He looked down to see Jax and the rest of the group separated from the Shipyard by a rather mean looking Specter....
Gabriella Escalante They followed Jax out of the bar, and just in time. The place began to catch fire, but it wasn't the only building to do so. Destruction surrounded them. Gabriella looked up at the sky to see hundreds of ships evacuating amidst more and more of the ethereal creatures, which were much larger than the ones that attacked them in the bar. Michael scanned the area frantically for casualties, which made Gabriella have to turn the feature off - there was no time. The injured group members were the only ones she'd be able to tend to, and only after they actually managed to get off this rock. This was why Gabby never went past Helaxus 3. As they ran, she re-loaded and readied the handgun in her right hand, drawing her tach rod with the left - it had a light blue, almost clear shard embedded at its center. She was near the front of the group, so didn't notice when the scientist - who had fallen behind - ducked into an alleyway. When they reached the shipyard, Jax stopped. A couple hundred yards away stood a ship that looked operational. “Hey guys we made it…” he began to say, but was flung back by the impact of a giant flash of light in front of him. He crashed down near Gabby's feet. "Danger level high." Michael uttered unnecessarily while scanning the creature before them. It was a yellow-ish specter that stood as tall as a two-story building. Its gargantuan, crystalline-clawed hands looked like they could shred through the entire group of seekers in one swipe. Gabriella readied her weapon, knowing full well that it would be of no use.
Artemus Antair Name: Artemus Antair Gender: Male Occupation: Independent Research Scientist Age: 58 Personality: Antair, is anti-social and aloof. This is due, in part, to his inherent absence of social skills and his distrust for most people due to the rejection he has faced by his peers. Very experienced in deep space, he has been researching specters since they were first discovered. He has championed the hypothesis that they are indeed sentient life forms, and has even go so far as to describe their social habits and the existence of distinct factions within the species. Unfortunately, many of his hypotheses have not been substantiated and have met with extreme resistance from the scientific community and the funding agencies to whom he reported. Any views that do not characterize specters as savage brutes are not received well by most, far less his insistence that he could initiate peaceful contact with the specters given the right circumstances. For these reasons and many more his funding was revoked some time ago and since then he has been forced to support his research by acquiring and trading shards.
GM The massive specter gave another of those unnatural roars of rage. Blasts of energy erupted from its mouth as it hurled fireballs at the stranded survivors who scattered in all directions. A sudden blaze of energy pierced the massive specter's center, sending it flying in a thousand charged pieces. The pulse wave from the explosion immediately knocked all those standing off their feet. Directly behind where the creature stood, the last remaining ship in the yard approached slowly. “The port cargo bay has been opened. I have been authorized to permit you 15 seconds to board,” came an AI voice from the ship loud speakers. The research shuttle drifted broadside and revealed the cargo bay. The Albatross was medium sized ship, her sails glimmered weakly under as the low power fields gently held her aloft. Many long antennas streaked backward behind her in addition to the tach-rods that generated her sails. Several old blast marks could be seen on her flanks, evidence some would recognize as close calls with fyers and specters. Most importantly however, she was armed and had room enough to hold all of the survivors left in the shipyard.
Eric Reese The blast from the defeated Specter threw Eric back, the sudden strain overloaded his malfunctioning sail and sent him flailing through the air only to crash into a distant building. Eric slouched motionless against the metal wall, broken and bleeding. He wasn't going to be moving in the next 15 seconds. He would be lucky to move again....
"Gerty" Wingleton Gerty felt a trickle of blood pooling from her lips, where she was biting them. She'd let her more cowardly nature take over, ducking and weaving to avoid confrontation, and using her larger crew mates for cover. Bloody specters, what were they doing here? Once the larger specters had been taken care of (or as much as they could be) Gerty bolted from the bar, grabbing her backpack as she did, and headed toward the shipyard. She felt a blast of heat from the bar behind her, and felt flames brush her back. She felt a fleeting pang of quilt at leaving the others, but her own safety was her priority. Besides, she thought to herself, they were a tough lot, a small fire and explosion wouldn't kill them, right? Gerty skidded to a halt. The shipyard was under attack as well, worse, her ship was gone. "Damn it!" Gerty ran, as specters began moving in, and saw some of the crew not far away. She tripped over a body, and fell hard on her side. Hissing with pain, she looked down, and saw a gun lying next to the body. The shard had been taken from it, but it would fit hers, hopefully. She grabbed the gun, and ran, as the specters got closer, trying to place her shard into the gun as she did. BANG! She yelled in pain, as the gun suddenly went off, sending a shot through the palm of her left hand. She grappled to keep a grip on the gun, and kept running, until she was with the group. A blast of energy launched Gerty off her feet, and sent her gun flying several yards away. “The port cargo bay has been opened. I have been authorized to permit you 15 seconds to board,” "Shit, shit!" Gerty had lost her only shard, what would she do now? She didn't have time to retrieve it if she wanted to get on the ship. She whimpered slightly, as she pushed herself up, grinding dirt and sand into the open hole in her hand. She staggered forward, then ran into the ship, turning to see if the others would make it. "Come on, damn it..." She whispered, looking up to see the bespectacled man fall from the sky and crash into a building. "Uhh, you stupid-" Gerty felt her heart drop to her toes as she ran from the safety of the cargo hold to where the man lay. He was a broken mess. This would be difficult. "Get up, we don't have time, I'm not going to die for you!" Gerty felt tears of panic fall from her eyes, as she grabbed one of the man's arms with her still good hand, and began dragging him toward the ship.
Gabriella Escalante The specter bellowed furiously, sending fireballs of bright yellow energy at the group. One of the projectile came straight at her and Jax, who was still on the ground. Gabriella ran forward, holding out and activating her tach rod. A clear blue de-energysing field in the shape of an isosceles triangle formed almost instantly. The fireball disintegrated as it made contact with the shield. Gabby attached the tach rod to her left forearm, its shield still activated. She then kneeled and hit behind it, taking aim at the giant creature before them. Hit the core, she remembered. Out of nowhere came an immense blast of concentrated energy, literally shattering the monstrous specter into a thousand pieces. The ship they were heading for was now hovering in the air towards them, its sails glowing a soft yellow. An AI spoke loudly,“The port cargo bay has been opened. I have been authorized to permit you 15 seconds to board,” Michael began a countdown in the corner of vision, and as the group started running forward to board, Gabby de-activated her shard and turned around to face Jax. He didn't seem to be injured, but she offered him her hand. "Come on, get up. We've got to go!"
Jax Roberts Jax laid on the ground, his mouth gritty from the dirt stirring in the wind. The shockwave had caused his cut to reopen, causing driblets of blood to slide down his face. As he looked up, a giant yellow specter stood before him. Its gaping jaws, bellowed out a mighty roar. Fire poured from its mouth directly at Jax. The medic Gabriella immediately reacted and activated a sky blue shield that deflected the blast. Suddenly, a huge beam of light hit the specter, blasting the beast to pieces in a spectacular fashion. Billowing clouds of dust filled the air, as a massive ship hovered in front of them. Its lights glowed like a beacon in a storm. “The port cargo bay has been opened. I have been authorized to permit you 15 seconds to board,” Gabriella turned to face Jax, her hand extended. "Come on, get up. We've got to go!" Jax graciously accepted her arm as he pulled himself up. “I guess I owe you one.” Jax said smiling, as if their lives still weren’t in danger. Jax ran up to the ships outer bay entrance, pulling himself up and over into the craft. As he looked back he could see that the Eric was lying on the ground, and Gerty seemed to be yelling at him to get up. Jax thought, Dam they’ll never make it in time.
Rael Searwin Rael headed out of the bar to see a figure running down the road. He followed, building burning to the ground, as the figure headed onto the main faraway. The street was abandoned except for corpses pilled at the sides of the road, some still being torn into by spectres. Rael prayed they wouldn't notice him as he headed towards where the figure had been. He spotted a gate swinging up ahead and barged through it, tearing it off its hinges as his drill caught on the edge. In the middle off the ship yard he could see the figure and behind him a beautiful ship. “Hey guys we made it…” The figure started to say before being cut off by a shockwave. It swept across the ground throwing Rael into a pile of scrap metal and knocking him unconcious. He opened his eyes to see a giant spectre being blown to pieces by a beam of light as the ship floated down towards them. Pulling himself up he could feel bits of metal cutting into him, it didn't matter one of the medics could fix it later. “The port cargo bay has been opened. I have been authorized to permit you 15 seconds to board,” Rael started running towards the cargo bay before he noticed a woman trying to pull a man with two sails on his back to his feet. He could see they wouldn't make it they were moving too slow. "One of these days I'm going to get myself killed." He muttered before running over to help carry the man.
Artemus Antair Gerty saw the faces of Jax and Gabriella as they watched their struggle toward the ship. Thankfully the Albatross was drifting toward them, cutting the distance the had to travel. A mere 10 meters away, however, a whirring sound and warning tone startled Gabriella as the door-ramp began to rise, closing off the escape for the unfortunate souls struggling with Eric. A few other figures from the bar rushed aboard just in time. They apparently didn't see the struggle as they passed and couldn't hear the cries for help over the din of destruction as the specters continued to wreak havoc on the outpost. Just when Gerty thought all hope was lost a voice chimed in her ear. Her AI chimed in, “The AI of the crippled man has a suggestion.” Gerty looked at Eric. He was too weak to talk, but his eyes were pleading with her. “Raise the mans arm holding the rod. Aim it toward the ship and hold on tightly.” Gerty nodded in agreement. “Here, help me pick up his arm,” she said to the drill wielding man. As they worked together a glowing field materialized ahead of the tach-rod. “Hold on!” shouted Gerty as she felt the pull of the field take hold of Eric. The threesome shot into the air, toward the closing door. The ramp was almost closed, but Einstein’s calculations were precise. The field cut out as the crested the raised door-ramp. Tumbling and sliding as they fell down the ramp Eric, Gerty and Rael joined the others inside the cargo bay hold. The door closed with a hiss and all was silent and dark for one eternal second. The overhead lights flickered on and a heavy metal door opened at the rear of the room. The first thing that greeted them was the long barrel of a shard-rifle, followed by Artemus Antair. His brow furrowed as he took in the group. “Leo, take us to the back side of the planet as quickly as possible. No higher than 1000 kilometers above the surface.” Antair's eyes never flickered from the strangers in his cargo hold. “Of course sir,” came a the reply from the ships speakers in the same voice as that heard offering escape outside the ship moments ago. As Antair approached with rifle raised the ships computer Leo began an extended welcome and safety warning speech. “Welcome aboard the Albatross, we are a class three research vessel independently run by Dr. Artemus Antair and company. Research and engineering regions of the shuttle are off limits to guests...” “Yer, the same fools from the bar aren't ya?” Antair's hoarse voice finally addressed them, “Of all the damned luck.” “Lavoratories can be found in the rear of the common area and immediately behind the cockpit...” “Drop all yer weapons. If you sit quiet I'll drop you in Cerelin, back in the borderland system, but there ain't no way I'm taking you to the outer rim like that fool Bear wanted. Anybody that objects can take your chances with the specters,” the older scientist jerked his head toward the door and then leveled his weapon specifically at Jax and silently waited for a response from the group.
