"Like hell you'll go distract it!" Dominic shouted in a hoarse voice, sticking his arm out to stop Zack from being able to reach the door. "Hey!" Zack said releasing himself from Dominic´s hand. What is he thinking? He must have forgot that all I have as a weapon, is a weak pistol! Zack thought sarcastically. "I'll dispose of this thing quickly - you just need to get the first hit and it's a done deal." Sure! Like if I was the expert here! Zack sighed. Teamwork is definitively the most inappropriate word to describe us. The sounds of the scraping were still present. Zack had no choice but to obey Dominic´s command. The only way for them to survive is by staying together. I´ll prove him that I´m a loyal companion! Zack closed his eyes, waiting for the moment, where he´ll have to act. Failure is not an option, if he wants to escape alive and save his sister. The creature lurched into the room, flailing its arms at him. Zack was perplexed. He coudn´t believe in what his eyes had just saw. In an instant the creature entered the room and attacked Dominic. Dominic was fighting for his life. I must do something to help him! And I need to do it fast! Zack thought trying to come up with a plan. The creature pinned Dominic's left arm to the ground and then prepared to throw another strike down on him. There is no time to create plans! This is it! If I don´t do the right thing now, Dominic will die, and I´ll probably be next! Zack thought angry. It was on this moment that Zack just lost himself. "I will not let my companion die!" Zack shouted to the creature. He was now being guided by his hatred. The creature was about to deal the final blow to Dominic, when Zack jumped to the Fryer´s back. Quickly he extended his right arm, and put his pistol inside the Fryer´s mouth. He pulled the trigger, and shot him untill he was out of bullets. The Fryer moaned in pain, and started moving like crazy. Dominic´s left arm was still pinned by the creature and Zack felt from the Fryer´s back. The Fryer stopped moving and stared angry at Dominic. The creature raised his arm once again, and launched with all his strenght the final blow to Dominic, but Zack had already recharged his pistol before the creature even started the attack. Quickly and with precision he aimed to the Fryer´s head. "Think again!" Zack shouted, and shot the final bullet. The bullet forced the creature to stop the attack. The creature moaned like crazy and freed Dom´s left arm. There was no need to be a doctor, to understand that the Fryer was dying. Hmph. Well, it seems it´s true that you can´t always trust in what people tell you. Zack thought returning to his normal mood. The Fryer gave his final moan, and died. But then an unexpected situation emerged. Oh No! It´s gonna fall over Dom! There´s nothing I can do to help him! Zack thought concerned with his companion. "Hurry Dom, dodge the creature!" Zack said in despair.
The man was lifted off his feet as the beam blew a fist sized hole in his torso. He was killed instantly. "Damnit," Captain Hardigan cursed, the raiders of The Crucifix were beginning to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. And to top that off, specters had just joined the growing battle, although on another side that needed reinforcing, Air Dock 4. He opened up his comm-bead. "Dominic, Zach, the we've got fyers swarming out there. The Crucifix has halted its attack for the moment to deal with them, but is still attached. You've got to disable their weapon, while their distacted so we can get the hell out of here!" he said, his Lieutenant had already given his life in the defense of the ship, but in the midst of the chaos there was no time to mourn. Hardigan´s men formed a stiff line, firing volleys into the raiders, a mix of stasis field propelled projectiles and hard slug rounds tearing out. Hade surveyed the brutal scene from under his bruised purple-red cloak, eyes dark and wary. He had already snuffed out the meagre existences of two raiders who attempted to flank the Captain´s organized line. They died from precise, almost liquid sweeps of his scythe, Severette´s weapon of choice. It´s curved, brilliant silver haft was ornately carved and headed by a blade that glowed a slight maroon, similar to his eyes, and were powered by two low level shards placed at the top and bottom of the staff. Hade strode back into the fray. Sparks flickered as they impacted into his de-energizing shield, an orb that rippled slightly around the contact points as they converted the bullets into matter. A raider had sprung up from nowhere, and was intent on putting a pulse round through the skull of an unexpecting Protectorate trooper. Hade covered the distance in a few precious seconds. He spun, first high and then low, in windmill stances that were enhanced by the charge of the shards, and removed the head and legs of the raider in a mist of scarlet. The trooper turned behind him. "Thank you!" he said graciously. "I´m not here to save you, fool." Hade replied flatly, and returned to the slaughter. The soldier looked at the man in confused bewilderment, before a raider bullet struck him in the neck. He dropped to the floor and bled to death. The Captain had briefly glimpsed the display of the shard seeker who wielded the humming scythe, his men were dying and Flynn´s gun needed to be retrieved if they were going to stop these boarding scum, someone with killing skill like that needed to be used to better effect. "You!" Hardigan said, pointing a finger at Hade. He turned sharply, fixing the captain with a stare. "Get to Dock 4 now, we need to get this ship off our backs and the men there could use your help." Hade was never daunted by authority, but he could tell Hardigan was a man of character, and that he could respect. He nodded, and swiftly left in the direction of the Docks, cloak billowing out behind him.
"Hurry Dom, dodge the creature!" Zack said in despair. The kid had slain the Fyer, faring against the odds Dominic had mentally placed on this event ever occurring. His inexperience definitely showed however through his fighting technique. A Fyer could easily have been taken out with a plasma pistol, it's just a matter of hitting it in the right spot - or stuffing it with enough juice. And Zack's inexperience flared up again as he screamed for the bounty hunter to dodge the now deceased creature about to fall on top of him. Dominic decided to lay still instead. The Fyer's body landed without making a sound, and Dominic just as quickly picked the bug up and moved its carcass against the wall to his left. He then looked up at Zack, the pain in his chest still throbbing. "Fyers don't weigh more than ten kilograms - and those are the big ones." He coughed and then lifted himself to a sitting position. Pain means healing, Dominic told himself. "Surely your AI would've told you a thing like that?"
The choosing of ships was not Lev's forte, it seemed. So he followed in Artemus' wake, sliding his headset on. "Rossum. Stop fixing whatever I broke. Sync all data over here. Everything. I don't care how much trouble it is, and I don't want to hear that detail. Just do it." And then the Specters arrived as promised, and just as quickly were blasted into nothingness before his eyes. Apparently unarmed, Lev's sole course of action was to stand and stare, although something made him quickly school the shock off his face at the near-miss, replacing it with a more respectable nonchalance. "I guess we're going in," he muttered to Adam as he climbed aboard the small ship, giving a quick look over the setup of the craft. A vaguely offended-sounding "Of all the outdated..." crossed his lips before he shut himself up. Providing Artemus manned the helm, Lev's next choice was to take control of the engineering station. Taking up position there, he called over to Adam, "You know what you're looking for there, ace? If not, you're gonna have to figure it out on your own. Got my hands full over here. But, listen, if you can keep an eye out for a friend as well, do it. Coordinates... "Rossum, what the hell are her coordinates?" he demanded of the AI. "The girl, Chalice. She said she had her own ship." His fingers drummed antsily on the engineering kiosk as he awaited the reply. "Coordinates thirty point five local north, sixteen local east. Can you get it for me? Make sure she doesn't get disintegrated. She was going to pay me money."
The creature was about to overwhelm Cody. The clash was only secounds away from happening. Will he be able to dodge him? Zack wondered, fearing for his comrade. Dominic decided to lay still instead. "What are you doing?" Zack asked to him shocked. But it was too late. The creature fell right upon him. It´s the end of the road for Cody. Zack lamented. He hadn´t realize that the clash produced absolutely no sound, and that Cody was very much alive looking at him. I can´t understand! Why the hell would he chose not to dodge from the creature?! Zack knelt and closed his eyes paying his last respects to Cody. He was still disturbed with what happened. "Fyers don't weigh more than ten kilograms - and those are the big ones." Zack heard a familiar voice. He instantly opened his eyes and saw that Dominic was looking at him, and that the Fyer´s dead body was leaning against a wall. "What?! You survived?!" Zack asked surprised. Things are going from weird to weirder. Zack thought still amazed recalling the events that his eyes had witnessed, not too long ago. How could he had survived such a thing? "Fyers don't weigh more than ten kilograms - and those are the big ones." He coughed and then lifted himself to a sitting position. Pain means healing, Dominic told himself. "Surely your AI would've told you a thing like that?" Zack looked to his AI. "Maybe he did, maybe he didn´t! I don´t remember!" Zack said diverting his eyes to the floor, feeling totally embarassed. Zack was angry with himself. He turned his back to both, Dominic and the AI. He doesn´t say thank you or even give to me some little gratitude! I saved him! Even though I didn´t knew that having a giant Fyer falling towards you would be harmless, that doesn´t change the fact that I saved him! Zack thought giving a quick look at the Fyer´s dead body. The floor was all filled with the Fryer´s blood, and so his Zack. "We need to take care of your wounds!" Zack said to Dominic, giving him a straight look in the eyes. Even though Dominic show absolutely no signs of liking me, I respect him. Perhaps one day we will be friends... Zack thought unsure when he realized about the long journey he had ahead of him, to make such a thing happen. Zack laughed over his thoughts and cleaned some of the blood he had on his face with his hand.
"We need to take care of your wounds!" The boy then started laughing. For a second, Dominic slightly pondered his comrade's sanity - but there were more important things to take into consideration. "My wounds are fine," the bounty hunter said doubtfully. As he tried to stand, the pain in his chest felt like the bones were actually being ripped apart. Dominic feebly got to his feet, placing an arm on the wall for support, and a hand on his chest. He heaved heavy breaths, each bringing with it more and more pain. He was far from fine. "Diego online." A clicking sounded in his ear. "And now you decide to switch me on?" came a heavily accented, yet monotonous voice. "This is exactly why I turn you off - no more backtalk," Dominic groaned, "What are my damages?" "It appears you have a rib fracture. I'll go ahead and strengthen the suit's support for your chest." Dominic felt his Tach Armor Suit tighten around his injuries, and the pain ease slightly. "You should be fine for the moment, but I would get that checked out in the nearest medical centre sometime in the immediate future." "Off." Dominic commanded.
"My wounds are fine," Here he goes again! This is definitively the type of person that is totally full of himself. The type of person that refuses every single suggestion, even when it´s just a kind one for his own good! Zack thought annoyed. As he tried to stand, the pain in his chest felt like the bones were actually being ripped apart. Dominic feebly got to his feet, placing an arm on the wall for support, and a hand on his chest. He heaved heavy breaths. Look at him! It´s obvious! He´s on a bad shape but still he insists that he´s fine! If he doesn´t do anything to change his attitude, i´m certain that one day, his pride will end up by killing him. Zack sighed, as a response to Dominic´s behaviour. Zack sat on the floor to recover some of his energy. He was still concerned about Dom´s wounds, but he decided to just leave him the way he is. He doesn´t listen to me! He can take care of his injury by himself! "Off." Dominic commanded. Zack decided that this wasn´t the right moment for a long rest, so he rose up from the floor. "So! What will we do now?" Zack asked, waiting for Dominic´s command.
Antair/Pelican “Good day, and welcome to the Pelican. Please find your seats, lift off will begin shortly, mean while please give your attention to the following pre-flight information. The Pelican is a class C10 survey vessel capable of carrying a crew of 12. The two lavatory facilities are located at the rear of the vessel...” The calm tone of the Archimedes the ship AI continued to drone with useless information as the refugees quickly clambered aboard. Lev and Adam quickly found fitting posts, while Artemus rushed about the small craft securing devices and flipping switches in a frenzy. “This isn't the time Archimedes! Shut up and get us in the air!” he shouted. “My apologies sir, I was only trying to properly welcome our guests. I am perfectly capable of executing multiple tasks and have not sacrificed any processing power from preparing for our departure.” “SHUT UP!” "You know what you're looking for there, ace? If not, you're gonna have to figure it out on your own. Got my hands full over here. But, listen, if you can keep an eye out for a friend as well, do it. Coordinates... Coordinates thirty point five local north, sixteen local east. Can you get it for me? Make sure she doesn't get disintegrated. She was going to pay me money." Lev already seemed comfortable even if he was not used to riding in such low-class style. “Where is that girl with the NK-4? You there,” Artemus gestured toward Adam, “find her and have Archimedes set our trajectory to intercept in the air. She'll have to dock on the go we can't wait another minute!” The view screen on the console clearly showed the multitude of shuttles from the rendezvous that had not yet made if off the planet, and the twelve specters that were still wreaking havoc on the stragglers. It took only a moment to locate the NK-4 craft making its way speedily toward their position. But it was not to only blip moving toward their position. Something else was rapidly advancing toward them. Its did not appear to be a space craft like the NK-4, but it didn't carry the massive energy signature of a specter. Before Adam could further investigate the blip vanished from the view screen. The pleasant and ever calm voice of Archimedes came over the ship speakers again, “Please fasten all safety harnesses and buffer your shards, we will be lifting off in 5, 4, 3, 2...” Perseus “Cody, I'm sending a man your way. For the love of Sol would someone get out there and disarm that ship!!” Hardigan's voice came through the ear buds of both Dominic and Zach. Phaser blasts and fighting could be heard in the background of the transmission as Hardigan and his men continued to beat back the raiders still aboard their ship. The ship was taking a beating from the fyers outside as they kept trying to pierce the hull with their blast shards. The Crucifix was fighting them off with its close range blasters, but the crew of the Perseus were to occupied with the raiders within to likewise protect their ship. Time was running out.
"So! What will we do now?" Dominic was about to say something when the Captain's voice spoke loudly into his ear. “Cody, I'm sending a man your way. For the love of Sol would someone get out there and disarm that ship!!” The bounty hunter nodded and eased up against the wall, resting his back on it. It sounded like the bridge was being attacked badly, but here, everything was quiet. Nevertheless, who knew when another Fyer or Raider could sneak up on them. Dominic eyed his rail gun beneath the creature and bent to pick it up. "Get ready. We'll move out when our backup arrives."
Hade slid to a stop, his cloak fluttering to a halt a second after. This was Air Dock 4, The scorched walls from phaser rounds and the space-vacuum locked door told him as much. There was something else as well, deep gouges along the flooring in two, uneven ragged lines. A Fyer. He followed the trail, leading him to shut door. He eyed it curiously. It was definitely in there, but there was no way of telling if it was alive. There was no audible noise coming from the inside. He would take no chances. "Styx." he said, and his AI slowly flickered to life. "Yes, my lord?" The avatar of a floating skull, swathed in shadowy black fire, responded in a deep tone. "One third power to the de-energizing shield." Hade ordered. "As you wish." it said, and an orb shimmered into form around the shard seeker. After completing the function his AI deactivated itself. Hade readied his scythe. With his free hand he inserted a card into a slot, and the door slid open sideways. Instantly, he tackled into the room shoulder first with speed, bringing his weapon to bear. He was greeted not with a hostile, but the aftermath of a grisly scene. The fyer was dead, perforated with bloody holes, it was tossed to one side. There were two young looking men near the corpse. The first leaning heavily against the wall, seemingly injured. He gripped a rail gun, and already exuded the presence of a killer, perhaps by profession. The second was entirely different. Although partly drenched in fyer blood, he had bright eyes, and held a pistol in a way that spoke of inexperience with weaponry, but might´ve been supplemented with intelligence and a touch of courage. Hade threw back his hood, revealing his features. The orb shield disintegrated, not being needed at this point. "You are?" he asked simply, directing the inquiry at them both.
It only took a couple of minutes for Dominic to hear the approaching footsteps of the backup the Captain had sent. Whoever it was sounded like they were a professional at attempting to keep quiet - but little could get past Dominic's ears. The next thing he knew, a hooded figure holding a scythe busted into the room, ready to spring at any hostile activity. But the bounty hunter did not fret. He had seen this man before, up on the bridge and several times around the ship, but they had never spoken - he didn't seem like the sociable type; but neither was Dominic. The man threw back his hood to reveal a pallid face with striking, maroon eyes. "You are?" Dominic lifted the mask off his face. There was no combat momentarily, and the E-suit had mechanisms which adjusted your biology to be able to breathe even within a vacuum. "The name's Cody. Dominic Cody. You're the backup?"
"Get ready. We'll move out when our backup arrives." Zack nodded and started checking his equipment. He was only wearing an E-suit, armed with a pistol and 16 spare bullets. I need to get a better weapon. Zack thought looking at Dominic. "Hmm" Zack murmured. No! I don´t need his help! Zack interrupted himself. I´ll find a better weapon by myself! "Forget it... it was nothing!". Zack said impatiently sitting on the floor. I hope that the reinforcements will not keep us waiting for much longer! Zack heard footsteps approaching and opened his eyes to check who it was. It must be the reinforcements. Zack hoped. This is it! This is the reinforcement?! One man?! I guess the number of casualties is pretty high! Zack sighed disappointed. He was clearly waiting for more. "You are?" he asked simply, directing the inquiry at them both. My name is Zack Hawkins... I´m both, a shardseeker and researcher! I can´t recall if I´ve ever saw you around here before...So who are you? Zack asked curiously to the man.
Pelican “Doctor, we’ve almost left the atmosphere of Antair, the NK-4 craft will be docking with us soon, but I thought I would bring it to your attention that something is attempting to follow us. Its signal keeps disappearing, and it is difficult to identify.” Artemus stopped looked up from fiddling with the control panel he had been using to optimize their speed with the new crew members. The Pelican despite her outdated chasis was outfitted with the most sophisticated scanning systems available, Archimedes had never reported an unidentified object before. “A specter?” “Doubtful Doctor, it hasn’t the appropriate energy signature to be a specter, although I was able to detect quantum stone before it disappeared the last time.” “It could be just a glitch focus on our current plight. We’re not out of the woods yet there may be more specters waiting for us in space.” It was not like Archimedes to depart from his usual long winded dialogue. The unidentified object must really be baffling him. The Pelican vibrated slightly as the NK-4 connected, Chalice would enter through the small docking port momentarily. Archimedes was a competent pilot, even for an AI, and their departure had been smooth, but something made the scientist nervous. That was a lot of specters for this region of space. How did they find the Seeker rendezvous on Antair? Artemus looked out the main window as the grey vaporous atmosphere gave way to the brilliant pinpoints of stars set in a sea of eternal black. A small flash near Antair’s second moon caught his attention. He looked just in time to see the explosion of another space craft that had just left Antair. “Oh no... Archimedes, sweep all scanners in the direction of the second moon immediately, put whatever you find up on the view screen,” several of the new crewmembers of the Pelican over heard the commotion and joined him at the helm as the window gained a new tint and the scanning sweeps were projected onto it. It was already moving out from behind the moon when they saw it. A massive energy source embedded with quantum stones and shards. It started accelerating towards them immediately, and within moments there was no need for the scanners projections. “Type M specter detected. Initiating evasive maneuvers. While I am programmed to perform basic flight routines with a high degree of competence I would highly recommended that a human pilot assist at the helm to enhance our chances of survival in this situation...” Type M specters were the largest and most aggressive specters known although rarely ever seen, especially outside of the depths of the rim. This specter was nearly twice as large as the pelican. Its amorphous energy field glowed a deep violet that nearly blended with the black void around it while at its core an inferno of orange and white plasma pulsed with fury. The thousands of crystals that made up its body re-ordered themselves to reach out towards its prey with tentacle like arms. The massive size and hue of the creature brought flashbacks to Diana’s mind; memories from the outer rim, of shard seeking with Ben, and the terrible specter that had attacked them on that day. “The specter is accelerating; if it does not fire upon is first it will directly intercept in three minutes. Currently, it is traveling at 167% of the top speed of the Pelican with our current class 3 tachyon field emitter.” Artemus’ heart began to throb in is chest. “Dear god.”
"You know what you're looking for there, ace? If not, you're gonna have to figure it out on your own. Got my hands full over here. But, listen, if you can keep an eye out for a friend as well, do it.” Adam rolled his eyes. “Making assumptions on my competence as well as our relationship, are we Levie?” He jested. As the crew clamored aboard the ship’s AI mechanically droned on technical information of the Pelican, information that might have been useful under other circumstances. “This isn't the time Archimedes! Shut up and get us in the air!” Artemus yelled. “Where is that girl with the NK-4? You there, find her and have Archimedes set our trajectory to intercept in the air. She'll have to dock on the go we can't wait another minute!” Artemus harked at Adam. If felt good to be back on a ship again. It took him some time to familiarize himself with the controls, but most ships in the rim had similar layouts. Exotic layouts were bad ergonomically, Adam quickly found some instruments at his fingertips. “Aye sir, November Kilo four class bearing twenty three degrees mark seven four. Laying in a heading that will take us parallel to her. Standby for liftoff.” Adam curiously saw a blip on the sensors, he didn’t have the time to give it detailed scan, but could tell it wasn’t a ship, too small. It was about the size of a Specter, but the energy signatures were off. “Thoth.” “Yes master?” “Analyze unknown object; about fifteen degrees off port, distance of about two hundred meters.” Adam said as he fed data from the sensor console to Thoth’s interface port. “Object identified. Standby, processing…” Adam’s AI calmly remarked. And then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. The Pelican’s AI piped in again and announced just before the ship began to launch.
"My friend's not you," Lev shot back to Adam, although his gaze didn't break from the engineering console. "You don't owe me any money. Yet." “Where is that girl with the NK-4? You there, find her and have Archimedes set our trajectory to intercept in the air. She'll have to dock on the go we can't wait another minute!” At Artemus' shout to Adam, Lev singsonged a little, "Told you," in Adam's direction. He would have said more, from the look on his face, but Archimedes' newest words stopped him in his tracks. "I'm not much of a pilot, but what the hell. May as well die trying, right?" He set the engineering console to automatic with another few taps, darting up towards Artemus, nervous energy suddenly purposeful and kinetic. "Flown a bit in my time," he told the older man briskly. "You don't need to know why. Tell me what your specs are and I'll do my best to haul this thing out of Specterville. And, er, no chance of boosting up your class 3, is there? Your choice: Speed or dodge?" Even as he spoke, Lev was already investigating the controls on the ship, taking stock of the situation, and connecting with his AI. "Rossum. Whatever this guy says, give me the best details on flying his ship that you've got. And if you screw it up, I swear I'll melt you down for parts for a Fyer-catcher."
"Open cockpit hatch." Arphaxhad obliged, and Chalice vaulted herself over the ship's hood and into the pilot's chair. It was a tiny little ship, only about as big as a 20th century 15-passenger van. "Close hatch and take off." Chalice looked around. There were hundreds of ships taking off. "Phax, I didn't think to get more precise information than 'west side.' Can you get a lock on the right ship?" "I could, but unfortunately the shareware locks prevent me from assisting you in this way." "Fine, patch me through to the ship's AI then." There was a pause, then another voice spoke in a calm tone. "Good day. You have contacted the C10 Pelican. How may I assist you?" "NK-4 Cuttlefish seeking permission to dock." "Of course, we have been expecting you. Feel free to approach and initiate air docking. I must ask you to hurry, though, as we appear to be in a rush." "I would, but I seem to be having some trouble with my AI. He'll be able to perform the docking (you can do the docking, can't you?) but he can't locate your ship." "Not to worry, I am perfectly capable of executing multiple tasks. With your permission, I shall take temporary control of your craft to most expediently pilot you to our location." "Sure, knock yourself out." The docking itself was a fairly simple procedure. The AI's did most of the delicate work, leaving Chalice to focus on her own forte: synchronizing the NK-4's shard field emissions with those of the larger ship. She was just finishing when a message from Arphaxhad informed her that docking was complete. Chalice stood up, dusted the red dust from Antair off her jumpsuit, stepped into the cargo bay and opened the docking hatch. As she was stepping through, the voice of the Pelican's AI tore through the air. “Type M specter detected. Initiating evasive maneuvers....The specter is accelerating; if it does not fire upon is first it will directly intercept in three minutes. Currently, it is traveling at 167% of the top speed of the Pelican with our current class 3 tachyon field emitter.” Chalice swore and dove back into her cargo bay, tearing shards out of various scanners and half-finished machines. Running into the Pelican, she activated her communicator. "One of you robots, get me to this thing's engine room now!"
“Doctor, we’ve almost left the atmosphere of Antair, the NK-4 craft will be docking with us soon, but I thought I would bring it to your attention that something is attempting to follow us. Its signal keeps disappearing, and it is difficult to identify.” "The blip," Adam muttered. The Pelican docked with the NK-4 class ship, making the trademark sounds. "Master, processing complete. Energy signatures are not consistent with any known type starship. Estimate a high level of probability that the unknown object was a Specter of a high power level. Recommend proceeding with extreme caution." "Thanks Thoth, Artemus!" It was too late for a warning, the large blip was now headed straight for them. “Type M specter detected. Initiating evasive maneuvers. While I am programmed to perform basic flight routines with a high degree of competence I would highly recommended that a human pilot assist at the helm to enhance our chances of survival in this situation...The specter is accelerating; if it does not fire upon is first it will directly intercept in three minutes. Currently, it is traveling at 167% of the top speed of the Pelican with our current class 3 tachyon field emitter.” Adam thought. His only secret weapon was his Rosetta stone. He really didn't want to have to use it or part with it unless he had to, but he would have no choice. If h didn't use it he would never live to get a chance. "Artemus, I've got an idea," Adam said as he reached for his massive shard.
The first man´s suit hissed as he retracted the mask from his face. "The name's Cody. Dominic Cody. You're the backup?" He regarded him for a moment. He was sure he had seem Dominic around the Perseus. "Clearly." Hade said dryly. Cody´s apparent tag along spoke up. "My name is Zack Hawkins... I´m both, a shardseeker and researcher! I can´t recall if I´ve ever saw you around here before...So who are you?" A researcher, that explained a lot. "I am Hade Severette, and I would politely advise you stay out of my way if you wish to keep that sadly beating heart in your chest." he said darkly. He turned back to Dominic. "We have a ship to kill." he said matter of factly, and left the room, not interested if they decided to come with him or not.
"Artemus, I've got an idea," "Dear heaven's, what is that?" Artemus exclaimed at the sight of the over sized shard. It was nearly the size of a dinner plate, three times larger than the average shard. Its many translucent blue faces reflected warning lights that flickered through the Pelican. "It appears to be a level nine tachyon field shard Doctor." Archimedes interjected. "Database records report that the largest shard of this kind found previously was a level 5.5. However, this shard has some unknown properties that could be better investigated if we transfer it to the research bay and-" The eyes of Artemus widened further as Archimedes droned on, "Where did you-" "Intercept in two minutes" Archimedes again interjected. Just then Chalice re-appeared from her personal flyer carrying an armful of shards and other equipment. "One of you robots, get me to this thing's engine room now!" "Its in the sub-deck below. Quick, Chalice, Lev, how long would it take to replace our accelerator shard with this?" Perseus The trio moved out of the storage room and continued carefully to the gaping hole blasted in the hull of the ship previously by Crucifix marauders. The hull of the Crucifix could be seen clearly through the Perseus. As they watched a series of streaks of light passed in between the ships like small comets. The Fyers were still out there searching for ways into the ships and access to the shards within.
"We have a ship to kill." Dominic watched the man storm out of the room. He seemed so purposeful, useful... exactly what Dominic was expecting from backup. But Hade's reliability was still in question - he talked the talk, but could he follow through? "I like this guy," the bounty hunter announced, placing his gas mask back over his head. He then proceeded to exit the storage room. Now standing next to Hade in the hallway leading to Air Dock 4, Dominic felt his chest finally adjust and become comfortable in the support of the enhancement Diego made to his suit. As the AI had said, it would be fine for the moment. "We need to find that Artillery Blaster the Lieutenant was using. Then, I'm going to need you to cover me while I take out the raider's weapon," Dominic glanced at Hade's scythe, "Uh, you got anything ranged?"
"Pallas, I want you to hook up to the AI of this ship and assist it in everything you can. Assist in maneuvers, clarify scans, configure and maximize outputs, everything. Dedicate all processing to that other than the minimal to run and maintain the suit." "Of course." Pallas replied before leaving. The hydraulics and actuators of Diana's suit lost much of their strength, the suit felt heavier, Diana's vision was no longer enhanced, the suit quickly became hotter and stuffier. Every function of the suit, support and otherwise, was either disabled or minimized. Diana couldn't help in taking out the specter, and she didn't have a shard even nearly as large as what she had just seen, so the best way she could help was to support Archimedes with Pallas. "Artemus, my AI has hooked up to the ship to help your AI with any processing or calculations. If there's anything else I can do..." Diana kept an eye on the quickly approaching Specter and the giant shard. It was all ridiculous. First Ben, now Antair, another massive Specter, and a comparable Shard. Something big was happening.
"I am Hade Severette, and I would politely advise you stay out of my way if you wish to keep that sadly beating heart in your chest. Hmph... Where do all this guys come from. Zack thought sarcastically laughing from the inside. "We have a ship to kill." he said matter of factly, and left the room, not interested if they decided to come with him or not. Bravo... He´s exactly the same as Dominic. Mistreating me just because I´m a simple researcher. I can´t wait to escape from this crumbling ship and release my sister by my own measures. I was a fool to ever believe any of these imbeciles could help me Zack thought starting to get completely annoyed with the magnificent bonds he created so far with the members of the crew. "Gentlemans, as much as I believe that this wonderful conversation could jump to the next level, let´s cut the bull****! "Zack said angry. He was getting tired of following orders like if we was an amateur. Time was also running out, if he wants to save his last family member, he needs to do it now. "We need to find that Artillery Blaster the Lieutenant was using. Then, I'm going to need you to cover me while I take out the raider's weapon," Dominic glanced at Hade's scythe, "Uh, you got anything ranged?" "What can I do then?" Zack asked. It´s the best for all of us if we cooperate. That way we can get the hell out of here faster and move on with our lives"
"Its in the sub-deck below. Quick, Chalice, Lev, how long would it take to replace our accelerator shard with this?" Chalice's jaw dropped at the sight of the shard. "My God, I've never seen a shard that big! That must be what, level eight? Nine? Arphaxhad, scan." "Rudimentary scanning estimates shard to be level 9. No fissures or inclusions detected. Abnormalities in field spectrum indicate possible unique properties. Thorough scanning in proper equipment recommended." "Yeah," Chalice mumbled, entranced by the crystal. "Do you mind if I borrow that thing for a while so I can..." She snapped back to reality. "Sorry. Okay, speed of replacement relies on a number of inter-dependent variables. For example, if the engine's shard housing is a plasma suspension chamber the transfer should be fairly easy. If, however, the housing is based on loose crystal sockets, we'll have to jury-rig a temporary method to utilize such a large shard. And if the housing is plasma suspension, but the chamber is too small... well that opens up a whole slew of problems. And then each method has a number of additional factors that could alter the time required." As she spoke, the group jogged down to the engine room. Once inside, Chalice swore to herself. "Sockets," she spat. "All right, give me five minutes, some carbon fiber cabling, and a torque wrench of about... 5 millimeters." "Four," Arphaxhad corrected. "Four millimeters."
"Gentlemen, as much as I believe that this wonderful conversation could jump to the next level, let´s cut the bull****!" he heard Zack say from behind, his voice tinged with rage. Good, Severette thought, he'd need every ounce of fury for the fight that would soon come. Dominic slowly approached from the room, ending up next to him. Hade noticed him easing a bit, as if he was being unburdened. He was hurt, and still he was going into another potentially hazardous situation. Although Hade wouldn't admit it, he knew Cody had some steel to him. "We need to find that Artillery Blaster the Lieutenant was using. Then, I'm going to need you to cover me while I take out the raider's weapon," Dominic informed. Hade wasn't accustomed to playing the supporting role, but he complied, Dominic appeared to know what he was doing. "Consider it done." said Hade smoothly. Then looking at his scythe, he added "Uh, you got anything ranged?" Severette extended his arm, and collapsed the pole of the scythe in two, attaching it to his hip. The blade swung there from the top half-rod menacingly. From his back, he drew eloquently matching, burst fire pistols. The corner of his lip curved in a devious smile at Cody, he had range all right. "What can I do then?" Zack questioned. "It´s the best for all of us if we cooperate. That way we can get the hell out of here faster and move on with our lives" "Indeed. There will be raiders surely waiting for us, and the fyers hounding us for shards. I'll keep them tied, however, I can't do it alone. Zack, I need your help. Between us we can cause a great enough distraction, or at least buy time, for Dominic to get a hold of the Artillery Blaster and land the mortal wound to the Crucifix." Hade consulted, he was no tactician, but he'd been in enough skirmishes to know a thing or two about planning. He attached his mask, inhaling the stale, filtered air of his shard harness that would keep him alive in the space vacuum. Moving forward towards the blast door, where the raiders had punctured the ship, and keyed in a code that put it in standby, they'd only need the "Go.", and the three of them would be thrust out into the void of blackness and stars.
Yes, he would need help from both Hade and Zack. Dominic had to admit that Hade's Scythe/burst-fire pistols were a pretty ingenious combo. On the other hand, he thought that maybe Zack's plasma pistol wouldn't really be of much assistance in the situation they were about to encounter. Dominic stepped over to the researcher and held his rail gun out at arm's length. "You know how to use one of these?" The bounty hunter needed the best cover he could get, and that little pistol wouldn't exactly cut it. It would be better if he switched weapons with Zack - he also had to man the artillery blaster. The weight of that and his rail gun may be too encumbering, and needless to say, Dominic was a surgeon with almost any weapon.
