Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:04 pm
Here's chapter 12. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 12: Escape Attempt
Trent had been escorted to what he could only assume was the brig and tossed in unceremoniously. His cell was, of course, very Spartan, with a single bunk and toilet facilities in one corner. He sat down on the bunk and tried to figure out his next move. He had long since given up on an escape attempt, since that would be almost certain death. He was seriously thinking of a bluff, telling Kress that he had decided to join the Covenant and then try to escape later.
He had no idea how long he had been sitting in his cell when the door finally opened. Kress and two other men entered his cell.
"So, Mr. Trent, now that you have had time to ponder my offer, I will give you one last chance to accept.
Trent saw he had no other choice. "You're very convincing. I guess I'm in."
"Excellent. Your skills will be a great asset to us. Come with me, there is much we must discuss."
Trent left the cell with Kress. The two others followed close behind.
"Tell me, Trent, what made you decide to join the Covenant? You are not joining just to end your imprisonment are you?"
"No," Trent lied. "I thought long and hard about what you said, and I came to realize that the Dom'Kavash are a greater threat than I first thought."
"Excellent, Mr. Trent. I hope you will understand that we must question your decision to join us, based on your circumstances. I trust you have no objections to taking a dose of truth serum and making your true intentions known?"
Damn, Trent thought to himself. His bluff had failed. Well, nothing else to do but play along. "Not at all," he said as neutrally as he could.
"Good. This way." Kress led him to the medical quarters of the Horus. "Please sit down. The doctor will be with you shortly." Kress left, leaving the two guards standing watch. They eyed Trent with an air of suspicion.
The door opened once again, and the figure of Lord Hakkera came into the room, closing the door behind him. He looked at Trent, then turned to the two guards and said something that Trent couldn't hear. The two guards turned toward the door. Suddenly Hakkera pulled two hypo-syringes out and stabbed the guards. They fell to the deck without a sound.
"What the..." Trent started to say.
"Trent, you must listen to me. We have little time. You must get off this ship and warn the Order. Quickly, follow me." Hakkera jumped up on top of an exam table and lifted an access panel in the ceiling. He climbed up and motioned for Trent to follow. He climbed up and found himself following Hakkera through a maze of pipes, conduits and ducts.
Hakkera finally stopped at another access panel.
"We are now directly over the hangar," Hakkera said quietly. "There is an access ladder that leads down behind the weapons storage containers. It will keep you out of sight, but close enough for you to get to a ship and get out of here. I must leave you now. Good luck, my friend."
"Wait, why are you doing this?"
"I do not want the Covenant to succeed any more than you do, but my presence here is advantageous, as I am from Kusari and a natural fit for the Covenant. Now go, my friend, and may luck go with you." Hakkera turned and disappeared into the superstructure.
Trent slowly removed the access cover and looked down. Sure enough, a ladder led down right behind the weapon storage containers in the hangar. He began to climb down and hoped to high heaven that Hakkera was right, and that no one would see him. He reached the deck and looked around. Twenty feet away was an Anubis, with the cockpit hatch wide open. He looked around and noticed that the hangar bay was nearly devoid of personnel. He decided that this was his best chance to get off of the ship. He took one more look around and bolted for the ship. In less than ten seconds he was up the ladder and into the Anubis' cockpit. He powered up the ship's systems, and the alarm klaxon went off.
He looked around and saw flight crews coming out of nowhere toward him, shouting and pointing. He felt guilty at what he was about to do, but he had no choice. He powered up the ship's cannons and blasted the hangar doors apart, decompressing the hangar and ejecting the flight crew into space. He advanced the throttle and maneuvered the ship out of the hangar. When he was clear he punched up the cruise engines.
Trent looked back and noticed that the Horus was uncloaked over the planet Pittsburgh. He could see Manhattan off in the distance, with the Dom'Kavash vessel still in orbit. He also saw another Anubis closing fast, and a voice came over his comm system.
"That was not a good idea, Trent," Juni said over the comm system. "I was just waiting for an excuse to blow you to pieces."
"Take your best shot, sweetie," Trent replied back as he turned his ship around and prepared to engage.
Trent never thought he would be in this position, a one-on-one duel with someone who had once been his friend, his lover. But now, the rules were different. He armed the ship's cannons and watched as the gap closed between them. When Juni was in range, he fired a barrage which she evaded deftly. They broke away from each other and scanned the sky, each looking to gain an advantage on the other. Trent turned his ship hard and managed to get off a few shots at Juni, but missed. He was on her tail now, trying to get into postion for another deadly barrage. Suddenly he saw a silvery spherical object in his cockpit window and cursed as the high-yield mine that Juni had dropped exploded, taking his shields completely out. Sparks flew as several instruments blew out, but the ship was still intact.
Trent recovered from the impact and saw that Juni was still trying to evade. He was pissed now. Juni kept jinking back and forth to throw off his aim, but Trent stayed with her. He guessed the amount of lead required to hit the target, and slammed home the triggers. The energy blasts hit Juni's ship with full force, completely knocking out her shields. He fired one last burst to finish her off, and Juni's Anubis exploded in a dazzling ball of light.
Trent pulled back on the throttles, bringing his ship to a full stop and realizing what he had just done. He felt a wave of nausea, and took a few deep breaths to keep from vomiting in the cockpit. It was all over. He had just killed Juni. Or so he thought.
He looked out his cockpit window and saw an escape capsule floating nearby. He activated the tractor beam and pulled the capsule in, then turned the ship around. He was about to activate the cruise engines when something exploded on the back of his Anubis. His instruments suddenly lit up, reporting damage all over the ship, and his engines began to misfire, pushing him closer and closer to Pittsburgh's atmosphere. He could only guess that the earlier mine hit had done more damage than he thought. He tried to turn the ship, but the controls were like taffy. The planet was coming closer and closer, and he desperately tried to shut down the engines to no avail. He knew he was too far from the Pittsburgh docking ring to set the ship down safely, and he could only hope that the shields would survive long enough to survive reentry and a certain crash landing. He managed to bring the nose up to an angle as the ship hit the atmosphere, and the Anubis turned into a fireball, streaking across the sky.
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Mmmm...Synth Paste...
Edited by - neuromancer on 11/10/2004 7:10:54 PM
CHAPTER 12: Escape Attempt
Trent had been escorted to what he could only assume was the brig and tossed in unceremoniously. His cell was, of course, very Spartan, with a single bunk and toilet facilities in one corner. He sat down on the bunk and tried to figure out his next move. He had long since given up on an escape attempt, since that would be almost certain death. He was seriously thinking of a bluff, telling Kress that he had decided to join the Covenant and then try to escape later.
He had no idea how long he had been sitting in his cell when the door finally opened. Kress and two other men entered his cell.
"So, Mr. Trent, now that you have had time to ponder my offer, I will give you one last chance to accept.
Trent saw he had no other choice. "You're very convincing. I guess I'm in."
"Excellent. Your skills will be a great asset to us. Come with me, there is much we must discuss."
Trent left the cell with Kress. The two others followed close behind.
"Tell me, Trent, what made you decide to join the Covenant? You are not joining just to end your imprisonment are you?"
"No," Trent lied. "I thought long and hard about what you said, and I came to realize that the Dom'Kavash are a greater threat than I first thought."
"Excellent, Mr. Trent. I hope you will understand that we must question your decision to join us, based on your circumstances. I trust you have no objections to taking a dose of truth serum and making your true intentions known?"
Damn, Trent thought to himself. His bluff had failed. Well, nothing else to do but play along. "Not at all," he said as neutrally as he could.
"Good. This way." Kress led him to the medical quarters of the Horus. "Please sit down. The doctor will be with you shortly." Kress left, leaving the two guards standing watch. They eyed Trent with an air of suspicion.
The door opened once again, and the figure of Lord Hakkera came into the room, closing the door behind him. He looked at Trent, then turned to the two guards and said something that Trent couldn't hear. The two guards turned toward the door. Suddenly Hakkera pulled two hypo-syringes out and stabbed the guards. They fell to the deck without a sound.
"What the..." Trent started to say.
"Trent, you must listen to me. We have little time. You must get off this ship and warn the Order. Quickly, follow me." Hakkera jumped up on top of an exam table and lifted an access panel in the ceiling. He climbed up and motioned for Trent to follow. He climbed up and found himself following Hakkera through a maze of pipes, conduits and ducts.
Hakkera finally stopped at another access panel.
"We are now directly over the hangar," Hakkera said quietly. "There is an access ladder that leads down behind the weapons storage containers. It will keep you out of sight, but close enough for you to get to a ship and get out of here. I must leave you now. Good luck, my friend."
"Wait, why are you doing this?"
"I do not want the Covenant to succeed any more than you do, but my presence here is advantageous, as I am from Kusari and a natural fit for the Covenant. Now go, my friend, and may luck go with you." Hakkera turned and disappeared into the superstructure.
Trent slowly removed the access cover and looked down. Sure enough, a ladder led down right behind the weapon storage containers in the hangar. He began to climb down and hoped to high heaven that Hakkera was right, and that no one would see him. He reached the deck and looked around. Twenty feet away was an Anubis, with the cockpit hatch wide open. He looked around and noticed that the hangar bay was nearly devoid of personnel. He decided that this was his best chance to get off of the ship. He took one more look around and bolted for the ship. In less than ten seconds he was up the ladder and into the Anubis' cockpit. He powered up the ship's systems, and the alarm klaxon went off.
He looked around and saw flight crews coming out of nowhere toward him, shouting and pointing. He felt guilty at what he was about to do, but he had no choice. He powered up the ship's cannons and blasted the hangar doors apart, decompressing the hangar and ejecting the flight crew into space. He advanced the throttle and maneuvered the ship out of the hangar. When he was clear he punched up the cruise engines.
Trent looked back and noticed that the Horus was uncloaked over the planet Pittsburgh. He could see Manhattan off in the distance, with the Dom'Kavash vessel still in orbit. He also saw another Anubis closing fast, and a voice came over his comm system.
"That was not a good idea, Trent," Juni said over the comm system. "I was just waiting for an excuse to blow you to pieces."
"Take your best shot, sweetie," Trent replied back as he turned his ship around and prepared to engage.
Trent never thought he would be in this position, a one-on-one duel with someone who had once been his friend, his lover. But now, the rules were different. He armed the ship's cannons and watched as the gap closed between them. When Juni was in range, he fired a barrage which she evaded deftly. They broke away from each other and scanned the sky, each looking to gain an advantage on the other. Trent turned his ship hard and managed to get off a few shots at Juni, but missed. He was on her tail now, trying to get into postion for another deadly barrage. Suddenly he saw a silvery spherical object in his cockpit window and cursed as the high-yield mine that Juni had dropped exploded, taking his shields completely out. Sparks flew as several instruments blew out, but the ship was still intact.
Trent recovered from the impact and saw that Juni was still trying to evade. He was pissed now. Juni kept jinking back and forth to throw off his aim, but Trent stayed with her. He guessed the amount of lead required to hit the target, and slammed home the triggers. The energy blasts hit Juni's ship with full force, completely knocking out her shields. He fired one last burst to finish her off, and Juni's Anubis exploded in a dazzling ball of light.
Trent pulled back on the throttles, bringing his ship to a full stop and realizing what he had just done. He felt a wave of nausea, and took a few deep breaths to keep from vomiting in the cockpit. It was all over. He had just killed Juni. Or so he thought.
He looked out his cockpit window and saw an escape capsule floating nearby. He activated the tractor beam and pulled the capsule in, then turned the ship around. He was about to activate the cruise engines when something exploded on the back of his Anubis. His instruments suddenly lit up, reporting damage all over the ship, and his engines began to misfire, pushing him closer and closer to Pittsburgh's atmosphere. He could only guess that the earlier mine hit had done more damage than he thought. He tried to turn the ship, but the controls were like taffy. The planet was coming closer and closer, and he desperately tried to shut down the engines to no avail. He knew he was too far from the Pittsburgh docking ring to set the ship down safely, and he could only hope that the shields would survive long enough to survive reentry and a certain crash landing. He managed to bring the nose up to an angle as the ship hit the atmosphere, and the Anubis turned into a fireball, streaking across the sky.
-------------------------
Mmmm...Synth Paste...
Edited by - neuromancer on 11/10/2004 7:10:54 PM
please comme back and finish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Bravo 3 your cleared to dock