Wasteland

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

It was decided. We were traveling together, much to Sage's pleasure, I noted. I must admit, I was quite pleased myself. The three of us seemed to be good compnions, seemed to work well as a team. I couldn't help but wonder if we'd make a better team were our missing friend Denoitnem still with us. Oh, well. WHether or not we saw him again would be decided by either fate or time. I questioned neither.
"Okay, we'll eat with them tonight, and hopefully get a chance to see the city, but I want to see more of their operation before I tell them that we'll stay. I don't want to make promises that we can't keep. More than that, promises we're fools to keep."
The two seemed content with that. I went back to find Walter, who was talking heatedly with one of his men about the amount of water coming into the city and how they needed to ensure that those that stayed there were well-cared for. WHen he saw me, he tried to settle himself, to show more composure than he was a moment before. He didn't seem to realize tht I greatly respected his concern for his men's well-being.
THe bigger picture, I thought, was something that many people would have overlooked. Yelling a minor thing when compared to dying of thirst.
"Have you come to a decision already?" Walter asked me. His face was red, a vien clearly protruding from his expansive forehead.
"We've decided to get a better feel for your operation before we can be sure. But for now, we're fairly hungry. We haven't eaten in..."
I trailed off, thinking back not entirely sure we'd eaten since we'd all met.
"Milloy," Walter shouted, turning to a man a few feet away who was instructing a few other in where each should count. THey were taking inventory on a large quantity of canned foods. Some of it seemed to be something called "Spam." It didn't sound tasty, but military food was always just food.
"Get our guests something to eat."
Sage and I sat together and feasted on this "Spam," which wasn't good, but not nearly so bad as much of the food I'd consumed while in some group's service.
Valerios was off on his own somewhere, eating I guessed, but I wasn't certain. I wasn't even sure what Andromedians ate. As long as it wasn't human flesh, I couldn't care less.
We were just dinishing up as Walter came running through the camp, holding a weapon at his side. He stopped before us, panting.
"If you want to see our operation," he said, between breaths, "Here's your best chance."
"What's going on?" I asked.
"A few of our men are pinned down in Filda. Martians apparently scanned the city from overhead while they were still outside. We have no idea how bad the danger is, or if we're even going to get there in time."
"Then why even go? IF it's just a few men?" I knew why, but I was testing him.
He looked at me as if offended. "Because, you sonofabitch, we take care of our own."
I smiled, standing. He smiled back, apparently understanding my motives then.
"I'll come, did you tell Valerios?"
"Someone's telling him now. Just follow me. We'll enter the city from the underground."
Walter started off again, a small group of men following him. I debated just going, not even giving SAge the choice, but it seemed unfair not to allow her the right to decide for herself, even though I my better judgement told me to leave her here.
"What about you, Sage? Do you wish to come?"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden

I wanted to be offended, but I knew better. She couldn't have known for sure that I wasn't against her. Those who stood against Zed tended to do so alone. Admitting that you questioned him was far too dangerous. His followers were everywhere, whether they realized his intent or not. SHe did, however, know that I couldn't best her, not in my wildest dreams.
SHe illustrated her skills by helping us get past one of the roving eyes. IF it had picked us up on its scanner, Zed would have found us for sure.
SHe mentioned sector 12, something about the resistance and the man who was with her, talking of him as though she didn't know him, not even mentioning his name in fact.
"I have no interest in stopping you, SAtra. In fact I've come to help you escape and to go with you...if you'll take me, that is."

 

[Moneytalks]

"What about you, Sage? Do you wish to come?" Thallon asked.

Sage looked offended.

She scowled at him.

"Sage say go with Thallon. Thallon no ask again again!" She stated emphatically, even adding a little stomp of her foot for emphasis.

Clearly she did NOT intend to leave his side any time soon.

"Sage help Thallon." She nodded with a smile showing that no feelings were hurt.

 

[Moneytalks]

Satra

"I have no interest in stopping you, Satra. In fact I've come to help you escape and to go with you...if you'll take me, that is."

Lunden was doing her best not to look offended and Satra took the time to note this.

She looked at Lunden carefully before offering a short smile. She realised that she wasn't the only one aware of Zed's master plan. She wasn't even the only one who saw the fatal flaw to it all, but she hadn't expected to meet anyone offering to help her outside of her own team.

She realised that the New Republic would probably accept her into their ranks. But the military side to her rebelled against the idea. She worked for the government. Good or bad. She couldn't bring herself to go awol.

"Ok... I could sure use an extra set of hands... thanks..." She turned to look down the street again.

"I think maybe..." she walked forward a few steps and crouched down to lift the top off a sewer opening. After all these generations... humans still relied on passing their refuse beneath the ground. Satra peered down.

"This way..." she indicated, "You!" She pointed to Denoitnem. "You first, Lunden, you go after... I'll follow... I need to make sure no one sees us..." she finally added, clearly not used to explaining her actions but also realising that her new IF temporary companions deserved an explanation.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden

Of all places...the sewer...
Oh well, I thought. Beats getting caught up here. I doubted they'd check beneath the grounds surface anyway. Zed thought he had too much class for that sort of thing. He was also egotistical, which meant he'd probably not take their escape as a challenge to him, just sed his men and suspect they'd be brought in without much effort. Apparently, he was still unfamiliar with exactly who Satra was. She could have bested me in this arena at any time, and I was pretty well-trained if I said so myself.
I waited as the man climbe down the ladder, then dropped down on all fours and started down the ladder backwards, trying to move fast while feeling out the next rung with each foot. Once I was beneath the surface, I took in a deep breath, my stomach almost turning from the reak of it. I found the floor and pulled a flare from my belt-pack, then thought better of it and tucked it back in. Sewers tended to have high levels of methane, flare would be enough to ignite it.
"I'm down," I whispered loudly. I stepped aside, listening carefully for anything or anyone that might be down here, and waited for Satra to join us.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

"Okay," I said, hoping she couldn't sense my disappointment. I wanted her with me, there was no question about that, but the instinct to protect her was working overtime now. I'd met someone I cared about, something that hadn't occured in some time. Truth was, I hadn't trusted anyone since Andidria and Coulter had betrayed me. I was afraid to lose her already.
"Okay, Let's go before we fall too far behind," I said, taking her by the hand again and running after Walter.
I guessed Valerios, if he was coming, would go with some of the Andromedians, as all of Walter's crew appeared to be human.
"Walter," I shouted, once we were close enough for him to hear me. He glanced back at me.
"Sage needs a weapon."
"Are you kidding?" He shouted back, "Leave her here."
I shook my head, "She comes with us, and she needs a weapon."
"When we're under the city, I'll make sure she's armed."
We headed down a long corridor moving deeper into the ground, through a long tunnel that must have been almost a mile long. at the end of it, we turned right, then ran for what must have been another quarter mile, then turned left. Another straightaway, this one as long as the first, about a mile. Then we stopped. Walter raised a hand to his lips, denoting that we all be silent. He pointed to a man nearby who held a rifle in each hand and waved him closer. When the man was close, he took one of the rifles and handed it to Sage, whispering to her, "It holds five-hundred rounds. Use them wisely."
He looked at me, as if in uestion. I nodded, reassuring him. If it was different from Valerios's gun, and it was probably only a small bit different, then she'd figure it out with little difficulty.
"Okay," he started, whispering even louder this time. The soldiers came closer, mostly men, but a few women were among them. There were only twenty in all, including Sage and I. It stood to reason. Small groups, and only a few of them. We'll risk our lives to save the men because they're our own, but we won't risk the movement, not the New Republic itself. It had to have enough men to serve it.
For some strange reason, I thought about the oasis then, out in the middle of the desert where one could never really exist, would never last, and wondered if that was what I'd found here. An oasis that should never have been and would last only as long as a dream. That's what movements like this tended to be, mere dreams shared by those involved.
"We'll come up in a warehouse. We should be safe, but there's no guarantee. The last we heard. Our men were pinned on the fourth floor of an old office building. Martians were spotted entering the city on foot less than an hour ago. Whether or not we'll encounter any is unknown, but be prepared," Walter instructed.
"Madge," he whispered. One of the women stepped forward. SHe was wearing a camouflage body suit, mask hanging around her neck, and holding a rifle identical to the one Sage held in one arm, barrell pointed upward. Her eyes were as determined as any man's here was. "you go first, remember to get out of the way and keep your eyes open." SHe nodded, placing the oxygen mask over her face and starting forward to the nearest wall, where a metal ladder was imbedded in the rock.
Walter turned to us. "You'll need your oxygen masks," he said. "The life support is functioning, but we've never turned it back on, thought it would drawn too much attention and use too much power."
I nodded and put my mask on, then watched Sage put hers on.
It was go time. I gave the girl's hand a hard squeeze, then got in line to climb the ladder, stepping up behind a tall man, two people behind Madge.

 

[Moneytalks]

Sage

Sage hefted the weapon in her hands. Without even realising it she was adjusting the the feel of the weapon. She followed Thallon up the ladder and stood waiting to see what was going to happen next. She could feel the tension in the others surrounding her, but having no preconceived ideas about what was about to happen she decided to just wait and face whatever it was.

She wondered about these other humans. They seemed to live in packs. She wondered why Thallon was joining them. Clearly he wasn't a part of their pack originally, yet he was going to fight with them, or hunt, she wasn't sure which. She really had a lot to learn, she thought. She stepped closer to Thallon. She felt safer near him. These other human's seemed very different. Focused. Almost without emotion.

 

[Darklord]

Valerios

Earlier during the meal time he had wandered off to talk with a few of his fellows. They passed around the usual things like the weather, fighting tactics, weapons talk and all that type of stuff. Then they had been told about the Martians.

Following the others he headed topside where he and they would make a flanking attack from the rear while Thallon and Sage along with the humans would try an indirect attack. As they loped across the desert, Valerios thought about his friends and whether they would be all right. After some thought he figured they would be, both were survivors.

Soon they reached the outskirts of the city, and there they split up into pairs and spread out to cover as much ground as possible. Valerios was paired up with a young female who impatiently gestured him along with her and down the street to the unsuspecting Martians.

 

[poohlive]

>SMACK<
There was a loud popping sound as he watched her head leer dangerous to the side. There was blood on her cheek. Odd, it wasn't red like humans. It seemed like more of a golden color. It was blood nonetheless.
"You are a smart woman," he said again, this time even closer to her, "I know you are, not don't tell me smart girls such as yourself don't know any codes. I don't want to hurt you, honestly I don't, but if I don't get this transformer in your ship my people will die."
He kneed her in the stomach, not hard, but enough to make her feel the power behind it.
"That's what it boils down to, I hurt you so I can save my friends, my race. All you have to do is give me six little digits and you live, my species lives, and life goes on."
Quickly, he ripped what little was left of her clothing, revealing a nery humanistic body underneath.
"It really is your choice whether we do this the easy way or the hard way."

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

The warehouse was large and totally open, having been emptied out at some point of all equipment and other things at one point in time or another. We hurriedly searched the building to ensure its safety, then peered outside to see if the enemy was out there.
I thought back to when I was here last, trying to pinpoint where we were in the city and how far we would be from any office buildings. I guessed we'd have to search them all, which meant we'd have to split up. A good thing and a bad thing. Smaller groups meant that, should the enemy surround one group, we'd be less capable of fending them off. On the other hand, we'd lose fewer people. Catch-22, I guessed.
"Okay," Walter began, still whispering. He held out a small pack, the top of which was open. Inside were several small headsets, microphones attached. "Everybody take one. We're going to separate into five groups of four. Stay with your training groups, guys. Thallon, you and Sage will go with Madge and Sten. They're two of our best fighters. Good luck, and let us know as soon as you find them."
We separated then, each group heading for a different exit. We went to the main entrance, Madge exiting first into a loarge parking lot. We'd be in perfect view from above. Luckily, the sun had set, and we'd be able to spot the Martian crafts above by their lights. We ran throught he lot toward the nearest building. It was an ice cream parlor. We stopped under the awning there, looking in every direction.
"Where are we Madge? Which way?" Sten asked. Sten was a large man, built like a brick shithouse and armed with a weapon that probably weighed half of what I did. He held the weapon in one hand. There was something about Sten that bothered me. I tended to have a sixth sense for these sorts of things, and he made me uncomfortable for some unknown reason.
"I'm not sure," Madge replied, looking around.
I stepped from beneath the awning and looked up. Above us, many of the buildings rose so high they seemed to disappear into the night sky. Between them, long corridors connected the buildings to one another. Those corridors would be dangerous to use, given the Martians ability to hit such targets from far away. They were also the fastest route from one building to another.
I noticed the sign then, large and white, although it was greying with age now. "McGovern Ent.," it read.
"hey," I said, trying to keep even my whispers low.
"Maybe we should ask Walter..." Sten suggested.
"Hey," I said again, this time louder.
The two looked at me.
"I know where we are."

 

[bobo_daclown]

Denoitnem:

Satra instructs us down into the sewer. I slide down the sides of the metal ladder. At the bottom, I turn in all directions: my eyes adjusting to the dim surroundings.

Lunden (I musta heard her name by now) follows me down the ladder, using the rungs, but moving quickly.

She whispers up to the bright hole above us. Stealing breaths from the vile air, I note that it contains large quantities of methane and carbon-monoxide.

I watch Satra descend last and when she lands next to us, I speak in hushed tones:

"We are surrounded by a harsh atmosphere. I would caution you not to use any fire in this warm place: we would be faced with an explosion. Also, if we stay down here too long, you shant return to the surface--the air is not healthy for Yumans."

I pull the globe from my body, lighting the passage with a warm yellow light. It is very taxing to control the sphere from the Lucian ship.

"Which way?"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

"Are you sure?" Madge asked.
"Pretty sure," I replied. The buildings were getting closer.
"Walter," Madge began, speaking into her headset, "We're heading toward a group of buildings on Trenton Avenue. Thallon says he thinks some of these buildings were office buildings. The first is a large building with 'McGovern Ent.' written on it. We'll keep you informed as we investigate." I heard her voice both in the headset and out loud. In the headset, I heard Walter reply, "Good. I'll make sure no one else wastes time going there. I don't want to waste time with two groups doing what one can."
THe building was just up ahead. We stopped again, hiding beneath another awning and watching as a Martian Cruiser swept overhead.
Once it was gone, we continued on and entered the building from the main entrance. Once inside, we found the stairwell and hurried up four flights, remembering that he'd said they were on the fourth floor. he fourth was abandoned.
"Well, we found a business district," Madge said, "Now we just search the buildings."
"He said they weren't sure whether or not there were ground troops, right? SOmething about they were spotted from above."
"Yeah," Madge replied.
"Then we should be able to see Martian Cruisers laying seige to one of the buildings, shouldn't we? Y'know, attacking them from outside."
SHe thought about this, then nodded. "Okay, we'll head outside and make a quick round of the area, then search inside the buildings if we find nothing."
We headed back outside then, made almost a complete circuit of the buildings before we saw the Cruisers above us. Two of them, on opposite sides of a connecting column that was now broken in half. Part of one half had fallen and lay in pieces on the ground below. We stepped back before they saw us, Madge immediately getting on the headset. "Walter, I think we might have found them, but I'm not sure. Two Cruisers are attacking a connecting bridge between two of the buildings."
"Check it out, then get back to me. We'll continue our search. Be advised, we've recieved word that ground troops are en route to the location. And they are headed your way."
"Gotcha."
SHe nodded to me then and said, "Okay, let's go."

 

[Lady_Siren]

Lucia sought to cover herself but it was useless. Steeling her resolve she straitened her back and lowered her arms. "I know nothing about any codes. You can beat, hit or kill me but I will not remember something I know nothing about!" her eyes narrowed and flashed as her temper began to take over.

 

[Darklord]

Valerios

Valerios and the female whose name was Yournal crouched near a wall as another Martian Flyer flew by. Coming out they pulled their weapons out knowing the enemy must be near.

Covering each other they leapfrogged down the street filled with debris from years of neglect and warfare. Coming up behind a pile of rubble, they peered over to see a small column of Martian infantry marching by. Ducking back down Yournal reported into their commander about the column heading down a street known as Pine St. according ot the signpost near the corner. Valerios kept an eye on the column as it slowly marched off into the gathering darkness...

 

[Moneytalks]

Satra

Satra indicated that the follow her down the tunnel. She wanted to speak as little as possible in this toxic hell hole.

They walked briskly down the tunnel for quite some distance before Satra slowed down. The tunnel at this point parted into three directions. She frowned as if trying to remember something before going down the tunnel to their left.

A few meters later they came to another ladder leading up to ground level. She climbed it quickly and pushed at the metal door above. It didn't budge. She pushed harder. Still no sign of it opening. She glanced down at the two waiting below. Once more she tried putting all her weight behind the shove. Not even a wobble.

She climbed down again.

"Someone or something is blocking this exit... we could try another exit about a kilometer down unless someone has some brilliant idea on how to move that thing." She nodded up at the metal barring their exit.

 

[poohlive]

He sighed, this was useless. She either didn't know the codes or was that good at keeping secrets.
Guard!"
There was only one, and his real name was Borb, but that wasn't much. He liked keeping things formal with her, "Tie her up nice and tight, but free enough so she can swim."
He left the cell, going back to the main console, Spike standing from the controls.
"How did it go?"
He shook his head, "She's got a great body, but not much brain. You'd think a princess of her age would have at least heard a code or two... well it doesn't matter much now then does it. We have enough of what we need, prepare for the attack."
Systems began warming up.
He pressed a comm link.
"How we doing down there pumpkin? comfy... I know how it can be without clothes, here let me help just a little bit."
A wall of cascading water came down, salt water. Always have an extra cell full of water, it helps to keep the ice from melting. Right now though, she was swimming in the thick of it. He made it so she could just barely touch on her toes.
"There we are..."
The Lucian head ship was in sight, it was now or never, surely they could see him on the radar system. He had to go.
"One last chance Princess. Water is cold and uncomfortable, but it isn't deadly. I have my button on the hatch that opened the floor and takes you right out into space. I need a code, or I'm going to dump."
He raised his eyebrows at Spike, how he usually does when even he still isn't sure of what he'll do.
Anything goes.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden

Great! We were stuck in the sewer, stuck down here in the reak of human waste that surrounded us. The sensation to vomit had struck home just after I reached the bottom of the ladder. Now it was returning. But we couldn't just hurry. I needed to know a few things.
"Satra," I began, "Before we get too far into this, where are we going exactly? And what are we going to do when we get there?"

 

[bobo_daclown]

Denoitnem:

Satra motions us down the tunnel and then decides to turn left at a fork. As we stroll down that tunnel, Lunden asks where we are going.

Satra seems too resolute to tell us--not to mention that talking in the sewer adds some pain to the throat. She does answer the question by suddenly ascending a ladder.

Unfortunately, she returns with bad news. Now or never, Denoitnem.

"I suppose I can move what ever is topside." The two women stare at me with puzzled looks.

"I'm not quite Yuman." Hoping that I will not frighten them, I stretch to the ceiling of the tunnel and work my way through the rim of the sewer cap.

Regaining my form, I leave the sphere attached by a thread of me, through the drain. I note that wherever I am, darkness blackens the surroundings. By feel alone, I push the heavy object from atop the drain and pull the sphere upward, removing the sewer cap from the hole and illuminating the area.

"You two may want to see this!"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

We slipped around a few buildings, manaing to get a few blocks away from the building's entrance before being spotted by one of the Cruisers. It turned to us nd opened fire immediately. We started to sprint then, moving in a straight line fo rthe glass doors to the building, the projectiles the Cruiser fired bouncing off the concrete around us. Head down and sprint and hope you didn't get hit. That was what you did in this situation. I wanted to stay between SAge and the Cruiser, but thought better of it. SHe would probably get stuck behind me then. I guessed she could outrun me without much difficulty. I raised my rifle into the air and started firing upward, aiming toward the Cruiser but not putting much concentration into it.
About halfway there, I heard a loud groan and saw Madge look to her side, where Sten had fallen, waving toward us to continue forward. We had no choice. If we tried to help him, we'd all be killed for sure.
When we were in front of the doors, we could duck into the doorway and be sheltered from the Cruiser's fire by the brick wall of the building.
We rested for a moment, looking out at Sten, who lay still, his head resting on one side.
"Is he dead?" I asked.
"I dunno," Madge returned.
"What should we do?" I asked.
SHe looked at me, her face sad. "We go inside."

 

[Lady_Siren]

Lucia cried out when the cold water touched her skin. "I don't know any coads damn it" she struggled to the surface of the water feeling tears well up in her eyes but her anger overrode her good sense "and even if I did I wouldn't tell scum like you!"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

We hurried inside, expecting to see Martian troops waiting inside. As we did, the Cruiser came down at fire at us, blowing in the glass doors and firing into the lobby. THere were no troops inside. I wondered if they were just further up.
We moved quickly, realizing that, while it was still light outside, the sun would set soon enough, and with the lights out (I wasn't sure they even worked) we would be fighting them in the dark.
We took the stairs, moving with whatever stealth we could muster, working our way up one floor at a time. As we neared the third floor, I heard sounds below us.
We froze, listening as the sounds grew closer. Footsteps, either more of our people, or Martian soldiers.
I looked to Madge, waiting for instructions.
"It'll take at least three of us to cover the entire stairwell in order to keep the enemy down there," she whispered, barely making a sound. "We've gotta hold position here if we're gonna keep them from getting to our men upstairs."
Blasts rung out then, loud and unmistakeable, coming from below. It was both; no question...
"We've got company," Madge said into her headset, speaking in her normal voice. SHe was heading back down the stairwell, gun pointed out in front of her.
"Stay behind me, Sage, okay? Make sure you can hit your targets, but don't get too close to them."
I hurried after Madge.

 

[Darklord]

Valerios

Nodding her understanding to whatever orders she was being given Yournal motioned Valerios to move with her. Heading down the street with their suits on full stealth mode the two shadowed the Martian column. A few minutes later the column stopped and the commander talked to his superior it seemed to Valerios.

Then the column shifted and doubled timed it down a side street heading to what seemed a business district. Yournal quickly reported the new developments as they follwed closely.

A moment or two later they came upon the scene. Just to the right of the corner a Martian flyer was hovering keeping it's big guns trained on the building while the captain confered with the column's commander. Gesturing ot his men the commander ordered his men into the building. Just then Yournal got a report that this was the building in which Thallon was....

 

[poohlive]

"Stubborn, isn't she."
Terrin nodded, smiling slightly, "It's a shame she's Lucian."
Spike gave him a cross look, "What are you saying?"
"Nothing... really, she's just got a lot of spunk, you know."
"Oh my god," Spike suddenly realized it, "You like her don't you."
He suddenly realized the comm link was still on. Carefully, he turned it off.
"You asshole, you know she heard that."
Spike didn't care, "You've got a crush on a Lucian princess. I knew that whole bondage thing was too weird for you."
"Shut up, and prepare, we're going in."
Spike began checking systems, and hitting Terrin in the stomach ever so often. Terrin, on the other hand, was beginning to set a pattern for the ship itself so they could get passedsecurity from those huge cruiseships.
"Is everything a go?"
He heard nothing but good news from everyone, and pushed the button. In a flash the ship headed straight for the ship, and immediately was asked for the flight codes. Terrin pressed in something random, hoping it would stall for some time.
It didn't, immediately it asked for the correct code.
He sighed.
"Shoot out the shield generator, and prepare to crash into the aft hull section."
A loud pop sounded as the missile left, and a huge explosion happened on the right of the ship. At once a sudden ring appeared over the hull, and then was gone. He sped through the clearing, making for the correct mark.
"Outer perimeter bombs ready?"
"READY!"
"Fire!"
He shot them, and they landed perfectly on their mark. At once they exploded, leaving an entire section open to space. The small vessel came right up to it, ample room to fit inside.
"Good, retrieval team go!"
The hatch blew, and four men ran to the huge transformer, quickly pulling it into the ship. Terrin nodded at them, running down to the makeshift prison cell. He waded in the water, coming close to the princess.
"Don't worry, you'll be home soon enough. Just need for you to take a little ride first."
He grabbed her tightly, his body curling up around hers. With a single button the bottom hatch blew, sending the water and them cascading down into a whole other room. A main control room.
He loved reading diagnostic charts.
She was there, hanging in midair, only a few feet from the drenched floor. He was on the ground looking up at her.
Ever had a helpless woman naked on top of you, tied down with water all over her soft skin?
It's not something you see every day. Terrin couldn't be distracted though, he quickly ran to the controls, beginning to punch in algorhythms that would shut this thing down. They couldn't trace the ship back to Zion. This was going to be an easy job, in, out, and with no casualties.
"Lucian guards, everybody run!"
Shit.
The guards were firing weapons, but it didn't do much use. The transformer was aboard, and the outer hatch already closed. Terrin was the only one still not in, he couldn't leave yet though. Not until he had damaged this ship beyond repair.
"Leave," he opened a comm link to Spike in the driver's seat.
"Are you crazy? And leave you with them?"
"I'll be fine, I'm just going to damage this bird and get off one one of the emergency escape pods. I'll land in the sea somewhere, and you can pick me up in an hour or so, ok?"
"You'd better stay alive."
He turned around, grabbing a huge knife. In a few cuts the princess was down on the ground.
"There you go, not quite a formal entrance, but then again nothing is. I wasn't comfortable enough leaving you with Zion, somehow I didn't think they would return you as promised."
He turned back, concentrating on removing the ship of power...
But he couldn't.
His body was frozen in place, a tall Lucian figure had entered the room.
"Terrin? I presume."
He was intergallactically known. Whoah, that was strange.
"Something on your mind?"
"Ahhh, yes. It would be you, wouldn't it? Ruins things as usual. Why didn't you just do as ordered?"
He triedt o glance back but couldn't. How did the Lucians know about his orders? Had they been talking directly with Zion? Had Zion betrayed him? He wasn't sure whatto do now.
Not like he had a choice, he was already caught.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden

Satra hadn't responded to the man, so I climbed the ladder infront of her, reaching the top in only a few seconds. I climbed out and looked around.
"SHit," I muttered, wide-eyed.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

As we reached the third floor we saw that the friendly fire was only one friend. Sten, injured and slow, appeared very much alive and well. I guessed he'd played dead until the enemy vessel was distracted by us, then crept aside to await the chance to enter the building behind us. He was standing in the center of the stairwell, firing the large weapon he held, still only in one hand, down the stairwell at somthing we couldn't see. His free hand, I noticed then, was pressing hard against his left side, blood running from beneath it down his side and onto his hip.
"Sten, c'mon," Madge yelled. He glanced up at us, still firing, then moving toward us, favoring his left side. Once he was behind the near wall (the stairwell had various corners and turns) he ceased fire and started up the stairs toward us at a limp.
"Martian," he panted, "must be hundreds of them outside. We're trapped here, unless we can find a way out of here from above."
I thought of Valerios now and wondered where he might be. I wasn't sure yet that I trusted our other companions.
"Okay, Thallon," Madge turned to me, "We've got little time. You've got a reputation from situations like these..."
WHat? I did? What the hell have these people heard?
SHe must have seen these questions in my eyes, because she asked, "you were in Filda that day, weren't you?"
Oh, yeah. THAT day.
"Okay," I said, trying to think clearly, "WE're here to save these people upstairs right?"
Madge nodded. Sten took a few steps back, peering around the corner to see where the enemy was. Upon sihgt of him, shots echoed down the hall. He withdrew to safety.
"We haven't much time," he panted.
"Are you alright?" I aksed him, pointing to his side.
"For a while..." He returned.
That answer would have to do.
"If we go up there and find anyone alive, our numbers increase, that's automatically a better situation. Unless they're injured, which may be the case. We have to try it though. Here, we'll just get slaughtered."
I thought of the Cruisers flying around that bridging column and wondered if we were in for the slaughter anyway.
"Let's go," I said, "And Madge, tell Walter that we'll need his assistance, but not in this building."
SHe nodded, immediately speaking into the headset.
We moved up the stairwell as quickly as we could, me in the lead with SAge close behind me, then Madge, then Sten, moving slower than the rest of us, protecting the rear. We were back on the fourth in seconds, moving through the halls in search of the entrance to the bridgecolumn.

OOC: Has anyone seen or heard from Money?