"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
1-19: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is Merely An Oncoming Train)
Rated:
R
Atlantis
Nebula, Atlantis system, 25 October 2736
The
SLS Destiny
Sailor Mercury's eyes narrowed as she saw the negative blast that raged
forth from the enemy ship. She knew
that she really didn't have to worry, Neo-Queen Serenity I was protecting them;
and she noted Princess Serena’s eyes narrow, and her crescent burst into
brilliant life. A silver blast
reached out and drilled the incoming attack dead center, neutralizing it.
As the flash faded, Sailor Mercury stared at the screen.
The enemy ship had disappeared.
Sailor Mercury frowned, pulling her blood-soaked glove away from her
head. She knew it was no longer
bleeding; her accelerated healing had seen to that.
But the enemy was making her look bad, and if there was one thing she
disliked, it was being made to look bad in front of her colleagues- especially
her Queen.
"Sailor Vulcan," she said.
"Keep a sharp eye out for them.
Access their registry when we see them again."
"Of course, Sailor Mercury," replied the Senshi of Order.
"Tactical, standby for snapshot.
If they appear, nail them," continued Sailor Mercury, moving
businesslike towards the captain's chair. "Let's
intensify scanning; there's gotta be some way we can at least find them at close
range. Destiny, run a
filtering program; ignore gaseous signatures, and any of the electrical
signatures that are a direct result of the destruction of the planet."
She sat down, and smiled. "Specifically,
in depth scan for crystalline-duranium. We're
surrounded by DK ships, so any readings that belong to our ships is a
target."
"We have located such a signature," Sailor Vulcan said. "It is fluctuating; there is considerable interference
from the remains of the Dark Kingdom ship they are utilizing as
camouflage."
"On screen 1," ordered Sailor Mercury.
The view changed to show a still-smoldering hulk of a DK cruiser.
The barest glimmer of crystalline wingtip poked out behind it.
"I see you," whispered Sailor Mercury.
"Load and lock on Ghost Torpedoes; set for proximity detonation.
As they flee, lock blasters on weapons and engines; their shields should
still be down from the initial torpedo salvo."
"Sailor Mercury," Sailor Vulcan interrupted.
"Weapons lock is not fully functional due to the disruption of the
nebula."
"Best guess, then," Sailor Mercury told the tactical officer.
"Adjustments complete," reported tactical.
The Vegan currently at that position looked up, green curls bobbing.
She glanced at Sailor Mercury. "Weapons
ready."
"Fire," Sailor Mercury said calmly.
The Destiny's nose dipped, and four white torpedoes raced out. As they neared their target, the Destiny rose
slightly.
The
Dread
"Oh, shit!" blanched Aaryx.
"Incoming torpedoes!"
"Back off!" snapped Heran.
He knew now what he was up against- mother and daughter.
Two of those cursed Crystals. He
knew he had no real chance against them, and was now merely trying to survive.
"In such a way as to obscure us from the direction of the
torpedoes!"
As the Dread slid backwards, the white torpedoes neared.
One struck the DK hulk; the white flash eliminated the charge from the
wrecked systems feeding the fires. The
other three all exploded close at hand.
"Shields phasing!" reported Aaryx.
"But only in the bow area!"
"Umm..." broke in Neris, pointing.
"Ahead full!" ordered Heran, eyes widening as he realized he'd
reacted exactly as the Destiny's commander had intended.
"Shit! Nice tactics; we
could ill afford to ignore those torpedoes!
Turn the nose away!"
The Destiny moved forward now, picking up speed.
Even as the Dread began its turn, the blaster precharge could be
seen racing along the blaster arrays; they were very close.
"They're firing; brace for impact!"
The
SLS Destiny
Bright yellow beams lanced out, reaching for the Dread. Several struck the still shielded aft section; the Dread
had turned fast enough to protect its sublight engines, which were glowing
fiercely red as it picked up speed. Several
more missed, racing by the smaller, more nimble ship.
Most, however, struck the Dread.
Fortunately for the Dread, the hits were not all precise or at
full strength; several areas of hull were scorched, nothing more.
The few that scored direct hits were very damaging, even to the tough,
crystalline hull. The first smashed
through the gap in the bow, penetrating into the shrouded proton cannon
assembly; fire burst forth from the area. Two
other hits ruptured routing lines for the Dread's TPA. The fourth drilled straight into the hull, bursting out of
the bottom, exposing the innards of the ship to the roiling gases of the nebula.
Debris floated away as the Dread finished its turn, and the red
trail from the sublight drive lengthened as it raced away, trailing plasma.
"Report!" said Sailor Mercury.
"It is pointless to give chase," Sailor Vulcan reported calmly.
"Their engines are undamaged, and they are quicker than this
vessel."
"Several glancing blows, four direct hits," tactical called
out. "Heavy damage to the
death ray, and TPA. One direct hull
penetration, straight through. That
ship will not be fighting anything for a while."
"Good shooting," Sailor Mercury said.
She turned back to Sailor Vulcan.
"The ship is, as anticipated, the combined remains of the Minotaur,
Haruna, Fiore,
and Demon," began Sailor Vulcan.
"They call themselves the 'Dread'; the crew is the expected
Dark Kingdom crew from the Demon. No
important strategic or tactical information was found in my brief search."
"Dread, huh?" mused Sailor Mercury.
"Something to worry about, but later. They're out of action for awhile. Resume course for the Gate."
"Aye, Sailor Mercury," nodded Sean.
"Resuming course."
Sailor Mercury sat back in her chair.
"Stay sharp. Be ready
for anything. Shield status?"
"Working on it," reported Sailor Sirius.
"It's gonna take a bit; death rays are awfully powerful
things."
Sailor Mercury nodded. "Keep
me informed."
The Destiny completed its gradual turn, the multicolored gases
quickly obscuring the mass ship grave behind them.
Probing, searching, the flagship of the Golden Millennium sought out its
enemies, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
The
Dread
As the smoke thinned slightly, Heran coughed, waving his hands in front
of his face. "Report!" he
roared.
"They are not following us; only a few direct hits," gasped
Neris, as Aaryx stirred on the floor near his console.
"But due to the point-blank range, we are seriously hurt."
"Damn!" snapped Heran. "Our
first chance to beat up on a GM ship, and it had both Crystal wielders aboard!
They'll pay for it! Damage
Report?"
"Still coming in," coughed Neris.
"TPA offline, severely damaged.
Same for the death ray: a
direct hull penetration, straight through, starboard wing area.
Emergency force fields are in place and holding.
Casualties are uncertain at this point.
We have blowouts in various systems throughout the ship, and several
areas of hull plating are severely scorched."
As Aaryx regained his senses, and Neris relinquished his console to him,
Heran scowled. "Plot a course
out of here, through the back of the nebula.
Make it a parabolic; let's avoid the Sabaat and Sol systems for now.
Plenty of GM space to explore, with freighters to raid."
"Aye, sir," nodded Aaryx.
"That way, we'll be able to fully repair everything, and we can
truly start enjoying ourselves. Screw
the Atlantis system," said Heran, more calmly.
"Ready," reported Aaryx.
"Go," said Heran.
The Dread continued its current course, weaving around several
protostars. As it finally cleared
the fringes of the gases, on the far side of the nebula, the RIFT elements
glowed fiercely green; green energy swirled around the ship, obscuring it, and
the Dread leapt into faster-than-light transit in a green counterspiral
and a flash.
The
SLS Destiny
Sailor Mercury's fingers lightly tapped the armrest; for the last six
hours, it had been quiet and uneventful. The
shields had been repaired an hour previously; they were now at full strength,
although, as the chief engineer had reported, "This ship is going to need
some SERIOUS time in drydock for an overhaul!"
As a result, all were relaxing temporarily.
Sailor Mercury briefly wrestled with the idea of downgrading to yellow
alert; but decided against it, even knowing how hard on the crew it would be to
remain at battlestations the whole time.
There was simply no way of knowing when the next attack would come, and
sensors were still erratic at anything more than a few shiplengths around them.
"Do we have any idea how much longer?" asked Serenity quietly.
Sailor Mercury blinked. "Two
to three hours more, Serenity," she said.
"Probes travel a lot quicker than starships; that's the estimate
based on the probe's speed through the nebula."
"It's too quiet," commented Sailor America.
"The waiting is historically the hardest part of any battle,"
Sailor Orion said.
"We're seeing this right now, aren't we?" Sailor Sirius said
softly.
"Such apprehension is logical, considering the situation and our
current location, and the importance of success in this venture," Sailor
Vulcan said calmly. "It is
human nature to be wary of an uncertain situation."
"So you aren't bothered in the least by it?" asked Sailor Mars.
"I did not say that, Sailor Mars," Sailor Vulcan began.
Sailor Saturn's eyes twinkled. "It
wouldn't be logical."
Both of Sailor Vulcan's eyebrows rose as she spoke.
"Would that constitute.... a joke?"
Sailor Eos grinned, her brown eyes catching Reeni's red ones. Reeni shook her head.
"I wonder how Father is doing," she murmured.
King Endymion yawned. Most
of the 187th were silently reading their spellcomps.
Several were lightly napping. He
glanced to his right, where all three Planetary Knights were quietly talking.
Mage Torym appeared to be listening in, occasionally adding his opinion;
and Archmage Derrelli was engrossed in his spellcomp.
He set it down, and rubbed his eyes; then he looked over at Endymion.
"Sir, I think we should make a slight alteration to our supplies
aboard the dropships," Derrelli said.
"How so?" Endymion asked.
"Well, we have a lot of food and supplies packed in; we aren't going
to need them, and it would be a lot easier to deal with the gate if we replaced
them with explosives," Derrelli began.
"We could then remotely detonate them; and there are several skilled
explosives technicians among the Vipers."
Torym and the three Knights had gone silent as he spoke.
Now, Torym cocked his head, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Not a bad idea, Pyro. Quite
typical of you, but not bad at all."
"Typical of me?" blinked Derrelli.
"Yeah, you're always considering new ways to blow shit up,"
chuckled Torym.
Derrelli rolled his eyes. "Shoulda
seen that one coming. Duh. Anyway, Tor, let's get the men moving; unpack the supplies we
won't need. Have our resident
explosives experts report over here; we'll need to fully plan just what we're
gonna take. Let me know the second
we have an exact total of weight and space available."
"You got it, Pyro," nodded Torym, jumping to his feet.
He moved amongst the lounging 187th, rousing them.
The two men Derrelli wanted to speak to were sent over, and soon all were
deep in the new activity. After
speaking with them, they were dispatched to help with the unloading and loading,
and Derrelli looked pensive.
"Got another idea," he said.
"We'll hack into the enemy's computer to do the scans, and maybe
bring back some interesting data. I'm
gonna need some special equipment, and a few assistants."
Derrelli grinned in anticipation of the challenge.
Two and a half hours later, Sailor Mercury was slowly strolling around
the silent bridge. Anticipation
hung thickly in the air, as though even the Destiny itself was trembling,
ready for the battle.
It didn't have long to wait.
"Sporadic readings ahead, Sailor Mercury," reported Sailor
Vulcan.
Sailor Mercury whirled. "What
sort of readings?"
"It is difficult to tell, at this range.
Definitely some movement, however, and it is towards us.
The nebula appears to thin somewhat ahead," Sailor Vulcan replied.
At that precise second, the Destiny burst into a much clearer
region of the nebula, seeing for the first time the imposing sight of the
planet-sized gate structure.
And a fierce salvo of gravity beams that promptly smashed into their
shields.
"By the Crystal!" murmured Sailor Mercury.
They had arrived at their goal. "Target
the nearest ship; fire at will! Sailor Vulcan, get as much in-depth readings of that gate as
you can! How many ships?"
"Four hundred forty-three," Sailor Vulcan said calmly.
Sailor Mercury blinked at the total then gritted her teeth.
"This is going to get interesting.
Close the enemy. Let's go.
Bridge to Archmage Derrelli; load 'em up!
Prepare to launch!" Sailor
Mercury turned around, glancing at the main screen as the gasses flowed rapidly
by. She sat down as a destroyer approached, green beams pouring
from it. Two yellow beams lanced
out, smashing into its shielding; a red torpedo finished the job, creating the
first casualty of the Battle of the Gate.
"Salvo of gravity beams coming in!" called Sailor Sirius.
"I got it!" called Sailor Eos; her eyes closing as she mentally
prepared herself.
The impacts on the shielding did little to no damage, even as Sailor Eos
gritted her teeth, sparks occasionally flying from the armrest of the TPA
console she sat in. Her eyes
suddenly snapped open as she seized control of the mass of energy, and she
leaned forward.
"Rising Sun... ILLUMINATION!" she shouted as Sailor Mars and
Sailor Saturn also launched their attacks.
A tremendous lavender-orchid, pulsing sphere of energy abruptly built up
in front of the Destiny; it grew rapidly, approaching its climax.
Suddenly, a beam the width of the Destiny burst forth, ripping
into the lead ranks. Over a dozen
starships exploded in the wake of the beam.
On the left side of the Destiny, a fiery bow appeared, and the
string snapped forward, a blazing arrow of flame igniting the gasses around it
as it smashed into an enemy battleship; the targeted vessel was immediately
incinerated. On the right side,
crackling, purple energy raced out, nailing another approaching battleship. It exploded almost instantly.
More ships raced towards them.
On the bridge of the Destiny, Serenity looked at Reeni, who
nodded; she turned her gaze to Sailor Mercury, and gave her a nod.
"Bridge to shuttlebay: Launch launch launch!" called Sailor
Mercury.
"Aye, ma'am," came the reply.
"Doors opening! Launch
in progress!"
"We're approaching weapons range of the gate!" called Sailor
Sirius.
Even as she said those words, powerful, thick green beams of energy burst
from the gate, racing towards them.
The
187th Dropships
"Here we go!" called Derrelli, as they shuddered.
The six ships raced out of the shuttlebay. Ahead of them, they could see the flaring shields of the Destiny,
responding from the impacts. Gas
and debris drifted by just outside of the shields.
Derrelli could feel the adrenaline racing through his system.
He stared as fire swelled on the port side of the ship, and rings of fire
ripped forth, destroying several ships. The
six ships formed two wings of three each; and as they neared the arcs of the
shields, a silvery bubble appeared around both groups of three.
"Increasing speed!" Derrelli heard.
"Top turrets, fire at will!"
The
SLS Destiny
"Shields taking a pounding!" called Sailor Sirius as Sailor
Mercury traded with Sailor Saturn, and Sailor Orion traded with Sailor Mars.
Sailor Saturn frowned. "Status?"
"Layer three, only!" called Sailor Sirius.
"And their Highnesses are busy protecting the
dropships!"
"Sailor Eos, can you handle another round?" asked Sailor Mars.
Wearily, Sailor Eos looked up. "Gimme
a sec; I'll do it again."
"Got a group of battleships coming in!" called Sailor Sirius.
"Death rays!" ordered Sailor Saturn.
"Fire! Get the rest
with torpedoes!"
The
187th Dropships
"Nearing Gate shield perimeter; stand by," Derrelli heard.
He stared ahead grimly, hearing the turrets going off.
"Penetration in progress," came the report.
"Hang on!"
They felt nothing, noticing the dark energy crackling over the outer edge
of the silver field surrounding them.
"We're in! Thirty
seconds to the docking bay! Get
ready!"
Derrelli smiled.
The
SLS Destiny
"Shields at 15%!" called Sailor Sirius.
"Shields failing!"
The gravity beams suddenly ceased damaging the shields as Sailor Eos
again began activating her innate abilities as a guardian.
As before, sparks cascaded from the armrests as the potential rose
dangerously high. The she sat up,
leaning forward as all trace of energy disappeared and the front of the ship
again became lavender-orchid in color.
"Rising Sun... ILLUMINATION!"
The blast plowed right through the enemy fleet, smashing a score of ships
before expending its remaining potential on the gate's shielding.
The gate was temporarily obscured.
But not the enemy ships.
"Mercury Aqua... RHAPSODY!"
"Orion Sabre... DISRUPTION!"
The
187th Dropships
"Clearing opening!" called the pilot of Derrelli's dropship.
"Turret, open fire!"
"All ships in!" came another call.
"Troops rushing in!"
"We're still protected! Pick
them off!" ordered Endymion.
"Torym, seal the opening behind us!" Derrelli shouted as he
slipped out of his restraints and ran aft. The ships
thunked as they touched deck, and the 187th began racing out of the opening
hatches, flipping up rifles
and assisting the turrets in picking off Negatroopers.
Torym concentrated briefly; then summoned.
"Wall Of Force!" he cast.
As it shimmered into view, Derrelli blinked.
The shield had just faded, before schedule.
The
SLS Destiny
"Damage Report!" yelled Sailor Saturn, picking herself off the
deck.
"Shields down!" called Sailor Sirius.
Sailor Mercury raced to Serenity, who was slowly removing herself from
the TPA console. Seconds before,
sparks had erupted from all the TPA consoles, and everyone still in one had
hurriedly removed their arms and shielded themselves.
"TPA system down!" Sailor Sirius continued.
The deck heaved as the impacts continued to pound the Destiny.
"We're taking hull damage!"
"It appears I must do this the hard way," Serenity murmured.
"I'll help, Mother," said Reeni.
They shared a determined look.
Mother and daughter linked hands, and a white aura burst forth. Both had their eyes closed, in sheer concentration.
The crescents on their foreheads glowed so brightly as to be blinding,
and hovering between the two, at chest level, was a pair of brilliantly shining
Silver Imperium Crystals.
A silvery shield once again rose above the Destiny.
"What about the dropships?" asked Sailor America quietly.
"I'm afraid... they're on their own," Sailor Mars said quietly.
"And we must do this with conventional weapons."
Sailor America nodded. "Fine.
I've got tactical." She
raced to that station, relieving the Vegan there.
Sailor Orion once again took engineering, with Sailor Mercury tending to
Sailor Eos, and Sailor Mars watching the Crystal wielders.
Sailor Saturn took command.
"Sailor Vulcan?" she asked.
"I am attempting to penetrate the interference and jamming,"
the Senshi of Order replied.
"Sailor Sirius?" Sailor Saturn asked, turning towards her.
"Minimal damage to the hull, TPA will be fixed in two hours. The number of enemy ships is down to three hundred,
twenty-six," the Star Senshi said.
"In two hours, it might be too late," said Sailor Saturn
quietly, glancing at the Royals. "We
may all very well be dead."
The
Gate
"No matter!" yelled Derrelli.
"We're here, and we have a mission to accomplish!
Tor!"
"What?" came Torym's reply, as he fired another shot.
All around, blaster fire ripped forth, accompanied by the occasional
rose. The turrets on the dropships
were deafening them with the rapid reports of the energy flying from them.
The number of enemies was dropping off, and the reek of fried ozone
permeated the air.
"You're in charge of planting the explosives!
Get your team prepped! King Endymion!"
Endymion whipped a red rose, having the satisfaction of seeing it impact
on a Negatrooper, with a splash of ichor as the trooper spun around and dropped.
He glanced at Derrelli. "You
called?"
"Would you handle the defense of this area?" Derrelli asked,
pausing to take a shot with his blaster rifle.
He peered through the sight, watching the beam hit and a brief aura
surround his target before it collapsed.
"No problem," replied Endymion.
Derrelli nodded, and tapped the two guys nearest him.
"You're in command, sir. We're
gonna start hacking!"
"Go!" called Endymion as Mercury Knight drew his guns, clicking
the safeties off. Mercury Knight
grinned as he leveled them at the enemy, and pulled the trigger. Icy blue blaster fire raged forth, cutting a swath through
the remaining enemy soldiers.
Derrelli quickly popped open the gear the other two had brought over, and
they readied their rifles, covering Derrelli as he rigged the connections, and
switched on the translation algorithm. As
coding began racing across the screen, the guns fell silent.
"Is that it?" called Mars Knight, the fire fading from
Firewatch, his no-dachi, as he sheathed it.
Saturn Knight lowered Silence Song, his halberd.
"Apparently."
"Let's set up a perimeter," ordered Endymion.
"That is the only entrance; go with a crossfire.
Layer the defenses." He
looked over in the alcove, where Derrelli was hard at work.
"I'm in!" Derrelli called out suddenly.
"Scanning for GM lifesigns."
"Anything?" asked Torym, as he paused in snapping shut the
special carrying case, loaded with explosives.
"Yes, one lifesign, human, in their prison area," reported
Derrelli. "I can try to access
their primary computer core, but we should go rescue whomever it is and place
the explosives, first, since that part is uncertain."
"Agreed," said Endymion.
"Hold things here, sir. We'll
need an additional four volunteers," said Derrelli.
"One," said Mercury Knight.
"Two," grinned Saturn Knight.
"I guess I'll be three," said Mars Knight, shaking his head.
There was no lack of volunteers for the fourth position.
The
SLS Destiny
The Destiny settled abruptly, arcing to the right.
Three beams of super intense energy sliced through the nebula, nailing
three more cruisers. They spun out
of control, detonating into brilliant explosions, adding more ichor, plasma, and
debris to the surrounding space.
"How many?" said Sailor Saturn.
"Down to two hundred ninety!" reported Sailor Sirius.
The glow of the two Royals was still strong, but she wondered how long
they could hold it. Her console
beeped at her, and she blinked, returning her attention to the task at hand.
"Four cruisers and a battleship, bearing 015 mark 03!" Sailor
Sirius called.
"On it!" Sailor America said.
Blasters ripped out at precise intervals, striking a pattern all over one
of the enemy cruiser's shielding; their shields collapsed from the preprogrammed
assault. A few more blaster beams
dealt a crippling blow to the ship's engines; it spiraled out of control.
A salvo of torpedoes blasted their way into the remaining four ships; two
cruisers exploded, and the third collided with the battleship, smashing through
the shaft and destroying the weapons pods, even as the Phoenix torps from the Destiny
struck home.
The spiraling cruiser finally slowed, as their engine core breached.
As the shockwave washed over them, Sailor Sirius looked about.
"Heads up!"
The Gate fired yet again. The
powerful green beams smashed into the silvery field protecting them. Aside from the image on the screen, there was no indication
either of the two Royals had felt it.
Sailor Saturn knew they must have, though.
And time was running short. They
were destroying the enemy ships as best they could, but there were so many, and
the weapons could only fire so fast.
"Take that!" called Sailor America as yet another explosion
blossomed on the screen where yet another enemy ship had met its demise from yet
another torpedo salvo.
The
Gate
Mercury Knight paused at the junction, his twin blades Frostbite and
Icereaver in his hands. He looked
up first one corridor, then down the other, and then glanced back and waved the
others on. As they neared, Mercury
Knight raised his eyebrow at Derrelli.
"Which way?" he asked quietly.
Derrelli paused to consult his handheld.
"Straight... then down. Halfway
up the next hall, there'll be a hatch. It's a service conduit; we'll go down, and pop in behind the
scenes in the brig control area. I'm
sure it's alarmed, but by then it won't matter."
Mercury Knight nodded, seeing Mars Knight bringing up the rear.
"So far, all clear," muttered Mars Knight.
"But it's too quiet."
"Agreed," said Saturn Knight.
"Like we have much choice," said Derrelli.
"Let's go."
Mercury Knight again checked the halls, and darted forward.
The rest leapt ahead by twos, until Mars Knight gave the area a final
sweep, and followed.
When he spotted the hatch, Mercury Knight crouched just beyond it, ready
for anything. He heard the beeping
as Torym scanned it, and Derrelli leveled his rifle, and twisted the handle.
It didn't turn. It was
locked. Derrelli frowned, and
pointed his blaster rifle at it.
"No, don't-" began Saturn Knight as Derrelli squeezed the
trigger. The bright orange beam
lanced out, and the hatch blew open with a burst of flame, sparks, and smoke.
Torym grinned, waving the smoke away.
"Heh. Gotta love your
reaction to a problem: blast it."
"Something wrong with that?" asked Derrelli as he crawled
inside. He found the ladder leading
down, and got on it, ignoring the exasperated looks on the three Knights' faces.
They climbed in relative silence, with Mars Knight glancing up the whole
time, worried about having the blasted hatch discovered.
Derrelli slowed, and clambered into the next tunnel.
He produced the handheld computer, which contained the downloaded
schematics. He looked behind them
as everyone else crowded the tunnel. "This
is it."
"Do it," nodded Saturn Knight.
Derrelli glanced at the hatch. He
grinned.
"The edges are indeed wired in," he replied.
"Opening this'll sound an alarm for sure."
He picked up his blaster rifle, and began adjusting the setting.
"I'm gonna cut a hole, clear the joint, and then worry about the
alarm."
"Clear the joint?" asked Mars Knight.
Torym blinked.
"Oh, fuck," he said quietly.
"It's fireball time."
As the cut neared completion, Derrelli stopped the beam.
The surface was red-hot; he pushed it open with the butt of his rifle,
and lowered himself to look.
Three targets, all within range.
He smiled as he recalled the familiar formulae to his mind.
His hand cupped, and fire sprouted to life in it.
"Fireball!" he said, as the fiery bolt raced out.
A loud explosion shook the corridor; the wailing of fire alarms rose
above the echoing blast. A brief
wave of heat washed over them, as Derrelli kicked the hatch out.
The room was blackened from the blast, and several of the consoles were
still smoldering, jets of fire retardant sprayed out of the ceiling on them.
Some of the fire retardant drifted over the rescuers as Derrelli waved
Torym forward; thankfully, it seemed nonlethal.
"Scan; find which cell!" he ordered.
He turned. "Set up a
perimeter; watch that access hatch and the main entry; Tor and I will rescue
whomever it is."
"Got it!" called Torym as the others spread out, readying their
weapons.
"Go; I'm right behind you!"
The two of them made their way down the corridor, finally stopping in
front of a cell door. Derrelli saw
Torym nod. "Okay, this thing's
coded; you think I can melt it?"
"Probably not," Torym said.
"You don't have the code?"
"Wasn't listed," Derrelli muttered.
"Stand back; you know how lightning blasts like to recoil."
Torym nodded, backing up against the wall.
Derrelli pointed his hands at the door, mathematics racing through his
mind.
"Lightning Bolt!" cast Derrelli, throwing himself aside as the
electrical blast struck the door, before shorting itself out along the wall.
Derrelli approached, realizing the lock was disengaged.
He kicked the door in, and drew up short when he saw...
"Ereunak?" Derrelli said in surprise.
"Derrelli!" Ereunak said.
He looked disheveled, as if beaten and tortured.
"When I heard that explosion, I knew it had to be you!"
"You made it; what'd they do to you?" asked Derrelli.
"No time," urged Torym. "Let's
get the hell out of here!"
"Can you walk?" asked Derrelli.
"Yeah," replied Ereunak. "Been
awhile since I've had any attention... I think they've been too occupied
worrying about the GM response." He
got to his feet. "Lead
on!"
The three of them raced back down to the control area, and rejoined the
others.
"Up or down?" asked Mars Knight, after briefly looking over the
rescuee. All of them were now
mostly white in color from retardant.
"Up," said Derrelli. "We'll
bomb the main reactor; there's only one way in for that. And fuck the ladder. We'll
use the lifts."
Torym nodded, pushing the button to summon one; as it arrived, all
leveled their weapons at it. It
opened. Empty.
They piled in. Stealth was
out of the window now; they had the person they had come for.
All that remained was to destroy.
The lift chimed; it opened. Mercury
Knight cautiously stepped out, glancing about.
"Clear," he said. They
moved back down the corridor, back to where they saw the remains of the hatch.
They heard the lift chime again.
Mercury Knight froze, as did Mars Knight.
"I hear a lot of footsteps!" they called simultaneously.
Negatroopers raced into the hall from the junction ahead, and from the
lifts behind. The hulking forms of
spidertroopers could be seen with them. As
the sheer numbers grew, the members of the squad readied their weapons. The hall was now densely packed with the enemy.
"Oh, damn," whispered Derrelli.
STAY
TUNED!