Post by gollee on Apr 8, 2014 8:23:34 GMT
This is based off of a nuke round where Inis and Jennifer got stranded on the research outpost. To keep it canon, I have ensured that no dead characters were mentioned, and Aurora wasn't the place destroyed.
Jennifer started away from the window as soon as her headset began to emit static, she shouted at Inis, “Move!” Inis half turned from the window, her arms twitching. “What? Why?” Jennifer grabbed her arm and half-dragged her down the corridor. “The station just went up, that means a lot of radiation is coming our way! We are only a light minute from the station!” Inis started running, “Where are we going to go!?” Jennifer glanced around, desperately searching for a shielded door. She paused, swallowing, then darted forwards, opening a wide purple and silver door. The room inside was spartan, with bare metal walls and floor. Jennifer quickly dragged Inis inside, before the door shut.
Inis blinked in the darkness, “What are we going to do?” Jennifer pulled back into the corner, wrapping her arms around her knees, “I don’t know...They should send a rescue party…Right?” Inis nodded uncertainly, “They will know what happened, they will come for survivors.” Jennifer nodded quickly, looking worriedly around the room, her hand goes down to her belt, about to reassuringly run her hand over the multitude of tools hanging from it. “I...My belt...I left it in the lab…” Inis stood up, tremors running down her legs, “Do we have time to go ge-” Inis was cut off as the lightbulb dims to nothingness, plunging the both of them into darkness. Jennifer groaned, “No...The radiation overloaded the SMESs… The power…” Inis hurriedly sat down as her limbs began to twitch more violently. “We are trapped...No….No….Jennifer, it is happening again….” Inis tried to hold down her spasming legs, her face contorted with pain. Jennifer crawled over, “Shit!...Uh...Crap! I dropped the sleep toxin!” Jennifer took hold of Inis’ head and tried to hold it still against the spasms that were spreading through her.
Inis slumped to the floor, violent convulsions spreading through her torso as her nervous system shorted. Jennifer held her head still against the attack, but with only one hand she couldn't cover her ears against Inis’ agonised scream as her back arched and twisted.
Gollee looked up as the corvette shifted, the course change large enough to be noticeable even with the anti-gravity plates. Gollee taped the side of his helmet, opening a channel to the pilot, “Why have we changed course?” A response crackled back, !#I just received an official redirection order from Tau Ceti, there was an unknown detonation near a Nanotrasen space station, we are the closest ship capable of responding, I think your training mission has been scrubbed, Commander.#! Gollee frowned, “How long until arrival? And the conditions?” !#Five minutes at this speed, though we will need to decel before we arrive, give it seven, and conditions are radiative, I am getting large gamma and X-ray readings#!
Gollee looked around the passenger bay, where he had been confined with his team for several hours now, half of them were dozing in their seats. Gollee leaned sideways and slammed the palm of his hand against the wall. A chorus of groans and muttering filled the bay as the dozing team awoke. He waited a moment before addressing them, “Training's been scrubbed, There was a detonation at a civilian station, we are the closest ship capable of responding.” The team straightened in their seats, their faces grave inside their helmets. Gollee’s second spoke up, “Sir? Do we know the state of the station? The crew?” Gollee shook his head, “No, we do not, Kàyla, I want you to lead one of the two exfiltration teams, we need to search the station, or the wreckage, as quickly as possible.”
The team quickly assembled their equipment as the ship began to decelerate. Gollee’s headset crackled again, !#...Sir, you are going to want to see this.#! Gollee stood up, pressing the airlock access, before stepping through into the bridge.
The Viewscreen was almost empty, traces of debris cluttered a section of space, just to the left centre of the view port. Gollee’s hand tightened on the airlock frame, “Gods, is that it?” The pilot nodded, “Aye, the radiative signature is massive…” Gollee tapped a button on the console, and the viewscreen changed to the infared spectrum. A deep red haze filled the section of space, highlighting the traces of matter in a stark white glow. Gollee pressed an armoured gauntlet to his helmet, “Scan for any sign of escape pods, anyone inside that blast radius is dead.” The pilot tapped a few keys on his console, eliciting a hum from the AI systems. After a few minutes, the system let out a loud beep, Debris trail detected, on right ascension 02h15m09s ...Confirmed. Gollee nodded, “Please follow the debris trail, it may be large enough to have held survivors. Can we get a blueprint of this station and it’s facilities?”
The system hummed again, then a holographic display of a space station, along with several seperate sections, flickered into being in the centre of the bridge. Almost all of the image was flashing red, baring a small western section of the main station, and two of the outposts. Gollee spun the image of the station around with his finger, “This section would not have been able to sustain life…” He said regretfully, “But the outposts…?” The pilot nodded, “Setting a course for the outposts, be advised, the debris was headed in that direction.” Gollee nodded, the left the bridge.
Once Inis’ seizure had ceased, Jennifer crept back into the corner. She had barely managed to curl up when the entire station shook under a massive impact. “Shit!” Jennifer yelled, “Shit!” The two of them were thrown about as a massive tremor ran through the outpost. A horrible grinding sounds emerged from the disposals outlet in the corner, followed by a cloud of smoke and dust as the pipes collapsed, compressing the dust out of the pipe. Inis breathed in a lung full of the pollutant, before emitting a strangled cough, shielding her face with her sleeve. Jennifer covered her own face, and crawled over to Inis, “Stay low...That dust will kill you!” She wheezed, pulling Inis towards the corner. “Come on, if we stay in the corner, we should be okay…” The two of them curled back into the corner, the dust settling on them, their rough breathing and hacking coughs the only noise in the confining room.
“Sir, we are approaching the asteroid containing the three outposts. It looks like it was hit by some of the explosive debris.” Gollee peered out of the viewscreen, a large section of one of the outposts had been struck by debris, and obliterated, a scant few rooms were left, and most were venting atmosphere. “Take us to the other two.” The pilot nodded, and the corvette drifted past the devastated outpost, travelling south along the asteroid.
A large sprawling outpost emerged, roughly half way down the asteroid, a quick scan of the outpost revealed several heat signatures in the dock of the outpost. “Take us in, we need a closer look,” Gollee ordered. The pilot complied, and the corvette edged in closer to the dock. Gollee leant forward, focusing his gaze on the shuttle dock.
Three seared bodies lay still in the shuttle dock, their thermal signatures were fading, and there was no sign of a heartbeat. Gollee sighed heavily, “Scan the rest of the outpost.” The system hummed, a moment later it chimed, no more thermal signatures detected, areas are shielded. Gollee taped the viewscreen, “Dock us.” The pilot nodded, and Gollee touched the side of his own helmet, “Kàyla, take Samuel, Jacob, Liza and Nathan and enter this outpost, it is the largest.”
!# Will do, commander.#! Gollee nodded to himself, watching the two hatches link together, followed by five armoured marines rushing across. Gollee spoke over his radio again, “We will be back soon, we need to check the other outposts.” !# Alright, sir.#! Gollee turned to the pilot, “Take us to the southern outpost” The Corvette glided away from the airlock, drifting further south.
“No...Nonono….” Inis muttered, her arms had began to twitch and judder again. Jennifer groaned in dismay, “No...Not now...It will stir up the dust again…” Inis gritted her teeth, tremors were beginning to run across her back. “I...I can’t stop it...Gods...This hurts…” Jennifer slowly reached into her pocket, taking out a small metal cylinder. “Inis...Turn your head…” Inis gave a low groan, but turned her head away from Jennifer. Jennifer whined very quietly, and raised the cylinder, tears dripping down her nose. “Sorry…” With a sharp jerk of her arm, Jennifer brought the cylinder down on the back of Inis’ head, her spasms stopped instantly. “Shit! Shitshitshitshitshitshit!” Jennifer pressed two fingers to the side of Inis’ neck, dropping the cylinder. After a few moments she found a weak pulse, Jennifer gave a sob of relief.
Releasing her grip on Inis’ neck, Jennifer scrabbled at her other pocket, pulling out a translucent blue mask. With a deft twist of her fingers, she attached the end of it to the cylinder, before pressing the mask side to Inis’ face with her shoulder. Resting the cylinder in the crook of her right arm, Jennifer twisted the valve with her left and only, hand. Jennifer watched Inis through a haze as her chest slowly rose and fell with the clean oxygen. Jennifer smiled slightly as her head rolled back and darkness closed in around her.
Gollee gritted his teeth as he examined the crew manifest that Nanotrasen had messaged to his HUD. Inis Truesight. He turned and slammed his fist into the wall, denting the metal badly. “Sir!” One of the marines exclaimed. Gollee grunted and clenched his fists around his seat. Gods… How am I going to tell Mother...And Father… Their little girl...My sister...Dead… Gollee felt his eyes fill with tears as he contemplated the events. He would never be able to go home...Seeing their accusing stares...Knowing that he hadn’t been fast enough...
!# Sir! We are at the southern outpost, scans don’t show any heat sources. I would guess that this outpost wasn’t used all shift, no shuttle here either#! Gollee touched the side of his head after a short pause, “Any shielded areas?” !# No sir.#! “Move to the damaged outpost...There must be something there…”
Gollee looked down at his hands as the craft pulled away, Come on...Inis wouldn’t just roll over and die….
The two women lay in the corner of the room, Jennifer’s limp hand still pressing the mask against Inis’ face. Jennifer’s face was ashen, and her chest barely rose and fell, drawing in slow, weak breaths of the dust and smoke clogged air. Neither were aware enough to notice the rising temperature.
The corvette slowed as it approached the damaged outpost, scanning booms extending. A swift scan showed several rooms were still air-filled, despite the immense damage to the rest of the outpost. Gollee leant forwards on the back of the pilot’s chair, “Scan for heat signatures...Now!” The pilot flinched and jabbed at the thermal scan indicator, flicking the viewscreen into the infrared spectrum.
Large sections of the rock into which the outpost had been built glowed cherry red from the dispersed heat of the impact. The sealed rooms were slightly brighter, but in particular, two faint yellow marks were visible in the westernmost room. Gollee muttered under his breath, “Survivors...Get us there! Now! That room is beginning to absorb the heat of the impact.”
The corvette lurched as the pilot spun it around, bringing it’s airlock close to the internal door of the sealed room. He quickly activated an airlock funnel, which sprouted towards the door, sealing around it, to prevent any atmospheric leakage. Gollee slapped his hand against the side of his helmet, “Exfiltration team! In the airlock! Into that room! NOW!” A heavy clutter of metal on metal echoed through the small craft as the marines piled into the airlock, Gollee swiftly followed them.
Thick grey dust billowed out of the room when the door hissed open, Gollee manouvered his way to the front, then stepped into the blacked out room. For a moment, the room was as silent as a tomb, then a ragged cough echoed from the far corner. Gollee switched on his headlamp, and he almost sobbed with relief. Lying in the corner, unconscious, but alive, was the thin form of a blue haired girl, and a bleary-eyed woman coated in dust. She was pressing a air mask to the face of the other. Gollee could see that her throat was badly inflamed. A swift gesture from him had one of the marines step forwards and scoop up the woman, she was almost unconscious, and didn’t resist the armoured marine carrying her out of the dank room. Gollee crouched down next to the other woman, and gently slipped an arm under her neck, and a second under her knees. With a smooth motion, Gollee stood up, his enhanced strength causing the slight woman to seem weightless. Without a word, he retreated through the airlock, followed by the remaining marines.
The woman carried by the other marines was placed in an oxygen tent, her ashen face gaining a slight tinge of pink as her breathing strengthened. The blue-haired one that Gollee was carrying was placed straight into a sleeper, her respiration was much steadier than the other’s.
Gollee taped the side of his head as he carefully administered some medicine through the console, “Take us back to the middle outpost, we need to pick up Kàyla.” !# Aye, sir.#! The gravity shifted slightly as the corvette got underway.
The crafted glided back down the asteroid as the woman inside the oxygen tent spoke, “Inis….is she alright?! Is she alright!?” She tried to push herself up, but her strength failed her and she slipped back down in a fit of coughing. Gollee reluctantly left the sleeper and went over to her, “Inis is stable, Miss…?” Jennifer smiled weakly and shielded her mouth with her hand, “Hynes, Jennifer Hynes, thank the Gods… Who are you? How did you get here so fast?” Gollee sifted through a supply of medicines, selecting a syringe of dylovene, “Miss Hynes, thank you, without you, she would have died. Our craft was the closest to the station when it detonated, so we were redirected to help.” Jennifer’s eyes slid over his armour, focussing on his left shoulder pad, which had a small emblem of a large, hawk-like bird, superimposed over a iridescent lightning bolt.
Jennifer gave a short gasp, followed by another, racking cough. “Stormswrath...You’re from Stormswrath…” Gollee blinked inside his helmet, gently pressing the syringe against Jennifer’s arm. “Yes, we are Stormswrath Defence Force marines, Ma’am. I am Marine Commander Truesight.” Jennifer’s eyes bulged with shock, “Inis’ brother!” Gollee nodded once, and returned to sit next to the sleeper as the corvette began to decelerate.
Kàyla herded several other survivors back into the ship once it had docked, she turned to Gollee, “They took cover in the core room, Commander.” She glanced into the sleeper and her eyebrows rose, “Who is that? Sir?” Gollee gave her a pained smile, “My sister.” Kàyla took an involuntary step back. “Gods…Sir… Is she alright?” Gollee smiled again, his eyes were strangely bright, “No, no she is not. She needs better medical care.” Kayla nodded, then turned to direct her three survivors into seats.
Gollee reached up to his ear, “All survivors collected. I don’t give a shit about sovereignty, Inis is getting care at the naval hospital at Tra’ha.” !# Whatever you say sir, I am sure the survivors won’t mind, considering we just saved their arses.#!
A deep click ran through the corvette’s hull as it linked with the military station, after a moment, a green light flickered on above the airlock, and Gollee almost shoulderbarged the door open, hefting Inis in his arms as he almost ran down the corridor. Two ordinary soldiers tried to halt his advance, just to be knocked aside by the armoured behemoth. Forcing open another door, Gollee sprinted down a final corridor, before arriving at the emergency bay. He swiftly bulled his way inside, laying Inis down on a medical bed, while doctors clustered around him.
“Symptoms?” “Injuries?” “Situation, update,” “Get out of here, we have her now,” “What are her injuries?” Gollee was buffeted by a clamour of voices, all calling for attention. Inis’ bed was yanked out of his grasp with a concerted effort by the staff, and he was bustled out into the lobby, to face the two soldiers from the docking area. “Marine! Stand do-” The soldier’s eyes bugged as they locked on his right shoulder pad. “Uh...Sir!” The soldier saluted hurriedly, Gollee glared at him, “There are injured on my ship, go get them brought here.” The soldiers hesitated, glancing at each other. “Now!” Golle roared, stepping forwards, his armored form towering over the two soldiers.
The unfortunate soldiers turned pale, and ran back towards the docking area, eager to escape the enraged marine.
Gollee stared after them for a moment, then sank down into a welcoming chair, holding his head in his hands. He didn’t look up as Jennifer was rushed past him on a rollerbed.
Jennifer started away from the window as soon as her headset began to emit static, she shouted at Inis, “Move!” Inis half turned from the window, her arms twitching. “What? Why?” Jennifer grabbed her arm and half-dragged her down the corridor. “The station just went up, that means a lot of radiation is coming our way! We are only a light minute from the station!” Inis started running, “Where are we going to go!?” Jennifer glanced around, desperately searching for a shielded door. She paused, swallowing, then darted forwards, opening a wide purple and silver door. The room inside was spartan, with bare metal walls and floor. Jennifer quickly dragged Inis inside, before the door shut.
Inis blinked in the darkness, “What are we going to do?” Jennifer pulled back into the corner, wrapping her arms around her knees, “I don’t know...They should send a rescue party…Right?” Inis nodded uncertainly, “They will know what happened, they will come for survivors.” Jennifer nodded quickly, looking worriedly around the room, her hand goes down to her belt, about to reassuringly run her hand over the multitude of tools hanging from it. “I...My belt...I left it in the lab…” Inis stood up, tremors running down her legs, “Do we have time to go ge-” Inis was cut off as the lightbulb dims to nothingness, plunging the both of them into darkness. Jennifer groaned, “No...The radiation overloaded the SMESs… The power…” Inis hurriedly sat down as her limbs began to twitch more violently. “We are trapped...No….No….Jennifer, it is happening again….” Inis tried to hold down her spasming legs, her face contorted with pain. Jennifer crawled over, “Shit!...Uh...Crap! I dropped the sleep toxin!” Jennifer took hold of Inis’ head and tried to hold it still against the spasms that were spreading through her.
Inis slumped to the floor, violent convulsions spreading through her torso as her nervous system shorted. Jennifer held her head still against the attack, but with only one hand she couldn't cover her ears against Inis’ agonised scream as her back arched and twisted.
Gollee looked up as the corvette shifted, the course change large enough to be noticeable even with the anti-gravity plates. Gollee taped the side of his helmet, opening a channel to the pilot, “Why have we changed course?” A response crackled back, !#I just received an official redirection order from Tau Ceti, there was an unknown detonation near a Nanotrasen space station, we are the closest ship capable of responding, I think your training mission has been scrubbed, Commander.#! Gollee frowned, “How long until arrival? And the conditions?” !#Five minutes at this speed, though we will need to decel before we arrive, give it seven, and conditions are radiative, I am getting large gamma and X-ray readings#!
Gollee looked around the passenger bay, where he had been confined with his team for several hours now, half of them were dozing in their seats. Gollee leaned sideways and slammed the palm of his hand against the wall. A chorus of groans and muttering filled the bay as the dozing team awoke. He waited a moment before addressing them, “Training's been scrubbed, There was a detonation at a civilian station, we are the closest ship capable of responding.” The team straightened in their seats, their faces grave inside their helmets. Gollee’s second spoke up, “Sir? Do we know the state of the station? The crew?” Gollee shook his head, “No, we do not, Kàyla, I want you to lead one of the two exfiltration teams, we need to search the station, or the wreckage, as quickly as possible.”
The team quickly assembled their equipment as the ship began to decelerate. Gollee’s headset crackled again, !#...Sir, you are going to want to see this.#! Gollee stood up, pressing the airlock access, before stepping through into the bridge.
The Viewscreen was almost empty, traces of debris cluttered a section of space, just to the left centre of the view port. Gollee’s hand tightened on the airlock frame, “Gods, is that it?” The pilot nodded, “Aye, the radiative signature is massive…” Gollee tapped a button on the console, and the viewscreen changed to the infared spectrum. A deep red haze filled the section of space, highlighting the traces of matter in a stark white glow. Gollee pressed an armoured gauntlet to his helmet, “Scan for any sign of escape pods, anyone inside that blast radius is dead.” The pilot tapped a few keys on his console, eliciting a hum from the AI systems. After a few minutes, the system let out a loud beep, Debris trail detected, on right ascension 02h15m09s ...Confirmed. Gollee nodded, “Please follow the debris trail, it may be large enough to have held survivors. Can we get a blueprint of this station and it’s facilities?”
The system hummed again, then a holographic display of a space station, along with several seperate sections, flickered into being in the centre of the bridge. Almost all of the image was flashing red, baring a small western section of the main station, and two of the outposts. Gollee spun the image of the station around with his finger, “This section would not have been able to sustain life…” He said regretfully, “But the outposts…?” The pilot nodded, “Setting a course for the outposts, be advised, the debris was headed in that direction.” Gollee nodded, the left the bridge.
Once Inis’ seizure had ceased, Jennifer crept back into the corner. She had barely managed to curl up when the entire station shook under a massive impact. “Shit!” Jennifer yelled, “Shit!” The two of them were thrown about as a massive tremor ran through the outpost. A horrible grinding sounds emerged from the disposals outlet in the corner, followed by a cloud of smoke and dust as the pipes collapsed, compressing the dust out of the pipe. Inis breathed in a lung full of the pollutant, before emitting a strangled cough, shielding her face with her sleeve. Jennifer covered her own face, and crawled over to Inis, “Stay low...That dust will kill you!” She wheezed, pulling Inis towards the corner. “Come on, if we stay in the corner, we should be okay…” The two of them curled back into the corner, the dust settling on them, their rough breathing and hacking coughs the only noise in the confining room.
“Sir, we are approaching the asteroid containing the three outposts. It looks like it was hit by some of the explosive debris.” Gollee peered out of the viewscreen, a large section of one of the outposts had been struck by debris, and obliterated, a scant few rooms were left, and most were venting atmosphere. “Take us to the other two.” The pilot nodded, and the corvette drifted past the devastated outpost, travelling south along the asteroid.
A large sprawling outpost emerged, roughly half way down the asteroid, a quick scan of the outpost revealed several heat signatures in the dock of the outpost. “Take us in, we need a closer look,” Gollee ordered. The pilot complied, and the corvette edged in closer to the dock. Gollee leant forward, focusing his gaze on the shuttle dock.
Three seared bodies lay still in the shuttle dock, their thermal signatures were fading, and there was no sign of a heartbeat. Gollee sighed heavily, “Scan the rest of the outpost.” The system hummed, a moment later it chimed, no more thermal signatures detected, areas are shielded. Gollee taped the viewscreen, “Dock us.” The pilot nodded, and Gollee touched the side of his own helmet, “Kàyla, take Samuel, Jacob, Liza and Nathan and enter this outpost, it is the largest.”
!# Will do, commander.#! Gollee nodded to himself, watching the two hatches link together, followed by five armoured marines rushing across. Gollee spoke over his radio again, “We will be back soon, we need to check the other outposts.” !# Alright, sir.#! Gollee turned to the pilot, “Take us to the southern outpost” The Corvette glided away from the airlock, drifting further south.
“No...Nonono….” Inis muttered, her arms had began to twitch and judder again. Jennifer groaned in dismay, “No...Not now...It will stir up the dust again…” Inis gritted her teeth, tremors were beginning to run across her back. “I...I can’t stop it...Gods...This hurts…” Jennifer slowly reached into her pocket, taking out a small metal cylinder. “Inis...Turn your head…” Inis gave a low groan, but turned her head away from Jennifer. Jennifer whined very quietly, and raised the cylinder, tears dripping down her nose. “Sorry…” With a sharp jerk of her arm, Jennifer brought the cylinder down on the back of Inis’ head, her spasms stopped instantly. “Shit! Shitshitshitshitshitshit!” Jennifer pressed two fingers to the side of Inis’ neck, dropping the cylinder. After a few moments she found a weak pulse, Jennifer gave a sob of relief.
Releasing her grip on Inis’ neck, Jennifer scrabbled at her other pocket, pulling out a translucent blue mask. With a deft twist of her fingers, she attached the end of it to the cylinder, before pressing the mask side to Inis’ face with her shoulder. Resting the cylinder in the crook of her right arm, Jennifer twisted the valve with her left and only, hand. Jennifer watched Inis through a haze as her chest slowly rose and fell with the clean oxygen. Jennifer smiled slightly as her head rolled back and darkness closed in around her.
Gollee gritted his teeth as he examined the crew manifest that Nanotrasen had messaged to his HUD. Inis Truesight. He turned and slammed his fist into the wall, denting the metal badly. “Sir!” One of the marines exclaimed. Gollee grunted and clenched his fists around his seat. Gods… How am I going to tell Mother...And Father… Their little girl...My sister...Dead… Gollee felt his eyes fill with tears as he contemplated the events. He would never be able to go home...Seeing their accusing stares...Knowing that he hadn’t been fast enough...
!# Sir! We are at the southern outpost, scans don’t show any heat sources. I would guess that this outpost wasn’t used all shift, no shuttle here either#! Gollee touched the side of his head after a short pause, “Any shielded areas?” !# No sir.#! “Move to the damaged outpost...There must be something there…”
Gollee looked down at his hands as the craft pulled away, Come on...Inis wouldn’t just roll over and die….
The two women lay in the corner of the room, Jennifer’s limp hand still pressing the mask against Inis’ face. Jennifer’s face was ashen, and her chest barely rose and fell, drawing in slow, weak breaths of the dust and smoke clogged air. Neither were aware enough to notice the rising temperature.
The corvette slowed as it approached the damaged outpost, scanning booms extending. A swift scan showed several rooms were still air-filled, despite the immense damage to the rest of the outpost. Gollee leant forwards on the back of the pilot’s chair, “Scan for heat signatures...Now!” The pilot flinched and jabbed at the thermal scan indicator, flicking the viewscreen into the infrared spectrum.
Large sections of the rock into which the outpost had been built glowed cherry red from the dispersed heat of the impact. The sealed rooms were slightly brighter, but in particular, two faint yellow marks were visible in the westernmost room. Gollee muttered under his breath, “Survivors...Get us there! Now! That room is beginning to absorb the heat of the impact.”
The corvette lurched as the pilot spun it around, bringing it’s airlock close to the internal door of the sealed room. He quickly activated an airlock funnel, which sprouted towards the door, sealing around it, to prevent any atmospheric leakage. Gollee slapped his hand against the side of his helmet, “Exfiltration team! In the airlock! Into that room! NOW!” A heavy clutter of metal on metal echoed through the small craft as the marines piled into the airlock, Gollee swiftly followed them.
Thick grey dust billowed out of the room when the door hissed open, Gollee manouvered his way to the front, then stepped into the blacked out room. For a moment, the room was as silent as a tomb, then a ragged cough echoed from the far corner. Gollee switched on his headlamp, and he almost sobbed with relief. Lying in the corner, unconscious, but alive, was the thin form of a blue haired girl, and a bleary-eyed woman coated in dust. She was pressing a air mask to the face of the other. Gollee could see that her throat was badly inflamed. A swift gesture from him had one of the marines step forwards and scoop up the woman, she was almost unconscious, and didn’t resist the armoured marine carrying her out of the dank room. Gollee crouched down next to the other woman, and gently slipped an arm under her neck, and a second under her knees. With a smooth motion, Gollee stood up, his enhanced strength causing the slight woman to seem weightless. Without a word, he retreated through the airlock, followed by the remaining marines.
The woman carried by the other marines was placed in an oxygen tent, her ashen face gaining a slight tinge of pink as her breathing strengthened. The blue-haired one that Gollee was carrying was placed straight into a sleeper, her respiration was much steadier than the other’s.
Gollee taped the side of his head as he carefully administered some medicine through the console, “Take us back to the middle outpost, we need to pick up Kàyla.” !# Aye, sir.#! The gravity shifted slightly as the corvette got underway.
The crafted glided back down the asteroid as the woman inside the oxygen tent spoke, “Inis….is she alright?! Is she alright!?” She tried to push herself up, but her strength failed her and she slipped back down in a fit of coughing. Gollee reluctantly left the sleeper and went over to her, “Inis is stable, Miss…?” Jennifer smiled weakly and shielded her mouth with her hand, “Hynes, Jennifer Hynes, thank the Gods… Who are you? How did you get here so fast?” Gollee sifted through a supply of medicines, selecting a syringe of dylovene, “Miss Hynes, thank you, without you, she would have died. Our craft was the closest to the station when it detonated, so we were redirected to help.” Jennifer’s eyes slid over his armour, focussing on his left shoulder pad, which had a small emblem of a large, hawk-like bird, superimposed over a iridescent lightning bolt.
Jennifer gave a short gasp, followed by another, racking cough. “Stormswrath...You’re from Stormswrath…” Gollee blinked inside his helmet, gently pressing the syringe against Jennifer’s arm. “Yes, we are Stormswrath Defence Force marines, Ma’am. I am Marine Commander Truesight.” Jennifer’s eyes bulged with shock, “Inis’ brother!” Gollee nodded once, and returned to sit next to the sleeper as the corvette began to decelerate.
Kàyla herded several other survivors back into the ship once it had docked, she turned to Gollee, “They took cover in the core room, Commander.” She glanced into the sleeper and her eyebrows rose, “Who is that? Sir?” Gollee gave her a pained smile, “My sister.” Kàyla took an involuntary step back. “Gods…Sir… Is she alright?” Gollee smiled again, his eyes were strangely bright, “No, no she is not. She needs better medical care.” Kayla nodded, then turned to direct her three survivors into seats.
Gollee reached up to his ear, “All survivors collected. I don’t give a shit about sovereignty, Inis is getting care at the naval hospital at Tra’ha.” !# Whatever you say sir, I am sure the survivors won’t mind, considering we just saved their arses.#!
A deep click ran through the corvette’s hull as it linked with the military station, after a moment, a green light flickered on above the airlock, and Gollee almost shoulderbarged the door open, hefting Inis in his arms as he almost ran down the corridor. Two ordinary soldiers tried to halt his advance, just to be knocked aside by the armoured behemoth. Forcing open another door, Gollee sprinted down a final corridor, before arriving at the emergency bay. He swiftly bulled his way inside, laying Inis down on a medical bed, while doctors clustered around him.
“Symptoms?” “Injuries?” “Situation, update,” “Get out of here, we have her now,” “What are her injuries?” Gollee was buffeted by a clamour of voices, all calling for attention. Inis’ bed was yanked out of his grasp with a concerted effort by the staff, and he was bustled out into the lobby, to face the two soldiers from the docking area. “Marine! Stand do-” The soldier’s eyes bugged as they locked on his right shoulder pad. “Uh...Sir!” The soldier saluted hurriedly, Gollee glared at him, “There are injured on my ship, go get them brought here.” The soldiers hesitated, glancing at each other. “Now!” Golle roared, stepping forwards, his armored form towering over the two soldiers.
The unfortunate soldiers turned pale, and ran back towards the docking area, eager to escape the enraged marine.
Gollee stared after them for a moment, then sank down into a welcoming chair, holding his head in his hands. He didn’t look up as Jennifer was rushed past him on a rollerbed.