Out of bounds

[Sombs]

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Day 45 - Location unknown

Time had come.

Crew and ship were prepared and ready.

With this, they would leave the black hole.

Anywhere was better than here.

Sherry stood on bridge, wearing an EVA-suit just like the rest of the crew did today. Additional protection from radiation, although in comparison it was just minimal. Her heart was beating fast, yet she did not allow herself to show any indication of fear. Same as Ezrael, who had joined Leon and Annie in the secured engineering room. The rest of the crew was either at the bridge or at the protected areas. Those areas had been reinforced, separately shielded and contained everything valuable to the crew. Personal belongings, but also food, water and other resources. The hydroponics were one of those areas. The cryo chamber was another, just like the medical bay and the bridge deck.

"There is no need for you to be here, Ez. Everything will be controlled by the Apahanta herself, and if something goes wrong, it will go wrong all over the ship," Leon explained, facing Ezrael who sat on a desk. The engine room was flooded in blue light as usual. The reactor was still at minimum output, although the Apahanta was already facing the black hole.

"I prefer to die next to my best friend. Also, if something goes wrong, I might have the chance to slap your butt before we die." Ezrael smirked, sweating slightly as he had to carry the extra weight of the EVA-suit. Same as anyone else.

Leon and Annie were standing infront of another control panel. The final simulation just had ended, with success, using the most recent sensor values of their surroundings. The blonde looked up, over to Ezrael. "On your command, Captain."

Inhaling deeply, Ezrael remained quiet for a moment. He closed his eyes. Death was facing them all. They could survive out here for years. But they wanted to return home. To Sirius. At all cost. Ezrael felt his breathing. His heartbeat. It would not slow down at all. There was no better moment than now. Now was the time. "Apahanta, open up a ship-wide audio channel."

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"To the brave crew of Battleship Apahanta. This is Captain Ezrael Vertiga.

Ahead of us lies death. In a few moments, we will face death. Dance with the death. But it is not our time to die. I do not say this because I always try to see things positively. I say this because I have the best crew. We started out as a rag-tag bunch of people of all places. Each one of you had their own reason for joining me. For becoming a part of the crew. The family. A part of the ship. It is not our time to die. Not here, not to something like a black hole.

We will not die today. We will live on. We will tell the story of Battleship Apahanta. We will tell the stories of our friends. Those we met. Those we lost. Those we will meet. We will survive.

We don't know where we will end up. But I will see each one of you on the other side."

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"AGS Shields at 100%" Leon stated, eyeing all the values on the console infront of him. As the Apahanta was entering the gravity well of the black hole to reach the target destination, the engine room began to heat up. The radiation was increasing rather fast. The power core began to glow brighter and brighter. The initial blue light turned more and more into a red one. "We will reach the jump area in exactly five minutes now," the surferboy added.

It was the longest five minutes of Leon's life. It felt like the eyes of the entire crew were on him. It was his plan. His calculations. Nine people already gave their lifes, and it was his job to ensure the other twelve would not share the same fate. Sweat was running down his face. Even with the cooling of the EVA-suit, it was more a matter of stress sweat. And fear. The fives minutes had passed eventually, the Apahanta's engines stopped, but the shields were at overcharge. "Jump drive is charging now, thirty seconds!"

Sitting in the center of a radiation fountain, the Apahanta's general radiation level increased rapidly, even with the shields absorbing the majority of it. Ten seconds passed, the ship was steaming. The giant cables were overloading with incredible amounts of energy, only cooled by low-Fahrenheit-water and heat sinks.

Only ten seconds left. A weird noise made Leon look up. Annie was no longer standing, and Ezrael moved over to her. She lay on the ground. "Don't worry, she merely collapsed. Her vital signs are okay-ish."

Nodding, Leon looked at the panel again. Three.

Two.

One.

"We're jumping!"

The ship shook as white particles grew around the Apahanta, emitted by the jump drive. The plan was working! Whirling around the Apahanta, they caused a leak in truespace. In a matter of seconds, the battleship was thrown through hyperspace. Radiation was decreasing, the shields collapsed.

Ezrael opened his eyes. He could hear the steam rushing through cracks in the giant cables. All over the ship. This was calculated, and the Apahanta took care of it, following a fire suppression protocol. This was why they wore the EVA-suits. There was no oxygen around. Only in the secured areas.

Finding himself on the ground, not realizing what just happened, he tried to stand up. Looking around, trying to get a grip on the situation, he noticed Leon was on the floor as well. He was laughing. Ezrael got on his knees, crawling over to Leon. He was alright! "Why are you laughing!?"

Smiling, Leon glanced at Ezrael. "We're alive. We made it, Ez."

And Ezrael realized it was true. They were alive. Temperature was dropping, the red light of the power core was slowly turning blue again. The rush of adrenaline was ceasing. They really survived it. Standing up, Ezrael offered Leon a hand to help him up as well. As they moved over to Annie to help her up, a beep sound announced an audio channel being opened.

"Captain, the jump was successful. Please come to the bridge, you want to see this."

Stopping for a second, Ezrael realized they just did a blind jump...

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Uncharted System Stories: 18 | 32 | 34 | 37 | 38 | 85

Templates: Character | Transmissions

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