[font=Times New Roman]I stood there, the concussion grenade was right there in my cargo pocket, ready for use. The Captain just signed all of our death certificates by stating "We will finish this fight". It was time.
"Zaine! Where the hell'ya think you're going!? That Legate's not going to kill itself!", Jose Jiminez scolded. "We're gonna need our Tactical Officer if you don't mind!"
He didn't understand'¦..none of them did. Not Jose, nor the aide to my left, bleeding out of his throat from a direct hull hit. As I walked out from what was left of the Tactical Bridge, I gently let go of the grenade that had made its way into my hand. No one squealed, or even noticed, when the grenade rolled around the floor. I bolted the security door, and jogged down Hallway A, Deck 4. Not many personnel had a need to be down this far, so I encountered no people. I looked down at the new Rorands Nav. watch I just bought."Thirty Seconds"'¦'¦Not much time.
Captain: "All hands, keep it up, that Legate is going down!"
The MNS-Basilisk's Hull was popping and shuddering from all the energy discharges lashing out at it. "If I even survive thirty seconds", I thought. Running now, I wasn't that far from the ship'¦.."Just a bit longer". Thinking back, it's a good thing I sabotaged Tac. Bridge's comms. This would have never worked if they told him of my absence.
Just as I rounded the last corner, leading to the Emergency Hangar Bay, Rafael, a Security Marine, collided with me.
"Mr. Erylian! Er. You're supposed to b- ghhhh'¦."
Immediately, I brought my hand up and crushed his Trachea in one fluid motion. He fell, rather silently, to the floor. "Gah, requiesca en pace, amigo." I knew him since Academy. I swiftly realized that I barely had ten seconds left. "That ship better be ready."
Sprinting into the mini-Hangar, I found no crewman. Only a few clean bots and one or two repair units. I spotted the ship and ran even faster. Slamming the "close entry" button and engaging the take off thrusters had become second nature to me. It's not as though I haven't practiced.
A muffled explosion told me my time had run out. The lights dimmed considerably and the Dreadnought's Computer said: "Explosion on Tactical Bridge, Damage Control being dispatched." That's my cue to leave. I couldn't suppress the smile that crept across my face. "Almost there."
The Combat Service Vehicle, essentially an escape pod, shot out of the Hangar. I modified it just slightly. This specific vessel had two additional reactors, instead of the standard one. Both were identical, but one of said reactors contained a hint of MOX. Enough to blast me out of this fight in 5 seconds, or obliterate my body way faster than that. A 'larger than usual' comm mask, was installed to avoid being detected while I was leaving. No guns, or any offensive weaponry. Where I was going, I wouldn't want to use them. The main engine was cut, and I readied the first-'secondary' reactor. This one was just made to shoot me about 2 kilometers away.
A large "Crack!" sounded as the reactor was activated and burnt out in less than 1 second. I surged forward, and the reactor was jettisoned. The second one was being loaded. Only five seconds to say goodbye. I would either live'¦.or die. "Here goes'¦"
The vessel gave a gut-wrenching "Creeaaak" and my head slammed back into the seat. The inertial dampeners seemed non-existent, the speed read: 800 ~-`. It was so sudden that my vision was blurring. "Three seconds." A tunnel was beginning to form in my peripherals. "Hang on!"
"Hull integrity decreasing, breach imminent." The Computer stated nonchalantly. I started slowing and scanners indicated 15 kilometers from the fight. It was fairly dark, but the Corsair Cruiser exploding in the distance seemed to lighten up the cockpit. The direction I had shot took me quite close to the Tau-37 jump hole. I peered at the 'systems status' screen, heh, that's a lot of red. Energy Core is almost at critical, I tapped the reserves gauge, not much there either.
I charged cruise, hoping that the fuel would last until my rendezvous. I glanced at my watch again, "Im late." I reached the Jump Hole and put in the preparation codes for docking with it.
The Jump went smooth, finally something positive, my scanners picked up what I'd been waiting to see all week. "ICMG Vessel on scanners." The computer bleeped weakly.
"Ah Mr. Erylian! We've been expecting you."
"Hmph, you're lucky that's all you've had to do, Senorita Elly." I just realized that was the first time I had talked since I said "Screw off" to my broth- the Captain, this morning. "Damn you, Adain."
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"We are sure you've had an eventful day. Welcome to the ICMG, Comrade Erylian."
