Carpathia IV: Episode 311 - Trust
Lazmaedia's Fortress
Near the fortress, the Shadowdancer continued to stand sentry at the edge of the shield, its nose pointed directly at the opening in the middle.
Joust: Cerberus status.
Trex: Captain Azrael is successfully keeping the vashta ship away from us.
Joust: As expected. Keep...
Baal: Commander, I'm getting strange readings from the fortress moon.
Shep: Confirmed. It appears the power grid is failing. There's something else on sensors too, but the system doesn't know what to make of it. It's like it's there and not there at the same time.
Joust: Nevermind that. Can we get through the shield?
Amenaru: I think so. The shield is weak and if we make contact, I can find the right modulation to get us through.
Joust: Execute.
Teek nudged the ship forward and they didn't have to go far, having only been holding just a few meters from the shield boundary. Even at a nudge, the collision from the shield was enough to give them all a jolt, with everyone simultaneously rocking forward in their seats.
Amenaru: Almost got it. Just a few more seconds!
A few more seconds was still a few seconds of intense shaking of an already-crippled Shadowdancer. With wall and ceiling panels already loose from everything that came before, many now started to fall, crashing to the deck with loud bangs.
Amenaru: Got it! The shield is still strong, but we can get through now!
Joust: Take us in.
Teek: Breaching the shield!
The Shadowdancer shuddered even harder as it slowly passed though the shield. Fortunately, every panel that could have fallen off the walls had already fallen. Once the ship reached the widest point of is shield, it finally slipped through faster until they were fully inside.
Amenaru: Primary shields failing. Switching to hull plating deflectors.
Joust: Teek, take us in!
Teek: Engaging at one quarter induction!
Joust: What? No! That's too fa...ACK!
With inertial dampeners at half effectiveness, Joust was pressed hard against the back of his chair before he could finish his sentence.
Shep: Getting readings inside the fortress. Gravity is unstable. It is disintegrating. Expect falling rocks.
Teek: Understood!
Teek blasted through the fortress moon entrance and, just as Shep said, encountered an avalanche of falling debris, all falling at different speeds and, sometimes, in different directions. Teek kept a tight grip on the yoke, his fingers dancing all around the thruster controls, steering the ship in directions that few knew it could. Left. Right. Sideways. Steering the stern independently from the bow. Somehow, despite the thick rain of boulders, he dodged every one of them.
Trex: I got two life signs near the fortress entrance, elf and dragon. Relaying positions.
Joust took a glance at his console and barked his next order at Kit.
Joust: Contact anyone on Deck 36 and have them ready the starboard airlock!
Teek: Port!
Joust: But...
Teek: PORT!
Joust: Port, Kit.
Kit: Understood, Commander.
Teek aimed the ship for the life signs, as much as he could, as he continued dodging falling rocks, white-knuckled on the yoke and intense concentration on his face. Finally, the platform came into view and Teek slammed the engines into reverse and pulled the yoke hard over, sending the rest of the bridge crew flopping around in their seats like dolls.
Earlier, Fortress
Still on the steps of the fortress entrance, Aire and Ryuu engaged in sporadic chats, usually consisting either of a question and answer or a single sentence with agreement. Both kept their gaze fixed ahead at the falling stones, neither daring to look up for fear of catching a glimpse of the inevitable boulder that would have their names on it.
Aire: I suppose if you could have deactivated the shield, you would have.
Ryuu: Command inputs were for Lazmaedia only.
Aire: Figured.
Time passed and the rain of rocks thickened. Out of the corner of his eye, Aire noticed Ryuu lean forward and squint.
Ryuu: I think I see a light flashing between the rocks.
Aire: The outer crust of the moon breaking up?
Ryuu shook his head.
Ryuu: It's not that. I think... I think it's a ship!
This got Aire's attention and he stood, himself now squinting into the distance. Though Ryuu's eyes were far better than his, he too could see a light flickering between the rocks.
Ryuu: It's Shadowdancer!
With difficulty, Ryuu raised himself from his seated position and took too wobbly steps backward.
Ryuu: And it's coming right for us... fast.
Aire took a quick glance around. The fortress entry was wide, not as big as where they parked the shuttle car, but still wide enough to accommodate a large ship like Shadowdancer.
Aire: Ryuu, don't move.
Ryuu: But...
Aire: Let Teek do his thing.
Ryuu gave a hesitant nod and remained at Aire's side. For his part, Aire remained, still as a stone, while the Shadowdancer hurtled toward them at alarming speed. Finally, her port nacelle tipped up and Shadowdancer spun around, rapidly sliding to a halt right next to them, the airlock door positioned perfectly for both of them to run straight inside. Aire and Ryuu wasted no time rushing inside.
Bridge, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Kit: We have them, Commander!
Baal: Rockfall is intensifying!
Trex: Fortress power core going critical!
Joust: Teek, goooo...WOAH!
Teek was already reaching for the throttle as Joust gave the order, throwing it into full power, smashing Joust into the back of his chair once again. Shadowdancer shot back into the rock storm. This time, there were just too many to dodge entirely and the ship grazed a few on the way out. At last, the ship rocketed through the moon's entrance just before it collapsed, leaving the matter of the shield to deal with. Ahead was the Cerberus, holding position in the shield. An open door, but one with the Cerberus itself in the way.
Joust: Teek, aim directly at Cerberus and gun it.
For the first time since the battle started, there was doubt in Teek's voice.
Teek: Commander?
Joust: Trust Captain Azrael and pay careful attention to the Cerberus.
Teek: Yes, Commander.
Teek increased speed while Amenaru watched in horror, having flashbacks to his final test for his promotion. He expected at any moment that Joust would order Trex to ready weapons. An order that never came. Closer and closer they came and Amenaru came close to shutting his eyes. At the last moment, the Cerberus turned to the side, giving Shadowdancer just enough room to escape.
With Shadowdancer free, the Cerberus followed, letting what was left of the shield close behind it.
Shep: The core is failing!
The center ring of the moon ignited into several explosions and then suddenly stopped. The bridge crew expected a massive explosion that never came. Instead, the crust broke apart with massive tentacle-like arms breaking free and spreading wide. A thing that caused everyone who saw it intense discomfort, like it was there and somehow not there at the same time.
The thing... creature? Nobody knew what to call it. It shed its prison and then faded away, both disappearing and flying away. It was hard to tell which if not both at the same time. In minutes, it was gone, leaving behind a quiet bridge with nothing but the crackle of broken circuits to fill the silence.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Colourbrand
Falke2009
