"From the Void"
Part 6
"Are you ready to go?" Jerron asked. Silence. He turned. "Nara?" "I'm afraid to leave again." she said softly. "Something bad always happens." Jerron turned her to face him. "We'll be back before you know it. I promise. If your old Exo pals won't help then we'll do it ourselves, okay?" "Okay, but they'll help. I know it." she told him. He smiled at her optimism and hugged her tightly before helping her into the skimmer. He climbed in next to her. He hoped she was right. He didn't want to be away from their haven any longer than they had to. His reasons were completely different from hers though. The longer they were away the chance was greater that Nara would somehow learn about his past and God help them both if that ever happened.
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Colleen inched back to Hollis's side after setting the last of the charges. Her shoulder touched his reassuringly. "Are you ready?" she asked. "As I'll ever be." he answered. "Okay. Here goes." She depressed the trigger. The resulting explosion was deafening. Colleen clapped her hands over her ears and felt Hollis imitate the movement next to her. The floor under them shook with the force of it. She coughed as dust-like particles swirled past her, accompanied by a strangely familiar sickening smell. She slowly opened her eyes, She had to blink against the light streaming in the new hole. "It worked." she whispered, then louder. "IT WORKED!" She scrambled to her feet and turned to pull Hollis up, supporting most of his weight herself. They laborishly made their way to the gaping hole. "We must have blown up some kind of pipes." Hollis stated, looking curiously at the dark liquid pooling on the floor. Colleen nodded absently, staring at the pink material between the two walls. Something about it stirred in the back of her mind. What kind of insulation was that? She shrugged. It didn't really matter. At least they'd finally gotten out of the oppressive dark. She managed to get Hollis over the hole and down the hall quite a ways, every nerve tuned for trouble if anyone came to investigate the explosion. She found a deep, shaded alcove off the hallway where they wouldn't be seen. She eased Hollis to the ground and leaned against the wall to regain her breath. "You should have left me back there." Hollis suddenly said. "I'm slowing you down." Colleen glared at him. "Nonsense." she scoffed. "We're in this together, remember?" "You can't drag me around with you everywhere. You're not strong enough. And you can't patch this suit up good enough to let me walk for anymore than 10 minutes." "What are you suggesting? That I leave you here?" she asked, suspiciously. "Exactly." "Out of the question!" "I don't recall asking." Hollis reminded her coldly. "Leave me a blaster and a tracer and I'll be fine until you get back." She was about to protest again when he cut her off. "The longer you argue about it, the less chance we have of getting out of here alive." Colleen wanted to keep fighting about it but she knew he was right. She sighed. "Alright, damn it. You win. I'll leave the canteen. I won't need it." Hollis kept his mouth shut. Once her mind was made up there was no changing it. When she was ready to leave he had a blaster, a tracer, a canteen, and had been juryrigged together to conserve power. She bent down and kissed his cheek. "You're brave, pirate. I'll be back." she said fondly before disappearing around the corner. "Good luck." he whispered after her.
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The e-frames spilled forth from the Remington's hull. They all immediately fell into attack formation. "Where are they?" Maggie asked. "Look! Over there!" Kaz shouted, pointing toward the three shapes moving in the distance. Everyone turned to look and an eerie silence descended on them. J.T. wondered if they felt the sam fascination/terror he did. "Alec, do a..." he began before catching himself. "Already done." Alec replied, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "There are no transmissions to or from the ships. I'm jamming them just in case." "How are the nine of us supposed to stop those. They're huge." Jennifer asked nervously. Out of the corner of his eye, J.T. noticed Jace's e-frame move closer to hers and the low hum over his comm told him they were talking on a secured line. "We may not be doing this alone if the time comes. The Damocles is bringing more e-frames this way." he informed them calmly. "But are they reinforcements or a posse?" Bronski grumbled under his breath. "Both." J.T. surprised him by responding. "Alright. Fan out, troops. Recon only. Don't fire unless provoked. We still have to figure out what happened to Chaos." Everyone broke off into groups of two and spread out, speeding towards the ships. J.T. opened all of his channels so he could hear anything said and followed more slowly. Was Colleen on one of those ships? He longed to find out but squashed the urge. "They're beautiful, Alec." Maggie breathed as they got closer. Alec made an affirmative sound, also awestruck. "Less talk and more action!" Rita barked over the comm. Alec and Maggie grinned at each other and moved forward. "Did you ever see a whale?" she asked suddenly. "I did once. As a child. It was so warm and...alive, I guess. Now they're so close to extinction all we have are vid clips. That's what these remind me of. Sorta space whales." she finished and laughed softly to cover her embarrassment. He smiled at her. "Watch them, Mags. It's like they know where they're going." He paused. "Almost like they're migrating." Maggie laughed. "They probably would contest that." "Just a minute." he told her and moved off. "What are you doing?!" He got in front of one of the ships and positioned his frame a long ways under its flight path then held it stationary and waited for it to pass over him. He held his breath in fascination as the seamless hull glided over him. What kind of civilization could create such perfect technology? He pushed himself up behind it and studied the back before returning to Maggie's side. "You took ten years off my life with that stunt, DeLeon!" Alec ignored her outraged comment. "It's perfect." he marvelled. "I didn't see any propulsion units or exhaust outlets at all. Amazing! If I didn't know better I would say they were alive." "But you do and we've had more than a good look at it so we should report back to J.T." "In a second. I'm going to get a closer look. I don't think they even know we're here." he said, drifting to the third vessel that was skimming past. "You're starting to sound just like Algernon." Maggie muttered irritably. "Alec..." J.T. appeared at her side. "Alec, don't get too close." He could almost see the other man's grin. "Don't worry, J.T., I'll..." His e-frame disappeared in a blinding flash of light. "ALEC!!!!" Maggie and J.T. shouted at the same time. J.T.'s comm sputtered with noise as everyone demanded an explanation but he ignored them. "Maggie! Maggie, don't! He's not dead!" he shouted to her as she began to lunge toward the place where Alec had disappeared. She stopped and looked back at him incredulously. "What?" "He's not dead, although he may be when I get my hands on him." J.T. repeated. "He was right." "About what?" " They're alive."
To Be Continued or The End? You decide! :)
So....what did you think? Should I write another part or pull a Universal and just leave it?
"Are you ready to go?" Jerron asked. Silence. He turned. "Nara?" "I'm afraid to leave again." she said softly. "Something bad always happens." Jerron turned her to face him. "We'll be back before you know it. I promise. If your old Exo pals won't help then we'll do it ourselves, okay?" "Okay, but they'll help. I know it." she told him. He smiled at her optimism and hugged her tightly before helping her into the skimmer. He climbed in next to her. He hoped she was right. He didn't want to be away from their haven any longer than they had to. His reasons were completely different from hers though. The longer they were away the chance was greater that Nara would somehow learn about his past and God help them both if that ever happened.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
Colleen inched back to Hollis's side after setting the last of the charges. Her shoulder touched his reassuringly. "Are you ready?" she asked. "As I'll ever be." he answered. "Okay. Here goes." She depressed the trigger. The resulting explosion was deafening. Colleen clapped her hands over her ears and felt Hollis imitate the movement next to her. The floor under them shook with the force of it. She coughed as dust-like particles swirled past her, accompanied by a strangely familiar sickening smell. She slowly opened her eyes, She had to blink against the light streaming in the new hole. "It worked." she whispered, then louder. "IT WORKED!" She scrambled to her feet and turned to pull Hollis up, supporting most of his weight herself. They laborishly made their way to the gaping hole. "We must have blown up some kind of pipes." Hollis stated, looking curiously at the dark liquid pooling on the floor. Colleen nodded absently, staring at the pink material between the two walls. Something about it stirred in the back of her mind. What kind of insulation was that? She shrugged. It didn't really matter. At least they'd finally gotten out of the oppressive dark. She managed to get Hollis over the hole and down the hall quite a ways, every nerve tuned for trouble if anyone came to investigate the explosion. She found a deep, shaded alcove off the hallway where they wouldn't be seen. She eased Hollis to the ground and leaned against the wall to regain her breath. "You should have left me back there." Hollis suddenly said. "I'm slowing you down." Colleen glared at him. "Nonsense." she scoffed. "We're in this together, remember?" "You can't drag me around with you everywhere. You're not strong enough. And you can't patch this suit up good enough to let me walk for anymore than 10 minutes." "What are you suggesting? That I leave you here?" she asked, suspiciously. "Exactly." "Out of the question!" "I don't recall asking." Hollis reminded her coldly. "Leave me a blaster and a tracer and I'll be fine until you get back." She was about to protest again when he cut her off. "The longer you argue about it, the less chance we have of getting out of here alive." Colleen wanted to keep fighting about it but she knew he was right. She sighed. "Alright, damn it. You win. I'll leave the canteen. I won't need it." Hollis kept his mouth shut. Once her mind was made up there was no changing it. When she was ready to leave he had a blaster, a tracer, a canteen, and had been juryrigged together to conserve power. She bent down and kissed his cheek. "You're brave, pirate. I'll be back." she said fondly before disappearing around the corner. "Good luck." he whispered after her.
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The e-frames spilled forth from the Remington's hull. They all immediately fell into attack formation. "Where are they?" Maggie asked. "Look! Over there!" Kaz shouted, pointing toward the three shapes moving in the distance. Everyone turned to look and an eerie silence descended on them. J.T. wondered if they felt the sam fascination/terror he did. "Alec, do a..." he began before catching himself. "Already done." Alec replied, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "There are no transmissions to or from the ships. I'm jamming them just in case." "How are the nine of us supposed to stop those. They're huge." Jennifer asked nervously. Out of the corner of his eye, J.T. noticed Jace's e-frame move closer to hers and the low hum over his comm told him they were talking on a secured line. "We may not be doing this alone if the time comes. The Damocles is bringing more e-frames this way." he informed them calmly. "But are they reinforcements or a posse?" Bronski grumbled under his breath. "Both." J.T. surprised him by responding. "Alright. Fan out, troops. Recon only. Don't fire unless provoked. We still have to figure out what happened to Chaos." Everyone broke off into groups of two and spread out, speeding towards the ships. J.T. opened all of his channels so he could hear anything said and followed more slowly. Was Colleen on one of those ships? He longed to find out but squashed the urge. "They're beautiful, Alec." Maggie breathed as they got closer. Alec made an affirmative sound, also awestruck. "Less talk and more action!" Rita barked over the comm. Alec and Maggie grinned at each other and moved forward. "Did you ever see a whale?" she asked suddenly. "I did once. As a child. It was so warm and...alive, I guess. Now they're so close to extinction all we have are vid clips. That's what these remind me of. Sorta space whales." she finished and laughed softly to cover her embarrassment. He smiled at her. "Watch them, Mags. It's like they know where they're going." He paused. "Almost like they're migrating." Maggie laughed. "They probably would contest that." "Just a minute." he told her and moved off. "What are you doing?!" He got in front of one of the ships and positioned his frame a long ways under its flight path then held it stationary and waited for it to pass over him. He held his breath in fascination as the seamless hull glided over him. What kind of civilization could create such perfect technology? He pushed himself up behind it and studied the back before returning to Maggie's side. "You took ten years off my life with that stunt, DeLeon!" Alec ignored her outraged comment. "It's perfect." he marvelled. "I didn't see any propulsion units or exhaust outlets at all. Amazing! If I didn't know better I would say they were alive." "But you do and we've had more than a good look at it so we should report back to J.T." "In a second. I'm going to get a closer look. I don't think they even know we're here." he said, drifting to the third vessel that was skimming past. "You're starting to sound just like Algernon." Maggie muttered irritably. "Alec..." J.T. appeared at her side. "Alec, don't get too close." He could almost see the other man's grin. "Don't worry, J.T., I'll..." His e-frame disappeared in a blinding flash of light. "ALEC!!!!" Maggie and J.T. shouted at the same time. J.T.'s comm sputtered with noise as everyone demanded an explanation but he ignored them. "Maggie! Maggie, don't! He's not dead!" he shouted to her as she began to lunge toward the place where Alec had disappeared. She stopped and looked back at him incredulously. "What?" "He's not dead, although he may be when I get my hands on him." J.T. repeated. "He was right." "About what?" " They're alive."
To Be Continued or The End? You decide! :)
So....what did you think? Should I write another part or pull a Universal and just leave it?