《Inner Steel》Chapter 12
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The next day I arrived at the Complex. I carried my weapons and wore a rebellion suit of armor that I borrowed. Inside, I entered chamber 4.
Harry, Will, Margarite, and Kyle stood, waiting in the room.
“Ah, you have arrived later than I expected.” Kyle announced.
“I grabbed this suit of armor. I want at least some protection against bullets.”
Kyle glared at me for a second, knowing that I had uttered a quick good-bye to Anna, which was the principle cause of my delay.
“Alright. Now that everyone is here, get back to the Eternal Legend. We have assigned your target to be the battleship, Decimator.”
We filed out of the door, Kyle watching over us. I looked back, knowing that this would be the last time I would see him alive. He grimaced, and then looked away.
It only took an hour to reach the Eternal Legend, undock, and then depart from the Noble Sacrifice.
I looked straight ahead, towards the armada arranged against us. Ten thousand points of light, ten thousand engines slowing down the enemy ships into combat speed.
“Fire up the main drive, Margarite. We have to intercept the battleship while it is slowing down. It’ll block our emissions and conceal our position.” He explained.
Harry donned a full EVA suit and waited in the airlock. I stayed in the cockpit, strapped into a chair as the G-forces mounted.
The thrust stabilized at four gs. Nobody could move under the weight of acceleration.
“T-5 minutes until close contact with target.” A crew member read of the screen in front of him.
Two minutes later Will ordered the Eternal Legend to flip I around. The maneuver completed, and then the Eternal Legend began to slow down.
Suddenly, the engine shut off.
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“Engineering, what’s wrong?” Will cried out.
“The engine is not responding! We haven’t the least...” The sound of depressurization exploded into the intercom. A scream echoed through it, and then was ceased.
I unstrapped myself from the chair and then started to run through the corridors to the rear of the ship.
Engage Dual Combat Protocols
I continued to run through the ship. I slid into a corridor. A massive metal door had closed, locking off engineering from the rest of the ship.
Suddenly a dent formed in the metal. The resulting dong resounded off every surface.
“Emma, what was that?” Will’s voice came through the intercom. The dent grew larger as another dong echoed through the corridor. Then all of a sudden the door broke apart into pieces, and was sucked out. A door closed behind me.
I saw the culprit of the destroyed engine bay. A man stood in the vacuum. He smiled at me and spoke over the rushing wind of air leaving the spacecraft, “Beta. I have been looking for you.”
“Gamma. I have been waiting to kill you.” I replied in kind.
“Good. Let’s fight then.” He threw himself up at me.
The secondary drive kicked in. Both of us flew towards the rear of the craft. I positioned my body, correctly first. He landed flat on his back on the far wall. I landed on him, my boots first. He looked winded.
I drew out one of my pistols and fired into his face. He closed his eyes. My bullets drifted away from his face dented. No visual marks showed on his face.
I stared in shock. He smiled grimly, and then he grabbed my leg. I tried to twist out of his grip, but failed. He swung me around and then let go. The secondary engine cut out again.
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I flew through the zero-g and smashed into a wall. I floated away, dazed. Gamma leapt towards me. I tried to move, but his boots caught me in the back. I slammed into the wall again. My body ached.
I reached for his leg. He promptly shoved me back into the wall as he leapt away. I pulled out my assault rifle and fired at his body. Again, the bullets bounced off him. He looked back and smiled.
“We have to burn him. Get him underneath the engine’s exhaust.” Steel advised.
“How do I do that?”
“Let me.” I released my control of my body, and Steel took over. She leaped through the opening which Gamma came in by. She flipped around and grabbed onto the outside of the ship. The coldness of space frozen me and burnt me. Steel didn’t care. She moved quickly away from the hole. Gamma emerged quickly as well. As he left the hole, the secondary engine activated once more. We both slammed into the de-accelerating ship.
Steel looked at the battleship I was supposed to destroy. My task suddenly daunted my beyond anything I had felt before.
Steel stood up along with Gamma. Steel ran towards him. He clenched his fists and waited. Steel at the last moment slid underneath his punches.
Her feet knocked Gamma onto the ground. She then grabbed him and threw him towards the secondary engine. Steel watched his body arch, and then land in the secondary engine. His body was flung out b the exhaust, into space forever.
Suddenly the space around me erupted with projectiles. The battleship opened fire on the Eternal Legend. I watched in horror as a bullet smashed into the secondary engine. The engine exploded.
“Control is yours, now.” Steel said. I quickly climbed into the hole and tried to get to an oxygenated zone. My heart and brain were burning because of the lack of oxygen.
I slammed into the door separating me and oxygen. I broke through. I took massive gulps of air, feeling the pain subside in every bone in my body.
I leapt upwards. Another door shut behind me. I was now safe inside the Eternal Legend. I quickly made my way to the bridge.
“Good job, Emma. You just defeated one the Androids.” Will congratulated me.
“Thanks.” I sighed.
“You don’t look too well. Can Jerry help you at all?” Will asked concerned.
“I’m okay.” I answered. I breathed in deeply again. Then the Eternal Legend shook to its roots. The ship groaned in agony as the battleship pelted it with hundreds of bullets.
“Brace yourselves!” cried Will.
I looked around for my seat but couldn’t find it soon enough.
A massive explosion engulfed the ship. Everything turned black.
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