Everflame 2 (FINISHED)

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie tensed in her seat, feeling the familiar sensation of her stomach flipping as the ship accelerated past light-speed. As the screeching roar and constant juddering settled down to a quiet rumble and erratic shaking Annie finally relaxed slightly. She flicked her tail twice and attempted a smile "Not the smoothest of jumps I must admit..."


----


"The patient is this way..." Yuri followed behind the surgeon, glancing around at the rows of beds and injured workers "He still isn't conscious, but we assumed you would want to see him all the same." The surgeon walked away and left Yuri standing alone beside Blaze's bed. He looked down and sighed, scratching at the nape of his neck. Blaze lay on sheets still soaked in his own blood, a deep frown creasing his forehead. Without a word Yuri walked out of the medical bay, passing Tess with only a small nod of the head and a half-smile sent her way...

[Entaru]

Nero scowled at the thought of being helped by such inferior creatures.  He cracked his neck a few times, thinking the proposition over.  He had no information whatsoever on the whereabouts of the Everflame.  Even a being such as he could take a millienia before finding so much as a trace of it in this galaxy.   too much ground to cover and not enough time....time he wasn't even sure he had.  VerY WelL....WE AgreE.   NoW WhaT InformatioN DO YoU HavE?

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

The tower shook with the force of the shot, and medics rushed in, pulling the sniper away. One of them pressed the comms to the Captain.
"We've got a sniper down. The enemy is a good shot." The Captain pressed his tongue to his teeth.
"Shot?" he asked.
"Yes sir. Plasma rifle, it looks like." The Captain chewed the words over in his head. He turned to Jerime.
"Is there any evidence of Interdimensionals using guns?" The red panda shook his head.
"No, there would be no need," he said. Captain Grezz smirked, and pressed his comm channel open.
"Activate mortars and attack drones. Lets get this guy out in the open."




The little mouse giggled at Annie's comment.
"Oh no," she said. "Going into a jump is easy. Coming out of it is the hard part." Tina smirked at the girl, then got up from her navigation chair.
"The journey will take about an hour so you've got time to waste," she said, and then walked back through the ship to the kitchen, where she pulled out a plastic bottle of brown liquid from one of the broken cupboards.




The security officer watched Yuri pass, and flicked a look at all the doctors in full sympathy mode. He winced.
"It'll be five thousand credits. We do take services as payment."




General Caisen leaned forward to the comms console.
"We'll lead you to the Everflame. Just follow us and we'll get you there as quick as we can." She flicked off the comms and powered the engines, ready to jump. She patted Leo on the shoulder and gave a sweet smile. "Excellent job. Most people would have at least broke a sweat."

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie grinned and raised an eyebrow "Oh?" She glanced over her shoulder as Tina stood up, then turned back to the young girl "Well you obviously know how to fly a ship better than me..." she watched with curious eyes as the girl controlled the ship with deft and confident movements, fingers flying over the controls "... Of course, I only learnt some Basics with the Marine core. The rest I had to pick up along the way."

Still smiling openly, Annie leaned back in her seat and glanced the young mouse up and down "Where did you learn to fly like this?"





Tess grimaced and ran a hand through her hair "Five thousand?" Her voice sounded hoarse, tears welling up behind her blue eyes "How long do I have?" she glanced over at Blaze's bed and sighed "I need some time to think..."


 

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

"Lantz taught me," she squeaked and gestured over to her chameleon co-pilot. He raised his hand to acknowledge. "He's really good, he used to be a criminal and dodge and dive away from the GA."
"Tiz," the lizard said. He didn't take his eyes of the screens around him. "We still are criminals, even if we don't act like it... and telling government agents my personal history isn't appreciated either." The girl looked over at him half perplexed.
"It's not like it matters though, right? We're all going in the bunker anyway."
"Yes but we don't know if we're taking her with us" He finally turned his head a little to look into the girl's eyes. "And you're not supposed to tell people about our plans either." The little moused moved to speak but stopped. Her open mouth turned to a pout.





The security officer tugged at the cuffs of his jacket. "You have until the end of today. His execution is tomorrow morning." He tugged a little harder as he watched her face. "You can contact us through the main network on your datapad," he said. "So I'll just um..." He looked around for the door, finding it down the left corridor. "I'll leave you to it," he said, and rushed away.

[tangletail]

Leo smiled "Oh no, I would have trust me. I am just dehydrated." He sat down in the co-pilot chair and typed in a few cordinates "This... is not a problem is it?" He asked as the location becon appeared.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

The general leaned past Leo's chair over his shoulder, and modified the co-ordinates just slightly.
"Well just because you said you'd take them to the everflame doesn't mean that we'll actually do it." The beacon flitted to a neighbouring solar system. "Remember, our job is to keep them from the everflame until stated otherwise."

[KittKat chunky~]

The smile that Annie held slipped, if only slightly, at Lantz' comment "I wouldn't call myself an official, and I have no business with the government by any means..." She stood up from her seat and flicked her tail twice as she walked through the ship. As she neared the kitchen Annie glanced back at the chameleon and spoke softly, despite the sharp edge in her gaze "I also lived the life of a criminal. Don't be so sure to assume that appearances reveal everything about a person."




Tess nodded and turned as the officer walked hurriedly out of the medbay. Dragging her heels across the steel-grated floor she sat down beside Blaze's bed and slid her hand over his own, clenching his remaining wrist that was still made of flesh and blood. She sighed "I dont want to have to make this decision... I'm and engineer, I fix vehicles and machinery; not relationships or lives..." and with that she brushed a kiss across Blaze's cheek, getting reluctantly to her feet.




Yuri's datapad buzzed in his jacket, vibrating nosily until he unzipped his uniform and fished the wretched thing out of the inner pocket. He stopped and leaned against the steel wall of the corridor. On the screen flashed a message that he had been hoping not to recieve  -  Meet at Hangar 32. Need to talk, Tess x   - 

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chronin was going to take another shot, when he heard a dull -whump- followed by a ringing in his ears. As his past spilled out some of the memories his mind kept buried, he automatically responded by making himself as scarce as possible behind the rock. He then prepared a sphere from his underused blast-glove, its size only getting as big as he could hide from them, which was about three feet in diameter. He got out from the rock and aimed at what, only taking aim for three seconds, he saw as a mortar gun and fired the sphere. He hoped it would take out the gun, or at least give him a respite as they try to figure out how that blast occurred.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

The beast pulled back, away from the ship Caisen and Leo were on as it whirred and rumbled with energy. The engines lit up and the hull rippled while it turned toward away toward distant stars. The space around it burst into light, and it shot away toward its destination. The beast turned to Nero and growled in a gesture to follow. The beast shrunk in bright flames, down to a small searing heat and headed into his ship.
"Let's go."



Tina leaned back against one of the open cupboards, and watched Annie walk in. She took a swig of the brown drink.
"Don't berate my crew," she said, and wiped her mouth before putting a cap back onto the bottle. "They're doing a big favour for you here even though they're doing it because I told them to." She motioned over to the cupboard behind her. It was packed with more bottles, filled with every colour liquid you could think of. "Want some?"




 The mortar crew leapt for cover as the ball shot toward them. The weapon burst apart and the explosion ate the ground spitting chunks of rock and shrapnel. The crew retreated back toward the tower where more mortars were ready. In the air above chrono, something glinted against the sun. It crashed down into a cloud of dust. A silver monstrosity of metal and flesh dug teeth on the end of thirteen legs into the floor. Feathers fluttered, sprouting wherever they could, among beaks and skin. It ripped the dirt and launched itself toward chrono, bristling with blades and eyes.

[Entaru]

Nero shot back towards his ship, a bit perturbed.  Once in the ship, he quickly entered in coordinates to follow the lead ship.  "As soon as we don't need them anymore....rip them apart." Sealing up the ship, he engaged the hyperdrive and the black mass that was Nero's ship began to hurtle through hyperspace.

[tangletail]

Leo gave a short and curt nod to the general and readjusting the coordinates himself, to a bit more of a hazardous planet in the system. He then removed himself from the chair. "So why are we protecting a reposing stone?" He asked heading to the back and opening a closet. He glanced over the contents before stepping inside closing the door behind him slipping into one of the few suits included with the ship. When he finished, the door flew open and he stepped out adjusting the sleeves and plates that were attached to it, as well as reattaching the plasma pistol's holster to the back of his hip. "I am normally not one to say this, but if something this useless, return to memory as an inconvenience. Then it would make since to get rid of it.”

[KittKat chunky~]

Annie stopped at the door, leaning heavily against the frame with a  sense of weariness. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and shrugged "Sure, never say no to an offered drink." A small smile caught at the corners of her mouth as she pushed herself away from the doorframe. By the time she had reached Tina it had already slipped away again "I do not doubt your crew's sacrifice, or the risk they are putting themselves through. I was just curious about the girl..."

She shook her head and leaned against the cupboard beside Tina, tail flicking "But what of our plan? Surely you dont expect to walk into a Mechanicus Carrier filled with private security without some tricks up your sleeves."





"What's this got to do with Blaze then?" Yuri folded his arms and stuck out his lower jaw stubbornly. "Nothing! Not directly anyway" Tess massaged her temples with two fingertips before raising her arms desperately, accompanying the motion with a frustrated yell "Its his mother dammit!" Several heads turned their way and then turned back, though everywhere ears remained cocked curiously.

Tess huffed, blowing her fringe to one side as she moved her hand to her hip. With the other free hand she waved vaguely back into the steel depths of the ship "That fox is his mothers god-damn problem, not mine! But she isn't here is she? So where do I get five thousand credits!" Yuri winced and stepped back, arms unfolding in resignation "Well, I had one idea. Blaze's mag-bike..."

[Chrono Blackwyng]

Chronin cursed under his breath as the attack drone appeared before him. "Of course, can't have a remote facility without massive masses of murderous machinery." he muttered before jumping over the rock and running on all fours to the entrance at the bottom of the tower. Note to self: make an EMP setting for the glove.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

The beast curled into a blinding ball, that growled with extreme energy, making every inch of the ship shudder, every molecule vibrate as they burst into hyperspeed, heading after the military ship.



The general looked him over, and raised her eyebrow at his clothes. "Nice," she said, and leaned against the back of the chair. "And that stone used to be the most useful thing in the galaxy. It might still be that. We dont have the authority, nor the knowledge of the bigger picture to figure out its value." She glanced back at the navigation controls. They were speeding to the planet and would reach it soon. "Why did you send us to a gas giant?"



"Curiosity is fine," Tina replied. "As long as its in the right place." She pulled open the bottle and drank some down. "Anyway, the plan? it's simple. Before we duck, you send amessage to your buddies, they come out to meet us as we arrive. We pick them up and leave." She smiled and walked to Annie, placing a paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry about anything else, we've got it sorted. You're lucky I'm telling you any part of this plan. I'm not one for trust." She winked and slid past Annie, stopping just short of heading to the cockpit. She looked up. "Oh," she said. "We're arriving." The ship started to shudder, rattling cupboards jittered from the walls. Tina looked back. "You best hang onto something."



The canine captain barked down his comms. "He's out in the open. Snipers, open fire. Security get a strike team to ground level." He grinned and looked at his datapad, keying into the camera system, watching as the monstrous attack drone turned about, and tore up the bare dust, charging after Chronin.