“Since we have no weapons, and most definitely not a fighting crew, we need some other way to get them off our ship.” the Virrilian began, oblivious to the Pilot’s concerns.
“There is one way I can think of.” she informed them with a far away look as she ran the idea carefully through her head. “This ship is a science vessel and as such we had to be prepared for certain events. Like an experiment escaping on the ship, or an airborne contaminate accidentally being released.” she explained as she began to check some things on her Vid-screen.
“Almost every level of this ship has a shielded emergency shelter in the center of it.” she started again, beginning to explain her plan. “They are all self-contained with their own life support systems. We are running off Emergency power right now so we can only run one room. Thankfully there is a small crew so you should all fit.”
Valesque ran a few more checks from her Vid-screen as she continued. “I think if I can run the detoxifying program that is used for a Biohazard it might drive them away. I got a good look at one of them and I don’t think their bodies would stand up well under something like that.” she explained.
While Sanic had distracted the intruders, allowing Valesque to run out from behind the metal crates, she began to slip into hunting mode, her brown eyes filming over as her Virrilian senses strengthened. In this condition, she was able to see that the disproportion of the aliens’ bodies was not a natural phenomenon, but rather a deliberate alteration of their physique. It was as if they had patchwork bodies, they also had a pungent stench as if something was rotting or infected.
“I could see its heart rate was even and low, meaning they were used to this kind of scuffle so I don’t believe they are normal scavengers. Plus, their bodies seemed to be a mismatch of parts, the blood flow was different in some areas, various parts were cooler and less muscular as well. They don’t look like normal bodies; I think they are pieced together somehow.” she said, glancing up at the two of them. “So a little chemical detoxification might make them very uncomfortable.”
The two men looked from her to each other with a bit of alarm, this was the first time since they had gone down to the Space Deck they had gotten a good look at their companion’s face.
Tim and Sanic had never seen a Virrilian in hunting mode before and Valesque was looking rather spooky now with her silver coated eyes and four pointy fangs.
Nevertheless, it was thanks to her naturally going into hunting mode after she was injured that she was able to get such a good perspective on their assailants.
The heightened Virrilian continued expounding her plan to her two wary comrades. “We need the Captain to gather everyone into the Emergency Shelter on the Control deck. Most everyone should be pretty close to that one already and we might be able to keep the intruders from getting that far up in the ship.”
“How are you going to do that?” Sanic pondered, if everyone was supposed to gather on the Control Deck who was going to stop the invaders?
Valesque smiled at her ingenious plan. “Bots.” she said. “I am going to make an army of Bots. They don’t have any weapons, but we have quite a few cleaning Bots and construction Bots onboard. And the best thing is; they will run on their own power. They may not do much damage, but they can probably slow them down in reaching the top decks.”
A loud sound was heard echoing up the Emergency shaft.
The three of them looked at the panel next to them in concern.
“They probably got through the Space Deck entry panel.” Valesque commented in a low whisper as she edged quietly away from the area in question and farther down the hall toward her lab.
“We probably have a little time left before they discover what level we are on and break through this door.” she said as she walked along typing things into her Vid-screen.
Hard banging sounds were heard down the hall as the intruders tried to force their way through the thick access panel.
“It seems they may have fanned out.” Valesque noted on their foes speed in arriving at their deck level. “Yorkie, I need you to get the Captain to gather everyone into the shelter. I can’t start the program until everyone is safely accounted for in that room.” she instructed him.
“What do you mean? What about you?” Sanic demanded worrisomely. She was not talking like she was going with them.
“I have to get to a main computer control panel. I can’t run the emergency clean up program from my Vid.” she informed him with determination shining in her silvery eyes.
“Then we should go with you. You can’t face them alone and have the rest of us go to a shelter.” he insisted, fearing for her safety.
“It will be easier for her to go alone.” Tim corrected him, seeing that Valesque was not about to give in. “She is the most likely of the three of us, she knows the ship and what she has to do. Plus she is much sturdier than we are.” he added. “If we had been hit with a blast back there we would have gotten a lot more than a minor burn.”
Sanic gave his superior a dark look for agreeing that Valesque should do it all herself while they waited in a shielded room.
“I will be fine. I just need to borrow your anti-grav discs, if I can. And your taser too, Yorkie.” she added with a smile as she reached out for both items.
With her silvery eyes and fanged grin, she almost looked thoroughly evil, reminding the two eerily of the vampire art they had seen in her room.
The sound of straining metal began to mix with the repetitive slamming coming from the escape shaft.
“Here!” Valesque said hurriedly, forcing her Vid-screen at Sanic as she began to stare intently down the corridor, taser in hand. “I have it set to activate the Hydro-lifts for you. Press the top button to unseal the door and then press it again to seal it behind you. Then use the others to operate the lift.”
The aliens penetrated the Science Deck.
“Quick!” she shouted urgently as she pushed the reluctant Sanic towards Tim before turning back again to face the emerging foes. “Get Lola in the Med-room and take her with you to the shelter.”
The invading hulks began shouting to one another as they aimed their long, black rifles at the three targets standing immovable in the Science Deck corridor.
Valesque held Tim’s taser before her but thought twice about firing. She was not very comfortable with using a weapon on someone, besides at this distance it was doubtful that the weak jolt would even have an effect.
Sanic had a panicked look as he glanced from his dream girl to the violent intruders. “You have to come with us!” he insisted trying to take hold of her as the enemies opened fire.
Valesque swiftly blocked the shot that was heading for the two behind her. Another hole was burned into her uniform, this time she had been hit in the side. Her white flesh again blackened by the scorching burst.
The large alien appeared confused as he looked from the only slightly singed woman to his laser gun, before taking aim to try it again
The injured Virrilian growled lowly as she stared down her opponents. She was ready for a fight.
Tim looked at the scene with an uncharacteristically creased brow before grabbing Sanic by the arm and pulling him quickly down the hallway.
”Stop!” Sanic demanded, trying to break free of the Lieutenant’s grasp, “You can’t just leave her like that!”
“The longer you stay here hesitating, the longer she will have to keep taking hits.” Tim said roughly, as he continued to drag his junior towards their escape route. “She won’t move until we are safely out of the way.”
The Pilot gave her one last glance as he and Sanic turned the corner to the nearest Hydro-lift.
Be safe, he wished as she disappeared from his sight.
Tim hated to see good people sacrificed, it was hard to run away and leave the girl alone, but she was only going to put herself in more danger the longer they hesitated. They just had to hope her Virrilian sturdiness would see her through.
Valesque was free to move once
she sensed the other two had left the corridor.
She grinned satisfactorily as she noticed the patchwork aliens were suddenly very interested in her ability to withstand their firepower.
In her hunting mode she could sense every move they were about to make. She could see their hearts beating, the blood coursing through their pieced together bodies, the slightest movement of every muscle.
There was no way to use a surprise attack on her with her senses so sharpened, and her Virrilian adrenaline rush was making her very exhilarated at the thought of a good fight.
She laughed quietly to herself as she tacked Sanic’s discs to the bottom of her feet while the puzzled aliens paused their assault.
As long as she could keep their attention the others should be able to get safely to the Emergency Shelter. Valesque tapped her feet to the ground and instantly found herself hugging the ceiling, the setting Sanic had used was a bit too strong for this height but she was going to have to make do.
She pushed down off the ceiling a bit with one hand and leaned herself forward so she zoomed along above the intruders heads. Just skimming the top of the corridor by keeping one hand along the ceiling as she flew, with her white lab coat flapping behind her.
Tim and Sanic crept stealthily out of the lift on Science Deck 1 and headed for the Med-room. If the enemy had separated to search for them, as Valesque had suggested, then they could be anywhere. Plus they also had to be on the look out for the Bot army she had sent to defend the corridors.
The two quickly grabbed Lola as she sat alone in the medical room and ran back to the Hydro-lift.
Tim then took the time to contact the Captain who had been impatiently awaiting their report.
"Captain, we have confirmed there is a group of heavily armed intruders. They have gained access to the port side middle emergency shaft; all the Hydro-lifts are under lockdown. Doctor Rhaugh has mobilized the ship's Bots, to try to hold them off, so we can all get to the Emergency Shelter she says is located in the center of the Control Deck. You need to order all crew to gather there. She has a plan to get the invaders off the ship but she can not implement it until everyone is safely in that room.” her Lieutenant reported hurriedly.
"Acknowledged.” Fairbanks replied briskly as she instructed the computer to open communications with all crewmembers on board, ordering them to report to the center of the Control Deck immediately.
"Are you three returning now?" she asked trying to track her reconnaissance team.
"Affirmative Captain, Ensign Sanic...the hydroponics worker and I are on our way up there right now." Tim verified as the three of them anxiously watched the deck floors tick by on the lift's indicator.
"What about the Virrilian? Is she not with you?" the Captain worried.
"Negative, Captain. She is attempting to get to a main computer terminal in order to execute the Biohazard program and force the trespassers off the ship." he informed her quickly as their transport neared its destination. "We will be in the Control Deck Emergency Shelter in one minute. I will brief you more thoroughly there." he concluded as he tapped his communicator off and prepared to evacuate the lift as soon as it hit the right floor.
Their timing was imperative; in order to save Valesque from having to stay out in the open with the enemy they had to get everyone else to the shelter. Then she could initiate the program and get to safety herself.
The longer they took to assemble the more danger they would be putting the Virrilian in.
Valesque was having a bit of trouble directing her flight on the Anti-grav discs. If they did not remain pointed at the ground she would begin to fall, and quickly.
She began to wonder why it had been necessary to put so many protruding objects on the ceiling as she struggled to steer her way around them.
She was so snug up against the top of the hallway that she had to try to push herself down in order to miss a hanging light or sign. She was going much too fast to safely swerve around them without veering off and hitting a wall, which she had discovered a few too many times.
The invading aliens were still in pursuit and firing off their weapons. They did not seem to want to kill her though; they now seemed more intent on capturing her. To add her strengths to their patchwork of parts no doubt.
The fleeing Virrilian was therefore getting more beat up from hitting the ceiling protrusions, or missing a turn and slamming into a wall, than from her followers' laser fire.
Her body took another painful beating as she once again pushed her self down off the ceiling with her sore, lacerated hand to avoid hitting a ceiling light. Her tired arm missed its timing to catch her from hitting her head on the metal panels that lined the top of the hallway, as the anti-gravity devices bounced her back up again.
Bots swarmed down the corridor beneath her, looking to intercept anyone moving on the deck. She could not program in an exact target for them all, so she just gave them the task to clean, drill, move, or whatever their designed task was, to anything they found in the halls.
The Bots had been successful so far in slowing her pursuers down, although the poor things did not last long under the alien’s laser fire. Smoldering and sparking robots started to pile up along the walkways, some spinning dizzily down the hall smoking and sputtering.
Thanks to the construction Bots sacrifices, Valesque was able to gain enough distance that she decided to attempt an albatross landing and remove the cover from an escape shaft before kicking off again the next second and flying on down the hall. She was hoping the open panel would fool the interlopers into thinking she had gone through there in her getaway, giving her the opportunity to use a different route and get to a main computer terminal.
The ruse seemed to have worked; she heard bellows in the direction she had just come from as they discovered the open shaft and then a clambering noise as they heaved their massive bodies hurriedly into the small passage to follow her.
Valesque made another graceless landing, hitting a wall and rolling to a stop. She immediately clicked off the anti-grav discs and scrambled into the nearest access shaft, sealing the door behind, as her Bot army began to advance on her.
The battered Virrilian pocketed the escape devices and wearily made her way down the metal rung ladder, trying to keep as quiet as possible as she passed each level.
Her objective was a terminal; the only one close to her location was either up in Engineering or down in the Life Pod control room. She decided it was best to go back down to the holding room as she did not want laser holes burned in her brand new Engineering department, or in the recovering Light Core.
Up on the Control Deck the remainder of the mystified crew was trailing into the designated room. Most of them had no idea what was going on, just that the Captain had ordered them all to gather in this safety area.
The few who had seen the large hairy intruders were trying to rush their slower comrades into the room so they could bar the thick, insulated doors before the attackers reached them.
The last of the straggling crew was being herded into the room just as the first of the hulking Patchwork Pirates made their appearance. The panicked crew raced to shut the heavy doors just as the howling raiders noticed the room and began a charge.
“Is everyone here?” the Captain called out as the first muffled thuds were heard at the door. The nervous crew looked around verifying that the other crewmates they knew were all there. “What about the Doctor? Is she here?” Fairbanks queried Lieutenant Baine who stood near her with Sanic and Lola.
“She is not here. And she doesn’t have her communicator on either.” Tim informed her as he saw the Captain about to put a hand to her ear.
“So we have no idea where she is or what she is doing?” she asked perturbed.
Although it was doubtful, it was possible that the scheming Doctor had something to do with the present invasion and that gathering them all together here was part of some elaborate plan.
“She is out there trying to get a detoxifying program t
o run.” Sanic spoke out, nervous that he could be counted as rude or insubordinate, but not about to let Valesque be maligned. Especially when she had just covered for Tim and himself. “She was injured protecting Lieutenant Baine and me so that we could escape and warn everyone.”
Fairbanks lips twisted into a thin distrustful scowl as she silently accepted her ardent Ensign’s account.
Space Trippers Book 1: Trippin' Page 21
