AIEEEEEEEEEEE
Sep. 9th, 2009 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aaaaaaaagh_skyPaulson had found the aliens' hangar, and the crashed saucer that had caught Ellen's attention- useless, alas. Its workings had been too ripped up to be worth much even as scrap, he'd said. Of course, he'd been busy killing aliens the whole time he scouted the place out, but he had paid attention to that much.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Somah had gone looking for the teleporter's power system. She hadn't found it, but she had found where the aliens kept their maintenance robots. After a game of cat-and-mouse with a squad of shielded aliens in odd dark suits, she'd come away with one of their control devices. Two heavily armed drone robots guarded the engineering area now.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
The samurai- Somah said she thought his name might've been Toshiro- had wandered off when no one was looking. Sally had tried to find him, but without a trail to follow she'd come back to the group in case they'd needed her.
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Ellen sat in the little side alcove, hands on her knees, and stared at Colonel Hartigan's suit.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
"I don't think I can do this, Colonel," she said at last, her throat burning and her eyes not much better. "I know you- this was-" She bit her lip. The words weren't coming. "I can't go out there. I can't."
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
The big bright room with the blue ceiling seemed, for a moment, as small and cozy as the Vault's diner. Next to the thought of walking in the black, with nothing between her and a hundred million miles of nothing at all except the two-hundred-year-old suit of a dead man? Walking under an open sky held no terror.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
( you've got to send help up here- as far as I can tell, they're never going to stop until they've captured hundreds, maybe thousands )
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
She looked at the suit again.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
( but this is not Heaven, and my captors are not angels )
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
"Colonel, if your spirit can hear me-"
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
( what? what do you want? I don't understand! why is this happening to me? )
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
"Help me do this."
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
It was so . . . quiet. She'd expected her footfalls to ring in the airlock, but there was nothing left for them to ring in. As soon as the door had sealed itself behind her, Somah had flipped on the red light and started pumping out the air. Now the only sound left to hear was the hissing of her breath in the suit and the hammering of her heart. The airlock itself was low-ceilinged and small, like some of the lower rooms in the Vault- but no room in the Vault had ever had a door like the one at the far end. Not even the Vault entrance had looked so unwilling to open. Well, that made sense, almost; you had to keep the air from rushing out into the-
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
(Had she crossed the room already? How had that happened? She'd barely felt herself move, and only vaguely recalled pressing the y-shaped control mounted on the wall.)
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Into the vacuum, into the nothing. Into the endless black that spilled out before her in every conceivable direction-
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
(In space, no one can hear you hyperventilate. Your suit, however, can adjust the gas mixture being pumped into your helmet to keep you from knocking yourself unconscious.)
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Not, Ellen realized, every direction. There was metal underfoot, rolling away in a long, gentle arc; there was metal above, as well. She realized with a start that Sally had been right. The ship was in two pieces, a comparatively small saucer below and a much larger one above, the two held together only by a few slender rods of metal at the edges. She almost wanted to investigate that more closely- almost. To do so she'd have to go closer to the edge, and beyond the edge lay the endless black.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
At least- at least the artificial gravity worked, even out here. At least there was a 'down'. Ellen didn't think she'd've been able to take it if she'd stepped outside and lost contact with the ship beneath her boots. With the greatest of care, she moved forward, looking away from the darkness and up to the main saucer. Maybe there was a hatch, maybe a ladder; there had to be something, didn't there? How did those little green jerks get from one part of the ship to the other if the teleporters were down? Something had to be here!
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
She'd traveled some unknown distance, and no power on Earth or in space could have persuaded her to look back and gauge where the airlock lay, when she caught sight of it: a round depression in the hull, lined with the same odd grill-work as the teleporter Sally had shown her. Unlike the other, it had no safety railing around it, and glowed faintly with an orange light. A handful of bluish glyphs surrounded it; were they perhaps the alien words for 'emergency use only'? Who knew. She'd take that chance.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Gun drawn, Ellen stepped onto what she fervently hoped was the saucer-to-saucer teleporter.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
The receiving teleportation matrix glowed one last time as Sally stepped off the platform. Ellen smiled weakly, her space helmet under her arm. "Every-" She coughed. "Everybody okay?"
"Sure am," said Somah, and Sally and Tercorien nodded, too. "How about you, Paulson?"
"Doin' all right," the cowboy replied laconically. "Ain't a fit way for a man to travel, if you ask me, but I didn't take any harm."
"Oh, good," said Ellen. "We'll leave that thing running in case the samurai finds it."
"Not my idea of safe, but suit yourself," said Somah. "So what now?"
"Well," said Ellen, "for one thing, I kind of need to change out of this suit." She paused, considering. "And into some clean pants."
Tercorien held out a white-and-tan bundle to her. "Here you go," he said. "I, uh, took the liberty of making one last run into the cargo hold. Thought you might need some warming up after first the cryo labs, and then space."
"Thank you," said Ellen, and started to unfold it. "So what did you-" Then she stopped as something metallic and colorful winked up at her from the heavy fabric. Pins, it looked like. Insignias of rank, possibly. Or medals...
She'd seen them before, in the sim.
"Dr. Tercorien-"
"Elliott's fine."
"Elliott, this is a military coat."
"I know."
"Elliott, this is a really decorated military coat."
"I know."
"Elliott, why do the aliens have General Chase's overcoat?"
"I don't know. I just- I found it, that's all. I don't know."
Ellen stared at the thing a while, then shook her head. It didn't matter. Not now.
A few minutes later she was out of Colonel Hartigan's suit and back into the dead woman's uniform, General Chase's coat drawn on over it. It was deceptively strong, reinforced in places with unseen weaves and plates; she could think of far worse armor. She'd never worn something that felt quite so. . . well . . . dramatic. The bottom edges tended to flare and swish as the group stalked through the corridors. She had to pull it in carefully whenever they came across a door if she wanted to avoid being caught; that weird six-section design didn't help much.
She'd only just barely avoided being caught by yet another door when she walked, face-first, into Somah's back. "Oof! Sorry, Somah," she said. "What- oh. . ."
It was another observation room, of sorts. One entire wall was taken up by what was either an incredible amount of video viewing screens, or very large windows. This room, however, didn't have seats and benches for viewing the scenery. It had instrument panels and indecipherable sensor arrays, and a big, empty area in the middle. There was nowhere in sight to sit.
"Huh. Wonder what this place is," said Paulson, striding across the floor without pausing. "It don't look real practical."
He started to reach for the door, but stopped as the room was suddenly lit by an odd orange flare. It came from the center of the room. A blaze of light coalesced into an oddly angular floating representation of one of the aliens' heads. It turned and glared at each of them in turn, yammering fiercely all the while in what Ellen couldn't help but think was a contemptuous tone. Paulson had his revolver out immediately, of course, but the thing ignored him in favor of more angry shrilling. When it finally did disappear, it was replaced by one of the blue glyphs that floated above buttons and in front of doors all over the ship- an unfamiliar glyph that looked almost as if it was something dangling from the bottom of the lower saucer.
"Huh," said Somah. "What is that supposed to be, I wonder?"
Her question was answered a moment later as one of the windows flickered, being replaced by an image- Ellen shuddered to imagine where the camera must have been- of the bottom of the lower saucer. The glyph had been a representation, but only a very pale one, of the glowing, malevolent device that dangled from the ship... and that suddenly loosed a burst of unimaginable energy towards the planet below. A wave of profanity went up from the humans (other than Sally); the image faded, and the alien head returned to yammer at them one last time before vanishing.
There was silence for a while. Then Elliott said:
"Okay. So. . . they've got a death ray."
"And we," Ellen said soberly, "have a problem."
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Somah had gone looking for the teleporter's power system. She hadn't found it, but she had found where the aliens kept their maintenance robots. After a game of cat-and-mouse with a squad of shielded aliens in odd dark suits, she'd come away with one of their control devices. Two heavily armed drone robots guarded the engineering area now.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
The samurai- Somah said she thought his name might've been Toshiro- had wandered off when no one was looking. Sally had tried to find him, but without a trail to follow she'd come back to the group in case they'd needed her.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Ellen sat in the little side alcove, hands on her knees, and stared at Colonel Hartigan's suit.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
"I don't think I can do this, Colonel," she said at last, her throat burning and her eyes not much better. "I know you- this was-" She bit her lip. The words weren't coming. "I can't go out there. I can't."
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
The big bright room with the blue ceiling seemed, for a moment, as small and cozy as the Vault's diner. Next to the thought of walking in the black, with nothing between her and a hundred million miles of nothing at all except the two-hundred-year-old suit of a dead man? Walking under an open sky held no terror.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
( you've got to send help up here- as far as I can tell, they're never going to stop until they've captured hundreds, maybe thousands )
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
She looked at the suit again.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
( but this is not Heaven, and my captors are not angels )
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
"Colonel, if your spirit can hear me-"
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
( what? what do you want? I don't understand! why is this happening to me? )
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
"Help me do this."
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
It was so . . . quiet. She'd expected her footfalls to ring in the airlock, but there was nothing left for them to ring in. As soon as the door had sealed itself behind her, Somah had flipped on the red light and started pumping out the air. Now the only sound left to hear was the hissing of her breath in the suit and the hammering of her heart. The airlock itself was low-ceilinged and small, like some of the lower rooms in the Vault- but no room in the Vault had ever had a door like the one at the far end. Not even the Vault entrance had looked so unwilling to open. Well, that made sense, almost; you had to keep the air from rushing out into the-
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
(Had she crossed the room already? How had that happened? She'd barely felt herself move, and only vaguely recalled pressing the y-shaped control mounted on the wall.)
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Into the vacuum, into the nothing. Into the endless black that spilled out before her in every conceivable direction-
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
(In space, no one can hear you hyperventilate. Your suit, however, can adjust the gas mixture being pumped into your helmet to keep you from knocking yourself unconscious.)
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Not, Ellen realized, every direction. There was metal underfoot, rolling away in a long, gentle arc; there was metal above, as well. She realized with a start that Sally had been right. The ship was in two pieces, a comparatively small saucer below and a much larger one above, the two held together only by a few slender rods of metal at the edges. She almost wanted to investigate that more closely- almost. To do so she'd have to go closer to the edge, and beyond the edge lay the endless black.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
At least- at least the artificial gravity worked, even out here. At least there was a 'down'. Ellen didn't think she'd've been able to take it if she'd stepped outside and lost contact with the ship beneath her boots. With the greatest of care, she moved forward, looking away from the darkness and up to the main saucer. Maybe there was a hatch, maybe a ladder; there had to be something, didn't there? How did those little green jerks get from one part of the ship to the other if the teleporters were down? Something had to be here!
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
She'd traveled some unknown distance, and no power on Earth or in space could have persuaded her to look back and gauge where the airlock lay, when she caught sight of it: a round depression in the hull, lined with the same odd grill-work as the teleporter Sally had shown her. Unlike the other, it had no safety railing around it, and glowed faintly with an orange light. A handful of bluish glyphs surrounded it; were they perhaps the alien words for 'emergency use only'? Who knew. She'd take that chance.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
Gun drawn, Ellen stepped onto what she fervently hoped was the saucer-to-saucer teleporter.
ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod
The receiving teleportation matrix glowed one last time as Sally stepped off the platform. Ellen smiled weakly, her space helmet under her arm. "Every-" She coughed. "Everybody okay?"
"Sure am," said Somah, and Sally and Tercorien nodded, too. "How about you, Paulson?"
"Doin' all right," the cowboy replied laconically. "Ain't a fit way for a man to travel, if you ask me, but I didn't take any harm."
"Oh, good," said Ellen. "We'll leave that thing running in case the samurai finds it."
"Not my idea of safe, but suit yourself," said Somah. "So what now?"
"Well," said Ellen, "for one thing, I kind of need to change out of this suit." She paused, considering. "And into some clean pants."
Tercorien held out a white-and-tan bundle to her. "Here you go," he said. "I, uh, took the liberty of making one last run into the cargo hold. Thought you might need some warming up after first the cryo labs, and then space."
"Thank you," said Ellen, and started to unfold it. "So what did you-" Then she stopped as something metallic and colorful winked up at her from the heavy fabric. Pins, it looked like. Insignias of rank, possibly. Or medals...
She'd seen them before, in the sim.
"Dr. Tercorien-"
"Elliott's fine."
"Elliott, this is a military coat."
"I know."
"Elliott, this is a really decorated military coat."
"I know."
"Elliott, why do the aliens have General Chase's overcoat?"
"I don't know. I just- I found it, that's all. I don't know."
Ellen stared at the thing a while, then shook her head. It didn't matter. Not now.
A few minutes later she was out of Colonel Hartigan's suit and back into the dead woman's uniform, General Chase's coat drawn on over it. It was deceptively strong, reinforced in places with unseen weaves and plates; she could think of far worse armor. She'd never worn something that felt quite so. . . well . . . dramatic. The bottom edges tended to flare and swish as the group stalked through the corridors. She had to pull it in carefully whenever they came across a door if she wanted to avoid being caught; that weird six-section design didn't help much.
She'd only just barely avoided being caught by yet another door when she walked, face-first, into Somah's back. "Oof! Sorry, Somah," she said. "What- oh. . ."
It was another observation room, of sorts. One entire wall was taken up by what was either an incredible amount of video viewing screens, or very large windows. This room, however, didn't have seats and benches for viewing the scenery. It had instrument panels and indecipherable sensor arrays, and a big, empty area in the middle. There was nowhere in sight to sit.
"Huh. Wonder what this place is," said Paulson, striding across the floor without pausing. "It don't look real practical."
He started to reach for the door, but stopped as the room was suddenly lit by an odd orange flare. It came from the center of the room. A blaze of light coalesced into an oddly angular floating representation of one of the aliens' heads. It turned and glared at each of them in turn, yammering fiercely all the while in what Ellen couldn't help but think was a contemptuous tone. Paulson had his revolver out immediately, of course, but the thing ignored him in favor of more angry shrilling. When it finally did disappear, it was replaced by one of the blue glyphs that floated above buttons and in front of doors all over the ship- an unfamiliar glyph that looked almost as if it was something dangling from the bottom of the lower saucer.
"Huh," said Somah. "What is that supposed to be, I wonder?"
Her question was answered a moment later as one of the windows flickered, being replaced by an image- Ellen shuddered to imagine where the camera must have been- of the bottom of the lower saucer. The glyph had been a representation, but only a very pale one, of the glowing, malevolent device that dangled from the ship... and that suddenly loosed a burst of unimaginable energy towards the planet below. A wave of profanity went up from the humans (other than Sally); the image faded, and the alien head returned to yammer at them one last time before vanishing.
There was silence for a while. Then Elliott said:
"Okay. So. . . they've got a death ray."
"And we," Ellen said soberly, "have a problem."