VonGrippen has become synonymous with choose, disorder and anarchy.
This wasn't what our progenitor would have wished.
To preserve his memory we must fight against those that would use his name in vain to their own gains
HMS Excalibur CVX-11 - Eyre Colony - Geldan Territory
OCCUPATION: DAY ONE-SEVENTY-THREE
"Report," Captain Sholtzski ordered tensely.
Wojciech turned in the small supply room, leaning into his TAC-link, angry. "What the hell was that at the manor? You were supposed to approach stealthily."
"We weren't to know that Taine possessed a teleportation device," Sholtzski answered. "State security saw fit to proceed in its own manner. Now, that is in the past. What do you have to report?"
Wojciech sat down on a packaging crate, running a hand through his hair, "I'm not a spy, Comrade Captain..."
"But you are a loyal officer and these insurgents are dangerous," Sholtzski repeated. "We need your report if we are to proceed. The Kirov is in position. In you assessment can we seize the Excalibur?"
"I- I am not certain Captain," Wojciech answered, shaking his head, wrestling with his conscience. "I am not certain that Taine is lying. He's made no move against the Republic; even now he is preparing to return to the core systems..."
"Nonsense," Sholtzski insisted. "It's a ploy designed to lure you in. You yourself have said that he has shown you seditious material, that he has been trying to convince you to join his side. They're dangerous, Hugo, and they have to be stopped."
Wojciech banged his head quietly back against the shelf, his fingers scratching at his eyes as he tried to reconcile his duty against what he had seen. "They have a device called a Propylon system, it allows instantaneous transit across vast distances. Alien in design, maybe Polian..."
"Interesting," Sholtzski murmured. "How is he bypassing the FTL embargo?"
"Hyperspace relays," Wojciech answered, sitting up and committing to his duty. "They fire off one into hyperspace and it permits them long distance communication despite our jamming stations."
"If the insurgents have discovered this technology, it doesn't bode well." Sholtzski sounded worried. "What's to stop them from repeating the Storm of Tears?"
Wojciech shivered, remembering the news reports as a child, of the insurgency's heinous use of nuclear weapons on key cities. His hands tightened around the TAC-link. "I think we have to consider storming the ship."
"I am in agreement, comrade." Sholtzski sounded pleased. "I have a company of Spetznas aboard the Kiov. Could you..." Sholtzski paused.
"What?" Wojciech asked tiredly.
"This Propylon system, can you operate it?" Sholtzski demanded.
There was silence for a while, Wojciech resting a hand on the pistol that no one had taken from him. Why? Because Darien trusted him.
"Hugo?" Sholtzski pressed. "We need you, Hugo."
"It's under heavy guard... but I know the officer that operated it before, Lieutenant Kyles. I could try." Wojciech stood. "There are several hundred crew members on board this ship, as well as Marines and others."
"Then our key goal is to establish a foothold with this Propylon system," Sholtzski decided. "From there, we can sabotage the ship and withdraw... I am worried about you Hugo."
"What? Why?" Wojciech asked turning and leaning into his TAC-link, "I am carrying out my orders."
"I sense reluctance," Sholtzski answered. "I am aboard the Kiov, but I will assume command over this operation personally, to ensure there are no... problems this time."
"Understood, Comrade Captain," Wojciech replied, closing his TAC-link and resting it against his head.
Expedition Two Camp - Aivilik - Eelim Territory
OCCUPATION: DAY ONE-SEVENTY-THREE
Commander Durnham paced the length of his holoprojector's range, staring about him at the alien Propylon chamber. Doctor Casey was labouring over the device's master computer, studying it in some detail, using the scans from the book Darien had found on Geldan to assist her in her translations.
"It's fascinating to see science through alien eyes," she remarked after their silence had stretched out too long.
"Oh?" Durnham inquired pausing in mid-stride to give her his full attention.
"Well the Polians had very radical theories on time for example, they believed that it was malleable to a point, from what I can tell, the Propylons operate under this theory. That they don't simply travel space, but they may be able to cross dimensional barriers as well."
"I see," Durnham replied, unsettled by the thought.
"Except not to parallel dimensions; near as I can tell that is impossible. Unless, of course, you artificially create pocket dimensions." Casey shrugged. "You could create a pocket of time, looping for a certain amount of years, say a hundred years, and you could transit there using these."
"Why, though?" Commander Durnham asked, looking across the chamber to where Doctor Murphy was examining one of the Propylons closely.
"I can think of any number of probabilities," Casey said softly. "It would be the perfect place to hide things you don't want found. Given the infinite possible combinations for the Propylon co-ordinates, it would be nearly impossible to find..."
"You mean Peligia," Commander Durnham turned surprise on his face, "you mean you've found it?"
"No," Casey shook her head. "I have an idea about where it might be. A theory." She sat on her stool, pulling her dark hair back from her eyes. "Even if I am right, there's no guarantee we'll be able to find it."
"Still, it does narrow things down," Commander Durnham replied. "We should communicate with the Excalibur. Upload me back to the Excalibur and I'll deliver this report personally."
Casey complied, activating the beacon relay, walking to where it was mounted and uploading Commander Durnham's program into the communications buffer. Standing back, she hit the actuator, watching the small craft shiver before it blasted away up the shaft of the chamber, rocketing into hyper space mid launch.
"Hey," Hansen called from above, "there's a ship inbound, not Eelim that I can tell, but I can't be sure."
HMS T'zaht - Aivilik - Eelim Territory
OCCUPATION: DAY ONE-SEVENTY-THREE
The ship buffet its way through the atmosphere, guided by the doctor, down near a collection of ruins. Katz steered the large ship on its approach. Its landing gears extended from its underbelly as it swung over the ruins and set down in a large, muddy field, the gears sinking into the damp mud as she settled in for a landing with a blast of exhaust fumes.
Katz pulled on his leather jacket, grabbing an assault rifle as he made his way back along the length of his ship. Hefting the rifle, he nodded to Chuck, who made his way forward to monitor the ship while its skipper went ashore.
Kyr joined him at the hatch, picking at his beige sweater and adjusting his hair, his medical bag in hand. They waited for the cargo elevator to descend onto the cold, bluish world on the very edge of nothing. Over the rise, a dust trail approached as a pair of ATV's purred down towards them.
The lead roared about, pulling to a stop as Captain Hansen bounded off, slinging his sub-machine gun, saluting Katz. "Welcome to Aivilik, sir."
"We're not much of a cavalry," Katz admitted, climbing down off of the cargo elevator, "but we're here. Is Commander Durnham here?"
Hansen shook his head. "Just uploaded to the Excalibur."
"Oh thank God," Kyr said, relieved, "the Excalibur is okay."
"Saying it that way," Hansen observed, peering at the pair over his sunglasses, "makes it sound like there's been some trouble."
"That and then some," Katz answered, "well if you have an FTL, we should co-ordinate with the Excalibur. And if you have a couple of men to spare... I have a pest problem in my trash sluice."
"Rodent?" Hansen asked, glancing at the Osterburg.
"Chicken, big chicken," Katz said with a tight, grim, smile. "You'd best take the Doctor and I to the camp."
The trip down from the surface was claustrophobic for the fighter pilot used to wide open skies and the vastness of space. It was tight, smelled of earth, and dark. He kept a tight grip on his Pulse Rifle as they exited the tunnels and entered the brightly lit Propylon chamber.
Bunks had been set up, shrouded off with tarps. Metal tables had odd artefacts scatted about them, neatly tagged and bagged for the return to the Excalibur. There was a precision to everything, despite the fact that the Expedition had been forced to hide underground for months.
They'd made do as best they could; Dragoons kept watch, while others slept or played cards. A few of them flashed relieved looks as they recognized Katz and the doctor. Others merely rolled over, returning to sleep, content with their situation.
Katz followed Hansen down the long, winding ramp to the bottom floor, staring at the wall of dancing Polian script that flowed and changed behind the master computer. A beautiful older Asian woman working on a laptop looked up, unimpressed with their arrival.
Doctor Murphy was a different case entirely; he enthusiastically walked up and embraced both Katz and Kyr before restoring his composure. "God it's good to see human faces."
Kyr raised an eyebrow but didn't correct the scientist.
"I have the Excalibur," Casey reported. "You're lucky that hyperspace hasn't crushed our relay yet, we're running out."
Katz accepted the TAC-link headset and pressed it to his ear. "Skipper?"
HMS Excalibur CVX-11 - Eyre Colony - Geldan Territory
OCCUPATION: DAY ONE-SEVENTY-THREE
Darien breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Katz's voice. "Alvin, you have no idea how...how... angry I am with you at the moment."
"Nice to hear your voice too, Skipper," Katz replied to the relief of many of the bridge crew. "I have a ship and we're on Aivilik."
Darien looked across to where Commander Durnham was standing, communing with the Excalibur, sharing information with his ship. Darien felt a flush of warmth knowing that the silent abandonment of both him and the Excalibur was over, that the crew was beginning to drift back. Returning home.
"Order Doctors Casey and Murphy to stand by, the Propylons are working," Darien stated, moving down to rest a hand on the Excalibur's helm. "We'll bring them and their research back in the first evac."
"With respect," Doctor Casey cut in, "we're not done here..."
"There's a bigger prize," Darien replied. "Get your gear and I'll explain when you're all back aboard. Katz, I want you to stay alert, we'll pull you and Kyr back as well..."
"Not yet," Katz answered. "I still have a mission to complete."
"Mission? Is everyone out to piss me off today?" Darien asked in annoyance. "Katz, I need you here, I'm ordering you..."
"Sorry, Skip," Katz said lightly. "These orders are from higher up the food chain than you. When I'm done, I promise to come home."
HMS T'zaht - Aivilik - Eelim Territory
OCCUPATION: DAY ONE-SEVENTY-THREE
Kyr walked back through the ship. Katz was busy preparing to get underway again, loading the larger equipment that wouldn't be Propyloned back to the Excalibur. There was some debate as to what to do with the camp's dropship, but so far no solution had been reached.
He slipped into Katz's cabin, sitting down on the rumpled bed, tucking his legs up and under him as he lounged for awhile, drinking in the scents that were uniquely Katz.
As messy as the room was, it was rich with them. Sweat and pheromones from the bed, the grassy smell from a pair of Katz's trousers where he had slipped that morning, engine grease on a rag, and...
Kyr stood, sniffing, walking over to the foot locker at the end of the bed, pushing it open and stopping. A flood of sadness crossed his face as he looked inside. Amidst the neatly folded uniforms was Firlotte's red hat.
The young engineer that Katz had cared about; killed at the Rock of Braal by the last Kule guarding an empty vault. A pointless death, needless...
Kyr lifted the cap, running a finger around the brim and setting aside, picking up a pile of pictures. Photographs taken aboard the Excalibur. Darien and Elias, Elias making a face behind Darien's back while the then skipper made one of his famous "I have a plan" speeches. Lauren and Kendrick, nothing romantic about the picture at all, but then it had been taken before their relationship had become public knowledge.
Kyr flipped through them, looking at the faces he didn't recognize, each of them in flight suits looking cocky. Pilots. The Paladins, Kyr realized with a start. The first true family Katz had ever had, all gone now, killed in the war until the only one that remained was Katz, Paladin-one.
He knew he probably shouldn't be going through Katz's personal effects, and he went to put them back, when he stopped. He reached in to pull out the worn blue shirt. One of the Excalibur's Petty Officer's, except it had Kardiac lion's heads sewn upon its shoulders, and lieutenants bars on the collar.
Alessandro.
Katz was hard to read, much like Darien. Quiet, he bottled everything up inside him, becoming colder as the war dragged on and took more and more of the things he loved away from him.
"I have something of yours in there too," Katz said from behind him.
Kyr turned, surprised that Katz had been able to sneak up on him, a wave of guilt as he turned, still holding the blue shirt. "I'm sorry," he said honestly.
"I don't have secrets," Katz answered walking in to sit beside Kyr and reaching into the back of the locker, pulling out a data disk and waving it at the doctor. "You. Well, you at every opportunity you don't know I'm watching. TAC-links are great, the video camera function caught great pictures of you sleeping..."
Kyr flushed. "Great, you have hours of me snoring..."
"No, just hours of you at peace," Katz admitted. "It's stupid..."
"Creepy," Kyr answered him. "But you were weird to begin with. I still don't get this relationship between us. It's not love..."
"No," Katz admitted, "it's two friends finding comfort with each other. I don't think I'm ready for love yet..."
"Hey," Kyr said motioning for Katz to sit down with him, snuggling in as the fighter pilot did so, resting his head on Katz's lap so that he could stare up him. "You're changing, I'm changing... everything changes. And when all this started I didn't know what to think. I'm a Kaynin," he scrubbed his shaggy hair to illustrate the point. "I'm supposed to have a tonne of puppies, a mate... want to know a secret?"
"Go for it," Katz urged.
"I was the runt of the litter," Kyr wriggled a little uncomfortably at the admission, "my mom had to look after me a lot longer than she did my brothers and sisters. So I was a bit of a mother's boy..."
"Was?" Katz asked with a smile in his eyes.
"Shut up," Kyr blushed. "I want you to know that I care about you very much, even if it's not love." Kyr held up the blue shirt still in his hands, "They'll find him, you know?"
Katz shrugged. "What..."
"Finish that and I bite you!" Kyr threatened. "I mean it, our killer chicken burger isn't the only one on this ship with teeth!"
Katz leaned down. "Bite me!" he taunted playfully.
"No." Kyr shook his head. "That'll lead to sex, and I'm busy..."
"Doing what?" Katz asked, pushing Kyr back down and pulling at the edge of his shirt.
"Fending off an Errant Paladin. Aren't Paladin's supposed to be noble and the like? Pure and chaste?" Kyr waggled his eyebrows pointedly. "So far all I've seen is the impure ... corrupt side."
"You like that side." Katz succeeded in wrestling Kyr's shirt open.
"And the outside," Kyr admitted. "Inside too... right side, wrong side... sideways..." his grin got bigger.
"I have a joke," Katz said. "What side of a Kaynin is the hairiest?"
"Ummm," Kyr shook his head, "is this a get a haircut joke?"
"No," Katz stated. "The outside... get it?"
"No," Kyr said, frowning. "Outside of what?"
"Of a Kaynin..." Katz reiterated, running a finger to part Kyr's hair from his eyes.
"Right," Kyr answered. "What side of a fighter jock's the funniest?"
"No idea," Katz said, waiting patiently.
"The backside," Kyr beamed.
HMS Excalibur CVX-11 - Eyre Colony - Geldan Territory
OCCUPATION: DAY ONE-SEVENTY-THREE
Wojciech eased his pistol in its holster as he walked through the decks of the ship, feeling his hands grow clammy as he climbed to the access elevator that would take him to the Propylon chamber. He wrestled with his duty; his name meant 'the good soldier' and that was what he was, right? He wore his uniform with pride, and saffron yellow was a colour that complimented his features, at least his mother had said so back before his parents...
He stuffed that thought away; he'd meet the same fate they had if he didn't do his duty. Taine was a part of the insurgency, the ship he was on posed a clear danger to the Republic and he had to stop it. But there was still that niggling doubt in his mind. What if everything Darien had shown him was the truth? That there were darker monsters out in space than the insurgents? The images of the aftermath of the fall of the Empire haunted him, memories of similar scenes caused by the fascists in the name of a long dead hero.
Every step was getting harder, and he rounded the corner of the deck to look at the pair of guards on the transit elevator, young marines with Pulse Rifles. It seemed that was all Taine had at his disposal, kids. Even his officers seemed absent. That had to be suspicious?
He kept trying to think, to rationalize what he was doing in someway. If he could, shouldn't he at least allow Taine a chance to defend himself?
"Durak!" He muttered. "Get on with it!" He drew his pistol. A couple of shots and that was it, he would take the Propylon system and it would be over. He'd be a hero, one step closer to redeeming the sins of his parents. The good soldier.
He took a step forward, looking at the gun, could he justify that? He slipped it back into his holster, marching with a purpose up towards the two Marines who straightened up at his approach. Saluting an officer.
The wouldn't do that if they were insurgents, right?
Wojciech swallowed, his parched throat dry, returning the salute cleanly. Walking directly up to the officers, who didn't seem concerned that he was coming. It still didn't feel right, and he would have hesitated, should have hesitated, opening his mouth to speak he lashed out.
The blow slammed into the Marine's thorax, hard enough to cause the boy to fall, but Wojciech held back from a lethal blow, spinning with a full roundhouse kick, knocking the second, surprised guard, backwards as the Republican officer scooped up the Pulse Rifle, cocking it audibly.
"Do not," Wojciech ordered crisply, sighting the rifle in on the second guard's forehead as the boy began to reach for his rifle. "I have no wish to... I don't want to kill you."
It was wrong. The good soldier in him should have shot, been done with it. Stopped thinking and just acted. Instead he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. His resolve was crumbling and he knew it.
There was a flicker of motion in the shadows and Wojciech spun, driving his Pulse Rifle up to deflect the black blade that would have cut his throat clean open. He spun the rifle in his hands, using it to roll the knife around, forcing his attacker to release it. Both combatants spun about, their weapons clattering to the deck.
He was face to face with a wild eyed woman with chillingly cold blue eyes, a torn rag coat on over the top of strangely fluidic armour that drew darkness in about it. She lunged at him again, producing a second knife from somewhere. Wojciech side stepped, grabbing for her coat and propelling her away from him. Her knife cut clean through his open uniform tunic, slicing the coarse wool material open.
Wojciech cursed as she came at him again, dropping to a knee and catching her knife hand with his own well rehearsed motions. Twisting and applying pressure in just the right way he swept the knife from her hands, throwing it in a single, fluid motion. The blade embedded itself into the deck between the second marine guard and the Pulse Rifle he was reaching for again.
Wojciech reacted quickly, running for the yellow and black warning rail that protected the elevator, bouncing off of it and landing neatly. He drove his knee into the marine, knocking him cold, freeing him to focus his attention on the woman.
She fought like a bobcat, raking at him with her nails, kicking and flailing, trying to keep him reacting instead of acting. He could see she was trying to drive him back, away from the elevator. He sprang forward, diving past her, rolling up with his pistol drawn and space between them. He lifted the gun as she turned, keeping it trained upon her.
She paused, considering the gun, and Wojciech shot her. A single shot through the knee cap, as he wiped the blood away from his nose, bouncing the gun in his hand as he looked up and down the deck. Someone would have heard the shot. He looked at the woman, bleeding and glaring at him furiously. She'd raise the alarm the moment his back was turned.
It couldn't be helped. He stepped over the gasping marine, entering the elevator and pressing the ascent button, looking up at the security monitors that were tracking him, a sad look in his eyes.
* * *
"Excalibur is detecting weapons fire at the Propylon access," Commander Durnham reported with his usual due diligence.
"Not again," Darien sighed. "Security feeds?"
They opened up for him, screens flaring to life as they projected the scene of Commander Wojciech entering the elevator. The look at the camera seemed to stare directly into Taine's eyes, and Darien weighed it, looking over at Durnham.
"Get marines down there," he ordered, "and raise Lieutenant Kyles on TAC..."
"He's gating in Doctors Casey and Murphy," Durnham reported, "I am attempting..."
"It's too late," Darien observed, as the marker indicated that the elevator cab had reached its destination.
* * *
Doctor Murphy smiled in relief as he looked about him at the familiar chamber aboard the Excalibur. Still undergoing repairs, it was nearing its completion. He set down his backpack and grinned at Doctor Casey, "Is it ever nice to be home..." he began.
Lieutenant Kyles welcoming smile froze as he stared past the doctor at the Republican officer standing in the access doors to the chamber, a pulse pistol squarely levelled at him, and an iron hard look in his eyes.
"If you would be so kind," Wojciech insisted, swinging the weapon to the two doctors, "please stand aside."
Murphy balked, his hands shooting up as he looked at Casey, taking a few steps to his right, stepping out of the radius of the Propylons. Casey glared for a few moments, trying to stare down the Commander, before she too complied, tucking her laptop under her arm as she moved.
Wojciech nodded as the gun returned to Kyles, tossing him a TAC-link, "you will follow the Captain's orders, and no mistakes, am I understood?"
"Perfectly," Lieutenant Kyles replied, lifting the TAC-link and listening carefully, every so often looking at Wojciech, trying to think of a way out of the hostage situation he was plunged into. He flexed his hands, and his fingers inputted the right co-ordinates into the Propylons, activating the system. In a rush of light, a squad of soldiers appeared wielding ultra-modern looking weapons hooked into large square power packs on their belts. They entered the chamber, quickly clearing the centre of the Propylons as they secured the prisoners.
"Again," Wojciech ordered, gesturing with his pistol.
The second squad escorted a pair of officers, one a round man wearing a naval captain's rank on his shoulder boards. He was a larger man, round in that typically older Republican way, fat off of the meat of the Party. With position came perks such as avoiding the pains of rationing and the bread queues.
"Hugo, you have done well," Sholtzski greeted him, shifting his assault rifle to his other hand, gripping Wojciech's firmly. "The second platoon is waiting to board, I will take the first and secure the access way to the rest of the ship.
"Yes, Comrade Captain," Wojciech replied, gesturing with his pistol again, as one of the Spetznas soldiers pressed the bore of his Maser rifle into the nape of Kyles's neck. Outside of the main ring, another pair of hard-edged soldiers secured the other two prisoners with zip-ties, keeping them out of the way while more troops boarded the Excalibur.
* * *
"That's thirty," Commander Durnham reported, keeping pace with Darien as he marched down through the ship. Darien nodded as he slapped a magazine into the Pulse Rifle he was carrying, Ra's shard weapon under slung to the barrel, like the rest of the Dragoons around him. They were ready to defend their ship.
"We still out gun them," Darien answered, zipping up his TAC-vest and gesturing for the squad of Fida'i to accompany him.
"Yes, however they are bringing more troops aboard, and they appear armed with energy weapons that are slicing through the marine body armour" Commander Durnham reported. "Maybe we should withdraw the Excalibur from this territory, they wouldn't have to recalibrate the Propylons to bring aboard more, and it would buy us some time."
Darien paused, turning his head. "We may have, what, one jump before they work out what we did and shut the Propylons down themselves?"
Durnham nodded his head. "Then we have a choice to make, Warlord. Where do we go if this is our last jump?"
The warlord breathed a tight breath, his eyes looking down the corridor to where his Dragoons were establishing a barricade and his Fida'i were preparing an assault. A bloodbath for the attackers.
"Fifty five enemy troops have now boarded," Durnham reported. "Excalibur reports that a squad of seven men are approaching this position."
"Katz is at Aivilik, he can evac the rest of our people there. Riley is stuck under the icepack on Earth, there's no way we can help him in our current state ..." Darien knelt down beside a packaging crate, sighting in his rifle down the hall. "That leaves..."
"Karin," Durnham replied.
"Or Mayfair's Polian Sanctuary," Darien countered. "It's the next logical step to finding Peligia, and if we're down to one last jump... it may be our only chance to reach there. Plus, if something happens to the Propylons, there are another set there, Mayfair reported seeing them."
"Logical," Durnham replied. "I'm uploading the co-ordinates from the Peligian Diary into the nav computer."
"Engage when you're ready, Commander, the bridge is yours." Darien turned his attention back to the first burst of fire that erupted down the long corridor as the first squad approached the Imperial fortification.
* * *
"Seventy five," Wojciech counted, gritting his teeth as the sounds of battle began beneath him. Sholtzski's first squad meeting the Imperials, the heavy, wet sounds of the masers carving through the under-armed marines. He dispatched a second squad with a wave of his pistol, looking at the rest of the company. "As soon as we get the men aboard, we are going to make a break for the bow of the ship," he ordered. "Excalibur possess two main damage control centres. We need to secure the foc'sle before the Captain decides to vent the decks."
Without warning, the Propylons began to hum and rotate on their frames, sliding hatches retracting to reveal dark a dark crystal lattice that Wojciech had seen running almost the length of the ship.
"What's happening?" he demanded, turning his gun and training it on Lieutenant Kyles.
"I-I don't know..." Kyles began, the soldier behind him tapped him with his maser rifle, firmly reminding him it was there.
"What's happening?" Wojciech asked again, as the computers activated, initiating an automated program that sent a pulse of light from the Propylons rocketing down the crystal channels.
The pull of a hyperspace jump wasn't lost on Wojciech, and he gripped onto a crate to steady himself. "What the hell?" he barked, as the Excalibur listed sharply to the right.
Alert sirens bellowed through the ship.
* * *
"Stabilization thrusters!" Commander Durnham ordered as the Excalibur plummeted through an atmosphere. Throughout the ship alerts reeled as systems overloaded from the sudden, and unexpected, entry into an atmosphere.
Systems blew out on the bridge as consoles overloaded. The ship tried to fire its thrusters, lending support to ease the strain on the anti-gravity drives that were trying to cycle up to full power.
The ship lurched again as it impacted against something, the decks violently tilting to the right as people and instruments were scattered across the deck, collision alarms ringing out.
Durham stared agape as the Excalibur's prow scraped along the side of a mountain, earth and dirt cascading as the prow began to buckle, grinding along the side.
"Fire Bow thrusters, turn us!" he commanded the helmsman, who was struggling with non-responsive controls.
Excalibur fought for her life, tortured metal screaming as her anti-gravity generators reached maximum capacity, the bow swinging away from the edge of the mountain. Excalibur spun away from the mountain as her systems fought to keep her airborne.
* * *
"We have to stop them jumping again," Wojciech ordered, grabbing a maser rifle from one of his soldier's rifle and trained it on one of the Propylons, opening fire. A couple of his soldiers mirrored his actions, shooting the crystal pillar despite Doctor Murphy's screamed warning.
A pair of them shattered, and a sharp squeal of noise cut through the chamber. The other Propylons flared as they too shattered explosively, raining shards of crystal throughout the chamber, shattering the console and shredding Kyles and the soldier restraining him.
There was silence. Wojciech picked himself up and tried to shake the ringing out of his ears, looking with regret towards the pair of fallen men. He didn't have time to grieve for them. He wrenched off his scorched tunic, motioning for his other men to go.
"The prisoners, sir?" one of his Spetznas asked, motioning to the two doctors.
"Leave them," Wojciech ordered, "they'd slow us down. Go, move."
The Republicans retreated towards the elevator and Wojciech followed, sparing a saddened glance towards the two doctors, shaking his head as he exited as well.
* * *
Darien picked himself up from where he had been thrown during the free fall, firing a few more shots as the Fida'i, always the first to capitalize on an opportunity, leapt the barricade to attack the downed Republican Special Forces.
"What the hell was that?" Darien barked into his TAC-link, reloading his rifle and motioning for the Dragoons to get moving.
"The co-ordinates brought us into an atmosphere," Commander Durnham reported. "We suffered some major hull damage when we collided with a mountain. Excalibur's lateral sensors are offline; we're operating off of RADAR only at the moment. Our data's confused. The Antigravity units are still functioning, for the time being, and we're aloft. Though how much longer I can't guarantee."
A hail of bullets slammed into the crates around Darien, causing him to duck back down, as the Fida'i up the hall began to retreat from the concentrated fire from the Republicans making a break from the Propylon chamber.
"Here they go," Darien called, "heading forward. Lieutenant Kilborne, when they're clear take a squad of men and secure the Propylon Chamber. The rest of you, advance on the enemy..."