Episode 104. Part 3
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Arden: If it sounds like a party with a big heat source, would they even care?
Christian: You could always open up the core on that ship. (Meaning Jian Seng)
Rina: I could…
Nika: You’d be exposed to radiation.
Rina: What if I put on a suit first?
Nika: It’s pretty good at most everything but it’s not an anti-radiation suit.
True. Back to square one.
Rina: (thinking out loud) Could I rig it to blow the last barrier off, remotely?
Not in the time we have left. Rina’s good, but not that good.
Christian: I say we run. I saw we get it right on our tail and then dump one of our cargo containers in its path.
Rina: Okay. (She likes this plan) I say we ambush it with one of our empty cargo containers. That sounds good. Anything but staying here. Damn, I hope I remember enough of how to do this trick in the morning.
Arden: Too bad you can’t do it now.
Nika: What trick?
Rina: The trick with the booster. (Hooks a thumb back at Jian Seng)
We seal up the Gift and run a heading out of there that will take us back to the space lanes and keep the bulk of Jian Seng between us and the Reavers. We don’t have to outrun them, so much as get closer to Beaumonde. Once within the planet’s influence we might be able to distract the Reavers onto a different target—like an Alliance ship or, as Christian put it, something useful.
Christian: We don’t have to stop them, we just have to slow them down long enough to get away.
Rina: Okay. We got a plan. Let’s go.
We split up, each to our tasks. Nika mans the bridge to fly us out of here. Arden goes to secure and treat his patient. Christian and Rina are left to stand by the container jettison controls, to wait for Nika’s signal. Rina suggests we jettison the Robinson’s container—the work’s already done, the hack is in for a manual jettison. Christian suggests Rina go up to the bridge to spot Nika on the sensors, and give him to word when to jettison the container.
Rina: Right. All you got is a lever to yank. I’m going up to the bridge.
Christian: I’m very good at yanking levers.
Rina laughs. Gotcha! Christian gets the joke.
Christian: (laughing) Companion Training does teach you how to handle long hard objects, yes. Although under normal circumstances, we don’t actually yank….
Arden: (listening in via ships comm) Gee, look at the time. I think I’ll be going home now…
God, any humor in a situation like this… bring it.
Nika gets us into position and hits the pulse on our engines, getting us the maximum outa-there speed. And praying we don’t have to change course—it’s practically impossible to change without dropping out of pulse.
Nika flies. We pray. The enemy follows.
Nika’s having a hard time getting a lock on the course she’s plotted, the ship’s controls aren’t …. something’s not right. If the Gift were an atmospheric craft, she’d swear that something was creating drag on our craft and slowing us down. There is no air in space. However, we do have Jian Seng’s shuttle attached topside. Nika compensates as best as she’s able. She gives us the signal to jettison the container. Rina relays the command and Christian hits the manual controls. The container detaches flawlessly.
WHOOSH!
Goodbye, container.
Christian: Did we hit it? Did we hit it?
The enemy is still on our tail.
Rina: Looks like a neg….
Christian: Okay…well…
What do we do now?
Rina: I can start the sequence to ditch another one from the bridge.
Nika: You could.
Christian: I don’t know how much those things are, though. I mean, granted—to save our life, but if they managed to get out of the way of one—
Rina: Okay, you want to dump the shuttle next?
Christian: How hard is it to dump the shuttle? If it’s locked to the ship, don’t you have to be in the shuttle to…?
Nika: Generally, you have to be in the shuttle. Or get somebody to take it off, and mid-pulse it would be a death sentence.
Rina: In other words, we don’t have docking clamps on that thing.
Nika: Not in the sense we need, no.
Rina: So, we’ve got the shuttle for now. We’re not ditching it.
Before we can debate our next action further, we hear a nasty metallic clang!
Nika: It’s okay, that was a miss!
A harpoon shoots past the bridge, its arresting cables slapping against our hull. Great. We’re taking fire.
Arden: We’re not feeling the confidence, here!
Rina: (to herself) Just shut up and fly…
Arden: Wings of the butterfly….
Nika: All righty—anyone wanna do anything?
Nika’s flying for all she’s worth, but she’s open to suggestions.
Rina: Besides pray?
Arden: Yeah? Pray?
Rina: (says heavenward) Do I get any extra points for praying… Really hard? (off Nika’s look) There are no atheists in a foxhole. Of course I have religion.
Christian: (best leadership voice) We can do this. We are all very competent people. Just stay calm. And focused.
Corny as he sounds, Christian’s words work.
Rina: I could try to go to the engine room and see what I can do to get more power out of the engines.
Nika: Okay.
Rina: All right?
Nika: Go do that.
Rina goes. Arden chimes in over the ships comm.
Arden: Couldn’t you possibly hack into the ship that’s following us and have it shut down its engines?
Rina: Oh I wish!
Arden: Why not?
Christian: It can’t be that easy or the entire war would have been nothing but that.
Rina: Yeah.
Arden: It’s very easy.
Rina: We would have to be able to lock our communications beam onto it and send the info over and override its security systems and—Trust me. It involves more than you think
All the while Rina’s tinkering with the engines and gets a slight speed burst out of them. She listens to the ship and knows she’s done some damage getting us to go that little bit faster.
Damn.
Christian, meanwhile, positions himself right at the shuttle hatch in the main corridor.
We all hear another, more substantial sounding clang!
Rina: Tell me it missed us.
Nika: Uhh…it missed us?
Rina: You’re not telling me what I wanna hear, Nika!
Christian: Where did it connect?
Nika: It’s underneath us somewhere.
Rina: Oh, God…
Christian: Are we venting atmo anywhere?
Nika: No.
Rina: Is it on a container we can vent?
Arden: You mean let go of?
Rina: Let go of—whatever!
Rina rolls her eyes--We’re about to be boarded by Reavers and the man wants to argue semantics?!
Nika: I don’t know. We don’t have those kind of sensors.
Christian: I’ll go look.
Christian goes to the lower deck. Arden checks his patient. He’s stable. Arden goes down to back up Christian. Once below, the two men split up. Christian takes the portside main corridor, Arden goes down the starboard one.
Each of the containers have their own internal sensor package for climate control and the like. Christian starts checking them each in turn, hoping to find the intruder by differences in the readouts.
Rina: Why don’t you put your hand on them to tell if it’s vibrating because of the drag?
Good point.
Rina: If it’s grappled onto the container, I say we ditch the container.
Christian: I’m glad I put all our cargo on the top deck, suddenly.
---OOC---
Jay: (faking a musical cue) Duhn-duhn-DUUHHHNNN!
Maer: Well I promised her I’d lend her my notes from class,’cause she couldn’t make it.
Jay: Hmm?
Maer: I promised Terri I’d lend her my notes from class.
Jay: (getting it) Ohhh…Hi, Terri. (waves) You’re flying like crap, today.
Maer: (picking up the conceit) Did you take your vitamins?
Steve: This is all a formality, of course.
Jay: Of course. We’re all dead anyways.
Bobby: Hey, at least I’ll get more sleep on Tuesday nights, then.
---OOC---
Christian double checks for breach, finds all the walls and containers intact. For now, at least. He eyeballs the container interiors via the hatch windows. All clear.
Then he looks inside the midships aft container and sees a hole bored through the floor of it, and beyond it a flexible tube—big enough to admit a boarder. The door in front of him is closed but the container’s second door, foreward in the corridor and behind him, opens and it’s not empty.
A Reaver steps out and snarls. The Reaver is armed with strap on claws, nasty homemade blades with crudely serrated edges…
The aft transverse corridor is behind Christian--a dead end--and the Reaver is in front of him, blocking off the path to the stairs and safety. Christian unslings his rifle and aims for the head.
The next corridor over Arden hears the clank of the container door opening, hears the roar of the Reaver. Arden alerts everyone on the ship via his hand comm.
---OOC---
Jay: If this doesn’t work, I want you to drop the containers and don’t close the doors—vac this entire area.
Maer: But that would take you out.
Bobby: Your point being?
Jay: If I don’t do this right, I’m out. I’d much rather die that way.
Maer: Okay. Fine. I can see why.
---OOC---
The Reaver comes closer. Christian shoots. He hits the Reaver in the head. Bone cracks. Blood flies.
Incredibly, the Reaver is still up.
Jesus.
Rina runs from the engine room and hits the stairs down to the lower deck. She closes the stairs hatch to the upper deck and locks it. She continues down to the bottom and braces herself at the rail with her gun up and out. She sights down it, taking careful aim—it’s dim down here and she doesn’t want to hit Christian or Arden.
Christian knows that the containers don’t have individual release controls. Those controls are located at the ends of the aft transverse corridors. If he wants to vent the container the Reavers are limpet-docked to, he’s going to have to do it manually from those controls. He backs away from the Reaver for the transverse corridor, keeping his eye on his opponent.
Arden moves to the corner of the portside corridor and looks around it. He assesses the situation and takes aim on the open cargo hatch, to shoot anyone else that comes out.
Christian lines up his second shot and fires. He misses, hitting nothing. The Reaver attacks—blood pouring out of him from the head wound—and slashes Christian across the chest with those tiger claws. Cloth rips and so does flesh…and Christian is instantly wounded. He falls back.
The Reaver is too close for Christian to shoot it with his rifle. Instead, Christian is still able to dodge, despite his wounds, and decides to keep the Reaver occupied as Arden and Rina make their move. They two are at the Reaver’s back and will have the advantage of surprise.
Rina squeezes off her first shot. She hits the Reaver. The impact makes him snarl and flinch, but he’s still up. Rina leaves the cover of the stairs and runs closer to Christian and the Reaver.
Christian keeps the Reaver focused on him, pretending to be more injured than he is and using all the tricks he knows on handling sadists. It’s an odd form of seduction, really, and Christian throws himself into it.
The Reaver buys it completely and staggers for Christian.
Arden moves forward and shoots. He hits. Does damage. The Reaver is still up.
It’s like a bad zombie movie—pump the monsters full of bullets and they’re still coming for you.
Christian, meanwhile, fails his dodge and the Reaver slashes him again. It’s harder for Christian to stay upright, to stay focused, to keep the Reaver from turning on his friends…but he manages.
Arden reaches the open container hatch and shoots at the Reaver again. Rina yells to Arden she’s behind him and moves forward. She stops after fifteen feet and shoots. She hits. Arden’s shot hits as well.
Both shots take the Reaver down, even as he slashes Christian again. The Reaver falls against Christian and the both of them hit the floor. Arden hauls the Reaver body off Christian and starts rendering first aid, working to staunch the bleeding. Amazingly enough, Christian is still conscious. No sweet oblivion for him—he’s awake and able to feel every single thing.
Christian orders Rina through the pain:
Christian: Check that cargo hatch. Close it and eject that cargo container.
Rina sees the tube shuddering, as if something big is coming through, slams the container hatch closed and holds it closed by leaning against it.
Rina: We’ve got company!
Arden: (via his comm) Nika! Roll the ship!
Christian claws up from the floor and staggers to the ejection controls.
Christian: Keep the door closed…
Rina can feel something trying the hatch. It’s rattling and making her shake. She digs her heels in.
Rina: A little help here..!
Christian hits the controls to lower the cargo container, unmatching it from the ship’s access hatches and fouling ingress as it falls away into space. That’s all we need to jam the doors.
The status lights go red. Job done. Christian collapses. Arden catches him and gets back to work saving his stubborn heroic ass.
Behind her, Rina can feel the container slide free…and then catch on something.
Rina: Nika! Go high. Now! Pull up!
Christian, meanwhile, is mumbling, going delirious.
Christian: Don’…don’t worry about me…Get ridda them…(sketches a wave at the Reaver.)
Rina marches over to the Reaver.
Christian: I’m jus’ … gonna… sit here…
Rina draws her knife, lifts the Reaver’s head clear of the deck and slits its throat. There is no way that sonofabitch is getting up to take anyone else out. Arden gives her a dirty look. She matches him stare for stare.
Rina: You never know. They’re tricky that way.
Arden: We’ve got other things to worry about. (gestures at Christian)
So we do. We still have that Reaver craft hanging on like a tick.
Rina: Right. I’m blowing this.
She ejects the other midships container to dislodge the jammed one. Her gambit works. With a ripping and tearing sound, both containers and the Reaver ship fall away. Summer’s Gift is finally free.
Rina helps Arden with Christian. She drapes Christian over her shoulder on one side, Arden takes up Christian on the other and together they stagger toward the upper deck stairs. They pass the hatch to starboard, now freed of the container it once held.
Arden: Do you want to salvage the..the ship?
Rina: Are you—? Fuck no!
Nika: There might be another person on that ship.
Rina: The hell with that. I say we just get the fuck out of here.
Christian raises his head.
Christian: Maritime law … does require...
Rina: (Don’t make me hurt you, Christian) I think I’ll make an exception this time.
Nika cuts in.
Nika: I’m showing two containers missing—.
Rina: —We’re good!
Arden: Let’s get out of here, as fast as possible.
Rina: Get us the fuck outa, here, Nika. (sighs to Christian) Come on. Let’s get you patched up.
Christian: (muzzily) I should warn you now…it might be shocking…
We finally make the stairs and scale the treads.
Christian: …I don’ have any body hair….
We unlock the hatch and throw it wide, wrestle ourselves through.
Christian: …some people are …bothered…by that…
He turns blearily to look at Arden on his left.
Christian: …Wow…. this is really good stuff….(Laughs weakly and looks down) Oh, wow…I’m bleeding…
We arrive at the makeshift med bay and lay him prone on the bed. Arden resumes patching up Christian, pumping more drugs into his system. Rina leaves to take care of the Reaver body down below. Christian is still babbling.
Christian: I look good in red…..you know…this shirt was silk…this silk was shirt….This is a really nice …thingy….
Rina drags the Reaver body toward the airlock, dumps him in and hits the button.
---OOC---
Maer:(describing the pose) I blow this guy.
Every male in the room starts laughing hysterically.
Maer:(exasperated laughing: Geez, you guys!)—I swear to God!
Steve: All right, it’s just words, don’t worry about. I’m not going to countenance this sort of thing.
Jay:(ringing a snack bowl like a gong) Is the tape recorder turned off yet?
Maer:(getting a grip) … No.
More laughing.
Jay: Save that for your husband later.
Steve: (Pirate captain voice) Belay that. Belay that tape recording.
Maer: He knows where my heart lies. And the rest of me, too. So. Anyway. That guy’s out the airlock.
More male laughing from the players.
---OOC---
Arden breaks out the medical supplies. We’re too far out from Beaumonde to wait for surgery. Arden puts Christian under and gets to work. Seven hours (and change) later, Arden emerges from the med bay to seek his own quarters and collapse. He sets his alarm to wake him in an hour, to allow him to check on Christian, and he’s asleep in seconds.
Christian is safe. He’s out of the woods. He’ll live.
He blinks into consciousness. He’s warm, comfortable and alive. He’s also not alone. On the next bunk over, another man lies watching him. Smiling.
Man: Hello, sir. It looks like we’re both back from the dead.
Christian waves weakly, using one of his hands to flap the other in greeting.
Christian: Hi. You..um…you’re the guy in the suit. On the other ship.
Man: That’s right. I’m from the other ship.
Christian: Rescued twice….you were rescued by one ship…and that ship got attacked by Reavers. And we got you off the second ship, that ship and the other ship…and then we got attacked by Reavers. But I think we got away….I wanna assume we did because I’m still alive and in one piece…
Man: Wow. I guess we’re both livin’ a charmed life.
Christian: Oh, I’m…yeah…charming. They teach you that…Who are you?
Man: Who are you and what is this ship?
Christian: Um…. my name is Christian and this is…something involving a season and something involving presents…Summer’s Gift. Or a big fish.
Man: Malcolm Reynolds. Nice to meet you.
Christian: Nice to meet you. Ah…we’ll be…umm…at a planet that’s a nice—an important planet….
Man: Enjoy your wounds. “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.”
Christian: …Okay…Unless, of course, it cripples you….
Man: Oh yes. Of course.
Christian: …Sure.
Man: Sleep, my friend. I’ll watch over you.
Christian: …I don’ think I am…
And thus Christian drifts off, with Malcolm Reynolds watching over him.
(Of course, the gaming table explodes at the reveal of Malcolm Reynolds’ name. We all get it: high-tech vac suit, rescued in space, dark skin…It all adds up. We’ve just picked up Jubal Early, Bounty Hunter. Rina’s got a price on her head and she’s going to walk right the hell into this, without a clue. Heh. The next game should be interesting. Stay tuned.—Maer)
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