Chapter 15. Airborne
Slyfox mounted the T1-B turret gun and sent blast after blast in to the remaining creatures that milled around the Gallofree’s. Duke continued to cackle and chase splinter groups down, tearing them apart under the hover tanks anti-grav field. If didn’t matter if the creatures wore rebel or Imperial uniforms, they were now the enemy and no-one felt any guilt at dispatching them. A distant howl could be heard faintly over the tanks engines, seemingly summoning the creatures back. Those that could were already skulking away from the landing area, sinking silently in to the shadows of the dark landscape.
“So whats next?” called back Duke, gunning the engine forward to catch a straggler, grunting at the satisfying thud against the T1-B’s hull.
“Head for the transports, we need to get airborne and off planet.” Samzi shouted, “We’ll make a break while those things are re-grouping.”
“Ok,” answered Duke, swinging the tank round in a sharp turn that forced everyone hard against their seats, “who goes first? Last time we tried to board they were waiting.”
“Pull up alongside the entrance, I’ll cover you from here.” Slyfox already had the turret sights trained on the jump door on the side of the first transport. The tank came to a stop cautiously alongside the grey hull and Samzi and Duke exited. Duke patted his flechette fondly and looked at Samzi.
“I’ll go first.”
Before the medic could reply Duke ran up and into the jump door, a few flashes and dull thumps indicated that he was firing the flechette ahead of him as he ran. Samzi looked up at the turret towards Slyfox and shook his head, then wearily headed towards the door. The lights inside suddenly illuminated and he jumped back, raising his weapon and dropping to one knee to give Slyfox a better line of sight. Duke appeared at the door and grinned, raising one hand.
“Easy lads! Only me! She’s empty. They been in here alright, plenty of blood and guts around but no bodies are anything now.”
Samzi lowered his weapon and stood back up. “You idiot, you trying to get yourself killed?”
“Meh,” shrugged the reckless soldier, “those things are stupid. I can take em.”
Slyfox left the T1-B and joined them by the ship. “So we good to go then?”
“Well I aint no pilot, but she looks pretty beat up. They ripped the cockpit apart.” Duke sat down and dangled his legs over the foot of the door, looking up at them and taking a cigar from a pocket. “Take a look if you like, bet the other ships are the same though.”
Samzi jumped up and trudged through the ship. Sure enough, the cockpit had been torn to pieces by the creatures. Although they had power there was no way they were going to get this one off the ground. He turned and almost bumped in to the other two rebel soldiers.
“Guess we check out the others then.”
“Think it might be another trap?” asked Slyfox.
“Nah, they’re too dumb for that.” Said Duke, shaking his head and turning back to the exit.
“I think you’re underestimating them.” Replied Samzi, “something tells me they have a bigger plan than we realise.”
It took almost half an hour to check all the ships, clearing them one by one before being able to carry out a proper survey of the damage. They didn’t encounter any more of the creatures, though they could hear them howling somewhere in the darkness. None of the ships were in any state to fly, all of them had been sabotaged in some manner and showed various degrees of damage.
“So glorious leader, whats the next plan?” Duke addressed Samzi while taking a black cigarra from a pocket and lighting it. Samzi waved the cloud of heavy smoke away and backed away a few paces.
“I’m the leader? Great.” Samzi mulled it over for a few seconds. “Any ideas?”
“Can we jury rig any of the panels together?” Slyfox gestured at the ships as he spoke, “We take whatever we need thats in the best condition and just slave it in, as long as we can get off planet we’re safe. Maybe we got some spares in one of the ships, anyone checked that?”
“I break em I don’t fix em.” Said Duke, inhaling deeply before blowing out another thick cloud of smoke.
“There are no spares. We’ll have to patch the panels together as best we can.” Cut in Samzi, “And today Duke you’re going to learn how to fix em.”
They worked together, first deciding which ship stood the best chance of repair then moving through the others, pulling away control panels and whatever tools they could find. By the time they had finished the sky was turning a deep shade of blue, indicating the oncoming sunrise.
“Ok, Duke you man the T1-B, keep her close to the jump door and man the turret. You see anything approach, kill it.” Samzi gave the order and jumped on the Gallofree quickly followed by Slyfox.
“Think they’re likely to attack when the sun comes up?” asked Slyfox.
“Don’t intend to be here to find out.” Answered the medic, “Secure the doors, leave the jump door open, Duke can close it when he jumps on.”
It took the two men less than 15 minutes to get the cockpit back to working order. The damage inflicted by the creatures was not as serious as they had first feared. No major connections had been broken, panels had only been ripped from their housing and not physically destroyed. Slyfox held his breath as Samzi leaned forward and pushed the engine ignition switch. It coughed and whirred for a few seconds then stopped.
“Try again!” Urged Slyfox, balling his fists and pushing them hard against the arms of the co-pilot chair. Samzi reached forward again and pushed the button. The engines whirred and coughed then groaned into life. They rumbled slowly at first then settled in to a gentle hum that could be felt through the deck plates. The instrument panels lit up and Samzi ran easily through the startup checks.
“Go grab Duke and secure the door.”
“Aye aye sir!” said Slyfox getting up and heading rearwards. He stood at the jump door and waved at the T1-B turret but it continued to stare out over the landing zone. Slyfox looked round and spotted a hydrospanner. He picked it up and threw it towards the T1-B, it struck with a heavy clang that echoed slightly from the sides of the ship. The turret continued to look forward and Sly started to feel a rising sensation of panic in his stomach.
“We ready?”
The voice came from behind him and Sly almost fell out of the door, snatching at the grab handles to steady himself.
“Cack me Duke. What you doing there, you scared the life out of me! You were meant to be in the tank.”
Duke extended a hand and pulled him upright before smacking the control panel to drop and secure the door in place. “Had to go wee wee mate, then the engines started while I was on the latrine. No harm done though right?”
Sly looked at him, “Guess not. Lets go check on Samzi and see about getting out of here.”
They made their way forward and settled in to the large cockpit. Duke took the sensor station while Sly took the co-pilot chair again. Samzi had a last check of the instrument panel then reached for the control column.
“We’ll head up past the sensor station first. Maybe some of Krenyo’s lot made it up.”
“You want to carry out a rescue mission for people you’re not even sure are alive?” Slyfox stared at him incredulously.
“Yep. We made it didn’t we?”
The ship throttled up and lifted easily from the landing zone. Another howl echoed from the towering cliff walls but none of the men onboard the rebel transport heard it from the safety of their ship.
Bite my shiny metal Tie Fighter!
Closed Alpha Test & Deth..
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