Chapter 2: Accelerando
I sat up startled by the voice. My mind was racing through all the possibilities, 'Could this really be happening, or have I gone off the deep end?' I started to open my mouth to respond when I froze. 'No, I couldn't answer him without pain, but how else to let him know I was here? Should I let him know?' I quietly stood to my feet and eased myself along the wall towards the door.
I could make out the sounds of footsteps walking away. I quickly rushed to the door and knocked on it with all the power I could muster. *thump-thump-thump* I pressed my ear to the door as I heard the footsteps stop and come back to my cell.
"Hello? Is someone in here?" the man asked again, and I knocked again in reply. "Alright, hold on. I'm gonna get you out of there. I need you to stand back away from the door." The voice commanded, so I hurriedly shuffled to the back of my cell then sat in the corner, wrapping my arms around my legs, expertly curling myself into a ball.
From the other side of the door, there was a loud metallic bang as the lock on the door came busting apart. I covered my ears with my hands to protect them from the loudness of metal clanging. The light came flooding into the room at the same moment hurting my eyes. As the door flew open, I caught only a glimpse of a man's silhouette in the light, but I quickly tucked my face into my knees to avoid the sudden brightness. After days of silence and limited light, all this was a shock for my senses.
"Are you alright?" the voice asked, but I didn't respond. My hands now muffled his voice instead of the door. I found myself pressing my left side against the back wall of my cell as if my body was trying to escape this sudden change in atmosphere.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he spoke in a softer tone as he got closer. I slowly opened my eyes as they adjusted to the light. I squinted looking up at what I was hoping was my savior. He was young, with a thin, muscular build; maybe in his early twenties, like me, and had a large scar on his right cheek. His clothing was some sort of strange white and red spacesuit with a matching helmet, and he carried a long, sword-like weapon low to his side.
"My name's Keith. I'm here to get you out," he said calmly. I took my hands off my ears and tilted my head a bit so I could make out more of his facial structures. His expression was hard to make out, it seemed intense but also filled with concern. "What's your name?" he asked; hearing his voice uninhibited for the first time was a bit strange. His voice had deeper tones to it in addition to a kind of raspy gruffness. I stared at him for a second before shaking my head and pointing to the collar on my neck.
"You can't talk?" he questioned, I nodded. "I see, well are you injured at all? Do you think you can run?" I nodded again and placed my left hand on the wall to brace myself to stand. Suddenly, he gripped my right arm and helped me get to my feet. I was startled at first since it had been a long time since anyone had touched me in kindness rather than hate, but I tried not to show it. I wobbled a bit before I made it completely upright and Keith gave me a look of concern. I shook his hands off me and started to head towards the door but just then the whole ship rocked again, and I lost my balance. Keith caught me before I fell face first on the floor.
"Ok, so are you really gonna be able to make it out of here on your own?" he asked. I shot him a glare then looked down at my feet. I was weak from months of malnourishment and overwork, and now from being kept locked in this broom closet for several days, I had become even weaker. I glanced a look toward Keith; he looked just as worried as I was about this.
"Hey, Keith!" a loud and high-pitched male voice called from the door; I flinched from the unexpected sound. Then another younger guy wearing the same space suit as Keith but with blue on it and carrying a laser-rifle rounded the doorway to my cell. "We gotta hurry before-" the stranger started, then his eyes fell on me, and his expression changed to shock.
It was at this point that I realized that I had no idea what I looked like. I knew my hair was probably a crazy mess and it had been a while since I had bathed. My clothes where not in the best conditions either and I was sure to have some visible bruising on my face from the last beating I had received. I was thin to begin with, and after months of mistreatment, I was bound to be thinner, so god only knows what I looked like now.
Keith looked at the newcomer, "Hey Lance, I don't think she can walk on her own." Keith took his sword and placed it at his side then it suddenly shrunk to just the handle as he hooked it to his belt. I felt my eyes grow wide, bewildered at what I could only describe at the moment as some sort of strange magic. "I think I'm gonna have to carry her," Keith added looking back to me. I looked back up at him as he started to reach for me. It took me a second to realize he was about to pick me up, but I shook my head in defiance. I made a few shaky steps toward the door until Keith stopped me.
"Look," the guy, I'm assuming, named Lance spoke, "you're obviously not gonna be able to run you should let one of us carry you so we can get you outta here as fast as possible." I looked at him; there was no denying it; I was too weak to make it out of here on my own. I huffed a sigh and nodded in acceptance. Keith knelt a bit with his back to me, and I placed my arms on his shoulders as he tucked his hands under my legs and hiked me onto his back, wearing me like a backpack. Keith glanced over his shoulder at me and gave me a half grin.
"Okay let's get outta here!" Lance exclaimed, and we rushed out the door and down the hall. As we entered the main cell area, I buried my face a bit into Keith's shoulder, since the light was still a bit too bright for me. The cells were stacked on top of each other with platforms on each level connected by a staircase, kinda like a fire escape, and each level had a dozen or more cells. I bounced up and down a bit as Keith started his way down the stairs, we were on the fifth level which was the highest. Lance hurried ahead, and I looked down to the open floor area beneath us.
In the middle of the open space, standing at the guard's computer, was another person wearing the same white spacesuit, this time with green on it. On the floor laid several of the guards and the walls of the room were covered with blast shots from laser weapons. I inspected the guards on the floor; all of them were the robotic droids none were the purple aliens; none of them had the controller to my collar. The one that had been in charge was the one who had it, and he wasn't here.
A few other inmates, mostly human but some alien, were running towards an open door on the far side of the room. Lance rounded the last staircase and headed straight for the same door. As soon as we reached the base level Keith began running toward the person in green who I could now tell was much shorter than Lance and Keith. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, but either way, this one was even younger than Lance.
"Pidge, status report!" Keith commanded. The person in green answered.
"That's everyone according to the logs, did you find the one from the holding cell?" The voice matched the face, there was a hint of a higher more feminine pitch to it, but I was still a little unsure. The one being called Pidge looked up from the screen to see me sitting on Keith's back. A wave of surprise also washed over Pidge's face as we met eyes then her expression morphed into pity. 'No, anything but that,' I thought to myself as I felt my face harden into a grimace.
"Yeah, but she's too weak to run," Keith said as he came to a stop Pidge nodded and turned back to the computer. After typing a few things, the screen turned red, and Pidge looked up at Keith. "I've managed to put a small bug into some basic systems, but I'm unable to do much from here. I need to get to a computer with access to their weapons systems, but it will probably be heavily guarded." Keith nodded and headed toward the door that Lance was standing by, Pidge followed behind us.
"Lance, I need you to take her," Keith called as we approached and the last few prisoners escaped.
"Sure thing," Lance chimed as he put his gun to his side and just like Keith's weapon, it diminished in size until it was just a handle and he attached it to his waist. Lance opened his arms towards me to take me from Keith.
"Get her and the rest of the captives to the lions and back to Atlas," Keith commanded, and he let me off his back easily, making sure I was steady on my feet before continuing. "I'll go with Pidge, once we've taken down their weapons and defenses, Atlas should have no problems taking out their ship." Keith threw out the plan like an officer commanding his soldiers, 'Was he their leader?' Lance stepped forward with a smile on his face.
"No need to worry, hero Lance is here to save the day," Lance beamed with confidence as he gave me a wink. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, and I unintentionally leaned closer to Keith.
"Our best bet is to try to make our way to the command deck," Pidge added while pulling up a map on the device attached to her arm. "From there I'll be able to shut it all down, but it'll be risky." I looked at the pathway she had mapped out when I remembered an experience from one of my escape attempts. I grabbed Keith's arm and shook it.
"What's wrong?" Keith asked looking confused. I pointed at the map shaking my head. 'Ugh! How could I explain it to them? I wish I didn't have this damn collar on!'
"Are you trying to say we shouldn't go there?" Pidge guessed, and I nodded. "Do you know a better way?" I nodded again and pointed at an area on the map that wasn't particularly remarkable.
The room was a discrete maintenance room that had remote access to the command deck's computer; someone could probably hack it to get access to the critical systems. It wasn't as far away as the bridge, and there weren't as many guards, but the location was a bit obscure and less recognizable. Also, I had to sneak through the vents to get there the first time, not to mention how confusing the ship was, to begin with.
"Is there an access point there?" Pidge asked, and I nodded again. Pidge frowned, "It doesn't look like we can get there from here without going through an extensive series of hallways. It might be easier to just go to the bridge." I shook my head and tried to make hand motions signaling opening and crawling through a vent, but they only looked confused. I sighed in defeat.
"Do you think you could lead us there easily?" Keith asked, and I nodded. "Okay, change of plans. Lance focus on getting the captives out with Hunk. Pidge and I will take-" He paused a second not knowing what to call me, "um… her with us."
Lance dropped his still raised arms and frowned. "Fine." He drew his weapon again and turned towards the door, "Good luck guys, I'll see ya back on the Atlas." Lance hurried away, and Keith knelt to let me back on his back again. I quickly climbed back up onto his back, and we rushed out the door.
I pointed the way we were supposed to go, taping Keith on the shoulder lightly to know when we needed to change direction. Surprisingly, we didn't run into any soldiers on the way, so it didn't take us long to make it to the right hallway. I tapped a bit harder on Keith's back and he looked over his should at me quizzically. I pointed at a vent that was just ahead of us on the left. Keith walk up to it then let me off his back.
"Here?" Pidge questioned pointing to the vent and I nodded. Keith also nodded as he drew his weapon, it formed a sword again, and he used it to break open the vent. I quickly kneeled down and started to crawl through the opening pausing only for a second to motion for them to follow. Pidge shrugged and followed in right after me then Keith took up the rear.
Leading them through the small tunnels wasn't too difficult for me. I remembered the way pretty easily, but it took a toll on my knees. A few turns to the right and left, and down one long last tube we ended up at the exit to the vent that accessed the maintenance room. I could hear movement and the sounds of someone pressing buttons from inside the room. I stopped and looked over my shoulder at Pidge putting my finger to my lips to signal that we needed to be quiet. Pidge nodded and motioned the same to Keith.
I then turned back to the vent and shook the panel quietly. Since I had left it unhooked from my previous escape attempt, pressing on it very lightly, it opened with ease. I slid the panel to the side and slipped out of the vent into the room. The room was the same as the last time I had come through it. There were several desks and a large computer against the far wall. Currently, two droids were standing at the computer.
I stayed crouched down as both Pidge and Keith exited the vent behind me then I looked back at Pidge. She looked at me, and I pointed at the two guards. Keith and Pidge immediately jumped into action. Both drew their weapons and began to sneak up on the enemies. It took only a matter of seconds, and the two jumped on the droids and dispatched them. Pidge then quickly got to work on the computer, starting with plugging in the device on her arm then speedily typing away on it.
"Well, it appears that she was right, this console has remote access to the command deck. I'll see if I can bypass the security systems without being noticed." Pidge noted without taking her eyes off the screen. Keith turned to me I was standing.
"Nice job," he praised me. I felt blush spread across my face. I bowed my head to hide my embarrassment. Keith then stepped a bit closer with a look of concern on his face.
"Does that hurt?" he asked pointing at his own neck then my collar. I put my hand up to it instinctively then slowly nodded.
"Here, I'll take it off." I shook my head vigorously.
"No? Why not?" he questioned; I didn't know how to explain it to him that having tried to take it off before had left me writhing in pain on my cell floor.
Suddenly, a very loud alarm sounded off startling both me and Keith. I covered my ears; the noise was very loud.
"Pidge, what's going on?" Keith said looking back at her.
"I accidentally ran into some security walls that tripped the alarm, but I have access to the shields and laser cannons."
"Then hurry up and disable them!"
"I'm working on it!" Pidge yelled. Just then I noticed a noise from behind me and I turned around to see four droids attacking us from behind.
I quickly ducked and ran for cover behind a nearby desk as they started shooting at us. Keith was quick to join me; he held his sword up in front of him then looked me dead in the eyes. I felt my blood go cold for a second as we locked gazes.
"Stay down," Keith commanded I nodded slightly then he nodded back and prepared to get up to fight. I felt my blood come rushing back to my face and I felt hot all of a sudden; Keith's eyes were too intense for me.
"I've almost got it, hold them off for me," Pidge screamed from under the computer desk.
"Rodger that!" Keith shouted as he leaped out from behind the desk, charging head-on toward the droids. Keith made quick work of one of the droids but got stuck battling blades with the other three who weren't letting up.
"Okay!" Pidge exclaimed. The screen on the computer turned red, and the alarm stopped. "Now, all I have to do is-" Pidge trailed off as she finished typing out some codes. She grinned pressing the final button. Immediately, the remaining three droids froze in place and collapsed to the floor. "Disable the network for all the androids on this deck." She finished proudly.
"Good job Pidge," Keith said, "Now all we need to do is get everyone out of here. Lance, Hunk, status report." I assumed they must've had some sort of communications devices in their helmets because they stood there for a bit quietly. I stood up and waited for them to figure out the plan as Pidge pulled up the map again.
"It looks like there's a shuttle hanger nearby, we can meet up with our lions there."
"Alright, let's go," Keith said as he looked at me. "Do you think you can run? Cause I think that alarm attracted some unwanted attention." I nodded, even though I was weak, I knew I could muster the strength to make it out of here. "Great. Pidge, lead the way." Keith ordered.
Pidge nodded and headed out the door. I followed Pidge, and Keith kept pace alongside me. We rushed through the halls, following Pidge's map. Keith and Pidge both taking out any guards we ran into on the way. I managed to keep up with them, but I found myself stumbling a lot.
After a bit, Keith took me by the hand and kinda tugged me along to help keep moving, only letting go to fight off any enemies then grabbing it again once they were taken care of. When we finally reached the hanger bay, I was almost exhausted.
"Look out!" Pidge exclaimed almost as soon as we entered the room. I didn't see what she was talking about because before I could even look up, Keith was tackling me. A wave of laser blasts riddled the wall behind where we were standing. Keith pulled out some sort of shield that looked like something from a sci-fi movie as he loomed over me.
"Stay down!" Keith commanded me this time, and I nodded, compliant. Keith sprung up and pulled off some acrobatic style moves to avoid the laser fire. I watched in awe as him, and Pidge started fighting off the small hoard of droids and aliens. There was a lot of kicking, jumping, dodging, cutting, and shooting. In all the chaos, I didn't notice the footsteps of someone sneaking up on me.
"Trying to escape again are we?" came a voice from behind, making me jump. I swiftly turned around and froze once I saw who had spoken. It was the head guard of the prisoners and in his hand was something yellow; it was the remote to my collar. I felt my expression melt into horror as a grin spread wide across his face and he pressed a button on the remote.
Pain instantly shot through my body, and I let out a short, involuntary cry, but I stifled further screams out of fear that it would make the pain worse. Every muscle in my body was tense and tight as the collar sent pulses of anguish rattling through me. My hands clawing at the collar around my neck in vain as I fell to the floor. I curled up, suffering in complete vocal silence while my tormenter began laughing at my misery.
"Now, time to deal with your would-be rescuers." He mused taking his hand off the button as he stepped over me, heading straight for Keith.
'No!' I thought urgently as I fell to the ground, every muscle in my body aching. I couldn't get my body to move fast enough; the alien was lining up a shot with his laser rifle aimed directly at Keith. 'I need to warn him!' I opened my mouth.
At first, nothing came out, and I mentally chastised myself for being such a coward. I tried again but only managed a breathy, "ka," sound to escape my throat which sent a small jolt pulse through me. I bit my cheek then took in a deep breath and readied myself for the oncoming torture.
"Keith!" I managed to scream loud enough for him to hear me. The resulting surges of agony to strike through my body made me almost regret it. Keith looked up at me from the floor below and saw the alien with his gun aimed directly at him. I heard the gunfire, but somehow Keith succeeded in dodging the attack. The shocking stopped, and I let out a relieved sigh, but my relief came too soon. My body was instantly racked with pain again. I looked up to see the furious face of the guard holding the remote.
"Whatever you're doing to her, stop it now!" Keith yelled.
"Is that a threat?" the alien almost laughed. Keith said something back, but I wasn't sure what he said; my ears were ringing, and the pain was getting to be too much for me. I saw the guard throw down the remote to the floor as he jumped over the edge of the platform to fight.
'I need to get the remote in order to stop it.' I thought trying to crawl my way to it, but the shocks were making it near impossible to control my movements. I closed my eyes, feeling my heart pounding against my ribcage with every jolt. Gritting my teeth, I pulled myself on my stomach, slowly making my way toward my prize. I got close enough to get my hands on it and immediately pressed the first button I could. The torture stopped, and my body fell limp. I stared at the small device in my hands searching for a button, knob, or switch that might be release for the collar. A little black button on the side looked promising, praying this wouldn't be the wrong thing to press I held my breath pushed it.
I heard a click go off in the collar followed immediately by the sensation of stabbing and pricking pain of the claws releasing from my throat. I let out the breath I was holding as the latch on the back released. I yanked the damn device off my neck as fast as I could reveling in the feeling of freedom it left me in. I don't know how long I laid there, but I didn't feel like moving and just stayed there breathing heavily.
As I laid there, catching my breath, I could hear the clanging of metal against metal. Eventually, I opened my eyes and looked over the edge of the platform to see both Pidge and Keith finish off the guard with a combo attack, knocking him to the ground. I found myself hoping he was dead.
Pidge and Keith came running back to me, and I forced myself into an upright position, propping myself up on one arm.
"Are you alright?" Keith asked kneeling next to me. I looked up at him and smiled.
"Better than ever," I answered, my voice strained and crackly. Both of them looked shocked but happy at my sudden ability to speak, but they didn't question me about it.
"Alright," Pidge said, "Then let's get a move on." I nodded and started to get up when I was startled by a sparking blue light right next to us. Appearing out of nowhere was a black dog-like creature. It looked kinda like a wolf, but it had strange glowing blue markings on its face and back.
"Kosmo!" Pidge exclaimed.
"Great timing!" Keith said petting it on the head. "Help get us back to our lions, boy." The wolf creature stepped forward, and Pidge put her hand on its back. Suddenly, in another blue light, she disappeared. I stared wide-eyed at where she had just been standing. The wolf returned and looked at Keith. Keith looked at me and nodded I reluctantly placed my hand on the wolf's shoulder and waited.
In a fraction of a second there was another blue light then we were suddenly in a completely different place. I looked around me bewildered. We were now in a small area that looked similar to an airplane cockpit with a chair surrounded by windows and screens. I looked outside and almost gasped at what I saw. 'We're outside of the alien base!'
Keith helped me up onto a bench-like seat in the back of the small cabin; then he jumped into the piolet's seat.
"Alright, is everyone out?" Keith asked.
"All captives rescued and accounted for," Lance's voice echoed through the cabin.
"Great! Hunk, Allura?"
"I got the kidnaped scientists out." A lady's voice with an almost British sounding accent responded.
"Yup!" a male voice I didn't recognize answered. His voice was more throaty sounding and deep. "I got copies of everything off their computer hard drives. It's heavily encrypted though so I don't know if it'll be of any use."
"Okay, how about you, Pidge?"
"I'm here!" Pidge replied, "I took out their shields and their weapons systems. We should have no trouble taking out the base now."
"Great!" Keith said sounding excited, "Atlas do you copy?"
"We copy," yet another unknown voice answered this time. Male again but more mature and actually very calm sounding given the situation. "Proceeding with the attack."
"We'll give you a hand," Keith said with an audible grin in his voice. "Okay, everyone! Let's take this base down!"
Suddenly, we were moving rapidly. I looked for straps on the chair I was sitting in but found none. Keith began flying his ship with easy, encircling the enemy forces and began the assault. I held on for dear life as he piloted the ship in strategic maneuvers, taking out several enemy space crafts. Then from seemingly out of nowhere, a gigantic, white vessel appeared alongside our ship. It fired a laser cannon like weapon at the alien base destroying it in an instant. The base began exploding from one location then the entire thing was obliterated.
"Alright!" Lance's voice cheered. "Way to kick some Galra butt!"
"Nicely done, everybody." The calm voice spoke. "Now let's get these people home."
"Alright, we'll meet back up on the Atlas. Good work team!" Keith said proudly.
He and the others said a few more things, but my ears weren't listening anymore. Astonishingly, even after all that excitement, I felt the adrenalin wearing off and a wave of exhaustion wash over me. My mind was going fuzzy, and eyelids didn't want to stay open. I found my body giving in to the need to rest, and I slouched against the chair I was sitting in. Letting everything fade away as I drifted into deep sleep.
Okay, so chapter two kinda feels like it's just an extension of chapter one since I hadn't written much, but I'm just spitballin' here. I know timelines and such might not match up to the show, it's been a while since I watched it, so I'll change the nit-picky details like that once I've double checked that stuff.
What y'all think so far? I know I don't have much out here yet but trust me I have so much planned, and ideas are bouncing around in my head for this story.
Please, leave a review to let me know your thoughts.
