Chapter
21
A small boy ran across an open field, the silky grass brushed against his bare legs, the air crisp yet comfortably warm. In the distance stood an ice capped mountain with a skirt of Douglas Firs at its base. A gentle breeze caught the delicate petals of small flowers and blew them around the boy. A woman walked up to the child and lifted him up into the air and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Vex, daddy's home." the woman said, "Let's go see him."
Just then the view began to fade; a fog came over the land and soon everything was engulfed in darkness. When the view had cleared up the scene had changed to a group of young men huddled around a cluster of glow sticks. All were dressed in military combat garb; all wore scruffy facial hair and long manes. They sat with their boots up, kicked back in a small enclave like structure having a laugh at stories of past missions.
"This one time me and Vex here were so drunk, that I must have been sleep walking because the next thing I know Vex is waking me up screaming 'dude, you just pissed all over my legs'. I was like what, me?" laughed one of the men. The crowed all chuckled and jeered at the two Marines.
"Yeah, apparently Geoffrey here had gotten up, pissed on my legs, and went right back to bed. I woke up because I thought I had pissed myself but realized my crotch was dry and there was a stream leading from me to him." Vex snickered.
"Hey… I only ever wet myself that one time. Never again will I drink Firefly." the boy said over the laughter of his colleagues. The group hooted and howled some more before everything faded to darkness again.
There was a familiar humming sound that surrounded Vex. It was calming, almost hypnotizing. He recognized the sound of engines running. Vex's eyes opened slowly, it was hard to keep them open through the swollen flesh; he was grateful that the low-lights were on rather than the rooms main lights. He blinked hard and focused on his surroundings. The dreams of better days now gone as the harsh realization set in; he was captured, being held in a dark room alone. Vex moved to his knees, and then tried to stand but found that his hands had been shackled to the floor with little slack.
Vex was aware he had been stripped of all his gear, being left with only the clothes on his back. Through the dim floor lights Vex could make out large crates, he figured he was being kept in a storage room. Maybe the others were around the other side of the room.
"Niamh, Roleena, are you guys in here?" he said softly. No response; it was as he figured, alone. Vex looked around for something he might use to aid in his escape. There were pipes running along the ceiling, boxes, a vent on the opposite wall from him, nothing really of any use. Then he heard the doors slide open at the other end of the room. Vex quickly laid back down and closed his eyes. A lone guard stepped into the room and walked right up to the Marine.
"Ha, piece of shit. Check complete." the guard spat. The man turned to walk away when Vex kicked his legs out from under him. The man caught himself on the floor and fumbled to pull his pistol out of the holster. Vex kicked the man's hand prompting the guard to pull it away in pain. Vex tried reaching for the man's boots but his shackles wouldn't allow him to reach. He spun around and kicked hard at the guard's chest. The man let out a gasp of air and collapsed. Vex sent one more kick to the man's head just to be safe; blood splattered over the floor.
The Marine pinched the guard's leg between his feet and pulled the man closer to him. Now, within arm's reach, Vex could comb his body for a key or something to pick the lock. And with luck, the guard had been carrying a key. He quickly freed himself of his constraints and grabbed the guards shield generator and pistol; both were of fairly simple design. Vex snuck out the doorway and into a hall. The corridor was dimly light with floor lights as well. This would make it a little easier to sneak around in the shadows. He figured he had better start his escape by first finding the ladies.
Just then he heard two men conversing from around a corner. They were talking about women they've slept with at their last port. But Vex could barely make out their words over the hum of the ship's engine. He carefully stepped to the corners edge and peeked an eye around the corner. The two guards were near and had their backs turned to him. Vex remembered that he didn't have his blade. He could shoot them both in the back, but then he'd run the risk of alarming possible guards nearby of his escape. He would have to take one out and hastily transition to the next.
Vex drew in a deep breath and wished himself luck before he made his move. Reaching up to the man on the right's head, he grabbed the skull and twisted as hard as he could. The man's neck popped multiple times, which continued down his back. His body fell limp to the floor. Vex quickly stuck his foot out and caught the lifeless body like a soccer ball so not to let it hit the ground with a loud thud. The guard's partner caught the action out of the corner of his eye and was just about to turn to face his opponent when Vex quickly punched the man in the back of the head with extreme strength, scoring a critical hit. He ended the guard before he knew what hit him. Vex let the first guard roll off his foot and to the floor softly as he caught the second guard and laid him down.
Vex crept down the corridor to a bisecting strip. The wall running along the perpendicular hallway was translucent; inside was a brightly lit room with at least a dozen guards posted all around. Spread throughout the area was a variety of medical equipment, computers terminals, and large monitors. In the middle of the room stood a table with a girl strapped to its surface. She didn't look like Abaline Vex thought; though, she did bare the same style of tattoos. The girl looked strangely familiar to the Marine. Then Vex noticed strange men surrounded the woman, dressed in robotic suits; suits that bore multiple arms for what seemed to be for more efficient work. Just then there was a whirling sound, and the girl shrieked.
I have to get to Abaline and the others first, Vex thought as he passed the room. He hugged the wall tightly as he rounded the corner, being sure to keep in the shadows until he was past the light cast by the room behind him. Further down the hall Vex past a door that slid open as he came near. Inside the room looked just like the one he had escaped from. He figured this must be where they're keeping one of his companions. He was just about to call out to them when he remembered that he had a guard check up on him. Vex figured the same might happen here as well.
Vex slipped through the mat-black shadows and around a large box where he saw a lone Niamh. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked kneeling down and hugging his partner.
Niamh seemed startled at first, but soon realized who was there and felt great relief. "Vex it's you!" she exclaimed. "You have to get me out of here. They are torturing Roleena for information on the whereabouts of Toby and the others. I'm going to be next." said Niamh.
"What!" whispered Vex, "They're torturing her?"
"Yes, I overheard two guards talking about taking her to the second deck, wing four or something. They've been there for over an hour." said Niamh.
Vex didn't like the sound of that. He figured Roleena hadn't received proper training in resisting torture. And if it's been ongoing for the better part of an hour, she may be dead. He quickly pulled out the key from his pocket and tried inserting it into the lock. It didn't fit.
"There's a guard up that ladder and through the door on the high-rise. I think he has the key." Niamh informed.
Vex nodded and whispered, "I'll be right back." Up the ladder and to the door he stalked. He paused for only a moment to plan his attack. He kept his hand on his pistol as he entered the doorway. The doors slid open revealing a man leaned against the wall across the hall, his head down; he must be looking at something on the floor. But as soon as the doors opened his head popped up. Vex dashed towards the man and sent a punch at him square between the eyes. Vex followed the attack by delivering a number of chops to the man's vital areas which forced the guard to wobble as if drunk. Vex halted the attack, looked down the hall in both directions to confirm he was in the clear, and then finished the sentry with a massive uppercut to the chin. Vex dragged the body back into the room and tossed the deceased down to Niamh.
Moments later, Vex had freed his partner, who finally was able to stand and stretch. She rubbed her wrists; they were sore from the heavy metal cuffs. Niamh grabbed Vex around the hips, she was happy to see him again, "Thank you." she whispered to him.
Vex smiled back at her, "Of course momma. Now let's go rescue the others."
"Okay," she replied, "we should use that vent to get to the second deck. The elevators have security turrets and the hallways are lined with alarms on this floor."
"Lead the way." said Vex. Niamh collected the dead guard's shield and sidearm while Vex pulled the vent shaft's cover off the wall. The two crawled into the surprisingly large tunnel and shuffled through until they reached a dead end.
It quickly became too dark to see the further in, so the two felt their way around. "I wish I had my phone." Niamh whispered. The two stopped at a wall in front of them and found there were walls on all sides, which meant there was only one way, which was up.
Vex and Niamh stood, "We gotta climb here." they said simultaneously.
"Well let's get to it." Niamh said positioning herself in the vent. The two climbed up the shaft until they reached the next landing. Light was barely peeking in through an outlet cover ahead of the two.
Vex moved up to the cover and peered between the metal slats, "This leads to a hallway. I think we should find a room to exit into." he said. The two scooted back into the vent and hung a left, and back into pitch black. After one more failed exit, they finally came to an opening that led into a room. The vent's opening sat high on the wall of the room, and looking down below Vex and Niamh spotted four guards sitting around table playing cards. Next to the card players sat a large sphere propped up on a pair track-type wheels. On the back of the sphere were two sets of thirty millimeter canons. These mini canons were mostly used for bringing down light and heavy armored, small vehicles. This robotic sentry is called the D-3C1_M T0R or Decimator.
"How are we going to do this?" Vex muttered to himself.
"How about I go down first and raise hell, you come in just after and take the robot out first and follow up with the guards?" suggested Niamh.
"I like the way you think Niamh, we make a pretty unbeatable pair. We go balls to the wall or we go the hell home." said Vex. Niamh's heart fluttered at Vex's words, she too thought they made a wonderful team.
Quietly Niamh slid the cover up and slipped out of the vent and dropped onto the floor without a sound. Just then a red light circled the room and the Decimator came to life. The men playing cards fell back out of their seats shock. Niamh was able to quickly dispatch the nearest guard with a heavy chop to his throat. She darted to the next man who put his guard up; no assassination for him. Niamh engaged in close quarters combat with the man. And then another guard joined in, and another. Vex waited, he needed the most opportune time to strike, or this would all go to shit. All the remaining guards were in the assault on Niamh, and the sentry was focused on the escapee as well.
Vex leapt out and rolled behind the sentry and with haste he reached up and ripped open its control panel. Before him was a large patch of colorful wires, so he grabbed a handful of wires and yanked. The bot chimed as it powered down; the guards still unaware of Vex's presence. "That takes care of the hard part." he muttered. Vex moved behind the gang of men attacking Niamh. One of the men not actively attacking the intruder reached for his radio. He was just about to call in the situation and report when Vex grabbed his hand and pinned it to his shoulder; the man was taken by surprise. Vex through a knee into the guard's back, pulling him down, exposing his front portion. Vex dropped his elbow into the man's sternum cracking the bone, and then tossed his victim to the floor and moved to the next. One of the other guards noticed his comrade fall back and turned to meet Vex's boot straight in the gut the force of which, sent the man flying back into another guard.
Only one guard was currently standing; he looked at Vex, then and Niamh. The man grabbed a small handle from his belt and whipped a long stick out, and once fully extended the rod emitted a bright purple glow. Vex and Niamh knew what this was, a Shock Rod. The man must have figured Niamh was the lesser threat and charged her first. The Officer stepped to the side, strafing a wild vertical swing, and swung her foot over her head like a scorpion tail striking the man's head. The blow forced the man to stager backwards and right into the grasp of Vex. The Marine performed a flying hip toss in which he grabbed the staggering man around the chest and jumped into the air, twisting and tossing the man to the floor.
The other two guards had picked themselves up and had prepared to attack, but Niamh kicked the guards legs apart staggering the man. A second later another boot had planted itself square in the sack. The man vomited spraying the floor in front of him with a combination of chunky yellow and oily purple before fainting in his own bile. The second man watched in horror and knew he was in trouble. Vex sent a hard haymaker into his right ribs, which was followed by Niamh's heel to his left quad. The man dropped to his knees and wobbled. Niamh and Vex simultaneously threw punches to both the man's temples. Blood squirted out from the man's eyes and ears as his lifeless body fell forward.
The two collected the Shock Rods, two pistols and shields for Roleena and Abaline, and hid the bodies behind crates. They exited the room and skipped down the hall to wing three. Lights on the wall illuminated displaying directions to the various areas of the ship. Wing 4 was only two corridors away to their left. The two hurried left and ran into a pair of guards standing outside of a room labeled Equipment. It took only seconds to put the guards down allowing Vex and Niamh entered the room.
"Our equipment should be kept here." Vex said pulling open locker doors.
"Found our stuff." called Niamh. Vex hurried over to her and the two began to reequip themselves.
Once they were finished Vex walked over to a large chest and opened it; the contents of which made him week in the knees. "Oh sweet owl milk…" he uttered in awe. Niamh looked in and was thoroughly impressed as well. Vex, with elated eyes, grabbed a Triple S-Tiger Heavy Assault Rifle. This beast was capable of switching between corrosive, incendiary, and shock rounds on the fly. Its drum cartridge fired mini rockets instead of bullets, and had a fire rating of 20.1, and a magazine size of 200. He also found himself a nice shield that allowed him to replenish ammo used against him.
Niamh on the other hand reached first for a class modifier which allowed her armor to cool down faster in between transformations as well as give an additional boost to her shields. She then grabbed a Class F System Repeater-Type 7. This pistol appeared to be a Maliwan prototype weapon. By the safety switch were two dials. One dial pointed to all the elements a gun could fire. The other pointed to various pictures, such as; spread shot, drill shot, bubble shot, and long bow shot.
"Holy hell…" she murmured as she marveled at the pistol.
"Let's get a couple of these HARS vests." said Vex tossing Niamh a white vest.
"HARS?" she asked.
"High Altitude Rocketeer Suit. You can survive in dead space in one of these for days. They're mostly used for dropping from low orbit ships to the surface of a planet." informed Vex.
Niamh felt a lump in her throat, "Are… are they safe?" she asked. She didn't think the idea of being in space outside of a ship sounded smart.
"Of course, I've used these things like a million times." Vex reassured. He packed three more vests away in his pack as well as Abaline and Roleena's gear. "Now, let's go get our Siren back."
The two left the room, well equipped to bring down the massive ship on their own. The next corridor over was their intended target. Vex did not shy away from a frontal assault this time. He walked into the well lit room, his heavy gun at his hip and a pre-triumphant smiled on his face at the sight of the guards fumbling in a surprised panic. "Excuse me while I whip this out!" Vex cackled. The Marine held his trigger back sending hundreds of mini rockets into the room at such a fast rate that within four seconds he was empty. He dropped the expended drum and loaded a full one into the well. But Vex had no need to use any more rounds. All enemy personnel lay on the floor in bloody pieces.
"That was amazing." Niamh said bringing up the rear.
"I know, I want to do it again." laughed Vex giddily.
Vex and Niamh stepped into the room and passed through to a door in the back. The next room held one of the persons the two were looking for. Roleena was lying on the floor unconscious. Two men stood over her brushing off their knuckles, "The bitch took longer than I thought to stay down." one said.
Vex raised his gun, but Niamh brushed it aside and mouthed I got this. Vex nodded and let Niamh by. She switched her pistol to fire shock rounds. Then she switched the second dial from regular to drill shot. She put her first target between her sights and fired. Three bullets exited the barrel in a spiral, leaving a twisting trail of electricity behind them. The rounds punched a hole through the first man's flimsy shield and body, and impacted the second in a burst of static; both men dropped to the floor twitching and smoking.
"That's impressive." said Vex.
"I think so." Niamh agreed.
Vex moved to Roleena's side and knelt down. He pulled out a health vial from his pouch and injected it into her chest. A moment later the woman jolted to life and into Vex's arms.
Roleena choked and gurgled, "Wha… what happened?"
"Calm down Roleena, you're okay now. I'm with you." Vex said softly. Niamh didn't find the interaction pleasing; her hopes of Vex were now dashed to the cute redhead. Seeing Roleena in Vex's arms, Niamh knew the internal sparks of lust and excitement were going off in both of them.
"Alright guys, let's go." she interrupted. "We still need to find what we came to get in the first place, and that's Abaline."
"You're right Niamh." said Vex standing and helping Roleena to her feet. "I brought you your gear." he said handing it over to the Vladof Ghost. He also handed her a vest and told her to suit up; Roleena was familiar with the HARS. One more thing she had over me, the Officer thought to herself in frustration.
Once Roleena was fully equipped the three made their way back into the previous room in hopes of finding a terminal that was still operating. But alas, in Vex's rampage he had blown apart all the electronics. And then he noticed a tiny red flashing light propped on the underside of a desk, "What the?" he asked.
"That would be an alarm system." Niamh groaned. "Somebody must have triggered it before dying, we got careless."
"So we can expect company then." said Roleena.
"We need to find a terminal that will tell us where they are holding Abaline." Vex said walking to the exit.
The three had barely stepped foot outside the room, only to be confronted by five human guards and three Decimators. "There's the intruders!" shouted one of the guards. Both parties gun's rose and sighted in on each other. There was a brief pause, and the all hell broke loose. Rounds and explosions tore through the ship's interior. Acid melted through the metal, while streaks of fire lined the floor and walls. The three escapees stood victorious, but barely. The Decimators were tough, and whittled not just their shields down, but their health as well. The gang took a moment to recover before pushing forward.
Since the alarm had been sounded, moving through the ship had become rather difficult for the gang. They were met with wave after wave of enemy resistance, with few breaks in between. The interior of the shuttle was beginning to look like a block of Swiss cheese. The whole time the gang hunted for Abaline, Vex couldn't shake feeling that they might have another run-in with Glorious Black; which if it came to that Vex had no problem facing off with the monster again, even if it meant his own life.
With some luck, and a lot of bullets, the three had found a room with a terminal that gave the schematics to the ship and the location to where they had been keeping Abaline. Vex and Niamh posted at the entrance of the terminal's room and held back the advancing guards while Roleena tapped into the ship's systems. After the location was confirmed, the three pushed back the enemies and escaped down a hall and into another chamber. They climbed into the vent system and made their way back down to the original deck Vex and Niamh had started on.
"Abaline is being held in the room next to this one." Roleena said looking at her map. The gang exited the vent and dispatched the few guards that had been lounging around.
Abaline sobbed to herself, she knew this was where her life ended. She would be kept trapped in some machine, hooked up to needles and tubes. She would only be kept alive by life support until her body ccouldn't live anymore and she dies. No more adventures, no more fun with friends. No food, no games, no shopping, no sports, no falling in love.
Love… Abaline thought. She hadn't felt what it was to be in love with another. She wanted to fall in love, any girl would. Her mind wondered to an image of a boy; a tall, skinny boy with dirty blonde hair, thick glasses, and an even thicker country accent. He was cute, and she wondered if she had a crush on him. It didn't matter now; those feelings would be robbed of her soon. Her mood worsened and she continued to weep.
Just then the door at the far end of the room slid open. Abaline's heart leapt into her throat with surprise. She couldn't speak; she was so overcome with joy. Instead, the man entering spoke for her, "Abaline it's good to see you're still in one piece."
"Vex," Abaline choke, "You came for me!" she said smiling through dark stained tears.
"Of course, we couldn't leave our most powerful or gorgeous lady friend behind." said Vex unshackling the Siren.
"Where's Toby and the others?" she asked.
"They are looking for the last key piece. We're going to meet back up with them." Vex assured.
Abaline threw her arms around the Marine and squeezed, "Thank you." she sighed.
"Of course Aby," Vex replied holding her, "now let's get the hell outta here." he pronounced.
"Wait, I need to get this collar off. I can't use my powers until it's removed." Abaline said.
Vex grabbed the choker and yanked hard. There was a slight shock as the band broke from the girl's neck. Vex threw the collar to the floor, but was surprised to see the band come to life and begun scurrying towards him. Vex lifted his boot and smashed the mechanical collar into pieces.
"What was that?" Niamh inquired.
Abaline hadn't even noticed Niamh or Roleena enter, and upon seeing her friends gave each of them a tight squeeze. The girls all squealed in excitement at seeing each other. Abaline finally turned to Vex and answered, "Those collars are some sort of control device. Glorious Black and Snake Eyes used it to control me and Nevaeh. They have hundreds of these things."
"They can come to life?" Roleena asked.
"Yes. I saw them testing them out on their own soldiers. These 'Oppressors' as they call them, will pursue their target and latch around the neck to assume control of the victim's body." said Abaline.
"They must tap into the user's central nervous system." Roleena said.
"I'm not sure how they work." Abaline commented.
Vex walked to the door prompting it to slide open, "Are we ready to leave?" he asked.
"No wait," Abaline said suddenly, "we need to go get Nevaeh as well."
"Nevaeh? Who's that?" Niamh inquired.
"Do you remember that powerful Siren we ran into in Arcadia?" asked Abaline.
Vex and Niamh's faces frowned. "What does she have to do with our escape?" Vex asked.
Abaline sighed, "I know what you're thinking, that she's our enemy. But she was betrayed by Black."
"And…" Vex and Niamh said together.
"I know she attacked us and all, but she's a Siren, and she's a captive of Glorious Black's. We can't turn our back on her. Besides if we help her maybe she'll help us in return." pleaded Abaline.
Vex, didn't trust any of Black's people, but he decided to help Abaline with the captive Siren anyway, "Fine, I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this." he grunted. "I think I know where she's located."
"Thanks again." Abaline said. "I owe you one."
Vex gave a curt nod of agreement, and ushered the gang out of the room. He remembered when he first escaped that he passed a room where a woman was being held that resembled his fellow Siren. The four kept tight to the walls as they stalked through the shadows of the corridors, dispatching enemy forces in silence. In fact the gang had run across some well-equipped guards toting silencers on their weapons; which after killing, the gang took and equipped on their own guns.
The party had finally made it to the room where Vex believed Nevaeh was being held. Vex signaled them to hold up just out of reach of the light. He and the others scouted from the shadows, the room appeared to still be full of numerous guards as well as the men in robotic suits. There was a new addition to the room, something that Vex hadn't noticed before. Small silver boxes were stacked in the corners of the room. They looked unthreatening, and therefore Vex paid them no care. In the middle of the room was the girl, Nevaeh. She lay unconscious on the table, and next to her sat a tray of bloodied rags.
"Are we too late?" inquired Abaline.
Vex noticed the woman breathing, "No, she's still alive."
"What's the plan?" Niamh asked.
"Abaline, you take over that guard's body," Vex said pointing to the guard at the doorway, "from there we need you to kill the lights."
"No prob." she replied.
"Good, the rest of us will enter and take out the guards one by one. Once the guards are down we will take out the scientist dudes." Vex said, rounding up the game plan. The gang knew their roles. Abaline walked from the shadows to the entrance of the room.
As soon as she was in sight she began glowing. The guard at the door took notice and beard down on the girl, "What are you…" he started. But Abaline was too quick and whipped her tattoo from her arm and to the man, connecting with his chest and pulling her into his body.
"Hey Jim, who are you talking to?" a guard asked the man at the door.
It took only a second for Abaline to adjust in her shell, "Oh, um, I'm just practicing what I'm going to do if I see the intruders."
"…" the guard stared blankly at Abaline's shell, "Shit, you new guys are all so dumb." he said shaking his head with embarrassment.
"Halt mother trucker!" shouted another guard.
"Stay where you are or face my wrath!" said another guard through a heavy lisp.
"What are you idiots doing?" the man in charge shouted.
"Practicing Sir." the henchmen replied.
The man shrugged and gave in, "Put your hands in the sky ye scallywag!" he shouted. The men cheered and continued their lines.
Abaline looked back to the gang in the shadows and gave a look of disbelief. Quickly, she strolled over to the lights and powered them down. The room became dark; but still just barely illuminated by the monitors. Vex and the others slipped in and began taking out the startled guards. The men in the center of the room paid no attention to what was going on around them; they seemed to be totally oblivious.
Vex and the others prepared to take out the scientists when Abaline stepped in the middle of the men and detonated her body. Blood and body parts exploded everywhere. Red mist lingered in the room, which was now painted a slimy red.
"Nice one." Vex said.
Abaline appeared before the party, "My pleasure." she replied.
Niamh and Roleena unbuckled the Siren from the table and held her up. Vex slapped Nevaeh across the face; it was a violent and rude awakening. Nevaeh screamed as she awoke in the arms of strangers.
"Shhhh," Abaline gestured, "it's okay, you're safe now." she reassured.
"Wha… what happened?" Nevaeh panted. Her face was gaunt, her skin a clear-pale like. It was apparent she had been through the ringer.
"At the request of our overly large hearted Abaline, we've rescued you from Black's clutches." said Vex.
"If it were up to us we'd have left you." Niamh stated.
Nevaeh glanced at Abaline, and then back to the others, "Thank you, I'm truly sorry I was on the wrong side." she said hanging her head in shame.
"It's okay Nevaeh, we are on the same team now." Abaline said giving her sister Siren a clap on the back.
Roleena smiled at Nevaeh, "I have no beef with this Siren," she said extending her hand, "welcome back Nevaeh." The two shook hands.
"You did some damage Siren." Vex started, "Look myself and Niamh still don't trust you. But as long as Abaline does we will have your back."
Nevaeh nodded, "I understand, and again I'm sorry."
Niamh had been looking for a way to get gain Vex's interest more so, "I forgive you Nevaeh," she blurted, "and if I know my partner, he will come around in time." She glanced at Vex, who gave her a blank stare. That was better than nothing she thought.
Vex handed over Abaline's gear as well as a vest. Nevaeh equipped herself with the deceased guards gear and was provided a vest by Vex. The gang was ready to make their escape from Black's ship. Just then there came a hissing sound. The gang looked at the silver boxes which had now melted away revealing a copious amount of Oppressors. The robotic collars began crawling after the gang.
"Oh shit, everyone get out now." said Vex with conviction. The gang quickly followed Vex out of the room and down the hallway to a nearby window. The porthole looked out into space, over an enormous Pandora.
"This is where we will make our escape from." he informed. "Everyone activate your vests." he ordered. The gang all activated the vest's engagement system and the just like Niamh's armor, they become taken over by a fully sealed, fully armored, space suit.
"Let's mess shit up around here." Vex bellowed. He tossed all of his grenades down the corridors. The others quickly did the same. The Oppressors that had been persuing disintegrated in the eruption of the multiple types of grenades. Large holes were punched in the walls of the ship.
Vex noticed a blue light appear on his HUD indicating that the suit's oxygen was in use. "That's it, the atmosphere of the ship is venting into space." he informed the others. Warning lights flashed and sirens were sounding as debris was begin pulled through the tiny holes in the ship. The gang's suits held them to the floor with super magnetic boots.
Vex shot a hole in the window blowing it out and creating an even larger vacuum. The party staggered back as they were pulled towards the window. Nevaeh moved to a nearby wall and placed her back against it for support. She began conjuring up a massive sphere of water and lighting as she had in Arcadia. "We need to move!" shouted Vex to the others. "Jump!" he ordered. Niamh and Abaline grabbed hands and pushed out the wide window and into space. Their jetpacks activated and the two flew away from the ship.
Vex slowly stepped to the Siren around the corner. He now had to muscle every movement since the vacuum was becoming stronger. Nevaeh's Phasenaut was so big and so powerful that it was ripping the ship apart from the inside out. Vex would have loved to stay and witness Black's ship being destroyed, but he knew it was time to go or be destroyed with Black and his gang. Vex had just about made it to Nevaeh when the vacuum became overwhelming. He reached out for the woman but was a fingertip away. Vex gave himself a short boost with his jetpack and grabbed hold of Nevaeh's arm. He killed the jetpack, and let the suction pull him and the Siren out of the ship.
The two were rocketed out the window and into space, flying away from the ship and towards the planet. Vex glanced back at the ship and saw a spectacular sight. The aquatic sphere had frozen in space through the ship's hull. Lightning jetted out from the ice orb. Just then the entire wreckage exploded in a marvelous lightshow. The force of the blast propelled the two at high speed towards Pandora.
Vex lifted his head and looked upon the planet. The large globe was a sandy brown, which let Vex know that they were falling towards the wrong continent. He radioed into his squad mates, "Hey that's the Lands' End continent. We need to go to the United Tribe." he called over the COMs.
"Copy." said Niamh.
"Roger." Roleena replied.
"Got it." Abaline called back.
Vex waited for a response from Nevaeh. But there was nothing. "Nevaeh we gotta change our course to land on United Tribe." he called again, "Do you copy?" Still nothing from the Siren. He looked at the armored suit; something didn't look right in the way she was falling. She almost looked lifeless. Vex rocketed over to Nevaeh and grabbed hold of her, bringing the two face to face. His assumption was correct, she was unconscious. The torture, stress, and use of her Siren abilities must have been too much for her. She must have fainted upon breaking concentration on her spell.
The gang corrected their course and continued their descent towards the planet. It didn't take long before the group hit the strong atmosphere that encased Pandora. An intensely crushing pressure fell upon the gang as their suits caught ablaze. Abaline felt a tight squeeze in her belly that made her eyeballs feel like they would pop out. Niamh's nose burst with a bubble of blood into her helmet. Amazingly, her suit's helmet cleared her visor with a sweeping laser light.
The exosphere faded away and the gang tumbled into the thermosphere. The crushing pressure eased and the suits became extremely hot. Alarms ringed in the suits system warning of possible meltdown. All three girls tried began to worry; Vex took notice as they began to shake and shutter. Abaline tried to communicate to the others for reassurance, but falling through the exosphere was like falling through a thunderstorm. Nobody could hear the Siren's calls. The gang picked up speed as they drew closer to the planets inner atmosphere.
After what felt like a longer drop than that from outer space, the gang had reached the mesosphere. The flames that engulfed the space diver's suits had subsided and the gages all returned to normal. The pressure was gone and everything was normal again. The planets crust was now in its beginning stages of taking form and giving small features.
The gang reached the stratosphere where they got a violent shake, and was tossed into a spinning tumble. Abaline panicked as she spun uncontrollably in the sky. The others had already steadied themselves by now. Vex let go of Nevaeh and jetted to Abaline and helped get her under control. He looked at the gage on his wrist. They were coming close to the 'air braking' part of their fall.
"On my mark, deploy your air brakes." Vex called over the COM. The gang responded. Vex didn't know how he was going to get Nevaeh to brake safely. Once he activated his air brakes the drag would rip the Siren from his arms no matter how hard he held onto her.
They had now reached their mark to engage the brakes. "Now!" Vex commanded. All but Vex triggered their air brakes. Large wings extended of the backs of the suits that held metallic vents catching the air and ripping the gang backwards, greatly slowing their fall.
"Vex what are you doing?" cried Abaline.
"Are you crazy Marine?" shouted Roleena, "Pull your damn brakes!"
"I can't without losing Nevaeh." Vex replied
"No Vex you can't do this. Just activate your brakes." Niamh said.
"I have an idea guys, don't worry about me. You'll soon reach the troposphere, watch your monitors and release your chutes when prompted to. I'll meet you down there." Vex said.
"You crazy asshole Vex!" shouted Niamh.
Vex and Nevaeh fell through the troposphere at great speed. Vex rolled over, looking back up at the sky. He knew this was dangerous. He activated his air brakes; the wings extended out and caught the wind, jerking him hard upward. He held on tight to the Siren as he was violently ripped backwards. As soon as he had reached his slowest point in his fall, he deployed his chute.
But all of the sudden Nevaeh slipped from his grip as he had come to a brief stop in the sky. The Siren fell through the air and away from the Marine. "No!" Vex shouted, reaching for the woman. But it was no use, she slipped away. Without hesitation Vex released his chute and fell after Nevaeh. He leaned into the descent and quickly caught the her in the air. Vex released his air brakes once more, but they had been weakened by their first deployment. They caught the air and ripped off into the wind. They only provided a short deceleration for the two. Vex looked at the land, he was hoping for anything he could use to break his fall. Then he saw a large patch of trees. That would be where he'd aim for.
As he drew closer he noticed that the trees were perched atop tall, steep cliffs. Vex moved in on towering cliffs and passed between their jagged edges. He tried pulling away from an incoming cliff side but was unable to avoid impact. He tucked Nevaeh away from the rock and slammed into the hard surface. His back roared in pain, his suit's armor peeled away and was now flapping from his body. The impact directed his fall into a nearby waterfall, which pushed the two further off the Marine's planned course. Now, instead of landing in trees, Vex was being forced against a cliff face. The water had pushed him into a rock wall and through a set of tall trees. The force of the pair's falling had drove them through the trees, breaking the thick trunks. This slowed the two down enough to tumble into the lower section of trees; breaking every branch on the way down before finally landing on an outstretched terrace.
Vex laid on his back unable to move. He could see as he lay on the floor of a cliff's promenade Nevaeh's body resting in the branches above him. He could barely move the pain was so excruciating.
"We… we made… it." he coughed. He closed his eyes, he was getting tired. His body felt cold and stiff, and he soon lost consciousness.