Author's Note: Thanks to Kalshion and SilentStrike'Scy' for being my proofreaders.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Halo universe, which is the property of Bungie Studios. However, any non-Halo species (and characters made from them) belong to me.
Chapter 36: Escape
Sari watched dumbfounded as the humans, courageously, charged at the guards and chaos ensued. The humans, even in their weakened state, were giving the guards a hard time, partly due to the element of surprise. She knew in her hearts though that they most likely would be recaptured or killed before they took out a significant number of pirates, not to mention the likely hood of reinforcements arriving at any moment. The pale skinned female looked at the necklaces the humans gave her, noting how the tag on each one had a name and a series of numbers on them and guessed that these were mementos of service to their military.
//Slipspace operations will commence in three minutes.\\
The announcement reminded her on why the humans choose to sacrifice themselves: they did not have much time to act themselves. Keeping low, she ducked out of the hatch and behind one of the weapons crates the humans pillaged. She then inspected their options in regards to getting to the Phantoms. There were a couple of ramps further down and closer to the Phantoms themselves, but that would require them getting too close to the action.
"How are we going to get down there?" Telo asked after he finally joined her behind the crate.
"We jump down," she replied simply, looking over the railing. There were a couple of crates just below their position. Sari looked toward the firefight on the other end of the room to ensure no pirates were looking their way before climbing over the railing and letting herself drop below. The crate she landed on wobbled and she lost her balance, sending her toppling backwards. She landed on her back and momentarily she was stunned.
"Are you alright?" Telo said after jumping down himself, landing in a neat roll.
"I am fine," Sari said after shaking her head to clear the stars out of her vision. She and Telo stayed behind the crates for a moment to gauge the reaction of the rest of the room: fortunately, no one noticed them jumping down, save perhaps the humans and they weren't about to tell. They then directed their attention toward the Phantoms.
"Which one?" Telo asked.
Sari rolled her eyes at the question. "The closest one of course," she replied. "We do not have time to be choosy." Together they rushed forward toward the nearest Phantom, only stopping behind more cover when Sari felt they were at risk of being spotted. Sari noticed to her sorrow that she could only see half of the humans still fighting.
//Slipspace operations will commence in two minutes.\\
There was no time to mourn for them right now. Sari made a run for the Phantom, Telo lagging a couple of seconds behind her. She ran up the boarding platform, stopping just inside the doorway. Once Telo was in, she found the controls to the hatch and closed the door. "I hope you know how to fly this thing," she said.
"Of course, it is part of our training no matter what position we are in," Telo replied. "You do realize though that the moment I start this thing up the pirates will know what is going on…."
"We have no choice. Get this thing started. If we are lucky, any humans still alive will redirect the pirate's attention toward them."
Telo grunted as he sat down in the pilot's chair and started working on the console. "Provided that is, Kesi has not found out about the escape and halted the slipspace jump…."
"That we just heard an announcement suggests that either he has not or does not believe the humans will manage to escape," Sari craned her neck toward the Phantom's ceiling: over the sound of the Phantom starting up and the firefight outside, she believed she heard another announcement. "I think we just got our one minute warning."
"Tala said she would disable the shields just before the ship goes into slipspace…."
"Which could be just about now would it not?" Sari then jumped as something hit the aft hatch. "They know…."
"The door is locked, they will not get in."
"That is the first time I have heard you sound confident," Sari remarked as she took the co-pilot's seat, though she knew she would be of little help here.
"Wish I could feel it…," Telo muttered before saying. "Here we go…"
Sari gasped as the Phantom lurched forward, pressing her into her seat. She saw something flashing on Telo's console and a warning sound blared. On one of the view screens, she saw a bluish white light that was rapidly getting brighter and closer. Sari gripped the edges of her seat as Telo jerked the controls to the right, the light now replaced by the darkness of space.
"Oh no…," Telo said as more warning symbols popped up on his screen and warnings blared. "The wake of the portal is trying to suck us in!"
"Wha…what happens if we go into slipspace in this?"
"We die…," Telo said grimly, his mandibles tight as he fought to keep the Phantom away from the portal. "If…if we can keep away from it long enough for the Righteous Justice to enter it fully we should be fine…."
Sari looked at the view screen that showed what was to the right of the Phantom, seeing the massive bulk of the Righteous Justice slipping by, a bit too slowly for Sari's tastes. She glanced at what had to be the screen showing what was behind the vessel, seeing the bluish light of the portal filling it. "Can you not make this thing go faster or something?"
"Sari…I have already maxed out the engine on this. Any more and it may fail!"
Gulping nervously, hints of panic starting to cloud her mind, she stared at the right view screen. Finally, she saw the end of the Righteous Justice, but it seemed to be at standstill for a few heart pounding seconds. At last, the end of the Righteous Justice slipped by them and the resistance seemed to have lessened.
Before Sari and Telo could sigh with relief however, the portal itself showed it's displeasure at failing to capture them. Upon closing, a powerful shock wave shot out, which slammed into the vulnerable Phantom. The last thing Sari remembered before her head hit the console was her own scream….
"Anything?"
"No Shipmaster," came the response. "Our scanners are not picking up anything in this sector."
Rtas grunted in response: it was looking like Kesi wasn't going to be found in this system, but there were still a couple more sectors to check before moving on.
"Commander," Zeno piped up. "The Allegiance is hailing us, patching them through."
The Shipmaster nodded in acknowledgement and within moments Ambassador Johnson's voice graced their ears. -I am guessing you haven't picked up anything.- The Ambassador said, Rtas noting it was a statement and not a question.
"That much should be obvious," Rtas replied.
-Well I got some good news, or bad news depending on your point of view.-
"Spit it out and let us decide for our ourselves," Rtas grumbled.
-One of our fleets happened to send one of their sensor probes to this system and it picked up something about the size of the Righteous Justice,- Johnson said. –Unfortunately, it had left just moments before we arrived in the system.-
Beside himself, Rtas slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. "If it was that bastard, he likely detected the probe and fled like the coward he is!" he growled.
"So we likely just missed him…how typical," Zeno grumbled, looking disappointed.
-Hold on…,- There was a moment of silence as Johnson conversed with one of his crew. –The probe just reported something else. It's small though and in the area that other ship was last detected.-
"Could be anything Commander," Zeno cautioned, as he looked through the information he was just sent. "Could be anything from a piece of space junk to a small ship. It is located in a sector we have yet to inspect however."
Rtas mulled this over for a moment. "Any indication that this thing was there before the larger contact disappeared?"
There was another moment of silence as Johnson relayed the question. –Not as far as we know Shipmaster,- Johnson replied. –It is possible it was there before but not detected because of the larger contact masking it.-
The Shipmaster thought it over a few moments more. "Plot a course there," he announced. "But be ready for anything."
-Roger that. Allegiance out.-
As his crew put in the appropriate commands, Rtas' mind was working over the possibilities of this object the probe detected and the reasonable reactions to each possibility. As Zeno said, it could be anything.
Even a trap.
Captain Wilson didn't even try to struggle as a rather annoyed Kesi lifted him up by the neck, his remaining red eye glaring at him. He and the other three surviving humans hadn't expected to survive the firefight they got into, but they did and now he was envious of the four that perished. Now he had been taken to the bridge to answer to Kesi himself. "What did you hope to accomplish human?" the pirate leader growled. "You only succeeded in accelerating your own trips to our stomachs."
"Better to die fighting," Wilson spat. "Isn't that what you lizards believe in?"
"Do not mock me…vermin," Kesi growled. "You are nothing but food!"
"Shipmaster, what about the Phantom that left the hanger just as we entered slipspace?" one of his minions asked.
"Any humans that were piloting would not be a threat to us. A shame really to lose the nutrition they would have provided though…," Kesi said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, we can always get more…."
"But…Shipmaster…," the minion countered. "All the humans have been accounted for."
Wilson enjoyed the look of shock on Kesi's face when it sunk in. "Then…who was on the Phantom?"
"Shipmaster!" another of his lackeys came bursting into the room. "The medic is gone!"
This surprised Kesi so much that he dropped him, though Wilson didn't bother making a break for it. With his injuries, he wouldn't get far and he had no place to go anyway, not with the ship currently in slipspace. "Are you certain!?" Kesi growled.
"Yes Shipmaster, we searched the whole ship including the tunnels. That pale female is missing as well."
This really got Kesi's ire. "Why did you not tell me this sooner!"
"We tried Shipmaster," the minion backed away submissively. "But our communications are still on the fritz!"
Wilson watched as Kesi seemed to go through various emotions, though what many were he could not tell since he had yet to learn all of the Elite facial expressions. It was amusing anyway and made the pain and sacrifice he and his men go through worth it. "That's right lizard," he said smugly. "Those two were the ones in that Phantom: we just volunteered to be a distraction," Kesi snarled and grabbed him by the shirt, lifting him off the ground again: the fury on his face was evident. "What ya going to do about it one-eye?" Wilson mocked. "By the time you turn this bucket around and go back they'll be long gone…."
"We will see about that…," Kesi hissed, throwing him to the ground. "As soon as we exit slipspace we are to go back to our previous coordinates!" he barked.
"But Shipmaster…" one minion protested. "Surely by now someone has received that probes report and is on the way there…."
"I do not care!" Kesi snapped. "I will not let the Arbiter get her back! And that blasted Telo will wish he died with the rest of the old crew when I get my hands on him! And as for you!" Kesi rounded on Wilson. "I will be sure to save you for last! Perhaps I will not even bother killing you first...."
As he was taken back to the prison, Wilson sighed heavily. Now he really envied those that died in the fight.
A/N: Yes, another cliffhanger. I know you hate me for it ;)