Chapter 6
It was two hours later that the yacht was finished. Liriel had spent that time in the lounge room, studying her spell book. A curious spell had held her attention for the last half hour, one that could turn anything within thirty feet of the spellcaster to ash. A voice interrupted her concentration, and deciding to take a break, Liriel turned to the speaker.
"They finished putting the engines together," Yen'rathe announced. "We'll be able to leave once they've tested them."
"How long will that take?"
"Only another half hour."
Derek came in then, yelling in his high pitched voice, "Uncle Yen'rathe! Can I start the engines!? CanIcanIcanI?"
"Sure! Let's go!"
Liriel followed the two, forgetting about the spell for the moment. The engine room was packed with workers, and the three had to push their way through to the front. Jan was there waiting for them.
"Your keys," he made a mock bow and handed Yen'rathe a silvery keychain. The control console had been converted into a large touch screen, and an emergency stop button and the key slot were to the side of it.
"Are they all ready to go?" he asked Jan. "If they blow, it's your fault you know."
"They're not gonna blow."
The engines themselves looked completely different. A turbocharger sat at the right side of each engine, and various test wires and hoses were plugged in at different points.
Yen'rathe handed the keys to Derek who eagerly stuck them in the slot, pausing to straighten his glasses, and turned them. Nothing happened, except for a slight buzzing noise coming from the cylinders. Then the engines turned over without warning, revving up high, then coming back to a low idle at 400 RPM. Derek tapped "HALF" on the screen, and the RPM soared up to 1500. The turbochargers came on at this speed, and a high pitched whistle filled the room. "FULL" brought the RPM to 3000.
Yen'rathe hand signaled to Jan, "What kind of results are we getting?"
Jan gave him a confused look and signaled back, "My screen's blank, better shut them down."
Yen'rathe reached for the touch screen, but stopped as the screen went blank and the lights went out. The engines shuddered as the power was cut, and a siren went off in the maintenance bay.
"What the hell happened?" Jan yelled as everyone emptied out of the engine room. The maintenance bay was without power as well, and slow blinking red lights were the only illumination.
"Liriel! Yen'rathe!" came a call from the maintenance deck. Both looked down and saw Fyodor waving to them. "Are you all right?" he yelled.
"We're fine!"
An engineer ran up to Jan, fear clearly etched on his face. "We have a problem."
"What?"
"What has happened can't have been a coincidence. Someone drained the reactor, jammed the control rods, and we have a meltdown estimated in twenty minutes."
"A MELTDOWN!?"
"There's nothing we can do about it. We need to evacuate."
"Are there enough boats to get everyone off this station?" Yen'rathe cut in. "I can take some on mine."
"Good," Jan sighed, "Lets get them loaded up." He pulled a radio from his belt and tapped a button.
A computerized voice came over the station speakers then. "Attention, due to serious emergencies, this station is being evacuated. Hotel guests, please go to section 2B on the base level. Base level personnel, please go section 2C. First level personnel, please go to section 7A." The voice continued up to level five, then stopped.
Everyone came flooding in to their assigned areas just minutes later, rushing to get to their escape boats. Yen'rathe's yacht soon became packed with passengers, with more still piling on.
"How much time Jan?" Yen'rathe yelled as he started the engines again.
"Seven minutes!"
Jan ran to the maintenance bay control console and opened the main bay doors. "Shit, wait Yen'rathe!"
While Jan had been opening the doors, the yacht had begun sliding back on the frame that held it. "Jan!" Liriel yelled. She threw down a rope and yelled, "Grab on!"
Jan made a desperate grab as the Yacht slid back into the water. Failing, he slipped and splashed into the water. Liriel acted quickly and put her thumbs and forefingers together. Muttering an incantation, she pulled her fingers apart, creating a portal out of thin air. She reached in and yanked Jan through. The soaked half-elf sat on the deck and coughed the water out of his lungs, giving Liriel a smile.
"Nice trick!" he commented.
Liriel shrugged. "It comes in handy."
***
Sorry, know the chapters are a little short and end kind of at odd places but to tell the truth I'm not the best writer so bear with me. Anyway, in between school and work I will try my best to update often so check back and review when you get the chance!
It was two hours later that the yacht was finished. Liriel had spent that time in the lounge room, studying her spell book. A curious spell had held her attention for the last half hour, one that could turn anything within thirty feet of the spellcaster to ash. A voice interrupted her concentration, and deciding to take a break, Liriel turned to the speaker.
"They finished putting the engines together," Yen'rathe announced. "We'll be able to leave once they've tested them."
"How long will that take?"
"Only another half hour."
Derek came in then, yelling in his high pitched voice, "Uncle Yen'rathe! Can I start the engines!? CanIcanIcanI?"
"Sure! Let's go!"
Liriel followed the two, forgetting about the spell for the moment. The engine room was packed with workers, and the three had to push their way through to the front. Jan was there waiting for them.
"Your keys," he made a mock bow and handed Yen'rathe a silvery keychain. The control console had been converted into a large touch screen, and an emergency stop button and the key slot were to the side of it.
"Are they all ready to go?" he asked Jan. "If they blow, it's your fault you know."
"They're not gonna blow."
The engines themselves looked completely different. A turbocharger sat at the right side of each engine, and various test wires and hoses were plugged in at different points.
Yen'rathe handed the keys to Derek who eagerly stuck them in the slot, pausing to straighten his glasses, and turned them. Nothing happened, except for a slight buzzing noise coming from the cylinders. Then the engines turned over without warning, revving up high, then coming back to a low idle at 400 RPM. Derek tapped "HALF" on the screen, and the RPM soared up to 1500. The turbochargers came on at this speed, and a high pitched whistle filled the room. "FULL" brought the RPM to 3000.
Yen'rathe hand signaled to Jan, "What kind of results are we getting?"
Jan gave him a confused look and signaled back, "My screen's blank, better shut them down."
Yen'rathe reached for the touch screen, but stopped as the screen went blank and the lights went out. The engines shuddered as the power was cut, and a siren went off in the maintenance bay.
"What the hell happened?" Jan yelled as everyone emptied out of the engine room. The maintenance bay was without power as well, and slow blinking red lights were the only illumination.
"Liriel! Yen'rathe!" came a call from the maintenance deck. Both looked down and saw Fyodor waving to them. "Are you all right?" he yelled.
"We're fine!"
An engineer ran up to Jan, fear clearly etched on his face. "We have a problem."
"What?"
"What has happened can't have been a coincidence. Someone drained the reactor, jammed the control rods, and we have a meltdown estimated in twenty minutes."
"A MELTDOWN!?"
"There's nothing we can do about it. We need to evacuate."
"Are there enough boats to get everyone off this station?" Yen'rathe cut in. "I can take some on mine."
"Good," Jan sighed, "Lets get them loaded up." He pulled a radio from his belt and tapped a button.
A computerized voice came over the station speakers then. "Attention, due to serious emergencies, this station is being evacuated. Hotel guests, please go to section 2B on the base level. Base level personnel, please go section 2C. First level personnel, please go to section 7A." The voice continued up to level five, then stopped.
Everyone came flooding in to their assigned areas just minutes later, rushing to get to their escape boats. Yen'rathe's yacht soon became packed with passengers, with more still piling on.
"How much time Jan?" Yen'rathe yelled as he started the engines again.
"Seven minutes!"
Jan ran to the maintenance bay control console and opened the main bay doors. "Shit, wait Yen'rathe!"
While Jan had been opening the doors, the yacht had begun sliding back on the frame that held it. "Jan!" Liriel yelled. She threw down a rope and yelled, "Grab on!"
Jan made a desperate grab as the Yacht slid back into the water. Failing, he slipped and splashed into the water. Liriel acted quickly and put her thumbs and forefingers together. Muttering an incantation, she pulled her fingers apart, creating a portal out of thin air. She reached in and yanked Jan through. The soaked half-elf sat on the deck and coughed the water out of his lungs, giving Liriel a smile.
"Nice trick!" he commented.
Liriel shrugged. "It comes in handy."
***
Sorry, know the chapters are a little short and end kind of at odd places but to tell the truth I'm not the best writer so bear with me. Anyway, in between school and work I will try my best to update often so check back and review when you get the chance!