THE AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, MIND-BOGGLING ADVENTURES OF TABLE-HEADED SERVICE DRONE BOB!
Part Twenty-five: Hostile takeover
Darkness. That was all Bob could see. Oddly enough he was fully conscious at the time. He could see his future laid out in front of him: stuck forgotten and alone in a cell on some research planet, lying in space with a laser wound in his head, either way it would be to the tune of collapsing stars. And the bleakest thing about it was that there'd be no one left who really cared about him. Because he had killed both of them.
This bleak mood suited Larb fine, at least he'd be easy to transport. But his priority for the moment was getting Bob into a ship and getting out of there. Not easy when there seemed to be a heavily-armoured Planet Jacker soldier every ten yards, and all of them specifically searching for him. He clambered out of yet another air duct to find that he was now in one of those heavy-duty elevator shafts. An elevator was descending from the command centre towards his level. He hid back in the air duct but managed to catch a glimpse of the elevator's inhabitants, a brigade of heavily armoured Planet Jackers, and among them an Irken scientist, sticking out like a sore thumb.
"THAT BASTARD AND HIS PINT-SIZE SUPER WEAPON HAVE GOT TO BE ON THIS LEVEL SOMEWHERE!!" Crag yelled from irritation, "FIND THEM!!" Crag was leading the search effort himself, so he was definitely getting desperate. All but three of the Planet Jackers left the elevator. But shortly after the gate shut a shrill cry came from a radio on Crag's person. "WHAT!!" he yelled into it.
"Sir,did you order a change in course?" the voice on the radio asked.
"No, why?" Crag queried back into the radio.
"Because we appear to be turning around into the interior of the star system," the radio informed, "but you didn't order it?"
"No, there's no one..." waves of realisation swept over Crag, "there's no one in the command centre! GET THIS THING BACK UP!" THOSE GUNSHOTS WERE JUST A DIVERSION!!" Crag shut off the radio and a Planet Jacker moved over to the switch panel.
"Tek," Larb muttered out-of-hand. Bob returned from his feeling of bleakness at hearing that name, summoning up as much rage and hate as he thought he could muster. The elevator began it's ascent, and Larb decided to grab onto a railing on the elevator's underside. "Going up!" said Larb. He couldn't help himself. The elevator eventually stopped and Larb climbed out into an adjoining air duct. He caught a glimpse of the Planet Jackers crowding round a door.
"It won't open sir!" declared one of the Planet Jackers, "Someone's locked it from the other side and the controls are fried!"
"GET THAT DOOR OPEN!" ordered Crag, "GET IT OPEN OR I'LL HAVE YOU ALL SHOT!" Larb winced.
"He never had much nerve," Larb said to himself. He continued along the air duct. Seeing as this was the hub of the ship, there should be plenty of...yes! There was an unoccupied escape pod right in front of him. He clambered onto the pod, dragging Bob with him. But Bob was not in the state to just get out of here. Chak was dead, and if he could pin responsibility on anyone but himself, it had to be Tek. She drove Chak over the edge, and if love motivated anything in Bob, it was the will for revenge. Just as Larb hit the escape switch, Bob leaped out of the pod.
"Hey! BOB! NO!" Larb yelled as the door closed on his project, victory rapidly slipping from his grasp, "NOOO! NO! NO! SHIT! MOTHERFUCKING...NO!" Larb sent a shot from his gun into the door to make it open again, then threw the gun at it, then pounded on the door to will it open again. His goal, so close to completion, had now closed on him like the sealed door between him and Bob. Larb screamed and cursed at the door, spiting it out of pure venom, when a sudden jerk from the pod indicated something was wrong. ESCAPE POD LOCKED flashed on a nearby monitor. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Part Twenty-five: Hostile takeover
Darkness. That was all Bob could see. Oddly enough he was fully conscious at the time. He could see his future laid out in front of him: stuck forgotten and alone in a cell on some research planet, lying in space with a laser wound in his head, either way it would be to the tune of collapsing stars. And the bleakest thing about it was that there'd be no one left who really cared about him. Because he had killed both of them.
This bleak mood suited Larb fine, at least he'd be easy to transport. But his priority for the moment was getting Bob into a ship and getting out of there. Not easy when there seemed to be a heavily-armoured Planet Jacker soldier every ten yards, and all of them specifically searching for him. He clambered out of yet another air duct to find that he was now in one of those heavy-duty elevator shafts. An elevator was descending from the command centre towards his level. He hid back in the air duct but managed to catch a glimpse of the elevator's inhabitants, a brigade of heavily armoured Planet Jackers, and among them an Irken scientist, sticking out like a sore thumb.
"THAT BASTARD AND HIS PINT-SIZE SUPER WEAPON HAVE GOT TO BE ON THIS LEVEL SOMEWHERE!!" Crag yelled from irritation, "FIND THEM!!" Crag was leading the search effort himself, so he was definitely getting desperate. All but three of the Planet Jackers left the elevator. But shortly after the gate shut a shrill cry came from a radio on Crag's person. "WHAT!!" he yelled into it.
"Sir,did you order a change in course?" the voice on the radio asked.
"No, why?" Crag queried back into the radio.
"Because we appear to be turning around into the interior of the star system," the radio informed, "but you didn't order it?"
"No, there's no one..." waves of realisation swept over Crag, "there's no one in the command centre! GET THIS THING BACK UP!" THOSE GUNSHOTS WERE JUST A DIVERSION!!" Crag shut off the radio and a Planet Jacker moved over to the switch panel.
"Tek," Larb muttered out-of-hand. Bob returned from his feeling of bleakness at hearing that name, summoning up as much rage and hate as he thought he could muster. The elevator began it's ascent, and Larb decided to grab onto a railing on the elevator's underside. "Going up!" said Larb. He couldn't help himself. The elevator eventually stopped and Larb climbed out into an adjoining air duct. He caught a glimpse of the Planet Jackers crowding round a door.
"It won't open sir!" declared one of the Planet Jackers, "Someone's locked it from the other side and the controls are fried!"
"GET THAT DOOR OPEN!" ordered Crag, "GET IT OPEN OR I'LL HAVE YOU ALL SHOT!" Larb winced.
"He never had much nerve," Larb said to himself. He continued along the air duct. Seeing as this was the hub of the ship, there should be plenty of...yes! There was an unoccupied escape pod right in front of him. He clambered onto the pod, dragging Bob with him. But Bob was not in the state to just get out of here. Chak was dead, and if he could pin responsibility on anyone but himself, it had to be Tek. She drove Chak over the edge, and if love motivated anything in Bob, it was the will for revenge. Just as Larb hit the escape switch, Bob leaped out of the pod.
"Hey! BOB! NO!" Larb yelled as the door closed on his project, victory rapidly slipping from his grasp, "NOOO! NO! NO! SHIT! MOTHERFUCKING...NO!" Larb sent a shot from his gun into the door to make it open again, then threw the gun at it, then pounded on the door to will it open again. His goal, so close to completion, had now closed on him like the sealed door between him and Bob. Larb screamed and cursed at the door, spiting it out of pure venom, when a sudden jerk from the pod indicated something was wrong. ESCAPE POD LOCKED flashed on a nearby monitor. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon...
TO BE CONTINUED...