Waiting For You, Chapter 6
Battle Royale
A/N: Thanks to those who have reviewed so far!
Rated R for Language
Gundam Wing AC is property of Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, and TV Asahi. You'll notice my name isn't part of that list.
Hannah rushed to the bridge, pushing all thoughts of Duo and Jack and the strange feeling she was getting out of her mind. She began barking orders to Mike and Eric the minute she walked onto the bridge.
"Hail them again, Mike. Eric, you try and get a fix on their identity, or at the very least, their fighting capacity." She sat down in her battered captain's chair and opened a line to the infirmary.
"Heero, are you still there?" She asked. There was a pause and then, "Yes."
"Good. Listen, we may have a problem here. I need you to get your ship off of mine. We can't maneuver with it connected."
"I'm going to the ship now." Heero replied.
"Mike, is the channel open?"
"Yeah, try it, Doc."
"This is Hannah Ryan, captain of the Ryouzai requesting identification." She said, drumming her fingers on the armrest.
There was nothing but silence from the other end.
"If you don't identify yourself, then we will have to assume that your intentions are hostile." Hannah said tensely.
No response. Mike terminated the connection with a scowl.
"Hannah, I have a fix on the make of the ships. They are first class AM-17 military cruisers, fully equipped for battle."
"Shit. Eric, what's our weapons situation like?" Hannah felt a familiar knot of fear growing in her belly.
"Bad. We have a couple hundred rounds of ammunition and three missiles."
She cursed again. "Mike, get a message to Shiro and tell him what's going on."
Hannah pressed another button and opened a connection to the engine room. "Ellen, it looks like we're going to be under attack."
She heard Ellen issue a long stream of expletives. "Doc, I'm not sure we can handle it. I've made most of the repairs, but they're just temporary patches until I can get better parts. I don't think we can manage a fight without blowing something major."
"There's nothing I can do about that, Ellen, just keep everything running as smoothly as you can."
"Right."
"Doc, the Preventer has detached itself from the ship." Mike said.
"Good."
Heero's voice hailed them. "I see three ships, all looked prepped and ready for a fight. But they don't look like official military crafts, more like old overhauled ones."
Hannah rubbed her forehead. "Thanks, Heero. We're going to do what we can here, but we could really use your help."
"No problem."
"What do we do now, Doc?" Mike asked tensely.
"We wait." She slouched down in her chair and frowned.
"Is there anything I can do?" A voice asked from the doorway. Hannah sat up and turned to see Duo standing there.
"What are you good at?" She asked.
"Everything." He gave her a cocky grin that she weakly returned.
"Go down to the engine room and see if Ellen needs help." Hannah said and turned back to the screen, where three ships hovered.
"Why are they just sitting there?" Eric asked anxiously.
"Probably waiting for orders." Hannah replied.
Heero's face popped up on the view screen. "I think they're powering up for an attack." He said, his expression neutral.
"Mike, power up the guns." Hannah said, her fingers digging into the battered plush of her chair.
"But Doc, we barely have a hundred rounds in each of them." Mike protested.
"Do they know that? Half the game is psychological." She replied, cutting him off.
Mike pressed his lips together to stop his retort and flipped a series of switches on the console in front of him.
Hannah opened a channel to the entire ship. "Attention all crew, the Ryouzai is under attack. All medical personnel, prepare to care for any wounded. Fire crews, get to your stations. Everyone else, if you've got a god, start praying to it."
"Doc, they're powering up the big guns." Mike said, his face draining of color. The intercom buzzed and he shot Hannah a puzzled look. "They're hailing us." He said.
"Put them on." Hannah replied uneasily.
"Attention Ryouzai." A voice boomed over the intercom.
"We serve a higher power, one that has an interest in restoring the old world order. To do that, we need the young woman you are currently hosting on your ship. If you give her up, no harm will come to you. If not, well, I think you can perhaps guess our intentions." No face flickered on the screen to match the voice.
Hannah frowned and bit her lip, drawing blood.
"I'm afraid I can't do that." She said, keeping her voice even.
"Are you sure? One life, for dozens?" The voice sneered.
"Well, when you put it like that." Hannah replied, "the answer is still no."
"Then we have no choice but to kill her and you."
"How clichéd." Hannah replied drolly.
She opened a line to the engine room. "We're about to put a lot of stress on this baby, can she handle it?"
"No." Ellen replied desperately.
"Right." Hannah sighed.
"Doc, they're firing at us!" Mike yelled.
"Shit! Eric, get us the fuck out of here!" Hannah barked.
Eric hit a series of buttons in rapid succession and then yanked hard on the steering column, sweat beading on his brow.
The Ryouzai made a horrible noise and lurched sickly to the left. Hannah gripped the arm rests of her chair and closed her eyes. The ship lurched again and then began moving in a smoother motion away from the missiles, which skimmed harmlessly out into space. Hannah opened her eyes and released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"They're not going to miss twice." She said brusquely. "Mike, fire on the leader." She opened a channel to Heero. "Heero, we're going to focus on the head ship, you do what you can with the rest." The young man nodded and cut the connection.
Explosions lit up the view screen as Mike's missiles hit their mark. The lead ship was severely damaged, but still managed to get off a few more shots. Eric dodged one, but the two others slammed into the ship. Everyone on the bridge was rattled and only Hannah managed to stay in her seat by virtue of her death grip on the armrests.
"Damage report!" Hannah barked.
Mike picked himself off the ground and read off the grim statistics to Hannah. "The cargo bay's been breached, the emergency doors are cutting it off from the rest of the ship. We've lost propulsion and there are fires on levels one and two. Damage is being reported on all levels. One is the hardest hit."
Hannah opened up the all-ship channel. "Attention! The cargo bay has been breached. There are fires on levels one and two. Emergency fire crews scramble immediately." She flipped another switch and called Ellen. "What's the status?" She asked anxiously.
"We've blown something, I can't tell what it is. Duo's working on restoring propulsion Power to engines four and five has been cut. I'm doing what I can." Ellen yelled into the communicator to be heard over the static and roar of the remaining engines.
"Doc! Ship number three is heading our way!" Mike bellowed.
"Do we have any ammunition left?" Hannah asked, hoping for a positive answer.
"No, we fired everything at the first ship." Mike replied, sounding somewhat desperate.
"Eric? Can we get out of here?" Hannah turned her attention to the navigator.
"Not without propulsion. And even if we had it, we'd put too much stress on the remaining engines and blow them." Eric ran a shaking hand through his sweaty hair.
Hannah slumped in her seat.
"Doc, they're powering up their guns." Mike said, his voice on the edge of panic.
The three people on the bridge watched in horror as the third ship fired several missiles at them. They were helpless.
Hannah closed her eyes, sweat beading on her forehead, praying to a god she had sworn off years earlier.
Several explosions lit up the screen like a Christmas tree. Hannah cracked open an eye and her jaw dropped in shock as she watched the enemy ship explode.
"What the hell just happened? Did we fire?" She asked, looking at Mike and Eric, who were both looking at her with dazed expressions.
"Ryouzai, this is Preventer 2, I think we made it just in time." Wufei Chang's voice crackled over the intercom.
Two different faces popped up on the screen. On the left, Heero Yuy mopped sweat off his brow. On the right, Wufei Chang smirked into the camera.
"I've taken care of ship two. What's the damage report?" Heero asked.
"Two engines are shot, propulsion is gone, the cargo bay's been breached and there are fires all over the ship." Hannah replied, still not quite believing her luck.
"Hmm." Wufei tapped his chin. "Maybe we could have gotten here sooner." He winced and his head bobbed forward as someone dealt him a vicious blow from behind.
"Ow! You crazy woman! What the hell was that for?" He turned around and snarled at his companion, ending the communication.
"Can you land with the ship in that condition?" Heero asked, not the least bit surprised or bothered by the outburst.
Hannah blinked a few times before she answered. "Probably not. With the cargo bay exposed, we'd go up like a Roman candle." She mused. "We'll have to do the repairs in space. But first, I'd like to get the hell out of here. I doubt that those ships were alone."
Heero nodded. "I'll dock the ship and see where I can be of assistance." He said and cut the connection.
Hannah sighed. "Mike, I'm going down to the engine room. Heero's going to re-dock, so go to the port and handle our end of it. When he gets on board, send him to the engine room. Eric, keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. The second we get power back, get us the fuck out of here. Make sure the other ship knows before you do anything, they're our guard. And send another message to Shiro." She rose from her seat and left the room in a hurry.
Chaos reigned throughout the ship. Crew members clad in firefighter's gear ran about, putting out fires while others immediately began repairing. The medical crew was busy treating the wounded, some of who looked very badly injured.
Hannah had no time to stop; she waved off the medical team members who approached her, asking for help. "I have to get down to the engine room, do what you can to stabilize them and take the worst cases to the infirmary. As soon as I talk to Ellen, I'll go down there." She ordered over her shoulder as she rushed by.
In the engine room, Ellen and Duo were covered with sweat, soot and cuts. Duo was inside a wall panel, rerouting several necessary connections while Ellen struggled with engines four and five.
"Ellen, I hate to put more pressure on you." Hannah began.
Ellen looked up from where she was re-soldering a wire and glared at her captain. "But?" She asked irritably.
"But we need to get out of here and soon. There's no telling when their reinforcements will arrive." Hannah replied anxiously.
Ellen sighed and nodded. "We're working as fast as we can." She said and gestured at where Duo's legs disappeared into the wall.
"I know.I know. Listen, Heero's on his way down, he'll help you. I've got to get back and help the med crew with the injured. Get this thing running as soon as possible, Ellen. We won't get a second chance." She patted her engineer on the shoulder and ran out the door to the infirmary, where she knew she had a long night ahead of her.
Battle Royale
A/N: Thanks to those who have reviewed so far!
Rated R for Language
Gundam Wing AC is property of Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, and TV Asahi. You'll notice my name isn't part of that list.
Hannah rushed to the bridge, pushing all thoughts of Duo and Jack and the strange feeling she was getting out of her mind. She began barking orders to Mike and Eric the minute she walked onto the bridge.
"Hail them again, Mike. Eric, you try and get a fix on their identity, or at the very least, their fighting capacity." She sat down in her battered captain's chair and opened a line to the infirmary.
"Heero, are you still there?" She asked. There was a pause and then, "Yes."
"Good. Listen, we may have a problem here. I need you to get your ship off of mine. We can't maneuver with it connected."
"I'm going to the ship now." Heero replied.
"Mike, is the channel open?"
"Yeah, try it, Doc."
"This is Hannah Ryan, captain of the Ryouzai requesting identification." She said, drumming her fingers on the armrest.
There was nothing but silence from the other end.
"If you don't identify yourself, then we will have to assume that your intentions are hostile." Hannah said tensely.
No response. Mike terminated the connection with a scowl.
"Hannah, I have a fix on the make of the ships. They are first class AM-17 military cruisers, fully equipped for battle."
"Shit. Eric, what's our weapons situation like?" Hannah felt a familiar knot of fear growing in her belly.
"Bad. We have a couple hundred rounds of ammunition and three missiles."
She cursed again. "Mike, get a message to Shiro and tell him what's going on."
Hannah pressed another button and opened a connection to the engine room. "Ellen, it looks like we're going to be under attack."
She heard Ellen issue a long stream of expletives. "Doc, I'm not sure we can handle it. I've made most of the repairs, but they're just temporary patches until I can get better parts. I don't think we can manage a fight without blowing something major."
"There's nothing I can do about that, Ellen, just keep everything running as smoothly as you can."
"Right."
"Doc, the Preventer has detached itself from the ship." Mike said.
"Good."
Heero's voice hailed them. "I see three ships, all looked prepped and ready for a fight. But they don't look like official military crafts, more like old overhauled ones."
Hannah rubbed her forehead. "Thanks, Heero. We're going to do what we can here, but we could really use your help."
"No problem."
"What do we do now, Doc?" Mike asked tensely.
"We wait." She slouched down in her chair and frowned.
"Is there anything I can do?" A voice asked from the doorway. Hannah sat up and turned to see Duo standing there.
"What are you good at?" She asked.
"Everything." He gave her a cocky grin that she weakly returned.
"Go down to the engine room and see if Ellen needs help." Hannah said and turned back to the screen, where three ships hovered.
"Why are they just sitting there?" Eric asked anxiously.
"Probably waiting for orders." Hannah replied.
Heero's face popped up on the view screen. "I think they're powering up for an attack." He said, his expression neutral.
"Mike, power up the guns." Hannah said, her fingers digging into the battered plush of her chair.
"But Doc, we barely have a hundred rounds in each of them." Mike protested.
"Do they know that? Half the game is psychological." She replied, cutting him off.
Mike pressed his lips together to stop his retort and flipped a series of switches on the console in front of him.
Hannah opened a channel to the entire ship. "Attention all crew, the Ryouzai is under attack. All medical personnel, prepare to care for any wounded. Fire crews, get to your stations. Everyone else, if you've got a god, start praying to it."
"Doc, they're powering up the big guns." Mike said, his face draining of color. The intercom buzzed and he shot Hannah a puzzled look. "They're hailing us." He said.
"Put them on." Hannah replied uneasily.
"Attention Ryouzai." A voice boomed over the intercom.
"We serve a higher power, one that has an interest in restoring the old world order. To do that, we need the young woman you are currently hosting on your ship. If you give her up, no harm will come to you. If not, well, I think you can perhaps guess our intentions." No face flickered on the screen to match the voice.
Hannah frowned and bit her lip, drawing blood.
"I'm afraid I can't do that." She said, keeping her voice even.
"Are you sure? One life, for dozens?" The voice sneered.
"Well, when you put it like that." Hannah replied, "the answer is still no."
"Then we have no choice but to kill her and you."
"How clichéd." Hannah replied drolly.
She opened a line to the engine room. "We're about to put a lot of stress on this baby, can she handle it?"
"No." Ellen replied desperately.
"Right." Hannah sighed.
"Doc, they're firing at us!" Mike yelled.
"Shit! Eric, get us the fuck out of here!" Hannah barked.
Eric hit a series of buttons in rapid succession and then yanked hard on the steering column, sweat beading on his brow.
The Ryouzai made a horrible noise and lurched sickly to the left. Hannah gripped the arm rests of her chair and closed her eyes. The ship lurched again and then began moving in a smoother motion away from the missiles, which skimmed harmlessly out into space. Hannah opened her eyes and released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"They're not going to miss twice." She said brusquely. "Mike, fire on the leader." She opened a channel to Heero. "Heero, we're going to focus on the head ship, you do what you can with the rest." The young man nodded and cut the connection.
Explosions lit up the view screen as Mike's missiles hit their mark. The lead ship was severely damaged, but still managed to get off a few more shots. Eric dodged one, but the two others slammed into the ship. Everyone on the bridge was rattled and only Hannah managed to stay in her seat by virtue of her death grip on the armrests.
"Damage report!" Hannah barked.
Mike picked himself off the ground and read off the grim statistics to Hannah. "The cargo bay's been breached, the emergency doors are cutting it off from the rest of the ship. We've lost propulsion and there are fires on levels one and two. Damage is being reported on all levels. One is the hardest hit."
Hannah opened up the all-ship channel. "Attention! The cargo bay has been breached. There are fires on levels one and two. Emergency fire crews scramble immediately." She flipped another switch and called Ellen. "What's the status?" She asked anxiously.
"We've blown something, I can't tell what it is. Duo's working on restoring propulsion Power to engines four and five has been cut. I'm doing what I can." Ellen yelled into the communicator to be heard over the static and roar of the remaining engines.
"Doc! Ship number three is heading our way!" Mike bellowed.
"Do we have any ammunition left?" Hannah asked, hoping for a positive answer.
"No, we fired everything at the first ship." Mike replied, sounding somewhat desperate.
"Eric? Can we get out of here?" Hannah turned her attention to the navigator.
"Not without propulsion. And even if we had it, we'd put too much stress on the remaining engines and blow them." Eric ran a shaking hand through his sweaty hair.
Hannah slumped in her seat.
"Doc, they're powering up their guns." Mike said, his voice on the edge of panic.
The three people on the bridge watched in horror as the third ship fired several missiles at them. They were helpless.
Hannah closed her eyes, sweat beading on her forehead, praying to a god she had sworn off years earlier.
Several explosions lit up the screen like a Christmas tree. Hannah cracked open an eye and her jaw dropped in shock as she watched the enemy ship explode.
"What the hell just happened? Did we fire?" She asked, looking at Mike and Eric, who were both looking at her with dazed expressions.
"Ryouzai, this is Preventer 2, I think we made it just in time." Wufei Chang's voice crackled over the intercom.
Two different faces popped up on the screen. On the left, Heero Yuy mopped sweat off his brow. On the right, Wufei Chang smirked into the camera.
"I've taken care of ship two. What's the damage report?" Heero asked.
"Two engines are shot, propulsion is gone, the cargo bay's been breached and there are fires all over the ship." Hannah replied, still not quite believing her luck.
"Hmm." Wufei tapped his chin. "Maybe we could have gotten here sooner." He winced and his head bobbed forward as someone dealt him a vicious blow from behind.
"Ow! You crazy woman! What the hell was that for?" He turned around and snarled at his companion, ending the communication.
"Can you land with the ship in that condition?" Heero asked, not the least bit surprised or bothered by the outburst.
Hannah blinked a few times before she answered. "Probably not. With the cargo bay exposed, we'd go up like a Roman candle." She mused. "We'll have to do the repairs in space. But first, I'd like to get the hell out of here. I doubt that those ships were alone."
Heero nodded. "I'll dock the ship and see where I can be of assistance." He said and cut the connection.
Hannah sighed. "Mike, I'm going down to the engine room. Heero's going to re-dock, so go to the port and handle our end of it. When he gets on board, send him to the engine room. Eric, keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. The second we get power back, get us the fuck out of here. Make sure the other ship knows before you do anything, they're our guard. And send another message to Shiro." She rose from her seat and left the room in a hurry.
Chaos reigned throughout the ship. Crew members clad in firefighter's gear ran about, putting out fires while others immediately began repairing. The medical crew was busy treating the wounded, some of who looked very badly injured.
Hannah had no time to stop; she waved off the medical team members who approached her, asking for help. "I have to get down to the engine room, do what you can to stabilize them and take the worst cases to the infirmary. As soon as I talk to Ellen, I'll go down there." She ordered over her shoulder as she rushed by.
In the engine room, Ellen and Duo were covered with sweat, soot and cuts. Duo was inside a wall panel, rerouting several necessary connections while Ellen struggled with engines four and five.
"Ellen, I hate to put more pressure on you." Hannah began.
Ellen looked up from where she was re-soldering a wire and glared at her captain. "But?" She asked irritably.
"But we need to get out of here and soon. There's no telling when their reinforcements will arrive." Hannah replied anxiously.
Ellen sighed and nodded. "We're working as fast as we can." She said and gestured at where Duo's legs disappeared into the wall.
"I know.I know. Listen, Heero's on his way down, he'll help you. I've got to get back and help the med crew with the injured. Get this thing running as soon as possible, Ellen. We won't get a second chance." She patted her engineer on the shoulder and ran out the door to the infirmary, where she knew she had a long night ahead of her.