Right, thanks to all reviewers once again, and the replies are at the end of the chapter as per usual.
Chapter 20: Senseless senses
I woke, barely, to find myself sprawled across the floor with a sharp pain in my throat, my lungs deprived off oxygen, fear, confussion and weariness still lingering within some indeterminable section of my cranium, another sharp pain in my left leg, and no feeling in my right leg.
I twisted my head around me, at first the only things I could make out were the fizzing corpses of deceased sentinels, they were everywhere. At first I thought that someone of the Hammer had been luckier with the EMP then we had been. Then my blurry vision improved somewhat and I noticed that these sentinels hadn't been disabled by EMP; they'd been clawed to death.
Most of the corpses were missing half a head. Some looked like they'd been smashed into the wall; others looked like they'd been crudely ripped in half. Wiring and metallic fragments littered the deck plating; I soon saw that several f these metallic fragments had embedded themselves in my right leg, which made a habit of reminding me that it was injured every time I tried to move.
It took me a while to prop myself up against the wall, on the far side of the room I noticed Sparks, unconscious in his gunnery chair, his arms dangled at his sides, his head was tilted back, giving me a good view of his forehead and nose, blood dripped from his face, I was too far away to see if he was breathing or not. Ghost was nowhere to be seen.
"Captain!" I screamed at the pilot's compartment, I couldn't get a good look inside from where I was standing. My guess was that everyone but me was dead, and that the sentinels had decided to do me a favour by killing themselves. An unlikely occurrence but I didn't have any better theories at the time.
There was no answer from the pilot's compartment. I began preparing myself for yet more pain and tried to edge my way towards the operator's station, maybe, I thought, someone on the Hammer was still alive, a task that was easier said that done considering I had to crawl across the entire deck and then down a ladder with two fucked up legs.
I barely made it five meters before I heard the whirring I had come to associate with sentinels in flight.
Panic exploded in my head, I flicked my head from side to side in the hopes of finding something to incinerate of bash it to death with, again, no luck. I tried to increase my pace but my legs refused to work, in the end, I think I just accepted the fact that I was going to die; soon.
Or so I thought.
The sentinel crawled through the hole in the ceiling, it surprised me how it kept getting stuck and having to pull away more deck plating, I would have expected better from an A.I. Anyway, the beast came through the hole, it didn't take it long to find me. My mouth formed an expression that was somewhere between a grin and a resentful smirk, and I waited for the machine to tear me to ribbons or do whatever it was planning to do.
The whirring suddenly became louder, I didn't notice it at first, I was too busy trying to hastily say goodbye to everyone I wanted to, the list was surprisingly short. And to be honest, I got distracted after a few seconds by the fact that I never got to exact vengeance on the 'Ascended Ones'.
Seeing the second sentinel come through the roof was a startling sight, for the first sentinel as well as me I'd guess. The second machine buried its claws into the first sentinel, smashing away the casing and wreaking havoc with its innards, before pulling away something that looked like a mix between a small black cube and an engine from a car. The machine, what was left of it, fell to the floor with an almost deafening cluck.
The first sentinel turned to stare at me, and I wondered briefly, one, why it had killed its companion obviously, two, whether it had done so because it wanted to kill me itself. My knowledge of sentinel psychology was, and still is, somewhat limited.
Instead, the beast gently grasped my limbs with its 'arms', and slowly lifted me into the air. Another sentinel was tearing away even more deck plating, no doubt so as to create a hole that I could fit through.
The pain was negligible, the sentinel was careful to avoid bashing into anything or making any sudden movements. Through the confussion and lingering traces of fear, an awkward part of my brain remembered common courtesy
"Thanks." I said somewhat wearily.
What I saw next was, for lack of a better word, odd.
There was a huge cloud of sentinels hovering about fifty meters away from us. They all seemed to be clawing at scratching at each other, occasionally; some fell to the tunnel's floor. Some even retreated. These were soon chased down and ripped to shreds however.
"What the fuck?" I murmured through the awe and surprise.
The sentinel increased its pace somewhat and carried me in the opposite direction to the battle zone. I was somewhat relieved to see more sentinels entering the Logos, since I was too battered and confused to use rational thought, I told myself that they were going to pick up Sparks and Niobe, (assuming that they hadn't done so already,) and deliver them safely to some magical place with painkillers and daffodils. Or failing that, Zion. I didn't really believe this, it was just a hopeful daydream.
To be continued
Something of a short one I know, the next one will be longer, trust me.
Right, now to the replying:
Angel-of-Lightness/Naz/fwllbart person/ (The same only with the correct spelling) person: I considered telling the sentinels what you said in your last review, and then it occurred to me that I couldn't. Anyway, thanks for reviewing this and 'To War'. I should probably think up a less cheesy title for that fic.
Agent Josie: I'm guessing that by this time you have recovered and all is right with your digestive system. If it isn't then get well soon. If it is then, um, hooray! In either case, thanks for reviewing.
Tai Wilson: That seems about right, cliffhanger wise. Saying that I'll probably wind up using hundreds of the things and alienating all fans. Oh well, thanks for reviewing. Glad you enjoyed Alabama.
Chapter 20: Senseless senses
I woke, barely, to find myself sprawled across the floor with a sharp pain in my throat, my lungs deprived off oxygen, fear, confussion and weariness still lingering within some indeterminable section of my cranium, another sharp pain in my left leg, and no feeling in my right leg.
I twisted my head around me, at first the only things I could make out were the fizzing corpses of deceased sentinels, they were everywhere. At first I thought that someone of the Hammer had been luckier with the EMP then we had been. Then my blurry vision improved somewhat and I noticed that these sentinels hadn't been disabled by EMP; they'd been clawed to death.
Most of the corpses were missing half a head. Some looked like they'd been smashed into the wall; others looked like they'd been crudely ripped in half. Wiring and metallic fragments littered the deck plating; I soon saw that several f these metallic fragments had embedded themselves in my right leg, which made a habit of reminding me that it was injured every time I tried to move.
It took me a while to prop myself up against the wall, on the far side of the room I noticed Sparks, unconscious in his gunnery chair, his arms dangled at his sides, his head was tilted back, giving me a good view of his forehead and nose, blood dripped from his face, I was too far away to see if he was breathing or not. Ghost was nowhere to be seen.
"Captain!" I screamed at the pilot's compartment, I couldn't get a good look inside from where I was standing. My guess was that everyone but me was dead, and that the sentinels had decided to do me a favour by killing themselves. An unlikely occurrence but I didn't have any better theories at the time.
There was no answer from the pilot's compartment. I began preparing myself for yet more pain and tried to edge my way towards the operator's station, maybe, I thought, someone on the Hammer was still alive, a task that was easier said that done considering I had to crawl across the entire deck and then down a ladder with two fucked up legs.
I barely made it five meters before I heard the whirring I had come to associate with sentinels in flight.
Panic exploded in my head, I flicked my head from side to side in the hopes of finding something to incinerate of bash it to death with, again, no luck. I tried to increase my pace but my legs refused to work, in the end, I think I just accepted the fact that I was going to die; soon.
Or so I thought.
The sentinel crawled through the hole in the ceiling, it surprised me how it kept getting stuck and having to pull away more deck plating, I would have expected better from an A.I. Anyway, the beast came through the hole, it didn't take it long to find me. My mouth formed an expression that was somewhere between a grin and a resentful smirk, and I waited for the machine to tear me to ribbons or do whatever it was planning to do.
The whirring suddenly became louder, I didn't notice it at first, I was too busy trying to hastily say goodbye to everyone I wanted to, the list was surprisingly short. And to be honest, I got distracted after a few seconds by the fact that I never got to exact vengeance on the 'Ascended Ones'.
Seeing the second sentinel come through the roof was a startling sight, for the first sentinel as well as me I'd guess. The second machine buried its claws into the first sentinel, smashing away the casing and wreaking havoc with its innards, before pulling away something that looked like a mix between a small black cube and an engine from a car. The machine, what was left of it, fell to the floor with an almost deafening cluck.
The first sentinel turned to stare at me, and I wondered briefly, one, why it had killed its companion obviously, two, whether it had done so because it wanted to kill me itself. My knowledge of sentinel psychology was, and still is, somewhat limited.
Instead, the beast gently grasped my limbs with its 'arms', and slowly lifted me into the air. Another sentinel was tearing away even more deck plating, no doubt so as to create a hole that I could fit through.
The pain was negligible, the sentinel was careful to avoid bashing into anything or making any sudden movements. Through the confussion and lingering traces of fear, an awkward part of my brain remembered common courtesy
"Thanks." I said somewhat wearily.
What I saw next was, for lack of a better word, odd.
There was a huge cloud of sentinels hovering about fifty meters away from us. They all seemed to be clawing at scratching at each other, occasionally; some fell to the tunnel's floor. Some even retreated. These were soon chased down and ripped to shreds however.
"What the fuck?" I murmured through the awe and surprise.
The sentinel increased its pace somewhat and carried me in the opposite direction to the battle zone. I was somewhat relieved to see more sentinels entering the Logos, since I was too battered and confused to use rational thought, I told myself that they were going to pick up Sparks and Niobe, (assuming that they hadn't done so already,) and deliver them safely to some magical place with painkillers and daffodils. Or failing that, Zion. I didn't really believe this, it was just a hopeful daydream.
To be continued
Something of a short one I know, the next one will be longer, trust me.
Right, now to the replying:
Angel-of-Lightness/Naz/fwllbart person/ (The same only with the correct spelling) person: I considered telling the sentinels what you said in your last review, and then it occurred to me that I couldn't. Anyway, thanks for reviewing this and 'To War'. I should probably think up a less cheesy title for that fic.
Agent Josie: I'm guessing that by this time you have recovered and all is right with your digestive system. If it isn't then get well soon. If it is then, um, hooray! In either case, thanks for reviewing.
Tai Wilson: That seems about right, cliffhanger wise. Saying that I'll probably wind up using hundreds of the things and alienating all fans. Oh well, thanks for reviewing. Glad you enjoyed Alabama.