I had been beamed up; the dart had managed to capture me. The Wraith cell I found myself in was large and empty; I seemed to have been the only member of the attack squad that had been captured. At least I would be the only one to face the horrific death that was laid out for me.
The cell door was of a strange construction; it was almost like a spiders web, intricately spun across the doorway but when I tried to break it, it seemed as strong as steel.
I felt the ship jolt heavily. The Virtue was obviously holding it's own.
Feeling for my weapon, I realised I was disarmed and things had just gotten worse; from the end of the hallway I could hear a Wraith patrol coming towards the cell. I needed a plan.
The door seemed to unwrap and unfold, leaving the doorway clear. Two nightmarish Wraith entered and walked into the centre of the cell.
They were clearly bemused as to where I was. I looked down at them and noticed they were not armed. Could I successfully escape? If I waited much longer they would leave and lock the door once more. I couldn't allow myself to rot in this cell.
Lucas was relying on me to survive; pilots were a commodity we were running short of and my Jumper would cost us greatly.
Each pilot we lost would cost us 3 fuel containers and if we lost 6 Jumper's worth of fuel we would be forced to make another stop. That would kill us.
I saw the first Wraith turn towards the door and walk out. Soon after the other turned, expecting her to leave the cell, I was shocked when she looked directly above her and saw me.
She shouted to the other Wraith who quickly returned to the cell.
"You cannot stay there" she seemed to hiss at me
"I'd rather stay here than be there with you" I replied
She hissed once more and revealed a stunner.
I cursed and the next thing I knew a blue light had erupted in my face and I fell to the floor.
My eyes opened to reveal yet another Wraith room. It was strange; there was a table in the centre that was filled with human food. I was sure the Wraith didn't eat human food so who was it for.
I remembered something I had read back on Earth. It was the mission report filed by Colonel Shepperd concerning the death of Colonel Sumner. It reported a room similar to this where the Wraith fed up the humans they were going to feed upon to make them stronger.
I was resolute; they weren't going to get the pleasure from me. I was ready to face the music but I wasn't going to give them a second of satisfaction from it.
I felt the ship rocking severely now. The Virtue must have turned its full attention to this Hive-ship. I hoped that the Hive-Ship would explode before the Wraith remembered me. I would rather suffocate than to feed my enemy.
I heard the unique noise that signalled a door opening. I swallowed heavily, the fear that had gone from my mind had returned. I was no longer fearless.
The female Wraith that had seen me entered the room. Her sadistic smile revealed her intentions. She meant to torture me and then feed.
Again the ship rocked. This time I could hear the sound that signalled a hull breach not far from me. My radio buzzed to life.
"Please reply" came Lucas's voice
"I'm here Lucas, but I won't be for long. A Wraith is here with me. I am aboard the Hive-ship!"
"I see you on our sensors" Lucas replied
"Okay don't suppose you can beam me out?" I asked hopefully
"I'm afraid not, the shielding is still up around your area. We will try and hit the generator but I will…" The radio cut out.
The Wraith was now so close to me now. I looked up and saw her swing her hand. I flew across the room. She hadn't attempted to feed. She had thrown me.
Again the ship shook. I could feel it now more than ever. Lucas was clearly doing his best to disable the shield but what was the end of his transmission. There was something else up his sleeve.
Again the room violently moved. Things from the table crashed to the floor and the Wraith almost fell. I could hear lasers impacting; not on the hull but in the hallway. Was Lucas trying to shoot through the ship?
The Wraith seemed hurried now; she knew that the ship was in trouble. I felt myself lifted up by the collar. I kicked out in a futile effort. She actually seemed affected.
I felt the impact of her hand on my chest and I expected to feel the drain of my life being sucked out of my body but instead I saw a flash and I was dropped.
Where the Wraith stood previously were two ancients, fully armoured and ready to fight through the Wraith to get me. This was Lucas's second plan.
They helped me up and walked me out of the corridor. Down the hall and into a large hangar bay, the bay was an inferno. There seemed to be no path to any of the darts on the other side of the bay.
I was unsure as to how we could escape yet the Alterans seemed certain of where they were going. They dragged me to a small open area that seemed to have been safe from the ravaging flames.
They dragged me up and I could see the inside of a Jumper. They had flown in and parked the Jumper right next to the hole in the hangar.
We flew out once more and I could see the firefight in the air. The Hive-ship was heavily battered but it had reinforcements; there were two other Hive-ships just in visual range. They were not yet in firing range but they would be soon. I saw two Jumpers entering the Virtue hangar. They were unloading fuel.
The Virtue was in bad shape too. It was sending out a distress call and the hull was covered in explosions. There was little chance of surviving much longer. As we left the Hive-Ship we saw the Virtue fire a lucky shot and the Hive-Ship exploded.
We rode the explosion wave to hide us from the other ships sensors. We managed to sail into the Virtues bay. Lucas's voice came through the speakers. He told us we were in no condition to go into controlled hyperspace. We were going to jump away in a random direction.
I ran as fast as I could in my current weakened condition. I needed to find Lucas.
I ran into the elevation system and hit the button for the command centre. The elevator shot up at extreme speeds.
I felt a massive explosion above me and the lift began to fall at even greater speed. We hit the bottom and I collapsed to the floor. The heat I felt from above me was unbearable. The shaft was on fire.
TO BE CONTINUED…