CHAPTER 5 – CIRCUMVENTATION
After some initial confusion, it was made perfectly clear that Half Jaw possessed a ship that could allow them to simply blast their way into Mordor without having to waste time on a dangerous and potentially fatal journey. As they made preparations to leave, Bilbo (who had come to stay in Rivendell after he left the Shire) gave Frodo several pieces of equipment that he had found on his adventures.
"First thing is grunt sized plasma sword."
Bilbo handed Frodo the hilt of the sword.
"Blade glows blue when flood close."
Frodo was puzzled, "Blade not always glow blue?"
Bilbo then produced a strange looking device which he explained to be a shield generator. He told Frodo to remove a section of his armor so that it could be installed. When Frodo did so, Bilbo noticed the index hanging from a chain on his neck.
"Oh, you have index. Me like to hold it again."
Frodo put the index back into his knapsack. Bilbo, displeased, tried to grab for the ring. As he did so, his face warped into a rather frightful appearance. Frodo, needless to say, was thoroughly freaked out.
"You on something?" Frodo asked.
Hours later, a phantom had arrived to give them passage to Half Jaw's ship. The nine companions boarded the purple vehicle, and its hatch closed behind them. The interior was rather spacious given the size of the ship, and all of the companions felt at ease. All except for Gimli, who became somewhat claustrophobic on dropships.
At length, the phantom docked in one of four shuttle bays on Half Jaw's Cruiser, the Uncontested Valor. The hatch was opened, much to the Relief of Gimli, and the Fellowship of the Index was shown to their quarters.
After having stowed their supplies, the group split up to explore different areas of the ship. Merry and Pippin, having uncontrollable appetites, headed straight to the galley while Frodo and Sam remained in their cabin. McKinsey headed to the reactor room because he was curious about the nature of such devices. The Arbiter, Half Jaw, Master Chief, and Gimli made their way to the bridge to oversee the short flight to Mordor. As they entered the bridge, Half Jaw immediately began giving out orders.
"All ahead full. Make our course for the Library. Once we pass over Gondor, put all plasma turrets on standby to bombard Barad Dur."
"Aye sir," replied the pilot.
The four companions on the bridge braced themselves as the ship lurched forward. As the ship accelerated, they gazed at a view screen showing the landscape below. They were making a very low orbit within the atmosphere along the inside of the ring. It took little over half an hour before they passed over the border of Rohan and Gondor. An alarm suddenly sounded throughout the ship.
Half Jaw suddenly became alert. "Report," he demanded of his subordinates.
A technician responded, "We're losing power. There is a problem with the reactor. The scanners are reading signs of gunfire in the reactor room."
McKinsey, meanwhile, was in a panic. Flood were swarming from every possible nook and cranny in the reactor chamber. Several combat forms had also made it in and were ripping apart the interfaces for the heat duct controls. Although he shot at them, he could not do much with a simple pistol. Without a way to vent the excess heat, the reactor began to destabilize. The last thing McKinsey saw was a fiery blue explosion that raced toward him from where the reactor used to be.
In all other parts of the ship, alarms blared before going dead from a loss of power. In the galley, Merry and Pippin dropped their bucket of stolen ice cream and bolted for the nearest cover. They didn't make it very far though. A great wind suddenly came through an open doorway, blowing them out of the galley and into the hallway. Pippin grabbed onto Merry's legs, and Merry grabbed onto a piece of violet plating protruding from the wall. The grunts couldn't make sense of it, but the ship had in fact broken apart in the upper atmosphere.
The door to their cabin was locked airtight, but Frodo and Sam were far from safe. Tumbling around in what seemed like weightlessness, they did not understand why they felt the sensation that they were falling.
The bridge was mostly intact, but everyone inside was desperately trying to find something to brace their fall. All of the crew knew that the increasing pressure in their ears was due to the fact that their compartment of the ship was falling. If they didn't find a way to slow down their compartment, then there was no hope of survival…