Chapter 13 - Minefield
The weakening light of the Omnitrix flickered, and died. Ben could no longer see now, only wait as the small vessel glided gently through the bio-missile's enormous interior. He clumsily felt his way to the rear window and peered out, searching intently for any partially illuminated surface regardless of how small or insignificant, anything that might indicate his speed. At the same time, he felt the change of course when another creature brushed silently past the outer skin of the AG. The temperature within the mark seven must have dropped near freezing point by this time, and the oxygen content in the air falling dangerously low.
As Ben tried to climb back into his seat, a sudden jerk of the ship's motion meant he narrowly avoided being thrown forward into the front window, having clutched at the nearest secure surface a split second earlier. His first thought was a collision, but there had been no jarring clash of metal on metal, only a single, dull thud. He pulled himself from what he assumed to be the floor of the AG, standing up and trying desperately to see past the dark void beyond the window glass. He must know what was out there.
A moment later, all of the AG's systems seemed to spontaneously activate. Course control, trans-spatial engines, navigation, communication, all fully powered and standing by. The sudden rush of noise and light startled Ben. After his eyes adjusted to such a high level of illumination, he set about disabling all but the required systems and preparing to continue his journey, though with a certain air of insecurity. As he sat back into the pilot seat with a sigh of relief, the forward spotlights flared. Ben glanced out the cockpit window, and what the ship had collided with, now became clear. Wherever the mark seven had drifted to in its short, however blind voyage, his situation was now dire.
"That's… That's just not fair." Ben whispered faintly to himself, for throughout the entire chamber he had now entered, drifted hundreds of very familiar creatures.
Panicking, he found the controls for the forward spotlights, and hammered on the cut-off button. The reason he was still alive now had also become clear. On the way in, they must have mistook the mark seven to be merely a stray piece of lifeless debris. Ben wanted to ensure that would be the way it stayed. These creatures would attack anything which appeared to move independently. For several seconds, Ben found himself pondering what would happen if he tried engaging trans-spatial drive whilst still inside the missile. The resultant expansion of subspace should be more than enough to collapse the entire structure, though admittedly, probably himself and the mark seven in the process. One thought struck him; Gwen. He leaned forward to reach the com panel, found the correct frequency, and opened the channel.
"Can all of you still hear me OK?" Ben asked.
"A bit distorted, but you're coming through fine," Gwen replied, sounding concerned. "Has something gone wrong? You haven't said a word in almost ten minutes."
"Haven't been able to," Ben said. "Exceeder just went totally dead on me a while ago, and now I'm lost in the missile, in a chamber full of over-sized, ship-eating squids."
"In other words, yes. Something has gone wrong." Gwen said. "Give me a minute and I'll get a topographical view of that chamber. We're going to have to give you directions."
"Alright, but hurry." Ben replied. "And just in case someone down there messes this up, I found a way to destroy these bio-missiles. Just fire a high-yield burst through the bay I followed in, and it should end up at the core eventually."
"Yea, about that…" said a sly and irritatingly familiar voice. "Those missile are way too close by now. If we destroy them here, the neurotoxin stores will just be released and end up entering the atmosphere anyway. You've got to take control of them somehow, get them away from Earth."
Kevin had barely spoken for ten seconds, and already he had brought Ben's hopes crashing down around him. There was also the matter of how he had found the Tennysons in the first place, but this would have to wait.
"Aren't you forgetting Koirvente?" Ben replied incredulously. "You think it'll just sit there and eat some pop-corn while it watches!?"
"Tennyson, I'll deal with the resource carrier," Kevin warned. "you just concentrate on the bio-missiles."
"And just how do you plan to deal with Koirvente?" Ben argued.
"Of all people, you should know I have my ways." Kevin replied.
Ben ignored this.
"Gwen," He said. "anything?"
"Yes." The voice of his cousin replied. "It looks like there's a long stretch of clear path up ahead of this chamber. If you can get there, it should put enough distance between you and the Sentinels for a short, high-power burn. I don't even know if the mark seven can do those kinds of manoeuvres though. You've got no traction at all there."
"What are the chances?" Ben asked, indecisively.
"Looks pretty much fifty, fifty." Gwen replied. "It's up to you, but whatever you do, do it quickly."
Ben paused for a moment. There really were only two choices. Take the chance of ramming head-on into a duranium wall, or wait for the Sentinels to finally realize he was here, at which point they would promptly tear the ship apart.
"How will I get over there in the first place?" Ben asked. "All I've got here is a trans-spatial engine. No actual propulsion."
"Should've thought of that when you built it then, shouldn't you?" Gwen retorted, serenely. "Use your imagination, then. There's got to be something."
Ben took a quick look around, but the more he searched, the more he doubted this would ever work. An old Modifier casing, a toolbox, spare anti-matter fuses… And a small Axenadyne hand-grenade.
"I've got a way out." Ben said, still questioning the sanity behind what he was about to do. "There's an old Axenadyne grenade in here…"
"That might help if you had some decent shields." Gwen replied.
"No time to work on them." Ben said. "I'm going to try detonating it right behind Exceeder. It should give me quite a kick forward, but I don't know how stable the trajectory will be. It's not exactly meant to push a ten-tonne spacecraft."
"You haven't really got much choice, I suppose." Gwen said.. "Alright then, you need to aim the AG to your left. About thirteen degrees should do it. Then pull the fuse and eject the grenade out the back. Try to get as much power to those shields as possible. Just one particle of that gas will kill instantly."
"Just a minute." Ben replied. "I haven't got much power to work with here…"
Ben hastily grabbed and wrenched out every last unused piece of equipment from the white navigation panel beneath the front window of the AG. It was with a slight hesitation that he made such extensive modifications to the AG. Not being in possession of any real idea what he was doing.
"Come on!" Kevin shouted. "Tennyson, you're running out of time!"
"Just about…" Ben replied, rerouting power from all of the systems he had just removed to the shields. "OK. Ready."
Hands shaking slightly under the sheer pressure of what he was doing, Ben withdrew the small grenade from the ceiling compartment. It pulsed slightly with ominous heat. He clutched it tightly, grabbed the pin, and pulled on it hard. A display on the side began counting down from five seconds. Much shorter than he had expected. At this moment, he realized that he had forgotten to check the ejection mechanism, hoping dearly that it was undamaged. He turned in his seat, ripped open the pod, forced in the grenade, and rammed it shut. He stood up to look out the rear window. It was out there now. The timer read one second remaining. Ben frantically leapt back into the pilot seat, strapped himself in, and grabbing hold of the flight-stick for extra support. The grenade, which had only a second ago been slowly revolving in the zero-gravity as it drifted away, emitted a brief, gold flash, and silently exploded. A rush of Axenadyne gas dispersed into every last crevice of the wall behind it, engulfing and killing several Sentinels in the process.
The mark seven was rocketed in the direction of the clear tunnel, spinning and ploughing through many horrific remains as it went. Ben was thrown in all directions as he struggled to hold onto the violently swerving AG. He was already half way there, if he could just hold on a little longer. The surviving Sentinels suddenly realized what was taking place. They charged towards the out-of-control craft, rapidly gaining ground. He could see the opening of the tunnel just ahead. It was barely wider the mark seven its self, but whether he wanted to or not, that's where he would be pushing through. Only about a dozen yards separated him from the perusing creatures now. Two fell back as the Axenadyne finally reached them, but one seemed absolutely determined. It pushed its self even closer to the AG, preparing to strike the rear of the craft. Ben braced himself for the impact, but a second later, the Sentinel was ripped apart as it collided with the entrance to the tunnel. At far side of the path, the stars were visible.
The AG maintained speed, but its course had been changed by mere inches, sending it crashing into the tunnel ceiling. There was a blinding eruption of red sparks, followed by a deafening crack from somewhere in the back of the AG, and the shields collapsed. The impact had straightened the AG's course just enough for Ben to reach the controls in partial safety. He brought the trans-spatial engines back online, took hold of the flight-stick once more, and hit the "Engage" control. Headed for another collision with the tunnel floor, the mark seven appeared to glow for a moment. It came to an immediate halt as the engine charged, and powerfully launched its self through the tunnel exit, out into space at unbelievable speeds.
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This chapter has been updated on 12/12/08.
I know, this has been a bit of a departure from the normal length, but I had a lot of small, yet relevant pieces of info to cram in there!
Please review. Let me know your opinion on the story. It's always nice to get some feedback. Reviews are always very much appreciated.