Chapter 5: A Long Overdue Vacation
Osik! C'mon, c'mon, don't give out on me now!
Red warning lights flashed on Kyrr's face in the relative darkness created by the tinted viewports. The dashboard readout indicated that his fuel tank was completely empty.
Just a little farther…
He almost thought he could make it to the spaceport. Then he winced as everything suddenly became eerily quiet. The engine had finally given out.
The forward momentum continued to carry the craft through the air, although now it was nearly impossible for Kyrr to even steer it, much less land it. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes momentarily.
Just stay calm.
He opened his eyes again and glanced at his altimeter.
And think fast.
He could see the spaceport a few miles away now. Huge cargo ships were landing everywhere, and there were constantly other ships taking off and flying high into Coruscant's atmosphere, and then into space. Some were imposing gargantuan craft that slowly lifted off the ground. Smaller craft swarmed around the spaceport like insects.
A quiet, high-pitched electronic pinging sound from the nav computer indicated that the vehicle was now flying too slowly to be in his current skylane. Several drivers swerved around him, horns blaring. He was starting to sink below his lane; in addition to his smoking hull, he now stood out from the crowd even more.
How the stang did they find me again so quickly?
The gunship from before was back, and was rapidly approaching.
At least they can't shoot me down in the middle of a skylane, the Republic wouldn't want any civilian casualties.
The gunship was now traveling parallel to Kyrr's speeder, troop bay doors still open. One of the troopers in the bay seemed to be nodding at his forearm plate. Then there was a blaring alarm coming from outside, and a few seconds later several Coruscant Security Force speeders raced past Kyrr in the opposite direction. They effectively cut off all traffic, first in the lane he was in, and then in the rest of the nearby lanes. His skylane was thinning out pretty quickly as the all other airspeeder's nav computers automatically redirected them. The gunship swerved in closer to him to avoid a building, and Kyrr took advantage of the opportunity.
He put his helmet on and popped the hatch. It ripped off and flew past him as he jumped out of the cockpit with his weapons strapped to his back.
He was just barely able to land his upper body in the gunship's troop bay, with his legs still dangling over the side. He deployed the saw-like blades in both of his gauntlets and started to use them to pull himself forward on his stomach. The five clones in the gunship all pulled their triggers just as the gunship swerved again, knocking them off balance and ruining their aim, sending blaster bolts flying in all directions. Kyrr grabbed the ankle of the closest trooper and dragged him clear over the edge, then finally got his legs up and stood up. One of the other clone troopers shot at him again, but missed. The trooper tried to hit him with his rifle, but Kyrr grabbed it and he met the same fate as his brother. Then a quick blow to the neck with his gauntlet blade dispatched the next trooper, and the last two, caught while still struggling to their feet in the rocking gunship, were easily shoved into the urban abyss below. Kyrr opened the door to the pilot's compartment.
"What's the problem, I thought I heard –"
The pilot's words were cut off when Kyrr severed his spinal chord. He shoved the body aside, trying to figure out how to fly a Low Altitude Assault Transport. He found the steering yoke, and tried to redirect the ship towards the spaceport. He found a nice open space between two rows of medium sized cargo vessels, and decided he'd try to make an emergency landing there. He yanked back on the throttle, but not in time before he was only inches off the ground.
Brace for impact…
There was a jarring metallic crunch as the gunship skidded across the permacrete, with civilians and loading droids leaping out of the way in front of him. Sparks flew everywhere, and after a few seconds the gunship started to tip over on its side, seriously mangling the right wing.
When the ship finally screeched to a halt, Kyrr wriggled out of the pilot's seat and back into the troop bay. He crawled out of the sideways wreckage, around which a few gathering onlookers stared in disbelief. He shook himself, and sprinted up the loading ramp of the nearest starship he could see. He ran right into a woman with light brown hair, dark green eyes, and a blaster on her hip.
Thank you very much for your continued support! As always, I hope you have enjoyed reading my work. I know this chapter's a little short, but it was mostly action. Anyway, if all goes well, there will be more chapters soon.
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