Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Far Beyond the World
Part XV - Odd Man Out
Deep beneath the surface of an unknown lake...
As per usual while talking, poor Dr. Goodfellow hadn't been concentrating on the environment around him, so he had been caught completely off-guard by the implosion of the crashed shuttle's canopy.
But Buck Rogers had spotted the spreading cracks in the thick shock-resistant glass and was half out of his seat and turned away when the canopy shattered and water blasted in at a fantastic rate.
Got only seconds! If that!
Buck half ran, half slogged, through the rushing water to the aft of the cockpit and tore the emergency kit from it's hooks on the wall, slung it over his head and shoulder, then grabbed one of the breathing masks from where they hung beside the fire-axe and shoved it over his mouth, and a moment later the tepid lake water rose over his face and he was completely submerged.
For three agonizing seconds that seemed to last three hours, Buck didn't have air, then he found the touch controls on the side of the mask and dialled it to rebreather mode. He gasped down the precious air with delicious relief, then snagged a second mask from the wall and pivoting back around kicked off, shooting upwards in a trail of bubbles, and returned to the front of the cockpit, which was now above him since the shuttle had been half inverted, making the aft wall the floor.
Dr. Goodfellow was still alive and kicking, Buck was extremely relieved, the old guy had been struggling with the belt restraints holding him in the co-pilot's chair, though to no avail.
Buck pressed the second mask over the Doc's mouth and nose, pulled the strap over his head and activated it. The mask's apparatus sucked the water out of the inside cowl, as well as from Goodfellow's nostrils and mouth, and replaced them instantly with oxygen, the white-haired codger sucked it down desperately, his bloodshot eyes spinning in their sockets.
But a few moments later he was okay once more and Buck's questing fingers found the seat belt release button and depressed it, the straps holding Goodfellow to his chair popped free and the scientist gripped the Captain's arm in appreciation.
Buck felt a tug on his arm and looked down to see Twiki had managed to climb up the inverted deck and was now clinging to the pilot's chair beside him. He reached down and yanked the little Ambuquad up and levered him onto his back, where Twiki gripped him tightly, hanging on like a backpack.
Looking back to the old scientist, Buck jerked a thumb upwards and Goodfellow nodded, together they kicked off from the chair and console respectively, shot through the gaping hole that was the busted canopy and rocketed free of the crashed transport shuttle.
I wish we could talk, scowled Buck under his breather as they slowly rose up through the depths hand-in-hand, but this isn't outer space, the comlinks wouldn't be able to pick-up our voices, let-alone relay them back to our ears. Once all this craziness is over maybe I'll suggest they make an upgrade. Of course, I have to actually survive to that point, hah, and considering how things are stacked against us my chances of doing so are looking between slim...
...and none...
His inner monologue had trailed off as he caught sight of something moving toward them on their right. He halted in his kicking and pulled Dr. Goodfellow to a stop beside him, pointed. The Doctor peered through the depths and his eyes went wide at what was plowing toward their position at a rapid rate.
Buck's gaze narrowed as he recognized the familiar lines of a large shark. Awww, crap...
He pushed Goodfellow away from him and kicked fast to the left, and the shark flashed between the three of them in a rush that left behind a powerful wake that pushed the two men even further apart. Buck had gotten a close look at the fearsome creature and his inspection did nothing to improve the situation, as the beast actually only vaguely resembled the sharks of his time. It had three dorsal fins that arched down it's back like spins and it's tail was lined with spikes. It had four eyes set haphazardly in a zig-zag pattern across it's head, and it's skin was covered in twisting green-gold scales.
Mutant sharks, thanks to the Nuclear Holocaust, Buck scowled as the creature began looping back around to make another run at their position. The situation keeps improving for us, ain't Fate a bitch...
The shark swarmed in, tail whipping back-and-forth like a machine, and it zeroed on Dr. Goodfellow, who was doing his best to swim up and away, but of course he was moving way too slow. Buck's hand dove to his side and yanked his energy weapon free of it's hip-holster, raised it, very glad that he had switched to the most powerful pulsar pistol Searcher had to offer. He was gonna need it!
Better not miss, he took aim as the mutant predator soared toward the rising scientist and fired, sending a blue beam of energy flashing out of the muzzle.
It lashed through the depths, vaporizing water as it flew, and struck the shark in the side. The creature jerked but kept on going for Goodfellow, but Buck wasn't stupid, he had fired more then once, and three more blasts struck the creature, one on the tail, another in the side, and the final shot struck one of it's googly eyes and scalded through, cauterizing what little brain the thing had. It's maw split in agony then it nosed down a meter from Goodfellow's kicking legs and sank into the depths.
From his perch on Buck's back, Twiki shook his fist at the monster as it vanished.
Buck gasped in relief under his breather and moved to stick the pistol back in it's holster, but halted the weapon halfway to his hip, as from the darkened depths of the lake FOUR more mutant sharks rose up, all heading straight for him!
Dammit...
That wasn't exactly true though, as one of them broke from the pack and went after it's dead comrade which Buck had just killed, clamping onto it's blasted side with it's huge maw and with a fearsome shake of it's head tore loose a big chunk of flesh.
The remaining three sharks kept true to their path and raced up toward Buck at an amazing rate, he recovered from his surprise in time to swing up his weapon and let-loose with a fanning barrage of six shots, the blue bolts lashed down at the creatures, catching one in the face, detonating it's head, while he blasted the dorsal fins off a second one, kicking it out of it's bee-line for him and sending it spiralling off, trailing a cloud of blood. But the remaining shots missed the third shark completely and it roared up at Buck, maw wide, he saw row-after-row of jagged teeth and yanked himself to the side, the mouth SNAPPED shut less then an inch from his hand, missing it but not the long barrel of Buck's pistol, which it bit off cleanly.
Buck let go of the ruined weapon and kicked off, sending himself shooting through the water at an upward angle, as the shark whipped around and rocketed back toward his position, eager to make the kill. Buck looked back over his shoulder as he flew up through the depths and saw the monster expanding fast beneath him, he knew he'd never make it, it was impossible for him to out-swim the thing.
So I'll just have to out-think the freak!
And he changed direction in a powerful flail of limbs and went into a backwards somersault, Twiki hanging on to his back for dear life the whole time, and a moment later when the shark reached him the jaws snapped shut on nothing but water because Rogers was above the thing now and with desperate hands he CAUGHT onto the first dorsal fin and slammed his body down between the other two fins, clamping onto the creatures sides with his thighs, and then he was riding it like a horse!
The shark kept on going, but it was jerking and shaking now, Buck clung on for dear life with one hand, while the other found the emergency kit slapping against his side and tugging it's lid open a few inches he found what he needed and pulled it free, snapping the case closed as soon as the tool was clear.
Still holding onto the arcing fin with his left hand, he up-ended the plasma torch in his right and thumbed it to life, producing a four inch glowing blade of green energy that vaporized the water around it in a cascade of rushing bubbles. Buck stabbed downwards with the torch and it's energy blade pierced the skin of the shark with almost no resistance. The bucking doubled with intensity as agony tore through the creature, but Buck dug deep, sending blood and innards arching upwards in a spray, the shark spasmed brutally and that did it, Buck and his drone passenger were tossed free and flew away, tumbling end-over-end.
He managed to hold onto the torch and flicked it off, then kicked himself to a halt and levelled out with a flail of his arms. His searching eyes found the shark and to his immense relief watched as it slowly sank away into the dark pit of the lake.
It doesn't get any closer then that, he exhaled in a cloud of bubbles, then stowed the still-hot torch in a jacket pocket and kicked off upwards, and three minutes of hectic swimming later he finally broke the surface of the lake.
Buck gaped up at the grey sky for a long moment, so glad to see there still was one, as for a bit there he'd wondered if his whole universe had become that lake. But the rest of the world was still here, thankfully, and he reluctantly levelled out his gaze and looked for Dr. Goodfellow. But there was no sign of him, even after Buck had rotated completely around 360 degrees.
"Can you detect him Twiki?" he asked of the Ambuquad on his back.
"Nope! Bidi-bidi-bidi, sorry, Buck."
Rogers scowled. Is Goodfellow still down there in the depths? Did another of those shark things get him? Or did he make it ashore?
Buck weighed the odds and decided his best bet was land, because it had been hard enough to see underwater without any goggles, and if the sharks had gotten Goodfellow then there was nothing he could do about it, he was gone. It was morose, but he had to face facts.
So he pivoted around until he saw land in the distance, then set off with a strong breaststroke which took him and Twiki ashore in less then five minutes. Buck dragged himself out of the water and across the grey sand, tugging off his breathing mask and releasing Twiki in relief and flopped over onto his back, gasping in real Earth air for the first time in almost two years.
And found himself looking straight up the length of a towering figure in ragged robes which loomed over him, glaring down with furious eyes! The being held a makeshift spear hewn out of what looked like a jagged length of fuselage, and it pointed the lethal tip directly between the Captain's eyes.
Buck could only stare...
To be continued...