Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 01:43:06 +0000 From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com> Subject: The Boys of the Lady Lex - Ishmael As some of you know, chapter 29 of Lady Lex generated a great deal of controversy between Ben and me. I will leave out the specifics, but the end result is the original chapter 29 which Ben wrote, put a lot of work into, and was quite proud of was left out of the story and a new chapter 29 was written and used. The chapter 29 that was used in the story generated a great number of positive responses. Its theme was used a number of times throughout the rest of the story. Now that the story is complete, here is the original chapter 29, uncorrected and unedited. To all of you who wrote after the ending to the story Ben and I say thank you. We WILL have answers out to you, but we admit we were overwhelmed by the volume of mail we received after the ending. We are busily digging out from under the avalanche and will send responses to each of you who wrote us. <Ben and Douglas> The Boys of the Lady Lex "Ishmael" Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin T. Collins "Call me Ishmael," said Harrison Wolfe in front of his freshman class. He held Herman Melville's book Moby Dick in his hand, but he recited the opening paragraph by memory. He continued to read with such dignity and enthusiasm combined making the boys transfix their attention to him. For Harrison Wolfe wasn't just reading them a tall tale of the sea, but he was speaking to them as if this story was for them. Wolfe continued to read the first chapter. "No, when I go to sea, I go as a simple sailor, right before the mast, plumb down into the forecastle, aloft there to the royal mast-head. True, they rather order me about some, and make me jump from spar to spar, like a grasshopper in a May meadow. And at first, this sort of thing is unpleasant enough. It touches one's sense of honor, particularly if you come of an old established family in the land, the Van Rensselaiers, or Randolphs, or Hardicanutes. And more than all, if just previous to putting your hand into the tar-pot, you have been lording it as a country schoolmaster, making the tallest boys stand in awe of you. The transition is a keen one, I sure you, from a school-master to a sailor, and requires a strong decoction of Seneca and the Stoics to enable you to grin and bear it. But even this wears off in time." All eyes of Wolfe's class just listened with their ears as Wolfe read chapter one to Moby Dick. Wolfe read with such elegance and animation even one who loathed reading or being read to would be hypnotized by the manner in which Harrison Wolfe delivered line for line, word for word. His clear and precise pronunciation of each syllable and reading it with a British accent made the story not only come to life, but made it real. "Finally, I always go to sea as a sailor, because of the wholesome exercise and pure air of the forecastle deck. For a s in this world, head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern (that is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim), so for the most part the Commodore on the quarter-deck get his atmosphere at second hand from the sailors on the forecastle. He thinks he breathes it first; but not so. In much the same way do the commonalty lead their leaders in many other things, at the same time that the leaders little suspect it. But wherefore it was that after having repeatedly smelt the sea as a merchant sailor, I should now take it into my head to go on a whaling voyage; this the invisible police officer of the Fates, who has the constant surveillance of me, and secretly dogs me, and influences me in some unaccountable way-he can better answer than any one else. And, doubtless, my going on the whaling voyage, formed part of the grand programme of Providence that was drawn up a long time ago. It came in as a sort of brief interlude and solo between more extensive performances. I take it that this part of the bill must have run something like this: "GRAND CONTESTED ELECTION FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES. "WHALING VOYAGE BY ONE ISHMAEL. "BLOODY BATTLE IN AFGHANISTAN." "Though I cannot tell why it was exactly that those stage managers, the Fates, put me down for this shabby part of a whaling voyage, when others were set down for magnificent parts in high tragedies, and short and easy parts in genteel comedies, and jolly parts in farces-though I cannot tell why this was exactly; yet, now that I recall all the circumstances, I think I can see a little into the springs and motives which being cunningly presented to me under various disguises, induced me to set about performing the part I did, besides cajoling me into the delusion that it was a choice resulting from my own unbiased freewill and discriminating judgment." "Chief among these motives was the overwhelming idea of the great whale himself. Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity. Then the wild a distant seas where he rolled his island bulk; the undeliverable, nameless perils of the whale; these, with all the attending marvels of a thousand Patagonian sights and sounds, helped to sway me to my wish. With other men, perhaps, such things would not have been inducements; but as for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts. Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to perceive a horror, and could still be social with it-would they let me-since it is but well to be on friendly terms with all the inmates of the place one lodges in." "By reason of these things, then, the whaling voyage was welcome; the great flood-gates of the wonder-world swung open, and in the wild conceits that swayed me to my purpose, two and two there floated into my inmost soul, endless processions of the whale, and, mid most of them all, one grand hooded phantom, like a snow hill in the air." Harrison Wolfe closed the book and looked at his class. All of them started to come out of the trance they were in. The life of Moby Dick was born in their heads and now they would get to spend the next few weeks studying it in detail and learning from its teachings. "Mr. Wolfe, that was cool and all, but why do we have to read this book about some old geezer with a peg leg who kills a whale." "That old geezer's name is Captain Ahab and he doesn't kill the whale, the whale kills him," said Ben. "So who kills the whale? This Ishmael dude?" asked Eric. "No one kills the whale," added Douglas. "The whale escapes? That's bogus. Isn't the whale supposed to be the bad guy?" "The whale represents more then just the bad guy, Eric," said Ben. "What do you mean he represents more then the bad guy?" "What Ben is trying to say is that the whale represents the vengeance that Ahab has because the whale bit off his leg." "Gentleman, I am pleased to see how you are into this remarkable tale of the seas, but let's keep our focus on chapter one," interrupted Wolfe. "Now what did we learn in the first chapter?" "That this dude likes to go out to sea when he gets tired of being on land," said Eric. "And what is this...dude's name?" "Ishmael," chirped in Ben. "Correct Ben. Now if you all noticed he likes to go out to see not as a passenger, but as a sailor." "I still don't get it why the whale lives. They should kill the son of bitch," said Eric. "Eric, we moved on. Get with the game," said Douglas. "But I want to know why the whale lives and this Ahab dude with the peg leg who we haven't heard about yet in chapter one bites the big one. I mean isn't this Ahab dude the good guy? Isn't he the hero? Shouldn't he live?" "But what makes you so sure that Ahab is the good guy?" said Ben. "You haven't read the book yet Eric. Why are you arguing about the whale living and Ahab dying?" "I just think that if Ahab is the main character, he should live." "But maybe Ahab isn't the main character. Maybe the main character is the whale or Ishmael or even the 'Pequod'," said Douglas. "The Pequod? Who the hell is Pequod?" "What," said Ben. "I want to know who Pequod is." "What is the 'Pequod'?" "I don't know that is why I am asking. Geez" said Eric who was getting frustrated. "No you idiot. The 'Pequod' is a what not a who. It is Ahab's ship." Ben was now getting frustrated with Eric. "Alright the 'Pequod' is Ahab's ship. But why aren't they mentioned in the first chapter? They should be if the story is about them. At least the whale was kinda mentioned when Ishmael said the sign said Ishmael going whaling or something like that." "Because Ahab isn't telling the story," said Douglas. "Of courses Ahab isn't telling the story. Mr. Wolfe just did. Were you day dreaming about Ben or something?" Douglas did a full body blush. "That's not what I met. In the story the person telling the story is Ishmael. The events he went through with Ahab had already happened and now he is telling the story to us the reader." "Why is Ishmael telling the story and not Ahab?" "Because Ahab is dead and Ishmael is still alive. Matter of fact, Ishmael is the sole survivor," said Ben. "You mean everyone dies but Ishmael dies? How is he so lucky to survive and no one else?" "Because someone had to stay alive to tell the story," said Ben. "Isn't that right Mr. Wolfe?" "Yes it is, Ben. Ishmael survives so the story can be told. Now I'd like to carry on this conversation, but our time together this afternoon is coming to an end. So two things. You will find out that Ahab's hatred and vengeance is his demise. I know a lot of you have it out for the "Orion" and the other academy ships. Because that you don't meet the same fate as Ahab did. Secondly, the only out of class assignment for this book is that I want to put your creativities and writing skills into practice. I want each of you to write a story that has an Ishmael. It has to be a minimum of ten pages long. You have two weeks to complete it." "Two weeks? Isn't that when we are suppose to arrive at Phosphorous Prime?" asked Ben. "Yes, I want your papers before we take up orbit. Now time is up. See you at our next class together." Everyone got up and shuffled out causing clattering and chattering among themselves. Wolfe stood there firm and tall hoping that this classic tale teaches them more then just a story about a man with a peg leg who wants to kill a whale. He knew they all had a Moby Dick in their life. And he hoped that reading this book will show them what can happen if they go after their Moby Dick." ***** "Enter," said Ben as he sat at his desk working on his assignment. Mike came wondering in. "Hey Ben! You ready to do a little training on the 'Wonder Boy'?" Ben immediately stood up. With the exception of piloting the "Lexington" yesterday to rescue Douglas, it had been a while since he piloted and he was more then ready. "Sure, when will we start?" "We will be passing the training grounds in two hours. Johnny wants the 'Raptor' to do some training there and I figured the 'Wonder Boy' needs to stretch her legs too." "By all means." "Good, since Douglas is on watch, go ahead and tell your crew and get them prepared. Douglas will be done with his watch when you are ready to go over the check list." "Roger that," said Ben. Ben was so ready to start flying again. After Mike left, he immediately informed the crew of the Wonder Boy. ***** Captain Hatcher boarded the "Lady Hawke". His tall stature and the gray sides to his black hair made him look domineering. He carried himself well with pride and experience. He wanted to watch the training first hand. The "Lexington" was going to stay on course while the "Lady Hawke", "Raptor" and "Wonder Boy" flew to the training ground which would be a good two to three hours flight. Captain Hatcher looked around to see who Cadet Johnny Cooper picked to man the Lady Hawke. He saw Johnny sitting in the shuttle commander's seat. His ego and cockiness was leaking from him like a siv. Johnny scratched his shaved head causing his sleeves to ride up his muscular arms showing tattoos that he got. Going over the coordinates was Mike the Donkey. The 16 year old cadet who was a true and loyal person to his friends sat at his station. His brown hair and brown eyes with his large but not fat figure made him look intimidating when actually he as nothing but a big teddy bear who likes to eat a lot. Unless of course someone brings harms to one of his friends then the hockey gloves come off. Hatcher thought it was interesting he would pick another shuttle commander to pilot. The red head, blue eye 12 old named Tyler was reviewing his station as the Lady Hawke's navigator. He might have been only 12 years old, but he had a brain of a genius. Scooter looked somewhat happy sitting at the science station. Unlike Mike and Johnny, Scooter was small and petite. His thick blonde hair glimmered in the artificial lights like the stars shining through the windshield. Ryan finished going over his engineering readings and then start to help Greg a little bit at the weapon's station since Greg normally worked the Science station on board the Fagin. "She looks like a sturdy crew," said Dr. Daniels as he walked into the Lady. Like the cadets, he was too bald, but not because of being shaved but because he was just too plain stubborn to get a hair transplant or take medications that would grow hair back. Dr. Daniels felt that his baldness gave him a distinguished, especially since he was in his mid 50s. "I think we will be having an enjoyable jaunt out today. Welcome aboard Doctor, I am glad you can find time out of your busy schedule to join us." "I wouldn't miss this for the world. I actually get to see my son's Douglas and Nipper train. Plus you get to see your son, Jesse train." "Yes, well, anyway find yourself a seat Doctor." Captain Hatcher's saw four men walk aboard. "Excuse me Captain, but it's been a while since we left the Lexington. Request permission for me and my men join you to observe?" asked Lieutenant Colonel Stone. Standing behind him was Master Sergeant Flint, Sergeant Murdock, and Corporal Danzig. "Welcome aboard Colonel. Permission Granted." ***** "Okay guys, you ready to have some fun?" asked Kalon as he climbed on board the Wonder Boy. Kalon was always the energetic officer who never really considered him as an officer. He acted like more of a cadet then an officer. His shoulder length shiny black hair, his mismatch eyes, his golden brown skin gave him distinct features that not only did his looks separate him from the rest of the crew, but so did his mentality. "We're not flying solo?" asked Nipper as his young baby face looked up at his officer. "Not this time. Don't take it personal but this is a training mission and I am here to train you guys." "As am I," said Captain Storm entering through the hatch. Captain Storm was a tall man. But spending 40 plus years working in engineering for SFA caused him to be a little hunched. His dark skin was worn and weathered and his black hands were callused. They were signs of a working man. He ran his hand through his white tight afro as he almost bumped his head coming aboard. "Welcome aboard the Wonder Boy," smiled Douglas as he greeted both Kalon and Ely. "I hope we won't let you down today." Douglas loved being the shuttle commander. He was upset at first when he and his brother, Nipper, had to come to the Lexington because their father took the job as Chief Medical Officer, but now he enjoyed his new home. One of the reasons he was upset was because he had to give up his position as class president, a position that Douglas had to work hard to achieve. He had to run against his old adversary David Lee, but after the elections, David went to the SFA Junior Academy Ship Orion. The state of the art vessel. But Douglas would turn down every election and nomination from hence forward as long as he could remain the Wonder Boy's shuttle commander. "Actually Cadet Daniels, today is the day to make errors because it's just training and that is what training is for. To find out weak points and make them strong. It's during real time scenarios that you don't want to make any errors." "Shuttle Commander Daniels, is your crew all checked out and ready for launch?" asked Kalon. "Yes we are. We're just waiting for the ok from the bridge." "Excellent." "Douglas, we got permission to launch," said Ben as he was going over his coordinates one last time. Ben twitched his freckled covered nose as he looked over his math. Math was never Ben's strong point. "Jesse secure the hatch," ordered Douglas to Captain Hatcher's son. Jesse went over and closed the hatch to the Lexington first and then he sealed the Wonder Boy's hatch. Soon a green light appeared next to the door. "The hatch is secured," said Jesse. "Very well. Helmsman, detach us and take us out to the rendezvous point so we can wait for the others before we head to the training grounds." "Aye Douglas." Ben punched a button that opened the claw like metal grips that attached itself to the Lexington. Ben then eased her into gear and the Wonder Boy was now on her own. Everyone smiled with pride knowing that this was going to be a great day. ***** "Condor, the Wonder Boy just launched," said Dylan the Raptor's weapon's officer also known as Phoenix. His thick Australian accent almost made it impossible to understand. Spencer the Raptor's shuttle commander watched the Wonder Boy zoom to the rendezvous point. Spencer loved the idea of being called Condor. Of course he owes the Birds of Prey theme credit to the Hawke who sat proudly at his science station. Major Zjan-Ren was assigned to the Raptor as her observer. He climbed on aboard and looked around. He was a tall and proud Kriton. His golden skin and expressionless face made him so mysterious. He thought it was strange how Earthers gave themselves call signs. There was Spencer the shuttle commander known as Condor. Kyle the pilot was called the Vulture. Sitting next to the Vulture was Falcon the navigator who to the ordinary person was known as Chandler. Dylan the Phoenix sat at his weapon's station. Ian the Eagle sat at the engineer station. And to round off the Birds of Prey team was the founder of the team Trevor the Hawke. Trevor might look like his twin brother who was on the Wonder Boy with his blondish brown hair and brown eyes, but he thought completely different. Andrew was the kind and gentle one while Trevor was the bold and brave one. "Cadets, today's training session won't be hard but it won't be easy too. Are you boys up for this?" asked Zjan-Ren. "We're up for anything and we can handle anything because we are the Birds of Prey," said Trevor very confidently. "Be careful with an attitude like that Master Collins," said Harrison Wolfe as he entered the Raptor. "Captain Ahab thought he could handle Moby Dick but it ended up being his demise." "Mr. Wolfe, what are you doing here?" asked Trevor who was happy to see his favorite teacher. "Being in a class room for so long I started to become hazy about the eyes. So like Ishmael in Moby Dick I take to the high seas or in my case to the stars to get a breath of fresh air." Wolfe turns his attention to Zjan-Ren. "Major, I would like to join you and these young men to observe them in action if that is ok with you." "We're not going out to kill any great white whales Mr. Wolfe, but you are welcomed to join us if you wish." "Thank you Major." "Condor, the bridge just gave us permission to launch," said Vulture. "Now it's time to show what the Birds of Prey have. Secure the hatch and take us out when ready." Soon the Raptor was at the rendezvous point with the Wonder Boy. And it wasn't long after that the Lady Hawke joined them and soon the three shuttles were zooming towards the training grounds. ***** "Shuttle Commander, we just entered the training grounds," said Andrew as he was monitoring his station. "Very well. Helmsman slow us down to impulse 4." "Aye Douglas." Ben slowed down the shuttle. The past 2.4 hours went pretty quick. He loves the feel being in control of the Wonder Boy. He knew this was his place to be. "Douglas we are being hailed," said Nipper. "By the Lady Hawke? She is probably about to give us our first training order." "No, it's the Ramses." "Ramses? What is she doing here? Put her through." "I'm getting audio only, but the comm line is open," said Nipper. "Ramses this is Shuttle Commander Daniels of the Wonder Boy." "Hey Dougy you loser," said a voice over the communication system. A voice that Douglas recognized immediately. "It's Douglas not Dougy David. I don't call you Davy and you best not call me Dougy." "Or what? You will beat me up? We both know that will never happen. You are too chicken to throw a punch and even if you did throw a punch it would be like your weak ass fast balls that you pitch that even a two year old could hit." "We'll see who has a weak ass pitch when we beat the shit out of you in a few weeks." Douglas was getting a little agitated. "Douglas, I'm picking up another call," said Nipper as he was monitoring his station. "Is it the Lady Hawke?" "No, I am not sure who it is." "Patch it through Cadet," said Ely who was taking interest in the matter. Nipper accidentally cut off David, but no one seemed to mind. They put the incoming call over the intercom system. Nipper desperately tried to clear it up but there was a lot of interference. "Oh God...elp us...tures...glob...tion...equ...ot sta...need help..." "This is Captain Ely Storm from JSFA Lexington. You are breaking up. What are your coordinates?" "It's not use Sir. It's just a repeating message and I can't get it to come in clear," apologized Nipper. "Cadet Daniels, patch me through the Lady Hawke." Ely stood behind Nipper watching him. Kalon Masters stood next to Ben. He could feel something wasn't right and was ready to take control of the helm. "Lady Hawke is on line Sir." "Steve, we are picking up a..." Ely was interrupted. "We're picking up the distress too. We are having problems cleaning it up. It is all distorted," replied Captain Hatcher. "Are you able to get coordinates?" asked Ely "No, but we are able to pin point where the call is coming from." "Look!" shouted Ben as he pointed out his windshield. "It's the Ramses. They are hauling ass out of here." "Damn it. I told that officer on board to stand down that we have the situation," boomed Hatcher over the loud speaker not realizing he was still online. "Major Zjan-Ren on the Raptor and Captain Storm on the Wonder Boy, I am sending you coordinates to the source of the distress call. Training is over boys, it's time for the real thing." The Lady Hawke then did a 180 degree turn and headed towards the source of the distress call with the Wonder Boy and Raptor right behind her. Not far ahead of them was the Ramses. ***** "LT Wilder, we will be at the source of the distress call in 1.3 hours," said David as he sat in his shuttle commander chair. "Very good David. How far ahead are we of the Lexington Losers?" "We are ten minutes out from them and gaining more space in between. Their hand me down shuttles is no match for our state of the art shuttles." "Good. Captain Hatcher isn't going to get credit for this rescue. This is the ticket I need to make lieutenant commander. David, full speed ahead." "Aye Sir." "Lieutenant Wilder, my dad gave us an order to stand down back there," said Mark. "Your dad isn't our Captain Cadet Hatcher. I am in charge of the Ramses, not him. Now do as I say or I will reprimand you." Mark left out a small sigh and continued on with his work. ***** "Shit!!!" said Mark Hatcher as he slowed down the Ramses to a complete stop. "What is it Mark?" asked David. "Look!" Everyone looked out the window. Their path lead them to a dark, starless void. None of them ever saw something like this before. "Why aren't there any stars there?" asked Brandon the navigator. "Lieutenant Wilder," said Cadet Robert `Rabbit' Russell. "The distress call is coming from inside the void. I still can't get a clear messenger." "Very well." LT Wilder sat there looking at the data coming across Rabbit's console. He then stared into the darken, lifeless void. "Rabbit, try sending in a response, see if anyone will pick up on it." "Aye Sir." "Sir, the Lexington Losers are 2 minutes out," said Cadet Tim Whitaker. "Do we go in?" asked David. LT Wilder wanted so bad to be the hero here, but he knew lives other than his own were at stake here. He thought it was just going to be a simple rescue operation due to some unstable engineering warp drive or something. But found more then he bargain for. "Ramses, this is Captain Stephen R. Hatcher of JSFA Lexington. I order you to stand down," bellowed over the intercom system. LT Wilder thought for second. Then he spoke. "David, stand down." "But Sir?" "Just for the time being. Don't worry David; we will still be the heroes here, not the Lexington losers. Let's just see what they have to say. "Very well Sir." ***** Captain unconsciously took the command chair on the Lady Lex. This was a real time situation, not a training mission. Johnny wasn't happy about losing his seat. Johnny wanted control. He wanted to be in the command chair when they rescue who ever placed the distress call. Dr. Daniels Stood behind Hatcher on his right while Lieutenant Colonel Stone stood on his left. All of them just stared out the window amazed at the dark void blotch in space that lay ahead of them. None of them saw something like this before. Sergeant Murdock had taken over Scooter's place at the science station since Sergeant Murdock was a little bit more trained then Scooter was in this field. "Sir, I pinpoint the distress call. It is coming from a structure of great size about 5 kilometers into the void." "Do we have any idea what caused this strange void around the structure?" asked Hatcher. "I'm not sure Captain. It appears that space just folded over itself here or something." "Folded over itself?" asked Dr. Daniels. "Sir without further testing or better equipment, the best way to describe this is that space, subspace and time all merge together at this point," said Murdock. "But how come no one stumbled upon this before. Especially since of its great magnitude?" asked Stone. "According to the read outs Colonel, it just appeared out of nowhere," replied Murdock. Hatcher sat with his hand on his chin thinking of his next move. He wanted to go into the void and help out the rescue effort, if indeed someone needed rescuing, but on the other hand he couldn't rush into something that he has never encountered before. "Do we have any probes on board the Lady Hawke?" asked Hatcher. "We have one, Sir." "Launch it into void and let it scout out the vessel that is emitting the distress call." "Yes Sir." Murdock hit a few control buttons and then launched the probe. It disappeared out of sight as soon as it entered the void. "Probe has entered the void, but we are still tracking it." "Very well, as soon as you get imagery of the vessel put it on screen. In the mean time patch me through to the Ramses." Within minutes LT Wilder was on Comm. "LT Wilder, that maneuver you pulled back there wasn't pretty. I told you to stand down and you disobeyed a direct order. You could have brought harm to my son as well as the other boys on that ship. Now from this point on you will do what I say. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes Sir," replied LT Wilder. David looked up at his officer surprised that Wilder gave up so easily. Wilder shot him a look telling David that he didn't. He was just waiting to fight the battle on the ground of his choosing not Hatcher's. "Captain Hatcher, I am receiving imagery," exclaimed Murdock. "On screen," ordered Hatcher. The windshield was replaced by an image of a large metallic globe. It hung in empty space by invisible strings. This orb had rigid structures on the surface and was by far the largest space station that anyone has ever seen. "Good God," said Captain Storm from the Wonder Boy who was now on an open comm line that had all four shuttles patched together. "That's magnificent. I never seen anything man made that huge before." "Murdock, is the probe sending a message to this orb?" asked Hatcher. "Yes Sir, but no response." "Is there any signs of weapon systems or something that could attack us if we go in?" "There are numerous weapons on the skin of the orb but none of them appear to be active," replied Murdock. "Are their any signs of destructive damage or clues that would lead to a distress call to be sent?" "No Sir." "Are there any life signs?" "Multiple life signs Sir, but I can't make out if they are humanoids or not." "Alright, bring the probe back. Send it to the Wonder Boy. I want Ely to take a look at it to see if any damage was done to it on its entry and return of the void." "Aye Sir." The probe made its way back to the Wonder Boy. Captain Storm performed some quick tests on it. After about a 30 minutes of testing Storm came to his conclusion. "Steve, the probe checks out ok. There is no damage that I can find." "So no damage will occur if we enter this void?" "To the best of my knowledge no, but what does concern me is we don't know how long the window to his void will stay opened." "The best we can figure since we been here is that the window to this void will remain opened unless some extraordinary explosion causes it to close. And I don't see that happening, so this is what we will do. I defiantly want my Chief Engineer and my Chief of Security with me on this. So the Lady Hawke, Wonder Boy and Raptor will enter the void and investigate this orb. Ramses, I want you to stay behind to watch our backs. Any signs of closure or unstableness you contact us immediately. "Aye Captain, we will monitor the situation from out here," replied Wilder who still wasn't ready to fight Hatcher on the ground Hatcher now occupied. "We will fly in a tight formation and everyone be on alert," spoke Hatcher. He nodded to Mike to take them in. Mike put the Lady Hawke into gear and zoomed ahead with the Wonder Boy and Raptor close on its tail. The Ramses stayed behind and watched them disappear out of sight as they entered the void. "Ok Mark, they're in. Now take us in," ordered Wilder. "But Sir, my dad said..." "I don't care what you dad said. We are going in. We are representing the Orion not the Lexington Losers. Now take us in." "No Sir, I am not going to disobey an order from my father." "Very well you're relieved of duty. David take the helm." David pushed Mark out of the seat and took over the controls to drive the ship. Soon they were speeding towards the void. "We entered the void," said David as he was piloting the Ramses. "Now full speed ahead and pass those sonsofbitches." David put the Ramses into full gear and they zoomed ahead, catching up to the other shuttles quickly. LT Wilder had Rabbit turn off all communication systems so that Hatcher couldn't contact them. "Look at that thing," exclaimed Brandon Ditamin from the Navigator's station. "It's huge." "Find a docking bay or hatch for us to land," said Wilder. Brandon scanned the orb. "I found some bays but the doors are closed and with the orb not responding we won't be able to land in them, so our only option is to dock on the docking hatches." "Very well, feed the coordinates to David and let's dock this thing." Brandon found one of many docking bay foyers that had four docking hatches. David carefully brought the Ramses in and lined it up with the docking hatch. The Ramses lurched forward a little as they docked and the automatic docking system on the orb sealed the docking. "Look, the losers are docking right next to us," said Tim from his weapons station. "Now I get to see that loser Douglas again. God I hate him," said David under his breath. "Finish docking procedures and let's open the hatches so we can go in side to see what is going on in this thing," said Wilder. The boys finished up the procedures. ***** Captain Hatcher exited out of the Lady Hawke. He entered a small rectangular foyer that had three other hatches next to the hatch he just walked out of. On the opposite bulkhead was a door that lead to the inside of the orb. The hatch next to Hatcher hissed open and out walked Lieutenant Wilder. "What is the matter with you Lieutenant? I told you to stay behind." "And let the Lexington get all the glory? Forget that shit." "I gave you an order back there Lieutenant and you disobeyed it." "You're not my captain," snapped Wilder. "No I'm not. But I am a senior officer in Sol Force Alliance and that still puts me over you. Especially when we are dealing with the unknown here. Now if you disobey another order given by me you can kiss your Lieutenant stripes good bye. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes Sir." "Good." By this time all four hatches were opened. Only the adults entered the docking foyer. All the cadets stayed on the shuttles. After Hatcher was finished giving Wilder an old fashion ass chewing he proceeded to the door. Hatcher peaked through the small circular shaped window. All he could see were flashing red lights and darkness. "See anything?" asked Ely. "No, it's too dark. Colonel Stone, besides the marine's side arms that you have on you, is the shuttles stocked with any weapons?" "Each shuttle has three phaser pistols and one impulse rifle for survival purposes. They're locked up in the armory cabinet," replied Stone. "LT Wilder, what kind of weapons does the Ramses have?" asked Hatcher. "We have the same," he replied. "It's odd that no one has greeted us yet," added Zjan-Ren. "Too odd. Steve, I don't like this," said Ely. "Neither do I. This is what we'll do. We will send out three groups out. The first group will consist of myself, Lieutenant Wilder, Mark, Johnny, Douglas and your shuttle commander." "That would be David," added Wilder. "We will head to the bridge of this orb to figure out what this thing is and who owns it. The second group will be headed up by you Ely. Take Mike, Ian, Ryan, and the engineering officer on the Ramses," "Parker Runningbear," added Wilder. "Steve, request to take Jesse too." "Why would you want him? What can he possibly do to help?" Ely bit his tongue. "Jesse has proved himself to me in the engineering room and I feel his presence will be beneficial." "Very well, Jesse can go with you." "Dr. Daniels, I want you to lead up the third team. Go to sickbay to see if there are any injured there or anything. Take Scooter, Ben, Nipper and Andrew with you. Zjan'Ren, I want you to go with Dr. Daniels." "Aye Sir," replied Zjan-Ren." "Captain I want one of my men to go with the doctor here so that the Orion is represented in all three groups." "You want Lieutenant Wilder?" "I respectfully request sir." "That's what I thought. Very well, who do you want to send?" "Cadet Whitaker." "Admiral Whitaker's son?" "Yes Sir." "Very well. Colonel Stone, you and the others will remain here. Keep communications open with all three groups. Group Leaders make sure you check in to the Colonel hear every 30 minutes. We will all meet back here in three hours." All the group leaders acknowledged that. "Colonel ensure each group has three phaser pistols and one impulse rifle issued to them. I don't know what is on the other side of that door, but I don't like it. Collect as much data as possible, look for survivors and let's see who sent that distress call out. Any sign of trouble call in immediately and all teams will rally back here at once. Any questions?" Hatcher answered a few questions and the group leaders went to go brief their teams. Once everyone was armed and ready, Hatcher pushed the button to open the door to the orb. The door opened with a sharp hiss and a flood of warm air whisked through the docking foyer. "What's that smell?" asked David as he cringed his nose. "Death," replied Wolfe. "Everyone be on alert and stay with your group. Don't forget to check in every 30 minutes," said Hatcher. "Let's move out." Captain Hatcher, Dr. Daniels and Captain Storm all exited the docking foyer first. They stepped in the dimly lit corridor illuminated only by flashing red lights. The three seasoned SFA officers shined their flashlights up and down the corridor. "I don't like this Steve," said Ely. "Neither do I, but we need to find out who is sending that distress call." "Look, on the wall," said Dr. Daniels pointing to a huge map of the orb structure with his flashlight. The three men went over to the map. Their group members still waiting in the foyer. "Well Ely, looks like the engineering department is in the core of this thing. The Bridge is up here at the North Pole. And there's sickbay 35 decks up." "Steve, this orb is unbelievable. It's 40 miles in diameter. There are over 14,000 decks on this thing. I never seen anything like it before," marveled Ely. "We don't have much time. Hopefully the turbo lifts and turbo shuttles are still operational on this auxiliary power the orb seems to be working off of. Be careful and see you in 3 hours." Hatcher, LT Wilder, mark, David, Douglas, and Johnny all headed down the gloomy, dark corridor. Captain Storm shook his head. Something wasn't right. He sensed something was terribly wrong and they shouldn't be here, but he had to see the core of this massive space station. He took his team of Jesse, Ian, Ryan, Parker and Mike and headed down in a different direction. Dr. Daniels looked at his group. They all looked so young yet at the same time grown up too. None of them anticipated the dangers that lay ahead. All of them were anxious and excited to venture into he unknown and hopefully come out as heroes. "Alright boys, let's go find this turbo lift number 2. That will take us to deck 7005. That is where we will find sickbay. At least we don't have as long of a walk as the other's do." Dr. Daniels pointed his flashlight down the dark corridor. He took a deep breath and began walking in search of turbo lift 2. Ben, Nipper, Andrew, Scooter, Tim followed him closely behind with Zjan-Ren following up the rear. Dr. Daniels was a doctor and vowed he would never use a weapon so he gave Ben, Scooter and Tim the phaser pistols and Zjan-Ren the impulse rifle. Soon, the remaining crewmembers were left alone at the shuttles. ***** Captain Hatcher had his pistol ready. He cautiously moved down the corridor. Mark was right behind his father carrying a phaser pistol. David and Douglas followed. Neither of them had a weapon. Johnny came next carrying the last of the pistols with LT Wilder following up the rear with the impulse rifle. "Click, click, click" "Shhhh, I hear something," said Douglas. Everyone stopped and listen. There was silence. "You didn't hear nothing. You are just letting your imagination run wild because you are scared," teased David. "No I heard something. It sounded like someone was clicking their tongue or something." "Stay alert boys, let's continue on." Hatcher continued is way down the twist and turns of the corridor looking for the door that led to the turbo shuttle. They finally approached the doors that were marked turbo shuttle. "This has to be a SFA station because everything is in English," said Hatcher as he looked at the words written on the turbo shuttle door. Hatcher pushed a button that looked like an elevator button. The button lit up and there was a swooshing noise behind the door. A few minutes later the swooshing stopped. The door opened and it revealed a subway like vehicle. It was long and narrow and could fit about 50 people sitting down plus and addition 50 or so standing up. Hatcher and his team entered the turbo shuttle. Next to the door was a panel. Hatcher saw a button that had `Bridge Deck' written next to it. Hatcher pushed the button and the doors closed. Soon the shuttle started zooming down the dark tunnel. "I told you, I heard something back there," insisted Douglas. "Shut up fag, you heard nothing. No one else heard it. It's just your imagination," said Johnny. "According to this panel we will arrive on the bridge deck in 25 minutes. Let's relax a little while we can," said Hatcher. "But still keep alert." ***** Lieutenant Colonel Stone entered the Lady Hawke. Master Sergeant Flint, Sergeant Murdock and Corporal Danzig all sat there. "Men, our orders are to guard camp here." "Colonel, we should be the ones going on the search and rescue team, not those kids," said Flint who was not very happy. "I know that Master Sergeant, but our job is to obey orders not question them. Now let's set up a perimeter." On the Raptor docked next to the Lady Hawke another meeting was going on. This meeting consisted of the birds of prey that remained behind. All of them not happy that Ian, the weakest member of their group, was chosen to be on a team and not them. "Look, we are the Birds of Prey. No one can stop us. I say we go out and find some survivors and then we can take glory with everyone else," said Trevor the founder of the Birds of Prey. Spencer looked at his crew. He agreed with Trevor. He didn't want to stay behind and do nothing. He wanted to explore this mysterious orb they landed on and see what was lurking out beyond the docking foyer. "Ok birds of Prey, I say we fly the coop. Let's go." ***** Captain Storm and his group headed to the core. They walked down a corridor stopping every now and then at maps on the bulkhead to ensure they were heading in the right direction. The corridors were hot and all the party members were sweating. "Click...click...click...click...click" "Did you hear something?" asked Jesse. "Was it a clicking noise?" asked Parker. "Yeah." "I heard it too, said Mike and Ryan at the same time. "Stay close boys," said Storm as they continued their way to the core. "I find it odd that there are no signs of people on board," said Mike. "Especially since the probe picked up multiple life signs," added Ryan. "We don't now what we are dealing with here, so just be on alert," said Storm who was beginning to think he was getting to old for this kind of stuff. ***** Dr. Daniels and his team stepped out of the turbo lift. All of them were well alert and proceeded cautiously down the dimly lit corridor. Ben and his brotherly instinct kept close to Andrew and Nipper to protect them just in case danger came their way. "Click...click...click...click...click...click..." "What was that?" asked Nipper who tried to act brave but in all reality was scared. "I don't know," said Dr. Daniels. "Click...click...click...click..." "Hello? Is someone there? I'm Dr. Daniels from the JSFA Lexington. I am here to help." There was no reply. Dr. Daniels and his continued on towards sick bay. Zjan-Ren was walking backwards more then forwards keeping an eye behind everyone's backs. He smelled something in the air and he didn't like what he smelled. ***** "How did manage to leave without us seeing them?" cursed Stone as he found out that five the boys who were suppose to stay behind vanished. "Easily, they took the ventilation system. Look," said Wolfe as he pointed to an open vent above their heads. "Damn it, this is all we need for them to get lost or injured or even killed. Damn it to hell." "Colonel request permission for Ensign Masters and myself to crawl through the ventilation system after them. They can't before far," suggested Wolfe. Stone thought for a minute. "Alright, here take my pistol. Be careful and check in with me every 30 minutes." "Yes Colonel." Kalon strapped the pistol to his side and pulled himself into the vent with Wolfe close behind. The two of them then followed the trail that was left behind by the birds of prey so they knew how to get back to the shuttles. ***** Captain Hatcher, LT Wilder, Mark, Douglas, David and Johnny stepped out of the turbo shuttle. They looked down the dimly lit corridor. There were no signs of people. Captain Hatcher looked at the map that was next to the turbo shuttle entrance. "Looks like we just take the turbo lift up 3 decks and we are there," said Hatcher. They pushed the button to the turbo shuttle nearby. Finally after endless waiting they figured it must be out of commission. "Now what?" asked Johnny who was frustrated with not being able to take the turbo lift. "Click...click...click...click..." "We take the stairs," said Hatcher. "Listen, I heard it again," said Douglas. "You're clicking noise?" said Johnny who wish Douglas would shut up and go away. "Yes, I heard it again." "Click...click...click...click..." "There did you hear it?" "Shhhhh," said Hatcher. He heard it this time. The group waited in silence. After a few minutes Hatcher decided to move forward. "Alright to the stairs." The group found the stairs and headed up. They headed out into the corridor. This was a short corridor. They could see both ends. The corridor couldn't be any longer then 100 yards. The walked down the corridor until they found the door marked "bridge." "Click...click...click...click...click..." The clicking noise was starting to give everyone the willies. Even Hatcher didn't like the sound of them and wished he new what was making it. They walked onto the bridge. It was tore up pretty bad. There were huge scratches on the bulkheads, panels and deck. Things were a mess. "What's that?" said David as he pointed to some stuff that laid dried up on the floor. LT Wilder bent down and touched it. He looked up to Captain Hatcher. "Dried Blood." "OK, let's see what the Pequod is all about," said Hatcher. He sat down at a station and started to access the computer system. "Shit the files seem to be damaged or something." Hatcher continued to work on it. "Here we go. Pequod was commissioned on November 3, 2585. 2585?" "You mean this thing is from the future?" asked Wilder. "According to these files it is. The Pequod is a mobile science station." "You think they were working on quantum physics that caused them to go back in time?" asked Wilder. "I don't know. These files are too damaged to read anymore. I wonder if their systems burned out some during their time flight." "Click...click...click.." Johnny didn't like the sound of that. It gave him the creeps although he wouldn't admit it. He shut the door to the bridge so he wouldn't have to listen to it. "Let's see what else we can get from here before we head back. You boys see if you can access any other stations." Johnny didn't bother going to a station. He just held his pistol close to him ready to fire it if need be. LT Wilder looked around amazed at the advanced technology. He wasn't watching where he was going and he tripped over some debris. He fell towards a glass monitoring board and he put his hand out to block him from hitting the panel. The glass crashed as his hand went through it. "Son of a bitch," said Wilder. Blood started to stream down his arm and drip onto the floor. "Click...click...click...click...click...click...click..." Hatcher went over to Wilder and looked at it. "You cut it pretty bad. We better head back now so Dr. Daniels can take care of it." Hatcher ripped some of his uniform shirt to wrap around Wilder's hand. "Alright boys, let's wrap it up here." "Click...click...click...click...click...click...click..." "Captain, I think something is outside the door," said Johnny. "It's your imagination Cadet," said Wilder who was pissed off for making himself look like a fool in front of Hatcher, plus his hand was beginning to throb. Wilder opened the door. "See there is nothing out there," he said as he stuck his injured hand outside the door to point to nothing. There was a loud beast like cry that sent ice chills down everyone's spines. Then out of nowhere a creature appeared inside the doorway taking Wilder's bloody hand into his mouth and chomping it off. Wilder screamed in great pain as his hand was amputated by some strange beast. The beast was about 6 ½ feet tall. It was a dismal gray with tiny armor like scales. Its body and head looked like a velociraptor, but he yard long arms had eagle like claws at the end ready to rip its way through anything it desired. Swinging forcefully was a tale that had a scorpion like stinger at the tip of it. The tail was about 6 feet long. The teeth were razor sharp and had drool dangling from them. Its evil red eyes pierced through things as if there was nothing there. Johnny screamed and fired at the creature, but the blast didn't phase the creature. The scales protected the creature from the blasts. Hatcher and Mark both begin firing as Douglas dragged Wilder back onto the bridge. David stood there shaking like a leaf. Douglas quickly put a tunicate on Wilder's arm. With great force, the creature leapt on the bridge and pounced on Wilder. Douglas was thrown back wards. Blood from Wilder's head being ripped off by the creature's razor teeth splattered on David. David froze in his tracks. "Everyone out of here now!!" Ordered Hatcher. "Back to the turbo shuttle!!!" Mark and Johnny immediately ran out towards the stairs. Hatcher grabbed David who was in shock and with Douglas's help they ran to the stairs. The creature screeched and followed its prey. Douglas looked down the corridor before entering the stair case and saw that more of these horrid creatures were coming towards them. "Shit!!!" said Douglas as he slammed the door shut. Mark and Johnny already made it to the turbo shuttle entrance and they had the door opened ready to board. Hatcher and David made it to the entrance. Douglas was bringing up the back. David freaked and pushed everyone out of his way and ran into the turbo shuttle, knocking Mark inside. David punched the buttons and the doors closed. "FUCK!!!" yelled Johnny. "That asshole shut us out!!" "Behind you," yelled Douglas as he was running towards the entrance from the staircase. Hatcher turned and saw three of the creatures slowly heading their way. Hunting down their next prey. Tumbling out of the stairway entrance was the creature that attacked them on the bridge. It still had Wilder's blood dripping from his mouth. "We're trapped," said Johnny. Johnny and Hatcher fired their pistols but it did no good. It just made the creatures angrier. The creatures were close enough to pounce. The doors to the turbo shuttle opened. Mark stood by the control panel shaking his fist because he hurt it when he punched David. "Quickly, get on!" Douglas and Johnny quickly got on. Mark's face turned white as he saw one of the creatures pounce on his father. Hatcher screamed in horror as the creature's jaws and claws tore his flesh body to threads. Johnny closed the doors and the turbo shuttle began to move. Mark was screaming and crying and trying to open the doors again. Douglas held tightly onto Mark trying to calm him down. "He's gone Mark. I'm sorry." Douglas couldn't believe it. His commanding officer, the man who brought the Lexington back to life and gave hope to so many boys was now dead. Mark began to cry hard as Douglas hugged and held on to Mark tight. Douglas gave David and evil glare for if it wasn't for his cowardness, Mark's father could still be alive and not have died such a senseless death. ***** "Colonel, we have a situation," said Flint as he came off the Lady Hawke and stepped into the foyer where Colonel Stone was standing. "What is it?" "Hatcher's dead." "What? How?" "Something about a creature killing him." "Tell Wilder to get his team back here on the double and call back the other two teams." "Colonel, Wilder is dead too. Cooper, Douglas, Mark and that other boy from the Ramses are on the turbo shuttle on their way back. Cooper said they should be exiting the shuttle in about 25 minutes." "Call back the other two teams. Murdock and I are going to the turbo shuttle." "Aye Sir. What about Masters and Wolfe?" "Tell them they got 25 minutes to find those boys." "We're not going to leave them behind if we don't find them, are we?" "Master Sergeant of all the years we have served together in the Marines, have you ever known me to pull out and leave someone behind?" "No Sir." "Then why ask me now?" "Sorry Sir." "Now get those teams back." Colonel Stone and Sergeant Murdock took off down the corridor. ***** Captain Storm and his team stepped off of the turbo shuttle. They were inside the engineering core. The room was filled with smoke, small fires were scattered about, and sparks were flying. The smell of dead burning bodies swamped the air. "My God what happened in here?" said Ely as he looked up and saw the massive engineering core that was the nerve center of the orb. "What's that smell?" asked Ian who thought he was going to throw up from the aroma. Ely knew what the smell was but he didn't want to tell the young boy. He just ignored the question and cautiously proceeded forward. Ely went to a control panel and started to tap into it. He was amazed on how advanced it was. "Click...click...click...click..." "What's that clicking news?" asked Ian. "It's probably some of the equipment malfunctioning," said Parker the boy from the Ramses. "I don't think so," said Captain Storm. "Click...click...click...click..." "Mike, gather the team and start heading back to the turbo shuttle," said Storm. "What's wrong Sir?" "That clicking is not machine made." "Click...click...click...click...click..." "What is it then?" "I don't know, but if a station this side has no signs of survivors in it, whatever is making that noise can't be good." Mike, Ryan, Parker, Ian, and Jesse started to head back to the turbo shuttle. Captain Storm continued to look at the control panel. He wanted to get as much information as he can before he evacuated the core. "Oh God!!!" said Storm. He held his comm watch to the mouth. But before he spoke, words came out. "All teams report back to the shuttles immediately. Repeat all teams are to report back to the shuttles immediately," boomed Master Sergeant's voice. "Flint, this is Storm, what's going on?" "We have a situation Captain. All teams need to report back on the double." "Are you in touch with Captain Hatcher? I found out something he needs to know." "Captain Storm, just report back to the shuttle immediately." "Master Sergeant, where is Captain Hatcher?" There was a long silence. "Where is Hatcher?" "He didn't make it." "Shit!!!" said Storm. "How?" "We're not exactly sure, but something to do with some man-eating creatures." "Click...click...click...click..." "Creatures? What kind of creatures?" "We're not sure." "Alright, we're on our way back." "Click...click...click..." "Tell Stone that this station isn't stable. Small explosions have already begun to happen throughout the station. Most of them on the opposite side of where we docked the shuttles. But in approximately 12 hours there will be one fatal blow." "Understood." Storm's heart skipped a beat as he heard a high pitch scream. He pulled his weapon and ran to where the scream came from. He came to the area where the entrance to the turbo shuttle was. There blocking the entrance were three creatures that no one ever seen the looks of before. Jesse, Ryan, Parker and Mike all stood frozen pointing their weapons at the creatures. "Don't move," whispered Storm. Ian was crying. He wished he was back home with his parents. He was so scared he was trembling. The creatures bobbed their heads up and down as they hissed and clicked. They were eyeing up their prey. Looking them over. Slowly coming towards them. "Captain what do we do?" asked Mike. "I want everyone slowly move towards me." "Click...click...click...click..." Captain Storm turned looked behind him. There were four more creatures. Then he saw more creatures joining the original three. "My God!" The boys made it to Storm. "We're surrounded," cried Ian. "We're gonna die." "No one is going to die today," said Storm. Ely looked up at the pipes that strung out overhead. The creatures were slowly closing in. "Jesse, you see that purple pipe on your right?" "Yeah." "When I tell you too, I want you to fire your pistol at it. Don't miss it. We only got one chance at this." "Why don't shoot the creatures?" asked Jesse. "Because there are too many of them. We won't be able to take them all down. Mike, shoot the purple pipe on the left. Ryan you got the one up ahead. And I take the one behind us." "Why the purple pipe?" "It's filled with a chemical that absorbs the oxygen in the room almost immediately. It is used to put out fires." "How will we breath?" asked Ian. "We hold our breath until we get to the turbo shuttle. But we have to move fast before the door seals itself." The creatures hissed and growled and advanced closer and closer. "Take aim, take two deep breaths." Everyone took aim and held their breaths. "Fire!!!" The room lit up with phaser fire. Everyone hit their targets. An alarm went off as the chemical started to flood the core. The creatures howled and hissed as they gasped for air. Storm and his team started running towards the door as they fired into the crowd of creatures. Storm noticed the creatures were not affected by the phaser fire. Mike, Ryan, Parker, Jesse and Storm piled into the turbo shuttle. They heard a scream and looked. Ian had tripped and fallen and was now gasping for air. Ryan immediately ran to help the boy. "Ryan! Come back!!" yelled Storm. But it was too late. The doors shut. Ryan held his breath and ran towards Ian, but a gasping creature beat Ryan first and pounced on Ian, tearing him into pieces, blood and body parts being splattered everywhere. Ryan turned back only to see that his escape was now closed. The creatures were falling down and squirming due to the lack of oxygen. Ryan couldn't hold his breath anymore. He let out and tried breathing in, but oxygen filled his lungs. He could taste a metallic substance in his mouth. He gasped and fought for air, but it was no use. Ryan stumbled to the entrance to see if he could get it back open, but he collapsed before making it to the door. Soon he was covered by the blanket of death. ***** Dr. Daniels rummaged through the sickbay. It was torn to shreds and there were some dead bodies lying about. He could tell that the bodies were mauled by some sort of animal. And by the biting ration and the claw marks he didn't like the thought of how big these animals are. "Doctor, I found in the DNA lab that this station was breeding these creatures that could be used as a weapon of mass destruction," said Major Zjan-Ren. "If this is a sign of what these creatures can do, then I think this station achieved what they set out to do." "According to these reports, the creatures are immune to phaser fire." "Does it say there what the creatures aren't immune too?" "Some sort of acid that is very strong. I can't pronounce the name of it. But it is the same name that is on the massive glass tanks in the one lab that Andrew and Nipper found." "Show me." Major Zjan-Ren walked into a lab. The room was filled with six feet glass tubes that had yellowish liquid in them. Each tube was about two feet in diameter. Skull and crossbones were on each tube and had a warning written on it stating it was dangerous, lethal acid. "How can people create such stuff to use to kill. I spent most of my life trying to heal people from things that people make to destroy one another. What is it going to take for someone to realize that weapons aren't the answer." "Click...click...click..." "Dad, did you hear that?" asked Nipper. Andrew was standing next to him. Scooter joined them as well. Ben and Tim were exploring elsewhere. "Dr. Daniels, this is Flint. We need your team to report back to the shuttles immediately." "Understood. We're on our way," replied Daniels. "I'll go get Cadet Collins and Cadet Whitaker," said Zjan-Ren. "Meet us back here Major. I want to look around here before we go." "Very well Sir." "Click...click...click..." Major Zjan-Ren exited the lab to go find Tim and Ben. Dr. Daniels began looking around this lab filled with this deadly acid. Scooter was looking too. He found looking around the science labs fascinating. He was glad he was chosen to go on this team and not the others. Scooter turned the corner and saw this gray scaly creature. The creature was looking away from Scooter. Scooter stopped motionless. He couldn't believe what he saw. Below Scooter's feet was a long tale with a stinger at the end of it. The creature looked over its shoulder and hissed at the sight of Scooter. The creature swung its tail with great force hitting Scooter in the chest. Scooter was slammed against one of the glass tubes, causing it to crack. Scooter screamed as acid started to leak through the cracks and start to eat at his skin. The creature whacked Scooter with his tail one more time, this time causing Scooter to break the tube all the way. The acid poured over Scooter, devouring him up, leaving no evidence behind that a cute young boy once stood there. The creature yelped and roared as the acid ate through its tail. Soon the creature was devoured too by the acid. Dr. Daniels ran around the corner and saw the acid eat through the deck, dripping into the deck below them and eating through that deck and moving on from deck to deck to deck. But after 5 decks the acid became weak and couldn't eat no more. Dr. Daniels ran back to Nipper and Andrew. He knew he had to get them out of here. He could hear more clicking that disturbed him more then ever. He rounded the corner to see Nipper and Andrew backed into a corner by a creature. Both boys were too scared to scream or yell. "NIPPER!!!!" yelled Dr. Daniels. He clutched his chest as he watched the eagle like claws rip into Nipper's chest like an 8 year old opening his Christmas presents on Christmas morning. Major Zjan-Ren came running in with his baklava drawn. He runs up to the creature and brings his weapon down with great force, severing the head of the creature. He runs over and pick up Andrew who is in shock. Andrew is now sucking on his thumb and won't talk. Zjan-Ren runs over to Dr. Daniels. "Andrew?" yelled Ben as he came running in with Tim. He runs up to his brother and takes him from Zjan-Ren. "You're shaking like a leaf," said Ben. Ben was very concerned, because Andrew wasn't crying, talking, or anything. His eyes were elsewhere as he sucked on his thumb. Dr. Daniels was perspiring and lying on the floor clutching his chest. Major Zjan-Ren was next to his side. "Doctor?" "Nipper my son," said Dr. Daniels as he eyes became lifeless. Zjan-Ren closed the doctor's eyes. He then turned his attention to the three remaining boys. "Let's go back." "What about Dr. Daniels?" asked Ben. "He's gone Cadet Collins. His heart was just not strong enough." Ben started to cry. Not for himself but for Douglas. How as he going to handle the fact that his brother and father were both dead. Especially since his mother died only a few months prior. Another creature jumped out of nowhere, hissing and growling. Ben screamed because he was startled by it. "GO!!!" yelled Zjan-Ren as he drew his baklava once again. Another creature appeared. Tim began firing his pistol, but nothing happened. The creatures weren't phases at all except maybe they got a little more irritated. Ben carried Andrew out the lab and headed towards the turbo lift. His adrenaline was the only thing that kept him going. He didn't see that Tim remained behind to help Zjan-Ren. Major Zjan-Ren swung his sword with great skill, chopping off the creature's tail and then giving it a fatal wound. More and More creatures were now entering the lab. Major Zjan-Ren fought with pride and honor that only a Kriton could have. Tim fired his pistol even though he knew it was useless. A creature advanced onto Tim. He fired his pistol but soon was over taken by the creature. Tim screamed in sheer agony as the creature's teeth tore Tim apart. Major Zjan-Ren fought long and hard, but one of the creature's tails whipped through, knocking Zjan-Ren to his feet where his baklava went skidding across the deck. Zjan-Ren quickly scurried across the floor towards his weapon when all of a sudden he felt great pressure pounce on him. He screamed as he felt the claws of the creature's hind legs dig deep into him. Ben made it to the turbo lift. He could tell by the screams of Tim and Zjan-Ren that they wouldn't be joining him. The turbo lift opened and he ran inside and soon the lift was moving closer to safety. ***** Mark and Douglas cradled each other on the floor as the turbo shuttle zoomed towards their point of origin. Douglas looked up and saw that they would reach their destination in about 15 minutes. Douglas couldn't get the image of what he saw out of his head. He only hope it wasn't embedded in their permanently because this image wasn't something he wanted to live with for the rest of this life. Then his thoughts went to his father and brother. He hoped that they are ok and that he will see them as soon as he gets back to the shuttles. Johnny and David stood upfront watching out the window. They stood in silence. So much happened in so little time. Johnny so much wanted to kill David where he stood for shutting the doors on them He was thankful that Mark opened the doors when he did. Otherwise he might have met the same fate as Hatcher did. The shuttle shook violently as an explosion erupted in the shaft. Johnny and David both fell to the floor as they saw huge walls of flame explode their way. The shuttle shot through the inferno. Screeching of metal against metal echoed through the shuttle as it started to run off track. Then without warning the track ran out due to the explosion and the shuttle twist and turned and crashing into the shaft's bulkheads. Once the shuttle stopped moving, Douglas realized the shuttle had turned upside down. He pushed some debris off of him. He saw Mark lying off in the distance. Douglas crawled over to him. "Mark? You ok?" There was no response. "Is he alright?" asked Johnny as he stumbled out from the front with David close behind. Douglas looked at Mark, felt his neck with his two fingers to check his pulse and then looked up at Johnny and shook his head no. A beam came falling down from the shaft's overhead and crashed against the side of the shuttle. Another small explosion from a distance shook the shuttle a little. Flames were dancing in the shaft making their way to the shuttle. "We gotta get out of here," said Johnny. Douglas pulled himself up. He was sore and tired but he was ok to run under his own strength. He just hoped he didn't see anymore death. He had seen too much already. The three boys found their way out of the overturned shuttle and stood in the shaft. "Come on we go the rest of the way on foot," said Johnny. "I say we take that exit right there Johnny and use the corridors. We don't know how safe this shaft is. "I'm in charge here Douglas. We take the shaft." "Johnny, we don't know if the shaft collapsed in any more explosions or not. We should take the corridors. Besides the shaft is a labyrinth of tunnels that spreads out like capillaries and we have no idea which way to go. At least if we exit here and take the corridors we have the maps posted on the bulkheads," said Douglas. "The quickest and safest way back to the shuttles is if we take the tunnel. Besides we don't know if there are anymore of those things out there. We're safer in here." "We don't know if any of those things are in here either," added David. "Who the fuck asked you, you chicken shit pansy. If you didn't shut the doors we wouldn't be in this mess. Now shut the fuck up before I shut you up for you. Now we are going down the tunnel." "Listen to me Johnny, it's better if we take the corridors." "Fine you take the corridors and I take the tunnel. We'll see who survives." Johnny starts walking down the tunnel alone. Douglas looks at Johnny and then at David to see what David was going to do. Douglas could tell that David was scared shitless and truth be known, so was he. But right now he had to keep his cool and get them back to the shuttles. And he was going to do that by using the corridors. ***** "What happened?" asked Flint as he took Andrew from a very exhausted Ben. "We were attacked by some sort of monsters," said Ben out of breath. Flint took Andrew into the Lady Hawke and put him on a cot. "Danzig, he's in shock. Get me the medical kit." "Is he going to be ok?" "We'll do our best. Where are the others?" "They didn't make it," said Ben who still couldn't believe that Dr. Daniels and Nipper were both gone. He still didn't know how he was going to tell this to Douglas. Flint made Andrew as comfortable as possible. Ben sat on the cot next to him and held his hand. They just had to wait for the others to return and they will be heading back home. Ben was too concerned for Andrew that he never realized Trevor wasn't in the shuttle like he was supposed to be. Mike walked in. Ben looked up with tears in his eyes. "How is he?" asked Mike. "Not good. He needs help." "We'll be leaving soon." "I hope so," said Ben as he turned and look back at his brother who was still sucking his thumb. ***** "What's the status on the other teams?" asked Ely as he came into the docking foyer where Master Sergeant Flint was. "Ben and Andrew Collins are the only survivors from Dr. Daniels's team. Andrew is in severe shock. They're both on the Lady Hawke now. We haven't heard from Mr. Wolfe or Ensign Masters yet." "Where did they go?" "It seems that the Birds of Prey flew the coop. They went to go look for them." "Damn it. We're running out of time. We have less then 10 hours before this whole place blows to smithereens. And the other team?" "We lost contact with them. The last time we heard from them is when Cooper called in and said that Hatcher was killed." "What?" said Jesse who no one realized that he was standing in the doorway to the foyer. "I'm sorry Jesse, your father was killed." Flint didn't know how else to put it. Jesse immediately started crying and he jetted off down the corridor. He was terribly upset. "Shit!!! Jesse!!! Come back here!!!" Yelled Storm. "I didn't know he was standing there," said Flint. "I'm going after him. See if you can contact Hatcher's team on comm and see if you can locate Masters, Wolfe and those kids. We leave in 1 hour if they are here or not. This place is unstable and we don't want to go up with it." "Aye Sir." Storm then ran down the corridor hoping to find Jesse. ***** David stumbled into the docking foyer. He was out of breath and had some blood trickling down his flush cheeks. His uniform was torn and he had tears in his eyes. "Where's your group?" asked Mike. In between breaths David said "Dead." "What? Douglas is dead?" asked Ben who was already beginning to let the tears flow. David didn't answer, but his face told Ben what he was looking for. "Is Douglas dead?" Ben asked again. "He's probably is now." "What do you mean, probably?" asked Ben. "There was an explosion and these beams collapsed trapping him in a room." "Did you try helping him?" asked Mike. "Those...those things were coming. I had to leave otherwise I would be dead like everyone else." "Shit," said Ben. He picked up a rifle as so did Mike. "Come on David, take us to wear Douglas is," insisted Ben. "Fuck you!!! I'm not going back out there." "Like the fuck you are," said Mike who was beginning to lose his temper. "Now get your ass in gear and show us wear you left Douglas." "Fuck you!! You're not my boss. I'm staying here." Mike grabbed the front collar portion of David's shirt with both of his hands and slammed David up against the bulkhead. "You better hope those creatures come here and eat the shit out of you because if you don't go I will kill you far worse then those creatures would when I get back. Fuck I kill you right now I am so pissed." Mike let go of David and David fell to the floor. Mike aimed his rifle at him. David looked up trembling and tears started to form. "You wouldn't dare," trembled David. Mike shot of a round hitting the bulkhead just above David's head. "Shit, you almost killed me," whined David as he scrambled away from the blast. He looked up only to see that he was looking down a barrel of a rifle that Ben was holding. "Mike was being nice and he missed. But don't count on it with me." "Alright, alright I'll take you. But God help us if we run into more of those creatures." Mike grabbed David by the back of the collar and dragged him to his feet. The three boys then headed down the corridor in hope to find and save Douglas. ***** Douglas felt his temple. He could feel warm moisture leaking from it. He knew it was blood. He cursed David for leaving him behind. It would be one thing if he tried to help and couldn't do anything, but he didn't even try. Douglas laid still the best he could. He could hear one of the creatures out behind the fallen debris trying to get to Douglas. He wasn't sure how many were out there, but he knew they didn't out there until about five minutes after David scampered away with his tail between his legs. Through the cracks in the fallen debris that trapped Douglas in the corner and currently the only thing that kept him safe from the creatures, he could see sparks and flashes of light. The only thing Douglas could figure is that a power wire broke during the explosion. He remembered seeing a power switch and wondered if that was what controlled the hot wire that was bouncing around. The creature left out an ear piercing cry and it attempted to pull some of the debris away from Douglas. Its tail was trying to find its way through the cracks and crevices to get to the hunted prey. "Oh shit Ben. I hope you make it out a live. I love you so much. My body might die today, but my love for you will never ever day," said Douglas out loud hoping Ben could hear him, even though he knew Ben was no where near him. Douglas pushed himself tighter up against the bulkhead as the creature pulled another piece of fallen debris away from Douglas. Douglas closed his eyes, waiting for that final lash with the razor sharp claws or a swipe of the deadly tail. ***** "Over there," whispered David as they reached the point where around the corner he knew Douglas was. Mike poked his head around the corner. He could see one of the creatures trying to get into a pile of debris. Only if he knew Douglas was in there and still alive. The creature left out a loud crying howl. Then Mike heard something. "Oh shit Ben. I hope you make it out a live. I love you so much. My body might die today, but my love for you will never ever day," came out from behind the debris. Mike backed up a few feet where Ben and David were. "Well?" asked Ben. "Is he alive?" "Yes, I heard him behind the debris, but we have two problems." "What's that?" "One of those damn creatures is trying to get to him, plus there is a hot wire flopping around in our path to Douglas. We're gonna have to cut the power and distract the creature and then remove the debris so Douglas can get out. Hopefully Douglas isn't injured where he can't run." "What are we going to do then?" asked Ben. "We're not leaving without him." "Of course we're not," assured Mike. "I will keep Old Ugly busy while you, Ben, cut the power and then you two get Douglas out." "Mike, you can't handle that thing by yourself." "Don't under estimate the power of the Donkey. Now, let's do it." Mike rounded the corner and fired one round at the creature. He knew it was useless to fire because of the creature's armored scales, but it was only to get his attention. Then Mike left out a loud "HEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!' The creature immediately went towards Mike. He fired a few round and went down the opposite end of the corridor. Ben and David quickly ran into the area that Douglas was trapped in. Ben pulled the switch and the hot wire died. "Douglas, you alive?" "Ben? Is that you?" "No, it's the Avon Lady." Ben and David quickly started moving the debris. "Get me out of here Ben." "I'm trying. You injured?" "A little, but I can still run like Hell as soon as you get me out of here." Ben and David finally removed enough of the debris and pulled Douglas out. Mike came running around the corner with the creature close behind. The creature stopped as he saw that he had four prey trapped. The creature left out a hunting howl. "What's the matter with you Douglas getting trapped like that?" said Mike who was out of breath. "Those rifles don't work on penetrating their scales," said Douglas. "No shit Sherlock," said Mike. "I'll take care of this son of a bitch. You three get back to the shuttles." "We're not leaving you Mike. We're not like some people we know who leave other people when they need help." Ben glared at David and David looked away. "Don't argue me Ben. Once again you under estimate the power of the donkey. Now go!!!" Mike started firing round after round after round at the creature to keep him distracted. The firing weren't penetrating the scales at all, but it did keep the creature from seeing Ben, Douglas and David running past it. Mike was starting to walk towards his escape route until his impulse rifle stopped firing. Mike looked down and saw his battery was empty. "Oh hell, doesn't this suck." The creature lurched towards Mike, but Mike gripped the rifle like a baseball bat and swung it full force, whacking the creature in the head. Then Mike swung it back hitting the other side of the creatures face. "Yeah, you don't like that do you?" The creature hissed and howled and swung its tail towards Mike. Mike dodged the tail and whacked the creature once again in the face. Then he did it again and again and again. "Take that you ugly son of a bitch!!!" Mike just kept hammering the creature with his rifle over and over again. Every so often the creature would try to strike with its razor claws or its deadly tail, but the donkey managed to move fast enough. "Any other time you are probably faster then me, but it's been over six hours since I had a bite and you are keeping me away from getting my food and no one stands between me and my food." Mike swung the rifle one more time, but this time the creature's tail managed to knock the rifle out of Mike's hands. "Think you're so smart do you? We'll see about that. Come on, come get me. You think you can take the Donkey down? Then come one. Here I am Old Ugly One. Here I am." Mike slowly moved backwards getting into position. The creature slowly moved towards Mike, getting into striking distance. The Creature left out a battle cry and then lurched forward towards Mike. Mike quickly bent down and picked up the wire that was lying at his feet and shoved it into the creature's open mouth. "Eat this you ugly motherfucker! Then he quickly jumped towards the power box and pushed the switch up. The creature yelped and howled in pain as its body was flooded with volts of electricity. Smoke of dead flesh started to fill the area. The power box blew up form being overloaded and the power to the wire went dead. The creature fell to the floor, small flames were smoldering out on certain parts of its body. "You fucked with the wrong donkey you ugly son of bitch!!" Mike turned around to meet up with his friends. But when he turned he was looking eye to eye with another creature. Mike's eyes dropped and looked at his sweat soaked shirt as he saw the creature's stinger tail pierce his chest. ***** Douglas, Ben, and David were running down the corridor. They came to a screeching halt as they saw a pack of the creatures blocking their way. All of them were clicking and hissing at the boys who were intruding on their territory. "Oh shit!!!" yelled Ben. "Quick, through that door," yelled Douglas. The three boys ran through a door and shut it. They found themselves in a stairwell. "They got our way blocked. How are we going to get back?" said David who was scared shitless. "Simple, we just go down one deck and follow that to the next stairwell and climb back up and that will help us avoid the creatures," said Ben. "We're gonna die. I just know it," said David who was starting to panic. "Shut up David!! We're gonna make it out of this alive. Now come on. Let's go down," ordered Douglas. The three boys went down one flight of stairs. The floor was wet. They looked and saw that the deck below them was flooded. "Why is that flooded?" asked David. "Who knows? Maybe one of the water storage tanks blew up or something. Now let's go through this hatch," said Ben. He opened the hatch only to be looking eye to eye with a creature. The creature hissed and howled. Ben quickly slammed the door shut. The creature rammed itself into the door, but Ben managed to keep it shut. "Guys I can't hold this door shut much longer." "We go up to cross over," said Douglas. He started to climb the stairs and he saw a shadow of a creature on the upper landing. They were trapped. "Oh God, we are trapped. We're gonna die," whimpered David. "Shhhh," whispered Douglas hoping the creature above them wouldn't come down the stairs. "Can you guys swim?" Ben nodded as he and now Douglas were trying to hold the door shut. David nodded too causing some of his tears building up in his eyes to roll out. "This is what we do. We swim down those stairs and over to the next stairwell and make it to the other side that way." "Douglas, you know how long we have to hold our breath?" asked Ben as he jetted backwards a little bit from the pounding of the creature. "Either we take the chance of swimming or we stay here..." The creature above them found his way to them. He roared, hissed and howled as he found his prey. Its tail swinging and ready to attack. "NOW!!!" yelled Douglas. The three boys let go of the door and quickly dove into the water, using the railing to drag them down. They found the door that was already opened. They swim through it and made their way towards the next stairwell. About halfway there, they found an air pocket. They came up gasping for breath. "We're gonna die," David kept saying through his deep inhales. "Will you shut up David. We made it this far. We are halfway there," said Ben. "How do we know that those things can't swim?" "We don't," said Douglas. "That is why we keep going. Now let's go." Douglas took a couple of deep breaths and went back under. Ben followed suit with David close behind. The three boys made their way through fallen and floating debris in their watering passage. None of them wanted this to become their watery tomb, so they kept forcing themselves forward. They finally found the hatch to the next stair. They went inside and immediately starting swimming up. Unlike the last stairwell, this stairwell ended on the deck they were swimming too. So instead of stairs leading to the deck they were getting us too, nothing was there but open space and a small balcony that overlooked the flooded stairwell. All three boys emerged, gasping for breath. All of them were exhausted and spent. "Shit!! This stairwell doesn't go up to the deck we need to go. But maybe we can find our way back on this deck," said Douglas. "Good, because I am done swimming," said Ben who struggled to get out of the water first. David was treading water as he watched Ben help Douglas out. "Guys, I think there is something in here with me. Help me out, quick." David started to panic. Ben and Douglas each grabbed onto one of David's arms. They began to pull David out, but met resistance. "It got me. Help me!!!" Cried David. "Get me out of here. It got me!!! It got my feet!!" Ben and Douglas pulled David but they were being pulled back to the water. "Hang on David," said Douglas through gritted teeth. "Don't let go. Please don't let go. Get me out of here!!" David started screaming and yelling and panicking like no one have seen before. Ben and Douglas felt their grip loosening as they tried to pull David out to safety. David's arms were slipping through their wet and greasy hands. Then the tension gave way and both boys fell on their backs with David lying on top of them. "We got you David, now get up and let's get the hell out of here," said Douglas. David didn't move or say a word. Ben and Douglas looked down only to see that they only managed to save David from the waist up and that his blood and guts were spewing out of his severed torso onto them. Both boys screamed in horror. Then a creature emerged out of the water with blood dripping out of its mouth. Ben and Douglas scrambled to their feet and ran out of the stairwell. ***** Johnny cursed as he came to yet another fork in the tunnel. He didn't know which way to go. Maybe Douglas was right. Plus he didn't know what exit to take even if he did find his way. So he finally gave up traveling in the tunnel and forced open a door and exited into a corridor. Johnny let out a deep breath of relief when he saw the corridor was clear from any of those creatures. He climbed out of the tunnel and looked at the map that was on the bulkhead. To his relief he wasn't that far off from the shuttles. He stopped when he saw a man lying on the floor with his legs chewed off. Strapped to his back was a flame thrower. Johnny knew creatures had to be close. He lost his rifle he had in the crash so he removed the flame thrower from the corpse. He tested it out and it worked perfectly. And lucky for him the tank was almost full. Johnny continued on his way towards the shuttles. He held the handle to the flame thrower firmly in his grasps. Johnny screamed as he squeezed the trigger causing a stream of fire blaze forward. A creature that had jumped out from around the corner screamed in pain as Johnny continued to cook the creature. Johnny began running now and a couple more creatures popped out in front of him. "Take that you assholes!!!!" he fired his flame thrower burning the creatures and keeping himself alive. Johnny's heart was pounding fast. His adrenaline was high and even though he would have never admitted it, he was scared like he has never been scared before. Johnny was running and he heard a creature's howl from around the corner. Johnny stopped and just as something came around the corner Johnny squeezed his trigger. The flames shot out and two figures that ran around the corner were grabbed by the fiery arms. The two men screamed in horror as the fire burned them alive. Johnny stopped shooting the fire when he realized he just fired upon Colonel Stone and Sergeant Murdock. Johnny's heart sunk to the bottom of his stomach. He just killed two people who he thought was a creature. Johnny then saw a creature come around the corner where Stone and Murdock just came from. Johnny fired once more towards the creature. Johnny looked at the two burning corpses on the deck. He then turned his attention to the creature. The creature screamed and waved its tails harshly. Johnny turned his back as the tail came towards him. The tail came down hard on the tank the hose to snap off. The gas was leaking out of the back. "Oh Shit!!!" Yelled Johnny. He tried to get it off before any of the flames around him found the gas leak but it was too late. ***** Corporal Danzig paced outside the docking foyer keeping watch. Thins were getting too intense now. Too many people were missing and/or dying. He knew they will be leaving very soon and he was more then ready. He wished he could leave right now. But there were only nine of them at the shuttles. He was keeping watch at the entrance to the docking foyer. Master Sergeant Flint was inside the Lady Hawke checking on Andrew. There was no change in his health. Scottie, Tyler, Greg, Brandon, Rabbit and Parker were the others who stayed behind. "Click...click...click...click..." "Who's there?" yelled Danzig? But before he could get an answer a creature pounced on him. Flint came running out of the Lady Hawke. Only to be greeted by another creature. He fired his pistol but it did no good. Soon he was being torn apart by claws that's sole purpose to make mince meat out of whatever it clasped onto. "Oh my God!!" yelled Parker. Him and Rabbit ran into the Ramses and started to get her ready to take off with or without anybody. Rabbit and Parker sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats and quickly did what they had to do to get the ship going. "Close the hatch!!" yelled Parker. Rabbit hit a button on the console and the hatch in the back closed. They punched the gears and soon they were off heading away from the Orb. Tyler and Greg were in the Lady Hawke with Andrew. Both of them heard the screaming and yelling and gun fire. They were too scared to move. But finally Tyler got enough courage and ran to the hatch. Just as a creature was storming towards him, he closed it. They were safe. Brandon had run into the Raptor. He was too panicking and trying to figure out how to take off. Scottie ran after him. "What the fuck you doing?" screamed Scottie? "I'm getting the hell out of here." "But the others are still out there. We can't leave without them." "We don't know if they are still alive," shouted Brandon as he turned on the engines. "We're waiting for them!" Scottie tried to get Brandon away from the controls, but Brandon fought back. The two boys struggled against each other. Scottie threw a punch causing Brandon to hit a gear. The Raptor's rockets fired and it pulled away from the Orb. The airlock seal broke and the air was being sucked out into space. Brandon tried to hang on, but soon he was outside. Scottie tried to seal the hatch, but in doing so he grabbed onto the wrong level causing the Raptor to run into the Lady Hawke. The hatch that separated the corridor and the docking foyer slammed shut automatically as the air pressure changed due to the Raptor causing a breach. As the door slammed shut, the Raptor's rockets fired once more and ran into the Lady Hawke, hitting her engines. Soon both the Raptor and the Lady Hawke were engulfed in a fiery explosion. The Wonder Boy broke from its hatch from the force of the explosion. The only thing that kept the Wonder Boy from floating off was a tending line that Ben had insisted to be strapped on to the side of the orb using a mechanical hand that was on the outside of the ship. Parker and Rabbit let out a big sigh as they knew they were finally going home. They saw the explosion of the Raptor and Lady Hawke and were happy they made it out when they did. "I'm going to go pee," said Parker who was so scared that he had already pissed his pants once. He stood up only to see the drool of a creature dribble onto the floor. No one was around to hear the final screams of Rabbit and Parker. ***** Captain Storm had found Jesse and they headed back to the shuttles. Captain Ely put Jesse behind him as he saw the hatch was closed. He stopped and listened and he heard nothing. Just a few minutes before he heard an explosion but he thought it was one the explosion that were happening inside the orb. They made to the hatch and Ely's heart sunk as he looked out the little window in the hatch. Whatever happened here just cost him more time on board the orb, time that they didn't have. "Captain Storm!" yelled Ben and Douglas together as they ran down the corridor. "Ben, Douglas, you boys ok?" "Yes, but David and Mike are..." Douglas then got awfully quiet. He couldn't say the word dead. "Where's my Dad and Nipper?" Ben turned white as a ghost. He never told Douglas that his brother and father were killed. They were too busy running for their lives. Trying to make it back to the shuttles. "Douglas, I am so sorry, but..." Ben started to say. Douglas shook his head no. Tears streamed down his hot sweaty cheeks. He just lost his mother six months ago and now he lost his father and brother too? He fell into Ben's arms and cried. Ben looked up at Captain Storm. Can we go inside now?" asked Ben. "I'm sorry Ben, but there's appears to be an accent. The shuttles are no more." "What do you mean no more? Where's Andrew?" "Andrew was on the Lady Hawke but from the debris floating out there, the Lady Hawke has been destroyed." Ben then clung onto his best friend even tighter as the two boys cried and mourned for the lost of their family members. "What was that explosion? I could tell it was an external explosion and not an internal one," said Kalon as he, Harrison Wolfe, Spencer, Kyle, Trevor, and Chandler followed close behind. "Trevor?" yelled Ben . He immediately went to his brother and hugged him. He told Trevor that Andrew was dead and the two boys clung onto each other. Then they went over to Douglas and the three boys then held each other tight as they tried to figure out what to do in their time of loss. "The Ramses appears to be gone, the Lady Hawke and Raptor appears to have exploded and the best I can tell by looking out that window, the Wonder Boy is just floating along side connected by a cable," said Captain Storm. "I recommend to find the others and then find an escape shuttle and get off of this place," said Harrison Wolfe. "As far as I know, we are the others. And as for escape shuttles, well when I was in engineering I was looking at the logs and the logs show that all escape pods and shuttles had been launched. We are stuck here." "Like Hell we are," said Kalon. "All we have to do is find space suit and I will climb out there and bring the Wonder Boy back into the docking foyer so we can get the hell out of dodge." "Is that possible?" asked Wolfe. "Possible or not, it's the only choice we have," insisted Kalon. Chandler had been listening with great interest. He then went over to computer console that was on the bulkhead in the corridor. He tapped into it fairly easy and scanned the orb. "A lot of the systems are failing because of the explosions. I think we have only nine hours left before the whole orb blows up. But the good news is that five decks up there is a spacewalk foyer with four spacesuits still in inventory," said Chandler. "There you have it. I can have the Wonder Boy ready for boarding in one hour," assured Kalon. "But we don't know what kind of damage she succumbed," said Storm. "And we won't find out if we stay here," said Kalon. "Now I am going to need help on the outside. Ben, Douglas I hate to ask you of this, but I need you both to put your grief on the back burner and come with me." "Ben I don't want you to go," said Trevor. "I don't want to lose you too." "Don't worry little brother, I'll come back. Right now I have to help Kalon so you don't die too." Douglas and Ben went and stood by Kalon. Both of them were still hurting and both still devastated by the lost of their loved ones, but they knew what they had to do. "Kyle, I need you too," said Kalon. "This Bird of Prey is ready," assured Kyle. "Kalon, about 50 yards up from here there is an access panel to a maintenance chute. The four of you can climb that two the deck where the spacesuit foyer is. Then once you reached the access panel on that level you will only be about 20 meters from the foyer. That will be the quickest and safest way. There is no way the creatures can climb those chute ladders," said Chandler as he continued to tap into the computer system. "We'll see you in an hour," said Kalon. He gave Captain Storm a smile and then him, Ben, Douglas and Kyle took off down the corridor. Trevor stopped Douglas first and said "You come back alive too, ok!" "I will," said Douglas. What Trevor had said helped Douglas a little with the pain that he had going on in his heart. ***** Kalon, Kyle, Ben and Douglas made it to the access panel. Kalon removed it and looked in. There was a hot strong draft traveling through it. Kalon looked up and saw the climb was endless. He looked down and saw the drop was endless too. "OK Boys it's a long ways down, so be careful. We only have five decks to climb. That isn't too bad. With all the push ups and sit ups that Stone has been making you do, you should be in good shape for it. I'll lead, then Ben will follow with Douglas behind Ben. Kyle I want you to follow up the rear." Kalon took a deep breath and climbed into the chute. He clung unto the metal latter rungs and began climbing. Ben followed and thought to himself that he was glad he wasn't afraid of heights. Douglas followed and looked up and didn't look down. Soon Kyle was in the chute too climbing his way up towards the deck they needed to get on. Kalon made it to the access panel they were aiming for. He opened it up and poked his head out. The coast was clear. No creatures were in sight. He climbed out and then reached his hand out to help Ben out of the chute. Once out Ben looked around and kept an eye out for any creatures. So far none were in sight. Douglas stumbled out and was glad he made it up. He didn't look down once. Kyle put his foot on the ledge of the access panel and he reached to take Kalon's hand. There was a rumble and explosion that shook the deck. Kyle lost his balance and grip. Kalon grabbed onto Kyle's arm. Kyle was dangling in the chute. "Don't let go," said Kyle who was scared for the first time in his life. Kyle struggled to pull him up, but he sweat from his hands and arms were causing Kyle to slip. There was another explosion and this enhanced the slippingness. Kalon watched in terror as Kyle plummeted to his death. "Kyle!!' yelled both Ben and Douglas. "How many more have to die?" yelled Ben. "No more," said Kalon. "Come on, it's up to us three to ensure that." Kalon, Ben and Douglas made it to the spacewalk foyer. They sealed the hatch and quickly put on the suits. Kalon went over how to work the suits and air tanks. He briefly explained the dangers of floating away. Unfortunately only one suit had a jet pack on it. The others did not. "Ben, Douglas, I will wear the one with the jet pack. You two will hang onto me as I jet us to the Wonder Boy." Both boys understood. They sealed up their suits and soon they clung unto Kalon as they drifted in space heading to the Wonder Boy. Once Their, Ben and Douglas each strapped a tending line from them to the Wonder Boy to prevent them from floating away accidentally. Kalon first went to the hatch that the Raptor had torn away from. It was till open. Kalon then spent some time working it hoping to get it to close and seal itself. For once Lady Luck was on their side and it closed and sealed. He went to the hatch that the Ramses was on. That one checked out ok. It was closed and sealed. He then went to the hatch that the Lady Hawke was once attached too. There too the hatch was closed and sealed. There was some cosmetic damage to it, but it would hold long enough for them to get away from the orb. He then went to the hatch that the Wonder Boy was attached too. There Lady Luck wasn't with them. There was too much damage around it and he couldn't guarantee a seal. He then proceeded to the Wonder Boy and checked her hatch. There was some damage, but he was sure that a seal would hold. Kalon floated inside the Wonder Boy and grabbed some tools. He got out a welding torch and some other tools. He then floated back out to where Ben and Douglas were. Kalon then looked and saw that the Wonder Boy had succumb to some damage too, but until he got inside and powered her up, he wasn't sure what the extent was and if it would prevent them from escaping this hell hole or not. "Douglas, I will need you to go inside and power up the Wonder Boy. Then dock her. Ben and I will then weld her seal so we can pressurize the foyer again." "Shouldn't Ben do it? He's the pilot," asked Douglas. "Ben and I been working together on the modifications of the Wonder Boy. I need him out here, unless you know your way around tools." "I'll drive," said Douglas. With Kalon's help he got himself strapped inside the Wonder Boy. He powered her up and slowly backed her into the docking hatch. One there, Kalon and Ben immediately began working on the seal. After what seemed like a life time to Ben, they finished the seal. "How are we going to unseal her?" asked Ben. "This is only a temporary seal. Once we get loaded up, I will come back out here and cut it with the blow torch. It won't take long to do. Now let's get inside and pressurize this thing so we can get the hell out of here." "Look, there is something leaking over there," said Ben. He pulled himself towards a minor leak by an exposed pipe. An outside panel had fallen off during the explosion. "There is some damage in here, but I am not sure how much." "Let's get inside and run a diagnostics test." "Shouldn't I turn this valve closed to prevent the leaking of this steam?" "Good point Ben. You are learning from the master. Turn it off and then let's get inside." Ben reached in and started to turn the valve. It was hard to move. He used all of his might and finally it gave. The valve broke off causing it to send its contents rapidly through the pipe and now slowly like it was doing earlier. This caused too much pressure on the weaken pipe and at the lead it snapped and the pipe whipped into Ben's face shield, breaking a hole into it and pouring hot steam into Ben's suit. Kalon quickly got to Ben, but it was too late. Kalon closed his eyes. That's two he lost on his team now. First Kyle and now Ben. Kalon grabbed Ben's corpse and took him to the entrance point of the Wonder Boy. Douglas was busy pressurizing the Wonder Boy and the docking foyer. Soon both of them had oxygen. "Ben , you okay?" asked Douglas as he saw Kalon come through the chamber holding Ben's limp body. Douglas saw that Ben's face shield was damaged. He ran over to Ben's body that was now lying on the floor. "No Douglas, don't." But it was too late. Douglas turned the body over only to see what exposure to cold, hard space and hot steam did to Ben's face. Douglas immediately started to cry again. His best friend was dead. He so much wanted to take his own life, but then he thought about Trevor and how he told him to come back. Trevor lost Ben and Andrew and he knew that Trevor needed him now more then ever. ***** "How bad is she?" asked Harrison Wolfe as Kalon and Captain Storm ran a diagnostics on it. "The good news is that she will run, the bad news is that before we leave here we need to make some repairs. The bad news is that we need some repair parts, but the good news is according to chandler there are some on the orb. But the bad news is we have to go back out there to get them," said Captain Storm. "Captain, I located all the parts you said you needed," said Chandler. "They are located in three different rooms on different decks." "We are running out of time before this thing blows to sky heaven. We will break into three groups," said Ely. "Kalon, you, Douglas, and Spencer go to this deck and get these parts." He showed Kalon the list. "Wolfe, you, Trevor and Chandler got to this deck and get these parts." He showed Wolfe the list. "Myself, Jesse and Dylan will get the rest. We have to be fast. We only have 6 hours left and it will take time to repair this thing. Be careful and see you back here soon." Kalon, Wolfe and their teams headed out. Captain Storm shut the hatch to the docking foyer. There was no way he was returning only to find one of those creatures taking up occupancy in their shuttle. Then he, Jesse and Dylan went on their scavenger hunt. ***** Wolfe, Trevor and Chandler made it to their destination. It didn't take them long to get there. The station was beginning to fall apart bad, but nevertheless they made it. They gathered the parts they needed and headed back. "Look!" yelled Chandler. Blocking their way was a couple of creatures. Both of them were hissing and howling at them. Wolfe looked and saw there was no way around them but up. There was vent above them. "Quick Master Collins up there," he lifted Trevor up and Trevor working quickly to take the vent screen off. He then wiggled inside. He then threw the parts in the vent and went to get Chandler. But by this time Chandler was trapped in the corner by one of the creatures. Wolfe went to go help, but after taking one step he saw it would be a useless attempt, but Chandler's life was no more. Wolfe quickly jumped up and pulled himself into the vent. A creature lashed out and sliced his ankle, but he managed to pull himself to safety. The parts were there waiting for him but Trevor was not. Trevor was so scared by this time that he already began crawling down the dark chute. ***** Captain Storm, Jesse and Dylan made it to their destination. They got the parts they needed and headed back. Halfway back, Ely had to stop and rest to catch his breath. "Hang on guys, I am not as young as I use to be." He was bent over taking in deep breaths. Jesse and Dylan waited for Ely to catch his second wind. Ely stood up. Jesse was looking in the box he carried with the parts in it. He looked up to see if Ely was ready to go. Ely's face had turned white and his eyes were bulging. It was hard to see him because his skin blended in the blackness of the corridor. Then Jesse and Dylan noticed that Ely was standing taller then normal. "Captain Storm?" Then a hiss came as a creature's head appeared from behind Captain Storm. The creature flicked its tail and Captain's Storms body fell to the ground. The creature had taken its stinger and dug it deep into Captain's Storm's head and picked him up off the ground. Both boys ran screaming with the creature hot on their trail. Jesse came to an intersection in the corridor and he turned right as Dylan turned left. Jesse couldn't believe that Dylan went the wrong way. Then moments later he heard Dylan scream for the last time. Jesse did a quick look behind him and saw that he creature had gone after Dylan and not him. ***** Kalon, Douglas and Spencer headed towards the storage room that had the parts they needed. Kalon wished that all the parts were located in the same room, but what Kalon wished for didn't happen. Douglas wanted all of this to be over. He needed and wanted time to comprehend what happened. He wanted and needed time to mourn for his father, his brother and his best friend. He wanted time to himself. "Look, there's the room," said Spencer with a hot shot attitude. He went up to the door and opened it. Only to be greeted by a creature. Spencer screamed as the creature's claws lashed out and struck Spencer's jugular vein. Blood spewed all over the place. "Get the parts and get Trevor out of here," said Douglas. Before Kalon could object, Douglas got he creature's attention and ran down the corridor. The creature ran in hot pursuit towards Douglas. Kalon took off towards them to help Douglas. But when he heard the fatal cry of Douglas, he knew it was useless. He quickly ran back to the storage room, grabbed the parts he needed and headed back to the shuttle. ***** Trevor crawled rapidly through the maze of ventilating system. He hustled and bustled and knew he was safe as long as he stayed inside. He just hoped he was heading the right direction. Trevor wasn't being quiet about his presence either. He sounded like a heard of donkeys trampling over fortune cookies. Trevor turned the corner and froze. There poking it's head through a vent hole was a creature. This was the last thing Trevor ever saw again. ***** Kalon managed to make it back to the shuttles first. As he was opening the hatch, Jesse came running down crying that Captain Storm and Dylan were both dead. Kalon took the parts from Jesse and immediately began working on the Wonder Boy. He just hoped that Wolfe and his team made it back, otherwise they weren't going anywhere. Time was ticking and still no signs of Wolfe. Kalon knew that if Wolfe didn't get here soon, he would have to go out himself and see if he could find the parts. He didn't like that idea, but there was no other choice. Kalon opened the hatch to the orb and stepped out. Limping and running down the corridor was Wolfe. There were creatures hot on his tail. Kalon ran and helped Wolfe along the way. "They smell my blood," said Wolfe. They made it to the docking foyer and slammed the hatch shut. The creatures were banging to get in. They were persistent and didn't give up. "That should keep them out," said Kalon. Jesse helped Wolfe get to the Wonder Boy. Kalon immediately began to finish the repairs. Time was ticking and if they ran into no more delays they will be able to leave the orb with some time to spare. "Wolfe? Didn't you get the bioxide resister I needed?" "I got everything on that list," assured Wolfe. "But there is no resister. I need a resister otherwise we still won't go now were." "Shit! We're gonna have to go back out there and get one." "And how are we suppose to do that when the creatures are still knocking on the door to come in?" said Kalon. "I lost it, I will go out and get it," said Wolfe. "You're injured. You can't out run them. I'll go." "But if you die Kalon there will be no one here to finish the repairs and cut the Wonder Boy lose." "You can't go Jesse," said Kalon. "Why not? Because I am a kid? I survived this long. I can survive a little longer to get that resister." "But how will you get pass those things?" "We shoot liquid oxygen at them and freeze them. We can rig something from here." "That's too dangerous Jesse. With all the small fires and huge ones plus oil and grease out there, that will cause an explosion that none of us will survive," said Kalon. "We're out of option then," said Wolfe. "Let me think. There has to be a way. If I reroute the power, but that will take time, but yes. I can reroute the power so it doesn't has to go through that resister. But it's gonna take some time." Kalon immediately began working on it. The Orb began to have internal explosions more rapidly. The time for total destruction was creeping up on the Wonder Boy quick. Kalon managed to reroute the power that would give them enough power to escape the shock wave. Or at least its initial blow. "Alright, I just have to cut us free," said Kalon as he suited up. "We're running out of time," said Wolfe. "We'll make it." Kalon looked at his tank. He didn't like what it read, but there was no time to worry about it. He climbed outside and began to cut the Wonder Boy free. Jesse had sealed the hatch. Wolfe was sitting in the co-pilot's chair powering up all engines. The Wonder Boy shook and rattled as the internal explosions became vibrant and more powerful. Wolfe knew time was not on their side anymore. Kalon heard the alarm go off in his suit. He was out of oxygen. He was only halfway done. He knew there was no time to go in and fill it up. He continued to cut. "Wolfe, I'm out of oxygen." "Get in here then!" "I can't you're not free yet. I need to keep going. I need to finish." Kalon continued to cut. Kalon fought back the dizziness and lightheadedness that he felt. He continued to cut them free. "Kalon, how's it coming? Get in here now!!" "Al...most...done" gasped Kalon. "Kalon, get in here!!" There was no reply. "Kalon?" Nothing. Wolfe knew Kalon had passed out and soon will be dead along with the rest. The rumbles from the Orb grew louder and stronger. Wolfe had no choice now. "Hey on Jesse, we're getting out of here." Wolfe put the Wonder Boy into full speed and it ripped off the remaining portion that Kalon didn't manage to cut. The Wonder Boy zoomed towards safety. Jesse watched as the orb grew smaller in the window. Then the Orb turned into an explosive fiery globe. "It blew up!!" said Jesse. "Come on," said Wolfe as he tried to feed her more power to out run the shock wave. "Come on." He hoped and prayed. "Jesse get strapped in!!" He yelled. Jesse went over to a seat. The shock wave had gained on them and grabbed onto the tiny shuttle and tossed it to the side like a cigarette butt. Jesse was thrown hitting his temple on a sharp object. Wolfe tried to keep the ship under control. He did his best to ride the wave out of the void. Soon he saw stars once again. The wave then shook them hard and continued on as the shuttle was left behind. All systems were burned out. Wolfe got up to see how Jesse was. He shook his head when he felt no pulse in Jesse's neck. "And I only am escaped alone to tell thee." Wolfe went back to his seat and sent out a distress call. Hours later just as his oxygen was almost depleted, he saw the Lexington coming to his rescue. He laid back his head on the back of the seat and said "The drama's done. Why then here does any one step forth?-Because one did survive the wreck. ***** Harrison Wolfe sat in his chair in his quarters on the Lexington. He placed the papers that had details on the orb, the creatures, and the deaths of so many people. He looked up and looked at Cadet Ben Collins who was standing in front of him. "Tell me Master Collins, why was my character the Ishmael? Was it because you tried to earn some extra brownie points?" "Oh no Sir. That's not the reason at all." "Then tell. What was the reason?" "It's simple really. Who else is better to tell the story...then the English teacher?" Harrison Wolfe smiled slightly. He was very pleased with Ben's response. Ben smiled because he knew Mr. Wolfe loved his story. Ben left Wolfe's quarters happy and excited because he had done well. To Be Continued... WOW!!!!!! Finally it's done. Was this a chapter or what? I do hope you like this chapter because I sure do. With all the death, destruction and action in it, what this boils down to is that this chapter was nothing but a bridge. It got us two weeks into the story since they had two weeks to write it. Now you get to pick up where they enter orbit to their new home. You are free to go anywhere you want. I bet I had you nervous and worried, didn't I? I tell you one thing, I hated killing off certain characters but I had no choice too. But at least they weren't really killed off. I bet you were cursing me the entire time too. Weren't you? I love you my Tigger Love and the only thing I ask is that maybe you can write a short scene on what Douglas thought about Ben's story. I am sorry I didn't use your sex scene I asked you to write, but it just wouldn't work in this chapter. So maybe you can fit it into one of your future chapters. We need to figure out too where to break this up so we can make two chapters out of it. Where I thought we could break it up wouldn't work because it is at page 32 into it and this chapter is only 38 pages long. So we can discuss where we will break it up at if we break it in half at all. I love you and I can't wait to get your reaction to this. Happy writing!!! Love Ben your dolphin love writing partner.