((If you wish to join this RP feel free to do so on the Sign Up thread: http://kh13.com/forum/topic/61942-echoes-and-ash-an-original-sci-fi-rp-sign-ups/ Sign ups will be open until the end of the RP, but the sooner you can get involved, the better))

 

((As a side note to all RPers, the enviornments in this RP are mostly designed by me to make sure the flow of the story works well. When entering a new area or opening a door to an unknown area, please end the post with a "..." and I will quote the post and describe the new area your character finds.))

 

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TrinityNet servers active...

[REDACTED] joined...

[REDACTED] joined...

[REDACTED]: ?

[REDACTED]: Whatya mean "?"

[REDACTED]: Why did you call this?

[REDACTED]:To see if you started...

[REDACTED]: Why would I tell you?

[REDACTED]: Please, as if that kinda info's gonna give any of us a leg up.

[REDACTED]: Of course I did. The fact that you wanted to find out means that you started too.

[REDACTED]: Which just leaves...

[REDACTED]: She's not here. Which means she's busy and doesn't want to talk. Which means...

[REDACTED]: Her too...

[REDACTED]: So the clock's ticking.

[REDACTED]: Guess so...

[REDACTED]: Well I'm going to get back to it, they're waking up, thanks for wasting my time.

[REDACTED]: Hey! That's not nice!

[REDACTED] left...

[REDACTED]: Jerk...

[REDACTED] left...

 

The wind blew softly over the island. Besides the soft swaying of the trees there was little to disturb the idyllic serenity here. The island stretched out for miles, but at the coasts there was nothing to see but water. The island, like the universe in which it existed, was nearly empty, the remnants of life clung, decaying, to its shores and its trees and its fields, but the yells of excitement, of fear, of courage that has once complimented the sound of the wind ha since faded to echoes. Today, however, that changed. Today life returned to the universe. The only question is; what kind of universe would it return to?

 

"C'mon, get up!"

"All of you, wake up."

"Rise and shine, it's a new day."

 

Far away voices entered the hazy minds of those sleeping on the island.

 

Lying on the shore of a short beach was Seraphim Valentine, Derik Absolon, and Samantha Allison, and Rodin Seefull. The wind blew over them as they lay sprawled over the sand in close proximity to each other. Just as they had been placed. Next to the beach was a mix of jungle and swamp that went deeper into the mainland. Besides that the beach was mostly barren. A wrecked fishing boat was rusted and decaying within walking distance, but nothing more. The waves lapped up on the shore softly...

 

Lying in the middle of an airstrip surrounded by jungle was a different group. Rusted machine parts lay strewn about, and any sign of activity at the airstrip had long since faded. On the ground in the middle of the airstrip lay Alex Dimanche, Ferro al'Vere, and Hazimie Azhar.  Two desolate bunkers flanked the airstrip they were on, with a control tower at the end of the strip. Forest flanked the airstrip on all sides, with a single winding road leading out. The wind cut through the trees and sliced past the bunkers onto the airstrip. Only the wind and the trees provided any sound to the desolate military installation...

 

Deep in the jungle was a pair of rusted jeeps parked next to a crumbling house. The jeeps were long past functioning, and their engines were removed recently as well. The house sat surrounded by the trees with a single road leading somewhere further into the jungle. Inside the house were the four people; Rija Mors, Terry Frost, Henko Tenioenai, Koizumi Onnea, and Rin Nozomi Part of the roof of the house had caved in, and most of the belongings and furniture were gone. Remaining in the house were a few pots and pans, and single picture in an immaculate frame on a table in the room where the four people were laying. Silence pervaded the house...

 

The far away voices slowly awakened all of these people. The clouds in the blue skies above moved slowly; the morning was upon them. It was time to wake up and find the future...

Edited September 5, 201312 yr by MDSVeritas

Two robotic arms descended from the ceiling and welded a holo-console onto Derik's armor, as well as a retractable helmet.

 

"Good, is everyone set?"

 

Elaryse did not wait for an answer. The ceiling suddenly opened up and the floor they all stood on began to raise up. They were standing now in a huge cargo bay, easily 20x as large as the cryo-pod chamber. There was a rack nearby with a strangely varied amount of weapons.

 

"I did a scan on your brains and analyzed your preferences and combat abilities. From that I have constructed these weapons for you. You may have realized that you used these weaopns in the simulation, that was a test of their capability. Now you will need to use them in reality."

 

The rack had printed names under each of the weapons. "Well... get to equipping them." (These are your chosen character weapons)

 

A red blast door loomed close by. "You'll be heading into space within a few minutes."

 

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"Of course," Rytt began, "yes  I have weapons for the both of you. I did a neural scan on your abilities and memories and selected the optimal weapons choices for you both based on that."

 

The ceiling suddenly moved apart and the entire cryo-pod chamber soon rose up into what looked like a futuristic armory. There were racks upon racks for weapons, yet there were only two weapons actually stocked- The D-ppendage, and the M-25, a futuristic rifle.

 

"Grab those and we'll move out immediately.

 

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"Oh,yeah, I almost forgot!" Veridyan seemed excited. "Weapons!"

 

A rack of strangely diverse weapons suddenly came from an opening in the wall. there were names printed below each one. "These are all based off of what kind of fighter and person ya are" Veridyan explained. "They should work well for you guys." (These are your character weapons) "Go ahead and pick em up."

 

Veridyan turned to Terry.

 

"And hurry and suit up or we're gonna do this mission without ya!"

Two robotic arms descended from the ceiling and welded a holo-console onto Derik's armor, as well as a retractable helmet."Good, is everyone set?"Elaryse did not wait for an answer. The ceiling suddenly opened up and the floor they all stood on began to raise up. They were standing now in a huge cargo bay, easily 20x as large as the cryo-pod chamber. There was a rack nearby with a strangely varied amount of weapons."I did a scan on your brains and analyzed your preferences and combat abilities. From that I have constructed these weapons for you. You may have realized that you used these weaopns in the simulation, that was a test of their capability. Now you will need to use them in reality."The rack had printed names under each of the weapons. "Well... get to equipping them." (These are your chosen character weapons)A red blast door loomed close by. "You'll be heading into space within a few minutes."------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Of course," Rytt began, "yes I have weapons for the both of you. I did a neural scan on your abilities and memories and selected the optimal weapons choices for you both based on that."The ceiling suddenly moved apart and the entire cryo-pod chamber soon rose up into what looked like a futuristic armory. There were racks upon racks for weapons, yet there were only two weapons actually stocked- The D-ppendage, and the M-25, a futuristic rifle."Grab those and we'll move out immediately.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Oh,yeah, I almost forgot!" Veridyan seemed excited. "Weapons!"A rack of strangely diverse weapons suddenly came from an opening in the wall. there were names printed below each one. "These are all based off of what kind of fighter and person ya are" Veridyan explained. "They should work well for you guys." (These are your character weapons) "Go ahead and pick em up."Veridyan turned to Terry."And hurry and suit up or we're gonna do this mission without ya!"

"Don't mind that I don't trust equipment made by anyone else, either. That's just how I am with everyone." Derik looked at the rack for only a moment, and then looked away in distaste. "I would just like to get to work. I work best on my own anyway." Derik waited for Elaryse to open the door or hatch or whatever it was he was exiting from. He was rather impatient as he played with the tools in his pocket. "If I had the option, I would fabricate my own tools as well, but with a limited knowledge of the tech, I'm stuck with this." Derik thought, then only noticing Tue cold floor under his feet. "I need some makeshift boots, too." Derik went and grabbed the weapon that was provided, produced the saw and sautering device, and quickly tore the weapon to shreads, then using the heat of the electric blade to melt the metals again, and stuck the plating together, placed his foot in, another plate on top, and sauntered it together. "This will do..." He made another makeshift boot like before, and then was truly prepared.

Edited September 13, 201312 yr by Guest

Ferro walked over to the D-ppendage and fitted it over his right forearm. It felt good to have one on again. "Say Rytt, you don't happen to have a pair of force nullifying boots, do you?" Ferro did a test of the D-ppendage, putting two portals on a wall and stepping through them. Then he stopped. A thought had come to him. "Rytt, did the D-ppendage ever go into production? I was frozen before I could finish it." Against my will, he thought.

Sam took her weapon and looked around the large room. "i dont like that we still don't know what we are doing...." She thought to herself leaning against a wall to wait for the door to open. She also the other guy tear his weapon to pieces and she shook her head. Samantha really couldn't understand that guy and she was pretty sure she never would.

Alex looked at the rifle, and picked it up. "Force-dampening boots? Hm. With a machine like that, perhaps boots that can dissipate inertia would be useful." He said, looking at Ferro, "I am lead to believe i was frozen long before you were born. Materials that sort of 'nullify' force had just gone into production. Like cases for telephones and such." Alex checked over the rifle, sighing quietly.

"Alright, then." Henko said, walking over and reclaiming Grace and Brutality. "Good to have these back." He muttered to himself.

He turned to the green console. "So how're we getting down to Psi?"

Lifting the weapon, she easily spun it open. "Sweet. I always wanted one of these." Seraphim smiled, closing it and sticking it on her back.

"Elly? Anything we need to know?"

Terry sighed.

"Looks like that's my best option." He finally replied to Veridyan.

He stood up and gave the camera one last look.

"For now, anyway."

He stepped up on the glowing panel.

The blast door in front of Elaryse's group suddenly opened. There was a small shuttle and another door on the other side. The shuttle's doors were open. Elaryse's voice came again, but this time from the holo-consoles on everyone's arms.

 

"There are several devices and logs in the system that will allow me to trace the use of certain weapons at certain times and hopefully discover the perpetrator of the catastrophe 20 years ago. Those logs are restricted from SA use, however. I need to be able to read through them all if we are to get further. As a result I will need you all to infiltrate the SS-Psi, where all upper-echelon SAs were built, and find the console from which you can manually disengage my restrictions. After that I should be able to discover a new clue. I have little doubt the other SAs are here as well, whether to discover the truth or cover it up. When you are ready, enter the shuttle."

 

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"The D-ppendage was finished," Rytt began "and became quite widely used before being outlawed for the ease of using it for illegal activities. I actually built the model you have from older schematics, possibly your own. Oh, and yes, I figured you may have use of these." The same mechanics arms once again returned with sort of boot-like armor which they attached to the boots of Ferro's armor.

 

"That should be what you are looking for" Rytt said. In response to Alex's thought he also commented "Yes, I have checked the logs and it seems like Ferro was frozen quite a bit later than most of the cryo-patients."

 

Suddenly from one of the weapon racks came an automated tram.

 

"If you're ready, get on, this will take you to the shuttle." Rytt then transitioned to speaking from the wrist console on Ferro's and Alex's gear. "I will continue to communicate with you like this. So, before we go much further, I suppose you'd like to know your mission. Psi is where I was built, and it is where some of my original software is stored. One such peice of software is the tether keeping me from accessing certain files and doing certain things. Normally this would be a good thing to have, but without skilled scientists to look over the fast amount of files needed to know what the source of the disappearance was, I will need you both to enter and disengage the tether. Before you say it, yes, it will give me more control over certain sub-systems and logs, but we don't have much of a choice; firstly the other SAs are in this sector now, and closing on the station, and second if we are to find the truth then there is nothing else to do unless you feel like reading through a few terabytes of logs looking for clues."

 

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Veridyan laughed a bit at Henko's question. "Well, my little pup, my good friends, Rytt and Elaryse, the other two functional SAs in my unit seem to be approaching the two main shuttle docks, I suspect they will infiltrate using those. With that in mind I'll be directly opening an airlock and allowing you all to free-float into the cooling section of the space station. It's closer to our goal anyway."

 

As Terry's armor was put on similiar to the other members, Veridyan continued to explain.

 

"Oh, and if you're wondering what the goal is, well, it's the thing keeping me from knowing who destroyed civilization as we know it and how. It's a sort of computer wall that keeps me out of certain things. I need you to go in and disengage it, then we'll go from they, sound good?"

 

The armor process was complete. The center console of the room suddenly shifted and then moved down, leaving a hole in the middle of the room. Soon a small elevator arrived.

 

"Ready to go to the airlock, right this way, everyone!"

Edited September 13, 201312 yr by MDSVeritas

Terry stepped off of the glowing pad, not paying his new armor much notice. He stepped over to the weapons rack and pulled off his assigned gear. He gave the tomahawk a few test swings before attaching it to his belt. He expertly checked the plasma rifle, the tucked it against an arm.

"So, I'm guessing this computer you want shut down is one of the ones with humans working for it?" He asked as he walked towards the airlock.

"Welp. Good day to die minimum years old, I guess." Derik boarded the transport, as well as managing to activate and put his helmet on. "Any stats that you know about those who were likely picked up? I like to know how inferior my enemy's are." Derik said, his cocky tone was too evident. "And another question: are there still resources on the station? Particularity any processed metals or led?"

I was frozen last. "An older model, huh? Then there is still room for me to improve upon it. And I don't see any problem with canceling the tether, considering nobody is around to care. Alex, it's you and me now." Ferro held out the D-ppendage for Alex to shake. "I still haven't gotten that handshake," Ferro said, grinning.

Alex smirked, using his other hand to give the D-ppendage a firm shake. "There. Just don't shoot a hole in me with that thing. I'd likely explode." Alex said, almost making a joke for a moment. He looked to where the tram came from, and quickly stepped onto it. "Alright, lets get going." Alex said, looking around the tram for a moment. He wished he could stick around and investigate the futuristic technology, but his suit and weapon would have to suffice for tinkering.

"I will only shoot a hole in you if you're being difficult. And you wouldn't explode, part of you would be sent to a different dimension and both parts would bleed horribly. You would probably die of shock instantly." Ferro fired a portal above the tram and below himself, making a neat fall into his seat. "I think we're ready, Rytt. Find the data logs, untether your status, return here. All without meeting anything unpleasant and dying a horrible death.

Rodin picks up his weapon and examines it.  Staring at it, he thinks:  Same one in the simulation.  You know, I always wanted to have something like this.  Rodin looks to the holo-console and listens in on Elaryse's instructions.  After she was done, he said to himself:  "Let's see.  So we have to find these logs, infiltrate Psi, find the SA console and remove Elaryse's restrictions.  Sounds simple, but bet it will be complicated."  Rodin hears Derik and says:  "So you can take all the fun when we meet enemy contact?  Not a chance ."  Rodin walks and boards the shuttle, then looks at his weapon again.

Rodin picks up his weapon and examines it.  Staring at it, he thinks:  Same one in the simulation.  You know, I always wanted to have something like this.  Rodin looks to the holo-console and listens in on Elaryse's instructions.  After she was done, he said to himself:  "Let's see.  So we have to find these logs, infiltrate Psi, find the SA console and remove Elaryse's restrictions.  Sounds simple, but bet it will be complicated."  Rodin hears Derik and says:  "So you can take all the fun when we meet enemy contact?  Not a chance ."  Rodin walks and boards the shuttle, then looks at his weapon again.

"I like your style, but I normally try and avoid one-shotting people, so I prefer to at least know I won't kill 'em in a single blow." Derik smirked at the thought of combat. "Taking a page from Sherlock Homes and examining an enemy's probable attack patterns also helps when you don't want to deal out serious injury." Derik thought to himself. "Well, someone's gotta be the pompous jerk until we make it out of space... Man, if only I had a Portal gun right now... Spaaaaaaace." Derik's face softened for a moment, the happier memories trying to carry him off, but he just shoved them in a corner in his mind and went back to strategic thinking. "If I dislocate the shoulders of any of them, should they not listen to reason and attack, they likely will give up, and if they keep coming dislocate the knee, disarm them, then carry them back to the ship and tie them down. I'm going to need a sample of their DNA as well... Genetic-key weapons would be a great advantage to us, so that the enemy's can't just use our weapons on us." Derik kept thinking of things he needed to. Thinking in advance was something a great detective had to do, as a weapon smith, mainly though, had to think about advanced tech he could use to improve his weaponry so that it would and could only be the best. "So many skills...  Man. I'm sometimes angry at myself for being one of the smartest on the planet... But being born with a natural I.Q. above most people who are considered geniuses kinda makes it a skill I have to deal with..." Derik sighed, waiting for the ride to the space station to commence.

Koizumi took the two pistols in her hand that she hand while she was still 'dreaming'. I actually sorta missed these, she thought as she heard Veridyan speak up again for their next set of instructions. She hoisted the pistols onto her belt and proceeded to the airlock. Should i regret joining this whole experiment...everyone is gone and im stuck with almost complete strangers. Koizumi shoook her head slightly, as if disgreeing with her thoughts, No, my sacrifice will make a huge difference for the world, just you wait. Her mood lightened up again and she was all perky now

Rija walked over to the weapon rack. She recognized the two weapons with her name. They had been the two she had received in the simulation. She picked up the small hilt, clicked it on and watched in amazement as the blade of light shot out, glowing purple. She checked her pistol, ejecting the clip, battery, whatever it was, before shoving it back into the gun. She attached both to her belt, and looked up to Veridyan's camera. "Well, wish us luck." She said, beginning to walk with confidence toward the elevator. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was follow orders. While the orders were normally given by a human, they were basically the same. She could only hope that these most recent orders were the right ones to follow.

Seraphim wanted to shoot that pompous fool Derik in the ass so badly. But Elly saw something in him, so she checked her urges and brought up her holo keyboard.

"Elly. Can you give me anyaccess at all to SS-PSI's mainframe? Even if it is just manifests. As long as I am in and if you can supply source code for all current encryption algorithims, that would be awesome."

Henko stepped onto the elevator alongside everyone else. "Beam me down, V." He told the robot. "Wait." He interjected. He turned to Rin. "You coming, lass? He asked her. It'd be no fun if she weren't there. Everyone else was too easy to read.

Rin had obtained Kutabare again and nodded, running to Henko's side.

"Don't call me that." she said, looking up at him.

"Henko is embarrassing.....but I have a mission to focus on. I have to help Veridyan." she thought.

 

(Kutabare=her weapon. Thank you Sikota for putting me on track//shot) 

Terry looked around at the little group he had fallen into. While he doubted there was a pay check in it anymore, he still contracted to help guard these people.

"Not much else is left," he thought, "so might as well stick with that."

"Alright, boys and girls." He said aloud. "Let's go smash."

The tram shot into motion. Rytt's voice sounded from their wrist-consoles.

 

"The shuttle you will be taking will send you to the docking control center dock. From there you simply have to take the main hallway to the Psi bridge and take the elevator there to the restricted area, where the console you need to remove the tether is. I'll guide you if you get lost. By the way, the docking control center, like the name implies, houses the controls for all the airlocks on the station. If you have trouble... I will leave it up to you discretion if you wish to use those controls."

 

The tram moved along rows of weapon racks and finally came to a row of airlocks, where a single small shuttle was sitting fastened to the dock rails. The tram moved close to the shuttle and Ferro's and Alex's chairs automatically shifted and were picked up and placed into the shuttle, then bolted in. The shuttle interior was very bare. A small holographic console sat before them with information about the various machines involved, and a large pane of tempered glass and plastic allowing them to see what was in front of the shuttle. The tram's sound drifted off and the shuttle was moved into one of the airlocks.

 

"Ready?" Rytt's voice sounded quickly, and before an answer could be given the blast door behind them closed. The one before opened an a vast blackness sat before them. In its center was a silver shape that was oddly shaped, a strange mismatch of cylinders put together and connected to each other by smaller cylinders and tubes. It was a ways away, but it was most likely the size of a large cruise ship.

 

The air escaped the chamber, and the engine in the shuttle began to sound. The distinct click of the shuttle disengaging from the rails that locked it in place sounded and they were off. The shuttle barreled forward toward the silver structure. It got bigger and bigger, and soon the the great black name "S.S. Psi." could be seen. The shuttle grew closer and closer and soon it became clear that it was headed for the end of one of the cylinders coming out of the structure, on the end of the cylinder were large doors like those that the shuttle had just come from. The doors opened and the shuttle continued to move. Once inside thrusters on the front of the small vehicle engaged and slowed it to a halt. The door behind them closed, and for a moment it was nothing but silence.

 

"Sorry your first big space-journey was so anticlimactic, here' hoping things are more exciting inside." Rytt's voice came again.

 

Two mechanical arms emerged from the left and right walls and secured the shuttle on rails inside. Then suddenly oxygen was blasted into the room from all sides. The blast door before them opened, showing a single set of normal double doors behind them and nothing else. The shuttle door opened.

 

"Time to get moving gents."

 

 

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The elevator rocketed downward.

 

"So listen," Veridyan's voice game cheerfully from their wrist-consoles, "there are small rockets in the sides of your suits. They are tied to receive neural impulses wirelessly, so the mere thought of using them will make them work. I have them turned off for now, because, y'know, obvious reasons. You may, um need them."

 

The elevator stopped, and then came apart around them. The shaft they had come from above them was suddenly closed off. A single blast door stood before them. There was nothing else in the room.

 

"You're gonna be going to the storage area which is at the bottom-area of the Psi. Opening this blast door will give you enough enough force to propel you there. I'll open the door, but it's up to you to get into it."

 

All their suits suddenly began to function on their own, and helmets emerged from the area behind their neck, locking into place over their heads. It was mostly metal except for a clear visor in front of the eyes. "You have two minutes of oxygen. Got it? Just two." Veridyan was stressing the number. "Get a hold on your weapons. Get ready."

 

The blast door roared open and suddenly the entire group was wrenched violently outward into space. A huge station was before them, formed of smaller cylinders that interconnected into a structure the size of a a humongous building. Behind them the green-painted Rex grew further and further away.

 

Strangely, though there were dark spots covering much of the station. Only they were weren't dark spots, they were...

 

"Meteoroids." Veridyan was not happy. His voice came through their helmets. "I wasn't expecting meteoroids. Get used to your rocket systems, now!"

 

The small opening of the blast door could be seen on the other side of the meteoroids, that was their destination.

 

"Quickly!" The huge space rocks grew closer, and then closer.

 

It was time to get creative or be obliterated.

 

 

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Elaryse began to speak as the shuttle doors closed.

 

"I have not been to Psi in sometime, I am unaware of it's condition, whether it has metals, or the like, I do not know. As for it's mainframe..."

 

The shuttle was then pushed forward on its rail to a great blast door.

 

"...you will be able to hack individual consoles and doors. I'll be sending you to the lab sector so you may find some things there to work with. The mainframe is only accessible from the bridge, which is a ways away, but that's where you will need to go to find the console that has control of the tether."

 

The blast door behind them shut with a grinding sound.

 

"I'm not sure what you will find in there, but I am sure that there are other humans working for the other SAs who are trying to get to the tether controls as well. If any one group gets there first they may be able to untether their own SA and engage even more restrictions on the others. Obviously this could serve a major issue, including getting you all stranded on the station if I can't reach you. How you deal with them is your discretion, but you will have to deal with."

 

The blast door before them opened, showing the huge vacuum of space. All oxygen shot out, and the shuttle rumbled as the rails kept it in place. The engine then engaged and the rails unlocked. The shuttle flew forward toward s a large silver construct in the middle of the area. A green ship was partially showing underneath the station and some blue object on the far side could be seen as well.

 

"As you can see, we are not alone."

 

The shuttle drew closer to a docking port and the blast door opened for it. "I still have some control over Psi, good." Elaryse's voice was now coming directly from their wrist consoles.

 

Then it happened.

 

All around the docking bay the small defense turrets turned and engaged. A wave of bullet fire pelted the shuttle. It rocked terribly and flew off course.

 

"Damn it! I don't know who's firing!" Elaryse's voice was anxious. "You'll have to jump!"

 

The back side of everyone's armor clinked and their helmets engaged, covering their faces. Stale air filled their helmets and fogged the visors in the helmets for a moment. The shuttle door opened, and incredibly fast shots rang by the door.

 

"You're sitting ducks in this shuttle. If you jump the turrets have less of a chance of hitting you. Jump and concentrate on moving forward, the thought alone should engage the wireless reciever on your suit that will engage the rockets. Imagine where you want to go and the rockets will adjust. Got it?" There was no time for answer.

 

"Good! Now move!" The shuttler was being torn apart by gun fire. The docking bay wasn't too fire away, but a hail of shots stood between the group and the blast door.

 

It had begun.

Terry took a moment to readjust to the zero-g of space.

"A better delivery system would have been nice." He snarled in his helmet, hoping Veridyan could hear it.

He did his best to hang back behind the rest of the group. It would be too easy to go off course, especially with meteorites in the way. As there was no safety "net" around, Terry decided to fill the role himself.

"A little goes a long way." He said, again hoping his radio was working and the others could hear him. "Take it easy on the thrusters and I'll be beh d you to pick you up if you get too far off course."

Ferro listened attentively as the plan was described. He had always thought a well-laid-out plan was the best way to proceed. The shuttle docked at the station, and Ferro climbed out of his seat and approached the double doors. "Let's go, Alex!" he said, perhaps a little too cheerily. I stepped close to the double doors and they retracted into the walls without a sound. Beyond the double doors was. . .