Returned to Life, Part Twenty-Two
Oct. 20th, 2006 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalShort one this week.
Ten minutes later Rachael was running down a random corridor, somewhere along the outer shell of the asteroid, she thought. The air was chilly, stale and unmoving, evidentially the section she'd turned down after leaving Gunny was not currently in use by the Varn or their Galapados soldiers. Thankfully the artificial gravity was working at least, otherwise she could have gotten herself into real trouble, flying down corridors at speed, heedless to what was ahead. Mark had once sprained his wrist doing that aboard Unity, nearly earning an early shuttle flight home before he'd begged both ground control and Commander Nabakov to allow him to stay. You should have taken the chance, Mark, she thought bitterly.
She hadn't heard any alarms sound yet, even thought she was far away from Gunny to be picked up on the Galapados sensors. Which meant either they were smart enough not to sound any alarms and just try to intercept her quietly, this section's sensors weren't operating, or, most insulting, they weren't actively looking for her. Rachael stopped jogging, pausing to lean against a curving, arched wall, trying to catch her breath. There didn't seem to be enough air in this section for her to run very long without risking hyperventilation. That'd be ironic, suffocating in an empty corridor while everyone else gets away, she thought. No more stupid than getting shot by a alien trooper in the middle of the Kazakhstan tundra anyway.
Maybe I'm just dreaming, she thought. Wouldn't that be nice, to wake up in her sleeping bag on the station, in the little cubby she'd shared with Ari and Mark? Earth was just one little world, in a galaxy filled with billions of stars and planets. The idea of aliens, any aliens, even finding Earth, much less invading it, was just insane. The distances involved, the effort, was just too much to contemplate. Sure, I'm just dreaming and I need to wake up.
Child, do you hear me?
She froze, pushing her self against the poor cover of the wall. “Who's there?”
You are in a dangerous area. Stay where you are and my soldiers will find you.
“Hell no! Who are you?” Rachael pushed herself away from the wall and started running down the corridor.
I am the Lord Gene Mage. I am speaking to you through the tracking implant I placed in your nervous system. There is no point in fleeing. I know exactly where you are, now that you are clear of the cybernetic hybrid's jamming system.
“Leave me alone!” She stumbled, gasping for air, then found her balance and kept going. Her head was starting to pound, possibly from oxygen deprivation.
Please do not harm yourself. You must tell me where your companions are.
“They're right behind me! Your soldiers will walk straight into an ambush!” She zigged down a corridor and zagged up another.
Please don't attempt to speak falsehoods. I have the ability to scan your complete neurological and physiological functions. They show you are lying, obviously to lead my soldiers down a false path. Do you imagine your friends will remain at large for very long?
“Long enough to hurt you!” Oh, her head hurt so badly now she thought she might be sick. Rachael swallowed back bile and tried to keep moving, leaning against the wall to keep from falling over.
There is a dangerous amount of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream. Stop moving and let the Galapados catch up with you.
“No, I'd rather die!” She turned around another corner and bounced off a scaly green wall that was waiting for her. Rachael fell on her arse and looked up at the obstacle.
“That can be arranged, if you so wish.” General Gisko said to her, as his soldiers leveled their rifles in her direction.
TBC
Ten minutes later Rachael was running down a random corridor, somewhere along the outer shell of the asteroid, she thought. The air was chilly, stale and unmoving, evidentially the section she'd turned down after leaving Gunny was not currently in use by the Varn or their Galapados soldiers. Thankfully the artificial gravity was working at least, otherwise she could have gotten herself into real trouble, flying down corridors at speed, heedless to what was ahead. Mark had once sprained his wrist doing that aboard Unity, nearly earning an early shuttle flight home before he'd begged both ground control and Commander Nabakov to allow him to stay. You should have taken the chance, Mark, she thought bitterly.
She hadn't heard any alarms sound yet, even thought she was far away from Gunny to be picked up on the Galapados sensors. Which meant either they were smart enough not to sound any alarms and just try to intercept her quietly, this section's sensors weren't operating, or, most insulting, they weren't actively looking for her. Rachael stopped jogging, pausing to lean against a curving, arched wall, trying to catch her breath. There didn't seem to be enough air in this section for her to run very long without risking hyperventilation. That'd be ironic, suffocating in an empty corridor while everyone else gets away, she thought. No more stupid than getting shot by a alien trooper in the middle of the Kazakhstan tundra anyway.
Maybe I'm just dreaming, she thought. Wouldn't that be nice, to wake up in her sleeping bag on the station, in the little cubby she'd shared with Ari and Mark? Earth was just one little world, in a galaxy filled with billions of stars and planets. The idea of aliens, any aliens, even finding Earth, much less invading it, was just insane. The distances involved, the effort, was just too much to contemplate. Sure, I'm just dreaming and I need to wake up.
Child, do you hear me?
She froze, pushing her self against the poor cover of the wall. “Who's there?”
You are in a dangerous area. Stay where you are and my soldiers will find you.
“Hell no! Who are you?” Rachael pushed herself away from the wall and started running down the corridor.
I am the Lord Gene Mage. I am speaking to you through the tracking implant I placed in your nervous system. There is no point in fleeing. I know exactly where you are, now that you are clear of the cybernetic hybrid's jamming system.
“Leave me alone!” She stumbled, gasping for air, then found her balance and kept going. Her head was starting to pound, possibly from oxygen deprivation.
Please do not harm yourself. You must tell me where your companions are.
“They're right behind me! Your soldiers will walk straight into an ambush!” She zigged down a corridor and zagged up another.
Please don't attempt to speak falsehoods. I have the ability to scan your complete neurological and physiological functions. They show you are lying, obviously to lead my soldiers down a false path. Do you imagine your friends will remain at large for very long?
“Long enough to hurt you!” Oh, her head hurt so badly now she thought she might be sick. Rachael swallowed back bile and tried to keep moving, leaning against the wall to keep from falling over.
There is a dangerous amount of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream. Stop moving and let the Galapados catch up with you.
“No, I'd rather die!” She turned around another corner and bounced off a scaly green wall that was waiting for her. Rachael fell on her arse and looked up at the obstacle.
“That can be arranged, if you so wish.” General Gisko said to her, as his soldiers leveled their rifles in her direction.
TBC
