Marshall & Sienelis - I Want to Break Free (Part II)
Quinn Reynolds
((Main Shuttle Bay, Deck Seven, USS Gorkon))
::The corridors had been quiet, most of the crew on shore leave and most of those well into their cups when she'd been arrested. By now, they'd be sleeping off their hangovers in the resort's hotel rooms, and Valesha wondered if that was a happy coincidence, or all part of the grand plan as well. They'd been spared a odd few glances from those drifting through the passageways in the small hours of the morning, but everything had happened so quickly that the rumours of her arrest and incarceration hadn't yet spread far enough for anyone to challenge them.
::No doubt some of them would be kicking themselves come tomorrow, but she couldn't care less, and neither did Bear.
::Bear. She didn't dare look at him, keeping her eyes squarely forward, lest the fury coiling in her belly find its release. Yet the further they moved, the more it started to fade, the memory of an unwanted kiss losing out to that last look of heartache on Chris' face. By the time they reached the bay, that fire had burned out, gutting her through and through. Hollow and empty, she was barely surprised to see the shuttle that he made for.::
Sienelis: MacFarlane's pet project?
O. Marshall: The one and only. She calls it a Unicorn. Looks like a Valkyrie.
::The adapted fighter was nimble and agile, if a bit small for his tastes. However, it had performed admirably on the test run MacFarlane and Kian had put it through, and it was unregistered, so if anything was going to get them out of the bay and into the depths of space fast enough, they were looking at it. Unlike their runabouts and shuttlecraft, the only way onboard was via the cockpit.
::Skeleton staffed, there were still enough of the crew milling around in the bay to raise eyebrows if they simply hopped onboard and requested a joyride. An unscheduled flight plan wasn't going to fly with the deck officer, but with the limited amount of time Bear had to actually plan anything, that was as far as he got.::
O. Marshall: Don't expect luxury though. ::He chewed on his thoughts as his glance flicked to the doors.:: And we still need to figure out how to get out.
::She frowned, casting a look about the inside of the bay. They wouldn't need long; just enough to get the doors open and the shuttle out, but the ideal would be do it unobserved. A thought surfaced, and she smiled entirely without humour, a soft huff of air escaping in an equally joyless chuckle.::
Sienelis: Think you could orchestrate a life support failure? ::No, that was too far.:: The alarms for one. That'd give us a few minutes.
::Given her supposed history, it would be entirely in character, too. Valesha Sienelis, saboteur of bays both cargo and shuttle.::
::Bear cocked an eyebrow for a second as the idea took hold, winding through his brain as it found those elements of skill to accomplish such a thing. It would mean putting the reserve utilities distribution network closest to the shuttlebay into diagnostic mode and cranking down the temperature -- all of which he could do from the control centre.::
O. Marshall: I could. Think you could start the shuttle?
Sienelis: Yeah. ::She nodded. It came with a fresh stab to the heart, echoes of another time and a similar conversation with the Russian still languishing in the Gorkon's brig.:: Go. They're probably used to people poking around this thing by now.
::The man nodded in response and took off for the control centre at the back of the bay, with a view of the comings and goings like no other. Seasoned in a variety of methods in producing irregular outcomes, it only took Bear a few short minutes to generate the right kind of conditions for the life support systems to react accordingly. What took a little longer, however, was ensuring they were going to go back into their original state. He glanced up out of the window at the Unicorn shuttle; a momentary check to see if Vee was getting anywhere. She had her head inside the cockpit, looking for all the world like someone taking a snoop at an interesting piece of tech. As she straightened back up, the impulse engines took on a muted glow.::
O. Marshall: ::Quietly,:: And here goes nothing…
::Thumbing the controls, the klaxon sounded, lights flaring in all directions with the same message revolving on display units all around the bay. He watched as the milling crew looked at one another in momentary confusion before checking the source of the message and started to file out — as per emergency regulation — toward the corridors beyond. A swooping feeling took over Bear's gut as the premise that their daring plan might actually work, and he ducked back out toward the shuttle.::
Sienelis: We should be able to open the doors from inside the shuttle. ::She shrugged, and extended a slim finger toward the forward chair.:: All yours.
O. Marshall: Gee, thanks.
::Climbing in was a hassle, made all the more irritating by the realisation of just how much space there wasn't inside the craft. Bear settled into the chair, looking out of the cockpit as the automated canopy descended above them, sealing with a hiss of compressed air.::
O. Marshall: Last chance, Sienelis. We go out those doors, there's no coming back. ::Glancing back to Valesha in the chair behind, he gave her a hard look and she met it on equal ground.:: Are you sure you want to do this?
Sienelis: I've got nothing to come back to. ::She dropped her gaze toward the controls at her station, tapping out a few commands. In the 'bay, a loud klaxon began to sound, announcing that the massive doors were intent on opening.:: What's your plan for getting away?
O. Marshall: Fly as fast and get as far away as we can. ::He'd shifted his attention back to the control panel in front of him, watching the engine display.:: Use nebulas for cover if we get a tail and after that, we head to the outpost.
Sienelis: I'm in awe of your genius. ::She scowled, frowning at the controls in front of her. An idea was forming, one that required her intimate knowledge of the ship's vast arrays of sensors.:: If I can get the navigational shields to a specific frequency, I can make them resonate with the Gorkon's scan cycles. It'll create ghosts and echoes all over the place. They won't know which one to chase.
O. Marshall: I'm in awe of your genius. ::He repeated in a monotone manner, tapping his fingers along the controls to get them off the ground. With mere minutes to spare, every one of them was its own kind of precious.:: Get on it, Princess, so we can row this boat the hell away from here.
::Impulse engines thrumming with power beneath them, the Frankenstein's Monster of a shuttle lifted off the deck plating, hovering in midair. Up ahead, the hangar bay doors pulled apart, the containment field snapping into place. Behind him, her controls were already tweeting and chirping as she carried out the necessary adjustments to the small craft's deflectors.::
Sienelis: Oh, well, now that I have your permission. I'll have it ready by the time we're ready to warp.
::She lapsed into silence, It was a task she was grateful for, something else to think about and focus her whole attention on, rather than the bottomless pit that had taken up residence in her chest. Ships and tools slid past her view as the ship began to move, until the forcefield that held the bay's atmosphere in crackled past, and they were out in open space. The long lines of the Gorkon's glowing nacelles stretched away in front of them, the blue marble of Deluvia below, sparkling in reflected sunlight.
::Traffic was heavy, starships and civilian liners almost stacked on top of one another for the conference, but perhaps that was in their favour. It was easy to get lost among them, zipping in and out, entangling sensor profiles and engine signatures with the other shuttles heading to and fro until they were ready to go to warp. The distant pinpoints of light elongated into long, bright lines, and sensor echoes of the Unicorn were scattered among the stars.::
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Orson Marshall
Don't Stop Me Now
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I'm Having Such a Good Time
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