Page 20 of Neverwylde 6
As Kleesod helped the rest of the Terrans into the tube, Massapa directed his attention to the opposite side of the bay. “Want to slow them down for good?” The Seneecian didn’t question Kyber’s actions. The man had already figured out how close they’d come to death.
Kyber glanced over at where the man was pointing. It was the panel where the lifepods were monitored as they were being loaded. He gave the man a nod. “Do what you can.”
Massapa grinned and took off as Fullgrath went down into the tube, leaving Kyber and Massapa as the last to join them.
“Where’s this thing taking us?” the former weapons master demanded to know.
“It interconnects with the shuttle bay,” Kyber informed him.
“Wait! We’re heading for the shuttle bay?” Mellori’s voice drifted back to them.
“We have to get off this ship as soon as possible,” Kyber told them.
They hurried on hands and knees through the dimly lit, squarish corridor. At one point, Fullgrath sarcastically remarked, “Does anyone else find it ironic that we’re back to crawling through more itty bitty-ass tunnels again to reach a bigger room?” No one answered him, but there were a few chuckles.
Word came down the line when they reached the shuttle bay. Kyber sent an order up to Gaveer to lock down the shuttle bay, and for Kleesod to ready the first shuttle he could reach that was large enough to accommodate them all. By the time he and Massapa emerged from the access tube, the others had already boarded one of the crafts and were waiting for them. Kyber and Massapa rushed inside. Kleesod sealed the door the behind them.
“Interior bay entrance is locked,” the Seneecian stated.
Kyber took the middle seat, noting that both the pilot and navigation chairs remained empty. As neither Massapa, Kleesod, nor Gaveer were bridge certified, he whirled around to where the Terrans were strapping themselves into seats.
“Kelen, Jules, I need you to take the helm, please.”
The two showed surprise at the request, but hurried to the front to take their seats.
“Oh, cool. I’ve always wanted to drive a pressure point,” Kelen remarked, sliding her hands into the two depressions on the console in front of her.
“Be careful. It is very sensitive,” he warned her a second before the ship unexpectedly lurched forward, taking them by surprise.
Kelen gave an embarrassed laugh. “So it seems.”
Kyber hit the button to begin opening the outer doors. Lights started flashing as a warning siren gave notice of immediate decompression. “We have to hurry. Kelen, take us out of here the second that opening’s wide enough.”
“Affirmative, D’har,” she crisply responded.
Jules held out his hands in exasperation. “I can’t read Seneecian. How am I supposed to navigate?”
Undoing his harness, Gaveer moved up to the console and pointed out the three basic features the navigator needed. “Input, distance, duration. In most cases, we use the same names for destination points as Terrans do. Amajurris our spacial mile, equivalent to approximately four point three of your kilometers. Ababvaris equivalent to your parsec. And ahuntais one of your hours, give or take.” The Seneecian flashed him a brief smile. “You do the math, bright boy.”
Jules took a deep breath. “Ooookay. Where to, Kyber?”
“Try to discover where we are, In the meantime, Kelen, when you can, take us out four hundred meters, then turn this vehicle around to face the ship.”
This ship’s warning suddenly changed to a wail. The doors slowed, stopped…then began to close.
“They’re onto us!” Cooter cried out. “We’re not going to make it!”
“Not if I can help it. Hold on! This is going to be tricky!” Kelen squared her shoulders and focused on the narrowing opening.
Kyber felt the craft lifting, and the view outside the viewscreen changed as she rotated the shuttle vertically. Gradually the transport moved sideways, gaining speed as she tried to squeeze it between the tall doors.
Kyber barely had time to hold his breath when they slipped past the bay doors and out into space. By the time she righted the shuttle and turned it to where they were following the Seneecian ship on a parallel course, the bay doors had closed.
“They still have to re-pressurize the bay,” he called out. “Kleesod, take out those outer hatches!”
“Yes, D’har!” the man almost responded gleefully, and hurried over to the navigation board to take control of the weapons.
The shuttle vibrated as two warheads were fired from the belly of the craft. Everyone stared at the twin beams of light arching forward, striking the bay’s outer doors. There was a miniscule flash of light as that section of the hull evaporated, leaving a yawning gap. From where they were, they could see some of the shuttles within the ship had been damaged, but for the moment there was no way Duruk or his men could come after them. Not unless he used the massive warship itself to give chase, which Kyber believed the man would.
