LotS/The Story/Assault on the Zenith/Zenith (2)

Zenith (2)
“Based on the shape of the ship,” says Lu Bu, as you pass the door the commander emerged from, “I believe the bridge should be in this direction.”

He gestures into the room.

“It’s as good a way as any,” says the Princess.

The six of you move through a series of small rooms, empty but for the occasional broken robot – their chasses marked with the commander’s pistol fire or sword strokes. At the end of this network of linked chambers is another wide corridor. One end is blocked by rubble and collapsed metal, where an explosion must have ripped through the ship’s structure.

“Looks like we won’t be going that way,” Talia says.

“No matter,” replies Lu Bu. “The bridge is more likely in the opposite direction.”

Who Designed This Place?

Who Designed This Place?

You walk down the corridor, the blocked section to your back, and come to a door at its far end. It slides open to reveal a large chamber with another door on the opposite side. A section of floor runs from one door to the other. And at either side, there appears to be a gap…

Talia walks over to the one of the edges, and gazes downwards.

“Huh. It’s a pit,” she says.

“A pit?” Telemachus asks.

“Yeah. Looks like it goes all the way down into one of the ship’s systems.”

“This ship design is in violation of UHW suggested safety standards,” says Lu Bu.

“I like pits,” Ragnar says. “They’re good for throwing people into. But still… Maybe a safety rail or something? This place is a deathtrap.”

“Just stay away from the edge,” says Princess Illaria.

The six of you walk down the bridge, marveling at the apparent architectural stupidity involved in this room’s construction. Then the door facing you opens, and you have other things to worry about.

“Centurians!” Telemachus yells.

A group of Centurian soldiers runs through the doorway, weapons blazing.

Over the Edge

Over the Edge

There are screams all around you, as Centurians plunge to their doom – hurled or knocked from the bridge.

Ahead of you the Princess is fighting a trooper armed with a shock baton. He swings his weapon at her, and she ducks under the clumsy blow, slips to the side so his back is to the pit, and thrusts her boot at his chest. The Centurian topples, but as he falls he has the presence of mind to grab her leg…

She screams, as the two of them go over the edge together.

You dash towards the place where they vanished, ignoring the laser fire which skims past your cheek. You gaze down into the pit, your heart hammering in your chest as if it’s about to break free…

The Princess is there, clinging onto the bridge, her fingers straining to maintain their grip. There’s no sign of the Centurian. He’s fallen to whatever gristly doom now threatens to claim her.

You reach down, but as your hand nears hers she loses her grasp. Her eyes widen in horror as she falls.

You lunge after her into the chasm, reaching out towards her…

Hammer and Anvil

Hammer and Anvil

Your hand clasps hers, your fingers almost piercing her flesh with the intensity of your grip. And somehow she dangles there. You both dangle, rather than plunging to your deaths.

There’s a look of relief on Illaria’s face. She’s looking past you, at something above. And for the first time you notice the crushing tightness around your ankle. You hazard a glance upwards, reluctantly tearing your gaze from the Princess, and see Ragnar leaning over the edge of the bridge, his powerful hand around your boot.

Princess Illaria’s other hand comes up, and clutches at your arm. You double your grip on her, ignoring her wince of pain. Then Ragnar grunts, and yanks you into the air, dragging you onto the bridge with a heave of his enhanced muscles. Illaria comes up in your wake, and Talia drags her away from the edge.

“Heh.” Ragnar laughs, as he clenches and unclenches his hand. “Thought it was going to rip off.”

Then he picks up his discarded weapons, and charges to where Telemachus and Lu Bu are cutting down the last Centurians. Talia darts into the melee after him, and begins firing her pistols at pointblank range, where there’s no risk of hitting her allies. In a few seconds the Centurians lie dead.

You and the Princess rise to your feet, and your gazes meet. She opens her mouth, as if about to speak. Then there’s the sound of heavy gunfire from beyond the doorway, and she moves towards it.

“Come on,” she says. “We must be near the ship’s bridge…”

Beyond the door is a large atrium. On the other side Centurian soldiers are lined up, defending a doorway, firing their crimson lasers at the TALOS Battle Bots who are pouring in from a passage to the right.

Your weapons open up, raking the Centurian lines, forcing them to face an attack from two sides.

Storming the Bridge

Storming the Bridge

The Centurians fight like demons, none of them giving ground. But the sheer weight of fire raining down on them proves too much. Soon there’s a mound of corpses in front of the door, to mark their futile last stand.

The battle bots surge towards the doorway, and turn their weapons on the sealed security door. After a few moments of concentrated fire, the metal gives way, and they rush into the bridge. You and your companions follow in their wake.

The bridge is huge, containing dozens of consoles and terminals. Men and women in the uniforms of Centurian Collective crew members crouch behind their stations, firing laser pistols. There are also soldiers behind some of the terminals, wearing armor and carrying heavier weapons – the bridge’s last real line of defense.

But your eye skims over these cannon fodder, and is instead drawn to a big, stocky figure standing atop a platform, outlined against the bright light from the doorway behind him. General Rahn.

Princess Illaria has seen him as well. She calls to you, and you begin to fight your way towards the Centurian general.

General Rahn

General Rahn

Rahn disappears through the doorway, fleeing the bridge where the last of his minions still fight their losing battle against the robots.

A blast of laser fire and a brutal charge take you to the stairs leading up to Rahn’s platform, leaving dead Centurians strewn behind you. You run up the stairs three at a time, the Princess keeping pace in her eagerness to get to the general.

Beyond the doorway stands Rahn, his back to an enormous window showing a vast tableau of space. Now that you’re closer, you notice that the weapon he’s holding is a design you’ve never seen before. It’s mounted on his arm, like a battle bot’s weapon.

You quickly glance around the room, searching for exits or other enemies. You see neither. Rahn is trapped. As your gaze sweeps the chamber, something catches the corner of your eye, some faint trace of movement. But when you look again, it’s gone. A trick of the light…

“Need more time!” yells Rahn.

What? Is he talking to you? But there’s no time to ponder that, as he opens fire.

---

Rahn screams as electricity surges and crackles along his weapon. It’s malfunctioning, perhaps damaged by one of your attacks. His right arm twitches, as if he’s trying to force it to move, but it seems locked in place by the armor’s failing systems.

You move in for the kill. Then something shimmers, in the corner of your eye…

A huge weight smashes against you, hurling you backwards. As you crash to the floor in a heap, you look up to see Talia darting aside from something. You try to focus on the air in front of her, and again detect a faint shimmer. She fires both her laser pistols, and the beams spark against what looks like empty air…

Then the air seems to peel away, and you recognize the crackling of a stealth system failing in response to the energy discharge from Talia’s weapons. A big reptilian shape emerges, as if pulling itself into existence through a hole in the universe.

Rahn is behind the hulking alien, a glowing object in his hand.

“Leave!” roars the alien, over his shoulder. His voice is bestial, demonic, like grinding bones.

“I can’t!” yells Rahn. “It’s not charged yet, and the coordinates got-”

The alien bellows in rage, like one of the monsters you fought in the jungles of Capek.

“Fool!”

He glares at you and your companions with savage eyes. Then he raises a huge gun mounted on the end of his left arm, and opens fire.

---

The wounded alien screeches in anger and pain, dozens of wounds scarring his hard, reptilian flesh.

“I’ve almost got it!” yells Rahn.

He’s still clutching the glowing object. His thumb is darting across its surface, and it looks as if he’s struggling to operate whatever it is with one hand, whilst his other lies useless, trapped inside his broken weapon.

Whatever that thing is, you know you can’t let him use it…

You make for Rahn. But the alien is faster, so quick for his size. He ploughs into you, his bulk smashing you to the ground. You feel your ribs crack, and your breath comes in painful gasps. Then he lays into your companions with big, sweeping blows, keeping them back from the general.

But Illaria manages to dive under his flailing arm. She runs past him, and leaps at Rahn – reaching for the object he grasps.

The alien turns to stop her, but your companions hurl themselves at him. Ragnar leaps through the air, and buries his Niflung axe in the creature’s side before being knocked away. Telemachus drives his laser-edged chainsaw into the reptilian hide, before a furious blow sends the mech crashing to the ground. Lu Bu’s sword slashes across the back of the alien’s knee, and he falls with another great screech. Before he can rise, Talia jumps onto his back, firing her weapons into either side of his neck at pointblank range. Ragnar and Telemachus plough back into the fray to support her.

But all this simply registers on your trained mind out of instinct. Your eyes are on the Princess, and Rahn. They’re struggling over the strange object, the general trying to fend her off with one hand.

You rise, blood spluttering from your mouth as you cough. Have to help her…

You stagger towards them, ignoring the alien that screams to your left, as his body begins to succumb to your companions’ attacks. The light in Rahn’s hand is bright now, shining like a sun.

Illaria grabs hold of the object, trying to wrestle it from him, and the light seems to flow around the two of them.

You quicken your pace, your broken body protesting with every step. You’re close… so close…

The light is a blaze, hiding Rahn and the Princess from sight. You can only see their outlines, amongst the burning whiteness.

You lunge at the light… And fall to the floor, pain wracking your body.

You roll onto your back, confused, disorientated. You look up, and the light is still there… You still have time… It’s… But then you blink, and you understand. You’re seeing the afterimage seared into your retinas. As you blink again it shifts, and you know there’s… nothing. The light is gone. Rahn is gone. She’s gone.