Friends and news

Marie ducked to her right as she exited the elevator and moved down the hallway. Her steps were slow and cautious. Nicholas followed a few steps behind, rifle held at the ready, the barrel swaying a bit as the nervous pilot kept a close eye on the shadows.

When they were only a few yards from the hallway junction, a noise from the opposite end of the corridor made both of them spin around in alarm, Nicholas reflexively squeezing off a round from his weapon. The hypersonic bullet splattered against the bulkhead on the other side of the hallway with a high pitched ping, leaving a small bubble of molten alloy on the surface.

"Damn it all, Nicholas, watch your fire! We have enough problems without you putting a hole in me!"

Marie and Nicholas both sagged with relief at the sound of the voice, the pilot lowering his weapon.

"Captain! You alright?" Marie called out, and Thane Samson stepped out into the hallway. Marie noticed that his RIG sported a few brand new dents, and a prominent scratch ran down the middle of the thick steel chest plate. The Captain held a rifle, the heat exchanger on its barrel still subtly glowing with residual heat.

"Those nasty buggers almost got me, but I'll pull through alright. The RIG took the worst of it, and I have just a few bumps and bruises," the Captain drew closer, favoring his right leg slightly as he walked. His face, partially obscured by his RIGs helmet and HUD, looked grim.

"Irina," Samson jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "had a close call, but she's a tough one. She's back at the mess hall, packing up some supplies and gear. Now that we're mobile again thanks to you," Samson nodded at the softly lit elevator doors, "I figure its time to move on, but no use leaving the victuals to these bastards. Fine job you two," Samson nodded at Marie and Nicholas, "and I'm sure it wasn't an easy one."

"Samson," Marie spoke quickly, "on our way back we made contact with some of the survivors - Jane is here! She's alive, Samson, we heard her! Before some other bastard took over the comm channel. Called himself Dr. Safin. He said he spoke to you?"

A broad smile flashed on Samson face, but his expression quickly grew sour again. "I'm glad your sister is alright Marie, I really am. But we still have no way off this cursed ship, and without that, we're no use to her. That said," he placed a reassuring hand on Marie's shoulder, "we'll do what we can to help her of course, and if she's stayed alive in the middle of this nightmare then she's no slouch herself. A touch of family resemblance there, eh?" Samson barked out a short laugh.

"As for Safin," Samson continued "yeah, we spoke, if you can call it that. The Doctor pinged our comms right before the attack. The arrogant bastard instructed me to make my way to the bridge to render him the necessary assistance. Didn't give much detail beyond that. I swear," Samson shook his head, "if we weren't already going there, I'd leave him to rot in this wreck. Come to think of it," he looked back at Marie, "he didn't mention any other survivors."

"Must have slipped his mind," Nicholas pipped in.

"If Jane's with him," Marie spoke firmly, "I'm getting her out of there."

Samson nodded, but before he could reply, Irina, the last crew member of the USG Seikatsu, stepped out into the hallway. The young medic was struggling with the weight of a heavy crate in each arm. Marie noticed that the front of her RIG looked to be heavily stained with yellowish fluid, though Irina had made some effort to clean off the gunk.

"Ah, there she is," Samson nodded at Irina, then turned back to Marie and Nicholas, "Marie, give her a hand. Nicholas and I will keep an eye out for more of those buggers."

Marie nodded and moved forward to assist the medic with the supplies. As they worked together, she took the opportunity to ask Irina about the attack.

"They came out of the vents and rushed us," Irina's voice was still strained. "One of those...things had me up against a wall, almost had my RIG off...," Irina shuddered at the recollection. "Captain saved me - blew the thing apart. We organized after that, pushed them back, but," Irina paused, as if unsure of her next words, "it didn't feel like we beat them. Felt more like they let us go."

With Marie's help, Irina quickly sorted the supplies into more manageable packs that they distributed between themselves and the two men. When all was settled, all four of them crowded into the elevator, and Nicholas leaned over the control panel.

"To the Bridge, captain?"

"Yeah," Samson nodded, "let's go see our friend Dr. Safin."

The elevator doors hissed closed.