Lux watched from the front deck as the eastern approach crossed the critical distance threshold with abandon, keen to win further glory after their sustained success in the rear. This sort of display of enthusiasm from one’s opponents tended to put a crew on edge, but in her case practically made her vibrate in anticipation. She’d been asked about this reaction of hers from those who’d witnessed it in the past, present company included, and Lux had likened it to the jitters experienced when opening a wrapped gift. Not that the mass of raiders staring them down would be considered a gift in any sense of the word.
But what a large gift it would be, one that had yet to present the typical signs of breaking into smaller cells. Nor had they adjusted their speed despite closing so much distance in such little time.
Fuck. Lux had been too generous with the amount of prep time she afforded the approach, allowing them to cover far more ground than Lux or anyone onboard was comfortable with. What's more, as a sharpshooter it was her job to set the tone for firing discipline, but her assumption that the party would break into groups like earlier led to an inadvertent delay in active resistance. And if that didn’t change immediately this whole convoy would be doomed.
"Cade, we need all hands on the weak side now! And if I don’t hear the sounds of magazines emptying in the next minute, I'll empty mine into everyone onboard! Got it!"
Rather than retort Cade rushed over to the nearest speaking tube, going through the bridge since it connected every part of the Crusader. It was also more effective than the deck officers yelling their heads off, which might not even be possible soon if the gas was used again.
Taking aim at whoever happened to be out front of the encroaching mass, Lux fired away. Some shots finding flesh and bone, while others bounced off bucklers or became trapped in layers of body armor. Then another unexpected development occurred. As if her shots had been the signal they'd been waiting for, the mass of raiders abruptly split into smaller groups at the eleventh hour of the approach.
Adjusting quickly Lux sought the closest gunner, leading her to a group intent on circling around the front. She watched the gunner go down hard after the shot passed right through his shoulder blade and exited his chest. Those trailing him scrambled to evade the now limp body and bike that followed. Entrusting the rest could be handled by C326's security officers, her attention shifted back to the weak side.
Right away she noticed that Cade had relocated about halfway down the stairs, wisely taking her previous threat to heart. Above him she made out Evan on the back deck laying into a group that planned on circling around the rear. Past Cade Lux saw Tristler down on the platform using one of the deceased raider's bucklers to deflect an incoming canister. Leaving Nocks as the only one she was unsure about. Safe to assume he was somewhere in the corridor waiting to see if anyone breached the interior.
Noting that no call had gone out regarding a rocketeer yet, Lux kept her focus on the boarding party currently harassing Tristler on the platform. Cade having already descended the rest of the way to join him and was now attempting to stall the use of projectiles by targeting raiders in their throwing motions.
But both men were so caught up fending off the party in front of them that they failed to recognize a the Volt approaching from the rear of the Crusader. And not from a bike either. The raider in question was taking advantage of the spikes that had been planted in the previous approach to encroach on the platform. Lux’s first instinct was to give the Volt a new piercing in his naval, but given he was nearly parallel to the boys if either took so much as a half-step back they’d be hit.
"Trist, 3 o’clock!"
Lux ensured she had adequate cover and lined up the shot. Fully expecting it to become available.Turning his head just as the Volt lunged for the platform, Tristler was unable to get the rest of his body around in time to keep from being knocked off balance. The two struck the platform side by side, nearly taking Cade down with them in the process.
The rest of the boarding party didn't sit idly by as the opening created by their comrade became known. Leaving Lux to narrow that opening as much as she could without committing friendly fire. She emptied the remainder of her current magazine. Muscle memory kicking in as she reloaded another. During which time another member of the boarding party rose from their bike and jumped to the railing of the platform, managing to latch on and pull themselves over.
Someone had been counting, not bad. But the success was short lived as Lux’s next shots bypassed the raider’s buckler as he tried to get up. His companions had something to say about that and opened fire on her position.
Lux pulled back and reached for the closest body from earlier. And with a grunt of exertion pulled the body in front of her before emerging again, using it as a meat shield. In retrospect this action would only serve to piss them off more, but Lux could deal with pissed off people easier when they had fewer bullets. As per her plan the firing cut off for a moment, either out of shock or respect for a fallen comrade, giving her time to decide whether letting the body drop down the stairs would help or hurt the mosh pit on the platform. She could also discard the body overboard on “accident”, make them think she only had the one. Might encourage the hot heads among them to storm up after her.
Requiring more info, Lux peeked around her shield and saw that Tristler was in a fierce wrestling match with the Volt who’d jumped him. While Cade worked on forcing the raider she'd just shot under the railing and over the edge. Coming to a decision Lux mustered the necessary strength to toss the body over the side. With any luck the body would collide with one or more of the bikes sidled along the platform. The body in question bounced on impact and did nearly flail into the path of one of the bikes, but the driver reacted to the gruesome display and avoided it. Shooting an enraged look in her general direction.
A look that Lux paid no mind to as she instead took out one of the legs of the raider stalling Cade. Who with nothing to lean his weight on crumpled, allowing Cade to push him the rest of the way over. But no sooner had they taken care of one Volt the other succeeded in dazing Tristler with an elbow and pounced on Cade.
Fortunately Cade gained the upper hand quickly as the raider's muscles hadn't recovered enough oxygen from his skirmish with Tristler. Using one arm to hold the raider at arm’s length, Cade brought his rifle up with the other and fired two shots at point blank. The first was fired before he had the angle and struck the platform beneath them, but the second pierced the raider’s abdomen. Recoiling in pain he bounced off the wall of the Crusader before Cade used the man's momentum to clothesline him off the side of the platform.
Sensing that Trislter had regained his senses, Cade proceeded to drag him towards the doorway. Normally this would be inadvisable when one was so close to an active boarding attempt, and yet no wavering was found in any of the engineer's movements. All because of his faith in the presence atop the stairs.
Lux responded to that trust in kind and didn't allow so much as a breath in the general direction of the two as they fell back to the corridor. So focused on this current task, she nearly missed the sounds of would-be footsteps ascending the strong side stairway.
But missed wasn't the right word, more like brushed off. Because it was plausible that Nocks had grown tired of safeguarding the junction and decided to hobble his way up and become of more use. At least that explanation seemed more likely than a raider breaching the convoy's formation without anyone’s notice.
Airing on the side of caution, Lux pulled back from the weak side and hustled over to the opposite stairway. If it was an enemy might as well take them out on the stairs where they had nowhere to evade. Although she had witnessed raiders throwing themselves overboard in a panic once or twice. Taking the chance that they wouldn’t be run over. Personally she’d rather take her chances at being shot.
That being said, Lux hadn’t considered the possibility of a raider taking a page directly from her book. As upon turning the corner she witnessed a pair of legs disappearing over the top of the bridge. Nearly identical to what she'd pulled earlier. No chance Nocks could pull that off in his condition. And with everyone else holding the line on the opposite side...
"You have got to be kidding me."
*
Leora had been keeping a watchful eye over their curious guests west of the convoy when the sounds of urgent yelling reached her ears from the other side of the convoy. She hadn't caught the specifics, but a female voice had definitely begun rallying forces to the weak side. And while the warning hadn't been directed at anyone onboard C384, it still provided valuable insight on the actions of the eastern approach. In the event C248 came under siege in the coming moments, some form of reaction from the group in front of her was to be expected.
If they were allies of Quiet Murn, or members in disguise, they'd be pressed into launching their own approach now that the brunt of the security forces were preoccupied. That or they'd circle around and bolster the ranks of the eastern boarding parties in an attempt to overwhelm with numbers. Not the worst strategy if Leora was being honest, though it would require a certain level of indifference to human resources. Not totally unheard of when it came to notorious party leaders from across the Expanse. But the fact they'd even attempt another wave of approaches after that costly failure the last time around spoke volumes to the type of person who must be running things.
Amid her deliberations Leora watched the rider she'd felt compelled to shoot prematurely as they made a sharp turn and began covering the distance between them. They’d been so quick that others in their group were unable to react and accompany him.
This raider wanted a souvenir from her that badly huh, no complaints here. Expending a sharp breath, Leora fired two shots on a line at the encroaching figure. The first intended to stifle them by way of headshot, while the second accounted for the most likely route of evasion. But at the speed they were approaching, no way they’d react in time to avoid even the first shot. Factor in the lack of buckler and Leora could only assume their body armor was top of the line. Because outside of tanking the shots with body armor what other option was there? Turning, at this speed? That would all but guarantee a crippling introduction to the ground.
“What’ll it be, pick your poison pal...”
And then he jumped. But not just the rider. The entire bike had gone up into the air with him. Forcing Leora to watch in disbelief as both shots ricocheted off the front of the bike which now occupied the space their body had been. Her eyes immediately shifted to the bike’s landing site. The weak side platform. Where she spotted an equally dumbfounded Preece standing stock still. Move you moron!
But even when words failed her, bullets didn't. Through sheer reflex another two shots erupted from the barrel of her rifle, both in anticipation of the rider’s position relative to the platform. The possibility of friendly fire did occur to her, but Leora liked to believe Preece had enough wherewithal to at least move away from the thing threatening his life.
Fortunately, he did. And one unceremonious dive to the side of the doorway saved him. In the same moment the bike touched down on the platform front wheel first, the result of the rider shifting their weight forward.
The seconds that followed seemed to stretch on forever as she lost visual and waited for the sound of a collision or a cry of pain in response to the shots she'd fired. Miraculously the sound of a crash never reached her, but neither had an indication that one or both of her shots had struck her target. She furrowed her brow in confusion and leaned as far forward as she could to no avail. Where the fuck did they go?!
From Leora's vantage point she'd been unable to see it, but upon touching down on the platform the rider had tucked their chin and long arms into their torso, assuming a fetal position of sorts upon the bike seat. After which they'd placed complete faith in the aim established prior to the jump and allowed the bike to carry them through the doorway. And into the corridor of the lower level. Luck had also played a considerable role in this stunt as any presence in the corridor at the time of the crossing would have resulted in a lethal collision. But no such collision befell the rider this day, for the corridor had remained clear. For no other reason than a weary Youn taking an extra moment longer to shed his uniform jacket before exiting the junction.
Keeping their body tucked in anticipation of the opposite doorway, the rider only unfurled themselves when their instincts picked up on the subtle transition of the corridor's smooth floor to the platform's bumpy metal surface. Followed by a second expertly timed jump that found them skidding the back tire off the top of the strong side railing and into the heart of the convoy's formation.
"I swear, it's one thing after another today..."
Leora couldn't help but grind her teeth in frustration as she refocused her attention on the rider's allies who lagged not far behind.
"Preece!"
The officer seemed torn between pursuing the stuntman and staying put to help fend off the incoming approach with her.
"Let Youn handle it! Well deal with this first!"
If that rider really had made it all the way through, admittedly a big if but she hadn't heard a loud crash or explosion to say otherwise, the convoy would be in a heap of trouble. More so if the rider continued their course and boarded C248 from the strong side. They were caught up with the eastern approach as is and couldn’t afford to split their attention. If Youn could just get off a few shots while the man's back was turned. Catch him boarding the other Crusader or targeting a deck officer.
They did have one thing working for them though, or in this case two. The rider, who'd given themselves away as a party member with riding skills of that caliber, had been kind enough to accept both of her gifts. Both to the upper body if her aim was to be trusted.
In the event he'd been saved by body armor hidden beneath his clothing, a shot from her custom-built feronectic rifle still packed enough punch to cause damage with its kinetic energy. Damage that would present itself in the man's movements going forward. Leora would like to see them try and pull that bike off the ground again. If anything she lamented the fact she likely wouldn't be the one to finish him off. And they didn’t hand out medals for assists in this line of work.
So help her if another rider from the western approach attempted a similar trick. No way would it work on her twice. Sharpshooters never forgot their misses.
*
"Sonova—!"
Youn discarded his jacket and sprinted for the strong side platform, nearly losing his balance after a collision with the side of the doorway. Such was his panic. Righting himself, he eyes darted around the inner sanctum of the convoy in search of the raider. Eventually spotting them trailing directly behind C326, looking far too comfortable given the circumstances. The behemoth of a raider didn't even have their hands on the steering column. Instead they seemed preoccupied digging around the inside of their baggy attire looking for something.
Not keen on finding out what that might be, Youn raised his rifle and fired at the raider's back. Only for his shot to strike the bay door of C326 as the man had skillfully weaved himself out of harms way. They proceeded to produce a pair of canisters from within their clothing and transferred both to a single hand. An inadvertent demonstration of the raider's proportionately impressive hand size. They proceeded to grab a roll of duct tape with their free hand and began picking at the end of it teeth.
Youn fired again. An individual's awareness could only extend so far. And with the raider's hands full with whatever task they were undertaking, surely they couldn't avoid consecutive shots from a blind spot.
“...”
But something in his gut was telling him otherwise, so he fired a second shot that accounted for a dodge to the left. He chose left because the previous dodge had repositioned the raider closer to the strong side of C248. Meaning another dodge in the same direction ran the risk of incidental contact with the Crusader.
What he didn’t account for was the raider throttling down to the extent that both shots would miss ahead of them, placing them in what was almost the exact center of the convoy. A bold move even with a majority of the deck officers embroiled in combat. All the while they remained focused on taping both canisters together, turning them into a single projectile.
Realizing this target would require the assistance of another, Youn scanned the railings of the adjacent decks for officers. None were immediately apparent. He'd need to call out if he wanted to bring someone over. That is, if he could manage a necessary volume. His voice still hoarse from his previous encounter with the gas. What's more, the faint nutty odor characteristic of the gas currently permeated the platform he was on. A parting gift from the inner sanctum’s intruder if he had to guess.
Accepting his voice wasn't an option at the moment, Youn stuck two fingers in his mouth and prepared his most piercing whistle. As whistling didn't require the vocal cords. A fact that had been disseminated among the crews following the first brush with the gas. Just as he took a deep breath, Youn watched as the raider suddenly tossed their crude creation over their left shoulder. Without confirming the position of their would be attacker. But Youn's eyes quickly assessed the trajectory and confirmed himself or rather the platform he stood on as the intended target.
"!?!"
Did this person have eyes in the back of their head!?
Youn was forced to cut his whistle short, shooting the projectile before it could reach the platform. But this had been the raider’s intent all along.
A chain reaction started from the canister that had been pierced, igniting the contents of its companion. Resulting in an explosion that consisted of a fine black powder. That of which expanded outward across the sanctum, in effect creating a dark cloud that hung in the air for several seconds.
On reflex Youn pulled the goggles from his side pouch and attempted to relocate the raider through the dissipating cloud. But to his dismay both the raider and his bike were nowhere to be seen, having utilized the temporary smokescreen. Stunned that such a sizeable target could vanish in such a small window of time, Youn was snapped back to attention by the familiar summons to the nearby speaking tube.
Stolen novel; please report.
On the way over he kicked a now empty gas canister located just inside the doorway. He back heeled the canister off the platform in frustration and lifted the lid to the speaking tube. Knocking its underneath to let the bridge know someone had answered.
"I don't care which one of you it is, but someone needs to get up here NOW. Leora needs a spotter asap."
Youn mustered what little voice he could to respond.
"I'll head up."
He attempted to clear his throat to no avail. If only he'd grabbed some water from the bridge or engine room.
"Reefe, we have breach. Single raider, no mark. Put everyone on alert."
"Course we do."
An audible sigh traveled down the speaking tube.
"It'll take me a minute but we'll get it handled, in the meantime head on up."
"On my way."
"This is C384, just got word on a potential breach. Party of one, no mark. All officers are advised to exercise caution."
"We read you C384, notifying officers as we speak. Any information regarding targets current whereabouts?"
"Negative."
"This is C248, nothing is confirmed but we have reason to believe the party is onboard."
"Go ahead."
"Umm, according to our sharpshooter and the sounds we’re experiencing above us...someone's on top of the bridge."
After shaking off the initial surprise of her discovery, Lux shuffled over to the strong side of the bridge where the person had climbed up and listened for signs of activity. Footsteps, reloading, cutting, really anything that confirmed a hostile presence. But separating the sounds of an intruder with those of the battle taking place around her was no easy task.
Understanding that visual confirmation would answer the most pressing questions, Lux made a show of waving her arms back and forth to get the bridge’s attention. In doing so she gained Esma's attention who watched as she gestured emphatically towards the top of the bridge. Positive Esma had caught on, she gestured towards herself and mouthed she'd take care of it.
Better make this quick.
With that Lux slung her rifle across her back and climbed onto the same railing as earlier. Springing off it again and grabbing the edge of the bridge's top surface. She didn’t pull herself up right away like last time though, preferring to wait and see whether the action elicited a response from whoever was up top.
"..."
Lux honestly wasn’t sure whether the lack of reaction made this development more or less concerning. She pulled herself up partway, just high enough to get a visual. And the sight that greeted her was unexpected to say the least.
Because about a meter in front of her, obscured in a heap of baggy clothing, sat a figure at the center of the bridge's top surface. They'd positioned themselves facing ahead and to their immediate left, serving a boundary between them and their silent observer, rested a pair of stacked stone slabs.
The slabs were thick and roughly the length of her arm and yet still appeared small in comparison to the figure beside them. And it was hard to tell from the angle, but the top slab had what was clearly two dents not quite deep enough to be considered holes decorating its face. Lux suspected the dents were the result of shots taken by a deck officer, meant to down the raider as he breached the convoy. Giving credence to her second assumption that the baggy attire was meant to conceal weapons and body armor. But if the slabs did fall into the category of makeshift armor, she imagined they would have hindered the raider’s movements to an extent that breaching the inner sanctum would have been out of the question.
Who is this person?
Deciding she'd seen enough, Lux hoisted herself up and onto the bridge in one smooth moition. Her rifle finding its way back into her hands as a precaution. She followed up with a few tentative steps forward, her shadow falling over the figure and their damaged slabs. But still no outward reaction to her presence. So Lux stood at her full height and raised her voice.
"You picked the wrong Crusader to board pal, and I'm afraid this is where I ask you to get off."
Lux confirmed a bullet was in the chamber, widened her stance and watched carefully for movement underneath the attire.
The response to her assertion had been delayed, but a hand did snake its way out of the confines of the fabric and to the figure’s concealed mouth. In a motion usually associated with a request for silence. But before any sounds could assign definitive meaning to the figure's actions, a shot rang out over top the convoy.
*
"Guell...”
The sound of a women’s voice carried softly across the small apartment.
“You can come out now Guell."
A young boy carefully moved the shelf concealing him aside, taking care to lift rather than push, not wanting to leave any residual scratch or rub marks on the stone floor.
"You did such a good job staying quiet today, you're even able to move the shelf all on your own now."
The youth nodded and sauntered over to his foster mother so that he might shoulder the burden of handling the heavy rice bag. Placing it in one of the lower cupboards in their compact kitchen space.
"It's reassuring to see how strong you've become. With only so much food to go around between the two of us, I worried you'd be nothing but skin and bones. But you just keep shooting up in both size and strength. One or both of your parents must have been quite impressive in stature as well."
His mother’s tone exuded optimism at the development but the boy wasn’t so sure. After all his growth spurts only continued to limit the options for potential hiding spots, increasing the chances of being discovered by the landlord or peace corps. The shelf quite literally being the only thing capable of concealing his frame at this point. And it wasn’t as if they had enough belongings to occupy the shelf and obscure him further.
Guell also didn't like hearing about these supposed 'parents' of his. As far as he was concerned the woman in front of him was his only family, having been there for him as far back as he could remember. If anything he held animosity for the people responsible for his size, as this size is what threatened the continuation of his peaceful existence with his real mother.
Having put the rice away, he relocated to the center of the room and sat politely at the low table. Waiting for any opportunity to be of use to his mother. Watching as she went about pulling some basic ingredients for supper.
"I know I’m always emphasizing how important it is you stay quiet, but it's ok to speak some in the evenings. It’s one of the reasons I relocated us to an apartment on a floor with so many grave shift quarry workers. And you have such a lovely voice, it'd be a shame if it faded away from neglect."
Guell disagreed. They could never be too careful, and he didn't want to be taken away from his home. His mother never did tell him what would happen to him if he was found, but the troubled expression that would cross her face whenever he brought it up told him it must be bad. And refused to let anything bad happen if it made her sad. He'd preserve the peaceful life they had here. Staying quiet was a small price to pay...
Cade had just stepped inside the corridor for a breather when a concerning development reached him over the headset around his neck. He'd only caught the tail end of the transmission, but from what he could gather the missing anti-faith faction and its dreaded RED had finally been spotted. Horrible timing, but that was to be expected. Either way he'd need to head back up immediately and resume spotting for Lux.
"Engler, I’m headed back up. Can you two manage the stragglers?"
Just around the corner of the junction he could hear Gandlin covering the doorway.
"Well manage. Fork some ammo over first though."
Cade grabbed a mag from the pouch on his lower back and placed it into Nocks's waiting hand, he then proceeded to the strong side platform. After climbing halfway up the stairway the sound of a rifle discharging rang out from somewhere directly above him. On instinct he dropped into a crouching position and scanned for any signs that he was being targeted. But there were no bullet marks on the wall behind him nor had he heard the sound of a bullet dropping down the stairs. That left the front deck or bridge.
Cade sprinted up the remaining stairs only to find the front deck void of officers. Troubling, but he knew Lux would never leave her post without good reason. More so when a rocketeer was about to besiege the convoy. Looking for hints as to her current whereabouts, Cade redirected his attention to the headset again. The bridge will have surely kept tabs on the sharpshooter.
"Esma, you heard the update. I need to know where Lux is so we can—"
"She's above you!"
Cade’s mind needed a second to process the CO’s claim.
"Pardon?"
"She's above you! Catch her!"
Cade craned his head up just in time to see Lux flying towards him from the direction of the bridge. Almost if she’d been thrown. Thankfully he didn't have to go far to position himself underneath her. He was far more concerned about catching a wayward elbow or knee during the process. As it turned out Cade should have been more worried about the direction her momentum was carrying her. The force in which she'd been flung being so great it nearly sent both of them careening over the Crusader's front railing. Much to the horror of the occupants of the bridge watching this unfold.
To the relief of everyone involved, they didn't. Cade mustering the necessary strength to keep them both firmly on deck. It helped that Lux had been conscious during the fall, already having braced herself to minimize injury. If anyhting she seemed more surprised that someone had been there to catch her than Cade was when the companion he was looking for literally fell out of the sky.
From their position against the front railing, Cade gave Lux a quick once over and saw that she was bleeding from the side of her forehead. Other than that she seemed relatively unharmed with the exception of her ego. On full display as she shot out of his arms and leveled an angry fist in the direction of the bridge’s roof.
"If you think throwing me off is gonna stop me from climbing back up and killing you, think again!"
"Someone threw you?"
Lux turned towards him appearing affronted.
"Hardly, I got overeager and they redirected my momentum."
She angrily wiped at the blood streaming down the side of her face and glared in the direction of the bridge again. Stubborn as always this girl.
"Give me your hemogel, we can’t have your vision obstructed."
Lux pulled a tube of the requested gel from her first aid pouch and handed it over to Cade, who pulled a strip of gauze from the contents of his own pouch. Squeezing a liberal amount of the hemostatic gel onto his finger, he wiped the blood away until the cut itself was visible and promptly applied the gel across the opening. Lux hissed at the stinging sensation but putup with it.
"Should hold until Belveer. Now, according to the head CO the rocketeer is approaching from—where the hell are you going?!"
"Where do you think? To return the favor. If that bastard thinks they're too big to be thrown off this fucking Crusader...ooooh, they’d better think twice."
Cade made a risky move grabbing Lux by the arm like he did.
"That's not the priority right now. Besides, whoever threw you doesn't seem to be actively pursuing anyone. They would have shot us both when I was applying first aid if that were the case. For now we shift our attention to the rocketeer, who'll be on top of the convoy any second by the way."
"Didn't. Throw. Me."
"My point still stands, leave them for now. Doubt they want to be blown up anymore than the rest of us."
Lux mumbled something beneath her breath and cast one last look at the top of the bridge where their mysterious visitor remained. They weren’t visible from this spot on the front deck, meaning they'd probably resettled into their earlier position.
"Uh, Lux?"
"What!? I'm still here aren't I!
"Where's your rifle?"
"..."
Lux reached behind her person, specifically the space her rifle usually occupied when it wasn't in her hands but grasped nothing but air. As the reality of the situation settled in, the anger Cade had managed to subdue through reason returned in full force.
"Now I really have to kill him."
Cade grabbed Lux from behind and did his best to keep her on the front deck. No easy task when it came to someone as skilled at grappling as Lux was.
"Calm down! I can give you this one and grab the other spare from the gun safe!"
"You know that rifle is fitted to my specifications! Aren’t you're the one who wanted to prioritize the rocketeer!”
The two struggled back and forth, jockeying for leverage.
“Not that intercepting rockets with a standard issue is a problem!"
Cade let her go. She was right. As stretched thin as the deck officers were, they needed a rifle fitted for accuracy at distance. And that rifle was currently on top the bridge, in the possession of some raider formidable enough to get the jump on Lux. But how to go about retrieving it?
He didn't like the idea of sending Lux back up, that would only guarantee another fight. And while he had full faith in her capabilities, time was of the essence. He could go up. It'd be a pain getting up there, but once he was maybe he could reason with whoever was there. Try the ole "a rocketeer is trying to blow us all up, hand over the rifle" method. Of course he wouldn't stand a chance in a fight, not if they were capable of besting Lux to such an extent. This is bad. We’re wasting precious seconds standing around like this.
"I could retrieve it."
Cade jumped at the unexpected voice from the headset. Apparently Esma had been listening in. Or maybe she'd been watching from the bridge and filled in the blanks by listening through the headset.
He looked over at the bridge’s front window and saw that Esma was indeed watching the two of them intently. She looked serious, Cade would give her that much. But how could he justify sending the rookie CO up there? Would the intruder regard her as harmless and let his guard down long enough for her to toss it down?
"No need to look so perturbed. I'll head up, ask nicely, and explain the situation if I have to. A similar thought must have crossed your mind no. Besides we need bodies on deck, and that doesn't include what Lux has stacked up by the stairs"
Cade still didn't like it. He'd started coming around to the rookie after their short time together in the bridge and would rather not see her being thrown from the Crusader to her death. The presence beside him added her two cents, having picked up the cues.
"Just let her do it. She's a big girl capable of making her own decisions."
Lux paused and contemplated the possible outcome for a moment.
"And I think it'll work, long as she doesn't antagonize them. It’s true they moved but I technically engaged first."
Cade ran a hand down his face and heaved a sigh.
"Fine. Let's give it a shot."
This was not the kind of spotting Cade had in mind for today.
*
The plan was simple, after helping boost Esma atop the bridge, Lux would remain on standby with the standard issue from Cade in case things went south. Meanwhile Cade would remain on the front deck and catch whatever came his way. Be it Lux's rifle, Esma or both at the same time. And they'd need to do it fast as the convoy was still actively under assault. Needless to say it was not ideal for half the crew to be preoccupied doing something that didn’t contribute to the immediate defense of the Crusader.
For her part Esma remained calm as Lux lifted her by the hips and instructed her to grab the edge. She did as was told but briefly questioned whether she possessed the upper body strength necessary to pull herself up the rest of the way. It became a moot point when she felt Lux press on the soles of her boots for additional assistance. Not wanting to be entirely useless, Esma summoned whatever strength her arms did have to close the distance further, and once it fell into the range of her flexibility, raised her right leg to lift herself up sideways.
Rolling forward a bit and stopping when her nose touched the bridge’s surface it then occurred to the brunette that she hadn’t looked before leaping. So intent was she on attempting the task before nerves had a chance to set in. What Esma should have done is verify what the mysterious presence was doing first, along with the location of the rifle she was meant to retrieve. Instead she lay vulnerable, having already announced her presence in a rather awkward and clumsy way. Although that might work in her favor in the sense it showed how little a threat she truly was.
Having procrastinated long enough, Esma steeled her resolve and from her side laying position, turned her head towards the man's last reported location. And just as Lux had conveyed the towering figure remained at the center of the bridge facing forward, seemingly unbothered by her presence. Beside him lay a pair of stone tablets, something she'd heard Lux make mention of from the other side of the headset. But the slabs didn't interest her as much as what rested on top of them. Lux's feronectic rifle. It seemed to be in good condition, no obvious missing parts or damage from what her lesser-trained eye could gather.
Ok Esma, there it is. Just have to go over there and grab it without antagonizing the man strong enough to throw a human several feet into the air. Simple enough.
Taking a few deep breaths and trying to ignore the speed of the air as it rushed over her, Esma propped herself onto her hands and knees. Her hair whipped all over the place and she wished that she’d zipped her jacket up as it followed suit.
How did Lux manage this?!
Coming to the realization that she was not confident or coordinated enough to stand and walk on top of the bridge of a moving Crusader, Esma discarded her pride. Opting to shuffle over on all fours instead. She was still scared of falling, maybe even more so than the raider in front of her, so she paused once between the edge and her objective to collect herself. Quietly rejoicing at the utter lack of response her steady progress was having on the man. This development or lack thereof gave Esma the push she needed to resume her forward progress in small increments.
And the closer she got, the more uneasy she felt at his complete disregard of her encroaching presence. Would that change when she came into contact with the rifle? What about the slabs? It would probably be wiser to leave the latter alone. From what she could glean from her current distance the top one had at least two bullet holes in it, something that obscured the text engraved on the stone. The fact he kept it by his side in its current state rather than throwing it away implied some form of attachment or significance. An attachment she wasn't keen on testing the value of.
Now within arm’s length of the rifle, Esma decided it was time to make her move. Flexing her fingers to make sure fear hadn’t stalled her appendages, she realized part of her actually wanted the man to react in some way. Nothing substantial or violent of course. But any minute shift or movement on their part would serve as an ideal excuse to delay what she was about to do. Thankfully the rational part of her mind opposed this excuse after recalling the limited time frame they had to recover the rifle.
So Esma reached her arm out for the barrel of the rifle, eyes flitting back and forth nervously. On her approach she'd played around with the idea of grabbing somewhere closer to the receiver during retrieval but had since reconsidered. She didn’t want the statue beside her mistaking her actions as an attempt at reaching for the trigger or touching a slab.
It was as her hand closed around the barrel of Lux's rifle that the man finally stirred. He didn't do anything as extreme as reaching out to stop her or standing up, but Esma somehow managed to sense the shift of the man's gaze in her direction. Accompanied by the subtlest of head tilts.
She couldn't say how she pulled the following observation off, her best guess being a product of her current hyper-awareness, but even through the raider’s goggles she managed make out pupils dilating in response to something. And Esma was not arrogant enough to think she was the cause.
"Clear the deck! Esma go prone!"
Esma did as instructed and slid down onto her stomach, covering her ears on instinct even though that hadn't been part of the instructions. In the distance she could hear the muffled voices of other crew members as they responded to the same stimulus.
"Mark!"
"I see it, I see it!"
Sounds recognizable as rifle fire rang out overhead, but were promptly drowned out by the deafening noise of what sounded like an immense thunderclap. But the thunderclap paled in comparison to the unfamiliar sensation of a shockwave rocking the back of her body the instant before. It was nearly enough to make her cry out. Maybe she had, Esma had no of knowing now that she’d been deafened momentarily.
Once the sensation subsided and the world stopped ringing Esma pried open an eye only to be met by the ankles of the raider who had since stood up. They appeared to be staring defiantly up at the sky, the origin of the blast if she had to guess. Dropping her gaze she discovered that the damaged slab had broken into three large pieces, likely a causality of their proximity to the shockwave.
But what of the rifle? It was then Esma realized the weapon was tucked underneath her form. In her panic rather than release the barrel it'd remained tightly gripped in her hand as she transitioned into a prone position. Awfully dangerous now that she thought about it, but also impressive considering the weight of a feronectic rifles. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug apparently.
Now if she could just get the rifle into the hands of someone qualified to use it. Shimmying backwards towards the edge of the bridge she called out for Lux or Cade who had hopefully resumed their standby beneath her after the explosion.
"I've got it!"
Though not a direct response to her, she did hear the voice of Lux calling out.
"Cade, remind me to buy that other sharpshooter a beer when this all over."
Esma wondered whether she'd be able to get in on the action. A beer, or something stronger, sounded lovely right about now. But not as lovely as the sound of the rifle dropping into Lux's outstretched arms. Or the sound of her feet landing on the front deck with help from Cade.