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[quote][b]Remus (Dec 09, 2001 09:08 p.m.):[/b] [i]Disclaimer: After reading this post, what a reader will probably say is "Yeah freaking right." Well, I don't blame you. it's a hell of a stretch, that's for certain. It's almost certain that exposure that brief wouldn't kill them, but it wouldn't be comfortable either. Yes, I know, there are lots of arguments to be made about its unrealism. To be perfectly frank, I just couldn't figure out any other realistic scenario in which they could get off the station, even for the briefest moment, and so I ended up going with this. Please try and be forgiving. :)[/i] Gabe was moving toward Conference Room B. He didn't know what would be waiting for him when he got there. He didn't know what was going on. He knew only that there was danger, and that things were not going to plan, but most importantly, that Sol was there. Perhaps it was a trap. Perhaps Hale had finally found a way to rig the game beyond all hope of success; if security had been given instructions to apprehend them, then their cover -- the only real asset they had in this place -- was blown before they even arrived. And in staying in character, they would willingly walk into the awaiting hands of security. And at the same time, not reporting to the conference room would only postpone the inevitable. Where was there to hide, on a space station? And Gabe had no doubt that this little IA security review came from Hale. Whether they were already known as spies to security, he wasn't sure, but he was certain that if they didn't already, they soon would. Hale would have arranged it so. Either way, going to Conference Room B was a bad idea. The final was pass or fail, but Gabe wasn't terribly concerned with that right now. It wasn't passing they needed to worry about now; it was getting the hell off the station before they found themselves sedated in a transport ship's medbay, bound for an off-world maximum security prison. Assuming they weren't simply shot. So Conference Room B was an extremely bad idea. Except that that was where Sol's last known whereabouts pointed, and if they had her, Gabe was not leaving without her. Better bound for the same prison than headed in separate directions. So Gabe was running through the corridors, trying to formulate some plan and coming up blank. The enemy held all the cards right now; Gabe had no idea of their numbers, their knowledge, their hardware, or their orders. He had no backup, no intel, no weapons, and most importantly, no idea if they had Sol or not. He was so absorbed in trying to formulate something resembling a plan that he didn't even notice the footsteps from around the corner. As he rounded it, he ran right into the person coming the other way, and had to fight to keep his balance in the sudden tangle of arms and legs. The other person gripped his uniform to keep steady also, and met his eyes. And that sense of proximity found its way through the tangled thoughts running through his mind. "Sol," he whispered, and hugged her tightly. She hugged back, but they quickly disentangled themselves, and she took his hand and pulled him along as she started running again. "We need to get out of here," she said. Gabe assented wordlessly and changed their course, heading down an adjoining corridor. As they ran, she related the story to him. The interview had been carried out by Nathan Terrence. Asmodeus. Sol's assailant. Kat's lover. The fallen angel. He didn't for a moment, count on any gratitude for their aid in getting word to Kat that he'd lived. They had, after all, shot him first; it wasn't hard to see how one might consider them square. No, they had to assume that Mode had already informed security. They needed out [i]now[/I]. Sol then told him of her accelerated computer work, and that she'd already delivered the goods to Icarus electronically. Gabe would have been astounded, if he'd not been so intent on forming a new plan in his mind. Hacking a system like the CCP's in that short an amount of time was very impressive, even having known of Sol's abilities for so long. Gabe led them to Launch Bay 4, and punched in the code that Denton had used. The inspection was still underway, and the officer with the clipboard, from earlier, spotted him immediately, and strode toward them. "Hey! You were told-" And that was as far as he got before Sol decked him, kicked him in the face, and sent him sprawling on the floor. There were shouts in the bay; some ran to alert security, and others started toward Gabe and Sol, fists clenched and faces set. Gabe led the way to the line of MMVs, and punched the button to open the canopy. "Hold them," he said to Sol as he leapt in. The controls were differed from the IF norm, but not too much. It was, after all, a specialized maintenance craft, and had to be designed as such. But the basic maneuvering controls were just like those of any small IF craft; uniformity made things easier on the pilots, but also on the hijackers. He hit the main power control switches, and attempted to access the automated liftoff program. The VDU to Gabe's left, however, went red, and the words ACCESS DENIED appeared across the screen. At the bottom, a line of text read: [i]MMV controls locked down by Flight Control override.[/I] Gabe glanced quickly toward the control room, opposite the pilots' lounge, looking down at the bay. Officers inside were scrambling about. "Son of a [i]bitch[/I]," Gabe hissed, working at the controls. Only a few attempts convinced him that [i]all[/I] the MMV's controls were locked out. He climbed back out, and didn't bother trying any others. Sol was holding off three technicians. They weren't trained in combat like Gabe and Sol, but they had numbers and they had raw physical power, and though Sol's attacks were certainly effective -- as indicated by the two prone techs already at her feet -- the weaving and dodging necessary to keep herself out of the path of their fists was taxing. Gabe's eyes were drawn to the other craft in the room, but he knew that they too would be locked down. He was at Sol's side, stance defensive; he blocked the attacks of one of the techs, and swept him off his feet, but toward the entrance to the bay, he could see more coming their way, having alerted security. Gabe turned his head right and left, looking for something, anything to get them out of this. He'd planned on having more time to prepare. And now, it seemed, his lack of foresight was going to cost them both. But as he was looking around, his eyes passed over the winch attached to the front of the MMV, and his mind sparked. Shoot through the glass... Gabe grabbed the hook, and flipped the control to free feed. He then reached out and grabbed Sol's hand, and pulled her along with his as he sprinted away from the techs, toward the open bay doors, toward the faint shimmer of the air shield. "Exhale!" he shouted, but he could already hear Sol forcing the air from her lungs even as he did. They leapt, and were both suddenly, numbingly cold. The line went taut at 20 meters, only few steps beyond the threshold, and Gabe's arm was jerked violently. Releasing his grip was not an option. The recoil sent them falling back through the bay doors and crumpling to the metal floor. Gabe gasped as he sucked air back into his lungs. The impossible cold outside, and then the relative searing heat inside, made his body numb and his muscles completely useless. He could not even push himself up off the floor, much less defend himself. Apart from the violent shivers running through his body, he lay motionless on the floor. Security arrived momentarily, and a medic crew shortly after, and Gabe and Sol, hands and feet secured and sedated on site, were taken to the infirmary. Gabe didn't stay conscious all the way there. He knew, at the intellectual level, that they would be okay; their exposure to the freezing cold of space had been extremely brief. And he was not worried about the consequences of being caught, either. They had assumed their identities. They had made contact with Icarus. They had stolen the schematics and delivered them to Icarus. They had, technically speaking, escaped the station, if only for half a second. They had shot through the glass. And now they were finally free.[/quote]
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