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Rampany Is Character Forming: Part 2
Posted By: S7N<n.j.r.jones@brighton.ac.uk>
Date: 8 August 2003, 3:53 PM
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Part 2
The hull of the ship felt almost organic beneath 'Gisomee's feet. Although he was wearing his body armour, and his shields were active, he couldn't help but feel the hull give a little as he trod over it, deep in the vacuum of space. It felt smooth and hard, yet at the same time, soft. If was a strange feeling. The ship lacked shields; either they were down, or the ship didn't have any, but either way they had encountered now electrical resistance landing atop the ship's chitinous main pod. It was indeed a marvel standing on the vessel.
The floor beneath him bowed down a few hundred metres away in every direction, and the only thing he could see of the ship apart from that on which he stood, was the aft pod, rising slightly out of the darkness. Of to the ships port side was the Honour of Ascension. It hung a few hundred metres above it, in a position that showed of 'Kilsomee's piloting skills to its fullest. Getting a ship within a kilometre of another showed prowess at the helm. Getting it within half that distance, not only showed prowess, but a skill that few possessed, as well as the bravery to do so.
Which was why 'Gisomee had asked to be transferred to the Maverick's ship. Although only a scouting vessel, the Honour still held two full platoons of soldiers, four drop ships (two adapted for boarding actions) as well as four Seraph fighters. The scoutship was also equipped with point defence systems and a plasma cannon, and could easily hold its own against a human destroyer. Of course, the ship he stood on now wasn't a human cruiser, despite the word 'Boomer' painted on the stern. And that mean that whatever was inside could probably destroy his task force with the blink of an eye.
But such thoughts were considered scandalous and he moved his mind back to the mission. Several Jackals in EV suits worked at the hull with laser cutters, using energy packs that were being charged from the nearby craft that had brought them here. The small drop ship hovered a few metres above the alien ship's hull, moving with precision so it kept at equal distance. 'Gisomee glanced up at where the cockpit was and saw 'Kilsomee deep in concentration. It was unusual for a Ship Master to take a drop ship out, but this was no ordinary situation, and 'Gisomee felt a lot safer with him nearby.
The lower-ranking Elite strolled over to where a visible hole had appeared and clicked his mandibles together in satisfaction. A Grunt scuttled past his feet and over to one of the Jackals, adjusting a control on its back-pack.
As the creature did so, the laser which the Jackal held suddenly intensified, and the hole grew quickly into a gaping wound several metres across. It formed so quickly that two of the Jackals on the opposite side nearly fell through it, barely managing to jump out of the way. One of them cursed over at the Jackal who was responsible, but no reply came.
'Gilsomee could have chastised them all for such stupidity in the active field, but chose not to. He had always been lenient with his troops, knowing that rigid discipline had already taken its part when they had joined the Covenant Ground Forces. And these soldiers were no greenhorns. They had seen combat over a dozen times, they knew how to fight.
"That's enough." His deep voice echoed over the com unit. The Jackals switched their laser beams off and stepped back from the hole they had created. He walked to the edge and peered down into the bowels of the ship, but the darkness meant he couldn't a thing. "We need some lights over here." Grunt waddled off to the drop ship and returned with two lamps. He handed one to the Elite, then angled the other one so it cast into the gap, illuminating the innards.
"See anything?" a stone-cold voice said behind him. 'Gisomee turned to the officer and bowed.
"No, your excellency. I believe we will need to go down into the ship to get a good idea of what we are dealing with." He turned to 'Kilsomee, who nodded in appreciation of the idea.
"Very well," the elder replied. "I will be coming in with you."
"Are you sure that is wise, master?" 'Gisomee replied, his voice was straight enough, but he heard a hint of concern in his own words. 'Kilsomee turned to him, a flicker of a smile crossed his face.
"I thought, Master of Arms 'Gisomee, that you were to be concerned with only your troops. I had no idea it would extend to the likes of me."
"You are a legend unto yourself, master, and a valuable asset to us." 'Gisomee bowed low. 'Kilsomee chuckled loudly, patting the soldier on the shoulder.
"Come, we have work at hand."
It didn't take long to get both 'Kilsomee and 'Gisomee
down into the ship, they had told the Jackals to stand guard and report anomalies. As lights were quickly activated, 'Kilsomee could see this was a vessel with which his race could learn from.
The two warriors move up to what looked like a door. As they neared it, a small hole appeard that suddenly turned into a gaping doorway into the next area. The whooshing sound that accompanied sounded like it was organic, like a mouth or something. At first, 'Kilsomee thought the sound was caused from the decompression from the hole they made, but when it closed behind them, his readings indicated that air pressure had equalled.
Long corridors, laced with what look like purple, organic substance, spread deep into the ship. The workings of doors were hidden from view, and they seemed to open with little more than a hand motion. They came across various pits, the purpose of which 'Kilsomee couldn't work out.
He couldn't tell what part of the ship they were on. Was it the brig? Was it the ship's sleeping quarters? Did whatever inhabited this thing sleep? 'Gisomee wore an expression of awe as he almost stumbled along next to 'Kilsomee. The soldier was taken in by the very nature of the ship, and although it seemed very like a Covenant ship, it was also awe inspiring in itself.
Two standard units passed, and still no sign of life had appeared aboard the ship. There were various rooms that they saw. One had rows and rows of empty sacs, what almost seemed like eggs. Ooze dripped out of them, running down the organic walls. 'Kilsomee had touched the liquid, but it had turned rock solid, meaning it was old.
Could the crew of this ship be dead?
"What are you thinking, Master?" 'Gisomee said, his voice unable to hide the awe his face held.
"I don't know." He muttered. "Whatever controls this ship isn't a physical manifestation, otherwise we would have found some trace of them. The human vermin have a thing called Artificial Intelligence; the same thing could be controlling this ship. But to what purpose, I have been unable to deduce." He halted before a door that wouldn't open. He waved his arm in front of it, but nothing happened. He looked to the soldier.
"Maybe it's locked, Master." He moved up to the door and felt its surface, hoping to find a control of some sort.
He came up empty handed and turned back to 'Kilsomee. "Nothing, Master. May I suggest an alternative route?"
"No," he replied. "I want to know what's on the other side of that door. If there are no crew here, why is it locked? What is it stopping us from seeing?"
"Well, I'll try and bypass it, but from what I have seen of the other doors, Master, the circuitry will be hard to locate." 'Gisomee moved up to the door's edge, tracing a claw over the smooth surface. He holstered his Plasma Rifle and pulled a small device from his utility belt. He placed the long, metallic rod over where his hand had just been and clicked a button on the cylinder. A red light flashed on the end of it, and the door opened, with the same sucking sound the others had made.
'Gisomee slipped the device back into the little pocket and pulled out his rifle again, sweeping it backwards and forwards. They peered into the room, but could see nothing. The room was engulfed in blackness; not lights were visible, and if there were any in the room, they weren't on. As 'Kilsomee entered the room, he heard his footsteps echo, meaning that it was big. How big he couldn't tell, but oddly it felt familiar to him, as if it were from an old dream, one he couldn't exactly remember
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