11-18-2017, 12:37 AM
Cole glided over fire and screeching metal, over distressed crewmen and a ship in chaos. He held Jaco close as he fell towards the wooden deck, nearby now silent cannons and under a shower of glass and hot metal from the explosion that so rapidly claimed the control tower, the same one he had escaped from mere moments prior, and which even know illuminated the sky with a towering, vibrant column of oranges and reds. Cole gasped as a sudden flare of pain shot up from his leg, and another in his arm, and he saw shards of glass had embedded into them as he fell.
Landing maladroitly, Cole grunted in pain, alongside exhaustion taking its toll, as he barely managed to duck into a nearby cubbyhole. Taking cover beside metal grates and crates, he was shielded against the falling debris from the exploded control tower as it rained down around him. Large chunks of metal thudded and tore through parts of the deck, and he could hear the ship starting to strain from the assault it had suffered from. The fires weren’t controllable at this point, and Cole knew the whole ship would go up in flames or just detonate right underneath his feet. At that thought even, the ship shuddered again, violently lurching towards its starboard side.
Cole grabbed onto one of the chains and endeavored to regain his balance, pain flaring up as the shard of glass remained embedded into his arm. He grit his teeth, trying to ignore it as he pulled himself up onto the crate and leapt off it once more, bounding above the fire and deeply scarred hull and cracked, wooden deck.
Twice more he jumped, heading towards the only hope of escape he knew of left. His liberator aid beeped louder as he neared it, the portal where his teammates had undoubtedly gathered. Cole landed, pain flaring again from his injured leg as he stumbled to regain his balance on the tilted vessel. He was just above his target now. Soon after he landed, the ship shuddered again, weaker though; another detonation most likely, but a smaller one back away from where Cole came from. But it was still part of the ship’s final death throes, and its distance did not set Cole’s mind at ease.
Regaining his bearings, Cole dashed for the nearest entrance into the bowels of the ship, dashing through partially collapsed doorways and past burning, corrupted corpses of crewmen and other, less human creatures. What few survivors there were in this section were too focused on their task to repair the once-mighty vessel, likely in vain as the fires continued to grow and the ship groaned ever louder.
Jaco’s breathing was erratic, but still strong, as Cole carried him over his shoulder, sprinting through the hallways and taking the turns and bends sharply, skidding across the metal floor. He didn’t know the layout of the ship, but instead relied on his beeping liberator aid, hoping it would keep him in the right direction. The metal corridors were a labyrinth, and in such a hurried panic, they seemed impossible to traverse, but Cole kept at it. Dashing through flames in a blur and sliding underneath busted steam pipes, he pressed onward.
It took time, but Cole eventually came out into a spacious storage bay, with a veritable array of deactivated machines and vehicles strewn about in various states of disrepair or completion. Perhaps it was a hanger? Cole didn’t linger on that thought, continuing his panicked dash towards the portal and the comrades that were just ahead of him. Two of them, Blink and that weird-talking robot, seemed to flying around in a pair of the strange darkling hovercrafts. The other two, the spikey-haired soldier, Cloud, and Jaco’s hero, Protoman were busy fending off a group of marines. Or, at least, the few that still were alive.
He called out to them, still hurrying towards the portal as the ship groaned and lurched again, sending him stumbling once more, barely managing not to trip over one of the many marine corpses that littered the room.
“Jaco is hurt and the ship is done for! We need to go, right now!” Cole shouted across the chamber, his voice echoing in the vast empty space. He didn’t wait for confirmation, as he doubled down and almost flew towards the portal in a blur of motion, lurching forth into the unknown.
Landing maladroitly, Cole grunted in pain, alongside exhaustion taking its toll, as he barely managed to duck into a nearby cubbyhole. Taking cover beside metal grates and crates, he was shielded against the falling debris from the exploded control tower as it rained down around him. Large chunks of metal thudded and tore through parts of the deck, and he could hear the ship starting to strain from the assault it had suffered from. The fires weren’t controllable at this point, and Cole knew the whole ship would go up in flames or just detonate right underneath his feet. At that thought even, the ship shuddered again, violently lurching towards its starboard side.
Cole grabbed onto one of the chains and endeavored to regain his balance, pain flaring up as the shard of glass remained embedded into his arm. He grit his teeth, trying to ignore it as he pulled himself up onto the crate and leapt off it once more, bounding above the fire and deeply scarred hull and cracked, wooden deck.
Twice more he jumped, heading towards the only hope of escape he knew of left. His liberator aid beeped louder as he neared it, the portal where his teammates had undoubtedly gathered. Cole landed, pain flaring again from his injured leg as he stumbled to regain his balance on the tilted vessel. He was just above his target now. Soon after he landed, the ship shuddered again, weaker though; another detonation most likely, but a smaller one back away from where Cole came from. But it was still part of the ship’s final death throes, and its distance did not set Cole’s mind at ease.
Regaining his bearings, Cole dashed for the nearest entrance into the bowels of the ship, dashing through partially collapsed doorways and past burning, corrupted corpses of crewmen and other, less human creatures. What few survivors there were in this section were too focused on their task to repair the once-mighty vessel, likely in vain as the fires continued to grow and the ship groaned ever louder.
Jaco’s breathing was erratic, but still strong, as Cole carried him over his shoulder, sprinting through the hallways and taking the turns and bends sharply, skidding across the metal floor. He didn’t know the layout of the ship, but instead relied on his beeping liberator aid, hoping it would keep him in the right direction. The metal corridors were a labyrinth, and in such a hurried panic, they seemed impossible to traverse, but Cole kept at it. Dashing through flames in a blur and sliding underneath busted steam pipes, he pressed onward.
It took time, but Cole eventually came out into a spacious storage bay, with a veritable array of deactivated machines and vehicles strewn about in various states of disrepair or completion. Perhaps it was a hanger? Cole didn’t linger on that thought, continuing his panicked dash towards the portal and the comrades that were just ahead of him. Two of them, Blink and that weird-talking robot, seemed to flying around in a pair of the strange darkling hovercrafts. The other two, the spikey-haired soldier, Cloud, and Jaco’s hero, Protoman were busy fending off a group of marines. Or, at least, the few that still were alive.
He called out to them, still hurrying towards the portal as the ship groaned and lurched again, sending him stumbling once more, barely managing not to trip over one of the many marine corpses that littered the room.
“Jaco is hurt and the ship is done for! We need to go, right now!” Cole shouted across the chamber, his voice echoing in the vast empty space. He didn’t wait for confirmation, as he doubled down and almost flew towards the portal in a blur of motion, lurching forth into the unknown.
Quote:739 Words
Pretty simple and straightforward, Cole literally made a mad dash with the injured and poisoned Jaco on his shoulder, weaved his way through the labyrinthine corridors, and blitzed through the portal before the ship decided to explode again.