Slingers (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 1)

Chapter 6

The first thing Nolun noticed when he woke up was he had a splitting headache. The second thing he noticed was that he was lying on a metal slab, which was extremely cold. He thought back, trying to remember what happened. He was with the Inferno, chasing after the twins, and he had been hit on the head with something. He assumed he had be knocked out and woken up here. The question was, where was here? Suddenly, the door in front of him opened, and Nolun instinctively reached for his pistol, only to find it was not as his hip where it usually was. What came through the door, however, would have made Nolun freeze up anyways. It was an almost skeletal-like robot, with a metal ring surrounding it's hips. On the ring were several different arms, each with a different tool or function. The robot had several magnifying lenses on it's eyes, which could be switched out at anytime. It moved on two wheels which could be changed into feet at any time. It moved close to Nolun and leaned in towards his face, making Nolun shuffle backwards. It spoke in a metallic voice, which had a hint of emotion, unlike most robots. "Subject is awake. I was wondering when you would regain consciousness." Nolun looked around. "Where am I?" The robot leaned back. "You are aboard the Renegade, the fastest ship in the New System. Or at least, that's what Captain Lovecraft always says. I am designate MWBSB-800102. That stands for Medical and Well-Being Service Bot. But you may call me Dewey." "Dewey? This better all be just some stupid dream." The ship suddenly rocked, with a large booming noise. "What was that?" "Ah, yes, I expect that would be the GDF blockade that we are attempting to escape through." "What?!" Nolun jumped up off the slab and grabbed his jacket and holster with his pistol inside it off of a hook on the wall and ran out the door. "Wait! You should not be up so early after regaining consciousness!"

Andress gripped the controls as the ship rocked back and forth, the flak from the Federation's anti-spacecraft guns blasting them off course. Bunker cursed beside her and tried to keep the ship under control. "We need to get to the orbit gate, now!" Andress nodded and heard a GDF flight controller's voice come over the radio. "Unidentified spacecraft, you are being placed under arrest by GDF law! Land at the nearest spaceport or you will be shot down!" Andress shut off the radio and stared ahead determinedly. "Like hell we will." She muttered. She heard the cabin door open behind her and saw the man in black grip the seat beside her. "I thought I told you to stay in the cargo hold!" "I'm a pilot. I know their tactics." He growled in his deep voice. "Well, so do I. So get back there and shut up!" "Over there!" Bunker pointed to a large ring with a blue pulsating field in the middle of it hovering in the middle of the sky. The orbit gate was a device that was installed on most GDF-controlled planets. It essentially allowed the GDF to control who could be let through to the planet's surface. It was a giant forcefield that extended around the entire planet, and the only way in and out was through the gate, which was operated by the GDF. There was no way they would let them out, but Andress had been able to hack through these types of gates before, and this was no different. "Bunker, transmit the code!" "Transmitting!" Bunker pressed a button on the console, and Andress mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that it would still would work. After a few seconds, a positive beeping noise came from the console. They were allowed access. "Full forward thrust!" Bunker nodded and pushed the engines to their max output, making the ship accelerate. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Andress could see some operators on the gate frantically pressing buttons on the console. They were locking down the gate. This was going to be close. C'mon baby... Andress pleaded in her head. They flew up towards the ring, and barely cleared the field before it shut behind them. She and Bunker breathed a sigh of relief. The man in black looked ahead of them. "It's not over yet." Andress looked ahead and nodded begrudgingly. He was right. It wasn't. Not by a long shot.

Nolun worked his way through the ship, stumbling every time there was an explosion. He ran on a walkway through the ship's cargo bay, and saw a very happy sight. Edvard and Elicia were tied up in the middle of the hold, struggling to get out. Nolun leaned on the railing and smiled down at the two of them. "Score one for Nolun Metreo." He said with a smirk. Edvard looked up and him with a scowl. "Get us out of here, you moron!" The ship shook with another explosion, and Nolun ran towards the cabin, deciding to deal with them later. As the door opened, he saw that the ship was already past the orbit gate, and heading towards the blockade of GDF ships orbiting the planet. The Inferno was behind the pilot's seat, and the two people driving were a large man in what appeared to be riot armor, and a girl about his age with fire-red hair. He vaguely remembered her as the one who knocked him out. She turned to him and groaned. "Great. I guess I must have put the "Come on in!" sign on the door. You might as well strap in. It's gonna get bumpy." Nolun stepped up to her seat. "You don't honestly think that this hunk of junk can make it through a blockade!" She glared back up at him. "It's gone through worse. You might as well both make yourselves useful and get on those turrets. Bunker, how long before we can use the Phantom Drive?" Nolun and the Inferno sat down at two seats in the back of the cabin, with a screen showing a remote turret and a trigger with a targeting system. "It's still charging. We've got a bit before we can disappear." The one called Bunker said, which made the red-haired girl bite her lip. "Alright...here we go." She pushed the thrusters forward, and the ship accelerated towards the blockade. "Fighters incoming." The Inferno called out. Nolun could see them on the screen. The GDF had fast, V-shaped fighters that could move quickly, but were weak to high-caliber weapons. "Take out as many as you can! We need just a few more minutes!" The girl called back. Nolun concentrated and aimed his reticle at the fighters, and pulled the trigger, a barrage of laserfire blasting out in front of him. He managed to hit some of the fighters, but some managed to slip away. He stole a look over at the Inferno's screen, and was astonished to see that his reticle was moving fast, and he never seemed to miss a shot, hitting every single fighter that entered his aim. This guy didn't seem human. "95% charged!" Bunker called out. "It's good enough. Hit it!" The red-haired girl shouted, and Bunker hit a red button on the centre console, and Nolun saw the outside of the ship begin to shimmer, and then the outside completely disappear. A cloaking device? Now he knew why this ship was such a good Runner. "Their radar's blind." "Then let's blow this joint." Bunker nodded and the ship silently glided through the blockade, and the entire cabin let out a sigh of relief when they were safely out of range. The red-haired girl sighed and put the ship on autopilot, and turned around to the two of them. "Well boys, congratulations. You are now officially enemies of the Federation."