»
Main Forums
»
Passions in Prose
»
Minutes of Relief
| Passions in Prose |
|
Minutes of Relief |
|
|
Darquewing Junior Member
since 1999-07-30
Posts 20 |
There were voices… Down the corridor, they faintly echoed from within the depths of the giant beast. They were screams. A trio of men heard it, knowing where destiny took them, as they slinked like cockroaches through the savage lines. Their boots sloshed through the calf deep water, but no one would hear over the tremors that occurred at random throughout the hull. But the screams came… The muted sound of tortured bodies. They had done missions like this one before, but sounded as spine chilling as this. The man in lead… A lieutenant. He wore night garb; black jump suit with minimal torso and limb armor, assault blaster, and what he had inside. To him little else was needed. Those voices, he thought, must stop the voices. He knew his companions agreed. Neither wanted the holders of those screams to suffer any longer. The interrogations were abominable, sadistic. Few came out alive; or with any will to live. The shadowed infiltrators worked their way through the bottom of the ship. It wouldn’t be long now, but still caution was the highest priority. Another tremor… It rattled the entire behemoth, cracking ferrasteel and causing surface explosions, making the lieutenant and his men very nervous. “We’re not gonna make it”, one whispered. “Shut up”, came the reply, as unnecessary voice communication was looked down upon in this type of operation. The two men’s superior looked up at the piping along the ceiling in a different light than them. A 3D imposed map draped his vision, showing the small maintenance shaft leading up. They’ll get louder, he remembered. Just a little longer and no more screams. A twist of the handle of the maintenance door, and a hissing pressure lock opened to an unmuffled cry for death. Now was when it would get bad. All three released the safety on their blasters, ready to fight. “On three… three!” They rushed up and around, popping one of the side panels in the detention facilities. One by one the soldiers made their way into the open corridor, crouching low into the shadows. The lieutenant came out last once his two companions established security. He looked down the hall as if it was a line on the blueprints he had memorized. “We’re clear”’ he explained in a muffled tone through his thermal mask. Just two hallways to the screams. They made a rushed leap frog tactic through the corridors. All were covered in sweat from the nervousness and thermal suits, which breathed as well as a tuna can. They were out in the open now. Not I the hidey holes below the personnel. Any patrol could bust them in a heartbeat. Three lone men on an enemy starcruiser had a slim chance of survival… if found. Stealth was their world and their life. The screams grew to deafening tones for the threesome, but their mission had to be completed. If not, there would be no saving those souls. I’m here. The lieutenant turned the corner and saw a small group of prisoners moan for his help. He heard them call out. “Bless you, sir.” “Thank the stars you’re here…” “Help us…please…help us…” He threw off his pack and stared down into it. This should do it. There was a large steel box with a digital display and numerous buttons on it. He reached in and snatched the device up, instantly attaching it to the wall next to the prisoners. LED’s and displays came to life on the screen of the box. Now, not even a welding torch could remove it. Numbers started scrolling as the CPU in the device started scanning its parameters. The lieutenant faulted only for a second, then switched his blaster to his offhand and reached for and outstretched hand of a prisoner. He stared them in the eyes, almost wanting to cry for the misery he saw in their faces. Some still had dried blood showing the abuse seen here. Through night vision goggles he saw the how badly he needed to help them. “Don’t worry. All of you… you will be saved soon enough. I must go for now though.” And with a wisp, they were gone. He snatched up the other two commandos pulling rear security. The moans and screams subsided. News had spread through the prisoners. Relief at last. They made their way to the closest escape pod, mental blue prints guiding them. A patrol entered the corridor as the infiltrators were disconnecting security measures on the pod. “Halt! What are you doing?” Too slow. One blast, two blasts, and the guards went down, their chests still burning from the heat and melted armor plating fusing with skin. “Get in.”, the leader ordered. He was first in and connected a wire from his wrist computer to the pod. It patched with the device on the detention level. Sweat teared the eyes of the lieutenant. The screams will come back. If only they wouldn’t come back. Numbers on his wrist display counted down. The same as they did on the device the prisoners studied, with hope so high in their hearts, in the detention block. “03…” “02…” “01…” A giant tremor rocked the ship, and the entire hull began shaking violently. As the vibration grew to its peak, the pod carrying the commandos ejected into space. Shrapnel and shockwaves followed close behind. The screams rocked the lieutenant; sounds of anguish twice as loud as real life. He began crying as the escape pod was picked up by a friendly transport. He thought about his mission: To destroy a battle cruiser with explosives from the inside. But why did the weak point to the engine core have to be there? Why must he have to endure the cries? And then rush away, ejecting in an escape pod seconds before the ship blows up, so that the cruiser’s guns cannot have time to kill them. Shock waves so close to the three would affect their bodies for the next week. But would the other two be affected by the screams? When will they stop? But he knew. Only in the minutes he could give the next group hope. Minutes of relief from an eternal nightmare. At the cost of thousands of souls, and those dashed hopes of a handful of his own that were imprisoned there. ------------------ KEEP THE DARQUENESS ALIVE! Darquewing |
||
| © Copyright 1999 Darquewing - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Dragoness Senior Member
since 1999-08-07
Posts 513 |
Darque, this was well written.I liked this story! Hope to hear more! ------------------ Set you heart free and your mind will follow. |
||
|
DreamEvil Member Elite
since 1999-06-22
Posts 2396 |
Most excellent! I too, wish to see more. ------------------ Shall I indulge in flights of fancy hampered by clipped wings? DreamEvil© |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||