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.“Oh, no!”Starbase Matrona, which she thought was gone and dead, had jumped into enemy space with several enemy craft already heading in its direction.If Eden could have created the worst possible scenario, this would be it.A loud beeping sound came from her HDC.Glancing at it, she did her best to control herself.Two photon torpedoes had launched from the pyramids and were heading directly for Matrona.The starbase had no defenses, no countermeasures.∞Through the hologram, Crystal viewed a broad shouldered humanoid, thicker and much taller than any human she'd ever seen.It was outside banging a strange metallic device against the Mech Bay door.A giant? It can't be.Those are only children's stories.The humanoid wore a gray and green space suit.It had dorsal fin-looking spines coming off its gray helmet and down the suit's spine.The helmet also covered the entirety of the head and face, masking any facial features.A triangular craft was parked not far away, and was probably the same one that had taken Hendricks' life and then tried to take hers.Crystal ran over to Daf and slid both of her hands under her armpits.A blast sounded, giving Crystal a start and making her drop Daf back to the floor.Crystal crouched and peeked over a desk and held her breath.Oh, no! No, no, no! The inevitable had occurred.The bay door was gone, blown off of its hinge and she had to move, had to do something, anything, and fast!Then she remembered that the door she had opened to get into the office was unlocked! She quickly crawled over to it, reached her hand up to a panel in the wall and pressed a few buttons, locking the door.Another bang sounded from Mech Bay.She dropped to the floor on her stomach and started pulling herself back toward Daf by using only her arms, as if her legs were inoperative.What am I doing? Go, go, go! She moved her legs, pressing her knees into the floor.Reaching Daf, she pulled her behind a desk and slapped her.“Daf, wake up.Daf!” Daf remained unconscious.Crystal shook her head.Dammit!She peeked around the corner of the desk to look out the office window.She saw the humanoid crouching next to her downed Mech, inspecting it, easily seeing that the Mech's hatch had been opened, and knowing that someone had escaped.The humanoid turned its head and looked into the window, and even though Crystal couldn't see its eyes through its mask, she knew it was staring directly at her.Then it stood to its full height.The enormity of the individual was terrifying and almost surreal.It was as tall as one of the twelve foot Mechs, and just as wide.Crystal ducked back behind the desk and slapped Daf a couple of more times, whispering “All you did was pass out.Why are you still unconscious? Wake up or I'm leaving you here!”Daf didn't move.Was she even alive? Crystal pressed on Daf's neck, checking for a pulse.She was very much alive.“Get up, you worthless piece of ebb!”Nothing.Crystal rolled her eyes and quickly pulled Daf across the floor, down an aisle of desks where she picked one and hid them both behind it.The light coming through the windows had changed.This was good, thought Crystal.She'd be more hidden as darkness settled over Lumus…but the sun never dipped entirely below the horizon this time of year.A blast occurred near the office door, throwing paper and splintered wood into the air.Why didn't they construct the inside of the office with ebb? She glanced up, seeing that the door and a large portion of the wall were missing.Crystal covered Daf with her body.A loud footstep came into the office, making Crystal suddenly realize something.Gravity! With the Mech Bay door open, blown from its hinges, and now the office door and a large portion of the wall destroyed, the artificial gravity would have been sucked outside, leaving them to the mercy of Lumus' dense gravity.Within minutes, her body would die, either from heart or lung issues, or maybe even brain dysfunction, none of which she cared to choose or try out.She had two minutes, at the most, to get inside of a Mech where pressure would equalize the heavy gravity, making it sustainable for both she and Daf.Another step sounded in the office and Crystal peeked over the desk, seeing the very large humanoid hunched forward, doing it's best not to hit its head on the ceiling.It was clearly searching for her, snooping under desks, pushing them out of the way and toppling them over in the process.Crystal also saw that it carried a spear-like weapon in its hand, with an orange-red colored tip that glowed.Crystal wondered if it had the ability to shoot.If it did, she and Daf were goners.No more thinking, she had to go.The humanoid moved another step forward, pushing aside the desk she had been hiding behind only a minute ago.She had one attempt and one attempt only.Taking several more steps forward, the humanoid peered into another room, crouching to move through the doorway and then disappeared into the room.This was it.She had to move.Crystal grabbed Daf by the wrists and dragged her through the disarrayed desks, through the blasted hole in the office wall and into the Mech Bay.Crystal looked over her shoulder, peering at the standing Mechs lining the warehouse wall.There were about twenty or so Mechs, although only one with the hatch already open, plus it already had a portable staircase pressed against the cockpit.With ten more yards to reach the Mech, she turned her head back around, eying the office and gasped.There it was, the humanoid, running toward her, taking long, athletic strides.Adrenaline pumping and biceps burning, Crystal dragged Daf to the Mech and started pulling her up the staircase, straining and squinting, her eyes in pain and feeling her muscles weaken under the pressure.A sharp beam of orange-reddish light zipped past her head and hit the Mech.A singe of heat smelled from behind her.Looking back, she saw a wisp of smoke rising from a small indentation in the Mech’s armor.Gazing ahead, her eyes narrowed, determined all the more as adrenaline surged through her body.She checked over her shoulder and saw that the humanoid was much closer now, holding the spear outward as it ran, pointing it directly at her.As fast as she could, she moved up the ladder step by step, surprised at her sudden strength and speed.At the top step, she shoved Daf up and over the hatch, hearing Daf’s body thud against the bottom of the standing cockpit.She jumped up and over and the opening, seeing another flash of orange-reddish light zip past the open hatch, barely missing her.Landing on the cockpit floor, she grabbed the handle of the hatch and pulled it shut, pressing the lock button.She scrambled into the straps that secured her body into the standing position of the cockpit, clicking the belt tightly.“Oh my Guild, oh my Guild, oh my Guild!” Shaking her head breathlessly, she stood on the foot pads that instantly calibrated her body type to fit the Mech's operational output, then stared at the HDC in front of her.“On!” she yelled.The Mech came to life, lights flashing, steam rising and creating gravity at normal levels.Immediately, her heart slowed down and she stabilized.She’d made it!Then a pound slammed against the Mech, jolting it.Crystal looked down at Daf sprawled on the floor next to her foot pads.Blood was dripping from her mouth and the side of her head and Crystal wondered if Daf was even alive
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