Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
PREVIOUSLY: While Red Klaw's agent watches from a safe distance, Rue crawls out of WHISPER to scrape the torn access tube off of her hull, and the pirates finally discover their new ship's chameleon abilities...
"Oh, my, God!" Is all Rue can say as he stares through WHISPER'S wing into empty space.
Val's worried voice cries in his helmet, "What? What do you see?"
"It's...invisible." Even as he stares at it, it's hard to comprehend. "The ship, the whole ship is...transparent, it's like Fay and May!"
Inside the cargo bay, at the engineering station, Val's jaw falls open. A ship that can't be seen? With all of the maneuverability and fire power this one has? There truly is no safer place in all of the universe for them to hide out!
Behind him Fay and May are shocked, all of those long months imprisoned, the painful testing, being treated like lab rats, all for this! Just so the Galactic Marine Corps could build another war ship!
They are both furious and sickened. "Bastards!" Fay spits out.
"When the Emperor learns of this abomination...!" May growls.
"At least the Marines will never use it." Garr offers.
Suddenly both girls smile, he's right. In unison they let out a satisfied, "Hmph!"
Into the com panel Val asks Rue, "You okay?"
Out on the underside of WHISPER'S wing, Rue regains his composure. "Yeah." He says slowly, "It's, kind of over whelming, like I'm just falling in space, it's a bit nauseating!"
"Hey, try the visor on the helmet." Val suggests.
Rue flips the visor down and suddenly he can see the entire ship, sleek and elegant laid out before him.
"Does it help?" Val's voice cracks in his helmet.
"Yeah, you're right! Wow, this ship is beautiful!" He starts to walk toward the access tube. The magnetic boots cling to the hull of the ship, it's like moving through quick sand.
From a safe distance away, hidden in the dark blanket of space, Laurine watches him on her sensors as he attacks the access tube with his pry bar. Her own visor is propped on her head. She rechecks her communication panel for the hundredth time, the channel is still open. All she can do for the moment is watch, and wait until Red Klaw contacts her.
Halfway across the galaxy in Rover City, the capitol of Mars, Red Klaw's secret base is frantic with activity. Hidden under a dingy bar called the Red Diamond, thick necked men in expensive suits and shiny combat boots race to pack their ships with all the weapons they can fit.
Directly under the bar is a massive warehouse that stretches under the street in front of the Red Diamond. At the back of the warehouse floor is a launch pad, a small personal transport crammed with armed thugs lifts off and flies out of the door in the ceiling.
A lift door opens not far from this, Red Klaw storms off the lift. He marches to a small office along the wall. The office is crammed with security monitors of the entire building; from the public bar upstairs, to the private quarters of his men, to the alley out back, every inch is covered. Red Klaw's assistant, Johnson, sits at a communications console, "Does any one read?" He asks into the speaker yet again. Still no response.
Red Klaw throws open the door and leans into the room. "Well?!" He demands harshly. Johnson shakes his head--nothing. Red Klaw growls. His metal fingers on the door frame cinch down into a fist, slicing right through the metal.
"Alert the marines, make sure they get a rescue team out there! If the Generals are dead it's going to set us back years!" He turns on his heal, leaving huge gouges in the door frame. He beelines for the next ship in line to take off. "Let's GO!" He bellows at the men coming toward him. They break into a run to follow him aboard the medium sized transport.
The doors close and the ship is in motion even as the last man is running inside. They blast out of the opening in the ceiling with a roar.
Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere, Rue finally finishes scrapping the torn access tube off of WHISPER'S hull. He gives it one last heave, then watches it drift off into space.
"There, it's gone!" He says into the speaker inside of his helmet. There is no response. "Ummmm, guys...?"
Inside the cargo bay Garr lounges the engineering section. He chats with Fay and May, behind them Val crawls around in the ship's engine. When Rue's voice squawks on the radio, Garr jumps up to answer.
"You guys still there?" Rue asks.
"Oh yeah, sorry we're here..." Garr responds.
Val pokes his head out of the engine, his face is smudged with grease but he looks giddy with joy, he's completely in his element! "Tell him to come in the front door."
He crawls out of the engine wiping his hands on his pants. He walks over to the control panel and punches the door controls.
Outside, the giant cargo bay doors in WHISPER'S belly crack open, Rue can see a bright square of light forming. Val doesn't open the doors all the way, when there's enough room for Rue to get through he stops the doors. Rue starts to walk toward the opening. "Thanks!"
Garr stands just inside of the door, the moment Rue's shoulders appear he grabs hold of him and heaves him through the force field into the cargo bay. They both fall backwards, and tumble into a heap on the floor of the cargo bay.
Val and the girls come over to help them untangle themselves. Then while Rue takes off the bulky space suit, Val goes to shut both the cargo bay doors and the battle bay doors. He chatters across the cargo bay to the others while he does, "The good news is this ship recycles nearly sixty percent of her own fuel, it's amazing really! We won't need to refuel for a while."
Rue folds the space suit back up and stuffs it into the helmet. Then he takes it back to the locker in the engineering section where they found it.
Val continues, "So we just need some food and basic supplies then we'll be good to go."
"Baralland's not far." Garr suggests.
Out in space, Laurine creeps her ship back toward WHISPER. When she's close enough to see the ship through her own visor, she can see the pirates have gone back inside. She slips back into the sensor dead zone just under the battle bay door.
When Red Klaw's voice barks at her from her radio, she nearly jumps out of her skin! "Laurine!"
"I'm here."
"Good, stay with the ship, we are on the way!"