30: On the Run

                                    

                                          
Do not let them pass.
                          
~~
                          
The ship lurched forwards swiftly, sending everyone plastered up against the back wall. The ship was picking up at unimaginable speed. The intercoms were in static, switching back and forth between the Vexel and the Omineon's.
                          
The Omineon had unintelligible snarling and fighting noises, then it switched to the Vexel.
                          
"Halt! By order of the Vexel we command you to stop! If you don't follow our orders we will have no choice but to fire-"
                          
"Mo! Get the engines at full speed! We've got too many problems happening right-"
                          
"The Omineon is moving! Get to the turrets and missi-"
                          
Within seconds the Omineon was at top speed. Nothing but static remained over the intercoms. Coal moved to look out the window and realized the ship was getting ready to leap out of the hyper jump tunnel. However, he flew backwards and pressed up against the wall as the ship continued gaining speed.
                          
That was new. Only the most skilled of pilots could handle something as complicated as hopping into a different energy field to escape someone who's hijacked their own tunnel. With one of the pilots out, how would Shin be able to handle this on his own?
                          
Coal watched out the window as he remained plastered to the wall as the ship behind them turned upside down and then back upright before disappearing altogether. The ship slowed for a moment and then sped up once again, this time at an even higher velocity.
                          
Coal groaned at the amount of pressure on him as he was pressed up against the wall by the speed of the ship. He didn't recall it ever going this fast? He pushed himself off the wall once the ship began to stabilize and he took off as quickly as he could towards the Bridge.
                          
Storm appeared just in front of him as the elevators came into view. "Storm!" Coal called, "Orion-"
                          
He was interrupted as Kay accidentally slammed into his side, sending him rather quickly into the elevator's open doors. He stumbled inside and heard the tiniest "I'm so sorry" come from the small brown feline next to him. Storm entered the elevator as well and pressed the buttons to head to the Bridge.
                          
Once the elevator doors opened, chaos was before them. Orion was snarling angrily in the corner of the room, eyes blazing and fur stood up on end. Marcus was trying to distract him while Lynx readied a tranquilizer. Elva's arm was bleeding and Dun was standing in front of her, protecting her. 
                          
Shin was nervous of Orion, but he was trying his best to keep the ship going to avoid being caught by the Vexel. Marcus cried out to Orion, who turned to stare at him with wild-eyes and Lynx leaped in and smacked the tranquilizer into his arm. The arctic wolf swung his head around, slinging drool everywhere and then his eyes greyed and he slumped to the ground. 
                          
K9 scooped up the dog and raced past Storm, Coal, and Kay and into the elevator. Lynx followed close behind. The doors closed and tense calm swept over the room. 
                          
"What the fuck was that!?" Coal cried out, "What happened to our main pilot!?"
                          
Marcus turned, he looked pained, "It's the ooze... we didn't get all of it and now he... he-" He helplessly gestured towards the elevator and then ran a hand down his face. He turned around and sat in his chair. "Elva, if you can walk, please get yourself to the Med Bay in case what happened to Orion is contagious."
                          
Elva left silently, tears streaming down her face. Everyone looked to the front window painful silence.
                          
The Hyper Jump Tunnel they had jumped into appeared to be unstable, as the stars that swept by on the sides looked as if they were glitching out and disappearing in some instances. Coal grabbed the nearest thing, both watching the window and awaiting Marcus' orders. Storm grabbed Coal's shoulder, and Kay grabbed Storm's free hand.
                          
Kay suddenly seemed to jerk as if bracing for something and the ship was shot sideways, out of the tunnel, and the lights went out on the ship. Kay screamed and then the red lights came back on. As the Omineon kept on sailing at top speed, despite not being in a Hyper Jump Tunnel, Marcus stood up and turned around to face everyone. He was not okay.
                          
"All of the power has gone to the engines and life support. We won't have gravity here in a few moments so I suggest getting to your quarters before that unless you're needed at your stations." Marcus turned back and sighed, "We might be taking a detour Shin, keep that in mind please."
                          
Shin only twitched an ear in response and stayed focused on the path ahead of him. Coal left without waiting for Storm and Kay and headed to his chambers. He wasn't about to get stuck in the hallways without gravity. He forced his door open, since it didn't open by itself and closed it behind him. He crossed his arms as he sat down on his bed, trying to think how he could be more useful. He would check in on Ember, but he would only be in the way...
                          
As the minutes passed, the Omineon continued to shake violently and the gravity slowly dissipated. 
                          
*     *     *
                          
Minutes stretched by slowly as the ship continued shaking. Kay had followed Storm to her room, claiming she didn't want to be alone. She hadn't told anyone about the weird vision she'd had about this happening, and she wanted to remain with Storm in case something happened if she couldn't reach her.
                          
When the gravity went away, Storm and Kay floated around her room in the red light, trying to do things to distract themselves from the current situation. They ended up just throwing things at each other in silence with the occasional laughter between them. 
                          
Deep down Kay wished she could be more useful, but something told her that by staying out of the way she would risk less people getting hurt. So she remained in Storm's room with her. 
                          
After growing tired of zooming around the room, they both just let themselves glide slowly around the room relaxing. Kay sighed and thought for a long while, trying to calm herself from the fact they were being chased by the Vexel... and there was a crazy wolf on board.
                          
"What do you think they want from us, Storm?" Kay asked in the silence. The Omineon was the only other sound.
                          
"I don't know.." Storm replied as she gently bumped into a wall and pushed herself off gently to sail to another wall. It was hard to take anything seriously when they were floating about. 
                          
"Do you... do you think it has to do with the vials?" Kay inquired, she wasn't sure where that question came from but she figured it was important, "Do you think the vials could help Orion and Ember?"
                          
"It's possible. This did all start up right after we sent that transmission about the ooze cure stuff." 
                          
"I wonder if they know about... about me." 
                          
Storm shrugged, "Probably not, Marcus has kept everything about this hush hush. We were lucky enough to get out of that lab alive when you were sent back."
                          
Kay swallowed, "What... did happen after I left?"
                          
"Sensor had created enough of a distraction for us to get out of there. The star was destroyed, and we basically ran for it." Storm sighed, "I'll never forget how strange I felt when you left my body."
                          
Kay slowly nodded, "I'm just glad no one got hurt. I'd hate for anyone to get hurt because of me..."
                          
Storm pushed herself off the wall again and floated towards Kay, "If we do get hurt, it's from our own decision. Not yours. Do not worry about us, we are here for you. I don't think anyone would be doing this if it wasn't important to them too."
                          
"I hope you're right..." Kay murmured, "I know that this isn't going to be the smoothest ride, but if there's anything I can do to make it smoother... I promise myself to make sure I do it."
                          
Storm smiled, "You've become so strong, Kay. I'm proud of you. When we come to an important decision... I hope that you will know what decision to make. Because..." she took a deep breath, "I have a feeling we are going to have a similar conclusion to the last time you were here."