wicked_west | Escape [PSL]

"Well, I was kind of planning on doing it when there was a ship around." He glanced around. "Maybe there's an escape pod..." He went back to the computer terminal to check.

The machine Chistery had touch was beginning to smoke and make very not good noises.

"Right when there's another ship around... um Ford? Is it supposed to be doing that?" Elphie asked as she backed away from the thing. "Because it doesn't sound good...."

"Not so much," Ford told her, rooting around in some equipment. "But it probably won't explode right away."

Elphie glanced at the machine again which had started to make a grumbling sound that resembled the Time Dragon and a thousand angry lions at once. "OK... Let's hope a ship comes soon..." She also made her way to a computer monitor and began looking through the screens. Just to see if she could find an escape pod. That sounded like a good thing.

"Or that I work out how to release the escape pods," Ford pointed out. "Because that'll keep us alive a little bit longer to look for a ship. But we have to do it before they realize they'll need them."

"Of course, that would be ideal," Elphie snarked as she began to realize just how bad the situation was. The door opened and one of the creatures came in, yelling at all of them. "I think he's figured out we don't know what we're doing," she called to Ford.

"Oh." He pressed some buttons and a forcefield came up between them and the aliens. "Excuse me!" he called to them. "We're in the middle of very dangerous work here. Off-limits to civilians."

He poked at some more buttons and glanced over his shoulder now and then at the aliens.

Elphie tried to shoo the aliens away. Chistery flew at him chittering, "Go go go go!"

The forcefield was a lucky thing. One of the aliens had tried to grab at the monkey. They drew their weapons and trained them at Elphie. Not that the weapons would do much now, but once that forcefield was down...

Elphie made her way over to Ford and looked at the screen. "What's that part?" she asked, pointing to a corridor that appeared to just stop.

"Airlock," Ford said. "And not that I've never just popped out one for some air deprivation, but they're a lot more fun when there's a ship or something at the other end."

"And what we want is one with an escape pod or a ship on the other end?" she asked. Elphie looked around the screen and jabbed her sharp finger down. "There and there."

She looked back up, but the aliens were gone. "Where'd they go? They were just here and threatening us with guns..." And then an alarm sounded.

Ford punched some information into the computer. "Oh. They've gone to the armoury to get bigger guns," he shouted over the klaxon. He looked at the escape pod Elphie had pointed out. "We can't get there unless I can activate the emergency teleport."

"Well that's just dandy. Aliens going to get bigger guns." Elphie shouted. She'd be damned if she left the safety of the hotel only to die on a spaceship with some creatures she'd never met or even knew existed before.

She hoped Ford figured the emergency teleport, whatever that was. Elphie began pacing, Chistery following behind her as she muttered to herself. The monkey hilariously began muttering too though his mutterings made less sense than Elphie's.

The aliens were just bursting back into the room when Ford hit a button and the three of them instantly ended up in a corridor somewhere. He turned and ran for the door to the airlock, pounding furiously on the button that would open it.

"FORD GET US OUT OF...!" Elphie cried... the words stopping as she found herself somewhere completely different. Ford was gone and she was now about to panic about the terrible pounding behind her when Chistery chattered, "Hoopy?"

To her right, and just a bit behind her, Ford pounded on a button and a door opened and closed. Elphie ran up and pulled his arm away. "Just once you idiot!" She shoved him back and pressed the button, letting the door open. "Go!"

Ford ran inside the door and slid into the pilot's seat in the pod, pressing buttons frantically to start the ejection sequence so they could escape.

Elphie was busy getting a panicked Chistery in when the guards came barreling down the hall shooting at them. Luckily they weren't good shots. And Elphie was able to close the door the second the monkey's tail had made it through the door.

"Lock... we need to lock it... or leave. Now... Right..."

She turned towards him in aggravation and caught a look out the window. What was she worried about again? It didn't compare to the sight of that immense blackness out there. Elphie sat against the wall involuntarily as she tried to take it all in.

Ford ignored her, choosing to concentrate on the controls. Once he finally got the pod away, jettisoned off into space where it spun wildly until he could get it under control, he glanced over at her. "I was stuck on Earth for fifteen years. Barely escaped before I was trapped on prehistoric Earth and then in the hotel. How many spaceships do you think I've piloted in that time?" he pointed out testily. As if he hadn't wanted to get away. Self-preservation was his number one instinct.

She heard him, but she wasn't exactly listening. "Great Lurline..." Elphie's eyes looked out at the black, trying to focus on something.

Finally the green woman turned to Ford, fear present in her face. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but no words came out.

Ford glanced back at her. "Well, it's over now!" he pointed out reasonably. "We can go wherever we want." He paused and looked at the readout on the screen. "We can go wherever we want within the radius where we'll run out of fuel and/or oxygen," he corrected. "This is a short-range vessel."

Elphie snapped out of it as she processed the words short-ranged vessel. She moved forward and briefly placed a hand on Ford's shoulder in thanks before sitting down in one of the chairs. "It's so black... and empty... I've never seen blackness like this."

"You get used to it," Ford said absently as he punched buttons on the console, trying to find a star system close enough for them to get to.

"Yes... Yes, I imagine..."

She swallowed and deliberately turned to face him.

"Sorry I yelled," Elphie murmured. "It was... stressful and new."

Ford shrugged it off as he shrugs off uncomfortable things in all forms.

"We'll find somewhere nicer to go. Maybe with a beach."

"A beach?" she asked. "You mean a beach with water?" She was Elphie. The green woman was sure she was Elphie. But maybe her water allergy was back now that she wasn't at the hotel. And that made her nervous.

Chistery took the opportunity to fly up to them. He settled on the back of Ford's chair and began picking through his hair murmuring random words to himself. Elphie looked back out the windows. Actually, a beach with water would be preferable to all this black. "I like the sound of a beach," she said as she settled back and tried not to think of the oppressiveness of space.

Ford looked over at her. "Maybe you should test things out before we do... stuff," he told her. "If you go to that panel on the wall, it'll make whatever you ask it for. Ask it for water."

And happy new year!!!

You too!!

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Sorry. Was down with the flu for a while.

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