《Inner Steel》Chapter 12
Advertisement
The next day I arrived at the Complex. I carried my weapons and wore a rebellion suit of armor that I borrowed. Inside, I entered chamber 4.
Harry, Will, Margarite, and Kyle stood, waiting in the room.
“Ah, you have arrived later than I expected.” Kyle announced.
“I grabbed this suit of armor. I want at least some protection against bullets.”
Kyle glared at me for a second, knowing that I had uttered a quick good-bye to Anna, which was the principle cause of my delay.
“Alright. Now that everyone is here, get back to the Eternal Legend. We have assigned your target to be the battleship, Decimator.”
We filed out of the door, Kyle watching over us. I looked back, knowing that this would be the last time I would see him alive. He grimaced, and then looked away.
It only took an hour to reach the Eternal Legend, undock, and then depart from the Noble Sacrifice.
I looked straight ahead, towards the armada arranged against us. Ten thousand points of light, ten thousand engines slowing down the enemy ships into combat speed.
“Fire up the main drive, Margarite. We have to intercept the battleship while it is slowing down. It’ll block our emissions and conceal our position.” He explained.
Harry donned a full EVA suit and waited in the airlock. I stayed in the cockpit, strapped into a chair as the G-forces mounted.
The thrust stabilized at four gs. Nobody could move under the weight of acceleration.
“T-5 minutes until close contact with target.” A crew member read of the screen in front of him.
Two minutes later Will ordered the Eternal Legend to flip I around. The maneuver completed, and then the Eternal Legend began to slow down.
Suddenly, the engine shut off.
Advertisement
“Engineering, what’s wrong?” Will cried out.
“The engine is not responding! We haven’t the least...” The sound of depressurization exploded into the intercom. A scream echoed through it, and then was ceased.
I unstrapped myself from the chair and then started to run through the corridors to the rear of the ship.
Engage Dual Combat Protocols
I continued to run through the ship. I slid into a corridor. A massive metal door had closed, locking off engineering from the rest of the ship.
Suddenly a dent formed in the metal. The resulting dong resounded off every surface.
“Emma, what was that?” Will’s voice came through the intercom. The dent grew larger as another dong echoed through the corridor. Then all of a sudden the door broke apart into pieces, and was sucked out. A door closed behind me.
I saw the culprit of the destroyed engine bay. A man stood in the vacuum. He smiled at me and spoke over the rushing wind of air leaving the spacecraft, “Beta. I have been looking for you.”
“Gamma. I have been waiting to kill you.” I replied in kind.
“Good. Let’s fight then.” He threw himself up at me.
The secondary drive kicked in. Both of us flew towards the rear of the craft. I positioned my body, correctly first. He landed flat on his back on the far wall. I landed on him, my boots first. He looked winded.
I drew out one of my pistols and fired into his face. He closed his eyes. My bullets drifted away from his face dented. No visual marks showed on his face.
I stared in shock. He smiled grimly, and then he grabbed my leg. I tried to twist out of his grip, but failed. He swung me around and then let go. The secondary engine cut out again.
Advertisement
I flew through the zero-g and smashed into a wall. I floated away, dazed. Gamma leapt towards me. I tried to move, but his boots caught me in the back. I slammed into the wall again. My body ached.
I reached for his leg. He promptly shoved me back into the wall as he leapt away. I pulled out my assault rifle and fired at his body. Again, the bullets bounced off him. He looked back and smiled.
“We have to burn him. Get him underneath the engine’s exhaust.” Steel advised.
“How do I do that?”
“Let me.” I released my control of my body, and Steel took over. She leaped through the opening which Gamma came in by. She flipped around and grabbed onto the outside of the ship. The coldness of space frozen me and burnt me. Steel didn’t care. She moved quickly away from the hole. Gamma emerged quickly as well. As he left the hole, the secondary engine activated once more. We both slammed into the de-accelerating ship.
Steel looked at the battleship I was supposed to destroy. My task suddenly daunted my beyond anything I had felt before.
Steel stood up along with Gamma. Steel ran towards him. He clenched his fists and waited. Steel at the last moment slid underneath his punches.
Her feet knocked Gamma onto the ground. She then grabbed him and threw him towards the secondary engine. Steel watched his body arch, and then land in the secondary engine. His body was flung out b the exhaust, into space forever.
Suddenly the space around me erupted with projectiles. The battleship opened fire on the Eternal Legend. I watched in horror as a bullet smashed into the secondary engine. The engine exploded.
“Control is yours, now.” Steel said. I quickly climbed into the hole and tried to get to an oxygenated zone. My heart and brain were burning because of the lack of oxygen.
I slammed into the door separating me and oxygen. I broke through. I took massive gulps of air, feeling the pain subside in every bone in my body.
I leapt upwards. Another door shut behind me. I was now safe inside the Eternal Legend. I quickly made my way to the bridge.
“Good job, Emma. You just defeated one the Androids.” Will congratulated me.
“Thanks.” I sighed.
“You don’t look too well. Can Jerry help you at all?” Will asked concerned.
“I’m okay.” I answered. I breathed in deeply again. Then the Eternal Legend shook to its roots. The ship groaned in agony as the battleship pelted it with hundreds of bullets.
“Brace yourselves!” cried Will.
I looked around for my seat but couldn’t find it soon enough.
A massive explosion engulfed the ship. Everything turned black.
Advertisement
- In Serial24 Chapters
Reborn as a Legend
Credits to Mary Evans for the Cover! Alfrich Deus was an overworking salaryman who had no purpose in life. The life he had was an empty, pointless cycle of work, sleep and eating. A man who drudged through a dull life, regretting the friends and family he never made. Alfrich's life suddenly ends when he was killed ‘accidentally’ by a clumsy God, who on realising what she had done, felt ‘remorse’ and granted him a second life. Or so he thought. Alfrich didn’t know that he was killed on purpose in desperation, he didn’t know he was forced conscript to fight off the hordes of Nightmares. Reborn into another world, Ezekill sets out into the world to live properly this time. Without knowing his true fate until the truth was shoved on his face. Armed with modern knowledge fighting against all odds the world threw at him. This story takes you on an adventure filled with tales of wonder, including enchanted swords, merciless monsters and hard magic. Updates every 10 days.
8 80 - In Serial221 Chapters
Secrets Of The Universe
[Gold Tier Winner WPC #162]
8 698 - In Serial130 Chapters
World Story: Biographies of Extraordinary People
Important note: I’d like to thank Dr. Buller for their advice on dialogue by their critical review. And I’m on a one-month break to post the first revised chapters on Scribble Hub. Please stay tuned! Even in faraway worlds, every folk had a story, and monsters came in numerous shapes and sizes. However, heroes never existed in this otherworld. Even the most idealistic understood this deep within. But as they abandoned their humanity at times, they quickly regained it. It was not that they became human again. They always were. So what happened when the monster devoid of humanity appeared? Well, the “heroes” sought to slay it at all costs either way, lest it would be the end of their stories. A portal/isekai fantasy that I wanted to deconstruct some elements within. Expect a whole ton of references and dialogue because I’ll deliberately write it more like a light novel. The last thing to consider is that Japanese names in my novel will come with kanji/hiragana characters within parentheses. The same goes for any other derived from non-Latin writing systems. It’s because none of the names I write will be accidental or random. They’ll all have meaning. New chapters Monday to Thursday at 11:00 PM (GMT+8), though sometimes I can’t. Credit for the cover art goes to HWPerfidy. She’s a freelance artist on this site, and I’d love anyone who shows her support.
8 184 - In Serial91 Chapters
Reborn as the Duke’s Daughter ~ The Goddesses are Ruining my Life!
Worshipped and isolated for her healing powers here on Earth, Maven is whisked off to another world by The Goddess of Light and Life! What?! You want me to be the Saintess and clean up corruption in the church?! I just got out of being worshipped! I want to live a normal life. Maven is off to clean up the world, run from her responsibilities, and live a happy life in Avalon - no matter who gets in her way.
8 156 - In Serial32 Chapters
I’M A CRAZY PERSON WHO JUMPED IN FRONT OF A TRUCK TO BE REINCARNATED INTO ANOTHER WORLD -ON PURPOSE!
I am a mad person. Actually, calling me mad is not really correct. I’m just a tiny-inny bit crazy. Crazy enough to prepare myself for one whole year, train a multitude of skills, learn and comprehend knowledge enough to last a couple of people through all their lives and all of that just and exclusively… for me to jump in front of a truck and hope that I would be reincarnated into another world! This is the kind of person that I am. And that was what enabled me to become an existence beyond the realm of the ordinary!
8 133 - In Serial96 Chapters
The Matrioshka Divide
A signal has been detected on the outer edge of the galaxy, possibly from a colony ship thought lost nearly three thousand years ago. The Free Exchange, the dominant power of the known universe, puts together an unexpected crew to go find it. Only time will tell if this impossible beacon will change the course of human history forever. Updated weekly.
8 116

