Snippet #1424268

Kane followed Nora as she lead through more small, deserted routes into engineering levels, the sound of machinery reverberated through the deck plating. She described her plan as they cluster next to a small ventilation shaft distributing fresh air to the darker under decks of the station. Kane was surprised at the small gap she exposed. Most people wouldn't be able to squeeze through the shaft, let alone find their way around the many components the composed a station's climate control system. He was impressed, she certainly seemed confident that she would make it. With a comment to Izzy and a flash of a smile she was gone into the claustrophobic space. Kane was left alone with the uncertain Izzy. He was instantly worried, without Nora's leash the woman could act in any way and Kane would be mostly powerless to stop here. Thankfully, although it could be interpreted as a worse case. Izzy didn't break but instead she closed the gap between the two, invading the man's comfort zone threateningly. Kane found the woman both slightly intimidating and yet also slightly ridiculous, although neither showed on his face. Instead he became stoic, appear strong. It wouldn't do to show weakness to the unpredictable woman. He was slightly taller then her and this helped his cause as she continued to interrogate him. Her demands enforced by a strong poke to his ribs with a rather skeletal finger.
"I'm from mining station, similar to this place." He answered her first question truthfully, there was no reason to provide any false information. They were all on the same side, along he saw that the paranoid Izzy didn't see it that way. "As to why I'm here for her, I've already told you. She has information vital to the human race. I wouldn't want to hurt her, why would I?" He asked rhetorically. Izzy responded silently, moving back to her previous position and staring at Kane unflinchingly. Her eyes showed no sign of her opinion of his answers. Hope, salvation as always, convinced him she was at least considering his truthfulness.

The silence between the two carried for a while, although Izzy's stare never lifted. Kane felt the hair on his arms stand in the discomfort caught a hold. Soon, it was broken by Nora's return from a nearby doorway and she ushered them through with her light hearted comment. Kane was relieved when the skinny lady's attention turned away from him and to her friend. Kane followed up, third in the party. He congratulated the petite woman
"Thanks for getting us through this. Well done." With her guidance he led them to the dock 5B umbilical, entering the passageway through a side door for staff. A glance showed not a soul in sight and Kane swiftly led the couple towards the hull of the ship, noticing for the first time the view ports dotted along the side. Through the transparent material they would get their first look at the Artemis. Kane was slightly nervous at this point. The frigate a was clearly an alien design, human engineers did not construct ships in such organic lines. Luckily the two still followed him to the airlock, which he swiftly opened and beckoned them inside. Even the cautious Izzy keep with him.

The airlock opened into a small, rather bare chamber. Similar to the checkpoint on board Rysik, purposed for monitoring traffic into the craft. Kane turned to address the two after he sealed the hatch. "You two wait here. I need to get us away from here quickly. I'll be back once we're safely away." He said, apologetically, before rushing off towards the bridge. His pace was short of running as he transversed the causeway to the bridge. Once inside the command chamber he was once again in his element, confirming the reactivation code and bringing all systems online as he patched through to station control.
"Rysik control, this is V11234R requesting disengagement from docking bay 5B." The man tapped his fingers nervously against his thigh, awaiting a response. So much could go wrong, no doubt the escape of the two girls wouldn't have gone unnoticed. There was also the inconsistency that the checkpoint guard could report. He heaved a sigh of relief as the station control responded
"V11234R you are cleared to depart. Prepare to decouple." There was a shutter as the station's electromagnetic lock on the oliver green hull of the Artemis broke. The craft's own gravity projectors kept the crew correctly orientated and attached to the floor. Quickly Kane accessed the auto pilot and chartered a course to the edge of the system. Instantaneously the computer system followed the course at high speed as Kane turned to leave the bridge. He was withheld as a comm broke in
"V11234R, this is Rysik station. Please halt your course and return to dock. We believe you may be harboring stowaways." Kane cursed at those words and whipped back to the command consoles. Not responding but simply waiting, silencing the comm. He assumed that the aliens in charge would guess he intentionally transported the two women. He guessed correctly as he pulled up the rear cameras. Already the station was a distance shape. However, three other, smaller, shapes were closing. A fighter squadron. Kane smirked with humor. Even fighters wouldn't keep with his swift craft, they were relatively safe for the moment. He knew that the moment wouldn't last and set a rift to calculate. He picked the system randomly, he needed to review his next target later. For now he was focusing on removing himself from Rysik's jurisdiction. There was a beep from a panel is it informed him that the rift was prepared. Quickly, Kane accessed the ship's comm, advising his crew of three "Brace yourselves." His finger authorised the rift and the Artemis was temporarily removed from reality, shunted to another part of the universe. A swift check confirmed that all systems were in order. Allowing himself to pause in the respite before making his way back to the the airlock. As he entered the small chamber he asked, concerned
"Are you two alright?" He had no idea if the pair had ever rifted before, usually the experience is a little nausous first time around but otherwise no harm would be caused. Rysai was even more unsure and concerned of what the sudden transfer would've done to the already doubtful stability of the two.