sliceitwithwind

"Keep trying," she sighed, doing her best not to sound worried while wrestling the controls. The damn thing had all the handling of a flying box. "This thing isn't really space worthy, we'll something to hitch a ride on when we're past atmosphere." And she really didn't want to try slipping in under covenant shields.

"GOT IT!" Nevada crowed happily over the radio. "Dealing with your escort now, keep your heads down." There was going to be shrapnel. Lots of it.

"Got one." Dilan said, finally, "Giving you coordinates now..." he said, offering them in the same even tone of voice.

"Someone up there likes us," and none to soon. She could feel the engine sputtering and the yoke was starting to fight her on some of the tighter spins she'd needed to pull off. Even money they'd sheer something important getting into a friendly ship. "Get them to open a bay for us, nets and extinguishers are a good idea!" Because the vacuum would kill the fire, sure, but they'd start again once they had oxygen.

"And warn them we've got a captured banshee!"

"Dilan's on it." Braig assured Aya, checking over everyone's straps one more time.

"Thank you sirs," nothing for it but luck now. She winced, catching sight of Nevada's banshee. It was already smoking and sparking plasma. "Atmosphere in three, two...one."

Remarkable for it's silence, space. She rather liked it. It wasn't any easier to maneuver, harder without compensator shields in fact, but inertia and luck had them drifting toward a friendly bay. Nevada was still keeping flak off their tail and...ah, there were the ship guns, sputtering into life to help her partner.

"Hope you enjoyed the in flight movie, the fasten seatbelt sign is on and...this'll be rough."

The scientists reached out to each other and held hands, Dilan murmuring something about his cats quietly.

Ships, any ships, were not suppose to make the grinding screech theirs did when they barely winged one of the bay doors. A piece of the wing sheared and twisted, coming through the cargo wall. Luckily the passengers, such as they were, were strapped on the other side with the cargo netting. The Banshee behind them came in just as gracefully, losing pieces enough that Nevada bailed and rolled into the hangar netting as the damn thing exploded.

Netting, extinguishers, then sad, pained coughing. "Ouch. We all alive back there guys?"

"One moment." Dilan said, checking Halsey and the three cats. "Everyone's fine. Vitals are good, although the cats are pretty scared."

"Alright, let's get you all properly inside then." She unstrapped herself from the front and carefully edged into the cargo hold around the metal bits. "I apologize to the cats."

"...melted a contact plate." Nevada noted from the outside. "And the general crew suggests we get our cargo to med bay."

"I'll slap you later Nevada." Melting armor was BAD.

"Unstrapping now." Braig said, then to Dilan, "I got the cats, you get the doctor."

"Got it." Dilan agreed.

"And we've got the stretcher." Aya noted, starting to peel cargo webbing off of that.

"You'd make me lift in my condition?" Nevada teased.

"Yes, for being an idiot. Get your end."

"Pushy, partner." Nevada snagged his end of the stretcher and grinned, a little giddy with post-battle nerves to be honest. "I know the way to med-bay, c'mon. No need to distract anyone here."

The scientists fell in behind the Spartans, although their lope was exactly the same. Some things you never really lost.

It was nice to have civilians keep up, it really was. "Yes, you heard correct, we have assets from the surface and..." Aya reached up to tap her helm. "Lost him." Lost the radio feed inside a ship.

That wasn't good.

Nevada glanced around the metal hallways they were in then shook his head, "Brace yourselves." Kind of a lame warning for the feel of the ship lurching under them.

Dilan grabbed a handhold in the wall, and Braig linked his arm with Dilan. It wasn't fun, but...they managed. "Escape pod." Dilan said, gruffly, "We need to get Halsey to safety...and I don't think this ship is going to last."

"And you two." Nevada noted, nodding. "This way..." by the painting on the deck.

Aya started ahead to go procure a pod or two and...came back within moments. "Drop a deck down. This hallways is closed off." By vacuum seal doors even. Something had punched the hull.

"If there's room." Dilan wasn't sure. He was big enough to be a human Spartan.

Braig nodded, "Where do we go? We're right behind you."

"I'll find room enough," Aya promised grimly. And she would too! "Service corridor, you'll have to hunch." And scramble through the dark areas behind the metal walls but hey, it led eventually to a drop hatch and the deck below!

Nevada brought up the rear, swearing softly upon occasion as the stretcher jammed in the awkward tunnels. Hopefully it was softly enough to keep the covenant on board from swarming the tunnels!

Dilan did so, and Braig wrestled with his end of the stretcher and just as many near-silent curses.

"Deck below is clear," she noted softly over the comms. "One hitch though...only one escape pod left." And some dead crewmen nearby who had meant to take it.

"Halsey, samples, cats," Nevada sighed, listing the priorities. "It'll be tight in there but the pods home in on friendlies."

"Thank you." Dilan said, softly. A bit of tension that had run through him at the fact there was only one pod dissipated again at hearing them intend to send his cats to safety.

"Yeah, thanks." Braig agreed seriously.

"No reason not to get everyone we can off," Aya admitted. "Cats have as much right to live as any other." She turned the proper handles for opening the pod then stuck her head inside to make sure it wasn't trashed.

"And you two go as a set, stuffing Braig in isn't an option," Nevada pointed out. "Without the doctor and the sled we can all find other pods at a faster pace. Get them settled in!"

Dilan got Halsey into the pod, and Braig helped him carefully get the cats in. Each cat got a kiss on the head, then they sealed the pod carefully.

"Okay. Lets go."

Aya and Nevada had been packing samples in and around the living things while the scientists said their goodbyes. When everything was as packed as it was getting Nevada reached in, activated the launch sequence, then slammed the pod seals shut. "Alright, that leaves us. How are you two holding up?"

"Fine." Braig said, firmly. Dilan said, "A little tired, a little shaky, but I can do anything I have to do."

Nevada eyed the two a moment then looked along the quiet, smoky hallway. "Two minute rest while Aya scouts out more pods."

"Won't be easy, this rig is taking a beating," Aya admitted. "We may need to snag an actual ride again."

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