Connor immediately ran towards the direction of Ren's voice...to see a Reaver fast approaching him. There was no way Connor was going to be able to get a shot off in time...and from the looks of it, neither was Ren. So Connor did the one thing he could think of...he jumped, aiming for the Reaver.

Connor was already leaping from the hull as Acacia's scream rang out from the cargo bay, "Ren!  Connor!  Do something!"  Connor's wasn't the only attention she attracted however.  The Reaver, only a few feet away from Ren now turned its head in the direction of Acacia's screams.  There was a moments hesitation and then it went barreling in her direction, mutilated mouth open and drooling.  Every bit the monster straight out of some horrible nightmare.

The Reavers sudden turn around caused Connor to land on nothing but the ground.  He landed hard and was forced to roll to absorb the fall.

Ren, still dazed was pulled out of it immediately by the sound of Acacia's voice.  Acacia.  Oh God, those ... things were going after Acacia.  Everything else suddenly seemed to disappear.  The pain, the fear, the screams.  Nothing mattered anymore.  Nothing mattered except getting to her.  Protecting her.  As the Reaver changed course Ren completely forgot about the rifle lying a few feet away and just got up and ran full force towards the creature - it was almost closing in on Acacia, moving remarkably fast.  Ren had no idea how he had managed to catch up with it but he didn't question anything.  He landed on the Reavers back and the two of them when rolling to the ground.

"Get Acacia out of here!!" he shouted to Connor as he realized just how stupid of a move he had just made. But feeling some sense of relief - knowing how close Acacia had been to death, knowing that he had saved her.  The woman he loved.  The Reavers taloned claw-like hand dug into him then and he let out a scream of pain.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:09, Wed 29 Nov 2006.

Connor moaned and felt the rifle clatter next to him as he rolled. He grabbed it and limped over as fast as he could to where Ren was struggling with the gorram Reaver. He brought the butt of the rifle up and slammed down against the creature's head as hard as he could.

Charlie finally drilled out the last of the screws, the mechanical drill quitting it's horrible whirring as the last bolt dropped to the ground.  When she took her finger off the tool's trigger, the world's noises seemed to snap back into focus around her, like a sudden wave.  She had turned her head to see how Kale was doing, only seeing the sight of one of the reavers on top of Ren and trying to take him apart.  "Cap'n, we've gotta-...Cap'n?  Cap'n!"  Charlie shouted as she didn't see Kale until she moved her foot, nearly tumbling over his slumped form.  She gasped at the sight of the steel lodged in his shoulder, immediately dropping to her knees and putting her hands on his back and shoulder.

"Cap'n!"  Charlie was already crying, looking at Kale, not even able to look back up at the sight before them.  "C'mon, you gotta be gettin' up, kay?  Ah'm not doin' this'n stuff w'out ya, n'ya promised.  Y'can be keepin' me safe'f yer on th'ground, y'know?"  She spoke nervously, trying to raise his head to make a moment of eye contact...hoping it would be enough for him to hang on.

In, out ... in, out ... Kale breathed.  And it was enough right now just to be doing that.  As long as he was breathing he knew he was still alive.  The whirring noise that he had begun to think was just in his head stopped then and he heard Charlie's voice.  Charlie's voice coming from very far away.  But her hand was on his shoulder.  He felt confused for a moment, he was losing a lot of blood, he was feeling light-headed as he turned to her.  Struggling to understand what she was saying.  It didn't matter.

"Charlie ... the - the wire." Kale wheazed between stabs of pain, "Ya gotta, gotta free Destiny." he fell over, his right arm reaching out to catch him.  When he looked back up he suddenly realized just how close the Reaver was, "Charlie ya gotta do it now."

There was a second of protest in her eyes, where she was on the verge of yelling at him or trying to shake his senses back.  It was only for a second, however...this was an order, and she had never been one to go against Kale, especially when it came down to anything important.  She stiffened her lip, squeezing Kale's shoulder for a moment as she spoke.  "Right, Cap'n."

She let go of Kale, standing up and shaking the can of hexadrone, cracking it against the rim of the metalwork and aiming the nozzle into the cluster of wires.  Normally, one would wear gloves and other forms of protection when shooting acids that could eat through flesh in a matter of seconds...but this was more important.  She gritted her teeth, the foam spraying out of the canister and onto the cables, sputtering out in a thick yellow-white mess...

The Reaver was only about ten feet away now from closing in on Kale and Charlie.  It let out a feral growl and if anything began to pick up speed.

[From Torrance Station: Business Sector]

Geoff stepped out into the open area of the commerce sector and took in the horror all around him.  It had been a massacre in here.  But more importantly then the dead were those that were still living.  His eyes fell immediately on Charlie and the Cap'n.  Kale was down, hunched over on the ground with a Reaver harpoon embedded in his shoulder.  Geoff had a quick intake of breath and without even thinking moved towards the two of them, his hands gripping the rifle in his hands and pulling it up to take aim.  There was a Reaver closing on them hard and fast.

"Charlie!  Get down!" he shouted across the empty space as his finger found the trigger.  He waited for her to duck before he opened fire.

The cables were already starting to steam as the acid ate through the rubber coatings, sending a putrid smell out around her.  She covered her mouth with her other hand as she sprayed, trying not to pay attention to it before she started gagging.  Focus on something else.  But not the reavers...or the Cap'n dying...or the fact that we're about to die.  The thought process was cut short, however, when she heard a voice cut through and above her.

While she wasn't as alert or combat-ready as everyone else, there were a few commands that became second nature in a person after working on the ship so long.  "Run" was a good one.  There was also "don't move," or "help," or things like that.  When guns were around, however...that one was "duck."  Without thinking twice, Charlie dropped the canister into the paneling and dropped back down to the ground, taking the spot she had right next to Kale and getting out of Geoff's shot.

The Reaver was a meer three feet away when suddenly its head was just gone.  The horrid bloody mass maintained its forward momentum for another step or two and then fell to the ground right before Charlie and Kale, leaving Geoff standing behind it with Wei-Li close by.

Kale felt like screaming, he felt like a coward, he felt like he must be dying as the Reaver drew closer ... if we wasn't dying now he would be soon.  He didn't hear Geoff's voice, it was just a shout from faraway and Kale had begun to lose the ability to distinguish one distant shout from another.  The Reaver was almost on top of him down, he was lunging at him ... no ... no he was falling.  He was falling to the ground.  Kale watched the Reavers progress as it landed in a bloody heap right beside his hand.  His own blood mingled with the Reavers on the cold steel floor.  Kale looked up then and manage a smile.

"Geoff, you got no ruttin' idea how glad I am ta see ya." he managed to get out before feeling a sharp pain shoot up and down his body again.

Geoff watched the Reaver in front of him fall to the ground revealing Charlie and the Cap'n crouching on the ground.  He glanced at Wei-Li and then back to the Cap'n as he spoke.  A small smile crossed his lips, "I think I might have an inklin'." he said, "Come on, we gotta move."

He knealt down and tried to help Kale up, the motion was painful but he figured the Captain was a lot worse off then he was, "Can ya give me a hand here, Charlie?" he said, positioning the Kale between them.  He spoke as they started to move not looking at Kale.  He was trying to size up the mess that seemed to be happening outside the ship.  Three more Reavers - one of them seemed to be on top of Ren.  He only had two more bullets in his gun and then he was out ... they might not make it, "Diego ... he - he didn't come with us.  He's goin' ta blow the station.  We got less then ten minutes ta get outta here." he looked at Kale then, "He told me ta tell ya, you were right ... whatever that means."

Kale felt arms wrapping around him, gingerly trying to avoid the wound in his shoulder.  He just let them lift him to his feet and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.  He listened to Geoff, but only barely.  Everything seemed unreal, "He's - he's what?" Kale sputtered, but he wasn't sure if Geoff even heard him, the words had come out as almost a whisper.  Then Geoff repeated Diego's message back to him and Kale almost stopped walking.

"There are some things that are even worth dyin' fer." Kale said softly, his eyes on his ship, on his crew - he kept walking.

Ren heard the sound of gunshots and felt a slight pain as a bullet grazed his right ear as he and the Reaver fell to the ground.  He gritted his teeth against the agony of the Reaver's taloned hands digging into him.  What are you doing?  What are you doing?! his mind screamed at him.  Screamed at him for being such a complete idiot.  He heard Acacia's cries though he knew he had done what he had to do.  The Reaver scratched across his face, deep gouges pouring blood into his eyes, through the warm sticky liquid he saw Connor coming up behind the Reaver. His rifle raised and then came down as hard as the man could manage onto the Reaver.  But the Reaver moved at the last second and the gun hit only his shoulder - this had absolutely no effect except to anger it.  It threw an arm out and knocked Connor a good 6ft away.

Pain ripped through Ren's abdomen as the Reaver continued to tear into him - the other two were coming to join the blood bath, he could just make them out.  He was getting dizzy, the world was fading in and out.  Oh God ... Oh God I'm going to die. The thought came with such frightful clarity.  It wasn't a question.  It was a hard fact.  He felt his body being tossed around like a rag dolls, and the pain ... the pain was beginning to go away.  In fact, he felt numb.  He saw the Reaver bend down and literally bite a chunk of skin off from the flesh of his arm - but he didn't feel it anymore.  There was blood everywhere and he knew it was his own, but it didn't seem to matter.

He could see Kale and the others running towards the ship - the ship that had begun to drift away.  The Reavers, all three of them now - they were blocking their way, they'd never make it in time.  He saw Connor, far enough away that he wouldn't get hurt and so Ren's fingers, somehow in all the chaos, closed around the small grenade he had in his pocket.  He'd acquired it long ago from Kale - it'd been a joke.  If Ren could have he would have laughed.  Kale had told him, how "you always wished ya had a grenade when you didn't, so you should always keep one on ya."  He'd been kidding but Ren had done it anyway and now ...

His eyes turned towards the ship, the ramp was already a few inches off the ground.  Acacia was standing in the doorway screaming, tears rolling down her cheeks.  Acacia ... Oh God Acacia. Ren felt tears springing to his eyes and these - these were warm and real, he could feel them, or maybe he only imagined he could.  Like he could feel the soft caress of Acacia's hand gently wiping them away.  Could hear her laugh, her smile that lit up the entire 'verse.  Acacia blowing away a stray piece of her fiery hair that he loved to run his fingers through ... her kiss ... the way their embrace promised forever.  No one ever said forever was just a moment in time, no one ever talked about that.  He had just asked her to marry him ... and now ... oh God how could he do this to her?  The tears were running freely now as his eyes met hers - all he wanted to do was to be able to hold her again one last time.  Just for a moment to feel her body against his ... never again ...

"I'm sorry." he mouthed to her, and blood flew across his vision, blocking her for a moment.  Ren determidely wiped it away somehow, trying to make Acacia the last thing he ever saw, wishing there was someway that she wouldn't have to remember him like this.

"I love you!" he shouted but no sound came out, just gurgling sounds and blood.

"... I love you ..."

"I. Love. You." he tried again and cried in frustration.  Cried because he knew it was over.  Everything that was meant to be, was now nothing but what might have been.   He cried ... and then he stopped.  He couldn't really breathe anymore.  A sudden calmness was washing over him like waves.  They would live.  Acacia, she would live.  His eyes locked with hers as he raised the grenade to his mouth and pulled the pin.

For one sparkling moment that seemed to last forever - Acacia was all he could see.  Her eyes red and streaked with tears.  Her lips telling him that she loved him.  She was his entire world.

Just her and the black of the stars.  In his minds eye he saw her coming towards him.  She wrapped her arms around him, tilting her head back to kiss him on this lips ... “This is my favorite part.” Ren chuckled.  He was fine again.  He was on the bridge of Destiny, his home, with the woman he loved.  He grabbed Acacia by the waist and set her down in his lap.  He leaned down and kissed her again and she leaned back against him.  The two of them alone, looking up at the stars stretching on for eternity.  She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered.

“Ah, let's ride the whole way like this.  Just you and me.  Forever.” a small smile crossed her lips. Ren leaned his head against hers, his lips pressed against the top of her head, his arms holding her like he would never let go.

"Forever and ever, baby, forever and ever ..." Ren whispered against her.

And then his entire world was gone ...

Connor flew backwards. That damned thing was even phased! He didn't so much feel the pain as the amazement that the gorram Reaver didn't feel the pain! Well, until he hit the ground. He was definitely smarting now, hurting in many different places. Connor stayed down a bit longer this time, struggling to get up after that particularly vicious hit that landed him six feet backwards. He reached for the rifle, figuring maybe he could get off a shot. He couldn't quite tell what was going on, the Reaver partially obscured Ren from his view, but Ren was moving...that was good. Connor tried to lift his arm, raise the rifle, to ger a shot off, but couldn't. He moaned in frustration and tried again, barely mananging to left the gun...it was then Connor managed to see just what Ren was doing.

"Ren!" There wasn't any point in screaming "no". The man had been hurt pretty badly, and chances were, they weren't going to live for very long anyways...things had gone to hell. So he was going out on his own terms, huh? Connor stayed down, a stray tear coming to his eye. The explosion wasn't huge in terms of size, but of who it took out...God. Connor felt like shouting, screaming. And Acacia...how would she take it? These thoughts flashed through his mind, but only for a second. Ren had done this so others could live, and Connor would be damned before he wasted that sacrifice. So the first thing he had to do was get to his feet...a difficult task already...

"Geoff!"  Charlie exclaimed as he came out of the havoc, looking just as worse for wear as they did.  She managed a smile through her tears, looking at both him and Wei-Li.  "Ah'm gonna be givin'ya a hug when ah'm sure we're na'gonna die, kay?"  She helped him raise up Kale, taking his side so not to aggravate the wound in his shoulder, trying not to look over her shoulder at Ren.  Connor was there, and the boy would look out for Ren...they'd have to make it back.  No matter what they'd been through, good people...people like Ren...they always would make it back.

The explosion made her pause, the heat rushing over her back and making the hair on her neck stand straight, but it wasn't the first one she'd heard yet...the station was possibly falling apart.  She was more concerned with the hissing that the acid had started to make against the cables behind them.  "We hafta get inta th'ship!"  She shouted over the sound of the explosion, looking at Geoff and Wei-Li, not daring to look away.  "Tha's gonna start floatin' off any second'n i's na'gonna wait for us!"

Kale felt Charlie and Geoff picking up the pace.  He couldn't really understand what they were saying anymore though.  There was a rushing sound in his ears, he knew pretty soon he'd probably pass out from loss of blood.  All he could focus on were his feet.  He watched them as they continued to move - although he was not conciously aware of moving them.  He had no idea if they were getting closer or not.  The ground shook then slightly, but Kale couldn't be sure if it was really shaking or if it were just him.  He just kept moving ... and breathing.  In, out ... in, out ... in, out ...

Geoff did see it ... he saw it all.  He'd been studying the situation infront of the bay doors, trying to figure out how he'd be able to take on three more Reavers and save Ren, and get back on the ship with a mangled leg and the Cap'n in the condition he was in while still protecting Wei-Li, Charlie, and the kid ... the odds hadn't been looking good - and that's when it had happened.  One moment Ren was there, surrounded by the three Reavers - then next there was nothing but fire.  The heat of it could be felt even from where he and the rest were running up.

Geoff's lips pursed together and he shook his head, swallowing hard.  He glanced at Charlie, but she hadn't seen it.  Hadn't seen that Ren had been inside that explosion.  He wouldn't be the one to tell her right now, "Come on, almost there." he said, and it was a struggle to keep his voice level.  Geoff was no stranger to folk dying.  It was the way of things but ... these weren't just folk.  This crew - it was the closest thing to a family Geoff had ever known.  And that's why he kept moving - Ren's sacrifice wasn't going to be in vain, the rest of them were going to make it.

As they drew closer to the ship Geoff noticed that it was already starting to float off, "We gotta move." he said and picked up the pace.  He didn't look at the remains of the explosion as he passed, he couldn't bear to do that.  When they reached the ramp he called over to Connor who was running towards it as well, "Ya gotta help me lift him up." he said, trying to haul Kale inside, he looked at Charlie and Wei-Li, motioning for them to get in.

Connor climbed to his feet, slowly, feeling pain in ever step of the process. He looked over to the scorch mark that whad been the place Ren and the gorram Reavers. It was...Connor looked away, not being able to bear the sight of the spot. He grabbed the rifle, and began limping as fast as he body would allow towards the cargo bay. Damned if Ren's sacrifice went in vain. Damned. He limped, feeling his right knee beginning to buckle. NO. Not now. Yeah, now. He fell to one knee and panted. His world was spinning. Jesus, his world was spinning fast now. Connor vomited onto deck, the pain and gore and just horrificness of the entire situation finally getting to him. He moaned and stood back up, leaning heavily on the rifle now. The fall had hurt, and he was convinced he'd broken something when the Reaver knocked him back. Ren hadn't made it. Connor couldn't help but feel at fault, this had been his big idea. He'd deal later, right now, get to the ship. One foot in front of the other.

_{"Our father...} One foot. _{"...who art in Heaven..."} The other. The Lord's prayer had been his mantra today, the thing that kept him going. Connor prayed it worked for just a little longer, just long enough to get him on that ship. He couldn't hear or see the Reavers nearby, but then, his vision was spinning, and he was aching all over, pain especially intense in his ribs and leg. He leaned on the rifle again and kept working towards the boarding ramp. God, let him make it. Connor wasn't seeing his life flash before his eyes. No matter how cliche that sounded, he'd always heard soldiers say that's what they saw before they'd almost died, it was like a montage in those old movies. Nope, Connor wasn't seeing that in his vision, so he considered it a good sign. He finished the prayer and started it again. Left, right, left, right. One foot, the other. He was so close...or was it just his vision. Nope. He felt the incline of the ramp. Connor limped quicker now, pushing his body past comfort, ignoring the intense pain. Red threatened to overwhelm his vision. So this was what it felt like. So intense. Connor felt like he was moving in slow motion, like it was a bad dream, and no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't get away. Finally, Connor made it into the cargo bay...

(Connor to Destiny Cargp Bay)
This message was last edited by the player at 23:27, Sun 03 Dec 2006.

Wei-Li moved as quickly as she could, but it all seemed to slow down.  Chaos and death were everywhere and she knew there was little she could do, other than protect the boy in her arms and maybe, cover Geoff, Kale and Charlie.

She was breathing through her mouth, her nostrils too filled with the tang of blood in the air.  She paused as Geoff tried to get Kale back onboard with the other's help.  She risked a quickly look back, firing at anything that moved towards them before turning back and running onto the ship.

===> To Destiny Cargo Bay
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:05, Mon 04 Dec 2006.

"Th'res no time, Geoff."  Charlie spoke through gritted teeth, holding up Kale as best she could and ignoring the aches that coursed through her body.  "We've gotta go.  C'mon, get'm up."  She could see the ship start to move...the acid had eaten through faster than she'd thought, and there was no telling how long it would go until it finally seperated from the station and began to depressurize.  They needed to get in and get the hatch shut before that, otherwise they would all be dead soon.

"We're gonna b'makin' it, Cap'n."  She spoke through gritted teeth, pushing as hard as she could with part of Kale supported on her shoulders.  "Y'jus gotta...stick wit'us, we'll be havin' th'good doctor be patchin'n makin'ya all sortsa better, y'know?"

Geoff just grunted slightly in response to Charlie and heaved the Cap'n up before jumping onto the ramp himself and reaching a hand down to pull Charlie up inside as well, the ramp was a good few feet off the floor of the station now.  And Charlie was right, they had no time, the station was going to blow soon.

[To Destiny: Cargo Bay - with Kale]

Charlie helped hoist Kale up into the ship, taking Geoff's hand and being quickly hoisted up afterwards.  She took one last look over the station, the bodies of reavers mangled to the point where they were no longer recnognized.  She could here others coming...but they were on the ship now.  She shook her head, turning back and following Geoff into the ship.  They'd made it back, and everyone was okay...


--------------->to Cargo Bay
This message was last edited by the player at 05:12, Tue 05 Dec 2006.

The small, Dingo class frieghter barrelled away from the station.  The black lettering, set atop a golden crescent reflected the word DESTINY against the empty, blood spattered windows.  The screams of the dead and dying echoing after it, haunting those within.  It wasn't the only ship, at least forty others were drifting away, bumping carelessly into each other.  Empty cockpits revealing the total destruction the Reaver's had brought down upon the station.

Surrounding the escaping ships the Reavers waited - their blood stained hulls gleaming in the black, each one a bright spot on the radar, as they were flying without core containment.  There were too many ships leaving at once though.  They opened fire indiscriminately, capturing what ships they could.  It wasn't a dificult task - the ships were just sitting ducks, decoys as the one tiny ship called Destiny flew by, faster then it should, cutting a sleek and silent line into the black.

There was a moment of silence - and then the station blew apart.  A great ball of light racing outwards from the heart of the station and quickly enveloping the surrounding ships.  Destiny lurched from the force of the explosion but was well out of range.  Only one small girl watch the destruction of Torrance Station from the cockpit window.  It was beautiful in its own way.  Like a flower of fire blooming in the silent vacuum of space and then slowly folding in upon itself.  She watched it until there was nothing but black once more and pieces of metal floating aimlessly.  Then she powered the engine once more and took off into the black.