((Featuring Artwork of Fabio Comin aka Trilateral))
The craft was dropping fast, passing through each EMP field.
“Still have yet to get use to this…”
Deffdog keeps his hand ready over the lever anxiously waiting to return power to the hover pads. Sue stays ready to slow the descent and navigate through the remainder of the tunnel.
The Shadrack passes through the final emp field.
Deffdog begins cranking the lever and starts the engines. He did it too fast the engines did not start; he cranks slower and hits the button. The Hover Pads come to life and begin slowing the descent of the craft.
“Dammit, another close call…” Comm light begins blinking on panel. He flips the comm Switch, “This is the Hovercraft, Shadrack, requesting permission to dock.”
“This is New Zion Dock Control; you may proceed to Gate 3 and dock at station 7.”
“Understood” Deffdog looks over to Suezuki and she begins turning the ship to gate three.”
Deffdog gets up from the co pilot chair and begins moving back to the Broadcast Deck. He passes by Jazz as she begins powering up the equipment.
“Did you receive the inspection schedule from Zion Command, before the… freefall?”
“Yes I did were an hour early, this might be a good time to go through that combat test you have been wanting to take, Deff.”
“Have you contacted the requisition and the training board?”
“Yes, they have one ready for us if you can pass the training test and get approved by the boards.”
“Ok load it up.” Deffdog makes his way to one of the seats. Jazz follows, once seated, she jacks him into loading area.
Deffdog’s eyes open up to the never-ending whiteness of the loading area.
“Alright Deff beginning the program,” Jazz voices boomed from nowhere.
The white begins to fade as it is replaced with a facsimile of old Zion Dock. Deffdog was mounted into an Amored Personnel Unit.
The voice of the late captain Mifune begins.
“This is the APU Combat test, your task is to survive and eliminate 100 Sentinels. We chose this scenario because it is the most challenging situation an APU operator has ever faced. Once you have hit your goal, you can continue or end the program. Submit the code capture of the session to the New Zion Command. After it has been reviewed an APU will be requisitioned to you. Grab the handles of the APU to begin the program.”
Deffdog grabbed the handles, and more APUs fade into the dock..
“I am only going to say this once. If it is our time it is our time. All I ask is if we have give these bastards our lives, WE GIVE THEM HELL BEFORE WE DO!!!”
Deffdog begins maneuvering his APU into his assigned position.
He begins to watch the ceiling for when the first Digger breaks through. A pebble start falling from the ceiling, then the Digger breaks and falls through.
“Knuckle Up!!!” Deffdog moves the controls the load the cannons, pointing toward the new hole in the ceiling.
Sentinels begin spewing out of the hole, firing commences. Sentinels begin falling, but more continue to flow though. Deffdog continues fire as he concentrating on specific sentinels that come out of the hole. They start to increase and begin to avoid the APU Fire. The Sentinels begin to plume out of the whole and begin their hoarding tactics, turning themselves into gigantic projectiles. They aim for the dock command and in moments the dock tower is overwhelmed. Debris begins falling, forcing Deffdog to have to jump away from the debris.
The dock begins to turn bright red because of the multiple fires now ensuing. Deffdog returns his APU to its feet and continues firing. After a few minutes, his left trigger begins to click.
“Dammit. Reload!", he shouts into his radio. Few minutes later the 2 guards and the guy pushing the Ammo Crates arrive. He continues fire as they reload his guns, he catches one of the guards get stabbed through and pulled away by a sentinel. “Done!” he hears a shout from behind as the guard and the run back to the safe area. Sentinels begin to swoop on to them. Deffdog turns the APU back toward them and begins firing on the sentinels making sure they get back to the safe area.
“Your doing Great, Deff,” he hears Jazz through the headset, “Keep at it.” Deffdog continues firing on the sentinels. He sees them return to their grouping tactic to one of the few remaining APUs He continued his fire but watched as the Sentinels take down Bafonney’s APU.
A Sentinel sneaks behind Deffdog and prepares his pincers to strike. At the last minute, Deffdog caught the sentinel in the corner of his eye, turning quickly and sent hot medal into those glowing Red Eyes.
Deffdog’s ears perk up as he hears Commander Locke speaking through the radio. Attempting to address Mifune to get Gate 3 open, the Hammer is coming. Knowing exactly what is going to happen, he begins picking up on fire. Sentinels kept attempting to swarm, but he was fending them off.
Fire is heard from the vicinity of gate 3, it begins to open, and sentinels are b-lining back to the hole. Deffdog lines up on the hole and begins firing. He hears the crashing of the hovercraft busting through gate 3. The Hovercraft is skidding across the dock floor. The EMP emanates from the craft, just as a voice boomed. “Goal Attained! Please submit a copy of this session to the APU Training Board.”
Deffdog eyes open back to the Broadcast Deck of the Shadrack. Jazz pulls the jack out of the back of his head. Deffdog sits up mentally strained from the test.
He looks up at Jazz then notices someone at the Operator Station, it was Commander Roland.
Deffdog instantly jumps to his feet into a salute.
“Sorry sir, that took more time then I expected it too.”
“Relax Captain. That was dammed impressive.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Your First Mate, Dragonnite, was it took me around your craft for the inspection.”
“And Sir?..”
“I was pleasantly surprised, considering what happened to those other 2 ships under your command.”
The images of the 2 broken hulls of the hovercrafts flash in his brain, even more scarring with his ordeal with BossCardigan.
Jazz looks over at Deffdog, knowing what feeling that the Commander has just started in her Captain.
“What’s the verdict, sir?”
“The Shadrack is cleared to return to duty. However, I would like to ask why you took the APU Completion Course?”
“I can see the use of an APU out in tunnels, sir. Help with finding downed crafts without putting the whole craft at risk. That sort of thing..”
“… Well captain, I certainly hope you don’t pass the boards; we don’t need any more wasted resources. I don’t care what you think; it would be a dammed waste of resources, to take one of those units out of here.”
The commander walks down the ramp out of the hovercraft.
Deffdog sighs and returns to the Broadcast Deck and sits down with Jazz at the operator station.
“You should have pulled me out when he showed up..”
“You know that test can only be taken once a year.. I didn’t want to pull you out of it. That’s why I had Drag take him around the craft.”
He of course was glad she didn’t pull him out, less interaction with Roland the better.
“… Man that program was intense..” Deffdog holds his head from the headache he had ever since he jacked out, getting berated by the Commander did not help.
“… Get the recharge going I want to be back to broadcast depth, as soon as humanly possible..”
Deffdog gets up, “I am going to take a nap, that test took a lot out of me”
Deffdog crosses though the halls and enters his quarters. He falls on his bed and passes out almost immediately.
--------------
Deffdog, standing outside the cargo hold, was checking through a list of supplies being loaded into the Shadrack. Medical supplies, food, some new equipment was being loaded into the hold.
“Excuse me, you Captain Deffdog?”
He turns to the man immediately recognizes him as the Requisition Officer.
“Yea.., can I help you?”
The requisition officer approaches, and hands Deffdog an envelope. He opens it, and smiles as he reads it.
“Think you’ll be able to fit it in there?.” The requisition officer takes a quick glance into the hold.
“I think we can manage, where do I go pick it up?”
“APU Armory can’t miss it, as he points to his right.”
-----------------
Deffdog mounts into the APU unit, and begins pressing the controls. It powers to life as he start walking it back to the Shadrack. He walked it across the dock. When he returned back to Shadrack the whole crew was waiting outside.
“Looks like the captain got his toy,” Jazz shouts.
“Oh you better believe it,” Deffdog shouts back, “let’s get this inside.”
The bay doors begin to open as Deffdog slowly walked it inside the Hover Craft.. Once inside he folded it down and dismounted. He stands back looking at it, knowing that he can put it too good use.
