Echo-1 The Whale

28: Space Chase

X opened the rust bike top knocking me off. I stepped down to the translucent floor of the scout. X didn't do her normal flip out of the bike as she was bent over with her arms below the seat. She stood up with a fluffy little light gray creature in her hands; a Mega Therion wolf pup. A huge smile lit across her face.

"Um, that was fucking righteous. We ruled that shit."

She stepped out of the bike and handed me the pup.

"Hold her for me Hands. She's scared. I'm calling her Nidi after the Varanidi ice world."

I took the soft animal into my arms and it urinated on me, then snuggled into me. X was looking past me.

"Check out those guys."

I turned around and looked out the front window. Ahead of us was the Brick with its bay door open. The two rusty Robo suits of Werner and Forklift were maneuvering the whale transport tank into the airlock. Inside it was the baby white whale and the camouflaged bulk of Dr. Death. The Sentinel droid rocketed past and slowed just in time to give the last needed push to get the tank inside of the Brick. The bay door closed at the same moment a rocket exploded at the rear of our scout. 

X jumped into the pilot seat. "Punch it, rust head."

She took the controls from Styx and started flipping us upside down, putting us on a racing corkscrew flight path. I struggled to get into a seat next to Mox, who hunched down and closed his eyes.

"How can you sleep?"

My adrenaline functions had been running on overdrive for what seemed like forever. Not to mention I was trying to calm down a biting wolf pup with razor-sharp teeth. 

Mox opened one eye. "I did my part. I'm sure Cindy Lou here will get us home safe. I have every confidence in her."

He closed his eye, shot out his tongue, and retracted it to total stillness.

"Awwww, thanks, sweets!" X did a little seat dance. 

The ship was spiraling out of control. Little Nidi jumped away from me and ran around the ship a few times then jumped into Mox's lap. His long tail curled around her, she curled up inside it, and with a single whisper from Mox, she too went to sleep.

"Look, she loves her papa."

Mox opened a wide eye at X and then closed it again. I strapped into my seat and tapped into the Sunshine's sensor array. Fighters were launching off the Magus in mass.

"Klagdriz. Communication. Jammed. Negative." Styx informed us.

I saw the Brick, now zipped up, head back toward the Magus. It rammed through most of the first wave of fighters destroying them or leaving them crippled in space. We kept running hard. Spinning in random directional vortex patterns. I couldn't look out the window at the revolving stars any longer. X was an insane pilot. Not a shot had landed since the first one. She was avoiding everything they threw at us. There were two tracking missiles locked on but not able to catch us, yet.

The Brick changed direction and sidled up behind us. The missiles redirected and detonated on its exterior. The Magus broke orbit from the comet. They were coming after us. We raced ahead in the direction of the Varan system. The Brick was right behind us, taking the brunt of the cannon and missile fire from the Magus. They brought out the big guns and cannon blasts hammered the Brick relentlessly. They were trying to knock it off course to get a clear shot at us.

I wasn't sure if we could withstand hits from the larger guns. We raced ahead zig-zagging all over the place. From a sensor point of view, it was like a little glittering lure, being chased by a big blockish fish, who was being chased by a giant black spiky killer shark.