Just a piece of fluff I wrote as an intro to a short story I was going to write. Maybe I'll go back to it when my Uni work slackens off a little. Thought I'd post it up here and try to garner a little feedback. Dare I say it; all critique is welcome
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Breathing fast, shallow breaths, Finn opened his eyes as he heard the screech of metal on metal fade and felt the motion finally subside. Registering a movement in the gloom, he turned his head to see a structural girder snap from its attachment and topple towards him. Panic tearing through his brain, Finn ducked beneath the outcrop of sparking wires hanging around him and rolled quickly to one side just as the huge beam slammed into the wall inches away, the resulting vibrations sending a shock wave through his body and causing his bones to rattle. Sweat pouring from his brow and his veins on fire with adrenaline, he scrambled back to his feet and eyed another damaged bulkhead suspiciously. Satisfied for the time being that the danger had passed, he relaxed and wiped the sweat from his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. The crash, he knew, had been catastrophic.
Finn looked around the small room that housed the gun emplacement he had been manning before the collision, he knew that the gun turrets were one of those most armoured parts of the ship, yet it was virtually torn apart. Cursing quietly he slipped between the small gap in the pressure doors into the main corridor. It took an hour to search the remaining parts of the vessel that he could still reach, no survivors were found. Having gained access to the barracks and retrieved his scouting equipment and rifle, the next destination was the bridge.
Stepping warily past the smouldering consoles Finn's attention was drawn to a dark figure in the centre command chair, the long black coat and decorated epaulettes marked him as an officer. The man's eyes were open but glazed, a dark stain of blood spreading to one side of him. The ratling crouched to inspect the wound, he saw that the man's left hand was missing three fingers and blood was gushing from the wound. “Can you stand, sir?” Finn asked. The man began to rise, then dropped forward suddenly. A hand flew to Finn's shoulder and clamped there like a vice, “We must stop the bleeding...” he grated in a low raspy voice, now supporting most of his weight on the ratling's diminutive frame. They stumbled over to the far bulkhead, circling past several fires that had broken out and began to grow in intensity, until they reached a storage panel marked as medical supplies. The officer tapped the control, there was a sharp hiss and the panel opened a few millimetres and then stopped, jammed shut against the damaged wall. Grunting in frustration, the man wheeled around, took a deep breath inward and then thrust his still-bleeding hand into the heart of a nearby flame. Taken by surprise, Finn took several steps back and looked away in horror as the skin on the man's hand begin to bubble and the smell of burning flesh assaulted his nostrils.
Now on his knees, grinning manically and with sweat pouring down his face, the man pulled his hand from the fire. His two remaining fingers were crimson and blistered, but the bleeding had stopped. “You won't see that in training, boy.” he uttered feverishly as he turned back to the ratling. Then, his balance wavering, the man fell back against the wall and began to shiver. This behaviour Finn was familiar with, the officer's body was in shock, he had seen injured comrades suffer like this in the past. Shrugging his satchel from his shoulder he produced a stimpack, set the dosage to high and located a strong vein in the man's neck. Pressing the needle to flesh, he applied the stimulant and held his patient steady.
As Finn watched, the officer's pupils flared and then retracted to normal size, the pulse in the man's neck began to race, thumping so hard that rank insignia on his collar began to rise and fall in synchrony. Muscles in the man's arms and legs tensed and relaxed several times and his neck straightened. Eyes now focusing on the ratling's grinning face, the man shook his head and slowly got to his feet. “Name and rank, boy.” he demanded, his eyes sweeping over the imperial crest on Finn's shirt. “Finn, sir. 'Slippy' to the squad on account of my luck, sir.”. A dark eyebrow arched slowly as the man looked over 'Slippy' Finn, his uniform unmarked and his face optimistic. “Quite.” the man remarked “And rank?”.
They were interrupted by a loud pulsating tone emanating from nearby. Eyes widening, the ratling turned and grabbed at the auspex hanging from his pack. “Five life signs sir, organic, not far from us!”. As Finn spoke, the officer peered from view port, gauging the terrain outside the ship. As he glanced upward, he saw nine curving lines trailing across the sky. “Escape pods, Finn.” he said “And not ours, we didn't even have time to launch. They must be from the ship that brought us down. Atmosphere is breathable at least.” he indicated another view port further along the bulkhead, smashed open, air flowing in. “You've checked the rest of the ship for survivors?” he asked, turning back towards the Ratling. “Aye, sir. None... at least none that I found, sir.”. The officer paced to another storage panel, this time it opened easily. “Help me with this, Finn.” he said, pulling a crate from the cubby. It crashed to the floor and opened, revealing a large power fist. The man slid his right hand and arm into the gauntlet, flexing his fingers once in place. Finn scampered over to him, pulling at the straps and tapping at the power fist's controls until satisfied. He glanced up to see the officer scowling at his gnarled and useless left hand with contempt.
“I am Imperial Commissar Marnix Houtzager, Finn,” the man said, his chest rising with pride “and I have some news for you. We are going to be heroes.” Houtzager paused, drawing himself up to his full height and setting his jaw in a look of grim determination. “My ship has been crippled, most of my crew killed... and by the Emperor's teeth, somebody is going to pay for it!” screaming the last three words, two steps brought him in line with the room's exit. The scarlet power fist arced through the air and blasted the door from the bulkhead, sending metal clattering down the corridor. “Check your auspex, Finn.” Houtzager breathed, chemical stimulants rushing through his bloodstream “Take me to them.”
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Thanks for reading.
" -KingCracker
