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Chapter Seven: Falling Farther In
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Hilda awoke to find herself in a chamber much like the one on the Outlaw Star, surrounded by liquid and this time wires were connected to her temples, the nape of her neck, and her wrists. She swallowed her panic and looked at her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. It looked like some sort of cockpit, and while smaller than the cockpit of the XGP, it seemed spacious. That didn't matter though. What's this all about?"
"This is how you're going to help us find the Galactic Leiline, my love," said Harry. He stepped into view and seated himself in one of the cockpit chairs. "Those wires connect you neurally to the computer of this ship. That way you can give the Shangri-La precise directions to the Leiline."
"Or I could not. How does that work for ya?" Hilda found that by forcing her thoughts outward, the ship's computer made them into audio waves that Harry could hear. She also assumed, and correctly so, that if she didn't do that, then her thoughts would remain unheard. Boy, is he in for a rude awakening.
"You will, or we'll kill you," said Ron, his smooth voice alerting Hilda to his presence only seconds before he appeared next to his younger brother.
Hilda set her features in a knowing smirk. "I don't think so...you need me too much. Without me, you have no way of getting to the Leiline."
"Yes, we do. We have the data from our last trip to help us."
That was all Hilda needed to hear. She used the wires that were connected to her and hacked into the computer. After all, the human mind, with all it's neural connections and electric synapses was a computer in itself, and being the daughter of Melfina, Hilda knew how to use her computer. She found the data, and from it she gathered that they were closer to the Leiline that he had originally thought. But they don't know. They haven't accessed
this information in quite some time... She smiled.
Suddenly, a red light on the control panel of she ship began to flash. "She's hacking into the system!" snapped Ron, his eyes widening. "You little bitch."
Harry remained calm, and stretched his hand out, a small plug extending itself from the robotic hand. It plugged itself into the control panel and Hilda suddenly felt that she wasn't alone in the computer system. As fast as she could she deleted as much information as she could, then pulled out, throwing up a firewall and protection program so that he would be unable to hack into her mind.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Harry staring right at her, a maniacal smile on his handsome face. "Nice try."
"Check your information, Harry. It was a bit better than a try."
"Dammit Harry, she deleted almost all of it. All that's left is the information on Melfina..." stated Ron, staring angrily at his brother. "I can't believe this. I warned you. She's the daughter of Gene Starwind. You can't trust her."
"Shut up! Shut up!" cried Harry, his demeanor turning from cool confidence to that of a small boy in a temper tantrum. "I know what I'm doing! I do! Stop questioning me Ron."
"Why dost thou return?"
Hilda's eyes widened when she heard the voice. It sounded so far away, and yet... cold, emotionless... Hilda didn't know what it was, but she felt that it was pulling her towards it...
Z
Suddenly, a small red dot appeared ion the screen. Jim sat forward, a smile crossing his face. "We have a trace on the Shangri-La."
"Well, it's about time. They're not that far either. We'll be there in five minutes, tops," announced Aisha, calculating on the control board.
"Let's go!"
Z
"Harry, look."
Harry smiled wide. "See Ron, I told you. I told you that she would take us there!"
All three of them were gazing out the window, at what appeared to be a large, blackish-red cloud hovering in the stars. The occasional burst of red lightening lanced around the body of the cloud, and Hilda knew that it was the Leiline. And she knew she had to enter, with enemy or without.
She guided the Shangri-La into the Leiline, and almost immediately the cockpit was filled with an ear-wrenching noise that doubled Ron and Harry over in pain. Hilda, inside the capsule, felt nothing, but realized that she had to get through quickly. Find a spiral said a voice inside her, and rather than question it, she readjusted the ships course and guided them to a spiral, alleviating the noise.
Z
"Not this again. Remember, the noise? We can't go in there, out eardrums will shatter," whined Aisha, glaring at the spot where the Shangri-La had vanished into the Leiline.
"Not true. I installed a buffer in the cockpit with the data we collected last time we were at the Leiline. With any luck, we won't hear a damn thing and we'll be able to cut right though, without finding a spiral. Makes it a lot faster."
"James Hawking, you never cease to amaze me," commented Suzuka, a small smile on her face.
Z
The Shangri-La floated noiselessly where it had been docked. Harry was the first to stir, opening his eyes only halfway. His head was still pounding, and the light bothered his eyes. He allowed them to adjust to the light, then blinked a few times and glanced around. Hilda was gone, the wires hanging uselessly in the now empty tank. A few spots of blood on the ground told Harry that she had forcible pulled the wires out. My love, I didn't
want you to hurt yourself he thought, then almost immediately afterward, thought, That stupid bitch, how dare she run away. He would find her though...he would.
Z
Hilda stood at the entrance of the Leiline, her Caster drawn and a type three shell inserted. Blood trickled from the small wounds in her temples, and she could feel blood dripping down her back. They were superficial wounds though. They'd heal fast.
"What is thy desire?"
"What do you mean? I don't even know why I'm here, much less what I want..."
"Find thy desire here on this land."
Suddenly, light surrounded Hilda. With a small cry, she vanished, the Caster gun dropping uselessly on the ground where she had stood.
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