The flight to the Point of No Return was quite peaceful, despite the ominous name of our destination. Maybe because not much happened during the flight - most of us were just killing time.
Claudius, being a mechanic, was toying with some spare bolts and nuts that he found in his pockets. Amber was staring out of the window, looking for anything that wasn't a cloud. It was clear that she was slowly but surely getting bored with the flight, which was surprisingly devoid of action.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIXU1unAXQ
I was also looking through the window, but unlike Amber, I was actually happy about the uninterrupted ride. After everything we've been through during this mission and the previous one, a moment where one can slow down and catch their breath was more than welcome for me. During this operation, I noticed that I was very stressed on several occasions. While being in danger was normal (for a space spy, at least) and I've handled it relatively well in the past, now, I was growing restless and fidgety. It seemed like all those back-to-back missions have been taking a toll on me that was beginning to show its signs right now. Despite being aware of this toll, I opted against bothering myself with it and just observed the brownish, tannish and orangish clouds as we flew by them.
However, not everyone was bored. Some of us were actually really busy.
Sebastian, for instance, was busy tending to a still unconscious Dawn. She was completely unresponsive, so he had to look after her all the time. However, it seemed like he enjoyed this and besides, didn't seem to have much else to do.
Even though Dawn had seatbelts on (Sebastian fastened them), her body regularly tipped against the wall, bumping into it whenever our pilots made an abrupt move. Sebastian, afraid that she'd get hurt, laid her down beside him, limiting his own space in the process. He took off her shoes and covered her with his blouse like a blanket, then pinning her to the seat with cleverly fastened seatblets. Now, Dawn looked like she was asleep instead of being knocked out.
Meanwhile, in the front row of seats, Arika and Einstein were busy steering the quadcopter, making sure that they wouldn't wreck it. Thanks to Arika's hack, the two had more precise control over the vessel, such as greater control over the rotors' motion. None of them were talking, aside from exchanging commands every now and then.
Anthony was observing the speedometer, along with a few other meters, reporting the stats to our pilots.
Agent Nebula was researching the Point of No Return to gain as much information about it as possible before arrival. She figured out that descending below 50 kilometers was when things got dangerous, due to the rising pressure and temperature that could damage electronics and hurt people, of course. The lower you get, the more severe the effects are and the less likely you are to survive.
Captain Nigel was probably the least busy out of us, just staring blankly into the distance through the front window with his typical grumpy expression. He wasn't talking much either, just sitting and watching.
However, he did say something right now.
- Is that a spaceship? - he asked.
At first, I was confused, not knowing what he was talking about. Then, everything became clear when we all looked through the front window. All of us except for Dawn, who was unresponsive. Indeed, there was a spacecraft ahead of us. From the looks of it, it was almost twice the size of our quadcopter.
- That looks familiar. I think we've seen that model before! - Amber sprung to life.
- How close to the Point of No Return are we? - Einstein asked.
- We're almost in it. That spacecraft already is - Nebula responded.
- Isn't that a bit... suspicious? - I asked - That we find it in the Point of No Return, precisely where we're headed?
- Yeah, it's strange - Arika muttered.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXnpeuJVNa
We decided to approach the unknown vessel cautiously. It was almost hovering in place, moving very slowly. It appeared to be flying towards us, which was a bit unnerving. We were facing the spacecraft's cockpit, so if we get close enough, we can catch a glimpse of the people flying it.
Nearing the mysterious spacecraft, I gazed upon the cockpit. There were two people in it. Both seemed to notice that I looked at them. They lifted their gazes to face mine and I froze in horror.
The two people were Vladislav Kilov and Bruise.
- Vlad and Bruise are piloting that ship! It's a trap! - I exclaimed in a mix of shock and fear.
- Vlad and Bruise?! - Dawn jolted, suddenly regaining consciousness. Then she realized that she was strapped to her seat - Can someone bring me back to a normal position?76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TbaXfU6fj
- Sure - Sebastian helped Dawn, who was still a bit groggy.
- Why are you flying towards them? - Nebula hissed at our pilots.
- Sorry, we were stunned - Arika replied and we started backing out, still facing the Perseids' spaceship.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YzUqLs3GC
I now realized why Amber called it familiar. The model was very similar to the shuttle flown above Europa towards the end of our previous mission. Much like that shuttle, this one also has a robotic arm.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHQ7vAlfX5
We found out about this when it reached for our vessel.
- That doesn't look good - Sebastian whispered.
- That's true - Dawn replied.
It was no good, as the claw suddenly tried to stab our quadcopter.
It ended up leaving a serious dent in the roof and forcing us downwards, with Arika and Einstein struggling to orient our craft back upright. I flinched, as plummeting uncontrollably would result in getting burnt. Or crushed. Or both.
The claw was controlled by Bruise, as I spotted. He prepared for a second strike. Right as Arika prevented us from freefalling below the Point of No Return, Bruise attacked again, leaving another dent. This time, however, he punched our vessel once more without giving us time to recover. We started descending again, this time more chaotically. Arika and Einstien, with Anthony's assistance, were scrambling to turn us back upright before Bruise unleashed the next hit, Dawn clinched onto Sebastian, I held onto my seatbelt, Claudius hid his bolts and nuts in his pockets again, while Amber seemed thrilled.
That's when the claw punched our window, cracking it. We quickly found our oxygen masks and put them on, just in case. We had to stop the claw before it attacked again, as our quadcopter was weakened and we couldn't risk dying, as something bigger was at play and we were the only ones who could stop it.
- I have an idea! - Claudius exclaimed, grinning despite the circumstances - Someone can jam this contraption I made into the claw and break it! - he showed us a bolt with a few nuts slid onto it, making it resemble a tiny mace.
- Cool! - Amber punched the emergency escape door on the roof, which promptly popped open.
- Hold on - Claudius slowed her down - We need two people for this. One holds the claw, while the other damages it.
- I'm going - Amber smiled at the prospect of climbing onto the treacherous roof.
- I'll come too - despite the toll of the constant missions bearing down on me, I still felt an internal obligation to help when I can, so I volunteered.
Amber opened the emergency escape door and climbed onto the roof, with me soon following her, with Claudius' contraption in my hand. It was hard to stand on the roof with its curved, lumpy shape. It was also very smooth, with barely anything to grip onto. Not to mention that the claw was preparing to knock us off.
We had to duck as it swung in our way. We were now crawling on the roof.
- I'll grab it and you'll break it! - Amber exclaimed.
- Okay! - I agreed.
The arm swung again, but this time, Amber grabbed it as it whooshed above us. I warily got up, doing my best to keep balance. I pulled out the tool and started banging on the arm. At the corner of my eye, I saw Bruise laughing at this. Even though I didn't mind his reaction, I came up with a new, better strategy.
I used the tool's sharp end and jabbed it into the wires connected the claw itself. This was dangerous, but could do some real damage. Bruise stopped laughing, now trying to force the arm out of Amber's grasp. She was struggling and I couldn't help her, trying to break the machine.
Luckily, Dawn peeked out of the door, holding onto the arm herself, aiding Amber. Meanwhile, I finally managed to cut through the wire and sparks flew in my way. Sparks were not something I wanted to be pelted with, so I crouched and dodged them. Doing so, I lost my footing and slid over the edge, barely holding onto the quadcopter.
- Chris! - Amber yelped, letting go of the arm.
My strategy worked. The claw was getting loose and soon fell off the arm, rendering it pretty much useless. One thing I did not consider was that the claw fell onto one of the rotors, bending and eventually immobilizing it. The claw then plummeted into the hazy depths of Venus.
Amber rushed over, attempting to pull me up, but she was close to falling down too. Anthony, seeing me dangling for dear life, squeezed his way past Nigel and busted the window open, pushing me up. The combined effort of Anthony and Amber helped me back onto my feet.
- Thank you! - I shouted, happy to be still alive.
Behind us, the behanded arm retracted back into the shuttle, which promptly left. I realized that, once again, my thoughts were proven right. It seemed like Vlad and Bruise, with help from Shi, lured us out here in an attempted to rid themselves of us before putting their plan into action.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eji15Smzx
Our vessel was in shambles, with one window missing, one badly cracked, and a broken rotor. Regardless of the damage, we had to make it back to the All-Seeing Eye and thwart our enemies once again. Whether we could do that or not was uncertain...
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