I flinched upon seeing the substance upclose. Towards the end of our previous mission, the growing goo had almost consumed us. It expands towards heat, so I was worried that my body heat would trigger it.
So, I grabbed the test tube by the middle, instead of gripping it near the top, which could be dangerous. I decided to question the guards about the substance they were bringing.
I turned around, cautiously holding the tube. It was then that I realized that they were staring at me the whole time. The two guards lifted their gazes towards the tube. Fear briefly flashed through their eyes. That was suspicious.
- I ask in the name of the Interplanetary Aerospace Transportation Commision: do you know what this is? - I hope they don't know much about space transport, because I just made up a whole organization on the spot.
- It's a... a biological... sample... of some kind - the first guard stammered, intimidated by the fake organization's long name.
- Yeah. A biological sample we've been commisioned to bring to a lab - the second guard was a lot more confident.
- What lab? - I intended to get as much information out of them as possible.
- We have a contract under which we need to bring that sample to one of the best scientists here on Venus. He likes analyzing the stuff - the second guard explained.
- It seems like he doesn't know a thing about the regulations imposed by our Department of Safety. This substance, due to being unprocessed as far as I'm concerned, should be treated as potentially dangerous and thus kept in a much safer location instead of being placed out in the open - I got a bit carried away by acting, because I wanted to ask them about the scientist's identity, ending up going on a rant about safety instead.
- We're... s... sor... sorry... - the first guy was stammering even more than before.
- We're not the ones who packed that stuff. We only do the guarding - the second guard added.
- W... we... did.. didn't know... i... it w...was... danger... uh, dangerous... - the stammering guard stated.
- Well you should! - Amber appeared out of nowhere.
- Who are you? - the second guard asked, instinctively reaching into his pocket. I couldn't tell what he kept in there, but it likely wasn't a good thing.
- We also come from the IATC - Agent Nebula started - From the Department of Enforcement.
- Yeah - Claudius nodded.
While the three were talking, the others made it into the shuttle.
- Well, those guards are of no good - Einstein whispered to me.
- We need to deal with them - Arika added quietly.
- Ar.. are you... g... g... going... to... to f... fine... us? - the stammering guard asked with concern.
- It depends on how many regulations you've broken - Amber chided, entering the space shuttle along with Claudius.
Agent Nebula came in shortly after, glancing upon the guards every now and then to see what they're up to.
- That does not look good - Amber nodded slowly, scaring the guards. Well, at least the stammering one was scared.
- O... o... oh... n... no... - he continued stammering.
- Well, that doesn't look good... - the second guy sounded like he was trying to intimidate us - ...for you.
I spun on my heel to face the guards. Both of them were holding us at gunpoint. While the stammering guy was fidgety, the second guard looked actually imposing.
Then he fired.
I ducked instinctively and the bullet whistled past me, hitting the metal wall behind us. Nobody was hurt, but we were shaken. My hands started trembling again, which I didn't like, because I was holding a test tube with a really dangerous substance.
Moreover, I tipped it over slightly and the goop bubbled. This was indicative of its growth beginning, something I've been trying to avoid. If I wanted to stop the process, I had to cool it down.
I noticed a small, portable freezer on the opposite side of the shuttle. It was the only cold thing in my vicinity, so I lunged and swiftly crawled over it. A few more bullets whistled above me and I knew that I didn't have much time before one of the guards found me.
I popped the freezer open. There were popsicles inside, of all things. I pulled one of them out, putting the test tube in its place. The goo managed to grow to the top of the tube when I closed the freezer. I heard someone running and was certain that it was a guard. My mind raced through several scenarios - and then realized that I had something I could use as a weapon.
I was holding a popsicle. I unwrapped it and tossed it ahead. Just as I had hoped, the guard running towards me (which ended up being the imposing one) was too focused on finding me, not noticing what he was running on. He slipped on the popsicle and fell over, bumping his head on the metal wall. Ouch.
Dawn came over to finish him off. The two struggled, but she ended up gainining the upper hand, with the guard knocked out senseless. Dawn and I pushed him out of the shuttle.
The first guard was still there, but his aim was really bad and he was hitting inanimate objects instead of us. One surprise attack from Amber got him to retreat, abandoning his pistol en route.
Sebastian ran over to a button he noticed. As it turned out, its purpose was raising the ramp which we used to climb into the shuttle. He gave the guards a wary glance and pressed the button. The ramp was raised and closed shortly after.
- What now? - he asked.
Suddenly, the spaceship jolted and lifted out of the trench. It was taking off, which meant that there was a pilot aboard.
- There's an enemy aboard! - I yelped.
- We're being abducted? - Amber asked - Awesome!
We were flying somewhere, but I couldn't tell where. I heard a gate opening as we continued flying, so I assumed that we've left the All-Seeing Eye.
- Don't worry - Nebula calmed us down - It's likely that this sample is still being delivered to its destination.
- So, we'll find out who that scientist is? - I asked, curious.
- That's possible - Anthony shrugged.
- Another Time Skip -
The flight wasn't too long. It wasn't too comfortable either, because whoever the pilot was didn't know that we were here, or didn't care. We've been thrown around like on an intense merry-go-round, but there was no escape, because jumping out would mean freefalling straight into what passes (for me) as hell - the Venusian surface.
The shuttle jolted again, this time touching down. The ramp was lowered automatically, letting us out. We walked onto solid ground again and looked around.
The room we found ourselves in looked exactly like Chang Yazhu's office.
ns216.73.216.86da2
and then Add to home screen.