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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2819557" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 313: Jump After JumpIf not for the Force, Jyren probably would have slammed straight into the hull of the freighter, cracked the faceplate on his helmet, and then gone floating off into no where while his suit quickly depressurized. Lucky for him, however, Shadow had convinced him to go back to using the Force. It meant that instead of his stunt, and it was definitely a stunt when done at such a high speed, resulting in a fairly painful and humiliating death, he actually managed to succeed.    With the help of the Force, he was able to immediately slow himself down and catch hold of a handhold that was right next to the fairly large, octagonal airlock that had been the target. Still, though, there hadn’t been any chance to look back and see if Shadow had gotten the cockpit resealed to hide any hint that something had happened. It would have been easy enough to ask through the link, of course, but that would have diverted his focus and, for now at least, he’d just have to wait and trust her.    Jyren’s eyes searched around through the slight orange tint that the faceplate on his X-Wing helmet provided, and after a moment found the small panel he was looking for. Emergency release of the airlock. It would immediately open the thing and let him in. However...it would also set off a few alarms. So, instead, Jyren’s hands searched beneath the small depression with the lever and found another panel. It would have the wiring in it. Carefully, he moved himself down and then tugged the panel open.    Inside was the usual random collection of both wires, switches, and other things that he didn’t even know the names of. He was not a slicer, and had never claimed to be. That was why Shadow had given him a rough run through of how to get the airlock open without setting off any alarms. How exactly she knew this was beyond him, but Jyren had decided it was one of the many questions best left unasked. Thankfully, though, she had been correct and Jyren was able to find the correct wires and switches and get the thing fixed without(as far as he knew) any alarms being tripped.    It took him roughly half a minute to slice through the security backups, and that was after Shadow had told him more than once he’d have to do it in fifteen seconds. So far, though...so good. And now there was just one choice left. His hand pulled back up and found the small depression. Carefully, his black-gloved hand reached in and found a lever. He gripped it tightly, and then pulled with all of his strength, overcompensating due to the fact that he knew Human bodies were weaker than Alraxian ones, and he’d been so used to his Alraxian one that he had no idea how strong his Human body was anymore.    The lever pulled outwards, and there was a sudden, silent, opening from the airlock as it swung up and past him. No lights came on, so from the looks of things the slicing had worked. Just to not push his luck, Jyren quickly pulled himself around and swung into the small airlock, hitting the switch to reseal the tiny room right away. In a matter of seconds, his feet found ‘down’ and he was standing on the deck plates. Normally, he would have removed his helmet...or at least the oxygen mask that covered the lower part of his face, which was normally left uncovered by the helmet. However, Jyren knew that right now concealing every shred of his identity was the best thing to do...just in case.    Hitting the switch to open the interior hatch, Jyren’s other hand was already moving down to the blaster pistol at his hip. The door slid open, this time with a slight hiss, and revealed a narrow, grey-white corridor that looked as if it hadn’t been used in millennia. Jyren followed it at a jogging pace, trying to get his bearings on exactly where he was in the freighter and where the bridge would be located. Some of these bulk cruisers had the oddest of configurations. When the corridor reached a four-way junction, he realized just how lost he currently was. There had to be a turbolift one of those directions...but he didn’t exactly have the time to check all of them.    Once again, he opened himself up to the Force, allowing its energy to flow through him and guide him to the right direction. In a moment, Jyren found himself turning left...so when his eyes refocused on reality, he ran that direction. He ran so fast that when the corridor took a sharp right turn, he nearly slammed into the wall ahead of him. Turning the corner, he found a set of two turbolifts.    After a quick thanks to the Force(which was unnecessary but felt like the right thing to do), Jyren ran over to them and quickly hit the ‘up’ switch in between the two tubes. It didn’t take long for the door on his right to slide open, and he immediately stepped in and scanned the control panel. It was labeled. Thank the Force, it was labeled!    He pressed the switch labeled ‘bridge’ and the lift rocketed upwards. It was...almost too easy, in all truthfulness, but Jyren wasn’t worried for once. Why not label the things? Besides, how often did these crews rotate? They’d probably need some kind of direction if they went down into the lower sections on their own. It just made...sense. Something that Jyren had gotten so used to not being anywhere near lately.    And then, probably about halfway through the trip upwards, the pale lights in the lift shifted to a blinking red.    That colour only ever meant one thing, and it was never, ever good.    An alarm.    But...the turbolift hadn’t actually stopped.    There was no sound accompanying the blinking light, but a sudden sense of danger was poking at Jyren through both the Force and the link. Neither of those made him feel particularly good. And then the ship shuddered slightly...he knew the feeling, especially in something this big. These were the kinds of ships he first started flying on.    “Oh —“ his last words were cut off by the turbolift stopping, opening, and revealing the bridge. Past everything, the viewport could be seen...and the stars were elongating all of a sudden as the bulk cruiser made its jump into hyperspace.</blockquote>

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