To Save a Damsel

Friday Fiction! Blog Banter 54 is currently doing the rounds of blogsphere on the topics of heros in Eve Online. My response is that we don't have knights in shining armour in Eve. Capsuleers cannot meet the criteria. Some people have said their character is one such White Knight. They run level 4 missions against filthy pirates and therefore are lawful-good heros.

Oh really?


To Save a Damsel

The music was thumping. It was 2am outpost time and the nightclub was packed. Caldari techno was mixed in seamlessly to Matari hard dance tracks. Frequencies were subtly tuned to have direct impact on the revellers brains using specially engineered speakers. Feelings of euphoria and passion were evoked by the music to increase the patrons pleasure.

Towards the back of the club two young women were stood near a roped off area.

"You sure about this?" one asked the other.

"Oh sure Libby. Apparently the owners will soon be walking through here to their VIP area. Apparently they invite the best looking girls back there to party properly, and for free. We just need to hang out here a bit longer."

Libby looked at her best friend Francoise and smiled expectantly. She had never experienced anything like this. At 17 she wasn't even allowed to be in a nightclub on a proper station. Francoise had got her a fake ID and dressed her up so she looked a lot older. She tugged the hem of the micro dress down as she teetered in her high heels. She was very self conscious and had never worn anything like this. She thought what her fathers reaction would be if he saw her dressed like this. Libby had told her dad she was going with Francoise to a beach resort, not to an illegal pleasure garden on the far side of the solar system. Pleasure gardens like this one cropped up all over the cluster. They were large outposts the size of a city positioned in remote parts of a system. There was always demand for entertainment and the high-tech scanners on board most space stations meant that pharmaceutical enjoyment was restricted. At these outposts anything went. She glanced back at the heaving dance floor. It was packed. Caldari, Gallente, Matari, even Amarrians danced the night away. She had never seen anything like this place before.

"Where is Kayla?" Libby asked looking around.

"Here she comes!" Francoise pointed to the crowd.

Kayla was the third member of tonight's group and Libby was not as close to her as she was to Francoise. Kayla was the bad girl of the group and the reason they were there. She had used her fathers charter shuttle with pilot to bring them to this outpost rather than the planet-side resort they were booked into. Kayla had vanished into the cockpit for half an hour en-route. "To pay the nice pilot for his services" is the reason she gave with a wicket smile. As she passed through the crowd Libby saw various men's heads turn. She felt a small pang of jealousy over the attention Kayla was getting.

"Hey girls! Did I miss anything?"

"No sign of them yet. Been enjoying yourself?" Francoise asked with a smirk!

"Just visited a private cubical with a rather nice Gallente Navy pilot. My lord, that man had a tongue like a Erme III Great Eel!" referring to the infamous aquatic life-form that was well known to sports fishermen all over the cluster as very difficult catch to land.

"Hey watch your mouth around Libby. She's still sweet and innocent!" Francoise laughed hugging Libby from the side. Kayla laughed too whilst Libby comically sneered at them both.

"Don't worry baby, just let me know when you are ready to loose the 'V' plates. I have an expert lined up for you! He'll make your first time your best time." Kayla joked and Libby slapped her on the arm.

"Hey I'm waiting for Mr Right, unlike you who is happy with Mr Right Now!"

"Shhhhhhh! Here they come" whispered Francoise "Look sexy!".

Libby looked over and saw the men working their way towards them. Three guys surrounded with what must be bodyguards. She swallowed nervously and tried to look confident as they neared. She noted several other groups of girls had appeared. Probably trying to get the same thing as they were. She glanced at Kayla and Francoise  who were also checking the other groups of girls with a look of distaste. Libby saw the three men scanning the groups of girls hanging around the roped off area as they neared, whispering to each other. Obviously making their choice.

"OK Francoise, lets nuke these skags!" Kaylee whispered. Libby was going to ask what they meant when her two friends started to kiss passionately. Libby just stood there opened mouthed in shock as her two friends made out in front of her. She was so shocked she was barely aware of the bodyguards guiding the three friends into the rope off area that the men had entered seconds before.

-o0o-

"So you are a student at the University of Caille and having a good time on daddies money" the man called Kruul smiled.

Libby smiled and nodded as she sipped her vivid pink drink through the straw. It was making her head buzz. She glanced over at Francoise who was draped over Kruul's friend. Kayla had disappeared behind a curtained area with the other man.

"Its a great place you have here!" Libby commented "But aren't you worried about the cops shutting you down?"

Kruul laughed.

"Babes, this place is not going anywhere. The police know we are here, hell some of their top guys come here to relax. Our mercs outside mean the cops won't touch this place. They would lose too many ships and for what? To shut down one single pleasure garden thats not doing any real harm. They are not going to take this place by force. We have six schools and two kindergartens here for the workers children. Can you imagine the headlines if something goes wrong? A stray missiles impacts one of the schools? We even pay taxes, well sort of. A nice contribution to the local administration keeps the bureaucrats in line. We are safe as houses."

Libby listened with interest. She wondered if her father, a senior director for the local mega-corp who controlled this system, ever saw any of that dirty money.

"We provide a service and we are very popular. As well as the cops we have politicians, doctors and even university professors visiting our establishments. People who want to let loose and have some fun. Hey I was even talking to a rather hot mom last weekend. She and her husband left the babies with the grandparents and came here for a weekend blow out. Nah sweets, this place might not be the most legal around, but it is not going anywhere. Here, try this!" with that Kruul passed her a small pink test tube. She popped it open and looked at the contents inside suspiciously. The tube contained small crystals with a pink tinge to them. Kruul laughed at her hesitation and produced a blue tube which he flicked open and poured onto his outstretched tongue. Libby glanced across at Francoise. She was sat in the other mans lap grinding away in time to the music kissing him passionately. Several blue and pink test tubes lay empty on the sofa around the two entwined bodies. Libby shrugged and poured the crystals onto her tongue. The feeling of ecstasy washed over her like a wave and she slid back into the sofa. Kruuls laugh sounded distant and disjointed. She recovered slightly after the first hit peaked and smiled at him. She climbed onto his lap mimicking her friend. He stayed still and didn't move, letting her take the lead. Libby's hips swayed in time to the pulsing beat of the Matari dance track. She took Kruul's head in her hands and kissed him deeply. As their tongues met the remnants of the two different crystals reacted as designed. Waves of pleasure and passion engulfed them both taking their breath away. 'Kiss Crystal' was the new designer drug in the system.

Suddenly Libby felt a vibration run through her body. At first she thought it was the drugs but then there was another and the whole room shook. Kruul pushed her off and lept to his feet. His friends were already standing and the bodyguards had appeared. Libby looked at Kruul confused, he was ignoring her as he pulled his communicator out of his pocket.

"A Raven?"
"No escort or back up?"
"You are fracking kidding me. An Egger? What the frack does he want?"
"No, don't. I'm on my way!"

Kruul quickly placed his communicator away.

"Ship up guys, we got a problem outside!"

With that the men jogged away leaving the girls alone and confused.

-o0o-

The girls ran down the corridor. In the three minutes since Kruul left things had gone from bad to worse. The vibrations had got stronger and soon panic had engulfed the nightclub. Being at the back they knew they couldn't get through the stampede that was occurring in front of them. They had seen several people who had fallen and been trampled to death as the crowd surged for the exits. They had found another door in the VIP section and had followed the corridor down meeting a half dressed Kayle en-route. Once outside the soundproofed club the sounds of explosions could clearly be heard. Smoke was drifting out of the ventilation ducts and the lights flickered with every rumble.

"We are under attack aren't we" Libby said trying to sound calm.

Francoise squeezed her hand tight.

"Don't worry, there must be escape pods here somewhere!" her friend replied.

They turned a corner and saw a man at a door with a woman.

"Hey!" Francoise shouted. He glanced up and returned to the panel he was furiously tapping into. The girls ran towards him.

"Stay away!" he barked and they stopped dead in their tracks unsure of what to do. "This is mine. Come any closer and I'll kill you."

The girls edged forward slowly. The man spun around, he was trembling.

"Stop! I'm sorry." he sobbed "But we have to get back to our little girl"

He pressed a button and the door hissed as it slid open. Suddenly there was a roar and burst of flame erupted from behind the door. The three girls stepped back in horror as the man and woman were engulfed by flame. The shrieks of agony and smell of burning hair and flesh assaulted their senses. Francoise grabbed Libby and ran down a different corridor with Kaylee following close behind.

The explosions sounded louder as they ran. Libby and Francoise were hand-in-hand with Kaylee now in front. A series of bangs behind them made them stop and turn around. A conduit had blown out 50m down the corridor sending metal shards and gasses spewing into the walls they had just passed. A big explosion outside set off another series of smaller explosions around them as other conduits blew one-by-one down the corridor. A few seconds later the explosions stopped. Libby opened her eyes and saw that they had actually been stood directly in the middle of a gap between two conduits.

"That was close!" Francoise stated turning around. Kaylee was stood there, her face was white and her lips slightly parted. She tried to speak but made no sound.

"What is it?" Libby asked before she glanced down and saw the three shining metal fragments sticking through Kaylee's chest. Libby and Francoise screamed as Kaylee's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell to the floor. The conduit behind them had blown and sent out shards of broken metal pipe which had hit Kaylee in the back. They rolled her over screaming at her. She was gasping like a fish out of water. Blood poured from the three wounds where the broken metal had penetrated her. The girls panicked not knowing what to do. A long drawn out gasp left Kaylee's mouth and she died a few seconds later. Another explosion rocked the corridor. The sobbing Libby and Francoise struggled back to their feet and went back to running down the corridor leaving the body of their friend laying in an increasing pool of blood.

After a few minutes of running down the featureless corridor they turned a corner and saw a direction sign stating 'escape pods'. The sign pointed up a long corridor and informed them that the distance was 200 metres. The girls smiled at each other and ran down the corridor. The outpost was in a bad state now and the emergency lighting lit the smoke filled corridor dimly. Libby was slightly in front when a massive explosion rocked the station knocking them both off their feet. As she fell, Libby heard a bang behind her and looked back. A tritanium blast door had slammed closed only inches from her feet. Francoise wasn't there. Quickly Libby sprang to her feet and looked through the small reinforced window in the door. She saw Francoise on the other side staring back at her in panic. Both girls quickly searched for a way to open the door but there appeared to be no controls. It was a blastdoor designed to seal off sections in an emergency. Libby was trying to communicate through the small window by exaggerating her speech hoping Francoise could read her lips. As she did this she noticed the light above her head turn from green to orange. She screamed "NO" and burst into tears. Anyone who lived in space knew the significance of the lights above blast doors. Green was OK. Orange meant there was a pressure differential on the other side and the door was sealed. Francoise had seen Libby scream and mouthed 'what' through the glass. The pressure differential was obviously too slight for her to notice but that wouldn't last long. If that section was leaking atmosphere it would soon be apparent. Libby was sobbing and Francoise just looked confused why her friend was suddenly so upset. Suddenly Francoise winced in pain and rubbed her ear, the realisation slowly dawned on her face. The ear was always the first part of the human body to sense any pressure variations. She banged the door with her fists in panic screaming at the top of her lungs but Libby could hear nothing. Francoise placed her palms over her ears and screamed for help. Libby could only watch as her best friend begged her to save her. Blood began to seep through Francoise's fingers as her eardrums ruptured. Her bloodshot eyes bulged and blood flowed from her mouth as the pressure dropped, rupturing her soft tissues. Libby looked on helplessly as Francoise dropped to her knees before keeling over onto the floor and convulsing. The light above the door started flashing orange. A few seconds later the light turn red indicating a total vacuum on the other side and Francoise lay still. Libby sobbed a goodbye to her best friend and turned from the door and ran. The smoke stung her eyes and the failing artificial gravity and rocking of the badly damaged outpost made movement difficult.

The corridor soon gave way to a clear tunnel. On any other day it would have offered a spectacular view of deep space and the outpost. However wreckage and fire dominated the view now. A thud against the plexi-trit made Libby look up. She screamed as a corpse bounced off the top of the tunnel. There were several more, a section of the structure above had ruptured and was spitting atmosphere, debris and bodies into space. She cried as she saw the bodies of two young children slowly drift past the glass wall. She dropped her eyes to the floor and ran faster not daring to look up.

Finally she reached the door to the escape pod. She hit the large button on the wall and the door instantly hissed open. In seconds she had strapped herself into the single chair and slammed the emergency eject button with the flat of her palm. The doors slammed closed and she felt the acceleration as the small pod was jettisoned from the burning structure. She watched through the small viewport as the pod accelerated away. Finally she could see the Raven class battleship firing volley after volley of missiles at the pleasure garden. All around, wrecks of other spaceships burnt. She wondered what had happened to Kruul. The man she was kissing only ten minutes before. Was one of those wrecks his ship? Had he escaped or was he now a frozen corpse. Doomed to spend eternity spinning through space. As the pleasure garden exploded a voice message came through the escaped pods system.

"I am Executive Officer Adamta of the capsuleer vessel White Knight. Please don't panic ma'am. We are here to rescue you. You are safe now."