As Villains Die Part 2
08 Apr 2018Kiyomo
Kiyomo awoke some time later. How much time had passed he wasn’t sure, and the sky being filled with only the vastness of space didn’t much help his confusion. He lifted himself and, with a thud, toppled back onto the hard ground below. Everything ached and the muscles in his neck and forearms burned. Remaining stationary, He took stock of his surroundings. Dirt, dirt, oh good! More dirt… hey, a rock. Wonderful. Seconds turned to minutes and the pain in his body slowly dissipated, or at least he was getting used to it.Another heavy struggle rewarded him with the ability to sit up. This time the view was much different. There were still rocks, sure, but now Kiyomo could see the crashed SRV “parked” not far off ahead. The area surrounding his crater of a landing zone was flaming and debris ridden. The shuttle that had functioned as his escape pod was somewhere father than what he could see, however the plume of smoke wasn’t. Another few moments passed as the feeling in his arms and legs returned. Suddenly, as if on que, a memory surfaced. A memory of how he got himself into this terrible situation to begin with.
It had started with a job. A transport and relocation for a federal spy who was wanted by many in the imperial galaxy. He had accepted it, as he was in dire need of funds, and had figured that a spy was a more secretive charter than most others. This had proven to be wrong, but while the concept of reliving the encounter appealed to his nostalgic or, rather, logical side, the instincts in his head told him to move and keep moving. And so, he did. He felt around for anything he could use as a leverage device. Something to keep him standing and keep him moving. Eventually a long, what was likely a shaft for some sort of mechanism, came into his position and he then began to make the efforts of hobbling towards the SRV.
The SRV had survived, if only just. Two of the actionable wheel joints were missing. Several of the tires were flat too. The glass around the cabin used to operate the vehicle was also shattered and everywhere. Though remarkably it had landed on its feet so to speak, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of relief wash over himself. Cane then leg, cane then leg, Kiyomo made his way to the cabin and brushed splintered glass from the seat. It wasn’t comfortable to sit it, even without the glass. Something felt out of place in his spin and he certainly had broken bones and internal hemorrhaging.
The safety belts clicked into their positions and, with a fumbled flick of a switch, the vehicle hummed to life. It sounded miserable, as if it had been on deaths door and had accepted the inevitable before this shmuck had sauntered in and forced it back to life. There was a groan and whine as certain activates were preformed within the engine to get itself ready. Kiyomo fiddled with the modules on the sides of the Centre stick. The small bits of machinery that would normally give their readouts and navigational help, struggled to function. At first, the only thing that appeared was a large “WARNING” of most of the visor. This was then followed by a loud pitched start up chime.
The navigation, speed gauge, heat monitor, and distribution controls all appeared, slightly adjacent to their normal locations and with a bit of overlapping. A few moments passed and then the vehicle condition interface too appeared. It wasn’t anything he wasn’t expecting. The vehicle was at 1% and most of the interface was a screaming red, signifying heavy damage throughout most of the hardpoints and regular functions. Kiyomo noted that the cupholders he had installed during a time of fanciful whimsy seemed to still be intact. At least I have the important things.
The main cannon seemed inoperable. This came as an awful surprise as he had hoped that, if nothing else, the weapons systems would still be functional. He flipped through the navigation panels readouts and was relieved to find that the marker he had placed many days before was still active and blipped on his radar. With newfound joy and excitement, he accelerated in an attempt to push the SRV forward. It complied, but only barely. The speedometer seemed to cap itself at 10 KPH and even keeping that speed was inconsistent. The distant now seemed to be the issue. The marker was over 200 KM away. This now created the unfortunate event that began with pushing the vehicle to its fullest speed and hoping that it would hold out. Kiyomo made one final plead to the uncertainty of fate and began to drive.