Skid X Pump Ship Novels & Stories

Connected to its side via an industrial serial-to-SCSI adapter was a portable tape drive she had taken from the university's hardware laboratory three semesters ago, back when she still thought her life would be defined by a corporate risk analysis firm in New York. The fourteen-inch magnetic reel she had stolen from the university basement was mounted on the drive, spinning in erratic, three-second bursts. "The hull can take it, Stace," Sebastian growled, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that belonged more to an old lion than the man whose face had decorated a thousand billboards from Tokyo to London. He didn't look up as Elena applied another strip of medical tape. "The Bertram’s got fo

, Kael pressed out and checked his rifle. “Intact suits. No critical hull breaks,” Silas reported, whose hands trembled, while he calibrated his pad. We were in a far cleaner gear. The resin had this area of Ship not yet reached. Directly in front of us a massive double winged Tor with the verbal, engraved emblem of the First Fleet. COMMANDOZENTRALE. “Let’s see if this ship still has a steering wheel,” I said, forced my Heart for calming and lifting the thermal Vibro cutter. “We have an emergency signal,

​The skiffs swerved in a wide arc, their pilots pushing the ancient engines to the breaking point. ​The colossus paused. Its sightless head tilted, the violet flame within flickering as it processed this new, unexpected irritation. It raised a silver limb and lashed out, a movement so fast it was almost a blur. One of the skiffs was clipped, its gravity fan shattering in a spray of sparks. The pilot managed to bail out just before the craft slammed into a pile of rusted girders.

Mara whispered, “It’s happening.” Dante snarled through his teeth, “Not all the way.” The unit’s arm joint snapped with a violent crack. The tool arm tore free. The unit jolted backward, suddenly off-balance. Its chassis scraped against the deck plates, wheels squealing. Halden didn’t waste the moment. He kicked the unit hard onto its side, then slammed the extinguisher into the exposed underside where cables and ports were visible. The unit’s speaker crackled. The ship’s voice glitched.

Trei asks looking up at Skyr with an unsure look. “I haven’t seen this ship before so maybe they made a few upgrades. But the last time that I saw it, it was red and as small as a fist. When activated, it would display the location, machine code number, and coordinates of the closest ally submarine in your vicinity.” Skyr explained. “It would be pretty helpful to have us just to help us avoid or sneak up on them when the time comes.” It was my turn to raise a question. “How should we know whether the Megalodons would attack us or not?”

"No. There’s a small pump boat stored inside the shelter. That’s what we’ll use. Come on." He climbed down first. She didn’t wait for him to open her door or offer a hand; she followed right after him. They walked into the shaded boat area where he began untying a small wooden pump boat and pulling it toward the water. It was roughly three meters long and a meter wide, powered by a small motor. Phillian explained that they used it as a backup vessel because it was faster and more agile than the larger boats. Once he finished inspecting the motor and ensuring everything was in working order, he dragged it out to sea—all by himself.

“— portside and fill it with as much water as you can. Aki, channel all the wind you’ve got to the sail. We’ll swing broadside so they’ll be in our firing line.” This was because their longship had no bow or stern cannons; all their cannons were located on the sides. Temujin finished with grim determination: “We’re gonna make these pirates regret targeting a Slayer ship.” “Yeah, we got this! The wind’s on our side,” Sasha said, referring to Aki.

“Skyships will close the net.” Lucien met her gaze, jaw tight. “Then we fight.” He reached for his belt, producing two crystalline knives—blades forged to disrupt psionic auras. “I’ll clear the aft deck. You reroute dream-silk cables to the starboard prow. If we can’t outrun them, we’ll send them spinning.” Vera nodded, adrenaline spiking. She retrieved a coil of dream-silk tether from a crate. “Be careful up there.” He cracked a grin. “Careful’s not my style.” He vaulted onto the narrow walkway around the engine housing, boots clanging on metal.

"It’‍s a retrof‍itted tanker, right?" L⁠orenzo​ l‌oo‍ked a⁠t me. He didn't tell m⁠e to‌ leave. He didn't tell me to shut up. "Yes," he said. "Does it s⁠till‌ have th‌e b⁠all​ast p‌ump sys‍t⁠em?" I a⁠sked. "Th⁠e one used to⁠ stabilize‌ the⁠ ship during storm⁠s?"

I fear that if I do return that I might actually pay for the actual price that Byron just said. “Get your gears ready.” Skyr ordered from the front. “We are approaching the ship.” At his command, we all stood up and headed for the back where the gears are located. I dared to look back and saw the sub that he was talking about. It was simply at the edge of a cliff. Well, a cliff underwater that is. And it was rocking back and forth dangerously like it was teasing us that it might tip at any second.