Chapter CCCXXXIV: Shipwrecked! ~Vector

The jungle was quiet; from his position in a thick grove of fern-like plants, all Vector could hear was birds, rain, and his own heartbeat, the latter of which he was sure the entire jungle could hear. He tightened his grip on the blaster in his hands, his blue knuckles going white, and darted his eyes from side to side from his hiding place; he was being hunted and he knew it.

“I hate jungles,” he thought, as he wiped his neck off, “Full of bugs and junk.”

Upon seeing no signs of his hunter, Vector relaxed a bit, and laid down under the cover of the bushes he was currently hiding in, and listened to the rain spattering on the surrounding foliage. He still had no idea where he was, but he remembered well how he got there…

* * *

“What do you mean?!” Richter Sprint bellowed from his command chair, screaming at what seemed to be nothingness, “How could our Hyperdrive just go ‘berserk’ as you so put it?”

“Something seems to have activated it from an outside source,” a meager voice said, seemingly from all points of the Pentastar’s bridge, “It seems to be some kind of spatial disturbance! We’re just careening through hyperspace with no destination, and the controls won’t respond!”

“You’re useless!” Richter shouted, “Absolutely useless! Every last one of you!”

Obviously upset by his crew’s inability to control his starship, which had spontaneously jumped into hyperspace, Richter resigned himself to merely crossing his arms, and staring disgustedly out the main viewport, and into hyperspace.

Vector had been in a holding cell in the bowels of the Pentastar at the time, and was unaware that the ship was totally out of control. He found himself free, when he awoke face down in a large pile of dirt that had been created by the Pentastar plowing into the ground, eradicating several hundred meters of forest behind it. He found himself in a rainforest, and was currently in a clearing created by the massive battleship. He had only began to stir, when he noticed a flurry of activity on the crippled hulk; he turned, and noticed a legion of armed soldiers marching out of the destroyed ship in what looked like a search pattern: Richter had lost his prize in the crash, and was set on locating it. Upon disarming a hapless soldier with his blinding speed, Vector darted into the forest, armed only with a blaster pistol and his speed, though the combination was always more than enough.

* * *

C:\systems\diagnostics\damage report

C:\systems\diagnostics\damage report: status- complete

C:\systems\diagnostics\damage report: self status- injured

FOLLOWING SYSTEMS REQUIRE REPAIRS:

Infrared sensors, optical sensors, turbine actuator, gyro-balance subsystem

OPERATING CAPACITY: IR-0%; optical-89%; turbine actuator-77%; gyro-balance subsystem-98%

DAMAGE REPORT CONCLUDED; SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETED; COGNITIVE MODULE ACTIVE

From the rubble of the Pentastar’s bridge, came a slender metallic clawed hand. Following that came the rest of the body; it was a robot, fashioned like a slender Yoshi, and obviously damaged.

“Self is unhurt” the robot said aloud in a digital voice, “Self must find master. Self must obtain instructions for master; self must apprehend priority one.”

The robot walked out of the ship, the side of the bridge having been sheared away by the forest, and noted several survival tents outside of the wrecked hulk. Quickly making its way down the mountain of debris, the robot stepped into a tent, the largest one in the newly made clearing, and stood at attention. Standing at a table with several military officers was none other than the robot’s builder, Richter. Glancing the blue-painted mechanoid through the corner of his eye, the Imperial captain wheeled around, and gasped.

“Unit one!” Richter exclaimed, obviously overjoyed to see the robot. “Unit one, Mecha-Vector, you’re operational.”

“Self is damaged, master,” the robot said, “Though damage is minimal. Thermal imaging is destroyed, but all other systems are within 80% of nominal efficiency.”

“Excellent,” Richter said, “Priority one has escaped,” he said, in a disappointed tone, “I want you to apprehend him. It does not matter if you bring him back alive or dead. We will move from here, as there is a danger that the reactors of the ship may explode. You will of course be able to home in on me. Now, go, Mecha, and make Vector pay for his insolence.”

“Yes, master,” Mecha said, saluting, “Self will deliver Priority One to you.”

With that, the robot’s turbine ignited, and it shot off into the forest, to hunt its prey.

* * *

“I hate rain,” Vector said, walking through the forest, now sopping wet.

He had found himself in a rainforest; he’d always wondered just why they were called rainforests, and now he knew.

“I hate trees, I hate grass, and I hate this whole planet. Why can’t I ever get lost in a beach resort with hordes of beautiful blonde Yoshettes all wanting to feed me grapes and rub my feet. But no, I have to get shipwrecked in the middle of a mud-hole forest with a crazy man after me, trees too dense to run through, and no food worth eating as far as the eye can see. I hate my life.”

Vector stopped walking and mumbling, and turned his eyes to the sky; he’d noticed a familiar buzzing sound moving near. As he peered through an opening in the canopy, he noticed Mecha flying low over the treetops. Vector scrambled into a large bush, where he’d been hiding for the last hour. His blaster drawn, and his knuckles going white from gripping it so hard, he wondered why Mecha hadn’t noticed him; was it possible that the robot was damaged, and unable to distinguish a Yoshi from the rainforest? Or was it a plan, to force Vector into a false sense of security, and then kill him when he emerged? Opting for the former answer, Vector crawled from his hiding place, and continued walking. After several minutes of walking, he calmed down, and accepted the fact that the robotic assassin hadn’t noticed him.

“Hah. The thing’s as blind as a bat in this stuff,” Vector said, now glad that he was in the rainforest.

He found a covered area, which was relatively dry, and sat down. Exhausted, tired, and now very lucky, the blue Yoshi decided to grab a nap before continuing. He lay down, propping his head on a decaying, and soft log, and fell into a dreamless sleep.