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Good Story!
Why am i angry NASA? let me see.... Maybe its cuz i can only move 2 IpH? No..... Maybe its cuz i look like a Tonka toy? No.... Oh! I know! Maybe its cuz you STUCK ME ON #[%$&@ING MARS!!!
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Freelancer Fanfic: Ragnarok (Attempting to come out of retir
Read, add and comment on excellent written stories by fans, set within the Freelancer universe
Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:28 pm
Next chapter is up, and finally a battle!
Chapter 4
Nomad Homesystem
The battleship Osiris sat motionless in the asteroid field that surrounded the hypergate. The single star in the system bathed the ship in a soft green glow, while asteroids slowly spun and tumbled through space. Occasionally one would pass in between the star and ship, casting a dark shadow across the metal hull.
Orillion silently paced the deck of the Osiris’ bridge, eying the displays and monitors which his people manned. He preferred to see what was happening first hand, and it helped to reassure him that none of the men or women under his command were possessed.
Orillion continued to pace down the deck until he reached the station manned by Ensign Jennifer Wellington, a young Bretonian woman who ran the Osiris’ radar.
“Wellington, give me an update on enemy activity.”
Wellington’s hands danced lightly about the keyboard. “Sir, no hostiles to report, cloaked or otherwise.” She brushed a few strands of blond hair out of her eyes and turned to face her superior. “We may actually have an uneventful day.”
Orillion let out a thankful sigh. After months of almost continuous bombardment by the nomads, resistance was finally beginning to thin. The radar system provided by Liberty, one that could detect cloaked ships, had proven itself a life saver time and again. More than once had the nomads tried to approach and cripple the Osiris. The variety of the attacks ranged from simple fighter wings, small invasion forces, and on one memorable occasion, a cloaked nomad battleship had tried to sneak up behind the Osiris and destroy its engines and cloaking device. That had been a close one.
“Good. Keep me notified on any changes,” Orillion exclaimed.
“Aye, Sir.” Wellington returned her attention to the displays in front of her.
Orillion took a step back and stood at a point that overlooked all the personnel on the bridge. Almost all of those within The Order had been affected by the nomad incursion a year ago. From Corsairs who had encountered the nomads while scrounging for artifacts, to people like Wellington whose entire families had been possessed. Orillion recalled how he had first found out about the alien parasites. He recalled how his C.O., William Orson, his eyes having turned luminous blue, had attacked him, setting into motion the events that helped establish the Order….
Wellington’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Sir, I’m picking up some strange readings.”
“Dammit,” Orillion thought. He walked back over to Wellington’s station. “Nomads?”
“No, Sir. Indicators show…” Wellington’s hands were a blur over the keypad, and a hint of confusion appeared in her voice. “…antimatter explosions.” A new window popped up on the station screen and blared for attention. “Sir! Unknown contact appearing beside the nomad city!”
Orillion rushed to a window on the bridge that overlooked the alien structure. There, a ghastly ship, plated in dark red chrome, had appeared. Orillion felt his heart skip a beat. The ship must have been fourteen K long! Several massive fins jutting upwards and downwards from the sides of the thing made it nearly as tall. As Orillion watched, the ship began to slowly move forward as the engines ignited and thick black smoke belched from the rear of the ship.
“What the hell is that?” Orillion whispered.
Lieutenant Anthony Carson, who supervised the patrols and fighter wings in the system as well as the status of the battleship, spoke up. “Orillion, sir, the wing commanders want to know if they should attack. Your orders?”
Orillion assessed the situation. “Tell them to hold their fire, but stay alert. Shoot only if whatever that thing is shoots first”
Carson nodded. “Yes, sir.” He then keyed the comm. channel and relayed the information. No sooner than the command had gone out when one of the turrets on the red ship warmed and discharged directly at the Osiris. The concentrated energy screamed though space, and closed the 12 K gap between the two ships in a matter of seconds. As luck would have it, a large asteroid tumbled into the path of the orb of destruction and blocked it. The ball of energy detonated on the surface of the asteroid, and the resulting explosion blazed a harsh red as it burned an eight meter deep crater in the surface of the asteroid’s surface, before turning black and dissipating. The force of the impact sent the asteroid careening towards the Osiris, where it struck a glancing blow upon the port side. The ship lurched in response and Orillion nearly lost his balance as the deck shifted underneath his feet.
“Carson! Damage report!” Orillion shouted after he had regained his footing.
“Sir, hull breaches on levels six and eight! The ship’s framework is damaged!”
“Order all wings to open fire!”
“Yes, sir!” Carson forwarded the message.
Seven dozen Order Anubises changed course to intercept the alien battleship. The red beast aimed its turrets at the incoming attack force and only managed to vaporize two. The turrets were too inaccurate for such small craft.
Orillion focused intently on the battle, and noted with some relief that the red ship could not effectively neutralize the fighters. But if there was anything that he had learned during the nomad war, it was that appearance could be deceiving.
*****
“Fly in loose formation and swerve along your course, boys. Don’t give ‘em something to hit!” Flight Commander Justin Williams yelled into the comm. as he quickly strafed his Anubis to dodge the energy discharge that the alien battleship had lobbed at him. As he pressed his ship onward, he made the mistake of allowing a wingtip of his Anubis to dip into the inky trail that the orb of energy had left behind. The ship’s system alarm went off as it detected electronics failure and lost the firing abilities of one of the guns. Williams swore aloud as he quickly veered away from the contrail. The discharges trailed dark matter?
No time to think about that. Several new ships had suddenly appeared on his radar. Each one was about two-thirds the size of an Eagle, and were plated with the same red chrome as the battleship. Their slanted wings made the fighters resemble a flying X when viewed from in front or behind, with each wing sporting a gun at its tip. The new fighters turned and made to intercept the Order fighters.
Williams broke out of formation and engaged the nearest enemy fighter. He managed to firmly plant himself behind it, the alien fighter being slightly slower and more sluggish in turning. William pounded the ship with his neutron cannons, and nimbly dodged a volley of red death as the fighter swiveled its guns and took aim at him.
Suddenly the fighter glowed red for an instant, then disappeared with a dull thump, leaving in its place a small cloud of dark matter.
“What the hell?” Williams asked aloud to no one in particular.
A split second after the fighter disappeared, it reappeared with another thump, positioned behind Williams’ Anubis. The craft quickly fired all four of its guns at Williams. In a single second, the bursts of energy pounded away Williams’ shield, then his hull. The final volley made the Anubis explode into a ball of flame.
*****
“Sir! The ship has some kind of fighter protection! They’re taking the Anubises down like flies!” Carson shouted.
“How many fighters?”
Wellington responded, managing to keep a calm voice. “The number of fighters is difficult to count, sir. They keep disappearing from radar. But I estimate that there are between twelve and fifteen enemy fighters, sir.”
Orillion shook his head in frustration. Dammit! The Order fighters outnumbered the enemy six to one and yet it was the intruders who were dominating the battlefield!
“Sir, we only have five fighters left!” Carson shouted. “Now four……three…….two…..all of our fighters have been destroyed. Sir, they’re changing course, heading straight towards us!”
Orillion felt a pang of fear. “Cloak up. Cloak up now!” he shouted.
Broken blue rings of energy appeared around the Osiris and traveled up and down its lateral lines. Slowly, steadily, the Osiris disappeared from view.
“Give me eighty percent on the engines,” Orillion said softly.
The Osiris’ engines responded, and the invisible ship began to move forward, away from its position in the asteroid field, moving carefully not to disturb any of the rocks that floated nearby.
Orillion watched on the monitors as red fighters suddenly appeared at the edge of the asteroid field, and then proceeded to enter the field, moving towards the location of where the Osiris had been. Orillion released the breath that he had been holding. It came as a great relief that the alien ships did not have the technology to detect cloaked vessels. But why did they choose to manually enter the asteroid field, instead of just ‘magically’ appearing near the Osisis’ location? It did not make sense to him.
The Osiris activated its cruise engines after it entered open space, and within a few minutes it quietly passed through the opening of the Dyson sphere and locked the entrance.
“Give me a count of enemy casualties,” Orillion said.
Wellington’s hands played slowly across the keyboard as she accessed the report. “One, sir,” she said slowly.
Orillion hung his head. The Order had been suffered a phenomenal defeat. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew that he would need some help on this one.
Chapter 4
Nomad Homesystem
The battleship Osiris sat motionless in the asteroid field that surrounded the hypergate. The single star in the system bathed the ship in a soft green glow, while asteroids slowly spun and tumbled through space. Occasionally one would pass in between the star and ship, casting a dark shadow across the metal hull.
Orillion silently paced the deck of the Osiris’ bridge, eying the displays and monitors which his people manned. He preferred to see what was happening first hand, and it helped to reassure him that none of the men or women under his command were possessed.
Orillion continued to pace down the deck until he reached the station manned by Ensign Jennifer Wellington, a young Bretonian woman who ran the Osiris’ radar.
“Wellington, give me an update on enemy activity.”
Wellington’s hands danced lightly about the keyboard. “Sir, no hostiles to report, cloaked or otherwise.” She brushed a few strands of blond hair out of her eyes and turned to face her superior. “We may actually have an uneventful day.”
Orillion let out a thankful sigh. After months of almost continuous bombardment by the nomads, resistance was finally beginning to thin. The radar system provided by Liberty, one that could detect cloaked ships, had proven itself a life saver time and again. More than once had the nomads tried to approach and cripple the Osiris. The variety of the attacks ranged from simple fighter wings, small invasion forces, and on one memorable occasion, a cloaked nomad battleship had tried to sneak up behind the Osiris and destroy its engines and cloaking device. That had been a close one.
“Good. Keep me notified on any changes,” Orillion exclaimed.
“Aye, Sir.” Wellington returned her attention to the displays in front of her.
Orillion took a step back and stood at a point that overlooked all the personnel on the bridge. Almost all of those within The Order had been affected by the nomad incursion a year ago. From Corsairs who had encountered the nomads while scrounging for artifacts, to people like Wellington whose entire families had been possessed. Orillion recalled how he had first found out about the alien parasites. He recalled how his C.O., William Orson, his eyes having turned luminous blue, had attacked him, setting into motion the events that helped establish the Order….
Wellington’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Sir, I’m picking up some strange readings.”
“Dammit,” Orillion thought. He walked back over to Wellington’s station. “Nomads?”
“No, Sir. Indicators show…” Wellington’s hands were a blur over the keypad, and a hint of confusion appeared in her voice. “…antimatter explosions.” A new window popped up on the station screen and blared for attention. “Sir! Unknown contact appearing beside the nomad city!”
Orillion rushed to a window on the bridge that overlooked the alien structure. There, a ghastly ship, plated in dark red chrome, had appeared. Orillion felt his heart skip a beat. The ship must have been fourteen K long! Several massive fins jutting upwards and downwards from the sides of the thing made it nearly as tall. As Orillion watched, the ship began to slowly move forward as the engines ignited and thick black smoke belched from the rear of the ship.
“What the hell is that?” Orillion whispered.
Lieutenant Anthony Carson, who supervised the patrols and fighter wings in the system as well as the status of the battleship, spoke up. “Orillion, sir, the wing commanders want to know if they should attack. Your orders?”
Orillion assessed the situation. “Tell them to hold their fire, but stay alert. Shoot only if whatever that thing is shoots first”
Carson nodded. “Yes, sir.” He then keyed the comm. channel and relayed the information. No sooner than the command had gone out when one of the turrets on the red ship warmed and discharged directly at the Osiris. The concentrated energy screamed though space, and closed the 12 K gap between the two ships in a matter of seconds. As luck would have it, a large asteroid tumbled into the path of the orb of destruction and blocked it. The ball of energy detonated on the surface of the asteroid, and the resulting explosion blazed a harsh red as it burned an eight meter deep crater in the surface of the asteroid’s surface, before turning black and dissipating. The force of the impact sent the asteroid careening towards the Osiris, where it struck a glancing blow upon the port side. The ship lurched in response and Orillion nearly lost his balance as the deck shifted underneath his feet.
“Carson! Damage report!” Orillion shouted after he had regained his footing.
“Sir, hull breaches on levels six and eight! The ship’s framework is damaged!”
“Order all wings to open fire!”
“Yes, sir!” Carson forwarded the message.
Seven dozen Order Anubises changed course to intercept the alien battleship. The red beast aimed its turrets at the incoming attack force and only managed to vaporize two. The turrets were too inaccurate for such small craft.
Orillion focused intently on the battle, and noted with some relief that the red ship could not effectively neutralize the fighters. But if there was anything that he had learned during the nomad war, it was that appearance could be deceiving.
*****
“Fly in loose formation and swerve along your course, boys. Don’t give ‘em something to hit!” Flight Commander Justin Williams yelled into the comm. as he quickly strafed his Anubis to dodge the energy discharge that the alien battleship had lobbed at him. As he pressed his ship onward, he made the mistake of allowing a wingtip of his Anubis to dip into the inky trail that the orb of energy had left behind. The ship’s system alarm went off as it detected electronics failure and lost the firing abilities of one of the guns. Williams swore aloud as he quickly veered away from the contrail. The discharges trailed dark matter?
No time to think about that. Several new ships had suddenly appeared on his radar. Each one was about two-thirds the size of an Eagle, and were plated with the same red chrome as the battleship. Their slanted wings made the fighters resemble a flying X when viewed from in front or behind, with each wing sporting a gun at its tip. The new fighters turned and made to intercept the Order fighters.
Williams broke out of formation and engaged the nearest enemy fighter. He managed to firmly plant himself behind it, the alien fighter being slightly slower and more sluggish in turning. William pounded the ship with his neutron cannons, and nimbly dodged a volley of red death as the fighter swiveled its guns and took aim at him.
Suddenly the fighter glowed red for an instant, then disappeared with a dull thump, leaving in its place a small cloud of dark matter.
“What the hell?” Williams asked aloud to no one in particular.
A split second after the fighter disappeared, it reappeared with another thump, positioned behind Williams’ Anubis. The craft quickly fired all four of its guns at Williams. In a single second, the bursts of energy pounded away Williams’ shield, then his hull. The final volley made the Anubis explode into a ball of flame.
*****
“Sir! The ship has some kind of fighter protection! They’re taking the Anubises down like flies!” Carson shouted.
“How many fighters?”
Wellington responded, managing to keep a calm voice. “The number of fighters is difficult to count, sir. They keep disappearing from radar. But I estimate that there are between twelve and fifteen enemy fighters, sir.”
Orillion shook his head in frustration. Dammit! The Order fighters outnumbered the enemy six to one and yet it was the intruders who were dominating the battlefield!
“Sir, we only have five fighters left!” Carson shouted. “Now four……three…….two…..all of our fighters have been destroyed. Sir, they’re changing course, heading straight towards us!”
Orillion felt a pang of fear. “Cloak up. Cloak up now!” he shouted.
Broken blue rings of energy appeared around the Osiris and traveled up and down its lateral lines. Slowly, steadily, the Osiris disappeared from view.
“Give me eighty percent on the engines,” Orillion said softly.
The Osiris’ engines responded, and the invisible ship began to move forward, away from its position in the asteroid field, moving carefully not to disturb any of the rocks that floated nearby.
Orillion watched on the monitors as red fighters suddenly appeared at the edge of the asteroid field, and then proceeded to enter the field, moving towards the location of where the Osiris had been. Orillion released the breath that he had been holding. It came as a great relief that the alien ships did not have the technology to detect cloaked vessels. But why did they choose to manually enter the asteroid field, instead of just ‘magically’ appearing near the Osisis’ location? It did not make sense to him.
The Osiris activated its cruise engines after it entered open space, and within a few minutes it quietly passed through the opening of the Dyson sphere and locked the entrance.
“Give me a count of enemy casualties,” Orillion said.
Wellington’s hands played slowly across the keyboard as she accessed the report. “One, sir,” she said slowly.
Orillion hung his head. The Order had been suffered a phenomenal defeat. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew that he would need some help on this one.
Mon May 02, 2005 1:29 pm
Heres the next chapter. as usual, open to suggestions and criticism
Chapter 5
Planet Manhattan, New York System 12 days later
Music softly drifted down from overhead in the Manhattan bar. The music was a descendant of a very old style of song called ‘jazz’, and a saxophone gave a soft cry through the overhanging speakers as Edison Trent and his fiancé, Jun’ko Zane, finished telling King their marriage plans. King leaned back and put his hands behind his head, smiling.
“It’s like I said, the love between you two is like something from fantasy land. So when do you two plan to tie the knot?”
“In six months.” Juni replied. She sighed. “We’re so busy taking care of everything, it’s hard for us to just relax like this,” She turned her head to face her future husband, “But all this work will be worth it.”
Juni proceeded to clasp her hand around Trent’s arm. Trent, however, proceeded to grab his fiancée’s butt.
Juni squirmed. “Edison, stop it!” She said lightly, giving him a playful one-armed shove. “Please, not here.”
King leaned forward. “What’re you two doing?” he asked, a grin spreading across his face.
“Nothing.” Juni said quickly. King wasn’t fooled, though; Trent was grinning from ear to ear.
Juni’s data pad sounded, notifying her that she was receiving a call. Juni removed the pad and looked at the caller I.D.
“It’s Orillion. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Juni Gave Trent a quick peck on the lips, then got up and left the room.
Once again King leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. “Man, I wish I had someone that special.”
“C’mon, King,” Trent responded. “What about Sinclair?”
“It hasn’t been working out,” King said glumly.
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”
A minute later Juni returned to the bar, and Trent noticed that she was walking swiftly.
“Oh-oh,” Trent whispered to King. “Something big must have happened.”
Juni approached Trent. “Edison, we need to go. Something bad has happened.”
Trent decided to push Juni’s patience a little. “How bad?”
Juni narrowed her eyes at Trent. “Very bad. We need to leave now.”
“Alright. See you around, King.” Trent got up and left the bar with Juni.
*****
It took a few minutes for Trent to leave the planet surface and exit the docking ring. Juni had gone ahead of him, and was waiting for Trent when he got there.
“Switching to a secure channel,” Juni said over the comm. link. A rapid sequence of audible pings quickly followed. “The Osiris is waiting for us in the debris field behind Manhattan. Let’s go.”
Blue-white fire exploded out of the backs of the Defender and Sabre as the two ships activated their cruise engines and flew around the planet toward a similar waypoint.
“So…” Trent exclaimed,” why did Orillion call?”
“Something has happened in the Nomad homesystem,” Juni responded.
“What, did the nomads drive them out?”
Juni closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. “They were driven out. But not by nomads.”
A small feeling of fear clenched itself inside Trent’s chest. “Did he say who? Or what?”
Juni shook her head over the comm. screen. “No. Orillion said that he would brief us further on the Osiris.”
Trent and Juni reached the debris field and entered without slowing. 2 k later, and they had reached the waypoint.
Trent looked around. He couldn’t see the Osiris. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blue light given off by the battleship’s cloaking device as the battleship seemingly materialized out of nothing.
Orillion came over the comm. Colonel Zane, Colonel Trent, its good to see you again. You’re clear to dock.”
Juni keyed the comm. “Affirmative. Trent, go ahead and dock.”
After both fighters disappeared into the ship’s underside, broken energy rings once again traveled up and down the ship as it slowly disappeared from view.
Edited by - Steel_Fang on 8/22/2005 4:27:34 AM
Chapter 5
Planet Manhattan, New York System 12 days later
Music softly drifted down from overhead in the Manhattan bar. The music was a descendant of a very old style of song called ‘jazz’, and a saxophone gave a soft cry through the overhanging speakers as Edison Trent and his fiancé, Jun’ko Zane, finished telling King their marriage plans. King leaned back and put his hands behind his head, smiling.
“It’s like I said, the love between you two is like something from fantasy land. So when do you two plan to tie the knot?”
“In six months.” Juni replied. She sighed. “We’re so busy taking care of everything, it’s hard for us to just relax like this,” She turned her head to face her future husband, “But all this work will be worth it.”
Juni proceeded to clasp her hand around Trent’s arm. Trent, however, proceeded to grab his fiancée’s butt.
Juni squirmed. “Edison, stop it!” She said lightly, giving him a playful one-armed shove. “Please, not here.”
King leaned forward. “What’re you two doing?” he asked, a grin spreading across his face.
“Nothing.” Juni said quickly. King wasn’t fooled, though; Trent was grinning from ear to ear.
Juni’s data pad sounded, notifying her that she was receiving a call. Juni removed the pad and looked at the caller I.D.
“It’s Orillion. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Juni Gave Trent a quick peck on the lips, then got up and left the room.
Once again King leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. “Man, I wish I had someone that special.”
“C’mon, King,” Trent responded. “What about Sinclair?”
“It hasn’t been working out,” King said glumly.
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”
A minute later Juni returned to the bar, and Trent noticed that she was walking swiftly.
“Oh-oh,” Trent whispered to King. “Something big must have happened.”
Juni approached Trent. “Edison, we need to go. Something bad has happened.”
Trent decided to push Juni’s patience a little. “How bad?”
Juni narrowed her eyes at Trent. “Very bad. We need to leave now.”
“Alright. See you around, King.” Trent got up and left the bar with Juni.
*****
It took a few minutes for Trent to leave the planet surface and exit the docking ring. Juni had gone ahead of him, and was waiting for Trent when he got there.
“Switching to a secure channel,” Juni said over the comm. link. A rapid sequence of audible pings quickly followed. “The Osiris is waiting for us in the debris field behind Manhattan. Let’s go.”
Blue-white fire exploded out of the backs of the Defender and Sabre as the two ships activated their cruise engines and flew around the planet toward a similar waypoint.
“So…” Trent exclaimed,” why did Orillion call?”
“Something has happened in the Nomad homesystem,” Juni responded.
“What, did the nomads drive them out?”
Juni closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. “They were driven out. But not by nomads.”
A small feeling of fear clenched itself inside Trent’s chest. “Did he say who? Or what?”
Juni shook her head over the comm. screen. “No. Orillion said that he would brief us further on the Osiris.”
Trent and Juni reached the debris field and entered without slowing. 2 k later, and they had reached the waypoint.
Trent looked around. He couldn’t see the Osiris. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blue light given off by the battleship’s cloaking device as the battleship seemingly materialized out of nothing.
Orillion came over the comm. Colonel Zane, Colonel Trent, its good to see you again. You’re clear to dock.”
Juni keyed the comm. “Affirmative. Trent, go ahead and dock.”
After both fighters disappeared into the ship’s underside, broken energy rings once again traveled up and down the ship as it slowly disappeared from view.
Edited by - Steel_Fang on 8/22/2005 4:27:34 AM
Mon May 09, 2005 1:35 pm
Next chapter. It would be very welcome to see some replies.
Chapter 6
Outside Planet Toledo, Omicron Minor System, 9 days later
After many, many hours of meetings where they analyzed video from the first encounter with the new aliens (now dubbed and referred to as Invaders), noting their ship’s advantages/disadvantages, and discussing strategies on how to counter and overwhelm their attacks, Juni and Trent now waited just beyond the Toledo docking ring, waiting for the last of the Order Anubises to launch. The engaged couple were both deemed as wing commanders for the mission to take back the hypergate. Now the to-be-wed pair talked to each other as the number of Anubises around Toledo steadily increased.
“I expected Orillion to launch a large force, but nothing like this,” Trent exclaimed.
“Yeah. The Order must have reached deep into its pockets to afford this many fighters,” Juni said, a flair of concern in her voice. “Especially after their last encounter.”
“I count ninety-two fighters. What about you?”
“Ninety-six.” Juni shook her head. “Tell me again, Trent. With the strategies we’ve developed, we should be able to take these guys out with only sixty fighters. Why is Orillion sending so many people?”
Juni was better at social logic, but after Trent’s travels in the Border Worlds, he was better with battlefield logic, something that he was somewhat proud of. “I think that Orillion is just trying to make sure that we succeed. This battle will be the most important of any battle, should the fighting continue. If we take back the hypergate now, the Invaders won’t be able spread to the other systems.”
“I see,” Juni said slowly. She smiled into the comm. window. “Thanks for explaining, Edison.”
“You’re welcome.” Trent returned the smile.
As the last fighter finally launched, a voice came over the system-wide comm. channel. “Wing commanders, this is Beta-47. I’m the last one. We can now proceed to the jumpgate.”
Trent keyed the system comm. “Roger. All fighters, proceed the nomad jumpgate.”
Trent steered his Sabre towards the jumpgate and activated his cruise engines, followed by Juni and the massive fighter contingent. Even with the enormous number of ships to back him up, Trent couldn’t help but fell a little nervous. He hated being nervous.
Trent keyed the comm. to Juni. “Are you ready for this?” Trent was more asking himself than Juni.
“Can’t say I am,” she said nervously. “But Orillion said that the Invaders are locked inside the Dyson sphere, so we shouldn’t have any surprises getting to the entrance.”
“I hope you’re right.” Trent dragged the sentence.
As the fighters approached the waypoint, the green nebula withdrew as the ships entered the clearing where the nomad jumpgate was stationed. As they drew closer, Juni sent the ancient structure the activation sequence. Small, white lights outlined the hole in the middle of the gate, followed by a gold light that grew from the center of the opening.
Juni broadcast over the fleet comm. channel. “The jumpgate is activated. All ships dock with the instillation.”
Trent’s ship rapidly accelerated through the long bright blue tunnel that replaced the pale green of the nebula as he and Juni entered the gate first, followed by the long line of Anubises.
Trent exited the nomad jumpgate facing the entrance to the dyson sphere. It had been a long time since Trent had seen this place. But this time, it felt like it was smaller…
A quick look around gave Trent the very reason why. The area around the junpgate had been cleared of asteroids, and now it had been sandwiched in between two Invader battleships! He hit the thruster, and the Sabre lurched forward like a demon possessed.
“Dammit!” Trent shouted in his mind. “How could I miss something like that?!”
Juni and the Anubises started to pour in through the jumpgate. Juni went through the same reaction of surprise as Trent did, and her ship zoomed forward. Nobody wanted to be in between two lethal forces of that magnitude.
Juni quickly established a comm. link to Trent. “Trent, the Invaders were supposed to be locked up. How did they get out here?”
“I don’t know!” Trent began to multitask, scanning the surface of the dyson sphere while trying to get the hell away from the battleships. There, Trent found an opening in the sphere and read the data. The hole was where the entrance used to be.
“They’ve blown out the damn door!” Trent shouted over the comm.
“Sh**!”
The Anubises continued to pour out of the jumpgate, and scattered when the pilots saw the battleships. All of them scrambled aimlessly in panic, not knowing what to do. The battleships took advantage of how they all were coming out of the jumpgate, and aimed their weapons at just outside the nomad structure. The alien guns belched, and dozens of Anubises were destroyed as the super-concentrated orbs of dark matter passed over the human ships as they entered the system.
Trent suddenly couldn’t think; his mind was in a haze. Disregarding the possible consequences, he located a turret in on one of the battleships, pointed his ship towards the thing, and accelerated towards it, pouring fire down upon the device.
Juni’s heart stopped. What the hell was Edison thinking? He was going to get killed! She shouted over the comm. channel. “Edison, what are you doing?!”
Trent snapped back to reality and veered away just as the turret discharged. Bright red light filled the cockpit as the blast missed him by only a few feet. Trent knew that he was lucky that had Juni not brought him to his senses; a moment later, and he would have never had enough time to dodge that blast, and he would have surely been dead.
Trent shook his head to clear his mind. He couldn’t be making mistakes like this, especially with these guys.
It had barely been a minute, and the number of human ships had already dwindled to half their original number when the Invader fighters began to appear. “What had taken them so long?” Trent thought.
Trent and Juni unanimously paired up and engaged the alien fighters as a team, working together to separate one of the shrieking beasts away from its comrades and gun it down. This was especially hard since the fighter would disappear when its pilot realized that it was in trouble. A sequence of misleading cowardice and sudden aggression helped to catch the Invader fighters by surprise long enough to destroy the ship.
Despite their effort, things just went from bad to worse after the Invader fighters engaged the human force. The Order fighters dropped like flies, both Trent and Juni were rapidly running out of shield batteries and nanobots, and the only damage that was done to the Invader capital ships was when they missed their intended targets and accidentally hit each other. Still, the massive ships took each other’s fire superbly, and showed no hint of any serious damage done to them.
Juni shouted to Trent over the comm. “Edison, we’re losing people left and right!” She shook her head over the visual display panel. “We have no option but to retreat.”
Trent looked down at his Sabre’s display panel. His shield was barely holding, half of the armor was gone, and he was nearly out of both bots and batteries. With a huff of aggravation, he made his decision and clicked on his comm.
“Affirmitive. All fighters retreat!”
Retreat. That was something that Trent hadn’t done in a long time. He had gotten used to winning all of the time.
Trent pointed his ship’s nose in the direction of the nomad jumpgate and pushed the throttle forward. The Sabre lurched forward with Juni and what was left of the Order fighters.
Suddenly the Sabre’s shield failed and something made severe contact with the hull, making a loud THUD as the ship lurched violently and spun off course. Juni’s Defender roared ahead.
“What the hell?!” a surprised Trent said aloud. Then as one of the Invader fighters flew over him, Trent realized; one of the S.O.B.s must have rammed him.
Trent mentally brushed the incident aside and concentrated on getting to the jumpgate. Red-hot antimatter hissed by the Sabre as the Invaders continued to fire down upon the retreating human fleet. Trent jammed the throttle up to full.
“C’mon, c’mon” Trent muttered under his breath, trying to coax every ounce of speed out of his ship.
Trent could make out what was left of the human fleet as he approached the jumpgate, and watched as Juni safely enter the gate. One worry down.
At last, he made it. Trent docked with the gate, and was for once relieved to see the blue walls of the tunnel, and didn’t mind the intense vibrations.
When he exited the jumphole, he could see the remnants of the human fleet crawling back to Toledo. Juni had stayed behind. “Edison, are you all right?” she asked, worry rolling off her tongue.
“I’m fine, Juni. Thanks for ask-“
An explosion rocked Trent’s Sabre. The instrument panel sparked and went black.
“What the hell?!” Trent shouted.
Juni came back over the comm. “Edison, are you all right??”
Trent shook his head and tapped the return comm. button. “Yeah, I’m all right.” He checked his instrument panel. “Everything’s shut down though. The only thing still working is the comm. system”
Trent tapped the engine ignition key. No response. He tapped it again, and then a third time, but the engines refused to ignite.
“Dammit,” he thought. Trent sent a comm. signal to Juni. “Jun’ko, I need a tow. You think you can help me?”
Juni smirked over the display panel “What? You need help??” she said sarcastically. “That’s kind of backwards, isn’t it?”
After losing the fight with the Invaders, Trent wasn’t in the mood to play games. “Are you going to help or not?” he replied with a serious tone.
“Don’t worry, of course I am,” Juni said with a smile.
Juni lined up her Defender with Trent’s Sabre and attached the padded claw of her tow cable onto the Sabre’s segmented nose, linking the two ships together. Juni gave power to the engines, and the coupled ships began to move towards planet Toledo.
After Trent’s ship had been safely settled onto the landing pad, Trent finally got a look at his Sabre.
“Aw, hell!” Trent shouted with great anger.
Almost the entire back end of the Sabre had been totally destroyed. Blackened metal outlined the destroyed area, with charred cables, sizzling fiber optics, and burst fuel lines that had spilled out of the wound, with their trailing ends piled on top of each other on the landing pad. The cargo hold had been breached. Half of the lower engine had been destroyed. However the upper engine, along with the shield and thruster, were missing altogether.
Juni was pondering to herself about the battle as she exited her Defender and stepped onto the landing pad.
“…or what if when they disappeared, they reappeared in a different place? That would mean that they can teleport themselves…” Juni shuddered. It must be such an ability that gave the Invaders such a horrendous advantage.
The shouting of her enraged fiancé caught her attention. She focused her attention on Trent, and then followed his gaze to the gaping hole in his Sabre.
“Uh-oh,” she whispered to herself.
Juni knew that Trent loved his ship. Heck, he loved that ship almost as much as he loved her. Seeking to comfort him, she strolled up to Trent and stepped in front of him and succeeded in bringing his focus onto her. The two made eye contact. Standing on her toes, Juni gingerly kissed Trent on the lips.
“Don’t worry,” Juni said in a soothing voice, “You can fix it.”
In response to Juni’s soothing complexion, Trent felt relief spreading throughout his body. He felt calm, more relaxed.
“I know,” Trent sighed, “but I won’t be able to replace the shield.” He turned around and looked towards the ground, deep in thought. “It’ll take me months to get my hands on another one like it.”
Satisfied that she had done her job, Juni smiled and patted Trent on the shoulder. “Come on, Edison. I think I know someone who needs a drink.”
Trent turned around and looked Juni in the eyes. He too, smiled. “You know, I think you’re right.”
Chapter 6
Outside Planet Toledo, Omicron Minor System, 9 days later
After many, many hours of meetings where they analyzed video from the first encounter with the new aliens (now dubbed and referred to as Invaders), noting their ship’s advantages/disadvantages, and discussing strategies on how to counter and overwhelm their attacks, Juni and Trent now waited just beyond the Toledo docking ring, waiting for the last of the Order Anubises to launch. The engaged couple were both deemed as wing commanders for the mission to take back the hypergate. Now the to-be-wed pair talked to each other as the number of Anubises around Toledo steadily increased.
“I expected Orillion to launch a large force, but nothing like this,” Trent exclaimed.
“Yeah. The Order must have reached deep into its pockets to afford this many fighters,” Juni said, a flair of concern in her voice. “Especially after their last encounter.”
“I count ninety-two fighters. What about you?”
“Ninety-six.” Juni shook her head. “Tell me again, Trent. With the strategies we’ve developed, we should be able to take these guys out with only sixty fighters. Why is Orillion sending so many people?”
Juni was better at social logic, but after Trent’s travels in the Border Worlds, he was better with battlefield logic, something that he was somewhat proud of. “I think that Orillion is just trying to make sure that we succeed. This battle will be the most important of any battle, should the fighting continue. If we take back the hypergate now, the Invaders won’t be able spread to the other systems.”
“I see,” Juni said slowly. She smiled into the comm. window. “Thanks for explaining, Edison.”
“You’re welcome.” Trent returned the smile.
As the last fighter finally launched, a voice came over the system-wide comm. channel. “Wing commanders, this is Beta-47. I’m the last one. We can now proceed to the jumpgate.”
Trent keyed the system comm. “Roger. All fighters, proceed the nomad jumpgate.”
Trent steered his Sabre towards the jumpgate and activated his cruise engines, followed by Juni and the massive fighter contingent. Even with the enormous number of ships to back him up, Trent couldn’t help but fell a little nervous. He hated being nervous.
Trent keyed the comm. to Juni. “Are you ready for this?” Trent was more asking himself than Juni.
“Can’t say I am,” she said nervously. “But Orillion said that the Invaders are locked inside the Dyson sphere, so we shouldn’t have any surprises getting to the entrance.”
“I hope you’re right.” Trent dragged the sentence.
As the fighters approached the waypoint, the green nebula withdrew as the ships entered the clearing where the nomad jumpgate was stationed. As they drew closer, Juni sent the ancient structure the activation sequence. Small, white lights outlined the hole in the middle of the gate, followed by a gold light that grew from the center of the opening.
Juni broadcast over the fleet comm. channel. “The jumpgate is activated. All ships dock with the instillation.”
Trent’s ship rapidly accelerated through the long bright blue tunnel that replaced the pale green of the nebula as he and Juni entered the gate first, followed by the long line of Anubises.
Trent exited the nomad jumpgate facing the entrance to the dyson sphere. It had been a long time since Trent had seen this place. But this time, it felt like it was smaller…
A quick look around gave Trent the very reason why. The area around the junpgate had been cleared of asteroids, and now it had been sandwiched in between two Invader battleships! He hit the thruster, and the Sabre lurched forward like a demon possessed.
“Dammit!” Trent shouted in his mind. “How could I miss something like that?!”
Juni and the Anubises started to pour in through the jumpgate. Juni went through the same reaction of surprise as Trent did, and her ship zoomed forward. Nobody wanted to be in between two lethal forces of that magnitude.
Juni quickly established a comm. link to Trent. “Trent, the Invaders were supposed to be locked up. How did they get out here?”
“I don’t know!” Trent began to multitask, scanning the surface of the dyson sphere while trying to get the hell away from the battleships. There, Trent found an opening in the sphere and read the data. The hole was where the entrance used to be.
“They’ve blown out the damn door!” Trent shouted over the comm.
“Sh**!”
The Anubises continued to pour out of the jumpgate, and scattered when the pilots saw the battleships. All of them scrambled aimlessly in panic, not knowing what to do. The battleships took advantage of how they all were coming out of the jumpgate, and aimed their weapons at just outside the nomad structure. The alien guns belched, and dozens of Anubises were destroyed as the super-concentrated orbs of dark matter passed over the human ships as they entered the system.
Trent suddenly couldn’t think; his mind was in a haze. Disregarding the possible consequences, he located a turret in on one of the battleships, pointed his ship towards the thing, and accelerated towards it, pouring fire down upon the device.
Juni’s heart stopped. What the hell was Edison thinking? He was going to get killed! She shouted over the comm. channel. “Edison, what are you doing?!”
Trent snapped back to reality and veered away just as the turret discharged. Bright red light filled the cockpit as the blast missed him by only a few feet. Trent knew that he was lucky that had Juni not brought him to his senses; a moment later, and he would have never had enough time to dodge that blast, and he would have surely been dead.
Trent shook his head to clear his mind. He couldn’t be making mistakes like this, especially with these guys.
It had barely been a minute, and the number of human ships had already dwindled to half their original number when the Invader fighters began to appear. “What had taken them so long?” Trent thought.
Trent and Juni unanimously paired up and engaged the alien fighters as a team, working together to separate one of the shrieking beasts away from its comrades and gun it down. This was especially hard since the fighter would disappear when its pilot realized that it was in trouble. A sequence of misleading cowardice and sudden aggression helped to catch the Invader fighters by surprise long enough to destroy the ship.
Despite their effort, things just went from bad to worse after the Invader fighters engaged the human force. The Order fighters dropped like flies, both Trent and Juni were rapidly running out of shield batteries and nanobots, and the only damage that was done to the Invader capital ships was when they missed their intended targets and accidentally hit each other. Still, the massive ships took each other’s fire superbly, and showed no hint of any serious damage done to them.
Juni shouted to Trent over the comm. “Edison, we’re losing people left and right!” She shook her head over the visual display panel. “We have no option but to retreat.”
Trent looked down at his Sabre’s display panel. His shield was barely holding, half of the armor was gone, and he was nearly out of both bots and batteries. With a huff of aggravation, he made his decision and clicked on his comm.
“Affirmitive. All fighters retreat!”
Retreat. That was something that Trent hadn’t done in a long time. He had gotten used to winning all of the time.
Trent pointed his ship’s nose in the direction of the nomad jumpgate and pushed the throttle forward. The Sabre lurched forward with Juni and what was left of the Order fighters.
Suddenly the Sabre’s shield failed and something made severe contact with the hull, making a loud THUD as the ship lurched violently and spun off course. Juni’s Defender roared ahead.
“What the hell?!” a surprised Trent said aloud. Then as one of the Invader fighters flew over him, Trent realized; one of the S.O.B.s must have rammed him.
Trent mentally brushed the incident aside and concentrated on getting to the jumpgate. Red-hot antimatter hissed by the Sabre as the Invaders continued to fire down upon the retreating human fleet. Trent jammed the throttle up to full.
“C’mon, c’mon” Trent muttered under his breath, trying to coax every ounce of speed out of his ship.
Trent could make out what was left of the human fleet as he approached the jumpgate, and watched as Juni safely enter the gate. One worry down.
At last, he made it. Trent docked with the gate, and was for once relieved to see the blue walls of the tunnel, and didn’t mind the intense vibrations.
When he exited the jumphole, he could see the remnants of the human fleet crawling back to Toledo. Juni had stayed behind. “Edison, are you all right?” she asked, worry rolling off her tongue.
“I’m fine, Juni. Thanks for ask-“
An explosion rocked Trent’s Sabre. The instrument panel sparked and went black.
“What the hell?!” Trent shouted.
Juni came back over the comm. “Edison, are you all right??”
Trent shook his head and tapped the return comm. button. “Yeah, I’m all right.” He checked his instrument panel. “Everything’s shut down though. The only thing still working is the comm. system”
Trent tapped the engine ignition key. No response. He tapped it again, and then a third time, but the engines refused to ignite.
“Dammit,” he thought. Trent sent a comm. signal to Juni. “Jun’ko, I need a tow. You think you can help me?”
Juni smirked over the display panel “What? You need help??” she said sarcastically. “That’s kind of backwards, isn’t it?”
After losing the fight with the Invaders, Trent wasn’t in the mood to play games. “Are you going to help or not?” he replied with a serious tone.
“Don’t worry, of course I am,” Juni said with a smile.
Juni lined up her Defender with Trent’s Sabre and attached the padded claw of her tow cable onto the Sabre’s segmented nose, linking the two ships together. Juni gave power to the engines, and the coupled ships began to move towards planet Toledo.
After Trent’s ship had been safely settled onto the landing pad, Trent finally got a look at his Sabre.
“Aw, hell!” Trent shouted with great anger.
Almost the entire back end of the Sabre had been totally destroyed. Blackened metal outlined the destroyed area, with charred cables, sizzling fiber optics, and burst fuel lines that had spilled out of the wound, with their trailing ends piled on top of each other on the landing pad. The cargo hold had been breached. Half of the lower engine had been destroyed. However the upper engine, along with the shield and thruster, were missing altogether.
Juni was pondering to herself about the battle as she exited her Defender and stepped onto the landing pad.
“…or what if when they disappeared, they reappeared in a different place? That would mean that they can teleport themselves…” Juni shuddered. It must be such an ability that gave the Invaders such a horrendous advantage.
The shouting of her enraged fiancé caught her attention. She focused her attention on Trent, and then followed his gaze to the gaping hole in his Sabre.
“Uh-oh,” she whispered to herself.
Juni knew that Trent loved his ship. Heck, he loved that ship almost as much as he loved her. Seeking to comfort him, she strolled up to Trent and stepped in front of him and succeeded in bringing his focus onto her. The two made eye contact. Standing on her toes, Juni gingerly kissed Trent on the lips.
“Don’t worry,” Juni said in a soothing voice, “You can fix it.”
In response to Juni’s soothing complexion, Trent felt relief spreading throughout his body. He felt calm, more relaxed.
“I know,” Trent sighed, “but I won’t be able to replace the shield.” He turned around and looked towards the ground, deep in thought. “It’ll take me months to get my hands on another one like it.”
Satisfied that she had done her job, Juni smiled and patted Trent on the shoulder. “Come on, Edison. I think I know someone who needs a drink.”
Trent turned around and looked Juni in the eyes. He too, smiled. “You know, I think you’re right.”
Mon May 16, 2005 4:52 pm
Next chapter is due. Is anyone still reading this?
Chapter 7
Battleship Relentless, Nomad Homesystem. 6 hours later.
News of the human attack had spread like wildfire throughout Invader-controlled territory. Not surprisingly so, since the teleportation technology at the Invader’s disposal allowed them to move great distances almost instantaneously. By the time six hours had passed, Selestren-Kulam had been informed of the battle and Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo had been sent to supervise the discovery of the system to which the humans had retreated.
Currently Nalemo was engaged in a heated argument with Orad-Porel, captain of the battleship Relentless.
“Your seekers have yet to return, what kind of crew you are you commanding here?!”
Nalemo’s voice echoed throughout the cavernous docking bay. This chamber, easily the largest room in the entire ship, held roughly three hundred fighters. With no hatch, fighter pilots relied on teleportation to move in and out of the bay.
Orad growled and flexed his powerful claws, his anger starting to get the best of him. “I command the best of the best. The tracking device was deployed, and I am confident that it found its target.” Orad leaned toward Nalemo, as if challenging his authority. “My seekers will triangulate the return signal.” Orad leaned further towards Nalemo, and extended his legs. He was now definitely challenging the smaller alien’s authority. “This military campaign WILL continue!”
Nalemo knew better than to start picking a fight with this guy. Most Invaders could rip the arm off of a fellow comrade, and with Nalemo’s weaker body structure, Orad could not only dismember a limb, he could break Nalemo’s body in two.
Deciding not to anger the captain further, Nalemo decided to back off. “You had better be right. You have no idea what Selestren-Kulam will do to us if your seekers can’t triangulate that signal.”
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. Three fighters appeared in the docking bay. The din was incredible, and was further amplified as the noise echoed throughout the massive chamber. Nalemo immediately covered his ears, his face wrenched in pain. Orad-Porel merely flinched; most combat veterans were hard of hearing, a condition brought on by the Invader’s own loud technology.
Once the deafening roar had faded away, each fighter opened and the pilots stepped out. They spotted their superior and began jog over to him. Orad-Porel turned to face the pilots.
“See?” Orad muttered to Nalemo out of the corner of his mouth. “My seekers return.”
Once the pilots came to a stop in front of Orad, all three kneeled down, tucking their heads into their chests to expose the back of their necks. A proper salute.
“Sir, your seekers have come to report,” said the Invader in the middle.
Orad allowed himself a slight smile. “Rise, and tell of your finds.”
The trio arose, and the middle Invader continued to speak. “Sir, you will be pleased to know that we have successfully triangulated the tracker signal.”
Orad looked at Nalemo out of the corner of his eye. “I told you my men would succeed!” he exclaimed with a triumphant smirk on his face.
Nalemo ignored Orad’s gloating.
Orad-Porel returned his attention to the seekers. “Did the device complete its cycle?”
The middle seeker absentmindedly straightened the hair growing down his sides as he responded. “Yes sir. Soon after we received the tracker’s signal, an energy wave passed through the system, having originated at the same coordinates as the tracker. This is surely a result of the device’s self-destruction.” The seeker handed Orad a small piece of parchment. “Here are the coordinates and environment information.”
Orad silently plucked the parchment from the seeker’s grasp and read the information in it. He laughed a low, guttural laugh. “Good. Seekers, you are dismissed.”
Without a word, the three seekers headed in unison for the docking bay exit. Orad turned to Nalemo. “Go; tell Selestren-Kulam of the find. Bring back his word to advance the battle group,” Orad took a step closer to Nalemo and lowered his voice, “And I will bring him a victory.”
Orad-Porel abruptly turned and made off for the exit, leaving Nalemo with nothing to do but return to his ship and depart.
Chapter 7
Battleship Relentless, Nomad Homesystem. 6 hours later.
News of the human attack had spread like wildfire throughout Invader-controlled territory. Not surprisingly so, since the teleportation technology at the Invader’s disposal allowed them to move great distances almost instantaneously. By the time six hours had passed, Selestren-Kulam had been informed of the battle and Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo had been sent to supervise the discovery of the system to which the humans had retreated.
Currently Nalemo was engaged in a heated argument with Orad-Porel, captain of the battleship Relentless.
“Your seekers have yet to return, what kind of crew you are you commanding here?!”
Nalemo’s voice echoed throughout the cavernous docking bay. This chamber, easily the largest room in the entire ship, held roughly three hundred fighters. With no hatch, fighter pilots relied on teleportation to move in and out of the bay.
Orad growled and flexed his powerful claws, his anger starting to get the best of him. “I command the best of the best. The tracking device was deployed, and I am confident that it found its target.” Orad leaned toward Nalemo, as if challenging his authority. “My seekers will triangulate the return signal.” Orad leaned further towards Nalemo, and extended his legs. He was now definitely challenging the smaller alien’s authority. “This military campaign WILL continue!”
Nalemo knew better than to start picking a fight with this guy. Most Invaders could rip the arm off of a fellow comrade, and with Nalemo’s weaker body structure, Orad could not only dismember a limb, he could break Nalemo’s body in two.
Deciding not to anger the captain further, Nalemo decided to back off. “You had better be right. You have no idea what Selestren-Kulam will do to us if your seekers can’t triangulate that signal.”
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. Three fighters appeared in the docking bay. The din was incredible, and was further amplified as the noise echoed throughout the massive chamber. Nalemo immediately covered his ears, his face wrenched in pain. Orad-Porel merely flinched; most combat veterans were hard of hearing, a condition brought on by the Invader’s own loud technology.
Once the deafening roar had faded away, each fighter opened and the pilots stepped out. They spotted their superior and began jog over to him. Orad-Porel turned to face the pilots.
“See?” Orad muttered to Nalemo out of the corner of his mouth. “My seekers return.”
Once the pilots came to a stop in front of Orad, all three kneeled down, tucking their heads into their chests to expose the back of their necks. A proper salute.
“Sir, your seekers have come to report,” said the Invader in the middle.
Orad allowed himself a slight smile. “Rise, and tell of your finds.”
The trio arose, and the middle Invader continued to speak. “Sir, you will be pleased to know that we have successfully triangulated the tracker signal.”
Orad looked at Nalemo out of the corner of his eye. “I told you my men would succeed!” he exclaimed with a triumphant smirk on his face.
Nalemo ignored Orad’s gloating.
Orad-Porel returned his attention to the seekers. “Did the device complete its cycle?”
The middle seeker absentmindedly straightened the hair growing down his sides as he responded. “Yes sir. Soon after we received the tracker’s signal, an energy wave passed through the system, having originated at the same coordinates as the tracker. This is surely a result of the device’s self-destruction.” The seeker handed Orad a small piece of parchment. “Here are the coordinates and environment information.”
Orad silently plucked the parchment from the seeker’s grasp and read the information in it. He laughed a low, guttural laugh. “Good. Seekers, you are dismissed.”
Without a word, the three seekers headed in unison for the docking bay exit. Orad turned to Nalemo. “Go; tell Selestren-Kulam of the find. Bring back his word to advance the battle group,” Orad took a step closer to Nalemo and lowered his voice, “And I will bring him a victory.”
Orad-Porel abruptly turned and made off for the exit, leaving Nalemo with nothing to do but return to his ship and depart.
Tue May 17, 2005 1:24 pm
Yea same here ive aways got an ear on the fan fic its a highlight of my day 
.
Sad but true
A 8 man team cant defeat a science research center filled with who knows what that have already killed 500 people....
If your biggest gun doesnt work first then drop it and run like heck.....
its a highlight of my day .
Sad but true
A 8 man team cant defeat a science research center filled with who knows what that have already killed 500 people....
If your biggest gun doesnt work first then drop it and run like heck.....
Mon May 23, 2005 2:39 pm
Chapter 8 is ready to go! Feel free to praise or criticize.
Chapter 8
Juni and Trent had were interrupted in the middle of their drinks to participate in a meeting that Orillion was holding to further discuss what the Order could do about the Invaders. Now the two colonels were walking down the hall to the research lab, where the meeting was taking place.
As they reached the lab door at the end of the hall, both Trent and Juni were stopped by a woman dressed in garbs that signified her participation in the Order. She was a very tall woman, probably around six-foot five, with a stern face, in her mid-fifties with graying hair. She was probably a Corsair in her earlier days.
“Identification.” She spoke with a very serious voice.
Juni pulled out her ID first and flashed it toward the other woman, who quickly scanned it with a well-trained eye. She saluted.
“Colonel Zane, you may proceed. Commander Orillion is expecting you.
“Thank you.” Juni pocked her ID card and proceeded through the door. Trent stepped forward, showed his card and also received a salute.
“Colonel Trent, you may proceed.”
Trent entered the research lab.
Like much of the rest of the base, the walls here were coated with a silver-gray alloy that was traditional of libertonian technology. There were tables and shelves strategically scattered throughout the large enclosure, upon which rested books, papers, scientific equipment, alien artifacts, and sitting on one certain table mounted against the wall, a glass case which Trent saw contained a nomad parasite, probably the one which had taken Chancellor Niemann as its host.
Trent approached the table where six other people were gathered, including a corsair, and a bounty hunter, a Blood Dragon, as well as Juni and Kendra Sinclair, now one of the leading scientists of the Order. Trent approached the table and stood in between Juni and Sinclair, exchanging nods. He vaguely wondered just how well Kendra and King’s relationship actually was.
Orillion was obviously very agitated by the Order’s monumental defeats at the hands of the Invaders. He had become somewhat fidgety, and was now susceptible to fits of anger. The majority of his forces had been destroyed within two weeks! Great pilots were unanimously slaughtered when their wits and cunning were overpowered by brute force!
Orillion took a quick glance at Trent and Juni. At least his two best pilots were still with him. He was thankful for that.
Orillion took a deep breath and began the meeting. “Now that everybody is here, we will discuss our…” Orillion paused, carefully choosing his words. “…Problem, with the Invaders.” Orillion stared at the attentive faces of his soldiers. He hated when he had to admit that a foe had the upper hand, which was especially true in this case. “Does anyone have a lead that will help to even the odds?”
For Juni, this was the best time to suggest her theory. “Sir,” she started, “I may have an idea about their technology.”
Everybody gave Juni their full attention as she began to reveal her hypothesis.
“I believe that the Invaders have acquired teleportation technology. I think that’s the reason why they suddenly disappear and reappear in battle.”
There was a murmur of approval among the table.
Sinclair objected. “That’s impossible! No living thing can survive the matter-antimatter explosion required to pull off such a feat! Not to mention the unspeakably large amount of power required!”
“That may be true,” Orillion said, “But the idea that they teleport fits the known data. But even so…” Orillion thought back to his first encounter with the Invaders, “That doesn’t explain why they only flew into the asteroid field during the first attack.”
“Maybe they didn’t want to make a mistake and teleport into an asteroid?” Trent said, half guessing.
There were more murmurs of approval, and Orillion beamed at Trent. “Great observation, Colonel Trent! This will give us a huge advantage.”
“Oh… thanks.” Trent was surprised that his guess was right.
Suddenly the communications speaker burped static, followed by an urgent voice. “Commander Orillion! An Invader battleship has appeared beside the Nomad jumpgate!”
“Go to code red! Evacuate the station!” Orillion shouted back.
“Aye, Sir!” The speaker clicked off.
Orillion dismissed everyone at the table, minus Trent and Jun’ko. He then turned his attention to his two Colonels. “We don’t have enough fighters left to drive them off. We have to get everyone that is left away from here. I want you to protect the transports out of here.”
“Yes, Sir!” Juni saluted.
Trent looked at his fiancée. “Dammit, how can she mindlessly agree to these suicide missions?” Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to let his future wife be taken away from him. He needed to go with her, to cover her back.
Orillion swiftly moved from behind the table. “I’m coming with you on this one. Let’s go! Quickly!”
“I hope my Sabre has been repaired,” Trent said to himself as the trio ran out of the room.
Edited by - Steel_Fang on 8/22/2005 4:28:40 AM
Chapter 8
Juni and Trent had were interrupted in the middle of their drinks to participate in a meeting that Orillion was holding to further discuss what the Order could do about the Invaders. Now the two colonels were walking down the hall to the research lab, where the meeting was taking place.
As they reached the lab door at the end of the hall, both Trent and Juni were stopped by a woman dressed in garbs that signified her participation in the Order. She was a very tall woman, probably around six-foot five, with a stern face, in her mid-fifties with graying hair. She was probably a Corsair in her earlier days.
“Identification.” She spoke with a very serious voice.
Juni pulled out her ID first and flashed it toward the other woman, who quickly scanned it with a well-trained eye. She saluted.
“Colonel Zane, you may proceed. Commander Orillion is expecting you.
“Thank you.” Juni pocked her ID card and proceeded through the door. Trent stepped forward, showed his card and also received a salute.
“Colonel Trent, you may proceed.”
Trent entered the research lab.
Like much of the rest of the base, the walls here were coated with a silver-gray alloy that was traditional of libertonian technology. There were tables and shelves strategically scattered throughout the large enclosure, upon which rested books, papers, scientific equipment, alien artifacts, and sitting on one certain table mounted against the wall, a glass case which Trent saw contained a nomad parasite, probably the one which had taken Chancellor Niemann as its host.
Trent approached the table where six other people were gathered, including a corsair, and a bounty hunter, a Blood Dragon, as well as Juni and Kendra Sinclair, now one of the leading scientists of the Order. Trent approached the table and stood in between Juni and Sinclair, exchanging nods. He vaguely wondered just how well Kendra and King’s relationship actually was.
Orillion was obviously very agitated by the Order’s monumental defeats at the hands of the Invaders. He had become somewhat fidgety, and was now susceptible to fits of anger. The majority of his forces had been destroyed within two weeks! Great pilots were unanimously slaughtered when their wits and cunning were overpowered by brute force!
Orillion took a quick glance at Trent and Juni. At least his two best pilots were still with him. He was thankful for that.
Orillion took a deep breath and began the meeting. “Now that everybody is here, we will discuss our…” Orillion paused, carefully choosing his words. “…Problem, with the Invaders.” Orillion stared at the attentive faces of his soldiers. He hated when he had to admit that a foe had the upper hand, which was especially true in this case. “Does anyone have a lead that will help to even the odds?”
For Juni, this was the best time to suggest her theory. “Sir,” she started, “I may have an idea about their technology.”
Everybody gave Juni their full attention as she began to reveal her hypothesis.
“I believe that the Invaders have acquired teleportation technology. I think that’s the reason why they suddenly disappear and reappear in battle.”
There was a murmur of approval among the table.
Sinclair objected. “That’s impossible! No living thing can survive the matter-antimatter explosion required to pull off such a feat! Not to mention the unspeakably large amount of power required!”
“That may be true,” Orillion said, “But the idea that they teleport fits the known data. But even so…” Orillion thought back to his first encounter with the Invaders, “That doesn’t explain why they only flew into the asteroid field during the first attack.”
“Maybe they didn’t want to make a mistake and teleport into an asteroid?” Trent said, half guessing.
There were more murmurs of approval, and Orillion beamed at Trent. “Great observation, Colonel Trent! This will give us a huge advantage.”
“Oh… thanks.” Trent was surprised that his guess was right.
Suddenly the communications speaker burped static, followed by an urgent voice. “Commander Orillion! An Invader battleship has appeared beside the Nomad jumpgate!”
“Go to code red! Evacuate the station!” Orillion shouted back.
“Aye, Sir!” The speaker clicked off.
Orillion dismissed everyone at the table, minus Trent and Jun’ko. He then turned his attention to his two Colonels. “We don’t have enough fighters left to drive them off. We have to get everyone that is left away from here. I want you to protect the transports out of here.”
“Yes, Sir!” Juni saluted.
Trent looked at his fiancée. “Dammit, how can she mindlessly agree to these suicide missions?” Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to let his future wife be taken away from him. He needed to go with her, to cover her back.
Orillion swiftly moved from behind the table. “I’m coming with you on this one. Let’s go! Quickly!”
“I hope my Sabre has been repaired,” Trent said to himself as the trio ran out of the room.
Edited by - Steel_Fang on 8/22/2005 4:28:40 AM
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