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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 May 30, 2005 12:45 pm
After the seemingly endless distractions of graduation, I finally found the time to write the next chaper. Feel free to comment.
Chapter 9
Nomad Jumpgate, Omicron Minor System
The bridge on the Invader battleship Relentless was quite different than those found on the battleships in human fleets. There were no windows, for reasons regarding security and structural integrity. To compensate, large monitors that displayed the ship’s surroundings were mounted on the walls above simplistic instrument panels. Everything was dirty. The floor and walls were smeared with grease, grime, hair, and even splatters of yellow blood where two rival crew members had brutishly engaged each other a few weeks back.
Orad-Porel carelessly spat a rather large gob of saliva onto the deck as he surveyed the monitors. He had not waited for orders to advance the battle group. His eagerness, if not his impatience, had gotten the better of him. This action was against regulations, and he would probably be punished for it, but who knew? If his decision brought a strategic victory, he might be given an exception, maybe even praised.
Through the monitors, Orad-Porel spotted a trail of lights that led into the nebula – the navigation buoys to Planet Toledo. Orad allowed himself a quick thought of how stupid the humans were to do such a thing, and then gave the order to follow the lights. As the engines were ignited, the lights on the bridge dimmed for several seconds before returning to their normal glare, and the deck trembled as the massive ship began to move.
*****
Trent, Juni, and Orillion raced across the landing pad to their ships. As Trent neared his ship, he saw that two engineers standing beside it – the repair crew that he had ordered earlier. Trent ran up to them. “Is my ship fixed?”
The engineer of the left, somewhat distracted by the current situation, began to speak rapidly. “We’ve been working at full speed, sir.” The engineer was obviously eager to leave. “Most of the ship’s been fixed. You have two new engines, a new shield and thruster, but the cargo hold is still ruptured.”
“It’ll have to do. Go, get out of here!”
“Yessir!” said the engineer without hesitation. He shot Trent a salute and quickly ran off.
Juni and Orillion had already taken off by the time that Trent climbed the ladder into the Sabre’s cockpit. He closed the hatch, unlocked the controls, and pushed the ignition key. He heard the reactor whine as it heated the H-fuel within its chambers, followed by the sensation of the entire ship shuddering as the reactor began produce plasma. A quick diagnostic proved that all of the Sabre’s new components had taken. Trent disengaged the levitation pad and headed out into space along with the stragglers who had lagged behind.
*****
Juni exited the docking ring shortly after Orillion and positioned her ship a short distance from the planet. The transports were beginning to depart, heading to the Osiris hidden somewhere in the surrounding nebula. She noticed with much relief that the Invaders had yet to arrive. But she also noted with dismay that there were only a few other fighters.
“We need to hold off the Invaders as long as we can, Colonel Zane.”
“Roger that, sir.”
Juni activated her long range sensors and scanned for approaching ships. The scan came up negative. But she knew that they had to be coming.
Juni ran the scanner again. There - an Invader fighter, coming out of the nebula. Juni held her position; if she flew out to attack it, it could teleport around her and attack the transports. She didn’t want that to happen.
An Invader battleship emerged from the giant chlorine nebula, forcing the noxious green gas to billow outwards as the massive ship pushed it aside. More fighters came out of the nebula. All of them were headed directly for the planet.
Orillion keyed the system-wide comm. “Good luck to us all.”
“Good Luck,” Juni responded.
No sooner than Juni had closed her comm. channel that she heard a THUMP, and an Invader fighter appeared to her right. She took evasive maneuvers, working her Defender to get behind the alien ship before it got a chance to counter her attack. But before Juni was able to take down the fighter, it disappeared with its characteristic red flash and audible boom. Another THUMP and a second fighter popped into existence above her. It turned and pounded away at her shields, which quickly dissipated. Juni felt her ship lurch violently as one of the shots impacted upon her ship’s hull. The alien guns cycled again, and antimatter ate away at the Defender once more. The ship groaned in agony as its frame began to buckle. This dogfight was a death match, and it seemed pretty apparent who was going to emerge victorious.
*****
An impatient Edison Trent at long last emerged form the docking ring, ready to fight for the survival of the retreating humans – and his fiancée. Even though be believed he was prepared for the worst, he was not prepared for what he saw.
“Holy f***!”
The space around Toledo was utter chaos. The Invaders had already arrived, and were currently in the process of whittling the defending forces down into nothing. Trent took a moment to survey the fleeing transports, and was relieved by what he saw: none of the transports were under attack. The Invaders were too busy to pay any attention to them.
A panicked voice came though Trent’s comm. “Edison! Help Me!”
“Jun’ko!” Trent said to himself.
Trent scanned the ship ID tags and located Juni’s Defender. Trent saw that it was in bad shape, and that was all he needed to know.
“Hang on, Juni, I’m coming!”
Trent punched the accelerator and raced towards Juni’s location. As he got closer, he noticed that she was under attack by an Invader fighter. Trent lined up his ship with the alien craft, took careful aim, and slammed the trigger. His guns rained fire down upon the oddly shaped fighter and exploded upon its hull, burrowing into its greasy insides. A critical component was hit, knocking out the ship’s entire power grid. The ship spun wildly out of control, trailing black smoke as its own inertia carried it to the center of the battle, where it was found by stray mine. The mine overcame the ex-fighter’s speed, made physical contact, and blew itself to kingdom come, taking the alien craft with it. With the immediate threat gone, Juni finally had the chance to deploy nanobots, which she did gladly.
Juni sighed with relief over the comm. channel. “Thanks, Edison.”
Orillion suddenly came over the comm. “To all ships, retreat into the nebula. Fly to a random vector, and then change course to the Osiris.
“Affirmative,” Juni said. “Edison, see you at the rendezvous.”
“Alright.” Trent closed the channel.
With all the transports successfully hidden in the nebula, it was time for the fighters to disengage and remove themselves from the battle with best speed. All the remaining fighters broke off their attacks and fled the scene in all different directions. Once well hidden in the nebula, they turned and headed for the Osiris. Once they had all docked, the Osiris activated its cloaking device and disappeared.
Edited by - Steel_Fang on 8/22/2005 4:29:24 AM
Chapter 9
Nomad Jumpgate, Omicron Minor System
The bridge on the Invader battleship Relentless was quite different than those found on the battleships in human fleets. There were no windows, for reasons regarding security and structural integrity. To compensate, large monitors that displayed the ship’s surroundings were mounted on the walls above simplistic instrument panels. Everything was dirty. The floor and walls were smeared with grease, grime, hair, and even splatters of yellow blood where two rival crew members had brutishly engaged each other a few weeks back.
Orad-Porel carelessly spat a rather large gob of saliva onto the deck as he surveyed the monitors. He had not waited for orders to advance the battle group. His eagerness, if not his impatience, had gotten the better of him. This action was against regulations, and he would probably be punished for it, but who knew? If his decision brought a strategic victory, he might be given an exception, maybe even praised.
Through the monitors, Orad-Porel spotted a trail of lights that led into the nebula – the navigation buoys to Planet Toledo. Orad allowed himself a quick thought of how stupid the humans were to do such a thing, and then gave the order to follow the lights. As the engines were ignited, the lights on the bridge dimmed for several seconds before returning to their normal glare, and the deck trembled as the massive ship began to move.
*****
Trent, Juni, and Orillion raced across the landing pad to their ships. As Trent neared his ship, he saw that two engineers standing beside it – the repair crew that he had ordered earlier. Trent ran up to them. “Is my ship fixed?”
The engineer of the left, somewhat distracted by the current situation, began to speak rapidly. “We’ve been working at full speed, sir.” The engineer was obviously eager to leave. “Most of the ship’s been fixed. You have two new engines, a new shield and thruster, but the cargo hold is still ruptured.”
“It’ll have to do. Go, get out of here!”
“Yessir!” said the engineer without hesitation. He shot Trent a salute and quickly ran off.
Juni and Orillion had already taken off by the time that Trent climbed the ladder into the Sabre’s cockpit. He closed the hatch, unlocked the controls, and pushed the ignition key. He heard the reactor whine as it heated the H-fuel within its chambers, followed by the sensation of the entire ship shuddering as the reactor began produce plasma. A quick diagnostic proved that all of the Sabre’s new components had taken. Trent disengaged the levitation pad and headed out into space along with the stragglers who had lagged behind.
*****
Juni exited the docking ring shortly after Orillion and positioned her ship a short distance from the planet. The transports were beginning to depart, heading to the Osiris hidden somewhere in the surrounding nebula. She noticed with much relief that the Invaders had yet to arrive. But she also noted with dismay that there were only a few other fighters.
“We need to hold off the Invaders as long as we can, Colonel Zane.”
“Roger that, sir.”
Juni activated her long range sensors and scanned for approaching ships. The scan came up negative. But she knew that they had to be coming.
Juni ran the scanner again. There - an Invader fighter, coming out of the nebula. Juni held her position; if she flew out to attack it, it could teleport around her and attack the transports. She didn’t want that to happen.
An Invader battleship emerged from the giant chlorine nebula, forcing the noxious green gas to billow outwards as the massive ship pushed it aside. More fighters came out of the nebula. All of them were headed directly for the planet.
Orillion keyed the system-wide comm. “Good luck to us all.”
“Good Luck,” Juni responded.
No sooner than Juni had closed her comm. channel that she heard a THUMP, and an Invader fighter appeared to her right. She took evasive maneuvers, working her Defender to get behind the alien ship before it got a chance to counter her attack. But before Juni was able to take down the fighter, it disappeared with its characteristic red flash and audible boom. Another THUMP and a second fighter popped into existence above her. It turned and pounded away at her shields, which quickly dissipated. Juni felt her ship lurch violently as one of the shots impacted upon her ship’s hull. The alien guns cycled again, and antimatter ate away at the Defender once more. The ship groaned in agony as its frame began to buckle. This dogfight was a death match, and it seemed pretty apparent who was going to emerge victorious.
*****
An impatient Edison Trent at long last emerged form the docking ring, ready to fight for the survival of the retreating humans – and his fiancée. Even though be believed he was prepared for the worst, he was not prepared for what he saw.
“Holy f***!”
The space around Toledo was utter chaos. The Invaders had already arrived, and were currently in the process of whittling the defending forces down into nothing. Trent took a moment to survey the fleeing transports, and was relieved by what he saw: none of the transports were under attack. The Invaders were too busy to pay any attention to them.
A panicked voice came though Trent’s comm. “Edison! Help Me!”
“Jun’ko!” Trent said to himself.
Trent scanned the ship ID tags and located Juni’s Defender. Trent saw that it was in bad shape, and that was all he needed to know.
“Hang on, Juni, I’m coming!”
Trent punched the accelerator and raced towards Juni’s location. As he got closer, he noticed that she was under attack by an Invader fighter. Trent lined up his ship with the alien craft, took careful aim, and slammed the trigger. His guns rained fire down upon the oddly shaped fighter and exploded upon its hull, burrowing into its greasy insides. A critical component was hit, knocking out the ship’s entire power grid. The ship spun wildly out of control, trailing black smoke as its own inertia carried it to the center of the battle, where it was found by stray mine. The mine overcame the ex-fighter’s speed, made physical contact, and blew itself to kingdom come, taking the alien craft with it. With the immediate threat gone, Juni finally had the chance to deploy nanobots, which she did gladly.
Juni sighed with relief over the comm. channel. “Thanks, Edison.”
Orillion suddenly came over the comm. “To all ships, retreat into the nebula. Fly to a random vector, and then change course to the Osiris.
“Affirmative,” Juni said. “Edison, see you at the rendezvous.”
“Alright.” Trent closed the channel.
With all the transports successfully hidden in the nebula, it was time for the fighters to disengage and remove themselves from the battle with best speed. All the remaining fighters broke off their attacks and fled the scene in all different directions. Once well hidden in the nebula, they turned and headed for the Osiris. Once they had all docked, the Osiris activated its cloaking device and disappeared.
Edited by - Steel_Fang on 8/22/2005 4:29:24 AM
Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:01 am
A new chapter has arrived, and a new character is introduced. Enjoy!
Chapter 10
Battleship Osiris, Omicron Minor System.
The docking bay of the Osiris was crammed with so many ships that Trent found it difficult to navigate between them. He doubted that there was room for even one more. After some wandering, he finally found a wall and followed it to the main exit. Juni was already there, conversing with Orillion. Trent picked up on their conversation as he approached.
“…I understand your intentions, sir, but is there a way we can do it without throwing everyone into a panic?”
“I think that a mass panic is practically unavoidable now, colonel. But for now, I think that we should only notify the leaders of the houses.”
Juni sighed. “Yes, sir.” Out of the corner of her eye, Juni saw Trent approaching and beckoned him over.
“So, what’re we going to do now?” Trent asked as he joined the conversation.
“There’s not much we can do, Colonel Trent,” Orillion started, “but for the moment we are going to notify the houses of these ‘Invaders’.” He took a breath and looked at his two trustworthy supporters. “We are going to take a nearby jumphole to Omicron Theta and dock with Freeport 9. Once there, my people will contact the Leaders of the houses, including the Outcasts and Corsairs.” A look of worry crossed Orillion’s face. “We need all the help we can get.”
*****
Orad-Porel stood on the bridge, looking in disgust at the retreating human fleet. The stupid cowardly S.O.B.s, why didn’t they stay and fight? Anybody could take the easy way out and run away, but what good would that do? That just made them fish in a shrinking barrel. But still, Orad thought, the worms might prove themselves to be an enemy worthy of a challenge. Their retreat had proven to be quite ingenious. With every ship felling in a different direction, they had given no hint of there they were going. While this would slow Orad’s pursuit, it would no stop it. There were people on his ship that knew how to find out were the humans had gone.
Orad-Porel’s mulling was interrupted when he heard the bridge door open behind him. There was a pause, followed a slow, steady THUD…THUD… Orad felt the deck tremble slightly in unison with the heavy rhythm, which only lasted for four repetitions. Another pause, and a deep, growling voice uttered a single word.
“Sir”
Orad-Porel knew all too well who had just stepped onto the bridge. He turned around and found himself looking at the massive figure kneeling in salute that was Ranes-Une-Teral. Only a few years younger than Orad-Porel, Ranes was an utter behemoth. Measuring more than thirteen feet from head to toe, the soldier was almost twice as tall as an Invader of average height. He had proven to be an accomplished soldier on several occasions, and while Ranes was not an official messenger, Orad preferred to have him deliver news. It made Orad feel smug to know that he controlled a being so large.
Growing up, Rames had always been tall for his age, but as other Invaders his age reached maturity and attained their full height, Rames just kept growing…and growing…and growing. His height steadily increased over time, and continued to the present day. The reason for Rames’ continuous growth was unknown, and what medics there were could not diagnose the problem (the Invader society was not very advanced in the medical field; a human doctor could have quickly found that Rames’ excessive growth was directly related to a cancerous pituitary gland).
A slight smile trickled across Orad-Porel’s face as he allowed Rames to rise. The soldier was so tall that he had to stoop forward to prevent his head from hitting the ceiling.
Orad spoke with deliberate slowness. “Tell me, Rames-Une-Teral, on what occasion do you come to see me?”
Rames’ rumbling voice filled the room. “Sir, the landing crew is ready to descend onto the planet.” Rames pointed to a display screen that displayed planet Toledo within its borders. Orad paid no attention to this act. “They wish to know when they can land on the planet.”
Orad-Porel rubbed his hands together. “Excellent. Tell them they have my permission to leave immediately. You are dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.” Rames acknowledged the order.
Orad turned away and returned his attention to the display screens, until he realized that Rames had not budged from his spot. Orad turned around again. “Is there something else you wanted to say?”
Rames’ face showed no expression. “Yes, sir. Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo, a representative of Master Selestren-Kulam, is here, sir. He wishes to speak with you.”
Chapter 10
Battleship Osiris, Omicron Minor System.
The docking bay of the Osiris was crammed with so many ships that Trent found it difficult to navigate between them. He doubted that there was room for even one more. After some wandering, he finally found a wall and followed it to the main exit. Juni was already there, conversing with Orillion. Trent picked up on their conversation as he approached.
“…I understand your intentions, sir, but is there a way we can do it without throwing everyone into a panic?”
“I think that a mass panic is practically unavoidable now, colonel. But for now, I think that we should only notify the leaders of the houses.”
Juni sighed. “Yes, sir.” Out of the corner of her eye, Juni saw Trent approaching and beckoned him over.
“So, what’re we going to do now?” Trent asked as he joined the conversation.
“There’s not much we can do, Colonel Trent,” Orillion started, “but for the moment we are going to notify the houses of these ‘Invaders’.” He took a breath and looked at his two trustworthy supporters. “We are going to take a nearby jumphole to Omicron Theta and dock with Freeport 9. Once there, my people will contact the Leaders of the houses, including the Outcasts and Corsairs.” A look of worry crossed Orillion’s face. “We need all the help we can get.”
*****
Orad-Porel stood on the bridge, looking in disgust at the retreating human fleet. The stupid cowardly S.O.B.s, why didn’t they stay and fight? Anybody could take the easy way out and run away, but what good would that do? That just made them fish in a shrinking barrel. But still, Orad thought, the worms might prove themselves to be an enemy worthy of a challenge. Their retreat had proven to be quite ingenious. With every ship felling in a different direction, they had given no hint of there they were going. While this would slow Orad’s pursuit, it would no stop it. There were people on his ship that knew how to find out were the humans had gone.
Orad-Porel’s mulling was interrupted when he heard the bridge door open behind him. There was a pause, followed a slow, steady THUD…THUD… Orad felt the deck tremble slightly in unison with the heavy rhythm, which only lasted for four repetitions. Another pause, and a deep, growling voice uttered a single word.
“Sir”
Orad-Porel knew all too well who had just stepped onto the bridge. He turned around and found himself looking at the massive figure kneeling in salute that was Ranes-Une-Teral. Only a few years younger than Orad-Porel, Ranes was an utter behemoth. Measuring more than thirteen feet from head to toe, the soldier was almost twice as tall as an Invader of average height. He had proven to be an accomplished soldier on several occasions, and while Ranes was not an official messenger, Orad preferred to have him deliver news. It made Orad feel smug to know that he controlled a being so large.
Growing up, Rames had always been tall for his age, but as other Invaders his age reached maturity and attained their full height, Rames just kept growing…and growing…and growing. His height steadily increased over time, and continued to the present day. The reason for Rames’ continuous growth was unknown, and what medics there were could not diagnose the problem (the Invader society was not very advanced in the medical field; a human doctor could have quickly found that Rames’ excessive growth was directly related to a cancerous pituitary gland).
A slight smile trickled across Orad-Porel’s face as he allowed Rames to rise. The soldier was so tall that he had to stoop forward to prevent his head from hitting the ceiling.
Orad spoke with deliberate slowness. “Tell me, Rames-Une-Teral, on what occasion do you come to see me?”
Rames’ rumbling voice filled the room. “Sir, the landing crew is ready to descend onto the planet.” Rames pointed to a display screen that displayed planet Toledo within its borders. Orad paid no attention to this act. “They wish to know when they can land on the planet.”
Orad-Porel rubbed his hands together. “Excellent. Tell them they have my permission to leave immediately. You are dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.” Rames acknowledged the order.
Orad turned away and returned his attention to the display screens, until he realized that Rames had not budged from his spot. Orad turned around again. “Is there something else you wanted to say?”
Rames’ face showed no expression. “Yes, sir. Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo, a representative of Master Selestren-Kulam, is here, sir. He wishes to speak with you.”
Sat Jun 11, 2005 5:06 pm
I am posting the next chapter early as I am going to be out of town the next few days. Consider the last segment of this chapter as a 'bonus' section, I wrote it only for amusement 
Have fun!
Chapter 11
Battleship Relentless, Omicron Minor system
Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo was furious that Orad-Porel had moved the fleet without orders.
“What the names of the almighty gods were you thinking when you made such a rash decision, Orad-Porel?!”
“I was thinking about victory,” replied Orad. The captain had had experience with angry superiors before, and knew how to deal with them, keeping his answers short and to the point. With luck, he would be able to quickly weasel himself out of trouble.
Nalemo glared into Orad’s eyes. “Victory? Victory is not an excuse to shrug off orders and regulations. Although you might have achieved victory here, the actions you took to achieve it pose as a risk to our customs and society.”
“Hmm,” Orad-Porel thought, “He’s a lot smarter than he looks.” Most of Orad-Porel’s superiors would not have seen such risks and would have agreed that victory was all that mattered. “I need to change the direction that this argument is headed.”
“Sir?” Orad interrupted, “are you familiar with the battle code?”
Nalemo eyed Orad warily. “Of course I’m familiar with the battle code. Everybody is familiar with the battle code. What about it?”
Orad scratched his neck thoughtfully. “The battle code states that orders and regulations should be followed to the letter.” A grin slowly spread across his elongated head. “But does the battle code not also state that there is no place for chivalry in battle?”
Nalemo opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped. He saw where Orad was coming from. For the topic at hand, these two parts of the code conflicted with each other. He had never noticed that.
“You see what I mean?” said a confident Orad-Porel. “If I had stayed and waited for the orders to pursue the humans, they would be given time to regroup while we sat here and did nothing. That would be chivalry. As for the decision that I made, I prevented them from regrouping, although I failed to follow regulations. And if you want MY opinion,” Orad added, crossing his arms, “I believe I made the wiser choice.”
Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo closed is eyes and sighed. Orad-Porel had just proven that he was much more intelligent than Nalemo had suspected. “Very well,” he finally said. “I will tell Master Selestren-Kulam that your punishment is null. However, tell your men that this example is NOT to be followed. You are dismissed.”
*****
“This is Freeport 9 to unknown vessel. Identify yourself,” said the female docking officer to the Osiris.
“This is Orillion, captain of the Order battleship Osiris. We are in dire need to moor with your station, over.”
There was a pause. “Roger that, Osiris. One moment, hold your position, over.” The comm. link fell silent.
Orillion shook his head. No doubt that the docking officer was discussing with her superior of what to do with Orillion’s request. Like all other factions, the Zoners knew little about the Order. Would they be a threat to the station? How would the Bounty Hunters react to their presence? Orillion knew all too well that the houses had a very large bounty on his head, so it was very likely that he would not be leaving the ship during the time that was here. After the war with the nomads, the silence of the governments about the Order made no chance to the public outlook on the faction that saved all of Sirius from genocide.
The comm. system came back to life. “Order ship Osiris, you are clear for moor 1, over.”
“Roger that, Freeport 9. Over and out.” Orillion was relieved that the Zoners were giving him hospitality. Now that that issue was taken care of, Orillion ran a mental checklist of what he had to do. He had already posted guards at the jumphole to Omicron Minor, so he would quickly be notified of any alien hostiles. Now he needed to contact the leaders of the houses and criminal elements, and maybe some old friends…
*****
Rames-Une-Teral stepped off the landing boat and onto the snow-covered ground near a now-abandoned human base on the planet Toledo. He took a deep breath of air, filling his lungs with its aroma. The air here smelled so fresh, he thought. This world, so much smaller than the Invaders’ home planet, was starting to feel like a paradise. The gravity here was so much smaller than what Rames was used to. He was so large that the gravity he was familiar with was always straining on his body. But here, he felt so light. He took a step forward, enjoying sensation of just how little energy it took to move. He looked at the other Invaders around him, and saw that they were taking the pleasure of microgravity to its fullest. Here, they could run almost twice as fast as before, and jump as high as four times their own height! Everyone was energetic here.
The wind started blowing slightly, and a strange, yet familiar smell wafted from the human base and into Rames’ nose. It smelled like meat. He loved meat. Evolution had shown the Invaders to be carnivores with ferocious appetites, and the smell of food sent Rames-une-Teral in a steady run, his purple tongue running over his sharp teeth as he approached the source of the sweet odor. By this time the other Invaders had detected the aroma, and were also approaching the human base. Rames smiled as he sped ahead of them. He wanted the food first.
As Rames stepped onto the landing pad, he narrowed the source of the smell down to a vent in the rock wall located on the east side of the base (This vent led to the kitchens, where a box of red meats that was being prepared for an Outcast celebration had fallen from its resting place on the table, spilling its contents onto the floor). Keeping the other Invaders at bay, Rames ripped off the vent cover and peered eagerly inside, hoping to find what he sought. But there was nothing there. Not to be disappointed, Rames thrust his muscular arm into the vent, hoping that the food was only a little farther back. Nothing. Now Rames was getting mad. He began tearing away at the vent opening, widening the hole. Once the vent opening was large enough, Rames stuck his nose inside and sniffed. The meat was definitely down there, but there was no way that he would be getting to it from here. Rames withdrew his nose from the vent and started searching for another way into the base.
It wasn’t long before Rames found several other Invaders attempting to break down the main doors of the underground fortification with no success. Rames approached, smiling. Without a word, he pushed the other Invaders out of the way, crouched down, and aimed a left hook at the door. Flesh and bone met metal with a loud BANG, and the door started to give way. Another punch and the doors were seriously deformed. Satified that the doors were sufficiently weakened, Rames-Une-Teral grasped their edges and peeled them away. Rames quickly entered the base, searching for the meat that he desired. It wasn’t long before he picked up the scent, and after tearing down doors and shoving objects out of his way, he soon found himself in the kitchen, staring at the red slices of flesh that he has sought. Rames picked up the meat and began to tear chunks out of the food, and for once he had no work, no duties, no worries…this WAS a paradise.
Have fun!
Chapter 11
Battleship Relentless, Omicron Minor system
Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo was furious that Orad-Porel had moved the fleet without orders.
“What the names of the almighty gods were you thinking when you made such a rash decision, Orad-Porel?!”
“I was thinking about victory,” replied Orad. The captain had had experience with angry superiors before, and knew how to deal with them, keeping his answers short and to the point. With luck, he would be able to quickly weasel himself out of trouble.
Nalemo glared into Orad’s eyes. “Victory? Victory is not an excuse to shrug off orders and regulations. Although you might have achieved victory here, the actions you took to achieve it pose as a risk to our customs and society.”
“Hmm,” Orad-Porel thought, “He’s a lot smarter than he looks.” Most of Orad-Porel’s superiors would not have seen such risks and would have agreed that victory was all that mattered. “I need to change the direction that this argument is headed.”
“Sir?” Orad interrupted, “are you familiar with the battle code?”
Nalemo eyed Orad warily. “Of course I’m familiar with the battle code. Everybody is familiar with the battle code. What about it?”
Orad scratched his neck thoughtfully. “The battle code states that orders and regulations should be followed to the letter.” A grin slowly spread across his elongated head. “But does the battle code not also state that there is no place for chivalry in battle?”
Nalemo opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped. He saw where Orad was coming from. For the topic at hand, these two parts of the code conflicted with each other. He had never noticed that.
“You see what I mean?” said a confident Orad-Porel. “If I had stayed and waited for the orders to pursue the humans, they would be given time to regroup while we sat here and did nothing. That would be chivalry. As for the decision that I made, I prevented them from regrouping, although I failed to follow regulations. And if you want MY opinion,” Orad added, crossing his arms, “I believe I made the wiser choice.”
Jori-Def-Olen-Nalemo closed is eyes and sighed. Orad-Porel had just proven that he was much more intelligent than Nalemo had suspected. “Very well,” he finally said. “I will tell Master Selestren-Kulam that your punishment is null. However, tell your men that this example is NOT to be followed. You are dismissed.”
*****
“This is Freeport 9 to unknown vessel. Identify yourself,” said the female docking officer to the Osiris.
“This is Orillion, captain of the Order battleship Osiris. We are in dire need to moor with your station, over.”
There was a pause. “Roger that, Osiris. One moment, hold your position, over.” The comm. link fell silent.
Orillion shook his head. No doubt that the docking officer was discussing with her superior of what to do with Orillion’s request. Like all other factions, the Zoners knew little about the Order. Would they be a threat to the station? How would the Bounty Hunters react to their presence? Orillion knew all too well that the houses had a very large bounty on his head, so it was very likely that he would not be leaving the ship during the time that was here. After the war with the nomads, the silence of the governments about the Order made no chance to the public outlook on the faction that saved all of Sirius from genocide.
The comm. system came back to life. “Order ship Osiris, you are clear for moor 1, over.”
“Roger that, Freeport 9. Over and out.” Orillion was relieved that the Zoners were giving him hospitality. Now that that issue was taken care of, Orillion ran a mental checklist of what he had to do. He had already posted guards at the jumphole to Omicron Minor, so he would quickly be notified of any alien hostiles. Now he needed to contact the leaders of the houses and criminal elements, and maybe some old friends…
*****
Rames-Une-Teral stepped off the landing boat and onto the snow-covered ground near a now-abandoned human base on the planet Toledo. He took a deep breath of air, filling his lungs with its aroma. The air here smelled so fresh, he thought. This world, so much smaller than the Invaders’ home planet, was starting to feel like a paradise. The gravity here was so much smaller than what Rames was used to. He was so large that the gravity he was familiar with was always straining on his body. But here, he felt so light. He took a step forward, enjoying sensation of just how little energy it took to move. He looked at the other Invaders around him, and saw that they were taking the pleasure of microgravity to its fullest. Here, they could run almost twice as fast as before, and jump as high as four times their own height! Everyone was energetic here.
The wind started blowing slightly, and a strange, yet familiar smell wafted from the human base and into Rames’ nose. It smelled like meat. He loved meat. Evolution had shown the Invaders to be carnivores with ferocious appetites, and the smell of food sent Rames-une-Teral in a steady run, his purple tongue running over his sharp teeth as he approached the source of the sweet odor. By this time the other Invaders had detected the aroma, and were also approaching the human base. Rames smiled as he sped ahead of them. He wanted the food first.
As Rames stepped onto the landing pad, he narrowed the source of the smell down to a vent in the rock wall located on the east side of the base (This vent led to the kitchens, where a box of red meats that was being prepared for an Outcast celebration had fallen from its resting place on the table, spilling its contents onto the floor). Keeping the other Invaders at bay, Rames ripped off the vent cover and peered eagerly inside, hoping to find what he sought. But there was nothing there. Not to be disappointed, Rames thrust his muscular arm into the vent, hoping that the food was only a little farther back. Nothing. Now Rames was getting mad. He began tearing away at the vent opening, widening the hole. Once the vent opening was large enough, Rames stuck his nose inside and sniffed. The meat was definitely down there, but there was no way that he would be getting to it from here. Rames withdrew his nose from the vent and started searching for another way into the base.
It wasn’t long before Rames found several other Invaders attempting to break down the main doors of the underground fortification with no success. Rames approached, smiling. Without a word, he pushed the other Invaders out of the way, crouched down, and aimed a left hook at the door. Flesh and bone met metal with a loud BANG, and the door started to give way. Another punch and the doors were seriously deformed. Satified that the doors were sufficiently weakened, Rames-Une-Teral grasped their edges and peeled them away. Rames quickly entered the base, searching for the meat that he desired. It wasn’t long before he picked up the scent, and after tearing down doors and shoving objects out of his way, he soon found himself in the kitchen, staring at the red slices of flesh that he has sought. Rames picked up the meat and began to tear chunks out of the food, and for once he had no work, no duties, no worries…this WAS a paradise.
Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:15 am
Heres the next chapter, if only part of it. My schedule has been kind of hectic lately. Feel free to read and review.
Chapter 12, Part 1
Omicron Minor Jumphole, Omicron Theta system. 2 days later
Jessica Palimer was one of the two Order fighters that floated silently among the asteroids beside the jumphole to Omicron Minor. Needless to say, she was incredibly bored. She was three hours into her shift, and there was no sign of the Invaders. Her eyes were so tired; Jessica leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, just to rest them for a bit, but her consciousness started to fade…
“Don’t fall asleep on me, Jessica.”
Jessica’s eyes fluttered back open. Sleepily, she leaned forward and pressed the comm. button. “Thanks Drew.”
“Anytime.” The comm. clicked off.
Drew and Jessica Palimer were siblings, and anyone that saw how they interacted with each other could easily see that fact. From the start, they had always been inseparable. They had grown up together, graduated from school together, and had found similar jobs in the Liberty Navy before they came to the Order after the nomad incursion. Although they didn’t always act the same, they always knew what the other was thinking. And right now, Drew could tell that Jessica was about to doze off.
Jessica sat up and lightly slapped her face to keep herself stimulated. It was essential for her to stay awake. Trying to keep herself busy, Jessica ran another scan on the jumphole. The resulting data showed that the anomaly was phase-aligned, but the gravitational fluctuations were well within the idle range. Nothing was about to come through. Jessica sighed and opened a comm. link to her brother across the way.
“Hey… Drew?” Jessica said into the microphone. What she got in response was only an audible grunt, but she knew that he was listening, and continued to speak. “I was wondering… what’s going to happen if the Invaders keep advancing like this? What’s going to happen to us?”
There was silence over the comm., and then Jessica heard Drew speak. “It’s a possibility that the remaining sleeper ships could be launched to start a new colony elsewhere. But they can only carry twenty thousand people. Even with the three ships that remain, they can hold barely a fraction of the total Sirius population. Everyone else will have to stay behind.”
Jessica let out an aggravated sigh. “Man, this war reeks. I never knew that fights could be so one-sided.” Suddenly a thought hit her. “Do you think that they could be the Dom Kavash?”
“I have no idea, but I have a feeling that they aren’t Dom Kavash. I mean, if you look at the technology… hang on.” Drew’s scanner had just blared a warning. Drew’s eyes grew wide. “Energy levels inside the jumphole just spiked. Something’s coming through!”
Jessica woke up rather quickly after hearing that. She bolted upright in her seat and charged her weapon systems, intently focused on the jumphole. It wasn’t long before she saw a small red ship emerge.
“I see it! Moving in!” Jessica shouted as her ship automatically tagged the alien craft.
Drew and Jessica had been given standing orders to kill anything that came through the jumphole, and kill they did. The tiny ship didn’t stand a chance as it was struck down by tendrils of fire that erupted from the Order fighters. After a few seconds of continuous bombardment, the ship was out of commission, floating dead in space.
Drew was ecstatic. “Ha-ha-ha! Looks like somebody just lost their bragging rights!”
Jessica smiled at her brother in the comm. window. “Alright, calm down Drew. We need to call someone to tow this thing out of here and have a look at it. This could be a key to turn this war around.”
“Huh? Oh, right, I’ll call the tow.” Drew terminated the comm. link and opened a channel to the Osiris. “Osiris, this Order guard team one-dash-two…”
While Drew arranged for the dead craft to be carried away, Jessica analyzed a three-dimensional model of the alien fighter that her ship’s computer had compiled. This type of craft was new to her. Although it sported the characteristic red chrome armor of the Invader fighters and battleships, it had no weapons, an engine that was small considering the ship’s size, and thrusters that provided very limited maneuverability. Even its shape was out of context; it lacked the sharp fins that were found on other Invader ships, and its enlarged midsection gave it an appearance similar to that of an overfed fish.
The sound of Jessica’s control panel blaring an alert caught its pilot’s attention. The ships sensors had detected an energy spike over twelve-hundred R.E.L.s coming from the downed alien vessel.
Jessica, worried about what was going to happen, backed her ship away and opened a comm. channel to Drew. “Drew, something’s happening to the ship.”
Drew didn’t respond. He was still talking to the Osiris. Meanwhile, the energy spike had increased to twenty-nine-hundred R.E.L.s.
“Drew, do you hear me? We should get away from the ship.” Still no response. The spike continued to climb faster and faster. When the spike reached forty-three-hundred R.E.L.s, a red glow inside the crippled ship could bee seen though the gashes in its hull. Jessica frantically hailed her brother.
“Drew, please hear me! Get away from here now!” she pleaded.
When the energy level inside the ship reached sixty-five-hundred R.E.L.s, the light from inside had brightened to a brilliant red, and an explosion was imminent. Jessica knew that she had to do something to save her brother. Slamming down the throttle, she roared towards her brother’s idle ship with the intention to push it to safety. But her heroism came too late.
The mysterious alien craft exploded with the force of a small nuclear bomb. All that Jessica could see was a blinding white light as her shields flared in the blast before they collapsed an instant later. Her Anubis was pushed back violently, and Jessica’s head snapped forward and slammed into the instrument panel. The impact knocked her out.
When Jessica finally came to, she was slumped forward on her seat her, head resting on the instrument panel. As she pulled up her head, a sudden pain in her forehead made her wince. While Jessica was unconscious, blood had trickled out of a large cut in her forehead and had ended up fusing the wound to the instrument panel as it dried. The cut resumed bleeding as the fresh scab was painfully removed. Jessica held a hand to her bleeding forehead and looked around, trying to figure out what had happened.
“The ship…Drew…” Jessica was instantly overcome by a wave of panic. Drew! Jessica snapped upright and activated her comm. system, which thankfully was still working. “Drew! Are you there? Answer me!” Only static came through. Jessica prayed that only Drew’s comm. system was down. She tried to scan for her brother’s ship, only to discover that the sensory equipment was nonfunctional. Now desperate, she ignited her engines and after a few attempts, managed to turn them over. Her damaged ship emitted a warning that the fuel tank was leaking and reported multiple breaches in the hull, but Jessica ignored it. She gently fed the engines and was rewarded when her Anubis started to move forward.
The explosion had pushed everything away from around the jumphole, leaving a large clearing that was only occupied by a thin layer of dark matter. Jessica slowly drifted around the perimeter of this area, looking for any signs of Drew. As she approached the charred face of a particularly large asteroid, she saw something glint on its carbonized surface.
“Oh god, please, no…” Jessica pleaded as she moved closer. But to great anguish, her suspicions were confirmed.
The force of the explosion had sent Drew’s fighter careening into the asteroid, crushing it on impact. The cockpit had been totally destroyed and the fighter had broken into hundreds of pieces and were scattered across the surface of the asteroid. But Jessica didn’t see any of this. All that she saw was her brother’s lifeless body laying next the obliterated ship. Even from this distance, Jessica could see the tears in the fabric of the vac suit and the jagged holes in the reflective visor…
Jessica was undoubtedly a very strong-spirited woman. She had coped with the loss of her friends, her coworkers, and her relatives, but now, with the loss of her brother, she was no longer able to contain emotions that had been welling up in her for the past three weeks. She brought her ship to a stop and finally, at long last, broke down and cried.
Chapter 12, Part 1
Omicron Minor Jumphole, Omicron Theta system. 2 days later
Jessica Palimer was one of the two Order fighters that floated silently among the asteroids beside the jumphole to Omicron Minor. Needless to say, she was incredibly bored. She was three hours into her shift, and there was no sign of the Invaders. Her eyes were so tired; Jessica leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, just to rest them for a bit, but her consciousness started to fade…
“Don’t fall asleep on me, Jessica.”
Jessica’s eyes fluttered back open. Sleepily, she leaned forward and pressed the comm. button. “Thanks Drew.”
“Anytime.” The comm. clicked off.
Drew and Jessica Palimer were siblings, and anyone that saw how they interacted with each other could easily see that fact. From the start, they had always been inseparable. They had grown up together, graduated from school together, and had found similar jobs in the Liberty Navy before they came to the Order after the nomad incursion. Although they didn’t always act the same, they always knew what the other was thinking. And right now, Drew could tell that Jessica was about to doze off.
Jessica sat up and lightly slapped her face to keep herself stimulated. It was essential for her to stay awake. Trying to keep herself busy, Jessica ran another scan on the jumphole. The resulting data showed that the anomaly was phase-aligned, but the gravitational fluctuations were well within the idle range. Nothing was about to come through. Jessica sighed and opened a comm. link to her brother across the way.
“Hey… Drew?” Jessica said into the microphone. What she got in response was only an audible grunt, but she knew that he was listening, and continued to speak. “I was wondering… what’s going to happen if the Invaders keep advancing like this? What’s going to happen to us?”
There was silence over the comm., and then Jessica heard Drew speak. “It’s a possibility that the remaining sleeper ships could be launched to start a new colony elsewhere. But they can only carry twenty thousand people. Even with the three ships that remain, they can hold barely a fraction of the total Sirius population. Everyone else will have to stay behind.”
Jessica let out an aggravated sigh. “Man, this war reeks. I never knew that fights could be so one-sided.” Suddenly a thought hit her. “Do you think that they could be the Dom Kavash?”
“I have no idea, but I have a feeling that they aren’t Dom Kavash. I mean, if you look at the technology… hang on.” Drew’s scanner had just blared a warning. Drew’s eyes grew wide. “Energy levels inside the jumphole just spiked. Something’s coming through!”
Jessica woke up rather quickly after hearing that. She bolted upright in her seat and charged her weapon systems, intently focused on the jumphole. It wasn’t long before she saw a small red ship emerge.
“I see it! Moving in!” Jessica shouted as her ship automatically tagged the alien craft.
Drew and Jessica had been given standing orders to kill anything that came through the jumphole, and kill they did. The tiny ship didn’t stand a chance as it was struck down by tendrils of fire that erupted from the Order fighters. After a few seconds of continuous bombardment, the ship was out of commission, floating dead in space.
Drew was ecstatic. “Ha-ha-ha! Looks like somebody just lost their bragging rights!”
Jessica smiled at her brother in the comm. window. “Alright, calm down Drew. We need to call someone to tow this thing out of here and have a look at it. This could be a key to turn this war around.”
“Huh? Oh, right, I’ll call the tow.” Drew terminated the comm. link and opened a channel to the Osiris. “Osiris, this Order guard team one-dash-two…”
While Drew arranged for the dead craft to be carried away, Jessica analyzed a three-dimensional model of the alien fighter that her ship’s computer had compiled. This type of craft was new to her. Although it sported the characteristic red chrome armor of the Invader fighters and battleships, it had no weapons, an engine that was small considering the ship’s size, and thrusters that provided very limited maneuverability. Even its shape was out of context; it lacked the sharp fins that were found on other Invader ships, and its enlarged midsection gave it an appearance similar to that of an overfed fish.
The sound of Jessica’s control panel blaring an alert caught its pilot’s attention. The ships sensors had detected an energy spike over twelve-hundred R.E.L.s coming from the downed alien vessel.
Jessica, worried about what was going to happen, backed her ship away and opened a comm. channel to Drew. “Drew, something’s happening to the ship.”
Drew didn’t respond. He was still talking to the Osiris. Meanwhile, the energy spike had increased to twenty-nine-hundred R.E.L.s.
“Drew, do you hear me? We should get away from the ship.” Still no response. The spike continued to climb faster and faster. When the spike reached forty-three-hundred R.E.L.s, a red glow inside the crippled ship could bee seen though the gashes in its hull. Jessica frantically hailed her brother.
“Drew, please hear me! Get away from here now!” she pleaded.
When the energy level inside the ship reached sixty-five-hundred R.E.L.s, the light from inside had brightened to a brilliant red, and an explosion was imminent. Jessica knew that she had to do something to save her brother. Slamming down the throttle, she roared towards her brother’s idle ship with the intention to push it to safety. But her heroism came too late.
The mysterious alien craft exploded with the force of a small nuclear bomb. All that Jessica could see was a blinding white light as her shields flared in the blast before they collapsed an instant later. Her Anubis was pushed back violently, and Jessica’s head snapped forward and slammed into the instrument panel. The impact knocked her out.
When Jessica finally came to, she was slumped forward on her seat her, head resting on the instrument panel. As she pulled up her head, a sudden pain in her forehead made her wince. While Jessica was unconscious, blood had trickled out of a large cut in her forehead and had ended up fusing the wound to the instrument panel as it dried. The cut resumed bleeding as the fresh scab was painfully removed. Jessica held a hand to her bleeding forehead and looked around, trying to figure out what had happened.
“The ship…Drew…” Jessica was instantly overcome by a wave of panic. Drew! Jessica snapped upright and activated her comm. system, which thankfully was still working. “Drew! Are you there? Answer me!” Only static came through. Jessica prayed that only Drew’s comm. system was down. She tried to scan for her brother’s ship, only to discover that the sensory equipment was nonfunctional. Now desperate, she ignited her engines and after a few attempts, managed to turn them over. Her damaged ship emitted a warning that the fuel tank was leaking and reported multiple breaches in the hull, but Jessica ignored it. She gently fed the engines and was rewarded when her Anubis started to move forward.
The explosion had pushed everything away from around the jumphole, leaving a large clearing that was only occupied by a thin layer of dark matter. Jessica slowly drifted around the perimeter of this area, looking for any signs of Drew. As she approached the charred face of a particularly large asteroid, she saw something glint on its carbonized surface.
“Oh god, please, no…” Jessica pleaded as she moved closer. But to great anguish, her suspicions were confirmed.
The force of the explosion had sent Drew’s fighter careening into the asteroid, crushing it on impact. The cockpit had been totally destroyed and the fighter had broken into hundreds of pieces and were scattered across the surface of the asteroid. But Jessica didn’t see any of this. All that she saw was her brother’s lifeless body laying next the obliterated ship. Even from this distance, Jessica could see the tears in the fabric of the vac suit and the jagged holes in the reflective visor…
Jessica was undoubtedly a very strong-spirited woman. She had coped with the loss of her friends, her coworkers, and her relatives, but now, with the loss of her brother, she was no longer able to contain emotions that had been welling up in her for the past three weeks. She brought her ship to a stop and finally, at long last, broke down and cried.
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