Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:24 pm by mercz
Prologue Continued
"I have flying experience back in my day fighting the Coalition, and I had practice flying ships of this size in the simulators", said Caesar. He turned towards the chief engineer "You said the secondary engines are still operating right?"
"Yes...” the man stuttered, still looking at Chavez's dead body.
"Good, long range sensors indicate that there are planets suitable for life within this ship’s reach. I'm going to pilot this ship close enough to where we can use the escape pods to get to the planet from there".
"I'm not going", said Carlos "Something feels wrong about this damn place, and I’m going to take my chances with the life-pods… the Hispania can’t take no more…”
Carlos points towards another blip on the hologram, away from Caesar’s choice.
“The radar reads this being more inhabitable than the one you picked. It’s a bit harder for the Hispania to navigate too, it seems, but I think we can take some of the shuttles on the ship and travel to there.”
“Trust me, Carlos”, said Caesar, “we’ll be better off all together on the Hispania and make our way to that planet…”
One of the representatives yells over Caesar.
“It’s a damn trap! They wanted some of us in the rear dead so they could claim for themselves! Are we just going to let them round us all up and kill us?”
"If we weren't of the same nation, I would've of shot you right now", said Caesar, “I doubt any of us would ever do such a thing, but to be realistic that’s something I’d expect from your sort!”
An uneasy silence falls on the ship. Some of the civilians who overheard the conversation begin spreading it amongst others- Though it wasn’t about the possibility of a Coalition saboteur or an Alliance conspiracy- it was one about their very brothers and sisters turning against each other for greed. Fights and verbal insults get thrown around the ship, and slowly, they begin taking sides.
Carlos and Caesar, despite wanting the people to reach an agreement, can’t stop the divide that manages to split the people within hours. They begin talks with the other representatives and come up with a decision. Caesar would take those who wanted to take their chances with the Hispania, and Carlos was appointed to leading the ones who wanted to use the shuttles.
Carlos and Caesar decide to lead the people to safety. Caesar takes the Hispania to the planet he read, and Carlos takes those who wanted to bail to the nearby system. After a while, some shuttles launch from the ship, with Carlos's ship in the lead. He looks at the rear view monitor, and stares at the wounded Hispania limping towards their destination
"May your path lead you to success", he said as he saw the Hispania move away from them.
They stumble across a series of jump holes, and a couple of weeks later the shuttles make contact with a mysterious planet. Carlos gives the go-ahead to land after the scanners indicated it was terrestrial. The shuttles land in a plateau overlooking a valley, and the people rush out of their shuttles and kiss the ground, praising the variety of deities for a successful journey.
Carlos stands looking down into a canyon below, and up into the sky, his eyes passing menacing deserts and mountain tops, and finally to the sky, the first signs of night already showing. The massive green cloud they had traveled through was visible in the sky. He recalled the Hispania going towards a green cloud as well, and silently he hopes the others made it. He looked around at the barren land, and turns towards one of the scientists.
"Amerigo", he starts, "Does this place support any sort of vegetation?"
"Maybe a little", said Amerigo, "But I don't believe we can get enough food for all of us. This terrain looks like its going to be too hard do any large scale agriculture"
"How many food rations do we have left?” asks Carlos
"Very little", said Amerigo, "Most of it was consumed as we journeyed here"
"Any equipment to build some bio-domes in space?” said Carlos.
"No, the shuttle carrying the equipment was destroyed on the Hispania", said Amerigo.
Carlos looked grudgingly at the harsh landscape, and turned back towards Amerigo.
"We'll have to pray that fortune smile upon us...” said Carlos, "We've landed in hell..."
Prologue Pt. 2
Life on the new planet isn’t easy. Within days of landfall, the survivors realize just how hellish the planet is. With little resources, almost half of the original survivors die. The leaders call a meeting to decide the best course of action, and after weeks of tense debate, the Ventru Clan volunteers to sacrifice themselves for the good of the people. Initially, the very thought of cannibalism is rejected, but the Ventru Clan convinces that the future of their people is at stake and the council approves the move. The entire Ventru clan is slaughtered, and the survivors take their share.
The population stabilized, the Hispanians set out to form a government. They elect the politicians and generals who had journeyed on the exodus, and the Council of the Elders was formed. The Elders are well respected for their knowledge of the events preceding the Exodus and the days of the Golden Age of Earth. All the Hispanians look to the Elders for guidance, and soon they laid out their first orders.
The Elders set down quotas of consumption of the supplies they reap from the little agriculture the land managed to sustain. Then the process of naming the planet came up; initially Castilla was considered, but a number of the populace rejected the name. When the Elders questioned these subjects, they revealed themselves to be Italian and French survivors, put on the Hispania as a part of the Alliance's backup plan to have small numbers of each nationality in the other ships in case their respective sleeper ships were destroyed. They argued that they should strive for something that could unite all of them under one banner, not just a Spaniard/ Portuguese one. The Elders decided on a Mediterranean feeling to their new civilization, and eventually the populace agreed upon the name of Crete, which Carlos had brought up, relating the island’s hilly nature to the valley they landed in. They also set down the establishment of the first city, Nova Madrid, and the architects are instructed to construct the buildings within the mountains, as to create a temporary relief from the heat.
The survivors also come across strange ruins dotting the landscape. When the Elders inspect them, they discover that what ever they were, they weren’t human, and instruct the people not to disturb them in anyway.
The Hispanians went from day to day, looking to the skies, hoping for an Alliance ship to come upon them and save them in some way from this hellhole. Days became months, months became years, and years became centuries. Cynicism took root among the populace, many of them rigid in their beliefs of a conspiracy by the other members of the Alliance, or the other Hispanians became widespread. The Hispanians looked inward, forming strong bonds with one another. They well believed that they would never see any trace of humanity again, and set out to make what little they could of that bleak planet.
== 450 years after the arrival of the Liberty Sleeper Ship to the Sirius System ==
"OK", said Julio, "See that rock I put over there?"
"Yea...” said Alberto "And I guess who ever shoots it gets the meat?"
"Yup", said Julio.
The two young boys stand over the remains of a small hawk, why it died was of no concern to them. Neither of them had even the smallest morsel of meat, and neither were about to just give up the bird so easily. They shake hands, and Julio takes the first shot with the small pistol.
The two shoot their pistols in turns, most of the time missing. As Alberto takes his turn firing, Julio looks up at the night sky, and sees a bright light. His teachers had taught him about the star constellations, and he did not recognize that one.
“What the hell is that!” exclaimed Julio.
“If you think that’ll distract me Julio, you got another thing coming! Now shut the hell up!” yelled Alberto angrily.
As Alberto lines up his sights, Julio sees another dim light emerge, and watches as it gets brighter and brighter in the sky. He hears Alberto mumble a curse, and then a punch to the shoulder.
“Yo numb nuts, here’s the damn pistol…” mumbled Alberto.
“Alberto, look!”, said Julio.
Alberto joins Julio in watching as the light makes its way from the larger light, and slowly it takes the shape of a ship. The two take cover near a rock, and watch the shuttle land in the small depression in front of them. They watch as a ramp opens from the ship, and strange men in green uniforms come out, muttering a language neither of them could understand. Julio and Alberto grab the bird, and their feet took them to the place where they felt comfortable that anything… strange could be solved.
The made their way to Nova Madrid, and down the causeway, yelling and screaming of “visitors”, attracting people from their houses. They approach the Elder’s Palace, and run to the guards posted at the main gate, who approach them.
“What are you kids causing a commotion about?” questioned one of the guards. He saw the bird clenched in Alberto’s hand. “You wanna sell that or something?”
“No, sir, we must speak with the Elders, a ship has landed from outer space!”
The guard raised an eyebrow, and whispered to the other guard. He sighs and moves aside.
“Go on in. It’d better be important, or I guarantee you’ll regret even coming here!”
The boys ran past the two, running down the long hallway, and eventually arrive at the large conference table, surrounded by a number of robed figures
"Elders!", cried Diego "Space ships! Space ships!”
"What? Who let you kids in!", yelled one of the Elders.
One of the Elders raises his right hand to quiet the current discussion.
“Boys, are you sure you saw a spaceship?” he questions.
“Elder, we don’t have running spaceships any more, it must’ve been someone else’s!”
The Elders whisper to one another, and they ask another question.
"Now where did they land?”
"Well we didn't see them land, but we saw it come down near those old ruins in the small clearing near here", said Diego.
"Ok", said the Elder "You kids stay with the guards until we resolve this issue"
"Yes Elders", they said as they left.
"This is good", said Elder Miguel, "God smiles upon us"
"Indeed…” said Elder Vasquez, “We can’t let this opportunity slip past us. We need to get to space…”
“If the boys saw a shuttle, there must be a larger ship in orbit…” commented another Elder Tejo.
"We can take over that ship to use to explore the regions around us. We can take the star maps and the technology to help build our own space crafts. Finally we can go and exact our revenge on those damn bastards who stranded our ancestors many years ago. We can go and get the supplies we need once we find where our "friends" have gone too!” said Elder Miguel.
Elder Giovanni looks towards Elder Miguel, puzzled.
“Miguel, there are a lots of theories as why our ancestors crashed. Obviously, we can’t get back at the Coalition. We aren’t sure if it is an Alliance ally. It also leaves us with our distant brothers…”
“Well, personally, my clan has suspected them from the start…”
“You two, shut up!”, yelled Elder Arago, “This isn’t about revenge! This is a chance for our children to have better lives! We need to establish contact!”
"My son and his friends are skilled warriors", said Elder Soler "We should send them if things get… messy”
The Elders agree on the plan, and send out Andrés and a cadre of elite warriors. They are told to leave the city quietly to prevent the people from realizing what had taken place.
Elder Soler's son, Andrés, and his squad make their way to where the boys saw the ship. They see the bright light in the sky, and a small shuttle landed near the ruins. Strange men in green uniforms are sitting around a camp fire, speaking a language they can’t understand.
=====================================================================
The expedition team looks around, unsatisfied with their findings.
"Well this planet is inhabitable", said Fredrick "But it lacks many basic resources, and the soil quality is very poor"
"I'm not sure why Daumann and the Rheinland government bothered financing this suicidal trip. We've seen that the Omega's and this Omicron system have bad planets, few resources, and a hellish environment", said Gustav
"That idiot Schulman. Says ‘All for the glory of the Fatherland’ and drags us on this blue milk run", said Karl, “Let’s just go back to the Schiller and report the rest of our findings…”
"Shut up, he's coming back!” said Fredrick.
"What's the report guys?” said Schulman as the people saluted him.
“Nothing of interest here, sir”, said Karl.
“That might be so, but look at this…” said Schulman as he pulls out a colorful artifact from his vest, “This place seems to have a lot of these things… the scientists back home will pay quite a lot for these…”
They continue talking, not noticing the mysterious men overlooking them.
Andrés points to the man dressed in civilian clothing
"So that must be the leader", said Andrés. Andrés and his men make their way down the cliff, and surprise the visitors. They yell at each other in their native languages, pointing their rifles at each other threateningly. Andrés realizes that this situation could quickly turn messy, so he decides to see if the language of business is still used by the houses of the Alliance.
“You men speak English?”, questioned Andrés.
The visitors look around, and nod.
“Good…”, said Andrés.
“Great Scott! Human life? Are you people Independents or something?” said Schulman with glee, “How long have you been here?”
Karl pushes Schulman aside.
“We’re a bit… shocked that there’s life here. From where do you hail?”
“The Hispania”, replied Andrés.
The visitors look at Andrés blankly.
“Is that a freight carrier or something”, questioned Gustav.
“I remember that name from a history class…” said Frederick.
“It’s the lost sleeper ship, you fools”, said Schulman.
For a moment, the Rheinlanders stare blankly at the scruffy men in front of them. For them, the Hispania was simply a glossary term they were expected to know on an exam… but seeing something that had long been supposed lost was a shock to them.
Andrés gives an uneasy look, and looks around at the men, seemingly disappointed.
“I guess then you aren’t searching for the Hispania?”
“No,” said Schulman, “I’m leading an expedition through the Walker Cloud, that orange cloud thing in the sky, to find more resources for House Rheinland…”
Andrés sees that some of the other men are speaking again in their native language. He asks another question.
“Can you guys help us? We’ve been stuck on this rock for years! Our ancestors hoped for a day like this!” said Andrés.
“We’re sorry, but we can’t handle all you guys… maybe when we get back we can call some of the Liberty people to send you guys some help or something…”
Frederick goes back towards the men standing behind Karl and Schulman, and they converse about the current situation.
“Hispania survivors? Hogwash, they must be simple pirates…”, chided Frederick.
“Yes… something doesn’t add up about this”, said Gustav, “These fools are trying to play us…”
“Those bastards have weapons on them too…”, said one of the mercenary guards.
“Let’s show them some Rheinland hospitality then…”, said Frederick.
The men go over to Schulman and whisper “Code Red”. Schulman nods in agreement and gives them the go-ahead.
One of Andrés’s men whispers to him that he saw Schulman make a hand-signal to the men behind them. Andres continues to listen to Schulman’s diversion, and sees the men reaching for their rifles.. Andrés nods, and yells to his men.
"KILL ALL BUT THE OLD MAN!” he yells.
The Rheinlanders beat them to their weapons, but none managed to even hit the Hispanians. Within seconds, the Rheinlanders are all dead, save Schulman, who lays shocked on the ground.
Andrés grabs Schulman by the collar and pulls him up.
“You monsters!” yelled Schulman, “Believe me the Rheinland Navy will take care of you bastards!”
“Oh you haven’t seen anything yet...” snickered Andrés.
=====================================================================
"What's taking Schulman so long?” said Johann, “I say we turn the Schiller around and go straight back to Rheinland, this place is just a hell hole…”
“I don’t know”, comments Eliza, “The planet looked dead from long-range scanners… wait, here comes his shuttle! Let’s go meet him at the dock. Alert the crew that the ship is coming in!”
The two hurry over to the Aft Landing bay, and watch the shuttle glide in and land on the deck. They salute Schulman as he emerges from the ramp, but they take notice of his nervous attitude.
“Herr Schulman, are you feeling ok?” asked Johann.
Schulman gives an uneasy look as Andrés emerges, and gives a sly smile to the two crew mates as they put their hands up, and watch in fear as more and more of the strange men emerge from the shuttle.
Schulman looks dismally at the planet in front of him in the bridge, as the Corsairs move about the ship, inspecting all the consoles. He shudders to think of how all his colleagues were massacred and stuffed into a small container, launched into the local star. Was he next?
He saw the men stop, and watched them as they went to attention. He sees robed men enter the room, one of whom approaches him. The man pulls down his hood, revealing a bald man, with a large scar running down the right of his face.
“You must be Mr. Schulman… I’m Elder Soler”, he said, extending his hand
Schulman looks at the Elder blankly.
A leadership structure… They’re not simple pirates after all?
He hesitates for a moment, then shakes the man’s hand, still trembling.
“Don’t worry Mr. Schulman”, said Elder Soler, “I assure you that you are far too valuable to be killed… you need to help us.” He motioned towards the console.
“You see we can’t read your language, you’re going to have to help us translate it and see if we can insert our own language,” said Soler.
Schulman looks around at the ship.
“Wait… what are you going to do with the ship?”
“Simple”, said Soler, “We’re going to use it as a way to finally go into space, and to get a share of Sirius that the other houses have withheld from us. All the data on this ship as well as the ship itself should be useful. Oh, by the way, if you’re thinking I’m stupid to tell you this since we’re going to let you go, fat chance. You’re staying with us for good.”
Schulman looks at Soler, shocked, and tries to argue, but falls short of anything past opening his mouth. He sighs, and accepts his fate.
Schulman helps the Hispanians with the ship, eventually translating most of the ship’s commands to their native language. From there, he aids the scientists in the planet with the information in the database, everything from sector charts and history to ship schematics, and cross-referencing those with old data salvaged from the Hispania.
Within years, the Corsairs construct their first space ships and use the map onboard the Schiller to expand into the Omega Border Systems within the Walker Cloud, and began to attack transports for vital supplies, returning things like food and water back to Crete. By the year 500 A.S., the Hispanians had become known throughout Sirius. Both House Rheinland and Bretonia already reported their mining companies and shipping firms coming under attack by the mysterious pirates while they ran the trade in the Omega Border worlds between the two houses. House Bretonia escalated the Hispanians status to the highest priority.
Then the infamous name came about- The Corsairs. No one knows how the name stuck, it just did. Supposedly it is said that a Bretonian professor at the Royal College of New London brought it up during a debate about piracy in his Pre-Sirius History Class. He compared the Hispanians to the “Ancient Corsair Pirates of the Mediterranean… raiding ships for supplies then disappearing to their elusive port…” The Hispanians took a liking to the name, and soon they were known as such.
The Corsairs continued their pirating, but in the 6th Century AS, a Liberty Freelancer by the name of Jim Bown was able to gain the respect of the Corsairs, and landed on their mysterious home world. He brought many foodstuffs and consumer goods, but the Corsairs could offer little at the time beside the alien artifacts that littered their planet. When Bown took these back to Liberty, they were demanded by both scientists and the social elite. The Corsairs then found a new source of trade- artifact smuggling, setting up intricate trade routes through out the sector to drop up at certain areas to be sold.
All the while, the Corsairs still maintained their relentless piracy, and slowly they began to grow in power. Their hardships before the Schiller’s arrival helped contribute to their hardy nature, giving them the reputation as one of the deadliest pirate factions in all of Sirius.
They are marked as enemies of the crown by most of Bretonia, and Rheinland recognizes their problems in the Omega systems. They are embroiled in a terrible war with the Red Hessians, a large pirate group operating in Rheinland space. The Corsairs even encountered hostility from their lost brethren from the Hispania, who called themselves the “Outcasts” when they journeyed further into the Edge Cloud. They were selling the deadly drug Caradime throughout the Houses, hoping to corrupt Sirius from the inside and setting the stage for an Outcast take over. The Outcasts looked down upon the Corsairs as weak and inferior, who in turn viewed the Outcasts as corrupt and vile, trying to push the terrible Caradime drug throughout Sirius.
It is believed that the Corsairs maintain their piracy to survive, and it is believed that they hope eventually to claim their birthright- a chunk of Sirius for the Children of the Hispania.
End Prologue
End Prologue.
Ch 1. is next.
Edited by - MercZ on 6/11/2005 11:34:57 PM
Edited by - MercZ on 6/11/2005 11:38:44 PM
Edited by - MercZ on 6/20/2005 11:42:41 AM
Edited by - MercZ on 8/6/2006 1:28:32 AM
Edited by - MercZ on 8/6/2006 1:33:53 AM
Edited by - MercZ on 5/22/2007 2:20:03 PM
Edited by - MercZ on 5/22/2007 2:23:32 PM