nice to see the you back with a chapter.Sorry once again for the delay, but here is chapter 16.
Chapter 16
Malta was falling behind Deckard as he pulled out the neural net chip the stranger had given him. He slid it into the ship's data slot and watched as a new waypoint was programmed into his navigation system. He turned the ship toward the waypoint, wondering what awaited him in the sickly green dust cloud ahead of him.
The threat alarm chirped and Deckard glimpsed at his scanner, noting the Outcast Sabres now pursuing him. He had a sizable lead on them, and it was unlikely that they would catch him. He wondered if there was an ambush waiting for him in the vast green nebula, as he was positive that word of his escape had spread rapidly.
He plunged into the dust cloud and tightened his grip on the flight stick, ready for whatever awaited him. He watched his HUD as the distance to the waypoint rapidly decreased.
Twenty klicks...fifteen...ten...
The threat alarm chirped again, and Deckard looked up to see two Sabres closing on him fast. He swore and powered up his weapons. What happened next surprised him.
"Mr. Deckard, hold your fire! We're here to escort you!"
"Escort me where? Back to that dung heap known as Malta?"
"Very funny. As you've probably noticed, you're now the Outcast's most wanted criminal. You can take your chances with us or them. Your choice."
"How can I trust you?" Deckard asked.
"We haven't fired on you."
Good point, Deckard thought to himself. "All right. Where are we going?"
"I've uploaded a new waypoint for you. Follow us." The Sabres waited until Deckard closed in close enough to joun formation, then turned and flew further into the cloud. After several minutes the dust cleared somewhat to reveal a planet.
"Welcome to Planet Carinea," the mysterious pilot said."
"Very nice," Deckard replied testily. "What do we do?"
"Follow us around to the far side. Some friends are waiting for us."
Deckard followed the ships to the far side of the planet. He caught some movement out of the corner of his eye, and his head turned instinctively. His jaw dropped.
The Osiris uncloaked before his eyes.
----------------
Deckard climbed out of the cockpit, knelt down and kissed the cold steel of the Osiris flight deck. He had never been as happy to be on friendly turf as he was at that moment. He stood up and saw three men approaching. One of them was Orillion, who extended his hand.
"It's good to see you alive, Mr. Deckard. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. What the hell are you doing here?"
"After we lost your signal we figured the Outcasts had you in their custody. We took...a back way into Omicron Alpha on a tip offered by some new friends."
"New friends?"
"Allow me to introduce Lieutenants Ford and Powell, formerly of Red Flag." The two men nodded as Dekcard tensed up.
"Don't be alarmed. Not everyone in Red Flag subscribes to Maddox's point of view. In fact, it was former Red Flag agents who helped you escape."
"I guess I owe you guys some thanks," Deckard said, addressing the two pilots.
"Anytime," Lieutenant Ford replied. "You owe us a drink, though." He turned and nodded to Orillion, then he and Lieutenant Powell walked away. Orillion and Deckard walked toward the briefing room.
"So, what happened? Did you find your brother?" Orillion asked.
"Yeah," Deckard replied quietly. "Maddox killed him right in front of me."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I got him back."
"What do you mean?"
Deckard related his experience on Ruiz, the interrogation on Malta, and finished with his account of the final struggle and killing of Samuel Maddox. Orillion listened intently, betraying nothing.
"It would have been better to get him alive, but under the circumstances that may not have been possible. Your observations do coincide with observations we have made, however. The Corsiars have gathered a massive fleet in Omicron Theta, apparently ready to invade once Maddox's cocktail has done its dirty work on Malta. Our job now is to stop anyone from releasing the toxin into the atmosphere."
"Easier said than done. The people I met on Malta dodn't believe a word of my story."
"That's probably because you were speaking with the wrong people," Orillion said with a smile as they arrived at the briefing room. They entered and Deckard saw a very well-dressed man waiting in the room. He looked strangely familiar.
"Allow me to introduce Don Ricardo Bautista de la Vega, of the High Council of Malta. He is the leader of the de la Vega cardamine cartel."
---"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast."
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Freelancer: Genocide---Fan fiction from Neuromancer (Final c
Read, add and comment on excellent written stories by fans, set within the Freelancer universe
Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:03 am
Oh look! An update! Yay!
Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 17
de la Vega approached Deckard and extended his hand. Deckard hesitated, then reluctantly took it.
"It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Deckard. I have heard many tales of your exploits. Allow me to apologize for your treatment at the hands of my brother."
So that was why he looked familiar. "Your brother?"
"Yes. He has always been, shall we say, stubborn. Fortunately, not everyone on Malta feels the same as he does. It is true he wields much power and influence amongst my family and my people, but that power will amount to little if everyone on Malta is dead."
Deckard nodded. He still couldn't believe who he was talking to.
"Now, I am afraid we must end the pleasantries, as we have urgent business to discuss." de la Vega took a seat at one end of the table. Orillion sat and motioned for Deckard to do the same.
"Just to bring you up to speed," Orillion said to Deckard, "de la Vega has accepted our offer for assistance. In return he has pledged his eternal friendship to us. Which means we will have unlimited access to Outcast technology, as well as a new ally."
Deckard smiled at that. Adding the Outcast's technology to the Order's already formidable arsenal would make the Order very powerful indeed.
"All right. We have received a report from one of our agents with the Corsairs that they are planning an assault on Malta. Trouble is, we don't know when. We do know, however, that they plan on spreading the toxin through the atmosphere before the assault, which will make their attack that much easier." Orillioin dimmed the lights in the room and switched on a holographic projector. An image of Malta appeared. "We believe that the Corsairs will send in a bomber group which will launch a salvo of warheads designed to detonate in the atmosphere, blanketing the planet in a cloud of vaporized toxin. Once the toxin has produced its desired effect, the remainder of the battle group will enter the system and effectively occupy it.
"What this amounts to is this: Should the Corsairs succeed in their plan, they will have esentially created a major shift in power. While they will add the formidable technology of the Outcasts to their own, they will also gain control of the cardamine trade throughout Sirius, providing them with enormous economic power, perhaps enough to provide the impetus to declare war on the entirety of Sirius, and worse, have a legitimate shot at winning.
"Having said that, we have developed a plan for combating this invasion. Since the Corsairs don't know we're here, we can hide and wait for the first assault. Our primary mission will be to intercept and destroy the bombers before they launch their missiles. Should they launch before we can intercept, we must take out the warheads before they reach Malta. Should any missiles make it to Malta, we will put our contingency plan into effect.
"We have developed an antitoxin that will negate the effects of Maddox's toxin in the event some of the warheads make it through our defenses. We have enough to cover the planet should this happen, but there will inevitably be casualties."
de la Vega listened to all of this with an impassive look on his face. Finally he spoke.
"It would seem the odds are against us. However, if this is the best plan we are able to come up with, then it shall be done. I will dispatch a squadron of my best warriors to assist in this campaign. Now if you will excuse me, I must make the arrangements."
"Of course," Orillion replied. "I will meet you in the Ops center shortly." de la Vega nodded and left the room.
Deckard turned to Orillion. "You have ulterior motives for helping them, don't you?"
"I do," Orillion replied, "but I'm not going to tell you."
---"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast."
Edited by - neuromancer on 11/26/2005 9:05:00 AM
Edited by - neuromancer on 11/26/2005 11:28:58 AM
Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 17
de la Vega approached Deckard and extended his hand. Deckard hesitated, then reluctantly took it.
"It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Deckard. I have heard many tales of your exploits. Allow me to apologize for your treatment at the hands of my brother."
So that was why he looked familiar. "Your brother?"
"Yes. He has always been, shall we say, stubborn. Fortunately, not everyone on Malta feels the same as he does. It is true he wields much power and influence amongst my family and my people, but that power will amount to little if everyone on Malta is dead."
Deckard nodded. He still couldn't believe who he was talking to.
"Now, I am afraid we must end the pleasantries, as we have urgent business to discuss." de la Vega took a seat at one end of the table. Orillion sat and motioned for Deckard to do the same.
"Just to bring you up to speed," Orillion said to Deckard, "de la Vega has accepted our offer for assistance. In return he has pledged his eternal friendship to us. Which means we will have unlimited access to Outcast technology, as well as a new ally."
Deckard smiled at that. Adding the Outcast's technology to the Order's already formidable arsenal would make the Order very powerful indeed.
"All right. We have received a report from one of our agents with the Corsairs that they are planning an assault on Malta. Trouble is, we don't know when. We do know, however, that they plan on spreading the toxin through the atmosphere before the assault, which will make their attack that much easier." Orillioin dimmed the lights in the room and switched on a holographic projector. An image of Malta appeared. "We believe that the Corsairs will send in a bomber group which will launch a salvo of warheads designed to detonate in the atmosphere, blanketing the planet in a cloud of vaporized toxin. Once the toxin has produced its desired effect, the remainder of the battle group will enter the system and effectively occupy it.
"What this amounts to is this: Should the Corsairs succeed in their plan, they will have esentially created a major shift in power. While they will add the formidable technology of the Outcasts to their own, they will also gain control of the cardamine trade throughout Sirius, providing them with enormous economic power, perhaps enough to provide the impetus to declare war on the entirety of Sirius, and worse, have a legitimate shot at winning.
"Having said that, we have developed a plan for combating this invasion. Since the Corsairs don't know we're here, we can hide and wait for the first assault. Our primary mission will be to intercept and destroy the bombers before they launch their missiles. Should they launch before we can intercept, we must take out the warheads before they reach Malta. Should any missiles make it to Malta, we will put our contingency plan into effect.
"We have developed an antitoxin that will negate the effects of Maddox's toxin in the event some of the warheads make it through our defenses. We have enough to cover the planet should this happen, but there will inevitably be casualties."
de la Vega listened to all of this with an impassive look on his face. Finally he spoke.
"It would seem the odds are against us. However, if this is the best plan we are able to come up with, then it shall be done. I will dispatch a squadron of my best warriors to assist in this campaign. Now if you will excuse me, I must make the arrangements."
"Of course," Orillion replied. "I will meet you in the Ops center shortly." de la Vega nodded and left the room.
Deckard turned to Orillion. "You have ulterior motives for helping them, don't you?"
"I do," Orillion replied, "but I'm not going to tell you."
---"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast."
Edited by - neuromancer on 11/26/2005 9:05:00 AM
Edited by - neuromancer on 11/26/2005 11:28:58 AM
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