Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:00 pm
My New Story!! - "Zoner: Firewalker"
Hi all!
Here's the first installment of a new story I'm working on. It's sort of a sequel/continuation of my first story, same characters and all that. Anyhoo, hope you enjoy it!
Thanks,
Micah
Chapter 1
Space was cold. It always had been, with the possible exception of the tremendous explosion ancient Earth astronomers had dubbed the “Big Bang.”
But that brief moment had passed long ago. In its wake galaxies, systems, and stars were born and passed away. In one such system, far from Earth and its star, the fragments of a world, a world with its own story perhaps, hung silently in the void. The asteroids hung motionless, having reached equilibrium long ago. Here, it seemed even colder.
But the asteroid field was not entirely devoid of movement. Weaving rapidly through the rocks a small ship passed silently on its way. It was a small, angular fighter, a one man craft obviously designed with one purpose in mind. It was almost the same color as the chunks of planet through which it flew.
Gradually, the long gray craft slowed and, with the aid of tiny reverse thrusters, came to a halt. No space station floated nearby. There were no habitable planets for light years. The small ship had come to rest in the middle of the asteroid field, chosen this spot as if by chance. The ship was now as motionless as the asteroids suspended around it.
The pilot manipulated the controls, routing additional power to his ship’s scanners. His contact should be here soon.
Within minutes three small blips appeared on the screen.
Powering up the engines, the pilot moved his craft toward the new arrivals. Methodically, he keyed the comm. unit to hail the middle of the three ships.
“This is Zoner Recon 729. Glad you’re here.”
No response. The pilot frowned at the comm. Zoners weren’t always a talkative group on missions like this. This was especially so when sensitive data had to be transferred from ship to ship in order to avoid detection. The pilot wasn’t about to let the cold shoulder stand in the way of doing his duty however. He keyed for another transmission.
“I repeat this is Zoner Recon 729. Prepare to receive the transmission.”
No response. The Zoner-piloted Dagger fighter continued to approach the silent ships in front of it. Their response came when the Dagger was 863 meters away. Without warning, without moving an inch, the three ships launched homing missiles at the smaller fighter.
This was no dogfight. They had waited until he was too close to evade the missiles. Streaking toward their target, the homing missiles rapidly closed the distance between the pilot’s ship and his attackers.
Suddenly, and almost simultaneously, the warheads struck their target and the Dagger vanished in a soundless explosion. The three silent ships turned and, engaging their cruise engines, leapt back through the asteroid field the way they had come.
The pilot of the doomed fighter had not been idle however. Knowing his time was short, the pilot had managed to send a short, encrypted signal, a burst that fried every microcircuit in the fighter’s comm. system, just before the missiles impacted his ship’s hull and ended his service to the Zoners.
As silent as the asteroids around it, the coded signal, a single word, flashed through space faster than the speed of light.
///Firewalker…///
"I looked down at the chessboard. The move with the knight was wrong. Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn't a game for knights." - Philip Marlowe, The Big Sleep
Edited by - mdutr0 on 1/12/2006 10:04:11 PM
Here's the first installment of a new story I'm working on. It's sort of a sequel/continuation of my first story, same characters and all that. Anyhoo, hope you enjoy it!
Thanks,
Micah
Chapter 1
Space was cold. It always had been, with the possible exception of the tremendous explosion ancient Earth astronomers had dubbed the “Big Bang.”
But that brief moment had passed long ago. In its wake galaxies, systems, and stars were born and passed away. In one such system, far from Earth and its star, the fragments of a world, a world with its own story perhaps, hung silently in the void. The asteroids hung motionless, having reached equilibrium long ago. Here, it seemed even colder.
But the asteroid field was not entirely devoid of movement. Weaving rapidly through the rocks a small ship passed silently on its way. It was a small, angular fighter, a one man craft obviously designed with one purpose in mind. It was almost the same color as the chunks of planet through which it flew.
Gradually, the long gray craft slowed and, with the aid of tiny reverse thrusters, came to a halt. No space station floated nearby. There were no habitable planets for light years. The small ship had come to rest in the middle of the asteroid field, chosen this spot as if by chance. The ship was now as motionless as the asteroids suspended around it.
The pilot manipulated the controls, routing additional power to his ship’s scanners. His contact should be here soon.
Within minutes three small blips appeared on the screen.
Powering up the engines, the pilot moved his craft toward the new arrivals. Methodically, he keyed the comm. unit to hail the middle of the three ships.
“This is Zoner Recon 729. Glad you’re here.”
No response. The pilot frowned at the comm. Zoners weren’t always a talkative group on missions like this. This was especially so when sensitive data had to be transferred from ship to ship in order to avoid detection. The pilot wasn’t about to let the cold shoulder stand in the way of doing his duty however. He keyed for another transmission.
“I repeat this is Zoner Recon 729. Prepare to receive the transmission.”
No response. The Zoner-piloted Dagger fighter continued to approach the silent ships in front of it. Their response came when the Dagger was 863 meters away. Without warning, without moving an inch, the three ships launched homing missiles at the smaller fighter.
This was no dogfight. They had waited until he was too close to evade the missiles. Streaking toward their target, the homing missiles rapidly closed the distance between the pilot’s ship and his attackers.
Suddenly, and almost simultaneously, the warheads struck their target and the Dagger vanished in a soundless explosion. The three silent ships turned and, engaging their cruise engines, leapt back through the asteroid field the way they had come.
The pilot of the doomed fighter had not been idle however. Knowing his time was short, the pilot had managed to send a short, encrypted signal, a burst that fried every microcircuit in the fighter’s comm. system, just before the missiles impacted his ship’s hull and ended his service to the Zoners.
As silent as the asteroids around it, the coded signal, a single word, flashed through space faster than the speed of light.
///Firewalker…///
"I looked down at the chessboard. The move with the knight was wrong. Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn't a game for knights." - Philip Marlowe, The Big Sleep
Edited by - mdutr0 on 1/12/2006 10:04:11 PM