Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:14 pm
Following the path
G'day everyone, heres my second story, sequel to the one already posted. I tried to go into some more detail with this one, hinting at Dia's past, and giving a bit of a window into how Alex has changed since the last story. Also, you can probably tell that I tried to link it into the official story a wee bit, bit of an explanation for something barely mentioned in the game. That being said, constructive criticism is great, I appreciate it when someone actually points out how something could be a little improved. Of course, most important part - Enjoy!
This had to be the most boring job he had ever taken. Sure, the pay was good, more than good, excellent really, but the work was mind-numbingly boring. The Liberty Navy was performing some sort of advanced combat testing, which, by the way, they refused to give any details on, and had hired Alex McGugan and his partner, Dia Contez, to patrol the borders of Zone 21 for any potential spies. "Like its even nessecary," Alex grumbled to himself. Zone 21 was a veritable fortess, and any attempt to enter it was suicide. If a potential spy managed to avoid the sensors surrounding the area, which would call in wings of Liberty Defenders if they detected as much as a stray rock, they would still have to get through the minefield which made even legitimate flights into the Zone hazardous. Alex would have loved to see the casualty rate for people entering the field, but he that, like everything else to do with this area, those would be classified. Secrecy. Humpf. In the two years since he started Freelancing, Alex had grown to hate secrecy. Many times, he had seen deaths that could have been avoided had the LSF released sensitive information to the Freelancers it hired. Like Julie. Alex clenched his fists tightly, then let them go, along with the anger. It had only been recently that he had discovered the extent of the LSF's information on Rogue movements in the Badlands. As it turned out, they had known that the pirates had planned to attack the Liberty Navy's base in the badlands, and that had been the reason for the frenzied and poorly organized freelancer convoy had been sent out. To its death. Alex found that the anger he had just let go had returned. The LSF knew they were sending those freelancers to die. Julie to die. Alex had relived that moment time and time again in his dreams. The cut off scream, the ball of flame that incinerated his childhood friend... Alex had fought hard to find justice, had cut down dozens of squadrons, surpassing most kill records of flyers that had been in the business years longer than him. Other freelancers were shocked and impressed with the young man's skill, but they never understood. Unlike them, Alex didn't fight for money. He fought for revenge. And now he wasn't certain who he needed to fight. The Rogues and Outcasts had always seemed a likely target, but now, realizing that the LSF had sent them to their deaths, he wondered if they were the ones he should seek vengance from. Alex shook his head, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes, and glanced out his viewscreen. He could see Dia's ship cruising along beside his own. Dia Contez had taken him in after the ill-fated run to the badlands, and until recently, had supported his quest for revenge. But even she had told him to tone it down of late. "Let her go" she had said. Perhaps she was right. Maybe justice had been served.
Only a dozen metres away, Dia's thoughts were also troubled. This place was unpenatrable, probably the safest place in Liberty, and yet the Liberty Navy had seen it nessecary to have patrols running inside the clearing, in the centre of the minefield. What concerned her even more was that they had been hired to do it. The duo were qualified, no doubt about that, but the Navy had their own fighters, probably with pilots equally skilled. Why wouldn't they get their own people to patrol this area? As far as she could tell, this was the only section of Zone 21 that had Freelancers patrolling it, although she hadn't gotten a good look at the other areas. This disturbed her. Dia had heard rumors of unrest out near the border worlds, and if the Liberty Navy was stretched out so thin that Freelancers had to be hired to patrol Liberty's top-secret facilities, they could be inn serious trouble if that unrest spread closer to the core systems. Perhaps whatever equipment was being tested today would help. Dia could only hope. Admitably, she wasn't exactly the shining example of a good citizen, but Liberty had given her much over the years, and she would hate to see it collapse. Patriotism tended to run pretty high in Liberty, and Dia was no exception. As long as the Liberty Navy would pay her, she'd patrol this patch of space.
"They haven't detected us?" The man who had spoken looked curiously at the sensors officer. The officer gulped. Kaspar Orillion was an impressive looking man. Tall and muscular, he looked like he could crush a small man without effort, and yet he seemed to blend in with the group of soft office staff around him. The communications officer supposed that Orillion could blend in well with any group. He had heard rumors of the man's exploits. Super-spy, man with a hundred names - amongst them, the silent killer. Supressing a shiver was hard. If there was an impossible situation in Sirius, Orillion was the man sent in. The tech pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, and answered the question.
"If they have, sir, they haven't shown any sign of it." An admiral off to the side beamed.
"I told you Orillion, this ship is the pinnacle of technology. Impossible to detect." Orillion looked impressed. "This system could be invaluable for covert operations. How many have you built so far?" The admiral let out a chuckle. "This is the only one. After a bit of combat testing, we'll commission more. And speaking of combat testing, I think its time. We've tested the cloaking device enough, time to see how she handles a bit of a scrap." He nodded towards one of the crew. "Initiate de-cloak."
Alex, being bored, began to tweak his ships systems. His custom modifications had saved his life more than once, and both his Tigershark and Dia's Razor had enough tunings that made the circuits virtually unrecognizable. After fiddling with his sensors a moment, he noticed a hazy blob appearing on the readout. A very large blob.
"Uh, Dia?" Alex's throat was suddenly dry. "Theres something out there. I have no clue what, but it's huge." Dia frowned. She had grown to trust Alex's jury-rigged machinery, and instinctivly flicked on her shields.
"Does its size match anything we kno..." Her voice faltered mid-sentence. The space in front of her suddenly seemed to glow, shimmering in a way she had never seen it before, lightning playing across...across what? Something that was there, but not there? She was about to suggest that Alex get some distance, when the Osiris came fully out of cloak, a massive battleship, bristling with weaponry. It opened fire. Both FreeLancers, getting over their shock rapidly, spun round, attempting to escape the massive vessel, only to see waves of Defenders uncloaking in a circle all around the three combatants. A voice came over the com.
"You stay here, Freelancer." The voice dripped with contempt. "You get the honour of seeing the lat
This had to be the most boring job he had ever taken. Sure, the pay was good, more than good, excellent really, but the work was mind-numbingly boring. The Liberty Navy was performing some sort of advanced combat testing, which, by the way, they refused to give any details on, and had hired Alex McGugan and his partner, Dia Contez, to patrol the borders of Zone 21 for any potential spies. "Like its even nessecary," Alex grumbled to himself. Zone 21 was a veritable fortess, and any attempt to enter it was suicide. If a potential spy managed to avoid the sensors surrounding the area, which would call in wings of Liberty Defenders if they detected as much as a stray rock, they would still have to get through the minefield which made even legitimate flights into the Zone hazardous. Alex would have loved to see the casualty rate for people entering the field, but he that, like everything else to do with this area, those would be classified. Secrecy. Humpf. In the two years since he started Freelancing, Alex had grown to hate secrecy. Many times, he had seen deaths that could have been avoided had the LSF released sensitive information to the Freelancers it hired. Like Julie. Alex clenched his fists tightly, then let them go, along with the anger. It had only been recently that he had discovered the extent of the LSF's information on Rogue movements in the Badlands. As it turned out, they had known that the pirates had planned to attack the Liberty Navy's base in the badlands, and that had been the reason for the frenzied and poorly organized freelancer convoy had been sent out. To its death. Alex found that the anger he had just let go had returned. The LSF knew they were sending those freelancers to die. Julie to die. Alex had relived that moment time and time again in his dreams. The cut off scream, the ball of flame that incinerated his childhood friend... Alex had fought hard to find justice, had cut down dozens of squadrons, surpassing most kill records of flyers that had been in the business years longer than him. Other freelancers were shocked and impressed with the young man's skill, but they never understood. Unlike them, Alex didn't fight for money. He fought for revenge. And now he wasn't certain who he needed to fight. The Rogues and Outcasts had always seemed a likely target, but now, realizing that the LSF had sent them to their deaths, he wondered if they were the ones he should seek vengance from. Alex shook his head, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes, and glanced out his viewscreen. He could see Dia's ship cruising along beside his own. Dia Contez had taken him in after the ill-fated run to the badlands, and until recently, had supported his quest for revenge. But even she had told him to tone it down of late. "Let her go" she had said. Perhaps she was right. Maybe justice had been served.
Only a dozen metres away, Dia's thoughts were also troubled. This place was unpenatrable, probably the safest place in Liberty, and yet the Liberty Navy had seen it nessecary to have patrols running inside the clearing, in the centre of the minefield. What concerned her even more was that they had been hired to do it. The duo were qualified, no doubt about that, but the Navy had their own fighters, probably with pilots equally skilled. Why wouldn't they get their own people to patrol this area? As far as she could tell, this was the only section of Zone 21 that had Freelancers patrolling it, although she hadn't gotten a good look at the other areas. This disturbed her. Dia had heard rumors of unrest out near the border worlds, and if the Liberty Navy was stretched out so thin that Freelancers had to be hired to patrol Liberty's top-secret facilities, they could be inn serious trouble if that unrest spread closer to the core systems. Perhaps whatever equipment was being tested today would help. Dia could only hope. Admitably, she wasn't exactly the shining example of a good citizen, but Liberty had given her much over the years, and she would hate to see it collapse. Patriotism tended to run pretty high in Liberty, and Dia was no exception. As long as the Liberty Navy would pay her, she'd patrol this patch of space.
"They haven't detected us?" The man who had spoken looked curiously at the sensors officer. The officer gulped. Kaspar Orillion was an impressive looking man. Tall and muscular, he looked like he could crush a small man without effort, and yet he seemed to blend in with the group of soft office staff around him. The communications officer supposed that Orillion could blend in well with any group. He had heard rumors of the man's exploits. Super-spy, man with a hundred names - amongst them, the silent killer. Supressing a shiver was hard. If there was an impossible situation in Sirius, Orillion was the man sent in. The tech pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, and answered the question.
"If they have, sir, they haven't shown any sign of it." An admiral off to the side beamed.
"I told you Orillion, this ship is the pinnacle of technology. Impossible to detect." Orillion looked impressed. "This system could be invaluable for covert operations. How many have you built so far?" The admiral let out a chuckle. "This is the only one. After a bit of combat testing, we'll commission more. And speaking of combat testing, I think its time. We've tested the cloaking device enough, time to see how she handles a bit of a scrap." He nodded towards one of the crew. "Initiate de-cloak."
Alex, being bored, began to tweak his ships systems. His custom modifications had saved his life more than once, and both his Tigershark and Dia's Razor had enough tunings that made the circuits virtually unrecognizable. After fiddling with his sensors a moment, he noticed a hazy blob appearing on the readout. A very large blob.
"Uh, Dia?" Alex's throat was suddenly dry. "Theres something out there. I have no clue what, but it's huge." Dia frowned. She had grown to trust Alex's jury-rigged machinery, and instinctivly flicked on her shields.
"Does its size match anything we kno..." Her voice faltered mid-sentence. The space in front of her suddenly seemed to glow, shimmering in a way she had never seen it before, lightning playing across...across what? Something that was there, but not there? She was about to suggest that Alex get some distance, when the Osiris came fully out of cloak, a massive battleship, bristling with weaponry. It opened fire. Both FreeLancers, getting over their shock rapidly, spun round, attempting to escape the massive vessel, only to see waves of Defenders uncloaking in a circle all around the three combatants. A voice came over the com.
"You stay here, Freelancer." The voice dripped with contempt. "You get the honour of seeing the lat
