Star Brigade: A 53rd Century Adventure RP

[Evrant-Knight]

Snip

Snip

Snip

"...we have two hostages right here now, a little kid and a doctor and we've got about four more further back in the ship. Surrender your weapons and leave our ship peacefully... or we will kill them without hesitation."

'Great,' Gabriel thought to himself in annoyance after he took down men in the armoury. 'a hostage situation.' It seemed like for Muo though, this was a little too much. With this informal ceasefire underway, Muo tried his hand at getting the hostages released.

"How about this, you let them go, and I might let you live long enough to stand trial?"

'Not a good move, that's only going to agitate them; and considering what's on the line here, I don't think that is a good idea.' Gabriel said, disagreeing instantly with Muo's plan. This caused the C.O.L to grab one of the hostages, a struggling child and started to wildly gesture with his gun. "You think I won't do it? Try me!" The man then shouted.

"Patience Muo, I'm sure there is a way we can solve this problem, without resorting to violence." Gabriel remarked calmly, not trying to raise the anger levels of anyone else in the area.

"Yeah Muo, listen to your white haired friend over there, and get the hell off our ship." The man retorted in a sarcastic sounding manner. Gabriel then pulled the rest of his team away, an example of the enhanced strength his cybernetic body had, not that anyone else knew what it was. Once he made sure they were out of sight, he began to talk.

"Listen, the three of you keep those guys talking, buy me as much time as you can, and don't antagonize them any further than we already have. I have a plan, that will make their guns useless." Gabriel said with a devious, but non threatening smile.

 

[TheBlueShotgun0]

snip

Snip

Snip

Snip

Something that would make their guns useless? James couldn't think of a better idea himself. Of course, letting Gabriel out of sight unnerved James more than he would like, but the man had already proved his loyalty. James was ready to trust him once again. "Do what you have to do, we'll keep 'em preoccupied." he said.

He stepped out from cover, hands up and weapons layed on the ground beside him. He still had his pistol tucked away, but had no intention of using it until he had to. "Let's all just calm down here. I think we can all come to a mutual understanding, but not if we're pointing guns at each other." James said, trying to convey a sense of compassion. "No one else has to die today." he added, looking at the C.O.L bodies laying on the floor. How many of them had he killed in the flurry of combat? James couldn't remember, but each one made his heart feel heavy.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Snip

Snip

Snip

As the strike team fought for control of the Star Brigade, the Pious King and her fellow ships fought an increasing number of C.O.L ships jumping into the Jundas orbit. A steady stream of reports flooded the communications banks, leaving the comm officers struggling to keep up.

Alia continued relaying information between the computer and the E.R.I.S AI system. The AI in turn fed data to the targeting clusters, allowing the gunners to pick priority targets and cover the damaged ships.

"This is the Western Pilgrim, we have taken heavy damage to our port outer hull, requesting cover fire! We need to fall back into position or we'll be shredded. Interceptor defenses are down, and we're running low on missile countermeasures."

Murray spoke. "Alia, organize a defensive screen. Don't let anything get through. Circe, you are a gunner. Shoot straight, or get off my bridge."

Suddenly, a second alert came in, from the Star Brigade. "Captain Murray, this is Chief Demexin. Anderson and I are ready to take the bridge, but there's a problem. We have a hostage situation down here. Corps members are working to diffuse the situation, but I think it would be best if we had some more leverage."

Murray nodded. "Understood, Chief, we will send more aid. Grendar, take a shuttle and a security detail with you. I know that you are not a fighter, but you could be of some use in this situation."

[hr]

Snip

Snip

Snip

Snip

The Hangar was a mess, covered in the remains of the vicious firefight that had just ceased. Vance stood amidst the carnage with the surviving marines. The sergeant approached him. "Captain, we've received word of a hostage situation on the lower levels, near the armory. Operatives Anderson and Demexin relayed the message to the Pious King, and we are expecting reinforcements. My squad will hold this position, but you need to take the Bridge. It will likely be the most heavily defended area of the ship next to the AI core."

Three squads lined up in front of Vance. The Sergeant continued. "These men will accompany you, be ready for anything."

[hr]
As the fighting continued down below, Tom and Demexin crept through the upper cabins. Muo had responded to the emergency below, leaving the two to make their way to the bridge. The emergency lights made tracking their way there simple enough, and they hadn't encountered any patrols yet. "Most likely they've holed themselves up in the main areas," Demexin had said.

The main bridge was two levels down. Up here was the observatory. Demexin knew the design was a structural weakness, which was why he had been so thorough with the bulkhead emplacements when he had created the Star Brigade's blueprints. He was now pulling his teeth out trying to get around his own handiwork.

"Damn thing's circuits are fried," he muttered. "Who the hell makes the manual override reliant on electricity? It's supposed to be manual. These League boys just don't know proper engineering."

"Maybe not," said Tom. "But they do know how to fight back. Look." he pointed out the observatory viewports. The Union fleet was only distant specks moving through space, but their brilliant light particle beams betrayed their positions. It looked like dozens of ships were joining the brawl, and the void was filled with crisscrossing beams tens of thousands of kilometers long.

"Well then, let them fight, but keep them away from my stuff. Got it." the bulkhead unsealed, and Tom and Demexin floated through the gravity absent corridor. They reached the ladders and pulled themselves down towards bridge level.

Demexin slid out of the ladder tube onto the corridor, with Tom close behind. But just as Tom reached out for Demexin's hand, something struck him from behind. His back smashed against the floor's edge, and he found himself tumbling further down the tube.

A Crelm was holding him at arms length, keeping Tom between itself and the rapidly coming closer lower decks. Tom struggled to hit the Crelm, but his punches merely passed through the creature's permeable membranes, leaving no impact. The Crelm's tentacles began to constrict around his chest, pushing the air out of his lungs. He started to see spots in his vision.

 

[hiei82]

Snip

Snip

Snip

"Yes Sir!" Alia called out, not thinking about it with any real depth - she was already hard at work on the task before the order had been called. It was strnage to be coordinating so much data in so little time; but it was hardly new. So much information was contained when a person communicated - from tone, body language, gesticulations, and of course words, that the organization of numbers was child's play. The difficult part came whenever she saw the "crew compliment" figures drop; but she steeled her mind against such information until later.

"Circe: I'm lining up a shot for you and number 1, T-minus 5... 4.... 3..." she said, counting down to the shot. hopefully, it would remove a threat to those aforementioned figures quickly.

 

[Fishtie]

"Y-yes sir." Circe responded to the captain's rebuke. The light abuse stung, but more importantly it helped snap her back into action. 'I can't have come this far just to fail here.' she thought. 'And those people are counting on me. All I have to do is focus on shooting.' Circe focused on the screens in front of her as she filtered out the irrelevant and her hands began to fly over the controls. Alia's nearby voice resounded in her head as she saw the opening that was coming. 5... 4... 3...

As the appointed time came the ship's cannons reached full power and unleashed a vicious barrage at the enemy ships to drive them away from the beleaguered Western Pilgrim.

 

[JoJo]

snip

snip

snip

snip

Captain Vance nodded grimly in reply to the sergeant, he'd lost far more men than he'd hoped for already on this mission and he suspected quite a few more would be on their way back to New Terra one way or another by the time the Star Brigade was retaken.

"Come along men," he called and the grunts followed him down the steps into the depths of the ship. All around them the signs of the C.O.L occupation were evident: wires had been pulled out of sockets for makeshift rewirings, many of the corridors were covered in graffiti and Lisa's screens were eerily blank. Briefly the Captain wondered how Til and the others up in the Pious King were doing but then put the thought out of his mind, this was no time for distractions. He and his men slowed down as they approached the bridge, aware that the C.O.L prided themselves in setting up traps. They formed a semi-circle round the door, ready for whatever would emerge when they opened the door.

"Three, two, one..." the shout came from the demolitions expert and a moment later they were in. The battle for the bridge had begun.

~​

Meanwhile in the A.I. core, Kalade threw the bunch of wires she was inspecting to the floor in frustration. Thor came up to her and put his large hands upon her shoulders.

"Hey, maybe you should rest a few minute, you've been looking at that for hours..."

"It's... it's no use," the Lallowen exclaimed, wiping desperately at her eyes to hold back tears, "I know how to get Lisa back up and running but I just don't have the right tools here."

"You've done the best you could," Thor said in the most soothing voice he could muster. Ruth and Najeed looked on from the other side of the room by the locked door but didn't say anything, they were far more focused on the sounds of gunshots and shouting coming from outside the core. It was clear their fate was out of their hands right now.

~​

"Let's all just calm down here. I think we can all come to a mutual understanding, but not if we're pointing guns at each other." Nate recognised the voice as James, though from where he was he couldn't see any of the rescuers. "No one else has to die today."

The lead C.O.L amongst the group nodded in the direction of the rescuers and held up Ayesha for them to see better. He raised his eyebrows when he saw a large percentage of the struggling four year old seemed to composed of metal.

"You've already heard our demands, this ship is ours by right, leave us be. Despite what the S.U. propaganda may say, we don't want is bloodshed, however I may have no choice but to visit it upon your curiously cybernetic child if you keep on insisting on fighting us!"

The surprisingly eloquent hijacker held up his shining pistol menacingly to reinforce his point, twirling it causally around his trigger finger.

"Do you even know what we, the C.O.L, are fighting for?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Snip

Snip

Snip

"Do what you have to do, we'll keep 'em preoccupied." James said, as he went off to try and distract the C.O.L long enough got the plan to work. When he was sure that he was alone, Gabriel began interfacing with the security cameras in the local area, trying to find a reference point on the enemy guns, so he could find the correct route in disabling their trigger mechanism. Despite L.I.S.A being essentially on lockdown, he was able to navigate through the system without too much hassle, going through some minor slow areas due to whatever they had done.

*Executing 'Phase Shift' Protocol* The readout on Gabriel's headset as he synched up with pistols and assault rifles that the C.O.L was using. It looked as though that they used a system which moderate accuracy, recoil and firing rate, allowing the gun to fire smoothly and with little chance of jamming. He began modifying the settings, whereby with a minor delay, the gun would go into complete lockdown after the trigger was pulled.

"Perfect, all systems are in place, all we need now is a reason for them to shoot." Gabriel remarked, a roguish grin appearing on his face. He then stood up, stretching his arms as the new process integrated itself within his existing mainframe, meaning he could utilize the program again. As he made his way back to the group, Gabriel activated the process, although the effect wouldn't be made clear, or even noticed until the trigger was pulled. It was then that he heard the hijacker who was holding Ayesha hostage talk again.

"Do you even know what we, the C.O.L, are fighting for?"

"Is it independence? Freedom from the system that you think has you bound in chains."

 

[JoJo]

snip

"Is it independence? Freedom from the system that you think has you bound in chains."

"Exactly!" The C.O.L hijacker replied, waving his gun-wielding arm in an expansive gesture. "Forget what the S.U. has told you and think for yourselves. Why should the fates of me and my people be determined by some bureaucratic hivemind many light-years away from our planets, by sheltered politicians who know nothing of our ways or customs?" The hijacker's eyes took on a more distant look. "All we want is the right to decide our own future without a great capitalist empire intervening in our affairs from afar. Is that so much to ask?"

 

[Bravo 21]

snip

snip

"Forget what the S.U. has told you and think for yourselves. Why should the fates of me and my people be determined by some bureaucratic hivemind many light-years away from our planets, by sheltered politicians who know nothing of our ways or customs? All we want is the right to decide our own future without a great capitalist empire intervening in our affairs from afar. Is that so much to ask?"

"And what about the rest of us, those you would be taking with you when you break the Union? Since the S.U. came along, my people have taken to the stars, and you would take that away from us?" Muo wasn't sure what Gabe was aiming for, but he felt he might as well defend the Union in word as well as deed.

 

[JoJo]

snip

snip

"Pah," the hijacker snorted, "you act as though we set out to destroy the S.U. entirely! No, if your people want to depend on two alien races who ultimately only care for their own welfare then go ahead, it's nothing to us what you do as long as you leave our systems alone. Now, are you going to set down your weapons or am I going to have to reduce the S.U. population by two?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Snip

Snip

"Exactly!" The C.O.L hijacker replied with a hint of joy in his voice, waving his gun-wielding arm in an expansive gesture. "Forget what the S.U. has told you and think for yourselves. Why should the fates of me and my people be determined by some bureaucratic hive mind many light-years away from our planets, by sheltered politicians who know nothing of our ways or customs?" The hijacker's eyes took on a more distant look. "All we want is the right to decide our own future without a great capitalist empire intervening in our affairs from afar. Is that so much to ask?" Muo then took it upon himself to defend the Union in both word and deed.

"And what about the rest of us, those you would be taking with you when you break the Union? Since the S.U. came along, my people have taken to the stars, and you would take that away from us?"

"Pah." the hijacker snorted, "You act as though we set out to destroy the S.U. entirely! No, if your people want to depend on two alien races who ultimately only care for their own welfare then go ahead, it's nothing to us what you do as long as you leave our systems alone. Now, are you going to set down your weapons or am I going to have to reduce the S.U. population by two?" Gabriel then decided to rejoin the conversation, hoping to twist the events into him and the others favour using all the information he gathered.

"In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers." He said aloud to the group as a whole, drawing attention to himself. Gabriel then took a few moments to compose himself before speaking properly.

"Fighting is not always the answer to every conflict; all it does is bring pain, suffering and sorrow, to those who live amongst the fallout of war. Perhaps if you had taken a different path, perhaps if you had tried talking to the Union instead of fighting it, then perhaps this may never have happened.

But no, the League decided to take the easy way out didn't they? And isn't the easy way out reserved for cowards? Every life you take, and every second you have gun to that girl's head, your only giving the Solanic Union more and more reasons to go against you. However, I like to see things from different perspectives; and on one hand, I do not see a coward, I see a brave man; standing up against a government who you think does not wish for your independence.

On the other hand, I see a coward, standing behind innocent and defenceless little girl with a gun against her head. Do you think that killing someone her age is going to get you any respect? Of course not, you'll be seen as a monster and a coward who got backed into a corner and couldn't find a way out. If you want to be seen as the better by your peers, then you'll walk away from the conflict and put the gun down."

 

[JoJo]

snip

snip

snip

The hostage-taker blinked and then shook his head, Gabriel's words had obviously hit him hard. He lowered the gun slightly and at his signal the other hijackers nearby did the same, but he kept his grip on Ayesha's shirt. Somewhere far above the sound of gunfire rang out but no one moved.

"I... my..." he stumbled and then started again "Say... say we accept your proposal? What will become of us then, we are surrounded by armed men after-all. Can you grant us safe passage away from here?"

snip

snip

snip

snip

Captain Vance fought his way through the billowing smoke as he and his squad stormed the bridge, gunshots almost as thick in the air as the noxious gas itself. He saw one of his soldier's fall clutching her shoulder and he dived after her, dragging her over to the shelter of his old negotiating table, over-turned but still remarkably complete other than a couple of blast craters.

"Hold onto this!" the Captain shouted over the din as he pressed a scrap of material into the soldier's hand for her to stem her bleeding wound, then he slowly raised himself to get a better view of how the battle was progressing. What drew his gaze though was not the C.O.L. hijackers still putting up a steady resistance on the right side of the bridge, but rather an unusually small shuttle exiting the nearest port: shining silver in colour but unmistakably a makeshift craft from the way it's disparate cockpit and wings were clearly fused onto the main body. Without hesitation Captain Vance reached for his microphone.

"Captain Murray, Alia, Circe... anyone on the Pious King! There's a small craft leaving the Star Brigade at approximately North-West, maybe 330 degrees, which I believe holds the ringleaders of this hijacking. Please detain if possible or if not, do what you must!"

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Snip

Snip

Snip

Murray responded immediately. "Understood captain. Helm, bring us about. I want full shields on our port side and grav fields ready to fire on that vessel. I want it captured, not destroyed. Circe, target the shuttle when you have a clear shot. I want that thing snagged and dragged."

Murray pinched his nose. This was turning into a mess. The flotilla was down four ships, the Western Pilgrim had suffered extensive damage and was being escorted out of the combat zone. It was hell fighting these League cruisers. Hiding in the rings, they would pop out from behind the large rocks and frozen gas pockets, take a potshot, then disappear, only for their friends to then hit them from another side.

He had to admire Circe and Alia's performance in the situation however. Despite her shakiness, Circe was a natural shot. At ranges this close in astronomical terms, the ability to perform under duress was welcome. He almost wished that she wasn't going to be transferred off his ship. But he still had E.R.I.S to work with.

The King began to turn on its axis, angling itself to cover the Star Brigade, still drifting below them. Whatever was going on in that ship, they certainly weren't moving. The tactical display on his chair console zoomed in to identify the fleeing ship. The small shuttle was weaving and dodging in the vacuum. That told Murray everything he needed to know.

"Alia, signal the hangar to prepare a boarding detail for when the ship is pulled in. Circe, grab it when you are ready. It looks like they've got an air boy piloting that ship."

So many people failed to realize the differences between atmospheric flight and movement in a void. When you were working with weapons that recalculated thousands of kilometers in microseconds, all the weaving and dodging you did to avoid hits just ended up wasting energy. It was only through sheer nerve and reliance on the unpredictability of organic pilots that managing to avoid shots was possible.

The pilot of the shuttle was about to learn that very soon.
[hr]

The Legionnaire and the Tantor were mobile gun platforms, rather than true warships. They would sit at the back of formations, and use their heavier weaponry for such acts as Planetary Bombardment or ship hunting operations.

Commander Teal was concerned. The League were continually reinforcing, and they couldn't pinpoint the source of their entry points. The Crelm commander was native to the Colonies, and had fought against League splinter groups regularly. But s/he had never seen them operate in such large numbers, or so well organized. Not since his/her posting in the sector following the Excisions themselves. Something else was happening.

"Lieutenant, fire a tracer probe over the planet's northern pole. I want to see the far side." Teal ordered.

The probed streaked away from the ship, swiftly vanishing as it sped off. The terminal switched to the probe's visual scan. Passing over the fighting, only marked by the beam shots as they flashed below, the probe reached Jundas's crest.

"Activate the scans for unusual activity." said Teal. "Perhaps they have more bases along the rings."

"Commander, I'm picking up an unidentified ship signature." said the Lieutenant. "It doesn't have a registry, and it doesn't conform to any of the C.O.L operating numbers."

"It could be a courier vessel fleeing the system, keep searching."

"Commander, it was heading from a base on the Laeris Quadrant of the ring. That same base has been used as an origin point for the last twenty League Vessels entering the combat zone. I doubt it is a gun runner, no other ships have been caught leaving orbit."

Then where is it going, and who is it carrying, thought Teal. "Tag it with the probe, Lieutenant. We're too far out to stop it from jumping, but if we can get some more information on it, anything, we can follow up on this when today is over with."

"Understood captain."
[hr]

Snip

Snip

Vance and the Marines were pushing through the ship, with Grendar close behind. The League troopers were well dug in, an the Marines were taking heavy losses. Grendar was chanting sermons and inspiring the remaining soldiers to press on, and Vance was doing his best to avoid damaging the ship.

The Marine sergeant slid into cover next to him. "Sir, second team is moving on the AI Core! If we can get control of it, and bring the system back online, we can lock down the ship and contain the enemy in sealed off bulkheads."

The sergeant shoved a comm into Vance's hands. "Your Corps members are at the armory, Captain. We bypassed them by using the Crelm's water tubes. They've got a setup team, but we should be able to take them."

[hr]
Thor heard the gunshots outside the hatch. "Najeed, come here. I need your help with this conduit." Thor motioned for Najeed to come over to him, and for Ruth and Kalade to stay put. He whispered. "Sounds like they've got trouble outside. This is our chance to take the guards. I need you to distract them, then let me do the rest."

Najeed nodded. Thor began to move. "Let's go!"

Najeed stood up and walked around the corner. The two guards raised their guns. "Fixed your ship yet, kid? Or have you just given up?"

"I need to go to the bathroom. And you don't want us moving without a guard, right?"

The guard grunted. "Huh, fine, we'll let you go. You can shit in a bucket for all I care. Go grab one from the corner."

Najeed complied, heading for the storage unit on the other side of the room. The two guards followed him with their guns. That was their last mistake. Thor lunged from behind the computer bank and crashed into the two guards. He managed to get his hands around the trooper's neck and swiftly snapped it around. Najeed rushed towards the other guard, planting a foot in his face and sweeping his gun away from the man. Thor grabbed the combat knife from the first guard and jammed it through the second's eye, smothering his screams with his hands.

It had taken less than fifteen seconds, but both of the guards were dead without so much as a sound. Thor sprang to his feet, tossing one of the guns to Najeed, and hefting the other. "Alright, there's only one way in and out of the AI core," he said, eying the door. "It sounds like we've got friends on the other side, as well as more League Troops. I think it's best if we hold tight for now, but if they try to retreat back in here, we'll take them out, got it?"

"y-yeah. Got it." stammered Najeed. He was shaking heavily, the adrenaline still pumping through him. Thor had gone from amicable to a ruthless killer in a flash. Najeed guessed he hadn't received so many cybernetics for nothing. How does a pilot get into so many fights?
[hr]

Snip

snip

Snip

Tom hit the bottom of the ladder hard. The Crelm still had his arms around his throat, and he was gasping for air. His gun had been knocked from his hands, and his fists just passed through the Crelm's membrane, leaving it uninjured.

The two hit the bottom deck in a heap. The impact sent them flying in different directions, finally releasing the Crelm's tentacles from his throat. Tom breathed in deeply, coughing up blood. In the zero gravity environment, his blood splattered across the bulkhead in floating droplets. The Crelm recovered first, pushing off against the wall towards him. Tom was in no condition to react, so he braced himself and closed his eyes.

There was a squelching sound and a deafening bang. But he wasn't dead. He felt like he was broken in a number of places, to be sure, but he was still alive. Cautiously, he opened his eyes.

What was left of the Crelm was drifting through the corridor. A huge dent in the bulkhead was plastered with the alien's membranes, as was Demexin. The aftermath of an Astrid phase shift was always said to be gruesome, but Tom wasn't quite ready to experience it firsthand. Demexin grabbed Tom and gently settled him on the deck.

"Are you alright? Speak if you can hear me!"

Tom's vision was blurring, and the pain was numbing. Demexin's face was filled with concern. "Tom, listen to me, stay awake!" his voice sounded muffled. He blacked out soon after.

 

[hiei82]

snip

snip

Alia responded quickly to the Captain's order, opening a line to the hanger-bay, and warning them of the incoming hijacked vessel; presumably occupied by the leaders of the star-ship thieves. She sent the message without much fanfare, then returned to the task of organizing the rest of the fleet; they were going to be victorious in the battle, baring any unexpected reinforcements, but every well placed and timed shot against the enemies saved their fleet a few more sailors and soldiers.

 

[Fishtie]

Circe responded with a quick acknowledgment. She felt she was beginning to settle down, but this would be a totally different challenge. As she examined the small shuttle on her monitor she considered it's evasion. It was true that such maneuvers would do little to keep the ship from being hit, but it did make things rather uniquely difficult for Circe. Hitting the ship would be simple, but it also wasn't good enough; accidentally nailing the cockpit might very well kill all of the occupants, and the small ship size combined with the shifting made guaranteeing a hit on the engines noticeably more difficult.

It was then that Circe remembered something from her training. "...Beings are creatures of habit and A.I.s doubly so. Utilizing comfortable repeating patterns frees up focus to use on other tasks. However, identify your target's patterns and you can use them to your own advantage..."

Circe began to watch the pod as it continued to flee, allowing the guns to align as she did so. It wasn't long before she began to see the repetition in the maneuvers, in particular a slight jump to the port side after each half roll. When she saw the target beginning the small roll she quickly calculated it's projected end point and waited for a well timed moment before pulling the trigger and setting about readying the grav fields.

 

[TheBlueShotgun0]

snip

snip

snip

James almost couldn't believe it. Gabriel had gotten through to the rebel, and they might just end this without any more deaths. But they would have to pick their words carefully. "We can." James said, speaking up. "If you give us control of the ship, we can take you where ever you like. But we need you to release those people first." James could feel the sweat on his brow. A lot of lives could be saved or lost depending on this man's decision.

 

[JoJo]

snip

"I get you sergeant," Captain Vance replied, the smoke around them clearing at the remaining C.O.L fled the bridge and stormed deeper into ship. "They must be trying to regroup, let's not give them a chance to finish," he continued as he stood up and took in the damage. His leather chair had taken a few shots and new monitors would be needed but otherwise, not bad.

"Moving out, marines!" he called out to the soldiers as the squad moved into one of the corridors leading to the lower levels where the hijackers had fled to. After an tense couple of minutes the group came across Tom lying on the floor apparently unconscious, Demexin by his side.

"What happened here Demexin?" the Captain asked angrily, even after over a decade of service he still couldn't stand seeing his fellow comrades gravely injured.

snip

snip

Til watched as Circe's shot hurtled into the darkness, apparently it was well-aimed as a moment later the fleeing ship's left engine burst in a bright red flash of flame. The shuttle swerved around in a circle and began to head straight back towards the Pious King. Again it was ducking and diving as it flew but this time not deliberately, it was clear the pilot was fighting to control his machine. Til gasped, open mouthed as the ship sped towards the deck where she, Captain Murray, Alia and Circe were stationed.

snip

snip

snip

"Okay, we accept your offer," the C.O.L hijacker called back and he lead his five comrades down the broken stairway to where the corps stood, however they kept a hold of Nate and Ayesha. He came up close to Gabriel and James, and raised his gun in a sign of peace, however the other C.O.L kept their weapons pointed firmly at the hostages.

"Now, take us to the nearest escape ship," he said gruffly, "you folks may be alright but the S.U. courts would never let us see the light of day again. Once we're safe, then you can have your civvies back," he paused and then added, "the name's Jaden by the way... last name's not important."

 

[hiei82]

snip

snip

As Circe's shot slammed into the vessel, Alia smiled - or at least tried to smile; it wasn't really an Astrad expression so she wasn't very good at it. Nor was she very good at any of the other forms of body language. The universal translator could handle the words and tones and chemical pheromones of a communication with relative ease. Sure there were some concepts that failed to translate, like expressing more then two genders in the human tongue for instance, but the most difficult and impossible task was body language. It was unconscious, visual communication. Even if you knew the rules, how could you emulate it in any way? They had tried to put a camera on the translator and add a verbal translation of the body language to compensate for the problem, but this had been met with almost universal hatred; apparently the ability to read body languages made lies - even white ones - next to impossible. The idea didn't last one generation.

But I digress; Alia watched as the ship began to falter and sputter as it twisted and turned in the vacuum of space. All that appeared to be left was to tow it into a hanger bay and raid the small vessel. It was a solid victory; but unfortunately the emphasis was on the "was", for seconds later, the ship's course aligned with the bridge and the collision course was set. There was nothing Alia could do about it, but there was one thing she needed to do. Still linked to the comm-sys, she yelled into it "Pious King; all hands brace for impact!"

She then followed her own advise, pushing herself into the best protected position possible, pulling an awestruck officer whose name she had yet to learn down to safety as well.

 

[Fishtie]

snips

snails

Circe let out a tiny hiss of triumph when her shot struck true. True the shot had not been super difficult, but it was her first real proof that she could succeed. Wasting little time though she refocused her attention to the gun readouts, she would have to make sure everything was ready for the next series of attacks she would have to make.

Thus, Circe was quite surprised when Alia's voice blared out to brace. Circe looked up and saw the shuttle spiraling out of control. For a moment Circe considered directing a shot at the incoming target, but the possibility was dismissed a moment later at the impossibility. Circe froze, trapped in her seat for precious moments before she threw herself to the side in a confused attempt to get out of the way.

 

[TheBlueShotgun0]

snip

snip

snip

Of course the last name isn't important. James thought to himself. This Jaden might be a terrorist, but he wasn't a stupid one. James was just glad they had come to a conclusion that didn't involve any further bloodshed. His gaze briefly drifted to the dead bodies on the floor, and wished it had come earlier. He focused on Jaden again. "Sounds like a deal." he said with his best smile. "Please follow me."

As the group departed, James pulled up next to Gabriel. "Their weapons?" he mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for the other to hear.