'Of Future Heroism' - Pt.14 - Darkened Horizons...
There was a word in the news... and that word was missing... A split destroyer sat 1500m off the trading station it's lights on but no visible signs of life. Police units had monitored it since it arrived... The news service said there was no life signs. The destroyer was empty... no owner could so far be found and there was no identifiable markings in the usual places. We sat in a cafe wondering what could be going on. Three Worlds was the HQ of the Chin Rebellion... Our home... Although our ships were scattered in their hiding places jump drives allowed us to assemble at very short notice... We'd run drills in less that 10 mizura we could scramble all ships and invade a sector en masse... generally in these raids we'd only managed to take down corvettes and hadn't dared to go for destroyers.
"Chi'zaia? Has anything like this happened is split space???" she was agitated... very much so "No nothing? Do you think they've come to get us???" Kiseedrann looks down "Perhaps we should have killed Lacorastiin... This is all my fault... I've put everyone in danger... Xaar is going to kill me... That is if I live through this..." "Stop thinking about your own hide for a second and let me think..." wow... where did this come from... Chi'zaia's always seemed playful... but I've never seen her so serious... has she snapped... "Tikirin... contact 'Sallix get her to scramble the fleet" She's so forceful... where is this coming from??? "Done" "Kiseedrann what's the Paranid angle" Kiseedrann looks shocked... "errrrr... We can't bring military units into Argon space without causing an incident... which could lead to war" "Contact the consulate get them to send a transport with as many Hornet missiles as you can spare" "Right!" This calm was contagious... I felt it creeping into me... "Hmm... I think it would be best to bring the Broken Sword back just in case." I flicked open my pda and opened the capital ship menu without thinking... tap tap... what?!? Jump drive not installed??? I selected the info screen... "YOUR SPLIT PYTHON!!!" my voice became shrill with the shock of it... people began to stare angrily... Kiseedrann's eyebrows raise... "Some gift... could have told us"
It was an exciting wozura... For the first time Kiseedrann got to feel the benefits of bipedal living on Three Worlds... meanwhile Chi'zaia and I searched the Python... The ship was vast... and completely empty... not a single sign of habitation... All mod cons were installed... PPC weapons... 125Mw shields... but it was empty... This ship was practically brand new... Sahl had obviously arranged its procurement... Even before the mazura was out Kiiran was onboard modifying the ship... The news of our destroyer had brought many dissidents to our cause... Family Ryk and Tkr in particular showed sympathy for our cause... It was as if the destroyer was a validation of our intent... Our cause had never seemed stronger...
I browsed the catalogue... hmmm... "Argon Titan MKIII... Never before has the public been given the opportunity to purchase the destroyer ship of the Argon Military. But this Tazura it is with great pride that the Argon Shipyard Co. that we offer this majestic and powerful onto the open market" Chi'zaia frowns... "Price on application... Where's the application???" "It's a figure of speech... we have to ask at the shipyard" her eyes turn into a squint "Why do you want a Titan anyway??? We can't afford one!?!?" Oh I just have to tell her!!! "Chi'zaia..." "Yes???" "Do you remember that I gave that list to the TL captain in Trinity Sanctum..." "Yes???" "Well... He went a little overboard..." "OVERBOARD???" her Paranid was failing her... "Yes... he Just kept buying and buying" "Oh no... How much is our debt" I touch her forehead... "What are you doing?!?!" she looks at me with a puzzled expression "I'm checking your temperature... You must be ill!!!" If only you could have seen the expression of... oh you just had to be there!!! "So how much..." I opened the statement and felt my breath disappear..." "so how much???" "..." "HOW MUCH!?!?! Tell me" "86 million..." Chi'zaia slumped into her chair... "we'll never pay that off... never..." I looked up "Pay off??? That's profit" "Profit?" her voice wavered... "86 million" "Yes" "Profit" "Yes" we both burst into a fit of laughter... "Well what are we waiting for!!! Lets go Shopping!!!"
Now... You'd think that 86 million would go a long way... But you see... We're designer rebels... and plush heated seats and fitted wardrobes aren't thrown into the cost of buying the ship... pity... Oh and then there was the small consideration of weapons and shields... but what about the colour of the seating!!! I mean it should come in a variety of colours!!! Not just grey... then there was outfits to match the titan and python as you need to be colour co-ordinated for being on the comm... Now with two carriers... in less than a Jazura... We might just pull it off. Kiseedrann snuggled close to me... I felt sorry for her... soon she'd have to return to Paranid space back to a life without touch, and a huge egg laying sack. That was no life...
Now we had two destroyers but something was bothering me... Your Split Python and Your Argon Titan were not good sounding ship names... we needed to actually come up with proper names. I had not even thought about names... It had to be something Kiseedrann want it to be Azzure... Paranid for Cause... Chi'zaia and Salax want it to be Cho'Molonshy... the translator refused to even attempt it stating that it was simply too rude... The Python Azzure... a Python with a Paranid name... that could work... Ok so I got bothered for Tazuras but I think it's better in the long run... I mean just think how embarrassing it would be if the Chin flagship was Cho'Molonshy... No I refuse to let it happen!!! Chi'zaia has finally calmed down... it took a while... This must have been the curb that my... hmmm... now what can I call her... Stepmother??? I wondered if she was still alive... maybe one day I'd know her name... maybe one day I'd get to put her on trial. As for the Titan... Steslza had the perfect name... Rife to'r ... Hope... Pleural... but you don't say the Pleural it's a word description, or schinn'e... So two ships named in Paranid... Maybe it was the only language we all shared.
I sat on the bridge of the Rife... the seat was comfortable... Ok... It's a capital ship... but still a ship... I touched the controls... the tactical display came into view... this was going to take some getting used to... I targeted an asteroid "Weapons control... commence weapon test!" a hail of bolts flew towards the asteroid seemingly covering it with plasma... suddenly it exploded... "This is weapons control... target destroyed". Suddenly Steslza came over the comm... "Tikirin, there's something you should see... The news vid link was brought up on the monitor... "Today Ronkar, the new patriarch of all split addressed the split families from Family Pride..." The coverage cuts to Ronkar "Ronkar first family now!!! Ronkar kill all Chin... Chin now dead!!! So war over!!!" this continued on and on... my for a split Ronkar seems to lack any sort of intellect... suddenly I noticed a aged looking woman in the background... There was my enemy... Ronkar was a puppet to his wife. Sahl softly breathed into my ear... I whipped round "What??? How??? You're very quiet" he laughed "You're not the first Chin to tell me that... but then I hear that all the chin are dead" "Yes that was quite humorous" he smiles "Fancy making your own broadcast??? You know... show the universe we mean business" "Sure! Oh and thank you for the Python... how did you get it anyway" "Oh is was just lying around... shame to waste it". I awoke in the night... This tazura Ronkar was going to fear me... I would not be denied this...
The fleet assembled behind the nebula... obscuring us from the prying eyes of traders... "Ok... This is it... Stick to the plan... we'll get through this" the jump drive engaged. We entered Family Pride... The Azzure right behind us... followed by multiple corvettes and fighters... Or enemy 3 of Ronkar's Elite Python and a Carrier... It took them only a few sazura to see us... they all charged!!! Each ship arrived in firing range almost in single file allowing the firing crews here on the Rife and on the Azzure to concentrate their fire... It was surprisingly easy... "It's time" we entered the transport craft... I watched as the docking clamps hissed open... Down we went... heading for the surface...
Here I was sitting in the exact same office as Ronkar had made his address only a Tazura ago... so many thoughts ran through my mind. "Ok... We're ready to begin" I took a deep breath "Lets do it". Connection established... a small red light appeared on the camera... I suddenly realised I'd not prepared a speech... my mouth just started moving... "A tazura ago... the false patriarch stated that all Chin resistance had been put down... But this Tazura the chin family have struck deep in family pride... deep enough to come to the very location that Ronkar made his address. We are not beaten... and we will not stop until the Split dynasty is returned to it's rightful rulers!!!"... "Ok... we're clear" I breathed a sigh of relief... "Lets get out of here".
I sat on the bed in our little quarters onboard the Rife which was orbiting Three Worlds... The news was on the vid screen... We had just done something amazing and no one was there to report it... what had happened... The news bulletin cuts to an interview "Wha??? But Ghinn t' Niquar killed!!! Split did it self!!!" Oh that poor model... "The Chosen Daughter... that Ronkar speaks of is believed to be the leader of the Chin resistance movement. It is not know how large the Chin fleet is but the debris in and around family pride suggests that there must be atleast 10 M2 class destroyers and numerous M1 carriers... but as mysteriously as this fleet arrived it disappeared into the nebulas of Family Pride" I almost felt vindicated... it seemed to validate everything we had been doing these last Jazuras...
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Reasonably pleased with this one... hope you guys like it... I'm going to take a little break to write a mini-series... but don't worry 'Of Future Heroism' is far from over!!!
'Of Future Heroism' - Pt.14 - Darkened Horizons...
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silentWitness
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silentWitness
- Posts: 4995
- Joined: Wed, 6. Nov 02, 20:31
I liked the description of the shopping process.-
silentWitness
- Posts: 4995
- Joined: Wed, 6. Nov 02, 20:31
Tikirin is an Argon girl at heart... Plus she got a good deal... She is after all a Senator's Daughter... 
And there's a plot to be had from the Odysseus... Let's just say things have gone smoothly for too long...
I hope you guys are actually enjoying it and not just paying lip service... I've got a 4 Part feature length Xenon Story in the works... That I hope people will enjoy...
And there's a plot to be had from the Odysseus... Let's just say things have gone smoothly for too long...I hope you guys are actually enjoying it and not just paying lip service... I've got a 4 Part feature length Xenon Story in the works... That I hope people will enjoy...