Dark Haven - Chapter 11

[crunn]

Chapter 01 (Fate of the Armadeaus)
Chapter 02 (Portents)
Chapter 03 (Passing of a Fantasy)
Chapter 04 (Fissures in the Dark)
Chapter 05 (Reminiscence)
Chapter 06 (Things that go Bump...)
Chapter 07 (The Rocky Road)
Chapter 08 (Escape Plan)
Chapter 09 (Becoming)
Chapter 10 (And it Begins Again)


------------------------------------------
DARK HAVEN

Chapter 11 (Flight)


*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*

'What the??
Proximity alert.
Sensors show a non-localised energy disturbance all around.
There are jump points forming everywhere.'

'I'm not hanging around to find out who is coming through.
I'm out of here.'


Pierson turned the M5 one-eighty degrees as he hit the boosters.
Not caring about proximity to the station this time, he set a heading for the Jubilee and the gate beyond.
He sped towards then past the station, less than one kilometre at the nearest point.


'I'm almost surprised that nothing bad happened being so close to it.
That thing gives me the creeps, how can a station change shape in just a few stazura (days).
More importantly, why?'

'I see through the rear view that the ships are starting to come through the Wormholes.
The station still fills most of the screen, but is a more comfortable distance now, and getting further.'

'The ships are small,
small and black,
smaller than the Disco,
but so many of them.
Hundreds, maybe thousands,
gathering closely together.
They are coming after me.
Fast.'

'Double check my speed... four-ninety.'

'I'll select one, scan for more information...
Sensors can't penetrate.
No info other than size and shape.'

'The colour, black, smooth, shiny, looks to be somewhat reflective.
And the shape, ugly, creepy, definitely not friendly looking.
Almost oval, egg shaped, not quite.
Several small protrusions underneath toward the front, maybe weapon mounts, grapples or landing gear, hard to tell.'
They do look oddly familiar, insect like, something I've seen...

Ahhh, not quite the same shape, and the protrusions/legs are very different, but they bear a vague resemblance to the crop mites that swept across Argon Prime a few jazuras (years) ago.
If it weren't for the orbital facilities and imports a lot of people would have starved that year.
I remember the news stories well, ugly looking beasts, near microscopic but so dangerous to the food chain.'

'I wonder how fast they are.
They don't seem to be catching up.
The scan of their ship won't tell me their top speed, but sensors can tell me their current speed...
Exactly three hundred meters per sezura.'

'Well at that speed they certainly won't catch me in the Discoverer.
As for the Jubilee and Elites...
What the hell am I doing...'

"Pierson to Jubilee. Emergency!"

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"You need to head back for the gate immediately.
I'm being pursued by thousands of unknown vessels.
They are fast, three hundred meters per sezura."

"Do you have the Captain?"

"Yes. Well I have someone, haven't had time to check who yet."

"Any sign of the Armadeaus?"

"Nothing but the station and the black ships.
No trace, no debris, not even any asteroids for a huge distance around."

"At 300m/s they will catch us approximately thirty mizuras before we reach the gate.
Pierson, do you think you could distract them, delay them for a while?"

"Ermmm, did I mention there are thousands of them?"

"Yes, but you can out-run them."

"Well I guess I could lead them off at a tangent or meander my way back.
That's assuming they are all chasing me alone.
Hold a moment."

Pierson pitched his ship forty five degrees upward.

"Yes they are all after me, they have all matched my new heading."

"Do your best, just don't get yourself killed, Hall out."

...

'Just don't get killed'
*chuckle*
'My policy on life.'

'Ok I need to buy them at least thirty mizuras.
I'll pitch up another thirty degrees then keep it straight.
When the Jubilee is five mizuras from the gate I'll head back down.
That should buy more than enough time.'

'I've set the auto-pilot to keep the speed and direction constant.'

'Check my speed again... four-ninety.
And theirs... 302.
What!!
Check again 303... 303... 303.'

...

'304... 304... 304.'

'They are accelerating slowly.
Increasing by around one meter per sezura every mizura.'

'That's ok, I should be out of here in a little over thirty, they'll only be doing three hundred and thirty by then.
What if they follow us through the gate?
Lets not think about that just now.'

'Anyway, time to look at my passenger.'

...

--------------------------
A Few Mizuras Earlier
--------------------------

M6 Jubilee


Lieutenant Sina is now on the bridge to replace Pierson.
Sina is looking at the sector information, watching the progress of the other Lieutenant.
She is very much the strategist, very intelligent, her mind is always active, inquisitive.
Sina is in training to be a fighter pilot and Commander. She came top in every class at the academy, aggressively competitive, which is the main reason she is rising through the ranks so quickly.
They expect her to make Commander very soon, this would make her the youngest Commander in the fleet at only nineteen.
The Captain is sitting in her chair looking out the main observation window, thinking.

'Pierson should be almost at the station by now, I expect he will be calling soon, hopefully with some good news.'

"Lieutenant Sina, what is our ETA on the station?"

The information already in her head, no hesitation.
"Thirty nine mizuras.
Pierson is at the station now."

"We are receiving a transmission from the Lieutenant."

"Put it through Ensign."
--
"Pierson to Jubilee. Emergency!"

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"You need to head back for the gate immediately.
I'm being pursued by thousands of unknown vessels.
They are fast, three hundred meters per sezura."
--
"Ensign, contact our escort tell them to get back to the gate.
Sina, turn us full about,
and calculate whether we can make it back to the gate in time."

"Yes sir."
--
"Do you have the Captain?"

"Yes. Well I have someone, haven't had time to check who yet."

"Any sign of the Armadeaus?"

"Nothing but the station and the black ships.
No trace, no debris, not even any asteroids for a huge distance around."
--
"Captain Hall.
We won't make it to the gate.
We'll still be thirty mizuras from the gate when they catch up."

"Oh dear."
--
"At 300m/s they will catch us approximately thirty mizuras before we reach the gate.
Pierson, do you think you could distract them, delay them for a while?"

"Ermmm, did I mention there are thousands of them?"

"Yes, but you can out-run them."

"Well I guess I could lead them off at a tangent or meander my way back.
That's assuming they are all chasing me alone.
Hold a moment...
Yes they are all after me, they have all matched my new heading."

"Do your best, just don't get yourself killed, Hall out."

The Ensign cut communications.
Jessica double checked the new heading and that the Elites were still along side.

"Lieutenant, I'm going to my office to call Fleet Command, you have the bridge.

Once the Captain left the bridge Sina eagerly sat in the Captains chair.
She brings up an image of one of the black ships from the Discoverers sensors.
The Lieutenant looks it over closely. She zooms the image on the smooth black skin, rotates it to see the leg-like protrusions.

'Weapon mounts, most likely.
Small ships, shouldn't be too challenging individually or in small groups.
So, how to separate them?'

'I wonder how Pierson is doing.
I'll display the Discoverer on the small view screen.
He's leading them sharply upward. They are still all following him, good.'

...

Captain Hall enters her office. Hurriedly she sits and brings up the priority comms menu.
Commander Reamus' face replaces the Argon Fleet Command logo.

"Commander, this is Captain Hall.
I have an Emergency transmission for the Admiral.
Can you put me through please?"

"I think he's in a meeting with the Generals, hold a moment, I'll try to cut in...
Captain Hall, I'm putting you through now, the Generals are there too, they will be able to hear you."

"Thank you."
--

The Admirals face appears on her view screen.

"Admiral Ornov, this is Captain Hall of the Jubilee investigating the disappearance of the Armadeaus.
We are being pursued by thousands of unknown black ships. The Armadeaus and its Discoverer are nowhere to be seen, we assume the black ships destroyed them.
We have rescued one member of their crew."

"Do you have any information on the ships capabilities?"

"Not much, sensors won't penetrate, just like the station, but we have their speed, size and shape.
I'm sending you our logs, they contain all this information."

And the rescued crewman, has he any further information?
What happened to the Armadeaus.
Weapon and defence capabilities.
The enemy's attack patterns."

"We don't know yet, we haven't established who it is.
I will contact you when we do."

"Ok."

Another voice cut in, Jessica didn't recognise it, but guessed that it was on of the Generals which Reamus mentioned.

"Will you make it out of the sector?"

"Not sure.
If we do make it out of X8, it will be close. If they follow us into Teladi Way we won't stand a chance, they are too fast.
You may want to contact the Teladi, everyone in that sector may be in terrible danger very shortly.
If this is just a scouting fleet, by the size of their ships it looks that way, we are all in danger."

"Good luck Captain."

"Thank you, General.
And Admiral I'll keep you updated.
Jubilee out."

...


Argon Fleet Command


"General Ilandas! don't butt in like that ever again."

"With all due respect Admiral, you don't seem too concerned with the lives of your subordinates.
You send them into obvious danger, telling them nothing.
You don't ask if they will manage to get out or if they need assistance.
The only thing you wanted to know about the rescued crewman was if he had any valuable information, nothing of his wellbeing."

"General, we have more important things to worry about than pleasantries.
This is war, no, worse, this is an invasion by superior forces.
Lives will be lost.
Any information we can get at this early stage may mean our victory.
And that is all that counts.

Enough of this Ilandas, we all heard the Captain and it looks more likely than ever that we have a hostile invasion on our hands.
As soon as your Jumpdrives arrive and are fitted I want each of you to jump directly to Teladi Way and await further instructions.
I will contact the other races and see if any will get involved."

[Moss]

Very strange creature this whatever it is that is consuming the station, something that normaly lives in hyperspace maybe? the thousands of little ships either come from hyperspace or somewhere not to far away at least!

I do wonder with the last two chapter headings, what might be happening to captain Monroe, this is starting to seem infectious.

I think General Ilandas will be quite unpopular now for critisising the Admiral, tho I can't think why asking if the Jubilee would get out ok would be a bad thing, stepping on toes maybe!

[crunn]

I do wonder with the last two chapter headings, what might be happening to captain Monroe, this is starting to seem infectious.

Ahh, someone has been paying attention to the details.

'I'm becoming one with it and it with me, I know what it knows, everything, everything.'

I think General Ilandas will be quite unpopular now for criticising the Admiral, tho I can't think why asking if the Jubilee would get out ok would be a bad thing, stepping on toes maybe!

I see I should have explained this earlier, I'll have to see about editing it in somewhere.

I can tell you now, though you will hear it from Ilandas later/earlier as well.

Ornov and Ilandas know each other and have never got on well, contrasting opinions.
Ornov is very much 'old school', the mission comes first lives can and will be lost, honour and duty above all else, Captain goes down with the ship, no greater honour than dying in battle.
Ilandas the opposite, caution, safety, the mission is more important but every precaution will be taken, the job IS about protecting the lives of the civilians and military alike, if a life can be saved it will be saved.
Ilandas sees Ornov willing to endanger/sacrifice people and can't help speaking out.


Hope this explains things till I get it sorted.

[KiwiNZ]

Very good read, crunn! You manage to build up tension well! This slowly increasing speed certainly is something to watch out for. If it is linear there certainly is nothing to fear but if it turns somewhat logarithmic he'll be caught very soon

I am looking forward to further development.


found two typos:
"Sina in training to be a fighter pilot" - is?
"Luitenant Sina"

[crunn]

found two typos

Thanks, sorted.

As always thanks to all the readers.

Next instalment in a few days as usual.

[Al]

Loooking good. Keep it coming.

Must be about time for a big bust up

Al

[crunn]

Must be about time for a big bust up

I guess you mean space battles?

Weeeeeell, I wasn't planing on having much in the way of minor skirmishes, the Xenon a few chapters back, maybe one other coming up soon.
I'm saving it all for the final battle(s), you can probably guess with the gathering of capital ships it's gona' be a big one(s),
and probably not too far away now, my thinking at the mo' is chapter 16/17 ish will see the end.
Though that said, a couple of weeks back I couldn't see any more than 13 chapters, but we will see.