Homecoming

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 03 Nov 2006, 07:09

And then...there was an epsiode.

Teresa stepped out of the Michaelangelo, feeling far better then when she had left. After she had thought about it, Vindict's words made a lot of sense. Chess didn't have to actually be a direct decedent of the Savior to be the Messiah.

Her good mood lasted five seconds.

├óÔé¼┼ôGone├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa stared at Miles, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you mean...gone?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI don't know how, I don't know when...but Chess left the ship├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

├óÔé¼┼ôShe left five minutes after Teresa did├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, piping up for the first time in a while.

├óÔé¼┼ôHow?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI have no idea├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt didn't leave a distortion usually made with a Kliner Jump. The ambient radiation levels in the room were nill, then spiked for a Planks Constant, then was gone. And I barely caught the ass end of that moment with my scanners├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAny indication of where she went?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôNone whatsoever├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said.

Miles sighed, rubbing his temples.

├óÔé¼┼ôI need to report to Vindict├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa pushed past him, frowning.

Miles followed her as she walked to the bridge. Teresa sat down in his chair and turned on the computer, connecting to Vindict's office.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes?├óÔé¼┬Ø Vindict asked, looking at the screen.

├óÔé¼┼ôChess is gone├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said.

Vindict closed his eyes, a expression of deep sadness flashing over his face. Then he opened his eyes, calm again.

├óÔé¼┼ôThen that is that. She will return when she wants to return. Continue with your mission├óÔé¼┬Ø his image blinked off the screen. Teresa leaned the chair back, frowning.

├óÔé¼┼ôThat man is almost too calm some times├óÔé¼┬Ø She muttered.

├óÔé¼┼ôMission?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat mission?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to go to New Terra and offer the support of the Tattooed to the USHS. Want to come along?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSure├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, smiling as Teresa stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôAs...as long as I get to spend time with you...please don't slap me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI wasn't going to slap you├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôHow long will it take the Kliners to warm up?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHalf a day├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said unobtrusively.

├óÔé¼┼ôAbout...├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôHalf a day, at best shot├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa smiled, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to talk about some things├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSuch as├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked

├óÔé¼┼ôYour room would be a nice place to start├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa stood up and walked out of the bridge. Miles followed her.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat about my room?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked as Teresa opened the door to it. Teresa walked in, looking over her shoulder.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat about it?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôDoes it sme-├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa reached out and hauled him into the room, the door closing behind him.

├óÔé¼┼ôI hate to ask├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles murmured as he kissed Teresa, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy the change of heart?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRemember when you got Knighted...for bringing Chess back to the Tattooed?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, sitting on the bed. Miles sat next to her, nodding.

├óÔé¼┼ôVindict said that that made you a Tattooed, of a sorts├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, her hand running over his chest, fingering the buttons on his shirt.

├óÔé¼┼ôWait├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, suddenly angry, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou wouldn't love me until I got the stamp of approval from Vindict?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt's not...appropriate to have relations with a...follower of a different faith. But you are now...technically a Tattooed. I don't see what your problem with th-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMy problem is├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stood, walking to the edge of the room, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy problem is...├óÔé¼┬Ø

He paused, not quite able to formulate his words.

├óÔé¼┼ôMy problem is that you had to get...permission├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa stood, walking to him, anger rising in her too, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy religion is important to me. By now you must have noticed that. . I can't just throw away the values I've fought my entire life to protect├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles sighed, turning around, ├óÔé¼┼ôI know...it just rubs me the wrong way.

├óÔé¼┼ôIt 'rubs me the wrong way' that you were a Muslim. But...hell, I think most lovers hate at least one thing about their partners├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMy dad hated how my mom would never use a coaster├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles murmured.

├óÔé¼┼ôI never had a father, actually├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy sister and I were orphans├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, nonplussed.

Teresa turned around, a smile cracking her face, ├óÔé¼┼ôLets get this out of our systems now. I really hate how you look down on religion├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI hate how you always seem to use needlessly insane tactics. I mean would it kill you to be careful for once in your life?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stepped closer, smiling as well.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes, actually├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa kissed him. Miles pushed forward slightly and they landed on the bed, the frame squeaking slightly as their weight landed on it. Teresa's legs wrapped around Miles' back, squeezing him slightly. Miles' hands found the buttons on Teresa's shirt and undid them, pulling it open slowly.

Teresa paused, placing her hands on Miles' hands, ├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø she stammered, her ears burning, ├óÔé¼┼ôWh..What do I do next├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles stared at her, eyes wide.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa pushed herself to a sitting position, shirt falling completely open, ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't look at me like I'm crazy├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou're a virgin?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...you served in the Battle for New Jerusalem. You have to be at least sixty├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNot a day over fifty five├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped. Not that she looked a day over twenty.

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd you never had sex...even once?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, still incredulous, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou don't even remember your Sex Ed classes├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI know what...happens. Just...not how to...do it├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said. Miles guffawed, leaning back on his hands.

├óÔé¼┼ôI might just slap you this time├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped, raising her hand threateningly. Miles put a hand over his mouth, trying to not laugh any more. Teresa sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôIf you are done being silly, can we get down the serious business├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles lost it, starting to laugh again. Teresa shut him up, yanking him forward by the shoulders and planting a kiss on his lips. Miles pushed her back onto the bed, unbuttons on her shirt. Teresa arched her back, Miles kissing her under the chin, then down the neck. Teresa sighed, enjoying this far more then she had-

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sorry to interrupt├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said. Miles and Teresa jumped apart like frightened rabis, Teresa pulling her shirt back together, as if the computer cared if she was wearing clothes or not, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut we are receiving a message├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles stood, buttoning his pants, ├óÔé¼┼ôGod damn it. Teresa, I'll take care of this├óÔé¼┬Ø

He walked onto the bridge, muttering profanity under his breath. The screen was already on, a woman waiting impatiently for Miles to arrive.

├óÔé¼┼ôHello, this is the Kitty Hawk├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMiles Benedict├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHello...uh my name is Hawk and Lord Vindict said that I could get a ride with you├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe...we have room├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I suppose I'm taking orders from Vindict. When can I expect you and were are you going?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNew Terra and a few minutes├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said.

├óÔé¼┼ôSee you├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles smiled. The screen turned off and Miles smashed his head into the desk.

├óÔé¼┼ôSomething wrong?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, leaning on the door frame of the bridge, her shirt buttoned up again.

├óÔé¼┼ôMaybe├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe're picking up a passenger├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWho?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôA woman...named Hawk├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, thinking that sounded familer.

├óÔé¼┼ôSounds familer├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa murmured, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm...I'm going to change underwear and take a shower├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles blinked. He...he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear about that or not.

Hawk's shuttle docked with the Kitty Hawk and the Hawk woman stepped on board. Miles stared, suddenly remembering why she was so familer. Teresa looked stricken, staring at Hawk. She was remembering Paladin Dobson's disturbing photograph, staring at Hawk.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk stammered, ├óÔé¼┼ôI...uh thank you for taking me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSure├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, gesturing to let her on, ├óÔé¼┼ôLet me show you the ship├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, snapping out of her shock.

Hawk looked at Teresa, then at Miles, then back to Teresa. She was wondering if it was worth this, going to New Terra?

-------------

General Silia stubbed his cigar in his ash tray, grinning broadly. The CCHS fleet floated, a scant hundred clicks from the USHS fleet. A single USHS ship had been hulled, its escape pods still being collected by rescue shuttles. The entire CCHS fleet had been hulled, many of the ships still burning as fires used up the last bits of the O2 left in the hulking forms. Enemy escape pods floated, also being picked up by the USHS shuttles.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Silia said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI hear you had a spot of excitement back at New Terra├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe did├óÔé¼┬Ø Livingston said, his face looking haggered on the monitor, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut we are sending some reinforcements├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôReinforcements? Were did you get the ships to handle that?├óÔé¼┬Ø Silia asked, looking out his window. The CCHS flagship glowed suddenly, a ammo chase in it's ruins suddenly going up. Then.

Five ships warped into space between the USHS and CCHS fleets. They were long, graceful ships, each one bristling with old style laser cannons on fixed mounts. Hanger bay's on each of them opened and fighters were launched, exploding out of the ship's with flashes of flame. Silia stood up.

├óÔé¼┼ôThey should be there by now├óÔé¼┬Ø Livingston said noncommittally. His face was pushed to the side by another link up, splitting the screen down the middle.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is Paladin Michale Dobson├óÔé¼┬Ø Dobson said, ├óÔé¼┼ôReinforcing USHS fleet. Hello Generals├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø Silia stared at his old partner, ├óÔé¼┼ôI see you've gotten a new job├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI also would like to apologize. I threw in my chips with the wrong crowd, caused you a bit of problems├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou!├óÔé¼┬Ø Livingston said, surprised, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou gave the Commies our codes, didn't you! You gave them accesses to Fleet ships!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôFortunately├óÔé¼┬Ø Dobson said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI only gave them a quarter of the codes I knew. If I had given them all...then you'd not be in that ship, that much is sure├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Silia said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI, for one, am glad to see you. Are those Redemption class ships?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe old fleet, actually. Each of them retrofitted a few times. We've got a thousand strong army and orders to assist├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I have orders to be passed onto you, Silia├óÔé¼┬Ø Livingston said, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou are to attack the Deneb system and take the planet. Good luck...and have fun. You get to hit back, for once├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThank you, sir├óÔé¼┬Ø Silia said. Livingston signed off.

├óÔé¼┼ôFun? You people have strange idea's of 'fun'├óÔé¼┬Ø Dobson said, ├óÔé¼┼ôDeneb's a farming world, right? Its going to have lots of open land...less attrition, hopefully. Even more recruits for the CCHS, though├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôShall we get started. How about you meed me on this ship, we start planning├óÔé¼┬Ø Silia said.

├óÔé¼┼ôVery well├óÔé¼┬Ø Dobson signed off without further ado. Silia leaned back in his chair, frowning at the screen. He wasn't so sure about this.

-------------

Deneb the name had originally belonged to a different star. The original Deneb was far to bright, far to hot, to have habitable planets. The 'new' Deneb was a dimmer star, more suited to life. Not that life had developed when humanity had arrive, a hundred or so years ago. Now life was blooming, massive fields of genetically engineered crops spreading over the inhospitable planet.

Two CCHS ships, considered too small to be put on the multiple offensive actions that were being spearhead in the USHS, orbited the planet. Capitan Anthony Terwillicker was not very comfortable with his position. The crew had all joined the revolution when they had been traders and merchantmen, flying little ships. Anthony had been a Fleet Academy wash out, and there fore was the most suited for commanding this ship.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...sir├óÔé¼┬Ø His 'helmsman' said, ├óÔé¼┼ôUh...I think that I'm detecting some enemy ships├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou...think├óÔé¼┬Ø Anthony said, ├óÔé¼┼ôCan you be more specific?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI agree!├óÔé¼┬Ø the weapons officer shouted, looking over her shoulder, ├óÔé¼┼ôAn entire USHS fleet has just warped in!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh dear├óÔé¼┬Ø Anthony was suddenly gripped by indecision, ├óÔé¼┼ôUh...how many?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôFive...no, ten ships!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Anthony stood in his chair, completely lost.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe're getting a signal├óÔé¼┬Ø The helmsman said.

├óÔé¼┼ôOut it on├óÔé¼┬Ø Anthony said.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is General Silia of the USHS Fleet. You are out numbered and completely out gunned. Surrendur or be destroyed├óÔé¼┬Ø

Anthony was about to agree when his counterpart in the other CCHS ship, a idiotically fanatical man named Benjamen, cut into the link and shouted, ├óÔé¼┼ôNever!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôShields up├óÔé¼┬Ø Anthony snapped, resigned to a sudden death.

Then

├óÔé¼┼ôNo wait├óÔé¼┬Ø Anthony said, ├óÔé¼┼ôShields down, turn off our guns. Make it very clear that we are staying neutral├óÔé¼┬Ø

His bridge crew stared at him.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell do you want to die?├óÔé¼┬Ø Anthony asked. The bridge crew looked at one another. Then they got to work, silently agreeing with the Anthony. The screen showed the other CCHS ship flaring suddenly, its fuel reserves hit by a lucky enemy shot and blowing apart.

The ground battle on Deneb was far longer.

-----------

PD Notes: Gasp, I'm pulling a Guessmyname!

Buuuut anywho...you know I never explained the altered aging process the humans in this story go through. Oh wait...thats cause I haven't needed to explain it. Needless to say its a bit ironic and neat, so don't panic when you hear Teresa is not a day over fifty five...

Guessmyname · Post by **Guessmyname** » 03 Nov 2006, 11:57

Insurgency Division has similar age-regression methods. Investigator Galliger Adams is actually in his 160's now.

1v0ry_k1ng · Post by **1v0ry_k1ng** » 03 Nov 2006, 19:40

hey zoombie Im pretty new to your writing but this is some serious good stuff, I like. Put more technical detail in. What powers the ships? what do the weapons look like and fire? what does a ship warping in look like?
I might post the book Im writing on here, but I havnt chaptered it yet...
how many words on average to the chapter?

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 03 Nov 2006, 19:46

But to me those technical details...really don't matter. Its the characters that are interesting. See every day I have like four situations I could write about.

Examples: I could write about thrilling space battle. I could write about thrilling ground battle. I could write about political intrigue and cloak and dagger...but instead I choose to write about a man and a woman arguing over religion and how it effects their relationship.

Just a strange thing about me.

Oh and the average length is like...5000 words or so.

Guessmyname · Post by **Guessmyname** » 03 Nov 2006, 20:12

1v0ry_k1ng wrote:hey zoombie Im pretty new to your writing but this is some serious good stuff, I like. Put more technical detail in. What powers the ships? what do the weapons look like and fire? what does a ship warping in look like?
I might post the book Im writing on here, but I havnt chaptered it yet...
how many words on average to the chapter?

I usually post every 5-7 pages. Zoombie does the same, I think (page: A4, font-size 12, times new roman, portrait)

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 03 Nov 2006, 20:15

Word counts are more important then pages. Why? Pages have fluctuations based off how much diolouge you have. Diolouge eats up pages. Lots and lots and lots of pages...

1v0ry_k1ng · Post by **1v0ry_k1ng** » 03 Nov 2006, 20:19

well, its 11,000 words or one chapter atm.. I only have the evening to write so I only usualy manage a page a day

Guessmyname · Post by **Guessmyname** » 03 Nov 2006, 20:20

Zoombie wrote:Word counts are more important then pages. Why? Pages have fluctuations based off how much diolouge you have. Diolouge eats up pages. Lots and lots and lots of pages...

This is true...

Is there a way to see how words you currently have selected?

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 03 Nov 2006, 20:22

Select the words, then click on tools, then word count, then the first number is how many words you have.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 06 Nov 2006, 06:09

Muslims, missles, treehuggers, and 'peace at all cost' idiots (The same ones who allowed WWII to start)! All of this and more in this episode of Homecoming!

Hawk walked out of the spaceport on New Terra and stared at the sky. The Shield boiled above her, a purple cloud that somehow let sunlight through without tinting it or even obscuring it slightly. She looked at her travel brochure, the one she had picked up inside the spaceport.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe shield was discovered by archaeologists who first visited the planet. Who built it remains a mystery, though now we can set up similar Shields across the USHS. The shield is programmed to let cretin things into the atmosphere. For example, a shuttle can enter, but a meteor can not...├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk looked back at the shield. It creeped her out, now that she thought of it. For a second...when the shuttle had been taking her down...Hawk had felt something in her mind as she passed through the shield. Miles and Teresa had been obliging to take her there, though Teresa had wondered why Vindict had sent Hawk with them.

├óÔé¼┼ôMadam Ambassador?├óÔé¼┬Ø A marine in dress uniform walked to her, bowing slightly, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm here to escort you to the White House├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThank you├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk bowed her head slightly, still feeling slightly guilty. It seemed wrong for her to be called an 'Ambassador'. Things like that always happened to 'other people'. But she pushed those thoughts out of her head, following the marine as he lead her to a car. The car drove away, whisper quiet. Hawk sighed, her wings cramped behind her, and looked out the window. The Capital City, to her dismay, looked like Outreach. Damage, still burning fires and mass graves. People looked haggered, many of them wounded, and rescue workers walked too and fro, doing what they could.

Janet drummed her fingers on her desk, looking at the reports for Melephorn and Deneb. Melephorn had been a solid victory, very few casualties on her side and many enemy prisoners taken. Deneb had been a flat rout for the enemy, but...the ground invasion had started. The war would bog down now, now that entire planets were being fought over. Janet sighed, remembering she had an appointment with...an Ambassador, was it?

There was a gentle knock on her door. ├óÔé¼┼ôMadam President?├óÔé¼┬Ø A voice drifted through the door, dim and hard to hear because the intercom was still broken, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Ambassador from Outreach is here├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSence when did they need an Ambassador├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet muttered, then, louder, ├óÔé¼┼ôCome in├óÔé¼┬Ø

A woman walked in, wearing surprisingly simple clothes. She also had wings, one half folded and the other clasped to her back, in a cast. The woman bowed slightly. Janet suddenly recognized her.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou're that Communist agitator, aren't you? H...Hawk, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet asked, standing, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat are you doing here?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI've switched sides├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, looking at her feet.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet asked, gesturing to a chair. Hawk sat down, ├óÔé¼┼ôI switched sides when the Cardinal Amadeus-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHe's Head Citizen Amadeus now├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said. If she wasn't even that up to date with the situation in the CCHS...she must have switched at least four days ago. Four days...felt to Janet like a life time.

├óÔé¼┼ôHead Citizen Amadeus, then, I switched when he sent armed men to kill me...and Jeremy├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôJeremy...Jeremy Williams, the man who started this whole thing!├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôHe was killed when a USHS peacekeeping ship shot him out of atmo, around Golgotha. I've got reports, right here-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThen someone lied to you├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôJeremy and I were...together when the soldiers came. Jeremy charged them, told me to run. I...├óÔé¼┬Ø she stopped, ├óÔé¼┼ôCan...can we not talk about this? I came for a reason├óÔé¼┬Ø

Janet sighed. She'd need to check her informants in the CCHS. Hawk didn't seem to be lying. And Janet knew things about lying. So she nodded, ├óÔé¼┼ôTell me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to end this war. If we give the CCHS time to dig in, and they will, then this will just claim even more lives. Its only been four days...and how many people have died?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHalf a million├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said softly. Some in the bombings of Outreach and New Terra, some in space battles, more in ground actions, and even more in general unrest on each planet. Each one was too many.

├óÔé¼┼ôI, and Vindict, believe it is the best thing to end this peacefully. We will go to Golgotha and I will try and sue for a cease fire...then we can-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said flatly.

├óÔé¼┼ôBut...we can't let people die├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk said, ├óÔé¼┼ôPeople are dying out there!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSometimes├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIts worth fighting. If we stop fighting, then Amadeus will know that he's won. We would have folded. And that means he'll just push harder the next time. And the time after that. And the time after that. And I don't know about you...but I'll be damned if I let that bastard take over. You can tell Vindict that if he wants to sue for peace...then he shouldn't have given us a battle fleet├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHe was afraid you'd say that├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk sighed.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo what are you going to do about it?├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôRecall the ships and the land troops. How will you fight a way if you don't have those?├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk smiled sweetly.

├óÔé¼┼ôSon of a bitch├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet was too controlled to let more then that out. But underneath she was boiling. How could Vindict do this to her?

Hawk stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll give you some time to figure this out for yourself├óÔé¼┬Ø she walked to the door, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd remember...every second you wate...is another life that could have been saved├óÔé¼┬Ø

The door closed. Janet's hands were already balled into fists, and she slammed one of them into the desk. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it!├óÔé¼┬Ø she hissed. One of her PDA's slid into her view. It was a report form the Sarris system. It would take at least five days to get the damn yards tooled into full production mode, then a few weeks after that to make the first ship. She needed those ships...but what was the point in having those ships if they were just going to let Ama-fucking-deus walk over them?

The Kitty Hawk moved out of New Terra's orbit, the Kliners charging.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere too now?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, looking at Teresa. She was sitting behind him, looking a bit...apreahensive.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...Outreach, I think├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôGet some new orders├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhats the matter?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNothing├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, smiling.

├óÔé¼┼ôBull├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, typing in coordinates for Outreach, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou can tell me whats wrong├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôIts...well├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, having a hard time formulating the strange nervous tension in her bowels, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm nervous├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAbout?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles prodded.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe whole sex thing├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm not so sure about...it and...you probably think I'm being silly├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe only silly thing to do is to not tell me what your feeling├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles laughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôIf you don't want too-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI never said that├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa leaned forward, ├óÔé¼┼ôI just said I was a bit nervous├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell if your nervous we can take it slow├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm not a kid, damn it├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm just nervous, is all├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles turned around, the computer working on the course projections automatically, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou don't need to be nervous├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôI must be coming off as completely insane├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI like insane├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stood and walked behind Teresa, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy don't we take out time getting to Outreach...have some time to ourself?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôA romantic cruise?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, Miles' hands starting to rub her shoulders, ├óÔé¼┼ôAh that feels nice├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMaybe we could visit some of the uninhabited star systems. Betelgeuse, for example├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI've never been there├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa murmured, leaning her head back and rubbing it against Miles, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhats it like?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI don't know...I've never been there either├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles whispered in her ear.

Teresa grinned, spinning her chair around suddenly, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm...less nervous now. Better take advantage of me before I get wet feet again├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles smiled, kissing her, ├óÔé¼┼ôI suppose├óÔé¼┬Ø he kissed her again, ├óÔé¼┼ôI should be a normal man and take advantage of a poor woman like yourself├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa stood, kissing him as she did so. Miles slipped his hand under her shirt, slipping through the neck gap and over her shoulders. Teresa turned her head away as he kissed her ear, then the line of her chin bone. Then she realized something.

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles!├óÔé¼┬Ø She hissed, ├óÔé¼┼ôI just had an idea├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSo did I├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles murmured, starting to unbutton her shirt.

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa pulled away from him, walking to the computer.

├óÔé¼┼ôComputer├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAccess the ship logs about a year ago. When you picked up Chess├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow what was the ship Miles picked her off├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe...Hermes. The Hermes├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôLooked like a asteroid miner├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôCan we find a crew manifest for that?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôGive me a moment├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer stopped talking, searching through a huge database of ships.

Miles walked behind Teresa, wondering what she was on about.

├óÔé¼┼ôGot it├óÔé¼┬Ø the computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôHermes, mid range Asteroid Miner, with a crew compliment of Five. Two women, two men and a child. Child was added onto roster as of 2701, ship was lost at 2704├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa sighed, looking at the screen.

├óÔé¼┼ôThats all. The data is fragmented, mostly├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles, can we set course for Lucifer's Grave├óÔé¼┬Ø and seeing Miles look of confusion, she added ├óÔé¼┼ôKellerion├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSure├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, somewhat bemused. Then

├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, smiling, ├óÔé¼┼ôI see├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa turned around.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou know I find intelligence incredibly sexy├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, pulling her off the chair.

Teresa laughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm not so sure about that├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles kissed her again, holding her tight. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis time├óÔé¼┬Ø He murmured, ├óÔé¼┼ôNothing is going to stop me├óÔé¼┬Ø

The ship warped, the Kliners fully charged. Teresa stepped away from Miles, breaking the kiss. A lock-on alarm blared, cutting into the moment like a knife.

├óÔé¼┼ôMissile alert!├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said. Miles almost threw Teresa to her chair, where she strapped in. He got to his chair, but then the ship accelerated, engaging in evasive maneuvering. The missile shot past, hitting a drone the ship fired automatically and exploding. Miles got this his feet, his back bruised when he struck the floor.

He strapped in, Teresa's voice barely audible over the alarm.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy are they shooting!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI don't know!├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles slammed his hand down on the computer, shouting ,├óÔé¼┬ØShut up!├óÔé¼┬Ø

The alarm turned into a strobing red light, so he didn't forget they were under attack. Miles turned on the broadcasting system.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is the Kitty hawk! Disengage lock-on, we are friendly! Repeat we are friendly!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôJust like the last four ships that warped in. The Kellerion system is accessible only to Allah's Children├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles looked up, wondering why his people could be so incredibly stupid sometimes.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is Miles Benedict. If anyone is 'Allah's Child' then its probably me├óÔé¼┬Ø

The lock on warning suddenly switched off. The man on the other end of the line was silent. Miles waited, disengaging his engines and putting his ship to a 'relative' stop.

├óÔé¼┼ôIs that a-├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa started, not quite sure what the two had been talking about.

├óÔé¼┼ôTrust├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, starting up a scan of the system. Fifty or so new missile banks had been seeded throughout the system, rather haphazardly. The Muslims had been busy...very busy, seeing as how it had only been four days!

├óÔé¼┼ôAwaiting confirmation from the Elders├óÔé¼┬Ø The voice on the other end of the line said. The line went dead. Miles leaned back in his chair, sighing.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat did they say?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôEh?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked, realizing that he had slipped into Arabic without even noticing, ├óÔé¼┼ôOh...uh I just pointed out who I was and now they are going for confirmation├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd if you are who you are...then what do they do?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôThen they don't kill us├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles sighed, looking at her, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd we're going to have to do something about you├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa looked at her tattooed arm, chewing her lower lip.

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I think this might put our cruise off for a bit├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Kitty Hawk's shuttle landed in the star port, splashing down in the lake that it had a year ago. Miles opened the air lock, and saw the same patrol boat that had approached him last time. At its head, a young woman with a veil and a pistol was piloting the boat to the side.

├óÔé¼┼ôDid I go crazy?├óÔé¼┬Ø She asked, in Arabic, ├óÔé¼┼ôOr did you come back to us, Miles?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles peered, trying to see the contours of a familiar face underneath a veil. Then.

├óÔé¼┼ôJuhi?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles smiled, ├óÔé¼┼ôAllah be praised, I haven't seen you for├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôTen, fifteen years?├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi finished his sentence, taking the hand he offered her. Miles pulled her onto the ship.

├óÔé¼┼ôWho did you have to kill to get this job?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôA few pigheaded men├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi said, pulling her veil off as the air lock closed, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Elder Council-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThey've gotten together again?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

Juhi shook her head, sighing, ├óÔé¼┼ôMiles, you never did keep up with the times...the Elder Council was called together weeks ago. Those missile pods you met up with were made months before. This Civil War has been a long time in coming. However we, unlike the Tatts, the Commies and the USHS, have a slightly less optimistic view of the future├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôComes from being beaten├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe were never beaten. We just...hid for a bit├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSo how many systems does the grand Muslim Empire control now?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles sat down in his chair, wondering why the Elders had sent Juhi to him. He could have thought of several better trained soldiers and more skilled soldiers...assuming, of course, they were still alive.

├óÔé¼┼ôAs of now...just two├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut we don't plan to expand. A single star system, especially one with all the junk floating around here. And if we are attack, we still have the missile pods. New Jeruslem, however...its still mostly in ruins├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI...know├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles looked away. The Muslim 'victory' at New Jerusalem...he shook his head, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat doesn't matter. I just stopped by to check out the debris field├óÔé¼┬Ø something occurred to him, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd pick up a man I know├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWho?├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI think his name was...Julian├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Tatt?├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi asked, ├óÔé¼┼ôI heard you had some dealings with the Tatts...but-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôJuhi├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, cutting her off, ├óÔé¼┼ôI've been around our big, wide universe, ever sense the Battle for New Jerusalem. You didn't fight there...you were too young. But I was there. You know how we won, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThrough the brave sacrifice of our warriors├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe pushed back the Tattooed├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôExact quote├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd its what happened...but thats only the half of it. Juhi...I'm not going to stay long. The Elders-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSent me├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi cut him off, ├óÔé¼┼ôto get you to stay. Miles, the Elders told me that you cast of our religion...but I know that you still believe. And I also know that you will stay and help us├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles looked at her and his heart lurched. Allah damn her to hell, she believed in him. He sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat...what did you need help with?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOur fleets, our defense. Raiders and pirates already attacked us twice, and...our army has been smashed for over fifty years. You were our best warrior. Our best tactician! You must help us├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles hated the Elders. Hated them for sending Juhi, his childhood friend. He could never say no to her.

├óÔé¼┼ôFine, Allah damn it├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles snapped, ├óÔé¼┼ôI can stay for a while and help shore up your defenses├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThank you, Miles├óÔé¼┬Ø Juhi hugged him. Miles sighed, hugging her back. Juhi had always been egar, not as proper as some would have liked her.

├óÔé¼┼ôJuhi...never change├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôNow tell the Elders...I can help when I do some things├óÔé¼┬Ø

Juhi drived away, her boat motor humming softly. Miles drove the shuttle out of the lake and into orbit, hoping the Elders didn't take this as running away and shoot him down. When his ship didn't burst into flames, he assumed they weren't going to kill him.

Miles stepped onto the Kitty Hawk. Teresa poked her head out of his room. When she saw no one was with him, she stepped out.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôI have some...news├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked. Miles looked at her. Meeting Juhi, speaking in Arabic...thinking of the Elder Council and his responsibilities, it brought the Battle for New Jerusalem to his mind again. Teresa had been the enemy at the time. Now she was beautiful.

Miles hugged her, running his fingers through her hair.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the matter?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa laughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôOh, and by the way, I ran some scans of the derbies field where your logs say you found Chess in and we detected some life signs...might be pirates. Might be something else├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh...good├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...I need to explain something to you├óÔé¼┬Ø

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 07 Nov 2006, 05:21

Stupid bastards! I got called by Clint Eastwood AND the Governator while writing this episode!

Oh and a completely unrelated topic, my freind <Name withheld> said that he's writing a book report on Darkside. I asked him how he got the teach to agree to that, and he said "Well...I told her it was an american author"

hehehehe.

Now post replies to stoy!

Hawk stepped into Janet's office, butterflies in her stomach. What would she do if Janet refused? Hawk sighed, clamping a lid down on her nervousness, and sat down in front of Janet's desk.

├óÔé¼┼ôI've considered your request├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd...I have to say that I can not, in good conscious, allow this war to end with anything other then a USHS victory├óÔé¼┬Ø

The room was silent, nothing but the clicking of an old clock filling the gap.

├óÔé¼┼ôVery well├óÔé¼┬Ø Hawk stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe are sorry that you couldn't come to see our point of view├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOne more thing├óÔé¼┬Ø Janet said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIf you remove your support from our navy, then there is a chance that the CCHS will win the war. And I doubt they will be as cordial to your presences as we are. Now...get out of my office├óÔé¼┬Ø

Hawk left, her face a mask. Janet didn't really care all that much about the Tattooed, now that they had made their position clear. She had a war to win. Janet pulled one of her many PDA's out and started to tap through the mountains of paperwork that the land war in Deneb created. The office started to feel very...very small and dark, despite the light filtering through the windows. Janet felt...very old.

-------------

Teresa sat on Mile's bed, her lugs pulled up to her chest, her head resting on the knees.

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd thats how it is├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles finished, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...its only going to be for as long as they need help├óÔé¼┬Ø

They both knew that would easily stretch to...what? Years?

├óÔé¼┼ôI understand├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said. Miles looked at her. She seemed honest, smiling faintly as she looked at him, ├óÔé¼┼ôIn...In a way I'm happy├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôBetter any religion then none at all├óÔé¼┬Ø

Miles sighed, Teresa's words striking a wrong note in his mind. They bothered him...but not enough for him to voice his bothers.

├óÔé¼┼ôHow long till you have to go planet side?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe can still see if Chess is in the asteroid field├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, he reached out to touch her face. Teresa drew away just slightly, prolonging the time between initiate and contact. It was slight, and didn't happen when Miles moved in to kiss her. But it was enough.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'll...see you around├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles said, feeling a bit sick as he watched Teresa board the Michaelangelo.

├óÔé¼┼ôSee you around├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd...if I find Chess...we'll drop you a line├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa ducked into the Michaelangelo. Miles turned around and walked out of hanger as the Michaelangelo moved out, into space. The Kitty Hawk and the Michaelangelo went on parallel courses for a time. Then the Michaelangelo peeled off, heading towards the debris field. Miles watched it go. He'd have preferred it if Teresa had argued, or been mad at him...but this kind of vague disassociation, like two puzzle pieces that no longer quite meshed was maddening.

Miles stopped procrastinating. He gunned the Kitty Hawk's engines and the ship shot towards Kellerion's habited planet. He'd have to ask what it was called, eventually.

The airlock cracked open and light spilled into the Hermes. Teresa stepped in, whipping her nose and rubbing tears out of her eyes. She rubbed her eyes a bit more, trying to get the last bits of tears out. No sense meeting the Messiah crying like a school girl. Teresa bit her lower lip. She had seen the hurt in Miles eyes.

├óÔé¼┼ôGod damn it, I'm an idiot├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa murmured. She heard a crash in the back of the ship, something suddenly falling. Then a pattern of footsteps, running farther into the ship.

├óÔé¼┼ôChess!├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa shouted, running down the hallway and turning her flashlight on. The place was pitch black, not even reserve power on. There was still some heat, somehow, but it was getting colder every second. Teresa's breath condensed as she ran.

She stopped at an intersection, looking down each of the three hallways open to her. One had a wall panel that had crashed down, a pile of circuitry and doodads left behind. Someone had been in the wall. Teresa turned around and saw a form dart past her light, running into a room. It was not Chess, that much Teresa could tell.

Teresa pulled on her monofilament glove. She was out of practice, almost a month sense she last used the thing...but it'd have to do. She walked to the door and opened it, shining the flashlight in. There was no one in the room. There was no where Teresa could see someone could hid, seeing as how the room was completely bare.

Teresa stepped into the room, eyes narrowing.

Something clamped down on her neck, a form pulling her back into the wall. Teresa grabbed at her throat, feeling a wire around her throat. She elbowed whatever was striking her. Someone gasped and the wire fell away slightly. Teresa turned around, falling to her back. A man, dressed in robes with metallic plates sown in. The man's face was covered by a helmet, his face impossible to see.

Teresa brought her glove up. But the man was too fast, slamming his foot on to Teresa's hand. Something broke, forcing a faint cry to Teresa's lips. She kicked, knocking the man's legs out from under him. Teresa got to her feet. The man pulled out a pistol.

Then he fell dead, slumping to the ground lifelessly.

├óÔé¼┼ôSorry I didn't get here sooner├óÔé¼┬Ø Chess's chilling voice came through the doorway. Teresa stood, feeling her hand. Chess grabbed Teresa's hand, making the other woman gasp in pain. Chess tapped the broken bit and the pain vanished. Teresa felt her hand, amazed.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow go home├óÔé¼┬Ø Chess said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI...I don't want to have to kill you├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôChess├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBefore I go anywhere, I want to...to tell you that I'm sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSorry for what? I'm a daemonic half-breed, something sick and disgusting. Maybe you should just go away├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa didn't have anything to say to that. So she said nothing. Chess walked down the hallway, stepping over the dead body. Teresa followed her, ├óÔé¼┼ôWait! Chess-├óÔé¼┬Ø

A hand tightened around Teresa's throat, invisible and strong, picking her up and slamming her into the wall. Teresa gasped, barely able to breath as she felt her throat.

├óÔé¼┼ôGo...away├óÔé¼┬Ø Chess said, not turning around. She walked into the darkness of the ship.

The hand faded and Teresa slid down the wall, gasping in pain. Chess was gone, not even her footsteps remaining. Teresa stood, feeling her neck gingerly. She looked at the corpse of the scavenger. He had just stopped, not even cut up and bloody like the others Chess had slain. Teresa turned around and almost ran back to the Michaelangelo.

-----------

On the fifth day of the Deneb campaign, the Tattooed ships warped out of the system, taking over two thousand warriors with them.

----------

A year passed.

The fires on Deneb burned, joined by fires on Telphlon and Halcyon. The war had shifted from blindingly fast naval engagements to protracted ground campaigns. The USHS and the CCHS both settled in, one gearing up for war, the other organizing into something approaching a government. Spies, on both sides, reported horrors that both governments participated in. Whether those horrors were true or not was a point not many seemed willing to think about. They simply protested.

The Tattooed rebuilt. Their fleet turned, slowly, from a old, aged animal into something new and ferocious. Vindict swore that nukes would never get close to Outreach again. Teresa served in the Navy, her piloting skills needed once more. She still had a 'tag' on her dossier, one that could be used by Vindict...at any time, any place, in any way. She spent her nights thinking about Miles, asking the same question again and again. How could I be so stupid?

The Muslim Empire no longer existed. In its place, the Muslim Federation was born. The Kellerion system spun up new factories and shipyards, building off the ruins and debris that still floated through the system from battles long past. Miles, discreetly, made sure no one got within the same area Chess was. He knew, from Teresa's last letter to him, that Chess needed some time alone. He was willing to give that to her. Miles had slipped back into old habits, including praying. He supposed Teresa would be happy...

--------------

Another day, another bombing run. The sirens started, piped through Lares' helmet. Her squad, and the rest of the platoon, was hunched in several craters. The near vacuum they were fighting in did not hold heat well, so the shadows in the craters were in the low negative hundred degree's. Bombers, in this kind of fight, were little more then dots, faintly glimmering in the distance. Lares looked at them, her helmet surrounding the dots with little red boxes, signifying enemies.

A bomb thudded between two of the craters, exploding soundlessly. Fragments flew, many burying themselves in the ground a few feet from the crater, forced downwards by the explosion. The rest shot out in a direct sphere, the escape velocity of this damn moon low enough to be broken by a hard jump. More bombs fell, none hitting close enough to make Lares bat an eyelid.

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø She said into her com, ├óÔé¼┼ôCharge! On the bounce, troopers!├óÔé¼┬Ø she stood and kicked off the ground. She and her squad sailed through the air, darting forward. Lares timed her jump just right, landing behind a rock before a laser zipped through where she had been. Another laser hit a rock nearby, which exploded under the sudden pressure of heat change.

├óÔé¼┼ôFire back!├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares shouted. Her squad opened up with their lasers, sweeping them over the enemy battlements. One of Lares men fell, his faceplate cracking as a laser shot through his head. Gore sprayed in a wide cone, drifting through the air. Five grenades arched in the air, fired from the back of the platoon. They 'arched' by shooting forward then firing corrective air packets. Two were on target, slamming into the bunker and exploding. The explosions, just like the bombs dropped, were soundless.

The tree remaining grenades went too far, but their computers detonated them above the bunker, not doing the same level of damage. But it was enough, damaging the bunker more. The laser fire, visible by the smoke, dust and blood that the battle kicked up, was much lessened.

├óÔé¼┼ôCharge!├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares shouted again and jumped. The troopers landed in the enemy bunker, troops smashing into the roof and through holes. The next half hour of the battle was a bloody, swirling melee. Lares kicked a door down and lasered, sweeping her beam through five enemy soldiers. One fell, his mirrored armor not quite breaking the cursory shots off. Lares ducked behind a wall. She looked at the wall across from the door she was hiding behind, noticing the burn marks. When the lasers stopped firing she pulled out a grenade strapped to her belt. She thew it into the room and ducked.

The wall exploded, fragments bouncing off her armor. Lares stood and saw the five corpses, blood spreading through the room. She sighed, hearing reports of victory. She looked around and saw that she had lived in this room a scant week ago. The enemy took land, they took it back. Lares walked away, her power armor and gun still on high alert.

This damn war.

Guessmyname · Post by **Guessmyname** » 07 Nov 2006, 18:03

Low-gravity warfare! Fun!

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 07 Nov 2006, 18:19

Low grav, low atmo, low temperature. Halycon, a CCHS ship yard system, is a few Jovians in close orbit with a massivly complicated moon/asteroid system around them. Very cold, very close quarters, with lots of smashing into one another and breaking apart under gravity's stresses. Eventually the system will settle down into a more even system of orbits, but for now its rather chaotic.

Then add pitched battles into that.

Fun.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 09 Nov 2006, 07:22

The battle rages in Halcyon!

Just so you know: Gropos= ground pounders. As in, someone who fights on the ground.

Marines = People on ships. They fight in ships, boarding actions, and if nessisary, planetside. Not recommended, as they spend a lot of their time learning how to fight in close quarters.

├óÔé¼┼ôShields up!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôShields up├óÔé¼┬Ø Lt. Juan flipped a switch on his board, looking over his shoulder. Capitan Weather puffed up her cheek and sighed explosively. The USHS fleet was squeezed into the space between two of Halcyon's largest moons. The Edison, one of the newly minted 'Potemkin' class warships, was being shaken down by being thrust into one of the bloodiest war zones in the entirety of Human Space. Weathers' new crew had vocal opinions about that, opinions Weathers had to cut down before they began to effect ship wide moral.

The Edison was running interference for two Peacekeeper class ships. The Peacekeeper class had served for fifty years, but a single year of actual war showed that it lacked on many fronts. Armor, maneuverability, weapons and so on. The enemy fleet and bases were sprinkled through out the system, almost invisible thanks to the clouds of dust and rock that bounced around the crammed system. The Halcyon system had to be a young one. A old system couldn't sustain this number of Jovians crammed close together, moons and planetoids flipping between the different orbits, being torn apart by tidal stresses...it made Weathers' head hurt just to think about it.

But they still fought over it.

├óÔé¼┼ôEnemy bombers hitting our land forces├óÔé¼┬Ø Lt Cmd. Juan said.

├óÔé¼┼ôPeacekeepers launching fighters├óÔé¼┬Ø Cmd. Grimm said, looking up from his gunnery post, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe're counting two possible enemy ships, possibly Lancer class├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBring out Lance batteries online and ready our Shields for flicker fire. If we can clear some of these fighters...├óÔé¼┬Ø

The USHS fighters darted past the Edison starting their guns up. Bullets tore through space. Two lights flashed momentarily, two Confederate fighters blowing apart. The Edison's Shields flickered off and a missile barrage rammed out, the Shields flickering back on before the enemy could fire back. Several missiles veered off, heading for fighters that easily dodged them. One of the 'possible' enemy ships was hit, exploding. It had been an asteroid.

├óÔé¼┼ôNarrowing it down to a single 'possible' enemy ship.├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm sighed.

├óÔé¼┼ôHas to be├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers murmured, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhere else are these fighters coming from?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSir...I'm just seeing more rocks├óÔé¼┬Ø Lt. Juan said, looking up from his nav console, ├óÔé¼┼ôOur scopes say...more rocks├óÔé¼┬Ø

The enemy fighters were fanning out, the battle skimming the paper thin atmosphere of the moons. The land battle was over, from what Weathers was picking up, the bunker retaken. Smart flack and lasers were starting to blast out of the bunker, the lasers eerily visible in the rapidly expanding clouds of debris from the fighter battle.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir!├óÔé¼┬Ø Juan said, ├óÔé¼┼ôScopes have found a drive flame...├óÔé¼┬Ø the image ballooned on the main screen. It was an asteroid.

├óÔé¼┼ôThey...said they had a drive flame├óÔé¼┬Ø Juan said, looking dejected. He was still a kid at heart, always ready to please. Weathers adjusted her eye patch slightly. Then...the asteroid's rotation suddenly made a glimmer of drive flame visible.

├óÔé¼┼ôHulk├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt's a Hulk!├óÔé¼┬Ø

As if hearing him, the asteroid suddenly stopped rotating, drives lighting up on the sides. Missile banks opened up, joining lasers and large cannons that were also sprinkled over its surface.

├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers snapped, ├óÔé¼┼ôShoot those missiles down and maneuver us in front of the Peacekeepers├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Edison lurched forward, bullets and missiles raking its shield, dissipating into nothingness. Lasers scoured her hull, burning long tracts down the mirrored armor.

├óÔé¼┼ôFlicker and launch nukes├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said. The Edison's Shields flickered off. Three cannon rounds, already fired before the flicker, tore through her side, blasting apart armor sections. The inner hull was still intact, allowing the nukes to blast into space. The shields came back up, the nukes speeding through the fighter battle. The bunker on the ground joined in, turning its guns on the Hulk. The Hulk swatted five of the nukes down, still aiming for the Peacekeeper, who's weaker Shields and poor armor making them prime targets.

The asteroid that housed the Hulk was a jagged affair, its skin blackened by centuries of Halcyon's searing rays. It suffered from the same problem that most, that is all, Hulks suffered from. Their uneven sides looked natural, the disguised weapon banks nearly invisible, the entire effect making the asteroid look...like an asteroid. The uneven sides had another effect. The calculations for a Kliner warp field are impossibly difficult, relegating the asteroid to a single star system. Any kind of shielding was impossible for the exact same problems facing the Kliner field.

The asteroid's one advantage, its thick armor, was almost rendered completely useless when two of the nukes smashed into the sides. Two white hot flares burst on the Edison's main screens. Weathers grinned as the Hulk split open. Two more missiles, high yield conventional missiles zipping into the opening in the armor. The ship blew out, the reactors breached. The enemy fighters broke, scattering upwards, zipping away from the two large moons. The bunker switched firing back to the ground, the Confederate powered infantry moving into position to strike. But then the USHS fighters zipped over their heads, dropping scatter bombs and raking their positions with machine guns. The Confederates ran, regrouping at the other side of the moon. Several shuttles made a break for the Confederate side of the system. The USHS fighters pressed them for a moment, breaking off when another Hulk opened fire with some flack. Hulks dotted the Confederate side of the system, easily constructed in the ample asteroid fields that were scattered about.

Weathers sighed, wiping her forehead off. She hadn't even noticed that she had been clenching her fists on the armrests of her chair. She was sweating. Shit.

├óÔé¼┼ôGood job, everyone. Lets put ourselves in geo-orbit over that bunker. Need to give support to our gropos├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôBring in the second watch. Lets take a break, guys├óÔé¼┬Ø

Juan and Grimm stood, Juan still bouncing from the adrenalin rush of combat. Grimm was a bit more sedate.

├óÔé¼┼ôHow many pilots...aren't coming back?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers asked, adjusting her eye patch slightly as she and Grimm walked down the hall.

├óÔé¼┼ôTwo├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm said, rubbing his eyes, ├óÔé¼┼ôcomputers didn't eject them on time├óÔé¼┬Ø

Weathers stopped, arriving at her room. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe send them out...and they never come back, don't they? How long have we fought for this god damn place?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôA year, as of tomorrow,├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm said, checking his watch.

├óÔé¼┼ôA year,├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers yawned, stepping into her room, ├óÔé¼┼ôA entire year├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh.├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm stepped into the door, stopping it from closing. ├óÔé¼┼ôJust thought you might want to know...his parole is tomorrow├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh,├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, turning away, ├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø

The door closed as Grimm stepped out of its way. He sighed, checking his watch again. He needed some sleep. Next watch was in a few hours...

Weathers pulled her eye patch off and looked at herself in the mirror. She leered, looking down the sickening eye socket, surrounded by scar tissue from where the bit of plastic had gouged out some extra skin on its way in. It was cleaned and sterilized, capped with a neural link up, if she ever decided to get a fake eye. Once she was done staring at the socket, she pulled her patch back on, adjusted it to fit just right, and started to get to work done on her letter.

├óÔé¼┼ôI...recommend├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers dictated, ├óÔé¼┼ôThat former Capitan Harry Lowman be realized on this day. His prison record that I have studied shows that he has been nothing but a cooperative prisoner, coupled with his prior record of service and his actions in the Battle for New Terra...├óÔé¼┬Ø

------------

Harry Lowman knew he had some very functional paper to keep track of the date. But he still scratched at the plastic wall of his cell, using a screw he had worked out of his cot, laying on the floor as he did so.

There was a knock on his cell door.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome in├óÔé¼┬Ø He rasped. He didn't talk much, not anymore. Didn't seem to see the need much anymore.

A guard opened the door, stepping in, ├óÔé¼┼ôSir,├óÔé¼┬Ø he coughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôToday is the day of your parole hearing├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry stood, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnother month another parole. Lets go.├óÔé¼┬Ø

The guard nodded. Then. ├óÔé¼┼ôSir...you might want to get a shave first.├óÔé¼┬Ø

Harry walked out of the bathroom, his wild beard taken down to a neat goatee. He had been a bit surprised to see himself in the mirror. It seemed like every single month he got skinnier, his face more like a skeleton and less like himself. Prison wasn't...bad. It wasn't good, not by a long shot. He got food...but every day it seemed like Harry was less and less hungry. Maybe his subconscious mind was giving up. Maybe the food just tasted like crap.

Harry walked into the parole hearing room, followed by his guard. The parole board was arrayed on a table, a single seat set in the middle of the room. Harry assumed that that was his, and sat down in it.

├óÔé¼┼ôFormer Capitan, Lowman, Harry├óÔé¼┬Ø The woman at the head of the Parole board said, standing, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou stand here today in review for parole. Do you believe that you have been rehabilitated├óÔé¼┬Ø

Harry stood, ready to say the same answer he did every year. Yes, he did believe that he had learned his lesson and was willing to...

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI still think you're wrong├óÔé¼┬Ø

The parole board seemed to move as one, looking at one another.

├óÔé¼┼ôI was acting under orders├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry said, his old stubbornness returning suddenly. Maybe it had been the food, maybe the shave, maybe the fact that he had been in that god damned cell for a god damned year. Maybe he had been thinking of what Weathers had said to him last year, when they had last met. That he was still feeling guilty. Well enough was enough.

├óÔé¼┼ôI acted as any one given an order does. I didn't think them through. I didn't see the consequences and...thousands of people paid the price. But...you know what. Enough is enough. Either free me, or shoot me. Good day├óÔé¼┬Ø

He turned to walk out of the parole board room, too damn tired to really care anymore. The board started to talk to one another.

├óÔé¼┼ôApproved,├óÔé¼┬Ø One of them said.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry turned halfway around, not quite sure he heard that.

├óÔé¼┼ôI said approved,├óÔé¼┬Ø the man who had spoke up said. The other members of the board started to object, but the man pushed them aside, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need every Capitan we can get. Harry Lowman could still make a good one...once he's rehabilitated. Maybe we should assign him to...the Halcyon system?├óÔé¼┬Ø

The parole board conferred with one another. One of them snickered. Harry caught the words, ├óÔé¼┼ôMaybe he can kill some commies before he gets it├óÔé¼┬Ø. He also caught, ├óÔé¼┼ôAt least he won't be sucking up damn money in his damn cell├óÔé¼┬Ø

The meeting broke up and the woman at it's head said, ├óÔé¼┼ôParole granted.├óÔé¼┬Ø

Harry blinked, his legs almost buckling. He had...he was...free? He wasn't sure if he knew what that was anymore.

--------------

Lares stubbed a ciggy on the wall of the bunker. The marines and engineer corps member sat around the table with her, each of them with a hand that could probably blow Lares'. But what the hell. She raised another cigarette, pushing the hand rolled thing to the middle of the table.

├óÔé¼┼ôCan we get some fucking heaters in here?├óÔé¼┬Ø The marine asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôGet a jacket,├óÔé¼┬Ø The engineer snapped, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Commies broke the god damned power generators on their way out. We barely have enough to power the PDG's. Do you want to be dead...or to be warm?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI raised a ciggy├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares pointed out.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe noticed├óÔé¼┬Ø The engineer and the marine snapped at the same time.

Lares picked up the engineer's cup and drank the liquor down, the engineer failing to notice, as he was busy trying to see the marines' hand. He looked at his drink.

├óÔé¼┼ôWho stole my drink?├óÔé¼┬Ø he demanded, looking at the others around the table.

Lares burped. The marine snorted, sipping his drink as he did so.

The engineer looked at the two of them.

├óÔé¼┼ôShit I fold├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, throwing his cards into the table. He stood, walking out of the room, his breath fogging the air.

├óÔé¼┼ôI think they're just to damn lazy to bring in the heaters, thats what I think,├óÔé¼┬Ø The marine said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you think?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôIts a hundred and ten degrees below zero out there├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe have a choice between having our defenses down, our gravity off, or being cold....I'd stick with the defense and the gravity and live in the cold├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI don't know.├óÔé¼┬Ø The marine leaned over the table. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou can have a lot of fun in null gravity├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThinking of using the old fashioned way to warm up?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI hear its customary to ask names first,├óÔé¼┬Ø The marine said, ├óÔé¼┼ôJenkins. Mathew Jenkins, PFC├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôJennine Lares. Staff Sargent, ironically├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares said.

├óÔé¼┼ôCan I call you Jen?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jenkins asked, taking this new information in stride. Lares admired his bravery...somewhat. Not every PFC would call a Staff Sergent 'Jen'.

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø

Any hope of Mathew getting to know Lares on a more personal level, and get warmer, was interrupted when the P.A came on, the commanders voice bouncing through the halls.

├óÔé¼┼ôCharley and Foxtrot company, please report to the briefing room...once more into the breach├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI wish they'd stop saying that├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares stood.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou know what a Charley Foxtrot is, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø Jenkins asked, staying put. He was in Easy company, on loan from the Peacekeeper ships. Lares ignored that, rolling her eyes as she walked out of the place.

Jenkins looked at the hand that she left behind. Then he looked at the door, remembering the 'once more into the breath' line.

├óÔé¼┼ôI really wish they'd stop saying that├óÔé¼┬Ø he sighed.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 10 Nov 2006, 02:06

I really hope no one noticed that I accidentally put Lares' rank as PFC (Private First Class) insted of Staff Sergent.

No wait...I didn't NOT put that insted of the other thing.

Shut up! It never happened!

├óÔé¼┼ôThe plan is simple. We're going to have some interference run for us by the fleet. Some ACU's will be ahead of the main force, soaking fire. Then we hit the base with everything we have. If we can smash their star port, the Fleet can insure we have total dominance of this moon...oh and we're going to be fighting deaf, as per usual├óÔé¼┬Ø

Fighting deaf. If there was anything Lares hated more then fighting, it was fighting deaf.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo be sure to bring your puncture repair kits. We move out in thirty├óÔé¼┬Ø Colonel Trent said, rubbing the side of his wrinkled face as he did so. Trent, as Lares heard, had been broken up about his son's death last year. He seemed to be together now, together enough to actually keep most of the men and women under his command alive for the next fight.

Lares walked to Foxtrot company's dressing rooms. The actual 'dressing' only took a few minutes. Prep for dressing was a bit more involved. Lares walked to her bay, taking a PDA from the mechanic who was working her suit over. She checked off the list of different weapons, defense systems and life support that she would need to live.

├óÔé¼┼ôLaser finger├óÔé¼┬Ø She muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôTri-mix regulator, Mirrored arms and legs...hey!├óÔé¼┬Ø she called, stopping her mechanic. He turned around, looking completely exhausted.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø he sighed, walking over.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy am I stocked with 'nades?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares asked, pointing at her PDA, ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't even have a launcher├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø The mechanic ruffled his hair, looking completely lost, ├óÔé¼┼ôSorry...I'll rout those to someone who can use em├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAnd get some sleep├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares shouted after him. The mechanic just went to the next suit he had to service. Lares started to unload the grenades, disarming and hauling the arm long explosives out of the leg pouch they had been placed in. When a robotic trolley rolled up, she hauled the grenades onto its back and watched as it trundled away.

Lares leaned against the wall, her breath fogging the air. It was still too damn cold out here. At least the suits had heating. She looked at the clock, counting down time to attack.

She'd rather be cold.

Weathers heard a bleeping. She rolled over, wondering what the sound was. It was her door bell. That bit of information made her snap to wakefulness, almost jumping out of bed.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'll be out in a second├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, grabbing her eye patch and placing it on her head. She then grabbed her over shirt and pulled it on, buttoning it as quickly as possible. She opened the door, the light from the corridor almost blinding her light sensitive eyes...eye.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir,├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm said, looking haggered, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Gropos are moving out├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, still not quite awake.

├óÔé¼┼ôI said├óÔé¼┬Ø Grimm said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe ground forces. They're attack...right now!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Weathers strode onto the bridge, startling the third shift crew members.

├óÔé¼┼ôHelmswoman...ensign?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers trailed off, the name not coming.

├óÔé¼┼ôElizabeth├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhats going on?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôPlot us a course to the other side of the moon and bring up shields. Communications├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôSir?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôPatch us through to the Colonel├óÔé¼┬Ø

Trent picked up the phone, wondering why Fleet was calling right now? He had an attack to run.

├óÔé¼┼ôColonel?├óÔé¼┬Ø Capitan Weathers voice came through the line, a bit scratchy due to interference.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the hell are you doing?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers snapped.

├óÔé¼┼ôFollowing our orders...I thought-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWe found out about this attack when you moved out├óÔé¼┬Ø

Trent blinked, feeling a pit in his stomach, ├óÔé¼┼ôSomeone made a mistake.├óÔé¼┬Ø He looked at the map. Green dots, representing his forces, were moving in on the red splotch of the enemy base. A white flickering dot represented a impact, near his forces. It was joined by more. Then more.

Lares was near the back of the group when the first shell hit. It was soundless, a sudden flash of light, then two men were dead, their bodies drifting lazily through the air, crystallized blood dribbling behind them.

├óÔé¼┼ôCover!├óÔé¼┬Ø someone shouted over the general freq, Lares not recognizing the voice.

├óÔé¼┼ôKeep going!├óÔé¼┬Ø Trent's voice cut in, ├óÔé¼┼ôKeep going!├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lares decided she trusted Trent more. ├óÔé¼┼ôForward!├óÔé¼┬Ø she shouted, hoping her squad members were feeling at least semi-intelligent. She started to push forward, not quite able to walk in the null gravity. The horizon was lit suddenly by five more flashes, explosions tearing the ground apart right in front of the army. One of the ACUs detonated, sending deadly bits of itself flying. Lares looked up and saw a massive...something blot out the sun. It started to spit more shells.

One second Lares was looking at that.

The next she was on the ground, a freezing pain shooting through her side. She rolled onto her back, a strange crackling sound transmitting through her suit. The sound fought through her pain clouded brain as dust rattling as it fell. A shell had gone off...close. She looked to her right, wondering where her arm was.

Oh...there it was, floating lazily on its way to the ground. Lares reached for it, no sense leaving something like that lying around. She blacked out.

The Edison tore towards the Hulk that was concentrating most of its firepower on the Gropos.

├óÔé¼┼ôShields still up, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYes,├óÔé¼┬Ø Elizabeth said, rubbing her arm. Weathers noticed, somewhat distractedly, that she had a Latin tattoo on her arm.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôPlot a course through the Hulk├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôTh...Through?├óÔé¼┬Ø Elizabeth squeaked, turning around.

├óÔé¼┼ôJust do it├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers snapped.

Elizabeth turned back to her console and throttled up the ship, muttering under her breath, ├óÔé¼┼ôMay God and the Saints protect me├óÔé¼┬Ø

The Edison tore towards the Hulk. The Capitan and crew of the Hulk didn't notice till it was too late. Lasers and cannon shells, once aimed at the ground, switched to the Edison. The lasers went through the Shield, scouring the nose of the ship.

The Edison rammed the Hulk. Elizabeth closed her eyes. The Edison passed through the Hulk, it's shield obliterating all matter in its path. The Edison came out the other side of the asteroid, leaving a perfectly straight hole through the asteroid. Air gushed into space, followed by corpses.

Elizabeth relaxed.

├óÔé¼┼ôGood work Ensign├óÔé¼┬Ø Weathers said, ├óÔé¼┼ôConsider yourself relived for now...have a drink, or something├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôDrinking is a sin├óÔé¼┬Ø Elizabeth said softly.

Weathers smiled, not really having a response to that. The Peacekeeper ships were scrambling fighters, far too late to do any good. The enemy's space forces were broken. The Hulk was drifting, completely hulled. The ground battle was going much worse.

Lares regained consciousness when the suit's medical computers decided that she needed a shot of pure adrenalin to start her heart again. She gasped, back arching as her eyes fluttered open. Someone was dragging her through the air. She looked at her feet, seeing the ground at a dizzying angle. Her monkey mind, normally kept under control, started to panic. Lares started to hyperventilate when she blacked out again.

Lares came too when her body came back into the gravity field. She looked as the air lock door closed. She blacked out

-----------

Harry, the moment he stepped on the transport, was carrying everything he owned in a small duffel he had slung over his shoulder. Harry looked out the window of the makeshift troop ship. It had been a commercial liner, and from the burns on its rear engines, had been in use since the beginning of the war.

Harry slid his duffel under his seat, rubbing his hand through his goatee. After a few minutes the ship was filled by other soldiers and navy officers, each of them having a clean shaven, almost bald headed look of new recruits. Harry supposed he was the only veteran going out.

Harry supposed wrong. A weathered looking man with a dark complexion stepped into the troop ship, carrying a duffel bag like everyone else. Harry wondered how many times this old man had seen combat. The man walked down the middle of the ship, looking for a seat. He stopped by Harry's row and sat down.

├óÔé¼┼ôShipping out again?├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø The man sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôName's Lou Glickson. My dad was in the Marines, My grand dad was in the Marines and now...I'm in the Fleet. Huh├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm Fleet too├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry said, ├óÔé¼┼ôSpent a bit of time ground side. Harry's the name├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôGlad to meetcha Harry├óÔé¼┬Ø Lou said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat ship did you serve on?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Lexington, the Potemkin-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Potemkin?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lou asked. Harry stiffened, hoping that Lou wasn't going to ask him what he knew he was going to ask.

├óÔé¼┼ôDid you hear that got hulled a month ago? It made all the major nets├óÔé¼┬Ø Lou said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMy sister was on it, serving as the MC on it├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI got transferred back before that, thankfully├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôBut they made some new ones. I think...├óÔé¼┬Ø Lou pulled his PDA out of his duffel and read off a list of statistics he had stashed away in it, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Edison, the Einstein and the Kliner├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôAre any of those assigned to Halcyon?├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...the Edison is├óÔé¼┬Ø Lou said, still reading the PDA ├óÔé¼┼ôI think I'm signed up to go there├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôCan I see that?├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry asked, wondering how Lou had gotten all that info on it. Lou gave it to him and Harry started to read.

├óÔé¼┼ôWeathers?├óÔé¼┬Ø he breathed.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lou asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...nothing.├óÔé¼┬Ø Harry said. The engines of the ship started up, pushing Harry into his seat. He stopped talking, watching as the planet fell away below his window, thinking.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 13 Nov 2006, 08:11

This episode of Homecoming is extra cool. And here is why. It marks the DAY that I sent off Paient Gamma to the Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy!

If they accept it then I get 1,500 dollers!

Now just have them accept it. So read and wish me good luck!

Three weeks later of recuperation, a blood transfer, three implants and a week of training later, and Lares was still trying to pick up a cup.

She focused on her arm and it jerked forward, smashing into the cup. The plastic clattered to the ground, bouncing several times before coming to a rest against the wall. Lares sighed, falling back into her bed and letting her fake arm rest like the usless hunk of metal and plastic it was.

There was a knock on her recuperation ward door.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome in├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares sighed.

Her therapist, a inanely chirpy young man named Julius, walked in. He was a civy, like most of the people working in this hospital.

├óÔé¼┼ôHow's it hanging Jen?├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôSame.├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares gritted her teeth.

Julius bent over and picked up the cup that had fallen to the ground. He frowned, looking it over slowly.

├óÔé¼┼ôAre you using the methods that we went over?├óÔé¼┬Ø He asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah I am,├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares sighed.

├óÔé¼┼ôReally?├óÔé¼┬Ø Julian murmured. He tossed the cup in the air. He pivoted and hurled the cup straight at Lares. Lares jerked her hand up and grabbed the cup with her dominant hand. The fake one. The cup crumpled, crushed by the force of her cybernetic arm. Lares looked at her hand, not sure how she had done that. It still felt strange, as if her real hand was still there, imposed over her fake hand. It itched, but when she itched the itch didn't go away.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow drop the cup├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius said.

Lares chewed her lip, focusing.

├óÔé¼┼ôNo...You're trying too hard,├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius said, sounding tired.

Lares sighed, relaxing. Her hand opened of its own accord.

├óÔé¼┼ôHuh├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares murmured. She tried to wiggle her fingers. Nothing happened. She closed her eyes and just let the fingers wiggle. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, letting control go for long enough to get control back.

├óÔé¼┼ôI think we can move to some combat rehabilitation├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius said, ├óÔé¼┼ôLets go├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lares held the rifle, not quite as easily as she used to. She felt a blank where she normally felt a hilt and trigger. Her conscious mind knew that if she pulled the trigger, the gun would fire. But it didn't feel like it was going to fire.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow just do what you normally do├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius said. Lares grumbled, wishing that Julius would stop being so damn supportive.

Lares breathed in. As she breathed out, the gun fired. A bullet slammed through the target, well off the bulls eye. Lares blinked, slipping the ear protection off with her real hand. She stared at the hole she had made with the gun.

├óÔé¼┼ôAre you all right?├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI just realized...I haven't heard a gunshot in atmosphere for five months├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares said.

├óÔé¼┼ôDoes that matter?├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius asked.

Lares shouldered her rifle and fired off three more shots, each one closer to the bulls eye than the last. She paused, licking her real finger and sliding it over the barrel. She pulled the trigger. The bulls eye vanished, paper blowing outwards.

Lares lowered her rifle and slipped the shoulder strap off. She grinned, looking over her shoulder, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhen do I get shipped out again?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...when you pass your survival tests├óÔé¼┬Ø Julius said.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhen do I start?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhen I give you a physical, a mental evaluation, and a breast exam├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lares raised an eyebrow, staring at him.

├óÔé¼┼ôJust kidding about the last one├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYou'd better be├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares muttered, following him back to her room.

After the physical and mental evaluation Lares was sent down to the survival course. She was a bit taken aback. Things had changed since the last time she had been down in the survival course.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is a M-32 class null gravity training course├óÔé¼┬Ø A Drill Sergent said, ├óÔé¼┼ôInstituted three months ago├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThree months ago I was getting shot at in null gravity├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares said.

├óÔé¼┼ôHalcyon?├óÔé¼┬Ø The drill sergeant said, grinning, ├óÔé¼┼ôI was in Deneb myself before a bit of grenade made cheese out of my lung. Almost died, actually├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight arm gone├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares said, holding up her metallic one, ├óÔé¼┼ôNot exactly sure what took it out├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell enough reminiscing├óÔé¼┬Ø The drill sergeant said, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe null gravity chamber is quite simple. Holographic projectors will make a battlefield, a anti-grav generator will make something close to zero Gee and you just shoot till you drop. Once you pass this, you go onto more forgiving terrain├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lares stood at the base of the sphere, holding a laser rifle. It was set to a very low setting, enough to give the computer an idea where the gun was pointing and when it fired. Lares wore a bulky set of weights, to mimic heavy body armor. The gravity switched off and the lights dimmed. Lights flickered on and the sphere suddenly looked like the Halcyon moon scape.

Three enemy soldiers rushed her. Lares shook her head and shot them easily. The three holographic figures died, flickering out like the lights had a few moments ago.

├óÔé¼┼ôI suppose it gets harder from here├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares murmured, kicking off the ground. This time five enemy soldiers, each as dumb as the last few. Lares spun and fired off five shots easily. Her arm still felt blank, but at least it worked. The fifth soldier was still alive, her shot missing him. Lares fired again and the man died, flickering off.

Lares hit a wall that no longer existed, made invisible by the holographic projections. She grunted in pain, her shoulder wincing. Two soldiers appeared. They were smarter this time ducking beneath cover. Lares kicked off the invisible wall, needing to get to some holographic cover. She hit the ground, bullets following her. These guys were only a bit smarter...

Lares flipped around onto her belly and fired a scattering of shots over the enemy's heads. One of them ducked, but the other was too dumb to take even rudimentary evasive maneuvers. He flickered off. The second stood for a split second and threw a grenade. The 'nade flew straight for Lares. She fired, hitting it in mid air with her shot. The 'nade exploded and holographic bits of shrapnel bounced off and around Lares. None were judged to be 'lethal' by the computer. So Lares stood and fired a few shots. The enemy blinked off.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow this gets fun, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares muttered.

├óÔé¼┼ôMaybe├óÔé¼┬Ø the drill segregant's voice bounced off the walls. Lares cricked her neck and shouldered her rifle, seeing a faint shape in the distance. The shape resolved into a ACU.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh darn├óÔé¼┬Ø Lares ducked. The ACU's gun spoke and a bit of the ground exploded. Dirt and bits of rock peppered Lares' hiding place. She looked around for something. Was this a survival course or a joke? Enemy troops were piling out of the ACU, firing at her. She fired a few snap shots back, glad these guys were as dumb as the next ones. These one's actually fell over like real people, their bodies staying on the ground. Lares made a note of that before getting up and diving from cover as the ACU's gun fired again.

She fired as she moved, spraying the enemy with laser fire. Two of them fell, their corpses falling through the air. Lares dived forward before the ACU could orient its gun on her again. The remaining enemy soldiers stood there, somewhat dumbly. Lares grabbed the corpses and levered herself to the ground, spinning like a top. The ACU's engines started up, moving it forward, trying to aim its gun at Lares.

Lares yanked a 'nade out of a corpses' belts. She took another 'nade out. The ACU backed up, aiming at her. Lares took a chance and grabbed a third and fourth grenade. The ACU fired a split second before Lares kicked off the ground. She flew up, the force of her kick sending her into the roof of the sphere. She kicked off that, heading straight for the holographic ACU. She threw the first grenade and landed behind the ACU. The grenade exploded.

The computers simulated the damage perfectly. Armor peeled off the back of the ACU. Lares took the three remaining grenades and shoved them into the ACU. She kicked off the ground and the ACU exploded, sending huge chunks of armor flying through the air. The sphere's hologram shut down and gravity slowly returned, placing Lares gently down on the ground.

├óÔé¼┼ôNice├óÔé¼┬Ø The drill sergeant said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIn real life the soldiers would have massacred you, but most new recruits just panic when they see it├óÔé¼┬Ø

Lares slipped the heavy weights off her shoulders and sighed, sweat matting down her hair.

├óÔé¼┼ôThat was fun├óÔé¼┬Ø she grinned.

Guessmyname · Post by **Guessmyname** » 13 Nov 2006, 17:16

Bit short there.

Good luck though!

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 14 Nov 2006, 17:41

LONGER POST!

Respond! Respond! Respond to the twists and turns and such.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'd like to request...a vacation├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said.

Vindict stared at her, mouth gaping. He shut his mouth and leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø He asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, her ears burning, ├óÔé¼┼ôI've been off duty for three months. Paladin Michael has the system tighter then ever before and the CCHS hasn't sent a single attack at us for six months...and I'd like to take a...short vacation├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Vindict murmured, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt is true that you are no longer needed as a bodyguard...we have many pilots, and the need for a specialist in the field has vanished because of this war...very well. I can grant you up to three months of vacation├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThank you├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa bowed, ├óÔé¼┼ôThank you├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere are you planning to go?├óÔé¼┬Ø Vindict asked, pulling out a PDA and starting to write up the release forms.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...Kellerion├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, her voice quiet.

Vindict paused in his writing, not looking up.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is about Miles, isn't it├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôMaybe├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, looking at her feet, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut...it is my vacation├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôTrue├óÔé¼┬Ø Vindict muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôI just want you to be careful├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI will├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, standing up. Vindict finished writing up the forum and sent it out with a touch of a button, ├óÔé¼┼ôNow which ship were you going to take├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI was planning on a civilian space line├óÔé¼┬Ø

Vindict thought about that, looking at the paperwork he had written up.

├óÔé¼┼ôI think I'll pay for your trip├óÔé¼┬Ø Vindict said.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh...you don't need to do that├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI've got money saved away...somewhere├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Vindict said, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou've done a lot for this church, a lot for me...you deserve a vacation and you deserve to have it free. Have fun, take a first class flight and...don't do anything stupid├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI wont├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, edging towards the door.

-----------

Teresa closed her eyes and sank deeper into the bath. She had never thought there could be a bath this nice and this big on a spaceship, even a first class liner. The only thing missing was...Miles. Teresa sighed, opening her eyes. She had thought this over again and again. The feelings of confusion she had had when Miles and her split up a year ago had vanished and were replaced by a feeling of complete idiocy.

She had spent the months off duty...reading the Qur'an. It had been hard at first, filled with glances over her shoulder as if someone was going to burst into her room and shout at her. The translated version was easy enough to find on the increasingly stable inter-web, and she had worked her way through it over three months.

And she had found something...strange. The lessons, the ideas, the morals...they were all there. Different names, different places, different specifics and different styles of writing. But there were echo's of her Bible in the pages.

Teresa had thought on that for a long while...

The door dinged, dragging Teresa into the present. She sat up, watering sloshing around. She then sunk back down, placing her body below the soapy bubble line. ├óÔé¼┼ôWho is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø She called.

├óÔé¼┼ôRoom service├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, remembering she had ordered a meal, ├óÔé¼┼ôCome in├óÔé¼┬Ø

The door opened and a robotic tray trundled in. Teresa sat up, feeling a bit abashed that she had thought the robot was a real person. Then a man backed into the room, carrying a load of food in his hands. Teresa sank back down before he turned around. The man set his food on the robotic tray, whistling as he worked.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said.

The man jumped, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhoa lady, I didn't see ya there├óÔé¼┬Ø He said.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa stammered, ├óÔé¼┼ôOkay...thanks├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said, pressing some buttons on the tray. The tray slid over the bath and set down, ├óÔé¼┼ôEnjoy your food, mam.├óÔé¼┬Ø

He walked out of the room, door closing behind him. Teresa sat up, slowly so she didn't splash water over her food. She picked up the artificial lemonade and sipped it, picking up one of the bits of steak that she ordered and tossed it into the air. It plopped into the water next to her open mouth.

Teresa sighed.

Later, when she was dry and draped in a night gown, Teresa relaxed on the bed, staring at the celling. She was faced with a rather simple problem. Everything she had done for fun back on Outreach was gone. She couldn't practice with any of her weapons, she couldn't fly the Michaelangelo around for a bit...she turned on the screen, searching for the news channel.

├óÔé¼┼ô-leaving 50 dead. In war news the battle for Telphlon continues to rage. The distant science outpost could prove crucial to the war effort and our brave USMC troopers are fighting daily to keep it in our hands. Three ships were burned out today, all enemy ships. In Deneb new advances made in the western continent have made an armored breakthrough possible by our forces. Grim news from Halcyon. Grim fighting has continued over the fifth moon the solar system, the Commies entrenched deep enough to prevent our forces from taking them out. But rest assured, we will-├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa turned it off, sighing. She looked at the celling, wondering when the ship would warp to its next destination. Supposedly the ship would spend a day in each of its five system route. Teresa checked her watch.

Teresa stood up, frowning. This was a first class liner. They had to have something to do. She grabbed her pants and pulled them on.

The ship was huge and symmetrical, gravity set to a comfortable 1 gee, and most of the people were...missing. Teresa walked down hallway after hallway, wondering where the heck everyone was. She reached an elevator and pressed the open door. She stepped in and looked around at the different floors she could go. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and Rec. Teresa pressed Rec.

The door opened and Teresa gasped. A swimming pool stretched in front of her and fifty odd people were there, some dressed in tight swimsuits and some in nothing at all.

Teresa stepped out of the door. She didn't remember reading about this on the brochure...oh wait, there was mention of an 'Olympic class swimming pool'...but what was an Olympic? It must mean big.

├óÔé¼┼ôHey tatt!├óÔé¼┬Ø Someone shoved past Teresa, ├óÔé¼┼ôStop gawking and get out of the way├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôShut up├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa turned around, but the woman who had shoved her was already gone.

Teresa was ready to go back into the elevator when a sudden splash of water splattered her back. Teresa sighed, looking at her clothes. She was already wet, and...she was supposed to be relaxing here, wasn't she?

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere do you get swimsuits?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked a passerby. The man pointed out a small store and Teresa walked to it.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'd like a swim suit├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou?├óÔé¼┬Ø The man behind the counter asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm on vacation!├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped.

├óÔé¼┼ôFine, fine├óÔé¼┬Ø the man said, ├óÔé¼┼ôWould you like a two piece or a one piece?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa blushed, ├óÔé¼┼ôA...one...no├óÔé¼┬Ø she thought of what Miles might think if he saw her. It was silly, but...

├óÔé¼┼ôI'll have a two piece├óÔé¼┬Ø She said.

The man rolled his eyes as he ducked beneath the counter. He came up with a very skimpy two piece swim suit.

├óÔé¼┼ôIs there a slightly less...revealing suit?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôListen lady├óÔé¼┬Ø The man snapped, ├óÔé¼┼ôThree people out there don't even have swimsuits. If you want something less skimpy, get a one piece!├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôFine├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa snapped, taking the two piece suit.

She went to the changing room, muttering to herself, ├óÔé¼┼ôI've been in worse scrapes than wearing a two piece swim suit├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa peeked out the door a moment before she stepped out. Three people stared. Teresa stepped to the swimming pool, a crazy bit of her mind wondering if anyone of the other passengers could read Latin.

She slipped into the warm waters of the pool, her eyes closed.

├óÔé¼┼ôWow, you're braver than I thought├óÔé¼┬Ø The woman who had shoved past her earlier said, swimming beside Teresa, ├óÔé¼┼ôI didn't know Tattooed wear bathing suit├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm on vacation├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, her voice choked.

The woman laughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôHi, my name is Kaylee├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôNice to meet you├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa croaked.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo...what do all that gobbledygook mean?├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh.├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa opened her eyes and looked at the left side of her body. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis right here is my initiation tattoo. This is my first duty I preformed. It was slaying a Mormon pirate who had been attacking some Tattooed caravans. This was when I blew up the house of a Muslim spy├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWow├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee said, eyes wide, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou're a soldier?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôKinda├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôCan you tell me some more about what you've done?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa blushed, suddenly aware that she was almost naked, next to a woman who almost naked. Wasn't this...queer?

Kaylee laughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou're blushing like a sunset├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa stammered again, ├óÔé¼┼ôUh...well there was that time when I saved three hostages from a terrorist. He was holed up in a school with a machine gun pointed at their heads. I went, head first, with my monofilament glove...├óÔé¼┬Ø

Kaylee listened raptly and soon she was joined by two other people, one a man. They listened to Teresa, who was beginning to feel less ashamed. The others were all almost naked, so...when in New Orleans, was the saying. Or was it Rome?

├óÔé¼┼ô...and then I realized I had just let the Messiah walk off with a Muslim├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat did you do?├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôI followed them├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, smiling, ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd can you believe the look on his face when I told him about Chess├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWas she really your Messiah?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm...not sure├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôBut the Muslim, Miles, was Actually a very nice person and he-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWas he handsome?├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee asked. The others in the group giggled, looking at one another.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa stammered. She was saved by the bell, a P.A announcement calling out.

├óÔé¼┼ôPlease return to a room, we will be executing a Kliner jump in a ten minutes├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee stood and struggled out of the pool, her bum almost bumping into Teresa's face. Teresa climbed out far more gracefully, pulling herself to her feet.

├óÔé¼┼ôLet's go change├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee sighed, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou know, you're not like what I expected a Tatt would be like├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôHow many times do I have to say it?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, grinning.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou're on vacation├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee finished the sentence for her.

Teresa laughed as she dried off, stepping into a changing stall. She pulled on the clothes she had put in a locker and found that the locker had automatically cleaned her clothes. She pulled the clothes on and stepped out of the dressing stall. Kaylee walked out of her stall, wearing surprisingly simple clothes. Teresa had expected something fancy, as this was a first class flight.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo which room should we go to?├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, confused.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell...you haven't finished the story├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee smiled.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh, right├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôHow about my room?├óÔé¼┬Ø

They walked down the halls, Teresa glad she had found a friend.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou know├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou're a lot nicer than I expected├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôOh...well you're a lot more normal than I expected├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee said. Teresa stopped, arriving at her room. She opened the door and gestured to Kaylee.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa said, ├óÔé¼┼ôMiles was pretty-├óÔé¼┬Ø

Kaylee kissed her. This is pretty nice Teresa thought for a half second. Then she shoved Kaylee backwards, into the hallway and slammed the door shut. Teresa locked the door and turned around, her heart pounding.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh my god├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa gasped, her eyes blurring.

Kaylee's cheeks burned. ├óÔé¼┼ôShoot├óÔé¼┬Ø she muttered, pressing the door bell.

Teresa heard the door ring and her heart started to jangle again.

├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa? I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee said through the door, ├óÔé¼┼ôI forgot...I forgot you were a tatt for a second├óÔé¼┬Ø

There was a pause.

├óÔé¼┼ôI need a room to be in for the jump├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa realized she was right, though she wasn't sure why that rule was so important on this ship. It was not like the hallways were left behind.

├óÔé¼┼ôCome on├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø

Teresa unlocked the door and cracked it open, ├óÔé¼┼ôListen├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't like you. I don't want you near me. But you can stay in the room until the jump is over. Got it?├óÔé¼┬Ø

Kaylee looked incredibly hurt, but she stepped in. Teresa backed into the door, her arms crossed over her chest. Kaylee sat down on the bed, looking forlorn.

The ship jumped. Teresa opened the door, ├óÔé¼┼ôGet out├óÔé¼┬Ø

'Teresa, I-├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôGet out├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa pointed straight out the door.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø Kaylee walked out of the room. Teresa slammed the door and locked it. Two piece swim suits...queers?

├óÔé¼┼ôI am not leaving this room till I get somewhere sane├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa lay down in the bed, her heart still hammering.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 15 Nov 2006, 07:37

If anyone thinks that the story has just been plodding a bit without any 'real' nemisis beyond the somewhat nebulious CCHS and the war, well...you're insane and the proof is in this episode!

The place was cold, as near absolute zero as you can get on a planet. Not nearly as close as one could in space, but space was notoriously dangerous. And this place had to be...safe.

Two ponderous doors suddenly cracked open, ice falling as it was shaken loose by the doors motions. A man stepped through the widening crack, wearing a very long coat and a fur hat. It looked silly, but it kept him from freezing.

The man wore no rank or insignia, but if anyone in the local galaxy didn't recognize him, they would die. It would not be sudden, for he was a patient man, and it would not be painless, for he was a vindictive man.

His name was Amadeus and he was losing this war.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir├óÔé¼┬Ø His aide followed him into the vault, ├óÔé¼┼ôAre you sure this is a good idea├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø

His aide knew that tone of voice. Normally Commander Amadeus enjoyed having his opinions criticized...to a point. His aide had learned the tones of his voice, knowing exactly what was good and bad and when to back off. So he was silent as Amadeus walked to a small podium in the middle of the room. He pressed the single button on the board and the floor slid away in front of them.

Twelve cylinders rose from the ground. In each was a nude person, six women and six men, each surrounded by a haze of support equipment. On the top of each cylinder was a name plate, their names frosted over by the cold. Amadeus walked towards the front cylinder, looking at the nude woman inside. He wiped the frost off the liable. ├óÔé¼┼ôLucy, #1├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWake them├óÔé¼┬Ø Amadeus said.

His aide gulped and tapped a button on his PDA. Ancient machines started to tick away, the wake up process slowed by the time these people had been under freeze. But they weren't normal people.

├óÔé¼┼ôReady up, universe,├óÔé¼┬Ø Amadeus muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôThe 'borg are back├óÔé¼┬Ø

----------

The push into Deneb was going well. Armored divisions were slicing through the enemy partisans. Tanks darted forward, their machine guns chattering. Their main cannons hadn't fired for hours, the enemy armor too light to stand against them.

Those machine guns sounded like popcorn to Harold. He marched through a massive cornfield, the rest of the platoon surrounded him, each of them marching forward in a staggered line. The enemy were broken. Hell, Harold thought, this was practically a safe zone. He scratched the line around his breather, the O2 amounts in Deneb's atmosphere not quite thick enough to be breathed normally.

He didn't need to breath for much longer. A man ten feet behind him pulled of his breather. It fell to the ground and was crunched under foot. Then he brought the gun level with Harold's neck and fired. The soldier fell, quite dead. The man slowly turned around and his gun spoke five more times, each target he had under his sights dying.

Three women, farther down in the platoon, removed their breathers and started to fire at the people around Them. Two men joined them moments later, one of them stationed in a ACV. A machine gun started up. The platoon realized it was under attack by six of its own members sluggishly, as if not willing to believe that. Then people started to shoot back.

One of the turncoat women took a bullet to the thigh. She shrugged it off, returning fire to the enemy. The man in the ACU jumped out of his taken vehicle a moment before the bomb he had put under the engine. The ACU jumped up and flames shot out, the bomb ripping it apart.

The six turn coats looked around as explosions started off in the distance, the other bombs going off without a hitch. The Communist Partisans saw these explosions and rallied, striking back with their remaining light hummers and buggy's. USHS tanks started to blow apart along side the ACUs, the second wave of bombs going off.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is too easy├óÔé¼┬Ø Lucy said, grinning at her fellow borg, ├óÔé¼┼ôCyi, looks like you took a round├óÔé¼┬Ø

Cyi looked at her thigh, almost surprised that she had.

├óÔé¼┼ôSorry Lucy├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, kneeling and yanking the bullet out of her leg.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø One of the men spoke up, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe move on?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Partisans say they can get us some RPG's and more bombs. Remember to grab some breathers before we meet up...Amadeus said that we should avoid freaking the natives├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø The other man said, kneeling over and ripping a breather off a dead woman.

The woman gasped, reaching for him as he placed the breather onto his face.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis one is still alive├óÔé¼┬Ø Lucy muttered, ├óÔé¼┼ôSomeone has been less than efficient├óÔé¼┬Ø

She slid her rifle into her hand and aimed it at the woman.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat are you?├óÔé¼┬Ø the woman gasped, feeling light headed from the lack of oxygen and blood loss.

Lucy fired and the woman's head imploded messily. She slid her rifle back onto her shoulder, looking at the others.

├óÔé¼┼ôLets go├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, walking to another corpse and taking that breather.

Lucy wondered as she walked towards the Partisan's meeting place...if the other half of the group was doing as well

-------------

Teresa's heart almost stopped when the phone rang.

├óÔé¼┼ôWho is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø She demanded, sure that it was that bitch calling again.

├óÔé¼┼ôA collect call from one Lord Vindict├óÔé¼┬Ø The computer said, ├óÔé¼┼ôIt's a triway call├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is a triway?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôInapplicable request. Will you take the call?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa slid over to the phone, not getting off the bed. She still felt like glass after...that. It wasn't what Kaylee had done, though that had horrified her...it was...

The phone switched on and Vindict stared at her. But the screen was split down the middle and Miles was on the other half!

├óÔé¼┼ôMiles!├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa sat up, her entire face lighting up.

├óÔé¼┼ôTeresa├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles stammered, eyes winding as he looked at her. He looked different, his skin slightly darker and more tanned, a light goatee around his face. He was still handsome. Teresa felt warm looking at him. She was sure, looking at Miles, that she wasn't...crazy.

├óÔé¼┼ôUh...Miles├óÔé¼┬Ø Vindict coughed, ├óÔé¼┼ôPlease tell Teresa what you just told me├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôRight...damn.├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles suddenly looked distraught.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat's wrong?├óÔé¼┬Ø Teresa asked, a sinking feeling in her chest. She knew what it was about.

├óÔé¼┼ôChess...she's gone├óÔé¼┬Ø

---------

Chess lay on the floor, staring at the wall. She could feel the humming of engines, so they were accelerating, or at least maneuvering. She rolled onto her back and stared at the celling. It was marginally better than the wall, the light fixture humming softly. Chess felt her coller clink on the ground. She suddenly felt a mad desperation to tear the coller off. Her fingers worked into the thing, fingernails digging at the gap between skin and metal. She tore, but the thing did not budge.

Chess lay back on the ground, letting her hands fall to the ground. If...if she had still been with Teresa...

-------

She had started the day so peacefully. First she had been playing a chess game. The A.I had been pitifully easy to defeat, as it always was. Miles, even Teresa were much better players, just because they did strange things, unexpected things, funny things. She could TALK to them at least.

It was when she was thinking about this when the 'nothings' had entered the ship. She hadn't heard them, and hadn't felt their minds. It was because she 'didn't' feel the minds that she felt uneasy, sitting there. It was as if there were six blanks in her ship, tears were her mind reached. They moved quickly and quietly. Chess stood, feeling the blanks. They unnerved her because they were so alien, so strange...they couldn't possibly be human.

The smoke grenade that came through her door, visible only by the faint glimmer of emergency lights, was most definitely human. Chess ducked, trying to bring up her defenses. But they wouldn't come and stinging smoke buffeted her. Chess hacked and coughed, unable to breath as smoke filled the air. She stood and suddenly two hands were grabbing her. The blanks looked like men and women, each of them dressed in black armor, equipped with fancy weapons.

Chess was flung to the floor, her face smashing into the ground. Blood started to trickle down her face as she grunted, jerking herself upwards. A boot slammed into her back and a gun pressed into her head. Chess rallied, trying to slice, to cut, to maim. Her powers slashed through the air, cutting the air itself in her fury. Then they were gone.

├óÔé¼┼ôThat won't work├óÔé¼┬Ø A man said, his voice mocking, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe figured out your magic tricks centuries ago. They don't scare us├óÔé¼┬Ø

Chess grunted, pushing against the boot. She gasped, finding the leg behind the boot incredibly strong.

├óÔé¼┼ôCollar her├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said to one of his squad members. A collar suddenly snapped around Chess' neck and...her powers were gone.

Chess wailed as she was dragged out of the ship, the chain connected to her collar almost strangling her. She reached out with her mind, trying to tear the fuckers who did this to her...but nothing came. Nothing came...

They left her in the room and the door slid shut with a soft whoosh.

Chess pushed herself into the wall, gasping fresh air as best she could with the collar about her throat. She started to cry, sniffling as she pulled her legs into her chest, placing her face into her knee's. The crying and sniffling turned into sobbing, wracking sobs that burned her lungs on the way out.

Later, when she had fallen asleep and awoke on he back, Ches felt a Kliner jump through the floor.

The door opened. Chess curled up as two of the blanks walked in, no longer wearing their black suits. They, amazingly, looked like normal people. Fine hair, well chiseled faces, and strong shoulders, the two men looked completely normal and human.

├óÔé¼┼ôGet up├óÔé¼┬Ø One of them said. Chess curled tighter.

├óÔé¼┼ôGet up├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said again.

Chess didn't move. The man pressed a button on his belt and Chess felt pain shoot through her. It came from the collar, amazing pain that made her back arch and her arms spasm. She lay on her back, gasping with pain.

├óÔé¼┼ôGet up├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said again. Chess slowly got to her feet. The man who hadn't spoke the entire time grabbed Chess' collar and hauled her along. The ship was smaller than Chess expected, small and well kept. She was taken through the corridors and past a few open doors, but when she glanced at the doors the man with the button reached for it threateningly. She looked back at her feet, feeling very alone.

The bridge of the ship gave her a hint of where she was. A blood red planet was before her, faintly familer...Chess' eyes widened.

├óÔé¼┼ôWelcome to your new home├óÔé¼┬Ø the man with the button said, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou'll love Golgotha, I hear├óÔé¼┬Ø

Snipawolf · Post by **Snipawolf** » 15 Nov 2006, 13:32

Golgotha was a prison from Wild Arms 2... Hmm...

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