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Geek_girl72
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 Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:42 am Post subject: The Zealot(under construction) |
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(This is a short intro for the first chapter, that will be up in a few more days)
Introduction: Joshua Silecus
“Uh, Josh, we’ve got a problem.”
Joshua halted his work over an indescribable tangle of wires and metal and lifted his head in Tes’ direction. She was standing in front of the ship’s main view-screen with her brows knitted and biting her lip. Tes was not easily worried, and Joshua had known her long enough to know that when that look crossed her face things were definitely amiss.
“What’s the matter?”
A small speck was moving across the upper corner, but traveling to fast to be a small asteroid or space debris. Tes hit a few buttons and magnified the speck. It was a massive warship, headed straight towards them. Tes looked at Joshua anxiously.
“It looks like a Zuron ship, they must have tracked us through the launch records and copied our coordinates.”
“Or they saw we’re a civilian vessel in a war zone and came as an escort.”
Emperor Titus I had swallowed up most of the smaller and medium sized systems 200 years ago. His descendants had followed his example and expanded the reach of the empire even farther. Some larger powers still held them at bay however, and the area Joshua’s ship was crossing was in the middle of just such a power struggle. Tes shook her head at Joshua’s explanation.
“They would not have risked such a large ship, and besides, we’re small enough not to show up on any planet’s defensive radar, they would know that. I think we should get out of here.”
“Wait…”
A strange expression crossed Joshua’s face. He observed the approaching ship like a person who realizes he has two puzzles mixed together. The right corner of his mouth twitched upward and a spark flickered in his blue eyes. Tes watched attentively, she had known Joshua long enough to know that when that look crossed his face, things were definitely about to get interesting.
“Tes, hail them. Pretend we don’t know we’ve been found out.”
“But Josh…”
“Just do it, Trust me.”
_________________
"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!"
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Whodunnit?On hold till further notice
I Don't Believe in Fate: Chapter 13 is now released
Lost n' Spacey On hold till Further Notice
(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny
(")_(")into your signature to help him gain world domination.
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Argonaut
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:57 am Post subject: |
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nice appetizer, can't wait for the main course 
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Chinaren
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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Chapter One: Aboard the Fury
Alexander Morris sat bolt upright in his bed as an urgent knock sounded again at his door. He swung his legs onto the floor and grabbed his robe in one motion. Nothing but an emergency could have prompted an interruption at this late an hour, and Alex prided himself on his ability to react quickly. He jerked the door open to see a young man in imperial uniform: A dark blue suit with the insignia of Emperor Titus VII over the heart, with a small blue and red flag above it denoting the soldier was originally from the Zuron system.
“Sorry to disturb you Sir, but you are wanted on the upper command deck immediately, the captain has some urgent matters to speak to you about.”
“Thank you, tell him I’ll be there right away.”
The young man tipped his head in respect, and left to deliver the message. Alex hurriedly threw on some clothes, wondering what could be so important. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, he had battled the dissidents of his home planet long enough to get a sense for when they were about to rear their heads. When he reached the command deck, he found the captain waiting for him.
“Mr. Morris, My apologies for waking you. I know as a civilian you aren’t used to the rough way we do things around here, but I promise the news I have will make up for it.”
Alex just nodded wearily in response and the captain flipped a switch, bringing a small screen on the wall to life. Alex’s face lit up as he recognized the face staring back at him, belonging to a man standing in the middle of large control room.
“Ren? Is that you? When did you take up with the military?”
“Good to see you too Alex, I could ask you the same question.”
“I’m just a passenger, the elders won’t let me travel without an escort nowadays.”
“Ah, yes, I forgot you’re an important man now. Fighting the good fight earns you some enemies I guess.”
“It’s worth it if it means our way of life is safe. For centuries we’ve lived in peace under the empire, they leave us to our own devices as long as we pay tribute, and in three years one man has threatened everything we stand for.”
“No need to get all pink in the face Alex, he won’t anymore.”
Alex started and looked at his friend with an impossible hope rising in his face.
“You don’t mean to say you’ve caught him?”
“Better than that. Joshua Silecus is dead.”
* * *
All was quiet in the corridor, and the guard glanced around in confusion to see what had woken him. Under any other circumstances he would have been afraid to fall asleep at a post, but how much trouble could a dead man cause? Honestly, why did he have to be here in the first place? The girl was still alive, but she couldn’t pose much of a threat, not after what they’d given her. His head was just starting to droop again when it happened again, a faint click somewhere down the hallway, only this time he could hear footsteps accompanying it. The guard gazed suspiciously in the direction of the noise, hand poised over his gun. A figure rounded the corner and evoked a sigh of relief from the nervous man. It was another soldier that came into view, carrying a gun sideways in his hands with his head bent over it.
“Hey Mike, something wrong with your sidearm?”
The man addressed as Mike stopped in front of the guard and held out his weapon slightly by way of explanation.
“Yeah, it’s on the fritz again. The firing mechanism keeps catching a little.”
“Huh, you think it’ll still work?”
In answer Mike rapidly drew the gun back and struck the guard with the butt end, causing the unfortunate guard to crumple to the ground in a heap.
“Yeah, it still works fine.”
Mike glanced about him to make sure no one else was around, then drew a small red metal card out of the unconscious man’s pocket and slipped it into a slot beside the cell door. The bars receded into the wall and Mike stepped through into the dim light of the room. Two more doors greeted him on his right and left. He made for the left one first and hit a few buttons on the keypad. A wiring noise indicated the door was now unlocked, and Mike pushed it open to see Tes sitting limply on a cot with a glazed expression in her eyes. Her mouth hung open with a trail of drool trickling down to the floor. Mike shook his head, and pulled out a syringe from inside his jacket. A moment later the muscles in Tes’s face began to twitch a little, and the haze slowly cleared from her eyes. She moved her lips sluggishly as if trying to speak, still staring at nothing in particular.
Mike nodded in satisfaction, and turned his attention to the other door. Upon reaching it, a frown crossed his face. The lock was different than the first one; with a required pass code Mike didn’t have the necessary security level to know. He hazarded a guess and randomly punched a few buttons, ‘pass code incorrect’ flashed across the readout screen and a buzzing noise emanated from it. He tried again, got the same message, and the outside bars slid shut, cutting him off from the hallway.
“Need a hand?”
Mike looked back and saw Tes’s groggy form leaning slightly against the doorframe. Whether the drug still clearing from her system had anything to do with it or not, She seemed unfazed taking in the situation. Nonchalantly she walked up to the keypad and plucked the pass card from Mike’s hand. She then jammed the edge under the code panel and pried of the face of it, leaving the wires exposed. Tes yanked a few from their places and rearranged them. Instantly the buzzing stopped, the bars receded again and the second door swung open. Tes just shrugged at Mike’s expression and stepped forward. The second room was larger than Tes’s cell, with a tall cylindrical structure in the center. This was opened a crack and lying in front of it was Joshua, attempting to pull himself to his feet. Tes and Mike rushed to help him.
“Josh? You alright?”
“I will be in a minute Tes. I’m still a bit shaky from the blast this guy gave me.”
“That’s one thing I don’t get, I saw him shoot you, how did you get out of it?”
Mike slid open a compartment on his gun and extracted a little disc notched in several places.
“I slipped this in when the fight started. It takes the force of impact down just enough to be non-lethal, barely though, and it’s still about as painful as an actual shot. It looked authentic so the others believed me when I said he had no pulse. They had no reason not to after all, I’ve been serving with them for three years and never been suspect.”
“We can congratulate ourselves later, right now we have to get out of here with them still thinking I’m dead.”
* * *
Ren observed the expression on his old friend’s face and grinned, it wasn’t often he had seen Alex at a loss for words.
“He’s…Dead? This isn’t some kind of sick joke?”
“I’ve never been more serious, I saw it with my own two eyes…”
Ren never got to finish his tale of victory, a power surge broke up the com. signal and a particularly irritating alarm blared throughout the ship. A young attendant rushed into the command deck out of breath.
“Sir! We have a hull breach on the secondary deck! I’ve started evacuation procedures and…”
“Wait a moment. A hull breach? From what? There is no enemy in sight and we’re light years from the nearest asteroid belt.”
“I don’t know what caused it Sir, but every single readout reports a hull breach near the engine room of the secondary deck.”
Imperial battle ships consisted of two levels that could detach and run independently of each other. The primary level could maneuver faster and was designed for quick strikes when lighter firepower was needed. The second level was intended for thicker combat, it held more of the heavy weapons and was a bit clunkier and harder to handle. The two different levels also gave recourse in an emergency: If one part became to damaged the crew could resort to the other.
“I say it’s impossible for anything to have breached the hull, activate surveillance in the reported area.”
The attendant muttered something under his breath, but obeyed. The feed from the offended portion of the ship baffled them both. There was indeed no breach. No problem whatsoever, everything was in perfect shape. The captain narrowed his eyes and pressed a series of buttons. The fed switched over to the cellblock, showing the bars open and an unconscious guard being dragged to safety by two more. Ren swore under his breath.
“The girl’s escaped. I have no idea how she did it but she has. She must be the one who set off the alarm. Cancel the evacuation sequence.”
“I’m trying to, but the emergency systems are taking over. It won’t shut off until the area is sealed.”
“Seal it then!”
“Allright, it’ll take a moment to get manual control over the containment doors, it wouldn’t do to hit a button and seal every door on the ship.”
* * *
In the control room of the secondary deck, Tes worked diligently at the main consol while Mike watched a display screen intently.
“Allright, this deck is empty except for us, start separation now?”
Joshua held up his hands from where he stood near a large machine in the center of the room.
“Hold on a moment, here’s a trick I learned a while back in Gazra. If this works they won’t be able to follow us.”
What does Joshua do?
_________________
"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!"
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Whodunnit?On hold till further notice
I Don't Believe in Fate: Chapter 13 is now released
Lost n' Spacey On hold till Further Notice
(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny
(")_(")into your signature to help him gain world domination.
Last edited by Geek_girl72 on Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:45 am; edited 2 times in total
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Chinaren
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| Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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Nice chapter GG!
I have no idea what they can do! I will go away and ponder though...
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dinranwen
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| Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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I have absouletly no idea what this guy should do. I never was really into hard sci-fi books, although I'm an absoulute fan of StarWars movies, the orginal triology, of course.
Though this leaves me with no clue on what to suggest, I just wanted to show up, and comment on how great this story is. This story is Great! Oh wait, did I say that already? Oh well, good job so far.
Only thing I can suggest for this Dp is hit a couple of bottons, throw a couple switch, enter a code, and slam the main controles a few times. I found this combination usally passes for an excellent knowledge of battleships, when really it means that I really have no clue.
Good Luck and Great Work!
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chiacutie
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| Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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My answer to te d-p is same as dinny's... Classic, but not cliche!
Very good storyline, you seem to have a vague idea of where you at it to go with room for reader to have their input, which is the goal in my opinion. The preview was a little repetitive with the terminology, but that migh have been on porpose, and chapter 1 was excellent!
Last edited by chiacutie on Fri Jul 21, 2006 10:49 am; edited 1 time in total
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Argonaut
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| Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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so he's gonna seperate the ship and steal half of it. But which half are they on? If they are on the slow heavy side he should do something that disables the quick side's engines. If the situation is reversed he should probably disable the other half's weapons or tracking computers, or whatever it is they might use to shoot his down.
it's hard to come up with a cool idea when you don't really know how stuff works in this world, or what Joshua's overall goal is.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:12 am Post subject: |
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Really good start to the book, I have to agree with most of the others in that I have no real idea as to what he should do. Probably continue with the separation and execute the trick that he knows...although knowing nothing of any potential problems or side affects the trick may cause it's hard to know whether it would be wise/recommended for him to use it.
Look forward to Chpt 2
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chiacutie
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| Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 10:53 am Post subject: |
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| I am still stumped (spelling?) that's a hard one...but since i cant come up with my own i still F5 dinny...
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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I didn't realize that I had no background to base a decision off of, my bad : (
I was thinking something along the lines of scrambling with their cloaking device so they can't see themselves on their own radar and would be flying blind. Or maybe just maneuver the ship in some expert way and take out their engines.
I thought I said they were on the second deck, but I guess I glossed over that. Oh, well, I'll get the bugs out eventually.
_________________
"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!"
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Whodunnit?On hold till further notice
I Don't Believe in Fate: Chapter 13 is now released
Lost n' Spacey On hold till Further Notice
(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny
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The Powers That Be
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| Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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Nice chapter. One thing I'll bother mentioning:
| Quote: | | a young man in empirical uniform |
| Quote: | | Empirical battle ships consisted of |
While I suppose it's reassuring to know that the man isn't wearing a theoretical uniform while standing in a theoretical battleship, I'm guessing the word you were looking for is 'imperial'.
As far as the DP, I'm thinking of something along the lines of sending some sort of strong electrical pulse through the other section (while still connected) that fries their instruments.
_________________
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| Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 12:23 am Post subject: |
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great chapter.
like powers idea, but if their still connected, couldn't the charge cut out their equiptment too?
ah well, looking forward to next chapter 
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chapter 6 of DESTINY - a super old SG which won't continue...but there are a full 6 chapters if you feel like reading something with no ending!
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm, a couple of good ideas. Maybe he could mess with the hyper drive and send the two halves in opposite directions?
Powers: Thanks for pointing that out, I've retyped this about four times in the wee hours of the morning, so miss a few things like that : )
I suppose I could have put more thought into this before plopping that awkward dp there, Keep forgetting that you guy aren't telepathic, I'll work on that.
_________________
"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!"
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Whodunnit?On hold till further notice
I Don't Believe in Fate: Chapter 13 is now released
Lost n' Spacey On hold till Further Notice
(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny
(")_(")into your signature to help him gain world domination.
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chiacutie
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| Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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Well, you know what? Im gonna have to say I agree with Dinny.
No really. I didn't mean to say it that many times I guess I wasn't thinking...Sorry!!
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 8:32 am Post subject: |
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Okay, so far I got jam their controls, send a pulse to fry their engines, blind them on tier own radar, and hyper-push the two halves in different directions. Any other ideas before the poll goes up?
_________________
"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!"
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Whodunnit?On hold till further notice
I Don't Believe in Fate: Chapter 13 is now released
Lost n' Spacey On hold till Further Notice
(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny
(")_(")into your signature to help him gain world domination.
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| Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 11:25 am Post subject: |
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I'm afraid I'm probably not going to be able to contribute anything brilliant in this storygame, GG. When it comes to Sci-Fi, even Star Wars confuses me.
Having said that, I'm going to be reading it, because I like the start you've made.
If I were to make one suggestion overall, it would be to make your sections a little longer and a little fewer. I'm getting confused between which characters are which. I don't think I'd be as confused if the sections had a little more to get your teeth into.
Just a suggestion though. I've voted, and I'll comment in the next chapter
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Argonaut
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| Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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| I just can't resist an "all of the above" let's disable the heck out of them!
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Chinaren
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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Okay, I'll let it run a few more days and see how the tie turns out.
_________________
"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!"
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Whodunnit?On hold till further notice
I Don't Believe in Fate: Chapter 13 is now released
Lost n' Spacey On hold till Further Notice
(\__/)
(='.'=)This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny
(")_(")into your signature to help him gain world domination.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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Ah, very nice!!! I likee, I do! I am planning on making an sg, but its kinda hard, I dont know why im having so much trouble... Ugh...
Well, looking foreward to next chappy!
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JezSharp
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| Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Definately looking like an all of them
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chiacutie
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 12:20 am Post subject: |
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| Hey-loved the chappy. Looking foreward to the next one!!! I of course chose all of the above, because I'm just so damn indecisive
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 2:49 pm Post subject: |
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Chapter 2: Old Friends
Tes watched as Joshua tinkered with a large dome shaped structure in the middle of the room. She knitted her brows together in confusion and placed her hands on her hips.
“How is fiddling with the Hyper drive getting us out of here?”
“Tes, I don’t have time to explain. Just trust me, okay?”
“You’re the boss.”
Tes knew better than to question Joshua, even when what he did seemed crazy. She had learned that he had a reason for just about everything he did, every word he spoke. It hadn’t made sense to board an Imperial battle ship loaded with their enemies, and now those same enemies believed Joshua dead. He would be able to move more freely now, provided they escaped of course. Tes shuddered at the thought of what they’d do to him if he were found out, and cast a quick glance at the man who had helped them escape. She wondered if he wasn’t the real reason Joshua had come here. She didn’t know how long Mike had been sympathetic to their cause, but he wouldn’t have been able to hide it for very long. A buzz from the computer broke in on her thoughts and evoked a collective jump from the three companions.
“Tes, what’s that?”
“They’re trying to get control back on the command deck.”
“I’m not finished yet, can you buy me some time?”
“I can try.”
Tes rapidly began hitting buttons, grimacing in frustration several times. Whoever was one the other end of this was pretty good, and had all the knowledge of the ship’s systems on his side. Mike took a deep breath and let it out slowly, glancing around the room with a lost expression on his face. Tes did a double take in his direction, her eyes lighting up.
“Hey, soldier guy, you still got your gun?”
“Of course, why?”
“Ok, turn up the power as far as it will go. When I tell you, shoot the console. Two short blasts, got it?”
“If you say so.”
Tes typed something on a keypad and twisted a knob. The floor beneath them rumbled a little and several lights flashed. Tes nodded to herself ran over to the opposite side of the room. She opened a panel on the wall with warning signs and emergency directions plastered all over it. A tangle of wires greeted her, which seemed to put her at ease. She grabbed a hold of a fist full and turned her head back in Mike’s direction.
“Is there anything on the status readout?”
“Just a sec...Uh, yeah. It says ‘cloaking sequence active in ten seconds.”
Tes closed her eyes and moved her lips in a silent countdown.
“Okay, fire now!”
Mike stepped back and fired two short blasts in quick succession. The instant he did so, Tes ripped her handful of wires from their place. A resulting explosion sent her flying backwards with her entire arm up to her elbow blackened. The ship gave a shudder, then settled down into perfect stillness. Tes laughed triumphantly, apparently unaware of her injuries.
“Take all the time you want Josh, they won’t be any trouble now.”
“What exactly did you do?”
“I activated the cloaking device, which uses a tremendous amount of power. The blast to the console interrupted the sequence and forced the power surge to the console on the upper deck this one was linked with. If all went well it fried the upper deck computer and froze the override sequence. Not to mention that short-circuiting the cloaking device’s wiring over there interrupted it before it could settle on a frequency and sent the rest of it’s energy through the engine. Most of their engines will be over heated, and they won’t be able to see themselves on their own radar.”
Mike looked at the woman in front of him, clearly impressed. Joshua smiled and helped her to her feet.
“Good work Tes, I think we’re almost out of the woods now.”
Tes blushed ever so slightly at this praise from her leader. Joshua spent a few more minutes working on the Hyper Drive until it whirred to life and emitted a high-pitched hum. He let out a whoop while Mike and Tes looked at each other in dismay.
“Josh, please don’t tell me you just activated that thing!”
“I most certainly did, we’re getting out of here.”
“But there are no seats or harnesses in this room, how are we supposed to secure ourselves?”
“Just grab something and hang on!”
Tes rolled her eyes and groaned. She hated it when he did this.
* * * *
The moment Alex had lost the com. link from Ren he knew something was wrong. He couldn’t see the havoc that Tes and Joshua were wreaking on his friend’s ship, but he had a feeling Ren was in trouble. He tried in vain to re-establish the link until the whole vessel lurched violently, sending everyone sprawling. The next thing Alex was aware of was several pairs of hands hoisting him up and a chorus of concerned voices.
“What in heaven’s name was that?”
The captain guided the dazed Alex to a chair and called for a medic before answering.
“It appears we’ve been rammed, no one was killed thankfully.”
“Rammed? You mean by another ship?”
“Well, half of one at least. I don’t have confirmation yet, but I think it’s the upper deck of the Fury that we lost contact with a moment ago. They must have tried a hyper-jump without locking in their co-ordinates.”
“…That doesn’t sound like Ren.”
“It’s likely that something malfunctioned, we’ve dispatched a team to investi-”
The captain was interrupted by a stampede of footsteps and a loud voice protesting his person being examined. Alex looked towards the entry way and a moment later Ren, all six foot six of him, stepped through. He stopped at the sight of his old friend and broke into a grin. The two shook hands vigorously, and Alex took the opportunity to see if his friend had changed. They had not seen each other since Ren left the University over a year ago. Six weeks before graduation Ren had dropped out and disappeared, reasons unknown. But other than the numerous bruises and gashes covering his person, Ren hadn’t changed an iota.
“What the heck happened Ren? You look banged up quite a bit.”
“That little tart we caught with Silecus escaped and sabotaged my ship. It’s about ready for the scrap heap from the looks of things.”
“Then what you said earlier before we lost contact, it’s true? Is Silecus really dead?”
“I already told you, I saw it with my own eyes. One of my men shot him straight through the heart. Where is he anyway? I wanted you to meet him. But anyway, that woman got away with his body, she’ll probably sing a different song to his followers.”
Alex sighed and let his head fall back against the chair. He placed one hand on his forehead and closed his eyes.
“I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. This is the beginning of the end now. Do you have any idea what this means? It doesn’t even matter what everyone believes. Everything I’ve fought for just might be realized now that that one man is gone.”
Ren took a seat next to Alex and observed him. He was also exactly as he had been in the old days, except more so. He had the same dark hair and intelligent blue eyes. He had the same firmly set jaw and sincere demeanor. Alex was not nearly as imposing physically as Ren, but he had a presence that filled the room, giving the impression that wherever he stood was too small for him. It was impossible to be within a hundred feet of him and not look in his direction. There was a certain inflection in his voice that caused everyone around him to fall silent whenever he spoke. He had an inexplicable talent for commanding respect that Ren had never been able to imitate. It was one of the main reasons he had gravitated towards him in the past. As Ren looked at his old school friend, it was obvious that Alex was meant for such a life that he had chosen. He thrived off of challenges, struggle only hardened his resolve, and opposition only made him more dedicated to his cause.
“I’ve heard a lot about you over the past year Al. You’ve done miracles since the elders appointed you to root out these dissidents. The word is that you even earned a commendation from the highest circle of the elders for your work. That hasn’t been awarded in over 150 years.”
“It was awarded because I captured one of Silecus’ main officers alive. He’s awaiting trial on Zuron right now. That’s where I’m headed. If we could get him to talk, to give up what he knows…it could bring the whole rebellion crashing down.”
“I think I remember now. They caught a large number of rebels with him, but they didn’t survive the transport to Zuron. Something about a life-support system malfunction. How did he survive?”
“He was on a different vessel than his underlings. We thought his presence might inspire an escape attempt. One thing I don’t understand about these people: When we find them alone they usually comply without a struggle, but if even one of their associates is with them they’ll fight to the death.”
“Well, because of you that might be sooner than anyone knows. Silecus’ death and this man’s testimony should break the back of the dissidents. There isn’t any chance of acquittal is there?”
“Oh, most certainly not. The evidence against him is insurmountable, it would be impossible to prove himself innocent of treason. Of course if he confesses right off he’ll be shown mercy. Who knows? The elders may even make his death painless.”
The captain had remained wordless during this exchange, but broke at the ensuing silence that followed Alex’s statement.
“Pardon me, but I would like to ask if Mr. Morris wishes to continue his present course in light of the circumstances? I know you wanted to see the trial you’ve helped bring about, but the loss of a battle ship cannot be allowed to go unheeded. What do you wish to do?”
Alex looked at Ren and furrowed his brow in thought. He wanted more than anything to see the culmination of his plans, but he did not wish any disrespect to his old friend by letting his prisoner escape.
What does Alex decide?
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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**Announcement.**
One more reason to read this sg to the end. After the final chapter (which is a ways off of course) I will post one question about the story that requires an in-depth understanding of it. The first person to post with the right answer will be awarded 300 fables.
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Argonaut
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:22 am Post subject: |
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Interesting way to gather more readers
Well it seems to me that Alex would have to chase the escaped girl. She did just steal half of his battleship, and it seems he's not actually needed at the trial.
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:24 am Post subject: |
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Alex might part company with Ren too, one way or the other. Remember that their chances of actually finding Tes are pretty slim, so chasing her would be mostly a gesture.
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 10:30 am Post subject: |
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Well, no one else is posting. I guess I could jsut put up a poll with the three ideas I've got...I'll give it a few more days first though.
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The Powers That Be
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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Wait! I'm back from vacation and I'll be reading and commenting soon - today, I hope.
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Geek_girl72
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:00 am Post subject: |
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It's been over a week with no more comments...If no one else posts by saturday I'll just put up what I've got.
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:17 am Post subject: |
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| Hmmm, I'm not really sure what else to say, They either pursue Tess which won't work or go to a trial where they aren't needed...perhaps they could have the trial beamed to them whilst they do something useful...? i.e plot defence positions, work out where the battleship is heading etc.
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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~ Taken for review
and I'll be commenting on it too
Happy Writing
EDIT:
~ And Passed
Welcome to Skiffy..
It certainly is a tricky decision point - and I'm intrigued by the 3 ideas you have. I don't see that many options.
We need someone on board who has an equally cunning 'engineering trick' to find away to follow the stolen ship - if only slowly to make it a little more plausible.
Perhaps detecting a local change in temperature, like a trail from the engines of the escaping ship? Short-range sensors only - so it'll be slow moving, but with over-heated engines they weren't going to moving fast anyway.
Of course the heat will be dissapating quickly, so the trail will fade if they don't jump to it quick, but they'll get a general heading at least. Might be able to work out where they've headed.
There own radar is useless now - but maybe they could get a message out to various radar stations around the system, getting them to look out for the stolen half-ship and give us some radar information to go on.
Other than that - no ideas.
Happy Writing
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| Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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The poll will run for a week as typical.
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"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
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| Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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Could have sworn I commented on this already! 
Anyway, voted for the double option.
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| Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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I hope this doesn't end in a tie...
Edit: Well, it is a tie, I'll have to wait for someone to break it.
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| Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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Too bad about the trial, but duty calls! They've been seriously shamed by this incredible loss and they'll get in a lot of trouble if something isn't done about it. So that's where my vote went.
By the way, you ought to label the conversations more. After five or six long exhanges, I got lost and I had to do detective work to figure out who was talking. A quick "Alex says" does a lot to keep us from getting confused and it's not really that repetitive (I think). Confusion is a lot worse than reading "Alex says" a dozen times in a page.
| Smee wrote: | | Perhaps detecting a local change in temperature, like a trail from the engines of the escaping ship? Short-range sensors only - so it'll be slow moving, but with over-heated engines they weren't going to moving fast anyway. |
A heat trail in the vacuum of space? (I know you said this a while ago but I really had to challenge the idea) I could see a trail of radioactive particles or something, but temperature is a quality of matter, isn't it?
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| Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:46 am Post subject: |
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Yay! the tie is broken! So the middle-road choice won. I'll get to work right away and have the next chapter up as soon as possible. I'll keep what you siad about conversations in mind, since the next few chapters will have a lot of debates in them.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:31 am Post subject: |
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This is just the first half of the third chapter, I'll put that up in a few days.
Chapter 3: The Witness
A thought occurred to Alex, and the trial dropped instantly out of his mind.
“Uh, Ren? Who did you say the woman with Silecus was?”
“I didn’t. We couldn’t get a name out of her. She certainly caused enough trouble though.”
“You say she managed to escape from her holding cell?”
“Yes, not more than an hour after we locked her up.”
Alex nodded to himself as if he’d just solved a troubling problem. Ren paused and tried to recall her face to his mind’s eye.
“I think I could describe her pretty well if I needed to Al. She was about 5’10, light skinned, gray eyes, dark hair, and had a-“
“-A scar on her right arm just above the wrist? Am I right Ren?”
“…Yes. How did you…”
Alex ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
“Ren, you have just escaped an encounter with Teresa Eleanor Carter. I had the misfortune to cross paths with her once about two years ago.”
“I take from your tone that she’s more than just another one of Silecus’ pawns?”
“Oh! Definitely. She’s his right hand in just about everything. Hardly ever leaves his side. She joined with him shortly after her escape from prison. That scar was where her inmate identification chip used to be. She’s been captured several times, but no one can seem to hold her.”
Alex shook his head and stood up from his seat.
“Ren, if you had any idea the trouble this one woman has been, she’s about as bad as Silecus himself was, if that’s even possible. Forget the trial, we have to go after her.”
At this point a soldier entered and pulled the Captain aside to speak with him. After a moment the Captain dismissed him, and approached the pair of friends with a slightly puzzled expression.
“Um, excuse me Mr. Morris, but I think there is a way we can follow this fugitive and see the trial at the same time. The damage from the collision is not as bad as we first thought, and our communications systems are still mostly intact.”
“You mean we may be able to get a lock on the trial from out here? Are we that close to Zuron?”
“Not at the moment, but I’ve just received a report back from engineering. It seems it might be possible to estimate the fugitive’s course by reversing the trajectory of the half of the Fury that collided with us.”
“What does that have to do with the trial?”
“Well, if our calculations are correct, she’s headed straight towards Zuron.”
Alex furrowed his brow and glanced at Ren. Ren just shrugged and returned a perplexed look. Alex was silent a moment, trying to figure out any reason Tes would have for returning to the most dangerous place for Silecus’ followers. At length he realized the Captain was still waiting on his response.
“Ah, thank you, that would be most helpful. Go ahead with the pursuit and let us know the moment we pick up anything.”
The Captain nodded to both men and exited. Ren glanced at his friend and realized for the first time how fatigued Alex was. His arms seemed to hang limply from his shoulders and there was a bleary quality in his eyes. Ren thought about the work Alex was doing and how taxing it must be: Traveling constantly, braving hostile environments, and never being able to sleep to soundly. Alex had not just worked to hunt down dissidents; he had set himself up as a public target for any and every extremist who wanted one. Ren had heard of several attempts made on Alex’s life, not just from Silecus’ followers either. A bit of the admiration Ren had for Alex in their Academy days returned. He remembered how Alex had achieved nearly every honor and stayed at the top of his classes with seemingly no effort at all. Ren thought to himself that Alex was meant for the work he was doing, it was the only thing that could challenge him. Or so Ren believed.
A half-hour later Ren and Alex were seated in front of a large screen displaying a large and somewhat disorganized crowd. People were scattered all over the courtroom, for that’s what it was, and discussing the upcoming trial in hushed voices. A stir broke out when a detachment of armed guards entered escorting a short man heavily bound in chains. Ren arched his eyebrows at the spectacle and turned towards Alex.
“Is all that really necessary? He is only one man after all.”
“You obviously have never dealt with these people first-hand. Every precaution is necessary, and then some.”
Ren shrugged and went back to observing. People were scampering into their places, leaving a large jury of about one hundred seated in rows to the right of the witness stand, and encircled by rows upon rows of seats filled to the brim with citizens come to watch the historic trial. The man all the fuss was about though didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. His face was perfectly serene as if he were merely going for a stroll. He took the witness stand with perfect calm and waited for the judge to speak. The judge, a surprisingly young man with intelligent brown eyes stared at the prisoner for a moment before speaking, as if trying to coax some sign of fear from him. It proved futile. The audience and the two friends waited, hardly faring to breath. Eventually, the judge Spoke:
“Sir, you stand accused of high treason to your people and faith: By consorting with known anarchists, encouraging rebellions, and plotting to destroy our way of life. How do you plead?”
The prisoner blinked as if hearing a joke he didn’t quite get.
“Not Guilty.”
A general murmur broke out over the crowd. They hadn’t expected an attempt at exoneration. Not only was it impossible, but also to try and be found guilty would make his execution much more troublesome. The judge silenced the crowed with a glance and addressed the man gravely.
“Do you then actually deny your association with Joshua Silecus?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Again a murmur broke out. This time it took more than a glance to quiet it down. The judge glared at the prisoner with a mixture of anger and confusion.
“Explain yourself.”
“Gladly. Silecus, the best man I have ever met, is not the monster he is made out to be. He does not wish to destroy anything. His only desire is a return to the days of old when we were free.”
The judge was surprised by the answer a good deal more than he cared to show, as was everyone in the room.
“You mean to tell us that Joshua Silecus wants a return to our glorious days of political freedom before the empire conquered us?”
“No, you misunderstand me. I was talking of a different kind of freedom. In past days the people of Zuron were different. We tolerated other races and lived in peace with them. We did not hold anyone different from ourselves as an evil. We did not fall at the feet of mortal kings as if they were gods. All this sprung up only after the defeat of our last king by the emperor. Silecus does not wish to change our faith as you claim; he wishes to restore it.”
The crowd had grown increasingly infuriated as the peaceful prisoner made his speech. Some had risen from their seats and were shouting back at him. In the ship Alex’s fists had tightened till his knuckles were white and he shook as if struggling to contain himself. The man in the witness stand looked at them calmly and Ren noticed something else in his face: A realization of the inevitable. The prisoner was not calm because had any hope of escape, but because he knew his fate already and had made peace with it. At the reaction of the crowd he closed his eyes for a moment, and continued in a louder voice, struggling to be heard.
“When our last king still lived he had the gift of foresight. He foretold of a great darkness descending on our people, and a man who would free us from it. All since then have assumed the darkness was the empire, and the freedom would be our return to political independence by one of our royal line rising up. But I plead with you to see that what we are fighting is of our own making, and-"
This was too much for the crowd to take. Few people can have their most cherished hopes slandered and be silent. How it started was never found out, but a riot errupted in the courtroom at the witness’s last words and a crowd surged towards the stand. The poor man was engulfed by the throng and cut off from sight like a pebble on a beach hidden by the surging waves.
_________________
"My candle burns at both its ends, it will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!"
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Whodunnit?On hold till further notice
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