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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 27, 2018 13:32:35 GMT
In response to Commander Atticus Batman's reaction to her recommendations, Sandy Bell Uljanov grinned thinking, "He CAN listen to reason!" Sandy's grin grew even greater when she saw her daughter's reaction to her father's lecture to her. Afterwards Jalina had grabbed her father's hand holding it to her bosom with both her chalk white hands as she leaned her curly brown haired head on his shoulder watching and listening intently at what was occurring around them. "Definitely a Daddy's girl," Thought Sandy pleasantly to herself. A pretty pout formed on Jalina's lush lips and her magenta eyes narrowed once Atticus Batman had finished addressing her as she answered frankly, "Commander Batman, I have to go on this mission whether you, my parents, or I want me to or not. Ever since Atlas snatched me from Corporal Besadhan's womb and thrust me into my mother's I know without doubt Atlas has plans for me. I am positive that if I don't go into the Forbidden Zone on my own volition he will get me there in some other way. I would much rather go on my terms surrounded by family and friends than be there with him alone." Jalina hesitated squeezing her father's hand tighter before continuing, "Don't ask me why I'm so sure, but I know I have some type of mental link to him and have known ever since I was born. Atlas is already down there on Earth in the Forbidden Zone...waiting! I don't know what else he is waiting for but I do know he is waiting for me although his reasons are unclear. All I do know is that I have to go - I will go - with your blessing or without. If I have to hide in a crate on board the Dauntless like my father once did on another ship, I will do so," Jalina smiled shyly before adding, "However I would much rather sit comfortably next to my parents - perhaps with a go-box of this wonderful comfort food cooked by the Vigilant's chef." ***** Down in the Vigilant's Engineering, Whitney was much less pleased by Commander Batman's orders. In fact she was despondent over it. She really wanted to find some way to give meaning to her life other than just doing a job, no matter how much she felt Commander Batman sugar-coated it as to its importance. Like most teenagers, she was impatient and like many wanted her life to mean more than just mere existence. Whitney wanted her death to make a difference and she wanted it sooner and not later. That is not to say Whitney didn't seriously consider what Count Casannuendo and especially Doctor Wolfram Von Eschen had said to her and had even embraced the latter with a warm hug after he reminded her of her promise of a future conversation together. It was just that she wasn't sure how their advice applied to a machine such as herself who liked to think it was a "real" girl - a machine who deluded itself that it could love and be loved. Whitney's positronic brain had concluded from such thoughts that she must therefore be damaged and truly deserved to be destroyed and discarded on the trash heap. In every batch of machines there are a few defective models. In the batch where she and her three Synth Sisters were created, Whitney reasoned that her sisters were perfect and she was the defective model. Instead of being jealous of her sisters, she was in fact truly happy for them. However to her that meant that time was even more pressing for her death to be important before her defects put both her sisters and her friends in danger yet again because of her faulty machinations. Atticus concluded his communication to Whitney by stating, "... We have already lost too many to Atlas. So how about instead, you use your genius and open a comm channel with the Dauntless. Then while you are working in the Vigilant's Engineering wing, you can also help Attila get the Dauntless Adventure's shields and weapons fully functional before my team leaves in the Dauntless Adventure." Being an obedient being at heart and really wanting to help the Protectors rather than hinder them, Whitney forced a sad smile and answered with a mere, "Yes Commander Batman, I will do as you wish." Secretly to herself in her own thoughts Whitney added, "At least until my sacrifice can really make a difference to you, my sisters, and my friends so that at least when you all remember me it will be kindly."     |
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Post by Atticus Batman on Mar 28, 2018 12:10:25 GMT
Atticus concluded his communication to Whitney by stating, "... We have already lost too many to Atlas. So how about instead, you use your genius and open a comm channel with the Dauntless. Then while you are working in the Vigilant's Engineering wing, you can also help Attila get the Dauntless Adventure's shields and weapons fully functional before my team leaves in the Dauntless Adventure."
Being an obedient being at heart and really wanting to help the Protectors rather than hinder them, Whitney forced a sad smile and answered with a mere, "Yes Commander Batman, I will do as you wish."
A pretty pout formed on Jalina's lush lips and her magenta eyes narrowed once Atticus Batman and finished addressing her as she answered frankly, "Commander Batman, I have to go on this mission whether you, my parents, or I want me to or not. Ever since Atlas snatched me from Corporal Besadhan's womb and thrust me into my mother's I know without doubt Atlas has plans for me. I am positive that if I don't go into the Forbidden Zone on my own volition he will get me there in some other way. I would much rather go on my terms surrounded by family and friends than be there with him alone."
Jalina hesitated squeezing her father's hand tighter before continuing, "Don't ask me why I'm so sure, but I know I have some type of mental link to him and have known ever since I was born. Atlas is already down there on Earth in the Forbidden Zone...waiting! I don't know what else he is waiting for but I do know he is waiting for me although his reasons are unclear. All I do know is that I have to go - I will go - with your blessing or without. If I have to hide in a crate on board the Dauntless like my father once did on another ship, I will do so," Jalina smiled shyly before adding, "However I would much rather sit comfortably next to my parents - perhaps with a go-box of this wonderful comfort food cooked by the Vigilant's chef."
I shrugged then said, "You do know that Volodja's crate trick ended up with him being tethered to and thrown from the ship by me right?! Not only that, but you do know this could be a suicide mission for us as well as you right? However I have to respect somebody so willing to face fate on their own terms. So fine. Convince your parents of why you must go, not only to Earth, but also into the Forbidden Zone with us and I will not prevent it. However I also insist all my away team members be armed for their own safety, so you would need to have your parents give you some gun safety and usage lessons before we leave the Vigilant.
On the other hand, I seem to keep losing my arguments with your mother as of late. So I am done with this part of the conversation as this is now an Uljanov family issue. However if you are allowed to go, then I am sure our chefs would be willing to provide you with a go-box, although I highly doubt you would like the food if you had him make one of his Sensoth comfort foods. Those fur balls make their food so daking bland."
Just then Atika who was still listening over the EGO and comm channels added, "And he most definitely does NOT know anything about a good tea! So if you get to go with us, I will make you an amazing cupa. I try to have a good tea for every occasion. Heck even Miss Marr never turns down a tea-time if she knows I am hosting! So I guess I better extend that offer to everybody that will be on the Dauntless Adventure. Looks like I better go examine the Dauntless Adventure's little lunch room and see what I need to stock up on before we disembark the Vigilant."
I grumbled, "Daking women and children! Fine! Some of you eavesdropped or butted in, and still somehow got me to agree with your stupid daking terms! Are you happy now?! Now go get prepared or have your private family discussions, or whatever the daking hell it is that you need to do! I have a mission to prepare for and my own family to spend a few minutes with, before we must disembark for our mission!"
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Post by Wolfram von Eschen on Mar 28, 2018 13:08:38 GMT
"Since I don't have much use anyway," said Wolfram von Eschen. "Then I will be assisting Whitney temporarily if she wants me. I am sure that she has smarts to find me some use. I am not much of a mechanic, my driving skills have reached the level that I am not sure if I drive car or I plainly drive the car crazy with my incompetence, but I am darn good with passing necessary tools and such, including advise, even if that advise might be unwanted." "Wolfram is quite fond of holotechology," added Count Casannuendo. "I was his guest for awhile and he was like a hen with her chicks with his three holochambers, making sure that everything was fine with them, running around and muttering formulas like a nutty professor and then running different simulation and diagnostic programs. "Important part of my work!" he declared every time I asked him about his mania." "They ARE important part of my work, dear Count!" snapped Wolfram von Eschen. "And very educational as well!" "You meant entertaining?" poked Casannuendo derisively. "Why else simulate Moulin Rouge as I saw you to do?"  "I happen to like quality edutainment! Where else I could be when I want to get the feel of Le Belle Époque in France?" grinned Wolfram von Eschen. "And you occupied one of my rooms for hours to play a harpsichord, so it's the typical "Pot Calling the Kettle Black" case." "Do they do this all the time?" asked Jalina quietly from her father. "Yes they do," replied Volodja. "But at least these two don't mean any harm by all that nagging. They are good friends who respect each other with the reason and are ready to stand for each other any time. People who will smile to your face and stab you in the back are ones one should be careful with. You are going to meet lot of people when working with Protectors and learn a lot about them. And lot of them are most unusual in a way or another." |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 29, 2018 3:27:04 GMT
"Do they do this all the time?" asked Jalina about Dr. Wolfram von Eshen and Count Casannuendo quietly from her father. "Yes they do," replied Volodja Uljanov. "But at least these two don't mean any harm by all that nagging. They are good friends who respect each other with the reason and are ready to stand for each other any time. People who will smile to your face and stab you in the back are ones one should be careful with. You are going to meet lot of people when working with Protectors and learn a lot about them. And lot of them are most unusual in a way or another." Jalina frowned as she considered what her father had said for a moment before asking, "When you say stab in the back, are you speaking about my godparents? Godmother Lena is the only one who uses knives so extensively and by extension Godfather Marcel? Are they the type of people that might want to stab me in the back? I do sense that they both are... different...from the other Protectors." After Volodja answered his daughter, Sandy Uljanov said, "Okay, we better get ready for the mission to the Forbidden Zone." First Sandy took Jalina to the ship's armory getting her equipped with armor, Rhino shield, and a Partridge shotgun. Sandy thought a shotgun was a great beginner's gun not taking too much skill if the target was close by and the rad-nanos of the Partridge would give Jalina that ability to give further damage to an attacker once she shot him.  Sandy let Jalina pick her own armor, picking light armor like her mother's, but to Sandy's chagrin not of a camouflage color but in shades of pink and red. Sandy was about to try to convince her daughter that bright colors in a battle zone were not a great idea but then thought against stifling her daughter's individuality. Since Sandy planned to keep Jalina far to the back and away from any firefights, she reasoned that it would be okay to let her daughter pick the garish outfit. Furthermore, it would make her daughter easier to find if she strayed from the team or if she did get caught up in a battle, Sandy could easily find her and put herself between Jalina and any danger threatening her. Then Sandy took Jalina to the target range on the Vigilant giving her an accelerated course on gun safety and use. Not surprising, Jalina proved to be a quick study and a natural in the use of the shotgun. Once that was done and after picking up her own equipment, Sandy led Jalina into the Dauntless Adventure where Sandy could check on it's preparations for the mission. Once Sandy was satisfied with the mission preparations, she reported first to Commander Atticus Batman and then the rest of the mission team that the ship was ready for its voyage to the Forbidden Zone, but added a concern of her own that she added when speaking to Atticus, "Sir, I have no doubt that the Dauntless can outrun the war zone ahead of us, it being of Olmec origin and already proving it has superior speed and maneuverability but what about the Vigilant? I don't see how she can avoid the battle ahead of us." As Sandy was reporting, the Vigilant was receiving a hail from the huge space station the Vigilant's crew had nicknamed the "Death Star." The message was an "SOS" from the Gek space station requesting aid against the Space Pirates swarming it and the Gek freighter convoy near it seeking to colonize Titan. Unfortunately, the message was in Gekese and no one on the Vigilant's bridge understood that language.  |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 29, 2018 6:54:19 GMT
"To tell the truth, Lena and Marcel never bother to smile to you if they don't want to," said Volodja to their daughter before they went to redress. "They prefer grinning. And mockery. They also prefer their own interests before anyone else's. Their shared interests, because you can't separate their duo for long." For a brief moment Volodja stopped talking in the search of suitable comparisons which suit to describe Jalina's Godparent. Then he was ready to continue. "Lena is the flame - free, hot, unpredictable and likes to dance freely and if you don't look after her then things may go out of control and cause a grand fire. Yet she has managed to make some friends who care about her and some of them used to people she tried to kill before which is quite amazing accomplishment. One can be relatively safe when that one is on her good list because Lena will never harm them. At least intentionally. One must keep an eye open to avoid unintentional harm only. Marcel...Him I know better than Lena due to our common line of work and our previous partnership. Marcel is not exactly a water but he is ice. Cold hearted, calculative and manipulative. A true spy by nature because a decent spy learns from the beginning that one is allowed and has to lie to everyone. That one should never trust anyone and has to use everyone around him without any moral limits. Gaining others trust and misusing it is not only a recommended behaviour but a must! Compared with me, Marcel is a decent spy because I did my work from conviction of making things better, not for making things better only for myself. And yet Marcel possesses certain code of conduct he has set for himself. He is a Pooh Grizzly to almost anyone, except Lena. When she is around, Marcel is a true Pooh Bear with her because of his selfless love to her. Since you are also under Marcel's protective wing, you don't have anything to fear from his side - he protects his kindred because he decided so. Together they are the diabolical duo because they balance each other and fight for each other interests. These two most unusual....erm...characters are not in the side of darkness but occupy the grey area. Luckily for us and the rest of the Paradise our interests won't conflict in most cases, so they agree to work for us if the price is right. And that makes them only possible backstabbers because that backstabbing is usually avoidable."  After females of the new Uljanov family disappeared behind the door of dressing room, Volodja Uljanov begun to pick his gear for the expedition. He had a thing for elegance and weakness for handicraft and during his Protector's years he had made some friends himself and that is why his gear was well crafted, hand picked and well maintained. Looks of his equipment might have been modest but an expert could sense right away that despite modest looks the gear was not only expensive but the money was invested into highest quality the scrip could buy. he took his sniper rifle from the locker and examined it carefully. Then he checked his pistol and grenades and after that added his sapper shovel to the belt as a cherry on the top. he was sure that all the gear doesn't help him directly against Atlas himself but it was good enough to handle most of the common dangers on the ground. Final look into the mirror, final check of the gear and then he was ready. Hearing the warning call about unavoidable battle against Atlas's drones and distress call made him think about the situation and after reaching to decision (after he remembered few details of their mission so far and persons involved into those details) he said through the comm link: "If Geks are friendly and if their communication means are strong enough to reach drones, then I might have an idea for relatively bloodless and yet more annoying Burtonesque solution to the minion problem. Atika! Can I borrow your voice because you are the only one who can speak decent Gek? Wolfram! You have a talent to make friends with Gek so we might need you as a negotiator and our...erm...chemist! Whitney! We could use a decent engineer as well." |
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Post by Atticus Batman on Mar 29, 2018 12:12:53 GMT
Once Sandy was satisfied with the mission preparations, she reported first to Commander Atticus Batman and then the rest of the mission team that the ship was ready for its voyage to the Forbidden Zone, but added a concern of her own that she added when speaking to Atticus, "Sir, I have no doubt that the Dauntless can outrun the war zone ahead of us, it being of Olmec origin and already proving it has superior speed and maneuverability but what about the Vigilant? I don't see how she can avoid the battle ahead of us."
I responded with, "Since you never daking listen to me, I will say it again! The Vigilant is already taking action to completely circle around that section of space, before continuing on to Earth! That is why our team is taking the daking Dauntless Adventure and why I needed one of our best pilots! You see while the Vigilant avoids battle, Marcel will be maneuvering us right through the middle of it!"
As Sandy was reporting, the Vigilant was receiving a hail from the huge space station the Vigilant's crew had nicknamed the "Death Star." The message was an "SOS" from the Gek space station requesting aid against the Space Pirates swarming it and the Gek freighter convoy near it seeking to colonize Titan. Unfortunately, the message was in Gekese and no one on the Vigilant's bridge understood that language.
After hearing the message, Kaj contacted me over my comm saying, "Commander, we have an incoming call. It sounds Gek in origin and we believe it's coming from that 'Death Star'. Judging from the tone, I assume it is a distress signal, however none of us on the Bridge understand the language."
"Dak, notify the Dauntless Adventure of the frequency the message is on, and I'll have Atika translate it!"
Then I quickly contacted Atika over the team's EGO channel and said to her, "Atika, the Bridge is receiving a message from the planet-sized station. Captain Oenfer, should be having the comm officer send you the frequency so you can hear and translate the message for us. Once you have it translated, send a copy to the Bridge, as well as getting back on this EGO channel and telling all of our away team the daking translation of the message!"
Atika responded with, "Right away Sir! While I am at it I discovered that the Dauntless Adventure has a great translator unit installed in it. SO while I am translating, I will input the data into the Dauntless Adventure's translator, as well as upload a copy of the translations to the Vigilant's databases!"
I responded with, "Fine you do that. Just do it quickly!"
As soon as Atika had translated, she pleyed the translated message back over the team's EGO channel, as well as over the comm channel that she opened to the VIgilant's Bridge. She also did what she had promised concerning updating both ships language databases with the translations she had made so far.
After the message was played over the EGO channel for the whole away team to hear and over comm for the Vigilant's Bridge crew to hear, Kaj immediately responded with, "Sir setting an interception course now!"
I responded over both channels with, "Belay that daking Order Captain! Keep your current heading!"
Kaj responded with, "I know you are the Prime Commander, but if we do nothing then those pirates WILL destroy that unarmed freighter Convoy, and perhaps the station as well."
I responded with, "And if we are delayed much longer, then the whole Solar System may be doomed! You have your orders!"
Just then Sandy interrupted over comms with, "Commander Batman! I know our mission is of utmost importance, however we can't just listen to the distress call and do nothing! As Protectors we have all sworn to help those in need. Whether you like it or not, as our Commander you have agreed by proxy!"
I snapped, "When the dak did I end up with BOTH Commander Uljanovs as my first daking Officer?! If I knew that was going to happen, then I would have never performed the daking marriage as you requested!"
Hearing the warning call about unavoidable battle against Atlas's drones and distress call made him think about the situation and after reaching to decision (after he remembered few details of their mission so far and persons involved into those details) he said through the comm link:
"If Geks are friendly and if their communication means are strong enough to reach drones, then I might have an idea for relatively bloodless and yet more annoying Burtonesque solution to the minion problem. Atika! Can I borrow your voice because you are the only one who can speak decent Gek? Wolfram! You have a talent to make friends with Gek so we might need you as a negotiator and our...erm...chemist! Whitney! We could use a decent engineer as well."
I snapped, " Dak! Just what we daking needed! Another delay! However, once again Sandy is daking correct! Fine! Volodja take whoever you need but you better have a GOOD plan this time. However I have one of my one of my own, in case we do need to get more involved! Atika broadcast to the Gek station and convoy that we have received their distress call and are responding! Kaj set an intercept course to meet up with the daking Gek Convoy! Looks like the Vigilant is now on a daking Convoy protection mission! Attila what can you tell me about the small vessel in the Dauntless Adventure's hangar bay?!"
Attila responded with, "I have looked over it's specs and it is definitely a small and fast fighter-scout. SO it has decent shields and armor as well as great scouting sensors and some nice 'energy' rifles."
I responded commandingly with, "Good! Away team to the Dauntless Adventure! It is well-armed and much faster than the Vigilant and convoy. So it looks like if Volodja's plan doesn't work, then we will need to join the daking battle as well...At least long enough to give the daking pirates a reason to rethink their attack! The Dauntless Adventure will focus on the most dangerous vessels first, while the Vigilant escorts and protects the daking convoy. While that is happening, I WILL man our fighter-scout and do some hit and run attacks on the pirates to help weaken them for the Vigilant's and Dauntless Adventure's attacks, which will put Sandy in Command of the Dauntless Adventure ...and Sandy keep your daking objections to the last part to a minimum because time is still a huge issue, you all insist we intervene to help the Gek, and as a trained soldier you know that a unified front with three of our most battle-capable space vessels is the most effective way to dissuade daking pirates! So as the best available pilot, I WILL man the fighter-scout Everyone who is supposed to be on the Dauntless Adventure, get there now! We must be ready to launch immediately, if Commander V. Uljanov's plan doesn't work! Atika respond to Volodja right away! Kaj announce the daking red-alert so everyone gets to where they need to be!"
I was in the Mess spending a little time with my babies at the moment. So once I gave the orders, I kissed the twins on their foreheads and gave both a hug and Caprice the extra tickle she enjoys from me as Cosmin gave my goatee one more good tug as his usual way of telling me goodnight. Just then Kaj announced the ship-wide red alert. So after Stephanie and I quickly got the twins back in their stroller, she and her husband immediately got them back to their quarters. As everyone was hurriedly leaving the Mess to get to their stations, I took one last swig of my rum. Then I put my helm and gauntlets back on. As I did I quickly made my way to the armory where I replaced my used grenades and ammo. Then I activated blur and worked my way quickly through the halls to the Vigilant's hangar. Once there I entered the Dauntless Adventure and went to it's Bridge.
Entering the Dauntless Adventure's Bridge, I snapped, "Attila bring the battle up on the monitors and keep comms with all our teams open! That way if needed, we will be able to launch immediately after Volodja and Atika return to us!"
Then as Marcel and Lena hadn't yet arrived, I sat at navigation and started the take-off and flight prep so we would already be ready to leave when needed. Of course as I knew Marcel considered himself an amazing pilot in his own right, he would go over everything once he finally arrived anyway. However by me already doing the main flight-prep, Marcel wouldn't have to do as much of his own prep once he and Lena get here.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 29, 2018 12:28:26 GMT
"My plans are always result of logical thinking, carefully weighted options and lot of...craziness and counting on luck," said Volodja through the comm link. "I am a battlefield adventurist after all. We need a decent strike team for the "Death Star" because that is the main communication centre and securing it is equal of securing all the communication systems of a state during the revolution. The one who controls the information floods and means to pass that information, controls the whole situation. Once we are there we can change the course of the whole event instead of taking our enemies out one by one but we have to act fast if we want to save the convoy from interception, so we will be on the move about five minutes ago! We'll take the "Mighty Midget" from the "Dauntless Adventurer's" hangar and you can stay on the "Dauntless Adventurer" to protect the convoy while we strike. Too small you say? I see. Then we have to manage with the vessel from "Vigilant's" vessel park. Sandy and Jalina! Daddy has some work to do but we will see each other after the job is done. It's a promise I am going to keep."
Volodja looked at his team. It was small but the quality surpassed quantity by the peak of a mountain. Atika still adjusted her gear. Their pilot - Count Casannuendo swung his rapier and muttered something about it not being as good as his Nib but since times are poor it has to do. Synth girl Brooke stood by Count's side her cat ears twitching a bit in expectation. Another Synth girl Whitney slid her ice blue eyes over the blade of her rapier. Third Synth sister, named Yvette, bent her arm to show her well developed musculature. Wolfram von Eschen stood there, armed with his cane and every cell in his old body said that everyone who is going to send him back is is about to regret it. That was about it. Very small group for the huge space station.
"Quality matters," said Volodja. "Especially when every piece of action will occur around the command and communication centre of the station anyway. Pirates aren't fools and attack the key point to take the station under their control and by the time they reach there Geks probably harvest their rows. That should make our task easier. We'll take the "Falcon" to get there for it's speed and the rubble cut ability. I am sure that "Star's" defence system left quite a lot rubble we must press ourselves through."
"Falcon" greeted them with a loud squeak of the door. The strike team entered one by one and Count Giacomo Casannuendo manned the cockpit. As soon as "Falcon'" door closed the hangar gate was opened and Count lifted "Falcon" off the floor, moving it carefully to the gate, then outside the "Vigilant" and after reaching into the decent distance from it pressed pedal to the metal, making "Falcon" blur through an empty space and rush towards the "Death Star"
Deciding from the pile of metal remains which surrounded the "Death Star" the space station justified it's name. The name was even more cemented when members of the strike team witnessed how pirate transport vessel which obviously tried to deliver more pirates into the station was caught into the crossfire of station's turrets and exploded, forcing Count perform a rapid turn to avoid getting hit by vessel pieces. "Falcon" reached out her panels and cut approaching cloud of rubble in two, creating a hole they could squeeze themselves through. "Falcon" followed Count's conduct and performed more quick manoeuvres to avoid getting caught into the net of blaster beams which made Volodja's heart to rise into his throat, Wolfram to curse and Count victoriously sing Wagner's "Walkürenritt" out loud which actually wasn't very original thing to do. At least Casannuendo felt himself like a fish in the water and enjoyed the adrenaline rush.
"We don't have the plans of the station," said Count. "Any ideas where we should head to for sparing our feet from a long march to the bridge?"
"Follow the rubble road," suggested Volodja Uljanov. "Pirates probably took the shortest way, although it's probably isn't safest deciding from those remains."
After another sequence of shaking and turning and avoiding beams and vibrating and then more shaking and more turning, the Count spotted a dock door which was open. When he moved closer he saw silhouette of the pirate ship inside and understood that it was the place of pirate's breakthrough. It also meant that at least one pirate strike team managed to get inside the space station so there was a possibility of the close quarter combat ahead. The Count landed "Falcon" by the side of the pirate ship (and by doing that he also wiped off those pirates who were left behind to greet their fellows if they manage to break through the fire curtain and enter into the dock).
First one to get out from the "Falcon" moved to the console on the quay and closed the dock door to prevent more pirates from entering. Naturally it was Volodja Uljanov himself because he refused to risk with the lives of others and decided to face the possible danger first. He was armed only with his pistol and his sapper shovel because he left his rifle to "Falcon" As an experienced fighter Volodja was aware that counting on the rifle in close combat wouldn't be the wisest thing to do. Especially indoors where space tends to be limited. As a military historian he also remembered advantages that Indians had in close combat when they used their tomahawks against clumsy colonial soldiers and their long muskets. Before a soldier could rise the musket for a strike or block, an experienced and agile warrior with the light battle axe had enough time to smash his scull in.
After the door was closed the others jumped to the landing bridge as well and after making sure that the pirate count in the dock area was zero they begun their movement towards the command centre of the space station. Their eyes caught sights of dead bodies here and there. Pirates and merchants and security droids were lying where they met their death. The strike team moved on until they begun to hear the battle sounds. Their destination was close now and pirates were attacking it. Shots, shouts and screams of wounded became closer and closer.
"Should I ask them to surrender?" asked Volodja gallantly.
"No way," said Yvette. "We will attack when they are busy." And she stormed towards pirates who were trying to break down the door which led to the bridge. Her strong arms grabbed nearest pirate from behind and turned his head so abruptly that the pirate broke his neck. Rest of the striking team rushed forward. Volodja Uljanov pushed off an attacking pirate and his first bullet pierced the chest of that pirate from the close distance. Count and Whitney fought side by side and Volodja saw samples of an excellent swordplay and heard the Count yell between parries and lungs:
"En garde! I think that I found myself a fencing partner. It's a shame that people won't pay attention to that noble art of fighting any more. Allez (CLING! And a blocking gun barrel was struck away and Count's rapier blade protruded into soft flesh)! I know only few Protectors who can handle the rapier but one of them changed sword for the shovel and another one is missing! Would you do me that honour and train with me after we save the world, dear Whitney?"
Brooke used her paws and moved towards the door, slicing and dicing pirates with her paws like enraged feline. She kept an eye on the Count as well and was ready to help him in case it was necessary. Atika and Yvette - friends with benefits - formed sort of a ram together and cut into the row of pirates like a knife, tossing pirates off their path. If some of them dared to attack those two then they regretted that right away - cracked nuts from a knee bash were softest form of the punishment for an attack attempt.
Volodja spared bullets and used mainly his shovel, hitting pirates with it's sharp edge or slamming their heads with the flat side. He wasn't aware how many coups he already had given and how many he blocked but he was sure that quite a lot. He spotted glimpse of Brooke who grabbed two pirates who dared to attack Casannuendo from behind and pushed them away from diminutive Liberata, blood gushing out from deep cutting wounds her paws caused to them. Then he saw Whitney who cornered a pirate and cut his throat with the tip of her rapier and the other pirate who was ready to stab her from her open side.
"Whit..." shouted Volodja to warn her but words died on his mouth when he saw Wolfram von Eschen (who was specially asked to stay on the background to avoid him getting hurt but obviously decided to help) gallantly taking the blow! And then spreading circle under his armpit which moistened Wolfram's coat and turned slowly red under his fingers. He saw how Whitney turned towards Wolfram and killed the pirate. He saw how Wolfram leaned against the wall and heard his moan when he slid to the floor. Then he run to Wolfram, reaching by his side along Whitney. Both of them knelt by Wolfram's side and could hear his voice saying:
"That bastard should have killed me!"
"What the...?" asked Volodja and Whitney in disbelief. "Does that mean that..."
"That swine! He broke my medicine bottle and when I instinctively tried to save at least something of it's contents I cut my fingers! The rest of me is fine but the bottle is ruined! From the bright side - the bottle, even if it contains my wonderful Schnapps, is nothing compared with the life of a wonderful person, and by that I don't mean myself."
Closer look revealed that the wide spot under Wolfram's arm smelled indeed of alcohol and blood which smeared Wolfram's coat came from not that deep cut wounds on his fingers. But that didn't lessen Wolfram's selfless act of trying to save Whitney by placing himself on the way of the blow.
"Stay here," said Volodja softly and hid the smile behind his palm. "Don't play with your luck. Whitney. Can you keep your eye on him? If you won't then he might try another heroic act and my nerves can stand only one of those at the time!" Whitney nodded and Volodja rejoined the rest of the striking team to wipe off the rest of pirates....
"Immediate danger is over!" declared Volodja after awhile and looked questioningly at Atika who was standing there accompanied by Yvette, Brooke and Count Casannuendo while Whitney and Wolfram were on their places by the wall. Volodja sighed from the relief before asking her: "Can you repeat that in Gek! We need to get inside to proceed with the plan."
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 29, 2018 22:42:23 GMT
Commander Atticus Batman responded with, "Since you never daking listen to me, I will say it again! The Vigilant is already taking action to completely circle around that section of space, before continuing on to Earth! That is why our team is taking the daking Dauntless Adventure and why I needed one of our best pilots! You see while the Vigilant avoids battle, Marcel will be maneuvering us right through the middle of it!"
Sandy Uljanov gritted her teeth and silently counted backwards from ten before answering, "Sir, the battle has spread out since you gave that order. If the Vigilant circles to completely avoid the battle they will be a week behind us and I thought you would like to have the Vigilant at Earth ASAP to back us up with its considerable firepower if we need it. If I am wrong, I apologize but whether you like it or not a straight line is the shortest line between two points."
Sandy's temper flared, "And if you want to demote me for my daking advice and my daking insubordination feel daking free to do so but please realize I will still state my daking opinion whenever I daking feel it important for the Protectors to succeed in their daking mission - at least until I am no longer a member of the daking Protectors!."
Sandy held her tongue feeling she had said enough as the message from the Gek space station was translated and the others debated as to what to do. Finally she couldn't take it any more and had to interject for she firmly believed the Gek could be useful allies in keeping the peace in the solar system and be invaluable traders for "other universe" tech.
Sandy interrupted over comms with, "Commander Batman! I know our mission is of utmost importance, however we can't just listen to the distress call and do nothing! As Protectors we have all sworn to help those in need. Whether you like it or not, as our Commander you have agreed by proxy!"
Atticus snapped, "When the dak did I end up with BOTH Commander Uljanovs as my first daking Officer?! If I knew that was going to happen, then I would have never performed the daking marriage as you requested!"
Sandy bit her tongue at that comment and thought to herself, "And Governor Skarr would probably be ruling Earth."
Silently Sandy listened to Volodja Uljanov calmly tell Atticus that he had a plan with Atticus finally relenting. With a sigh of relief, Sandy listened to the discussion until her blood ran cold when Atticus stated his intentions to pilot the scout himself.
Atticus ordered, "...I WILL man our fighter-scout and do some hit and run attacks on the pirates to help weaken them for the Vigilant's and Dauntless Adventure's attacks, which will put Sandy in Command of the Dauntless Adventure ...and Sandy keep your daking objections to the last part to a minimum because time is still a huge issue, you all insist we intervene to help the Gek, and as a trained soldier you know that a unified front with three of our most battle-capable space vessels is the most effective way to dissuade daking pirates! So as the best available pilot, I WILL man the fighter-scout Everyone who is supposed to be on the Dauntless Adventure, get there now! We must be ready to launch immediately, if Commander V. Uljanov's plan doesn't work! Atika respond to Volodja right away! Kaj announce the daking red-alert so everyone gets to where they need to be!"
As commanded, Sandy kept her objections to herself but her thoughts were another matter as she angrily mused, "I was wrong! He CAN'T be reasoned with! He's forgotten everything I told him about how important he is ALIVE to the Protectors and is determined to risk his life needlessly. A one person space ship is the most vulnerable and I should be piloting it not him but I can tell he won't listen now! This mission is going all FUBAR fast!" But merely responded to Atticus with, "Yes sir, I'm headed to the Dauntless now, " Then turned on her comms to say, "All mission team mates to the Dauntless Adventure without delay. We will be taking off immediately once you all are on-board."
In her and Marcel Lestrange's quarters on the Vigilant, Lena Marr stretched languidly before sitting up on the edge of their bed and beginning to put on her clothes as she said with a grin, "No rest for the wicked."
Once dressed, Lena kissed Marcel passionately then saying before leaving to the hangar where the Dauntless was parked, "Guess it's time for us to save the day Pooh Bear!"
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Post by Atticus Batman on Mar 30, 2018 12:17:06 GMT
After Marcel had arrived and Sandy had Kaj open the Vigilant's hangar doors, I went down to the Dauntless Adventure's Hangar. Then I got into the Mighty Midget and prepped the little scout vessel, wondering if perhaps I should have Sandy man the vessel for it was definitely not designed with the comfort of somebody of my stature and muscular build in mind. Not to mention all my weapons got in the way. So I had to exit the vessel long enough to store most of my weapons in a locker in the Hangar. Then armed with only my knives and pistol, I re-entered the Mighty Midget. Now that I had just enough breathing room and maneuverability, I started it's engines and resumed prepping it for launch.
Once the Dauntless Adventure was in open space, Sandy notified me that she was opening the hangar doors and releasing the locking clamps holding my vessel in place. Shortly after getting her curt notification, the Dauntless adventure turned so it was now flying vertically with the butt if the Mighty Midget pointing up, and it's nose cone pointing down.. Just then two things happened in quick succession. The hangar door which I was now looking down at, opened, and the locking clamps opened. SO as I accelerated to leave the hangar I was now essentially in a very high-speed nose-dive. It could have been bad timing, but I thought it was more likely that Sandy purposely ordered Marcel to make the Vertical maneuver, and that she also purposely released me at that time to get a point across.
So after a second, I contacted the Dauntless Adventure and replied, "Alright I am in space, and Sandy I get the daking point! I need to listen more and I am NOT expendable! Perhaps you are right that I need to listen. However you already got it drilled into my thick skull that I am not expendable, not only because I am the Protectors' Prime Commander, but more importantly because I am now a father first, a Prime Commander second, and a daking fighter third! Now as I obviously need to learn to make my points more apparent, here's MY point!
I am the expert with hit and run tactics and given my and Kabule's intense Dark Matter flight training, I am where I need to be. Besides as the Dauntless is the one doing the Aggressive attacks while the Vigilant follows and protects the Convoy, the Dauntless Adventure is the ship that is in the most danger, which is why I had Attila and Whitney enhance it's weapons and shields as much as possible!
Since I will be using all the bigger ships' massive engine and shield signatures to mask my much smaller ones as much as I possibly can, to keep from being detected until after I am already firing on them, as long as I keep to my hit and run tactics and only fire my lasers long enough to weaken the shields around the Pirate ships' engines and primary weapons, I will already have moved out of their range and maneuvered my vessel to once again be masked by another ship's signatures as I set my sights on the shielded engines of the next target, before the first could target my location! I will have my EGO pinpoint those weak spots as I make them, that way you can take full advantage of the openings! I will also scramble my comm signal once I am ready to move from the Dauntless Adventure's energy field, so my comm channels can't be tracked. I do listen sometimes, even if it doesn't appear that way!...However next time, you are the one piloting this daking sardine can! Dak, the Omec must have been a lot smaller than our limited files on them state that they were!"
As I talked, I maneuvered the Mighty Midget to keep it hidden by the Dauntless Adventure. That way the pirates wouldn't be able to physically see me and the Dauntless Adventure's much bigger energy fields (caused by their shield, engine and weapon signatures), masked the Mighty Midget's energy signatures from all sensors, sonars and radars.
While the Dauntless Adventure moved toward and started firing on the closest pirate ship, I continued with, "That said, it sounds like I need to clarify one more thing! I may not have been aware that by giving you Erika's position, you would step into her shoes as my unofficial, but according to her, necessary secondary first Officer, so there are two of you to help keep me focused and in check. However now that I am aware of it, I do NOT see a reason to demote you! We all know I need a first Officer that is willing and able to call me on my shtako, and that isn't Volodja. However I also need a first Officer who is always planning and can think completely outside the box, and that is Volodja. Another words my sister Apparently felt the triad with me in the Prime Command role is best for the Protectors to function most efficiently, and obviously you agree as you took the initiative to step into Erika's shoes which the others all quickly agreed with! Who am I to argue with the sound logic that you and Erika both arrived at?! So I guess what I am saying is that...even if you daking hate me, which I have given you plenty of reasons to, you are exactly in the Command position that the Protectors need you to be; now that my beloved sister is gone. May she rest in peace! Now as I have had enough of this sentimental stuff, will you please pick a daking target so we can blow something up already?!"
Shortly after Sandy responded, the Dauntless Adventure fired on a pirate vessel that was now targeting the Vigilant. So as we were now in battle, I disconnected from the active comm channel and scrambled my comms. Then as Marcel maneuvered the Dauntless Adventure to get the pirate ship to focus fire on the Dauntless, I dropped my vessel down and pressed hard on my thrusters to zip under the pirate ship now attacking the Dauntless Adventure. Once I was using the pirate ship's own energy fields to mask my signature, I took the time to target and lock my lasers onto the shields around their primary weapons. Then I zipped from one side of the ship to the other, firing on the primary weapons' shields as I did. As soon as the shields had weakened from getting fired on from so close up, I had my EGO mark the weak points for the Dauntless Adventure to focus on.
Once that was done, I slipped back into the pirate ship's energy field and worked down it's 'underbelly' to it's rear. Then I target-locked my lasers on it's engine shielding. Once I set the lock, I fired on the engine shields, as I slipped out of cover and hit my thrusters to move towards the next closest pirate ship. My EGO of course marked the weak-point in the first ship's engine shielding jus as soon as it had been created. However as the Dauntless Adventure was already in the progress of taking out the first ship's primary weapons, the ship could only fire at my location with their secondary weapons. So as predicted by the time they were able to target and fire on my last known location, I was already slipping into cover using the next ship's energy fields to mask my signature again. |
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Post by Atika Constantine on Mar 30, 2018 12:38:16 GMT
"Immediate danger is over!" declared Volodja after awhile and looked questioningly at Atika who was standing there accompanied by Yvette, Brooke and Count Casannuendo while Whitney and Wolfram were on their places by the wall. Volodja sighed from the relief before asking her: "Can you repeat that in Gek! We need to get inside to proceed with the plan."
Atika walked over to the comm panel that Volodja was near, and as she did, she noticed that one of the pirates on the ground was starting to reach for his gun. So she stomped on his hand. As she did so, Yvette lunged forward and punched the already injured pirate in the face with enough force that it knocked him unconscious and bounced his head against the wall. Then Atika kicked him where her EGO showed his genitalia were located for good measure. Once she was done, she adjusted her jacket as she got on the door's comm panel and repeated Volo's message in Gekese.
After a pause the Gek responded with, "Our cameras confirm you stopped the pirates in the hall. However you still have your weapons at the ready. So lower them and prove you are not a threat to us."
Atika sighed and translated the message to Volodja in English adding, "Commander the Gek are basically a society of business men. So perhaps you should respond as you would to another business man?"
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 30, 2018 14:39:20 GMT
Commander Atticus Batman admitted from the Mighty Midget, " ...So I guess what I am saying is that...even if you daking hate me, which I have given you plenty of reasons to, you are exactly in the Command position that the Protectors need you to be; now that my beloved sister is gone. May she rest in peace! Now as I have had enough of this sentimental stuff, will you please pick a daking target so we can blow something up already?!"
On the Dauntless Adventure, Captain Sandy Bell Uljanov frowned missing Atticus' dead sister Erika Widowmaker once again for what she reckoned about the millionth time since Erika's death. Sandy had always thought of Erika as the keel of the Protectors' ship, keeping them steady and on course. Even more importantly Erika had the patience and the relationship with Atticus to keep him focused on being the great leader Sandy believed the Protectors needed and deserved. But Erika had died some time ago and the Earth needed the Protectors to go on.
Sandy was smart enough to know she was no Erika. She didn't have the length and breadth of experience the much older Irathiant woman had and, like Atticus, Sandy was more a person of action not administration. Furthermore Sandy had spent more of her sentient life fighting Votans during the Pale Wars than working with them in peacetime and although Atticus was a Irathiant-Grid hybrid, he was still very much a Votan - and Sandy had to fight her EMC trained distrust of Votans more often than she liked.
An even greater more personal problem between them was the fact that Atticus was the indirect reason her and Volodja's firstborn was dead and that she was now unable to have naturally any babies in the future. Although he wasn't in his right mind at the time, he had stabbed her in the abdomen in an earlier mission taking away her unborn child and her ability to ever be a mother with a child of her own making. Heartbroken herself over her resulting condition, she was even more so for she knew Volodja would have wanted a son to carry on his name and his genes and now Sandy would never be able to give him one. Volodja never blamed her for the fact but Sandy did for the both of them.
Since then, Sandy had often rationalized that she would have been a lousy mother anyway but she had never been quite able to forgive Atticus the act of taking away that possible future for her. However, that made Jalina's birth even more precious as a miracle daughter even though their adopted daughter carried neither her genes nor Volodja's.
All those thoughts took only a moment to ponder although afterwards she didn't voice them merely answering Atticus by replying in an all business manner, "Aye-aye sir, we are moving into action now. We are going to target the first wave of one-man fighters first then the Vigilant can take out the ones that get past us. We are going for our main target after that the big ship in the middle which from its position I'm betting is the pirates' flagship. You, I assume, will take advantage of any opportunities that may present themselves so Godspeed Commander."
Sandy had thought about telling Atticus that she didn't hate him per se but only the reckless things he often did but she realized this was neither the time nor place for such comments. Instead she busied herself as Captain of the Dauntless Adventure with issues of command, anticipating the problems that the Dauntless may encounter.
Using the ship's comms, Sandy contacted engineering, "Attila, keep an eyes on any safety gauges you can find on those singularity engines to make sure they don't overheat and blow up. I know Whitney briefed you on them as to the theory of their operation but truth to tell I don't think she knows that much more about them then we do so we are all grasping for straws in the dark when it comes to them with no practical experience. Learn as we go I suppose!"
From the Dauntless' small command chair, Sandy looked then to the cockpit where Marcel Lestrange sat in the pilot's seat and Lena Marr sat in the co-pilot's before ordering, "If you please Marcel, take us straight down the middle to engage that big pirate flagship. I'm praying those singularity energy shields are as powerful as Whitney assured us they are. As we go Lena, take out as many of those small fighters as you can before we get to the flagship but... also keep an eye on the Mighty Midget and if Atticus looks like he is getting swarmed, give him some space with our bigger guns."
Then Sandy went to ship-to-ship communication hailing the Vigilant's captain, Kaj Oenfer, saying, "Captain Oenfer if you please, give us some supporting fire as we head up the middle. Get us there safely and I'l buy you a celebratory beer after the battle - several if you like!"
"Pew! Pew, pew-pew!" Exclaimed Lena firing the Dauntless' weapons. "Got to love these cold fire lasers! Sooooo much better than the Volge ones. And the singularity plasma torpedoes - they're to die for - quite literally! Those Omec really knew their weapons of mass destruction stuff!"
"Lena I love the exuberance but belay the sound effects," Ordered Sandy with a grin on her pretty tan face adding, "Wouldn't want to distract Marcel from his piloting, would we? Marcel, great evasion of enemy fire but don't get too close to where those singularity plasma torpedoes are exploding - I have no desire to be sucked into an other worldly dimension today if you please!"
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Post by Marcel Lestrange on Mar 31, 2018 9:22:00 GMT
"Is this the infamous "back-seat driving" thing?" asked Marcel Lestrange innocently. "Lena and I have some other use for the back-seats. Much much different use. As for the front seat activity, I can assure, Madame, that everything is under control. MY control. And the name of Marcel Lestrange is the symbol of quality."
Sandy could add some other things that Marcel's name was able to symbolize, like thirst for power and influence, enormous pride and so on, but she was a smart woman and knew that one can't extinguish a fire with the petroleum and saying anything about Marcel's personality could be that unneeded fuel. Besides - Marcel Lestrange's ambitions were huge, compared with ones of a John Q. Public, but in the worldly scale his ambitions were...reasonable. He never tried to bit a larger bite than he could chew, although once again he was able to consume more than aforementioned John Q. Public. And he was a great pilot who knew what he was doing.
At moment he was doing...some quite complicated flying manoeuvres because "Dauntless Adventurer" was caught between two pirate ships - one the "Dauntless" was attaching was in front of her flying on the same level but there was another one who tailed "Dauntless" Marcel touched the switch, increasing power of"Dauntless's" tail deflector shield.
"Another pew, if I may ask," said Marcel. "Torpedo one." Lena grinned victoriously and exclaimed "PEW!" when pushing the button and turning pirate ship into a hole in the space. "Dauntless" approached to the hole with a more than moderate speed, probably causing certain nervousness among passengers, so Marcel felt like saying:
"This is Marcel speaking. At moment we are rapidly enclosing to the explosion site of one of ours singularity torpedoes. Relax and enjoy the sight because there is nothing you can do about it. But I can and my manoeuvres are carried out by extreme cautiousness and are based on the precise calculations which tell me that the time to change the course and speed of our vessel is about...(dramatic pause)...NOW!"
Saying that, Marcel reduced the speed abruptly and changed both the height and the direction of "Dauntless", causing only a slight vibration wave which shook "Dauntless" only a bit. But the unfortunate pirate ship was late with repeating Marcel's turn and went a bit too far ahead. As a result she was caught by the explosion and after a small was sucked into remaining singularity hole before it closed.
"Do not try this at home!" was Marcel's loud said comment before he pointed "Dauntless" towards another opponent. Then he added worryingly: "I hope that you liked the adrenaline rush, Honey Pot."
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 31, 2018 12:02:42 GMT
"To another businessman" repeated Volodja Uljanov while he secured another surviving pirate, using the method where wrists and ankles are tied together, making a person look like a round shaped sausage (that method enables the use of less rope and makes attempts of untying oneself less comfortable). "Let us see what can we do. Holster your weapons." Volodja spread his empty hands showing that he doesn't present danger any more. To avoid making an impression that empty palms also mean that he doesn't have anything to offer, he opened his mouth again and begun convincing Geks that he has a useful proposition to make. Atika translated. After awhile the door slid open and few Geks peeked out, wiping to Volodja to come closer. Volodja told Geks about the need of using their communication system to get rid of Atlas's drones and about deeds of their friends who were clearing out pirates at moment, adding that the enemy of the enemy should be treated as a possible ally, especially when the ally is about to help in clearing space so Geks could establish a trade post and begin free trade in the solar system so everyone could profit of it. Probably the "profit" was THE magic word and opened comm(and) and comm(unication) centre doors wide open to Protectors just like "Open sesame" opened few doors for Aladdin.  |
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Post by Atticus Batman on Mar 31, 2018 12:41:26 GMT
Using the ship's comms, Sandy contacted engineering, "Attila, keep an eyes on any safety gauges you can find on those singularity engines to make sure they don't overheat and blow up. I know Whitney briefed you on them as to the theory of their operation but truth to tell I don't think she knows that much more about them then we do, so we are all grasping for straws in the dark when it comes to them with no practical experience. Learn as we go I suppose!"
Attila had responded with, "Learning as I go is something I am very experienced at, as I am an engineer from a location that had very little high-tech things to work with. So that shouldn't be a problem Sandy."
from the Dauntless' small command chair, Sandy looked then to the cockpit where Marcel Lestrange sat in the pilot's seat and Lena Marr sat in the co-pilot's before ordering, "If you please Marcel, take us straight down the middle to engage that big pirate flagship. I'm praying those singularity energy shields are as powerful as Whitney assured us they are. As we go Lena, take out as many of those small fighters as you can before we get to the flagship but... also keep an eye on the Mighty Midget and if Atticus looks like he is getting swarmed, give him some space with our bigger guns."
Then Sandy went to ship-to-ship communication hailing the Vigilant's captain, Kaj Oenfer, saying, "Captain Oenfer if you please, give us some supporting fire as we head up the middle. Get us there safely and I'll buy you a celebratory beer after the battle - several if you like!"
Captain Kaj Oenfer responded with, "Will do Commander. How-ever it looks like our Prime Commander is in-deed doing every-thing he can to stay out of direct combat and mask his signatures as he said he would."
I kept zipping around the space battle slipping into cover using the next ship's energy fields to mask my signature again as much as possible. When I couldn't, I would slip through the debris of exploded ships using it to take any fire coming my direction to keep the strain to my shields and armor to a minimum. In between weakening the bigger ships that were attacking the convoy, I took every opportunity that I could to cut through the enemy's one-man fighters as they flew past me. However as I continued zipping through battle loving the speed, handling, and maneuverability of this small craft; despite really disliking it's cramped space; I occasionally got somewhat close to the huge ship in the center of the pirate fleet. On one of those occasions, I caught a great glimpse of the Pirate's command ship, and seeing a huge cannon on top of it, I quickly activated the Mighty Midget's long range scout scanners and upon getting the results I was afraid of, I mentally snapped at my EGO, "Dak! An Anti-matter bolt cannon?! Belle's brief warned us of photon cannons and phase beams. I do not remember anything about Antimatter plasma cannons!" Dinara responded with, "Atty that's what my scans are now showing as well, however it is of Milky Way design!" I mentally responded with, "Dak! Those pirates sure worked fast at salvaging long-forgotten space wreckage! At least my scanners are registering that it is completely unshielded although it is heavily armored." Dinara responded frantically with, "Atty! The cannon is almost charged and quickly turning towards the Vigilant! Now what?!" As I was checking my scanner readings and zipping through attacking vessels to fire my cold fire lasers at them, I said to Dinara, "That cannon may be on a fast turning turret, however as I recall an antimatter plasma cannon sphere, of that size, will have a somewhat slow build up before reaching peak travel speed, and a very slow recharge time. So I guess now is when I do something Sandy would consider reckless, to give her more time!" Dinara responded with, "Wait! What?!" I replied with, "Just wait and see! It will be fun and exciting!" Then I purposely strafe-attacked a couple of one-manned fighters to get them to notice and chase me. Once they started to fire at me, I maneuvered towards the Vigilant. Then I made a sharp turn so I was in the fire-line of the antimatter plasma cannon and heading straight towards the Pirate Command ship. The fighters still tailing me followed my path, apparently not aware of what I was planning. Seeing that, Kaj started to order the Vigilant to target the fighters on my tail. However before he could, another wave of fighters started attacking the Vigilant. SO he had to focus fire on that wave. However as the Vigilant continued returning fire, Kaj contacted the Dauntless Adventure saying, "Commander Uljanov, I am not sure what the Prime Commander is doing, how ever he just purposely got the attention of two enemy fighters and they are chasing him, but he is not trying to out-maneuver them or return fire!" As Kaj was apprising Sandy of the current odd and most likely dire situation that I appeared to be in, the Pirate's Command flagship fired the antimatter plasma cannon. Moments later, I pulled up and increased my thruster speed to maximum. I timed it perfectly to get out of the path of the plasma ball and out of it's blast radius in time. However as I was hoping the fighters chasing me, didn't pull up and increase their speed soon enough. So as I looked at my scanners, there was indeed a resulting flash of light behind me as that antimatter plasma ball hit the two fighters and vaporized them and dissipated.
I was far enough that I wasn't caught in the blast, however the resulting shockwave it caused did shake my fighter scout quite a bit, before I was able to regain control. Then I quickly pulled the Mighty Midget around and zipped into the debris I had made, knowing the residual energy fields would mask my signal again, thus making the other fighters temporarily believe I was indeed caught in and destroyed by the matter/antimatter implosion.
As I did so, Dinara snapped, "That was NOT fun for me! Now I need to change my underwear!"
At that moment in the Dauntless Adventure's Engineering room, Attila's sensors showed an incoming shockwave. So Attila notified the Bridge and as Marcel easily avoided it, Attila scanned the shockwave as it was passing and dissipating. Once he saw the results, he notified the Dauntless Adventure's bridge saying, "Sandy! That shockwave appears to have been caused by an antimatter plasma implosion of some sort, but the Peregrine Falcon made it safely into the space station according to the sensors, and it appears the Vigilant is still intact, so it wasn't caused by one of our antimatter engines!"
As Kaj saw the lightshow on the Vigilant's view-screen, he had his crew check scanners and they verified that it was indeed an antimatter implosion. The Vigilant's scanners did pickup my signal moving away from the blast radius just before the implosion. However the sudden energy wave from the implosion had inadvertently masked the signal of my tiny fighter-scout.
So as they weren't sure if I made it or not, Kaj had them use the long-range scanners to scan the area of my last known location. As they scanned, Kaj notified Sandy saying, "Commander! That was an anti-matter implosion at the Prime Commander's last known Co-ordinates! It looked like Atticus was trying to get out of it's blast radius but we are not sure yet if he made it!"
Just then one of the Vigilant's Bridge crew said, "Captain Oenfer, we registered a small blip from the Mighty Midget's engine signature shortly after the implosion! It looks like after the implosion and it's shockwaves started to dissipate, he turned back towards the impact zone! We are scanning the area now, but our scanners can't find any debris from the Mighty Midget. We will keep our long-range scanners on that location and let you know if we register any thing."
Hearing that, Kaj relayed what he was being told, to Commander Sandy Bell Uljanov.
I on the other hand watched the surrounding battle through my sensors for a moment, and once I was certain I was currently masked well enough, I flipped on my comms. As soon as my comms came on, the Vigilant's long-range scanners picked up the signals as they were actively looking for it. So Kaj contacted the Dauntless Adventure saying, "Commander, we are picking up the Prime Commander's comm signature!"
Just then I sent the Dauntless Adventure a short message saying, "Sandy, the Pirate Command ship has a Milky Way tech antimatter plasma cannon. I just tricked some of their own into intercepting the blast that was meant for the Vigilant. My scanners show the cannon is unshielded but very heavily armored. I am returning to my task of weakening the opposition and taking out any one-man fighters that cross my path! I bought you some time as that cannon will take several minutes to recharge. However you may want to target and take it out as fast as you can as I am not sure they will fall for the same trick again!"
Once my systems showed that Sandy got the message, I re-scrambled my comms so I would once again be hard to locate as long as I kept using debris and energy fields to mask my signatures.
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 31, 2018 13:25:14 GMT
"Do not try this at home!" was Marcel Lestrange's loud said comment before he pointed "Dauntless" towards another opponent. Then he added worryingly: "I hope that you liked the adrenaline rush, Honey Pot."
Lena flashed a wicked grin at him with a wink of one long lashed sky blue eye exclaiming, "Oh Pooh Bear, I'm still aglow from the adrenaline rush you gave me before you took the pilot's seat!" Then Lena's pretty chalk white face took on an all-business expression as she concentrated on their next target muttering under her breath, "Pew! Pew-pew!"
Captain Sandy Bell Uljanov narrowed her own blue eyes and frowned grimly but said nothing as she thought, "Marcel did exactly what I told him not to getting way too close to that singularity explosion especially since we know nothing about these weapons and their capabilities. Still... gotta admire his piloting skills. Unsurprisingly, Lena's good at killing the enemy and is enjoying herself as well. All's well that ends well I guess although I feel a bit useless as Captain since no one in the cockpit is listening to me - like a third wheel on a wheel barrow."
Knowing from experience that a good officer always lets her experts do the job they were hired for, Sandy's mind drifted to wondering how her husband Volodja Uljanov was faring when their daughter Jalina came up behind her and said, "Wouldn't a third wheel on a wheel barrow be important if one of the other two breaks? Anyhow, you should be happy to know Father and his team are progressing nicely in the space station. They are all safe so far."
Sandy had tried to contact Volodja's EGO with her's after he left to wish him luck but was unable for some reason so she wondered how her daughter was able to know what she was saying without an EGO and asked, "How do you know this Jalina?"
Jalina played with a long curl of her brown hair as a pretty pout crossed her chalk white face before answering, "I don't know Mother, I just do. Sometimes, I just get... sudden insights into things and I just know they are correct! I can only assume it has to do with the way I was birthed by Atlas but I can never predict the when and where such an insight will occur let alone the why."
Sandy merely forced a smile weighing her words carefully before saying, "We'll discuss this later Honey but right now Mommy has work to do so get back in the passenger compartment and seat belt yourself in. And Jalina, before you go... thanks for the heads up on your father!"
Jalina nodded her head before turning to return to her seat and while Sandy watched her leave she thought, "Another mystery for another time," Then addressed her EGO psyche Sarge, "Are you continuing to scan her like I asked?"
"Whenever Jalina is in my range, absolutely Captain," Replied Sarge, "But noting particularly odd, except a sudden surge of brain activity whenever she has one of these insights."
"Okay, keep a virtual eye on her Sarge and report to me if anything strange - well, anything more strange - happens. And thanks," Sandy thought to Sarge through the telepathic link they shared before she returned to her duties as Captain of the Dauntless Adventure.
Just then Commander Atticus Batman sent the Dauntless Adventure a short message saying, "Sandy, the Pirate Command ship has a Milky Way tech antimatter plasma cannon. I just tricked some of their own into intercepting the blast that was meant for the Vigilant. My scanners show the cannon is unshielded but very heavily armored. I am returning to my task of weakening the opposition and taking out any one-man fighters that cross my path! I bought you some time as that cannon will take several minutes to recharge. However you may want to target and take it out as fast as you can as I am not sure they will fall for the same trick again!"
"Rodger that Commander," Sandy replied via ship-to-ship communications, then turned to her pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit, "You heard the man! Marcel get us in close but not too close! Lena target that cannon with the cold fire lasers and once that is done and a breach in their armor is created, hit it with a barrage of singularity torpedoes."
As her crew performed her plan flawlessly and the pirates' flagship blew up dramatically but silently in space, Sandy sat back in her command chair with a sigh of satisfaction but still she ordered her bridge crew, "Great job guys but stay on your toes! We still have the rest of the pirates to deal with - unless they head for the hills with their tails between their legs!"
Sandy wasn't sure that was what the remaining pirates would do but either way she was sure the crew of the Dauntless Adventure had already proven their mettle and could now handle anything thrown at them.
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