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Post by Witcher Wolf on Oct 15, 2004 9:05:11 GMT -5
He was the Captain known as Saul Richter and he was of half German and half Hebrew descent. His dark blue eyes scanned all the faces of the crowd and he waited a moment before rolling his finger over his control pad.
“Assembled delegates of the UEG.” He began and waited a few more seconds. “The Colony worlds are under assault by an alien race, we have come to call the Breed.” He ran the various displays and suddenly the whole captured footage from the various engagements with the Breed flickered onto all their holoscreens and monitors – it was fed across the globe in minutes and now mankind saw the vicious and relentless face of the enemy.
They were not human, they never could be. Now the world knew the fear of the Colonies and the assembled voices rose in a cacophony of sound, a rumbling roar of shocked and panicked voices that threatened to throw the whole meeting into disarray.
“Delegates…” Saul didn’t shout, he didn’t need to; his voice stunned them all into silence. “We have but one choice, we must be allowed to divert funds into the construction of no less than two top of the line battleships…you must all pledge your support and wealth to this endeavour – or mankind might not last – the Colonies are the first line before the Breed comes to our home…I would rather fight them in the coldness of the void than bring this war to Earth…” He trailed off and let this sink in a while – the assembled voices grew once more in tone and clamour.
The light continued to illuminate him and Saul’s eyes scanned the crowd, while the footage of men and women – soldiers and civilians being butchered played on and on. It always ended with the final cataclysmic moment in Hammond Station’s life and that chilled him as it did the onlookers.
They debated…
“But you can’t send that much firepower, it’s useless, look at that Station – we’d be better off defending Mars!”
“Screw Mars and screw you!”
They argued…
“We have to do what we can, those poor people on that station, those poor bastards out there right now…”
“Send our men and women to die? What use would it be?”
They reasoned…
“Perhaps we can communicate with them…perhaps we can find some common ground, they can’t do this…I always wanted to think aliens existed, but now…what an end to my dreams.” “How do you think the Colonies feel? How do you think our blood and kin feel right now, out there, fighting them? I’d go myself if I wasn’t too damn old.”
And finally they agreed…after many long hours…
“Captain Richter…” It was the Englishman once more. “You have your go-ahead, build us a fleet to be proud of and build us a fleet to send those bastards to hell.”
As the crowd of gathering voices continued to debate the whys and wherefores of the sudden Breed invasion, the man left the podium and walked quietly down the steps into the gathering darkness of the corridor beyond. His black shoes clicking softly on the hall’s floor as he passed windows and doors, everywhere he looked he saw shocked faces that told the same story – the Breed’s violence had left a bitter taste in their mouths, half eaten hotdogs and burgers were left on the side of café tables. They had put the whole meeting on the holo-news networks and now the Earth was in a panic.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Oct 15, 2004 9:08:14 GMT -5
He met the driver of the hover limo at the door of the UEG headquarters and nodded stiffly. “Get me to Anderson Starbase and Spacedock.” The driver nodded back and opened the door of the sleek grey car; Saul climbed in and settled back. It wasn’t too long before they were threading their way through the masses of vehicles and out onto the long straight stretch that lead towards the Airport, it was a short flight from there to Anderson and he’d got a lot of work to do.
He sat and drummed his fingers idly on the supersonic jet as it burned contrails across the night sky, morning would soon arrive and the first few rays of the red/gold sun were just starting to flicker across the horizon. His jet touched down and he was met on the tarmac by Gunny, the Lieutenant looked quite troubled.
“What’s up Lt?” He asked as he stepped off the plane, handing Gunny his case.
“Not much Sir, I’ve just seen the holoscans of the footage – what the hell are those things?”
“Honestly Gunny, I don’t know – but you’re going to get the chance to find out. I want you out there with me.”
The younger man nodded as they crossed the tarmac heading towards the shuttle launch pad. “Might I ask why Sir?”
“Got a gut feeling about you Lt, and when I have a gut feeling about someone, I take a chance on them. But tell me, you have a gut feeling about anyone?” Saul opened the doors to the waiting room and Gunny stepped in smiling a little.
“Maybe Sir, there’s a pilot…Jack Morgan and another, Jenny Farrel…they’re well, Sir, they’re exceptional.”
“Then your question has been answered, sign them up as well.” He sat down in one of the chairs and waited, he’d given the call for pick up a good hour or so ago. It wouldn’t be long now – soon he’d be on the Anderson Spacedock and then he could look forwards to a rigorous three months of hard work getting the equipment and prototype Battleships ready for their rescue mission. He couldn’t help thinking that it was going to be a tough fight, even from the limited intelligence they had so far– they were going to have to battle like tigers in a pit to survive out there.
The shuttle arrived in a burst of dust and lifters, they boarded it and it climbed into the early morning sky – once more to be swallowed by the depths of the roiling atmosphere and birthed into the sweet embrace of space. A short flight and it touched down at the spacedock.
Finally both he and Gunny were now at Anderson’s Spacedock and he addressed the technicians and staff there, outlining the plans and schematics for the Evolution class of battleships – they would be metal monsters, packed with the latest weapons and technology – fielding a compliment of fighters and ground vehicles – serving as mobile bases and assault platforms for a retaliatory strike against the Breed that would herald mankind’s baring of teeth and claws in this War.
“Ever hear the word G.R.U.N.T. Gunny?” Saul said as they both sat in the Stations massive lounge, the Captain had a whiskey-tea known as gunfire and his Lt drained a beer as they relaxed at long last.
“Only in passing Sir, some kind of universal soldier?”
“Kind of…Genetically Revived Universal Tactical Sentinent.” He sipped his gunfire and smiled a little. “Expendable genetic soldiers my friend, these are the top of the line in vat-grown human evolution.”
Gunny made a kind of a face and drained his beer. “No replacement for you or me though Sir?”
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Oct 15, 2004 9:09:52 GMT -5
“No Gunny, although we are the last of a dying breed I think, and this will be a test to see if the GRUNTS can perform as spec out there.” He sighed a little. “War isn’t as it used to be, this isn’t terror we’re fighting…we’re battling now to keep alive. If for one moment we falter out there, everything we have here is gone…doesn’t that make you think?”
“Too much Sir, I just need to know where you want me and mine.”
“On my ship Gunny, the Darwin, oh she’s going to be a wonder to behold – home for us all.” The Captain cracked a rare wide grin and finished off his gunfire.
“Did I hear someone mention wonder? And they weren’t referring to me?” Morgan stepped into Anderson’s lounge with Jenny looped around his arm, they both stopped short when they saw who was drinking with their friend – Gunny.
“My god, you’re Saul Richter?” Jack’s eyes lit up again, his fiancée by now had seen this all too well and too many times. “Oh my god, I’ve heard all the stories about you Sir…” He rushed forwards and stuck out his hand.
“And you have to be…”
“Jack Morgan…attached to White Tiger Squad Sir.”
Saul took the measure of the man before him and nodded approvingly, he motioned to both him and Jenny to join the both of them. Gunny gave a quick wink and an encouraging smile then lapsed into silence letting his Captain speak.
“I am told great things about you Mr Morgan, and your fiancée, I’m quite pleased that you took up the USC’s generous offer to join.” The man’s blue eyes met Jack’s own for a moment and they both exchanged a knowing smile. Finally Saul’s hand clasped the other. “It is a pleasure to meet two of the rising stars of the USC’s fighter squads.”
Jenny was too nervous to say a thing and she muttered a small comment about being pleased to meet Saul, and then blushed furiously when he kissed her hand. Jack laughed and ordered a round for them all.
“So what did I interrupt?” He questioned when Jenny had regained her composure.
“I was just telling Gunny here about the Darwin…” Saul grinned again.
“The what?”
Jenny looked at Morgan and dug an elbow into his ribs, this caused Gunny to chuckle and the Captain to raise a slender brow.
“Oh, the what, Sir?” He tried again.
“The Darwin, Jack, you don’t mind if I call you that?” He smiled another smile at the pilot and it totally disarmed Morgan so all he could do was burble.
“N…no…not at all, hell, it’s a pleasure to be on…first name terms?”
“Quite…you can call me Saul, while we’re off duty…but while you’re on my ship – it’s Captain do you understand?”
At this point you could have knocked both pilots over with the slightest feather, as Saul sat there grinning like a wicked cat. Gunny sank his other beer and nodded in mock seriousness at his Captain’s comment.
“You pair have been headhunted.” Came the reply as the Lt put down his beer glass.
“You mean that we’re going to be stationed on the new Evolution class of ship?” Jenny sat forwards and suddenly became very vocal.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Oct 15, 2004 9:11:57 GMT -5
“That is quite correct Jenny, as Gunny said – Headhunted.”
“We are going into hostile territory, against a foe we’ve never fought and I know Jack here has a big score to settle with them…if memory serves correctly.” Jack didn’t want to know how the hell Saul knew, unless Gunny had told him…maybe he’d been on the cruiser all along or maybe the USC had some other means of communication that broke the laws of physics – but he couldn’t care less right then, he was suddenly flying high – he’d get to test out a new toy or a few new toys and from what he’d heard the techs mumbling…the Darwin and her sister ship the Magellan were going to be some of the most advanced yet.
“Jen?” He said to the woman by his side.
“Yeah Jack?”
“I think I’m dead and I’ve gone to heaven, again…poke me, see if this is all a dream.”
She did so, hard and in his ribs, she knew the spot well and he yelped.
“Ok, guess not…how long is it gonna take your boys to build the ships?”
Saul watched the interplay and byplay between them both and took note, there was no way he’d separate them at all – he knew the value of pairing talented pilots and friends…this is why he’d picked Gunny to join him on the mission, he and that young man went way back to the Academy as mentor and student.
“Three months, then one whole year at top jump to get to the Besalius system…hopefully there will be something left when we get there…hopefully the Colonists won’t have all been wiped out.” He knew full well they might be, but was damn sure that Earth was going to show it could stand against anything the universe might throw at it.
“Three months, to build the Evolution class of ship?” Gunny asked, finishing that beer. ”Doesn’t seem like a whole lot.”
“Right, because we have made such advances in science and technology while you’ve been out with the Colonies Gunny, we can put together a fleet in little or no time at all – work has already begun and we are going to be on schedule.”
“We have to be.” Added Jenny. “That’s my home out there.”
“Don’t worry Jen, we’ll save it…or…”
“We’ll die trying together Jack.” She promised.
“Got that right kiddo, we’re not going to go quietly right, we’re going to make one hell of a big bang…make them wish they’d never heard the words – human race?” Morgan’s nostrils flared a little as he spoke and his eyes narrowed, the Captain watched him quietly and carefully once more remaining silent for a long while until he broke it suddenly.
“I want you both to head up the newly commissioned Wolf squadron aboard my ship, fighter duty, dropship piloting – the works. I want you to study those ships until they are a part of you. Until you know every nut, bolt and perfect detail. Then I want you to pass that knowledge on to the pilots who will fight alongside you…you have a whole year to prepare yourselves – and me? I have to get some rest. Goodnight all.” Saul rose from his seat and gave them all a cheery smile, turning to the door. “Gunny?”
His friend rose with him, leaving Jack and Jenny in the silence of the near empty lounge, most of the station’s off duty staff had been drafted into the construction and preparations for mankind’s greatest military undertaking yet. The spacedock buzzed with activity outside as the various workers began their task of tirelessly assembling two of the most impressive warships ever to be built…two of the most powerful messages that the government of Earth could think to make the Breed rethink their assault on the Colonies.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Oct 15, 2004 9:12:42 GMT -5
Days passed and hours joined them moving on and on, the various people spent their time productively. Jack and Jenny had access to the schematics and blueprints of the fighters, learning the ins and outs of the vessels before they’d even been assembled. They logged countless hours in simulators and when enough of the ships had been manufactured they were allowed to test fly and stress test them. Alterations were made to the design and they had a hand in shaping the performance of the future incarnations of these highly precise fighting machines.
Saul and Gunny oversaw the construction of both the gigantic Evolution class battleships and kept a close eye on everything. The sun rose and set many times as the world turned on, they couldn’t help but think about the fate of the Colonies, who was alive and who was dead – would they find anyone to welcome them when they folded out of jump space in a years time.
Finally the day came when the Darwin and the Magellan sat in the spacedock, completed, navigational beacons slowly winking on and off – small lights running backwards and forwards as supplies and equipment were loaded on board. The clone-vats deep in the bowls of the ship were busy churning out the GRUNTS and preparing to create an army from the basic building-blocks of life, educated by advanced tactical systems – stronger and faster than humans. The peak of human evolution guided by the careful hands of scientists and monitored by computers and active processors nicknamed NANNIES (Neural Advanced Nominal Nanite Injected Interface Expert Systems) by the techs that oversaw their creation.
Saul stood alone at the edge of the window and watched his ship, the Darwin; he had a feeling of pride to see the massive vessel filled with so much activity and life. Each light that blinked seemed to be like the stars of yore, beckoning a weary traveller home after a long voyage. His long slow smile came easily to his lips, he turned in a quick motion and prepared to find the egress hatch – he had come home, and although the journey would be a long one to Besalius he could think of no finer ship to make it in, or with. Since the Magellan stood by the side of her sister in the dock.
On the bridge of the Darwin all was a blur of activity as the Captain finally reached the command deck. A curt call from Lt Gunny of “Captain on the Bridge!” brought all the stations to alert, people stopped their chatter, officers turned expectantly towards the man who held their fates in his hands.
“At ease.” He said and felt the embrace of his chair; it felt good to be on the ship amidst all these faces – a sea of souls where he was riding high on the waves of bubbling emotions.
Again that crowd of faces and eyes turned towards him, waiting on his every word…he met them all with a slow smile and staked his claim to the ship, his cap rested on the arm of the console and he rose.
“We don’t know what we’re going to find when we get there, and all I can ask of you is that you give it your best. We could very well find nothing but the ghosts of memories and long forgotten names when we fold out of jump space in Besalius.” He paused to let them process this information. “But I tell you now, that we are going to give this our best shot…I will be here for you all, and you will do the same for me – until the claws of space grab our bodies and souls and drag them into the depths of whatever fate awaits us.” He sat back down.
Officers went to their stations and they sat down in silence thinking over Saul’s words – Gunny joined him at his side and put a hand on the chair. “We’re secure here Sir, the Magellan reports she’s ready to roll as well – we’re just waiting the blessing from the UEG now.”
“It’ll come.” He whispered, then in louder tones. “Mr Connors, activate the ship’s systems and prepare to disengage the docking clamps…helm ahead half power on my mark.”
The helm officer nodded and gave a quick. “Aye, Aye Sir.” His fingers moving over the controls as he complied with his Captain’s orders.
The comm system hummed into life and the face and voice of the English-man rippled across the deck of the ship. Saul stood up and faced the man who he’d come to know as Ambassador Walsh.
“Ambassador Walsh.” He smiled a little, grimly.
“So it begins Captain, Gods speed, you hold the fate of us all – you and your crew – oh and best of luck.” Short and to the point, the image faded and Saul once more turned to his people.
“You heard the man…let’s roll.”
The Darwin and the Magellan glided from the spacedock as the docking clamps were released in silence – their powerful drive engines propelling them away from the beautiful orb of planet Earth – their year long journey had just begun and only God knew what waited for them on the other side of the spatial rift – the Breed, and they were unaware that Earth had decided to send help – not as though they would care.
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Post by mawa on Oct 21, 2004 12:30:28 GMT -5
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Post by TheMacroprosopus on Nov 3, 2004 11:27:38 GMT -5
Dude! That whole last set of paragraphs actually made me tingle. That's awesome!
And now I'm prepared for the next bit.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 6, 2004 19:35:06 GMT -5
Soon, I will post up the next part...sooon
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 11, 2004 10:48:57 GMT -5
2604 and both the Darwin and her sister had made the journey to Besalius without a hitch; the two massive warships were cutting through the spiral of jump space while their crews prepared for the coming conflict. The two leaders of Wolf squadron were prepping their ships for a recon flight the moment that they folded out of jump space and arrived near the binary star.
“Jen, you get a ten percent drop in power on the port engine of this bird?” Jack poked the controls and fired the dropship’s engines experimentally.
“Don’t think so, one moment, checking?” She vanished into the back of the ship and the clang of an engine panel being opened sounded throughout. “Try it now babe?”
“Woo, sweet, don’t know what you did back there but we’re running on full power and we’re a lean green troop-carrying machine!”
“I’ve just got magic fingers that’s all.” She traced his ear with a slightly sooty fingertip and he bit his lip.
“Don’t I know it, now stop distracting me and let me get on with this.”
She gave a pout, an over exaggerated wiggle of her rear and stepped out of the dropship ‘Vektor’ alighting on the deck of the Darwin with a light footfall. She stood back from the vessel and admired the sleek but functional lines. “You both look good.”
“What was that?”
“Oh?” She turned and flustered. “Captain, just commenting on the ships, they’re looking fine.”
“Ah, indeed they are at that, carry on.” Saul strode off and then stopped. “I want Wolf squadron out and ready when we fold in.”
“Yes Sir.” She beamed brightly, a combat pilot like her was itching to feel the stars wheeling beneath her and Jack, he must be going nuts for some action.
The Magellan folded out of the spiral in a glitter of diamond-like flickers; the Darwin wasn’t too far behind. Now both Capital ships lurked like old mythological behemoths in the darkness of the void, their navigational lights betraying the only signs of life.
From the belly of the beast it disgorged the first of two fighter wings, the light from the binary star glimmering and reflecting off hulls and cockpits. Wolf and Dragon squadrons, two of the primary assault and recon squads the Darwin had to offer.
“Looks clear to me.” Jack’s voice thrummed across the comm in Jenny’s ear, she thumbed her mic and smiled.
“Just the way that I like it, nothing but stars and gasses for light-years around.”
“That isn’t a good thing if we’re looking for Colonists?” Another voice chimed in, unmistakably British and sounding worried. “I mean, I know we’re out here to help and all that…but at least we could go someplace more…populated?”
“Aww Fletcher, are you worried the Breed might come up and bite you in the ass?” Another pilot spoke, his thick Brooklyn-style accent rolling with laughter.
“Stow it pilots.” Jenny snapped and then said in softer tones. “We fly a quick recon while the Darwin makes a few alterations and then we head to the inner ring.”
“Gotcha loud and clear Wolf leader.” Morgan flipped his fighter to form on Jenny’s wing and the rest of the Wolves followed, they looked like a row of shining fangs to the Control officer on the Darwin, and he smiled a little.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 11, 2004 10:50:49 GMT -5
They met no action, not one single resisting starship as they flew in a perimeter scan of their two battleships…glowing flares from their drives as they weaved and rolled through the vastness. Finally the Darwin was done and both squads docked with the ship – they began their journey to the inner ring. This was a relatively short hop of only a few hours compared to their lifetime aboard the Battleship getting to Besalius…when they folded out near Ryn they were immediately met with a crackle of comm traffic.
Around the planet the last CDF ships hung once more like carrion over the rotting corpse of their scarred home world. The Breed had made many attacks on the valiant fleet and world, but so far they had been repulsed. But the tell tale signs of war weary Captains and defenders littered the void like so many broken dreams. Spenson was of course the first to demand identification of the Earth vessels.
“This is the USC Darwin responding to a distress call sent one year ago.” The comm’s officer replied to the grizzled General, the war out here against these robotic monsters had taken its toll on the man and he looked dishevelled across the holoscreen.
“USC Darwin, and the USC Magellan…this is all that Earth could send, not that I’m sounding ungrateful – I expected something a little more…imposing?” Not that the ship’s weren’t imposing, but Spenson was wanting a huge armada to come in and pull their fat out of the fire – he now realised though that it wasn’t going to happen.
“These two ships are more than enough - General.” Saul cut in across the comms. “I can tell you now, the tech and weapons on these vessels has been designed to supersede your own ships and that of the Breed.”
“I hope so, Captain, for all our sakes…”
“So do I General, so do I.” Saul cut the comms and gave a momentary scowl to the screen. “So much for any kind of welcome…still, we’ve a job to do.”
“Let’s do it.” Gunny answered, causing his friend to smile a little.
Mankind had touched the stars, hoping to find new life and a new hope across the fathomless void of space. All they had discovered, all we had discovered were a robotic race who were determined to remove us from the pages of history, leaving nothing but a footnote in the annals of time – the Human race were here. RIP.
The Breed…that was what the Colonists had called them, and this is what Gunny and his shipmates now knew their foe as. The War to liberate the Colonies was known as the Colony War and it would be a telling conflict that took more lives than it saved. But it had to be fought…the alternatives were too terrible to contemplate, too terrible to think about.
Annihilation…
Enslavement…
Both USC vessels saw action in these dark times, coming to the front of many battles against the enemy – showing that while the Colonies might have been unprepared for the Breed, the Earth forces and their armies of GRUNTS were not. The gen-soldiers proved to be extremely effective, loyal and formidable in battle – matched only by the sheer number and ferocity of their foe…engagements were fought on all fronts and tirelessly by humanoid and GRUNT alike. Jack and Jenny, and the whole of Wolf squadron were put through the wringer many times and still came out victorious – Saul’s faith in both of them, along with Gunny’s was not misplaced and the young man who he looked upon as a close friend gave a good account of himself in the War – So much that he demanded to be demoted to Sergeant in the next five years, he wanted to remain in battle – he needed to be out there with his men and women, a creature of true combat.
It wasn’t a happy time and it wasn’t a time of great celebrations or stunning victories, it was a war weary time of scraping yourself off the hull and getting back into the seat of your badly damaged fighter – both of you patched up and sent out to face the enemy once again. Bring home your bird and yourself in one piece and you can fly all the more sooner. Harsh conditions and ferocious Breed soldiers made each confrontation deadlier than the next.
GRUNTS lived and they died so that the Breed could be driven back, a world reclaimed but at the cost of nearly most or all of the population centres destroyed. If they couldn’t keep the planet, they set charges and blew whole sections of city sky high. After all, what had they got to loose, there was probably some source of the robot warriors somewhere in the vastness of the cosmos churning them out on a massive production line. Where the GRUNTS needed time to mature and grow in the Darwin’s vats, the Breed needed nothing – assembled and created to destroy they were hot off the press of construction one moment and knee deep in the guts of humanity the next – War…this one was going to last for a long time.
Or we could give in, run back to Earth and hope that the Breed continued to ravage the Colonies, but Saul wasn’t going to give in and in the next five years events happened that gave him all the more reason to stay and attempt to wipe the Breed off the stellar map for good.
Ten years had now passed and the defenders of the Colonies looked different, older and wearier than ever. The Breed looked as if they were dug into the flesh of the Colony worlds like leeches or ticks. It was 2614 now and Saul had been involved in a massive assault on one of the ring planets. Maxus R was the nickname that the Colonists’ had given to it and it was one of the many planets that bordered the world of Ryn…it had come under Breed occupation in a matter of hours, thinking that the people of his world could be saved if they surrendered, the governor of Maxus had dropped his defences and ordered his men to lay down their arms.
“Let them come, let them bring an end to the Warmongering of Earth!” He had said, the voice on his lips dying as he did when the Breed soldiers ruthlessly exterminated all of his men, armed or not. Some tried to fight back but they were gunned or cut down in droves – the act mirroring and echoing the massacre on Ryn by Spenson and his men.
When the Darwin folded into orbit around the planet, they were able to determine right away that the Breed had taken the major cities and control points – but they were unable to consolidate their position. The Magellan joined her sister and both Captain’s sent down waves after waves of assault ships – packed with GRUNTS to rout and exterminate the Breed.
It was a brutal assault on all sides and the air was hazy with the smoke and glow of many fires. The Breed had taken several Colonists’ hostage, a tactic that Gunny hadn’t seen before from them and this worried him. Their air to air installations were the first target of Wolf squadron and they were able to level most of them, but one of the Breed fighters went after Jack and managed to blast his drop ship down onto Maxus’ surface – as smoke rolled from his stricken vessel he heard Jenny screaming his name over the comms – his world became a tumbling sickness of rolling and pitching before blackness took him and he was slammed into a dark void once more.
Saul wasn’t going to abandon Morgan at all; the grizzled veteran ordered a single drop ship with Jenny as the pilot to extract him, Gunny was to be there as assault backup and Dragon squad would fly lead…they nicknamed the operation Wolf and it was a pity that no one lived who really knew the significance of that name.
They met in the launch bay and the Captain was attired in full battle armour, Gunny likewise…they both looked as though they were ready to rip the Breed into pieces barehanded.
Jenny couldn’t really fathom why Saul would risk his own life to save Jack, unless he was itching for some action too – or perhaps the man had really made an impression on both the Captain and Gunny…she was just glad they were willing to take that chance.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 11, 2004 10:52:49 GMT -5
“Hang on Jack, we’re coming.” She whispered, he had to be alive; his life signs were still showing on the monitors.
The Vektor ripped out of the launch bay of the Darwin and angled away from the ship, diving down towards the planet’s surface and hitting the atmosphere with a blaze of retros and the tell tale nose burn of Jen’s re-entry, she was slightly off and the ship rocked a little – a quick correction and the whole thing was as smooth as silk. She checked her scanners and Dragon squad were right on their wing.
Right on time a small force of Breed fighters rose to intercept them, but the Dragons did as their name-sake would and unleashed fireballs of missile and weapons at the small ships – the Breed took a massive hit and small explosions ripped across their control surfaces, one of the Dragon’s pilots scored a direct and lucky hit on the Wing leader of the recon flight – he never knew it but his shot went right through the hull and into the single red light of the alien pilot.
Jenny kept tracking Jack’s life signs and she homed in on a small forest near a mountain plateau…it looked to her like Morgan’s dropship had smacked the rock and gone tumbling into the trees – fragments of busted and broken metal littered the ground as she swung the Vektor in for a closer look.
“Any luck?” Said Saul into his comm.
“Hell yes, Sir, I’ve got Jack’s ship – he’s got to be alive.”
“Bring us down just a few feet from the front and keep the engines lit.” The Captain looked to his Sergeant and Gunny bellowed an order.
“Alright people, let’s fuck with some robots!”
The GRUNTS slammed the safeties off their weapons, they stood as one and as the bay of the Vektor opened to the ruined ground beneath they piled out as a mass unit, a killing machine with separate bodies but one unified purpose – to take names and spill Breed fluid, they weren’t sure if it was oil or not, they just knew that the enemy leaked it when hammered with gunfire. The gentechs had not left out a sense of humour to their creations, even though it was tailored to a military mindset.
Saul and Gunny stood with them, moving to take a watchful position over the whole group. The Captain flicked his hand forwards and pointed. “You two, search the ship and find me Morgan…alive or dead.”
“Sir.” Two of the GRUNTS peeled off from the rest of their fellows and made a bee-line for the back of the ship, they made their way into the dark bay and soon found Jack in the space between the ship and some rocks. He was alive, in a bad way and would be dead in a few hours if they didn’t get him back to the Darwin in time. One of them applied a med-kit to the man and then lifted him onto his armoured shoulders.
“Mission accomplished.” He said into the comm-set in his suit. “Morgan located, extracting now.”
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 11, 2004 10:54:15 GMT -5
They left the stricken vessel with their precious cargo and Saul ordered them to board the Vektor, Gunny snapped his head up and let out a furious roar of anger…it shocked the other man for a moment. High in the sky overhead was a rapidly approaching ball of plasma light, the robotic bastards must have had an artillery position, this was probably a trap – he was damned if Saul was going to be taken out that easily.
“Get down!” He snarled and began to run towards his Captain.
The GRUNTS moved as ordered, the two with Jack piled him into the Vektor and stood in the bay, the flare of blue reflected on their visors. Gunny’s body impacted Saul’s just as the barrage hit home – the other GRUNTS with them were vaporised instantly and their bodies exploded into misting red and gory crimson particles. The Sergeant’s momentum smashed the Captain hard and onto the ramp of the Vektor, his gun blasting at the ship’s bay controls – it wasn’t enough to save them from serious injury but it was enough to shield the bay from the rest of the blast. The back ramp slammed into place as Gunny and Saul hit the deck rolling hard – they lay there as the dropship’s engines whined in protest as it was knocked forwards with the force of the attack.
“Fuck.” Jenny pushed against the stick and kept the ship level, she checked the bay’s rear camera – what she saw made her blanche and she swore again.
“Shit.”
Another blast was homing in on the next and the wily pilot tilted the nose of the drop ship into the air, the whine of turbines kicked in as she hoped the damaged systems hadn’t been rendered too far gone by the explosion. Fortune seemed to be on her side and the vessel shot up out of the blast that impacted where it once was, she wiped her hand across her face and angled towards and escape vector.
“Dragon squad, form on my wing!” She yelled and then her concentration was back to the task in hand, the successful extraction of three of the people she’d come to care about most in this hateful war. Jack, Saul and Gunny. If she lost anyone from this, she’d wreck the next chance she had – she knew it, and if she lost Jack Morgan she’d make sure she followed him like a comet.
More Breed fighters closed in, but once again the Dragons were as good as their name, peppering the assaulting craft with gunfire and allowing the Vektor to part from the planet and into the coldness of the cosmos again, certain death rising from below – she only had to get within the range of the Darwin and they were home free.
It was then that her systems began to fail; she hit the control panel and lights dimmed. “Stupid piece of shit!”
Just a little longer, that was all she asked for, that was all she prayed for and as the engine’s momentarily died they also flared back into life and brought the drop ship into the range of the Battleship’s ship-to-ship defences. The pursuing space-borne Breed fighters perished in spangles of multicoloured light, the sweetest thing she’d ever seen.
“Darwin, this is Vektor, I need a medteam on launch bay one stat!” Jenny comm’d the Capship and added. “Saul, Jack and Gunny are all hurt.”
Inside the belly of the Darwin, behind the skin of that battle-scarred but still serviceable hull the whole crew suddenly came alive. When the Vektor made it to the bay, the med team were there in full force – and that was the last time that Jenny saw Saul and Gunny for a good few months. The Darwin powered out of the system and left the planet as a loss, a trophy for the Breed.
Thankfully for Jenny, Jack made a full recovery and this was the second time she had to be there to nurse him back to health. Although the medical bays on the Darwin were much better than those in the Colonies, the emotional trauma he’d undergone and the mental stress he was now under needed her careful and gentle hand – she gave willingly and even spent a lot of her off-duty time at his side again. It was good to see something so pure against the terrors that raged around them, it gave the humanoid members of the Warship a shred of hope that they could endure.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 11, 2004 10:56:58 GMT -5
The Darwin and the Magellan now fought skirmishes across the whole of the Colony space – they engaged the Breed forces even harder and with more determination…they were after blood and payback for the blow dealt to them and they dusted a dozen Breed controlled worlds in a short period of time.
During this time, both Saul and Gunny had undergone reconstructive and cybernetic surgery – they had much more in common with their Breed foes…but still the human spirit burned on in their hearts and fired their minds with thoughts of revenge and victory.
The war was costly for the human race however, while they fought to hold the Colonies, more aid was requested and more ships were commissioned. More troops were sent to the front lines and Earth’s resources began to dwindle as well – six more years passed in the blink of a stellar eye and the conflict raged on across the Colony worlds.
It was now 2620 and there were legends among the stars at last, the Colony survivors looked upon the Darwin and Magellan as scarred beacons of hope – their crews were akin to gods – not a single person spoke badly of the people who gave their lives to hold back and drive back the Breed’s ferocious incursion.
The names of Jack Morgan and Jenny Farrel stood alongside those of the legendary Saul Richter, now bound to a specially designed wheelchair and a determined advocate for the destruction of the Breed. Gunny was still a Sergeant and he was half man, half machine…his handsome face marred by the scars of the battle he’d almost lost his life in, the rescue that had had brought him closer to Saul and the two pilots than he’d been to anyone in his life.
The lower part of his jaw was replaced by a triangular re-breather with two pipes that curled away over his cybernetic shoulders, down across and into his back. A mix of flesh kept him together with bone and metal cased enhanced cybernetic muscle – he’d lost none of his humour and his determination was burning like a nova in his heart and soul.
He was a victor in many engagements, it seemed the moment that he connected with the tin-heads in that way, and he’d almost been able to second-guess them in a strange twist of fate. Some had said that his ability bordered on the supernatural, he’d dismissed it always with a slight wink of his glowing eye and a growled.
“Yeah right.”
His voice was another casualty of war, the soft tones now replaced by harsh guttural sounds – once described as a man gargling with acid or pure alcohol while sitting in an old tin bath. Younger members of the Darwin, and often very far from the man’s enhanced hearing usually said this.
“Gunny, report?” Saul turned his chair to face his friend.
“We met two dozen squads of ground and air based troops on the inner worlds Sir, they ain’t going to be a problem anymore.” The acid tones of the Sergeant’s vocals grated against the re-breather and he looked at the flickering holoscreen before him.
“War plan Gunny, for I think the last few years of the conflict are finally upon us.” The Captain permitted himself a smile. “They say that battle changes you, the wars of our ancestor’s made them into the men and women they were then.”
“Sir?”
“I think our war has changed us beyond any of that, don’t you?”
“Yes Sir, it has changed me.” There was a cybernetic laugh from inside the man’s re-breather and his shoulders rose and fell with the sound.
“Observe the front line my friend.” Saul flicked on his laser pointer and began to outline his plans to the Sergeant; he circled the Darwin’s war-room display and nodded a couple of times. “If we strike on these fronts in a simultaneous attack, we could force them right back into the boondocks and then turn the assault to our favour.”
“It could work.” Grated Gunny in reply. “You want me to make it happen?”
“Yes…”
“Right on it…” The Sergeant turned and made a robotic clanking noise as he left the war-room, this caused Saul to stop him with the words.
“Sergeant?”
“Yes Sir?” Gunny turned once more, his left leg clanking again as he stood at parade rest stance. “Something else Sir?”
“Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes Sir, ripped it off a Breed commando a few weeks ago, bastard took my real one. Had the techs fit it, it’s a trophy Sir.” Gunny grinned inside his re-breather and a rattle sounded in the back of his throat.
“Gunny…you worry me sometimes…dismissed.” Saul turned a troubled glance to the plans and his chair whispered across the deck quietly.
His friend gave a swift salute and vanished into the expanse that was the Darwin’s maze of corridors and passageways – he would control the flow of war so ruthlessly that the Breed wouldn’t know what hit them, his GRUNTS had been performing beyond his expectations and he liked to be on top of things – they needed a miracle and Saul was probably going to give them just that.
So it was that the two Warships and what remained of the fleets sent from Earth piled their efforts into a last ditch attempt to wipe the Breed out of the Besalius system for good. They put all their resources into this last push, a push that shook the heavens with a ferocious sound of battle joined once more, they were not rattling the sabre this time – they were determined to bury it deep in the robotic heart of the enemy and drive it out through the back of their armoured shell.
In the final fight to liberate the Colony worlds Jack and Jenny gave their best, a hundred percent if not more – they pushed themselves harder than they had ever done. Nothing seemed able to stop these two for long, if they were injured they simply bounced back and continued to fly – as long as they had each other it seemed like some kind of karmic thread bound them to survive…perhaps the universe was being kind, it had allowed the destruction of mankind almost and now they were being given a second chance to redeem themselves – or was it a third? They had lost count.
General Spenson was buried at sea on his home world of Ryn, he died in the last moments of the final battle. The year had turned to 2624 and at the dawn of this New Year the Darwin and her sister ship were finally victorious – the last Breed planet in the Besalius system was a world similar in many ways to Mars – they had hit it with all they had, now the Breed were little more than broken reminders of mankind’s real place in the cosmos…they littered that planet, their fluids joining with the spilled blood of Colonist and GRUNT alike. The Blakemore tried to valiantly defend the Magellan when she came under attack by one of the last remaining Breed cruisers in the system.
It was a grand attempt…
It was to go down in history as the crowning glory of the General and would see him promoted to Admiral (Posthumously of course.) His whole ship was used to ram the Breed vessel when it attempted to bring the energy weapon to fire on the battleship – Spenson’s own Capship smashed into the side of the Breed cruiser and unfortunately was too late.
Three ships perished in the final moments of the fight to eradicate the Breed from the equation…and as Saul and his crew watched the Magellan struck by the same weapon that had reduced Hammond to a cosmic memory, the Breed ship was broad sided by the Blakemore – both hulls meeting in a titanic buckling collision that shook the stars with its last few seconds. The two Capships were still firing at each other when they locked, then there was another great explosion in the big black that lit the side of the Darwin and burned bright and pure for minutes as the rapidly expanding particles filled the void.
Comm operators swore that they heard the General singing something across the channels as he ploughed his ship into the other. They replayed it back and captured it for the Captain to hear.
Amazing Grace…how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me…I once was lost and now I’m found…I was blind…but now…I…(the scream cut the rest off)
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Post by mawa on Nov 12, 2004 3:32:09 GMT -5
Wolf, I love every bit of it!! It's just getting better and better! The descriptions, narration and overall feel are top notch and the story absorbed me completely. I can now easily say, that this is one of the better stuff I've read recently. The whole story deserves much more comments than it has. Keep it up!
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 16, 2004 6:38:42 GMT -5
Saul turned from the monitor as his tactical officer spoke quietly. “Sir?”
“Yes?”
“We read no more Breed in the sector Sir, and the other remnants of the USC report – all resistance has been eliminated.”
“It’s over Saul?” Gunny’s voice rattled in his re-breather as he looked to what remained of the Magellan mixing with the flare from the two other Capships.
“Yes Gunny, that’s it…we can finally lick our wounds and prepare to go home.” The Captain didn’t smile, the truth was, home was really all that was left…only a handful of ships remained in the Besalius system and the Darwin was now the only vessel capable of making the trip in one piece.
“Recall the fighters and squads.” Gunny ordered to the comms officer and she nodded, sending the message immediately.
Wolf squadron were the first to arrive back on the ship, gliding into the launch bay, they had been twelve ships but now only four remained. Jack and Jenny’s fighters crawled into the bay and Morgan’s landing gear buckled slamming him hard against the cockpit, he slumped in his chair and shook his head.
“Mother…fucker.”
“What was that Jack?” Jenny asked concerned over the comm. “Crap Jack, have you seen your landing gear?”
“Yeah, it’s fucked, fucked worse than fucked makes it sound.”
“Still, we’re alive, you think it’s over?” She climbed out of the cockpit of her fighter and saw the man she loved stumble out of his, he looked weak, older some how but still the best in the business. The Wing leader ran over to him and nearly knocked him flat, there were a few claps from the other pilots as he caught her and twisted her around.
“Guess that means we can get married on Earth?”
“Oh Jack, you remembered…” She began to tear up and little and turned her face away to bury it in his shoulder. A dozen small rips in his flight uniform were covered in dried blood. It had been one hell of a fight out there, but over these last twenty or so years – Jack had grown from the arrogant shuttle jock she’d once hated to a strong gritty dependable man who’s name inspired the others into acts of reckless heroism.
This was the stuff of dreams and legends and she was proud to fly with Morgan, as he was with her – she was proud to have been on the Darwin under Saul and with his crew – and as a new tear slipped down her face her thoughts turned of home and a heroic welcome that awaited them all.
The Colony War was finally finished and the Darwin remained behind for a few months to make sure any hidden Breed resistance was destroyed, when the enigmatic Saul Richter was satisfied that there was nothing left in the system but busted metal and crackling robotic shells, he ordered the last of the USC cruisers to head for home.
It leapt into the spiral of jump space almost gladly folding out of reality in a final burst of nova-starlight. Now it had a long and quiet journey ahead of it, another year back to Sol space and the crowds of joyful Earth folk, or at least that’s what they hoped – the truth would bite them harder than any defeat out in the Besalius system ever could. It was a time of deep thought and contemplation for every soul aboard that ship, they had endured much in the last twenty years – the victory in the Colonies had almost claimed all of their lives and many were stricken with nightmares as they tried to get the first proper rest.
Eventually a kind of equilibrium was reached, lives returned to the semblance of normality – not as though Jack, Saul, Jenny and Gunny could ever really go back to the way they were. Least of all, the Captain and his Sergeant who had been changed most of all by this struggle. But human determination, guts and the desire to remain the dominant species in the galaxy had won through in the end. Ironic that the majority of the battles were fought by using the GRUNTS however – but since they were genetic soldiers and expendable – many people would simply overlook them as a much needed resource…who cared if they felt pain, felt sorrow and felt used – life was harsh in the cold deep void that claimed them all as its prisoner.
Jack Morgan was different however, he actually valued the GRUNTS, he even tried to engage one or two in conversation – finding them mostly to be just like him, only a little more tied to duty…well…a lot more tied to duty – it was the way they were trained and educated. He’d given up on teaching them to play cards however, they were too busy focussed on military matters, they’d quite happily listen if you told them war stories or talked stickjock talk – they’d also joyfully tell you how to field-strip a MK II Infantry Assault Rifle until you collapsed into a coma or died of boredom.
“Hey flyboy?” Jenny’s whisper startled Morgan from a daydream he was having, he was reliving the last twenty years in a kind of stop-frame slow motion, black and white flicker way. He looked up at her and patted his seat.
“Hi Jen, sorry, I was miles away then.”
“Yeah, in Besalius?”
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 16, 2004 6:41:16 GMT -5
“All of it, the last twenty years – damn, never realised how much it got to me.” He gave her a gentle kiss and kicked back in his chair. The pilot’s lounge was quiet, like a ghost-town and only a couple of Dragon squad sat further off talking quietly as well.
“I know what you mean, we nearly lost each other out there – on more than one occasion.” She replied in a hushed whisper, her red hair had been pulled back into a long tail and clipped with a small silver clasp.
“I thought my goose was cooked in that drop ship.” Jack admitted with a kind of sad smile, he put both elbows on the table. “But you didn’t let me down, neither did Saul or Gunny…my drop ship Angel.” He chuckled suddenly. “Oh man, I have to stencil that on your fighter or something.”
The woman blushed furiously and went a bright shade of pink, narrowing her eyes a little – her smile remained constant on her face.
“Jack…don’t you…dare!”
“You know what happens when you say that?” His grin was infectious and her laughter brought the attention of the two Dragons across the way from them. Only for a moment, before they returned to their conversation.
“Drop ship Angel…” He repeated. “Hey perhaps we can get you to pose naked across a missile, like they did in the old days – you’ve seen the scans of the bombers right, from World War Two?”
“You can kiss my…” She frowned and snorted. “You’re the only one who gets to see the full uncovered hull on my ship Mr.”
The male pilot grinned like a bobcat and pressed a kiss to the woman’s still hot forehead. “That’s why I love you Angel, you make my stars shine.”
Most people without a soul would have called this kind of behaviour and those kinds of words ‘saccharine.’ But they didn’t know the real reason or feelings behind them; they hadn’t been out in the Colonies fighting an inhuman adversary who cared little for love, trust and friendship. Jack didn’t care what other people thought, she gave him hope and she’d given him a chance all those years ago – when others would have slammed the door in his face.
“Jack?”
“Yeah?” He fixed her with a soft smile.
“What do you think about, when you’re out there?”
Now this was a question, one of his brows turned upwards a little and his smile faltered. “Damn, that’s a tough one.”
What did he think about, he didn’t really know himself – not until he started to turn his thoughts inwards towards his actions, each thing that he did on the edge of his seat and each little turn of the stick was a combination of training and gut-instinct, it had served him well in the last few years – saved his life on more than one occasion.
“Damn, lots of things.” He realised and chuckled. “You know how to get inside someone, don’t ya?”
“Sure do.”
“You, I always think about you, which is why I ain’t gonna die yet…I used to not give a rat’s ass about anyone but me…” The pilots’ eyes were kind of misty in remembrance and he sighed a little. “But this war changed me, as I’ve said before – Jack Morgan died one day and I was left with this.”
She met his eyes for a moment and studied him, he’d changed, his jaw was more rugged – he had a few more scars, a lot more grey and seemed haunted somehow – but it all balanced out into the tough cookie that sat at her table.
“Go on?”
“I think about survival, but that’s not the same than thinking about you…it’s about the difference that one man can make, or woman.” He smiled a little again. “Out there standing between the novas, the stars and ducking plasma like there’s no tomorrow – like the story we heard of that pilot who blew the ship that took down Hammond Station. Just one guy in a battered bird, took it out, sure he died but he saved thousands of lives in the process…” He reached for his slightly cold coffee. “And that’s a sobering thought.”
“Would you?” She questioned again, she really knew the answer he’d give – her eyes lingered on every line as though it might be the last time.
“Yeah…” He admitted with a stiff drink from his mug. “Wouldn’t you, if the chips were down and you were gonna die anyways?”
Now he turned the tables on her and she chuckled a little. Tossing her head back and letting out her red hair, slim talon-like fingernails undoing the clasp with a click.
“I would.”
The silence hung between them and the stars as the Darwin rolled on through jump space until at last she spoke again.
“But I’d make sure that it was the only choice I had, before I did.” Her fingernail tapped him on the nose. “I don’t want you doing something stupidly fucking heroic before we can have a chance to live a mostly normal life buster.”
Jack’s eyes dilated and he blinked at the end of his nose, chuckling slightly, the final dregs of his coffee were drained in a quick swig.
“Ok, ok, I’ll think a lot more about what I’m doing out there, if you want?”
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 16, 2004 6:42:16 GMT -5
“No Jack, I want you to always fly with the same style – it’s kept you alive, but what I want is for you to promise me – unless there’s no other way, you’re not going to leave me?” Funny how she was scared of losing him, just as much as he dreaded losing her – but that’s the way of the USC fighter Wing – you fly until your bird drops out of the sky and you perish in a superheated blast of rushing torment.
{i}Hell of a way to go…[/i]
“You know me, I’m always careful…I always try and stick to the right side of the book – even if the damn thing’s being tossed at me.” He gave a large yawn and winked at her. “I think we’ve done enough chatting for the night…this stickjockey needs to get to bed…and you missy.” He held out his hand. “Have a date with my shoulders…only you can work those kinks out.”
She laughed, glad that their conversation had ended on a fairly high note – wondering what other words were being exchanged on the massive warship as it threaded its way through the spiral starlit tunnel of jump space. The whisper of the door opening and closing left the two Dragon pilots to talk long into the night, their own fears and trepidations somewhat lessened by Jack and Jenny’s heart to heart.
2625 and the Darwin was now only hours away from folding into real space once more in the Sol system…the mood aboard the giant battleship was one of mixed feelings – they had finally come home, their homecoming was going to be a glorious affair and there would be celebrations, medals of honour and fifteen minutes of fame for everyone. Many were looking forwards to seeing their families again and many were looking forwards to getting back in touch with old friends and loved ones.
If only they knew…
Mars tracking beacon was not responding, not as though the crew of the Darwin knew this at all. They were unable to get a reading on anything but the static of jump space for a good few hours, and after they’d folded into real space it would take a at least half and hour for the radiation to clear enough for them to start getting their bearings. But the long haul was finally at an end, the warship burst out of jump near the Red Planet with a final shimmer of starlight and a triumphant feeling from the crew – for most of them it was a great chance to see one of their familiar home worlds, one of the planets where they laid their hats.
Of course it had been terraformed…the inhospitable surface transformed into a habitable landscape perfect to support human life. It had taken mankind many centuries to finally break the right sequence of code that would allow us to change this once sleeping giant into something where we could place our flag. Build new cities and new constructions to shout out to the universe that we’d finally conquered our technological problems, resource troubles – and our own fear of what lay beyond the safety of our own gem-like orb.
“Sir, we’ve just come out of jump and we’re gathering data as you requested…”
Saul made his way onto the bridge of the ship and settled down in his wheelchair, the device skimming across the deck. “Good, how long before we can set course for Earth and a heroes welcome?”
The helm officer smiled slightly at her Captain and tapped a few controls. “At the rate were gathering infor…” She made a slight ‘hrm’ sound in the back of her throat and tapped the screen again with a finger.
“That’s not right…”
“What is it?” Saul’s eyes scanned the display and he failed to catch what she’d obviously seen…or rather, hadn’t.
“Mars beacon is offline Sir…it’s not transmitting.”
“Down for repairs, damaged…try and get me as much information as you can.”
The sound of Sergeant Gunny clanking onto the footplate by his Captain’s side caused Saul to turn, Richter didn’t look at all happy – his eyes were once more troubled, something in the back of his head began to tick like a worrying time bomb of thought.
“All ok Sir?” Gunny rasped, the large man rested his hand on the back of the Captain’s chair. “You look, pissed?”
“No, not pissed, but getting there Sergeant.” Richter replied, turning away and gliding to another station. “Order Wolf squad to fly a recon and get me as much data as you can on Mars.”
“Yes Sir.” Another officer complied and the call came into Jack Morgan in the launch bay, he was busy running checks over his fighter with Jenny.
The pilot looked to his Wing leader and slammed his helmet on, he was already in his flight suit – she matched him move for move as the rest of the Wolves came barrelling into the bay – booted feet hammering on the deck plating and making a sound like a dozen stampeding horses. They were quick off the mark and slid into their fighters, cockpits closing with a dozen hisses.
The bay became a whine of turbines and thrusters as the squad launched, the steel of the walls flickering past like an insanely fast train-ride. The black cloth of space yawned before them and the vaguely Earth-like Mars beckoned invitingly for a brief moment as the Wolves formed on Jenny’s wing.
“Wolf leader, you are cleared for Mars recon, have a good one.”
“We’ll try Darwin, Dropship Angel out.” Jenny gave a little laugh and a wide grin, her bird already beginning to angle down towards the planet, the rest of the wing following in unison – Jack as always right by her side.
“Dropship Angel?” Asked Gunny. “Ain’t no Dropship called Angel in that squad.”
Saul looked to him and shook his head. “I don’t think I want to know, Gunny, not at all.”
As the squad made their way towards the planet, the air of the bridge changed to one of trepidation and slight discomfort. Saul continued to think; the slow steady beat of his fingers matched the thump-thump-thump of his heart.
The atmosphere of Mars had been tailored to feel like home and they had no trouble threading their fighters through the blaze of re-entry and the whisper of clouds. The side of the planet that they came down on was experiencing a rainy night and visibility was down quite considerably. The water rattled off the cockpits and steam rose from the front of their ships – the blazing contrails that they left across the black cloudy sky looked like comet-tails in the heavens.
“Read anything?” Jack cut into Jenny’s comm.
“Negative buddy, it’s all quiet. There should be some traffic right?”
Wolf squad continued their sweep of the area, heading towards Tycho city and Mars USC headquarters.
“Yeah, at least some form of welcome or hey who the fuck are you…” Jack muttered into his mic and then a brief flash of lighting illuminated one of the mountain tracking stations.
“Oh hell.” Another pilot caught it at the same time as Morgan.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 16, 2004 6:45:08 GMT -5
The station that should have been buzzing with life was ruined, the main dish had a dozen or so blast marks across the surface and the relay was melted. The core building’s interior lay open to the rain and small rods of metal protruded at odd angles, it looked as though a single blast had shattered the superstructure in one place and brought part of it down. As the circling Wolves drew their ships across the sky, lower and lower looking for any signs of life – they found nothing.
“Darwin?” Jenny spoke into her mic urgently. “Are you getting this.”
Back aboard the ship, Saul’s face matched that of the storm, grey and thunderous – his eyes were blazing with a hidden fire…that nagging thought hit him again and he snapped it back.
“Yes we are.” He opened his own comm channel. “Proceed to Tycho, do not land. I repeat do not land – do what you have to, then get back here.”
“Roger Darwin, Wolf leader out.” She swung her ship out of the circle and pushed the burners – the rain was vaporised and steam boiled out of the back engine as the sleek vessel cut the sky like a knife.
“Easy Jen…” Jack warned her. “Don’t go running off on us.”
He’d anticipated that move and so had her pack, the squad formed once more on her wing and she didn’t reply. She’d got a nagging feeling like Saul and it was growing by the minute – what ever it was, she didn’t like it and her face twisted into a scowl.
“It’s ok Jack, I’m calm.” She lied, her heart thumped loudly in her ears as she almost knew what their scan of Tycho would reveal – the sleek fighter tore ahead of the group and they had to burn to keep up with her.
As the pack of fighters blazed across the sky like avenging angels, they caught a break in the cloud…Tycho City, the once proud beacon at the centre of Mars’ economy and commerce was wrecked. Buildings stood at strange angles, some had collapsed and the devastation was as though a small nuclear device had been set off in the middle of it all – nothing lived or breathed in the dusty windblown and rain-battered ruin that remained as a terrible reminder of the fear they faced out in the Colony worlds – a cold shiver ran down the spines of those pilots and the people aboard the Darwin.
“Get back here now!” Ordered Saul, and then he whipped around to Gunny with a furious expression. “I want your people ready to go in a moment Sergeant – do you understand me?”
“Yes Sir!” He snapped and left the bridge with a metallic rattle from that Breed trophy leg.
The Wolf pack roared from the planets surface, their pilots visibly shaken and Jack was as furious as the Captain of the Darwin, when he climbed out of his fighter he threw his helmet so hard the faceplate cracked.
“Fuck!”
Jenny ran to him and grabbed his shoulders. “Jack calm down!” She shook him a little and he collapsed onto her shoulder. “All of it, all of it for fuck all!” He sobbed, the sound of his voice catching in his throat.
“Don’t lose it Jack, this isn’t the time.” She smoothed back his hair.
“She’s right man…we’ve seen worse shit than this out there.” Another pilot chipped in and put his hand on the man’s shoulder.
“But this is…home.” He growled. “Ok, it’s not my home, but it’s their home…I wasn’t born in Sol, but fuck my genes came from here!” He stalked off, brushing the man’s hand away.
“Jack!” Jenny’s voice was full of anguish, she was hurt, they were all hurt and deep inside she knew what had happened.
“Just tell me one thing, we’re not going to give up right?” The pilot who’d put his hand on Morgan’s shoulder shouted to the stalking man. This almost had the effect of a punch in the teeth for Jack; he stopped in his tracks and turned to face them both.
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 16, 2004 6:47:11 GMT -5
“No…we’re not going to give up.” He seethed, shoulders rising and falling…slowly something odd happened. A circle of people gathered and drew closer; Jenny once more forced her way into Jack’s arms and put her head on his shoulder. Pilots and crew stood around, numbly for a while.
“What do you think did it?” Brooklyn asked, his dark eyes semi-closed with worry.
“We did…warmongers.” Jenny said. “We turned on each other while…the war was being fought.”
She couldn’t have been more wrong though, and as the Darwin roared into the light of jump space the painful truth was about to be lain bare like bones in the dusty sands of the Sahara desert. Have you ever heard the old saying?
While the cat’s away…the mice will play?
Only it wasn’t mice this time, neither was it mankind, it was something that none of them had expected. While Earth had sent a massive defence force to hold the Colonies, to prove that we wouldn’t go into the night without one hell of a fight…the Breed had played them all like harp-strings. They had drawn the finest military might from the core worlds and sent them into a battle to keep them occupied, we’d had our pants pulled down around our ankles and they’d pointed at us laughing in their robotic tones.
It hadn’t been fingers though; it had been weapons of mass destruction and ships with even greater firepower than the ones that assaulted the Besalius system. They were only a diversion to the Breed’s greater plan and purpose – they’d snuck in and systematically wiped their way to the unsuspecting planet Earth…and while the people of that wondrous orb waited for news of a defeat or victory in the Colonies they dropped on them like buzzards surrounding a fly blown corpse.
The Darwin finally folded out a little way from the Earth, the warship sat in the deep oceans of space and almost seemed to sulk, a glowering war-weary and scarred tom-cat of a ship who’d just discovered that another cat was in it’s territory – only of course that analogy would be wrong, since most Captains and pilots tend to call their vessels she. And perhaps in this case, the true saying should have been…
Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned…
Sensor scans came in and confirmed to Saul something had he’d been secretly dreading ever since he laid eyes on Mars, it wasn’t mankind as the crew and pilots had thought. It was them, the Breed, they’d invaded his home world while they were out protecting hundreds of others…and while they must have saved millions of lives in the Colonies leaving them to rebuild their shattered lifestyle and nerves – the Breed had butchered billions on that orb.
Earth now sat there winking at them, like a giant eye, the clouds rolled with a new reason and a new atmosphere. It was a toxic thing that slowly poisoned anything that remained in contact with it. The poisons in the air were now beyond tolerable levels, and the ozone layer was being eroded. Giant structures were scanned by the warship’s long-range sensors…some kind of power-plants and processing centres – they wouldn’t know for sure until they’d had a chance to fly some recon missions and get more data.
“Christ…” Saul mouthed those words with a barest choking sound of his breath. “This is a fucking nightmare.” People had hardly heard him swear in the war – but now he glowered at the readouts and shook visibly. “Gunny, with me!”
The war room of the Capship was lit with the flickering displays of the Breed’s installations on the home world of Earth. Gunny, Jack, Jenny and Saul had been in there for hours as the Darwin had moved into orbit around the planet – her one ace in the hole was that the ship was fitted with a powerful cloaking device – as long as they were careful they could operate out here for quite a while. As long, as they were careful and didn’t tip the Breed off to their presence.
“As you can see, while the whole of the planet is occupied by the Breed.” Saul’s tone was businesslike and he glided around the deck of the room effortlessly. “The enemy has not yet had a chance to bring online most of their defences and installations. We have reports that a resistance movement is alive and well down there, run by Carla Alvarez…but the most important factor is that we have the element of surprise on our side.” He flicked his displays across once more and smiled a grim smile. “Humanity perished here, our defences were broken and scattered like skeletons in a raided tomb. They seem to have several prisons where our kind are being kept – and worst of all, they are raising water levels and poisoning our atmosphere…strange for robots, don’t you think?”
They let the Captain talk and their hushed tones replied with agreement to his postulation. He continued on, unhindered by any minor interruption.
“It is my firm belief that we can make key surgical strikes on the planet’s installations and break their hold over our world.” Saul’s voice was grim. “I know I ask a lot of you all, and I know you wanted to come home but this must be done.”
“No need to ask Sir, where do you want me? I’m ready…” Jack’s growl gave Gunny a moment to nod as he swung his arm up and pointed to the spinning holo-globe of the Earth.
“You point me, I shoot.” He rattled in the back of his rebreather.
“On the mission brief I’ve sent you, are your orders…need I say any more?”
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 16, 2004 6:48:31 GMT -5
They didn’t need it, Saul’s words were enough – as one they turned from that war room and were lost in the spacious corridors of the Darwin. While it sat and surveyed the Earth with undetected scanning eyes – thousands of them.
And the Earth sat there, home to the Breed; they were confident that nothing could now stand in their way. All opposition had been wiped out and key points captured. Only the resistance remained and soon they would eliminate it, their keen red robotic single eye locking on and targeting with deadly accuracy. Echoed now in the depths of the warship’s bays were many voices as mankind once more prepared to go head to head with their foe. These were much stronger and tougher Breed than they had fought in Besalius, but that wouldn’t stop the crew of the Darwin – only the cold embrace of the void would finish them off – they’d seen too much to give up now and as the last wave of the first assault burned towards the planet’s surface the reports of Breed resistance came back – a new war had begun and the cry of a single man lead the assault with a vicious intent.
“We’re in the hot zone now!” Bellowed the Sergeant from the back of the open deckplate on the dropship ‘Vektor’, already the sky overhead was clogged with the fire, smoke and ash of the previous assault. The whine of the dropship’s engines screamed over the sounds of gunfire and the death of metal and flesh.
“Twenty seconds! Lock and load GRUNTS!” He slammed a clip into the breach of his weapon and flicked the safety back, he might have be leading men grown from the vats aboard the Darwin but he was going to show the machines that flesh, blood and bone would always have the last say. This was their Earth and they were going to take it back, or die trying.
The Vektor touched down amidst the rattle of gunfire and the whirl of debris as her powerful engines churned the ground into dust. Before they knew it the six-man assault squad had joined their comrades on the ground and were running for cover to assess the situation. Tracerfire cackled overhead and turned the hotzone into a confusing scene of spent shells and bloody corpses.
“Glad you could make it Sir.” One of the ground-pounders from the previous assault squad slid over to a wall where the leader of the assault team squatted. His Armour was caked with mud, blood and in places oil smeared his visor. “We’ve got a small Breed outpost and the tinheads are dug in like ticks on a terrier.”
A grim nod was all the reply the Sergeant gave, he turned on his headset comm. and the static cleared. “Alpha and Beta squads I want you to take the north entry, hard and fast, dropship Vektor, give us aerial support and keep away from that ak-ak.” At the end of the order it was as though the leader’s words were the switch on a finely tuned machine – within moments the sky was churned again as the Vektor swept down, twin chain guns peppering the ground with gunfire as Breed soldiers ran and ducked for cover, those who didn’t make it were reduced to smouldering and twisted wrecks.
Air-to-air installations found their mark on the dropship and smoke started to pour from the left engine, “MOTHERFUCKERS!” screamed Jack as he switched power across both and kept her steady while his gunners turned their attention to the incoming fire. Blazing streams of gunfire leapt from both sides of the vehicle as it pressed the offensive harder and harder.
Meanwhile on the ground Gunny shouldered his weapon and turned to the GRUNTS with him, he pointed to the breach that Alpha squad had made in the Breed’s defences and charged forwards, he took his people right at the enemy and answered their resistance with a rattling thundering retort from his own weapon. Shells flew like raindrops from the side of the rifle and the whispering laugh of the bullets tearing into the Breed gave everyone a sudden boost of morale. They staggered backwards as shell after shell found its mark in a sudden and brutal burst.
Amidst sparks and spilt motor fluids the GRUNTS ploughed their way into the fortification, ruthlessly blasting any Breed they encountered. The Sergeant heard the telltale sound of a GRUNT perish in a blast of white-hot heat, a hole blown clear through his Armour and left on the ground a smoking memorial to heroism and courage. He moved further into the base, relentless and vicious in his assault - faceplate lit by the constant blaze of gunfire from both he and his comrades. More GRUNTS fell, one of them slammed onto the floor to his right, visor blown off along with the right side of his head, gray matter mixed with the smell of ozone and another GRUNT threw up – saving him from the fate of his comrade.
“Forward! Don’t let a single tinhead escape!”
It had been more than twenty years since the Earth had seen her heroes go off into the void and now they had returned. Cloak and dagger, ramming into the back of the unsuspecting usurpers and murderers – revenge kept them alive and mankind lived to fight to take back their world – a little longer…
Smoke and ash were all that was left of the outpost and on the Bridge of the Darwin the Captain allowed himself to close his eyes – a deep breath in the depths of his chest rumbled from him.
“Once more into the breach dear friends.”
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 16, 2004 6:51:14 GMT -5
And that as they say, is that folks. The end of this particular story marks the beginning of the game itself.
There is another story that I created that runs almost parallel with this arc, slightly off at a tangent and tells of another encounter with the Breed.
It's called: Firefall
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Post by Libby on Nov 16, 2004 12:38:05 GMT -5
This was for a project that never really got anywhere due to the idiot publisher, I wrote a massive background and story for the game: Breed. But nothing was done with this, so it's sitting mouldering doing zilch...so here for the first time I present to you the Science Fiction backstory that CDV wanted - written by me I seriously cannot believe that they didn't want this....had they recently attended a course for the Terminally Stupid? And graduated with Honours? The mind does its boggling thing....
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Post by TheMacroprosopus on Nov 17, 2004 10:20:49 GMT -5
Well holy shit. Again I am amazed. Excellent work!
"Tycho". Heh.
I'm not sure if it was mentioned, but does the game exist on store shelves? If yes, for PS2?
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Post by mawa on Nov 17, 2004 10:30:19 GMT -5
*claps*
Excellent work, Wolf! You did it again! I must say you can keep the reader on the edge of the seat till the very end. At the final part I just went "Oh, fuck!".
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Post by Witcher Wolf on Nov 17, 2004 17:07:23 GMT -5
*takes a bow*
Breed is available (probably in the bargain bin/shelves) by now for the PC. It was borked by the publisher themselves and the whole story is a long and extremely upsetting one.
But there are people out there that really love the game, regardless of its problems.
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Post by koichisenada on Dec 31, 2012 10:18:13 GMT -5
*takes a bow* Breed is available (probably in the bargain bin/shelves) by now for the PC. It was borked by the publisher themselves and the whole story is a long and extremely upsetting one. But there are people out there that really love the game, regardless of its problems. I suppose that is the "Breed: Homecoming" game developed by "Brat Designs" and published by CDV in 2004. www.cdvusa.com/games/view/46How is the story above related? Has it inspired the published game? If so, how came it became a game?
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