Hello, and thanks for checking out part one of my new series entitled The Fabrics of Time. In my opinion, the Sonic X series lends itself very well to the genre of science fiction, and I'm surprised that more people haven't done fanfictions in that style. The prologue you're about to read was actually written after Chapter 1, and as such is very short. Also, I didn't want to hint too much about the future here, so I intentionally avoided stating any names. If you're interested,read on, and feel free to give me your opinions.
DISCLAIMER: I do not claim ownership of the Sonic franchise or any associated characters, locations, or events. All non-franchise characters, locations, and events contained or referenced in this publication are of my own design. Elaboration on the Sonic franchise or any associated characters, locations, or events is not intended to infringe on the copyright protection of same. The sole intended purpose of this fictional work is entertainment. (As if that didn't go without saying.)
14Apr2012: Revised and updated.
Prologue – Without a Trace
Location undisclosed
Time undisclosed
An explosion shattered the near-silence inside the cockpit. The gunship rocked to one side, stabilized quickly, and accelerated. Behind her, the much larger craft in pursuit did the same, easily keeping pace with its quarry. It fired again; the gunship swerved hard to port, narrowly avoiding the crude but deadly metal slug hurled at her. The pilot countered with a shot of his own, a missile, but the cruiser's heavy armor shrugged off the explosion effortlessly.
"Outer hull integrity approaching three-fourths maximum," a calm, electronic voice announced inside the cockpit. "Evasive maneuvers ineffective. Disengage and seek support."
"Thank you," the pilot replied sarcastically. He had been trying to outrun the larger vessel for what felt like over an hour, with little success. How such a heavily armored beast was able to keep up with a gunship designed for speed seemed to defy the laws of motion. "What's wrong with all the dead ships they leave out here? Spineless, bottom-feeding Marauder-"
At that moment, something very heavy and fast rammed into the ship, lodging in her engine output. The hit jostled the pilot halfway out of his harness, cutting short whatever insults he hadn't already listed. He pulled himself back into the seat and opened the throttle to the maximum setting.
What happened next, he would later realize, caught him entirely off-guard. The very instant the engine fired, it ignited the contents of the unusual slug inside. The resulting explosion blew the propulsion system in half and tore through the gunship's interior, hurling shreds of red-hot metal the length of the cabin. A steel airlock slammed shut, sealing the aft quarter to prevent precious air from escaping. Looking out the window to his left, the pilot saw the Marauder cruiser advancing alongside the gunship. It began to close the distance between them, opening a brightly-lit hangar to accept its prize.
"Oh, no, you don't," the pilot growled. He armed a row of cannons along the gunship's port side and, aiming into the newly-created gap in the cruiser's armor, fired. A cone of fire and rubble burst from the hangar after a short delay, knocking the behemoth off course, while recoil from the broadside volley sent the gunship spiraling away into space.
The pilot stood and clambered to a station behind the vacant copilot's seat. Seeing with immense relief that the explosion had not damaged it, he stepped into the small alcove. An array of panels unfolded and moved in rings around his body, waves of magnetic force shooting between them. The pilot tapped several keys in quick succession, then spoke a voice command: "Energize in five." He focused with all his might on a distant, blue-green world, utterly unknown to most nations and equally unaware of them.
When the timer reached two seconds, an impact greater than any before rocked the gunship: the cruiser had recovered and scored a direct hit. The pilot lost his footing, slammed into the opposite wall, and fell heavily to the wildly swaying floor. The timer reached zero. There was a blinding flash and a brief image of a part of space that was not space, and the gunship vanished.