Disclaimer; I do not own VanDread or any related trademarks. I do, however, possess creative rights to the Zûram Republic and Terran Empire, as created for the Terra Invicta universe.
Chapter III: Intervention
-"A Terran starship is entering the system! It's a Suscenseo-class carrier, they are headed straight for us!" the crewman at the helm shouted.
-"Give me visual! the Commander roared, -"Shields to maximum capacity! Redirect power from our rear batteries to shields!"
-"You intend to stand your ground, Commander?"
-"No, but I want to buy us as much time as I can."
-"Redirecting forward battery energy to normalspace engines, Commander." the crewman said.
Before the Commander could respond, a booming voice was heard over the communications.
-"This is Commander Jax Debral of the Imperial starship Honesty's Intervention. You are severely outgunned and already trapped within our interdiction field. Make no attempt to escape in realspace, your ship cannot outrun our starfighters."
-"Commander Debral, this is Commander Yardano Shishival of the Republic frigate Do'Vore K'Kor, we have no intention of engaging your ship. This is neutral territory, and action taken here will be responded to in kind."
-"Your ship has been skimming the edge of Terran space for some time. It means that you are either looking to trade, or to pick a fight."
-"I assure you, Debral, I have no intention of giving you the pleasure of, how do you Terrans say it, 'rip me a new one'."
-"I am glad to hear we do not have to spark a territorial conflict over this useless slab of empty space. Now, what trade items do you have to offer?"
Yardano was hard pressed at first, trying to figure out what they could afford to lose to the Terrans, that was of enough value to the Terrans simply not to attempt and take by force.
-"We have acquired an unknown vessel possessing what we believe to be extragalactic technology." Ialkoso suddenly interjected.
-"What? Who is this?"
-"I am Ialkoso Makdekui, chief engineer of the Do'Vore. I offer you this alien starfighter in exchange for supplies, and safe passage to Zûram territory."
The communications went silent for a long while.
-"We are sending a detachment of marines to inspect this craft of yours." Commander Debral finally said, closing the channel.
-"I thought you of all people would place the most value on the starship, Ialkoso?" the Commander asked.
-"It is primitive, and apart from the 'Pexis' there is nothing peculiar about it. Hopefully the Terrans will not notice until we have entered hyperspace. I believe that the pilot, Meia, may prove more valuable in the long run."
-"Very well. I want you to oversee the transaction."
--
Ialkoso couldn't stand humans, so he assigned his junior officer, Koroso Meptek, to negotiate with the Terran negotiator. Koroso was furious at having to deal with the humans but couldn't refuse his superior's orders.
-"I am Koroso Meptek" he began, -"and I am here to show you what valued goods we have to offer the Terran Empire."
-"I am Jalek Al Saiv" the human responded, -"and I am here to contemplate what the Zûram Republic can provide for us."
-"Now that we are past formalities, mister Al Saiv, please, sit down." Meptek said, motioning to the table they were standing around. As Al Saiv sat down, his twenty marine escorts – a full squad - positioned themselves on the other side of the large room, while thirty-six members of the Do'Vore's security detail positioned themselves at every exit and along the walls as Mepte too sat down at the low table.
-"Well then, Koroso – If I may call you by first name? – what do your people ask in return for this mysterious starship?"
-"We are far from home and require supplies so that we may return to Ram. Your arrival has delayed us, so we also require hyperspace amplifiers to arrive home in time... Jalek."
-"If we provide you with enough amplifiers, can you make the trip in sufficient time with your current supplies?"
-"That would require many amplifiers. We have none remaining after a prolonged tour outside the edge of the Galactic disc…"
-"We have top-class hyperdrives on the Intervention, we do not need many amplifiers. We do need our food, however, which is scarce in the Rim Worlds."
Koroso turned to one of his Pah'Mei.
-"See how many amplifiers we would require for the trip, and report back here immediately."
The Pah'Mei bowed for a mere fraction of a second and vanished out the doorway just as quickly.
-"Now for this starship, what can you tell me about it?"
-"We found it adrift after a strange anomaly was detected. We suspected it to possess… Intergalactic hyperdrive technology."
-"Really? Why would you want to give up such a find?"
-"The Republic has less need for further expansion than the Empire does. If your kind can expand into other Galaxies, you will go there to fight for territory, not into Zûram space."
-"I suppose the fact that we possess a starship six times the size of yours works in our favour as well?" the human said with a smirk.
-"I had not noticed." The Zûram responded with an equivalent smirk.
The Pah'Mei returned, coming to a halt that had his boots slide on the metal flooring.
-"I apologize for the delay, Meptek. We have counted that we require sixteen amplifiers, one to begin the journey and then one per every two days in transit home." he announced.
-"Sixteen? That may take some tweaking the contract." Al Saiv said, leaning back, before suddenly bolting up from his chair, wide-eyed. Al Saiv drew his plasma-pistol, aiming it for Meptek. The marines all raised their powered-up pulse-rifles, and the Zûram Pah'Meis charged their wrist-weapons and powered their personal shields.
-"What is the meaning of this?!" Meptek roared as he too stood up.
-"Why don't you tell us that?!" Al Saiv snarled, pointing with his free hand to the doorway behind Meptek and the Pah'Mei that had just arrived.
There stood a small human in the doorway, blinking in confusion. She wore a bright dress far too large for her miniscule frame, hanging loosely on her shoulders. She wore a metallic piece over a portion of her face.
Meia had never had so many weapons pointed at her at once.
-"Why is there a Terran child in chains on this ship?!" Al Saiv snarled.
-"She… She is no Terran, Jalek." Koroso stuttered, -"She is… The pilot, of the ship we discovered."
Al Saiv walked up to Meia, lowering his pistol, inspecting her carefully.
-"She's not a child… She's some sort of miniature human…"
-"Watch it." Meia growled.
The man, standing more than two meters tall, was surprised as Meia's aggressive behaviour, but took a step back.
-"I believe, Koroso, that I have found a way for you to compensate us for those sixteen amplifiers…"
--
Meia was very, very displeased.
The massive humans in blue and black armor, carrying large rifles and wearing face-covering helmets, were apparently the Terrans she had heard a lot about. She had, prior to this, felt enthusiastic about meeting the supposedly noble, courageous, advanced and civilized humans.
Now, one of the marines was carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, cuffed with magnetic bonds at both her wrists and ankles, dangling helplessly.
The Terrans had seized her along with her Dread from the Zûram, and were taking her aboard their ship, Honesty's Intervention. While she mused that at least the humans wouldn't poke and prod her as much as the Zûram did, at least the Zûram treated her with some dignity and care.
She saw the Intervention through a window aboard the Zûram ship, and found that it was truly massive, possibly more than 4 kilometers in length. According to the marine carrying her, who had casually been making remarks as he trotted along, it was a Suscenseo-class carrier vessel, with a complement of over 8000 starfighters and two small frigates, both the size of the Zûram vessel she was leaving.
Much like the Zûram, she found that the Terrans had an accent that was significantly more articulate than the one she was used to. She figured that's what Kuraio meant by herself having a 'peculiar accent'.
Unlike the bright, smooth interior of the Zûram ship, the interior of the Intervention brought her mind to the interior of Taraak vessels, where everything was bulky, darkly grey, and practical, with little attention to aesthetics. Unlike common Taraak design however, everything was massive, even in comparison to the Terrans themselves.
Wide, high-roof corridors lined with massive blast-doors was the only thing Meia saw for a good fifteen minutes. Bumpy fifteen minutes.
Eventually the marine carrying her departed from the rest of his squad, heading to a brightly lit room with plentiful odd-looking devices.
-"Transport to brig seven." the marine said to another human, a female, standing by a console.
-"For you both?" she asked.
-"Yes." he responded simply, stepping up on to a platform. To Meia's displeasure, the feeling of being torn apart by the molecules that she had experienced in the anomaly returned as she and the marine were engulfed in white light.
Before she knew it, the light faded, and she felt her body return to normal within a millisecond. Blinking, she was then roughly carried down the ramp again. It wasn't until she saw the operator, who was suddenly a man, that she realised she had been teleported somewhere else on the ship.
The marine headed out of the transporter room and into a large junction, heading left, then right, to a smaller door. Opening it, he unceremoniously dumped her on the floor.
-"There will be an officer here to see you in a few minutes. Just sit tight." the marine said. Meia quickly drew parallels between the marine's mildly pleasant behaviour and Kuraio, as he bent down and removed the cuffs from her hands and legs, before leaving.
The cell was significantly smaller than the Zûram one, as was the furniture. The bed was clothed in dark grey colours, and extremely uncomfortable. There was a small metal chair, and a similar small table. To her comfort, the bathroom seemed better designed for humans.
After a short while, the door swooped open, and a young man with short-cut black hair stepped in. He was wearing a very plain uniform, darkly blue with a large swathe of cloth lapping over the front, and with a single small gold stripe along his left neckline.
-"I am Lieutenant Skaara Kerdim of the Ninth Fleet, Sixteenth Legion."
-"Meia Gisborn." she grunted in response.
He slowly wandered up to her, inspecting her intently before reaching out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her feet. She whimpered a protest but stepped into the middle of the cell. He circled her, continuing to inspect her appearance while tapping on a similar datapad that the Zûram had used the first day. For some reason, she had a strong feeling of déjà-vu.
-"Where are you from?" he asked.
Confirming her annoyed expectations, Meia raised her voice slightly in an uncharacteristic manner, straining herself not to yell at him.
-"The Zûram have asked me these questions for days… I'm sure with your big ship you can convince them to lend you a few of their datapads…?"
The man smirked.
-"We have all the data the Zûram gathered already." he said casually, continuing his unnerving strolling, -"But we find that Zûram methods of interrogation are… Inadequate."
Lieutenant Kerdim pulled a long, silvery handle out of his bag. With a flick of his thumb, the device sprung three long, thin metallic wires out of the end. As he lifted the device, the wires began moving around, scanning the area around them like three serpents looking for prey.
Meia realised that she should've seen this one coming.