I DO NOT OWN SPOP OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS. I ONLY OWN MY OC'S.
Warning: This chapter contains swearing.
'Thinking'
"Normal speech"
Computer messages
"Mechanical"
Chapter 2 - Show n Tell
...10 Minutes ago...
Theta's pov
The Horde soldiers were almost at his ship and Theta knew it was impolite not to welcome guests at the front door. He got up from his chair and started to head towards the cargo bay. He took a deep breath and massaged his temples as a headache started to grow. The effects of the Cyro sickness were still affecting him. There was no time for rest though, too much had to be done. As he walked down the hallway towards it he stopped when something caught his eye. It was the room where the Exo suits were stored.
'The suit would hide my identity. I do not know if humans are equals or slaves in this Horde. It is also a possibility that females are the dominant gender as well. It may be a stretch, but I can't take any chances in this. The less they know the better'.
With his mind made up, he entered the room. To his continued annoyance of the ship's poor condition. He found the room, trashed and damaged. Only one remained all together. It was a donkey class construction suit. Used for heavy lifting with a multitude of tools on the third arm that sat on it's back. It would have to do. He awoke a nearby terminal and found that the assist gear was still working. It was a welcomed change of pace. Exo suits were very difficult to put on without the robotic arm's help.
He looked in the corner to see that 5 minutes had passed and the Horde soldiers would be here any minute now. He had ordered the RCD's to guide them onto the ship if he didn't get there before they had arrived. RCD stood for Reaver Class Droid, but he preferred to just call them Reavers. He quickly typed in the commands and stepped onto a small platform. He took his coat off and gave it to an arm. The robotic arms disassembled the suit before starting to place it on Theta. He lifted his arms out as the arms worked as quickly as they could.
As the last piece clicked on he gave a quick look at the suit to make sure it was all together. Once he knew it was he turned the hud on and waited for it to warm up. The terminal screen changed to show that the soldiers had arrived. Once it was done booting up he broke off in a run towards the bay. He quickly turned a corner only to fall to the ground.
The ground shook a little from the fall and a small dent formed. "Arghh, damn it". The room started to spin around him. He slowly picked himself up and held in the vomit threatening to come out.
After a few moments, the feeling went away. He walked the rest of the way not wanting to test his stomach again. He was still slightly dazed and breathing heavily. Maybe he should have stayed in that bed after all.
As he neared the cargo door he could faintly hear a voice. He couldn't hear what they were saying though. He did, however, knew it meant the soldiers had arrived.
He unlocked the door and watched the door groan and open painfully slow. He would have to fix that later. He walked up to the two, guests you could call them. The Reavers walked to his side and stood at attention. He turned his full attention to the soldiers.
"Welcome to the NCS Pelican, I'm Captain Theta of the Hinganian Federation".
He stared down at the two noticing their shock of his appearance. He was intrigued by the one with fur. He had met Lizard people before. He had gotten to know one personally while we're working on a construction project.
The furry one, on the other hand, was a species he had never seen before. He stopped himself from staring too much. He didn't want to offend any of them, this deal had to go as smoothly as possible.
They seemed to quickly snap from their shock and straighten themselves. They gave a quick salute before speaking. "Good evening Sir, I'm Corporal Inge and this is Private Ottep. We are glad to finally meet you in person Captain Theta". Theta held his hands behind his back.
"It is an honor to meet you Corporal. The weapons are stored in the east side of the ship. I would have had you park on that side but the door is unable to open. Now if you would follow me, I will show you to them". Theta turned and started to lead them across the ship.
3rd pov
The Reavers followed behind without a word. The only noise they seemed to make was the clacking of their steps. Not even the faint sound of breathing. Inge and Ottep looked back at the Reavers. Their gaze was met with Emotionless eyes. The two quickly looked forward, too creeped out by them to look anymore.
The two decided to look over the Captain to try and figure out what he was. He seemed to be wearing some kind of yellow armor. He was giant compared to them. Ottep barely came up to his chest. A third arm rested on the left side of his back. It was completely mechanical so it was probably a part of the armor they thought. Tools hung on his sides along with some on his back.
It was more of a suit than armor the more they thought about it. A pair of horns sat on top of his head. They looked metallic so they were probably a part of the helmet.
Halfway across the ship, Theta looked over his shoulder. The Horde Soldiers seemed too nervous to say anything. "Do you mind if I ask you a question Corporal"? A female voice spoke out of Theta. The two looked up at the Captain in shock. Inge quickly snapped out of her shock. "Uhh, W-wh-what is your qu-question Captain"? Theta looked back forward "What can you tell me of these Princesses. You told Phalanx that they could use magic".
Inge thought for a second. 'What is the deal with this guy? First he talks like a guy, but now he sounds like a chick'. "Well, they have ruled over their kingdoms for a thousand years. They use magic to rule their people with an iron fist. Anywho don't bow down and serve are either tormented for their amusement or are exiled".
Anger started to grow in Inge. "We had enough of it and we rebelled. We didn't stand a chance against them. That is until the Horde came. They gave us the weapons and tools to fight back their magic. I can't explain what it is or how they use it. I just know even with tanks and robots they still put up a decent fight". Inge took a deep breath to cool her anger.
Ottep wanted to comfort Inge but he couldn't show weakness. The Captain could see that the Horde was weak and probably raise his price. Instead, he decided to get her mind off the subject. "Captain, respectfully requesting permission to ask a question".
Theta waved his hand and softly shook his head. "There will be no need for that. Ask your questions". The male voice had appeared again. 'This guy? Girl? It's weird. First, he sounds like a guy but then sounds like a woman? This is getting weirder and weirder by the second'. Ottep thought "How long have you been here? There have always been princesses ruling Etheria".
'I've never heard of Eternia before. Must be a backwater world or maybe a well-kept secret'."I have been in cryogenic sleep for 40 years. I crash-landed here so I don't know anything about this world". Inge was the next to speak. "Captain Theta I hate to bring up bad news. But I don't think we even have any parts that would work on your ship".
"I thought that maybe the case. I'll just need materials to make the parts".
Theta looked over his shoulder again. "The sooner you confirm the weapons to your superior. The sooner I'll have my parts and fuel". The female voice replaced the male. The two Horde soldiers looked at each other before looking back at the Captain.
When they entered the other cargo hold. They could see that a drone was setting crates upright and cleaning up any spilled contents. The two Reavers stood at the entrance. A small bridge could be seen ramshackle up over a small deep ravine. This hold was barely connected to the rest of the ship.
The two soldiers were satisfied with the safety of the bridge when the Captain stomped over it. Seemingly not caring about the integrity of the bridge. The three approached a box, Theta unlatched it and opened it. Inside were sleek looking pistols. Theta took one out and handed it to Inge. He pointed to a blank wall. "Fire away Corporal". She nodded and smirked before aiming. The nozzle glowed red before a bolt of energy shot out and collided with the wall. A scorch mark with a small hole was left. Inge looked back at Theta unimpressed, well would have if it weren't for her helmet. "Shooting a thick level 3 ceramic plating isn't the best of targets, is it"? The captain asked with humor in his voice.
Inge snorted before turning to Ottep which had upholstered his blaster. He aimed at the wall and fired as well. The two were both surprised when the shot only left a scorch mark with no hole.
Theta held out a rifle to Ottep. The two switched weapons with Ottep aiming at the wall. The end of the blaster lit up as it fired. The bolt of energy left a scorch mark with a bigger hole. Inge and Ottep both fired a few more times before stopping. The two horde soldiers inspected the new weapons.
"I believe Lieutenant Esther will be pleased with these" Theta's male voice spoke. The two were too amazed by the new blasters to care about Theta's multiple voices. Inge went to hand it back but Theta merely put his hand up. "These weapons will be given to the Horde anyways. You might as well keep that".
Inge was handed 2 small packs. Theta gave a quick lesson on how to replace the pack. He also told them that it would glow red on the handle when it was out of charge. He gave the same lessons on Ottep's blaster. He turned to the drone to give it a wordless order while Inge looked at her pistol more.
'If a pistol could do a little more than our blasters. Then I can't wait to see what the cannon could do'. Inge thought to herself and started to daydream of firing the large cannon at a princess.
Ottep noticing Inge daydreaming about firing the bigger weapons most likely, turned to Theta. "Yes, I believe you will be getting all the fuel and parts you need". Theta nodded "I believe that is all the demonstrations you need. No need to blow the wall up with the cannons. I am trying to fix the ship after all". Ottep smiled at the joke before turning to Inge. He lightly punched her on the arm. "AHHH, Ottep I was about to blast a princess with the cannon"! Ottep pointed to Theta leaving and started to follow him. Inge looked down in embarrassment and followed the two.
None of them talked on the way back to the skiff. When the two hopped on they turned to Theta who stood a small distance away. The large ramp slowly opened behind them. They gave a salute, too which Theta returned. They started the skiff up and drove slowly out of the ship. A drone was in the front to guide them out of the cave.
When the skiff was no longer in view the Captain slowly dropped to his knees. He didn't know how much longer he could have held that.
He felt so out of breath. His stomach was yelling at him to eat something. His throat was dry again. He slowly raised himself after a few minutes of resting. He held onto his side and turned towards the door. He trudged towards the command deck. He would have a drone deliver him rations and water.
-Location-
Frozen wastelands
The wind seemed to have picked up and dark clouds could be seen rolling in. "Great, it looks like it's going to snow". Ottep growled at the thought and shivered slightly. Inge sighed 'leave it to Ottep to always complain about the cold'. She rather liked it when it snowed. She would watch it outside of a window some nights. It was peaceful and always calmed her.
When they went over a hill they could see a snow beast in the distance. They had seen them every once in a while. Inge thought about the first time they had seen one. She remembered freaking out and trying to make explosives out of the blaster packs. Nathan had told her that they were native to the frozen wastelands and had never attacked the Horde or Rebels before.
He then tried to scold her about zoning out on the briefs they went through before they got sent here. It wasn't her fault that they were so boring.
We went by the snow beast. The drone seemed to stare at it. Inge noticed that the eye had turned red for a second before turning back to its usual blue. It continued to stare at it even when it was out of view.
We parked the Skiff in its usual spot and threw the tarp over it. We headed inside just as it was starting to snow. We headed towards the post with Nathan waiting at the door. Ottep rushed forward and ran inside. Nathan used to this, stepped out of the way. Inge however wasn't paying attention to either of them. She was staring down at the drone. When they had all entered Inge leaned on a wall.
The drone had picked a corner to rest by. Inge watched the drone for a few minutes trying to think what the blinking red was for. She waved Nathan over to her. He walked over and crossed his arms. "Please tell me you didn't damage the skiff again".
Inge threw her arms up "What! No, I didn't break it. No, I wanted to talk to you about something". She grabbed Nathan and led him further away from the drone. "On our way back we spotted a snow beast. It was scuttling around like they usually did. Everything was fine until the drone looked at it. Its eye changed red for a second. It even looked in its direction when it disappeared behind a hill".
Nathan put his hand on the chin of the helmet. "Have you tried asking it"? Inge shook her head "I don't think that's a good idea. It'll probably just look at me like it usually does". Nathan thought for a second before remembering what he was going to ask.
"How was the spaceship by the way? What did you see, was it shiny? What type of machines were there"? Nathan asked excitedly, he wanted to know everything about the spaceship.
Inge took her helmet off and set it in her locker. She gave Nathan a small glare to shut him up. Nathan snapped out of it and crossed his arms. "I just want to know what it's like ok. -Huff- I'll go ask Ottep".
Inge looked to the drone before closing the door and going to the storage room for some grub.
Nathan looked back to Inge, she seemed tired. She probably needed some space, but it was still a pain when she got moody. He sighed before walking to Ottep.
'Inge was always the one to take on more than she could at once. I'm guessing now that we have to deal with this whole thing she's worried about everything. She'll probably figure it out, or at least hold out until Esther arrives'.
He thought back to when the three had left to inspect the weapons. That Esther had told him that she would be there personally in a couple of days. She also told him that she had notified one of the Force Captains of what was going on.
One of them would probably also be here since it involved a supposed spaceship. He knew for sure now that there was one now. He would have to wait until the storm passed to update her on the situation.
He sat next to Ottep who was enjoying the heat again. He looked up to Nathan having his helmet removed. "Looks like you're stuck with us still huh". Ottep jokes. Nathan just shook his head. "So, were the weapons up to code"? "Yep, the things packed a little more punch than ours so I believe we got a great deal". Ottep said as he stretched his arms behind his head and laid back.
"So what was the ship like? And don't skip on any details". Nathan pointed, Ottep gave out a huff. "Alright alright, the ship was big. It could easily fit dozens of tanks in its cargo holds. I could see turrets on the outside of it, they could probably destroy this outpost in 1 shot. It was however in ruins. There were holes all over the thing. Everything inside looked like a tornado tossed everything around. We had to cross a makeshift bridge to get to the weapons. I don't know how the Captain is ever going to get that thing flying again".
Nathan wished he could have seen it with his own eyes. "What exactly was in it"? Ottep sighed and closed his eyes. "Well, it was mostly just crates in the cargo holds. There wasn't anything interesting in the hallway. He didn't exactly give us a tour of his ship. I mean there were these weird creatures. They seemed to be his guards or something. They never made any noise and they followed us around without a word. They were probably made to look alive so he wouldn't get too lonely. I don't know".
Ottep suddenly remembered the blaster, He sat back up and upholstered it. Nathan gazed at the weapon and shot up. Ottep started to show Nathan the blaster.
-Location-
NCS Pelican
Theta's pov
Theta sat on his captain chair catching his breath. A drone flew in holding two rations and a large canteen of water. He grabbed the canteen and unscrewed the top. He looked up at the main screen as he slowly drank. An alert popped up showing a creature on it. "Shit" he grumbled, it was no doubt an Elexan beast. It wasn't one he had seen before but it had their handy work written all over it. Another problem was that it was huge and looked heavily armored. It most likely wasn't the only one either. If any of them found his ship he would be doomed.
The ship's guns were all destroyed, the security bots were too small to penetrate the armor. The Reavers might be able to take one or two down. But once one found them, even if it was killed it would alert others of his location.
He opened a ration and poured water into it. A packet inside started to heat up until the water started to boil. He watched the footage again to see if he missed anything.
'Was it looking for something? If it was, why was this thing looking? The Elexans had so many creatures that could search more effectively. Hell, even a scouting team with the barest of equipment would be a better pick'.
He thought of who could be controlling it. 'The Horde couldn't be a part of the empire. The only ones who could possibly have any affiliation with the Elexans were those princesses. It made perfect sense, those ass hats loved having royalty rule as small government'. He shook the water around to help speed the process.
'One thing doesn't add up though. Why would the Horde call the Princesses rebels? The Horde sounded like the rebels from the sound of things. The Horde could also be a new empire rising and taking over old Elexan territory. 1100 years did pass after all. Anything could have happened, hmm still too much I don't know about to come to any solid conclusions'.
He looked down to see that the packet had spent itself. He poured the used water to the side not caring about the mess. He took a smaller package out of the bag and opened it. Grey sludge slowly dripped out back into the ration bag. "I advise against eating that sir". Phalanx could be heard above him. He hated to admit but the AI was right. As much as his people were good at making things last. No food in the universe could last a 1000 years. The IVs held nutrients in them but it wouldn't be enough.
He set the bag down beside his chair. He closed his eyes as he thought about this new problem. He brought up a screen and looked to see if the food dispenser was working. If it was he could put this sludge into the machine and it would use the nutrients from it to make something edible. He finally found it in the reports, only to growl in irritation to find it destroyed beyond repair. Just like half of his ship.
He slammed his fist and gave out a roar. "DAMN THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS FOR BREAKING MY FFUCKING SHHHIIP"! He grabbed the bridge of his nose and took deep breaths to calm down. He looked up at the screen before swiping it away. He grabbed his chin and started to think.
'None of the rations could have survived this long. The only place which would have food was the Horde's post'. He gave a low growl thinking about having to rely on others again.
He drank more water as his free hand brought up a screen. He tapped a few buttons and the main screen switched to the drone in the Horde post. He closed the canteen and set it on the armrest. He turned the drone fully on and moved it towards the two Horde soldiers sitting. Tapping on the screen some more to change his voice he then spoke.
"Private Ottep, I require some assistance". The two jumped up and turned to the drone. Ottep seemed to clear his throat before talking. "Captain Theta, what can I do for you sir". "My ration supply has expired. Can you spare any from your supply"? The lizard seemed to think for a second before standing up. "I'll go ask Inge, but I'm sure we could spare some".
He watched the Private walk out of the room and disappear deeper into the outpost. He turned back towards the other Horde soldier. "I don't believe we have ever spoken before". Theta turned his head slightly, he hadn't seen this one's face before. "Private first class Nathan Sir, and no Sir we haven't".
"There's no need for that Sir shit Nathan. Just call me Captain''. Nathan seemed to unstiffen and relax a little. "Well Captain I was wondering if I could ask you something". This could be the perfect opportunity to answer some of his questions. "How about this Nathan, you ask one and I'll ask one. Sound fair"?
Nathan nodded, I made the drone motion for him to sit. "What powers your ship, it must take massive amounts of power to fly it". It seemed this one was more interested in the mechanics of his ship than the others. "It's powered by a large fusion reactor that uses thorium. Now my turn, what can you tell me about the snow monster"?
"Well, there's not much we know about them. They're native to the frozen wastelands. They're pretty docile, they've never attacked us before and kinda just keep to themselves". It was reassuring that the beasts didn't seem to attack the Horde. It probably meant that the princesses were not controlling them, but he couldn't be sure yet.
They continued to trade questions and answers. Nathan learned how the different robots worked along with a basic understanding of the RCDs. He learned more about the Horde and this Princesses Alliance. From what he understood the Horde was crushing the Rebels resistance harder than it sounded like.
It seemed whatever this magic was, it wasn't as powerful as Inge made it sound like. But if life and history have ever taught him anything, was that you should never underestimate a weapon. Then again he could be holding something back from him.
In the middle of our conversation, Ottep came back telling him that they could spare a box of rations. It was better than nothing, he had told me that they would have to wait til the storm passed. I can't wait anymore, I could feel myself wasting away with each passing minute.
"There will be no need for that Ottep. I'll just send one of my Reavers to get it". Ottep nodded and took a seat in the other chair. "So what are you two talking about"? "He's telling me about his ship, and I'm telling him about the Horde and Eternia".
"Well, I would love to continue this exchange, but I need to fix drones and order Reavers". "Of course Captain" Nathan seemed disappointed to end our conversation. I know what it feels like to work with nothing but muscle heads. I ended the transmission and called up one of my Reavers.
I got up and went over to a table with tools on it. A drone came in holding a damaged one. It set it on the table and went back to do whatever task it was doing. I heard the doors open again as I was working on the damaged drone. I turned to see that it was one of my Reavers.
It was the blue one with the axes. "Hmmm, I haven't given you a name yet have I"? "Keiner von unss hat Namen, die waren vorher nicht nötig. Wenn Ssie glauben, dass Ssie notwendig ssind, dann werde ich dankbar für jeden Namen, den Ssie mir geben". The Reaver spoke in the Captain's native language.
It took me a few seconds to think up a name that would suit the creature. "From now on you will be known as Wojciech. Now I have a task for you, there is a box in the Horde outpost I need you to get for me. Tell your siblings to come to me so I may name them. Now go, I must have the box as soon as possible". Wojciech brought a fist to his chest before leaving the room.
I'm going to need to teach or get Phalanx to teach them how to speak English. With that thought out of the way, I went back to my work.
A/N: I will be now putting up a chapter every 2 to 3 weeks. It would be impossible for me to send out a chapter every week and still keep my sanity. I don't really have anything else to say so I wish you all a good day.
Translations: "Keiner von uns hat Namen, die waren vorher nicht nötig. Wenn Sie glauben, dass Sie notwendig sind, dann werde ich dankbar für jeden Namen, den Sie mir geben" = "None of us have names, there was no need for them before. If you believe they are necessary then I will be thankful for any name you give me"