THE AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, MIND-BOGGLING ADVENTURES OF TABLE-HEADED SERVICE DRONE BOB!
Part Twenty-one: Stark 1-27 is missing
Bob was no longer on Stark 1-27, neither was anyone else for that matter. The ship wasn't on Stark 1-27, the base wasn't on Stark 1-27, and technically even Stark 1-27 wasn't on Stark 1-27 anymore. Stark 1-27 was now nothing more than a fixed point in space that no longer had any relevance. If you're looking for all the action you have to go 20 or so light years to your left.
Bob managed to get a good glimpse of the planet as he was taken up towards the Planet Jacker's command bridge. It was encased in a vast hollow bubble. But this wasn't any ordinary freight-carrying planet-stealing ship, this ship was bristling with weaponry and vast troop movements could be witnessed on the surface. This thing was designed for war.
The elevator travelling towards the command bridge, jutting out from the bubble by some thousand miles, eventually stopped and Bob was thrown out towards what seemed to be the lead Planet Jacker. His uniform was slightly more ornate than the others, and he looked decidedly sinister.
"Glorious leader," announced Bob's captor, "we have captured the primary target and await further instructions." At this news, the lead Planet Jacker stood aside to reveal the smaller dishevelled figure of Crag, the Irken scientist, scowling at the team.
"Has the ship been cleaned through?" asked Crag, displaying his superiority. Bob could barely believe his eyes, just mere moments ago he was a shivering wreck, desperately avoiding having himself killed, and now he was straddling around like he was ruler of the universe.
"We have rounded up most of the crew," declared the Planet Jacker, "but Tek and Larb are both still missing, we're still searching for them." Crag became infuriated at this news.
"You managed to capture everyone except THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE!?" Crag exclaimed, "I don't believe it, how can you be so incompetent!? I asked for three people, and you give me everyone else BUT two of those three people! GET HIM OUT OF MY SIGHT!" The other Planet Jackers dragged a protesting team leader into an airlock and hit the 'eject' button. Crag was obviously not a man to mess with. He turned his attention to Bob.
"I take it you're wondering why I'm here?" Crag asked of Bob.
"Well, it had crossed my mind," Bob admitted, "I mean, it's not especially usual for an Irken to be commanding Planet Jackers..."
"And you would be right, but these circumstances are fairly unusual," Crag began, clicking a remote control to bring up a holo-projector, "four days ago, the star FJ-49 went into nova, despite being in a relatively stable period of its life-cycle." Bob's interest waned almost immediately.
"What's THAT got to do with anything!?" Bob demanded.
"It was the star your ship was about to collide into. Planet Jacker scout satellites took these pictures of the area shortly after the nova," Crag continued, bringing up a picture of the cruiser Bob was aboard, apparently in the tractor beam of some other ship, "the other ship you see is a Klarin vessel. The Klarins are...or rather WERE...an inward-looking, isolationist race of intelligent termites that would've posed little resistance to conquest except their annoying ability to collapse stars. When the Planet Jackers began to enter space, they attempted to conquer the Klarins for this ability. However, all this eventually got them was a new nickname. So they were mostly left alone to their own devices until an accident on their own planet caused their own sun to nova. Being isolationist 'n all, most of their race was exterminated. As far as we can make out, this irradiated hunk of junk was their last surviving vessel."
"So what were they doing at FJ-whatever it was?" Bob queried, glad to be finally getting some answers.
"Looking for the first ship they could come across, probably," Crag surmised, "my theory is that they tried to carry on knowledge of their species, for posterities' sake. Then they found you, Mr. psychological trauma boy. The vessel disappeared after that. FJ-49 going nova must have been something to do with the ship's vicinity to it when they rescued you. I was already on the trail of this technology when we intercepted transmissions from the Planet Jackers that they were looking for the same thing. I offered my services to them, since I wouldn't trust Larb or others of his intelligence to handle a technology of this power. Since the Planet Jackers were especially eager to acquire this technology, due to their current predicament, I managed to get an especially handsome deal out of it."
"An army?" Bob wondered, "what are you going to do with it?"
"Wouldn't YOU like to know," Crag ended cackingly. He was in a good mood. He had the means to controlling the galaxy right there in his palm, and he wasn't going to let any self-centred Planet Jacker, or overbearing Irken, or psychopathic crimelord control his little beauty. His good mood was to come to a sudden juddering end as the brains of the ornately-uniformed Planet Jacker beside him were splattered all over his lab coat. Over the collapsing body came Larb, screaming an Irken war cry as he picked up Bob and disappeared down a service shaft.
"HOW DID HE GET IN HERE!?" Crag demanded to know, wiping brain 'o Planet Jacker off his coat, "get after him! NOW!" A series of guards climbed down the service shaft after Larb and Bob, but they had greater reason to worry about the figures lurking above them in the shadows, one with cold, blue, emotionless eyes holding a knife to the throat of a smaller one, watching, listening, planning...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Part Twenty-one: Stark 1-27 is missing
Bob was no longer on Stark 1-27, neither was anyone else for that matter. The ship wasn't on Stark 1-27, the base wasn't on Stark 1-27, and technically even Stark 1-27 wasn't on Stark 1-27 anymore. Stark 1-27 was now nothing more than a fixed point in space that no longer had any relevance. If you're looking for all the action you have to go 20 or so light years to your left.
Bob managed to get a good glimpse of the planet as he was taken up towards the Planet Jacker's command bridge. It was encased in a vast hollow bubble. But this wasn't any ordinary freight-carrying planet-stealing ship, this ship was bristling with weaponry and vast troop movements could be witnessed on the surface. This thing was designed for war.
The elevator travelling towards the command bridge, jutting out from the bubble by some thousand miles, eventually stopped and Bob was thrown out towards what seemed to be the lead Planet Jacker. His uniform was slightly more ornate than the others, and he looked decidedly sinister.
"Glorious leader," announced Bob's captor, "we have captured the primary target and await further instructions." At this news, the lead Planet Jacker stood aside to reveal the smaller dishevelled figure of Crag, the Irken scientist, scowling at the team.
"Has the ship been cleaned through?" asked Crag, displaying his superiority. Bob could barely believe his eyes, just mere moments ago he was a shivering wreck, desperately avoiding having himself killed, and now he was straddling around like he was ruler of the universe.
"We have rounded up most of the crew," declared the Planet Jacker, "but Tek and Larb are both still missing, we're still searching for them." Crag became infuriated at this news.
"You managed to capture everyone except THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE!?" Crag exclaimed, "I don't believe it, how can you be so incompetent!? I asked for three people, and you give me everyone else BUT two of those three people! GET HIM OUT OF MY SIGHT!" The other Planet Jackers dragged a protesting team leader into an airlock and hit the 'eject' button. Crag was obviously not a man to mess with. He turned his attention to Bob.
"I take it you're wondering why I'm here?" Crag asked of Bob.
"Well, it had crossed my mind," Bob admitted, "I mean, it's not especially usual for an Irken to be commanding Planet Jackers..."
"And you would be right, but these circumstances are fairly unusual," Crag began, clicking a remote control to bring up a holo-projector, "four days ago, the star FJ-49 went into nova, despite being in a relatively stable period of its life-cycle." Bob's interest waned almost immediately.
"What's THAT got to do with anything!?" Bob demanded.
"It was the star your ship was about to collide into. Planet Jacker scout satellites took these pictures of the area shortly after the nova," Crag continued, bringing up a picture of the cruiser Bob was aboard, apparently in the tractor beam of some other ship, "the other ship you see is a Klarin vessel. The Klarins are...or rather WERE...an inward-looking, isolationist race of intelligent termites that would've posed little resistance to conquest except their annoying ability to collapse stars. When the Planet Jackers began to enter space, they attempted to conquer the Klarins for this ability. However, all this eventually got them was a new nickname. So they were mostly left alone to their own devices until an accident on their own planet caused their own sun to nova. Being isolationist 'n all, most of their race was exterminated. As far as we can make out, this irradiated hunk of junk was their last surviving vessel."
"So what were they doing at FJ-whatever it was?" Bob queried, glad to be finally getting some answers.
"Looking for the first ship they could come across, probably," Crag surmised, "my theory is that they tried to carry on knowledge of their species, for posterities' sake. Then they found you, Mr. psychological trauma boy. The vessel disappeared after that. FJ-49 going nova must have been something to do with the ship's vicinity to it when they rescued you. I was already on the trail of this technology when we intercepted transmissions from the Planet Jackers that they were looking for the same thing. I offered my services to them, since I wouldn't trust Larb or others of his intelligence to handle a technology of this power. Since the Planet Jackers were especially eager to acquire this technology, due to their current predicament, I managed to get an especially handsome deal out of it."
"An army?" Bob wondered, "what are you going to do with it?"
"Wouldn't YOU like to know," Crag ended cackingly. He was in a good mood. He had the means to controlling the galaxy right there in his palm, and he wasn't going to let any self-centred Planet Jacker, or overbearing Irken, or psychopathic crimelord control his little beauty. His good mood was to come to a sudden juddering end as the brains of the ornately-uniformed Planet Jacker beside him were splattered all over his lab coat. Over the collapsing body came Larb, screaming an Irken war cry as he picked up Bob and disappeared down a service shaft.
"HOW DID HE GET IN HERE!?" Crag demanded to know, wiping brain 'o Planet Jacker off his coat, "get after him! NOW!" A series of guards climbed down the service shaft after Larb and Bob, but they had greater reason to worry about the figures lurking above them in the shadows, one with cold, blue, emotionless eyes holding a knife to the throat of a smaller one, watching, listening, planning...
TO BE CONTINUED...