DISCLAIMER: Alpha Centauri does not belong to me, it's Sid Meier's etc etc.
"Conqueror: in the vicinity of the bridge!" altered a young progenitor. Marr slithered in. So, the Scout Ship Sextant, he thought. The mission to Manifold Six. And he was in charge. Ever since he was a larva, he had dreamed of this moment: claiming the lost nexus of energy. Out of the nine Manifolds that had been created, Manifold Six was the most powerful, and the most coveted. He would stop at NOTHING to get it.
"Power up: nuclear impulse," Marr altered. The lights on the back of the ship lit up the entire bridge with an eerie glow. "Sextant: to Manifold Two: refuelling shall take place." The young pilot obeyed.
As the scout ship completed one orbit of the second nexus, a hail came through from a distant ship. It was just visible on long-range sensors. "Transmission: subspace band," altered an inferior crewman.
Marr scowled. "Channel: let it be open." The familiar face of Marr's arch- nemesis, Guardian H'minee of the Caretakers appeared on the screen. Marr altered a gasp. "You: it is!"
H'minee altered a chuckle. "Marr: so young and foolish. H'minee: older and wiser. Message to Marr: eat Caretaker spacedust!" The caretaker ship vanished in a burst of light. They had gone to into psiflux.
"Sextant: do the same!" Marr shouted furiously. The Usurper scout ship was suddenly lit up with the purplish light of the psiflux tunnel. Through the psionic sensors, Marr could see the psi signature of H'minee's ship, the Harmonium. It was only a few minutes from the Manifold Six system! What a useless pilot that youth in the chair was!
"Pilot: Move over! Marr: taking the helm!" Marr manoeuvred himself into the seat. He spun dials randomly, until he found the accelerator. "Expression of exhilaration: yee-ha!"
The Caretaker ship was about to emerge. Marr gave the engines full power. but it was too late. H'minee had already emerged. Marr did the same, but it was with a heavy heart. They had the upper hand. He quickly powered nuclear impulse, and the Sextant flew after the Harmonium.
Marr decided it was time to take decisive action. He powered up the weapons array, and fired a particle beam at the other ship. H'minee did the same. The two ships, firing and dodging, made their way down to the planet.
Suddenly, to simultaneous spectacular misses made the two ships collide to create a sonic blast and a shockwave that shook the still vacuum. "Usurper Crew: must abandon ship!" Marr altered. It seemed the H'minee must have done the same, for Marr saw out of the escape pod window a Caretaker pod taking a different trajectory towards Manifold Six.
"Conqueror: in the vicinity of the bridge!" altered a young progenitor. Marr slithered in. So, the Scout Ship Sextant, he thought. The mission to Manifold Six. And he was in charge. Ever since he was a larva, he had dreamed of this moment: claiming the lost nexus of energy. Out of the nine Manifolds that had been created, Manifold Six was the most powerful, and the most coveted. He would stop at NOTHING to get it.
"Power up: nuclear impulse," Marr altered. The lights on the back of the ship lit up the entire bridge with an eerie glow. "Sextant: to Manifold Two: refuelling shall take place." The young pilot obeyed.
As the scout ship completed one orbit of the second nexus, a hail came through from a distant ship. It was just visible on long-range sensors. "Transmission: subspace band," altered an inferior crewman.
Marr scowled. "Channel: let it be open." The familiar face of Marr's arch- nemesis, Guardian H'minee of the Caretakers appeared on the screen. Marr altered a gasp. "You: it is!"
H'minee altered a chuckle. "Marr: so young and foolish. H'minee: older and wiser. Message to Marr: eat Caretaker spacedust!" The caretaker ship vanished in a burst of light. They had gone to into psiflux.
"Sextant: do the same!" Marr shouted furiously. The Usurper scout ship was suddenly lit up with the purplish light of the psiflux tunnel. Through the psionic sensors, Marr could see the psi signature of H'minee's ship, the Harmonium. It was only a few minutes from the Manifold Six system! What a useless pilot that youth in the chair was!
"Pilot: Move over! Marr: taking the helm!" Marr manoeuvred himself into the seat. He spun dials randomly, until he found the accelerator. "Expression of exhilaration: yee-ha!"
The Caretaker ship was about to emerge. Marr gave the engines full power. but it was too late. H'minee had already emerged. Marr did the same, but it was with a heavy heart. They had the upper hand. He quickly powered nuclear impulse, and the Sextant flew after the Harmonium.
Marr decided it was time to take decisive action. He powered up the weapons array, and fired a particle beam at the other ship. H'minee did the same. The two ships, firing and dodging, made their way down to the planet.
Suddenly, to simultaneous spectacular misses made the two ships collide to create a sonic blast and a shockwave that shook the still vacuum. "Usurper Crew: must abandon ship!" Marr altered. It seemed the H'minee must have done the same, for Marr saw out of the escape pod window a Caretaker pod taking a different trajectory towards Manifold Six.