Time passed and 0203667 was oblivious to it. In the large expanse of space it would be
rare to meet another space ship that would be hostile, non the less her ship's computer
would auto start her if a ship with in hailing distance did not present an acceptable
identification. However no ships passed with in haling distance and few within a
registrable distance. As she drew closer to the supplier, the number of ships increases
slowly but steadily. They all beamed acceptable access codes and her ship responded in
kind with its own fake but undetectable codes. one of the few modifications to her
standard ship was a code producer that could generate low to high level acceptable
codes. When absolute stealth was required the other adaptation could be used. The high
power invisibility cloak could be used for a short period of time with some strain on the
ships engines.
however this was not such an occasion so her ship followed the standard Irken military
docking procedures pre programmed into it. The ship registered the space from it and
other ships and maintained the correct distances from them. It took its place and began
waiting in line for docking. The line formed a ring around the planet and from a distance
resembled the spokes of a wagon weel.There were lines for cargo and materials, as well
as military transports and civilian craft. They all stretched for miles. In a half-hour the
ship final got to the sensor both of its line, and beamed appropriate id and licenses to it.
Then it was sent down ward to one of the many square platforms floating just above the
planets surface. It landed safely in a slot marked out for voot cruisers. It then began the
process of waking its stasis crippled master. Stasis could be set to last a certain time by a
pak, as 0203667 had done on the way to New Samich, but without this it could last
indeffenatly. Normally the timeless stasis was employed if an Irken had been ejected from a
destroyed ship in an escape pod, and did not know when if ever he or she would be
picked up.00203667 had done this to conserve as much energy as possible allowing for delays.
The only way to wake a stasis induced Irken was sharp pain. The ship sent out a
thin wire tendril with a long thing dull metallic point. It touched the point to 0203667's
forehead. A sharp jolt of electricity made its way down the wire and into her skull. Her
eyes snapped open as she jerked her heed back. She made no sound and the wire
withdrew. With a flick of her claw to her gauntlet her holographic cloak was activated. It
was not as complex a change as a full body morphs or invisibility all that was different
was her gauntlet was not visible, and her eyes were purple. The color of her uniform
changed using its own unique technology to red. The cockpit opened and she stepped
onto the pavement of the platform. Her cruiser had filled the last available spot and as
soon as sensors determined she has departed the platform would decent into storage.
When she wanted to depart it would be place on a platform with other departing Irken
ships of its class. The cockpit closed behind her and she made her was to a transport tube.
there were four at the end of the twenty shipplatform and a few other Irkens were making
their way to them. 0203667 did likewise. once she got to the purple metal round capped
cylinder, she stepped through the Irken sized oval and it closed behind her. She turned
and punched in the location she wanted to go.Her destination was the food courts. The
tube searched momentarily for the least crowded food court and then beamed her there.
its job fulfilled it opened its door, waiting for the next occupant.
The food courts of lesser supply planet 11202 were no match to foodcourtia, but
they were of military class and better as far as nutrition went. Taste, however was another
claw entirely. 0203667 stepped off the receiver pads and on to the polishes stone floor of
the food court. It was large, a hundred 12 Irken tables and accompanying benches filled it.
The tables were about half full, some more so then others. Some Irkens ate with their
groups, others preferred solitary consumption. The pads were lined up along one wall and
lines for food started from the right side of the pads to the back of the court. The room its
self had a tall circular ceiling several stories high, and the two walls not covered by
Reciverpads or food lines had tall windows reaching to it. Each window was rectangular
having two flat sides, a flat bottom, and a halfcircul top. Yellow light streamed in to
illuminate the court. 0203667 quickly acessed one of the non crowded lines, and after a
few moments of waiting was presented with a tray full of various steaming food products.
A quick scan with her hidden gauntlet revealed them to be non poisonous and to hold the
nutrients her body required.
Then came the choice of what table to sit at. There were several filled tables nearby as well
as a few half filled, but at her low level of energy social interaction would have to wait.
She pushed down the fear feeling that had started to rise knowing it to be inefficient. She
found an open table that was further down and acquired a seat at the bench attached to it.
she picked a utensil off the tray. It had a strait handle with a bowlshape depression at the
end. Cut into the depression were some prongs. She used this utensil to scoop some of the
green jiggly goo from the table. Mentally bracing herself she put the goo in her mouth.
The result was shocking. Having been supplied nutrients directly her entire life, the
situation was beyond describing. Even her new found emotions had no way to cope with
it. She swallowed in surprise. Then she took a large scoop of the gray meat like
substance. It was not good it was not bad it was. Her inexperienced taste senses could not
even judge. Before she could sample the next substance, her incomprehensible taste
experience was brought to an abrupt end with the "thunk" of another Irkens tray.
He was an average soldier, his uniform the true uniform of a soldier, not requiring a
hologram to be the natural red. His eyes as well were a natural crimson that sparkled with
emotion. He was the same height as her, and had a grin that would have been infectious
had she been able to smile with ease. However the shock she had felt must have leaked
from behind the wall of her mental shield and onto her face, for the first thing he said was
"It's not that bad is it?"
She quickly recaptured her feelings and like a door slaming shut her face was blank. She
shook her head no.
"Ah well" he seemed flustered by her lack of response, and rubbed the back of his head,
stubbornly keeping his grin. "I'm Razz," he extended a hand for her to shake. She just
looked at it. Not fazed he quirked a non existent eyebrow and said. "Not a talkative one
huh. Can I at least get your name?" She started to respond
"two-" then cut her self short realizing that to say her true name would equal a failed
mission. She searched franticly for a response.
"I am Dark Death." her code name sprang to her lips almost as without thought as her
true name. However she knew this would be just as unacceptable and slowly reached for a
dagger.
"A nick name from your squad huh? Yea I got one too, Doombringer. You woundn't
think it from my cheerful personality but I am pretty good with a blaster." His reply
caught her again off guard. He continued making up for her lack of conversation. "Yea
you got that look about you. Dark Death is pretty gruesome so I'm just gonna call you
Dark. k?" she nodded and was about to inquire why he was interacting with her when he
again cut her off. "Anyway you looked pretty new to service, just got out of training huh?
You must be good in combat if you have such a name for yourself already. Well I
figured it was my job as a squad leader to make you feel more at home. Sitting all alone,
you must be nervous with your own squad. You and me we are going to be friends. I'll
Show you the ropes." He grinned having gained back his confidence. He seemed to have
paused to give her another chance to reply and she took it.
"Friends?"
"Yea you guard my back I guard yours. This way we each have someone to hang around
with other then our squads. Months with the same 50 Irkens can get boring pretty quick
you know?"He gave her a slight punch to the arm as if to demonstrate the fact that they
were now comrades. She stifled the preprogrammed response to such an action. She
needed him alive to answer her questions.
"You and me we are a part of the large gruff tough family of the Irken Military."
"Family, what is... a family?" She inquired this question posing a blank in her knowledge.
"You know, your hatch mates the ones you train with, your squad.. your family" he stated
as if this was obvious. "We in the military are the protective older brothers and sisters,
and the tallest are our intelligent supreme fathers. I know it sounds stupid but that's how
they give to us in the training video. You gonna eat your galdorian cherry pie?"
"I-"she was cut off by another Irken who tapped Razz on the shoulder.
"Sir, Its time to ship out." Razz nodded his smile gone. By the time he turned it had
returned this time edged with regret.
"Hey I would love to chat more with you but me and my squad have to head out for
turball 5. Rebel uprising." He pulled a mechanical notepad from his pak and scrawled his
interstellar mail address.
"Send me a message when you find your place in the family."
With that he was gone, leading her feeling as if she had missed something inportant.She
carefully grasped the pad and put it into her pak for later. Then she quickly finished her
food in silence, returned the tray to a druid and headed towards a pad. She understood
now that she was not ready for direct interaction with others as of yet. The one sidednes
of her conversation with Razz was evidence of that. After singling for her ship to be
placed on an outgoing pad she was beamed to it. She started it up and set it on a course
away from the planet. She needed time to think about the abundance of information
revealed by her "new friend" Razz.
Sorry for the delay I have secured a spot on the cast of my skool play. Practice is till 5 and
by the time I get home I hardly have the brain power for homework let alone creative
writing. I have been actually working on several different chapters of this story at once,
so i can say with a clear heart that this story will be completed. 1 out of a 100 new
record!! unless of course I die unexpectedly in the up coming hurricane that may hit near
my area. In that case I'm sorry you can blame the weather for a change and not my lack of
Motivation.
rare to meet another space ship that would be hostile, non the less her ship's computer
would auto start her if a ship with in hailing distance did not present an acceptable
identification. However no ships passed with in haling distance and few within a
registrable distance. As she drew closer to the supplier, the number of ships increases
slowly but steadily. They all beamed acceptable access codes and her ship responded in
kind with its own fake but undetectable codes. one of the few modifications to her
standard ship was a code producer that could generate low to high level acceptable
codes. When absolute stealth was required the other adaptation could be used. The high
power invisibility cloak could be used for a short period of time with some strain on the
ships engines.
however this was not such an occasion so her ship followed the standard Irken military
docking procedures pre programmed into it. The ship registered the space from it and
other ships and maintained the correct distances from them. It took its place and began
waiting in line for docking. The line formed a ring around the planet and from a distance
resembled the spokes of a wagon weel.There were lines for cargo and materials, as well
as military transports and civilian craft. They all stretched for miles. In a half-hour the
ship final got to the sensor both of its line, and beamed appropriate id and licenses to it.
Then it was sent down ward to one of the many square platforms floating just above the
planets surface. It landed safely in a slot marked out for voot cruisers. It then began the
process of waking its stasis crippled master. Stasis could be set to last a certain time by a
pak, as 0203667 had done on the way to New Samich, but without this it could last
indeffenatly. Normally the timeless stasis was employed if an Irken had been ejected from a
destroyed ship in an escape pod, and did not know when if ever he or she would be
picked up.00203667 had done this to conserve as much energy as possible allowing for delays.
The only way to wake a stasis induced Irken was sharp pain. The ship sent out a
thin wire tendril with a long thing dull metallic point. It touched the point to 0203667's
forehead. A sharp jolt of electricity made its way down the wire and into her skull. Her
eyes snapped open as she jerked her heed back. She made no sound and the wire
withdrew. With a flick of her claw to her gauntlet her holographic cloak was activated. It
was not as complex a change as a full body morphs or invisibility all that was different
was her gauntlet was not visible, and her eyes were purple. The color of her uniform
changed using its own unique technology to red. The cockpit opened and she stepped
onto the pavement of the platform. Her cruiser had filled the last available spot and as
soon as sensors determined she has departed the platform would decent into storage.
When she wanted to depart it would be place on a platform with other departing Irken
ships of its class. The cockpit closed behind her and she made her was to a transport tube.
there were four at the end of the twenty shipplatform and a few other Irkens were making
their way to them. 0203667 did likewise. once she got to the purple metal round capped
cylinder, she stepped through the Irken sized oval and it closed behind her. She turned
and punched in the location she wanted to go.Her destination was the food courts. The
tube searched momentarily for the least crowded food court and then beamed her there.
its job fulfilled it opened its door, waiting for the next occupant.
The food courts of lesser supply planet 11202 were no match to foodcourtia, but
they were of military class and better as far as nutrition went. Taste, however was another
claw entirely. 0203667 stepped off the receiver pads and on to the polishes stone floor of
the food court. It was large, a hundred 12 Irken tables and accompanying benches filled it.
The tables were about half full, some more so then others. Some Irkens ate with their
groups, others preferred solitary consumption. The pads were lined up along one wall and
lines for food started from the right side of the pads to the back of the court. The room its
self had a tall circular ceiling several stories high, and the two walls not covered by
Reciverpads or food lines had tall windows reaching to it. Each window was rectangular
having two flat sides, a flat bottom, and a halfcircul top. Yellow light streamed in to
illuminate the court. 0203667 quickly acessed one of the non crowded lines, and after a
few moments of waiting was presented with a tray full of various steaming food products.
A quick scan with her hidden gauntlet revealed them to be non poisonous and to hold the
nutrients her body required.
Then came the choice of what table to sit at. There were several filled tables nearby as well
as a few half filled, but at her low level of energy social interaction would have to wait.
She pushed down the fear feeling that had started to rise knowing it to be inefficient. She
found an open table that was further down and acquired a seat at the bench attached to it.
she picked a utensil off the tray. It had a strait handle with a bowlshape depression at the
end. Cut into the depression were some prongs. She used this utensil to scoop some of the
green jiggly goo from the table. Mentally bracing herself she put the goo in her mouth.
The result was shocking. Having been supplied nutrients directly her entire life, the
situation was beyond describing. Even her new found emotions had no way to cope with
it. She swallowed in surprise. Then she took a large scoop of the gray meat like
substance. It was not good it was not bad it was. Her inexperienced taste senses could not
even judge. Before she could sample the next substance, her incomprehensible taste
experience was brought to an abrupt end with the "thunk" of another Irkens tray.
He was an average soldier, his uniform the true uniform of a soldier, not requiring a
hologram to be the natural red. His eyes as well were a natural crimson that sparkled with
emotion. He was the same height as her, and had a grin that would have been infectious
had she been able to smile with ease. However the shock she had felt must have leaked
from behind the wall of her mental shield and onto her face, for the first thing he said was
"It's not that bad is it?"
She quickly recaptured her feelings and like a door slaming shut her face was blank. She
shook her head no.
"Ah well" he seemed flustered by her lack of response, and rubbed the back of his head,
stubbornly keeping his grin. "I'm Razz," he extended a hand for her to shake. She just
looked at it. Not fazed he quirked a non existent eyebrow and said. "Not a talkative one
huh. Can I at least get your name?" She started to respond
"two-" then cut her self short realizing that to say her true name would equal a failed
mission. She searched franticly for a response.
"I am Dark Death." her code name sprang to her lips almost as without thought as her
true name. However she knew this would be just as unacceptable and slowly reached for a
dagger.
"A nick name from your squad huh? Yea I got one too, Doombringer. You woundn't
think it from my cheerful personality but I am pretty good with a blaster." His reply
caught her again off guard. He continued making up for her lack of conversation. "Yea
you got that look about you. Dark Death is pretty gruesome so I'm just gonna call you
Dark. k?" she nodded and was about to inquire why he was interacting with her when he
again cut her off. "Anyway you looked pretty new to service, just got out of training huh?
You must be good in combat if you have such a name for yourself already. Well I
figured it was my job as a squad leader to make you feel more at home. Sitting all alone,
you must be nervous with your own squad. You and me we are going to be friends. I'll
Show you the ropes." He grinned having gained back his confidence. He seemed to have
paused to give her another chance to reply and she took it.
"Friends?"
"Yea you guard my back I guard yours. This way we each have someone to hang around
with other then our squads. Months with the same 50 Irkens can get boring pretty quick
you know?"He gave her a slight punch to the arm as if to demonstrate the fact that they
were now comrades. She stifled the preprogrammed response to such an action. She
needed him alive to answer her questions.
"You and me we are a part of the large gruff tough family of the Irken Military."
"Family, what is... a family?" She inquired this question posing a blank in her knowledge.
"You know, your hatch mates the ones you train with, your squad.. your family" he stated
as if this was obvious. "We in the military are the protective older brothers and sisters,
and the tallest are our intelligent supreme fathers. I know it sounds stupid but that's how
they give to us in the training video. You gonna eat your galdorian cherry pie?"
"I-"she was cut off by another Irken who tapped Razz on the shoulder.
"Sir, Its time to ship out." Razz nodded his smile gone. By the time he turned it had
returned this time edged with regret.
"Hey I would love to chat more with you but me and my squad have to head out for
turball 5. Rebel uprising." He pulled a mechanical notepad from his pak and scrawled his
interstellar mail address.
"Send me a message when you find your place in the family."
With that he was gone, leading her feeling as if she had missed something inportant.She
carefully grasped the pad and put it into her pak for later. Then she quickly finished her
food in silence, returned the tray to a druid and headed towards a pad. She understood
now that she was not ready for direct interaction with others as of yet. The one sidednes
of her conversation with Razz was evidence of that. After singling for her ship to be
placed on an outgoing pad she was beamed to it. She started it up and set it on a course
away from the planet. She needed time to think about the abundance of information
revealed by her "new friend" Razz.
Sorry for the delay I have secured a spot on the cast of my skool play. Practice is till 5 and
by the time I get home I hardly have the brain power for homework let alone creative
writing. I have been actually working on several different chapters of this story at once,
so i can say with a clear heart that this story will be completed. 1 out of a 100 new
record!! unless of course I die unexpectedly in the up coming hurricane that may hit near
my area. In that case I'm sorry you can blame the weather for a change and not my lack of
Motivation.
