OK this is one of those really damn important chapters, happy thanksgiving
people. I hope you all had a good dinner. Mine consisted of eating a
McDonalds Quarter ponder and a soft serve ice cream cone at work while
rushing to a car accident. Wow being a paramedic is fun (I really wish I
had some stuffing though)
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The Andromeda was up and working again, thanks to the genius of Harper. In truth, he actually did nothing; the virus dissipated and restored everything it had deleted. It was weird, but at least it was good. Harper had disengaged himself and waited, seeing as how he had seen all of Tyr's troops outside of the Docking Bay totally fried, which was great.
He sat down next to the Than Prince and sat for a while in uncomfortable silence. At one point it got too unnerving for even Harper so he decided to start conversation.
"So you're a Than." he observed.
"Yes I am the 45 generation of the Royal Lineage" Prince Torjak was more then happy to declare, in fact his entire exoskeleton seemed to be beaming.
"Really and how's that working for you?" What more could Harper say, he was paranoid around other species, they were never really nice to him. The Than were about 4th on his list of scary things, right after Nietzscheans, Magog, and Trance ( whatever she was).
The prince turned on him, had Harper said anything wrong? The doors opened, and Harper instinctively went for his force Lance. He had only started to carry it recently, after Tyr left. Harper felt his guard raise, Tyr had been the little mans protection, and now he was the enemy. It was probably smart to start learning how to shoot.
Beka came stumbling in, looking determined and pissed. The cuts on her face and the blackened edges of her hair weren't at all complementing. What the hell had she done, got into the back burner of the Maru? She glanced over the room, finally setting her eyes on him. She smiled; it was not a friendly smile. It was one of those smiles a predator gave its prey when they knew it had walked into the trap. Harper almost liked his chances with the Than better, maybe if he didn't move she wouldn't see him.
The theory didn't work. "Harper can I borrow you for a minute?" the grin widened.
"Sure Boss, just for a minute." Harper smiled cautiously. He stood up and walked with her out and jumped as the door closed automatically behind them.
"So Boss, what happened to you?" He smiled as they walked towards the Docking Hangers. There were bodies scattered about every 20 feet along the corridor, but Harper didn't see any Common wealth.
Beka talked while they walked/jogged. "Well, I tried manually opening Dock C's door, and Andromeda shot at me. Did you know that Rommie secretly hates me, because I've been wondering for a while but this was over the edge. Look at my hair!!" the ends had been fried to a crisp so that the nanobots continuously changed the color. The ends of Beka's hair looked like Christmas lights. "And she finally stopped shooting, so then I tried to blast the damn thing open. Did you know that the hanger doors are blast proof? Sometimes I like to be in Dylan's little information loop, it would really help."
Harper had to smile, it was just so funny. "Long day, huh Boss?"
"Yeah" Beka snapped back.
********************************************
Dylan finally got Andromeda to open the medical bay doors. He had a lot of wounded and a lot of dying crew members that needed in. He also needed to see that Trance still had Alex.
Alex was sitting on an instrument tray while Trance worked on her bonsai tree. They had moved it from the Maru and put it in the nursery after Try had left. It was safer there, and Trance could care for it more. The wounded started filing in, Trance started assigning duties. Skin menders were given to those who could fix themselves, and Rommie helped with the more critically wounded. Dylan sat down next to Alex and took off his chest armor, revealing a solid gash along his shoulder. He glanced over at Alex who didn't meet his gaze, just played with a stuffed animal. A brown hairy stuffed animal with a bat shaped face and claws.
"What have ya got there little guy?" Dylan asked as Rommie mended his torn rotator cuff. The process was actually excruciatingly painful, but talking seemed to help.
"Duncan," the boy replied clutching the furry mess even tighter. Ok, so the kid had a thing for Shakespeare, at least he was cultured.
"What is Duncan?" Dylan pushed.
"A ma'nog." he miss pronounced it, but it was still obvious. It was a stuffed magog, one of the worst things in the universe, and this little nietzschean clung to it like it was his best friend. Things just kept getting weirder.
"Done, Captain." Rommie smiled.
Dylan put his shirt back on as well as his jacket. "Good Rommie, good. What's our status?"
"Currently we have suffered 46 casualties, 139 injuries, and hual breaches in several locations.Other than that, damage to my CPU are minimal." Rommie reported while conferring with the ship itself.
"What about the Kodiak?"
"They have lost over 60% of their troops and slip fighters destroyed 3 transports. Only the Kodiak flag ship remains docked. Tyr is still alive." Again there was no emotion in her voice, and again it bothered Dylan.
Trance appeared beside him, skin mender still in hand. He smiled at her warmly, but she did not return the favor. "Dylan we need to get to that Flag Ship with the others now."
Dylan was never one to argue with the mysterious Trance. She had never steered him wrong, and if she had a hidden agenda, it coincided with the Common Wealth's perfectly. "Alright, Rommie you stay here with Alex and see if we can fix the wounded up." He looked to Trance, "Alright, lead the way."
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Tyr kicked a severed arm out of the circle. They couldn't do anything about the blood, but at least they could get the intestines out off the battle plain. As the circle of men tightened around it's commanders, Tyr and Anjel began to circle as well. Normally in a direct challenge, both partied would remove all clothing and cleanse themselves. Yeah they didn't have time for that.
Anjel stepped up in front of Tyr with her bone blades down and extended both hands; a sign of mutual respect and adoration. Tyr couldn't help but laugh. He had hurt her so much, and even now she showed him respect, she was too human. "I thought you hated me."
Anjel smiled, "I am simply showing that I will respect the results of this,. Will you do the same, oh great alpha?"
Tyr smirked and returned the gesture. Their hands met, grasped and parted. Tyr pressed the line of his body to Anjels' and pressed his forehead onto hers. The ritual complete, they both parted, signaling the beginning. Tyr took full advantage, sending a chop at his opponents' neck. Anjel ducked under the blow and placed a spear finger into Tyr's groin. Not only was he thrown off balance, but his vision was also blurred as he felt bile fill his throat. His Nietzschean senses told him where the second blow was coming from. He grabbed Anjel's leg and pulled her to the ground while twisting. Anjel spun and fell, Hard. The room became blurry, and she was forced to role over in order to stop swallowing the inches of blood that puddle on the flood as it dripped off the walls. This left her open yet again. Tyr brought his entire body weight down in a single drop kick to her abdomen, and the wound reopened.
The dock doors opened, revealing the bloody mess and the combat to the Andromeda crew. The new light momentarily distracted both fighters. Dylan, Trance ,and Harper rushed forward for a better view, while Beka stayed behind. She stared at Tyr, covered in blood, breath ragged, standing over another figure, which she couldn't see, ready for the kill. Their eyes met for a second, and all of his malice seemed to wash away. A warm feeling swept the 2 of them, but it quickly passed as Tyr's face moved from anger to joy to utter sadness. He had lost her, forever. Anjel seized the moment. The blood made the floor slick enough that she could easily slide directly under him. He was too caught up with Beka to notice the movement, or the calls from his prides men. Anjel dug her left bone blades into his thigh, bringing him to reality. He glanced down, in shock and in pain. She lifted herself to her feet using Tyr's body for support. He swung desperately and missed. Anjel dug deeper until she reached bone. A bone blade snapped, and Anjel cried out in pain, but didn't falter. She sent a clean blow to his face, breaking his nose and spreading more blood in the room. She had won, it was over, and all that was left now was to kill him, which she would gladly do.
Trance stepped into the circle, "It is not his time." She placed a hand on Anjel and she understood.
"You taught me to be a good Nietzschean, Tyr. But I guess I just wasn't good enough to be your daughter in law." Anjel said grimly as she stepped away from Tyr, who was now getting to his knees. She turned to Dylan and the rest, but she didn't smile, this victory was tainted in so many ways.
Tyr would not loose to such an inferior being, and he would not allow his lineage to carry on through her. He grabbed a force lance from a Common Wealth officer before he could react. He stood aimed and fired. The shot hit Anjel square between the shoulders, and she fell.
Both sides immediately broke the circle and were created lines of attack. Anjel and Tyr were in the middle and it was obvious that they would die from this. Tammers took step and placed himself between the 2 parties. The Kodiaks knew him as Tyr's second in command, and they would not fire upon him. He just had to pray to the Divine that the Common Wealth would do the same.
"You will drop your weapons now and disperse or you will answer to me." His voice was now strong, old and an authority. He seemed bigger than he was, and no one dared challenge him, but no one dared put down their weapons either. It was Trance who questioned him.
"What is your lineage, Kodiak?" she challenged clearly.
Tammers stepped protectively over Anjel, his mate. "I am Tamerlane Anasazi, out of Freya by Tyr, the genetic reincarnate of Drago Mustavi, the first Nietzschean. Do you dare defy me?"
*******************************************
The Andromeda was up and working again, thanks to the genius of Harper. In truth, he actually did nothing; the virus dissipated and restored everything it had deleted. It was weird, but at least it was good. Harper had disengaged himself and waited, seeing as how he had seen all of Tyr's troops outside of the Docking Bay totally fried, which was great.
He sat down next to the Than Prince and sat for a while in uncomfortable silence. At one point it got too unnerving for even Harper so he decided to start conversation.
"So you're a Than." he observed.
"Yes I am the 45 generation of the Royal Lineage" Prince Torjak was more then happy to declare, in fact his entire exoskeleton seemed to be beaming.
"Really and how's that working for you?" What more could Harper say, he was paranoid around other species, they were never really nice to him. The Than were about 4th on his list of scary things, right after Nietzscheans, Magog, and Trance ( whatever she was).
The prince turned on him, had Harper said anything wrong? The doors opened, and Harper instinctively went for his force Lance. He had only started to carry it recently, after Tyr left. Harper felt his guard raise, Tyr had been the little mans protection, and now he was the enemy. It was probably smart to start learning how to shoot.
Beka came stumbling in, looking determined and pissed. The cuts on her face and the blackened edges of her hair weren't at all complementing. What the hell had she done, got into the back burner of the Maru? She glanced over the room, finally setting her eyes on him. She smiled; it was not a friendly smile. It was one of those smiles a predator gave its prey when they knew it had walked into the trap. Harper almost liked his chances with the Than better, maybe if he didn't move she wouldn't see him.
The theory didn't work. "Harper can I borrow you for a minute?" the grin widened.
"Sure Boss, just for a minute." Harper smiled cautiously. He stood up and walked with her out and jumped as the door closed automatically behind them.
"So Boss, what happened to you?" He smiled as they walked towards the Docking Hangers. There were bodies scattered about every 20 feet along the corridor, but Harper didn't see any Common wealth.
Beka talked while they walked/jogged. "Well, I tried manually opening Dock C's door, and Andromeda shot at me. Did you know that Rommie secretly hates me, because I've been wondering for a while but this was over the edge. Look at my hair!!" the ends had been fried to a crisp so that the nanobots continuously changed the color. The ends of Beka's hair looked like Christmas lights. "And she finally stopped shooting, so then I tried to blast the damn thing open. Did you know that the hanger doors are blast proof? Sometimes I like to be in Dylan's little information loop, it would really help."
Harper had to smile, it was just so funny. "Long day, huh Boss?"
"Yeah" Beka snapped back.
********************************************
Dylan finally got Andromeda to open the medical bay doors. He had a lot of wounded and a lot of dying crew members that needed in. He also needed to see that Trance still had Alex.
Alex was sitting on an instrument tray while Trance worked on her bonsai tree. They had moved it from the Maru and put it in the nursery after Try had left. It was safer there, and Trance could care for it more. The wounded started filing in, Trance started assigning duties. Skin menders were given to those who could fix themselves, and Rommie helped with the more critically wounded. Dylan sat down next to Alex and took off his chest armor, revealing a solid gash along his shoulder. He glanced over at Alex who didn't meet his gaze, just played with a stuffed animal. A brown hairy stuffed animal with a bat shaped face and claws.
"What have ya got there little guy?" Dylan asked as Rommie mended his torn rotator cuff. The process was actually excruciatingly painful, but talking seemed to help.
"Duncan," the boy replied clutching the furry mess even tighter. Ok, so the kid had a thing for Shakespeare, at least he was cultured.
"What is Duncan?" Dylan pushed.
"A ma'nog." he miss pronounced it, but it was still obvious. It was a stuffed magog, one of the worst things in the universe, and this little nietzschean clung to it like it was his best friend. Things just kept getting weirder.
"Done, Captain." Rommie smiled.
Dylan put his shirt back on as well as his jacket. "Good Rommie, good. What's our status?"
"Currently we have suffered 46 casualties, 139 injuries, and hual breaches in several locations.Other than that, damage to my CPU are minimal." Rommie reported while conferring with the ship itself.
"What about the Kodiak?"
"They have lost over 60% of their troops and slip fighters destroyed 3 transports. Only the Kodiak flag ship remains docked. Tyr is still alive." Again there was no emotion in her voice, and again it bothered Dylan.
Trance appeared beside him, skin mender still in hand. He smiled at her warmly, but she did not return the favor. "Dylan we need to get to that Flag Ship with the others now."
Dylan was never one to argue with the mysterious Trance. She had never steered him wrong, and if she had a hidden agenda, it coincided with the Common Wealth's perfectly. "Alright, Rommie you stay here with Alex and see if we can fix the wounded up." He looked to Trance, "Alright, lead the way."
**********************************************
Tyr kicked a severed arm out of the circle. They couldn't do anything about the blood, but at least they could get the intestines out off the battle plain. As the circle of men tightened around it's commanders, Tyr and Anjel began to circle as well. Normally in a direct challenge, both partied would remove all clothing and cleanse themselves. Yeah they didn't have time for that.
Anjel stepped up in front of Tyr with her bone blades down and extended both hands; a sign of mutual respect and adoration. Tyr couldn't help but laugh. He had hurt her so much, and even now she showed him respect, she was too human. "I thought you hated me."
Anjel smiled, "I am simply showing that I will respect the results of this,. Will you do the same, oh great alpha?"
Tyr smirked and returned the gesture. Their hands met, grasped and parted. Tyr pressed the line of his body to Anjels' and pressed his forehead onto hers. The ritual complete, they both parted, signaling the beginning. Tyr took full advantage, sending a chop at his opponents' neck. Anjel ducked under the blow and placed a spear finger into Tyr's groin. Not only was he thrown off balance, but his vision was also blurred as he felt bile fill his throat. His Nietzschean senses told him where the second blow was coming from. He grabbed Anjel's leg and pulled her to the ground while twisting. Anjel spun and fell, Hard. The room became blurry, and she was forced to role over in order to stop swallowing the inches of blood that puddle on the flood as it dripped off the walls. This left her open yet again. Tyr brought his entire body weight down in a single drop kick to her abdomen, and the wound reopened.
The dock doors opened, revealing the bloody mess and the combat to the Andromeda crew. The new light momentarily distracted both fighters. Dylan, Trance ,and Harper rushed forward for a better view, while Beka stayed behind. She stared at Tyr, covered in blood, breath ragged, standing over another figure, which she couldn't see, ready for the kill. Their eyes met for a second, and all of his malice seemed to wash away. A warm feeling swept the 2 of them, but it quickly passed as Tyr's face moved from anger to joy to utter sadness. He had lost her, forever. Anjel seized the moment. The blood made the floor slick enough that she could easily slide directly under him. He was too caught up with Beka to notice the movement, or the calls from his prides men. Anjel dug her left bone blades into his thigh, bringing him to reality. He glanced down, in shock and in pain. She lifted herself to her feet using Tyr's body for support. He swung desperately and missed. Anjel dug deeper until she reached bone. A bone blade snapped, and Anjel cried out in pain, but didn't falter. She sent a clean blow to his face, breaking his nose and spreading more blood in the room. She had won, it was over, and all that was left now was to kill him, which she would gladly do.
Trance stepped into the circle, "It is not his time." She placed a hand on Anjel and she understood.
"You taught me to be a good Nietzschean, Tyr. But I guess I just wasn't good enough to be your daughter in law." Anjel said grimly as she stepped away from Tyr, who was now getting to his knees. She turned to Dylan and the rest, but she didn't smile, this victory was tainted in so many ways.
Tyr would not loose to such an inferior being, and he would not allow his lineage to carry on through her. He grabbed a force lance from a Common Wealth officer before he could react. He stood aimed and fired. The shot hit Anjel square between the shoulders, and she fell.
Both sides immediately broke the circle and were created lines of attack. Anjel and Tyr were in the middle and it was obvious that they would die from this. Tammers took step and placed himself between the 2 parties. The Kodiaks knew him as Tyr's second in command, and they would not fire upon him. He just had to pray to the Divine that the Common Wealth would do the same.
"You will drop your weapons now and disperse or you will answer to me." His voice was now strong, old and an authority. He seemed bigger than he was, and no one dared challenge him, but no one dared put down their weapons either. It was Trance who questioned him.
"What is your lineage, Kodiak?" she challenged clearly.
Tammers stepped protectively over Anjel, his mate. "I am Tamerlane Anasazi, out of Freya by Tyr, the genetic reincarnate of Drago Mustavi, the first Nietzschean. Do you dare defy me?"