Dark Future.
By: Alamandorious.
Occupied Tamaran, Year 5.
Starfire flew down the dark, metallic corridor of the orbital observation station at high speeds, the sound of many feet crashing against the metal deck far behind them indicating that she and her team were under persuit. Three other Tamaraneans were with her, all of them slave gladiators like her, and all as alarmed as she was. Two of them turned in mid-flight, lobbing bolts of green energy down the corridor at their pursuers with the hope it would slow them down. However, even as they turned to resume full-speed flight they were cut down by a hail of laser fire, their now smoking bodies neatly pierced by the sizzling red beams of energy.
The plan had seemed simple at first: it was something they had done several times before. They had had no reason to suspect that the station would be a part of a cleverly designed trap to re-capture the last Tamaranean princess and end the rebellion once and for all. They had no idea that, once they had penetrated far enough into the space base, they would be set upon at all sides with little to no means of escape.
Teams two and three had been wiped out within the first three minutes of the battle, while teams four and five were involved in a pitched battle to keep the landing bay clear. Starfire's team, team one, had had to fight their way away from the station core, losing two members in the initial engagement as well as the two that just perished.
Cursing, Starfire lifted her arm to speak into her communicator,"Teams four and five, do you still hold the landing bay? We are under heavy fire and will be needing to make a swift departure," she called, weaving through the air with her only remaining team member to dodge the storm of laser fire coming from behind them. Laser beams hit the metal all around them, blackening the armor plating but doing little else.
"We still hold the landing bay, Princess, but we do not know for how long! We are outnumbered heavily, and have lost three already," came the reply through bursts of static.
"Bretall'n, do not give in. If we are all to escape, that landing bay must remain ours!" commanded Starfire as she dodged another volley of beams from her attackers. Closing the communicator, she turned her attention to her surviving team member, a young woman who looked barely old enough to be called an adult,"Do not stop or hesitate, we do not need more death today!"
The young woman nodded to Starfire, not bothering to reply as she flew low to the deck to avoid another burst of laser fire. The two Tamaraneans turned sharply around a corner, heading straight for the auxilliary access to the landing bay the rest of their allies were in. As the neared, they flew over the armored corpses of several dozen enemy troopers, huge holes in their protective wear from where they'd been hit by energy bolts. Up ahead they could hear the shouts of live enemies, orders being barked and insults being hurled.
The momentary reprieve from enemy fire soon evaporated; the enemy troopers that were pursuing them rounded the corner and opened fire once more. Starfires' friend cried out in pain as a laser blast scorched her left shoulder, the wound bloodless due to the cauterizing effect of the beam. To her credit, she did not slow or falter, even as she clutched her shoulder in agony from the attack.
The soldiers ahead of them noticed something was amiss when they heard the distinct sound of laser fire from behind them. Several of them turned to meet the threat they knew was coming, but were met with a volley of lethal energy bolts from Starfire, their armor offering little protection from the green energy. They were blown back into their forward-facing allies, knocking them over and giving the two Tamaraneans more than enough time to fly past them and take cover with their friends.
"Is the ship ready? We must make haste and depart!" shouted Starfire over the din, ruby beams sizzling overhead only to be met by a return volley of energy bolts from the trapped Tamaraneans.
Bretall'n moved over next to Starfire, his wizened old face grim,"I am sorry, my Princess, but the shuttle we have been using was compromised just moments before your arrival, and the merchant ship that has been smuggling us within range of these stations has been seized. The captain, I am sure, will be able to talk his way out if it...however, we are completely cut off from escape."
Starfire nodded, her face a cold mask. She reached up and gently touched her left eyelid, now pemenantly closed due to an injury which had ruined her eye...a long, jagged red scar running from her eyebrow, over her eyelid and down to her jawbone. She rubbed at it softly, as if it pained her, before dropping her hand down and speaking in a low, bitter voice,"Then this is were we make our final stand. Let us ensure that they never forget."
The other Tamaraneans heard and nodded, their faces turning from angry to grim as they once more focused their full attention on their enemy. Starfire stood, dressed in her silver gladiator armor, a metal vest and pair of metal leggings that protected her from a fair amount of damage. She glared at the enemy commander across the way, still impressively beautiful despite the ugly scars the lined her legs and arms, her hair billowing slightly in the breeze caused by laser-heated air. The enemy commander sneered, taking aim with his laser rifle...when suddenly he seemed to look past her, out into open space.
A large ship slowly hovered down in front of the open landing bay, causing the battle to come to a halt as everyone stared out at it. Starfire turned to look, frowing as she saw what had halted the battle. She wasn't entirely certain, but the ship looked familiar...like something from her past, something she could feel on the tip of her memory...and yet...
Then all hell broke loose. The ship fired its weapons into the landing bay, destroying each of the entrances in turn, killing great numbers of the enemy troopers. For a few seconds all that could be seen and heard was utter pandemonium; the screech of metal being torn apart, the screams of dying men and women, the blue beams of death coming from the ship...and then...silence. The landing bay was completely sealed off from the rest of the station, and there were no living troopers left inside.
A portal opened up on the side of the ship as Starfire stepped towards the edge of the landing bay. Her suspicious look quickly widened into one of immense surprise when she saw who stepped into view from behind the portal door.
"Well, don't just stand there! It'll only take them a minute to call in help, and even -I- don't want to take on five or six picket destroyers!" shouted Val-Yor, waving the Tamaraneans into his ship,"Or would you like to be left here and captured?
Despite her misgivings, Starfire quickly turned to her remaining allies,"Come on, we have nothing to lose and no time to spare!" she shouted, touching off the ground and flying out to the space ship. Her allies followed, entering Val-Yor's ship as quickly as possible. The portal closed, and the ship quickly manuvered away from the station, accelerating away as fast as it possibly could.
Several large captial ships closed in, trying to block their escape...but Val-Yor was an accomplished pilot, his ship was fast and manuverable. Dodging incoming beams of energy and missiles, it broke through the narrowing gap of escaping and leapt into hyperspace, leaving the enemy armada behind with no real means of pursuit.
Author's notes: Hey, my other chapters will be longer, but this is what I wrote for an introduction. I got this idea after seeing the episode 'Troq', and having been toying with it for about a week now. More will be revealed as we go. Helpful comments and reviews are welcome, flamers please look elsewhere