Shout outs...
Maxmagnus20019: Damn right it ownz0rz! To the max! LOL, thanks man.
Dragon Chyld: Yup. Jennings-Super-Ultimate Technique! Gotta love it!
Giant Brother: Thanks, and I have a small number of Foxworthy CD and DVDs, plus a CD and DVD of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. I love those guys...
Firebane5: Another fan! Go me! Seriously though, I try.
To everyone: Sorry for the long wait, real life can be such a pain at times. And playing Yu-Gi-Oh: Nightmare Troubadour non-stop doesn't help either.
One of the things I've heard, although I can't recall who said it, is this 'Dogs treat you like you're family. Cats treat you like you're room service.' I can't argue with that. I have one named T.D., for Toronto Dominion, which is a bank. My dad named it back when we were all still a family. He said 'they own our home, they own our money... they may as well own our cat!'
Funny thing, when I wake up with the possibility of imminent death I think about my cat... Damned thing would eat just about anything...
Couldn't keep it down, but it ate almost anything.
"W-what now?" Fayt said, turning his focus from the clock he was looking at and looking about the room as the alarm blared out agian. A loud thud drew his attention in time to see James lift his head from a tangle of sheets, searching for his hat with one hand.
"Dammit! Couldn't they send naked woman in to wake us up and not the 'Alarm of Freaking Imminent Death!'
Despite himself Fayt laughed as Sophia stirred from her rest. "Fayt... What's that sound?" She asked sleepily.
"Not a naked woman, that's for sure..."
"Oh shut up!" James yelled as he stood up placing his trusty hat on his head. "I'm getting a headache from this thing."
After that the alarm cut out and the lights turned on. Blinking James adjusted to the brightness as a tone sounded followed by a feminine voice. "This is an update for all refugees. We now know the recent raid on the resort planet Hyda was a surprise attack by Vendeen. Remote Station #7 mounted an attempt to defend Hyda IV," The offical continued as Fayt and Sophia stood up. "But it was thwarted by a tactical Vendeeni strike. Currently the Pangalatic Federation Administration is scrambling ships from surrounding regions, but Vendeeni forces still have control of this sector."
"I suppose it's too much to hope that they just wanted a tan..." James muttered mostly to himself.
"We request that all civilians begin boarding rescue shuttles for immediate evacuation to Remote Station #6. Please do not panic."
"Yeah, saying that always helps..."
"Refer to the nearest council or attendant for further instructions."
"Sophia, we gotta go. ...You okay?" Fayt asked turning to his friend.
"Yeah, I'm fine. A little sleep helped calm me down." She replied.
"Then what are we waiting here for?" James asked crossing his arms. "I don't wanna miss my boat! Let's go!"
"Right. We should be fine when we reach Remote Station #6." Fayt said nodding.
"Okay."
"Right."
Nodding again Fayt turned to the council. "Computer, Tell me the location of Robert and Ryoko Leingod."
"The location of the specified individuals is unknown." Came the emotionless reply.
"What do you mean 'unknown'?" Fayt asked in a rather emotional tone.
"Both Robert Leingod and Ryoko Leingod's positions were lost on the Galactic Year 772-12141923."
"Lost? What then?"
"The information system is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Confirmation is not possible at present."
"In other words..." James said, cutting in. "You have no freaking clue as to what happened."
"That is correct."
"And it sounds so bloody cheerful about it too..."
"Dammit!" Fayt said kicking the council."
"Hey, Hey! I know how you feel, trust me on this!" James shouted gripping Fayt's shoulder. "But breaking the compy won't help!"
Fayt replied with a long growl but slumped his shoulders soon after. "...You're right. Let's go."
Insert running to the transporter room here. Seriously, nothing to say here.
We did make it to the transporter quickly enough though. I resisted the urge to shout out 'Beam us up Scotty!', but just barley.
I'm not sure which I'd rather do, fight till the end of time or boldly go where no man has gone before.
Course it could be worse. I could be stuck in the Starcraft universe. Now THAT would suck.
"Welcome to the Federation Transport Ship GFSS-12372 Helre." The attendant greeted as they appeared on the ship said.
Helre: Star Ocean for Titanic. One odd thought crossed my mind, but I held it back. It involves a conversation between the Captain and the computer.
'Computer, what is the best course of action?'
'Processing. Action found. Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Then lean forwards until your head is between your legs. This is followed by applying suction to your own buttocks.'
'So your telling us to kiss our own asses goodbye?'
'That is correct.'
And that, my friends, is why I do not write emergency instruction manuals.
"You must have been through a lot."
"You have no idea..." James said shaking his head.
The man nodded, his tone becoming more serious. "We will soon be departing for Remote Station #6. The Observation Bay is located directly through the corridor leading out of this room. Please wait there until we reach our destination. Gravitic Warp will get us there shortly." The trio nodded before heading out into the corridor.
"So this is a Federation Transport ship..." Fayt muttered to himself as James waved to the blue haired female officer in the corridor. The trio continued on until the passed through another door. Sophia looked around and noticed something.
"Hey guys, what's that? They're all watching something."
"Your right, what is that? Something on the monitor?" Fayt replied.
"Let's take a look."
"Okay." Fayt nodded and the three looked up at the screen, at which point Fayt's jaw dropped open. "Oh no!"
On the screen was the battle between Vendeeni and Federation forces above the planet Hyda IV. The few Federation ships visible were being torn apart as huge Vendeeni warships bombarded the planet...
The game... In the game the monitor looked like an animated gif, constantly repeating itself. But now...
It was not like that. I could see vessels crumple underneath the Vendeeni weapons, the fires on Hyda's forests, so large you can see it in space. I swore I saw a mountain, a whole freaking mountain collapse into the sea.
Warfare from my time was bad but this...
This was beyond words... During my time on that planet I heard almost four billion people called Hyda IV their home. The locals talked about how much they enjoyed living in paradise, watching the waves cascade to the seas as they tanned in the sun's rays.
Four billions lives lost or ruined for a race's greed and lust for power. I don't know which member of the Vendeeni race was responsible for this...
But I hope the devil himself gives him a VERY warm welcome when he goes to hell...
A friendly tone sounded as a vicious firestorm annihilated what looked to be a city. "We are about to enter gravitic warp to escape the battle zone. I repeat: We are about to enter gravitic warp to escape the battle zone. All evacuees prepare for warp turbulence.
The three of us found some chairs to crash in. Sophia fell asleep on Fayt's shoulder shortly before Fayt did. I myself listened to my MP3 player before falling asleep.
Oddly the song that started playing was Kiss in the Sky from Star Ocean... I sense... a disturbance in the force. I shall call them the Fayth.
So says Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now, to find me a light-sabre...
Anyway, when I woke up Fayt was still asleep and Sophia was still using him as a pillow. So I quietly got up and looked around.
In the end... I wandered over to another seat and sat down watching the many stars go by...
Each one the light of a different dream... Man, why am I all so philosophical now? Must be my nerves. Cause even with so much that has happened, so much still hasn't.
No wonder I'm nervous. I was a bit more nervous at the time. Cause all the purpley effect of going through gravitic warp cut out in the middle of my viewing. I stood up and said four words. Thankfully no one was with me, or I might have gotten some odd looks. But all I said was...
The Next Chapter Begins...
"Navigator? Status report." Barked the breaded Commander Volga, the Helre's captain and overseer of Hyda IV evacuees.
"Yes Captain. We were cruising at warp 15 on course 231, mark 330, when the gravitic warp field collapsed and the computer detected an anomaly, forcing us to return to conventional space."
"Computer, what caused the ship's warp field to collapse?"
"...There is not enough data to determine the cause." The female sounding computer replied.
"All right, even if you can't determine the cause how about a theory?"
"Prior to the collapse, sensors detected a space-time disturbance. Our database does not contain any record of such a disturbance, but there is a 77 probability that it was the cause of the collapse."
"Space-Time disturbance? Come to think of it Vendeeni military technology is based on space-time manipulation." Volga said feeling something twist in his gut.
"That is not an established fact but the Federation Institute of Technology has theorized this is the case."
"So it was likely a Vendeeni attack that stopped us, then."
"Screen on!" The navigator shouted out, the viewer activating to display the scene of two battleships in front of the Helre.
"Damn!" The Captain said, weighing his options quickly. "Divert all power to shields! Evasion course 291, mark 030!"
"Course entered!"
Once the ship stopped I quickly ran out to find Fayt and Sophia. They were looking at the Vendeeni ships through the window as I ran up beside them.
At that point I'd give my left arm for a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, if only for the words 'Don't Panic' on the cover.
"Would now be a good time to say we are quite thoroughly and well screwed here!"
Cause right then was a good time to panic.
"This is your Captain speaking." Said a voice after a brief tone. "Our ship is currently under attack by a Vendeeni Battleship." He said as the ship rocked once to confirm his statement, knocking a person over.
Now I knew what it felt like to be a drink when James Bond comes to town...
"Our gravitic warp engines have already been disabled which means escape is not an option. All power has been diverted to our shields to buy us some time, but I wanted you all to know: our chances are slim."
"We're screwed!" James and Fayt turned to level a pair of flat stares at their female friend. "Sorry..."
"I had hoped to transport you all the way to Remote Station #6, but it seems that is now beyond my power. All evacuees are requested to proceed to the ships escape pods. Please remain calm and follow the instructions of the attendant nearest you as you board your pod. ...Good luck to you all."
Fayt and Sophia nodded as a pink flash stuck the ships sides, rocking the ship and nearly forcing the trio to the ground. "Bloody hell!" James shouted out.
"A direct hit?" Fayt half asked half blurted out as several other shots rocked the ship.
"No duh! Time to make like a bee and buzz off! Let's go!" James shouted waving to his friends as he ran towards the escape pods. They followed as a crewmember walked in.
"To the pods everyone, hurry! They're located one level up in the hanger bay!"
Panicked people ran towards the escape pods following the words 'Don't Panic'.
Thankfully we got up there in time, the two guards let us by calmly. The event at the bridge never happened here though.
Which is good... No reason for Fayt to know that the Helre's crew... Had been given a death sentence...
"Good, the pod's still here." Fayt said nodding to himself. "Get it quick, we're running out of time!" He said turning to Sophia.
"Fayt... I'm scared."
"Don't worry."
"Yeah." James said, cutting in. "We'll be scooped up 'fore ya know it. Sides, it's either bail or you can say 'hi' to the vacuum of space."
"But..." Sophia began hesitantly.
"James is right, a Federation Ship will recover our pod's in no time. I'll see you at Remote Station #6."
"You too James?" Sophia turned to the hat wearing young man, eyes shinning with tears she refused to shed.
"Course. We're in this come hell or high water!"
"O-Okay... You two will follow, right? Promise?"
"Promise!"
"Done deal!"
Nodding Sophia nervously climbed down to her pod before James and Fayt left. A solider noticed them and called them over, Fayt running up to him before James noticed and began to run as well. "Hurry! There's still a pair of pods here!"
Fayt quickly turned and waved to the young man as the solider ran back down the corridor to find anyone else. James ran towards the last pod available, as Fayt quickly retreated into his own pod. As he entered the room and before he could climb down the ladder to the pod he stopped, his jaw opening. Standing before him was a man dressed in red robes, a scar closing one eye and a blanket covered bundle in his hand.
"Auron! How did you get here?" James asked as he walked up to his mentor.
"Come now..." He said. "Do you NEED to ask?"
"The Fayth, right?"
"Correct. Don't panic, there is no rush. For now they have bent time, pausing it for us to speak."
"The Fayth are so powerful they can hit the pause button on a whim?"
Auron chuckled a bit shaking his head. "Not on a whim. They are not omnipotent or omnipresent. They know very much of what will come, and have seen to it... you do as well. But that is enough, I am here to give you this."
He extended the bundle towards James. Taking it James unwrapped it, licking his lips as he did so. A dark grey sheath with silver trimmings was revealed to him. Dropping the wrapping he drew sword from sheath...
A blade just over three feet in length, shining like solid silver yet looking stronger than the finest forged steel, the back edge had a section of rounded dark grey metal covering just over a foot of the blade, designed to allow the user to push on it as leverage and not slice his hand off.
That section connected to a circular guard a foot in height and width, the same dark grey metal as the sheath with a silver cross and edging adorning it.
The foot long grip was perfect for both single and double hand swordsmen and was covered in silver looking cloth.
Lastly at the bottom of the grip was a circular pommel, same dark grey colouring as the rest of the sword with a silver cross on it as well.
"Whoa... What is this sword?" James asked giving it a pair of test swings.
"Your sword, the Protector's Edge. Use it well..." Auron said stepping back as bright lights, pyreflies, began to flow out of him, his body dissipating into nothingness. For a moment James stood there before smacking himself in the head.
"Stupid! Gotta go before I blow!"
I scrambled into the pod, setting the Protector's Edge between my legs as I started the pod up. I wasn't a Captain Picard or Han Solo, but the directions were easy to understand and it didn't take me long to make the thing launch. I was slung out of that thing like a slingshot. I looked around me and saw dozens of other pods also making a getaway. Soon after the Helre exploded behind us...
More lives gone and ruined in the name of reckless greed...
The Vendeeni ship continued to fire and I saw a few pods behind me explode. I saw what looked to be a blast headed for me, but a Federation Ship chose that moment to appear between the Grim Reaper and me. I think that ship was the Aquaelie, but I wasn't able to tell. The pod's warp engines, or whatever it was carrying, kicked in pulling my ass out of the frying pan...
And soon into the fire...
Thanks for sticking with me. Keep up the C&C please!