Attack
To the casual observer, the star system was a modest one – a single yellow star, slightly cooler than what was considered to be 'typical', around which circled seven planets. Of those planets, two were within the region that would make long-term habitation possible.
As such, it quickly became a target for the War.
Two immense fleets materialized in the space near one of the potentially-habitable planets, each one intent on laying claim to the entire system, and grimly determined to prevent the other from doing the same. Missiles flew between the fleets, and single-pilot craft wove complex patterns in the void - picking off ships one at a time as the commanders of each fleet fought to buy time so that their engines of cosmic destruction could be brought to bear.
One way or another, this system would not be allowed to fall into the hands of their enemies.
But nobody stopped to ask the inhabitants of the system what they thought about it...
Marcus winced as he spotted a fireball erupting nearby – realizing that a missile volley had found its target and turned another of his friends into incandescent vapour. He could spare no time for grief, since there was also a group of missiles relentlessly gaining on him. He sent his ship into a series of rolls and loops in a desperate attempt to evade the lethal javelins, the high-pitched whine warning him that he was pushing the ship's drive beyond what it could safely maintain. His efforts failed to provide the results he hoped for, as the missiles maintained their lock on him and continued to slowly close the gap.
A tingle in his head let him know that the ship's computer had new information for him, as the image of a nearby asteroid appeared before his console. He took a moment to absorb the information that was being projected in front of him, noticing a great deal of rugged terrain and sharp peaks. Yes, that will do nicely – he thought. His eyelids fluttered for a moment as he visualized what he wanted the ship to do, the NeuriLink device in his brain transmitting what he imagined directly to the computer. Faster than thought, the ship angled downwards and shot towards the asteroid in a dive that would either save or kill him.
As the asteroid loomed large in his forward window, Marcus pictured the ship skimming over the surface and threading through the crevasses that rose from a horizon that could have been disastrously close. When his computer signalled that all of the pursuing missiles had struck the asteroid and detonated, he carefully guided his ship away from the rocky body and eased the stress on his engines by lowering his acceleration to a reasonable level. With the immediate danger dealt with, he had time to think...
A blinking light on his console alerted him that a transmission intended for him was being received. He focused on the light, and the image of the asteroid was replaced with the face of a young woman with straight black hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her face brightened when she saw him, but not before Marcus saw the worry that her smile masked. "Hi, Steph," he said, greeting her as nonchalantly as he could, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"
"Marcus," she sighed, "I'm glad that you're safe!"
"Not safe," Marcus admitted, "but not in peril for the moment. The invaders seem to be focusing on each other for the time being – I guess they only shot at my convoy because we were too close to their Jump-in point."
"That's going to make evacuation impossible," Steph admitted, "they're too close to our main installation – any ships we launch will be shot at."
"What do they want, anyway?" Marcus wondered aloud. "Have there been any attempts to make contact? To let them know that we're here?"
"Tried, and failed," Steph said, as her dark bangs covered her eyes for a moment. "None of our hails have been answered. It seems as though none of them are even interested in talking. It's crazy."
Crazy indeed, Marcus thought, but somehow familiar. His eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle fit together in his mind. "Do you remember the distress calls we were told about a few days ago? Three different systems, all attacked in a similar fashion. This has GOT to be them!"
"You can't know that, Marcus. The messages were so garbled that we could barely understand them!"
"But the pattern fits! Two unknown fleets jump in and just start firing at each other – no communication, no warning, and no..." His voice trailed off as he recalled the end of the messages.
No follow-up contact. No survivors.
Steph's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes growing wide with both understanding and fear. "You don't think that they...?" she started.
"That's it – I'm coming to get you!" Marcus shouted as he mentally increased power to the engines.
"Marcus, NO!" Steph shouted back at him. "I won't have you throwing YOUR life away to save mine! You need to activate your Nullifier and get out of this system while you have the chance, so you can warn the others what's been happening here!"
"Don't even think that way," Marcus countered. "I'm not about to run away and leave you at the mercy of these... these..."
She smiled at him in a way that melted his resolve. No fair... "Marcus, I adore you – but you're not thinking clearly right now. I'll be fine, I promise. You can come back for me when..." She paused as something caught her attention in the background. She had started to turn her head when the projection erupted in a blast of white, followed by static.
"Steph? STEPH!" Marcus cried out, concern and confusion paralyzing his mind. His confusion giving way to panic, he turned his ship around and headed directly towards the second planet. His engines screamed in protest as his desperation to make sure that Steph was still alive driving him to push the ship to ever-higher velocity.
Another tingle in his head, sharper and more intense, as the computer displayed an image that made his blood run cold. The star flashed a brilliant white, then it began to grow at an impossible rate. Marcus stared numbly at the image for several minutes before realizing the horrid truth – the invaders had somehow turned the star itself into a bomb!
Refusing to accept what his instruments were telling him, he drove his ship towards the expanding shell of star-fire as he convinced himself that he could somehow still rescue Steph from the inferno that had already engulfed all four of the innermost planets. In his desperation, he failed to notice how close he drew to the invading fleets – both of which were now moving away from the exploded star so that they could safely make the jump to Lightspeed. One of the ships – bearing markings eerily similar to those that adorned his own ship, had he bothered to pay attention – fired a single missile at him as it passed.
The missile struck a glancing blow to his starboard drive-pod. Under normal circumstances, the impact would not have done any damage – but it increased the stress on the already-overloaded drive, and the resulting explosion caused several calamities to happen at the same time...
... the drive field warped, causing the ship to spin at a dangerous speed...
... the field shut down suddenly, leaving Marcus victim to the ship's momentum, unable to alter course to save himself...
... the shutdown sent a powerful feedback pulse through the ship's computer systems, along the NeuriLink device, and into Marcus' brain...
Before Marcus could react, he jerked and jumped in his seat as the powerful impulse that got through the automatic filters forced every muscle in his body to contract. His head, already injured by the charge, threw itself against the headrest hard enough that even the padding could not prevent him from being knocked out. He had just enough time to look up at the projection screen and see that the wall of burning matter which had just killed two planets was minutes away from impacting the ship.
Resigned to his fate, Marcus closed his eyes and let his consciousness slip away...
