Prologue: Olympus
Destroyer UC Athens
Proycon Star System
UC Expanded Space
UCN Marine Corporal Joseph 'Joe' Taylor
"Alright, Marines, prep for inspection; the Captain wants everyone in their shiny blues for the cameras!" Sargeant Stroud stalked the locker room, arms folded behind his back.
"Yes, Sargeant!" The Marines sounded off, straightening their uniforms.
Joe adjusted his beret to perfection before closing his locker. "Alright, ready for the damn zoo."
"Come on, Taylor, I thought you'd be excited. What with getting back to the ass end of the galaxy." Lance Corporal Marie Young backhanded his shoulder with a smirk cracking her face.
"Hell, Young, don't chip a nail when we hit the ground; lotta dust in the ass end of nowhere." Joe snorted a laugh before stepping back. "Come on, Marines, you heard Sarge; we need to look pretty for the cameras!" Joe walked the row of lockers before him, inspecting his Fire Team. "Boots polished, dress blues crisp, bras and boxers stuffed."
"Young's probably gonna need two-ply so they don't think she's the company boy toy." Private James Mathews piped up.
"Fuck you, Mathews," Young crossed her arms and leaned against her locker. "You're lucky the recruiter bought that lie that you were a man in the first place." The rest of the marines barked a laugh.
"What is this a goddamn social? Hussle, god damn it!" Sargeant Stroud clapped his hands, doing one final walkthrough.
The last of the team finished up and lined up for inspection. After a quick one-two, Sargeant Stroud stood by the main bulkhead. "well damn, if don't you all look like my precious little chicks." Stroud crossed his arms and shook his head. "Now then, I'd much rather be lit on goddamn fire than deal with this," Stroud waved his hand dismissively. "But just like all of you, I decided to give my life to the UCN." Stroud sighed. "Any other day, the best goddamn decision of my life. I love me the Corps." Stroud shrugged and gestured to the marines. "But now we gotta play to the media and look pretty for the folks back home so the recruiters can fill their quotas, and we can get more people to the new colony."
Stroud looked around the room once more. "Media is gonna be here in a few hours. If you see the media anywhere in your vicinity, stand up straight and smile like your momma's watching you. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Sargeant!"
UCN Captain Ryan Ramirez
"Status," Captain Ramirez stared into the starfield as his crew went about business in the Archimedes bridge.
"No contact from patrol ship; this is his second check-in missed." Comms officer Crews stated.
"Keep at it, recall all patrols, and have them on standby." Captain Ramirez hummed. "Media should be here soon; how's the crew doing?"
"Grumbling but ready, Sir," XO Glacier walked to stand beside Ryan. She stood at parade rest, awaiting her Captain's orders.
"Well, just make sure they know to smile when the cameras roll," Ryan grumbled.
"You should follow your own advice, Sir," Glacier smirked.
"Right, right," Ryan sighed, hating this whole damn debacle. This was the first significant UC colonization effort since the war and the fall of Londinium. Half the city's prefabs dropped from orbit. The rest was being built on location. The Colony Olympus is a new start for many poorer families living in New Atlantis. Generous government benefits were being extended to those willing to relocate to Olympus. Jobs in construction, engineering, and anything you can think of were being opened by the thousands as Colony development was heavily underway. As of today, the colony was housing two hundred thousand colonists. Wave two of the colonization was set to arrive in a year. After the war, this level of colonization was thought to be impossible, but here they were.
"Grav jump signature detected," Crews sat on her seat and prepared to hail the arrival.
"They're right behind me!" Lieutenant Kurtz's Longsword limped toward the Athens heavily damaged.
"What?" Ramirez stepped up closer to the comms terminal.
"I got several grav jump signatures approaching!" Another crew member shouted. From the starfield, sure enough, several ships jumped into the area. Immediately, they got into intercept formation.
"Shit, my engines are failing I-" Kurtz's transmission was cut short as his Longsowrd was torn apart by laser fire from the attacking ships.
Ryan ran a hand over his greying hair and briskly walked back to the command console. He pressed a button and prepared to address the crew of the Athens.
"Two more grav jumps. Oh no," the CIC officer Lieutenant Ryker grew pale as two Destroyers jumped into the systems from the darkness of space.
"Shields!" shouted Ryan.
"Powered up, they're targeting us!" Ryker said with practiced ease.
"This is Captain Ramirez, all hands to combat stations and prepare for capital ship engagement." Ramirez calmly spoke up, pressing down on the intercom button. He let go of the intercom button and turned his head to Lieutenant Crews. "Hail the nearest UCN forces."
"Were being jammed nothing is getting out of the system." Crews said with dread pooling at the bottom of her stomach.
"Damn it," Rayan gritted his teeth, hail the enemy ships."
"Roger," Crews tapped away, then spoke up. "Unknow ships, cease your approach immediately, respond, or we will retaliate."
"Bzzt," static was her only response.
"Alright, they wanna play that way. All weapons power up and target the right ship." Ryan straightened up, and as he did so, the rest of his escorts out on patrol returned.
"This is Spear One, who invited these clowns?" A Phalanx ship flew past the Athens with its three wingmates. Two more squadrons showed up and formed up, ready for a fight.
"Unknown, and they won't respond to our hails. They already shot down Kurtz and his patrol." Crews informed Spear One.
"Sons of bitches are gonna wish they hadn't just picked a fight with the UCN." Spear One replied with cool fury.
"Good, squadrons one and two target the left ship; keep it off balance while we deal with the right ship. Squadrons three and four intercept their escorts." Ryan ordered, cutting further chatter off.
"Sword One here, that's a tall order, Captain. We're looking at three-to-one odds: They already took out a squadron." Sword one in his Phalanx blasted off to engage the enemy interceptors.
"UCN demands the impossible always," Ryan smirked slightly.
"Then let's deliver, Sword One out," the 1st Lieutenant chuckled before cutting the transmission.
"Entering weapons range in 320 seconds," the Helmsman piped up.
"Give me scans, what are we dealing with here, Freestar?" Ryan looked to his CIC crew.
"Negative. Drive signatures don't match any FC vessel on record." Ryker scowled at her console.
"Sir, I got activity on both capital ships; their bows are opening." Ryker narrowed her eyes at the readings. "Power is being diverted to something, standby." Her eyes widened, and Ryker stood from her station. "Railgun! It's massive!"
"Evade, divert power to engines!" Ryan ordered.
"All hands brace!" The Helmsman shouted as he jerked the control stick. All crew members able to buckle themselves into their seats did; the rest simply held on for dear life. The Athens lurched from her stationary orbit, her engines firing on all cylinders. The unknown ships fired their main railguns and engines to counteract the railgun's force. The first shot skimmed the Athen's shield, and the next shredded her shields entirely and tore through the aft of the ship. The shot tore through multiple decks, killing hundreds of crewmen and venting even more into space.
The Athens bridge shook violently, throwing up cups and various odds and ends. Ryan looked up after the shockwave, seeing his favorite pen floating before him.
"Sir, that tore through our grav drive core and our damn shields," Ryker informed in awe and dread.
"Stay calm we weren't running from this fight anyway. XO Glacier, a word," Ryan motioned for his XO.
She pushed off from her position and floated to a stop before Ryan. "Sir?"
"Prep the escape shuttle," He whispered in her ear.
"Sir?" Glacier's eyebrows shot up.
"Lieutenant Ryker," Ryan pushed off to the CIC in the bridge and leaned over the crew Ryker's shoulder.
"Sir?" Ryker swallowed thickly.
"Give me all the info you can from the sensors, drive signatures, silhouettes, energy readings, ship types, everything. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Sir!" CIC crew member Ryker immediately began her work.
Ryan returned to his spot and whispered into XO Glacier's ear again. "Once the data is gathered, take a Marine squad and get the Data to New Atlantis."
Glacier opened her mouth to protest but closed it with a snap instead. "Sir," she saluted.
"We still got thrust, what are your orders, Sir?" The Helmsman wiped his mouth.
"No change, move us into CQC and hit that ship with everything we got!"
"Yes, Sir!" The Helmsman pushed the control stick forward, and the CIC fired their weapons.
"Shields are back up, thirty percent," another CIC crew member piped up.
"Steady as she goes," Captain Ryan said, but privately, he was making peace with what was to come.
The Athens lurched forward. Her Laser cannons swiveled, and her railguns swiveled forward. As soon as they entered minimum range, they fired. From the back, missile launchers fired anti-ship missiles. Laser cannons near the bow fired in pulses, and railguns thumped soundlessly in space.
UCN Marine Joseph 'Joe' Taylor
Joe put on his helmet, which hissed, sealing him in a pressurized environment. As he did, Sargeant Stroud floated by opening the locker room bulkhead. "Listen up, Marines, we just got selected to escort XO Glacier back to New Atlantis! She makes it back even if we all die. Do you get me?"
"Sir, yes, Sir!" Every Marine sounded with gusto.
"Outstanding, all Marines to the evac shuttle hussle!" Stroud floated out of the bulkhead with his marines in toe.
Joe floated closer to Sargeant Stroud and touched his shoulder, matching his float speed. "Sarge, she's going down, isn't she?"
"Hostiles put a hole in our grav core with two shots. The data on the enemy is all that matters now," Stroud looked back at Joe.
"Sir," Joe nodded, understanding but still feeling sick in the stomach about leaving the fight behind. Several minutes later, as they rounded the corner, the Athens shook violently, throwing everyone around.
"That was a direct hit. Shields are out, m-!" Sargeant Stroud was cut off, and the hallway behind him imploded, sending him crashing against his marines. Joe was rattled, his hand flew back, and someone grabbed his wrist right before he was sucked into the vacuum of space. Joe's vision was blurred, and after he blinked it away, he saw Sargeant Stroud hanging on for dear life on an exposed pipe.
"Sargeant!" Joe shouted and reached out with his foot. "Grab on, Sir!"
Stroud grabbed his leg, and the other Marines found a perch and pulled them back before they could get around the corner and seal the bulkhead at the intersection. "Sound off, who's dead?" Joe turned to the Marines, who only gasped and gave thumbs up.
"Sargeant, oh no." Joe immediately went to Sargeant Stroud's side as a pipe had lodged through his abdomen.
"Suit's compromised. I lost a lot of blood." Stroud choked out blood pooling in his mouth
"Medic!" Joe turned around but was forced back by Sargeant Stroud. "You're in command now, son. Get the mission done. Supra Et Ultra." Sargeant Stroud went limp, his body floating weightlessly before his men.
"No damn it, we can still save him, MEDIC!" He shouted to his men.
"Sir!" Young grabbed him by the shoulders roughly. "He's gone, with that much blood loss and no gravity, we can't save him."
"Shit!" Joe punched the hallway before taking a calming breath. "We still got a mission, hold on." He put his hand to his helmet. "Chimera to XO Glacier, do you read me?" The ship shook violently again, and explosions rocked Athens throughout her frame.
"I read you, where's Sargeant Stroud?" She replied, her voice strained.
"He's gone, mam. I'm Corporal Taylor. I've assumed command of Chimera." Joe pursed his lips. "We got cut off. We're gonna take an alternative route to the escape shuttle."
"Roger, I'm halfway there," Glacier sucked in the air before continuing. "Please hurry. I'm ahead of you already."
"Yes, Mam," Joe looked to his squad. "Chimera, move out, let's go!" Joe prayed to the old god his family had kept through generations. "Father who art in heaven, hallow thee thy name." His prayer was under his breath, ensuring his men could not hear him.
UCN Captain Ryan Ramirez
"Multiple hull breaches. We have casualties all across the ship!" Lieutenant Ryker informed.
"I can't get our shields back up. Should we route all power to the weapons systems?"
"Captain, I lost power to the lower decks. I don't know how many crew members could get into hard suits."
"Helmsman!" Ryan cut through all the panicking bridge crew. " Set course for the target,"
The Helmsman turned on his seat, making eye contact with Ryan to ensure he heard right. "Yes, Sir. Give me all available power to engines."
Ryan addressed all members of the Athens one last time. "Attention all personnel; evacuate the Athens immediately. If you can, have all escape shuttles and pods land on the planet. We will ram the Athens against one of the capital ships in minutes. You have until that time to evacuate. It has been an honor to serve with all of you." Ryan cut the transmission off and looked at his bridge crew. "All of you get to your escape pods, that's an order."
"With all due respect, Sir, we would like to stay." Lieutenant Ryker did not budge from her station.
"Damn it, I gave you a direct order!" Ryan barked at the crew.
"Frankly, Sir, the chain of command is moot now." The Helmsman threw a smirk over his shoulder to the Captain.
"This is our home, Sir," another crew member said. "We won't abandon her or you."
"Then," Ryan stood up straight and sighed. "It has been an honor to serve with all of you."
"Likewise, Captain," the Helmsman chuckled.
"Diver all noncritical power to engines, Supra et Ultra!"
"Supra et Ultra!" The bridge crew declared in unison. The Athen's engines burned brightly. In response, their targeted ship opened its bow, revealing its massive rail cannon again.
UCN Marine Joseph 'Joe' Taylor
Joe forced the low-power bulkhead open to the makeshift hangar. They flew towards the lone shuttle at the far back of the hangar. On arrival, they noticed several dead bodies, however, they weren't dead of explosions but gunfire. Chimera squad readied their weapons as they rounded the shuttle to find XO Glacier slumped against the ladder in the cargo hold leading into the ship. "What…took you." She waved at the floating dead bodies. "They mutinied last minute, had to secure the shuttle."
"Right," Joe exhaled, let's get you inside. Medic, look at the XO in the ship, Young; get on that cockpit and get us out of here."
"Sir!" Both Marines moved to their job while the rest pushed the bodies back onto the Athens with as much dignity as possible given the circumstances. Then, everyone piled inside and buckled up while Young prepped the shuttle. "Alright, powering up, everyone, strap in!" The shuttle's grav core whirred on, and gravity was restored aboard the shuttle. Young grabbed the control sticks and flew them out of the Athens. Young turned on the rearview camera, and from their seats, the Marines tuned in to watch her final moments. Three of her massive engines had sputtered dead. Multiple hull breaches spewed her innards into the cold of the starfield. Then, as she neared her target in her finest hour, the main rail cannon of their attacker cracked her in two down the middle, blowing the bridge and everything else into warped metal and fire. The two halves of the Athens vented what was left of the crew into the void before both halves began to break apart in a fiery explosion.
"Shit, here they come, interceptors!" Young diverted power from weapons to engines and grav drive. The shuttle was immediately under fire as the attackers tore at its shields with lasers. "Shit shields down to sixty, forty!"
"Taylor!" XO Glacier shouted from the back.
"I got it!" Joe returned to find the XO bandaged and barely standing by the cargo ladder.
"Mam, you gotta lay down. We're in the middle of maneuvers!" Joe grabbed her shoulder. The XO turned and instead shoved Joe down into the cargo hold. Both fell down the ladder with it sealing behind them.
"XO, what are you doing!?" Joe stood and grabbed the ladder.
"This is our only chance, Taylor, I'm sorry." She stood up and hit Joe's hand with her pistol, forcing him to let go. Then she fired on the control panel on the wall, and the ramp opened, venting them both into space.
"Shit!" Taylor shouted as he flew back and watched the shuttle blast past them. "Damn it, Young! Turn back!" Joe tried.
"Corporal, we just lost shields, AAGH!" Young shouted before the shuttle was blown to bits by the interceptors.
"XO Glacier," Joe started, frozen in place, unable to process what happened.
"It's up to you, Taylor," Glacier floated over to him and pressed a sealed container against his chest. "Survive, get this data to New Atlantis."
"No, no, damn it, I'm supposed to get you back there too!" Joe grabbed XO Glacier. He could see the blood already floating in space.
"Take my oxygen and here," she handed him a handheld scanner. "It's all wasted on me. I'm just debris now. Watch, wait, and deploy your distress beacon when you're sure they won't see you."
"Don't waste any of the lives that were lost here today. Do you hear me, Marine?" Glacier grimaced, holding her side.
"Yes, Mam," Joe gritted his teeth, but his eyes were fueled by determination.
"Good," Glacier smiled painfully before she pushed off him and unhooked her pack. She tossed it to Taylor, using the last bit of her suit's power to float herself away from Taylor.
"I'm gonna turn my distress beacon on to guide them away from you." Glacier wheezed painfully.
"Don't forget all of the Athen's and Olympus's hopes are now with you." With that, XO Glacier shut off communications as her body drifted into the starfield. Joe watched her go before he turned back to their mysterious attackers. The two capital ships had taken up geo stationary position over the Olympus Colony. Joe grabbed the scanner and targeted the vessels. He narrowed his eyes as several pods were fired from the ships heading straight for the colony below. "What are they doing? Invading the colony?"
UC Colony Olympus
To say the citizens were distressed was an understatement. Local news had just reported the battle above their colony, ending with all the UCN personnel dying. A citizen in particular, Joe Cobb, was looking up at the sky when he noticed something entering the planet's atmosphere. From the sky, several containers were hurled towards the colony. The containers fired retro boosters and slowed their descent until they landed on the colony ground without much fanfare. A UC Security officer down the street approached one of the containers, rifle in hand.
The container had a red beeping light that was pulsating slowly. Then it pulsated faster and faster until it turned green. The Officer stepped back as the outside protective heat panels popped off, revealing their contents. "What the hell?" the Officer backed off, confused. "Heatleeches?" The pod had several Heatleeches inside cylindrical tubes sealed and wriggling. A secondary orange light lit up next to the green light, and the cylinders opened and expunged the Heatleeches onto the ground. "What the hell is this some kind of joke?" The Security officer raised his boot to crush one. A final blue light turned on, and several vents opened on the top of the container and spewed out green gas. The Heatleeches started convulsing before they grew in mass, and limbs, claws, and jagged teeth grew on them. The Officer fell back, crawling on his ass as the Heatleech he was about to crush finished its alien transformation into a Terrormorph, the most dreaded predator of man's nightmares.
Alien screeches were heard all around Olympus, followed by the panicked screams of its denizens. The once hopeful young colony began its fall to a Terrormorph infestation.
This is my tale of a new universe after the main quest. The line has been crossed, and a Starborn gazes into a new existence. What awaits will unfold as humanity seems forced to turn its gaze at what could lie beyond the starfield's horizon.
Some heavy inspiration from the Expanse. This will feature a lot of UC and FC politics and meddling from the enigmatic Va'ruun. Something stirs outside the known settled systems, and mankind must face it regardless of their readiness.