Insertion

[Maarschalk]

Very Cool, thanks Nigel_Strange, looking forward to the next chapter!

[tha_rami]

Well, that sounds perilous. Fun idea to use their weapons against them in this way

[Nigel_Strange]

Sorry, it got a little expository, but it seemed necessary to reveal the plan at this time.

[Nigel_Strange]

Sundog stared through the windscreen of his Evoch. “I don’t get it,� he said.

“What’s not to get?� asked Devious. “Welcome to Secret Base!�

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... 1#pid54780

“I just don’t get what’s so secret about it.�

“This base has been in vonari space for years now, and has maintained a cloaking field until fairly recently. I kept telling them that it was going to malfunction, but they didn’t believe me, either that, or the local mechanics are too many light years away. So, after it broke someone put up the Welcome sign, hoping it would encourage them to learn active redirected light technology. Apparently, they’ve instead adapted to the shame, rather than learned from it.�

“Won’t this attract the vonari?�

“They already knew about it. As soon as the cloak field went down, they were on it like a swarm of flies on a rotting carcass. However, their antigravity beam weapons are useless against it, and their missiles can’t penetrate the shield, so they just come here to gawk at it, oh, and maybe shoot down anyone trying to get inside. I’ll send you the coordinates.�

Captain Devious sent the exact coordinates of the central column of the “Secret� Alliance base to Sundog, who punched them into his navigation computer.

“Ready?� asked Devious.

“Affirmative.�

“Powering down the stealth generator now.�

Both Devious and Sundog powered down their stealth generators. It was necessary in order to allow enough power to the fulcrum drive to make the jump. The entire swarm of vonari immediately turned when the new blips appeared on their sensors and started at the two fighters at top speed. Sundog stared at the energy indicator slowly creep upwards as the vonari ships sped toward them. He diverted all of the shield energy to the engines to hasten its climb. It helped. A little.

“Almost in firing range,� said Sundog.

“I have a lock,� said Devious. A flurry of Excaliburs erupted from Careless Whisper, just before it sped forward into the fulcrum jump point.

Sundog watched one of the vonari ships explode as Devious vanished. Sundog saw several incoming missile indicators headed his way. He turned his ship in the opposite direction, hoping the fulcrum jump would speed him away from the missiles instead of toward them before the jump. As the first missile was about to hit, he engaged the fulcrum drive and instantly accelerated away, leaving the missiles behind. Unfortunately, he was not aligned with the ecliptic when he jumped, so when he arrived at the station, his approach was off and he bounced off the shield surrounding Secret Base.

“Don’t turn around!� exclaimed Devious through the radio. Sundog was just about to turn 180 and hit the afterburners so he could get inside the base.

“What?�

“Just keep going,� said Devious. “If you slow down here, they’ll eat you alive. Get out of range, then line yourself up properly, then make the jump again.� Sundog did as he was told. He flew through the swarm of vonari, who fired at him with cannons and missiles, but because he was going too fast, nothing touched him. After a few minutes, he had left them behind. He did a jump to a remote area of the sector, then lined up and then jumped to the base. He then parked next to Devious.

“That was close,� he said.

“Staying alive in vonari space means two things: stay cloaked and keep moving,� said Devious gruffly. “If you slow down like that again, you will die. This base is the only safe place to stop in the entire quadrant.�

Sundog finally had time to look at it. “Is that Vonarion?� he with wonder. A black and red cracked planet loomed in the distance. Even from so far away, it had a menacing, evil look about it. Red lava broke through the surface like cracks in an ancient face.

“Yes, that’s Vonarion,� said Devious.

“The vonari homeworld…�

“Well, maybe,� said Devious. “We think this might be a forward base of operations. The surface is devoid of any structures. They seem to have some kind of underground base or bases there.�

“We should just drop a bunch of fulcrums on it,� said Sundog.

“I think we’ll let Commander Konrad make the executive decisions, if you don’t mind. Besides, look at it. It looks like someone has already beat us to the fulcrum carpet-bombing. Didn’t seem to touch them, though.

“Come on, let’s get into the lift,� he said, opening his hatch. The bubble around the base hanger held air so they could get out without their helmets on. However, nobody actually got out of their ships without their helmets. People had been around these atmosphere bubbles all their lives, but nobody really trusted them completely. You didn’t feel like your air was safe unless you were surrounded by a few inches of steel.

“Isn’t this an Alliance base?� asked Sundog.

“Yes.�

“Won’t they take a dislike to us?�

“This base is so far on the frontier and gets so little company that they’re happy to see anyone without scales. Besides, I brought some supplies,� he said with a grin. He held up a small crate.

“What’s in it?�

“The usual vices: chemical, visual, edible, potable, snuffable, and most delicious.�

“What?�

“Some luxury goods from Deneb. I always bring a peace offering to these folks. They don’t get, as I mentioned, many visitors.�

When the lift got to the main common area, they stepped out. They were greeted enthusiastically by the crew, who suffered from various forms of insomnia, depression, ennui, and randiness.

“Welcome to Vonarion, Mr. Joker,� said Lieutenant Spearling with a scowl when he met them at the lift doors.

“You still haven’t forgiven me, have you?� asked Devious. “I think the sign is quite attractive, and it makes me feel welcome.�

Devious allowed Spearling to lead the two into the main pub where the crate was opened. Devious then proceeded to distribute pharmaceuticals (some legal and some not so much) that would help with the various conditions the crew suffered. He also had a lot of chips containing contraband software (games) images (no more need be said about their nature) and various foodstuffs. The chocolate from Alpha Centari was particularly well-received. After these introductions, Devious and Sundog were honorary crew members and had several drinks on the house.

[Maarschalk]

Thanks Nigel_Strange for another chapter!

[Nigel_Strange]

Vonarion. There was no system more hostile to human life, yet there were the few who eked out a living here, difficult as it was. After the initial introduction and celebration, Sundog and Captain Devious got to work. They had with them a number of other Clan Destiny pilots to help with various chores and missions. They were the vanguard, flying in advance of the Aurora, which would be arriving later that month for field support. In the meantime, the Renegades were on their own, in hostile space, cozying up with the Alliance in a small starbase.

The Alliance station was heavily fortified and moderately self-sufficient. There were nearby asteroids for raw materials that they mined. They called the miners the Mouse squadron, because they needed to keep close watch on their radars in case vonari showed up, at which point they would leave as quickly as possible. There were not many human ships in Vonarion, and they couldn’t spare a single one. The station had very limited resources, though they could fabricate most of their needs from the raw materials. The star, Vonarion, provided the fuel.

Captain Devious, was the public relations man of Clan Destiny, and an incurable prankster. He was, however, immensely effective at gaining support from the local Alliance men, despite their long-standing differences. He helped them to better organize their mining runs, demonstrating his skills as a leader. He put the Mouse squadron under his protection in order to allow them longer mining periods. When vonari showed up, he and the other Renegades would engage them, and the Mouse party could sweep up more metals, which were used in most components that could be made on the station. Devious explained that the station was the only friendly area in Vonarion, and that they were going to be there for a long time, and so they were guests, and being guests, they had to ensure that they did not wear out their welcome. The reason for their visit to Vonarion was never explained. The mission was, after all, top secret.

Free William introduced a way to make a cheap protein from the raw materials, which the men could grow in vats and eat. It had the consistency and taste of furry cheese, but nobody died of it. After a while, they even began to find new recipes for the gunk.

Sundog took teams to close proximity to Vonarion to help with hydrogen collection, which was used for fuel by the station and all the ships.

Meanwhile, the Renegades regularly sent out expeditions to chart out different Vonarion sectors, hoping to find the wormhole that led to Riftspace. Days turned to weeks, but there was no sign of the wormhole.

One day, Devious walked in on Sundog, who was tuning what looked like a home-made quartz radio.

“What are you up to?�

“I’m listening to vonarion transmissions. This starbase is an excellent listening station. The vonari have no idea that we can intercept and translate their language, so they don’t even bother to encrypt their messages. It is most intriguing.� Captain Devious did the requisite mental shift from addressing Sundog to addressing Free William, who was apparently now in control of Sundog’s brain.

“So, what are they saying?�

“They’re sending raiding parties to Tallison and Sierra.�

“Hardly news.�

“They are diversions,� continued William.

“Yes, we know that.�

“They are amassing another fleet to send through the wormhole.�

“Do they give coordinates for the wormhole?�

“No.�

“Then they’re not very helpful.�

“We know where the fleet is gathering. It occurred to me that instead of trying to find the wormhole by blind searches, we should find out its location from someone who knows where it is: the vonari.�

“Excellent idea. Why don’t you get on the microphone and ask them?� chided Devious.

“Or, we could plant a tracer on one of the ships heading for the fleet gathering.�

“That would have been my second choice. Find the gathering and let me know where it is.�

With that, Captain Devious recalled the Renegades back to Secret Base, then sent a tangle to the Aurora, warning them of the vonari fleet heading their way. It would be up to the Aurora and what was left of her flight crew to take them out. However, since they had advance warning, they would have the advantage. He then went into the station factory to get the engineers to build a coded transmitter that could be attached to the hull of a vonari cruiser, and made plans on how to attach it.

“They’ll never expect this,� mused Devious. “I often find that a judicious application of the unpredictable can be moist efficacious.�

“Moist?�

“Yes. You see what I mean?�

[warsign]

WOW.

Moist? How?
I like the story. Thanks.

[Maarschalk]

Sounds like they have a moist plan! LOL:P:P:P

[Wasp89]

Have you ever heard of NaNoWriMo? You should look into it if you haven't, you'd probably enjoy it. Keep writing, you have quite a talent there! I'm looking forward to the next installment.

[tha_rami]

NaNoWriMo is awesome.

Moist? At my most badass I make people feel like taking a shower.

[Nigel_Strange]

The group gathered around the thing in the center of the hanger and stared.

“Hurry up, men, we’re running out of time!� shouted Devious.

“That’s our secret weapon?� asked Mongoose.

“What the heck is it?� asked Sundog.

“It is, as Mongoose proclaimed, our secret weapon.�

The large metal tube sat there, open and empty. Sundog recognized it as a fulcrum torpedo, but with the payload removed. Upon closer inspection, he found that there was no fuel tank for the rocket engine, either. It was, essentially, a hollow metal tube.

“Where’s the payload?� asked Mongoose.

“Thank you,� replied Devious.

“For what?�

“You just volunteered.�

“Volunteered?� said Mongoose, looking slightly more shifty than his usual ratfaced self. “For what?�

“You are going to be the payload. Now, we don’t have a lot of time. Suit up and be ready. We leave in ten minutes!�

As the rest of the crew scrambled to get their gear ready to go, Mongoose stood looking at Devious. “You wanna explain that last bit?� he asked.

“No time. Get your suit. I’ll explain en route.�

In eight minutes, they were ready and climbing aboard their ships. Mongoose, after suiting up, went with Devious. Devious opened the fulcrum tube and proffered the entry for Mongoose, who slid in.

“OK, now lie down,� said Devious. Mongoose obeyed. Through his helmet, Devious could see the repressed rage building in the other man as he squeezed into the tight-fitting metal sarcophagus. Devious then handed him a disk-shaped transmitter in one hand, and a stick of cold-weld in the other. “Your job is to climb onto the vonari cruiser’s hull and spot weld this transmitter onto it. Got it?�

“What if they shoot me out of the sky?�

“We’ll try not to let that happen.�

“What if they jump out with me on it?�

“Just get the transmitter on the hull good and tight. After that, jump free. We’ll have a ship pick you up. Any more questions?�

“Did you think of this?�

“Right, let’s get going.� With that, Devious closed the hatch on the fulcrum and had them load it into the number one hardpoint of the Careless Whisper. After a few more minutes, the fighter was in space, meeting up with the rest of the squadron.

“OK, clan, on my mark,� he said, setting the coordinates for the enemy ship. “Go!� The five ships vanished simultaneously into blue flashes.

When they appeared, they were nearly on top of the enemy cruiser. It was surrounded by vonari scout ships and heavy fighters. The Clan ships broke off to attack, except for Sundog in his Evoch and Devious in his Wraith, both of whom engaged the stealth generators.

“Sundog, I need you to take out that cruiser’s weapons. Don’t worry about the fighter escort, the others will see to them.� Through the hull of the ship, Devious could hear Mongoose pounding on the fulcrum tube. “I need those weapons out ASAP. I’m starting my approach now.�

With that, the Careless Whisper began its invisible approach to the enemy cruiser. Sundog performed his job satisfactorily, just as Devious had trained him. He sneaked up to the cruiser’s “cheek� under stealth, then nuzzled right up into its weapon center. Then, he decloaked and immediately fired all his missiles into the enemy ship. Within seconds, the cruiser’s weapons were disabled. At that moment, Devious decloaked and released the fulcrum torpedo. The torpedo continued forward on its own momentum as Devious changed course and began engaging the other ships. The torpedo, without any propulsion of its own, was a dark, cold target that would not show on most radars and was fairly difficult to see directly.

Mongoose felt the clank of the weapon release mechanism, but otherwise, felt nothing but the sides of his little shell around him. He tried to control his own breathing, but his heart raced nevertheless. What if they miss? Was all he could think. They could miss, and then his little coffin would float into the void, never to be seen again, and he’d just die from asphyxiation. Or, what if they shoot down the missile? He realized there were no shields or anything to prevent even a small shot from killing him.

While he was thinking this he felt the tube suddenly stop. He continued sliding forward until his feet slammed against the nosecone of the missile and, at the same time, the sides of the missile broke away and shattered. He was suddenly in the middle of space, with the stars and bright nebula all around. The shards of the fulcrum tube spun away and disappeared. Beneath him was the hull of the enormous vonari cruiser, stretching out before him like a vast runway to either side. The stars wheeled above him as he became aware of himself standing on the hull amid a savage space battle. Vonari ships disintegrated around him, streaming plasma and debris. Cannons flared like strobes. Missile trails filled the vacuum like tracings of spiderwebs, but there was no sound except for the clanking noises coming up through his feet from the vonari cruiser.

He remembered then what he had to do and shook himself out of his awe. The ship was smooth and there was precious little for him to grab onto. He did find a small fissure and stuck his boot in. Then, he took the cold-welder and started to fix the transmitter onto the hull.

He ducked in toward the hull as a vonari scout ship came careening straight toward him. There was nowhere for him to go, and he suddenly realized that his hard life was about to end. He had little time for regrets, though, before the scout bounced away harmlessly, deflected by a well-timed kinetic missile. Mongoose caught Devious’s grinning face in the cockpit as he soared past, re-engaging the stealth generator for another watch.

The weld was nearly ready. The enemy ships were mostly reduced to floating wreckage except for a few skirmishers that were putting up the last bit of struggle. In a few more seconds, he would jump free. Unfortunately, at that moment, a yawning blue sphere opened up in front of the cruiser and it, the transmitter, and Mongoose all leapt forward under the impulse of the sudden onset of the gravity well of the vonari warp engine.

“Get out of there!� yelled Sundog over the radio.

Mongoose tried to jump free, but his foot was still jammed in the fissure. He twisted it and tried to get it out, but by the time he did, the ship was already distorting as it was sucked into the singularity.

“No!� shouted Sundog over the radio. The vonari cruiser, the transmitter, and Mongoose had all vanished into the blue light and were gone.

The ships of Clan Destiny each jumped back to Secret Base, one by one, their mission accomplished. Sundog and Devious were the last to leave.

“I hope it was worth it,� said Sundog.

“We’re talking about saving Evochron from the vonari. None of us is worth throwing that away. I hope you understand that.�

“Yes, sir,� Sundog replied.

When all the pilots got back, they had a solemn gathering in the tavern of Secret Base. They hoisted their flagons in respect for their fallen hero and sung and told stories of his exploits. Sundog had barely known the man, but he learned more of him as the night dragged on.

Then, one of the men came into the room. “It’s the signal from the transmitter,� he announced.

[warsign]

Whoa!

Breathtaking!

Nigel, your are a kind of mix of Clive Cussler and Christopher Paolini (Eragon), at last I found it

[tha_rami]

If anything, I'm a bit sad I don't really know who disappeared. Very well written still, though.

[Maarschalk]

Wow! Now I wan't to know what happened to Mongoose! Is he going to be OK? or does jumping when outside of a ship kill you instantly?

[Wasp89]

"Time travel without a capsule, nasty. Catch your breath; don't go swimming for over an hour."

-The Doctor

[Nigel_Strange]

Well, telling it from 3rd person means I can kill any character any time I want. The drawback is that it removes a level of intimacy with the character's experience.

[BraveHart]

He-He....Excellent Work Nigel ......keep 'em coming

[Nigel_Strange]

One shot.

That’s all you get. That’s all anyone gets. Ever. Dr. Scope settled into position. He crawled into a prone position, high on a craggy cliff overlooking a desolate valley. He then set his rail rifle on its bipod and looked through the scope.

One shot.

The theoretical basis of the school of statistics is predicated upon the idea that if you repeat the same event multiple times, then a percentage of those trials happen one way and a percentage of those trials happen the other way. Hit or miss. You might miss ten percent of the time and hit the other ninety. The problem with the idea, though, is that nothing ever happens twice. Nothing. People tend to group similar events together, but it’s never the same event. A sniper knows this. You only get one shot. You don’t get to do it one hundred times and hit ninety of them. Once you fire, the target knows you are there. The relationship between the sniper and the target changes. You might get another round out, but once the target knows you are there, it becomes much harder to hit. You might get a good shot on another target, maybe a hundred other targets, but they’re all different targets. All of them different. What allows statisticians to make up statistics about events is their lumping together a large number of discrete, independent events that, to them, appear to be repetitions of the same event, but which are, every one of them, totally different and unique. No two instances in the history of the universe are the same, and that is why you only get one shot.

Max, Dr. Scope’s gundog, settled in behind him, keeping watch. Max was Scope’s best friend, naturally. A perfect machine friend. He was like a metal dog, but with a gun barrel for a snout, He could shoot ten rounds a second. Max understood his needs. Scope needed someone, or something, to watch his back as he concentrated all his attention on the kill zone, nearly a mile away, beneath him, waiting for the target. He did not want someone sneaking up on him and catching him by surprise when his attention was so focused, which it was during these operations. Max was totally silent during missions. He sometimes padded one way or the other, cocking his metal ears to suspicious noises and analyzing them to make sure they were within the range of sounds made by normal fauna. Max’s keen eyes could look in different directions simultaneously, and his head could swivel around in an instant. His bark was worse than his bite, but then, his bark was a fully automatic chaingun, while his bite was more or less nonexistent, owing to the absence of jaws and teeth.

The orange sun was going down. If it was dark by the time the show started, he would need to switch to infrared. He hoped that would not be the case, as it always seemed a bit blurry and make it more difficult to be precise.

[Maarschalk]

Hahaha, keeping us in suspense of what or who the target is! Very Nice!:P:P:P

[alpha45]

Awesome story!

[uVAVu]

A very enjoyable and well written story.

Even though i havn't played the game yet, is setting the scene for a very enjoyable experience, thank you for fuelling my imagination.

2.5 days to go.

[Nigel_Strange]

Skymaven had faced overwhelming odds before and had always come out on top, or at least, survived. The vonari were all around, and since he was the only non-vonari ship in the area, they were concentrating their attacks on him. However, this was how he liked to fight: overwhelming odds, extreme aggression, intense dogfighting. He swooped and struck like a raptor catching fish. Before the vonari could react, he was already someplace else. Sometimes, just as they were about to surround him, he would vanish in a glowing blue haze of a fulcrum jump, only to appear again behind them releasing a few missiles. He harrowed them like a hornet and their numbers dwindled, their flaming wreckage streaking down toward the bright blue planet below leaving black smoke trails in their wakes.

Yet, Skymaven was sweating. Even as the vonari numbers dwindled to the point where a merely decent pilot could hope to survive, Skymaven’s anxiety grew. Soon, it was down to one.

“This is it,� he said to himself.

The vonari ship launched a missile and, rather than use countermeasures, Skymaven attempted to outmaneuver it, but failed. The missile grazed his wing and exploded, shattering the wingtip off and enveloping his Evoch in floating debris. The ship began to spin as it spiraled downward, heading toward the surface of the planet as he fought for control. Skymaven flipped on the distress beacon as his ship began to burn in the atmosphere. He ramped up the shields and leveled off the burning Evoch so it would not disintegrate as it descended. The engines sputtered out as more of his wing tore off and flew away. Skymaven gritted his teeth and rode the wreckage toward the ground, his stomach filling his throat. His hands were white-knuckled and he found that, though he tried, he could not unclench them from the controls. He managed a quick nose-up as the ship hit the ground and slid forward, causing a great gash rocky surface. The ship continued forward with a deafening grinding noise as it plowed through the earth, and then there was total silence.

Skymaven was vaguely aware of the smoke billowing upward into the vast blue sky. He took some time to come to his senses. At first, he could not remember where he was or why he was there. He thought he was in an early training session in which he crashed his first Talon in a corn field. When they finally got to him, they dragged him to a hospital and then made him pay the farmer for the crops he had destroyed. He remembered his instructor glaring at him, berating him for shaming the entire school. Then he remembered his first flight leader, who always had a side-arm. He asked him why he carried it.

“You going to shoot vonari with that thing?� he asked.

“It’s not for them, it’s for me,� said Van, the leader. He had a ragged scar on his head that ran all the way from his right eye to his left ear. “You never want to let the scalies take you alive,� he continued.

“Why not?�

“They do things to you that you could not imagine.�

“Why?�

“I don’t know. Maybe they are testing weapons. Maybe they’re after information. Who knows? They have a device that we call the Tenderizer.�

“That doesn’t sound so bad.�

“It liquefies bone. One moment you’re standing there, and the next moment you’re a pool of goo. You can’t breath, you can’t move, you can’t even scream, and I’m sure you would scream if you could because as every single muscle in your body and its sinews is freed of its moorings, your entire body becomes one knotty Charlie horse.�

Skymaven remembered where he was. He was on the surface of an unknown planet in an uncharted system after having been shot down by a vonari. Through the smoke from his ravaged Evoch, he saw the vonari ship touch down nearby. He looked down and saw that the distress beacon was still on. Nobody was coming for him, though.

The vonari ship opened. It really opened. It cracked wide open the way an ancient breech loading revolver opened. The front part slid out and partially underneath the back part, revealing the vonari pilot. The vonari hopped out. It was huge! Skymaven had never seen a vonari in person before: only pictures and drawings of them. This one must have been eight feet tall. It was wearing a tight-fitting environment suit with a helmet. The helmet, though, was not curved in the way that human helmets were, but more oblong, as if to protect a much longer head than humans have. It reached into the ship and disconnected the hoses that were attached to its suit and reached back in to grab something from inside. Skymaven could not see what it was carrying.

Suddenly, panic seized Skymaven and he opened the hatch. There was a hiss of air rushing into the cockpit. He then slammed his fist into the harness, which instantly unbuckled, and leaned over the side in order to climb out. He was suddenly very dizzy, and leaning over the side made his head spin. He felt as though he might black out, but he clawed at the side of his Evoch until he fell onto the ground below, which had buried his left wing. The vonari kept coming forward.

Skymaven remembered Van, his flight leader, and his habit of carrying a side-arm. After Skymaven flew with him, he always carried a side-arm with him into combat. Maybe he would use it on himself, but first, he would try it on the vonari. He instinctively reached for his thigh-holster, but it was not there! He had not worn his side-arm that day. Meanwhile, the vonari pilot strode forward, almost upon him. Skymaven saw that the alien had a rod in its claw, with a bulb on one end that seemed vaguely egg-shaped. He did not know what it was. He did not want to know. Since the day when he found out about the Tenderizer, he knew that the vonari had been developing even more clever methods of causing unbearable pain and suffering. It seemed to be one thing they were really good at.

The vonari was nearly on top of Skymaven now. It began to raise the weapon. Then its head disappeared and was replaced by a pink fog. Skymavin, his Evoch, his suit, and everything around was sprayed with a fine red mist. Skymaven looked around, but could see nothing except some hills in the distance.

After a few seconds, there was a loud crack coming from one of those hills. Skymaven sighed, opened his visor, and took an enormous swig of Alpha Centarian brandy. After a few minutes, he walked over to the new vonari fighter he had just acquired.

[Maarschalk]

Very well done Nigel, thanks for another very well written chapter. I was wondering what was going to happen ? I get it the Vonari was taken out by Dr Scope ? or are the last two chapters not related at all ?

[BraveHart]

"Excellent story indeed!"....

[Wasp89]

It was wonderful right up until the last few sentences; it took a few readings for me to understand what had happened, and it kind of blew the climax for me...and it took a bit longer before some of the curious details of the description of the dogfight to make more sense.

@ Maarschalk: I believe that the whole scenario was planned, for the express purpose of snagging a vonari craft.

[Edited on 10-7-2009 by Wasp89]