A Galaxy Burning: A Starmade Fiction (Chapter #12)

[CES]

Enough said.

 

[matheus.de.alcantara]

 

[MrNature72]

The bad news: I have two exams, two term papers, and 5 discussion papers due by saturday at midnight.

So I won\'t get a chapter out until sunday.


The good news: It\'s going to be a long ass chapter. Maybe even two.

 

[Legolas170]

What time do ou usually post at? It seems pretty late, around midnight est time. I was also wondering if I could write a fiction in your universe, using the information that you already established, but none of the characters. This is because you already established a rich universe, and I\'m lazy

 

[MineCatFTW]

I did some of that, and it was a ball to write. You should try it!

 

[Zyrr]

I echo Legolas\' question. Would it be possible, if at a later stage of the book when the lore is good and fleshed out, to let other authors use this rich universe in their own writing? It would be quite the task, I know, with communication between said author and yourself to keep the descriptions of everything accurate, but overall I think it would benefit you and other authors to have a large, sprawling universe that one can explore.

Also, this needs a wiki.

 

[MrNature72]

People want to use my universe. However, I have a few requests.

For one, let me get deeper into the Andrew story arc. I know everyone thinks it\'s fleshed out already, but there\'s a lot of information left. This is more for you than me: Letting me put more canon into it will give YOU more to work with! :D

Second, I can\'t really stop what people write. However, once I get to a certain point where A Galaxy Burning lore is solidified, I would LOVE to work with people to make canon. However, it would come down to my decision what is and what isn\'t official Galaxy Burning canon, so if you want to make it official, contact me and talk to me about your story! :D This is just so I can keep everything in the same universe. I can\'t have someone going and making a story about the Tartaran\'s or the DFN that clashes with my theory on them.

Eventually, I would like to have writers who make canon stories and their own arcs, but I would need to work with them on a more personel level than just saying \"here write this\". I have to make sure that it keeps consistency in the Galaxy Burning universe, and that by having a writer or two making canon, that it doesn\'t overlap itself. It all has to stay consistent, or it will become a huge mess faster than you can imagine.

On the more pleasant side, if you\'re okay with just using my universe as a basis, I don\'t really enjoy it but I don\'t condone it, either. Eventually though I would really enjoy having a list of canon stories set in the Galaxy Burning universe! Including more of my own writing! :D

 

[Legolas170]

What time do you usually post at? I found myself staying up waiting for the new chapter to come out... So a general \'around then\' number would be great.

 

[MrNature72]

Between 2pm and 2am Eastern Time.

I haven\'t posted yesterday or today so far due to a shit ton of tests and school work, but that ends tonight! YAY!

So I\'ll either post late late tonight or sometime tommorrow.

 

[Zyrr]

I completely agree, and you echo what I said before: the story needs to be fleshed out more. Also, I\'m glad that you also believe that other authors who intend to use this universe need to converse with you so as not to make a mess of the lore, as it would really muddy the waters in terms of story continuity.

What do you think of a wiki going up at some point? It would help specify parts of the plot that can\'t be fully described in the admittedly limited point of view we currently have.

 

[Legolas170]

1:11 nature... Your time is running out...

 

[MrNature72]

I told everyone abou the tests. The new chapter is going to be in tonight.

 

[Legolas170]

WHERES MAH CHAPTUUURRR?!

 

[MrNature72]

~Authors Note: THE CHAPTER\'S RIGHT HERE LEGOLAS! JESUS! On another note, sorry it took me so long to get this out. I have had so damn much school work and not to mention the online school system crashed and- oh, just have your chapter. I love you all.

CHAPTER NINE: Planetary Assault #12

I felt someone shaking me awake. \"mmmmggg~ what do you want?\" I said, my head still blurry. The dreams I were having were not pleasant; Writhing bags of flesh, nightmares, and visions I would have rather remained in whatever plane of twisted existence they came from.

\"It\'s Maria, you need to wake up. We need you in the command center.\" She continued to shake me awake.

\"How did you get into my room? I thought only Jeremiah could do that?\"

\"I\'ve watched and listened to you, I learned how to get it.\"

I groaned. \"Right after this, if I\'m still alive, I\'m getting a better lock system.\" I pushed myself out of bed. \"How do I smell?\"

\"Of alcohol.\"

\"Just alcohol? Not roses or sunshine?\" I walked over to my clothes rack and slipped on my officers jacket. \"Well that\'s not always a bad thing.\" I strapped on my pistol. \"It\'s when you start smelling like blood, vomit, sex or some mix of the three that I start worrying.\"

\"You really need to work on your sarcasm, it\'s starting to-\"

\"Have you seen my soda water?\" I asked. I scanned everywhere, and it was no-where to be seen. The mix of warp sickness and the alcohol still in my system was not a pleasant conversation. I spotted it on the bedside table. \"Oh fantastic.\"

\"Andrew, seriously. We\'re in some secret Vaygr territory now. And- well, there\'s someone you need to meet.\" She motioned for me to follow.

\"Oh good. Who is it?\"

\"I\'m not sure-\"

\"Just tell me.\"

\"The Auditor.\"

I spewed soda water all over the place. \"Jesus christ the Auditor is ON MY SHIP!?\"
Maria shook her head, \"Lord, no. He\'s on holodisplay in the command center. He has ships in the area; Parts of what he calls the \'shadow fleet\'. But they\'re all much smaller than we are, in the thirty to a hundred meter range at best. He\'s requesting your help.\"

\"Well this aught to be interesting.\" I thought to myself. \"At least I still don\'t have to shower just yet. Is Jackson ready to go planetside, if we have to?\"

\"Stationside, Andrew.\"

\"Better and better.\" I followed Maria into the elevator. \"Floor three\" I said to the computer. We shot downards. Floor three was directly below F4, where, from right to flet, the cantina, crew quarters, and main computer were. Floor three had a long hallway, with rooms on the side where Maria, Jeremiah, and Jackson lived. Past that was the control room, and past that was the conference froom. F2 housed, from right to left, the wingloaders that send ammunition to the wing-based weapons, past that was storage for shells, then weapon control, then the power core (protected by extremely thick frontal armor). F1 contained the training rooms, armory, drop pods. Behind the elevator on F2 and F3 was the hangar, and in the very front and rear of F1 was general storage.

The elevator came to a halt and opened up into a large, grey corridor. We walked along here, and as we neared the large, circular plexdoor at the end I started to hear voices. Jeremiah was having an intense conversation with someone, and Jackson was, to no surprise, cursing a lot. It came to me, that despite all the current events I might actually be seeing what the Auditor looks like! The plexdoors opened up, and I walked into the control room, instantly turning my attention to the large holographic display at the center of the room. There was nothing but a sound oscilloscope displayed. No face, no body no nothing.

\'Of course.\' I thought to myself.

Jeremiah and Jackson fell silent. \"Hello, Captain.\" Said the deep voice over the display.

\"Hello, Auditor.\"

\"I\'m glad that you could spare some time to talk. It\'s actually rather convenient that you\'ve shown up at such a time. You have your fantastic Lazarus crew member to thank for that. And of course Maria; Much to a mix of my surprise, and my dismay, she took a little more of the hard drive than I had intended. Originally, I only wanted the chip, which would have given you nothing more than transport data and information. Maybe the coordinates, if you got lucky. At first, I was angry, thinking that you\'re friend was just being brutish and trying to save time. And then I remembered, she was a Tartaran. Clever girl, clever girl indeed.\"

\"Well instead of talking about my crew, why don\'t we just cut to it, Auditor? What is it you have in mind?\"

\"Straight to the chase then, Captain? Fair enough.\" The holo display changed to a large, flat station, that looked like a sharp three pointed star. The bottom was lit with nothing but a massive red glow and all sorts of space debris. The top however, at least in the circular center, was an almost city-like complex. I looked closely, and noted small hovercars blitting around. \"You see, we both came to the same place, thanks to the Third Terror Fleet leaving some incriminating evidence on the location of this very Vaygr lab. Normally, they don\'t make mistakes like this. But when they do? Might as well capitalize on it. Wouldn\'t you agree, Captain?\"

I ignored him, \"Any idea what\'s in the station?\"

\"Inside? No. I\'m just as curious as you are. Well, maybe not quite as curious. I know you\'re dying to get into this station, seeing as it\'s related to Terror Fleet Three.\"

\"It is? How so?\"

\"It\'s their Terror Trooper production facility. But that\'s only part of the function. In fact, they\'re only used to produce Terror Troopers because the massive labs they have in their have the equipment to do it. I want whatever the lab has, but the Vaygr always hides them away, deep in space, hidden from prying eyes. Luckily for both of us, Terror Fleets are not as thorough on information as they are on planets.\"

I winced. The Auditor had done his research. He was going to ask politely, but he knew he already had my attention. But who was I to deny it? I wanted to learn more about the people who wiped out my planet. What were they hiding? What were they after? Why did they destroy Pragni? I was hooked. \"Alright, Auditor. I\'m listening.\"

\"Fantastic.\"

\"Two things first though, Auditor-\"

\"No, Captain, I\'m not going to do what I did to the men you listened to over the audiotape. They were hired, you are not. You are acting on your own accord. And even though you are a variable... A friend once told me that sometimes, you need them.\" He laughed, \"We didn\'t always agree on things, but he did have some good points.\"

\"Well that\'s relieving.\" I said. In my head though I was stunned. I thought I had met people who did their homework, but this guy? He was only looking at me through a hologram, but he still knew how to poke at me. Like he was three steps ahead of me already. I was no puppet, but he knew a few of my buttons. A few too many. I took a deep breath. \"Now, on another note, what could you possibly need us for?\"

The Auditor sighed, \"You see, even though, as you probably know, the Syndicate is legendary for information. Stealth, reconnaisance, the works. However, we are not known for our firepower.\"

\"Why not just bring in some Euro-Corps defense craft?\"

\"It\'s not good for business.\" He grumbled, \"Every government is looking for any excuse to link the Syndicate and the Euro-Corp. Any reason to bring the Euro-Corp down. But you? You\'re not related. We can hide you much easier than a Euro-Corp fleet. Not to mention you have a small army on board that ship, Captain. It\'s an impressive craft, much more powerful than it should be.\"

Jeremiah smiled gleefully.

I nodded. \"Makes sense.\"

The Auditor started up again \"We\'re going to need-\"

\"-Me too drop onto the surface with our pods and shut down the atmospheric shield generators. It would stop any of your ships from getting in, but our pods are small enough to punch through it. After that, can I rely on you sending in drop ships?\"

\"Smart man. Absolutely.\"

\"Jeremiah, are we hidden right now?\"

Jeremiah nodded. \"I kept us out of range. The system itself doesn\'t have much scanning, instead on relying on AI controlled scanner craft. But I quickly deduced their control patterns. I sent them to the Auditor. We\'re both moving precisely in their blind spots as we speak.\"

\"Fantastic as always.\" I said. \"Any Vaygr ships?\"

\"Indeed.\" Jackson responded. The hologram changed to about sixty craft, most of them small fighters, but there was at least ten fifty to a hundred meter corvettes, and a single hundred and fifty meter frigate.

\"Can the Washington take them?\"

\"Alone? It would be risky.\"

\"Auditor, can I count on fighter support?\"

\"I\'ll send in all that I can. I have to keep the troop carriers in reserve, however.\"

\"Understandable. Auditor, the moment this discussion ends, we engage. I want your fighters in a vertical X formation alongside my ship. Tell them to target the fighters; We\'ll be able to pitch in with flak, but I want our main guns focused on those corvettes. The moment we get in range of the station, I\'ll start dropping pods. We\'re going to decrease power to the thrusters and shift it to the shields. So it will take a few moments to reach the station. No doubt more fighters are going to come; Keep us covered. Be careful around the pods, though.

\"And the frigate?\" The Auditor asked.

\"Jeremiah, can you give me any detailed information on it?\"

\"It\'s a Terror Fleet Three craft, Andrew. The rest are station vehicles.\"

\"Don\'t touch it, Auditor. That one\'s the Washington\'s. Jeremiah?\"

\"Yes, Captain?\"

\"Eat that ship alive. No one gets out.\"

He smiled. \"Yes sir\"

\"Jackson.\" I said. No response. \"Jackson?\"

Maria put her hand on my shoulder. \"Already down at the drop pods. Drop troopers will be ready in a few minutes.\"

\"Fantastic. Auditor?\"

\"Yes?\"

\"This conversation is over.\"

\"Fantastic.\" He responded, and the holograph switched back to the station. I saw a swarm of twenty or so heavy fighters de-cloak from around the Washington, and form up just as I requested. Two corvettes also decloaked, taking place at the edge of the formation.

Moments later I was at the bridge. The station was a dot in the distance, but was clearly there. The thrusters roared, and I sat in my chair, donning my armor, with my pistol strapped to my hit and rifle resting against the side of the chair. Holographic displays spun around me and Jackson, who was standing at his usual place.

\"Their fighters are closing in, Andrew.\" I heard Jermemiah say.

\"Unlock weapons.\" A quick siren blew through the ship. \"Flak cannons are too split their targets as much as possible. Tell the battlecannon operators on each wing to focus fire on the corvettes.\"

\"And the main cannon, Andrew?\"

\"Conserve it\'s ammunition. Tell them to track the frigate. The moment it\'s in range, unload everything.\"

\"Understood. Fighters in range in three...\" I saw their red blips appear through the massive screen. \"two....\" I could see thrusters now. Damn they were fast. \"one..... Opening fire.\"

All hell broke loose as soon as those words slipped through Jeremiahs mouth. I saw flak shells begin to fly, firing at rates of 600rpm from 20 cannons. They ripped through the fighters, causing them to scatter. I could hear the rumble caused by their constant firing through the entire ship.

I grabbed a small holographic ball floating to my right and moved it to the right. I saw the Auditor\'s ships re-engage their shields. I smiled. \"Sneaky bastards.\" I whispered. I heard a small murmor through the crew, \"Everyone relax!\" I shouted, \"They\'re still their, just wait.\"

The flak cannons continued to roar. Jeremiah\'s voice came over the intercom again. \"Flak cannons reloading.\" The sound ceased for a moment as their power supplies recharged. \"Three... two....- Corvettes in range! Open fire!\"

Now things got interesting. The two twin-barreled battlecannons on the side of the ship roared to life. The sound was dull but bold as their massive cannonfire vibrated through the ship. I heard the sounds of war all around me. \"Vaygr fighter down... Vaygr fighter retreating... Corvette left wing hit, retreating....\". It had been a while, but the rush came back. It was a sweet feeling of revenge, to tear through the Vaygr like this. I knew the Syndicate would cover me; For a few sweet moments, I could rip and tear the Vaygr without worrying about the reprocussions.

It was an almost sexual high. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. My eyes darted as little \'target destroyed\' symbols popped up. However a thought came to my mind.

\"Jeremiah?\" I asked, \"Where is the rest of the Terror Fleet?\"

\"The Syndicate intercepted comm systems. Right now, they\'re far off. None the wiser to what is going on\"

I smiled. Can\'t get better I thought to myself. And just like that, as if the world wanted to prove me wrong, a glorious sight came. The Auditor fighter\'s popped back into sight and radar, and only for a moment. They released a hail of cannon and missile fire that ripped through singular targets. Space was fairly clear of fighters. \"Jeremiah, take over the ship. We\'re dropping.\" He nodded in response. I grabbed my rifle and walked over to the elevator. \"Floor one.\" I told it. It darted downards, and my helmet visor slid shut. Comms opened up.

\"Jackson, you ready?\"

\"I\'m always ready when it comes to kicking Vaygr ass, Captain\"

Maria\'s voice came in. \"I\'m coming along.\"

I was surprised. I had expected her to stay behind to tend to the ship, especially considering the argument we had just had about voilence less than a day before. \"I thought violence wasn\'t the answer, Maria?\"

\"It\'s not to everything, no. And sometimes I think you go to far. But... maybe you\'re right one some things. Maybe this is necessary. Maybe I can find a little purpose on that staion, too.\"

Jackson laughed, \"What do ya know, princess\' is learning!\"

The elevator doors opened up. I walked down the hallway; The shock troopers scrambled down along with me as they prepared to drop. I entered the drop halls; Rows upon rowns of at least 80 pods, filling with our troopers. They were all uniquely painted, covered in war symbols, pinup girls, and number counts of kills. Drop-pods were unique; single use entry and exit vehicles, capable of bringing a soldier in and out of a battle. A two way ticket that you better pray didn\'t get destroyed. A single special one rested close to the entrance; Jackson\'s pod, larger than the rest. I saw him there waiting for me. \"Ready?\" He asked.

\"Always.\"

Maria came out from behind her pod. She nodded to the rest of us. We, alongside the few remaining shock troopers, went into the large, cylindrical pods. The doors in the front hissed shut, and I was firmly held to the drop seat. I could only see through small plexiglass slits.

Jeremiah\'s voice came over the intercomm, \"Ready?\"

\"Drop it.\"

The atmosphere was drained from the room in seconds. Dead silence, outside of the drop pod. The hatches below us opened. I saw other pods beginning to be released. A few moments, halfway through the release, our three pods rumbled as the clamps holding them in place detached. I felt thrusters push me out of the vehicle and into space. I looked around; War raged all around me. Flak shells and cannon fire keeping the ships away from the hail of pods rocketing towards the station.

\"We\'re goin\' in hard, Captain. Maria will be landing right next to you, along with about twenty troopers. You\'ll be landing at the main gate, in the center.\" Jackson said over the comms.

\"And you?\" She asked.

\"The rest of us are hitting the shielding compound.\"

Jeremiah\'s voice returned, \"Preparing to bypass shields... now.\"

A quick rumble, and sound returned in all of its glory as we entered the artificial atmosphere. Bullets and lasers, all firing fruitlessly at the drop pods, missing and never doing more than glancing. The station was unprepared; And they were about to pay for that mistake.

My drop pod hit. The stabilizers did their best, but it was still a rough landing. My hud fired up; Twenty plus one drops had landed near me; The shock troopers, and sure enough, Maria. The front hatch of my pod opened up, and I was immediately greeted by a hail of bullets. I sprinted over behind a troopers pod.

The trooper made a mad dash to cover. I took a glance out from behind the pod; We had landed in a large, metal field, about fifty yards away from the massive metal gate of the infinitely more massive central compound. It was a huge building, rocketing into the sky and no doubt equally deep. There was ample cover, however; Vehicles, storage containers, and so on. Vaygr soldiers returned fire, but I saw them get picked off one by one by our shock troops.

Maria came running up to me, sliding into the cover of the drop pod. \"Any casualties?\" I asked her.

\"Only two so far. They\'re being tended too. We took the Vaygr by surprise, they weren\'t ready. The Vaygr are running back into the lab, though.\"

\"That means close quarters fighting, most likely.\"

\"Yes, it does. Are you sure you want to-\"

\"I\'m damn sure, Maria. Damned sure.\"

\"Then so am I.\" She peeked out from behind cover and opened fire with her rifle.

I opened up whide comms. Immediately my helmet was filled with commands being issued by the two squad leaders in my area. \"Do we have anything to take out that gate?\" I roared.

\"Look to your right, Captain.\" A voice responded.

I did, and sure enough, there was a heavy shock trooper getting out of his pod. We had one heavy per squad. Fitted with larger, stronger armor, he pulled a hefty rocket launcher from out of the pod. He casually walked into the field of fire, shouldered the massive tube, and pulled the trigger. With a roar and a massive burst of flame, a giant missile corkscrewed from the barrel directly into the gate. A massive explosion, a command to cease fire, and then silence.

\"Orders, sir?\" One of the squad leaders asked.

\"Form up at the gate.\" I stood up from behind cover, and started walking towards the gate, now having a convenient, smoldering hold right in the center. \"Once we\'re inside, it\'s not going to be easy.\" A few Vaygr troops were laying in front of the rubble. The shock troopers pointed guns at their heads.

\"Keep them?\"

\"No.\"

A few bangs, and the Vaygr troops were no more. Maria\'s voice kicked in, \"Andrew, don\'t you think-\"

\"Normally, Maria, yes, I would. Normally, I would have said to bring them back for investigation. Normally, I would prefer to avoid the extra deaths. But this? This isn\'t a normal situation. It\'s not even the Vaygr anymore. It\'s back to Pragni.\"

\"I...\" She stopped for a moment. \"Alright. I understand. But if we find any scientists, we take them captive instead, fair enough?\"

\"Fair.\" I took a deep breath. Everyone was now formed up around the hole, which gave way to a sleek, black-walled hallway. It was time to discover just what Terror Fleet 3 was hiding.

END OF CHAPTER NINE

 

[Legolas170]

Jk, sorry for pressuring you nature. Great chapter yet again. Keep up the good work!



*note- the story seems to repeat, but the station raid is only in the second repeat of the story.

 

[MrNature72]

Went back and fixed it. It was probably because I was stuck on internet explorer while I was typing and posting that >_<

 

[fire219]

The repeat is still in the topic post

 

[Super Templar]

Soo, what happened to the frigate? Oo

 

[MrNature72]

Patience, young grasshopper. Little things like that don\'t simply slip by

 

[np5k54]

Since this story has begun, ive been working on, in my spare time, a 300m long carrier that I was hoping to submit to you so you\'d have another ship to put in your story.

SO YEA.