|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 9, 2008 18:55:26 GMT -5
Meanwhile...
The majority of the Angalesh had responded to Iniros' call with silence. Nearly two thousand were unaccounted for, though those that had replied were coming without exception, save for Qynag and Lash.
The barren world below him, named "Onyx" for the time being, was dotted with the ruins of some other civilization, long burned out. Though his own was seemingly just a few dying embers, he felt it was an appropriate place to hold such an important meeting... one that could reverse their situation...
He'd broadcasted his message from a system six lightyears further towards the galaxy's center, but any Angalesh arriving would know the location of the true world. To prevent discovery, several "Onyx"'s were named as possible meeting places. To indicate which one would be used, one simply had to broadcast from a few lightyears away...
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Apr 9, 2008 21:33:11 GMT -5
The ship arrived, and the pilot began trying to contact Onyx. He called for Lash over the intercom, to come to the thingypit to make sure that they landed in the right place. (Go ahead and take over as planner.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 9, 2008 21:58:46 GMT -5
Lash began by transmitting to the most likely systems where Onyx was. She soon got a reply.
//Lash? I thought you couldn't make it. Is Qyang with you?//
//Yes. He's hurt badly, though.//
//... How badly?//
//Nothing for us, but he can no longer heal.//
//... What? ... How?//
//We were hoping you had a doctor with you to tell us.//
//Possibly. She's comming, but how soon she didn't say.//
//Good. I guess we'll meet you down there.//
//Right.//
"He'll be at the source of the transmission." she said.
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Apr 9, 2008 22:22:14 GMT -5
The pilot began to put in coordinates, and engage the FTL drive, when he suddenly said, " Crap. We got followed. Look! " The pilot pointed to the tachyon-based radar system, which registered twenty different craft jumping in at the same time. " God, six carriers, and fourteen dreadnoughts! " The pilot acted quickly, deploying a number of FTL-decoys that would go off in random directions to throw them off their trail. He then made the ship jump. Lash could see that both the F.I.N. and the Alliance were after them. (am done for tonight)
|
|
|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 9, 2008 22:36:22 GMT -5
((me too.))
After they jumped into the system, several small Angalesh transports, like Lash and Qynag's, swarmed in front of the ship.
//We've been followed! Get your defences ready!// Lash transmitted to the lead ship.
//We've got you.//
As they entered Onyx's atmosphere, they saw that, among the ruins, numerous ground-to-space cannons had been set up. They were kept at low power, though, and barely showed up on sensors. The ship finally landed, and on the other side of the airlock stood a tall being, standing on four legs, with four arms, and three eyes mounted on stalks jutting out of the sides and top of its head. Behind these were a pair of large, bat-like ears, and to top off the alien, it's face tapered to a short, flexible trunk.
"Your translator working?" he said.
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Apr 10, 2008 16:28:53 GMT -5
The massive fleet took only minutes to weed out of the FTL decoys which path was correct. The six carriers and fourteen dreadnoughts were close behind them, obviously equipped with the exact same FTL drive that the ship had. It was obvious that the Koans had long since had FTL, and developed it, for their's was faster than beginning FTL.
Scans were quickly issued, and a declaration of full scale war was declared on the Angalesh survives. The carriers began firing their weapons, and launching their thousands of fighters. The dreadnoughts fired their weapons as well, and began to activate their front-mounted HellHound cannons, which possessed the strength to decimate entire cities.
However, the true threat was not the pitifully old-tech Koan fleet, but the enormous Majaag one that quickly followed it. The Majaag had intersepted the huge amount of communications the Koans were sending around, and the thought of feeding on the spoils had excited them. Nearly fifty Majaag-class dreadnoughts, which were nearly three times the size of the Koan-class dreadnoughts, waited on the outskirts to feed on the remnants of the battle, and then begin their planetary seige.
Apparently, the Koan race had suddenly been 'united' against these invading aliens. It seemed that there was more buried in Koan politics than the eye could easily recognize.
Mr.Long escourted both Lash and the stretcher-bound Qynag who was held by the pilot to the Angalesh, and said, " Seems you've got quite the predicament now. " He left the question of the translators to Lash.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 10, 2008 20:10:17 GMT -5
Lash nodded to the translator question, and the Angalesh answered.
"Good, we have to move quickly."
He led them out of the colapsed courtyard, cleared of rubble, in which they had landed, and flagged down a passing vehicle, carrying more new arrivals in all shapes and sizes. Looking at the group, it seemed impossible that they were of the same species.
"We've discovered something, buried in a crater near the center of these ruins. From the looks of it, it crashed about the same that this place was nuked, probably from orbit. We're excavating it now, but it looks to be a ship... a huge one aparently. And not just any ship, either. I assume you're familiar with the Kuma Texts?"
"Those old carvings about how we were created by aliens contracted by other aliens? You can't be serrious..."
The Angalesh was shaking his head. "I'm not implying anything, but the architectural style and overall shape are nearly identical. It proves nothing, other than the fact that we were contacted long before we'd begun building cities."
"How far are you in digging it out?"
"Still several weeks away at full tilt. We've uncovered the airlock, though, and we're trying to get that opened before we've dug the ground out from under it."
The rest of the trip was done in silence, and soon, a large, metallic, eliptic loop was seen on the horison, jutting up towards the sky. As they got closer, it grew untill it filled the sky. The ship was enormous, the upper end of the elipse casting a shadow on the sparse clouds floating by. Around it was an immense crater, made deeper by the excavation, and just outside the raised ridge of earth, a small town had been set up, mostly consisting of landed Angalesh transports.
They dropped off Qynag here, with a small group of doctors, and continued over the rim.
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Apr 11, 2008 15:55:25 GMT -5
As the Koan fleet approached the world, the Majaag grew impatient. Almost immediately, they began to adapt large cannons on their sides, and began firing shells at the planet. These shells had kinetic,explosive, and infectious damage due to their immensely complicated structure. The Majaag also began to devastate the Koan fleet, as a massive orbital battle ensued with the the Majaag fighting the Koan. It was unfortunate that the Koan fleet had yet to be armed with new technology Crusader ammo, and so they could not easily fight the Majaag.
Mr. Long thought for a moment, " And what exactly is the significance of such a ship, despite its size? "
|
|
|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 11, 2008 22:08:03 GMT -5
"It would be the remains of a space-faring civilization, one living long before the Angalesh, and possibly the Koans, had even looked to the stars."
They were now in the excavation pit, where Angalesh, shifted to several times their "normal" size, were removing massive handfuls of dirt and rock. Up ahead, they saw some normal sized ones fiddling with the airlock of the ship. Lash and the others left the vehicle, walking up to the team.
"How's it going?" the Angalesh asked.
"Not good, Iniros. It won't budge, and we can't find the circuitry to control it."
Thinking deeply about the problem, Iniros rested his hand against the sealed door. An instant later, it glowed brightly and melted away, with Iniros pulling back in suprise. The interior was dark, but glints of metal could be seen. The Angalesh leaned their heads in, then dropped several feet onto the wall of the corridor, now the floor due to the ship's odd angle. Iniros followed close behind.
"You two comming?" he asked.
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Apr 11, 2008 22:46:15 GMT -5
In a matter of minutes, the Koan fleet was decimated. The survivors jumped out in retreat, and the Majaag feasted on the remains.
Mr. Long went ahead of him, being smaller and more agile. " I still am in doubt of just how significant this ship is. What is so great about a space civilization that came before us? What do they have that we don't? Hah. " He went deeper, disappearing into the darkness as he searched around with his Koan night eye.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 11, 2008 23:04:04 GMT -5
"Exactly. We don't know what they had that we don't. We can also make sure we don't repeat whatever mistakes led to their downfall." Iniros said, opening doors, looking for some sort of interface device.
//About time you got here! I thought you were never going to find me!// a male voice boomed over the hidden PA system, sounding like they'd been playing some sort of game with him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Apr 12, 2008 9:34:51 GMT -5
Long thought for a moment, but kept moving, having gotten far out of voice range. " Where are you? Turn on the lights! " He said loudly.
Up above, the Majaag shells from before began to rain down onto the planet, with spreading the Infection everywhere, and blowing peices of the world away into the sky, almost to orbit.
The Majaag adapted the remnants of the Koan Dreadnoughts' HellHound cannons onto themselves, augmenting their power. They made them twice as long, twice as powerful, and roughly four times as deadly. Their extreme power came primarily from their kinetic impact, almost like a small asteroid, thus leading to the ability to wipe out the area of cities and around them. They began to aim their nifty new fourteen MajaagHound cannons at the city, targeting specific areas of Angalesh buildup. It wouldn't be long before massive asteroid-caliber shells began to rain down on the area.
Long felt the danger in his bones, but he knew not what danger it was.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 12, 2008 20:04:55 GMT -5
//I'll come to you. It's quicker. There's something wrong outside, isn't there?//
The lights flickered on, the ship humming to life as it's reactors were fired up for power.
...
Outside, the Angalesh began to prepair for the onslaught, stowing all those unable to fight, including Qynag, into their ships.
|
|
|
|
Post by Snake on Apr 12, 2008 20:43:39 GMT -5
The asteroid-shells began to rain down from the sky like fireballs, even before they made contact, it was obvious something big was happening. It was the Majaag hope that the shells themselves would obliterate what was left of the Angalesh, extinguishing all hope there was left for these fellow shape-shifters.
" Yes well, my bones and instincts tell me something is about to happen, and it won't be good. " Long said, waiting.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darth Grievi on Apr 13, 2008 12:46:36 GMT -5
//You're right... //
The voice paused, and the lights dimmed slightly as the ship actively scanned the area around itself.
//Now who would want to oblitarate the Angalesh? Did they become corrupted somewhere down the line?//
Another pause as the options were considered.
//Either way, I'm not letting them.//
The lights dimmed further...
Outside...
The ship's shields had turned on, and a narrow rift, circling the ship nearly a half-mile away from the rim of the crater, appeared in the ground with a rumbling roar. The shieds extended up into the sky, forming a bubble around the ship.
A few of the asteroids were already inside, though, and only the later ones shattered against the shield.
//Come closer! Pull out! In towards the center!//
The ship announced through every Taoqy in the settlements. Figuring any advice was better than none, they piled into their ships, leaving the permanent structures behind, and took off, heading for the partly excavated ship.
|
|
