"We're getting pasted, our ships can't take more of this!" The first mate shouted up at the Captain from his seat down in the lower bridge. A flash lit up space through the large viewing window as their carrier over on the flank was suddenly breached, the artificial atmosphere inside igniting a fireball in the darkness.
"I can very much see that" snarled the Captain through gritted fangs. Her fur was bristling in anger as she looked out of the glass at the enemy fleet. Chlora watched from her seat at the back of the bridge, keeping very quiet as crewmen ran back and forth from various terminals around her. "What the bloody hell are these bastards doing this far into republic space? This is bold even for the damned Black Maws!"
Chlora kept very still as she watched the Captain rage at the situation. It was unfortunately clear that the small escort fleet she had hitched a ride with was woefully underprepared to deal with the surprisingly large black and orange pirate fleet that had appeared in front of them.
A wall of cruisers belching drone swarms, frigates bristling with heavy armaments and fast moving sloops blocked their small transport fleet's migration route and were now proceeding to unleash everything they had at the small escort group.
Chlora sighed to herself and smoothed the creases from her sleeves. She flexed her long clawed fingers, cracking the knuckles on each one as she thought through her options. Unfortunately ‘die in a large fireball in space’ was the only one that really jumped out at her. Sighing again she stood and walked silently across the bridge to stand by the captain.
She looked down at the frantic Hanna female who was busily inputting various commands to the central console, her fur shimmering and glistening in the lights of the ongoing space battle. Chlora mused that she would look rather splendid with a fur coat like that and considered growing a pelt to match, but shook the thought away. Hannas were skeptical of other species as it was, to reveal herself as an A-morph in the current situation would add another level of tension that the room really didn't need.
"Captain...." The bridge was racked with another explosion cutting off the first mate as he furiously input a series of commands to the ships defense batteries. The large arc cannons below the bridge let loose bolts out at the enemy fleet and successfully disrupted several incoming plasma based projectiles fired from a nearby frigate.
"Captain they'll be within range of the passenger transports in ten minutes at this rate." The first mate finished. The Captain snarled in response without taking her eyes off the screens in front of her, ordering her drone group into a defensive position above them to attempt to shoot down the incoming torpedoes.
As she mashed at the buttons Chlora snaked one long, slender arm over her shoulder and picked up the Vox-Com. The feline officer spun round to stare daggers at her, her eyes flashing hatred and a primal viciousness that would have made a lesser person flinch. Chlora ignored her, she knew better than to do anything rash.
"Hub please transmit message sigma 23, full beam, full range. The code word is Calypso." She intoned softly into the Vox, her voice sounding like warm honey with only a dash of bitter lemon.
"I'm sorry Ma'am but there are no Republic vessels within the distance necessary to assist you." Came the sorrowful androgynous voice back at her.
The Captain slammed her hand down on the armrest and snarled up at her again, her claws dug into her hand drawing blood in unbridled anger. Chlora looked down calmly and matched her burning gaze with one of pure ice.
"I am full aware of that Hub, but could you please put out the signal all the same?" She continued without taking her eyes off the bristling Hanna.
"Of course Ma'am, sending signal now. Can we help you with anything else?"
“Yeah you can shut the fuck up or blow up these fucking pirates!” Shouted the captain as she ripped the receiver from Chlora’s hand and slammed it down into the console.
Chlora kept her eyes cold as she held the Captain’s gaze. She contemplated whether to respond to the insubordinate action, a quick flick of her wrist and she could cut the feline's throat before anyone even noticed. She decided she had responded from fear at the situation though, rather than actual malice and so let it slide.
Still, the two held eye contact for a second more before the Captain huffed and turned back to the console, muttering a brief “sorry Ma’am”. She went back to shouting expletives down at the crewmen who were running panicked back and forth in the bridge below to vent some aggression
Chlora walked softly over to the viewing window and looked out at the progressively worsening scene before them.
She was actually impressed with how quickly the Hanna escort crew had responded to the pirate threat, moving to protect their colonial transports with a surprising efficiency and speed, rather in vain given the desperation of the situation though. They were clearly well drilled and it was only that training that had kept them in the fight this long.
Looking out beyond the crystalline ceiling high window the great bulkheads of the enemy cruisers formed a slowly advancing wall pushing towards them as they advanced on the civilian transports behind. Swarms of drones darted to and fro, swooping this way and that to block torpedo fire from the desperate defenders as fast moving skiffs and bristling frigates took up firing positions.
The ships Arc cannons fired again, scoring a glancing blow off the flank of the lead cruiser but not penetrating the thick shielding. Another one of the escort frigates to the right flank was in bad shape and the remaining two above them were hardly much better off. They leaked atmosphere from where the plating had cracked under the sustained fire, which showed as gouts of blue and red flame along their hulls.
The bridge rocked again “starboard deflector shields down, limited to physical Captain” called a crewman.
“Port shields are down to 20%” cried another. Chlora pursed her thin lips even tighter and scanned the darkness one last time, rapping her razor-like claws against the window frame.
She had always wanted to die in space. The process of death by the perfect cold vacuum itself sounded rather painful, but there was something that seemed blissfully serene about spending eternity in nothingness, a speck floating forever through the vastness of space, slowly deteriorating to eventually become nothing but drifting stardust.
Plasma was impacting their bridge, the shields flickering ominously as they struggled to hold out against the pounding of enemy fire. It looked like she would get her wish slightly sooner than intended, although she mused as to whether death was ever not considered 'too soon'.
The weakened frigate to her right cracked open like an egg as the lead pirate cruiser unleashed a salvo of short range rockets at it, causing it to spill its contents of crew and cargo out in a great jet of flame and debris.
Turning she could see the anger and panic on the crewmen and their Captain, sparks were flying as the bridge buckled slightly, a loud groaning coupled with the howling of alarm bells and warning sirens. It was nearly time she thought, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She prepared for the rush of murderous silence that space would bring.
Suddenly there was a different sound amongst the hubbub. At first she thought she imagined it as it blended into the sounds of the dying cruiser. But then there it was again, rather than deadened silence there was an oddly tuneful wailing sound that was coming over the internal speaker system. It started quiet but quickly grew louder and louder, a fast rising crescendo of artificial sound drowning out the noises of the battered ship.
Rather than the endless nothingness of space cutting out all sound, now there was music, discordant and upbeat drums, guitar, shouted singing and bad electronics grew in a rising cacophony, drowning out the panic of the dying fleet. Chlora looked puzzledly around her but then groaned softly to herself in realisation. She turned back to the window so that the crew wouldn't see the small smile spread over her face. She knew who’s music that was.
“What is that?” bellowed the Captain “What the F…” she was cut off by the lead pirate cruiser suddenly exploding in a massive red blue and green fireball in the centre of their viewing window, lighting up the blackness of space.
"Gabriel" Chlora breathed.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, you will please pardon my intrusion” came an upbeat voice over the top of the music as an enemy frigate suddenly spun away to violently explode against the hull of another cruiser “I was in the neighbourhood and thought I’d pop by to play with these buggers in their big ships, I sincerely hope you don’t mind.”
The crew were staring at each other in bemusement as a small drone cloud burst into vicious bright purple flames. “I just can’t stand it when the big kids pick on the little ones, but then I’ve never let size get me down” the voice said emphatically as the second damaged cruiser exploded in a brilliant white flash directly in front of them and they all covered their eyes, all except Chlora who flicked her UV filters down and shook her head as she watched.
Out of the explosion burst a shining ship, sleek as liquid silver it glowed in the reflected light of the exploding pirate ships, spinning gracefully to avoid a rocket aimed at its left side. Two raptor like wings slanted against a sleek body, a small cockpit bubble the only blemish on the glistening white-blue metal. It was utterly beautiful.
The shimmering craft shot out of the flames like a bolt from heaven. It moved in impossible turns as its wings pivoted and bent in astonishingly fast and fluid movements, which suddenly became abrupt evasive maneuvers to gain perfect assault positioning. The impossible spaceship seemed to flow through space like a dancer.
“Who the hell is that?” bellowed the Captain over the music, but no one responded. They were mesmerised by the glimmering craft as it swung high up above them and rained down a stream of magenta bolts on the next cruiser before suddenly twisting down to avoid a cloud of drones, outstripping them to spin and fire up, reducing them to scrap in moments.
Before that was even registered it had looped out to give chase to a smaller sloop that was trying to get back to the main fleet, not even bothering to shoot it the shining craft simply smashed straight through the hull, shrugging of its debris as it jerked upwards again to acquire the next target. It was an awe-inspiring show which was made even more brilliant and bizarre by the music, the crashing drums and brutal vocals of some old Human Earth band adding a passion and feeling that made the chest swell.
The crew began to let out shouts in bemused joy as the glinting ship swung down beneath the enemy fleet, unleashing a flurry of blasts up at a nearby frigate which crumbled to pieces in a burst of yellow sparks. They cheered and they laughed as this impossible craft wrought havoc, single handedly tearing apart the entire enemy fleet. It jerked upwards again and arced gracefully round to fly upside down a hairs breadth from the large viewing window.
Through the crystal they could see into the crafts cockpit, to where a single Human male was sitting, singing along to the music with an intense passion that was so out of place it was comical. He shot them a brief salute and a wink as he went by before executing a truly gorgeous spinning maneuver to confront and then shoot down a cluster of incoming torpedoes. The crew cheered and clapped in a bewildered mix of ecstasy and relief as he raced off again.
The Captain came to stand next to Chlora, frowning as she watched the mayhem the glinting ship wrought on the enemy whose ships were now in total panicked disarray. The fur covered Hanna only came up to just above her waist, though she was several times as wide with thick muscles tight on her crossed arms.
They stood side by side in silence for a while, watching the Human pilot as he danced through space to the whooping and cheering of the crew below. “Is he with you then?” she growled at her as another frigate spun off into the darkness.
Chlora did not reply for a while as they stood taking in the situation. “I don’t think Gabriel is with anyone really, Captain” she eventually replied, her eyes not leaving the human ship as it pivoted hard to avoid a rush of plasma fire “he’s an Archangel”.
“Right right,” nodded the captain “and what is that then?” she asked, almost annoyed but too enthralled by the mad pilot to let it show. Chlora smiled again, the crew letting out a loud cheer as Gabriel swept by the window during the song’s chorus.
She drummed her fingers on the window again as she thought about how much would be prudent to tell her. “That, Captain, is an Archangel.” She nodded towards the ship which was in the process of blasting a frigate to pieces whilst performing an elegant loop-the-loop “They’re a very particular group of human pilots, some of the most adept in the galaxy. If I’m honest though, even I don’t know much about them. They’re quite a secretive group as they generally only go on extremely black ops missions, chosen for them individually by a very select group on the Hub. They are effectively lone wolves though and when they're out on missions they aren't even connected to the network for various reasons but if you ask me it’s mostly for 'plausable deniability'."
The Captain looked up at her, eyebrows raised slightly. Chlora carried on.
"They’re outfitted with the most state of the art technology, they’re outside normal Republic law as you can see.” she indicated the glinting ship “Mostly though it’s their inherent skill and natural reaction times that set them apart as quite possibly the most effective fighting individuals in the Galaxy. Certainly in space battles as you can see." She nodded to the dancing ship again "This one is codenamed Gabriel and I suppose you could say he’s an old friend” She smiled, this time inwardly as she remembered some details of their ‘friendship’. “And an idiot” she muttered as the ship shot past them again, the pilot now emphatically air drumming along to the music as a swarm of drones tried and failed to keep up with him.
“So he’s been guarding you then? He could have bloody got here sooner” growled the Captain, glancing around at the damaged bridge accusingly.
“Guarding me? No Captain" she shook her head frowning "he would have been very far away when all this started. On his own mission I expect, that’s why I sent out that signal. I was hoping for a Human cruiser or perhaps a Swift pickup, I never expected…” she gestured with one hand out at the dancing Archangel who right on que flew head first down into an exploding frigate, coming out the other side with a beautiful tail of burning debris pulled with him.
“Humans…” muttered the Captain with a soft growl. “You’re blessed Ma’am that’s for sure. A guardian angel with a big gun, that’s the best kind.” She shook her head and walked back to her central terminal to get back to the job of running her ship.
The crew gave one last cheer as the shining Archangel spun up above them before it folded its wings like a hawk and dove down into the final pirate cruiser. There was a split second of nothing but soft flashes from inside the bulky ship until suddenly Gabriel exploded out of the hull in an enormous nova of colour, lighting up the darkness one last time in perfect unison with the final crashing of drums and music.
The enemy fleet was in tatters, their ships either in full retreat or drifting silently in blasted pieces. Gabriel hung in space for a while, pivoting slightly to survey the aftermath of the brief battle as the music faded away. Things were eerily quiet for a few moments, save for the occasional burst of sparks from a damaged terminal. Chlora stared at the glistening ship, her lips pursed.
“Always a pleasure Chlora,” came Gabriel’s voice over the comm system, breaking the silence. His voice was warm and jocular, full of fresh laughter, conjuring an image of a naughty schoolboy. “Give me a shout when you’re next planet-side you old devil, it doesn’t matter which planet.” The ship pivoted to face the bridge viewing window.
“It’s been a pleasure ladies and gentlemen, good luck with the redecorating in there. Remember: stay in school, eat five vegetables a day and say ‘perhaps’ to drugs.” the crew laughed as one of the wings on the ship bent inwards to give a slightly awkward salute. “Peace out bitches” came the voice on the speakers one last time. There was a flash of blue light, a moment of optic lensing and Gabriel was gone as quickly as he had arrived, firing off into hyperspace followed by the cheers of the Hanna crew.
"Idiot" Chlora muttered, suppressing a smile.
She watched the space where he had been for a while after, thinking to herself as the crew turned and slowly made their way back to their stations chattering excitedly about what they had seen as they prepared to limp their way on to their destination, their civilian charges still mercifully untouched.
The whole episode had taken less than five minutes but, despite her joy at being alive it had left her troubled. A frown slowly took over her from her relieved expression as the crew bustled around and chattered noisily to one another, the captain back to yelling down orders and punching buttons again on her central console.
There was a lot to think about, there always was in her job but this day's activities gave particular pause for thought. The obvious question was why the hell had there been a pirate fleet that large this far into republic space? More of a worry to her though was that despite what she had previously told the captain, the signal she had sent was not a call for help, but rather just a location and statement of death along with a data package of her most recent work to the Republic Senate.
There had been no chance of rescue, she had known that and the Hub had made it abundantly clear, therefore there was no way that Gabriel could have got to them in time without him being in the local region. Why would a disconnected Archangel have been out in this portion of well known, seemingly friendly space at the same time as a large, undisclosed pirate fleet? Both usually operated exclusively out beyond Republic space. There was something going on she wasn’t aware of, there was something off in the Galaxy and she didn’t like that. It made for more paperwork.
