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Welcome to the Journal of Now and Forever. This Journal is a collection of my Star Control and Star Control 2 fiction. Note: Some of this material is, by necessity, extrapolation from the slim information provided by canon sources. New fiction is posted first at My Livejournal before it appears here. This story is in response to First Lines 1000's Challenge #14. |
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There are some things better left unsaid, if one wants to be transferred to a more preferred post. Cruising through a solar system while waiting for mining crews to finish their work on any given planet – this, Otto thought, was not the reason he had become a pilot. But it might be impolitic to say so, he'd decided, particularly in the colorful ways he imagined. The Micromanager was still on its assigned task, a task that hadn't changed even after the fighter wing returned from Earth (and, if scuttlebutt was to be believed, returned without completing some mission or other). Explore and pick up anything useful in the Vulpeculae star systems. Niesamowicie. His talents were wasted here, but he wasn't sure how to bring that fact to his superiors' attention in a polite manner. Yes, there was the traditional act of doing your job well, putting in for repeated transfers, and hoping. But Otto couldn't resign himself to that, at least not yet. So he felt true relief when the Micromanager, traveling between planets in Beta Vulpeculae system, came across another ship. The alarms and carrying-on of his fellow crewmen didn't bother him at all. He didn't even care if it was an Earthling ship, it was such a welcome change. It wasn't Earthling, as far as he could tell. A strange ship, no signs of life, but it hailed the Micromanager. Kent hesitated, then opened communication. The crew knew that this ship knew they were there, and it was better to find out as much as they could about this thing. The ship – more a probe, Otto thought, too small to truly carry any significant number of life forms in comfort – sent a blast of frequencies, noises, and whistles. Kent worked the controls. "It's trying to figure out how to talk to us, I think," he said. Otto could hear the tension in the mission leader's voice. {wE ComE Innnn PEAce A strange, mechanical voice, speaking Anglic, broke from the noise, and then it repeated "We come in peace" in different pitches and speeds, but quieter. Then, before the crew could respond, the mechanical voice seemed to straighten itself out, and broadcast again: {WE COME IN PEACE.
Otto watched the probe. It didn't look... new. Yet it did. New-ish. But... He cocked his head on one side and squinted at it as Kent coughed and responded. "Greetings, Probe 2418-B. Before we transmit data, what species do you represent?" {REMOTE PROBE PROGRAMMED TO REPLICATE - RECORD DATA - CONTACT ALIEN SPECIES. - the probe responded in its odd monotone. It was new, Otto realized – it hadn't yet achieved that pitted patina from spaceborne particulate matter. It didn't look completely new because it had seen combat... He looked up sharply at Kent, who didn't appear to have realized the same thing Otto had, because he just licked his lips nervously and continued: "We come in peace as well. Please inform us of your – your species information before we send ours." {MISSION DESCRIPTION FOLLOWS:
Otto hissed at Kent to get his attention, but Kent waved him off as he spoke in urgent, hushed tones with Iago about getting this all on record. {BEHAVIOR FOLLOWS DICTATED PRIORITIES
Otto looked back at the probe. It had seen combat. That meant that there was someone else out there besides the Androsynth, the Earthlings and the probe's owners. And that "this probe is non-hostile" was not entirely truthful. {PRESENT REPLICATION STATUS
"That's very interesting, Probe 2418-B," Kent said, "but are you unable to provide information about your species?" Otto carefully arranged his hands on the controls. {END CONTACT SUB-SEQUENCE. {PRIORITY OVER-RIDE. NEW BEHAVIOR DICTATED.
Otto had had enough. Without waiting for Kent's command, he heeled the Micromanager to one side and put thrusters on full. The Guardian ship kicked like a mule from the sudden acceleration, just as – {ENERGIZE - a huge electric arc flew from the probe toward it. Those crewmen who hadn't strapped in went flying as Otto flew the Micromanager in a twisted path to escape the probe and its attack. The probe was nimble as a falcon, though, and followed closely. "Shoot the damn thing!" Kent yelled. {ENERGIZE Another burst of electricity, and this one hit. The shields held, but Otto knew something had gotten through from the sparking sound behind him; that electrical attack must be what the probe used to 'break target into component compounds'. He jinked again, found a small moonlet, tried to use its tiny gravity to increase speed and failed, although – {ENERGIZE - the next arc vaporized the moonlet instead of the Micromanager. Otto couldn't tell if the probe had missed or deliberately blasted the floating rock. Raul, the gunner, was firing back now, the acid spheres homing on the probe, but he couldn't get a reliable bead on the thing because the Guardian's guns faced primarily forward. If they got out of this, Otto thought, certain suggestions would go up the ladder to the design team. But for now, if Raul was going to get a good shot, they needed space between the two ships for Otto to turn around. Luck was with them. The probe appeared to pause at the wreckage of the moonlet – probably scanning it for usable materials, Otto guessed – and that gave him enough time to sling the Micromanager in a tight turn and hold position long enough for two good shots. {ENERGIZE Raul swore. "The speed of that – " Otto kicked on the thrusters again, getting the ship out of range of the probe's attack. Scanning quickly to the rear, he saw the probe sweep through the moonlet's pieces, which clung to the probe's wildly tumbling chassis as they went past, thanks to the probe's electric current. "It's not presenting a consistent face of attack," Raul said as Kent worked his own controls. "The electricals appear to come out of the sides, but their range is – " {ENERGIZE "- longer than you'd think," Raul finished, as Otto's piloting narrowly saved the Micromanager from electrocution. "Otto! Get some distance and then face the probe," Kent said. "Raul, lay an acid trail if you can." The crew did as ordered; Otto brought the ship about to face the rapidly approaching probe, which ignored the defensive acid globules. "Prepare for impact! Pilot, full speed!" Otto knew what Kent intended. He aimed straight at the whirling probe, and just as the machine started its attack – {ENERGIZE - Kent slammed his hand with unnecessary force on the control for cometform. The Micromanager hardly shuddered, but there was a sense of invisible walls slamming shut as the Guardian's structure transformed, and the engines screamed like eagles with the high-grade fuel now powering them. At tremendously high speed the ship rammed directly into the probe, just as the latter turned broadside in its whirling tumble. The electrical arc dissipated over the outside of the Micromanager's energy-shielded cometform, and then the impact: not as strong as Otto would have thought, but still enough to notice. "Hold comet for two seconds, then revert," Kent ordered. "Otto, ready for another pass." Otto did so, adjusting for cometform's increased speed. Cometform was very expensive in fuel, so they had orders not to use it lightly; but this was the first attack any Androsynth had come under since they left Earth. Their first attack, he realized – and they'd won. The view they saw upon turning was that of small charred and broken bits, slowly spreading into space. Iago was the first to yell in triumph, then they all did. They'd won. They could defend themselves! "No more simulations," Kent yelled. "That was the real thing! Too bad we don't know who sent it." At that, the crew sobered, and they spent the next hour slowly driving the Micromanager back and forth across the battle zone, picking up as many pieces as possible in hopes that back on Eta Vulpeculae 2, someone might discover something from said pieces. Kent took Otto aside and set another Androsynth to do the gruntwork of this driving job. "Otto. That was some quick thinking back there. If that probe had gotten its first shot in, it might've turned out differently." Otto bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Let's get your words on record now, while they're fresh," Kent said. "We'll get everyone's, of course, but you're the pilot. It looks like you have some real talent for combat flying. I'll be sure to mention it to my superior." Now that, Otto thought, was more like it. It wasn't the same as hyperspace – nothing was – but it was a step in the right direction. Up and out of being a 'truck driver' in space. He hoped they'd find something out about this probe. If the potential was for more combat, it would be nice to have some warning.
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Comments? Email me: laridian at aol dot com |