Post by Enigma on Mar 1, 2014 19:25:29 GMT -6
The vastness of space, and the universe is much more larger than the average human being would estimate. Our conception of space, is that it exists above the Earth, and that’s vastly huge. But no movement has ever been made to ever discover the vastness of it. It’s like a new toy, just out of the reach of bored children. But as all things must happen, so did man’s development of space. Just as in ancient times; but, instead of gravity it was the complexities of space that maintained Earth’s populations’ attention.
As everything is with a race which was an evolved form of a mammal, everything must be made into a competition. Eventually it became more brutal, and more demanding of Earth’s population. We all believe that if we continue our habits, and ignore new ones, everything will maintain peace and vitality. This thought soon became a nightmare, as wars ensued over space area (you couldn’t really measure space by any known measurement.) But as all wars must happen, so must the destruction that followed. This led to many treaties, and alliances that broke apart only to be replaced by new ones.
Earth was torn apart by the conflicting nations, and space became a new battleground. The people forgot about their fascinations with the vastness existing outside their atmosphere to flee from the death that stretched like a nagging plague across the world’s surface. The people soon were more than eager to invest in the funding of spaceships. The Corporations adopted catchy slogans and the CEOs became millionaires without ever having to worry about outrageous prices, and/or counter-organizations. The people began to form colonies in space, and Earth began to decay. But the wars continued to rage until at last the Earth was nothing but barren wasteland, with large chunks of ice clumped at the polar regions.
The colonies had another baby boom, and they began to expand. First Venus, and then Mars followed in colonization. The peoples began to encounter foreign and alien races that agreed to help the human race in return for trading and mining of raw metals, and materials rich in Earth’s region. The people at first were outraged at such a suggestion, and demanded they go elsewhere. But they soon began to realize that they needed the alien race’s technology more than they needed materials that were bountiful.
Soon the multitude of races inhabiting the vastness and bleakness of space began to adopt each other’s customs, and multiple groups began to coexist without anger, war, or conflict. People of the former Earth began to hear rumors of a planet similar to Earth that was known only in Myth as the Planet . It was unknown how the rumor originated, or who originally created it. But it brought hope to a ravaged people with no true planet to call their own.
Character Backgrounds:: IMPORTANT (Classified)
Property of Commonwealth
Iktar Irageus: Birthdate 08/27/2508
Race: Minorien ( Lizard-people);
Tall and lanky build, with orangish-red scales covering entire expanse of body. Musculature resembling a bipedal organism, but creature mostly resembles reptilian creatures of the Earth. Ship Position: Battle Coordinator
Girn Dragoon: Birthdate 12/19/2200
Race: Cyborg (Engineer Class)
Short and stocky, resembling the dwarves of fairy tales. Powerful upper arms, with half body of human with other half being mechanical. Master of mechanical equipment, and repair. Ship Postion: Engineer/Technical Resourceman
Raeshal’Er: Birthdate 20/10/2340 Minotaurian Calendar
Race: Minotaur
Tall, powerfully built with curling horns erupting from his temples. He is particularly arrogant, and susceptible to anger issues. Well known as highly dangerous. An able warrior, and strategist. Ship Position: Captain
Gary Allen: Birthdate 10/12/2450
Race: Human
The more level-headed, and clear-thinking individual of the assorted gang. Well known for his talents with biotechnology and medicine. He is widely sought after for cures, and is constantly being chased after for interrogation on some of his secrets. Ship Position: Chief Medical Engineer, Biotechnology Specialist.
Piasthmus: No Birthdate
Race: Living Ship
This ship is the first in a line of ships created with an artificial intelligence, and “hunger”. This led to the future classification of calling the ship ‘living’ in the future. This ship has befriended the group of miscreants, and is assisting them in the search for the Planet.
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Space, generally empty in the Arrhus region was particularly cluttered today. Multitudes of ships, and clusters of fighters guarding the more valuable of the ships moved like small ants beside the leviathans they were charged with escorting. The ships’ large engines gave off an ethereal glow that gave faint illumination in the bleak darkness of space. There was no sound, could be no sound in the vacuum. One ship in particular was moving at a slightly faster pace than it’s larger companions. The ship reacted as if pre-recorded to the slight turning of one of the other ships.
“Geez, it’s like driving through a herd of slugs except without all the slime.” Iktar stated angrily spinning the chair his large, reptilian body rested in. His tail did a lazy twirl in the air with the movement before resting once more on the hard floor of the ship.
“Grr, I wish we didn’t have to follow this route to our next destination.” Rae replied in indignation with a slight hint of annoyance. He flared his large nostrils angrily before shaking his head, causing his horns to reflect the light from the overhead lights aboard the bridge.
“I understand your annoyance sir, but there is really nothing I can do to fix or adjust the problem.” Piasthmus’s voice echoed slightly in the confined gravity of the bridge, his voice cool and professional with a slight hint of annoyance that matched the Minotaur’s. His holographic form appeared near the large, hairy wrist of the Minotaurian.
“We understand fully, truly we do ssssir.” Iktar muttered beneath his breath, but it was hard to disguise speaking when every word with a s consonant involved an involuntary hissing sound with a slight movement of the forked tongue as the Minorien sensed the air. He could practically taste the smell of the Minotaur’s filth, but would hold his tongue in respect. There was a vast history between him and the Captain, and he wasn’t one to try to stir the pot, so to speak.
“Sir, I’m detecting something coming in from….” Piasthmus’s voice was cut out by a sudden burst of static that erupted from the ship’s speakers located beneath each chair in the bridge. The Minotaurian’s fur bristled, and he let loose a large roar that vibrated the chair specifically designed to contain his bulk. The ship then rocked violently, dislodging Iktar from his seat. He stood up quickly, and let loose a barrage of curses.
The ship rocked violently, and began to tilt. Iktar, who as usual wasn’t properly strapped in as stated by the safety guidelines, began to slide across the floor. His claws made loud scratching sounds as he slid across the metal floor. The Minotaurian, whose sensitive ears screamed in protest at the sound, forced a deep, guttural roar to escape his lips. There was the sound of screeching metal, and the ship rocked again.
“We’ll never be able to reach our objective of finding that source to the Planet.” Iktar muttered angrily, climbing back to his feet.
“Boarders.” Piasthmus’s voice was strained, and sounded as if it came from behind a wall. The ship continued to rock, and the ship’s navigation computers sparked, and erupted in a shower of bright light. There was a faint static burst from the transmission on the Captain’s chair.
“Sir, we have a problem.” Girn’s stout face appeared, covered in soot on the small display screen. His mechanical eye glowed like a dark beacon from the shadows formed by the lack of light in half of the room. “The main engine’s been shot. It’ll take awhile, but I can fix it. You’ll have to buy me some time.”
“Alright, Pi have you identified the boarders yet?” Rae asked typing on the small keypad on the arm of his chair, his thick, stubby fingers flying faster than a person’s mind would believe.
“Yes, I have. They are Glangons.” Piasthmus’s voice sounded distracted, as if he didn’t have enough concentration to pay attention to the Captain. The Captain roared in frustration, and quickly unbuckled his harness. He grabbed the nearest bolt laser from the ammunition rack. Iktar hustled to follow after him, quickly strapping on his battle armor and pulling his sword from it’s sheath on the scabbard mounted on his back.
The two ran quickly through the ship, fighting the Glangons, and pushing them back. They managed to push the mushroom people all the way back to their ships’, and made them flee. “Sir, the engines are operational.” Rae’s communicator beeped from it’s place on his belt.
There was a loud roar that echoed throughout the ship, and then the ship rocked once more. The lights flickered and then resumed their luminance. Rae ran quickly back to the ship’s bridge, his hooves making a loud clonk on the metal tiling. Rae quickly initiated the engine, and pushed the ships’ throttle to full. The large ship, with a small amount of protesting began to gain momentum. Meanwhile out in the vastness of space, another ship began to drift to a crawl, and then stopped. It’s tall mushroom top tilting slightly before returning to it’s prone position.
Back on the Piasthmus, the crew had gathered in the lounge to discuss the current and past proceedings. Girn was seated at one portion of the head of the table, where his stocky, cybernetic body could fit without discomfort. Iktar was standing behind Rae with his scaled arms crossed. Gary was standing, with his hand running through his hair. “I don’t understand what they were doing in this sector.”
“Neither do I.” Just as Rae completed his small speech, the ship’s klaxon began to sound throughout the entire ship. Piasthmus showed up on the holo panel located in the center of the table. “Sir, there’s a black hole in the approximate area.” The crew then began to notice the unusual tug at their bodies. It felt as if they were being dragged in another direction, but weren’t physically moving at all.
All of a sudden their visions began to blur, and to spiral. They became increasingly dizzy, and suffered a faint sense of nausea. The walls seemed to close in, and some began to think they were suffocating. Then the walls began to retract, and they became confused. They looked outside the view port mounted on the side of the wall. Outside were floating a field of giant ice crystals. They were constantly breaking, and colliding with each other.
“Everything is alright, on the cellular level.” Gary replied, running a scanner over each of the crew members.
“Ship’s status…downloading…reassessing…90% hull integrity.” Piasthmus’s once cool voice had been replaced by a mechanical, almost monotonous tone. The ship rocked as one of the giant crystals impacted with the ship’s outer hull. The crew members clutched at the table unconsciously. The vibrations slowed and then dissipated completely. The crew members looked at one another, and began to think of just how in the universe they got here.
The meeting continued for a few more hours, as the ship continued to propel itself slowly through the field of crystals, often making counter-thrusts to prevent a collision with one of the larger ones. When the meeting was adjourned, they had deduced it as a random act of chance and determined they were somewhere within the vastness of the Pladymir Ice Fields. Then, all but the night watch retired to their cells (rooms resembling large suites, with the latest in technology.) Space that night was quiet, too quiet.
Girn, who not requiring sleep, was examining the radar sensors for any change in the dull night. He wasn’t really paying much attention, merely looking out the view port into the tranquility of space, when he thought he spotted the black of a ship’s hull. He zoomed in with his mechanical eye; but, the mystery ship had disappeared. Confused, he examined the radar. There, he proclaimed thoughtfully to himself as he spotted what he’d been searching for, a faint blip that enlarged as the ship moved closer.
Watching out the window, he spotted the ship. Smiling to himself, thinking about getting out of the Fields, he didn’t recognize the emblem on the side of the ship. The ship moved closer, a bit too close, by Girn’s way of thinking. There was a flash from the side of the larger ship, and then a shocking vibration throughout the ship. Each of the members of the Piasthmus, after waking up, ran to the bridge. They had to hold on tightly to the support struts, as the ship was rocked by explosion after explosion. In the background Piasthmus could barely be heard asking for action commands.
“Counter-attack.” Rae growled, strapping on his battle armor. He ran down the pathways, his large hoofed feet shaking the metal beneath his large bulk. Piasthmus complied, and the ship propelled into motion. But stopped shortly after, throwing each of the members of the crew on to the floor. Confused they each got up, only to hear klaxons screaming in the background.
“Engines at critical, repair needed immediately. Countermeasures have been deployed, but have had no visible effect.” The battle was over quickly, with the Piasthmus crippled it wasn’t difficult to leave them stranded in space. The crew confused by the attack, wondered why the obvious mysterious attackers didn’t attempt to board and loot anything. They knew they were in deep trouble, for they didn’t have the supplies to repair the ship. So, they floated on listlessly. Then the radar beeped about four or so hours later, indeterminable in space, the beep increased as the ship came closer.
“It’s the Commonwealth.” Girn shouted, running down the walkways to the ship’s navigation room. Everyone, startled by the news of an ally so nearby, they began to wonder if it was a trick. To dissuade this, they messaged the large ship with a distress call.
“Captain Raeshal’Er, this is Admiral Winstr. How may we be of assistance?” The shark-like resemblance of the Admiral’s face was disturbing especially the large grin stretching across his pasty sky blue skin, and the large carnivorous teeth.
“Well, our engines are shot. Could you perchance give us some assistance with repairs?” Rae asked smiling, an almost comical look in his bovine face.
“Very well, prepare yourself. We’re bringing you aboard.” The Admiral replied, quickly vanishing as the com-Link was shut-off. The Commonwealth ship looked to be much the same size as the Piasthmus at a distance; but, in actuality was many times larger in size. Think of the comparison of size between a blue whale and possibly a medium sized animal. They were brought slowly into the inside of the Commonwealth ship, where shortly after repairs began on the many damages visibly scarring the outside of the ship.
The huge ship of the Commonwealth, dropped off the Piasthmus and his crew back within the Pladymir Ice Fields with directions on the best route out of the crystals. Thanking the Admiral, Rae quickly engaged the engines forward. They continued through the Fields for approximately two or three more hours. A blip so impossibly large, it was hard to believe such a size could even be created. But they were proved wrong, when the behemoth ship slowly closed the distance between the two ships. The behemoth stretched off behind the ship into the distance perception.
“Counter maneuvers. We don’t have time to fight something of this size, nor do I believe our chances of victory are very high.” Rae muttered, typing quickly on the keypad. The ship had been identified as an enemy, and that was bad. If they had a ship this size, it could conquer a world. Mortified, he told the news to the crew. The crew easily reflected his thoughts as well. However, Iktar and Girn were smiling. They quickly told their plan to the Captain. The Captain, knowing full well of the capabilities of both of the crewman, knew that despite the odds, they could do it.
The small escape pod was launched from the ship, and propelled like a small shooting star towards the behemoth. The behemoth paid no heed to the little ship, but instead launched an assault on the Piasthmus. Girn and Iktar looked back, a look of worry pasted across their faces. But the smiled, when the smaller, and more agile ship dodge the shots. The escape pod impacted with the side of the ship, and with it’s acceleration, punched through the hull. The two dismounted, and began to explore the behemoth ship for some form of ship navigation. The ship should be more like a ghost ship, than an actual ship, the two thought silently dodging around corners. Iktar could tell something was wrong, and they didn’t know exactly what until they reached a navigation room. The entire ship thought for itself, but for the Captain, there was no crew. Startled, the two quickly searched for the major components of the ship. Determining where the power source, and the engines were they quickly split up to complete their separate missions.
Girn moved silently along the walkways of the ship, dodging the occasional steam burst from the engines, venting some of the heat. Determining where the central command hub’s location, he quickly made his way over to the console. Typing unbelievably fast on the console, he set the engines for self-destruct. To ensure their destruction, he programmed multiple firewalls, with fail-safes to prevent the end to the countdown. His mission complete, he could only hope that Iktar would be just as successful. Girn quickly left the engine room, and ran back to the escape pod.
Iktar; meanwhile, not as comfortable with technology as Girn had the easier and less technological portion of the mission. His mission was to destroy the ship’s power grid. Talking silently to himself with words of praise, and capability. He inched slowly forward across the narrow plank way, leading to the ship’s reactor. The reactor was on a central platform surrounded by a narrow mechanical repairs walkway, and then a large hole that led into the ship’s cooling vents. Iktar having completed the path to the reactor, strapped the detonation charges to the sides. Setting the timer, and then strapping titanium tape over them to force the charges inward, he quickly moved back towards the rendezvous point.
The two met at the escape pod, and quickly jumped in as the first explosion in engines erupted. The entire ship vibrated with a catastrophic explosion that shook the tiny escape pod. The tiny escape pod with some coaxing from both Girn and Iktar rocketed back towards the Piasthmus as it accelerated away from the dying ship. The reator exploded shortly after, and the entire gargantuan ship was ripped in half by the focused explosion. The wave hit the escape pod, and both it’s passengers welcomed the enveloping blackness.
Many hours later….
“Wake up, sleepy heads.” The two comatose patients stirred on theirs cots at the sound of the voice. It sounded an awfully lot like Gary. The waking pairs of eyes, still slightly blurry with sleep noted with mild annoyance, that it was INDEED Gary.
“Arghh.” The two patients muttered in unison. Gary, without telling his patients, scanned them using his telepathy scanned the two patients for any long-term brain damage. Satisfied the two would continue to be the way they are, he dismissed the patients as soon as they felt they were able to handle themselves.
“All Crew to the Bridge, immediately!” Rae’s voice announced over the speakers mounted throughout the ship. Rae’s voice had sounded excited, almost intrigued. The crew rushed to the bridge, and were directed to look through the view port. In the large view port was a planet with so much similarities to Earth, that it might as well have been Earth.
“The Planet…” The crew muttered in disbelief. “That’s not possible.” Was heard, but no one noticed who said it, not even the speaker. They were all standing in disbelief. How could they have come across a planet of myth, a planet of hopes so easily. They were in shock, and Rae barely managed to command the ship to land before collapsing in his command chair.
The ship with landing gear in the proper position, landed on the soft turf of grass on a hill overlooking a large expanse of plain. The ship landed with a loud hiss as the springs discharged. The crew stepped out on to the turf, and looked out at the large expanse of plain. There were some bovine resembling creatures grazing, and the smell of salt was heavy in the air. Gary, human in nature, sprawled himself in the grass. “So…soft..” He whispered to no one in particular.
The crew after jotting down the location of the planet in their navigation computer, and launched back up into the atmosphere. With one last look back at the planet, the crew smiled in the thoughts of vast amounts of profit. The ship vanished into hyperspace, and disappeared from history books….
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100 years later….
A patrol ship came across the hulking mass of a decayed ship, and looking at it. The crew of the patrol decided it was worth exploring. The patrol ship docked with the ruin, and the crew discharged. Using the new spacesuits, the crew members entered the ship. Reading a panel, they recognized the ship as Piasthmus, the ship proclaimed to have the location of the Planet in it’s navigation computer. Excited, the crew wandered through the ship, coming across the charred remains of two crew members. They then proceeded to the navigation room to find a skeleton laying over the console.
Excited the crew members moved the skeleton gingerly, and began to scroll through the contents trying to find out what the crew had died protecting. Their eyes lit with an inner glow when they discovered the secret of the Piasthmus. They began downloading it into their suits. The download complete, they returned to their ship. With news spreading fast, they were welcomed back with honors, and proclaimed lords. They made memorials to the crew on the Planet, and built cities named after each of the crew members. Dragoon, the city of the Mountains. Allen, city of thoughts and center of humanity. Er, city of defense and new beginnings. Irageus, city of the swamps. And to the honor of the ship, Piasthmus, the new world was named Piasth.
As everything is with a race which was an evolved form of a mammal, everything must be made into a competition. Eventually it became more brutal, and more demanding of Earth’s population. We all believe that if we continue our habits, and ignore new ones, everything will maintain peace and vitality. This thought soon became a nightmare, as wars ensued over space area (you couldn’t really measure space by any known measurement.) But as all wars must happen, so must the destruction that followed. This led to many treaties, and alliances that broke apart only to be replaced by new ones.
Earth was torn apart by the conflicting nations, and space became a new battleground. The people forgot about their fascinations with the vastness existing outside their atmosphere to flee from the death that stretched like a nagging plague across the world’s surface. The people soon were more than eager to invest in the funding of spaceships. The Corporations adopted catchy slogans and the CEOs became millionaires without ever having to worry about outrageous prices, and/or counter-organizations. The people began to form colonies in space, and Earth began to decay. But the wars continued to rage until at last the Earth was nothing but barren wasteland, with large chunks of ice clumped at the polar regions.
The colonies had another baby boom, and they began to expand. First Venus, and then Mars followed in colonization. The peoples began to encounter foreign and alien races that agreed to help the human race in return for trading and mining of raw metals, and materials rich in Earth’s region. The people at first were outraged at such a suggestion, and demanded they go elsewhere. But they soon began to realize that they needed the alien race’s technology more than they needed materials that were bountiful.
Soon the multitude of races inhabiting the vastness and bleakness of space began to adopt each other’s customs, and multiple groups began to coexist without anger, war, or conflict. People of the former Earth began to hear rumors of a planet similar to Earth that was known only in Myth as the Planet . It was unknown how the rumor originated, or who originally created it. But it brought hope to a ravaged people with no true planet to call their own.
Character Backgrounds:: IMPORTANT (Classified)
Property of Commonwealth
Iktar Irageus: Birthdate 08/27/2508
Race: Minorien ( Lizard-people);
Tall and lanky build, with orangish-red scales covering entire expanse of body. Musculature resembling a bipedal organism, but creature mostly resembles reptilian creatures of the Earth. Ship Position: Battle Coordinator
Girn Dragoon: Birthdate 12/19/2200
Race: Cyborg (Engineer Class)
Short and stocky, resembling the dwarves of fairy tales. Powerful upper arms, with half body of human with other half being mechanical. Master of mechanical equipment, and repair. Ship Postion: Engineer/Technical Resourceman
Raeshal’Er: Birthdate 20/10/2340 Minotaurian Calendar
Race: Minotaur
Tall, powerfully built with curling horns erupting from his temples. He is particularly arrogant, and susceptible to anger issues. Well known as highly dangerous. An able warrior, and strategist. Ship Position: Captain
Gary Allen: Birthdate 10/12/2450
Race: Human
The more level-headed, and clear-thinking individual of the assorted gang. Well known for his talents with biotechnology and medicine. He is widely sought after for cures, and is constantly being chased after for interrogation on some of his secrets. Ship Position: Chief Medical Engineer, Biotechnology Specialist.
Piasthmus: No Birthdate
Race: Living Ship
This ship is the first in a line of ships created with an artificial intelligence, and “hunger”. This led to the future classification of calling the ship ‘living’ in the future. This ship has befriended the group of miscreants, and is assisting them in the search for the Planet.
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Space, generally empty in the Arrhus region was particularly cluttered today. Multitudes of ships, and clusters of fighters guarding the more valuable of the ships moved like small ants beside the leviathans they were charged with escorting. The ships’ large engines gave off an ethereal glow that gave faint illumination in the bleak darkness of space. There was no sound, could be no sound in the vacuum. One ship in particular was moving at a slightly faster pace than it’s larger companions. The ship reacted as if pre-recorded to the slight turning of one of the other ships.
“Geez, it’s like driving through a herd of slugs except without all the slime.” Iktar stated angrily spinning the chair his large, reptilian body rested in. His tail did a lazy twirl in the air with the movement before resting once more on the hard floor of the ship.
“Grr, I wish we didn’t have to follow this route to our next destination.” Rae replied in indignation with a slight hint of annoyance. He flared his large nostrils angrily before shaking his head, causing his horns to reflect the light from the overhead lights aboard the bridge.
“I understand your annoyance sir, but there is really nothing I can do to fix or adjust the problem.” Piasthmus’s voice echoed slightly in the confined gravity of the bridge, his voice cool and professional with a slight hint of annoyance that matched the Minotaur’s. His holographic form appeared near the large, hairy wrist of the Minotaurian.
“We understand fully, truly we do ssssir.” Iktar muttered beneath his breath, but it was hard to disguise speaking when every word with a s consonant involved an involuntary hissing sound with a slight movement of the forked tongue as the Minorien sensed the air. He could practically taste the smell of the Minotaur’s filth, but would hold his tongue in respect. There was a vast history between him and the Captain, and he wasn’t one to try to stir the pot, so to speak.
“Sir, I’m detecting something coming in from….” Piasthmus’s voice was cut out by a sudden burst of static that erupted from the ship’s speakers located beneath each chair in the bridge. The Minotaurian’s fur bristled, and he let loose a large roar that vibrated the chair specifically designed to contain his bulk. The ship then rocked violently, dislodging Iktar from his seat. He stood up quickly, and let loose a barrage of curses.
The ship rocked violently, and began to tilt. Iktar, who as usual wasn’t properly strapped in as stated by the safety guidelines, began to slide across the floor. His claws made loud scratching sounds as he slid across the metal floor. The Minotaurian, whose sensitive ears screamed in protest at the sound, forced a deep, guttural roar to escape his lips. There was the sound of screeching metal, and the ship rocked again.
“We’ll never be able to reach our objective of finding that source to the Planet.” Iktar muttered angrily, climbing back to his feet.
“Boarders.” Piasthmus’s voice was strained, and sounded as if it came from behind a wall. The ship continued to rock, and the ship’s navigation computers sparked, and erupted in a shower of bright light. There was a faint static burst from the transmission on the Captain’s chair.
“Sir, we have a problem.” Girn’s stout face appeared, covered in soot on the small display screen. His mechanical eye glowed like a dark beacon from the shadows formed by the lack of light in half of the room. “The main engine’s been shot. It’ll take awhile, but I can fix it. You’ll have to buy me some time.”
“Alright, Pi have you identified the boarders yet?” Rae asked typing on the small keypad on the arm of his chair, his thick, stubby fingers flying faster than a person’s mind would believe.
“Yes, I have. They are Glangons.” Piasthmus’s voice sounded distracted, as if he didn’t have enough concentration to pay attention to the Captain. The Captain roared in frustration, and quickly unbuckled his harness. He grabbed the nearest bolt laser from the ammunition rack. Iktar hustled to follow after him, quickly strapping on his battle armor and pulling his sword from it’s sheath on the scabbard mounted on his back.
The two ran quickly through the ship, fighting the Glangons, and pushing them back. They managed to push the mushroom people all the way back to their ships’, and made them flee. “Sir, the engines are operational.” Rae’s communicator beeped from it’s place on his belt.
There was a loud roar that echoed throughout the ship, and then the ship rocked once more. The lights flickered and then resumed their luminance. Rae ran quickly back to the ship’s bridge, his hooves making a loud clonk on the metal tiling. Rae quickly initiated the engine, and pushed the ships’ throttle to full. The large ship, with a small amount of protesting began to gain momentum. Meanwhile out in the vastness of space, another ship began to drift to a crawl, and then stopped. It’s tall mushroom top tilting slightly before returning to it’s prone position.
Back on the Piasthmus, the crew had gathered in the lounge to discuss the current and past proceedings. Girn was seated at one portion of the head of the table, where his stocky, cybernetic body could fit without discomfort. Iktar was standing behind Rae with his scaled arms crossed. Gary was standing, with his hand running through his hair. “I don’t understand what they were doing in this sector.”
“Neither do I.” Just as Rae completed his small speech, the ship’s klaxon began to sound throughout the entire ship. Piasthmus showed up on the holo panel located in the center of the table. “Sir, there’s a black hole in the approximate area.” The crew then began to notice the unusual tug at their bodies. It felt as if they were being dragged in another direction, but weren’t physically moving at all.
All of a sudden their visions began to blur, and to spiral. They became increasingly dizzy, and suffered a faint sense of nausea. The walls seemed to close in, and some began to think they were suffocating. Then the walls began to retract, and they became confused. They looked outside the view port mounted on the side of the wall. Outside were floating a field of giant ice crystals. They were constantly breaking, and colliding with each other.
“Everything is alright, on the cellular level.” Gary replied, running a scanner over each of the crew members.
“Ship’s status…downloading…reassessing…90% hull integrity.” Piasthmus’s once cool voice had been replaced by a mechanical, almost monotonous tone. The ship rocked as one of the giant crystals impacted with the ship’s outer hull. The crew members clutched at the table unconsciously. The vibrations slowed and then dissipated completely. The crew members looked at one another, and began to think of just how in the universe they got here.
The meeting continued for a few more hours, as the ship continued to propel itself slowly through the field of crystals, often making counter-thrusts to prevent a collision with one of the larger ones. When the meeting was adjourned, they had deduced it as a random act of chance and determined they were somewhere within the vastness of the Pladymir Ice Fields. Then, all but the night watch retired to their cells (rooms resembling large suites, with the latest in technology.) Space that night was quiet, too quiet.
Girn, who not requiring sleep, was examining the radar sensors for any change in the dull night. He wasn’t really paying much attention, merely looking out the view port into the tranquility of space, when he thought he spotted the black of a ship’s hull. He zoomed in with his mechanical eye; but, the mystery ship had disappeared. Confused, he examined the radar. There, he proclaimed thoughtfully to himself as he spotted what he’d been searching for, a faint blip that enlarged as the ship moved closer.
Watching out the window, he spotted the ship. Smiling to himself, thinking about getting out of the Fields, he didn’t recognize the emblem on the side of the ship. The ship moved closer, a bit too close, by Girn’s way of thinking. There was a flash from the side of the larger ship, and then a shocking vibration throughout the ship. Each of the members of the Piasthmus, after waking up, ran to the bridge. They had to hold on tightly to the support struts, as the ship was rocked by explosion after explosion. In the background Piasthmus could barely be heard asking for action commands.
“Counter-attack.” Rae growled, strapping on his battle armor. He ran down the pathways, his large hoofed feet shaking the metal beneath his large bulk. Piasthmus complied, and the ship propelled into motion. But stopped shortly after, throwing each of the members of the crew on to the floor. Confused they each got up, only to hear klaxons screaming in the background.
“Engines at critical, repair needed immediately. Countermeasures have been deployed, but have had no visible effect.” The battle was over quickly, with the Piasthmus crippled it wasn’t difficult to leave them stranded in space. The crew confused by the attack, wondered why the obvious mysterious attackers didn’t attempt to board and loot anything. They knew they were in deep trouble, for they didn’t have the supplies to repair the ship. So, they floated on listlessly. Then the radar beeped about four or so hours later, indeterminable in space, the beep increased as the ship came closer.
“It’s the Commonwealth.” Girn shouted, running down the walkways to the ship’s navigation room. Everyone, startled by the news of an ally so nearby, they began to wonder if it was a trick. To dissuade this, they messaged the large ship with a distress call.
“Captain Raeshal’Er, this is Admiral Winstr. How may we be of assistance?” The shark-like resemblance of the Admiral’s face was disturbing especially the large grin stretching across his pasty sky blue skin, and the large carnivorous teeth.
“Well, our engines are shot. Could you perchance give us some assistance with repairs?” Rae asked smiling, an almost comical look in his bovine face.
“Very well, prepare yourself. We’re bringing you aboard.” The Admiral replied, quickly vanishing as the com-Link was shut-off. The Commonwealth ship looked to be much the same size as the Piasthmus at a distance; but, in actuality was many times larger in size. Think of the comparison of size between a blue whale and possibly a medium sized animal. They were brought slowly into the inside of the Commonwealth ship, where shortly after repairs began on the many damages visibly scarring the outside of the ship.
The huge ship of the Commonwealth, dropped off the Piasthmus and his crew back within the Pladymir Ice Fields with directions on the best route out of the crystals. Thanking the Admiral, Rae quickly engaged the engines forward. They continued through the Fields for approximately two or three more hours. A blip so impossibly large, it was hard to believe such a size could even be created. But they were proved wrong, when the behemoth ship slowly closed the distance between the two ships. The behemoth stretched off behind the ship into the distance perception.
“Counter maneuvers. We don’t have time to fight something of this size, nor do I believe our chances of victory are very high.” Rae muttered, typing quickly on the keypad. The ship had been identified as an enemy, and that was bad. If they had a ship this size, it could conquer a world. Mortified, he told the news to the crew. The crew easily reflected his thoughts as well. However, Iktar and Girn were smiling. They quickly told their plan to the Captain. The Captain, knowing full well of the capabilities of both of the crewman, knew that despite the odds, they could do it.
The small escape pod was launched from the ship, and propelled like a small shooting star towards the behemoth. The behemoth paid no heed to the little ship, but instead launched an assault on the Piasthmus. Girn and Iktar looked back, a look of worry pasted across their faces. But the smiled, when the smaller, and more agile ship dodge the shots. The escape pod impacted with the side of the ship, and with it’s acceleration, punched through the hull. The two dismounted, and began to explore the behemoth ship for some form of ship navigation. The ship should be more like a ghost ship, than an actual ship, the two thought silently dodging around corners. Iktar could tell something was wrong, and they didn’t know exactly what until they reached a navigation room. The entire ship thought for itself, but for the Captain, there was no crew. Startled, the two quickly searched for the major components of the ship. Determining where the power source, and the engines were they quickly split up to complete their separate missions.
Girn moved silently along the walkways of the ship, dodging the occasional steam burst from the engines, venting some of the heat. Determining where the central command hub’s location, he quickly made his way over to the console. Typing unbelievably fast on the console, he set the engines for self-destruct. To ensure their destruction, he programmed multiple firewalls, with fail-safes to prevent the end to the countdown. His mission complete, he could only hope that Iktar would be just as successful. Girn quickly left the engine room, and ran back to the escape pod.
Iktar; meanwhile, not as comfortable with technology as Girn had the easier and less technological portion of the mission. His mission was to destroy the ship’s power grid. Talking silently to himself with words of praise, and capability. He inched slowly forward across the narrow plank way, leading to the ship’s reactor. The reactor was on a central platform surrounded by a narrow mechanical repairs walkway, and then a large hole that led into the ship’s cooling vents. Iktar having completed the path to the reactor, strapped the detonation charges to the sides. Setting the timer, and then strapping titanium tape over them to force the charges inward, he quickly moved back towards the rendezvous point.
The two met at the escape pod, and quickly jumped in as the first explosion in engines erupted. The entire ship vibrated with a catastrophic explosion that shook the tiny escape pod. The tiny escape pod with some coaxing from both Girn and Iktar rocketed back towards the Piasthmus as it accelerated away from the dying ship. The reator exploded shortly after, and the entire gargantuan ship was ripped in half by the focused explosion. The wave hit the escape pod, and both it’s passengers welcomed the enveloping blackness.
Many hours later….
“Wake up, sleepy heads.” The two comatose patients stirred on theirs cots at the sound of the voice. It sounded an awfully lot like Gary. The waking pairs of eyes, still slightly blurry with sleep noted with mild annoyance, that it was INDEED Gary.
“Arghh.” The two patients muttered in unison. Gary, without telling his patients, scanned them using his telepathy scanned the two patients for any long-term brain damage. Satisfied the two would continue to be the way they are, he dismissed the patients as soon as they felt they were able to handle themselves.
“All Crew to the Bridge, immediately!” Rae’s voice announced over the speakers mounted throughout the ship. Rae’s voice had sounded excited, almost intrigued. The crew rushed to the bridge, and were directed to look through the view port. In the large view port was a planet with so much similarities to Earth, that it might as well have been Earth.
“The Planet…” The crew muttered in disbelief. “That’s not possible.” Was heard, but no one noticed who said it, not even the speaker. They were all standing in disbelief. How could they have come across a planet of myth, a planet of hopes so easily. They were in shock, and Rae barely managed to command the ship to land before collapsing in his command chair.
The ship with landing gear in the proper position, landed on the soft turf of grass on a hill overlooking a large expanse of plain. The ship landed with a loud hiss as the springs discharged. The crew stepped out on to the turf, and looked out at the large expanse of plain. There were some bovine resembling creatures grazing, and the smell of salt was heavy in the air. Gary, human in nature, sprawled himself in the grass. “So…soft..” He whispered to no one in particular.
The crew after jotting down the location of the planet in their navigation computer, and launched back up into the atmosphere. With one last look back at the planet, the crew smiled in the thoughts of vast amounts of profit. The ship vanished into hyperspace, and disappeared from history books….
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100 years later….
A patrol ship came across the hulking mass of a decayed ship, and looking at it. The crew of the patrol decided it was worth exploring. The patrol ship docked with the ruin, and the crew discharged. Using the new spacesuits, the crew members entered the ship. Reading a panel, they recognized the ship as Piasthmus, the ship proclaimed to have the location of the Planet in it’s navigation computer. Excited, the crew wandered through the ship, coming across the charred remains of two crew members. They then proceeded to the navigation room to find a skeleton laying over the console.
Excited the crew members moved the skeleton gingerly, and began to scroll through the contents trying to find out what the crew had died protecting. Their eyes lit with an inner glow when they discovered the secret of the Piasthmus. They began downloading it into their suits. The download complete, they returned to their ship. With news spreading fast, they were welcomed back with honors, and proclaimed lords. They made memorials to the crew on the Planet, and built cities named after each of the crew members. Dragoon, the city of the Mountains. Allen, city of thoughts and center of humanity. Er, city of defense and new beginnings. Irageus, city of the swamps. And to the honor of the ship, Piasthmus, the new world was named Piasth.
