| Author |
Memoirs of a Cadet |
Fatal Arkarian
Cadet
Joined: October 23, 2003
Posts: 63
|  Posted: 2005-01-11 09:57
ok, I've let my fleet friends have a look at this story, and they think its ok, so I though I would let it loose amoung the general darkspace public, to be torn to shreds by critics with disruptors.
This story was written during a sudden creative burst, and only lasts as long as the caffiene did.
enjoy. post feedback. do not criticise too much. I am sensitive.
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Fatal Arkarian
Cadet
Joined: October 23, 2003
Posts: 63
| Posted: 2005-01-11 09:58
<<----Memoirs of a Cadet---->>
Space is big. Really big. Ensign Arkarian Belando mulled over this fact for a few seconds, before discarding it as another pointless thought to add to this boring shift. He was currently piloting an ICC Mark 5 Stealth Scout, which seemed to Arkarian to have too much high tech equipment and not enough things to shoot with. I mean, he wasn’t about to ECM any K’luth to death, was he? Mind you, there weren’t many K’luth to shoot out here. He was at the very edge of ICC space, on a routine patrol mission, but on the wrong edge for both K’luth and UGTO, and over 100k Gu away from the nearest ICC planet. Nothing ahead but the great black void, and stars stretching into oblivion.
Arkarian sighed as he remembered what had got in into what was know as the Point shift amongst the Ensigns, because in this huge space, you weren’t nothing but a tiny insignificant point. Arkarian had been thrilled to join Fatal Squadron, a hotly contested fleet amongst the ICC. He was one of the best pilots in his class at the academy, although his technical skill didn’t rate much. He’s been 6 months into the fleet, before turning up for duty still drunk from a party the night before. The party had been to celebrate his second confirmed kill, and all had been going well, until Captain Rocko had turned up to offer his congratulations, and had brought a bottle. It wasn’t as if it didn’t have a label. The label was just one of those normally used to label spare components, and had written on it “White Lightning”, in what was obviously Rocko’s own hand writing. The rest of the night was an alcoholic haze. Groaning again, Arkarian ran a default scan and noted that the nearest asteroid had moved 500 meters. He lent his head back, and closed his eyes.
A persistent beeping woke Arkarian from his slumber. He tilted his head forward a bit, and tried to get his sleep filled eyes to focus on his nav map.
There was a small red diamond on it.
His computer had labelled it “IT missile”
Arkarian stared at the display for half a second, before his body decided his brain must be elsewhere, and kicked his scout up to full speed, and pulled it into a sharp right dive. Rolling swiftly, he swore as the IT missile passed over his fighter with less than 50 meters to spare.
“Computer, activate point defence systems, NOW!” he yelled as the missile turned to come at him again. Bright beams lanced out from the top of his craft, destroying the missile before it came anywhere near him. Sighing, he looped 180 degrees.
Straight into the path of a K’luth Dreadnought.
Arkarian just had time to punch his comm system and yell “Bugs bugs bugs!!” before he spotted the flashes of incoming fire. He rolled left and pulled up swiftly, the G forces pressing him down into his seat, rolling further left as he dived. His craft groaned, and a dozen yellow lights lit up on his HUD as he put his ship under strains that tested the limits of its design.
His comm crackled into life, “Come in Ensign, what’s your status?” What’s my status? He thought to himself, what do you think my status is? For a moment he considered telling command that everything was just fine, before another hail of shots from the dreadnought shook him out of his daydream, and forced him to drop his speed and pull up, the shot passing just under him. “K’luth hostile force, inbound!”, he yelled before rolling starboard again to avoid a torpedo. He turned the roll into a bank, and brought his gun sights to face the Dreadnought, and let off a full volley of rail gun shots. Something seemed to pulse on the hull. Surely he hadn’t managed to hurt it? Just as he peered closer, the flux wave hit his ship.
Sparks flew across his controls, and the lights on his HUD promptly tripled, and turned red
“Control, we have Dreadnought class, unable to engage, they‘ve fluxed me, all system report damaged, major power failure, all aux power diverted to life support…err, I‘m dead in the water”
“Pull out immediately, Ensign! Do not get in range of that Dreadnoughts disruptors, they‘ll tear your ship apart. Get yourself out of there, escape route gamma 7”
“I‘m trying control” muttered Arkarian. He wrenched his helmet from the ceiling and clipped it onto his flight suit, before shunting all aux power away from life support, and into repairing his jump drive. “computer, plot jump, gamma 7, align and prepare to engage jump drive” He felt his suit puff out as the air around him slowly disappeared, so he activated his suits support systems. These would keep him going for 2 hours. “Cummon cummon” he said as he watched two very important numbers count down; the distance between him and the dreadnought, and the time until his jump drive was back up. He turned a very slow roll as he lined up his jump, throwing some more shots from the Dreadnought. “Why is this taking so damn long…” A quick weave left and right shook another torpedo, but time was running out.
“10 seconds until jump capability. K’luth Dreadnought disruptors will be in range in 15 seconds” droned his computer.
Cutting it a bit tight, he thought, as his craft pulled itself tightly into its jump vector.
“Engines repaired”
“About bloody time” said Arkarian, and pushed the button.
Nothing happened. Frantically he pushed the button again and again. “This is not good” he said in a surprisingly calm voice. “Dreadnought now in disruptor range” said his computer.
Arkarian looked at the Dreadnought and noted how several spots on its hull were glowing a bright red-yellow. “Useless piece of…” he swore, and thumped the console.
A millisecond before the disruptors fired, Arkarian was pushed back into his seat again as the stars blurred, and the Dreadnought retreated extremely quickly. “What the heck…how did you fix your drives so quick Ensign?” asked an enquiring control.
“Well, I’ve been practising on my holoviewer at home” he grinned. “Used the same technique I use when that breaks. I guess my technical skill is better than you guys thought”
“Hmmm” droned an unconvinced control. “Lets hope your people skills are up to scratch. The Commander wants a direct report from you in his office about what happened, and why the K’luth have appeared there. “
“Err, right. How long from when I get back?”
“Well, I think he’ll give you enough time to walk from your ship to his office”
Arkarian groaned. It was turning out to be one of those days.
The End....?
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kenetiks
Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: November 21, 2001
Posts: 1130
From: Bandcamp
| Posted: 2005-01-11 10:28
Pretty good, nice action. I would be more than willing to read more. That means.....write something else.....
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Fatal Arkarian
Cadet
Joined: October 23, 2003
Posts: 63
| Posted: 2005-01-12 04:20
ok, i'll try once the caffiene in my blood has reached an acceptable level I'll have another creative spurt.
Sequel to this story....or completely new one?
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Lord DowneyBUM (UK)
Fleet Admiral
Joined: January 13, 2003
Posts: 437
From: London England
| Posted: 2005-01-12 07:44
Quite a sweet little taster, not bad at all.
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philll
Admiral
Joined: September 13, 2003
Posts: 268
| Posted: 2005-01-12 11:17
nice liked it
and u asked people not to criticise it so i wont unless i may...
keep it going has good potential just like my french 
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Ham&Swiss
Grand Admiral
Joined: October 12, 2004
Posts: 418
From: 10$ to whoever finds me
| Posted: 2005-01-12 12:24
Defanetly worth the time to write more...better start the coffee...
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Fatal Command (CO)
Chief Marshal
Fatal Squadron
Joined: November 27, 2002
Posts: 1159
From: Back in Texas and noticing some ppl are like canoes.....they need to be paddled.
| Posted: 2005-01-12 20:34
sends Ark a 30 cup coffee pot of NAVY coffee.
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Fatal Rocko Willis
Fleet Admiral
Fatal Squadron
Joined: March 01, 2003
Posts: 1336
From: Kentucky
| Posted: 2005-04-06 20:57
Wonders if there will be another chapter soon.
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