Quite suddenly, a power surge rolled through the ship, and a signal cut through all communications. Even on HUDs and other computers, the message screamed out.
Unknown: YOU FOOLS! YOU HAVE ENDANGERED EVERYONE! THIS EVIL CANNOT BE CONTAINED! EVEN WITH THIS SHIP ISOLATED, IT WILL NOT STOP! THE EVIL NEVER SLEEPS, NEVER GIVES UP, WILL NOT DIE! YOU CANNOT...
There was a squeal of static, screens on every ship turned to snow. Then... silence.
Unknown: Welcome! Welcome! Come one, come all! I am Crystal Oni, your host for the rest of your life, short as it may be. The rules are simple; Survive! So, welcome again... Welcome to Hell!
Another energy spike, and a large burst of EMP knocked out all communications out of Tau 31. Fighters spun in lazy circles as their circuits were fried, others drifted away with no power, and the only thing anyone saw on their screens was the repeating line of text...
Welcome to Hell!
This is the real true story of rock and roll; it was not about anything more then, how to live your life, as a gangster, in sartorial splendor, and turning the world into a place where normality would never return again...- Malcolm McLaren
Virus screamed into his mic "Marines! Report in! Marines! ANYONE RESPOND!" He growled deeply. Virus tried diligantly to restart the systems on his fighter. He ripped the cover off the fuse box, if nothing else he was going to cloak.
----------------------------------
Boarding ship:
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED? We're visible! Get us cloaked NOW! Get the engineers to get the engines online! We might have to tractor these guys out of here! Move! Move! Move!"
The ones that could hear him on the bridge ran off in random directions to hallways and ladders. Engineers who got the idea that the electrics were fried frantically replaced melted wiring and began repairs to the engines.
Lieutenant Fleischer: We don't know sir. All our screens went blank and are now repeating; "Welcome to Hell."
Captain Soren: I need communications back immediately!
*********************************** Chiez 8: Chiez 8 to leader plz respond
Chi** 8 *o le**e* p**as* re*p**d.
Chiez leader smiled grimly. Leave it to the hacker to get communications working again.
Chiez leader: Chiez 8, Chiez 8, I want you to land on the destroyer now. Get their communications working immediately.
Chiez 8: R***r **ad*r d*oc*ing n*w.
***********************************
Lieutenant Fleischer: Captain one of the Blood Dragon ships has managed to resume manuvering. We are getting a faint communication from him but it is too garbled to understand.
Captain Soren: Use the external lights to get it in the docking bay. Have him brought to the bridge immediately.
***********************************
As Chiez 8 reached the bridge he took in the grim looks from the bridge crew and the frustration at failed attempts to bring their equipment on-line again.
Chiez 8: Captain I'm here to get your communications back on-line.
Captain Soren: Lets hope you are as fast at it as you were at getting you fighter back on-line.
Chiez 8 had the communications on-line within 15 minutes.
Captain Soren: A job well done Chiez 8.
Chiez 8: Thank you sir.
**********************************
Captain Soren: Get communications to the cammondo team on the ship.
Captain Soren: Commander can you read me? You must get to the bridge and shut that ship down immediately. Forget the Phantoms this is a trap. Blow it up if you have to but do it quickly. We have to get a warning to the Maul not to enter the system, but the ship is blocking all long-range communications.
Commander Diszek: We are trying sir but previously unknown ship defences have come on-line and are fighting us back. We are makign head-way but at this rate it will take us an hour or so to get there.
Captain Soren: Chiez 8 I have a request of you.
Chiez 8: what is it?
Captain Soren: Fly to Tau-23 and stop the Maul battlegroup. Tell them I sent you. If they don't believe you my personal code is 47958. If they get in here their ships will be completely disabled, as it seems this pulse effects a ship more the larger it is. Then fly to Omicron Alpha and inform either Grand Admiral Korrd or Lord Captain Dab that the Kishiro are covering up something and they might want to "negotiate" with them.
As Chiez 8 entered the Tau-23 system he immediately contacted Kyoto base. After describing everything that had happened he asked them to trasnfer the information to either Lord Captain Dab or Grand Admiral Korrd. Then he settled in to wait for the Maul to show up.
***************************
After reading the report LC Dab immediately put in an order for an Osiris Heavy Cruiser and an escort Liberty cruiser to begin launch preparations. He then put in an order for his personal Ravenclaw and his 2 bodyguard's, Xizer and Keiran's, ships to be put on board as well.
Dab: Battleship Kiwisharmi we are going to the main Kishiro station. They have some explaining to do.
Dab ran off to docks that Kiwisharmi was held in. He had to find some way to disable that ship.
***************************
Lieutenant Fleischer: Sensors back on-line Captain.
Captain Soren: Alright send ever feed to my screen. And will someone kill that damned siren!
Abrubtly the siren wail ceased and he could turn his full attention to the scans. The actual tally of the losses about sent him into a frenzy of anger. All but 3 fighters destroyed. Among the living was Hrieznahs Leader, 2, and 9. Only their best fighters had survived that carnage. Their attempt at tracking the phantom fighters after cloaked had only proven partially effective. The phantoms still had 5 fighters and 4 bombers. Fortunately both Chimeara and Fuchs had remained intact. The Blood Dragon squadron had only lost 4 members.
Lieutenant Fleischer: Captain we have control of the Inferno cannon and 2 of the Cerberus guns.
Captain Soren: Good work on getting the rest. We cannot allow Jensei to know our guns are opperatioinal until we have the remaining guns on-line and can take her down. Instruct the fighters with the external lights to focus on getting their torpedo bays opperational to use against the Akki in case our commando team fails. Have the guns aim at their Primary turrets to shoot them off in a moments notice. I hope to take this ship intact to use against the Kishiro and get their corporation gutted.
The ship's lights flickered yet again.
Captain Soren: What now?
Lieutenant Fleischer:His face wearing a resigned look. Sir the Akki has destroyed our fuctioning turrets.
Captain Soren: Damnit! Lieutenant Fleischer get the escape pods on-line. We might have to sacrifice this ship to destroy the Akki. Ready the self-destruct.
"What the hell is wrong with the docking bay?" I ask as a group of techs run around aimlessly.
"Some kinda EM pulse has knocked most of the systems down, except for those that had shielding." A tech replies as he messes around in the guts of the door control panel.
"Great, so I'm stuck hear until you fix it?"
"Yup, and your ship is damaged too." the tech answers, sounding faintly muffled with his head in the panel.
... at the moment of the EMP blast from Akki, on the BSA-Maul in Tau-37.
Silence......
-"What the hell happened there?" - shouted the captain.
-"It seems, sir, that there are no... electro-magnetic signatures at all, sir." said the scanner operator "Possibly an EMP blast... but... of such magnitude... What could have caused it? The system sir, it appears empty! As if a star exploded!" only his voice sounding through the bridge.
-"Listen on all communication channels! Open comm to Gamma wing!" said the captain. It could be heard in his voice the deep thoughts he had. *A star exploding... Impossible! No such indications were visible! It's gotta be something with those phantoms attacking there! They do have a fondness for blowing up things... but a star?... A grim future stands in front of Sirius if this is true...*...
-"We have Gamma on-screen, sir!" the comm officer interrupted his thoughts.
-"Gamma, do your sensors show anything in there?"
-"No sir, zilch! Looks like there's nothing in the system." said Gamma Leader. "Wait... we are picking up a lone fighter in THIS system... FFID (author's note:*Friend or Foe IDentificator, for those who don't know what that is [I feel tempted now to engage the Improbability Drive, but I'll play ball]*) shows "Blood Dragons"! Hailing us! He requests to speak to you in person!"
-"On-screen Comm! Better have something good for us!"
-"This is Chiez 8 of the Blood Dragons! Good to see you in time, sir!" he said in that specific kusari way, seeming to show a kind of melancholy beyond any breaching through the surface of the appearance.
-"How can we help commander?" replied the captain of the Maul.
-"Tau-31 mayday, sir! Me and my squad were assisting the AW Gunboat Fusch! An EMP blast from the Kishiro vessel - Jingsei-Akki, rendered all ships inoperable. The Chimaera sent a squad of marines to board the Akki. Captain Soren advises you NOT to enter the system Maul! The EMP radiation will disable you too!"...
-"This is 282nd Suicide Kings Leader! Captain, we heard the transmission and are bringing a little surprise!" interrupted the Suicide Kings Leader "Our engineers have mounted something they are working on for some time now - the EMP Shield (*author's note: this is the part that sounds like the Improbability Drive issue!*) - we should be able to enter the system without the EMP disturbing us! Also, our special sub-luminal communications aren't affected by EMP!"
-"Good to see you SKings!" answered the captain "proceed with caution and keep us informed, we will wait at the Tau-31 jumphole. Be advised - cloaked phantoms may still be operational! Chiez 8, dock with us, we will help you repair!".
-"Thank you sir!" shouted the SKings Leader like a suicidal maniac into the comms seeming to be happy for going into the unknown threat. "SKings Group, switch to sub-luminal coded comms and engage cruise!"
The 3 282nd Suicide Kings ships kicked their cruise engines in a roar, heading for the Tau-31 jumphole...
-"SKing 3 to SKing Leader! What do you think happened there, sir?"
***
author's note: typing this almost 40 minutes making it up as I go... :) will continue l8r
If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor