Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I also enjoyed it. I look forward to the next chapter.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Yes, Atrocities, some of us did read it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Good read it was, yes http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

issa goooda
es ist gut

eh its ok http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Just did. Excellent, as always. Had not been on the forums all weekend!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Part XIV Talk is cheep and I have an expensive ear.

It had stopped snowing and Trax was able to move undetected to the landing area in a relatively short amount of time. He could see the search teams moving in his direction and worked rapidly to attach an explosive to the under belly of the Sky Chariot. He would destroy the Chariot the in the event that the bodies were discovered. He attached a motion trigger to the surface of the Optical Masking Net –or OMN- that was hiding the two dead bodies and slowly moved away. The detonator would trigger the explosive device if the OMN were moved. Since the dead men were unlikely to move, the likelihood of the detonator going off accidentally was remote. But in the event he was otherwise occupied and unable to trigger the device himself, then the motion sensor would. Destroying the Sky Chariot was the only way to dispose of the bodies and or those who discovered them without leaving a trace of the OMN.

Trax’s mission was to evaluate the situation, gather intelligence, destroy the alien ship, and terminate any who discovered harmful information regarding the ship and its origins. He was prepared to terminate every living sole at this site to accomplish his mission regardless of his own safety. He had enough micro taterium explosives (MTE) with him to reduce a five-mile radius to smoldering ash, or in this case ice cold sludge. But for now, he would return to the Operations tent and continue to monitor the Humans.

“I can not believe that Prime Minister Delzoro would ever pardon some one like Wilhelm.” Said Bill Ramzies as he and Tom sat at a table in the mess tent drinking hot lacto berry juice.
“Believe me when I heard about it I just about shot the messenger.” Replied Tom as he sipped from his cup.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because the messenger was none other than Robert Benton.”
“Oh.” Replied Ramzies. “That must have been tough?” Said Ramzies in more of a statement than a question but Tom went ahead and treated it as a question.
“It was more than tough. That bastard was pardoned and then took my old job.”
“You’re joking?” Ramzies said in shock. “You have got to be joking me?”
“No joke. Killian pardoned that bastard the day before he died and appointed him to the Space Exploration Division (SED) as the new Director of the Space Engineering and Planetary Colonization (SEPC) program following its reactivation.”
Ramzies shook his head slowly. “The Last time I heard from you was when you took that job. I was sorry to hear about the program being shut down.”
“I was to.” Replied Tom somberly.
“Who would have thought that you and I would be reunited in one of the coldest places on the planet? Sitting here, drinking hot lacto berry juice discussing a sadistic bastard like Carl Wilhelm who by some sick twist of fait is also here with us.” Ramzies motioned his right arm around in an arc. “Life’s little ironies.”
“Life is what it is Bill.”
“Yes indeed it is. Here you are, a General for crying out loud.” Ramzies offered his glass in a toast.
“And you a Doctor in gravimetric technology.” Replied Tom with a broad smile.
“Cheers.” The two men said then tapped their cups together.

Richard Hess entered the tent and about the same time as Dr. Mentor and Carl Wilhelm. He made his way over toward Tom and came to attention.
“General.” He said officially.
Tom looked up at him and stared blankly.
“What is it Richard?”
“I am sorry to bother you General, but Captain O’Connor needs you back at the Operations and Command tent.” Replied Richard.
Tom gave Richard a puzzled look then smiled at his friend Bill Ramzies as they began to stand.
“Looks like we will have to catch up later Bill.” Commented Tom politely. “Duty calls.”
“Indeed, I look forward to hearing how they drug you out of retirement and why they made you a General, General.” Said Ramzies. The two men shook hands and Tom followed Richard out of the tent. Bill sat back down and drank the rest of his drink alone.

Trax moved as swiftly as he could toward the Operations tent and planted a series of listening devices along the ten and the adjacent communications and command tent. Once he had completed his task he returned to the Operations tent and waited for the chance to enter. He really did not need to wait for someone to open the door, he could slip in by melding, but that took an enormous amount of energy and he was already running low due to the fact that he had his environmental suite internal temperature set to maximum to fight off the severe cold. One weakness the Alorians had, and he too by genetics, was a low tolerance to cold. He would replace the power pack once he had identified a secure and safe location. For the time being, he would stand, wait, and listen.

“So tell me Doctor, do you have any idea of how your research will improve the quality of life on Pandora?” Asked Carl as he and Doctor Mentor took a seat. Doctor Mentor had gotten himself a cup of hot lacto berry juice and was holding the cup openly between his hands.
“I know that it will allow us to explore for more resources under the ice without the risks that historically limited the development of this region in the past. Other than that I have not really considered it.”
“Ah a modest man.” Commented Carl. “You truly have no idea what it is you have invented do you?”
“I don’t follow you?”
“He is talking about weapons Doctor.” Commented Bill Ramzies from the other table. “He wants to develop your technology into a weapon Doctor Mentor.” Bill could not stand to listen to Carl’s fake generosity and mock humility any longer. Carl was playing Mentor for a fool, and it angered him greatly. He stood and walked over to their table and sat down.
“Tell him Colonel, tell the good Doctor here about what you do with weapons. Tell him about Pennington.”
Carl responded as calmly as he could. How dare he bring that up. “Tell him what?” Carl’s eyes said more then he had, he was daring Bill to answer. Bill was a smart man and knew instantly that Carl was not about to discuss the subject but would welcome the chance to tell the Secret Investigation Division that Bill had. Bill pondered for a second what would happen if he did discuss it. More than likely Carl would notify the SID and both he and Doctor Mentor would undoubtedly be classified as security risks and sent to the Gulag for the remainder of their lives. It was a better choice to change the subject and never mention Pennington again while in Carl’s presence.

“Tell him about how you want to use his technology to make weapons.”
“Bill, perhaps this is not-“ Started Doctor Mentor but he was cut off by Carl. Carl had had enough of Bill Ramzies. He disliked the mans attitude immensely and honestly just wanted to knock that smug self informed look right off of his face but reserved himself to a more professional course of action.
“It is alright Doctor Mentor, it would be better if the air was cleared before we continue our talk.”
Doctor Mentor nodded slightly and leaned back in his chair. This should be interesting he thought to himself as he folded his arms.”
“Yes by all means, lets clear the air shall we.” Commented Ramzies sarcastically.
“I am sure that General Christopher has informed you that I was pardoned by the Late Prime Minister himself?”
“He has.”
“And that I was appointed as Director of the Space Engineering and Planetary Colonization program?”
“He mentioned it.”
“Then you can understand my interest in Doctor Mentors technology?”
Bill crossed his arms, cocked his head slightly and sighed. It didn’t really matter what Carl said, Bill knew it would be a lie, but what the hell he thought. “Enlighten us but remember, talk is cheap and I have an expensive ear.”

Carl looked at Bill Ramzies with little more concern than one would give a bug just prior to squashing it. Carl could care less what he thought of him, he was here to talk to Doctor Mentor, and it was only Doctor Mentor that Carl cared about.
“Doctor Mentor, your gravimetric technology works by generating a new gravity field which defies the natural gravity within a specific area of ice thus allowing the attached scanner to accurately read the ice density and other finer characteristics; correct?”
“It is far more complicated than that, but yes, basically that is correct.” Replied Doctor Mentor politely.
“Your device by itself is more than capable of generating a rather large gravity field on lets say a scale of one to ten thousandth its size?”
Mentor did the math in his head before responding. “That is essential correct.”
“In other words, the technology that you have engineered, developed, and successfully tested could theoretically generate an artificial gravity field large enough and powerful enough to scan an area of ice equal to that of a Tempest Class Sky Carrier?”
“If we are talking mass, then yes, easily.” Replied Mentor. He was curious now, and started to understand where Carl was going. As he did, his expression began to change.
“And if that area were self contained and gravimetric device moved would the field generated by it move with it?” Carl asked.
“Yes, assuming what I think you are saying, yes, if placed on a ship such as a Sky Carrier, it would move with the ship.”
“Would it be theoretically possible to use your gravimetric device to generate a new gravity field, lets say for sake of argument, an artificial gravity field around the ship thereby allowing it to remain air born without the use of repulsers?”
Both Mentor and Ramzies sat forward abruptly. The smug look on Ramzies face was completely gone now replaced by one of seriousness as he considered this possibility.
“My God.” He uttered out loud more to himself than to the others. Carl was not lying, for he really was here on official SED business, and not here to kill them all. Bills disbelief wore on his face like a bad poker players expression at having received useless cards. This was oddly enough very gratifying for Carl as he examined their responses.
Carl observed that Doctor Mentor was looking at him with an astonished expression on his face. Obviously the Doctor had not considered all of the possibilities for his new technology.
And indeed it was true, Doctor Mentor had not considered the many possibilities for gravimetric technology. It was just now beginning to occurred to him that he had already invented not one, but several new forms of technology with a single invention.
“My god, with some refinement just one Gravimetric Device could easily provide equal too or more than enough lift for something as large as a Sky Carrier.” Ramzie finished saying in an astonished tone of voice as he looked from Carl over to Doctor Mentor.
“With standard lift thrusters and propulsion systems, a ship could stay air borne indefinitely.” Said Doctor Mentor as he continued to think of the possibilities. “Why this has never occurred to me before I don’t know.” He looked at Carl again and shook his head slightly. “The possibilities.”
“The size benefit alone would be astronomical. Your Gravimetric Device would entirely replace the need for repulser generators thus freeing up more than a third of a ships internal mass for other uses.” Ramzies commented.
“That is not all it could do. Think larger gentlemen.” Said Carl with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. “Think about the practical application of artificial gravity alone.”
Mentor looked absolutely mesmerized as new thoughts began to explode and grow in his mind. The possibilities were beyond any that even he could have conceived of.
“Space exploration.” He said so softly that he wasn’t even sure if he had spoken it aloud.
“Space exploration is only the beginning Doctor.” Commented Carl with utter conviction. “Only the beginning.”

[ May 03, 2003, 09:18: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

As usual - > Goodie!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Excellent! I'm sure none of us readers have any idea how this will turn out. I can hardly wait for the next part!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I like... I like...

this keeps getting better and better...

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Great chapter atrocities, though now i have to change My story and edit the chapters with the assasin in, you beat me to it! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Oh well, great title though! I like the idea of this trax guy not being totally unbeatable and having certain problems and constraints facing him, it makes the character sooo much better http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Great Work!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Thanks, RD, but don't alter your story because of me. It is reasonable to believe that we all will at one point or another follow many of the same ideas as we all come up with our stories. Besides, who the hell is going to read what we have posted aside from those of us here at this forum? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

And if you like Trax just wait. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ May 04, 2003, 12:10: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newup...1052158207.BMP http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newup...1052158242.BMP http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newup...1052158146.bmp

For those of you who like guns. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ May 05, 2003, 19:21: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Hum, no one seems to ever bump this post. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I haven't bumped the thread, but it's one of the first ones I look for when I open the forum. I enjoy your writing and am eagerly awaiting the next installment. Now if you'll just stop making each one a cliffhanger! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Bump it? I could never do that, it would be an act of cruelty:

If I bumped it, it would go to the top of the forum. Everyone else would see it there and think that you had posted an update. How disappointed would they be when they saw that it was just a lousy bump from me? I couldn't be so cruel http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Seriously though, I think people just read more than they respond. That's what I've found with O&C anyway. If you really want to see how many people are reading, do what I did: Move the story to your own site and set up a counter.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fooled me you cruel being!
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Ah good points. I had to find it burried on page three. I will have the next two segments posted later this week.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

just do what i do make a link directly to it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Part XIV Life’s Little Surprises

Tanix Largo was not especially keen on the idea of having been assigned such a mundane task as messenger, nor was he especially fond of where he would have to go to deliver the message. Unlike many of his comrades in the Illuminati Assassins Guild, he did ask questions and often held an independent thought or two. Oh he had been warned by his superiors, including Trax himself, on several occasions not to deviate from or question orders, but to simply follow them like a good mindless drone. Tanix was unusual in that he enjoyed killing. It made him feel good to see the life fade from a victims, ‘no not victim, subjects, yes that word fit better,’ a subjects eyes. It really was not his fault that he was so sadistic; it was the fault of those who had engineered him, or was it? It was something that Tanix often thought about, but quickly dismissed. Although he enjoyed killing, many of the other members of the Assassins Guild did not. They preferred stealth and cunning over the simplicity of elimination and sanction. ‘What fools they are to deny themselves the pleasure of the kill,’ thought Tanix quietly to himself as he waited patiently, hidden from view by his Optical Masking Net, or OMN, in the cargo hold of the supply ship Voodoo. It was an easy effort to gain access to this ship as it was not guarded and only a few people were around loading supplies. Supplies that are going to be delivered from Andover Base to the Discovery sight at the Victorian Glacier. Tanix just simply strolled onto the ship without a care and took up a nice comfortable spot to kick back and wait for the ship to be loaded and depart. That was about an hour ago, and the flight crew had not yet arrived. Tanix was becoming board and his mind began to wonder as he contemplated his desire and lust to kill against his comrades’ orders to avoid killing. An unusual juxtaposition at best, and an ironic one at that. Trained and bred for one purpose in life, assassins designed to kill who avoid killing as if it were a golden rule. An unspoken rule that Tanix relished violating as often as he could.

“This will be the Last shipment to Discovery Site,” commented Pilot Joe Watson to his co-pilot Ted Barlow as they walked up the loading ramp and headed for the Voodoo’s cockpit. “The word is the site is going into absolute lock down and we are to fairy the Last of the scientific team and other nonessential personnel back to Andover.”
“Well I for one am damned happy that the hoppes to that god forsaken frozen pit are over,” commented Ted Barlow in an almost jubilant tone, “I’ve seen enough snow and ice to Last me a life time.”
“Likewise,” Joe said as he climbed into the pilot seat and began the pre-flight. “I only want to see ice in my drinks from now on.”
“Speaking of which, you still owe me two shots from our bet Last week.”
“That game was rigged and you know it Ted.”
“Oh come on now Boss, Harry beat him fair and square.”
“The hell he did, that low life stump jumper cheated.”
“I am going to tell him you said that.” Commented Ted as he smiled. “I am sure it will warm his heart and boost his ego to know that you think he is a cheater.”
“While you’re at it, tell him he owes me two drinks and your collecting for me.” Said Joe as he finished the pre-flight check sheet and handed it to Ted for review.
“Tower this is Voodoo One-Five-Zero requesting departure clearance.” Joe said into his COM.
“Voodoo One-Five-Zero, you are cleared for departure on course vector two-one-one-North. And you boys have yourselves a nice flight.”
“Thank you Tower, Voodoo One-Five-Zero completing taxi run and lifting off. See you tower heads in about six hours. Be sure to keep the Red Flame on until we get back.”
With that Joe flipped off his COM and he and Ted entered into another meaningless discussion about some arbitrary topic of little interest.

Tanix had to restrain himself from the overwhelming desire to kill these two humans in order to shut them up. It was a compulsion that he found almost to strong to control. Perhaps later he could kill them, he thought has he slowly removed a small device from his tactical utility belt, pressed a few buttons and gently stuck it to the Voodoo’s inner bulkhead. He could not see what it was he was doing but he knew exactly how to do it after years of practice, training, and practical use. He had deployed many such devices on many occasions all while being safely hidden under the protection of his Optical Masking Net. Once the device was outside of the OMN, it became visible only for a second as quickly took on the color of the surface to which it was attached and became utterly invisible. “A little return trip surprise for you both,” whispered Tanix to himself as he smiled insidiously.

The Voodoo’s flight from Andover Base to the Discovery site took about an hour. They were cleared to land and did so as they had done so many times before. The ramp dropped and Tanix was down it and out of the ship in seconds. The two pilots were still climbing out of their seats by the time Tanix made it to the Operations and Control tent.

On the Voodoo’s return trip, some five hours later, while over the tip of the Bastion Continent heading out over the Sea of Pandora, the small device that Tanix had installed finished its count down and detonated. The Voodoo exploded into a million peaces of super heated particles of metal, pLastic, and other matter. The flight crew and seventeen other men and women including many members of Doctor Mentors Scientific Team, all died in the time it takes a person to sneeze. A subsequent investigation into the loss of the Voodoo concluded that a fuel cell heating element had failed resulting in the freezing of a critical valve that when automatically engaged ruptured under pressure and caused the explosion that destroyed the Voodoo and her passengers.

The Tents were not really tents at all but prefab constructed buildings that had been assembled. Most of the small buildings were coated with fresh snow that was quickly melted and flowed off onto the ground were it would promptly freeze. The Tents had internal roof heating elements that would keep the Ice and snow from burring the structure, and they seemed to be working rather well as there appeared to be little build up of snow and ice on the Tents outer roof. As PFC Kord Anuran and PFC Leo Hurt moved along the landing area looking for the two missing soldiers, Kord looked on with little interest in his duty. He wanted to be where it was warm under one of those heated roofs, and quietly thought to himself.

“No doubt by now those missing men are sitting back in the mess tent sucking down a warm one enjoying a good laugh while the rest of us are out here freezing our balls off looking for them.” Commented Leo sarcastically.
“Or worse, this was some stinking drill that the Captain had planed and he is sitting back in the mess tent sucking down a warm one having a good laugh about it all.” Replied Kord just as sarcastically.
“Hey what that?” Asked Leo, as he moved toward what appeared to be a small lump under a government sky chariot.
“What is what?” Replied Kord as he looked over in Leo’s direction.
“I think I have found something.” Responded Leo excitedly.

Tanix shivered slightly in the cold, he had just turned his environmental suit-heating unit to maximum and was calculating the power usage when it happened.

The explosion knocked him flat face down into the snow. The force of the explosion was so powerful that it nearly caused the Operations Tent to collapse as a result of the shockwave. It took Tanix several seconds to clear his head and recall where he was. His ears were ringing and he could taste copper in his mouth. His mind began to race as he wondered if the explosive he had planted had detonated prematurely. “The pleasures of life and all of its little surprises never fail to amaze me,” he said to himself as he slowly rolled to his side as several men in white uniforms ran past him.

He had to move quickly or run the risk of being stepped on, but aside from rolling onto his side, he could not otherwise move. He was in pain now, not that simple kind of pain one would expect from having just been blown to the ground by a powerful explosion, but a more sinister kind of pain that cames from having been struck by a peace of shrapnel that had been blown away from a ship by a powerful exposition which had just knocked you face down to the ground.

Tanix simply laid there hoping that no one would see his outline in the snow, or worse, step on him. He ran calculations in his mind and determined that the explosion had not come from the ship he had just left therefore his surprise had not gone off. No, the explosion had come from directly behind him about three hundred yards away. He could hear men yelling now, they were shouting about that a sky chariot had just exploded and that several men were injured. A sky chariot he thought to himself, it must have been rigged to blow by Trax. But why would Trax draw attention to himself by blowing up a sky chariot? It was an odd thing to do for one who wished to remain unknown.

Something odd was beginning to happen now, Tanix could feel his heart beat slowing, the pain was beginning to subside, and he could breath without wincing. The Environmental Suit was beginning to administer pain medication and adrenaline. A welcome sensation to be sure thought Tanix as he slowly lifted himself up off of the ground and stood. He was weak and could feel that he had a few broken ribs. ‘Oh those are going to hurt like hell in the morning,’ he thought to himself as he slowly moved into a shadowed area next to the Communication tent. He knew that Trax was around, and quietly spoke into his COM. At this distance it was relatively safe to break radio silence and advise Trax that he was present with new orders. Trax would no doubt not respond but would instead make his way to Tanix in short order.

Tanix took in a deep breath and spoke as clearly as he could. “Trax, operational objective modified, current location south-west Communications tent. Status injured.”

The medication was beginning to fade and Tanix realized that he would have to have Trax’s help to remove the shrapnel from his back. From the feel of it, it was a jagged peace of cast epoxy steel, the substance used as plating on the outer hull of ships and vehicles. It was a semi medium size peace of shrapnel that felt warm and rather unfriendly as his sat lodged in his back. Tanix’s major concern was that his Optical Masking Net had been damaged or worse, he himself had been seriously injured. He would know soon enough.

Trax was standing by the entrance to the Command and Operations Tent when the explosion occurred. He could see General Christopher and his aid Richard Hess leveled to the ground by the explosion. No doubt one of the search parties had discovered the bodies of the two soldiers that he had to sanction upon his arrival and subsequently hid under the sky chariot that he had arrived on. He had hidden the men under his spare OMN and placed a motion sensitive explosive along with them in the event that they were discovered. A good precaution since they were obviously discovered.

The explosion did not startled Trax as he had expected it once he placed it, but what did cause him to unexpectedly draw in a breath, despite the best training the Illuminati could provide, was the unexpected COM message from Tanix.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

bump for the day

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Nice read. I thought you had given up on this story. glad to see that you have not.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I wonder how these two are going to interact with each other. I imagine tanix isn't going to get any sympathy. Great Chapter as always, keep up the good writing! I await with baited breath (sp?) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Part XIV Moved up a few thread to correct grammer issue. Thank you Ruatha. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

And I added some to the story to beef it up a tad.

[ May 25, 2003, 09:43: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Great as usual.
Just one critisism, exchange women to woman, it makes it easier to understand the story.
(nitpicking from my part!)

[ May 24, 2003, 14:46: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Great Addition Atrocities. It's interesting what abilities these Assasins have hidden up their sleeves, and now a love interest. Gee as soon as SE becomes a commercial sucess this'll be made into a movie http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Ya,a nice addition. Great read, but a little slow. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Your story is more indepth than most of us are used to.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

{Thanks Ruatha} http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Part XIV Next Time Duck

“We will be alright Tom,” said a very lovely looking woman holding a young child in her arms. “I doubt they will bombard the city.”
Tom leaned in and kissed the women gently on her lips. Afterward he starred into her deep green eyes for what felt like an eternity. He hated to leave his wife and daughter alone while he went off to defend the city from attack by the Global Alliance. He leaned down and softly kissed his newborn daughter, Emily, on her forehead. He then whispered ever so softly, “Daddy loves you and no matter what happens, know that I always will.”
Tom Straitened back up and once again kissed his wife but this time it was the kind of kiss a man gives a women when he is not sure whether or not he will ever see her again. The kind of kiss that Lasts forever. Once they had relaxed away from their passionate embrace, Tom smiled and said as confidently as he could, “I love you Mira, you and Emily both. I want you two to be safe, and I will see you once this is all over.”
Tom then slowly turned, as Mira eyes began to water, and started for the door. He glanced back one Last time and his heart was warmed, his resolved to do or die cemented, and his duty clear. He must protect them both from harm by taking down as many Global Alliance ships as he could. Tom looked away without ever considering that that would be the Last time he would ever see his wife and daughter again.

“General! General!” It was at first a faint voice, ever so soft, and then it began to get louder and move from the distance toward him. “General Christopher can you hear me?” It was an unfamiliar voice, it was female, and it sounded as if it was coming from now where and everywhere at the same time. Then Tom felt something shaking him, an odd sensation as he stood there on his porch in Evergreen City looking up at the blue sky. The shaking continued as Tom began to notice that the sky had begun to change color. It was no longer the deep cobalt blue that it had only been seconds ago, but now it had taken on an imperial white color, the color of snow.
“General Christopher can you hear me?” The voice had become so loud that he could not avoid it, it was emanating from all around him now. The shaking became more violent and Tom had to brace himself against the wall then suddenly, as if time flashed in his mind like a night beacon being switched on then off then on again, he was awake starring into the face of one of the most attractive woman he had ever seen.
“Mira,” he said without thought, slightly stunned before his senses returned and he recalled where he was.
“No General, my name is Nina Smith.”
Tom Tried to sit up but found the effort to painful to continue. He relaxed and slumped back down. His mind was racing now, for the Last thing he remembered was Richard walking in front of him. Now he was looking up into the face of this lovely woman with the most radiant green eyes he had ever seen. Even more brilliant than his wife’s. She also had long black hear that looked like a vain of pure Tivan Silk. She was strikingly beautiful; a real angel if ever there was such a thing. Tom laid there quietly for a second collecting his thoughts and gazing at the women looking down at him. Finally he had assimilated enough of his memory to ask her a question.
“What happened?”
“Your sky chariot exploded, you and your aid along with several others were injured by the bLast.” She responded in a soft comforting tone. It was so soothing to hear her speak that Tom nearly blacked out again. He caught himself and fought the urge to drift off. He struggled to keep his mind focused as he tested his extremities one by one. ‘Ok, I can feel my feet and hands. I hurt, but I don’t hurt that badly,’ he said to himself as he concluded his ‘I’m in one peace’ self-examination.
“Help me to sit up.” He said as he attempted to do it by himself and realized that he could not.
“Really sir, you should stay lying down, you took one hell of a hit.”
“I have to check on Richard. Is he alright?”
“He is about like you except he was hit by a peace of shrapnel.”
Tom’s face frowned at hearing this news. He doubled his effort to sit up and with the lovely woman’s help he was able to do so. A wave of nausea rushed over him and he felt as if he were going to vomit. His head spun, and his ears popped. He could feel his own heart beat beating hard and fast. His ribs began to hurt and it was hard to breath. But despite this, he stood up. The young woman braced him, as he looked around the tent. There were many injured people in their and many more attending to them. He stood there for a moment, waiting for the nausea to pass, before asking the young woman to take him to his aid Richard Hess.

It took Trax about a five and a half minutes to traverse the distance from the Operation Tents front side to the back of the Communications Tent. There were many people running about now, some tending to the wounded, and others attempting to put out the many small fires that had spawned into existence. Trax could see that the explosion had all but atomized the sky chariot leaving what was left of the craft scattered in smoldering black peaces of twisted debris and burnt metal all over the white ground of the Glacier. There was a large crater where the craft had sat with steam and smoke rising from it in tandem swirls of black and white vapor. Trax noticed that the explosion had also destroyed the two Prowlers parked next to the sky chariot and had damaged a third. A transport was also slightly damaged, but still looked to be in good shape. That had to have been the ship that Tanix had arrived on.

As Trax cleared the back of the Command tent he could see Tanix sitting in the shadow cast by the Communications tent. His optical scanner allowed for the detection of Optical Masking Net’s thus allowing him to see Tanix even though he was masked and cloaked from view. It looked to Trax that Tanix was indeed injured and having a tough go of it. He slowly moved up next to him, and saying nothing, he pulled out a small hand held medical scanner and began checking Tanix.
Tanix had passed out by this time and was not offering any resistance, a sign of serious injury, or a serious weakness on his part. Trax concluded the scan, reached behind Tanix and grasped the object that had punctured him and with one even pull yanked the shrapnel from Tanix’s back. This caused Tanix to awaken but to his credit, he did not scream or otherwise make a sound. He looked over at Trax and smiled, “Good to see you again Master Trax.” He said slowly and with some difficulty.
“Be quite you fool. Lean forward so that I can apply the liquid bandage.”
Tanix did as he was told, and leaned forward. The liquid bandage felt warm when it was applied and almost as soon as it hit his skin the pain began to subside.
“This will stop the bleeding and allow for your body to begin healing its self.” Trax said quietly. During this entire time they had been passed by many people, none of whom had seen them. Trax had to apply the liquid bandage without seeing where it was he was applying it. He could not have Tanix disengage his OMN, as that would have resulted in him becoming visible.

“Can you stand?” Asked Trax as he himself stood. He knew that Tanix could see as well as he could, and that in the optical scanner he was a yellow outline. Tanix slowly stood, it caused him considerable pain to do so, but he did do it and he did it without muttering a sound. ‘Far better to appear strong than to be strong,’ he thought to himself as he gritted his teeth.

“This way, I know of a place that will offer us sanctuary for the time being,” said Trax as he started walking off toward a Snow Marshal, a small ten-man transport sitting all alone next to the supply tent acrossed from the Troop Billet.

“General,” said Captain Macmillan O’Connor in a concerned tone of voice as he entered the mess tent and took in the scene. “I was told you were injured in the bLast.”
“He was Captain, but he refuses to lay down allow me to administer first aid until he has seen his aid.” Commented Nina Smith.
“Here allow me to help sir,” Said O’Connor as he put his arm under Toms and around his back, lifting him and giving him support. “Ms. Smith if you please.” He said indicating her to lead them to where General Christopher’s Aid, Richard Hess was being treated.
“He is in the kitchen, next to the door leading to the storage tent.” She said politely as she began to lead the two men in that direction.

Tanix climbed into the Snow Marshal first followed by Trax who closed the rear hatch. “We will be safe in here for a while. Disengage your OMN, and allow your energy pack to recharge,” Said Trax flatly as he disengaged his own OMN. The two of them shimmered slightly then materialized into full view of one another.
Without waiting for Tanix to speak, Trax fired off the question, “What are you doing here?”
Tanix sat for a second, attempting to get comfortable before replying. “I was sent to give you new orders.”
“The operation has been modified?”
“Affirmative. You are ordered to gather Intel on the object and ascertain weather or not its main computers can provide the location of other artifacts, namely the ship Pandora.”
“Then it has been determined that this ship is not the Pandora?”
“Affirmative. You are ordered to destroy it once you have the data. I was to assist you, but given my injury, I will not be able to.”
“Next time duck,” said Trax harshly.
Tanix had long since learned that his old Master Trax had a dark and drule sense of humor. To expect him to feel sympathy for his misfortune at being in the wrong place at the wrong time was pointless.
“Why did you destroy that ship? Doing so will only alert the humans that you are here.” Replied Tanix calmly.
“It was snowing when I departed the ship, two humans spotted my movements and had to be eliminated. I hid them under the ship using my spare OMN to camouflage them. I placed a Micro Taterium Explosives near them with a motion trigger in the event they were discovered.”
“I take it that they were discovered.” Said Tanix mockingly.
“I would say yes.” Replied Trax seriously having paid no attention to Tanix’s tone.
“The humans will no doubt begin to look for us.” Commented Tanix as he slightly sat up and looked out the forward window of the Snow Marshal. “This location will not remain secure.”
“It is secure for the time being. They have already searched it, and marked it as such.” Trax was looking at his Command and Control Pad (CCP) marking the location of all the humans within its scanning range. I have penetrated their Command and Control network and I am plugged into all of their CCP’s. If they plan to search this area again, we will have adequate time to relocate.” He tossed Tanix the CCP and checked his suites recharge meter.
“Most likely the humans will consider the explosion an act of sabotage, but with nothing to proceed on, and limited by the loss of man power, they will continue with their plans t lock the site down and evacuate the wounded and non essential personnel as planned.”
“They have recalled their patrols to evacuate the wounded,” Tanix said as he held up the CCP for Trax to view.

“Once they begin to evacuate their wounded we will be afforded the chance, although limitedly, to move about freely. I will infiltrate the object, and obtain the information needed prior to destroying it.”
“What of me? My strength has returned and I am able to assist,” Tanix said with some confidence as he once again adjusted his position. “Honor dictates that I participate.”
“No,” Replied Trax coldly, “you are injured and therefore you will make your way to the evacuation point and await my arrival.”
“This is unacceptable.”
“Your OMN is damaged and your spare unit is non-functional.”
“What?” Said Tanix as he reached for his spare OMN and felt it. It was indeed damaged and would not deploy when activated. Tanix felt his stomach sink as he looked up at Trax with a blank disappointed expression on his face.
“The success of this operation dictates that you continue on with the mission alone.” He finally said with little emotion. This would be his first failure, mission wise, since he became active. It was not a palatable experience to say the least.
“Agreed,” replied Trax as he reached for Tanix’s CCP. “I shall adjust your CCP and you may use it to avoid the human patrols. I will also need your Micro Taterium Explosives (MTE) as the object is far larger than our Intel had reported.”
Tanix handed over his MTE’s and took his CCP from Trax without comment.

Trax, upon the full recharge of his OMN, reactivated it and slipped out of the Snow Marshal and headed for the opening that the humans had cut into the ice in order to gain access to the object. He slipped by the guards as easily as a soft summer breeze blows by those who are napping ever so comfortably on the beach.

He moved down the tunnel to where the humans had stopped excavating and could clearly see the hull of the ship through the ice. Trax estimated that it would likely take the humans about three to five hours of normal excavating to expose the hull. Once that had been completed, Trax would create a diVersion and then meld through the bulkhead at the door and enter the ship. He would be going about his mission while the humans attempted to gain access. Once he had completed his mission, he would exit the vessel and make his way to his evacuation point.

By the time the humans gained entry, he would be well on his way back to the warmth of the Capitol City and the Humans well on their way to oblivion. However, until then, he would have to hide. Trax found a small area out of sight of the main tunnel, a natural fracture in the ice that broke off into several different direction providing ample areas for Trax to hide. He found a good location to conceal himself from view and disengaged his OMN. He would need all of his Environmental suites energy in order to meld through the objects hull. He had no idea how thick the hull was, and did not want to run out of power half way through it. He had heard stories of that happening to other Operatives, and did not want to add his name to that dubious list of failures.

“Richard you really need to learn how to duck when the other guy swings at you.” Commend Tom in a sincere but slightly joking tone of voice as he looked down at his aid. Richard looked like he had taken the blunt of the explosion. His hair was slightly singed and his face blackened. Tom could see that blood had at one point been coming from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. A sight that made Tom shudder.
“General,” said a young woman kindly, “he looks worse than he is.”
“Thank you Melissa,” replied Nina softly.
Richard smiled slightly and tried to speak. “I could offer you the same advice General,” his voice was very weak, almost un-hearable, but everyone who could hear it smiled.
“Captain,” asked Tom “how many did you loose?”
Captain O’Connor did not look down; he simply answered the question as honestly as he could. “I lost four men to the explosion with another seven, not including you or Captain Hess, having been injured.”
“I am sorry to hear that Captain,” Tom said solemnly with sincere reflection that only an officer who had lost men could understand. “It is never easy to loose good men to such a tragedy.”
“With all do respect General, this was not tragedy.” Replied O’Connor angrily.
Tom looked over at him and studied him for a moment. “What do you mean?”
“I had sent for you just prior to the explosion because two of my men had gone missing.”
“Missing?” Tom asked innocently. “And you think this had something to do with the explosion?”
“I do General. I do not believe in coincidences, nor do I believe that a sky chariot would suddenly explode right in the middle of search operation.”
“Some one blew up my sky chariot to hide something.” Tom understood full well what the Captain was getting at. What ever had caused his two men to go missing was most likely connected to the sky chariots explosion. The explosion was more than likely designed to cover up something.
“Most likely sir.”
“What is your game plan then Captain?”
“We lost two of our Prowlers in the explosion, and a third was damaged. I have recalled the remaining three back from patrol and will have one of them fly the wounded back to Andover Base. The other two can pick up the Scientist and troops in Davenport and take them to Andover as well.”

“What about the scientist and non-essential personnel still here?” Asked Tom.
“They can go out on the transport that is off loading cold weather equipment. It was only slightly damaged by the explosion and will be completely off loaded within a few hours.” Replied O’Connor as he consulted his CCP.
“What are talking about? I was not informed that any of my scientist would be leaving.” Commented Doctor Mentor angrily as he and Doctor Ramzies entered the room. “Would someone please explain this to me?”

“Don’t worry Doctor, you, Doctor Ramzies will be remaining behind to assist us with gaining entry and evaluating the ship.” Replied Captain O’Connor without looking up from his CCP. “We need to evacuate all other personel, including your people, in order to secure the site completely. As it stands Doctor, we may have an unwanted visitor and the more people running around the harder it will be for us to contain the site.”
“I see, the explosion then was not an accident?” Asked Doctor Mentor politely.
“No Doctor is was not.” Replied O’Connor simply.
“We had heard that it was a ruptured fuel repulser power cell that blew.” Commented Doctor Benton as he observed Nina Smith cleaning General Christopher’s facial wounds with some measure of amusement. Nina was enjoying herself.
“No Doctor, an explosion of that size could have only been caused by a fuel cell or an explosive device. And I want to thank you both for your help with the wounded. In fact, thank you all for your help.” Replied Captain O’Connor as he looked about the small room from face to face.

“Requesting permission to remain on site as well sir,” asked Richard.
Tom looked back down at Richard and smiled. “I want you to head back to Andover for a full check up Captain. No arguments.”
“Thank you General,” commented the young lady who was attending to Richard.
“General allow me to introduce to you my nurse, Melissa Anne, she is a student of Doctor Ramzies.” Richards voice had returned, although it did seem to have a bit more energy then Tom was accustom to hearing. It only took one look to know why. ‘Well I’ll be damned’ thought Tom to himself. Richard is in love with his nurse, and rightfully so as she was a very attractive woman. Tom could not suppress a smile and had to think before he opened his mouth to say anything.
“I think Ms. Anne is correct, and I would be most appreciative if she would accompany you back to Andover Base.”
Tom could see instantly by the smile on Ms Anne’s face that his request was greatly appreciated. She smiled broadly and looked right down at Richard blushing slightly. ‘Oh ya, the love bug has struck once again.’ Tom thought to himself in an amused way. How many good men had he lost to this infectious ailment he could not count. Now only if he could get Ms. Smith to stay behind.

“Well then, if your aid is going to be keeping his nurse, then I must demand that you, General, keep yours.” Nina Smith said in a charged voice as she finished cleaning Tom’s head wound. It was apparent to Tom that Nina Smith was not the kind of woman that men blew off. She was, among many things, full of pride and spirit. Tom liked her the instant he opened his eyes and starred into those radiant green eyes of hers.
“Who am I to argue with the Doctor,” he said as he smiled at her.
“I am not a Doctor yet, but if you military types keep getting hurt, I sure as hell will become one soon enough.”
Everyone seemed to laugh lightly at her comment including Tom who especially enjoyed her sense of humor.

“Captain,” it was Lieutenant Michael Winston voice coming over O’Connor’s COM, “Guardian One has landed and is ready to take on the wounded.”
“Very good Lieutenant, please advise Major Mantel that in light of our current situation I will require the services of his Tactical Trooper, Sergeant Harris.”
“Affirmative Sir. And sir in case you were not informed, one of the dead PFC’s was from Guardian One.”
O’Connor closed his eyes for a brief second before responding.
“Please inform Guardian One’s crew, and express my regrets. O’Connor out.”
“Yes sir.” With that the COM went dead.

“Richard, you have a nice flight now. I am sure the pilot of Guardian One will give you a smooth ride down the mountain,” Tom said in his usual bantering way. Richard new he was poking fun at him for the bumpy ride in.
“I’ll see you in a few days sir.” Richard said as Tom and Captain O’Connor left the room.

Nina had spent much of the time cleaning the Generals wounds and wanted to wash up. She could not explain it, but she found the General to be one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. ‘Oh stop it,’ she said to her self as she washed up. ‘Sure he is a handsome man and he is probably married.’ She stared at herself in the mirror for a long while before dawning her coat and helping the others to load the wounded onto Guardian One.

[ May 25, 2003, 09:38: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Can't get enough, keep it coming.

I hope the ice falls down over that Trax figure.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

No way Ruatha, i wouldn't trust these pandorans with anything more harmful than wooden sppons! Then again it's probably why i wouldn't even trust humans with that! Go Trax! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Part XVI Buried Alive

Trax waited patiently in his hiding spot, his OMN off until the time was right. The humans had just cleared the Last of the ice from the hull of the object. Trax knew it was a space ship, most likely one of the many ships that had attempted to land on the planet over the millennia but were repulsed or destroyed by the old orbital defense of this planet. Trax never believed that the Human could have ever had the technology to build such devices let alone travel the stars, but something, something deep within him told him that there was more to the universe than he could possibly believe.

Trax could not explain it, but something deep inside of him believed in something that was much more than mere word could ever possibly explain. A force of life, a sensation of nature, or even perhaps the universe it’s self, a being or substance that was far more than flesh and bone. Trax did not understand why he believed in this, he only knew that he did. The humans call this thing God, but Trax felt that it was far more than what the humans had come to believe it to be. Some how the word God paled in its descriptive ability at describing what it was that Trax had been touched by.

As he activated his OMN, Trax could not help but reflect back upon the day that he was touched. Prior to that day he could kill without regret, without concern, and without guilt, but now, after that day, he knew to kill a living being was evil act that that brought pain and sufforing to all. He now felt anguish over having to take a life, he never felt that prior to his day of enlightenment, but now, now he knew taking a life was an indeed a truly evil act, an act that was both as wrong and as in moral as any act that could ever be committed by a living being against another.

Trax truly hated having to kill, especially now that he knew it was wrong, but he was what he was engineer to be, a cold-blooded killing machine, and nothing, not even the will of God himself could ever reverse the horror that he has caused, or will continue causing. All he could do now, when forced to kill, was to make it as painless as possible for his victim, and hope that when his time came, God would have mercy upon his sole.

With deliberate will of force Trax, hidden by the cloud of his Optical Masking Net, (OMN) moved slowly toward the two men standing near the entrance of the tunnel that lead to the surface. He had drawn his Taber, a doubled sided blade of polished dorinium with a dark Decka wood handle, and had crept up to the first man. With out pausing he sliced the blade of his Taber through the mans neck severing his arteries, bone, muscle, and flesh from the mans right ear all the way over to the left ear. The cut took only a millisecond to perform, and the man never cried out. His hands never made it to the lethal wound, as he was dead before his mind could grasp the horror of the situation. The poison on his blade saw to that. The second man, having just been hit by the spray of the dead mans blood as it pulsated out of his neck wound in several great streamers of crimson, which faded in seconds as the mans heart stop beating, turned and before he could control himself, let out a blood curdling scream that was heard for miles.

Sergeant Ruddy Arnold had seen his share of death but nothing in his life had ever prepared him to for this. The sudden shock of seeing a man die only seconds after having talked to him was more than his mind was prepared comprehend. He had screamed before he realized he had done it. By instinct alone he had raised his pulse rifle in a split second, clicked off the safety and squeezed the trigger. The pulse rifle, utilizing a compressed pulse antium coil, erupted into action firing twenty round pulses per second of positively charged depleted uranium 980 pellets. The effect of which instantly shattered the surrounding ice along the walls of the tunnel like glass. Ruddy fired the rifle at first blindly in all directions, then slowly gaining control of his fear and allowed his military training to take effect, began to control the direction of his fire. He held his fire and swept the tunnel from side to side while looking down the sights of the rifle. His COM chirped once then twice again before he felt secure enough to respond.
“What in the hell is going on?” Yelled a voice. Ruddy did not at first recognize it, but as his heartbeat slowed and his mind began to clear, he replied.
“PFC Ledie is dead.”
“Ruddy this is Tom, what in the hell is going on? Why are firing?”
Ruddy continued to scan the hall as he slowly backed his way out toward the surface. He could hear other soldiers coming up behind him as their feet compressed the snow.
“I say again, something just killed PFC Ledie.”

Tom and the others had heard the scream then the gunfire and had all taken cover. Tom knew that Ruddy Arnold was not a man easily frightened, and if he was firing his rifle, then it was to save his own ***.
“Sergeant, what is your situation?” Tom asked in an official tone of voice trying to get Arnold to respond with more information.
“I am working my way out of the entrance tunnel, something killed PFC Ledie, slit his throat while he was standing right next to me.”
“Did you hit it?” Captain O’Connor asked over the COM.
Tom had not yet dismissed the Captain as he had just returned to the excavation site when the scream and shots rang out.
“I don’t know sir, I am shooting up the tunnel pretty good though, and I can’t imagine anything surviving it.”
“Sergeant ceases your fire. We are sending in reinforcements.” Yelled O’Connor into his COM as he gave a gesturing order to two armed troopers to head out.
“I think I got it.” Replied Arnold as he held his fire and swept the ice corridor from side to side with the muzzle of his pulse rifle. Two troopers came down the corridor from the main chamber heading toward him, and another two came up behind him, guns ready, but nothing to shoot.

The diVersion had worked perfectly and Trax was well clear of the entrance shaft a good millisecond before the surviving trooper opened fire. As the drama played out, Trax made his way toward the main chamber and the exposed bulkhead of the alien ship.

The humans were all hiding or attempting to do so as Trax slowly made his way through them. By the time he reached the bulkhead several of the armed humans had already left the chamber no doubt on their way to assist their comrade in arms. Trax smiled to himself, rather astonished at how well his diVersion had worked. In the hours before the humans resumed excavating the ice chamber, just to be on the safe side in the event that he had he been discovered, Trax had taken the precaution of planting a few Micro Taterium Explosives (MTE), in various locations of the tunnel and could have detonated them cutting the chamber off from the outside. The few humans that would have been left in this chamber, cut off from reinforcements, would have posed no problem for him. But as it now stood, he had gained access to the object without interference, and would most likely not need the MTE’s. He had long since learned the lesson that it was better to keep them active then to deactivate them therefore he did not deactivate prior to morphing through the hull of the ship.

Tom was standing with Colonel Rogers and Carl Wilhelm when Sergeant Harris and Captain O’Connor escorted Sergeant Arnold into the main chamber. Tom could tell instantly that whatever had happened, it had had a profound impact upon Arnold for he was as pale as the snow out side.
“Whoever it was knew what they were doing.” Commented Captain O’Connor. “It was a clean kill.”
“Ruddy, what happened?” Asked Tom.
“I don’t know General, Ledie and I were just shooting the fodder about nothing in particular when he stopped talking. It was just then I felt something warm hit me and I knew instantly that it was blood, but I had no idea.” He paused and just looked blankly at Tom.
“Now idea about what?” Tom asked him.
“No idea that man could be killed so quickly.” The look he gave Tom would forever haunt Tom’s dreams. It was a look that Tom had never seen before, one that he prayed to god he would never have to see again, the look of absolute fear.
“Carl I want you to take Arnold top side and see to him.”
“Yes General.” Carl voice was sincere. He stepped forward and took Arnold by the arm. “Come on Ground Pounder, let’s go get you something warm to drink.”
Tom had never considered, not even for a second that Carl had reformed, but after seeing this display, Tom had no doubts that Carl Wilhelm had indeed changed.

For the next hour and a half Colonel Rogers, assisted by Nina Smith worked on deciphering the alien language. Nina Smith first course of study was in language and mathematics, and was proving to be invaluable. Colonel Rogers had expressed privately to Tom that she was impressed with Nina’s skill and that with her help they should be able to decipher the alien language sooner than she had hoped for.

Tom had decided to hold off on having Sergeant Harris and Captain O’Connor relieved of duty in light of what had happened earlier. It was now clear to everyone that they did indeed have an un-wanted visitor. Who he, or she was Tom did not know, but one thing was for certain, whoever it was, was one highly trained individual. So far no one left alive had seen the intruder, there was no evidence to account for his presence that is except for the death toll, which now stood at five.

The main chamber had been scanned with a bio scanner, and aside from Tom, Colonel Rogers, Nina Smith, and a few armed guards, everyone else was either confined to the mess tent, aside from those operating the command, operations, and communication tent, or were out looking for the intruder. Obviously whomever it was had to have escaped out of the ice tunnels to the surface for no man could have survived the firestorm that Sergeant Arnold had unleashed into that ice corridor. Tom knew this, but something inside of him, deep down was driving him mad. Arnold did not see who killed the PFC, nor were there any footprints or any other signs that would indicate that any one other than the PFC and Ruddy were in that corridor at the time the PFC was killed. That left only two possibilities, Ruddy killed the PFC and was using this story to cover it up, or he was telling the truth in which case that meant that the attacker, ‘no’ assassin could not be seen.
Tom drew in his breath at that thought. He knew that Ruddy was telling the truth, for he had heard rumors about an elite assassins guild that had the ability to mask or otherwise hide their appeared. A rumor that Tom would have cast off as utter Dayton fodder if not for actually having seen one. It was on the Bridge of the Tempest, right before he killed that vol Devon Gore, that he, just for a second, off to one side, caught a glimpse of something moving. It was not a solid object it appeared to be more or less like a mirror being moved slowly through a room. Its reflection bending the light and objects it passed as it slowly traversed it course through the Tempests Bridge. It had vanished the instant he took notice of it, leaving him with the sensation that often has been describe as having been bushed by a ghost. A truly evil and dark feeling that send shivers up your spine generating goose pimples and razing the hairs on the back of your neck. Ever since then Tom could not sake the feeling that he was being watched.

Doctor Mentor and Doctor Ramzies had left the chamber to get something to eat in the mess tent, leaving no one in the chamber to monitor the seismic monitoring device. At first Tom felt what he could only describe as a wavy feeling passing under his feet, a quick glace at the others in the chamber confirmed that what he had experienced was not a solitary sensation. They all had felt it. Without being prompted Nina Smith moved over to the monitoring equipment and within a second gasped. She moved her hand to her mouth and looked up at Tom and then the others with a stunned expression on her face.
“The ship has begun generating heat.”
Everyone moved, except for Tom and the two troopers, one of which was Sergeant Harris, over to look at the monitors. Tom looked around the chamber and noticed that the ice was beginning to melt.
“Everyone out of here now!” He ordered.
Colonel Rogers, the two engineers from the GEC, sprinted toward the chamber exist and the long corridor that lead to an even longer corridor that lead to the surface.

Nina Smith started to grab equipment when Tom yelled at her. “Get out of here now, that is an order!”
The others had cleared the entrance to the chamber when the ground began to sake violently throwing Tom, Nina, and the two troopers to the ground. The seismic event continued for several seconds before calming down. Tom had barely begun to stand when the first explosion occurred. The walls and ceiling of the main chamber entrance collapsed filling the main chamber with ice particles and plunging the room into nearly absolute darkness.

It took several seconds before Tom’s eyes could adjust to the lowered light level. There was enough light penetrating down through the ice above them to give the chamber a soft eerie blue glow. There was not a lot of light, but enough to allow them to see. Just then a light beacon was turned on. Tom looked over at it as several chemical lights were activated and tossed out into the center of the chamber brightening up the area to an almost normal light level.
“PFC Hamlin is dead sir.” Reported Sergeant Harris.
“Nina are you alright?” Tom asked before he realized he had.
There was a cough or two before she answered. “I am fine. What in the hell just happened?”
“Good question. Sergeant, check your COM.”
Without replying Harris activated his COM and spoke into it.
“This is Sergeant Harris to command and operations, do you copy?”
There was not answer at first so he repeated his hail. This time a reply came through.
“Harris this is Lieutenant Winston what is your situation?”
Harris handed his COM over to Tom who spoke into it.
“Lieutenant, this is General Christopher, there has been an explosion in the one of the corridors and we are trapped in the main chamber.”
“Understood General.”
“Did any of the others make it out?”
“Colonel Rogers and the two GEC engineers made it out sir. They are shaken up a bit though, and have minor injuries. Nothing that a few liquid bandages can’t take care of. What is your situation?”
Tom looked around the chamber taking in the situation. “One down, PFC Hamlin, the rest of use, Nina Smith, and Sergeant Harris are well.”
“General this is Captain O’Connor, can you tell me what caused the corridor to collapse?”
Tom looked over at Nina then to Harris who was studying the ice at what had once been an eight-foot high by six-foot entrance into the chamber.

“An explosive device.”
“Colonel Rogers is telling me now that the ship is also generating heat and we all have felt the seismic activity.”
“Affirmative.” Replied Tom.
“I will have a team start digging you all out momentarily Doctor Mentor is alarmed by the seismic activity and wants to do a quick scan of the ice to determine if he can safely excavate the area. He also wants to see if he can determine what caused these seismic events, and if we can expect more.”
“Tell him to hurry Captain, the ice down here is melting rather rapidly as the temperature continues to rise.”
“General, what is the ambient temperature at this moment?” It was Doctor Ramzies asking the question.
“Bill I’d say it’s about a degree or two above freezing and getting warmer.”
“Ok General, we are going to start digging you out now. We can’t afford to wait for Doctor Mentors results.”
Tom looked at both Nina and Harris and could see that both of them wanted the hell out.
“Make it quick Captain. Being buried alive is not how I invisioned I would be spending the day.”

[ May 25, 2003, 15:28: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Ahh, this time I got all the action I needed!!!
Blod and explosions! And Trax isn't all bad either!
Where will this lead us???

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

XVII Revelations

Over the next thirty minutes Captain O’Connor’s team worked feverously to clear the ice from the corridor. Only a small section, about six meters or so had collapsed and his team was making good time. The fear was not another collapse, but rather how much oxygen was left in the main chamber. Their first order of business was to drill a hole through the ice in order to allow fresh air into the chamber. That was accomplished within the first fifteen minutes of the rescue operation.

In the mean time Doctors Mentor and Ramzies, using the Gravimetric Core Sampler, scanned the ice around the main chamber. What they discovered was startling. The ice had not only begun to warm in and around the chamber, but around the entire object.

“General Christopher, I estimate that the object will melt the surface ice over it within twenty six hours.” Said Doctor Mentor in what could only be described as a tone of utter despair.
“Why is it melting Doctor?” Tom asked more than a little annoyed.
“Our best guess Tom is that the ship itself is generating the heat.” Replied Doctor Ramzies.
“Bill we already know this. The General wants to know why.” Snapped Nina Smith over her COM. Tom was standing about ten feet from her and hadn’t considered that she had anything to offer to the conversation. He was wrong.
“Nina, we don’t know why it is generating the heat. We can only speculate.” Replied Doctor Mentor.
“Lets here your best guess then Doctor.” Tom said.
“I believe that something, perhaps our proximity to the vessel itself has triggered an automated response. This response has in turn activated some kind of system that is now attempting to free the ship from the ice.”
‘Oh that is just great,’ thought Tom to himself. “Captain how much more time is your rescue operation going to take?”
It took several seconds before O’Connor could respond. “About two hours give or take an hour.”
“General Ron Lindley here, the ice is a lot softer and our team is going through it rather rapidly. We have to be careful though as this ice is not like the ice we first excavated. That ice was compact and hard as steel, this ice is less dense and could give way to more collapse.”
“Thank you Mr. Lindley.” Replied Tom as he lowered the COM. Tom was not prone to fear attacks, but the prospect of being buried alive under a hundred tons of ice did not appeal to him, and he could feel the chambers walls beginning to close in on him. Nina Smith was trying to organize the Monitoring equipment; a useless task as most of it was damaged beyond repair and the equipment that was functional had no power to operate with.

Harris was just sitting on one of the durra pLastic chairs holding his rifle and staring at the entrance. Tom could tell that Harris was feeling the pressure the same as he was. They both wanted the hell out of this tomb before it became a permanent resting place.
Without warning Harris jumped to his feet and looked around the chamber then directly at Tom.
“Sir did you hear that?”
“Hear what Harris?”
“That popping sound?”
“I hear it too,” Replied Nina. Being trapped in an ice chamber with Harris had not caused her any undo stress, or at least none that Tom could see, but he knew she was uncomfortable in Harris’s presence.
“There it is again.” Commented Harris, as he moved toward what appeared to be a hatch on the alien ship. “It’s getting louder.” Tom could hear it now too, and was growing concerned.
“Harris your side arm.”
Harris looked over at Tom and without comment tossed him his pistol. Tom cleared the safety of the gun and raised it. He also lifted the COM to his mouth and spoke into it rather softly. “O’Connor we may have a new problem.” There was no response. The COM was dead. Nina checked hers and it too was dead.
The rapping sound grew louder and started to change pitch, it was now more like a whine the kind that a flash would make as it was building a charge.
“Harris get back away from that thing!” Harris did not have to be told twice, he moved away from the hatch, as did Nina Smith. Both moved over to where Tom was standing.
“The whine grew louder and louder and then the bulk head began to change. At first Tom could not believe his eyes, it was as if the metal had come alive, had some how began to alter its structure into a human form. Both he and Harris raised their weapons.
“Hold your fire Mr. Harris.”
“Sir with all due respect, if that thin moves so much as an inch toward me I will shoot.”
“And if he doesn’t I throw snow balls at it!” Replied Nina who was now hold snowballs in her left and right hand.
“Lets see what it does before we kill it people.”
The form began to change color it took on a more humanoid appearance before collapsing to its knees. Tom knew instantly what it was he was looking at. The form solidified into a humanoid body, covered in a deep black armored uniform. The uniform was like nothing he had ever seen before, but somehow it looked familiar.
“Who are you?” Tom asked out loud.
The humanoid form did not respond, instead it collapsed to the ground. In the distance the rapping sound began again. This time it was far more intense than before.

Tom moved over toward the humanoid and knelt down beside it. Harris was covering him and Nina was covering Harris. Tom rolled the form over and he could see what looked like release fasteners on the part of the armor that covered the humanoids face.
“Sir are you sure that’s safe?” Asked Harris in a concerned voice.
“Well soon see.” Replied Tom as he clicked the fasteners and removed the humanoids helmet reveling the face of a man, a human man.

Nina gasp and Harris’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
“Oh my god, he is human!”
“And he is still alive.”
“Sir, what in the hell kind of man is he?”
Tom took several seconds before he answered Harris’s question. Tom had never seen this man before, but he knew him and he knew what he was.
“This is a member of the assassins guild.”
Harris’s face instantly went from one of shock to one of utter hatred. He took several aggressive steps toward Tom and the unconscious body of the assassin.
“Step aside sir.” Harris barked.
Tom looked up at Harris and understood what it was he was planning on doing.
“Stand down Sergeant.” Tom ordered but Harris did not respond. “I said stand down Sergeant!” This time Tom rose to his feet and Harris leveled his pulse rifle at the man on the ground.
“He killed my trainee and four other good men sir, he deserves to die.”
“I said stand down Sergeant!”
“I can’t sir, I hav-” In the middle of a word there was a rather loud thonk and Harris’s eyes rolled upward and he collapsed to the ground. Standing behind him was Nina Smith holding one of those useless monitoring device wearing a wicked grin. “Oh that felt really good.”

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

You are productive today!
And keeping good quality aswell as quantity!
What happened aboard that ship? Is it a human ship?
I want MOOOOOOOREEEEEEE!!!!!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Thanks Ruatha, I had to get it to paper as it was eating my mind to death.

I promise you the next two installments are going to really be interesting.

I just wish I could learn how to use my comas right.

When I sat down to write Part XV, I did not know that I would be up all night writing. I have completed two more installments past the ones posted here. I am tired and am going to crash now. I will polish them up later and post them tomorrow.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Part XV Compassion

“God damn him!” Cried out Sergeant Paul Harris as he slammed his helmet to the deck after being told the news about PFC Kord Anuran having been killed by the sky chariot explosion. Lead Pilot Major Jellico Mantel, a long time friend of Harris’ understood him enough to know that he was not really angry with the kid, but more or less angry with himself for not having kept him alive.
“It wasn’t your fault Paul.”
“Like hell it wasn’t.” Replied Harris as he tried to fight back a tear. Sergeant Paul Harris had recently lost his wife and two children and was having a tough go of it. Jellico knew and understood this. After all, who wouldn’t be having a hard time keeping it together after loosing those precious soles closest to you?
“It wasn’t a his fault either Paul, he was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Oh for crying out loud Jel, you of all people know that is utter Pathor fodder!”
“No I don’t know that Paul.” Replied Jellico as sternly as he could without sounding combative.
“That kid was my responsibility, and it should have been me that bought it not him.”
“Now that is utter Pathor fodder if I have ever heard it,” responded Jellico coldly. “You can not blame yourself for what happened to him, or to your wife and kids.”
Paul slumped down the bulkhead, and came to a sitting position on the deck with his knees up. He crossed his arms over his knees and leaned forward until his forehead touched his forearms. “I should have been with her and the kids Jel. I should have been there.”
Jellico kneeled down next to his friend. He put his hand on his shoulder and spoke in the softest voice he could. “Paul, when I lost Lori, it hurt so deep that I almost couldn’t cope with it. I thought about flying this crate right into the side of a mountain on more than one occasion, but you know what, I got through it. It still hurts like a knife through the heart, but I am dealing with it. I know what your going through, and I know how much pain your in. And I know that nothing that any one can say will ever elevate it, but for the Gods sake, just give it some more time. The pain will lesson, the guilt will subside, and you will move on.”
Paul looked up into the face of his friend and shook his head slightly. “You’re a good man Jel, a true friend, but don’t tell me that you know how I feel because you don’t. You couldn’t possibly know how much it hurts to loose your entire family.”
Jellico knew his friend to well to take his comment as an insult. Instead he smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder firmly.
“All I am saying old friend is that you were there for me when Lori died, and I will be here for you if you ever want to talk.”
The two men looked at one another for a moment, both giving the other a deep compassionate look of understanding that only two truly good friend could offer one another. Nothing needed to be said, both understand. Paul slowly reached over and took Jellico’s hand and Jellico helped him to stand.
“You had better get those wounded people settled in.” Said Paul somberly.
“You be careful.” Replied Jellico.
With that Paul smiled at his friend, grabbed his Pulse Rifle and headed down the loading ramp.

The excavating had already resumed by the time Captain O’Connor, General Christopher, Doctor Mentor, and Doctor Ramzies entered the ice tunnel. Chief Engineer Ron Lindley and his Assistant Engineer Calvin Kurd, both from the Global Engineering Corp, or the GEC for short, had already begun the process of clearing the Last few meters of ice away from what they hoped was an entrance hatch into the alien ship.
Colonel Erin Rogers was already examining high definition images of the writing they had discovered on the hull of the ship next to the hatch that they were now trying to gain access to.
“Colonel Rogers,” Said Captain O’Connor as he stepped up, “any luck translating the writing?”
Colonel Rogers looked up at the Captain and smiled. She was not an overly attractive woman, but one that could easily hold her own in a beauty contest. “Not yet Captain, but give me time.”
“From the looks of things, time is running out.” Commented Carl Wilhelm in his usually characteristic tone of voice. It was neither sarcastic nor rude but it did have a slight and subtle hint of both.
“Shouldn’t you be back in the mess tent drinking hot lacto berry juice?” Replied Sergeant Ruddy Arnold in response to Carl’s comment.
“I would think that you would be better suited to guarding the entrance than standing around here bothering those of us who actually have an education and know why we are here.” Commended Carl with notable sarcasm in his voice.
“Knock it off, both of you.” Snapped Tom harshly. “Sergeant Arnold, grab a pulse rifle and go guard the entrance. Carl see if you can assist the Colonel in deciphering that writing.”
Tom was not going to put up with these two tossing insults back and forth at one another. Enough time was wasted dealing with the sky chariot explosion already, and he did not want any more time wasted on useless arguing.
Arnold left without saying a word. He had long sense given up on his mission to spy on Tom for General Green, as Tom was wise to it, and kept him out of the loop. Arnold knew that he was considered by most to be a brown nosing little Pathor, but what could he do, he is what he is, and he considers himself smart enough to know what it was that he was; a major brown nosing little Pathor.

Carl was no fool, and knew that he had to make himself useful or he would be ordered out of the narrow chamber back to the surface to most likely guard something. So he did what he could to assist those around him. Tom took note of this and considered sending him topside to guard the remaining Prowler while the crew repaired the damage caused by the exploding sky chariot. But Tom opted to keep him where he could keep an eye on him. Tom still did not trust the butcher of Pennington, and despite his obvious attempts to prove to Tom that he was a new man, Tom still did not like or trust him any further than he could toss a Tempest Class Sky Carrier.

The excavating went on for nearly two hours before Tom decided to go to the surface and get something to eat at the mess tent. As a precaution Captain O’Connor had him escorted to the mess tent by a Sergeant named Paul Harris. Harris did not say much, mostly yes sir, and understood sir, and for this Tom liked the man. He was old school, he had a strong command presence, and he knew when to talk and when not to. This man had seen action, and agony on a scale similar to Toms own. Without ever talking to him, Tom knew him. It was as if he could almost read the mans mind. He was dedicated to his duty, but housed a tremendous amount of person pain. A soldier and warrior first, an ordinary man second. It took a special kind of man to become a man like Mr. Harris, and that fact was not wasted on Tom.

“General,” Said Nina Smith in a warm welcoming voice as he and Sergeant Harris entered the Tent. “Come to have me check those-” She stopped in mid sentence and glared past Tom at the Sergeant.

‘This is kind of odd,’ thought Tom, Doctor Ramzies had also wanted to get something to eat, but when he was informed that Sergeant Harris would be escorting them he declined and returned to his work of monitoring the ice for seismic readings. Doctor Ramzies expression was very similar to the one now being displayed upon Nina Smiths face as she stood there in front of Tom starring at the Sergeant. It was not a nice expression that she wore; it was more or less a combination of hatred, anger, and fear all rolled up into one spiteful expression.

Tom looked at Nina for a second then over to the Sergeant. His expression was more or less the same as it had been before they had entered the mess tent. He neither seemed bothered by nor otherwise interested in her or how she looked at him.

“You keep bad company General.” She finally said. Her voice was not at all friendly; when she spoke it was as if she was spitting the words out.
“Excuse me?” He asked honestly confused by the whole thing.
“This Vol* nearly took my head off a week or so ago.” (*Vol – A very dirty disgusting creature that lives in its own waste and eats the bugs that its decaying waste draws.)

Tom looked confused as he tried to understand what she had just told him. ‘Nearly took her head off?’ He repeated to himself.
“I am sorry, I don’t follow you.”
“Just keep that bastard away from me.”
It was clear to Tom that Ms. Smith sincerely disliked the Sergeant, and that that dislike displeased Tom considerably. Without looking at the Sergeant he dismissed him and ordered him back to the excavation site. The Sergeant left without saying a word.
Tom could tell that Nina appreciated what he had just done. He walked over toward her and took a seat at the table that she was standing next to. She was standing very rigidly, and Tom could see that she was trembling slightly.
“Care to talk about it?” He asked compassionately.
Nina looked down at him and tried to smile, but could not. She had folded her arms in front of her body, the universal gesture that signals one discomfort in a social setting.
“It will be alright, I will order him to stay away from you,” Tom paused for a second, “and from Doctor Ramzies.”
“Bill told you?”
“He didn’t have to, I could see it on his face the moment he saw the Sergeant.”
“That bastard tried to kill us!”
“What happened?” Asked Tom with as much concern and compassion as he could.
Nina took a seat acrossed from him and he gently took her hands into his. Her hands were both very soft and very warm, and Tom could not help himself, he felt compelled to look into her eyes, those beautiful green eyes. Tom’s heart melted as he gazed into depths of Nina’s eyes. They were so powerful, so inviting, so very much like those of his wifes, oh how he missed her. Whatever it was that was bothering Nina, what ever Sergeant Harris had done, Tom would take care of it.

“Doctor. Ramzies and I tried to reach Davenport after some General ordered us to stand down. Our communications were cut off, and Doctor Mentor was concerned that we were all in peril. He ordered Doctor Ramzies and I to take one of the Snow Marshals and head for Davenport.” She paused and looking away from Tom in the direction of Davenport for second before looking back at him. He listened intently to her story as she continued.
“The Snow Marshal got stuck, and we had to use a Scrambler to continue our journey. We were almost to outer limits of Davenport when one of those frightful Prowler things dropped out of sky right on top of us.” She had a cup of hot lacto berry juice sitting on the table next to her and she reached over and picked it up. She turned back toward Tom and took a small sip before continuing.
“They were going to shoot us if we did not surrender so we did. They landed, a ramp lowered, and two men came out carrying guns.” She paused again and looked away.
“It is alright, please continue.” Tom said softly.
“That bastard hit Doctor Ramzies in the face with the butt of his gun for no reason, then he hit me.” She looked back at Tom; the tears were gone, replaced by anger. “It was not a gentle tap either, it was hard; the kind of way someone like him would hit an enemy he was trying to kill.” She tried, but could not stop from tearing up once again.
“That bastard tried to kill us, for no reason what so ever, and he got away with it.”

Tom sat back in his chair, never taking his eyes off of her, reflect back upon what Nina had just told him. Tom did like the Sergeant, but he could not condone an unwarranted violent act such as the one she had just described and undoubtedly suffered. If it was true, and Tom knew it was, then he had no choice but to act. He would have the sergeant, the flight crew, and Captain O’Connor relieved of duty and sent back to Andover base and held pending a court marshal investigation. Tom leaned forward and spoke in a soft tone.
“I believe you, and I will see to it that he stands in front of the Judge Advocate for his actions.”
Nina smiled and took his hand in hers. She squeezed hard as she bit her lower lip.
“I am sorry for what has happened to you and to Doctor Ramzies.”
“Thank you. Thank for believing me.” She said.

[ May 25, 2003, 12:34: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Part XVIII Demons

Several minutes passed before the assassin regained consciousness. Tom had searched the man for weapons, having found many, he removed them all, but was still keeping his pistol leveled on him as a precaution. The man moved his hand to his head and blinked several times before sitting straight up. The speed at which he did this amazed Tom, he had never seen a man move so quickly, well almost never.
“Who are you?”
The man looked up at Tom and started to stand. Tom kept the pistol leveled on him the entire time.
“Your fast friend, I’ll give you that, but I sincerely doubt that you’re fast enough to evade simultaneous fire from two direction. The man looked at Tom then over at Nina who was holding the pulse rifle like a hardened pro.
“Go ahead vol rectum, try something.” She said coldly.
The man looked back at Tom and nodded ever so slightly.
“We have to leave and leave now. You must order the destruction of this ship before it frees itself from the ice.”
“What is your name and who in the hell do you work for?” Asked Tom firmly.
“We have met before, do you not recall?”
“Listen friend, I don’t know you, and right now I am searching for a reason not to blow your ugly *** away.” Replied Tom.
The man was obviously smart enough to know that Tom was not bluffing. His demeanor changed considerably at this realization.
“In about twenty or so minutes what is in that ship is going to open that hatch and come out after me. Trust me when I say this, they will not be friendly, and they do not take prisoners.”
“Why should I believe you, you still haven’t answered by question.”
“You already know what I am and who I am therefore I can see no reason to waste time discussing it while all of our lives depend upon you doing as I say and destroying that ship before it can free itself.”
“Answer my god damned question or so help me I will kill you.” Tom was serious, more serious than he could ever recall being. Tom knew, as did the assassin that he would kill him if he did not answer his question and soon.
“I am a scientist.”
“Vol ****!” Tom stated flatly as he took a step toward the man bringing his pistol muzzle right up into his face. “Scientist to employ morphing nets and walk around hiding under a cloak. They neither carry explosives nor pulse weapons.”
The man turned his head away, obviously not affected by the threat the pistol possessed.
“Regardless of what you believe, believe one thing, if that ship breaks free of the ice that currently is keeping it captive, every Last man women and child on this planet will die. Of this I assure you.”
“He’s full of vol fodder sir.” Said Harris as he stood up rubbing his head and flashing Nina a quick dirty look and getting a smirk in return.
“Glad to see that you have rejoined us Mr. Harris.” Commented Tom.
“Do you hear that sound, have you not noticed that it has become louder in the Last few moments?” Asked the man honestly.
Tom had to think, he was correct the sound had become louder.
“What about it?” He asked.
“That is the sound of several hundred bad things restoring power to a ship full of many thousands of bad things. And Within the next few minutes, many of those bad things will figure out where I have gone, and will come through that hatch looking for me. And when they do, nothing will hold them back, they will descend upon us in feeding frenzy and leave nothing but bone.”
“What?” Asked Nina in a vicious tone of voice.
“That ship, my dear, is full of a race known as the Huron. A race that came to this planet a long time ago in search of food, in search of us.”
“That’s vol fodder! There is no life outside of Pandora, and we all know that.” Replied Nina coldly.
“If you wish to test that theory, then stay here and await your death. In the few moments that you do live will prove to be the most enlightening of your life.
“Enough with this fodder! How do you know the things in there are hostile?” Snapped Tom rudely.
“Because I accidentally awoke them up while attempting to download there ships computer files. I can only conclude that the ship had a defensive system that detected my presence and brought those thing out of their hibernation. Regardless of how they were awoken, I have spent that Last few hours fighting for my in an attempt to escape.”
“What in the hell were you doing in there in the first place?” Asked Harris.
“Gathering information.”
”For who?”
“I told you that I am a scientist.”
“Say that one more time and I will put a round through your knee and leave you here for whatever those things are in they’re to find. Do you understand me?” The man smiled and nodded in agreement.
“Now tell me who you are an who you work for.”
“As you wish. My name is Orata, and I am a member of the underground science guild an organization filled with enlightened minds dedicated to the discovery of technology by other races.”
“That is Pathor fodder, you’re an assassin! Sir with all do respect, I recommend that you just shoot him.” Commented Harris.
“Quiet Harris.” Ordered Tom sharply.
“Ah guys I don’t think we can waste any more time on talk, whatever those things are that are in there, look like there about ready to come out here.” Nina was referring to the hatch. It had been opened about quarter meter and several claw like hands were visible at the base of the door attempting to lift it.
“Whatever they are, they aren’t human!” Nina commented as she backed away toward the collapsed entrance to the Chamber.
“And they look hungry.” Harris added as he reached for his pulse rifle and Nina handed it to him.
“As I have already stated. Now I would suggest in the strongest terms possible that we retreat and seal off this chamber before they manage to get that hatch all the way open.” Commented Trax flatly.
“In case you haven’t noticed Farta, the way out is blocked.” Commented Harris in less than a friendly tone.
Orata looked over at him, somewhat offended by his insult, but not showing it, then glanced over toward the entrance. He quickly looked back at Tom, and Tom didn’t not see what he expected to see, as the man did not appear in the least bit concerned about what he saw. In fact, he smiled at Tom and Tom knew instantly that it was this man who had caused the collapse.
“You’re the one who sealed us in here.” Tom said angrily as he lowered his pistol slightly and took the man by the arm. “Harris cover that door, if anything comes through it,” Tom looked back briefly, “kill it.”
“Our COMs are still down.” Commented Nina.
Tom flashed Orata a dirty look. “Are you responsible for that as well?”
Orata looked over at Nina and said. “Try them now.”
Tom then directed Orata’s attention toward the equipment that was set out on the floor of the chamber. “This is your stuff, is there anything there that we can use to our advantage?”
In the background Nina began using her COM.
“No response,” she said, “just static.”
“Keep trying.” Replied Tom.
“Nina Smith to any one who can read me.” This time a respond was almost instantaneous.
“By God we thought we had lost you. We are almost through the ice, give us another ten minutes.” Replied Ron Lindley excitedly. Tom lowered the pistol and raised his COM.
“Ron, step on it, we have a bad situation brewing in here and may not be around in ten minutes.”
“What’s the problem General?” Asked Captain O’Connor.
“Captain, I am ordering you to start pulling your people out.”
“Pull my people out General?”
“Affirmative. I am giving you a direct order to pull your people out and advise Global Command that this site is to be destroyed. This ship can not be allowed to free itself from the ice.”
“General are you issuing a Trident Alert?”
“Affirmative Captain, full scale Trident Alert. We have less than twenty four hours to obliterate this thing before it frees itself.”
“Understood.” Replied O’Connor. He knew that when a Trident Alert was issued it meant business. Without question he issued the order to clear the site, and relayed the command to Andover Base. Within the hour this site would be completely evacuated. Within twenty hours a Tsunami class Destroyer would launch a fusion missile and wipe this ship and all evidence of its existence from the face of Pandora forever.

Tom, who had never taken his eyes off of Orata, had noticed that he was looking at several small black semi flat objects sitting in a pile to one side of a empty Depleted Uranium Pulse Pistol.
“What are those?” He asked.
“Explosives.” Replied Orata simply.
“Show us how to use them”
“As you wish.”
“Nina take Harris’s rifle and watch that door. Harris get over here.”
Nina and Harris did as they were told as the hatch on the ship slide open another inch.
Orata explained the how to operate the explosives in short order. Tom handed Harris his pistol and picked up a few of the explosive devices and planted them near the hatch. One of the arms kept reaching out at him as he deployed the charges. Tom was close enough to see into the crack as the door continued to inch open centimeter by centimeter. What Tom saw was enough to cause any sane man to challenge the sanity of his own mind. They were alien; of that there was no doubt. From what Tom could see, they were short light bluish purple creatures with deep red eyes. Tom did not need to be a mind reader to know that these things were not friendly at all. He finished planting the Last charge and stepped back. He kept a couple in his pocket to be on the safe side. Tom walked backwards keeping the hatch in view.
“Why did you collapse the entrance?” Asked Harris as he stood there guarding Orata.
“In case I failed to escape, they would have been contained.”
“Contained only until their ship was free.” Commented Tom as he stepped up next to Orata holding a small device in his hand.
“This activates the explosives, and the detonates them?” He asked holding the device up for Orata to see.
“Yes, only the ones that have been assigned to the controls will detonate as you activate them. You do realize that if you do detonate them, we will all be crushed by the ice”
Tom had programmed the device according to Orata’s instructions, assigning each explosive to a remote trip switch that he alone held. He could blow them all, or one at a time. Tom even programmed the two devices in his pocket to the controller.
“And yes that does include you.” Tom said with a smirk. “That little trick you did where you came through that hatch, well I found the power source and well,” he pauses slightly, “see for your self.”
Orata seemed to look away for a second, at some point just past where Tom was standing. He did not smile at what he saw, only ever so slightly frowned.
“Very clever of you General.” Orata Commented. “My environmental suite has just enough reserve energy to keep me warm for a few more hours.”
“Hopefully long enough to get you back to Andover Base.”
“Tom!” Yelled Nina as she opened fire with the Pulse Rifle. Here target was the first of the creatures to squeeze past the hatch. It did not survive the experience as the depleted uranium pellets “Shells” pummeled its body into paste. Many of the shells penetrated the darkness behind the hatch and vicious screams let out, loud enough to shatter glass and evil enough to convert even the staunchest atheist to the religion.
“General? General what is going on?” Asked Ron almost yelling over the COM in concern. “We hear weapons fire?”
“Ron just get us the hell out of hear.” Replied Tom.
Just then the hatch on the alien ship seemed to melt into the wall as literally dozens of barbaric looking little alien creatures, humanoid in form, but as un-human as insidiously possible aggressively fought their way past one another through the hatch. Nina opened fire once again reducing many of them, if not all of the first ones, to dead heaps who were promptly pulled back in through the hatch as more attempted to get.
“Keep firing!” Yelled Harris as he kept the pistol aimed at Orata who seem not to care at all.
Nina continued to fire at the little demons, yes, that is what they looked like, those little demons she had seen in old religious books. They were depicted as the evil servants of those who angered God into cleansing the universe of all life say for that which lived on Pandora. How then could these things be alive? How could God have missed them? Nina maintained her fire but the little monsters were gaining ground as more and more of them tried to come through the hatch.
“Ron tell me you almost through?” Yelled Tom into his COM to be heard over Nina’s firing. There was an uncomfortable long pause before Ron replied.
“General we have just been ordered to evacuate.” Replied Ron in what was a sincere ton of regret. Tom looked at the COM as his anger began to mount.
“Come again?”
“General Christopher I have been ordered by Global Command to evacuate all of my men immediately.” Captain O’Connor said over the COM. “I am sorry sir, but you and the people with your are on your own.”
“O’Connor!” Yelled Tom into the COM with all of his anger. “You will disregard that order and continue to dig us the hell out of here!”
“I am sorry sir, I have been relieved of my command and ordered back to Andover. This site is now considered Omega.” Tom looked up at the ceiling as Nina continued to fire. He slowly turned toward the hatchway and looked around. Nina had decimated what appeared to be nearly fifty of those things, one could not be sure as they were being pulled back inside as they fell.
“I am sorry sir. God be with you.” Said O’Connor right before the COM went dead.
“What’s wrong sir?” Asked Harris.
Tom did not respond, he dropped the COM and just stood there. In all of his life, he had never felt as hopeless as he was feeling now. The realization that they were all doomed somehow didn’t seem real to him.
“An Omega site is the military’s way of saying those left behind are left in the hands of God.” He said just loud enough for Harris to hear. Harris looked lost; his expression was one of a man who seemed not yet ready to die, but one who would welcome death as an escape. Tom could not imagine why a man would ever welcome death say for one thing. Tom could not help but think of his wife and daughter as he looked back on his life.
Tom knew there fiats had been sealed; someone had made the call to condemn them all to death. Tom stepped forward away from Orata and Harris, and pressed the triggering button on the explosive control device for the first set of explosive planted near the hatch. Everything went white as the little explosive exploded simultaneously releasing their combined horrific power. The force of the bLast knocking everyone to the ground and caused tons of ice to come crashing down in front and around them.

[ May 26, 2003, 14:03: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Too much all at once my just finished
my brain hurts

NEED MORE

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Very good! So this is what the huron shipset is for, looking at the racial portrait they look nasty! A very good chapter, seems like the actions hotting up! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Thanks guys. I have sumitted the first two segments to the Scifi and Fantasy forum
and have gotten some great constructive feed back.

[ May 27, 2003, 13:50: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

What, Tom dead? and Nina too. Surely not!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Yup, dead and so ends the story. Depressing isn't it? Abandond and buried alive deep within a man made ice cave.

What a way to go.

[ June 03, 2003, 07:43: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

What? Thats the story finished or have i misread your Last post? If it is i have enjoyed the story thouroughly and each chapter is excellent, but i hope there is a few more chapters to come!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I belive he is joking, surely he must.
I'll accept nothing else!!!!!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Ishe joking? How do we know. Futhermore, how many people actual follow this story? Will it be missed? I think not.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I'll miss it if it's actuallu finished, which I refuse to accept as It's the best story in the forum.
So yes, it will be missed!

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Its not finished by a long shot. CNC is just trying to be dramatic I think.

The next two parts were written before the Last addition was posted. They'll be posted soon. I wanted to wait as I posted several new additions this month, and I felt that perhaps I posted to much at one time and scared a lot of people away from the story. Give it some time and perhaps people can digest all the segments I posted.

Thanks for the devotion guys, it is appreciated. I like to write for my self, as learning tool, and a way to endulge my imagination.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif A good clif hanger is always good for a story. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif *Farscape* comes to mind.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I follow this story everytime an update is posted, unfortuantly i never keep track of the dates so i always visit this thread if it's at the top of the forum praying theres an update http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Hopefully there'll be a final chapter to honour the bravery of Tom, Nina and the others http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

oooh, nice plot twist, i never expected this! Very good writing Atrocities! I eagerly await the next chapter http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

Thanks man. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Say I was wondering if we could petition Tim to add a Fan Fiction forum to the Malfador section of the forum. I know with StarFury coming out in a few months people will have a whole new source for which to write from. It might be a good idea, or not, but I would help us keep all of the great story threads in one location as apposed to being buried in this forum.

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

I guess I must re-reead it a couple of times, I don't get it, at all. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Edit- Ofcourse, silly me. I get it now, I hope http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[ June 11, 2003, 19:29: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Re: Once Upon The Stars (Updated 07-04-04)
 

The answer is in the Title.

Think of it as a retro segment dating back a very very long time.