Galaxy on Fire (Closed)

[JadeKnight]

(Closed for La Reina)

The short-lived Nuclear War was not anything that anyone on Earth even dreamed of happening. Peace had lasted for one hundred wars, all of the superpowers agreeing to dismantle up to 95% of their nuclear arsenal. The only reason that they kept the remaining 5% was to protect themselves from invaders. What sort of invaders, the public was never told.

The JESP, or Joint Earth Space Program, had been going along at an accelerated pace, several space stations orbiting around the Earth. As a precautionary measure, everything pertaining to the space program was kept aboard the stations in case of a widespread disaster. And such a disaster did occur.

An unknown group detonated four nuclear bombs simultaneously in Washington, D.C., New Mexico, Mexico, Berlin, and London. At the same time, a rogue computer virus was released into the network, triggering the launch of near 1,000 nuclear missiles. The end result was nearly 80% of the Earth's surface becoming inhabitable for humans. The cause the War was never determined, but it succeeded in turn the Earth's governments into a single United Earth Government.

An unanimous decision was made to create a small fleet to attempt to find another planet that could be settled for mankind elsewhere in the universe.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10 years after Nuclear Fallout
JESP Station North America


"There you are Edge."

The childhood friend and crew-member of Edge Maverick came into the holo-deck where he had been practicing swordplay in the ship's simulator. He shut the program down as he looked back at her with his deep blue eyes.

"Yeah, I've been in here for the past hour."

"What are you doing here? You missed the Deputy Commander's send off ceremony for us."

"Yeah, well those kind of things get boring listening to the long-winded speeches of his. So I decide to ditch."

"You really should pay more attention. Anyway, we are about to take off."

Rosa turned on her heels, heading down the main corridor towards the command cockpit. Edge followed after her, where he took his place at the navigation console. The captain was already there, waiting on them. He cleared his throat for a moment before speaking.

"I'm glad you could join us Edge. Alright everyone this is a first step for mankind in attempting to go beyond the borders of our little corner of the universe. We have no idea what awaits us, so we will take every precaution we can. Take us out Edge."

Edge rolled his eyes for a moment before hitting the launch sequence. Soon the El Aquila, Star Point, and Colonizer were underway, preparing to enter a subspace tunnel near Mars.

 

[La_Reina]

Onix raced through the underground tunnels as rubble and rocks rained down around her. She made a sharp turn and felt her long purple hair free itself from the braid on her back. She grabbed at it not wanting her hair trailing behind her be the reason she was seen behind enemy lines. She couldn't afford to slow down. A quick sound in front of her and Onix stopped and blended into her surroundings. She quickly rebraided her hair as she saw the Veraxtors. Her people's most feared and hated enemy.

The Veraxtors were scavengers who were trying to get the whole universe under their control; the High Command as they call it. They talked about shared power and shared rulers of the high rulers, but if your race was a new race or even knew to the High Command you were deemed unworthy and could be subject to slavery. Or your race could try to prove themselves and serve 1000 years in the High Commands wars only then would they 'think' about letting your race have a member in the rulers seat. Only then would your race be thought of as a higher race.

Onix was a Sythen. Her race compared to the High Commands was considered a teenager. They would be enslaved and thus they fight. But her people weren't fighters. They were slowly being wiped out and that was what the High Command wanted. Either join or be wiped from existence.

They walked past her and Onix bolted from her spot and sped down the tunnel. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay in the cloaked form and move. She made another turn and found the weapon. It was huge detonator that would send out something akin to an EMP and destroy all ships around them for several light years out. Her people would only have to kill the Veraxtors that were already on their planet then prepare for the 2nd wave. Hopefully, by that time they would have found a new homeworld.

Onix pushed the button. The EMP was so strong it knocked her unconscious. When she awoke she wandered for days. Her people must have thought she was dead and left, but she had a sinking feeling she was one of a few who had survived. Their raced had been nearly massacred and they were down to a few thousand left before the Veraxtors finally touched down on her planet. Onix prayed to the Mother God that she wasn't the last of her kind.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/MalaBruja/tail.jpg

 

[JadeKnight]

The entry went off without any problems, their course set for another system several light-years away. Everything went smoothly for several hours. Then there was a wave-change on the science officer's monitor.

"Captain I am picking up an asteroid moving along the wall of the tunnel."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ten seconds till it passes."

The asteroid soon passed the fleet, but it's passage disrupted the space tunnel. Alarms went off as the tunnel was soon unable to keep integrity, forcing them out into normal space. System-wide errors went off, critical systems shorting out.

Two of the ships were above an unknown blue planet, the third one, Colonizer was nowhere to be seen. Edge didn't have time to worry about that before trying to keep the El Aquila under control as they streaked into the atmosphere of the unknown planet. The captain hit the intercom, speaking system-wide.

"All hands, brace for impact!"

The ship hit the largest island, barely skidding over the edge of a cliff and into the blue sea.

 

[La_Reina]

Onix had spent the last 4 days trying to get the ship back in working condition. She had fried most of the electronics and was using other ships for spare parts. She had to get off this rock before the Veraxtors returned. She heard a hiss than "... we have to try. Is anyone there? Anyone ..." More static.

Onix jumped up and ran to the control tower trying to get a fix on the message. "This is Onix. Can you hear me?" Onix turned the frequency knob stating her name again and asking if anyone could hear her once more. There was static and she was giving up hope when she got a reply.

"Onix! Mother God are you alright."

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is Haggard. A few of us got out. We're about 600 strong. We found a new habitable planet deep in the lost region. Come to us. We'll send you clues on how to find us. Bring the others."

"Haggard!" Onix had to stop and listen hard as his words weren't coming in clearly. She wasn't the last Sythen, but the lost region was a treacherous place. Her people could easily be killed. Still she was happy that others made it."

"Haggard is Mya on board?"

"Onix ... we have to go. Trouble."

"Haggard. Haggard! HAGGARD!" But the link was disabled. Onix wasn't sure what happened or if her worst fears had came true. She had to continue working on the ship and pray. Pray her people made it. Pray the Veraxtors didn't have any more ships stationed on nearby planets. Pray that she survived all this.

 

[JadeKnight]

The damaged ship rested near the cliff's edge, resting on it's belly. All three landing gears had been sheared off by the impact. It was luck the ship stopped just short of toppling over the edge. Inside the ship, everyone was coming around after the shocking stop.

"Damage report Reimi."

"Captain, the only systems which seem to undamaged are the comms and navigational array. The computer was able to make a map of the area before we crashed and placed into into the microbackpacker. I am also showing that the Star Point is off a beach on the opposite side of the island, about three day's travel."

The Captain sighed as he shifted in the chair, trying to move his leg. The crash caused him to slam into the console, snapping his right leg.

"Edge, I need you to go out with a security team and find any survivors."

"Yes, Captain."

He moved from his station, followed by Reimi. Seeing the two leave, Captain Rodrick opened a communication channel back to Earth. The image of Deputy Commander Rogign filled the screen.

"Give me a report Captain Rodrick."

"I'm not completely sure what happened Deputy Commander. One moment we were traveling smoothly through the space two, the next moment, crashing into this unknown planet. The ship is damaged beyond our ability to fix it here."

"I will call Them to come help you."

"Them sir?"

"Yes Them. They should be there whitin two to three days. Can you defeat yourself till then?"

"We should be able to Deputy Commander."

The screen went blank a moment later.

 

[La_Reina]

Onix worked even harder on the ship. She barely left the ship hangar even to eat or use the facilities. She kept thinking the Veraxtors were coming at any moment. Any noise caused her heart to slam into her chest and panic to rise before she was able to calm down and stop the shaking.

"...Syth....come in ...Help ..."

Onix didn't recognize the voice, but the word help made her pause and go over to the controls. She turned the controls to get a stronger signal and listened.

"Sythen people. We the Government of Earth request your help."

Earth? Onix had never heard of Earth, but she did hear rumors that Sythen had made contact with another race. They were to come to us or something like that. Just rumors that didn't seem as important as the Veraxtors coming to get them and round them up. Onix finally spoke. "I am Onix. I am the speaker for Sythen. What help do you need."

There was a brief pause. "Where is- No we don't have time. We have a ship that has crashed on the other side of your planet. We calculate a day or so journey from your main home. We request you help them." Onix couldn't afford to help them. She had to get off this planet herself, but she couldn't leave them to be killed. "Please. Onix. We beg you."

"Okay. Give me their coordinates." Onix got the information and sighed. She prayed to the Mother God that this wasn't her last mistake as she picked up a laser mini gatling gun, some aquatic liquid, and food. She hoped they knew that their days were really hot having 4 suns and their nights cold having strong winds. Oh and the beasts. She hoped they had some sort of defensive skills.

 

[JadeKnight]

The micro-backpacker was a PDA-style device that was the standard issue to every JESP soldier. It was five inches tall, six inches wide and an inch thick. A four by four screen was on the left side of the device with several buttons on the right side of the face. A retractable usb connecter was built into the right side of the device, and an infrared scanner along the top.

The software of the device contained map software, gps locator, and a digital storage system. The device was able to scan any type of item into it's inventory and reconfigure the item for usage later.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Edge, Reimi, and four security guards stepped out onto the planet, looking around at the lush scenery. Edge and the guards were holding electronic rail-guns, standard issue as well.

"It's so beautiful Edge. Maybe we should claim this planet as our new home."

"I dunno about that Reimi. I mean yeah, it's beautiful, but we don't know anything about this place. Hey, Be careful."

Reimi had moved over to a strange bush a few feet away from the ship, right next to the jungle's opening. She pulled out her micro-backpacker and used it to gather data on the plant. Edge noticed the large six-foot tall praying Mantis creature first as it suddenly burst from the trees a few feet from Reimi.

"Reimi!"

Edge cried out as he lifted the rail-gun and let lose with several shots. Reimi dove backwards as the creature veering over her, heading towards Edge. He couldn't believe his eyes as the bullets seemed to to almost nothing within two feet of the creature, dropping harmlessly to the ground. The creature seemed to have a natural dampening field, protecting it from solid projectiles.

As the creature charged into Edge, his backup laser sword was jarred lose from it's sheath on his back, flying into the air before slamming into the ground beside him. He rolled towards the sword a split seconds before the mantis's front claws hit the ground were he was before.He rolled to his feet quickly and jerked the sword from the ground, hitting the power switch. The edges of the sword's blade glowed blue as laser energy surged through it. He swung the sword, slicing easily through the mantis's left legs. The next slash came upwards, lopping off it's head.

The sword's color became a dull blue as the power was turned off before he replaced the blade in it's sheath. He looked at one of the guards for a moment.

"You guys stay here and guard the ship. We don't have many backup energy weapons, so those will have to be used to guard the ship."

Reimi unfolded her collapsible energy bow and held it up for a moment.

"Mine should work Edge."

Edge laughed for a moment as Reimi put her weapon back up.

"Looks like we have to return to the Stone Age to fight. Let's go."

The two entered the jungle, starting the rough journey to find their shipmates.

 

[La_Reina]

Onix hated leaving the ship yard, but she had said she would help the Alien Earthians. She ran full out. She was able to run 4.3 miles in 1 minute. She had gotten lazy and if she had been a bit more fit she probably could have ran 6 miles in a minute. The terrain was rocky and flat and there was a bit of wooded area, but she stayed away from that. There were scary, bad things in the wooded areas. Those beasts and her people had an agreement. They stay away from her and she stayed away from them.

It had been a few hours and Onix had to set up camp. The Earth Government had miscalculated. It was more than a day's run. It was a moot point. She was going to help them. She found a nice rock and cloaked herself before closing her eyes and going to sleep.

There was a cry and Onix woke up. She made sure to stay cloaked, but was sure she heard a cry. Sound traveled very well across distances. Onix sat up and waited, but didn't hear it again. She wasn't sure if she had dreamed it, but she didn't wait. She stood up and took off towards the coordinates. She pushed herself farther and harder than ever before.

It was well into the 2nd day by the time Onix made it to the ship. She cloaked herself not sure what they Earthians looked like or what they might do if she just came walking up. The ship was done for, though there did seem to be some power and maybe she could use some of the parts. But where were the crew. Onix didn't want to decloak, but something was amiss.

"Hello," Onix said in what she hoped was the right language. She stayed cloaked, but knew she wouldn't be able to hold this for much longer.

 

[JadeKnight]

The scream that Onix had heard was that of a female scientist getting attacked and killed while trying to gather a few samples outside the ship. Security was able to defeat the two Mantises that had attacked, though at the cost of another injured crew member. The dead scientist body was tossed into the ocean so that it wouldn't attract anymore creatures.

The captain had commanded only a small team of guards wait outside for arrival to come. They had rotated in shifts to wait while repairs were attempted to be made.

When Onix had arrived at the ship, the guards were hidden in the shadow of the ship, dressed in full black body armor. Two stepped out at the sound of her voice, looking around cautiously with the pulse rifles at ready.

"Who goes there? Show yourself."

One of the guards touched a button on his wrist and spoke for a moment.

"Captain, I believe we've found a intruder."

"Bring them in, it's probably one of them."

"Them, sir?"

"Just escort them in."

"Yes, sir."

 

[La_Reina]

Onix was standing right beside the guard when he stepped out of the shadow. She had been surprise and just stopped herself from shooting him in the head. She was glad she didn't as she didn't want to get his gore on her clothes. She slowly uncloaked when he spoke to his wrist. She saw his look of surprise, but he quickly recovered. She listened to the exchange between him and his wrist and apparently his wrist wanted her to go inside the ship which was fine with her as she wanted to see the inside and maybe get some parts for it.

"Follow me."

Onix nodded. She followed the man and went up the ramp. She could tell the ship was pretty much done for. There weren't any real useful parts she could use. Though there technology was very outdated and she wondered how they even got here. She abruptly stopped realizing she was about to run into the guy in front of her.

"Captain Maverick."

Onix realized they were exchanging greetings. "Onix."

The man looked at her before realization hit his eyes. "NO. I'm not Captain Maverick. He is." He pointed and Onix followed her finger to a man sitting in a chair. She blinked at him.

"Oh. I'm Onix. And I'm afraid I can't help you."

 

[JadeKnight]

The captain merely studied her for a moment, taking in the sight of her. It wasn't exactly what he had expected from an alien race, but sometime more alien. He shook the thought for a moment before responding.

"Well, that's fine. Since you seem to be the only one here, I wasn't expecting much of you for help. At least not anything major. There is something you can do though. I wasn't given any frequencies to contact your race with, so you can help there."

He paused for a moment so that the request would sink in for her.

"I was told there was most likely a fleet nearby, who could at least airlift the crew out of here. If you need time, that's fine. I have two crew members out searching for the wreckage of another downed ship for survivors. They should be back in four days. Can you do it?"

 

[La_Reina]

Onix shook and she felt her purple hair tickle her back. It had come out of its usual bun and she quickly placed it back as he spoke. He wasn't understanding and 4 days was much too long. "There isn't any frequency," she wasn't sure how to explain. "There is no more Sythen. You came at the wrong time. We are all going to die."

Onix was getting upset over the whole thing and she blinked out for a moment. She went over to a chair sat down and came back so that he could see her. "I apologize for that. Sometimes I cannot control it. I am all that's left. I can help you if you help me, but I cannot wait 4 days. We must leave as soon as possible."

Onix leaned forward in the chair. "I will go see if there are any survivors. Give me the coordinates and I can do it quickly. I will also help you get off this planet, but with another ship. This one is vrack. If I do that you will give me Captain's Oath that you will help find my people in the lost region if there are any left. Yes?"

Onix was a bit jumpy. She felt like they were wasting time and she wasn't going to give him a chance to think it over. Either he would agree and give her Captain's Oath or he will disagree and she will leave them here to fend for herself. She had given them a chance and that's what mattered. She had tried.

 

[JadeKnight]

Captain Maverick looked at her silently for a few moments. He sighed and nodded softly.

"I do understand what you are asking, but since circumstances have changed for both of us, perhaps I could help you out a little. I've not got much crew left to fully crew another ship for long. Since you are offering another ship to get us off planet, I will help out what I can."

He pressed a couple of buttons on his console, where a panel opened up. He pulled out a microbackpacker and a small usb stick, handing them to her.

"The coordinates of the downed ship is on there, which is where Edge and Reimi are headed to. Tell Edge everything he needs to know to enact Emergency orders Alpha are on there. Now my crew and I are ready to head out anytime."

 

[La_Reina]

Onix nodded grateful that he agreed. She hated to leave them there. "I understand. This will be agreeable for everyone. I must warn you that your agreement also includes fighting off the Veraxtors. They will capture you and try to find your home planet to invade it. They look like ... " Onix searched her brain to figure out what she could compare them too that they would know, but she didn't know their knowledge. "Big, green, monsters with weapons," was all she managed to get out.

She took the items and nodded. "Head towards the middle sun. At night if you don't camp head towards the left moon. Never towards the right. I'll be there before you will and hopefully with the rest of your people. May the God's smile upon your journey," she wished him luck with her people's words and then followed the trail she took to get to him back out of the ship. She activated the chip and took off like a bullet pushing herself harder than she ever pushed herself before. Time was running and they had to get the fuck off this planet soon.

 

[JadeKnight]

Captain Maverick nodded as he listened to her instructions before she left. He shifted in the chair, being carefully of his broken right leg and two broken ribs he sustained during the crash. The console beeped as a communication from JSDF came through. The Deputy Commander filled the screen.

"Status Report Captain."

Maverick filled the commander in on everything that had transpired since his last communication. Rogign nodded every few moments before speaking when the Captain was done.

"A change of orders, though you have done well in your judgement so far. Once the remainder of your crew is aboard the seconds ship, go to the coordinates in the file I am sending to you. There are more orders for Edge as well. A transport will be waiting to bring you back to the station for the next phase."

"Roger Commander."

The screen went blank and Maverick pressed the intercom button.

"Attention crew. Attention. We will be moving out in half an hour. Prepare for movement."

The ship was soon a flurry of action as those still able to move prepared everything. Of the original thirty crew, seven were killed, five injured, leaving the remainder to get everything ready.

El Aquila was meant to be the strike team when the three ships reached their first destination, so it was built with a hanger. Three vehicles sat in the hanger, two six-wheeled trucks for transporting troops, and a six wheeled armored humvee. One truck was used to transported the injured, the rest of the crew went into the humvee and second truck.

The humvee was mounted with a laser rifle for protection, and security ran alongside the trucks, armed with energy weapons as well.

--------------------------------------------------

Edge and Reimi had arrived at the edge of the forest, a small cliff bordering the small cove where the Star Point had crashed. Smoke was bellowing from the upended wreckage, nearly a hundred yards from the shore. A lone crewmen had washed ashore and was laying face-down in the sand.

"Hey, a survivor Reimi."

Edge pointed to the lone man before climbing down to the beach. A few small crab scuttled away from him. Further along the beach could be seen much larger crabs, easily enough to match Edge for power and fight. Edge rushed to the crewman and helped him up into a sitting position. Reimi was a few feet away, standing guard.

"What happened? Where is everyone else?"

The man's voice was raspy, coughing every now and then.

"They're dead....all dead...We found a strange rock and then the crew started going crazy. They killed each other....Help..."

Edge blinked for a moment as the man passed, going limp in his arms. Then the man just seem to turn into liquid, oozing onto the beach. Edge jumped up and drew his sword as the ooze came together. It soon formed a giant shelled snail, which began waving several tentacles in the air.

"Reimi! Watch out!"

 

[La_Reina]

Onix came at the tail end of the fight. She pushed herself hard and with a shot from her rifle, which missed, the giant snail went back into the sea. Onix slowed and started breathing fast. She had pushed herself almost too hard. As she tried to take in more air she saw Edge and Reimi look at her with something akin to suspicion. She held up the package Maverick gave her. "You're captain said to give this to you, Edge." Onix wasn't sure who was Edge so she held it out to the girl who pointed to Edge. Onix gave it to Edge.

"The ship is down. They are traveling to my base as we speak.My planet is no longer safe and we must evacuate. I have a ship there. We must leave now."

"How can we trust you," Reimi asked. Edge leaned forward and began speaking with her. He held the package and nodded. "Okay we'll go."

"Good," Onix turned and ran. She shot like a bullet down the beach and when she glanced back they were no where beside her. Onix turned back and headed to them. "Come. Run. We leave now."

"We can't run that fast."

Onix groaned. "We walk." We die.

 

[JadeKnight]

The ride through the forest was getting a little bumpier, waking Maverick up from the light slumber he had fallen into. He looked over at Serina, the medic on the security team, who was looking at her microbackpacker. He lifted his hand and pressed on the comm switch attached to his headset.

"Corporal, things are a little bumpy back here. Is there something wrong?"

"No, Captain. We've just picked up a little speed through the forest."

"And the security team?"

"They're all tucked safely on the convoy, ever alert for danger."

"ETA?"

"At this rate captain, only a few hours till we reach the coordinates that girl alien gave us. Your orders when we reach them?"

Maverick flicked the comm switch to all headset, clearing his throat for a moment before speaking.

"Attention crew. We will be arriving at the rendezvous point in a few hours. I am not sure how soon or how long Edge, Reimi, and the alien Onix will get there, so we will make the best of it. Everyone will help get the ship ready for take-off. Make sure everything is in good working order, repair it if you need to. The technology may be a little more advanced than we are used to, so try not to break it."

A few chuckles were heard over the system for a moment before the Captain continued.

"Security will keep watch for enemies. Hopefully we can get off-planet within the next few days."

He released the switch and laid his head back down, closing his eyes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edge blinked as the laser whizzed over his head, but it also missed the snail. He was more than ready to fight it, after all of the creatures that him and Reimi had taken down on their way here.

He turned his head as he heard an unfamiliar voice call to him, with Reimi pointing in his direction. He held his sword for a moment as he took in the strange girl, blinking for a moment. She was beautiful, but actually seeing anyone out here was a miracle. He put his sword up as she spoke, tilting his head for a moment.

"How can we trust you?"

He leaned closer and spoke softly to Reimi.

"Well, she know about the ship and that usb stick has the JSDF emblem on it."

He took the stick and placed it in a little compartment on his microbackpacker. He nodded to her for a moment.

"Let's go."

The two of them stood there for a moment as Onix shot off like a bullet on the beach. Edge chuckled softly.

"Yeah....I don't think we can keep up that way."

When she returned, Edge shook his head for a moment.

"We can't run that fast."

He smiled for a moment.

"We can run in short bursts if needed, Let's go."

He started to run, followed by Reimi. It wasn't a very fast run, more of a fast jog.

 

[La_Reina]

Onix had never ran so slow. She felt like her muscles were bunching just for the slowness of it all. They were gonna take hours even a full night and day to reach her base. They were at a walk now the slower ones catching their breaths while Onix's 8th sense was tickling. Something was bothering her she just couldn't explain it. That was when she heard it before she saw it. "Cloak." Onix stood still and immediately went invisible. The other's just looked confused. "Hide yourselves human." They didn't cloak and Onix knew this was going to be bad.

The Veraxtors plane shot overhead going in the direction they were headed. The sound could still be heard even though the ship was far out. Onix decloaked. "We are safe for now. If they saw us they would have stopped and we would be dealing with our own Veraxtors. I just hope your captain and mates can fight or hide. Come. We need to get their quickly."

They started running again. This was much too slow for Onix. She couldn't stand this. Finally she stopped. "Which one of you is the better fighter. I will take that one upon my back and run ahead. You will help your captain and I will come back for the other. It will take 10 minutes to get there this way. If we continue the pace we are at I fear we will get there too late. It'll be at least another 1 hour at this pace."

Onix let them speak between eachother. "Hurry. We don't have much time. I promised your captain to bring you both back. I keep my word. The other person who stays behind must wait 20 minutes for my return. More if things get bad while traveling. They must be brave and know that we haven't been attacked because of our numbers. The animals here might attack if you are by yourself. It's dangerous for both parties. So decide quickly."

 

[JadeKnight]

Edge and Reimi looked at each other for a moment. He nodded to her for a moment.

"Reimi will go first. We're both good fighters, but she can help out the Captain better."

"You be careful edge."

Edge nodded as he watched Reimi move and climb up on Onix's back. He wasn't really sure that the alien would be able to carry him on her back, but he would have to wait and see. She was beautiful, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

He stood there for a moment as he watched the two of them disappear from sight, drawing his sword. He frowned for a moment as he heard buzzing from around him before three large wasps came into view. He chuckled softly for a moment.

"How many of you have I killed already? Enough to know how to kill you quickly."

He shifted into a defensive stance as the first one dove at him. He ducked quickly, swinging the laser sword in an upward arc. The edge sliced through the wasp's left wing, causing it to crash to the ground. He turned and kicked the wasp in the head, killing it.

The second wasp dove at him, catching him off-guard. It's sting ripped along his left arm, drawing blood. He growled with the pain as he jumped backwards from the wasp.

"Rising Blade!"

He charged forward, rapidly slicing the wasp with four strikes. His final hit sent the wasp flying further up into the air before it hit the ground, dead. He ducked the third wasp's attack, rolling away for the moment.

Edge turned and charged at the wasp again. He got a lucky strike, slicing the wasp in two along it's body. The wasp hit the ground, it's innards oozing out. Edge took a deep breath for a moment before replicating a blueberry from the microbackpacker. He ate the blueberry and smiled as the wound he sustained disappeared as he was healed a little bit.

 

[La_Reina]

Onix nodded as they made the decision. The girl was lighter than Onix thought as she climbed onto her back. Onix stood up, took a step, and was in a full out run. She hoped the girl hung on tightly. She was so light Onix wasn't sure if she would feel if the girl fell off and after the second time of checking to make sure she was still there Onix wasn't going to check again. Onix jumped over creeks as she made her way home with no sign of the ship. Not a good sign.

Onix slid to a stop and swung Reimi around to her feet. "Clo-," Onix stopped. That's right humans couldn't cloak. A weak species for sure. "Follow me. Be quiet." Onix wasn't sure where the Veraxtors were or where Remi's people were. All she knew was it was quiet. Too quiet. Onix went into a cave and disappeared. She knew these caves like the back of her hand and the pure darkness didn't phase her. She just hoped Reimi kept up. That's when she realized the girl probably couldn't see her. "This way," Onix whispered and scraped her nails along the wall as a sort of guide.

The sound of gunfire got closer and closer. They came out of a small ledge overlooking the battlefield and her precious ship in the middle. "Shize!" Onix turned to Reimi. "You can make it down if you follow that path. Pray to the Mother Gods that the Veraxtors don't see you as you'll be exposed the whole way. Or if you're good with a long bow you can try to pick the Veraxtors off from here, but they'll surely come after a lone soldier like yourself. I have to go back for the other male of your species."

Onix heard a ping and she turned back to the scene and grimaced. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to fight and save her ship or they were royally fucked. She snarled and turned back to the cave and was gone.

By the time Onix returned for Edge she could see she had been right about having to fight. There were winged animals and sea animals strewn behind him. Onix stopped and nodded. "You are a true warrior. Climb on." But he was very heavy. Onix couldn't carry him. "I am going to run with him. Like we would do to a fallen warrior. You put your arm over my shoulders. I am going to run. You make sure you stay on your feet. I imagine this will feel like your flying or floating. Hold on. Don't let go and don't fall."

Onix clasped her arm around his waist squeezing him tightly. She took two steps and slowly sped up so he could get a footing. Then she was running. She glanced down and saw for every 30 of her strides he was managing to do 1 1/2. She felt his weight, but it wasn't too much for her as he quickly found his footing and was able to not get a limb tore off. It was mostly gravity helping her keep him up. "Can you hear me," she puffed. "Your people are under attack. We must get to them quickly or they'll all be slaves or dead."

 

[JadeKnight]

The crew arrived at the landing site forty-five minutes before Onix arrived with Reimi. The wounded were unloaded and placed in the ship's med-bay. Though the Sythen technology were more advanced than the humans, the system operations and controls were pretty much the same. Repair work was started immediately while both security teams took up guard outside the ship. Five minutes before Onix's arrival, a Vexartor ship showed up in the distance. Corporal Smith spoke on his comm as they watched it approached.
"We have company Captain."
"What Kind?"
"It might be that race the alien female mentioned. The ship looks like it's bigger than a scout, but smaller than a troop ship. Hell, I don't know enough to say for sure."
"Understood Corporal. If they are hostile, take them out."
"Yes sir."
Smith switched to the security team channel.
"Hold your fire until I say."

The Vexartor ship landed fifty yards from the ship. Two minutes before Onix arrived, a ramp folded down from the belly of the ship. A minute later two towering, green scaled humanoidlike creatures came running down the ramp wielding strange looking long rifles. They couldn't see any of the team hidden behind the hummer or various-sized plastic-steel containers, so they decided to flush them out.
They opened fire as they ran, solid metal slugs hitting everywhere in front of them. Corporal Smith muttered softly under his breathe.
"Stupid scouts."
He waited till they were halfway to the ship.
"Pvt. Hogin and Spc. Sayler, open fire."
The two of the five bravo members leaned out of their cover and laid down laser fire into the two scouts. The scouts crumbled soundlessly, one still firing as it went down. The bullet narrowly missed Onix and Reimi.
Reimi gave a nod of thanks to Onix before she left to pick up Edge. No more activity came from the enemy ship, so Reimi ran down to take up position behind the hummer.
A few moments later, five more emerged wearing full body armor suits. The were wielding short rifles that were glowing along the muzzles. They made their way to the downed scouts, two kneeling down to check on the bodies.
"All hands, fire!"
The nine security guards opened up with the laser rifles, hitting the creatures. The suits just seemed to absorb the hits, scorch marks left behind. The Vexartors returned fire with more powerful laser blasts, pocketing the plastic-steel and hummer.
Reimi leaned out of her cover, taking aim.
"Sonic Arrow!"
She released an arrow at the speed of sound. The suit provided no protection as the arrow pierced it like paper, killing one through it's helmet. Two more went down to three more of her sonic arrow techniques.
While she was attacking, Pvt. Long climbed into the turrent of the hummer to man the railgun. The armor of the last two crumbled beneath the onslaught, both dead from very large holes in their bodies.
Reimi retreated into the ship, working to repair communications.
A couple of minutes later, a biped mech armed with high-powered Gatling lasers emerged from the enemy ship. It didn't give anyone time to react as it opened heavy firepower on the hummer. Pvt. Long and the rest of Bravo team were killed as the fuel tank was ruptured, along with the engine, destroying the hummer. The firing stopped as the mech hunted for targets, marching slowly towards the ship.
Corporal Smith noticed a small pile of AT-4s they had unloaded earlier. He wasn't certain why they had been included, but they would serve their purpose well. He used the smoke from the fire to grab one.

As Edge arrived with Onix at the ledge above the battlefield, he paused for a moment to catch his breathe. He could see she was right that they were under attack, but there wasn't anything he could do yet. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back from the ledge.
"We'll wait here."

A moment later there was a loud whoosh sound before the anti-tank round streaked through the air towards the mech. The cockpit busted open under the impact attack, followed by a loud explosion from the high explosive round. The mech was left a smoking heap.
A few moments later four loud whooshes were heard before four rockets streaked towards the enemy ship, destroying it.
Edge smiled at her.
"Now we can go."

 

[La_Reina]

Onix skidded to a stop at the ledge. She looked down surveying the damage. The Veraxtors weren't usually so easy to kill, but these Earthians must be skilled fighters because she counted a few Veraxtors laying in their own white goo. Though there did seem to be just as many if not more of the Earthians laying dead in their red goo. An odd mixture to have red goo coming from their bodies. Onix would have stared more if the Earthian named Edge hadn't grabbed her hand and pulled her back. Onix immediately took back her hand and nodded. She wasn't a warrior and she didn't like the fighting. If he wanted to sit this one out she understood. The scary nature of the Veraxtors could do that to a person.

It was almost a full moment before there was booms so loud it vibrated her body or maybe it was the world rocking. Onix couldn't tell. She heard cheers and looked at Edge who was grinning at her. He gave the okay and Onix gingerly went back to the edge and peeked over. It seemed the small ship was destroyed. Onix shook her head. She ran from Edge down the circular tunnel until she was at the bottom. She looked for the captain and shook her head.

"You don't understand. That was a small hunting party. Their main ship will be 20x's that size and they will bring about," Onix paused. She was trying to convert the number to their English language. "100 if not triple times that. What's worse their probably already on their way here. We need to leave. Now." Onix looked at her beloved ship. They weren't going to make it off planet. Her best bet was to hide in the forest for a few dozen years until the coast was clear and try to come back and repair the ship. Onix relayed this information to the captain.

"It's like this. Either we all die or we save the few and live. They will now scan for your home planet and try to take that over as well. We won't be able to help your Earth. You people can repopulate here. I don't care, but we must leave. Our mission here failed. "

 

[JadeKnight]

The captain listened to Onix, nodding every few moments. Once she was finished, he held up a hand for a moment. He hit the comm button for a moment on the communication system.

"Sgt. Devon, how much longer till those engines are ready?"
"At this point in time Captain, it will take us an hour at least to get this baby to the point of flying. The technology is more advanced, but the basics are the same. Two hours to be warp ready."
"Understood, try and make it quicker. I don't want us to be here longer than needed."
"Roger Captain."

He changed the channel and pressed the button.
"Corporal, status."
"Sir, Bravo team is KIA. I have the rest of Alpha team trying to clean the area up, to minimize our presence. All the equipment has already been placed on board. Give us ten minutes or less, and everyone should be on board. I suggest keeping the ship sealed up and no one leaving."
"Good work Corporal and make it quick as possible."

He sighed for a moment as he released the button and folded his hands in his lap. He wanted to get out of the med bed and help, but his injury kept him down. He looked at Onix once more.

"I understand the risks we are facing right now. However, I and my crew can not give up. For one, you have to understand that Humanity has had to fight for survival as long as we have lived. We also do not give up if there is even the slightest chance of survival. As you heard, actions are underway to get us off-planet as soon as possible. Given a littel luck, it can happen. Don't worry about them trying to find Earth. Crashing on your planet was an unforeseen accident as we were trying to get to another system entirely. And any information in our ships' system has been wiped clean to prevent the theft of the information."

He was quiet for a few moments before speaking.

"Speaking of more advanced technology, is your ship not equiped with a cloaking device or something like that? If you could get it activated, that would help us as well."

 

[La_Reina]

Onix was so frustrated. These Earthians were dense. She listened to them through their gadgets that were so simliar to her own, but slightly outdated and then some of their gadgets were more advanced. It was weird. Right now she was staring at a tube that you put into liquid and suck. It was genius. Purely genius. Why had her people never thought of such an advanced and yet simple device?!

She finally stopped staring at the straw and turned back to the Captain. "I don't think you understand. They are already here!" With those words a loud boom and the earth felt like it was shaking. The main ship had landed. She shook her head. The idiots. She had tried to tell them they needed to leave neons ago, but did they listen. Did they think the ship was going to hold up under melted plasma from their weapons. The first Veraxtors were lax. They thought they were doing a little bit of scouting and some clean up. They didn't expect the rangers. This group was not that. Every single one of the Earthians and Onix was going to die. The Veraxtors took very few prisoners and only if the High Command deemed it. Onix knew they did not deem to take prisoners. They were Flicked!

"Captain you're hurt. I can try to run you to safety and get your people out through the back tunnels. I..." Onix looked petrified. She didn't want to die. Not like this. She saw death and knew it was coming from her. "Mother of all Gods, please give me guidance. Tell me what to do?"

 

[JadeKnight]

Maverick and Edge jumped at the sound of the loud boom. The captain seemed almost very calm about the whole situation, even through Onix's rambling. After all, it wouldn't be good for the morale of his remaining crew if he got in a frenzy like Onix. He shook his head for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak when the comm squawked and Smith's voice came through.
"Lame duck, I repeat, lame duck. Ten minutes, Five hide. Edge outside now."
Edge smirked a little for a moment.
"That's my cue."
He turned to leave, pausing for a moment. He looked back at Onix, his body seeming to move on it's own. It was probably the most insane move he could do at the moment, but he went through with it. He moved closer to her and pressed his lips against her for a moment. He backed up from the stunned Onix and ran out the door. After seconds later he was on the comm.
"The largest container on the right side of the ship was blasted open. There's what appears to be a large hover APC with large weapons you can use to escape."
Maverick smiled for a moment.
"It seems we got another break. The remainder of the security team is going to lure the main ship away as decoys. We wait ten minutes before abandoning the ship and then you can lead us to safety. We should see them in five days or so."

----------------------------------------------------

Outside was a mess. A dense cloud of red, yellow, and green smoke hung in the air like a curtain fifteen feet from the ship. Alien cries of pain could be heard, along with the occasional laser blast through the smoke. Twelve grenades had been thrown at the enemy as they started spilling out of the ship Six was smoke grenades, three were incendiary, two flashbangs, and one fragmentation. The ultra bright incendiaries had blinded most of the armored soldiers that had disembarked. The flash-bangs defeaned a few of them.
"Edge, take these and get in the back of the truck."
Corporal Smith tossed a rail gun with a scope and an empty AT-4 rocket launcher.
"The scope is X-ray. It will help."

Two minutes later, they were racing from the landing site. Edge was firing at the soldiers, taking down several of them. He even fired at the larger ship, the hyper-sonic bullets piercing the hull in several places like tiny meteorites from space. The plan was working as the ship rose into the air slowly, leaving the remaining soldiers stranded there, mostly injured.
The ship was a hundred feet in the air when the first plasma shot was fired at the truck. Pvt. Evans jerked the wheel hard to the right, the shot missing by mere feet.