Dr. Maxwell Payne Doc moved on to the next patient. A young woman with flaming red hair. Her unconcious features so white and beautiful.So much like Hannah... Memories from 8 years ago flashed through his mind unbidden. ----------------------------------------- "Max? Max, honey, come to bed." A beautiful woman with red hair came up behind the seated Doc Payne and laid a white hand on his shoulder. "Hmm..." Was his reply as he scrawled notes on a sheet of paper. "It's 1:00 a.m. and you still have a week to study. Staying up later isn't going to help." "This test is too important, Hannah." He said shrugging her hand off his shoulder. "Is it more important than your family!?" She demanded. Max spun in his chair. "If I don't pass this test I won't be granted a position with the fleet. You know it's what I've wanted since I was kid." "Yes, I know. But that was before you had a family! All you do now a-days is study and work...study and work. You keep pushing me away...our daughter away" She said pointing harshly at the room where their 6 year old daughter slept. "You even missed her birthday party last week! And how much worse will it get if you do get assigned a postion as surgeon on one of the ships. How long will you be gone at a time!? Weeks...months?" Max remained silent through the harsh lecture. His eyes stared at his shoes in shame. Though perhaps not enough. "Max..." Hannah put a hand to her forehead. "I can't handle this anymore. You're gone all the time...your pursute to be the 'worlds best surgeon' seems to be more important to you than this family. If you don't figure out a way to fit us back in to your oh-so-important-life...then I'm leaving. I will not continue to put myself or our daughter through this!" With those words she spun on her heel and headed to bed. ----------------------------------------- Doc had gone to bed soon after that, determined to spend more time with his family. But the prospect of becoming the best surgeon on the best fleet had been to much of a temptation. He'd past the test, gotten assigned to the Ecthelion and left for duty within the month. When he returned home 4 months later, she was gone with thier daughter. Only a rapidly scrawled note and was left of her presence. He'd lost them and his pride kept him from trying to get them back. Susanna Elliot "Sup Suzy! How's it goin! Lively crowd tonight!" James said as he laid down fire. "You know that's right!" She laughed, glad to be back where the action was. She reloaded the grenade launcher and took aim. Waiting for the moment when the Shock Trooper's sheilds went down. When the moment finally came she launched it, then sat back down in cover. "Hey, Doc! Snap out of it!" Suzy yelled at the doctor. She'd noticed that he'd seemed frozen. Doc's head snapped up and gave Suzy a smile upon seeing her. "So they finally let you join the party, huh?" He said before returning to work, saving his patient. Suzy rolled her eyes at Doc and began loading another grenade in case the other didn't do the trick.
Susanna's grenades staggered the surviving trooper, and he was finished off by a knife to the throat, thrown by four. A few moments later, the remaining Arcadians were either dead or captured, and the bridge was secure. "Set a perimeter in the halls! You four, make sure we have a clean exit back to the dropship!" The sergeant shouted. "Techs! Dump the computer banks!" A moment later, three soldiers who'd been covering outside with Doc moved in and produced computer equipment to their packs. "They tripped the fail safes sir." On announced after a moment. The sergeant swore. "How bad is it?" He asked. "97% purged sir." The tech responded. "We got here just in time to save the last 3%. Here's praying it's what we need." He said, then tapped a few commands on his tablet. "It'll take some time to analyze though." Everything was eerily quiet on the bloodied bridge as James turned to Susanna. "Good timing. I mean, way to show up right as the fighting is wrapping up." He shook his head. "Typical." He said with a smile. Then to Four he said, "Hey, you sure you aren't a ninja or something? I mean, you're a decent pilot, but the ass kicking you just delivered was... well, terrifying. Oh, and you're bleeding all over the floor, go get that checked out."
Susanna Elliot "Good timing. I mean, way to show up right as the fighting is wrapping up." James said shaking his head. "Typical." Suzy smiled, rolling her eyes in response. "It's your own d*** fault leaving me on babysitting duty outside." She chuckled. It was then she noticed Four. Covered in blood, a crazy look in his eyes. "What's with that guy?" Susanna whispered to James. "Any other man, with that many injuries, would be crying like a little girl...or passed out from pain."
Four "Hey, you sure you aren't a ninja or something? I mean, you're a decent pilot, but the ass kicking you just delivered was... well, terrifying. Oh, and you're bleeding all over the floor, go get that checked out." "Hardly, sir. I don't deserve such flattery. Your combat prowess was also... commendable?" Four looked down to see a growing pool of crimson around his feet. "Oh. So I am." Four saluted James before striding back to the doctor, all the while trailing blood over the boots of those he passed. "Good evening sir. I appear to have been injured again- I hope you're not too occupied?"
Doc Payne "Good evening sir. I appear to have been injured again- I hope you're not too occupied?" The strange new recruit said walking up to Doc. He was bleeding from multiple wounds. It was a wonder he hadn't passed out yet. "Well if you arn't the damndest soldier I've ever seen." Doc said pulling out the medical supplies needed. He ran a scanner over the soldiers wounds and grunted at the reading. "Yup! Just as I thought. You'll need a quick surgery when we get back to the ship. Some of these wounds are too close to major arteries for me to work on them now." Doc did what he could to plug the holes and stop the bleeding. "I've no doubt you're on some sort of drug or have a strange and, no doubt illegal, implant. I'm most curious as what could keep you from feeling pain like this..." Doc muttered as he removed his gloves. "Straight to the operating table for you when we get back." He said more loudly so Four could hear. "Understand? If you delay...you'll probably die." He shrugged his shoulders non-chalantly, though inwardly he was quite worried about Four's injuries.
"We've got what we can salvage sir!" The tech announced. There was still a strange calm on the ship. "Boarding Party, we're reading jump signatures inbound. Do you have the intel?" James heard through his ear piece, Susanna would have heard it too, along with the Sergeant and Dropship pilots. "Affirmative Ecthelion." The Sergeant responded. "We're packing up and shipping out as we speak." "Get a move on, there's at least 4 ships in bound, along with something else... unidentified signature. Step on it boarding party!" "We need to get back space side, sounds like things are about to get messy." James turned to Susanna. All of a sudden, there all the ships lights dimmed and a blaring siren sounded. "Scuttle sequence initiated. All personnel to escape pods." "Alright ladies, break time is over! Get back to the dropship!" The sergeant shouted, and started waving soldiers out back towards the bridge. "Doc! Get those kids on their feet! Move out!" James shouted and helped one of the injured up. "No time to waste people!"
Doc For the injured who were too weak to stand much less run on their own, Doc gave a small shot of adrenline. Enough to get them moving. It would last long enough for them to get to the evac shuttle. As the people got to their feet, Doc finished gathering the dog tags off the dead then followed the soldiers out of the room.
Four Four lowered his head as the sirens filled the room. Whether it was the mission's failure or significant blood loss that- most likely blood loss. Four found himself lurching forward as his vision pulsed black. "Alright ladies, break time is over! Get back to the dropship!" Four proceeded towards his fighter but found his movements lethargic. Strange. Four surveyed his own body, searching for signs of poison. Nothing. He set his eyes back on his fighter and began marching. His vision pulsed again, and he found himself stumbling, yet he continued onward, his face marked by a neutral yet determined visage. Just as he was climbing into his cockpit did his vision dim for the third time and all Four felt was a falling sensation as his body slumped inelegantly into the fighter.
The Ship's siren's were blaring, and at regular intervals, they would hear a metallic bang echo through the ship. It was the sound of escape pods launching, the crew was abandoning ship. Finally they made it back to the docking bay. James helped several of the more injured soldiers up into the drop ship, then once they were aboard, ran to his fighter and started it up. He was preparing to launch when he noticed Four slumped over, half in the cockpit of his fighter. He swore and then jumped back out and ran to the Four's fighter. He was passed out in the seat, probably from blood loss. James had assumed his injuries were only minor, but now it looked like he was on deaths door. He sword again and then hauled the young man's dense frame out of the cockpit and slung him over his shoulder, then ran as fast as he could to the troop transport, trying to get there before the doors closed. "I got another one for you!" He shouted, then tossed Four in, unceremoniously, at Doc's feet. "Carry on!" James said, then ran back to his fighter and jumped in. A second later, the little craft was screaming out of the docking bay, back into open space. "What's the condition out here Echthelion?"He radioed. "Not good Commander. A Battle Cruiser, just jumped in, with another on the way, and something else, something big. We need to get out of he- Static crackled through the line and light filled the void ofr a moment as another ship jumped in. James veered his fighter to get a look at it. It was a massive Command Carrier, the largest ship in the Arcadian fleet. But this wasn't just any Command Carrier, this was the Potentate, the Arcadian Flagship. It was a match to the Echthelion in size and fire power. As James watched, hundred of fighters and bombers poured out of its holds. "Echthelion, the Potentate is here!" James cried over his radio. Backed up by two Battle Cruisers, the Ecthelion didn't stand a chance. This mission had escalated quickly. -------------------- The Dropship lifted off and flew out of the Arcadian hold. "We're clear of the Arcadian ship, returning to the Echthelion." The Pilot radioed. "We might need some cover!" "Roger that 334." James responded. "501st, rally on the 334, don't let anything through. We need that intel!" "Roger that sir." Jacob replied and swung his fighter into an escort pattern around the dropship. The Ecthelion had launched more fighters, and the were succeeding at holding off the Arcadian's for the moment, but they were outmatched. It wouldn't be long before they broke through, unless they got out of there ASAP.
Susanna Elliot "We're clear of the Arcadian ship, returning to the Echthelion." The Pilot radioed. "We might need some cover!" "Roger that 334." James responded. "501st, rally on the 334, don't let anything through. We need that intel!" "Roger." Suzy said falling into position on the 334's right flank. It was then she noticed they were missing their new recruit. "What happened to Four, Sir?" She asked sending off a barrage of shots at an Arcadian that had gotten through the other fighters. It exploded in a mass of color, but there were sure to be more on the way.
James James blasted a fighter out of existence. It was still odd to see the explosion, feel the shockwaves, and hear nothing. That was the strangest thing about space combat, it was totally silent. "What happened to Four, Sir?" "The idiot kid got himself shot up pretty bad. He's on the dropship with Doc." James replied. "I had to leave his fighter behind." The 501st's fighters were customized with special drives and load-outs. Loosing one was a considerable loss, and expense to replace. Moments later, the Arcadian ship they'd just went critical, it's drive containment coming down from the self destruct sequence. Violet light blasted out in shockwaves, knocking James fighter end over and. Once the light died, James righted his fighter and then blasted away a disabled Arcadian ship.
Suzy "I had to leave his fighter behind." James replied. "D*** it!" She sent another Arcadian into the void. "You know, there's something off about that kid." Before James could respond a shockwave sent Suzy's fighter spinning out of control. Her fighter clipped an Arcadian fighter sending off warning lights in her cabin. Suzy flipped a few switches and managed to right her fighter. I hate it whent that happens. A sense of alarm went off in Suzy's mind. It wasn't audible she could just feel it...her life was in danger, even though she could see no immediate threat. She yanked her fighter to the right and barely a second later a missle flew by blowing up the Acry fighter she had clipped. The missle had been intended for her. Following behind the missle was another Arcy fighter. As it passed she sent off a missle of her own taking care of one more Arcadian.
The Ecthelion lined up it's main guns on the incoming battle cruiser. As the massive railguns discharged, two fifty ton shells made of depleted uranium arced through space, impacting with the Arcadian ship. There was a flash of light as it's shields failed and another as the slugs ripped through the ships hull and detonated inside, blasting it in half. Moments later though, the Ecthelion was set upon by missiles and plasma cannon fire coming from the other battle cruiser. The Potentate was bringing it's stern to bear on the Ecthelion as well, it's equally powerful lateral rail guns preparing to fire. The smaller ships were engaged in fierce battle as well, Arcadian frigates were launching from the Potentate, backed up by fighter wings. Meanwhile the Ecthelion was pulling all their forces back. "334 Corsair, get back to the ship ASAP!" Command radioed to the drop ship. "We're going as fast as we can! We need more cover!" The little ship rocked as a missile detonated outside. "On it 334!" James responded. They were being overwhelmed, but his team was flying good. It was just a shame that they were down a man. He blasted away another Arcadian that was making a run on the 334. The Ecthelion wasn't to far off now, just another click or so. Then, across the whole fleet, everything electronic flickered for a moment as a massive hyperspace jump bubble burst. Once the radars cleared up, they all saw it. A giant red blip. "What the hell is that!?" Jacob called. "I don't know..." James replied. "But it's big." "Someone get eyes on that ship!" The order rang out fleet wide from Ecthelion. Moments later a fighter from Delta Squad responded to the order. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before!" he shouted. "It looks like, like-" Static. A beam of light arced out from the new ship. Everything around the beam seemed to collapse in on itself, like it was being folded. "Get clear of that beam!" James shouted over the radio. It swept past, but thankfully didn't hit any of his squad or the drop ship. The Ecthelions fleet wasn't so fortunate however. Dozens of ships were hit by the beam, disappearing altogether, like they had simply been erased out of existence. Then the beam just stopped. "It must be recharging! Full retreat! All ships back to the Ecthelion!" Everyone booked a full retreat, everyone except the 501st, who were still guarding the 334. Finally, it reached the Ecthelion, entering the docking bay and landing on the flight deck. "All ships secure!" "Prepare for emergency Hyperspace Jump!" Everyone heard over their radios. A second later, there was the sickening sensation of entering hyperspace. James pushed open his cockpit and jumped out of his ship, looking around, making sure everyone was there. Much to his relief, Suzy and Jacob were both there. But all down the flight deck he saw empty spaces where ships should have docked. "What the hell was that thing..." He said as Jacob got out and walked up to him.
Four Four awoke with a start. The sudden return of awareness to Four's mind was paired with the recollection of duty, or the shirking of it. He leapt out of bed. Or at least he tried to. Yet the second he vaulted up from his bed, he found himself thrown back on the ground by a searing stab throughout his entire body. A second repetition of the attempt met a similar result, but with greater amplitude. Pain. Has that much time passed? Four groaned as the throbbing pushed its way back, begging for attention. What a dismal condition. Fatigued and in pain. I must seek to avoid similar circumstances in the future. Another moan escaped Four's mouth as he forced himself back onto his feet and limped to the shuttle's exit. His face, previously an expressionless mask, now bore a much harder expression, not of anger, but of determination. Pain was no excuse for incapacitation. There was a reason the mod was installed near the end of training, after all.
Suzy "What the hell was that thing..." He said as Jacob got out and walked up to him. "That's what I want to know. It obliterated god-knows how many ships in a single shot!" Suzy exclaimed. She crossed her arms angerly. "Whoever that bast*** is, he's going down!" Doc Payne "And just what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Doc demanded as Four launched himself out of the gurney and towards the exit of the shuttle. Of course the soldier would wake up the moment they were about to wheel him into surgery. Doc's gloved hands were already covered in various soldier's blood as he helped his fellow medics sedate Four and strap him back to the gurney. "Get him to operating room 2. I want him prepped for surgery immediatly! He's lost too much blood as it is...move!" He demanded guesturing harshly towards the med bay. The medical team nodded and rolled the gurney down the ramp and as quickly as they could to the operating room. -------------- An half an hour later Doc came out of the operating room with a tired smile on his face. Four would heal perfectly fine. He'd be sore for a few days, but he'd be fine. Now...on to the next patient.
Four Four awoke with a start. The sudden return of awareness to Four's mind was paired with the recollection of duty, or the shirking of it. He leapt out of bed. Or at least he tried to. Yet the second he vaulted up from his bed, he found himself thrown back on the ground by a seari- Wait... what the hell? Four looked around him. On top of a chilling sense of déjà vu, he was overwhelmed by disorientation. The dark and cold shuttle floor that felt so closely attuned with the setting was missing and in its place were the clean, white drapes of a hospital room. On top of that, the unmistakable pulsing of pain was somehow... subdued. Four's bewildered eyes sweeped over the room until they finally locked onto an injector laid on the counter, at which point they widened drastically. "No no no NO!" Four practically screamed in horror as the full realization hit him. He'd been given pain killers. "NOOOOO!!!" He ran screaming into the hallway, further panicked at his complete loss of direction, urgently ran back into his room directly to the sink, and proceeded to wildly scrub at his neck where injections were administered. Another anguished cry was strangled out from his lips before he finally sank into the corner of his room, his frantic eyes paired with his generally hysteric attitude. Finally, meekly, he managed a few words. "Painkillers are horrible for m-my health! All those chemicals!" His eyes involuntarily twitched up in his despair, only to drop back down when blinded by the bright lights above. "Do you know what kind of horrible things go in those? You're not trying to help me, you're trying to kill me! Augh!" Four tearlessly weeped for the years of life he'd surely lost due to the vile concoction so forcibly injected into him.
James "That's what I want to know. It obliterated god-knows how many ships in a single shot!" Suzy exclaimed. She crossed her arms angerly. "Whoever that bast*** is, he's going down!" "C'mon, we should get to debrief," he said. "I don't know what that ship was, but I'm willing to bet it's whatever we've been looking for." James was amazed they'd all made it out alright. Another few seconds and they would have been done for. It was odd to him as well that whatever that ship was hadn't just attacked the Ecthelion. It looked like it had the power to wipe it out easily. ----------------- An hour later, after debriefing and a quick shower, James and his squad, along with the rest of the ships officers were seated in the conference room. A large half circle shaped auditorium with about a hundred and fifty seats arranged in a crescent and sloping downwards towards the podium. The air was tense in the packed room as everyone waited for an explanation of what had just happened. Finally, a hush fell across the room as Admiral Serence stepped up to the podium and began to speak. "As you all know, at 1157 Hours today, we launched an offensive on an Arcadian Command Cruiser." Admiral Serence looked like a sailor. White hair spilled out from under his cap, and a trimmed beard adorned his grizzled face. A sharp hook nose, and piercing grey eyes looked out at the officers in attendance. "It was a routine operation to gather intelligence on the enemies newest weapon. I would first off like to inform you, that our primary objective was a success." Most everyone was under the impression that the data had been purged before they had gotten to it, so this announcement came as a surprise. A murmur passed through the room. "Our technicians managed to salvage key pieces of information from the corrupted files. Among it, we discovered this..." He turned to the large screen behind him, and the lights dimmed. On the screen showed a schematic of a giant warship, unlike any of them had ever seen before, that is, except for those that got a good look at the ship that had attacked them. "This is the Arcadians new weapon. It utilizes technology far beyond anything that we've ever seen before. From what we can tell, this weapon utilizes high power gravity manipulation to rip holes in space time wherever it's beam hits. We've code names it, the Z-Well." He paused for a moment. "This weapon is literally capable of destroying anything it touches, for all intents and purposes removing it from the universe." There was another murmur through the crowd. "At the present, we have not been able to identify any weaknesses in it's design. It's hull is nearly impenetrable. We're still analyzing the data, but it will take some time. In the mean time, we are laying low inside of the Farion Nebula while we make repairs. Take this opportunity to rest up and repair your equipment. There are difficult days ahead of us after this." The Admiral finished, then stepped down. After a moment of silence, as everyone pondered what the Admiral had said, the officers began to disperse. James to began to leave after a moment, but then turned back to Jacob and Susanna. "Crazy." He shook his head, but then smiled. "Cards tonight?"
"Finally, after so many years. civilization." their ship was now closing in on a massive space ship. lights shone here and their like a beacon in the dark sky. Kate was on the verge of tears. her black hair shimmered in the ships light, her tears of joy sparkled as they fell. The sight brought a smile to Gales weary face. "Other humans, we're going to see other people for the first time in ten years." her male companion small and thin with rough red hair and pale skin grabbed her and lifted her clear in the air. the two laughed with pure excitement, their nightmare was over! But in the moment of merriment Kate suddenly got solemn. "Gale...what if." she afferted his gaze instead staring at 20 empty coffins, coffins that used to be full. "Shhh...Kate. the inhibitor cells work, nothing will happen. We'll board that ship, and live a normal life again. We'll say we're 20 years old buy a house, you'll find some guy to marry I some girl. And we'll be happy as can be." Kate smiled weakly at his words of encouragement but doubt still lingered with in her. "but..should we really risk it, all the people aboard that mother ship. We're putting them all in danger. W-what if the cells adapt?" her voice sounded panicked. "What if there's another out break? what if..." "We aren't putting anyone at risk stop talking like that!" Gale suddenly snapped. Kate flinched from his words. He sighed and shook his head. "Forgive me, I shouldn't have yelled." he took her hand and stared into her blue eye's admiring the freckles on her pale face. "The vaccine works Kate, we have nothing to fear." She nodded wiping away a tear. They both stared out at the ship, by now it would have gotten their s.o.s signal. "home, this will be our new home." These two had many secrets, they looked around 20 but were by now in their mid thirties a result of their bodies no longer ageing. the fact that their entire crew was wiped out by an alien life form, the fact that they had hid with in the planet for years. many secrets, too many. "This is our one shot, our one shot at happiness." gale said holding Kate tightly.
"Sir, I'm picking up an s.o.s, it's UEC in origin." And ensign in the bridge said. "Show it on the screen." Captain Macallister, the ships second in command replied. The admiral had retired for the night, so Macallister had the bridge. When the view screen came to life, it showed a decrepit looking explorer class ship. "Whats the designation on that?" Macallister asked. "It's s.o.s says it the Voyager 7... ship designation 4437." "That's impossible, that ship has been missing for the last ten years!" Macallister thought for a moment. "Alright, hail them." "Voyager, this is the UEC Ecthelion. We picked up your distress beacon, what is your status?"
Voyager, this is the UEC Ecthelion. We picked up your distress beacon, what is your status?" "Those of us that are still alive? well, now that we have been found. we have been through many hardships, we are the only survives. Just me Gale Evo and my sister, Kate Evo." The voice that sounded over the intercom sounded over joyed, yet tired, very tired.
"Those of us that are still alive? well, now that we have been found. we have been through many hardships, we are the only survives. Just me Gale Evo and my sister, Kate Evo." "Transmission confirmed sir." The ensign said to Mcallister. "Voyager, what is the status of your ship? Can you dock? We're prepared to take you aboard," he said over the channel.
Gale and Kate looked at each other, then began to chuckle. "Dock? well this old girl hasn't docked in years, but we'll give it a shot" "Oh I'm so excited, I'm actually hearing other people." an excited female voice sounded over the intercom, slowly but surely the blackened rusted old ship managed to dock. a bit of a rough docking as metal scraped and smoked sputtered. But finally they were home.
The Ensign tapped a few commands and a low rumble went through the Ecthelion as it made contact with Voyager. "Oh I'm so excited, I'm actually hearing other people." "Welcome back to civilization," Mcallister chuckled. "Although, I your timing might not be the greatest. Just hold tight, we'll send a team down to meet you." A few minutes later there was a sweeper team waiting at the dock doors. They carried scanners and had wore Haz-mat suits. "Don't be alarmed, we just need to sweep your ship before we can allow you on board." The team lead said over the radio. "We're going to come in, and just run a few scans," he said as he and the other two members of the sweeper team entered the airlock. The door behind them rolled shut, and there was a hiss as the room was pressure sealed. Then the door to the Voyager slid open, revealing the ships interior, and the two castaways. The Sweeper ran a quick scan, and when everything came back clear, he took off his helmet. "Afternoon folks! If you'll follow me right this way," he motioned to the airlock. "We'll get you settled right in."
"Wow technology has really progressed." Kate said as she took in the sights and sounds that now flooded her senses. ten years of quiet and utter darkness had dulled their senses now they felt a bit over whelmed. Gale covered his as he struggled to adapt to flashing lights and the noise. Even being over loaded the two felt happy.
Susanna Elliot Susy counted her credit chips as she walked down the hall towards the rec room, a peice of black licorice hanging out of her mouth like a cigar. She wasn't going to let Jacob woop her at cards again. She'd been practicing her poker face. Suzy looked up just in time to avoid running into two battered looking soldiers. An Ensign was guiding them through the halls and saluted smartly when he saw her. "At ease, Ensign." She said though she wasn't looking at him but rather the two people behind him. A man and a woman, their facial features so similar they had to be related. Suzy slipped her credit chips into her back pocket took the licorice out of her mouth and stuck out a hand with a friendly smile. "Name's Suzy. You two look like you've been through hell and back."
