I write my own series based in the Chakat Universe. Much of the technology and technical portions are based off Star Trek, no point in reinventing the wheel. The first two chapters are pure crap in my opinion and I've thought about rewritting them. I'll let you guys read and enjoy the 5 chapters currently online. Here's the first one. Tell me what you think.
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter One: Traps
Blackstar was unusual, at least when compared to a human. Blackstar was a Chakat, which is to say a creature that looked like someone had taken a cat, cut off its head, and spliced in a humanoid torso to create something like a feline centaur. Shi has an almost completely white fur pattern, except for a black star shaped patch on hir back. Shi often wears a vest that covers the star patch, as well as a utility belt. Shi jokes that the belt is like a superhero's. Shi is unusually tall for a chakat at 5'10".
Blackstar was quite bored. Hir crew hadn't had a job in weeks. Shi hadn't even had a chance to take hir newly refitted ship out for a test run. The ship was provided to hir after hir last one was destroyed in a Star Fleet incident two months earlier. It was designed by hir and hir Skunktaur engineer, Sky, and was quite impressive for a private ship. Blackstar was head of a small security firm which shi had been building up slowly for over two years. Hir crew would provide escort for many freighter captains traveling through dangerous territory. The new ship was designed with this in mind and was capable of outrunning almost any civilian ship. The only exception Blackstar knew of was the Folly, an unusual cargo ship, but if the rumors were true Blackstar wouldn't need to escort it anyway. In fact shi was certain Sky had tried to steal some of hys ideas from the Folly's captain, with limited success. Sky was still angry about hys failed attempts at recreating something called a Zulu.
Out of boredom Blackstar decided to visit the closest thing to what shi considered to be hir hometown on Earth, a town averaging between 50 to 60 thousand people. This is why shi was at Memorial Mall that one fateful day. Shi was passing the mall's equivalent of a food court, which was little more then a pair of restaurants near the main entrance. Blackstar's excellent hearing overheard a group of collage students talking. "What are we going to do?" asked a vixen.
"I don't know", replied a female wolf, "there's no way we can raise up enough money. Where are we going to find a captain willing to go through pirate infested space on this kind of budget?" Blackstar looked around hoping to spot one of hir crew members trying to play a joke, but not one of them was in sight. Blackstar was actually surprised that shi didn't spot Nightrose, hir Caitian partner, who rarely left hir for extended periods of time. The wolf continued, "I mean it isn't like a Chakat is going to come up and ask, 'would you like a cheap ride to Quenxel?'"
Blackstar's sense of humor got the better of hir. Shi walked up to the table and asked, "Would you like a cheap ride to Quenxel?" The two canines looked at hir as if this was not something to be joked about. "I'm serious. I've needed a chance to give the engines on my ship a stretch. And I can do it cheaper then just about anyone. And we can carry a reasonable amount of cargo. Now mind filling me in on the details?"
The vixen replied, "Our professor wants to run an experiment but our university has a limited budget and can't send us to the only facility that can help us. It's on a backwater planet called..."
"I admit Quenxel is out of the way but I wouldn't call it a backwater planet," interrupted Blackstar. "And I've been looking for a decent excuse to visit my sister without my partner having a cow. Which would be impressive considering shi's a Caitian." After the looks shi got shi added, "I believe the word we're looking for is, anyway. Now who do I talk to at the university?"
"Our professor is Doctor Oliver," answered the wolf. The name sounded familiar but Blackstar shrugged it off. Shi thanked the two canines and went on hir way. Shi knew that shi'd get an earful from Nightrose when shi got back about not discussing jobs with her before accepting it, but shi could actually excuse this one as a reason for a test flight of the new engines.
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Blackstar walked over to the local university to take full advantage of the nice weather. It was rare weather in Sheboygan. It wasn't long before shi found the facility. Shi asked around till shi ran into a human, "excuse me sir. Do you know where I can find Professor Oliver?"
The young man, who shi assumed was one of the older students said, "Sure. If you follow me I'll take you right to him" After a few moments of silent walking the young man asked, "why are you looking for him anyway?"
"Well I overheard some of his students talking about him wanting to perform an experiment with them on Quenxel but didn't have the budget. So I offered my services," said Blackstar. "So what do you do?"
"I teach"
"You teach?" asked a surprised Blackstar.
"I teach the latest in cybernetic technology, but my students would rather watch vids. I've been working on quantum enhancer technology. Ah, here we are. This is Professor Oliver's office." They entered the dark office and looked around.
"Where is he?" asked Blackstar.
"Hang on," said the young man. He sat down on the chair behind the desk, and turned around in it three times. Just as Blackstar was about to ask him what he was doing he said, "Hello. I am Professor Oliver, what can I do for you?"
"You're just a little weird." Said Blackstar.
"Blackstar, I've heard about you and you crew, and of all people you should not be calling anyone weird." Blackstar had to admit that was true about most of the people that shi worked with. "And considering you're not a normal chakat you're the one people should be calling weird."
"How do you know so much about me? And what makes you think I'm not a normal Chakat?" asked Blackstar.
"I know that your "grandfather" was Starfox and that you carry many of hir genetic traits." Blackstar was becoming more suspicious by the second.
"I know my family history Dr. Oliver. I don't need you to recall it," Said Blackstar. "Now, let's get down to business."
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Two days later...
The Blitz team's newest ship, the MSS Mystic, was fully outfitted and ready to go by the time that Blackstar and Nightrose boarded her. Nightrose grinned, "I still can't believe what you tried to name the ship."
Blackstar innocently asked, "What's the problem with a patrol cruiser name Bob?" Nightrose shook her head in resignation. Blackstar was a good partner but shi could be such a silly Chakat. "Star Fleet let me name a planet George."
"That's because you discovered it. Besides Star Fleet wouldn't have to live on a ship named the MSS Bob like we would," explained Nightrose.
The Mystic's forward section was a long shaft with a saucer shape at the forward section that served as the command module and main living space. The farther back the shaft went the wider it was, with several custom designed phaser canon emplacements along it. At the end of the shaft was the engineering section. The engineering section contained fuel, the main warp core, and a hanger space. The hanger carried five one-man fighters called Blades as well as Blackstar's personal ship, the Midnight Star, when the occasion called for it. Extending from the engineering section were four "wings". These wings each held an additional mini-warp core and sub-light drive system. They all extended out to a point were the impulse engines were, and armed with beam cannons, a much more powerful version of standard phasers. Extended from there were a flexible arm that adjusted for maximum warp travel efficiency. The only real complaint Blackstar had about the Mystic was that it was not the most energy efficient ship. In full combat mode the Mystic was underpowered and had to rely on batteries for additional power. Sky estimated that the Mystic would last about a half-hour in one-on-one combat, before relying on reserve batteries.
"Well Nightrose, as punishment for disagreeing with your commanding officer you get to handle launching and all the paperwork," said Blackstar before shi ran off to the observation lounge. Nightrose was actually impressed. Blackstar was getting better with new way of giving her the horrible assignments and make it sound like it has legitimate reasons.
She reached the bridge and took a seat in the first officer's chair. The Captain's chair was taur-shaped and Nightrose still had bad memories of landing on her rump when using those. As with most bridges the command seats were at the center of the bridge, in this case they were on a raised platform giving their occupants a view of all station on the bridge. The three forward stations were normally used for, going from left to right, main sensor monitor, tactical, and helm. There were also stations behind the command seats but those were auxiliary stations, environmental controls, engineering, ect. At sensors was the new kid, a human named Neal Serge, about 17 years old. At helm was Trip, Blackstar's kid sister who despite being the youngest crew member shi was actually one of the more mature ones. After an uneventful launch and jump to warp speed the bridge crew joined the other crew members and some of the passengers in the observation lounge.
Blackstar was watching several of the crew and passengers playing a game of poker when shi noticed that Serge was just looking out a window. Shi walked over to where Serge was sitting and put hir head on his shoulder. He asked, "What are you doing sir?"
"Don't call me sir. We aren't in the military", said Blackstar, "I was looking for what was so interesting that you're sitting over hear instead of playing poker or talking to someone, or not sitting here doing nothing."
Serge looked uncomfortable with the chakat being so forward. "Well, I don't know any of them that well so I tend to avoid them. And I don't know how to play poker."
"Well how are you going to get to know any of them if you don't talk to them?" asked Blackstar. "If you really want to get to know people I got the perfect game. TWISTER!"
Less then half an hour later Blackstar, Nightrose, Serge, and Trip were a tangled mess. Sasha was caller and was amused at were Blackstar's nose had gotten. Nightrose simply said, "oh, oh" before a she made a very recognizable sound. Blackstar said, "It's nice to know some things stay the same in all species. Hey, Serge, what do you think of this crew now!"
"I think Star Fleet should adapt your methods for interrogation techniques," said Serge who was bent over backward, arching over Nightrose. "This was not mentioned when I signed on!"
"It could be worse," said Sasha, "Blackstar could have you playing strip poker like shi did when I signed up." The Rakshani did complain about that night but she had actually enjoyed it. That was when she began to like Blackstar as more then just a friend. She sometimes wished that she could give birth to Blackstar's child, or just caring a child period. Sasha had briefly been in Star Fleet until she had been injured in a training accident, the same accident that had cost her any future children. After that she had left Star Fleet and had been an independent mercenary until she ran into Blackstar who instantly saw her potential. Sasha was now the Blitz team's platoon commander. Of course under normal circumstances the platoon consisted of her and Blackstar, which was usually more then enough to defeat most pirates and slavers. "Okay, Serge, Left foot red."
The young human twisted his hip to move his leg to a red circle and touched it briefly before falling on top of Nightrose and they quickly degraded into a giant pile of limbs and fur. "Well that was fun," said Serge.
"Not if you were on the bottom," said Trip, who was unfortunate enough to be at the bottom.
Dr. Oliver who had watched the whole ordeal shook his head. Is this really the Blitz team I've heard so much about? How can anyone consider them a real threat? "Why don't you tell us why such a lovely Chakat like you became a pirate fighter?"
Blackstar took a seat in hir favorite taur-sized bean bag chair. "It's actually because of my father. He was a pirate fighter since he was a kid. He started out as a crew member aboard a ship called the FSS Angel Grove. He eventually began his own organization with his own ship, the FSS Eagle. Later on shi sold the Eagle to hir second in command, after acquiring the FSS Falcon. I grew up on that ship for most of my life before moving to Sheboygan back on Earth at age 15. Then at age 16 I tried entering the academy without my father's permission. When shi found out shi got me kicked out. Then by shear dumb luck I ran into one of my father's old crewmates, who offered me a job. So for about a year I worked as a defense force pilot for Tortuga Station. After I got enough money I started up the Blitz team. At first we only had the Midnight Star, but we soon expanded our operations. Our last ship, the Venture, was destroyed because Star Fleet intelligence screwed up. Star Fleet paid us enough for a new ship, and with some extra money I constructed the Mystic."
"So have you done anything, but fight pirates in your entire life?" asked Serge, who was now seated in a beanbag.
Blackstar thought about it, "yes, actually. When I lived in Sheboygan I did Illegal Street racing for a while. It's difficult to avoid the police since all PTV's are equipped with an AI, but we figured out how to bypass it. And then I was at Star Fleet academy for a while before my father screwed my life up."
"Wow, I didn't know you did anything illegal," said Serge.
Trip added, "Shi also smuggled when shi worked on Tortuga." Blackstar gave hir a dirty look. "And soon shi might also murder me for not knowing when to shut my mouth."
Blackstar tried to downplay it, "it was only a few times, and it wasn't technically illegal since the Federation had no authority in the sector at that time."
"Right," said Oliver, "so have you ever been caught doing this illegal stuff?"
"No," said Blackstar, "okay once. I called in a few favors, made a few deals so I got away with nothing on my official record."
"You're not a normal chakat are you?" asked Sasha.
Blackstar gave Sasha a skeptical look, "you've worked with me for two years and you're just figuring this out?"
"Well you're the only chakat I've known other then Trip," pointed out Sasha.
"I think it's because of my parents," said Blackstar, "my father didn't want me to join any military service because shi didn't want me to be 'a dog of the military'. Since I was raised on combat I naturally wanted to follow in my father's footsteps. I decided that Star Fleet would be the best way, but things didn't turn out that way."
"Well it could be worse," said Serge, "you could have been stuck with my parents." Blackstar gestured for him to continue, "My mother is a nymphomaniac/writer, and my father stars in a gay strip show in Vegas. I don't want to talk about it," said Serge, "How about you Trip. So you're small."
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Blackstar stopped on the bridge during hir rounds and noticed that Trip and Sky were arguing with Sasha. "I'm telling you there is no way that'll ever happen."
"You'll never know until you run the tactical simulator," said Trip.
Blackstar's curiosity got the best of hir again. "What are you guys discussing?"
Sky answered, "We're discussing the question as to which ship would win a fight, the Mystic or the FSS Pegasus."
Blackstar tried to recall what shi knew about the Pegasus. "That would be Kline's ship, correct?" Several nods confirmed this. "Then Pegasus hands down. Kline has several family members on board making him all that more determined to protect them. Including at least two wives that I know of and the child he had with each of them. Not to mention the Pegasus has almost double the weapons we have. Our only real advantage would be our small size and maneuverability. Not to mention we have limited battery power when in combat mode."
"A human with two wives?" asked Sky. Few humans hy knew would take multiple mates for some weird human reason.
Blackstar nodded, "A Caitien, a Rakshani and two Chakats. And he's had a child with each of them." Blackstar smiled at their surprised faces. It was understandable, after all, how often do you here about a human having children outside of his species. And the question of who would win in that battle was quickly decided, especially when a Captain bet against hir own ship. "So has anything interesting appeared on sensors?"
"No," said Sasha, "some denser then average nebulas, some stars with nothing noticeable about them. Oh, but there was another pirate attack on the frontier by a currently unidentified group. 15 fatalities, 7 serious injuries, and about 200,000 credits worth of cargo stolen."
"Great," said a sarcastic Blackstar. "Anything along our course?"
"Nothing worth," Sasha was interrupted by an alarm. "We're being pulled out of warp! A massive gravity field has forced us to drop to sublight." She checked her consol at tactical. "Three ships are closing from 10 o'clock, 12 o'clock, and 2 o'clock. Two of them are unknowns. The middle one is a cargo ship."
"Pirates," spat Blackstar. "All hands to battle stations!" An alarm sounded and Blackstar took hir seat in the center of the bridge.
Sky then reported a big problem, "I'm running a diagnostic on the weapon control systems. We're running on auxiliary combat systems. And those aren't running at peak efficiency yet."
"Well we'll just have to be a little sneaky." Sky quickly ran down to engineering, while Nightrose and Serge appeared on the bridge. "Alright. Here's the plan..."
On the bridge of the lead ship the human commander was enjoying how well his plan had worked. Soon one the most powerful ships in the sector would be his. Soon he would be able to rebel against the Federation. "Target life support and engines, but don't damage the critical systems."
The weapons officer arched an eyebrow, "how is life support not a critical system
"Sir, we're receiving a hail. From the Mystic," reported the communication officer. "They are offering their terms of surrender."
The captain was confused. "Open a channel," a white chakat appeared on the forward view screen. "Do you expect me to believe that we defeated you so easily?"
The Chakat replied, "You caught us off guard and our systems haven't been fully tested yet. Our shields were still in test mode. And our primary weapons control was going through a diagnostic. And you scored a lucky hit on our auxiliary systems. I'm surprised we lasted this long. I'm willing to offer you this ship in exchange for safe passage of my crew and passengers to the nearest Stellar Federation planet. Will this be acceptable?"
A human male appeared from the right side of the screen. He was talking very loudly with the Chakat, "you can't surrender the ship. They're pirates, the second they have the ship they'll kill all of us."
The Chakat rolled hir eyes, "well at least you'll be quite. Now get off my bridge before I stick a foot up your ass." The human ran off screen very quickly. "Sorry, about that. Feel free to kill that guy when you board the ship."
"Okay. Give a moment," he muted audio. "Sensor's, what is their status?" The sensor officer reported that the Mystic's weapons and shields were off line. He re-engaged audio, "we accept your terms. My support ships will board you from either side." This is almost too easy
"Very well." Shi cut the channel. Blackstar smiled to hirself, "that was almost too easy." When Serge reported that the two support ships were now docking with the port and starboard docking ports Blackstar gave the command to execute hir plan. "Looks like our new friend want to talk." Shi answered his hail, "is there a problem?"
"What have you done to my ships," demanded the human.
"What do you mean?" asked Blackstar in an innocent manner. "I handed you my ship. Oh, did I forget to mention my ship's counter measures. The Mystic has the latest in computer counter measure. When it detected a hostile computer interacting with it, well it took over your ship's computers."
"You will surrender and return control of my ships to their crews!" demanded the captain.
"You're not in any position to demand anything. You made a very basic mistake," explained Blackstar, "your support ships have the command codes for your ship. My sensor officer was able to infiltrate your ship's computers. Your ship is now under my control." Serge cleared his throat. "Under our control. I could destroy you with one command."
As Blackstar smiled in triumph the enemy captain checked with his officers. The human captain slammed his fists against his chair's armrests in frustration. When he was done having his, as Serge described it, his hissy fit, he surrendered his ship.
Since the Mystic was limited in her carrying abilities Blackstar called in Star Fleet and was surprised when an old friend showed up. Blackstar wasn't too surprised when shi found an older Caitian in the observation lounge. "Well, I must say that I'm surprised to see you on my ship. I thought you had other officers handle public relations," teased Blackstar.
"Well, I made an exception for you," replied the old Caitian. This Caitian was the Captain of the FSS Pathfinder, which was one of the first ships to respond to Blackstar's call, as well as a Fleet Admiral. Fleet Admiral V'Les has been quoted saying, "the pay for this rank barely compensates for the paper work." Despite V'Les being a Caitian she was the lifemate of Blackstar's grandfather, Starfox, and Blackstar occasionally called her Grandma despite the fact that she would be barely old enough to have a grandchild, and that she was currently childless. "I thought you might be interested in what your call for help sounded like backwards."
Blackstar rolled hir eyes. V'Les claimed that she was up to her eyeballs in paperwork yet she still had time to make these jokes. She hit a button on her PADD and Blackstar recognized hir voice calling Star Fleet for help followed by a much deeper voice saying, "you will give me the blood of 50 healthy young men and serve Satan for all time." Blackstar couldn't help laughing at the obvious joke. "I have played my messages backwards and I know I sound nothing like that."
"Forgive me Blackstar, I couldn't resist," said V'Les. "But in all seriousness, what are you going to do with your new little fleet." V'Les was referring to the slaver ships which now belonged to Blackstar.
Blackstar shrugged, "I haven't really thought about it. I could sell them for money, start my own transport company, or even convert them for combat duty." Blackstar honestly didn't know what shi was going to do with hir new fleet. "You know if Star Fleet hadn't kicked me out of the academy I would be in my fourth year, or at best serving as an ensign on a starship. But instead I'm the captain of my own pirate fighting ship, and a small fleet of cargo ships."
"That's because you have a problem with authority. You'd be spending a lot of your off duty time in the brig," said V'Les. Blackstar let it go because shi knew it was true.
V'Les said, "Could you send Nightrose to see me."
"Sure, no problem. But why?" asked Blackstar
"Oh, I just need to discuss a few things with her." Explained V'Les.
"Did she find your spy cam?"
"Now, Blackstar, we've discussed the moral repercussions of this before." Blackstar stared at V'Les for a full minute. "She actually hasn't found it yet. I want to know why she's off her game so far on this trip." Blackstar shook hir head at yet another one of V'Les's pathetic jokes. Or at least what shi hoped was a joke.
On hir way to the transporter room Blackstar stopped by Nightrose's quarters to tell her that V'Les was looking for her. Nightrose sighed. She knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. Nightrose walked down to the observation lounge. Before she could even say anything V'Les said, "You still haven't told hir have you?"
"No. Why do you care," asked Nightrose.
"Because shi deserves to know," said V'Les, "you guys are a team and you shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other."
"I'll tell her when I'm ready, now leave me alone," and with that Nightrose stormed out.
"Do I have to do everything myself?" V'Les asked out loud.
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Somewhere in deep space...
Faera groaned as she picked herself up of the deck of the Torrin. The injured felitaur turned her attention to what was left of the control console. "Computer, damage report." She recognized that her voice was dry, probably from the smoke being emitted from what was left of the sensor display console. The computer reported that all weapons were either disabled or out of ammunition and shields were no longer operational. "Computer, prepare to engage slipstream drive."
"Warning, enemy vessels are attached to the hull. Engaging warp drive will risk severe hull damage."
"Really? No kidding. Thanks," said Faera, "if I stay I'm dead, if I go I'm dead. Well, everyone has to die someday, and I'd rather go down fighting. Engage slipstream drive!"
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Sky was shaking hys head in dismay. This was the third time hy tried to explain the Skimmer drive to Dr. Oliver's students. "Okay. Think of it this way. Subspace and Hyperspace is like water and air respectively. Although travel in only hyperspace would be faster, it would also be more dangerous because it would be almost impossible to navigate. But we've created a skimmer like warp drive. Like a skimmer vehicle this new drive will skip along subspace, relatively speaking of course. There is a lot more to it then that, but that's the essential concept behind it."
One of the students, a Voxxan tod, asked, "But if your analogy is correct then a disruption in subspace could result in serious trouble."
Sky smiled. "A good observation. To prevent that problem we launch a modified probe to smooth out subspace in front of us. And if necessary we can modify our own deflector array to smooth out subspace. Despite the increased energy we can reach much higher speeds then with normal current warp drive technology with much less energy. However, Star Fleet is concerned that this 'experimental' drive is too dangerous to use on their ships. But it is easier then trying to figure out how to replicate the Midnight Star's slipstream drive or making it able to work on larger ships like the Mystic."
"Slipstream drive? What is that?" asked the Voxxan
Sky sighed, "I wish I knew. The only one who has any real idea about it is Blackstar, but shi has refused to reveal its secrets." Sky wanted to be the first engineer to replicate the Slipstream drive, the fastest known FTL drive in the federation. The Star could go from Quenxel to Earth in only three days if necessary, but Blackstar had only done that once. With that ability a ship could reach the Furrderation in less then a month instead of the half-year normally required by Star Fleet ships. However the Midnight Star was limited because of her small size with a maximum standard compliment of ten and an emergency load of thirty. To Sky's knowledge the drive was only limited by fuel. If stripped down and turned into what was basically a flying gas can Sky estimated that it could maintain the equivalent of warp 9.985 for twelve hours.
"Now if you could please follow me, we'll take you down to Quenxel," Sky led the group of students to the Geelong-class runabout. Blackstar had a tendency to name Blitz team ships after rivers, especially ones in Wisconsin. The current runabouts were named the Mullet after the Mullet River that flowed through Plymouth, and the West Twin. The West Twin was originally called the Kickapoo, but Serge kept laughing every time someone said it. As the runabout descended to the spaceport Sky noticed a familiar ship. Despite the extensive damage to the ship Sky recognized it as the Torrin. Hy didn't expect Faera to be in the area. Last hy heard was that Faera was running a route near Starbase 3. Oh, well. At least things would be interesting for a while if she was around.
Blackstar took the rest of the students to the surface in the Runabout Sheboygan and was walking through the spaceport when shi saw a familiar wolftaur. What is she doing here? Blackstar signaled to Nightrose and Serge to come over. "Do you see what I see?" Nightrose nodded, "what do you say to introduce ourselves?"
Nightrose shook her head. "Must you say lines that sound like they're from Serge's 20th century cartoon shows?"
"Well I do have a utility belt like those lame superheroes of his," said Blackstar indicating the multi-purpose belt around hir waist.
"Why are you two always bashing my cartoons?" asked Serge.
"I find his cartoons quite interesting actually", said a fourth voice. Nightrose and Serge whirled around to see who had spoken. "And it helps to prove that Serge is still immature."
"Are you saying that I'm immature Faera? After all, I enjoy those cartoons as well." asked Blackstar who still had hir back turned to the young felitaur. "And here I thought I had earned your respect. You know, after saving your life?"
"Why, I meant nothing of the sort," said Faera, "you know the bitch is going to run the instant she sees us. You and I can keep up with her, but I'm afraid your biped teammates won't be able to keep up. I recommend that they provide assistance from your runabout."
Nightrose glared at the felitaur. She didn't like the idea of leaving her partner alone, but had to admit that Faera had a point. She got close to Faera so that only she could hear, "you had better bring hir back alive, or not come back at all. Got it?" Faera nodded, "good. Because if you don't I'll hunt you down, kill you, and use you as a throw rug."
Faera nodded again. As Nightrose began returning to the Star, Faera shook her head. That Caitian was scary sometimes, even to a mercenary as experienced as her, when it came to her partner. Faera returned her attention to the old wolftaur bitch that she and Blackstar were about to take on. She noticed another taur talking to the old wolftaur for a minute before handing her something and leaving. From this angle, and the clothing of the taur Faera couldn't tell who it was. Faera shrugged it off.
Blackstar noticed it as well, and figured they would find out soon enough who it was, once they captured her. She was the only criminal that had evaded Blackstar more then five times. This wolftaur was Parishka, the mother of Snowfall, Blackstar's sister and Denmate. Parishka was also a wanted criminal, charged with, kidnapping, assault on officers of the law, assault on civilian and Star Fleet ships, and attempted piracy, among other things. It had all started two years ago when the old wolftaur's daughter ran away from home, and sought help from a team of mercenaries. It wasn't long before Blackstar began working on finding Snowfall's closest relative through a DNA test, only to learn that the two closest relatives were Stareye, hir father, and hirself. After attempting to negotiate some sort of solution with Parishka, she tried to kidnap her own daughter. After she was arrested, Parishka broke out of prison and began trying to get revenge on Blackstar for embarrassing her and for kidnapping her daughter, or so she claimed. It was after the first battle between the two that Star Fleet authorized Blackstar to apprehend Parishka by any means necessary.
Faera noticed that Blackstar was deep in thought, "are we going to sit on our tails all day or are we going to take that bitch down?"
Blackstar grinned, "So, we split the bounty fifty-fifty?" Faera nodded. "Then let's do it! You should take her from the opposite side. She'll be less likely to notice you, whereas she'll be on the look out for me." Faera agreed and began maneuvering to the opposite side of Parishka. While Parishka was deep in thought Faera and Blackstar approached her. "Parishka, you are under arrest on multiple charges of assault, kidnapping, arrest, and do I really need to tell you everything you already know about? Now surrender!"
The old wolftaur laughed, "Do you really think that you will succeed after you failed so many times that I've actually lost count. Although I must admit you have avoided my traps on many occasions. In fact you even seem to come out stronger then before. Perhaps I should finish this today. But to be honest I can't wait to show you what I have in store for you. Once you're dead, Snowfall will return to me."
Blackstar shook hir head, "Listen to yourself Parishka! You need help, you're mentally unstable. If anything, you causing my death would actually push hir farther away, assuming that's possible of course. I don't know what you did to make Snowfall so angry with you that shi would run away, but all you're doing is pushing hir farther away. If you really want hir to come back you should surrender."
Parishka shook her head, "no, no, no. You're lying. Those are all lies! You may have turned my daughter against me, but I'm not the only one who's been betrayed. You are foolish to trust a crew of mercenaries that'll do anything for money."
Blackstar could hardly hold hir temper in check. Hir crew would do a lot of things for money, but they would never do any illegal jobs. They might occasionally break laws but, usually there was a good reason behind it. "It doesn't matter. I'm still taking you down."
"No, I think not," said Parishka. "One, I have complete technical readouts for all the ships in your little fleet, and I will soon exploit their weaknesses. Two, you'll have to catch me first." Parishka ran away at full speed, and Blackstar and Faera gave chase.
The old wolftaur was just out of reach of the mercenary's reach, so Blackstar pulled out hir stunner, but Parishka took a pock shot and Blackstar lost hir grip, dropping the weapon. Dammit, thought Blackstar, I should have brought more fire power. Blackstar may not have had any weapons with hir anymore but there was more to hir then meet the eye. Shi put on an extra burst of speed and got ahead of Parishka and quickly cut hir off, bringing the chase to a dead stop. Before the old wolftaur could respond another grey blur was on her back with an arm around her neck. "It's over Parishka."
Parishka just laughed, "You're right. It is over, for you. Look were we're standing." Blackstar looked down and saw nothing but the people on lower levels. This entire section of flooring was made out of some type of glass. Parishka, struggling for breath, pulled out an odd looking device. "Good-bye, Blackstar."
She pressed the one button on the device, and it created a loud screeching sound. As a reflex Blackstar covered hir ears, but it did little good as the floor literally feel out from underneath hir. Time seemed to slow down as the two felines and the old wolftaur began to fall through the shattered floor. Faera couldn't believe that after everything she had done that she would die during a simple job of catching an old wolftaur. Her mind quickly went to all her unfinished projects, all her unachieved hopes and desires, and how she would never achieve them. As the ground rose up her world faded to blackness.
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Author's Notes: This story basically covers the basic background of the main characters, and introduces some secondary characters. Faera is the alter-ego of my best friend, and is a grey furred female felitaur. My own alter-ego is Blackstar, a white furred chakat with a black star-shaped fur patch on hir back, hence the name. Nightrose, is Blackstar's partner, the reason will be explained later. After all I can't explain everything now, then what reason would you have to read the rest of the story? Will Blackstar survive? Will the Blitz team capture Parishka? Will people stop making fun of Serge's cartoons? If Blackstar dies will the series be over? Find out next time on Blackstar's Adventure's!
Continued in Episode 2
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
Boyce Garald Kline Jr, Rosepetal, Zhane and family are copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr.
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know.
The adventures of Blackstar
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Blackstar the Chakat
- Banned
- Posts: 5594
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:53 pm
The adventures of Blackstar
Last edited by Sionnach Glic on Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Edited thread title to reflect that it's now all one thread.
Reason: Edited thread title to reflect that it's now all one thread.
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Blackstar the Chakat
- Banned
- Posts: 5594
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:53 pm
Adventures of Blackstar Chapter one
I write my own series based in the Chakat Universe. Much of the technology and technical portions are based off Star Trek, no point in reinventing the wheel. The first two chapters are pure crap in my opinion and I've thought about rewritting them. I'll let you guys read and enjoy the 5 chapters currently online. Here's the first one. Tell me what you think.
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter One: Traps
Blackstar was unusual, at least when compared to a human. Blackstar was a Chakat, which is to say a creature that looked like someone had taken a cat, cut off its head, and spliced in a humanoid torso to create something like a feline centaur. Shi has an almost completely white fur pattern, except for a black star shaped patch on hir back. Shi often wears a vest that covers the star patch, as well as a utility belt. Shi jokes that the belt is like a superhero's. Shi is unusually tall for a chakat at 5'10".
Blackstar was quite bored. Hir crew hadn't had a job in weeks. Shi hadn't even had a chance to take hir newly refitted ship out for a test run. The ship was provided to hir after hir last one was destroyed in a Star Fleet incident two months earlier. It was designed by hir and hir Skunktaur engineer, Sky, and was quite impressive for a private ship. Blackstar was head of a small security firm which shi had been building up slowly for over two years. Hir crew would provide escort for many freighter captains traveling through dangerous territory. The new ship was designed with this in mind and was capable of outrunning almost any civilian ship. The only exception Blackstar knew of was the Folly, an unusual cargo ship, but if the rumors were true Blackstar wouldn't need to escort it anyway. In fact shi was certain Sky had tried to steal some of hys ideas from the Folly's captain, with limited success. Sky was still angry about hys failed attempts at recreating something called a Zulu.
Out of boredom Blackstar decided to visit the closest thing to what shi considered to be hir hometown on Earth, a town averaging between 50 to 60 thousand people. This is why shi was at Memorial Mall that one fateful day. Shi was passing the mall's equivalent of a food court, which was little more then a pair of restaurants near the main entrance. Blackstar's excellent hearing overheard a group of collage students talking. "What are we going to do?" asked a vixen.
"I don't know", replied a female wolf, "there's no way we can raise up enough money. Where are we going to find a captain willing to go through pirate infested space on this kind of budget?" Blackstar looked around hoping to spot one of hir crew members trying to play a joke, but not one of them was in sight. Blackstar was actually surprised that shi didn't spot Nightrose, hir Caitian partner, who rarely left hir for extended periods of time. The wolf continued, "I mean it isn't like a Chakat is going to come up and ask, 'would you like a cheap ride to Quenxel?'"
Blackstar's sense of humor got the better of hir. Shi walked up to the table and asked, "Would you like a cheap ride to Quenxel?" The two canines looked at hir as if this was not something to be joked about. "I'm serious. I've needed a chance to give the engines on my ship a stretch. And I can do it cheaper then just about anyone. And we can carry a reasonable amount of cargo. Now mind filling me in on the details?"
The vixen replied, "Our professor wants to run an experiment but our university has a limited budget and can't send us to the only facility that can help us. It's on a backwater planet called..."
"I admit Quenxel is out of the way but I wouldn't call it a backwater planet," interrupted Blackstar. "And I've been looking for a decent excuse to visit my sister without my partner having a cow. Which would be impressive considering shi's a Caitian." After the looks shi got shi added, "I believe the word we're looking for is, anyway. Now who do I talk to at the university?"
"Our professor is Doctor Oliver," answered the wolf. The name sounded familiar but Blackstar shrugged it off. Shi thanked the two canines and went on hir way. Shi knew that shi'd get an earful from Nightrose when shi got back about not discussing jobs with her before accepting it, but shi could actually excuse this one as a reason for a test flight of the new engines.
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Blackstar walked over to the local university to take full advantage of the nice weather. It was rare weather in Sheboygan. It wasn't long before shi found the facility. Shi asked around till shi ran into a human, "excuse me sir. Do you know where I can find Professor Oliver?"
The young man, who shi assumed was one of the older students said, "Sure. If you follow me I'll take you right to him" After a few moments of silent walking the young man asked, "why are you looking for him anyway?"
"Well I overheard some of his students talking about him wanting to perform an experiment with them on Quenxel but didn't have the budget. So I offered my services," said Blackstar. "So what do you do?"
"I teach"
"You teach?" asked a surprised Blackstar.
"I teach the latest in cybernetic technology, but my students would rather watch vids. I've been working on quantum enhancer technology. Ah, here we are. This is Professor Oliver's office." They entered the dark office and looked around.
"Where is he?" asked Blackstar.
"Hang on," said the young man. He sat down on the chair behind the desk, and turned around in it three times. Just as Blackstar was about to ask him what he was doing he said, "Hello. I am Professor Oliver, what can I do for you?"
"You're just a little weird." Said Blackstar.
"Blackstar, I've heard about you and you crew, and of all people you should not be calling anyone weird." Blackstar had to admit that was true about most of the people that shi worked with. "And considering you're not a normal chakat you're the one people should be calling weird."
"How do you know so much about me? And what makes you think I'm not a normal Chakat?" asked Blackstar.
"I know that your "grandfather" was Starfox and that you carry many of hir genetic traits." Blackstar was becoming more suspicious by the second.
"I know my family history Dr. Oliver. I don't need you to recall it," Said Blackstar. "Now, let's get down to business."
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Two days later...
The Blitz team's newest ship, the MSS Mystic, was fully outfitted and ready to go by the time that Blackstar and Nightrose boarded her. Nightrose grinned, "I still can't believe what you tried to name the ship."
Blackstar innocently asked, "What's the problem with a patrol cruiser name Bob?" Nightrose shook her head in resignation. Blackstar was a good partner but shi could be such a silly Chakat. "Star Fleet let me name a planet George."
"That's because you discovered it. Besides Star Fleet wouldn't have to live on a ship named the MSS Bob like we would," explained Nightrose.
The Mystic's forward section was a long shaft with a saucer shape at the forward section that served as the command module and main living space. The farther back the shaft went the wider it was, with several custom designed phaser canon emplacements along it. At the end of the shaft was the engineering section. The engineering section contained fuel, the main warp core, and a hanger space. The hanger carried five one-man fighters called Blades as well as Blackstar's personal ship, the Midnight Star, when the occasion called for it. Extending from the engineering section were four "wings". These wings each held an additional mini-warp core and sub-light drive system. They all extended out to a point were the impulse engines were, and armed with beam cannons, a much more powerful version of standard phasers. Extended from there were a flexible arm that adjusted for maximum warp travel efficiency. The only real complaint Blackstar had about the Mystic was that it was not the most energy efficient ship. In full combat mode the Mystic was underpowered and had to rely on batteries for additional power. Sky estimated that the Mystic would last about a half-hour in one-on-one combat, before relying on reserve batteries.
"Well Nightrose, as punishment for disagreeing with your commanding officer you get to handle launching and all the paperwork," said Blackstar before shi ran off to the observation lounge. Nightrose was actually impressed. Blackstar was getting better with new way of giving her the horrible assignments and make it sound like it has legitimate reasons.
She reached the bridge and took a seat in the first officer's chair. The Captain's chair was taur-shaped and Nightrose still had bad memories of landing on her rump when using those. As with most bridges the command seats were at the center of the bridge, in this case they were on a raised platform giving their occupants a view of all station on the bridge. The three forward stations were normally used for, going from left to right, main sensor monitor, tactical, and helm. There were also stations behind the command seats but those were auxiliary stations, environmental controls, engineering, ect. At sensors was the new kid, a human named Neal Serge, about 17 years old. At helm was Trip, Blackstar's kid sister who despite being the youngest crew member shi was actually one of the more mature ones. After an uneventful launch and jump to warp speed the bridge crew joined the other crew members and some of the passengers in the observation lounge.
Blackstar was watching several of the crew and passengers playing a game of poker when shi noticed that Serge was just looking out a window. Shi walked over to where Serge was sitting and put hir head on his shoulder. He asked, "What are you doing sir?"
"Don't call me sir. We aren't in the military", said Blackstar, "I was looking for what was so interesting that you're sitting over hear instead of playing poker or talking to someone, or not sitting here doing nothing."
Serge looked uncomfortable with the chakat being so forward. "Well, I don't know any of them that well so I tend to avoid them. And I don't know how to play poker."
"Well how are you going to get to know any of them if you don't talk to them?" asked Blackstar. "If you really want to get to know people I got the perfect game. TWISTER!"
Less then half an hour later Blackstar, Nightrose, Serge, and Trip were a tangled mess. Sasha was caller and was amused at were Blackstar's nose had gotten. Nightrose simply said, "oh, oh" before a she made a very recognizable sound. Blackstar said, "It's nice to know some things stay the same in all species. Hey, Serge, what do you think of this crew now!"
"I think Star Fleet should adapt your methods for interrogation techniques," said Serge who was bent over backward, arching over Nightrose. "This was not mentioned when I signed on!"
"It could be worse," said Sasha, "Blackstar could have you playing strip poker like shi did when I signed up." The Rakshani did complain about that night but she had actually enjoyed it. That was when she began to like Blackstar as more then just a friend. She sometimes wished that she could give birth to Blackstar's child, or just caring a child period. Sasha had briefly been in Star Fleet until she had been injured in a training accident, the same accident that had cost her any future children. After that she had left Star Fleet and had been an independent mercenary until she ran into Blackstar who instantly saw her potential. Sasha was now the Blitz team's platoon commander. Of course under normal circumstances the platoon consisted of her and Blackstar, which was usually more then enough to defeat most pirates and slavers. "Okay, Serge, Left foot red."
The young human twisted his hip to move his leg to a red circle and touched it briefly before falling on top of Nightrose and they quickly degraded into a giant pile of limbs and fur. "Well that was fun," said Serge.
"Not if you were on the bottom," said Trip, who was unfortunate enough to be at the bottom.
Dr. Oliver who had watched the whole ordeal shook his head. Is this really the Blitz team I've heard so much about? How can anyone consider them a real threat? "Why don't you tell us why such a lovely Chakat like you became a pirate fighter?"
Blackstar took a seat in hir favorite taur-sized bean bag chair. "It's actually because of my father. He was a pirate fighter since he was a kid. He started out as a crew member aboard a ship called the FSS Angel Grove. He eventually began his own organization with his own ship, the FSS Eagle. Later on shi sold the Eagle to hir second in command, after acquiring the FSS Falcon. I grew up on that ship for most of my life before moving to Sheboygan back on Earth at age 15. Then at age 16 I tried entering the academy without my father's permission. When shi found out shi got me kicked out. Then by shear dumb luck I ran into one of my father's old crewmates, who offered me a job. So for about a year I worked as a defense force pilot for Tortuga Station. After I got enough money I started up the Blitz team. At first we only had the Midnight Star, but we soon expanded our operations. Our last ship, the Venture, was destroyed because Star Fleet intelligence screwed up. Star Fleet paid us enough for a new ship, and with some extra money I constructed the Mystic."
"So have you done anything, but fight pirates in your entire life?" asked Serge, who was now seated in a beanbag.
Blackstar thought about it, "yes, actually. When I lived in Sheboygan I did Illegal Street racing for a while. It's difficult to avoid the police since all PTV's are equipped with an AI, but we figured out how to bypass it. And then I was at Star Fleet academy for a while before my father screwed my life up."
"Wow, I didn't know you did anything illegal," said Serge.
Trip added, "Shi also smuggled when shi worked on Tortuga." Blackstar gave hir a dirty look. "And soon shi might also murder me for not knowing when to shut my mouth."
Blackstar tried to downplay it, "it was only a few times, and it wasn't technically illegal since the Federation had no authority in the sector at that time."
"Right," said Oliver, "so have you ever been caught doing this illegal stuff?"
"No," said Blackstar, "okay once. I called in a few favors, made a few deals so I got away with nothing on my official record."
"You're not a normal chakat are you?" asked Sasha.
Blackstar gave Sasha a skeptical look, "you've worked with me for two years and you're just figuring this out?"
"Well you're the only chakat I've known other then Trip," pointed out Sasha.
"I think it's because of my parents," said Blackstar, "my father didn't want me to join any military service because shi didn't want me to be 'a dog of the military'. Since I was raised on combat I naturally wanted to follow in my father's footsteps. I decided that Star Fleet would be the best way, but things didn't turn out that way."
"Well it could be worse," said Serge, "you could have been stuck with my parents." Blackstar gestured for him to continue, "My mother is a nymphomaniac/writer, and my father stars in a gay strip show in Vegas. I don't want to talk about it," said Serge, "How about you Trip. So you're small."
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Blackstar stopped on the bridge during hir rounds and noticed that Trip and Sky were arguing with Sasha. "I'm telling you there is no way that'll ever happen."
"You'll never know until you run the tactical simulator," said Trip.
Blackstar's curiosity got the best of hir again. "What are you guys discussing?"
Sky answered, "We're discussing the question as to which ship would win a fight, the Mystic or the FSS Pegasus."
Blackstar tried to recall what shi knew about the Pegasus. "That would be Kline's ship, correct?" Several nods confirmed this. "Then Pegasus hands down. Kline has several family members on board making him all that more determined to protect them. Including at least two wives that I know of and the child he had with each of them. Not to mention the Pegasus has almost double the weapons we have. Our only real advantage would be our small size and maneuverability. Not to mention we have limited battery power when in combat mode."
"A human with two wives?" asked Sky. Few humans hy knew would take multiple mates for some weird human reason.
Blackstar nodded, "A Caitien, a Rakshani and two Chakats. And he's had a child with each of them." Blackstar smiled at their surprised faces. It was understandable, after all, how often do you here about a human having children outside of his species. And the question of who would win in that battle was quickly decided, especially when a Captain bet against hir own ship. "So has anything interesting appeared on sensors?"
"No," said Sasha, "some denser then average nebulas, some stars with nothing noticeable about them. Oh, but there was another pirate attack on the frontier by a currently unidentified group. 15 fatalities, 7 serious injuries, and about 200,000 credits worth of cargo stolen."
"Great," said a sarcastic Blackstar. "Anything along our course?"
"Nothing worth," Sasha was interrupted by an alarm. "We're being pulled out of warp! A massive gravity field has forced us to drop to sublight." She checked her consol at tactical. "Three ships are closing from 10 o'clock, 12 o'clock, and 2 o'clock. Two of them are unknowns. The middle one is a cargo ship."
"Pirates," spat Blackstar. "All hands to battle stations!" An alarm sounded and Blackstar took hir seat in the center of the bridge.
Sky then reported a big problem, "I'm running a diagnostic on the weapon control systems. We're running on auxiliary combat systems. And those aren't running at peak efficiency yet."
"Well we'll just have to be a little sneaky." Sky quickly ran down to engineering, while Nightrose and Serge appeared on the bridge. "Alright. Here's the plan..."
On the bridge of the lead ship the human commander was enjoying how well his plan had worked. Soon one the most powerful ships in the sector would be his. Soon he would be able to rebel against the Federation. "Target life support and engines, but don't damage the critical systems."
The weapons officer arched an eyebrow, "how is life support not a critical system
"Sir, we're receiving a hail. From the Mystic," reported the communication officer. "They are offering their terms of surrender."
The captain was confused. "Open a channel," a white chakat appeared on the forward view screen. "Do you expect me to believe that we defeated you so easily?"
The Chakat replied, "You caught us off guard and our systems haven't been fully tested yet. Our shields were still in test mode. And our primary weapons control was going through a diagnostic. And you scored a lucky hit on our auxiliary systems. I'm surprised we lasted this long. I'm willing to offer you this ship in exchange for safe passage of my crew and passengers to the nearest Stellar Federation planet. Will this be acceptable?"
A human male appeared from the right side of the screen. He was talking very loudly with the Chakat, "you can't surrender the ship. They're pirates, the second they have the ship they'll kill all of us."
The Chakat rolled hir eyes, "well at least you'll be quite. Now get off my bridge before I stick a foot up your ass." The human ran off screen very quickly. "Sorry, about that. Feel free to kill that guy when you board the ship."
"Okay. Give a moment," he muted audio. "Sensor's, what is their status?" The sensor officer reported that the Mystic's weapons and shields were off line. He re-engaged audio, "we accept your terms. My support ships will board you from either side." This is almost too easy
"Very well." Shi cut the channel. Blackstar smiled to hirself, "that was almost too easy." When Serge reported that the two support ships were now docking with the port and starboard docking ports Blackstar gave the command to execute hir plan. "Looks like our new friend want to talk." Shi answered his hail, "is there a problem?"
"What have you done to my ships," demanded the human.
"What do you mean?" asked Blackstar in an innocent manner. "I handed you my ship. Oh, did I forget to mention my ship's counter measures. The Mystic has the latest in computer counter measure. When it detected a hostile computer interacting with it, well it took over your ship's computers."
"You will surrender and return control of my ships to their crews!" demanded the captain.
"You're not in any position to demand anything. You made a very basic mistake," explained Blackstar, "your support ships have the command codes for your ship. My sensor officer was able to infiltrate your ship's computers. Your ship is now under my control." Serge cleared his throat. "Under our control. I could destroy you with one command."
As Blackstar smiled in triumph the enemy captain checked with his officers. The human captain slammed his fists against his chair's armrests in frustration. When he was done having his, as Serge described it, his hissy fit, he surrendered his ship.
Since the Mystic was limited in her carrying abilities Blackstar called in Star Fleet and was surprised when an old friend showed up. Blackstar wasn't too surprised when shi found an older Caitian in the observation lounge. "Well, I must say that I'm surprised to see you on my ship. I thought you had other officers handle public relations," teased Blackstar.
"Well, I made an exception for you," replied the old Caitian. This Caitian was the Captain of the FSS Pathfinder, which was one of the first ships to respond to Blackstar's call, as well as a Fleet Admiral. Fleet Admiral V'Les has been quoted saying, "the pay for this rank barely compensates for the paper work." Despite V'Les being a Caitian she was the lifemate of Blackstar's grandfather, Starfox, and Blackstar occasionally called her Grandma despite the fact that she would be barely old enough to have a grandchild, and that she was currently childless. "I thought you might be interested in what your call for help sounded like backwards."
Blackstar rolled hir eyes. V'Les claimed that she was up to her eyeballs in paperwork yet she still had time to make these jokes. She hit a button on her PADD and Blackstar recognized hir voice calling Star Fleet for help followed by a much deeper voice saying, "you will give me the blood of 50 healthy young men and serve Satan for all time." Blackstar couldn't help laughing at the obvious joke. "I have played my messages backwards and I know I sound nothing like that."
"Forgive me Blackstar, I couldn't resist," said V'Les. "But in all seriousness, what are you going to do with your new little fleet." V'Les was referring to the slaver ships which now belonged to Blackstar.
Blackstar shrugged, "I haven't really thought about it. I could sell them for money, start my own transport company, or even convert them for combat duty." Blackstar honestly didn't know what shi was going to do with hir new fleet. "You know if Star Fleet hadn't kicked me out of the academy I would be in my fourth year, or at best serving as an ensign on a starship. But instead I'm the captain of my own pirate fighting ship, and a small fleet of cargo ships."
"That's because you have a problem with authority. You'd be spending a lot of your off duty time in the brig," said V'Les. Blackstar let it go because shi knew it was true.
V'Les said, "Could you send Nightrose to see me."
"Sure, no problem. But why?" asked Blackstar
"Oh, I just need to discuss a few things with her." Explained V'Les.
"Did she find your spy cam?"
"Now, Blackstar, we've discussed the moral repercussions of this before." Blackstar stared at V'Les for a full minute. "She actually hasn't found it yet. I want to know why she's off her game so far on this trip." Blackstar shook hir head at yet another one of V'Les's pathetic jokes. Or at least what shi hoped was a joke.
On hir way to the transporter room Blackstar stopped by Nightrose's quarters to tell her that V'Les was looking for her. Nightrose sighed. She knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. Nightrose walked down to the observation lounge. Before she could even say anything V'Les said, "You still haven't told hir have you?"
"No. Why do you care," asked Nightrose.
"Because shi deserves to know," said V'Les, "you guys are a team and you shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other."
"I'll tell her when I'm ready, now leave me alone," and with that Nightrose stormed out.
"Do I have to do everything myself?" V'Les asked out loud.
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Somewhere in deep space...
Faera groaned as she picked herself up of the deck of the Torrin. The injured felitaur turned her attention to what was left of the control console. "Computer, damage report." She recognized that her voice was dry, probably from the smoke being emitted from what was left of the sensor display console. The computer reported that all weapons were either disabled or out of ammunition and shields were no longer operational. "Computer, prepare to engage slipstream drive."
"Warning, enemy vessels are attached to the hull. Engaging warp drive will risk severe hull damage."
"Really? No kidding. Thanks," said Faera, "if I stay I'm dead, if I go I'm dead. Well, everyone has to die someday, and I'd rather go down fighting. Engage slipstream drive!"
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Sky was shaking hys head in dismay. This was the third time hy tried to explain the Skimmer drive to Dr. Oliver's students. "Okay. Think of it this way. Subspace and Hyperspace is like water and air respectively. Although travel in only hyperspace would be faster, it would also be more dangerous because it would be almost impossible to navigate. But we've created a skimmer like warp drive. Like a skimmer vehicle this new drive will skip along subspace, relatively speaking of course. There is a lot more to it then that, but that's the essential concept behind it."
One of the students, a Voxxan tod, asked, "But if your analogy is correct then a disruption in subspace could result in serious trouble."
Sky smiled. "A good observation. To prevent that problem we launch a modified probe to smooth out subspace in front of us. And if necessary we can modify our own deflector array to smooth out subspace. Despite the increased energy we can reach much higher speeds then with normal current warp drive technology with much less energy. However, Star Fleet is concerned that this 'experimental' drive is too dangerous to use on their ships. But it is easier then trying to figure out how to replicate the Midnight Star's slipstream drive or making it able to work on larger ships like the Mystic."
"Slipstream drive? What is that?" asked the Voxxan
Sky sighed, "I wish I knew. The only one who has any real idea about it is Blackstar, but shi has refused to reveal its secrets." Sky wanted to be the first engineer to replicate the Slipstream drive, the fastest known FTL drive in the federation. The Star could go from Quenxel to Earth in only three days if necessary, but Blackstar had only done that once. With that ability a ship could reach the Furrderation in less then a month instead of the half-year normally required by Star Fleet ships. However the Midnight Star was limited because of her small size with a maximum standard compliment of ten and an emergency load of thirty. To Sky's knowledge the drive was only limited by fuel. If stripped down and turned into what was basically a flying gas can Sky estimated that it could maintain the equivalent of warp 9.985 for twelve hours.
"Now if you could please follow me, we'll take you down to Quenxel," Sky led the group of students to the Geelong-class runabout. Blackstar had a tendency to name Blitz team ships after rivers, especially ones in Wisconsin. The current runabouts were named the Mullet after the Mullet River that flowed through Plymouth, and the West Twin. The West Twin was originally called the Kickapoo, but Serge kept laughing every time someone said it. As the runabout descended to the spaceport Sky noticed a familiar ship. Despite the extensive damage to the ship Sky recognized it as the Torrin. Hy didn't expect Faera to be in the area. Last hy heard was that Faera was running a route near Starbase 3. Oh, well. At least things would be interesting for a while if she was around.
Blackstar took the rest of the students to the surface in the Runabout Sheboygan and was walking through the spaceport when shi saw a familiar wolftaur. What is she doing here? Blackstar signaled to Nightrose and Serge to come over. "Do you see what I see?" Nightrose nodded, "what do you say to introduce ourselves?"
Nightrose shook her head. "Must you say lines that sound like they're from Serge's 20th century cartoon shows?"
"Well I do have a utility belt like those lame superheroes of his," said Blackstar indicating the multi-purpose belt around hir waist.
"Why are you two always bashing my cartoons?" asked Serge.
"I find his cartoons quite interesting actually", said a fourth voice. Nightrose and Serge whirled around to see who had spoken. "And it helps to prove that Serge is still immature."
"Are you saying that I'm immature Faera? After all, I enjoy those cartoons as well." asked Blackstar who still had hir back turned to the young felitaur. "And here I thought I had earned your respect. You know, after saving your life?"
"Why, I meant nothing of the sort," said Faera, "you know the bitch is going to run the instant she sees us. You and I can keep up with her, but I'm afraid your biped teammates won't be able to keep up. I recommend that they provide assistance from your runabout."
Nightrose glared at the felitaur. She didn't like the idea of leaving her partner alone, but had to admit that Faera had a point. She got close to Faera so that only she could hear, "you had better bring hir back alive, or not come back at all. Got it?" Faera nodded, "good. Because if you don't I'll hunt you down, kill you, and use you as a throw rug."
Faera nodded again. As Nightrose began returning to the Star, Faera shook her head. That Caitian was scary sometimes, even to a mercenary as experienced as her, when it came to her partner. Faera returned her attention to the old wolftaur bitch that she and Blackstar were about to take on. She noticed another taur talking to the old wolftaur for a minute before handing her something and leaving. From this angle, and the clothing of the taur Faera couldn't tell who it was. Faera shrugged it off.
Blackstar noticed it as well, and figured they would find out soon enough who it was, once they captured her. She was the only criminal that had evaded Blackstar more then five times. This wolftaur was Parishka, the mother of Snowfall, Blackstar's sister and Denmate. Parishka was also a wanted criminal, charged with, kidnapping, assault on officers of the law, assault on civilian and Star Fleet ships, and attempted piracy, among other things. It had all started two years ago when the old wolftaur's daughter ran away from home, and sought help from a team of mercenaries. It wasn't long before Blackstar began working on finding Snowfall's closest relative through a DNA test, only to learn that the two closest relatives were Stareye, hir father, and hirself. After attempting to negotiate some sort of solution with Parishka, she tried to kidnap her own daughter. After she was arrested, Parishka broke out of prison and began trying to get revenge on Blackstar for embarrassing her and for kidnapping her daughter, or so she claimed. It was after the first battle between the two that Star Fleet authorized Blackstar to apprehend Parishka by any means necessary.
Faera noticed that Blackstar was deep in thought, "are we going to sit on our tails all day or are we going to take that bitch down?"
Blackstar grinned, "So, we split the bounty fifty-fifty?" Faera nodded. "Then let's do it! You should take her from the opposite side. She'll be less likely to notice you, whereas she'll be on the look out for me." Faera agreed and began maneuvering to the opposite side of Parishka. While Parishka was deep in thought Faera and Blackstar approached her. "Parishka, you are under arrest on multiple charges of assault, kidnapping, arrest, and do I really need to tell you everything you already know about? Now surrender!"
The old wolftaur laughed, "Do you really think that you will succeed after you failed so many times that I've actually lost count. Although I must admit you have avoided my traps on many occasions. In fact you even seem to come out stronger then before. Perhaps I should finish this today. But to be honest I can't wait to show you what I have in store for you. Once you're dead, Snowfall will return to me."
Blackstar shook hir head, "Listen to yourself Parishka! You need help, you're mentally unstable. If anything, you causing my death would actually push hir farther away, assuming that's possible of course. I don't know what you did to make Snowfall so angry with you that shi would run away, but all you're doing is pushing hir farther away. If you really want hir to come back you should surrender."
Parishka shook her head, "no, no, no. You're lying. Those are all lies! You may have turned my daughter against me, but I'm not the only one who's been betrayed. You are foolish to trust a crew of mercenaries that'll do anything for money."
Blackstar could hardly hold hir temper in check. Hir crew would do a lot of things for money, but they would never do any illegal jobs. They might occasionally break laws but, usually there was a good reason behind it. "It doesn't matter. I'm still taking you down."
"No, I think not," said Parishka. "One, I have complete technical readouts for all the ships in your little fleet, and I will soon exploit their weaknesses. Two, you'll have to catch me first." Parishka ran away at full speed, and Blackstar and Faera gave chase.
The old wolftaur was just out of reach of the mercenary's reach, so Blackstar pulled out hir stunner, but Parishka took a pock shot and Blackstar lost hir grip, dropping the weapon. Dammit, thought Blackstar, I should have brought more fire power. Blackstar may not have had any weapons with hir anymore but there was more to hir then meet the eye. Shi put on an extra burst of speed and got ahead of Parishka and quickly cut hir off, bringing the chase to a dead stop. Before the old wolftaur could respond another grey blur was on her back with an arm around her neck. "It's over Parishka."
Parishka just laughed, "You're right. It is over, for you. Look were we're standing." Blackstar looked down and saw nothing but the people on lower levels. This entire section of flooring was made out of some type of glass. Parishka, struggling for breath, pulled out an odd looking device. "Good-bye, Blackstar."
She pressed the one button on the device, and it created a loud screeching sound. As a reflex Blackstar covered hir ears, but it did little good as the floor literally feel out from underneath hir. Time seemed to slow down as the two felines and the old wolftaur began to fall through the shattered floor. Faera couldn't believe that after everything she had done that she would die during a simple job of catching an old wolftaur. Her mind quickly went to all her unfinished projects, all her unachieved hopes and desires, and how she would never achieve them. As the ground rose up her world faded to blackness.
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Author's Notes: This story basically covers the basic background of the main characters, and introduces some secondary characters. Faera is the alter-ego of my best friend, and is a grey furred female felitaur. My own alter-ego is Blackstar, a white furred chakat with a black star-shaped fur patch on hir back, hence the name. Nightrose, is Blackstar's partner, the reason will be explained later. After all I can't explain everything now, then what reason would you have to read the rest of the story? Will Blackstar survive? Will the Blitz team capture Parishka? Will people stop making fun of Serge's cartoons? If Blackstar dies will the series be over? Find out next time on Blackstar's Adventure's!
Continued in Episode 2
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
Boyce Garald Kline Jr, Rosepetal, Zhane and family are copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr.
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know.
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter One: Traps
Blackstar was unusual, at least when compared to a human. Blackstar was a Chakat, which is to say a creature that looked like someone had taken a cat, cut off its head, and spliced in a humanoid torso to create something like a feline centaur. Shi has an almost completely white fur pattern, except for a black star shaped patch on hir back. Shi often wears a vest that covers the star patch, as well as a utility belt. Shi jokes that the belt is like a superhero's. Shi is unusually tall for a chakat at 5'10".
Blackstar was quite bored. Hir crew hadn't had a job in weeks. Shi hadn't even had a chance to take hir newly refitted ship out for a test run. The ship was provided to hir after hir last one was destroyed in a Star Fleet incident two months earlier. It was designed by hir and hir Skunktaur engineer, Sky, and was quite impressive for a private ship. Blackstar was head of a small security firm which shi had been building up slowly for over two years. Hir crew would provide escort for many freighter captains traveling through dangerous territory. The new ship was designed with this in mind and was capable of outrunning almost any civilian ship. The only exception Blackstar knew of was the Folly, an unusual cargo ship, but if the rumors were true Blackstar wouldn't need to escort it anyway. In fact shi was certain Sky had tried to steal some of hys ideas from the Folly's captain, with limited success. Sky was still angry about hys failed attempts at recreating something called a Zulu.
Out of boredom Blackstar decided to visit the closest thing to what shi considered to be hir hometown on Earth, a town averaging between 50 to 60 thousand people. This is why shi was at Memorial Mall that one fateful day. Shi was passing the mall's equivalent of a food court, which was little more then a pair of restaurants near the main entrance. Blackstar's excellent hearing overheard a group of collage students talking. "What are we going to do?" asked a vixen.
"I don't know", replied a female wolf, "there's no way we can raise up enough money. Where are we going to find a captain willing to go through pirate infested space on this kind of budget?" Blackstar looked around hoping to spot one of hir crew members trying to play a joke, but not one of them was in sight. Blackstar was actually surprised that shi didn't spot Nightrose, hir Caitian partner, who rarely left hir for extended periods of time. The wolf continued, "I mean it isn't like a Chakat is going to come up and ask, 'would you like a cheap ride to Quenxel?'"
Blackstar's sense of humor got the better of hir. Shi walked up to the table and asked, "Would you like a cheap ride to Quenxel?" The two canines looked at hir as if this was not something to be joked about. "I'm serious. I've needed a chance to give the engines on my ship a stretch. And I can do it cheaper then just about anyone. And we can carry a reasonable amount of cargo. Now mind filling me in on the details?"
The vixen replied, "Our professor wants to run an experiment but our university has a limited budget and can't send us to the only facility that can help us. It's on a backwater planet called..."
"I admit Quenxel is out of the way but I wouldn't call it a backwater planet," interrupted Blackstar. "And I've been looking for a decent excuse to visit my sister without my partner having a cow. Which would be impressive considering shi's a Caitian." After the looks shi got shi added, "I believe the word we're looking for is, anyway. Now who do I talk to at the university?"
"Our professor is Doctor Oliver," answered the wolf. The name sounded familiar but Blackstar shrugged it off. Shi thanked the two canines and went on hir way. Shi knew that shi'd get an earful from Nightrose when shi got back about not discussing jobs with her before accepting it, but shi could actually excuse this one as a reason for a test flight of the new engines.
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Blackstar walked over to the local university to take full advantage of the nice weather. It was rare weather in Sheboygan. It wasn't long before shi found the facility. Shi asked around till shi ran into a human, "excuse me sir. Do you know where I can find Professor Oliver?"
The young man, who shi assumed was one of the older students said, "Sure. If you follow me I'll take you right to him" After a few moments of silent walking the young man asked, "why are you looking for him anyway?"
"Well I overheard some of his students talking about him wanting to perform an experiment with them on Quenxel but didn't have the budget. So I offered my services," said Blackstar. "So what do you do?"
"I teach"
"You teach?" asked a surprised Blackstar.
"I teach the latest in cybernetic technology, but my students would rather watch vids. I've been working on quantum enhancer technology. Ah, here we are. This is Professor Oliver's office." They entered the dark office and looked around.
"Where is he?" asked Blackstar.
"Hang on," said the young man. He sat down on the chair behind the desk, and turned around in it three times. Just as Blackstar was about to ask him what he was doing he said, "Hello. I am Professor Oliver, what can I do for you?"
"You're just a little weird." Said Blackstar.
"Blackstar, I've heard about you and you crew, and of all people you should not be calling anyone weird." Blackstar had to admit that was true about most of the people that shi worked with. "And considering you're not a normal chakat you're the one people should be calling weird."
"How do you know so much about me? And what makes you think I'm not a normal Chakat?" asked Blackstar.
"I know that your "grandfather" was Starfox and that you carry many of hir genetic traits." Blackstar was becoming more suspicious by the second.
"I know my family history Dr. Oliver. I don't need you to recall it," Said Blackstar. "Now, let's get down to business."
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Two days later...
The Blitz team's newest ship, the MSS Mystic, was fully outfitted and ready to go by the time that Blackstar and Nightrose boarded her. Nightrose grinned, "I still can't believe what you tried to name the ship."
Blackstar innocently asked, "What's the problem with a patrol cruiser name Bob?" Nightrose shook her head in resignation. Blackstar was a good partner but shi could be such a silly Chakat. "Star Fleet let me name a planet George."
"That's because you discovered it. Besides Star Fleet wouldn't have to live on a ship named the MSS Bob like we would," explained Nightrose.
The Mystic's forward section was a long shaft with a saucer shape at the forward section that served as the command module and main living space. The farther back the shaft went the wider it was, with several custom designed phaser canon emplacements along it. At the end of the shaft was the engineering section. The engineering section contained fuel, the main warp core, and a hanger space. The hanger carried five one-man fighters called Blades as well as Blackstar's personal ship, the Midnight Star, when the occasion called for it. Extending from the engineering section were four "wings". These wings each held an additional mini-warp core and sub-light drive system. They all extended out to a point were the impulse engines were, and armed with beam cannons, a much more powerful version of standard phasers. Extended from there were a flexible arm that adjusted for maximum warp travel efficiency. The only real complaint Blackstar had about the Mystic was that it was not the most energy efficient ship. In full combat mode the Mystic was underpowered and had to rely on batteries for additional power. Sky estimated that the Mystic would last about a half-hour in one-on-one combat, before relying on reserve batteries.
"Well Nightrose, as punishment for disagreeing with your commanding officer you get to handle launching and all the paperwork," said Blackstar before shi ran off to the observation lounge. Nightrose was actually impressed. Blackstar was getting better with new way of giving her the horrible assignments and make it sound like it has legitimate reasons.
She reached the bridge and took a seat in the first officer's chair. The Captain's chair was taur-shaped and Nightrose still had bad memories of landing on her rump when using those. As with most bridges the command seats were at the center of the bridge, in this case they were on a raised platform giving their occupants a view of all station on the bridge. The three forward stations were normally used for, going from left to right, main sensor monitor, tactical, and helm. There were also stations behind the command seats but those were auxiliary stations, environmental controls, engineering, ect. At sensors was the new kid, a human named Neal Serge, about 17 years old. At helm was Trip, Blackstar's kid sister who despite being the youngest crew member shi was actually one of the more mature ones. After an uneventful launch and jump to warp speed the bridge crew joined the other crew members and some of the passengers in the observation lounge.
Blackstar was watching several of the crew and passengers playing a game of poker when shi noticed that Serge was just looking out a window. Shi walked over to where Serge was sitting and put hir head on his shoulder. He asked, "What are you doing sir?"
"Don't call me sir. We aren't in the military", said Blackstar, "I was looking for what was so interesting that you're sitting over hear instead of playing poker or talking to someone, or not sitting here doing nothing."
Serge looked uncomfortable with the chakat being so forward. "Well, I don't know any of them that well so I tend to avoid them. And I don't know how to play poker."
"Well how are you going to get to know any of them if you don't talk to them?" asked Blackstar. "If you really want to get to know people I got the perfect game. TWISTER!"
Less then half an hour later Blackstar, Nightrose, Serge, and Trip were a tangled mess. Sasha was caller and was amused at were Blackstar's nose had gotten. Nightrose simply said, "oh, oh" before a she made a very recognizable sound. Blackstar said, "It's nice to know some things stay the same in all species. Hey, Serge, what do you think of this crew now!"
"I think Star Fleet should adapt your methods for interrogation techniques," said Serge who was bent over backward, arching over Nightrose. "This was not mentioned when I signed on!"
"It could be worse," said Sasha, "Blackstar could have you playing strip poker like shi did when I signed up." The Rakshani did complain about that night but she had actually enjoyed it. That was when she began to like Blackstar as more then just a friend. She sometimes wished that she could give birth to Blackstar's child, or just caring a child period. Sasha had briefly been in Star Fleet until she had been injured in a training accident, the same accident that had cost her any future children. After that she had left Star Fleet and had been an independent mercenary until she ran into Blackstar who instantly saw her potential. Sasha was now the Blitz team's platoon commander. Of course under normal circumstances the platoon consisted of her and Blackstar, which was usually more then enough to defeat most pirates and slavers. "Okay, Serge, Left foot red."
The young human twisted his hip to move his leg to a red circle and touched it briefly before falling on top of Nightrose and they quickly degraded into a giant pile of limbs and fur. "Well that was fun," said Serge.
"Not if you were on the bottom," said Trip, who was unfortunate enough to be at the bottom.
Dr. Oliver who had watched the whole ordeal shook his head. Is this really the Blitz team I've heard so much about? How can anyone consider them a real threat? "Why don't you tell us why such a lovely Chakat like you became a pirate fighter?"
Blackstar took a seat in hir favorite taur-sized bean bag chair. "It's actually because of my father. He was a pirate fighter since he was a kid. He started out as a crew member aboard a ship called the FSS Angel Grove. He eventually began his own organization with his own ship, the FSS Eagle. Later on shi sold the Eagle to hir second in command, after acquiring the FSS Falcon. I grew up on that ship for most of my life before moving to Sheboygan back on Earth at age 15. Then at age 16 I tried entering the academy without my father's permission. When shi found out shi got me kicked out. Then by shear dumb luck I ran into one of my father's old crewmates, who offered me a job. So for about a year I worked as a defense force pilot for Tortuga Station. After I got enough money I started up the Blitz team. At first we only had the Midnight Star, but we soon expanded our operations. Our last ship, the Venture, was destroyed because Star Fleet intelligence screwed up. Star Fleet paid us enough for a new ship, and with some extra money I constructed the Mystic."
"So have you done anything, but fight pirates in your entire life?" asked Serge, who was now seated in a beanbag.
Blackstar thought about it, "yes, actually. When I lived in Sheboygan I did Illegal Street racing for a while. It's difficult to avoid the police since all PTV's are equipped with an AI, but we figured out how to bypass it. And then I was at Star Fleet academy for a while before my father screwed my life up."
"Wow, I didn't know you did anything illegal," said Serge.
Trip added, "Shi also smuggled when shi worked on Tortuga." Blackstar gave hir a dirty look. "And soon shi might also murder me for not knowing when to shut my mouth."
Blackstar tried to downplay it, "it was only a few times, and it wasn't technically illegal since the Federation had no authority in the sector at that time."
"Right," said Oliver, "so have you ever been caught doing this illegal stuff?"
"No," said Blackstar, "okay once. I called in a few favors, made a few deals so I got away with nothing on my official record."
"You're not a normal chakat are you?" asked Sasha.
Blackstar gave Sasha a skeptical look, "you've worked with me for two years and you're just figuring this out?"
"Well you're the only chakat I've known other then Trip," pointed out Sasha.
"I think it's because of my parents," said Blackstar, "my father didn't want me to join any military service because shi didn't want me to be 'a dog of the military'. Since I was raised on combat I naturally wanted to follow in my father's footsteps. I decided that Star Fleet would be the best way, but things didn't turn out that way."
"Well it could be worse," said Serge, "you could have been stuck with my parents." Blackstar gestured for him to continue, "My mother is a nymphomaniac/writer, and my father stars in a gay strip show in Vegas. I don't want to talk about it," said Serge, "How about you Trip. So you're small."
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Blackstar stopped on the bridge during hir rounds and noticed that Trip and Sky were arguing with Sasha. "I'm telling you there is no way that'll ever happen."
"You'll never know until you run the tactical simulator," said Trip.
Blackstar's curiosity got the best of hir again. "What are you guys discussing?"
Sky answered, "We're discussing the question as to which ship would win a fight, the Mystic or the FSS Pegasus."
Blackstar tried to recall what shi knew about the Pegasus. "That would be Kline's ship, correct?" Several nods confirmed this. "Then Pegasus hands down. Kline has several family members on board making him all that more determined to protect them. Including at least two wives that I know of and the child he had with each of them. Not to mention the Pegasus has almost double the weapons we have. Our only real advantage would be our small size and maneuverability. Not to mention we have limited battery power when in combat mode."
"A human with two wives?" asked Sky. Few humans hy knew would take multiple mates for some weird human reason.
Blackstar nodded, "A Caitien, a Rakshani and two Chakats. And he's had a child with each of them." Blackstar smiled at their surprised faces. It was understandable, after all, how often do you here about a human having children outside of his species. And the question of who would win in that battle was quickly decided, especially when a Captain bet against hir own ship. "So has anything interesting appeared on sensors?"
"No," said Sasha, "some denser then average nebulas, some stars with nothing noticeable about them. Oh, but there was another pirate attack on the frontier by a currently unidentified group. 15 fatalities, 7 serious injuries, and about 200,000 credits worth of cargo stolen."
"Great," said a sarcastic Blackstar. "Anything along our course?"
"Nothing worth," Sasha was interrupted by an alarm. "We're being pulled out of warp! A massive gravity field has forced us to drop to sublight." She checked her consol at tactical. "Three ships are closing from 10 o'clock, 12 o'clock, and 2 o'clock. Two of them are unknowns. The middle one is a cargo ship."
"Pirates," spat Blackstar. "All hands to battle stations!" An alarm sounded and Blackstar took hir seat in the center of the bridge.
Sky then reported a big problem, "I'm running a diagnostic on the weapon control systems. We're running on auxiliary combat systems. And those aren't running at peak efficiency yet."
"Well we'll just have to be a little sneaky." Sky quickly ran down to engineering, while Nightrose and Serge appeared on the bridge. "Alright. Here's the plan..."
On the bridge of the lead ship the human commander was enjoying how well his plan had worked. Soon one the most powerful ships in the sector would be his. Soon he would be able to rebel against the Federation. "Target life support and engines, but don't damage the critical systems."
The weapons officer arched an eyebrow, "how is life support not a critical system
"Sir, we're receiving a hail. From the Mystic," reported the communication officer. "They are offering their terms of surrender."
The captain was confused. "Open a channel," a white chakat appeared on the forward view screen. "Do you expect me to believe that we defeated you so easily?"
The Chakat replied, "You caught us off guard and our systems haven't been fully tested yet. Our shields were still in test mode. And our primary weapons control was going through a diagnostic. And you scored a lucky hit on our auxiliary systems. I'm surprised we lasted this long. I'm willing to offer you this ship in exchange for safe passage of my crew and passengers to the nearest Stellar Federation planet. Will this be acceptable?"
A human male appeared from the right side of the screen. He was talking very loudly with the Chakat, "you can't surrender the ship. They're pirates, the second they have the ship they'll kill all of us."
The Chakat rolled hir eyes, "well at least you'll be quite. Now get off my bridge before I stick a foot up your ass." The human ran off screen very quickly. "Sorry, about that. Feel free to kill that guy when you board the ship."
"Okay. Give a moment," he muted audio. "Sensor's, what is their status?" The sensor officer reported that the Mystic's weapons and shields were off line. He re-engaged audio, "we accept your terms. My support ships will board you from either side." This is almost too easy
"Very well." Shi cut the channel. Blackstar smiled to hirself, "that was almost too easy." When Serge reported that the two support ships were now docking with the port and starboard docking ports Blackstar gave the command to execute hir plan. "Looks like our new friend want to talk." Shi answered his hail, "is there a problem?"
"What have you done to my ships," demanded the human.
"What do you mean?" asked Blackstar in an innocent manner. "I handed you my ship. Oh, did I forget to mention my ship's counter measures. The Mystic has the latest in computer counter measure. When it detected a hostile computer interacting with it, well it took over your ship's computers."
"You will surrender and return control of my ships to their crews!" demanded the captain.
"You're not in any position to demand anything. You made a very basic mistake," explained Blackstar, "your support ships have the command codes for your ship. My sensor officer was able to infiltrate your ship's computers. Your ship is now under my control." Serge cleared his throat. "Under our control. I could destroy you with one command."
As Blackstar smiled in triumph the enemy captain checked with his officers. The human captain slammed his fists against his chair's armrests in frustration. When he was done having his, as Serge described it, his hissy fit, he surrendered his ship.
Since the Mystic was limited in her carrying abilities Blackstar called in Star Fleet and was surprised when an old friend showed up. Blackstar wasn't too surprised when shi found an older Caitian in the observation lounge. "Well, I must say that I'm surprised to see you on my ship. I thought you had other officers handle public relations," teased Blackstar.
"Well, I made an exception for you," replied the old Caitian. This Caitian was the Captain of the FSS Pathfinder, which was one of the first ships to respond to Blackstar's call, as well as a Fleet Admiral. Fleet Admiral V'Les has been quoted saying, "the pay for this rank barely compensates for the paper work." Despite V'Les being a Caitian she was the lifemate of Blackstar's grandfather, Starfox, and Blackstar occasionally called her Grandma despite the fact that she would be barely old enough to have a grandchild, and that she was currently childless. "I thought you might be interested in what your call for help sounded like backwards."
Blackstar rolled hir eyes. V'Les claimed that she was up to her eyeballs in paperwork yet she still had time to make these jokes. She hit a button on her PADD and Blackstar recognized hir voice calling Star Fleet for help followed by a much deeper voice saying, "you will give me the blood of 50 healthy young men and serve Satan for all time." Blackstar couldn't help laughing at the obvious joke. "I have played my messages backwards and I know I sound nothing like that."
"Forgive me Blackstar, I couldn't resist," said V'Les. "But in all seriousness, what are you going to do with your new little fleet." V'Les was referring to the slaver ships which now belonged to Blackstar.
Blackstar shrugged, "I haven't really thought about it. I could sell them for money, start my own transport company, or even convert them for combat duty." Blackstar honestly didn't know what shi was going to do with hir new fleet. "You know if Star Fleet hadn't kicked me out of the academy I would be in my fourth year, or at best serving as an ensign on a starship. But instead I'm the captain of my own pirate fighting ship, and a small fleet of cargo ships."
"That's because you have a problem with authority. You'd be spending a lot of your off duty time in the brig," said V'Les. Blackstar let it go because shi knew it was true.
V'Les said, "Could you send Nightrose to see me."
"Sure, no problem. But why?" asked Blackstar
"Oh, I just need to discuss a few things with her." Explained V'Les.
"Did she find your spy cam?"
"Now, Blackstar, we've discussed the moral repercussions of this before." Blackstar stared at V'Les for a full minute. "She actually hasn't found it yet. I want to know why she's off her game so far on this trip." Blackstar shook hir head at yet another one of V'Les's pathetic jokes. Or at least what shi hoped was a joke.
On hir way to the transporter room Blackstar stopped by Nightrose's quarters to tell her that V'Les was looking for her. Nightrose sighed. She knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. Nightrose walked down to the observation lounge. Before she could even say anything V'Les said, "You still haven't told hir have you?"
"No. Why do you care," asked Nightrose.
"Because shi deserves to know," said V'Les, "you guys are a team and you shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other."
"I'll tell her when I'm ready, now leave me alone," and with that Nightrose stormed out.
"Do I have to do everything myself?" V'Les asked out loud.
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Somewhere in deep space...
Faera groaned as she picked herself up of the deck of the Torrin. The injured felitaur turned her attention to what was left of the control console. "Computer, damage report." She recognized that her voice was dry, probably from the smoke being emitted from what was left of the sensor display console. The computer reported that all weapons were either disabled or out of ammunition and shields were no longer operational. "Computer, prepare to engage slipstream drive."
"Warning, enemy vessels are attached to the hull. Engaging warp drive will risk severe hull damage."
"Really? No kidding. Thanks," said Faera, "if I stay I'm dead, if I go I'm dead. Well, everyone has to die someday, and I'd rather go down fighting. Engage slipstream drive!"
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Sky was shaking hys head in dismay. This was the third time hy tried to explain the Skimmer drive to Dr. Oliver's students. "Okay. Think of it this way. Subspace and Hyperspace is like water and air respectively. Although travel in only hyperspace would be faster, it would also be more dangerous because it would be almost impossible to navigate. But we've created a skimmer like warp drive. Like a skimmer vehicle this new drive will skip along subspace, relatively speaking of course. There is a lot more to it then that, but that's the essential concept behind it."
One of the students, a Voxxan tod, asked, "But if your analogy is correct then a disruption in subspace could result in serious trouble."
Sky smiled. "A good observation. To prevent that problem we launch a modified probe to smooth out subspace in front of us. And if necessary we can modify our own deflector array to smooth out subspace. Despite the increased energy we can reach much higher speeds then with normal current warp drive technology with much less energy. However, Star Fleet is concerned that this 'experimental' drive is too dangerous to use on their ships. But it is easier then trying to figure out how to replicate the Midnight Star's slipstream drive or making it able to work on larger ships like the Mystic."
"Slipstream drive? What is that?" asked the Voxxan
Sky sighed, "I wish I knew. The only one who has any real idea about it is Blackstar, but shi has refused to reveal its secrets." Sky wanted to be the first engineer to replicate the Slipstream drive, the fastest known FTL drive in the federation. The Star could go from Quenxel to Earth in only three days if necessary, but Blackstar had only done that once. With that ability a ship could reach the Furrderation in less then a month instead of the half-year normally required by Star Fleet ships. However the Midnight Star was limited because of her small size with a maximum standard compliment of ten and an emergency load of thirty. To Sky's knowledge the drive was only limited by fuel. If stripped down and turned into what was basically a flying gas can Sky estimated that it could maintain the equivalent of warp 9.985 for twelve hours.
"Now if you could please follow me, we'll take you down to Quenxel," Sky led the group of students to the Geelong-class runabout. Blackstar had a tendency to name Blitz team ships after rivers, especially ones in Wisconsin. The current runabouts were named the Mullet after the Mullet River that flowed through Plymouth, and the West Twin. The West Twin was originally called the Kickapoo, but Serge kept laughing every time someone said it. As the runabout descended to the spaceport Sky noticed a familiar ship. Despite the extensive damage to the ship Sky recognized it as the Torrin. Hy didn't expect Faera to be in the area. Last hy heard was that Faera was running a route near Starbase 3. Oh, well. At least things would be interesting for a while if she was around.
Blackstar took the rest of the students to the surface in the Runabout Sheboygan and was walking through the spaceport when shi saw a familiar wolftaur. What is she doing here? Blackstar signaled to Nightrose and Serge to come over. "Do you see what I see?" Nightrose nodded, "what do you say to introduce ourselves?"
Nightrose shook her head. "Must you say lines that sound like they're from Serge's 20th century cartoon shows?"
"Well I do have a utility belt like those lame superheroes of his," said Blackstar indicating the multi-purpose belt around hir waist.
"Why are you two always bashing my cartoons?" asked Serge.
"I find his cartoons quite interesting actually", said a fourth voice. Nightrose and Serge whirled around to see who had spoken. "And it helps to prove that Serge is still immature."
"Are you saying that I'm immature Faera? After all, I enjoy those cartoons as well." asked Blackstar who still had hir back turned to the young felitaur. "And here I thought I had earned your respect. You know, after saving your life?"
"Why, I meant nothing of the sort," said Faera, "you know the bitch is going to run the instant she sees us. You and I can keep up with her, but I'm afraid your biped teammates won't be able to keep up. I recommend that they provide assistance from your runabout."
Nightrose glared at the felitaur. She didn't like the idea of leaving her partner alone, but had to admit that Faera had a point. She got close to Faera so that only she could hear, "you had better bring hir back alive, or not come back at all. Got it?" Faera nodded, "good. Because if you don't I'll hunt you down, kill you, and use you as a throw rug."
Faera nodded again. As Nightrose began returning to the Star, Faera shook her head. That Caitian was scary sometimes, even to a mercenary as experienced as her, when it came to her partner. Faera returned her attention to the old wolftaur bitch that she and Blackstar were about to take on. She noticed another taur talking to the old wolftaur for a minute before handing her something and leaving. From this angle, and the clothing of the taur Faera couldn't tell who it was. Faera shrugged it off.
Blackstar noticed it as well, and figured they would find out soon enough who it was, once they captured her. She was the only criminal that had evaded Blackstar more then five times. This wolftaur was Parishka, the mother of Snowfall, Blackstar's sister and Denmate. Parishka was also a wanted criminal, charged with, kidnapping, assault on officers of the law, assault on civilian and Star Fleet ships, and attempted piracy, among other things. It had all started two years ago when the old wolftaur's daughter ran away from home, and sought help from a team of mercenaries. It wasn't long before Blackstar began working on finding Snowfall's closest relative through a DNA test, only to learn that the two closest relatives were Stareye, hir father, and hirself. After attempting to negotiate some sort of solution with Parishka, she tried to kidnap her own daughter. After she was arrested, Parishka broke out of prison and began trying to get revenge on Blackstar for embarrassing her and for kidnapping her daughter, or so she claimed. It was after the first battle between the two that Star Fleet authorized Blackstar to apprehend Parishka by any means necessary.
Faera noticed that Blackstar was deep in thought, "are we going to sit on our tails all day or are we going to take that bitch down?"
Blackstar grinned, "So, we split the bounty fifty-fifty?" Faera nodded. "Then let's do it! You should take her from the opposite side. She'll be less likely to notice you, whereas she'll be on the look out for me." Faera agreed and began maneuvering to the opposite side of Parishka. While Parishka was deep in thought Faera and Blackstar approached her. "Parishka, you are under arrest on multiple charges of assault, kidnapping, arrest, and do I really need to tell you everything you already know about? Now surrender!"
The old wolftaur laughed, "Do you really think that you will succeed after you failed so many times that I've actually lost count. Although I must admit you have avoided my traps on many occasions. In fact you even seem to come out stronger then before. Perhaps I should finish this today. But to be honest I can't wait to show you what I have in store for you. Once you're dead, Snowfall will return to me."
Blackstar shook hir head, "Listen to yourself Parishka! You need help, you're mentally unstable. If anything, you causing my death would actually push hir farther away, assuming that's possible of course. I don't know what you did to make Snowfall so angry with you that shi would run away, but all you're doing is pushing hir farther away. If you really want hir to come back you should surrender."
Parishka shook her head, "no, no, no. You're lying. Those are all lies! You may have turned my daughter against me, but I'm not the only one who's been betrayed. You are foolish to trust a crew of mercenaries that'll do anything for money."
Blackstar could hardly hold hir temper in check. Hir crew would do a lot of things for money, but they would never do any illegal jobs. They might occasionally break laws but, usually there was a good reason behind it. "It doesn't matter. I'm still taking you down."
"No, I think not," said Parishka. "One, I have complete technical readouts for all the ships in your little fleet, and I will soon exploit their weaknesses. Two, you'll have to catch me first." Parishka ran away at full speed, and Blackstar and Faera gave chase.
The old wolftaur was just out of reach of the mercenary's reach, so Blackstar pulled out hir stunner, but Parishka took a pock shot and Blackstar lost hir grip, dropping the weapon. Dammit, thought Blackstar, I should have brought more fire power. Blackstar may not have had any weapons with hir anymore but there was more to hir then meet the eye. Shi put on an extra burst of speed and got ahead of Parishka and quickly cut hir off, bringing the chase to a dead stop. Before the old wolftaur could respond another grey blur was on her back with an arm around her neck. "It's over Parishka."
Parishka just laughed, "You're right. It is over, for you. Look were we're standing." Blackstar looked down and saw nothing but the people on lower levels. This entire section of flooring was made out of some type of glass. Parishka, struggling for breath, pulled out an odd looking device. "Good-bye, Blackstar."
She pressed the one button on the device, and it created a loud screeching sound. As a reflex Blackstar covered hir ears, but it did little good as the floor literally feel out from underneath hir. Time seemed to slow down as the two felines and the old wolftaur began to fall through the shattered floor. Faera couldn't believe that after everything she had done that she would die during a simple job of catching an old wolftaur. Her mind quickly went to all her unfinished projects, all her unachieved hopes and desires, and how she would never achieve them. As the ground rose up her world faded to blackness.
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Author's Notes: This story basically covers the basic background of the main characters, and introduces some secondary characters. Faera is the alter-ego of my best friend, and is a grey furred female felitaur. My own alter-ego is Blackstar, a white furred chakat with a black star-shaped fur patch on hir back, hence the name. Nightrose, is Blackstar's partner, the reason will be explained later. After all I can't explain everything now, then what reason would you have to read the rest of the story? Will Blackstar survive? Will the Blitz team capture Parishka? Will people stop making fun of Serge's cartoons? If Blackstar dies will the series be over? Find out next time on Blackstar's Adventure's!
Continued in Episode 2
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
Boyce Garald Kline Jr, Rosepetal, Zhane and family are copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr.
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know.
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Sionnach Glic
- 4 Star Admiral
- Posts: 26014
- Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:58 pm
- Location: Poblacht na hÉireann, Baile Átha Cliath
Damn, I'm gonna need to get back to writing my own stuff again....
Last edited by Sionnach Glic on Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Motherfracking typoes....
Reason: Motherfracking typoes....
"You've all been selected for this mission because you each have a special skill. Professor Hawking, John Leslie, Phil Neville, the Wu-Tang Clan, Usher, the Sugar Puffs Monster and Daniel Day-Lewis! Welcome to Operation MindFuck!"
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Blackstar the Chakat
- Banned
- Posts: 5594
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:53 pm
Adventures of Blackstar Chapter two
Here's the second Chapter. The worst one I've written IMO. There are loose ends, and plotholes up the whazoo.
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 2: New Allies
Faera slowly opened her eyes. She recalled that she and Blackstar had been falling through several glass floors, the first being shattered by her target, an old wolftaur bitch named Parishka who was wanted for several crimes in the Stellar Federation. After a fall like that she expected to be in a hospital, assuming she wasn't dead and wasn't in the afterlife. As she opened her eyes she didn't see the sterile environment of a hospital, or any doctors or nurses, or even a ceiling. What Faera saw was an open sky and the tops of several trees. Maybe I am dead, she thought to herself, the closest forest was over five kilometers from the space port.
Faera checked herself over for injuries and found that she had a few shallow cut and scrapes that looked like they were treated with a dermal regenerator. She was startled when a voice said, "I see you're finally up." Faera whirled around. "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Faera nodded.
"What happened? Where are we?" asked Faera, "What happened to Parishka?"
Blackstar looked like shi had just washed hir waist length hair and had hir vest slung over hir arm. "I'm not sure what happened to Parishka, however, just as I woke up I could see the stars of the Orion belt, and the North Star. There is an abandoned farmhouse about half a mile from here that I used to hang out in as a teenager occasionally, and own as of my last trip to Earth. You know, like when you just had to get away from your parents for a while."
"So where are we in relation to the space port, and how did we get here?" asked Faera.
Blackstar was reluctant to explain, "We are about 30 light-years away from Quenxel. We're in Wisconsin, on Earth."
Faera's jaw worked up and down for a moment, "That's impossible."
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Back on Quenxel...
Nightrose had a mystery on her hands. The Caitian's partner and the wolftaur shi was working with had literally disappeared into thin air. She was talking to local security about the incident, "no! Blackstar doesn't carry a personal transporter. If Faera had one it would have beamed her back to the Torrin which is at Dock 94, and if Faera where there she would have collected the bounty on Parishka. I'm done answering your questions." Nightrose was fed up with this second rate police force. They didn't know a damn thing about solving a mystery.
She returned to the crime scene were her partner had fallen and disappeared a day before. A hole was where a glass floor had been. At the bottom of the newly created shaft was where the wolftaur that had caused the Blitz team so much trouble in the past had died. If Nightrose hadn't seen the body she wouldn't have believed that Parishka was finally dead. Now if she only knew where her partner was. Trip, Blackstar's little sister, was there as well. Trip had a fox like pattern with what some described as a fire red color, earning hir the name Firefox. Hir nickname of Trip was given because shi had traveled reportedly more the 5,000 light-years by age 10. "Shi's not dead," said Trip. Shi hadn't even looked at Nightrose, "two years ago shi revealed that shi could Teleport under certain circumstances."
Nightrose shook her head. No matter what crazy thing Trip said, nine out of ten times it would turn out to be true. Nightrose remembered when she bet that Trip was exaggerating when shi said that shi could perform the Starburst maneuver with hir eyes closed until Trip did it when shi was piloting a shuttle they were using. "Are you going to tell me where shi is or are you going to tell me the story first?"
"Two years ago when Dad stormed into the academy with the headmaster, Commodore Starfox, and Admiral V'Les, shi panicked. Shi teleported half-way across earth," said Trip, "Shi was found two days later in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Shi was picking up a plasma converter."
"Why Sheboygan?" asked Nightrose.
"It was the closest a place every came to being hir home," answered Trip, "my question is, what did shi need a plasma converter for?"
Nightrose ignored the question, "can shi control where shi's teleported?"
"No," reported Trip, "if shi tries to control it shi could land up anywhere from China to Nova Scotia."
"Really," asked a skeptical Caitian.
"Yep, beautiful country up there," replied a very serious Trip, "but I've never known hir to travel intergalactic distances. Theoretically it's possible. V'Les's ship should be arriving in Earth orbit in two hours."
Nightrose nodded. It was time to call in a favor. She immediately went to work on contacting Admiral V'Les. Half-way across the Federation V'Les had just woken up to find the news file of Blackstar's disappearance. "It's going to be one of those days," she said to herself. "V'Les to bridge, how long until we reach Terra?"
The night watch officer, a human female, shook her head. She was one of those humans who preferred the name Earth to Terra. "We'll be reaching Earth in twenty minutes. Is there a problem Admiral?"
"Maybe," said V'Les, "prepare my personal shuttle for launch and inform Commander Chekov that I'll be leaving the ship in his hands for the duration of the duration of the refit." After receiving an aye, sir, V'Les put on her civilian clothes and went down to the shuttlebay. She was surprised to find Commander Chekov waiting outside her shuttle. "I know what you're going to say."
"Your impulse drive only has a million miles left before the next recommended overhaul," said the commander.
V'Les held back a smile, "Okay, I didn't know you were going to say that. You think I'm going to search for the FSS Great Fox, don't you?"
The Commander shook his head, "No. You're going to search for your lifemate, who happened to be in command of the Fox. Am I right?"
"No," replied the Caitian, "I'm to Terra to find a friend of mine. My granddaughter is missing and I think I know where shi is."
A confused Chekov asked, "When did you have kids? I thought you were only mated to Commodore Starfox, and you two aren't compatible. Are you?"
The Caitian smiled at the human's ignorance, "I guess that's just one that you're going to figure out on your own. Now if you excuse me, I've got to go find my granddaughter."
Chekov shook his head as the Admiral boarded her personal runabout. Just when you think you've got her figured out she plays another card. When he reached the bridge he relived the night watch commander, and gave the Admiral permission to disembark, which was only a formality then anything. "Lieutenant Harrington, what is the Admiral's flight plan?"
The ox morph checked his console, "she's heading for a spaceport in Wisconsin. That's weird."
"Something is weird about the flight plan Lieutenant?" asked Chekov.
"No. I meant Wisconsin is weird," replied the ox. Chekov shook his head. Being from one of the colonies he didn't understand the joke. Seeing his commander's confusion he explained, "Wisconsin's oddities have made it a popular subject of jokes."
"Lieutenant, I believe I can honestly say, I don't really care."
The Admiral pushed her runabout's impulse drive to full power until the spaceport ordered her to slow down. After she set down she quickly rented a PTV and headed toward Sheboygan, more specifically Blackstar's safehouse. If there was anything to be known about hir location V'Les would find it there.
Blackstar had finished explaining what had happened to Faera. "So where did you go last time."
Blackstar thought for a moment and then pointed towards the rising sun, "about ten meters in that direction. There's something about this location that keeps bringing me back." Blackstar put hir vest back on. "Let's get going. I converted the farmhouse into a safehouse. We can figure out what to do there. You know you're going to be the fifth person to visit it since I took it over. Oddly, you're the second felitaur."
"Who were the others? Friends, enemies, lovers?" asked Faera.
"Sometimes they would be all three," joked Blackstar. "Seriously though, the people who know about this place are, Nightrose, Admiral V'Les, Vega Griffin, another Felitaur named Ileah, and yourself." Faera stopped dead in her tracks, "What's wrong Faera?"
"Did you say Ileah?" Blackstar nodded. "How did you know her?"
"I met her at School," explained Blackstar, "we were both on the Chess team. We became good friends. I even considered asking her out on a date, but she dated this annoying human wrestler named Brandon Vreeke. He got annoyed way too easily, used the lamest comebacks, and I don't care what anyone says, I still say he was gay."
Blackstar smiled as shi thought back to that. As a way to disguise hirself she used fur-dye to create a red five pointed star around her left eye. Shi also had used another name at that time, calling hirself, Sundancer. Shi thought about how shi acted differently. Shi was more confidant about hirself "I guess since I'm not pretending to be Sundancer anymore I've taken a more upbeat personality," shi said to hirself. "So what's your story?"
"I occasionally worked on some art projects," said Faera, "but, I gained ownership of the Torrin after a game of chance. Unfortunately the former owner had some cargo on board that still needed delivering, and I made the mistake of accepting responsibility for it. I made one delivery and I found myself hooked on it. The ship's cargo capacity, speed, and the money drew me in like a moth to a flame."
"I meant the fake name."
Faera explained, "oh, that. I was kind of worried that my family wouldn't approve. I think I've developed a split personality syndrome. I don't expect you to know what that's like."
Blackstar paused, "actually, I know exactly what you mean."
Faera then realized what Blackstar said, "How did you know that I used a fake name?"
Blackstar smiled, "I didn't."
As Blackstar walked away Faera said, "Chakats, can't live with'em, can't get rid of them." Faera followed the Chakat, and let her mind wonder. Faera returned her attention forward when she realized that she was looking at Blackstar's tail. No way. We're from two different worlds and shi is a shi. There is no way I can be attracted to a herm. It must be curiosity.
Blackstar noticed that Faera was falling behind, "is something wrong?"
The startled felitaur said, "no, no, not at all. I was just preoccupied with something. How much farther?"
"Just over that hill." Blackstar paused for a moment and signaled Faera to be quite. "Someone is coming. It's a standard PTV from Sheboygan, piloted by a middle age Caitian."
"How can you tell that?"
"Big ears and a lot of experience," explained the Chakat, "You can tell a lot by an engine hum. I have it down to an art; I can even tell the species by the hum. Let's find out who's out here." Blackstar took off at speeds that Faera thought would normally be impossible, but it was just a quick sprint allowing for a greater burst of speed.
She reached the rather large, and dilipated looking house and saw Blackstar hugging, who did turn out to be a Caitian. As she got closer she recognized the annoying Fleet Admiral V'Les. Lucky guess. She made it difficult to get anything around customs. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the biggest pain in the butt in StarFleet. What did I do this time?"
V'Les' face turned into a snarl, "I didn't come here for a second rate scrap merchant who couldn't smuggle anything past a class 9 sensor post." While Faera counted backwards from 100 to calm down, V'Les did a 180 as her face turned into a pleasant smile as she turned to Blackstar. "Anyway, as I was explaining, we need your help to apprehend an old friend of yours." Blackstar gestured for her to continue. "Parishka's personal ship was spotted heading towards this solar system. A resupply station in orbit of Chakona has video of Parishka being on board last week."
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Blackstar.
Faera nodded, "that does seem to be today's theme."
V'Les looked back and forth between the two taurs, "weren't you two both heading for Quenxel?"
Blackstar nodded, "you knew that but yet you came to my safehouse. Why?
V'Les explained, "I saw the news article about your disappearance. I know you keep a list of contingency plans incase something ever happened to you, no matter what the situation. I figured I find it, tell Nightrose, and..."
"And she'd be in your debt," finished Blackstar. "Did you have something in mind?"
"Possibly. How is your relationship with her?" asked V'Les.
Blackstar raised an eyebrow, "she's still my partner. What does that have to do with anything?"
V'Les shrugged, "nothing. Now let's start tracking down Parishka." V'Les began walking back to the PTV.
Faera stepped forward, "Wait a minute; you still haven't explained how Parishka survived the fall."
It was V'Les' turn to look confused, "what fall?"
"I'll explain on the way to the Mead Public Library," answered Blackstar.
It was a tight fit but all three felines managed to fit in the PTV. While they headed to nearby Sheboygan Blackstar explained what had happened to hir and Faera. "Even if Parishka did survive the fall, she'd have to be a teleporter to be on earth in less then a day." Blackstar considered the possibilities, "that means that she could be a clone, an alternate universe version of her, or a transporter duplicate. None of those are likely, but until we catch her we won't have any explanation."
V'Les nodded in agreement, "I suppose so. Now why are you taking us to a library?"
"I'm going there to find an old friend who may help us. Hopefully shi still works there."
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Blackstar, Faera, and V'Les finally arrived in historic downtown Sheboygan, which included the Sheboygan Theater, Mead Public library and Armory among other things. Most of which had been rebuilt at one point or another. Blackstar, who had taken the time to explain the history of the now mostly furred community, parked in front of a place called Baxter's. "Okay, here the thing," explained Blackstar, "You two go in there and wait for me. Tell the bartender to put it on my tab. If he argues with you tell him that I'll be in tonight before you leave and that I'll pay for it."
"What are you going to do?" asked the ever cautious V'Les.
"I'm going to try and get some information, and a possible ally," explained Blackstar. Shi walked away before the other felines could ask anything else.
"Well, I don't know about you Admiral, but I'm going to get drunk on hir tab." V'Les shook her head in disapproval but followed the felitaur anyway.
Blackstar actually walked past the Library, taking a moment to admire the water fountain and the stand-alone clocktower behind it. I've been gone too long. They were still working on this last time I was able to enjoy my visit. Shi continued on the place shi usually got hir hair styled. As usual, when on assignment shi let it grow just past hir shoulders, and felt it time to have it cut again. The bipedal vixen was surprised to see Blackstar so soon after hir recent departure. "This must be a record. Why are you back so soon?" asked the vixen
"If I'm correct Nightstorm should have an appointment today, and shi might have information that I need," explained Blackstar, "plus I wouldn't mind getting a hair cut."
The vixen grinned, "I don't know how you do it. I actually had a cancellation from a taur and Nightstorm is the next appointment."
"Just lucky I guess."
The vixen shook her head. She guided Blackstar to a taur seat where she and one of her assistants worked on trimming hir fur, even trimming the face fur, revealing a black crescent to the lower left side of hir left eye. Blackstar occasionally hid the crescent with fur die, it made hir more difficult to recognize. Shi stood up to let them work on hir lower belly fur.
The vixen left to deal with a new arrival as the assistants continued their work. The new arrival was given the seat next to hir. "Somehow I doubt this is coincidence. What do you want?"
"Information, of course," replied Blackstar, "about Parishka. She seems to have appeared in multiple locations at once. And maybe why she is so obsessed with getting her daughter back and with killing me."
The taur nodded, "Parishka has created duplicates of herself via the Transporter. Sky should be able to explain how. As for why she's after Snow, the rumor is that while the child was in the womb Parishka did something to hir for some unknown purpose. But I do know this; it has something to do with finding the Time Matrix. That's all I know."
The vixen informed Blackstar that she was done with hir. Blackstar paid the fee. "Thank you, Nightstorm. Your information was most useful. Your debt is paid."
The other taur nodded, "of course. You know if you learn of anything that might be useful to me or my clients and tell me about it I would be in your debt again."
Blackstar paused for a moment, nodded and left. The last thing Blackstar expected was to hear was that someone was searching for the Time Matrix again. Shi thought that it was destroyed four years ago. In the wrong hands the power of the Time Matrix could be devastating. Now to find a Slipstream navigator. I just hope she's forgiven me by now.
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Nightrose was pacing back and forth on the Mystic's bridge, growing more and more frustrated by the fact that there was nothing that she could do to speed departure. She reached for the comm. panel on the captain's chair, "Sky, how much longer?"
"We're still working on some final adjustments to the advanced flying unit's programming," replied the irritated Skunktaur, "It would go faster if you stopped bothering me. Sky, out."
Nightrose resumed her pacing. How did I let this happen? I'm supposed to be Blackstar's partner and shi was almost killed. Nightrose stopped pacing when she realized someone else was on the bridge. "How long have you been there?"
"Only a minute or two," answered Trip, "we're ready to try the new modifications, on your command."
Nightrose nodded. She took her usual seat next to the captain's chair and activated the shipwide comm. system, "This is acting captain Nightrose to all hands: report to your stations for Skimdrive launch. I repeat prepare for Skimdrive launch." She flicked it off and waited.
Sasha and Neal Serge took their usual stations on the bridge, while Sky stayed in main engineering.
"Speed is at .5c, launching advanced flying unit."
"Sensors read all systems nominal, and we have a clear flight window of about 5000 kilometers."
"Advanced flying unit is now at warp one, spreading the warp barrier. Engaging Skimdrive, now."
The normal black and white vista of space quickly changed into the multi-colored randomness of hyperspace. Unlike most ships, the multi-coloredness of hyperspace was spinning in a clockwise pattern. It was one of the Advanced Flying Unit (AFU)'s side effects.
Trip reported the ship's speed as it increased. Nightrose nodded in approval as they surpassed Warp 8. She allowed herself a grin as the ship continued accelerating. Nightrose's sensitive hearing overheard Neal Serge muttering something about "unusual acceleration patterns." She walked over to his console, "is something wrong?"
Serge nodded, "our rate of acceleration is faster then the increase of power to the warp nacelles but that could be a result of the modified AFU. Power increase will cease in 10 seconds mark." Nightrose waited for those ten seconds to pass. When she thought those ten second were up she simply assumed that she had miscounted. Caitians had a tendency to think in a base of eight rather then the ten used by most Terrans. Then Serge reported, "Speed is still increasing. We are at Warp 8.6, 8.7. This is impossible. Power to the nacelles is steady but we are still accelerating. We are at Warp 9 and accelerating. I don't know how but our acceleration rate is increasing." He activated the comm., "Sky, can you figure out why we're still accelerating?"
"Negative. We'll need to stop soon or else we'll fry the sensors from overload, and the ship will be torn apart by the stress." Down in main engineering the male phased Skunktaur was hard at work trying to figure out what was going on, or at least get the ship under control. Hy tried to cut power to the nacelles but that failed. Serge reported that speeds were off the scale and that sensors were overloaded. "I got it! We can try reversing the warp coils reaction. In normal circumstances we would be warping in reverse. Not recommended because we don't have a navigational deflector facing that way. If we're trapped in some sort of subspace wake that's pulling us along, we should slow ourselves down enough to break free of it. But it might get a little bumpy. And we might lose the AFU, and we could tear ourselves into a million pieces."
"Does anyone have any alternatives?" The response was all negative, with the possible exception of Sasha's 'go with the flow statement' which wasn't very helpful. "Do what you have to Sky. I hate flying at impossible speeds with no idea of where we're going."
Sky went to work programming the necessary programs into the computer to execute hys unusual plan, which was continually hindered by the computer stating: "that procedure is not recommended." Sky slammed hys fist against the console, "I'm not asking you're opinion. Just do what I tell you." After several more attempts at a non-recommended procedure hy finally turned off all of the ship's safety protocols. I'll have to remember to put that on my to do list when this is over. "Computer, execute program, Sky 9-2a."
The ship began to shudder. Serge said, "Don't worry. This is normal.
"How would you know?" asked Sasha.
It slowly increased until Nightrose could barely make it back to her chair to strap herself in. "This isn't normal," said Serge.
"What do you mean this isn't normal?!" asked Sasha.
"This is way worst!"
The ship shook so violently that everything that wasn't secured was being tossed around. Luckily the crew knew from experience not to leave fragile objects unsecured except when in use, because they would never know when they'd find themselves in violent situations.
The main viewscreen began to light up so brightly everyone except Trip looked away. Then just as the ship was reaching its structural limitations the shaking stopped and the viewscreen showed that they had returned to normal space, a sun located in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
"All hands, report."
"Tactical is operational, and I have nothing more then a few bruises."
"Primary sensors aren't operational. Switching to secondary, but it'll take a few minutes."
Over the intercom, "this is Sky; warp drive will be offline for about an hour while I make necessary repairs and while the computer reconfigures the nacelles. Warp cores 2-4 are off-line. Reserve power is at 64%. Estimated recovery at current power levels in 8 hours. Full impulse is available, but the SIF fields were weakened and I wouldn't recommend going past .2c until power is back to normal."
"Acknowledged. Work on repairing the warp drive." Nightrose realized that Trip hadn't reported helm status, "Trip, report. Trip?" She looked to the helm station to find the young Chakat covering hir eyes and whimpering. "Trip, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Shi replied, hir voice barely a whisper, "my eyes feel like they're on fire. I can't see a thing. I'm blind."
Nightrose tried to comfort hir, "come on, we'll get you to the medical bay." She guided the blinded Chakat off the bridge. She stopped for a moment, "Sasha, you have the bridge. Serge, try and figure out where we are."
Nightrose guided the stumbling Chakat down the main corridor to the medical bay, taking it slow for Trip's sake. "Don't worry Trip. We'll figure out what's wrong with your eyes and fix it."
They entered the medical bay, which was over equipped for a crew of the Mystic, as demonstrated by the four bio-beds, one of which now had Trip lying on it. Luckily it was equipped with the latest in medical equipment including an advanced holo-system with the still experimental Emergency Medical Holographic program. "Computer, activate the EMH."
A female human appeared seemingly out of thin air, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
"Over here Doctor. Trip has been blinded some how. Shi says hir eyes feel like they were burning."
The EMH picked up a medical tricorder and began scanning the patient. "Hir corneas have been burned. I can give you something for the pain, but the eyes are severely damaged. We do not have the proper equipment to repair it. I'd recommend putting in a facility with the proper equipment. All I can do is reduce the pain."
"Do what you can Doctor," said Nightrose, "I'll be on the bridge. Report to me if hir condition changes."
She was exiting the medical bay when Trip said, "don't go, please. I'm scared."
Nightrose walked over to Trip's biobed and took hir hand in her own. "It'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to you."
The EMH administrated a hypospray to Trip's neck. "How do you feel now?"
"The burning sensation is gone. I'm still scared, though."
The EMH returned the hypospray to its proper spot. "Shi may go with you. There is nothing more I can do for hir."
"Thank you Doctor. Computer, deactivate EMH program." Nightrose slowly escorted Trip back to the bridge with her. "Don't worry Trip. I'll help you through this"
"I'm not worried. You are the only person other then Blackstar that I'm willing to put my complete trust in. You're almost like another sister to me." Nightrose's pause got Trip's attention, "is something wrong?"
Nightrose resumed walking, "no, I just was surprised. I admit, I never realized you thought of me that way. It's been too long since I've felt that close to someone other then Blackstar." They continued their way to the bridge in thoughtful silence.
When they got there Serge was eager to report their position, "I've figured our position, and I think we broke most records. The system that we're in, our position is in orbit of Earth. We are now in geosynchronous orbit above Wisconsin. Right above an old farmhouse as a matter of fact. We just got a call from a very pissed off traffic controller."
The odds of that happening are next to impossible, thought Nightrose, just what is going on here?
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Blackstar made the short walk to the library. Hesitating as shi walked through the door. Shi made hir way up to the second floor and went past rows of historical books till shi found hirself in a corner of the library. Shi found hirself by a bank of windows, and a zoom scope, that shi choose to look through. Shi found that the landscape had several changes made to it since the last time shi looked through it.
When shi stopped looking shi found a feline morph standing next to hir. "I did not expect to see you here again, after you slept with, three of the other librarians I believe it was."
"That was only one night," said Blackstar, "And I don't bail out when things get tough, unlike some people I could name."
"At least I don't sleep with other people when I promise someone that they're the only one for me."
"At least I don't destroy my friend's ships."
"Hey, I replaced it remember? Now why are you here?"
"Parishka is looking for the Time Matrix. And you're the best slipstream pilot this side of the Maelstrom," explained Blackstar.
"Um... correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Starfox take care of that?"
"Shi was supposed to, but we haven't found any trace of hir or hir ship. It was last spotted running into the Maelstrom, a good hiding place. And you know that territory better then anyone else alive."
The feline thought about it for a few minutes, "alright, but realize that I still haven't forgiven you."
"Alright let me go introduce you to some new friends."
The feline left the library with Blackstar and followed hir down the street to Baxter's. Baxter's was a bar catered to taurs and other furs. Along one wall were cushioned areas with retractable curtains. At the back of the place there was a small stage where people could try to perform. Some of the drunker attempts were quite comedic, but the bartender, a todtaur, was very strict about drink limits, and keeping trouble makers outside.
When they walked in the feline looked around for Blackstar's 'friends'. "So where are they?"
Blackstar walked to the bar against one wall where Faera was sitting. "Faera, this is my former partner, Vega Griffin. Vega, this is an associate of mine, Faera. She's a freighter captain, and the only other person I know with a slipstream drive."
"A pleasure I'm sure," said Faera. Vega shrugged it off.
"She's not the most sociable person," explained Blackstar.
"Reminds me of someone I used to know," jested Faera.
"Funny," replied Black, "where's the admiral?" Blackstar looked around and didn't see the old Caitian. "Did you kill her?"
"Just wait." Faera pointed to the stage.
A dressed up V'Les appeared on stage and began singing a song Blackstar didn't recognize. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Faera shrugged, "I gave her a dress."
"And a lot of liquor," added the bartender, "this is her third song today."
"Wait here. I need to go save what's left of the admiral's dignity."
"A little late for that," said Faera. "So how do you know Blackstar?"
"We worked together a while back. Let's just say I owe hir my life, unfortunately. How about you?"
"Hir crew saved my transport once, and we have a tendency to run into to each other a lot."
Faera looked over the feline, getting a good look at just who Vega was. Faera didn't recognize her species, a rare situation. Vega had short fur, just enough to be noticeable. Her face fur was striped in a tiger-like fashion, while her body fur was spotted like a jaguar's. Her ears and tail were clearly feline-based, but despite all her experience Faera just couldn't place it.
Meanwhile Blackstar was talking to V'Les about the Time Matrix, "Do you have any idea where Starfox took the Matrix?"
"If I had any idea I would have had half of the fleet searching for hir. And hir crew," V'Les added as an afterthought. "If Parishka gets her paws on that device then it's over. You, me, everyone who's pissed the psycho bitch off, all wiped out in a matter of seconds. As if we never existed. Our only lead is that it's somewhere in the Maelstrom. There's only one person I know who has a chance in finding the Great Fox in there. And you pissed hir off, because you can't control your damn heat."
"She's sitting over by the bar with Faera."
"I hate it when you do that. How do you do that?" asked V'Les, "it's like you know exactly what's going to happen."
"Not exactly," said Blackstar, "the future's always shifting. No one can predict exactly what's going to happen. If they knew what the score was there would be no reason to play the game."
V'Les blinked twice, "at some point I'm going to need something explained to me."
"What?"
"How your crew puts up with you. Now what are you going to do?" asked V'Les.
"I believe the saying goes saddle up. Lock and Load." Blackstar barely resisted the urge to smile. "But this mission will require all of Blitz team's resources. I'll need to recruit more crew members. You know you have a very competent crew," Blackstar wiggled hir eyebrows suggestively.
V'Les smiled and said, "No. Don't even think about it. No way."
"Baxter, we're going to need to set up one of these booths for an interview, and you need to post a one week ad on the net."
"And what makes you think I'm going to do that," asked the todtaur.
"Because I own the lease on the bar and I gave you a very generous payment plan."
Baxter nodded, "that'll do it." He went working on his assigned tasks.
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Two hours and ten interviews later Blackstar turned to V'Les, "I used to wonder why the Blitz team was so small. Then I interview these people. One guy is wanted in Australia. Some of these guys have been charged with robbery, assault, arrest, resisting arrest. There's a former collection agent for the mob. Two of these guys have done serious time. The fate of the universe is at stake and all I'm getting is a bunch of retards I wouldn't trust with a potato gun."
"It could be worse," said Vega, "on second thought, no it couldn't."
Blackstar simply raised hir middle finger in response.
A Blackstar was then surprised when a young female taur walked up to hir, "excuse me. Is this where the interviews for the Blitz team being held?"
"Yes," said Blackstar. Shi looked over the taur who had the build of a Red Foxtaur, but the fur of a White Wolf, "and who are you?"
"My name is Selina."
Blackstar waited a moment before saying, "Okay. Um, let's see, we need to go over a few standard questions. First of all, what is your age in earth years and what is your species?"
"I'm about 20 years old. I'm a cross between a Wolftaur and a Foxtaur."
Well that explains her odd appearance, thought Blackstar. "And what position are you applying for, what other skills do you have any previous space flight experience, and if so, to what extent, and what are your reasons for joining the Blitz team?"
"That's a lot of questions at once," commented Selina. "I don't have a specific position in mind. I'm a jack of all trades. I have some mechanical capabilities, I have medical field training, and I can pilot small ships, but I should warn you I can't navigate. I have some experience in a simulator but... well that's not really important. As for the reason I'm joining the Blitz team, well that my personal business."
A grin spread across Blackstar's muzzle. Hir empathic senses could tell that this odd cross-breed was quite nervous and seemed to be hiding something. Shi could only guess at what it was, but shi decided that shi should take a chance on this oddball. "That's what I wanted to hear. Please give me you contact information."
Selena got even more nervous, "I don't have any contact information. All I have with me is some personal stuff in my backpack."
Blackstar sighed, "Alright, go sit with Vega over by the bar. Order what you want and tell Baxter to put it on my tab."
"Thank you, I won't let you down." She gave a salute and walked over to the bar.
Well that's one position down, Blackstar thought to hirself, at this rate it's a good thing I invested in auto-control systems. Otherwise we wouldn't have a chance.
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Continued in Episode 3
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
Boyce Garald Kline Jr, Rosepetal, Zhane and family are copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr.
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 2: New Allies
Faera slowly opened her eyes. She recalled that she and Blackstar had been falling through several glass floors, the first being shattered by her target, an old wolftaur bitch named Parishka who was wanted for several crimes in the Stellar Federation. After a fall like that she expected to be in a hospital, assuming she wasn't dead and wasn't in the afterlife. As she opened her eyes she didn't see the sterile environment of a hospital, or any doctors or nurses, or even a ceiling. What Faera saw was an open sky and the tops of several trees. Maybe I am dead, she thought to herself, the closest forest was over five kilometers from the space port.
Faera checked herself over for injuries and found that she had a few shallow cut and scrapes that looked like they were treated with a dermal regenerator. She was startled when a voice said, "I see you're finally up." Faera whirled around. "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Faera nodded.
"What happened? Where are we?" asked Faera, "What happened to Parishka?"
Blackstar looked like shi had just washed hir waist length hair and had hir vest slung over hir arm. "I'm not sure what happened to Parishka, however, just as I woke up I could see the stars of the Orion belt, and the North Star. There is an abandoned farmhouse about half a mile from here that I used to hang out in as a teenager occasionally, and own as of my last trip to Earth. You know, like when you just had to get away from your parents for a while."
"So where are we in relation to the space port, and how did we get here?" asked Faera.
Blackstar was reluctant to explain, "We are about 30 light-years away from Quenxel. We're in Wisconsin, on Earth."
Faera's jaw worked up and down for a moment, "That's impossible."
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Back on Quenxel...
Nightrose had a mystery on her hands. The Caitian's partner and the wolftaur shi was working with had literally disappeared into thin air. She was talking to local security about the incident, "no! Blackstar doesn't carry a personal transporter. If Faera had one it would have beamed her back to the Torrin which is at Dock 94, and if Faera where there she would have collected the bounty on Parishka. I'm done answering your questions." Nightrose was fed up with this second rate police force. They didn't know a damn thing about solving a mystery.
She returned to the crime scene were her partner had fallen and disappeared a day before. A hole was where a glass floor had been. At the bottom of the newly created shaft was where the wolftaur that had caused the Blitz team so much trouble in the past had died. If Nightrose hadn't seen the body she wouldn't have believed that Parishka was finally dead. Now if she only knew where her partner was. Trip, Blackstar's little sister, was there as well. Trip had a fox like pattern with what some described as a fire red color, earning hir the name Firefox. Hir nickname of Trip was given because shi had traveled reportedly more the 5,000 light-years by age 10. "Shi's not dead," said Trip. Shi hadn't even looked at Nightrose, "two years ago shi revealed that shi could Teleport under certain circumstances."
Nightrose shook her head. No matter what crazy thing Trip said, nine out of ten times it would turn out to be true. Nightrose remembered when she bet that Trip was exaggerating when shi said that shi could perform the Starburst maneuver with hir eyes closed until Trip did it when shi was piloting a shuttle they were using. "Are you going to tell me where shi is or are you going to tell me the story first?"
"Two years ago when Dad stormed into the academy with the headmaster, Commodore Starfox, and Admiral V'Les, shi panicked. Shi teleported half-way across earth," said Trip, "Shi was found two days later in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Shi was picking up a plasma converter."
"Why Sheboygan?" asked Nightrose.
"It was the closest a place every came to being hir home," answered Trip, "my question is, what did shi need a plasma converter for?"
Nightrose ignored the question, "can shi control where shi's teleported?"
"No," reported Trip, "if shi tries to control it shi could land up anywhere from China to Nova Scotia."
"Really," asked a skeptical Caitian.
"Yep, beautiful country up there," replied a very serious Trip, "but I've never known hir to travel intergalactic distances. Theoretically it's possible. V'Les's ship should be arriving in Earth orbit in two hours."
Nightrose nodded. It was time to call in a favor. She immediately went to work on contacting Admiral V'Les. Half-way across the Federation V'Les had just woken up to find the news file of Blackstar's disappearance. "It's going to be one of those days," she said to herself. "V'Les to bridge, how long until we reach Terra?"
The night watch officer, a human female, shook her head. She was one of those humans who preferred the name Earth to Terra. "We'll be reaching Earth in twenty minutes. Is there a problem Admiral?"
"Maybe," said V'Les, "prepare my personal shuttle for launch and inform Commander Chekov that I'll be leaving the ship in his hands for the duration of the duration of the refit." After receiving an aye, sir, V'Les put on her civilian clothes and went down to the shuttlebay. She was surprised to find Commander Chekov waiting outside her shuttle. "I know what you're going to say."
"Your impulse drive only has a million miles left before the next recommended overhaul," said the commander.
V'Les held back a smile, "Okay, I didn't know you were going to say that. You think I'm going to search for the FSS Great Fox, don't you?"
The Commander shook his head, "No. You're going to search for your lifemate, who happened to be in command of the Fox. Am I right?"
"No," replied the Caitian, "I'm to Terra to find a friend of mine. My granddaughter is missing and I think I know where shi is."
A confused Chekov asked, "When did you have kids? I thought you were only mated to Commodore Starfox, and you two aren't compatible. Are you?"
The Caitian smiled at the human's ignorance, "I guess that's just one that you're going to figure out on your own. Now if you excuse me, I've got to go find my granddaughter."
Chekov shook his head as the Admiral boarded her personal runabout. Just when you think you've got her figured out she plays another card. When he reached the bridge he relived the night watch commander, and gave the Admiral permission to disembark, which was only a formality then anything. "Lieutenant Harrington, what is the Admiral's flight plan?"
The ox morph checked his console, "she's heading for a spaceport in Wisconsin. That's weird."
"Something is weird about the flight plan Lieutenant?" asked Chekov.
"No. I meant Wisconsin is weird," replied the ox. Chekov shook his head. Being from one of the colonies he didn't understand the joke. Seeing his commander's confusion he explained, "Wisconsin's oddities have made it a popular subject of jokes."
"Lieutenant, I believe I can honestly say, I don't really care."
The Admiral pushed her runabout's impulse drive to full power until the spaceport ordered her to slow down. After she set down she quickly rented a PTV and headed toward Sheboygan, more specifically Blackstar's safehouse. If there was anything to be known about hir location V'Les would find it there.
Blackstar had finished explaining what had happened to Faera. "So where did you go last time."
Blackstar thought for a moment and then pointed towards the rising sun, "about ten meters in that direction. There's something about this location that keeps bringing me back." Blackstar put hir vest back on. "Let's get going. I converted the farmhouse into a safehouse. We can figure out what to do there. You know you're going to be the fifth person to visit it since I took it over. Oddly, you're the second felitaur."
"Who were the others? Friends, enemies, lovers?" asked Faera.
"Sometimes they would be all three," joked Blackstar. "Seriously though, the people who know about this place are, Nightrose, Admiral V'Les, Vega Griffin, another Felitaur named Ileah, and yourself." Faera stopped dead in her tracks, "What's wrong Faera?"
"Did you say Ileah?" Blackstar nodded. "How did you know her?"
"I met her at School," explained Blackstar, "we were both on the Chess team. We became good friends. I even considered asking her out on a date, but she dated this annoying human wrestler named Brandon Vreeke. He got annoyed way too easily, used the lamest comebacks, and I don't care what anyone says, I still say he was gay."
Blackstar smiled as shi thought back to that. As a way to disguise hirself she used fur-dye to create a red five pointed star around her left eye. Shi also had used another name at that time, calling hirself, Sundancer. Shi thought about how shi acted differently. Shi was more confidant about hirself "I guess since I'm not pretending to be Sundancer anymore I've taken a more upbeat personality," shi said to hirself. "So what's your story?"
"I occasionally worked on some art projects," said Faera, "but, I gained ownership of the Torrin after a game of chance. Unfortunately the former owner had some cargo on board that still needed delivering, and I made the mistake of accepting responsibility for it. I made one delivery and I found myself hooked on it. The ship's cargo capacity, speed, and the money drew me in like a moth to a flame."
"I meant the fake name."
Faera explained, "oh, that. I was kind of worried that my family wouldn't approve. I think I've developed a split personality syndrome. I don't expect you to know what that's like."
Blackstar paused, "actually, I know exactly what you mean."
Faera then realized what Blackstar said, "How did you know that I used a fake name?"
Blackstar smiled, "I didn't."
As Blackstar walked away Faera said, "Chakats, can't live with'em, can't get rid of them." Faera followed the Chakat, and let her mind wonder. Faera returned her attention forward when she realized that she was looking at Blackstar's tail. No way. We're from two different worlds and shi is a shi. There is no way I can be attracted to a herm. It must be curiosity.
Blackstar noticed that Faera was falling behind, "is something wrong?"
The startled felitaur said, "no, no, not at all. I was just preoccupied with something. How much farther?"
"Just over that hill." Blackstar paused for a moment and signaled Faera to be quite. "Someone is coming. It's a standard PTV from Sheboygan, piloted by a middle age Caitian."
"How can you tell that?"
"Big ears and a lot of experience," explained the Chakat, "You can tell a lot by an engine hum. I have it down to an art; I can even tell the species by the hum. Let's find out who's out here." Blackstar took off at speeds that Faera thought would normally be impossible, but it was just a quick sprint allowing for a greater burst of speed.
She reached the rather large, and dilipated looking house and saw Blackstar hugging, who did turn out to be a Caitian. As she got closer she recognized the annoying Fleet Admiral V'Les. Lucky guess. She made it difficult to get anything around customs. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the biggest pain in the butt in StarFleet. What did I do this time?"
V'Les' face turned into a snarl, "I didn't come here for a second rate scrap merchant who couldn't smuggle anything past a class 9 sensor post." While Faera counted backwards from 100 to calm down, V'Les did a 180 as her face turned into a pleasant smile as she turned to Blackstar. "Anyway, as I was explaining, we need your help to apprehend an old friend of yours." Blackstar gestured for her to continue. "Parishka's personal ship was spotted heading towards this solar system. A resupply station in orbit of Chakona has video of Parishka being on board last week."
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Blackstar.
Faera nodded, "that does seem to be today's theme."
V'Les looked back and forth between the two taurs, "weren't you two both heading for Quenxel?"
Blackstar nodded, "you knew that but yet you came to my safehouse. Why?
V'Les explained, "I saw the news article about your disappearance. I know you keep a list of contingency plans incase something ever happened to you, no matter what the situation. I figured I find it, tell Nightrose, and..."
"And she'd be in your debt," finished Blackstar. "Did you have something in mind?"
"Possibly. How is your relationship with her?" asked V'Les.
Blackstar raised an eyebrow, "she's still my partner. What does that have to do with anything?"
V'Les shrugged, "nothing. Now let's start tracking down Parishka." V'Les began walking back to the PTV.
Faera stepped forward, "Wait a minute; you still haven't explained how Parishka survived the fall."
It was V'Les' turn to look confused, "what fall?"
"I'll explain on the way to the Mead Public Library," answered Blackstar.
It was a tight fit but all three felines managed to fit in the PTV. While they headed to nearby Sheboygan Blackstar explained what had happened to hir and Faera. "Even if Parishka did survive the fall, she'd have to be a teleporter to be on earth in less then a day." Blackstar considered the possibilities, "that means that she could be a clone, an alternate universe version of her, or a transporter duplicate. None of those are likely, but until we catch her we won't have any explanation."
V'Les nodded in agreement, "I suppose so. Now why are you taking us to a library?"
"I'm going there to find an old friend who may help us. Hopefully shi still works there."
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Blackstar, Faera, and V'Les finally arrived in historic downtown Sheboygan, which included the Sheboygan Theater, Mead Public library and Armory among other things. Most of which had been rebuilt at one point or another. Blackstar, who had taken the time to explain the history of the now mostly furred community, parked in front of a place called Baxter's. "Okay, here the thing," explained Blackstar, "You two go in there and wait for me. Tell the bartender to put it on my tab. If he argues with you tell him that I'll be in tonight before you leave and that I'll pay for it."
"What are you going to do?" asked the ever cautious V'Les.
"I'm going to try and get some information, and a possible ally," explained Blackstar. Shi walked away before the other felines could ask anything else.
"Well, I don't know about you Admiral, but I'm going to get drunk on hir tab." V'Les shook her head in disapproval but followed the felitaur anyway.
Blackstar actually walked past the Library, taking a moment to admire the water fountain and the stand-alone clocktower behind it. I've been gone too long. They were still working on this last time I was able to enjoy my visit. Shi continued on the place shi usually got hir hair styled. As usual, when on assignment shi let it grow just past hir shoulders, and felt it time to have it cut again. The bipedal vixen was surprised to see Blackstar so soon after hir recent departure. "This must be a record. Why are you back so soon?" asked the vixen
"If I'm correct Nightstorm should have an appointment today, and shi might have information that I need," explained Blackstar, "plus I wouldn't mind getting a hair cut."
The vixen grinned, "I don't know how you do it. I actually had a cancellation from a taur and Nightstorm is the next appointment."
"Just lucky I guess."
The vixen shook her head. She guided Blackstar to a taur seat where she and one of her assistants worked on trimming hir fur, even trimming the face fur, revealing a black crescent to the lower left side of hir left eye. Blackstar occasionally hid the crescent with fur die, it made hir more difficult to recognize. Shi stood up to let them work on hir lower belly fur.
The vixen left to deal with a new arrival as the assistants continued their work. The new arrival was given the seat next to hir. "Somehow I doubt this is coincidence. What do you want?"
"Information, of course," replied Blackstar, "about Parishka. She seems to have appeared in multiple locations at once. And maybe why she is so obsessed with getting her daughter back and with killing me."
The taur nodded, "Parishka has created duplicates of herself via the Transporter. Sky should be able to explain how. As for why she's after Snow, the rumor is that while the child was in the womb Parishka did something to hir for some unknown purpose. But I do know this; it has something to do with finding the Time Matrix. That's all I know."
The vixen informed Blackstar that she was done with hir. Blackstar paid the fee. "Thank you, Nightstorm. Your information was most useful. Your debt is paid."
The other taur nodded, "of course. You know if you learn of anything that might be useful to me or my clients and tell me about it I would be in your debt again."
Blackstar paused for a moment, nodded and left. The last thing Blackstar expected was to hear was that someone was searching for the Time Matrix again. Shi thought that it was destroyed four years ago. In the wrong hands the power of the Time Matrix could be devastating. Now to find a Slipstream navigator. I just hope she's forgiven me by now.
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Nightrose was pacing back and forth on the Mystic's bridge, growing more and more frustrated by the fact that there was nothing that she could do to speed departure. She reached for the comm. panel on the captain's chair, "Sky, how much longer?"
"We're still working on some final adjustments to the advanced flying unit's programming," replied the irritated Skunktaur, "It would go faster if you stopped bothering me. Sky, out."
Nightrose resumed her pacing. How did I let this happen? I'm supposed to be Blackstar's partner and shi was almost killed. Nightrose stopped pacing when she realized someone else was on the bridge. "How long have you been there?"
"Only a minute or two," answered Trip, "we're ready to try the new modifications, on your command."
Nightrose nodded. She took her usual seat next to the captain's chair and activated the shipwide comm. system, "This is acting captain Nightrose to all hands: report to your stations for Skimdrive launch. I repeat prepare for Skimdrive launch." She flicked it off and waited.
Sasha and Neal Serge took their usual stations on the bridge, while Sky stayed in main engineering.
"Speed is at .5c, launching advanced flying unit."
"Sensors read all systems nominal, and we have a clear flight window of about 5000 kilometers."
"Advanced flying unit is now at warp one, spreading the warp barrier. Engaging Skimdrive, now."
The normal black and white vista of space quickly changed into the multi-colored randomness of hyperspace. Unlike most ships, the multi-coloredness of hyperspace was spinning in a clockwise pattern. It was one of the Advanced Flying Unit (AFU)'s side effects.
Trip reported the ship's speed as it increased. Nightrose nodded in approval as they surpassed Warp 8. She allowed herself a grin as the ship continued accelerating. Nightrose's sensitive hearing overheard Neal Serge muttering something about "unusual acceleration patterns." She walked over to his console, "is something wrong?"
Serge nodded, "our rate of acceleration is faster then the increase of power to the warp nacelles but that could be a result of the modified AFU. Power increase will cease in 10 seconds mark." Nightrose waited for those ten seconds to pass. When she thought those ten second were up she simply assumed that she had miscounted. Caitians had a tendency to think in a base of eight rather then the ten used by most Terrans. Then Serge reported, "Speed is still increasing. We are at Warp 8.6, 8.7. This is impossible. Power to the nacelles is steady but we are still accelerating. We are at Warp 9 and accelerating. I don't know how but our acceleration rate is increasing." He activated the comm., "Sky, can you figure out why we're still accelerating?"
"Negative. We'll need to stop soon or else we'll fry the sensors from overload, and the ship will be torn apart by the stress." Down in main engineering the male phased Skunktaur was hard at work trying to figure out what was going on, or at least get the ship under control. Hy tried to cut power to the nacelles but that failed. Serge reported that speeds were off the scale and that sensors were overloaded. "I got it! We can try reversing the warp coils reaction. In normal circumstances we would be warping in reverse. Not recommended because we don't have a navigational deflector facing that way. If we're trapped in some sort of subspace wake that's pulling us along, we should slow ourselves down enough to break free of it. But it might get a little bumpy. And we might lose the AFU, and we could tear ourselves into a million pieces."
"Does anyone have any alternatives?" The response was all negative, with the possible exception of Sasha's 'go with the flow statement' which wasn't very helpful. "Do what you have to Sky. I hate flying at impossible speeds with no idea of where we're going."
Sky went to work programming the necessary programs into the computer to execute hys unusual plan, which was continually hindered by the computer stating: "that procedure is not recommended." Sky slammed hys fist against the console, "I'm not asking you're opinion. Just do what I tell you." After several more attempts at a non-recommended procedure hy finally turned off all of the ship's safety protocols. I'll have to remember to put that on my to do list when this is over. "Computer, execute program, Sky 9-2a."
The ship began to shudder. Serge said, "Don't worry. This is normal.
"How would you know?" asked Sasha.
It slowly increased until Nightrose could barely make it back to her chair to strap herself in. "This isn't normal," said Serge.
"What do you mean this isn't normal?!" asked Sasha.
"This is way worst!"
The ship shook so violently that everything that wasn't secured was being tossed around. Luckily the crew knew from experience not to leave fragile objects unsecured except when in use, because they would never know when they'd find themselves in violent situations.
The main viewscreen began to light up so brightly everyone except Trip looked away. Then just as the ship was reaching its structural limitations the shaking stopped and the viewscreen showed that they had returned to normal space, a sun located in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
"All hands, report."
"Tactical is operational, and I have nothing more then a few bruises."
"Primary sensors aren't operational. Switching to secondary, but it'll take a few minutes."
Over the intercom, "this is Sky; warp drive will be offline for about an hour while I make necessary repairs and while the computer reconfigures the nacelles. Warp cores 2-4 are off-line. Reserve power is at 64%. Estimated recovery at current power levels in 8 hours. Full impulse is available, but the SIF fields were weakened and I wouldn't recommend going past .2c until power is back to normal."
"Acknowledged. Work on repairing the warp drive." Nightrose realized that Trip hadn't reported helm status, "Trip, report. Trip?" She looked to the helm station to find the young Chakat covering hir eyes and whimpering. "Trip, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Shi replied, hir voice barely a whisper, "my eyes feel like they're on fire. I can't see a thing. I'm blind."
Nightrose tried to comfort hir, "come on, we'll get you to the medical bay." She guided the blinded Chakat off the bridge. She stopped for a moment, "Sasha, you have the bridge. Serge, try and figure out where we are."
Nightrose guided the stumbling Chakat down the main corridor to the medical bay, taking it slow for Trip's sake. "Don't worry Trip. We'll figure out what's wrong with your eyes and fix it."
They entered the medical bay, which was over equipped for a crew of the Mystic, as demonstrated by the four bio-beds, one of which now had Trip lying on it. Luckily it was equipped with the latest in medical equipment including an advanced holo-system with the still experimental Emergency Medical Holographic program. "Computer, activate the EMH."
A female human appeared seemingly out of thin air, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
"Over here Doctor. Trip has been blinded some how. Shi says hir eyes feel like they were burning."
The EMH picked up a medical tricorder and began scanning the patient. "Hir corneas have been burned. I can give you something for the pain, but the eyes are severely damaged. We do not have the proper equipment to repair it. I'd recommend putting in a facility with the proper equipment. All I can do is reduce the pain."
"Do what you can Doctor," said Nightrose, "I'll be on the bridge. Report to me if hir condition changes."
She was exiting the medical bay when Trip said, "don't go, please. I'm scared."
Nightrose walked over to Trip's biobed and took hir hand in her own. "It'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to you."
The EMH administrated a hypospray to Trip's neck. "How do you feel now?"
"The burning sensation is gone. I'm still scared, though."
The EMH returned the hypospray to its proper spot. "Shi may go with you. There is nothing more I can do for hir."
"Thank you Doctor. Computer, deactivate EMH program." Nightrose slowly escorted Trip back to the bridge with her. "Don't worry Trip. I'll help you through this"
"I'm not worried. You are the only person other then Blackstar that I'm willing to put my complete trust in. You're almost like another sister to me." Nightrose's pause got Trip's attention, "is something wrong?"
Nightrose resumed walking, "no, I just was surprised. I admit, I never realized you thought of me that way. It's been too long since I've felt that close to someone other then Blackstar." They continued their way to the bridge in thoughtful silence.
When they got there Serge was eager to report their position, "I've figured our position, and I think we broke most records. The system that we're in, our position is in orbit of Earth. We are now in geosynchronous orbit above Wisconsin. Right above an old farmhouse as a matter of fact. We just got a call from a very pissed off traffic controller."
The odds of that happening are next to impossible, thought Nightrose, just what is going on here?
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Blackstar made the short walk to the library. Hesitating as shi walked through the door. Shi made hir way up to the second floor and went past rows of historical books till shi found hirself in a corner of the library. Shi found hirself by a bank of windows, and a zoom scope, that shi choose to look through. Shi found that the landscape had several changes made to it since the last time shi looked through it.
When shi stopped looking shi found a feline morph standing next to hir. "I did not expect to see you here again, after you slept with, three of the other librarians I believe it was."
"That was only one night," said Blackstar, "And I don't bail out when things get tough, unlike some people I could name."
"At least I don't sleep with other people when I promise someone that they're the only one for me."
"At least I don't destroy my friend's ships."
"Hey, I replaced it remember? Now why are you here?"
"Parishka is looking for the Time Matrix. And you're the best slipstream pilot this side of the Maelstrom," explained Blackstar.
"Um... correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Starfox take care of that?"
"Shi was supposed to, but we haven't found any trace of hir or hir ship. It was last spotted running into the Maelstrom, a good hiding place. And you know that territory better then anyone else alive."
The feline thought about it for a few minutes, "alright, but realize that I still haven't forgiven you."
"Alright let me go introduce you to some new friends."
The feline left the library with Blackstar and followed hir down the street to Baxter's. Baxter's was a bar catered to taurs and other furs. Along one wall were cushioned areas with retractable curtains. At the back of the place there was a small stage where people could try to perform. Some of the drunker attempts were quite comedic, but the bartender, a todtaur, was very strict about drink limits, and keeping trouble makers outside.
When they walked in the feline looked around for Blackstar's 'friends'. "So where are they?"
Blackstar walked to the bar against one wall where Faera was sitting. "Faera, this is my former partner, Vega Griffin. Vega, this is an associate of mine, Faera. She's a freighter captain, and the only other person I know with a slipstream drive."
"A pleasure I'm sure," said Faera. Vega shrugged it off.
"She's not the most sociable person," explained Blackstar.
"Reminds me of someone I used to know," jested Faera.
"Funny," replied Black, "where's the admiral?" Blackstar looked around and didn't see the old Caitian. "Did you kill her?"
"Just wait." Faera pointed to the stage.
A dressed up V'Les appeared on stage and began singing a song Blackstar didn't recognize. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Faera shrugged, "I gave her a dress."
"And a lot of liquor," added the bartender, "this is her third song today."
"Wait here. I need to go save what's left of the admiral's dignity."
"A little late for that," said Faera. "So how do you know Blackstar?"
"We worked together a while back. Let's just say I owe hir my life, unfortunately. How about you?"
"Hir crew saved my transport once, and we have a tendency to run into to each other a lot."
Faera looked over the feline, getting a good look at just who Vega was. Faera didn't recognize her species, a rare situation. Vega had short fur, just enough to be noticeable. Her face fur was striped in a tiger-like fashion, while her body fur was spotted like a jaguar's. Her ears and tail were clearly feline-based, but despite all her experience Faera just couldn't place it.
Meanwhile Blackstar was talking to V'Les about the Time Matrix, "Do you have any idea where Starfox took the Matrix?"
"If I had any idea I would have had half of the fleet searching for hir. And hir crew," V'Les added as an afterthought. "If Parishka gets her paws on that device then it's over. You, me, everyone who's pissed the psycho bitch off, all wiped out in a matter of seconds. As if we never existed. Our only lead is that it's somewhere in the Maelstrom. There's only one person I know who has a chance in finding the Great Fox in there. And you pissed hir off, because you can't control your damn heat."
"She's sitting over by the bar with Faera."
"I hate it when you do that. How do you do that?" asked V'Les, "it's like you know exactly what's going to happen."
"Not exactly," said Blackstar, "the future's always shifting. No one can predict exactly what's going to happen. If they knew what the score was there would be no reason to play the game."
V'Les blinked twice, "at some point I'm going to need something explained to me."
"What?"
"How your crew puts up with you. Now what are you going to do?" asked V'Les.
"I believe the saying goes saddle up. Lock and Load." Blackstar barely resisted the urge to smile. "But this mission will require all of Blitz team's resources. I'll need to recruit more crew members. You know you have a very competent crew," Blackstar wiggled hir eyebrows suggestively.
V'Les smiled and said, "No. Don't even think about it. No way."
"Baxter, we're going to need to set up one of these booths for an interview, and you need to post a one week ad on the net."
"And what makes you think I'm going to do that," asked the todtaur.
"Because I own the lease on the bar and I gave you a very generous payment plan."
Baxter nodded, "that'll do it." He went working on his assigned tasks.
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Two hours and ten interviews later Blackstar turned to V'Les, "I used to wonder why the Blitz team was so small. Then I interview these people. One guy is wanted in Australia. Some of these guys have been charged with robbery, assault, arrest, resisting arrest. There's a former collection agent for the mob. Two of these guys have done serious time. The fate of the universe is at stake and all I'm getting is a bunch of retards I wouldn't trust with a potato gun."
"It could be worse," said Vega, "on second thought, no it couldn't."
Blackstar simply raised hir middle finger in response.
A Blackstar was then surprised when a young female taur walked up to hir, "excuse me. Is this where the interviews for the Blitz team being held?"
"Yes," said Blackstar. Shi looked over the taur who had the build of a Red Foxtaur, but the fur of a White Wolf, "and who are you?"
"My name is Selina."
Blackstar waited a moment before saying, "Okay. Um, let's see, we need to go over a few standard questions. First of all, what is your age in earth years and what is your species?"
"I'm about 20 years old. I'm a cross between a Wolftaur and a Foxtaur."
Well that explains her odd appearance, thought Blackstar. "And what position are you applying for, what other skills do you have any previous space flight experience, and if so, to what extent, and what are your reasons for joining the Blitz team?"
"That's a lot of questions at once," commented Selina. "I don't have a specific position in mind. I'm a jack of all trades. I have some mechanical capabilities, I have medical field training, and I can pilot small ships, but I should warn you I can't navigate. I have some experience in a simulator but... well that's not really important. As for the reason I'm joining the Blitz team, well that my personal business."
A grin spread across Blackstar's muzzle. Hir empathic senses could tell that this odd cross-breed was quite nervous and seemed to be hiding something. Shi could only guess at what it was, but shi decided that shi should take a chance on this oddball. "That's what I wanted to hear. Please give me you contact information."
Selena got even more nervous, "I don't have any contact information. All I have with me is some personal stuff in my backpack."
Blackstar sighed, "Alright, go sit with Vega over by the bar. Order what you want and tell Baxter to put it on my tab."
"Thank you, I won't let you down." She gave a salute and walked over to the bar.
Well that's one position down, Blackstar thought to hirself, at this rate it's a good thing I invested in auto-control systems. Otherwise we wouldn't have a chance.
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Continued in Episode 3
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
Boyce Garald Kline Jr, Rosepetal, Zhane and family are copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr.
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know
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Blackstar the Chakat
- Banned
- Posts: 5594
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:53 pm
Adventures of Blackstar Chapter two
Here's the second Chapter. The worst one I've written IMO. There are loose ends, and plotholes up the whazoo.
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 2: New Allies
Faera slowly opened her eyes. She recalled that she and Blackstar had been falling through several glass floors, the first being shattered by her target, an old wolftaur bitch named Parishka who was wanted for several crimes in the Stellar Federation. After a fall like that she expected to be in a hospital, assuming she wasn't dead and wasn't in the afterlife. As she opened her eyes she didn't see the sterile environment of a hospital, or any doctors or nurses, or even a ceiling. What Faera saw was an open sky and the tops of several trees. Maybe I am dead, she thought to herself, the closest forest was over five kilometers from the space port.
Faera checked herself over for injuries and found that she had a few shallow cut and scrapes that looked like they were treated with a dermal regenerator. She was startled when a voice said, "I see you're finally up." Faera whirled around. "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Faera nodded.
"What happened? Where are we?" asked Faera, "What happened to Parishka?"
Blackstar looked like shi had just washed hir waist length hair and had hir vest slung over hir arm. "I'm not sure what happened to Parishka, however, just as I woke up I could see the stars of the Orion belt, and the North Star. There is an abandoned farmhouse about half a mile from here that I used to hang out in as a teenager occasionally, and own as of my last trip to Earth. You know, like when you just had to get away from your parents for a while."
"So where are we in relation to the space port, and how did we get here?" asked Faera.
Blackstar was reluctant to explain, "We are about 30 light-years away from Quenxel. We're in Wisconsin, on Earth."
Faera's jaw worked up and down for a moment, "That's impossible."
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Back on Quenxel...
Nightrose had a mystery on her hands. The Caitian's partner and the wolftaur shi was working with had literally disappeared into thin air. She was talking to local security about the incident, "no! Blackstar doesn't carry a personal transporter. If Faera had one it would have beamed her back to the Torrin which is at Dock 94, and if Faera where there she would have collected the bounty on Parishka. I'm done answering your questions." Nightrose was fed up with this second rate police force. They didn't know a damn thing about solving a mystery.
She returned to the crime scene were her partner had fallen and disappeared a day before. A hole was where a glass floor had been. At the bottom of the newly created shaft was where the wolftaur that had caused the Blitz team so much trouble in the past had died. If Nightrose hadn't seen the body she wouldn't have believed that Parishka was finally dead. Now if she only knew where her partner was. Trip, Blackstar's little sister, was there as well. Trip had a fox like pattern with what some described as a fire red color, earning hir the name Firefox. Hir nickname of Trip was given because shi had traveled reportedly more the 5,000 light-years by age 10. "Shi's not dead," said Trip. Shi hadn't even looked at Nightrose, "two years ago shi revealed that shi could Teleport under certain circumstances."
Nightrose shook her head. No matter what crazy thing Trip said, nine out of ten times it would turn out to be true. Nightrose remembered when she bet that Trip was exaggerating when shi said that shi could perform the Starburst maneuver with hir eyes closed until Trip did it when shi was piloting a shuttle they were using. "Are you going to tell me where shi is or are you going to tell me the story first?"
"Two years ago when Dad stormed into the academy with the headmaster, Commodore Starfox, and Admiral V'Les, shi panicked. Shi teleported half-way across earth," said Trip, "Shi was found two days later in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Shi was picking up a plasma converter."
"Why Sheboygan?" asked Nightrose.
"It was the closest a place every came to being hir home," answered Trip, "my question is, what did shi need a plasma converter for?"
Nightrose ignored the question, "can shi control where shi's teleported?"
"No," reported Trip, "if shi tries to control it shi could land up anywhere from China to Nova Scotia."
"Really," asked a skeptical Caitian.
"Yep, beautiful country up there," replied a very serious Trip, "but I've never known hir to travel intergalactic distances. Theoretically it's possible. V'Les's ship should be arriving in Earth orbit in two hours."
Nightrose nodded. It was time to call in a favor. She immediately went to work on contacting Admiral V'Les. Half-way across the Federation V'Les had just woken up to find the news file of Blackstar's disappearance. "It's going to be one of those days," she said to herself. "V'Les to bridge, how long until we reach Terra?"
The night watch officer, a human female, shook her head. She was one of those humans who preferred the name Earth to Terra. "We'll be reaching Earth in twenty minutes. Is there a problem Admiral?"
"Maybe," said V'Les, "prepare my personal shuttle for launch and inform Commander Chekov that I'll be leaving the ship in his hands for the duration of the duration of the refit." After receiving an aye, sir, V'Les put on her civilian clothes and went down to the shuttlebay. She was surprised to find Commander Chekov waiting outside her shuttle. "I know what you're going to say."
"Your impulse drive only has a million miles left before the next recommended overhaul," said the commander.
V'Les held back a smile, "Okay, I didn't know you were going to say that. You think I'm going to search for the FSS Great Fox, don't you?"
The Commander shook his head, "No. You're going to search for your lifemate, who happened to be in command of the Fox. Am I right?"
"No," replied the Caitian, "I'm to Terra to find a friend of mine. My granddaughter is missing and I think I know where shi is."
A confused Chekov asked, "When did you have kids? I thought you were only mated to Commodore Starfox, and you two aren't compatible. Are you?"
The Caitian smiled at the human's ignorance, "I guess that's just one that you're going to figure out on your own. Now if you excuse me, I've got to go find my granddaughter."
Chekov shook his head as the Admiral boarded her personal runabout. Just when you think you've got her figured out she plays another card. When he reached the bridge he relived the night watch commander, and gave the Admiral permission to disembark, which was only a formality then anything. "Lieutenant Harrington, what is the Admiral's flight plan?"
The ox morph checked his console, "she's heading for a spaceport in Wisconsin. That's weird."
"Something is weird about the flight plan Lieutenant?" asked Chekov.
"No. I meant Wisconsin is weird," replied the ox. Chekov shook his head. Being from one of the colonies he didn't understand the joke. Seeing his commander's confusion he explained, "Wisconsin's oddities have made it a popular subject of jokes."
"Lieutenant, I believe I can honestly say, I don't really care."
The Admiral pushed her runabout's impulse drive to full power until the spaceport ordered her to slow down. After she set down she quickly rented a PTV and headed toward Sheboygan, more specifically Blackstar's safehouse. If there was anything to be known about hir location V'Les would find it there.
Blackstar had finished explaining what had happened to Faera. "So where did you go last time."
Blackstar thought for a moment and then pointed towards the rising sun, "about ten meters in that direction. There's something about this location that keeps bringing me back." Blackstar put hir vest back on. "Let's get going. I converted the farmhouse into a safehouse. We can figure out what to do there. You know you're going to be the fifth person to visit it since I took it over. Oddly, you're the second felitaur."
"Who were the others? Friends, enemies, lovers?" asked Faera.
"Sometimes they would be all three," joked Blackstar. "Seriously though, the people who know about this place are, Nightrose, Admiral V'Les, Vega Griffin, another Felitaur named Ileah, and yourself." Faera stopped dead in her tracks, "What's wrong Faera?"
"Did you say Ileah?" Blackstar nodded. "How did you know her?"
"I met her at School," explained Blackstar, "we were both on the Chess team. We became good friends. I even considered asking her out on a date, but she dated this annoying human wrestler named Brandon Vreeke. He got annoyed way too easily, used the lamest comebacks, and I don't care what anyone says, I still say he was gay."
Blackstar smiled as shi thought back to that. As a way to disguise hirself she used fur-dye to create a red five pointed star around her left eye. Shi also had used another name at that time, calling hirself, Sundancer. Shi thought about how shi acted differently. Shi was more confidant about hirself "I guess since I'm not pretending to be Sundancer anymore I've taken a more upbeat personality," shi said to hirself. "So what's your story?"
"I occasionally worked on some art projects," said Faera, "but, I gained ownership of the Torrin after a game of chance. Unfortunately the former owner had some cargo on board that still needed delivering, and I made the mistake of accepting responsibility for it. I made one delivery and I found myself hooked on it. The ship's cargo capacity, speed, and the money drew me in like a moth to a flame."
"I meant the fake name."
Faera explained, "oh, that. I was kind of worried that my family wouldn't approve. I think I've developed a split personality syndrome. I don't expect you to know what that's like."
Blackstar paused, "actually, I know exactly what you mean."
Faera then realized what Blackstar said, "How did you know that I used a fake name?"
Blackstar smiled, "I didn't."
As Blackstar walked away Faera said, "Chakats, can't live with'em, can't get rid of them." Faera followed the Chakat, and let her mind wonder. Faera returned her attention forward when she realized that she was looking at Blackstar's tail. No way. We're from two different worlds and shi is a shi. There is no way I can be attracted to a herm. It must be curiosity.
Blackstar noticed that Faera was falling behind, "is something wrong?"
The startled felitaur said, "no, no, not at all. I was just preoccupied with something. How much farther?"
"Just over that hill." Blackstar paused for a moment and signaled Faera to be quite. "Someone is coming. It's a standard PTV from Sheboygan, piloted by a middle age Caitian."
"How can you tell that?"
"Big ears and a lot of experience," explained the Chakat, "You can tell a lot by an engine hum. I have it down to an art; I can even tell the species by the hum. Let's find out who's out here." Blackstar took off at speeds that Faera thought would normally be impossible, but it was just a quick sprint allowing for a greater burst of speed.
She reached the rather large, and dilipated looking house and saw Blackstar hugging, who did turn out to be a Caitian. As she got closer she recognized the annoying Fleet Admiral V'Les. Lucky guess. She made it difficult to get anything around customs. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the biggest pain in the butt in StarFleet. What did I do this time?"
V'Les' face turned into a snarl, "I didn't come here for a second rate scrap merchant who couldn't smuggle anything past a class 9 sensor post." While Faera counted backwards from 100 to calm down, V'Les did a 180 as her face turned into a pleasant smile as she turned to Blackstar. "Anyway, as I was explaining, we need your help to apprehend an old friend of yours." Blackstar gestured for her to continue. "Parishka's personal ship was spotted heading towards this solar system. A resupply station in orbit of Chakona has video of Parishka being on board last week."
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Blackstar.
Faera nodded, "that does seem to be today's theme."
V'Les looked back and forth between the two taurs, "weren't you two both heading for Quenxel?"
Blackstar nodded, "you knew that but yet you came to my safehouse. Why?
V'Les explained, "I saw the news article about your disappearance. I know you keep a list of contingency plans incase something ever happened to you, no matter what the situation. I figured I find it, tell Nightrose, and..."
"And she'd be in your debt," finished Blackstar. "Did you have something in mind?"
"Possibly. How is your relationship with her?" asked V'Les.
Blackstar raised an eyebrow, "she's still my partner. What does that have to do with anything?"
V'Les shrugged, "nothing. Now let's start tracking down Parishka." V'Les began walking back to the PTV.
Faera stepped forward, "Wait a minute; you still haven't explained how Parishka survived the fall."
It was V'Les' turn to look confused, "what fall?"
"I'll explain on the way to the Mead Public Library," answered Blackstar.
It was a tight fit but all three felines managed to fit in the PTV. While they headed to nearby Sheboygan Blackstar explained what had happened to hir and Faera. "Even if Parishka did survive the fall, she'd have to be a teleporter to be on earth in less then a day." Blackstar considered the possibilities, "that means that she could be a clone, an alternate universe version of her, or a transporter duplicate. None of those are likely, but until we catch her we won't have any explanation."
V'Les nodded in agreement, "I suppose so. Now why are you taking us to a library?"
"I'm going there to find an old friend who may help us. Hopefully shi still works there."
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Blackstar, Faera, and V'Les finally arrived in historic downtown Sheboygan, which included the Sheboygan Theater, Mead Public library and Armory among other things. Most of which had been rebuilt at one point or another. Blackstar, who had taken the time to explain the history of the now mostly furred community, parked in front of a place called Baxter's. "Okay, here the thing," explained Blackstar, "You two go in there and wait for me. Tell the bartender to put it on my tab. If he argues with you tell him that I'll be in tonight before you leave and that I'll pay for it."
"What are you going to do?" asked the ever cautious V'Les.
"I'm going to try and get some information, and a possible ally," explained Blackstar. Shi walked away before the other felines could ask anything else.
"Well, I don't know about you Admiral, but I'm going to get drunk on hir tab." V'Les shook her head in disapproval but followed the felitaur anyway.
Blackstar actually walked past the Library, taking a moment to admire the water fountain and the stand-alone clocktower behind it. I've been gone too long. They were still working on this last time I was able to enjoy my visit. Shi continued on the place shi usually got hir hair styled. As usual, when on assignment shi let it grow just past hir shoulders, and felt it time to have it cut again. The bipedal vixen was surprised to see Blackstar so soon after hir recent departure. "This must be a record. Why are you back so soon?" asked the vixen
"If I'm correct Nightstorm should have an appointment today, and shi might have information that I need," explained Blackstar, "plus I wouldn't mind getting a hair cut."
The vixen grinned, "I don't know how you do it. I actually had a cancellation from a taur and Nightstorm is the next appointment."
"Just lucky I guess."
The vixen shook her head. She guided Blackstar to a taur seat where she and one of her assistants worked on trimming hir fur, even trimming the face fur, revealing a black crescent to the lower left side of hir left eye. Blackstar occasionally hid the crescent with fur die, it made hir more difficult to recognize. Shi stood up to let them work on hir lower belly fur.
The vixen left to deal with a new arrival as the assistants continued their work. The new arrival was given the seat next to hir. "Somehow I doubt this is coincidence. What do you want?"
"Information, of course," replied Blackstar, "about Parishka. She seems to have appeared in multiple locations at once. And maybe why she is so obsessed with getting her daughter back and with killing me."
The taur nodded, "Parishka has created duplicates of herself via the Transporter. Sky should be able to explain how. As for why she's after Snow, the rumor is that while the child was in the womb Parishka did something to hir for some unknown purpose. But I do know this; it has something to do with finding the Time Matrix. That's all I know."
The vixen informed Blackstar that she was done with hir. Blackstar paid the fee. "Thank you, Nightstorm. Your information was most useful. Your debt is paid."
The other taur nodded, "of course. You know if you learn of anything that might be useful to me or my clients and tell me about it I would be in your debt again."
Blackstar paused for a moment, nodded and left. The last thing Blackstar expected was to hear was that someone was searching for the Time Matrix again. Shi thought that it was destroyed four years ago. In the wrong hands the power of the Time Matrix could be devastating. Now to find a Slipstream navigator. I just hope she's forgiven me by now.
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Nightrose was pacing back and forth on the Mystic's bridge, growing more and more frustrated by the fact that there was nothing that she could do to speed departure. She reached for the comm. panel on the captain's chair, "Sky, how much longer?"
"We're still working on some final adjustments to the advanced flying unit's programming," replied the irritated Skunktaur, "It would go faster if you stopped bothering me. Sky, out."
Nightrose resumed her pacing. How did I let this happen? I'm supposed to be Blackstar's partner and shi was almost killed. Nightrose stopped pacing when she realized someone else was on the bridge. "How long have you been there?"
"Only a minute or two," answered Trip, "we're ready to try the new modifications, on your command."
Nightrose nodded. She took her usual seat next to the captain's chair and activated the shipwide comm. system, "This is acting captain Nightrose to all hands: report to your stations for Skimdrive launch. I repeat prepare for Skimdrive launch." She flicked it off and waited.
Sasha and Neal Serge took their usual stations on the bridge, while Sky stayed in main engineering.
"Speed is at .5c, launching advanced flying unit."
"Sensors read all systems nominal, and we have a clear flight window of about 5000 kilometers."
"Advanced flying unit is now at warp one, spreading the warp barrier. Engaging Skimdrive, now."
The normal black and white vista of space quickly changed into the multi-colored randomness of hyperspace. Unlike most ships, the multi-coloredness of hyperspace was spinning in a clockwise pattern. It was one of the Advanced Flying Unit (AFU)'s side effects.
Trip reported the ship's speed as it increased. Nightrose nodded in approval as they surpassed Warp 8. She allowed herself a grin as the ship continued accelerating. Nightrose's sensitive hearing overheard Neal Serge muttering something about "unusual acceleration patterns." She walked over to his console, "is something wrong?"
Serge nodded, "our rate of acceleration is faster then the increase of power to the warp nacelles but that could be a result of the modified AFU. Power increase will cease in 10 seconds mark." Nightrose waited for those ten seconds to pass. When she thought those ten second were up she simply assumed that she had miscounted. Caitians had a tendency to think in a base of eight rather then the ten used by most Terrans. Then Serge reported, "Speed is still increasing. We are at Warp 8.6, 8.7. This is impossible. Power to the nacelles is steady but we are still accelerating. We are at Warp 9 and accelerating. I don't know how but our acceleration rate is increasing." He activated the comm., "Sky, can you figure out why we're still accelerating?"
"Negative. We'll need to stop soon or else we'll fry the sensors from overload, and the ship will be torn apart by the stress." Down in main engineering the male phased Skunktaur was hard at work trying to figure out what was going on, or at least get the ship under control. Hy tried to cut power to the nacelles but that failed. Serge reported that speeds were off the scale and that sensors were overloaded. "I got it! We can try reversing the warp coils reaction. In normal circumstances we would be warping in reverse. Not recommended because we don't have a navigational deflector facing that way. If we're trapped in some sort of subspace wake that's pulling us along, we should slow ourselves down enough to break free of it. But it might get a little bumpy. And we might lose the AFU, and we could tear ourselves into a million pieces."
"Does anyone have any alternatives?" The response was all negative, with the possible exception of Sasha's 'go with the flow statement' which wasn't very helpful. "Do what you have to Sky. I hate flying at impossible speeds with no idea of where we're going."
Sky went to work programming the necessary programs into the computer to execute hys unusual plan, which was continually hindered by the computer stating: "that procedure is not recommended." Sky slammed hys fist against the console, "I'm not asking you're opinion. Just do what I tell you." After several more attempts at a non-recommended procedure hy finally turned off all of the ship's safety protocols. I'll have to remember to put that on my to do list when this is over. "Computer, execute program, Sky 9-2a."
The ship began to shudder. Serge said, "Don't worry. This is normal.
"How would you know?" asked Sasha.
It slowly increased until Nightrose could barely make it back to her chair to strap herself in. "This isn't normal," said Serge.
"What do you mean this isn't normal?!" asked Sasha.
"This is way worst!"
The ship shook so violently that everything that wasn't secured was being tossed around. Luckily the crew knew from experience not to leave fragile objects unsecured except when in use, because they would never know when they'd find themselves in violent situations.
The main viewscreen began to light up so brightly everyone except Trip looked away. Then just as the ship was reaching its structural limitations the shaking stopped and the viewscreen showed that they had returned to normal space, a sun located in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
"All hands, report."
"Tactical is operational, and I have nothing more then a few bruises."
"Primary sensors aren't operational. Switching to secondary, but it'll take a few minutes."
Over the intercom, "this is Sky; warp drive will be offline for about an hour while I make necessary repairs and while the computer reconfigures the nacelles. Warp cores 2-4 are off-line. Reserve power is at 64%. Estimated recovery at current power levels in 8 hours. Full impulse is available, but the SIF fields were weakened and I wouldn't recommend going past .2c until power is back to normal."
"Acknowledged. Work on repairing the warp drive." Nightrose realized that Trip hadn't reported helm status, "Trip, report. Trip?" She looked to the helm station to find the young Chakat covering hir eyes and whimpering. "Trip, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Shi replied, hir voice barely a whisper, "my eyes feel like they're on fire. I can't see a thing. I'm blind."
Nightrose tried to comfort hir, "come on, we'll get you to the medical bay." She guided the blinded Chakat off the bridge. She stopped for a moment, "Sasha, you have the bridge. Serge, try and figure out where we are."
Nightrose guided the stumbling Chakat down the main corridor to the medical bay, taking it slow for Trip's sake. "Don't worry Trip. We'll figure out what's wrong with your eyes and fix it."
They entered the medical bay, which was over equipped for a crew of the Mystic, as demonstrated by the four bio-beds, one of which now had Trip lying on it. Luckily it was equipped with the latest in medical equipment including an advanced holo-system with the still experimental Emergency Medical Holographic program. "Computer, activate the EMH."
A female human appeared seemingly out of thin air, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
"Over here Doctor. Trip has been blinded some how. Shi says hir eyes feel like they were burning."
The EMH picked up a medical tricorder and began scanning the patient. "Hir corneas have been burned. I can give you something for the pain, but the eyes are severely damaged. We do not have the proper equipment to repair it. I'd recommend putting in a facility with the proper equipment. All I can do is reduce the pain."
"Do what you can Doctor," said Nightrose, "I'll be on the bridge. Report to me if hir condition changes."
She was exiting the medical bay when Trip said, "don't go, please. I'm scared."
Nightrose walked over to Trip's biobed and took hir hand in her own. "It'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to you."
The EMH administrated a hypospray to Trip's neck. "How do you feel now?"
"The burning sensation is gone. I'm still scared, though."
The EMH returned the hypospray to its proper spot. "Shi may go with you. There is nothing more I can do for hir."
"Thank you Doctor. Computer, deactivate EMH program." Nightrose slowly escorted Trip back to the bridge with her. "Don't worry Trip. I'll help you through this"
"I'm not worried. You are the only person other then Blackstar that I'm willing to put my complete trust in. You're almost like another sister to me." Nightrose's pause got Trip's attention, "is something wrong?"
Nightrose resumed walking, "no, I just was surprised. I admit, I never realized you thought of me that way. It's been too long since I've felt that close to someone other then Blackstar." They continued their way to the bridge in thoughtful silence.
When they got there Serge was eager to report their position, "I've figured our position, and I think we broke most records. The system that we're in, our position is in orbit of Earth. We are now in geosynchronous orbit above Wisconsin. Right above an old farmhouse as a matter of fact. We just got a call from a very pissed off traffic controller."
The odds of that happening are next to impossible, thought Nightrose, just what is going on here?
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Blackstar made the short walk to the library. Hesitating as shi walked through the door. Shi made hir way up to the second floor and went past rows of historical books till shi found hirself in a corner of the library. Shi found hirself by a bank of windows, and a zoom scope, that shi choose to look through. Shi found that the landscape had several changes made to it since the last time shi looked through it.
When shi stopped looking shi found a feline morph standing next to hir. "I did not expect to see you here again, after you slept with, three of the other librarians I believe it was."
"That was only one night," said Blackstar, "And I don't bail out when things get tough, unlike some people I could name."
"At least I don't sleep with other people when I promise someone that they're the only one for me."
"At least I don't destroy my friend's ships."
"Hey, I replaced it remember? Now why are you here?"
"Parishka is looking for the Time Matrix. And you're the best slipstream pilot this side of the Maelstrom," explained Blackstar.
"Um... correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Starfox take care of that?"
"Shi was supposed to, but we haven't found any trace of hir or hir ship. It was last spotted running into the Maelstrom, a good hiding place. And you know that territory better then anyone else alive."
The feline thought about it for a few minutes, "alright, but realize that I still haven't forgiven you."
"Alright let me go introduce you to some new friends."
The feline left the library with Blackstar and followed hir down the street to Baxter's. Baxter's was a bar catered to taurs and other furs. Along one wall were cushioned areas with retractable curtains. At the back of the place there was a small stage where people could try to perform. Some of the drunker attempts were quite comedic, but the bartender, a todtaur, was very strict about drink limits, and keeping trouble makers outside.
When they walked in the feline looked around for Blackstar's 'friends'. "So where are they?"
Blackstar walked to the bar against one wall where Faera was sitting. "Faera, this is my former partner, Vega Griffin. Vega, this is an associate of mine, Faera. She's a freighter captain, and the only other person I know with a slipstream drive."
"A pleasure I'm sure," said Faera. Vega shrugged it off.
"She's not the most sociable person," explained Blackstar.
"Reminds me of someone I used to know," jested Faera.
"Funny," replied Black, "where's the admiral?" Blackstar looked around and didn't see the old Caitian. "Did you kill her?"
"Just wait." Faera pointed to the stage.
A dressed up V'Les appeared on stage and began singing a song Blackstar didn't recognize. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Faera shrugged, "I gave her a dress."
"And a lot of liquor," added the bartender, "this is her third song today."
"Wait here. I need to go save what's left of the admiral's dignity."
"A little late for that," said Faera. "So how do you know Blackstar?"
"We worked together a while back. Let's just say I owe hir my life, unfortunately. How about you?"
"Hir crew saved my transport once, and we have a tendency to run into to each other a lot."
Faera looked over the feline, getting a good look at just who Vega was. Faera didn't recognize her species, a rare situation. Vega had short fur, just enough to be noticeable. Her face fur was striped in a tiger-like fashion, while her body fur was spotted like a jaguar's. Her ears and tail were clearly feline-based, but despite all her experience Faera just couldn't place it.
Meanwhile Blackstar was talking to V'Les about the Time Matrix, "Do you have any idea where Starfox took the Matrix?"
"If I had any idea I would have had half of the fleet searching for hir. And hir crew," V'Les added as an afterthought. "If Parishka gets her paws on that device then it's over. You, me, everyone who's pissed the psycho bitch off, all wiped out in a matter of seconds. As if we never existed. Our only lead is that it's somewhere in the Maelstrom. There's only one person I know who has a chance in finding the Great Fox in there. And you pissed hir off, because you can't control your damn heat."
"She's sitting over by the bar with Faera."
"I hate it when you do that. How do you do that?" asked V'Les, "it's like you know exactly what's going to happen."
"Not exactly," said Blackstar, "the future's always shifting. No one can predict exactly what's going to happen. If they knew what the score was there would be no reason to play the game."
V'Les blinked twice, "at some point I'm going to need something explained to me."
"What?"
"How your crew puts up with you. Now what are you going to do?" asked V'Les.
"I believe the saying goes saddle up. Lock and Load." Blackstar barely resisted the urge to smile. "But this mission will require all of Blitz team's resources. I'll need to recruit more crew members. You know you have a very competent crew," Blackstar wiggled hir eyebrows suggestively.
V'Les smiled and said, "No. Don't even think about it. No way."
"Baxter, we're going to need to set up one of these booths for an interview, and you need to post a one week ad on the net."
"And what makes you think I'm going to do that," asked the todtaur.
"Because I own the lease on the bar and I gave you a very generous payment plan."
Baxter nodded, "that'll do it." He went working on his assigned tasks.
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Two hours and ten interviews later Blackstar turned to V'Les, "I used to wonder why the Blitz team was so small. Then I interview these people. One guy is wanted in Australia. Some of these guys have been charged with robbery, assault, arrest, resisting arrest. There's a former collection agent for the mob. Two of these guys have done serious time. The fate of the universe is at stake and all I'm getting is a bunch of retards I wouldn't trust with a potato gun."
"It could be worse," said Vega, "on second thought, no it couldn't."
Blackstar simply raised hir middle finger in response.
A Blackstar was then surprised when a young female taur walked up to hir, "excuse me. Is this where the interviews for the Blitz team being held?"
"Yes," said Blackstar. Shi looked over the taur who had the build of a Red Foxtaur, but the fur of a White Wolf, "and who are you?"
"My name is Selina."
Blackstar waited a moment before saying, "Okay. Um, let's see, we need to go over a few standard questions. First of all, what is your age in earth years and what is your species?"
"I'm about 20 years old. I'm a cross between a Wolftaur and a Foxtaur."
Well that explains her odd appearance, thought Blackstar. "And what position are you applying for, what other skills do you have any previous space flight experience, and if so, to what extent, and what are your reasons for joining the Blitz team?"
"That's a lot of questions at once," commented Selina. "I don't have a specific position in mind. I'm a jack of all trades. I have some mechanical capabilities, I have medical field training, and I can pilot small ships, but I should warn you I can't navigate. I have some experience in a simulator but... well that's not really important. As for the reason I'm joining the Blitz team, well that my personal business."
A grin spread across Blackstar's muzzle. Hir empathic senses could tell that this odd cross-breed was quite nervous and seemed to be hiding something. Shi could only guess at what it was, but shi decided that shi should take a chance on this oddball. "That's what I wanted to hear. Please give me you contact information."
Selena got even more nervous, "I don't have any contact information. All I have with me is some personal stuff in my backpack."
Blackstar sighed, "Alright, go sit with Vega over by the bar. Order what you want and tell Baxter to put it on my tab."
"Thank you, I won't let you down." She gave a salute and walked over to the bar.
Well that's one position down, Blackstar thought to hirself, at this rate it's a good thing I invested in auto-control systems. Otherwise we wouldn't have a chance.
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Continued in Episode 3
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
Boyce Garald Kline Jr, Rosepetal, Zhane and family are copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr.
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 2: New Allies
Faera slowly opened her eyes. She recalled that she and Blackstar had been falling through several glass floors, the first being shattered by her target, an old wolftaur bitch named Parishka who was wanted for several crimes in the Stellar Federation. After a fall like that she expected to be in a hospital, assuming she wasn't dead and wasn't in the afterlife. As she opened her eyes she didn't see the sterile environment of a hospital, or any doctors or nurses, or even a ceiling. What Faera saw was an open sky and the tops of several trees. Maybe I am dead, she thought to herself, the closest forest was over five kilometers from the space port.
Faera checked herself over for injuries and found that she had a few shallow cut and scrapes that looked like they were treated with a dermal regenerator. She was startled when a voice said, "I see you're finally up." Faera whirled around. "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Faera nodded.
"What happened? Where are we?" asked Faera, "What happened to Parishka?"
Blackstar looked like shi had just washed hir waist length hair and had hir vest slung over hir arm. "I'm not sure what happened to Parishka, however, just as I woke up I could see the stars of the Orion belt, and the North Star. There is an abandoned farmhouse about half a mile from here that I used to hang out in as a teenager occasionally, and own as of my last trip to Earth. You know, like when you just had to get away from your parents for a while."
"So where are we in relation to the space port, and how did we get here?" asked Faera.
Blackstar was reluctant to explain, "We are about 30 light-years away from Quenxel. We're in Wisconsin, on Earth."
Faera's jaw worked up and down for a moment, "That's impossible."
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Back on Quenxel...
Nightrose had a mystery on her hands. The Caitian's partner and the wolftaur shi was working with had literally disappeared into thin air. She was talking to local security about the incident, "no! Blackstar doesn't carry a personal transporter. If Faera had one it would have beamed her back to the Torrin which is at Dock 94, and if Faera where there she would have collected the bounty on Parishka. I'm done answering your questions." Nightrose was fed up with this second rate police force. They didn't know a damn thing about solving a mystery.
She returned to the crime scene were her partner had fallen and disappeared a day before. A hole was where a glass floor had been. At the bottom of the newly created shaft was where the wolftaur that had caused the Blitz team so much trouble in the past had died. If Nightrose hadn't seen the body she wouldn't have believed that Parishka was finally dead. Now if she only knew where her partner was. Trip, Blackstar's little sister, was there as well. Trip had a fox like pattern with what some described as a fire red color, earning hir the name Firefox. Hir nickname of Trip was given because shi had traveled reportedly more the 5,000 light-years by age 10. "Shi's not dead," said Trip. Shi hadn't even looked at Nightrose, "two years ago shi revealed that shi could Teleport under certain circumstances."
Nightrose shook her head. No matter what crazy thing Trip said, nine out of ten times it would turn out to be true. Nightrose remembered when she bet that Trip was exaggerating when shi said that shi could perform the Starburst maneuver with hir eyes closed until Trip did it when shi was piloting a shuttle they were using. "Are you going to tell me where shi is or are you going to tell me the story first?"
"Two years ago when Dad stormed into the academy with the headmaster, Commodore Starfox, and Admiral V'Les, shi panicked. Shi teleported half-way across earth," said Trip, "Shi was found two days later in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Shi was picking up a plasma converter."
"Why Sheboygan?" asked Nightrose.
"It was the closest a place every came to being hir home," answered Trip, "my question is, what did shi need a plasma converter for?"
Nightrose ignored the question, "can shi control where shi's teleported?"
"No," reported Trip, "if shi tries to control it shi could land up anywhere from China to Nova Scotia."
"Really," asked a skeptical Caitian.
"Yep, beautiful country up there," replied a very serious Trip, "but I've never known hir to travel intergalactic distances. Theoretically it's possible. V'Les's ship should be arriving in Earth orbit in two hours."
Nightrose nodded. It was time to call in a favor. She immediately went to work on contacting Admiral V'Les. Half-way across the Federation V'Les had just woken up to find the news file of Blackstar's disappearance. "It's going to be one of those days," she said to herself. "V'Les to bridge, how long until we reach Terra?"
The night watch officer, a human female, shook her head. She was one of those humans who preferred the name Earth to Terra. "We'll be reaching Earth in twenty minutes. Is there a problem Admiral?"
"Maybe," said V'Les, "prepare my personal shuttle for launch and inform Commander Chekov that I'll be leaving the ship in his hands for the duration of the duration of the refit." After receiving an aye, sir, V'Les put on her civilian clothes and went down to the shuttlebay. She was surprised to find Commander Chekov waiting outside her shuttle. "I know what you're going to say."
"Your impulse drive only has a million miles left before the next recommended overhaul," said the commander.
V'Les held back a smile, "Okay, I didn't know you were going to say that. You think I'm going to search for the FSS Great Fox, don't you?"
The Commander shook his head, "No. You're going to search for your lifemate, who happened to be in command of the Fox. Am I right?"
"No," replied the Caitian, "I'm to Terra to find a friend of mine. My granddaughter is missing and I think I know where shi is."
A confused Chekov asked, "When did you have kids? I thought you were only mated to Commodore Starfox, and you two aren't compatible. Are you?"
The Caitian smiled at the human's ignorance, "I guess that's just one that you're going to figure out on your own. Now if you excuse me, I've got to go find my granddaughter."
Chekov shook his head as the Admiral boarded her personal runabout. Just when you think you've got her figured out she plays another card. When he reached the bridge he relived the night watch commander, and gave the Admiral permission to disembark, which was only a formality then anything. "Lieutenant Harrington, what is the Admiral's flight plan?"
The ox morph checked his console, "she's heading for a spaceport in Wisconsin. That's weird."
"Something is weird about the flight plan Lieutenant?" asked Chekov.
"No. I meant Wisconsin is weird," replied the ox. Chekov shook his head. Being from one of the colonies he didn't understand the joke. Seeing his commander's confusion he explained, "Wisconsin's oddities have made it a popular subject of jokes."
"Lieutenant, I believe I can honestly say, I don't really care."
The Admiral pushed her runabout's impulse drive to full power until the spaceport ordered her to slow down. After she set down she quickly rented a PTV and headed toward Sheboygan, more specifically Blackstar's safehouse. If there was anything to be known about hir location V'Les would find it there.
Blackstar had finished explaining what had happened to Faera. "So where did you go last time."
Blackstar thought for a moment and then pointed towards the rising sun, "about ten meters in that direction. There's something about this location that keeps bringing me back." Blackstar put hir vest back on. "Let's get going. I converted the farmhouse into a safehouse. We can figure out what to do there. You know you're going to be the fifth person to visit it since I took it over. Oddly, you're the second felitaur."
"Who were the others? Friends, enemies, lovers?" asked Faera.
"Sometimes they would be all three," joked Blackstar. "Seriously though, the people who know about this place are, Nightrose, Admiral V'Les, Vega Griffin, another Felitaur named Ileah, and yourself." Faera stopped dead in her tracks, "What's wrong Faera?"
"Did you say Ileah?" Blackstar nodded. "How did you know her?"
"I met her at School," explained Blackstar, "we were both on the Chess team. We became good friends. I even considered asking her out on a date, but she dated this annoying human wrestler named Brandon Vreeke. He got annoyed way too easily, used the lamest comebacks, and I don't care what anyone says, I still say he was gay."
Blackstar smiled as shi thought back to that. As a way to disguise hirself she used fur-dye to create a red five pointed star around her left eye. Shi also had used another name at that time, calling hirself, Sundancer. Shi thought about how shi acted differently. Shi was more confidant about hirself "I guess since I'm not pretending to be Sundancer anymore I've taken a more upbeat personality," shi said to hirself. "So what's your story?"
"I occasionally worked on some art projects," said Faera, "but, I gained ownership of the Torrin after a game of chance. Unfortunately the former owner had some cargo on board that still needed delivering, and I made the mistake of accepting responsibility for it. I made one delivery and I found myself hooked on it. The ship's cargo capacity, speed, and the money drew me in like a moth to a flame."
"I meant the fake name."
Faera explained, "oh, that. I was kind of worried that my family wouldn't approve. I think I've developed a split personality syndrome. I don't expect you to know what that's like."
Blackstar paused, "actually, I know exactly what you mean."
Faera then realized what Blackstar said, "How did you know that I used a fake name?"
Blackstar smiled, "I didn't."
As Blackstar walked away Faera said, "Chakats, can't live with'em, can't get rid of them." Faera followed the Chakat, and let her mind wonder. Faera returned her attention forward when she realized that she was looking at Blackstar's tail. No way. We're from two different worlds and shi is a shi. There is no way I can be attracted to a herm. It must be curiosity.
Blackstar noticed that Faera was falling behind, "is something wrong?"
The startled felitaur said, "no, no, not at all. I was just preoccupied with something. How much farther?"
"Just over that hill." Blackstar paused for a moment and signaled Faera to be quite. "Someone is coming. It's a standard PTV from Sheboygan, piloted by a middle age Caitian."
"How can you tell that?"
"Big ears and a lot of experience," explained the Chakat, "You can tell a lot by an engine hum. I have it down to an art; I can even tell the species by the hum. Let's find out who's out here." Blackstar took off at speeds that Faera thought would normally be impossible, but it was just a quick sprint allowing for a greater burst of speed.
She reached the rather large, and dilipated looking house and saw Blackstar hugging, who did turn out to be a Caitian. As she got closer she recognized the annoying Fleet Admiral V'Les. Lucky guess. She made it difficult to get anything around customs. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the biggest pain in the butt in StarFleet. What did I do this time?"
V'Les' face turned into a snarl, "I didn't come here for a second rate scrap merchant who couldn't smuggle anything past a class 9 sensor post." While Faera counted backwards from 100 to calm down, V'Les did a 180 as her face turned into a pleasant smile as she turned to Blackstar. "Anyway, as I was explaining, we need your help to apprehend an old friend of yours." Blackstar gestured for her to continue. "Parishka's personal ship was spotted heading towards this solar system. A resupply station in orbit of Chakona has video of Parishka being on board last week."
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Blackstar.
Faera nodded, "that does seem to be today's theme."
V'Les looked back and forth between the two taurs, "weren't you two both heading for Quenxel?"
Blackstar nodded, "you knew that but yet you came to my safehouse. Why?
V'Les explained, "I saw the news article about your disappearance. I know you keep a list of contingency plans incase something ever happened to you, no matter what the situation. I figured I find it, tell Nightrose, and..."
"And she'd be in your debt," finished Blackstar. "Did you have something in mind?"
"Possibly. How is your relationship with her?" asked V'Les.
Blackstar raised an eyebrow, "she's still my partner. What does that have to do with anything?"
V'Les shrugged, "nothing. Now let's start tracking down Parishka." V'Les began walking back to the PTV.
Faera stepped forward, "Wait a minute; you still haven't explained how Parishka survived the fall."
It was V'Les' turn to look confused, "what fall?"
"I'll explain on the way to the Mead Public Library," answered Blackstar.
It was a tight fit but all three felines managed to fit in the PTV. While they headed to nearby Sheboygan Blackstar explained what had happened to hir and Faera. "Even if Parishka did survive the fall, she'd have to be a teleporter to be on earth in less then a day." Blackstar considered the possibilities, "that means that she could be a clone, an alternate universe version of her, or a transporter duplicate. None of those are likely, but until we catch her we won't have any explanation."
V'Les nodded in agreement, "I suppose so. Now why are you taking us to a library?"
"I'm going there to find an old friend who may help us. Hopefully shi still works there."
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Blackstar, Faera, and V'Les finally arrived in historic downtown Sheboygan, which included the Sheboygan Theater, Mead Public library and Armory among other things. Most of which had been rebuilt at one point or another. Blackstar, who had taken the time to explain the history of the now mostly furred community, parked in front of a place called Baxter's. "Okay, here the thing," explained Blackstar, "You two go in there and wait for me. Tell the bartender to put it on my tab. If he argues with you tell him that I'll be in tonight before you leave and that I'll pay for it."
"What are you going to do?" asked the ever cautious V'Les.
"I'm going to try and get some information, and a possible ally," explained Blackstar. Shi walked away before the other felines could ask anything else.
"Well, I don't know about you Admiral, but I'm going to get drunk on hir tab." V'Les shook her head in disapproval but followed the felitaur anyway.
Blackstar actually walked past the Library, taking a moment to admire the water fountain and the stand-alone clocktower behind it. I've been gone too long. They were still working on this last time I was able to enjoy my visit. Shi continued on the place shi usually got hir hair styled. As usual, when on assignment shi let it grow just past hir shoulders, and felt it time to have it cut again. The bipedal vixen was surprised to see Blackstar so soon after hir recent departure. "This must be a record. Why are you back so soon?" asked the vixen
"If I'm correct Nightstorm should have an appointment today, and shi might have information that I need," explained Blackstar, "plus I wouldn't mind getting a hair cut."
The vixen grinned, "I don't know how you do it. I actually had a cancellation from a taur and Nightstorm is the next appointment."
"Just lucky I guess."
The vixen shook her head. She guided Blackstar to a taur seat where she and one of her assistants worked on trimming hir fur, even trimming the face fur, revealing a black crescent to the lower left side of hir left eye. Blackstar occasionally hid the crescent with fur die, it made hir more difficult to recognize. Shi stood up to let them work on hir lower belly fur.
The vixen left to deal with a new arrival as the assistants continued their work. The new arrival was given the seat next to hir. "Somehow I doubt this is coincidence. What do you want?"
"Information, of course," replied Blackstar, "about Parishka. She seems to have appeared in multiple locations at once. And maybe why she is so obsessed with getting her daughter back and with killing me."
The taur nodded, "Parishka has created duplicates of herself via the Transporter. Sky should be able to explain how. As for why she's after Snow, the rumor is that while the child was in the womb Parishka did something to hir for some unknown purpose. But I do know this; it has something to do with finding the Time Matrix. That's all I know."
The vixen informed Blackstar that she was done with hir. Blackstar paid the fee. "Thank you, Nightstorm. Your information was most useful. Your debt is paid."
The other taur nodded, "of course. You know if you learn of anything that might be useful to me or my clients and tell me about it I would be in your debt again."
Blackstar paused for a moment, nodded and left. The last thing Blackstar expected was to hear was that someone was searching for the Time Matrix again. Shi thought that it was destroyed four years ago. In the wrong hands the power of the Time Matrix could be devastating. Now to find a Slipstream navigator. I just hope she's forgiven me by now.
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Nightrose was pacing back and forth on the Mystic's bridge, growing more and more frustrated by the fact that there was nothing that she could do to speed departure. She reached for the comm. panel on the captain's chair, "Sky, how much longer?"
"We're still working on some final adjustments to the advanced flying unit's programming," replied the irritated Skunktaur, "It would go faster if you stopped bothering me. Sky, out."
Nightrose resumed her pacing. How did I let this happen? I'm supposed to be Blackstar's partner and shi was almost killed. Nightrose stopped pacing when she realized someone else was on the bridge. "How long have you been there?"
"Only a minute or two," answered Trip, "we're ready to try the new modifications, on your command."
Nightrose nodded. She took her usual seat next to the captain's chair and activated the shipwide comm. system, "This is acting captain Nightrose to all hands: report to your stations for Skimdrive launch. I repeat prepare for Skimdrive launch." She flicked it off and waited.
Sasha and Neal Serge took their usual stations on the bridge, while Sky stayed in main engineering.
"Speed is at .5c, launching advanced flying unit."
"Sensors read all systems nominal, and we have a clear flight window of about 5000 kilometers."
"Advanced flying unit is now at warp one, spreading the warp barrier. Engaging Skimdrive, now."
The normal black and white vista of space quickly changed into the multi-colored randomness of hyperspace. Unlike most ships, the multi-coloredness of hyperspace was spinning in a clockwise pattern. It was one of the Advanced Flying Unit (AFU)'s side effects.
Trip reported the ship's speed as it increased. Nightrose nodded in approval as they surpassed Warp 8. She allowed herself a grin as the ship continued accelerating. Nightrose's sensitive hearing overheard Neal Serge muttering something about "unusual acceleration patterns." She walked over to his console, "is something wrong?"
Serge nodded, "our rate of acceleration is faster then the increase of power to the warp nacelles but that could be a result of the modified AFU. Power increase will cease in 10 seconds mark." Nightrose waited for those ten seconds to pass. When she thought those ten second were up she simply assumed that she had miscounted. Caitians had a tendency to think in a base of eight rather then the ten used by most Terrans. Then Serge reported, "Speed is still increasing. We are at Warp 8.6, 8.7. This is impossible. Power to the nacelles is steady but we are still accelerating. We are at Warp 9 and accelerating. I don't know how but our acceleration rate is increasing." He activated the comm., "Sky, can you figure out why we're still accelerating?"
"Negative. We'll need to stop soon or else we'll fry the sensors from overload, and the ship will be torn apart by the stress." Down in main engineering the male phased Skunktaur was hard at work trying to figure out what was going on, or at least get the ship under control. Hy tried to cut power to the nacelles but that failed. Serge reported that speeds were off the scale and that sensors were overloaded. "I got it! We can try reversing the warp coils reaction. In normal circumstances we would be warping in reverse. Not recommended because we don't have a navigational deflector facing that way. If we're trapped in some sort of subspace wake that's pulling us along, we should slow ourselves down enough to break free of it. But it might get a little bumpy. And we might lose the AFU, and we could tear ourselves into a million pieces."
"Does anyone have any alternatives?" The response was all negative, with the possible exception of Sasha's 'go with the flow statement' which wasn't very helpful. "Do what you have to Sky. I hate flying at impossible speeds with no idea of where we're going."
Sky went to work programming the necessary programs into the computer to execute hys unusual plan, which was continually hindered by the computer stating: "that procedure is not recommended." Sky slammed hys fist against the console, "I'm not asking you're opinion. Just do what I tell you." After several more attempts at a non-recommended procedure hy finally turned off all of the ship's safety protocols. I'll have to remember to put that on my to do list when this is over. "Computer, execute program, Sky 9-2a."
The ship began to shudder. Serge said, "Don't worry. This is normal.
"How would you know?" asked Sasha.
It slowly increased until Nightrose could barely make it back to her chair to strap herself in. "This isn't normal," said Serge.
"What do you mean this isn't normal?!" asked Sasha.
"This is way worst!"
The ship shook so violently that everything that wasn't secured was being tossed around. Luckily the crew knew from experience not to leave fragile objects unsecured except when in use, because they would never know when they'd find themselves in violent situations.
The main viewscreen began to light up so brightly everyone except Trip looked away. Then just as the ship was reaching its structural limitations the shaking stopped and the viewscreen showed that they had returned to normal space, a sun located in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
"All hands, report."
"Tactical is operational, and I have nothing more then a few bruises."
"Primary sensors aren't operational. Switching to secondary, but it'll take a few minutes."
Over the intercom, "this is Sky; warp drive will be offline for about an hour while I make necessary repairs and while the computer reconfigures the nacelles. Warp cores 2-4 are off-line. Reserve power is at 64%. Estimated recovery at current power levels in 8 hours. Full impulse is available, but the SIF fields were weakened and I wouldn't recommend going past .2c until power is back to normal."
"Acknowledged. Work on repairing the warp drive." Nightrose realized that Trip hadn't reported helm status, "Trip, report. Trip?" She looked to the helm station to find the young Chakat covering hir eyes and whimpering. "Trip, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Shi replied, hir voice barely a whisper, "my eyes feel like they're on fire. I can't see a thing. I'm blind."
Nightrose tried to comfort hir, "come on, we'll get you to the medical bay." She guided the blinded Chakat off the bridge. She stopped for a moment, "Sasha, you have the bridge. Serge, try and figure out where we are."
Nightrose guided the stumbling Chakat down the main corridor to the medical bay, taking it slow for Trip's sake. "Don't worry Trip. We'll figure out what's wrong with your eyes and fix it."
They entered the medical bay, which was over equipped for a crew of the Mystic, as demonstrated by the four bio-beds, one of which now had Trip lying on it. Luckily it was equipped with the latest in medical equipment including an advanced holo-system with the still experimental Emergency Medical Holographic program. "Computer, activate the EMH."
A female human appeared seemingly out of thin air, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
"Over here Doctor. Trip has been blinded some how. Shi says hir eyes feel like they were burning."
The EMH picked up a medical tricorder and began scanning the patient. "Hir corneas have been burned. I can give you something for the pain, but the eyes are severely damaged. We do not have the proper equipment to repair it. I'd recommend putting in a facility with the proper equipment. All I can do is reduce the pain."
"Do what you can Doctor," said Nightrose, "I'll be on the bridge. Report to me if hir condition changes."
She was exiting the medical bay when Trip said, "don't go, please. I'm scared."
Nightrose walked over to Trip's biobed and took hir hand in her own. "It'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to you."
The EMH administrated a hypospray to Trip's neck. "How do you feel now?"
"The burning sensation is gone. I'm still scared, though."
The EMH returned the hypospray to its proper spot. "Shi may go with you. There is nothing more I can do for hir."
"Thank you Doctor. Computer, deactivate EMH program." Nightrose slowly escorted Trip back to the bridge with her. "Don't worry Trip. I'll help you through this"
"I'm not worried. You are the only person other then Blackstar that I'm willing to put my complete trust in. You're almost like another sister to me." Nightrose's pause got Trip's attention, "is something wrong?"
Nightrose resumed walking, "no, I just was surprised. I admit, I never realized you thought of me that way. It's been too long since I've felt that close to someone other then Blackstar." They continued their way to the bridge in thoughtful silence.
When they got there Serge was eager to report their position, "I've figured our position, and I think we broke most records. The system that we're in, our position is in orbit of Earth. We are now in geosynchronous orbit above Wisconsin. Right above an old farmhouse as a matter of fact. We just got a call from a very pissed off traffic controller."
The odds of that happening are next to impossible, thought Nightrose, just what is going on here?
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Blackstar made the short walk to the library. Hesitating as shi walked through the door. Shi made hir way up to the second floor and went past rows of historical books till shi found hirself in a corner of the library. Shi found hirself by a bank of windows, and a zoom scope, that shi choose to look through. Shi found that the landscape had several changes made to it since the last time shi looked through it.
When shi stopped looking shi found a feline morph standing next to hir. "I did not expect to see you here again, after you slept with, three of the other librarians I believe it was."
"That was only one night," said Blackstar, "And I don't bail out when things get tough, unlike some people I could name."
"At least I don't sleep with other people when I promise someone that they're the only one for me."
"At least I don't destroy my friend's ships."
"Hey, I replaced it remember? Now why are you here?"
"Parishka is looking for the Time Matrix. And you're the best slipstream pilot this side of the Maelstrom," explained Blackstar.
"Um... correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Starfox take care of that?"
"Shi was supposed to, but we haven't found any trace of hir or hir ship. It was last spotted running into the Maelstrom, a good hiding place. And you know that territory better then anyone else alive."
The feline thought about it for a few minutes, "alright, but realize that I still haven't forgiven you."
"Alright let me go introduce you to some new friends."
The feline left the library with Blackstar and followed hir down the street to Baxter's. Baxter's was a bar catered to taurs and other furs. Along one wall were cushioned areas with retractable curtains. At the back of the place there was a small stage where people could try to perform. Some of the drunker attempts were quite comedic, but the bartender, a todtaur, was very strict about drink limits, and keeping trouble makers outside.
When they walked in the feline looked around for Blackstar's 'friends'. "So where are they?"
Blackstar walked to the bar against one wall where Faera was sitting. "Faera, this is my former partner, Vega Griffin. Vega, this is an associate of mine, Faera. She's a freighter captain, and the only other person I know with a slipstream drive."
"A pleasure I'm sure," said Faera. Vega shrugged it off.
"She's not the most sociable person," explained Blackstar.
"Reminds me of someone I used to know," jested Faera.
"Funny," replied Black, "where's the admiral?" Blackstar looked around and didn't see the old Caitian. "Did you kill her?"
"Just wait." Faera pointed to the stage.
A dressed up V'Les appeared on stage and began singing a song Blackstar didn't recognize. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Faera shrugged, "I gave her a dress."
"And a lot of liquor," added the bartender, "this is her third song today."
"Wait here. I need to go save what's left of the admiral's dignity."
"A little late for that," said Faera. "So how do you know Blackstar?"
"We worked together a while back. Let's just say I owe hir my life, unfortunately. How about you?"
"Hir crew saved my transport once, and we have a tendency to run into to each other a lot."
Faera looked over the feline, getting a good look at just who Vega was. Faera didn't recognize her species, a rare situation. Vega had short fur, just enough to be noticeable. Her face fur was striped in a tiger-like fashion, while her body fur was spotted like a jaguar's. Her ears and tail were clearly feline-based, but despite all her experience Faera just couldn't place it.
Meanwhile Blackstar was talking to V'Les about the Time Matrix, "Do you have any idea where Starfox took the Matrix?"
"If I had any idea I would have had half of the fleet searching for hir. And hir crew," V'Les added as an afterthought. "If Parishka gets her paws on that device then it's over. You, me, everyone who's pissed the psycho bitch off, all wiped out in a matter of seconds. As if we never existed. Our only lead is that it's somewhere in the Maelstrom. There's only one person I know who has a chance in finding the Great Fox in there. And you pissed hir off, because you can't control your damn heat."
"She's sitting over by the bar with Faera."
"I hate it when you do that. How do you do that?" asked V'Les, "it's like you know exactly what's going to happen."
"Not exactly," said Blackstar, "the future's always shifting. No one can predict exactly what's going to happen. If they knew what the score was there would be no reason to play the game."
V'Les blinked twice, "at some point I'm going to need something explained to me."
"What?"
"How your crew puts up with you. Now what are you going to do?" asked V'Les.
"I believe the saying goes saddle up. Lock and Load." Blackstar barely resisted the urge to smile. "But this mission will require all of Blitz team's resources. I'll need to recruit more crew members. You know you have a very competent crew," Blackstar wiggled hir eyebrows suggestively.
V'Les smiled and said, "No. Don't even think about it. No way."
"Baxter, we're going to need to set up one of these booths for an interview, and you need to post a one week ad on the net."
"And what makes you think I'm going to do that," asked the todtaur.
"Because I own the lease on the bar and I gave you a very generous payment plan."
Baxter nodded, "that'll do it." He went working on his assigned tasks.
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Two hours and ten interviews later Blackstar turned to V'Les, "I used to wonder why the Blitz team was so small. Then I interview these people. One guy is wanted in Australia. Some of these guys have been charged with robbery, assault, arrest, resisting arrest. There's a former collection agent for the mob. Two of these guys have done serious time. The fate of the universe is at stake and all I'm getting is a bunch of retards I wouldn't trust with a potato gun."
"It could be worse," said Vega, "on second thought, no it couldn't."
Blackstar simply raised hir middle finger in response.
A Blackstar was then surprised when a young female taur walked up to hir, "excuse me. Is this where the interviews for the Blitz team being held?"
"Yes," said Blackstar. Shi looked over the taur who had the build of a Red Foxtaur, but the fur of a White Wolf, "and who are you?"
"My name is Selina."
Blackstar waited a moment before saying, "Okay. Um, let's see, we need to go over a few standard questions. First of all, what is your age in earth years and what is your species?"
"I'm about 20 years old. I'm a cross between a Wolftaur and a Foxtaur."
Well that explains her odd appearance, thought Blackstar. "And what position are you applying for, what other skills do you have any previous space flight experience, and if so, to what extent, and what are your reasons for joining the Blitz team?"
"That's a lot of questions at once," commented Selina. "I don't have a specific position in mind. I'm a jack of all trades. I have some mechanical capabilities, I have medical field training, and I can pilot small ships, but I should warn you I can't navigate. I have some experience in a simulator but... well that's not really important. As for the reason I'm joining the Blitz team, well that my personal business."
A grin spread across Blackstar's muzzle. Hir empathic senses could tell that this odd cross-breed was quite nervous and seemed to be hiding something. Shi could only guess at what it was, but shi decided that shi should take a chance on this oddball. "That's what I wanted to hear. Please give me you contact information."
Selena got even more nervous, "I don't have any contact information. All I have with me is some personal stuff in my backpack."
Blackstar sighed, "Alright, go sit with Vega over by the bar. Order what you want and tell Baxter to put it on my tab."
"Thank you, I won't let you down." She gave a salute and walked over to the bar.
Well that's one position down, Blackstar thought to hirself, at this rate it's a good thing I invested in auto-control systems. Otherwise we wouldn't have a chance.
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Continued in Episode 3
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
Boyce Garald Kline Jr, Rosepetal, Zhane and family are copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr.
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know
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Blackstar the Chakat
- Banned
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- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:53 pm
Adventures of Blackstar Chapter three
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 3: Invasion
Blackstar had assembled a small crew to man a group of modified freighters that Blackstar planned on using to search for the Time Matrix. Shi was accompanied by the Caitian Fleet Admiral V'Les, who was on extended leave from Star Fleet, a freighter Captain named Faera who was a normal cattaur, Vega Griffin, who looked as close to a cat-girl as a cat morph could get. Blackstar was also accompanied by new Blitz team member Serena, a cross-breed of a foxtaur and wolftaur. They were aboard Blackstar's personal ship, the Midnight Star, when they learned that the rest of the Blitz team aboard the Starship Mystic, were in the solar system. Blackstar sent the freighters on ahead while shi met up with the main members of hir team.
Blackstar was surprised to find hir partner, a Caitian named Nightrose, was escorting hir little sister to the Spacedock's infirmary. "What happened?"
Nightrose explained how the modified Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) had sent the ship at impossible speeds when they broke free of whatever they had been trapped in. When they did it the main screen became so bright that it blinded Blackstar's sister, Trip.
As the two felines waited for the doctor to finish examining Trip they began to discuss what happened, "I'm sorry about this Blacky. This is my fault," said Nightrose.
"How is this your fault?" asked Blackstar.
Nightrose gave hir a dirty look, "I let you do something without me around. When you go on dangerous assignments I am always there to back you up at the very least. Anyone else would be dead."
"If you went with that kind of thinking you should blame Faera, who convinced you to stay behind," noted Blackstar. "And if you were anyone else I would've left you behind a long time ago. Don't take this the wrong way, but you take being my partner too seriously."
Nightrose looked at the ground. "I gave you my word that I'd be your partner as long as you let me."
"You can leave this partnership anytime you want."
"But the thing is that I don't want to!"
Blackstar was surprised; shi had never known Nightrose to raise hir voice to anyone. Before shi could ask what was going on the nurse came in. "The doctor will see you now."
Blackstar and Nightrose walked into the examination room. The doctor, a human female, greeted them, "I'm Doctor Dove, now we need to talk about Firefox's condition."
"Dove, Dove," said Blackstar, "Where have I heard that name before?"
"Well do you read the Scientific Chakat?"
"No. I don't read much that's medical related." Blackstar snapped hir fingers a few times, "I know I've heard it somewhere though."
"Can we get back to the patient," asked the irritated doctor. "Hir eyes were heavily damaged. We have a few options, none of which are perfect. There is the possibility of cloning hir eyes and replacing them with surgery."
"That could take months, maybe years," complained Trip. "Are there any faster options?"
The doctor nodded. "There are cybernetic replacements that we could try. Not only will they replace your vision but they also will improve it. There is a device that could be linked to Firefox's remaining visual receptors. Shi can adjust what shi'll see. It'll take a few months for hir to go through the necessary therapy, but it's that or shi waits for the cloned eyes. Unless shi wants to go blind. Luckily shi is a Chakat so it'll only be a matter of time before the eyes naturally regenerate over time. With medical assistance shi'll have normal eyesight before hir First."
Blackstar turned to hir sister, "it's your choice Trip."
Trip nodded, "Doctor, would it be possible to remove and reinstall the device at will, even after my eyes regenerate?"
The Doctor thought about it for a moment, "I suppose so."
Trip turned to hir sister, relying on hir empathic sense, "It looks like I'll be sitting this mission out, sis. Hopefully you'll be back before my therapy's over." Shi walked over to hir sister and hugged hir. As Blackstar returned the hug hir sensitive hearing heard hir sister whisper, "Don't get killed."
"I'll do my best."
Nightrose smiled as she saw the exchange, while she made arrangements for Trip's stay. She and Blackstar were surprised when Trip hugged Nightrose. "Keep hir out of trouble."
Blackstar asked, "Trip, do you realize I can hear you?"
"Yes." Nightrose and Trip giggled.
Blackstar returned to the Mystic with Nightrose. Shi was surprised when they were greeted by Sky. Hy handed Blackstar a PADD. Shi scanned over it. "What is the meaning of this?"
"My resignation. My negligence resulted in the injury of a Blitz team crewmember." Hy was standing so straight and formal Blackstar thought shi was going to get a strain just watching.
"Explain," demanded Blackstar.
"While working on the reverse warp maneuver I overrode all safeties. Including the viewscreen's dimmer feature," explained Sky
Sky was shocked when Blackstar began laughing. "Sky, Trip's condition isn't permanent. And you saved the ship, when most engineers would've failed. If you think you're going to get away that easily, think again. It wasn't your fault. Now I want you to take your resignation and delete it. Then I want you to go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow and I need you at your best. Now I need to know how Parishka is duplicating herself."
Sky tilted hys head to the side, which Blackstar knew was a sign that hy was theorizing. "Maybe clones, but those are difficult to create a perfect duplicate, and it's even harder to add the memory engrams. Hmm maybe, a transporter duplicate."
"A transporter duplicate?" asked Nightrose, "Could you explain?"
Sky explained, "Well, a transporter normally transports a person's original matter, but it could use matter at the other end of the transmission beam and merge it with the pattern from the transporter's Mind Matrix. It would be difficult and inconvenient for regular transport process, but it's far from impossible. Something similar happened to an Ensign Dale Perkins a while back. He was transporting with a large amount of bio-matter when a damn Human's First group damaged the transporter. They lost his physical pattern, but they used the pattern of the last person through the transporter, a Chakat named Goldfur."
"Wait," said Nightrose, "Does that mean this Perkins is a copy of a Chakat now?" Sky nodded. "Bummer," Blackstar glared at her, "that didn't come out right."
"No," said Blackstar, "I just didn't expect a Caitian to say bummer."
"It could've been worse," said Sky, "I met Goldfur once back on Earth. Shi's very attractive, very intelligent, and very friendly. I know worse people that Perkins' body could've been turned into."
"Thanks Sky," said Blackstar, "now go to bed." Sky gave a small salute and walked off.
Blackstar began walking towards hir quarters, but paused when shi realized that Nightrose was following hir. "What are you doing?"
"You mean following you?" asked Nightrose. "Simple - I'm not letting you out of my sight. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."
Blackstar raised one eyebrow, "Does this mean you plan on being my roommate?" Shi was surprised when Nightrose nodded. "Then I have one simple question. Why?"
Nightrose looked around to make sure the corridor was empty. She grabbed Blackstar by the arm and led hir to hir room. "Let's continue this inside." When they were inside and Nightrose was sure they were alone she asked, "How much do you know about Caitian mating customs?"
Blackstar recalled, "Females outnumber the males five or six to one. They mate in a fashion similar to Terran lion prides. Each male can have up to six wives, but it's the first wife who is in charge of the household. Status goes up with each wife. While it's possible to have more then six status begins to go down. The wives are also assigned one of the six virtues of mating. The First wife is always intelligence because she has to make an informed choice on future mates. The other virtues are "
"Okay, that's enough," said Nightrose. "Where did you learn all that?"
"V'Les is mated to my grandfather, remember? She used to baby-sit a lot."
Nightrose sat down, while Blackstar lay down on hir bedding. Nightrose began, "it's rare for a Caitian to mate outside her species because we wouldn't be able to reproduce. And some people, like humans, only take one mate for life." Nightrose hesitated, "But sometimes, love overrides our need for tradition."
"Oh, I see," said Blackstar, "you've fallen in love with someone outside of your own species. And your love for him is fighting with your instincts and sense of tradition." Nightrose nodded, "As a chakat I suggest you go with love, naturally. But as your friend I suggest you think about the pros and cons of mating with this person. You may not even really be in love with them, and I don't want to see you throw your life away for a passing infatuation."
"Would you say that even if it were you?" asked Nightrose.
"Even if it was me," said Blackstar. "We're talking hypothetically now, right." Nightrose nodded almost too quickly.
Nightrose looked down, "Blacky, do you mind if I sleep here tonight?"
"Um sure, I guess. Why would you want to?"
Nightrose hesitated, "Knowing that you're near me makes me feel safe. Do you mind?"
"Only if you don't mind me sleeping in the nude," teased Blackstar.
Blackstar was caught completely off guard when Nightrose embraced hir in a hug and nuzzled hir, "Thank you. Oh, and I should warn you, you're not the only one who sleeps nude."
Blackstar grinned, "I think I finally know why I put up with you. You're the only person I know enough to be able to know exactly what you're going to say, but still catch me off guard."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"I know. That's what I like about it."
Nightrose giggled. Blackstar removed hir vest, revealing hir above average size breasts. Nightrose had seen the sight many times before, Blackstar often preferred being nude when in private, or on certain off-duty occasions. Blackstar however was surprised when Nightrose removed her top. Blackstar had only seen Nightrose naked on a handful of occasions in unusual circumstances. When Nightrose finished removing her clothes she noticed Blackstar staring at her. "Is something wrong?"
When Blackstar found hir voice again shi said, "I'm sorry for staring. I just didn't realize you were serious."
Nightrose grinned, "Blacky, I'm always serious."
"Even when you're joking?"
"Especially when I'm joking," Nightrose laid down and gestured for Blacky to lay behind her. A suggestion that Blackstar took. Shi curled up around the Caitian, who then proceeded to snuggle up closer to the Chakat. Blackstar was just falling asleep when shi heard the sleepy Caitian purring. Blackstar probed the Nightrose's mind with hir empathic sense and sensed a great amount of happiness emanating from the Caitian's mind. Blackstar grinned and followed hir partner's example.
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The next morning Blackstar, Nightrose, Faera, and Serena boarded the Midnight Star which was docked with the Mystic. Sasha met Blackstar at the airlock, "How long should we wait for you?"
"Zero seconds," said Blackstar, "I want you to begin the search immediately. Don't worry, I'll find you no problem."
"No problem? I've heard that before," said Sasha. "What about the person that sabotaged the ADF? For all we know the saboteur could be on the Star right now."
Blackstar gave Sasha a skeptical look. "The only people on board that had the chance to sabotage the ADF are Nightrose and myself. It could've been a simple case of Deus ex Machina."
"Or Faera. She's visited the Mystic while we were constructing the ADF," pointed out Sasha, "I don't trust her. I think she'd sell us out in minute if she was paid enough. Now you're escorting her back to her ship. What makes you think you can trust her?"
Blackstar looked behind hir to look at the ship's airlock. "Let's just say I've known her longer then even she knows. I trust her, just like I trusted you a few years ago"
"What about the cat girl?" asked Sasha.
"My advice is keeping one eye open, and hide the alcohol."
"I don't drink," said Sasha. Blackstar blinked twice before Sasha added, "Don't worry, you might be the captain but I still have a few hiding places you don't know about."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Blackstar who promptly turned around and added a confident swishing to hir tail as shi walked away.
Sasha shook her head, "Some day hir confidence will come to bite hir in the tail," she said to herself. "Then again shi might be right. I hope she is. I've got to stop talking to myself, people might start thinking I'm crazy."
"Too late for that," said a feminine voice.
Sasha spun her head around looking for the voice's owner, but couldn't find her. "Great, now I'm hearing voices. I've got to take a vacation soon. This job's getting to me."
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The Midnight Star left the Mystic far behind as she activated her advanced FTL drive. Unlike the Warp Drive traditionally used by Federation starships or even the skim drive of the Mystic, the Midnight Star created a slipstream in hyperspace, hence the name Slipstream drive. The Midnight Star was one of the few ships capable of navigating in Slipstream because of her unique computer and guidance systems, something the Stellar Federation's technology couldn't reproduce at present time, although it was one of many new Faster Then Light drives that scientists were working on.
Blackstar joined hir fellow travelers in what was the Midnight Star's only crew lounge. "We should be back to Quenxel in about twenty-four hours. So what did I miss?"
Serena giggled, "Is it true you were a street racer?"
Blackstar's cocky grin made an appearance, "People once claimed that I had Nitrous running through my veins. Back then I went the nickname of Silverbolt. And one of the only two racers to finish the Downtown jump of Sheboygan, I might add."
"But you were the only one of the two to get arrested by the cops, but I guess you never mention that," added Serena.
"Well, I was able to get away with a clean record, and I got the car back. Which by the way still ran once I replaced the tires. But the neon also had to be replaced, along with some minor body damage from when the cops scrambled my car's electrical system," Blackstar pointed out. "But you had to replace the neon, the front end and repair your radiator." Serena's eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't think I recognized you, 8-Ball?"
Nightrose interrupted, "Actually, you checked her record and realized where you knew her from." Blackstar gave Nightrose a dirty look.
Serena chuckled, "I must admit how surprised I was to learn that Silverbolt here was not only a law-abiding citizen, but that shi started an organization to enforce the law. I must admit you've come a long way from the street racing criminal I once knew."
"Well, I had some extra cash so I put it to good use and started a pirate fighting force," said Blackstar.
"Where did you get all that money from? If I remember correctly you were the one who bought the Majestic, and the one who constructed the Mystic," said Nightrose. "Unless you've been making secret contracts with our employers behind my back, in which case I would kill you, I don't know where you could get the money."
"It's quite simple, really," explained Blackstar, "I got a generous inheritance from my grandsire when shi died, and I made some very good investments." "I have two questions about that," said Faera. "One: isn't your grandsire MIA? Two: if you're really that rich, why do you risk your life on a regular basis?"
Blackstar grinned, "You're thinking of Starfox who, although I call hir my grandsire, is technically my grandmother. Weird, isn't it?"
"What about this ship?" asked Faera. "Not only does it have a Slipstream drive, but it can navigate Slipstream without a living pilot at the helm. I've never been able to do that with the Torrin. Federation computers aren't powerful enough."
"Wait," said Serena, "what can a live pilot do that a computer can't?"
Blackstar explained it for Serena's benefit. "For some reason a living pilot can navigate a slipstream's seemingly unpredictable nature for some reason only a biological can make the necessary corrections to travel though slipstream. A computer, even one with an advanced AI unit, can't seem to predict the right corrections. One theory is that maybe it's the biological pilot that makes it the correct path."
"Now that makes me even more confused about how this ship is on auto-pilot," said Serena.
Blackstar's grin got even wider. Nightrose was wondering just how much bigger that grin could get. "It's quite simple," said Blackstar, "the Midnight Star doesn't have an auto-pilot. Whereas some ships have an advanced AI system, this ship has an actual person as the equivalent of an AI. So when people refer to this ship with the female pronoun, it's actually true. Her name is Layla. Say hi Layla."
"Hi, Layla," said a feminine voice seemingly out of nowhere.
"Smartass," said Blackstar. "It must be anyone hooked into a computer."
"Layla's a pretty name," said Faera. "Does it mean anything?"
Layla answered, "It's Arabic, and it's usually translated as night, dark night, girl born at night, and/or ecstasy of wine and a moonless night."
Blackstar raised hir glass. "An appropriate name considering this ship's name."
Layla laughed. "The ship was named after I was, remember. Silly fuzzball."
"So, Layla, do you have a physical form?" asked Nightrose.
"That depends on what you mean," said Layla. "If you mean a body with limbs, eyes, that sort of thing, not really. I have on occasion appeared in holographic form on the hologrid though. My original body was crippled by a rare disease, but my mind was fine. I was given a mechanical body, and eventually I was transferred to my current ship form. My original body is protected by several layers of super strong metal alloys. Just like anyone else, I have skills, likes, dislikes, and pet peeves just like everyone else. Oh, and don't worry about privacy, I'm a computer not a peeping tom."
Nightrose breathed a barely audible sigh of relief. Faera posed a question, "Do you have complete control over the ship, and if so why do you need a crew?"
Layla laughed again, "I need a crew for heavy maintenance and for companionship. It's hard to find another ship with a sentient computer. But before we left Earth I did meet a very interesting one named Tess. As for control, I can override any system connected to the Midnight Star's computer cores, and related systems, but they can't override me. I can also override systems I'm connected to if I have the correct override codes."
"That's a lot of power to be given," said Serena.
"Not, really," said Layla, "many captains and owners of starships have a total override code that they can use to control a starship; this is no different." Everyone gave Blackstar the look.
There was a moment of silence before Blackstar said, "Well, this is awkward." Another moment, "So who wants to play twister?" Blackstar found hirself under assault by a number of pillows.
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After a boring day of talking with the girls, Blackstar returned to hir cabin to go to bed and was just taking hir top off when there was a knock on hir door. Out of curiosity Blackstar decided to see who it was before yelling at them. Shi was surprised when shi was greeted by Nightrose. "What's up?"
Nightrose seemed hesitant, "I couldn't sleep. Do you mind if I join you?"
"Um okay," said Blackstar. It wasn't long before they were snuggled together in bed again. Blackstar was surprised when Nightrose was purring without even realizing it again. "Perhaps you should move in with me," joked Blackstar.
Nightrose's head perked up, "Really?"
Blackstar's mouth hung open for a minute before shi got it closed again. Shi had never seriously considered having Nightrose move in, and never expected Nightrose to want to move in. Being cautious, Blackstar said, "I didn't expect you to take me seriously. Why exactly would you want to move in with me?"
A slightly embarrassed Nightrose took a moment to answer, "Well, it seems to help me sleep at night. And I'm, well, what I'm trying to say is " Blackstar gestured for Nightrose to continue.
"Nightrose, is there something else?"
"Yes," Nightrose's voice was barely a whisper, "before I left Cait, a male I was interested in promised he would make himself worthy to be my husband, and he wanted me as first wife. I told him to wait while I joined StarFleet for a few years. Then that failed, and I got side-tracked with you. When I fell off the grid he assumed that I wouldn't return out of shame. I learned that he gained his first wife last month. He was my safety net for a mate."
"You lost that net." Blackstar finally understood. "You've been worried about never having a family to take care of." Blackstar mentally filled in the blanks. Nightrose had become so protective of Blackstar and the Blitz team that they had become a surrogate family to her. Blackstar suspected which role shi was in but didn't want to make any unnecessary assumptions; they had bitten hir in the tail in the past. "You can stay with me as long as you want."
Nightrose teared up and hugged Blackstar, "Thank you."
The rest of the night was very private, but Blackstar had a nagging feeling like someone was watching.
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On the Mystic, Sky was having problems of hys own. "There is no way we could last more then five minutes in your pseudo-slipstream. We've never tried anything like that before and I believe those speeds would tear this ship apart."
Vega shook her head, "I must point out that isn't correct. In your most recent journey to Earth, your Advanced Flying Unit created an uncontrolled pseudo-slipstream. You went far faster than we would try with the controlled pseudo-slipstream. Besides, worst case scenario we'll have to drop the main core, but the auxiliary cores should be enough to limp to the nearest base."
Sky disliked being told what to do, or what hy was doing wrong, and Vega was doing both. "Do you realize how expensive the main core is? And if your pseudo-slipstream failed like our accidental one, we'd lose the AFU as well. I know the captain wants us to hurry, but I don't think shi wants us to tear hir ship apart in the process."
"Sky, what do you know about Blackstar's past?"
Hy thought a moment before shrugging hys shoulders, "Not much. Shi lived with hir family for a while, fought pirates. Lived on Earth for a while, joined the academy. Then shi got kicked out and then shi started the Blitz team. That's all I know, really. Why?"
Vega started explaining, "Between the end of hir traditional schooling and hir entry into the academy, we worked together as partners. I guess that's why shi never worked well solo. But when we worked together shi trusted me with numerous modifications to hir vehicles, and the only time it blew up in our face was when it was intentional." At Sky's questioning glance Vega said, "It's a long story. It was a trick that Blackstar came up with. Shi had used a similar one before I met hir, when shi was working on the Black Curse project."
Sky took a double take on what Vega said. "The Black Curse project? That project was discontinued over a decade ago."
"I shouldn't have said that," said Vega who returned her attention to the console in front of her. The Black Curse project was a project that never should have been started. Its purpose was to create temporal weapons. When the dangers of the project became known to the Federation Council, it had the project canceled.
"Vega, how was Blackstar involved in the program?" asked Sky
"Shi is the person who made it possible for the program to exist," said Vega. "Before the Time Matrix was hidden, enough study was done to figure out the basic principle of it. When the device was hidden, a group of scientists began working on duplicating its abilities. They even constructed a prototype temporal displacement device, but it was never tested."
"How is that possible? Blackstar's medical records show that shi's eighteen years old. Nineteen tops," said Sky, "does it have to do with this temporal project?"
"That's private," said Vega. "Everyone has their secrets. I'm sure you wouldn't want me to tell Blackstar about how you were ready to marry a human woman and left her at the altar when you accidentally changed gender in front of her whole family."
Sky's mouth hung open in disbelief, "how did you know about that? I never told anyone about that. Not even my family."
"I have my sources," said Vega. "Oh, and your mom wants you to stop all this crazy work and come home. Hy says you should take a more practical and more stable job back on Chakona."
She was stopped when Sky hit her with a left hook to her jaw. "I don't know how you got your information, but I want you to stop and I don't want you telling anyone else about that. Got it?"
"Ya, just remind me to never piss you off," said Vega. "Now let's start installing my new stealth equipment."
"Stealth technology? How does it work?" asked Sasha, who had just entered Main Engineering.
"How long have you been there?" asked Sky.
"Just got here. Were you talking about me?"
"Don't flatter yourself," said Vega. "My stealth technology works on the similar basis of Metamaterials. Are you familiar with those?" Sasha shook her head. "In the 21st century human scientists developed an invisibility shield that would make an object invisible. Metamaterial is a complex hybrid structure of metal and insulator that makes light move around an object like air flowing over an airplane wing. In a process called refraction, these materials interact with light in such a way that it travels faster through the metamaterial than it does through a vacuum, the famed c in Einstein's special theory of relativity. Properly tuned, the light emerges from the shield as if there were no object present.
"This cloak works on the same principle, bending sensor signals around the effected area. It also has the advantage of letting active sensors going out the cloak field. The trick is adjusting the receiver so that it can pick up signals behind the cloak. The problem is that another ship can still detect the active pulses."
"It'll be like crewing a submarine," said Sky, "sending out a "sonar pulse" will be the same as transmitting our position, so each time we send an active pulse we'll have to change our speed and course to avoid someone firing on our probable position."
"Essentially, yes," said Vega, "We'll have to work on upgrading the passive sensors. Who knows, maybe we'll run into someone who could help with us."
Sky said, "I've been working on creating Zulus. The originals were created by Captain Foster, but I haven't gotten my hands on them. They're so small that it's difficult to find them on active sensors, and they could easily double our passive range, but I haven't succeeded in creating the necessary range, or sensor abilities to make it work, yet."
"Unfortunate," said Vega, "but we'll have to make do."
Sasha said, "Okay. I'll leave you two alone with your technobabble."
Vega turned to Sky and asked, "How is Captain Foster?"
Sky looked confused, "I never met him. Do you know Foster?"
Vega shook her head, "I only know him by his reputation. I think Blackstar knew him a while back but I believe that they had some falling out a while back. Shi never really talked about him much. When I asked hir about it, Blackstar would say it started with Foster saying that the Flintstones could've really happened. Or at least that's how the story started. Over time shi's claimed that they had a fight about whether or not the first critter to leave Earth's atmosphere was a dog, who the strongest Power Ranger was, and I think once shi even claimed to have hit him with a shovel. I think shi was just too much of a brat for Captain Foster to put up with."
Sky nodded, "I can see that happening. Blackstar hates being wrong."
"No shi doesn't," said Vega, "shi's never wrong." Vega and Sky both grinned knowing that Blackstar always maintained the story that shi never had made a mistake. Changing the subject Vega asked, "What are this ship's unique abilities?"
"What do you mean?"
Vega rolled her eyes, "Nice try. Every ship has something unique about it."
"Fine," said Sky. "Almost everything is completely modular, the main computer's processors almost seem alive, the main warp core is positioned horizontal rather then vertical, and the bow has something that I can't identify," answered Sky. "That's only what I've discovered so far. I'm not quite sure what Blackstar was thinking when shi designed it."
"Blackstar designed the whole ship?" asked Vega. Sky nodded. When Sky turned hys attention to hys console, Vega said to herself, "That's interesting. That's very interesting."
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Serena was an early riser since birth and often had a few hours in the morning by herself, but when the Folftaur started exploring the Midnight Star, she was surprised to find Captain Blackstar on the bridge. "Captain? Is something wrong?"
"No just an early riser," responded Blackstar, "like you seem to be."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because you're awake," teased Blackstar. "What's up?"
"The opposite of down."
Blackstar mouth hung open, "I use that same joke. That's a little creepy."
"Your mother-in-law is trying to kill you out of vengeance for taking her daughter away from her, and you think us using the same joke is creepy? You have issues."
"Stay on for a few months and you'll have them too," said Blackstar, "For example, Nightrose has been ultra-jealous of her older sister, Rosepetal. Faera is a part-time artist and has a tendency to overwork herself. Serge's mother is a nympho and his father is gay. The others are too personal for the major stuff, but I think you get the idea. Now stop trying to change the subject; what is keeping you awake?"
Serena hesitated, so Blackstar gave her the puppy-dog eyes. "Oh, stop that. I was thinking about my mother. She was against me joining Star Fleet, so I joined the Blitz team. I wonder how pissed she'll be when she learns what I did." Blackstar sensed there was more through hir empathic abilities, so shi gestured for Serena to continue. "And I left a girlfriend behind. She knows what I was going to do, but I wonder how she's doing. I don't think she really thought I'd make it."
Blackstar sympathized, "I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better, but I know from experience that the words often sound hollow and never really change a thing."
"Bolts, how often does a long distance relationship work out?"
Blackstar grinned at hearing hir old nickname, "I'll be honest, 8-Ball - it's very rare. Only in cases of true love will it work out and sometimes not even then. Oddly enough, serious long-distance relationships tend to fail more often then a what's the word I'm looking for not serious long-distance relationship."
"You're a real poet Silverbolt."
"I know," replied Blackstar.
"Must you always be sarcastic?" asked Serena.
"Yes. It is a gift and a curse," Blackstar put on a cubbish pout. Serena rolled her eyes and grinned. In a sing-song voice Blackstar said, "You know you like it. You want more of it."
Serena was barely restraining herself, "I know you pay me, but I will kick your butt if you don't stop it." Blackstar knew Serena well enough to know that she would actually do it.
After a somewhat awkward silence Blackstar asked, "Would you like some grappler combat practice?"
"Grapplers? How often are they actually used in combat?"
"More often then you would think," replied Blackstar. "Pirates are very fond of using them on damaged ships. They were also turned into weapons during disputes among those pirate groups. I found that they can be useful both as weapons and as tools. Here, take the pilot seat."
Blackstar got out of the pilot seat and Serena took hir place. After switching the grappler system into simulator mode Blackstar showed Serena how to fit into the grappler manipulator, a glove and sleeve-like attachment. Serena got training with the various weapons and tools and even fought a few simulated pirates, and quickly became proficient in their usage.
A few decks away Nightrose was trying to wash away her problems by taking a shower. Normally a shower would make her feel better but she just couldn't get her mind off of last night. What's the matter with me? It's Blackstar, shi's my partner, and shi's a shi. I must be going crazy. When she was finished in the shower Nightrose, chose to drip dry and looked at herself in the bathroom's full length mirror. She leaned in close to the mirror and began talking to herself, "Blackstar is your partner. Shi is a Chakat, shi is not a male." Nightrose hung her head, "Then why can't I stop thinking about last night?" Nightrose punched the wall out of frustration, and instantly regretted it. "You have a crush on your partner, you have a bruised hand, you're talking to yourself, and you're starting to sound like a Terran. Smooth."
Nightrose replicated an outfit and made her way to the bridge, trying to calm herself. She finally entered the bridge and stopped in the doorway staring at the sight in front of her. There was Blackstar being close to Serena. Blackstar stopped for a minute and looked back at the main door and saw the Caitian silhouetted in the doorway. Blackstar excused hirself and went to talk to Nightrose. "Mornin' Nightrose. How are you this morning?"
"I'm doing fine," said Nightrose in an almost convincing tone. "How are you doing?"
"Nightrose, there two things you should know," Blackstar raised a finger for emphasis. "One, you're a lousy actor, and two, I have a very high empathy rating so it's almost impossible to lie to me. What's wrong?"
Nightrose fidgeted for a minute before saying, "I it's just that I'm not sure what's wrong. I don't know why I'm feeling this way."
"Well I felt some strong emotions coming from you when you entered the room," said Blackstar. "What's wrong?"
Nightrose hesitated, "I think I was jealous."
"Jealous?" asked Blackstar, "That means either you're actually a lesbian and have fallen in love with 8-Ball, or you've fallen in love with me which would be really weird. But it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."
"Do you mean you could fall in love with me?" asked Nightrose who seemed to be very excited at the prospect.
"Well, we're partners and close friends, and I'll admit that I think you're attractive. I've just never acted on it because you're my partner, and Caitians aren't known for their sexual stamina."
Nightrose put her hands on her hips. "Are you saying that you won't date someone because they don't have the same sexual stamina as you sex-crazed chakats? I'm more then willing to show you just how sexually powerful a Caitian can be!"
Blackstar was about to say something but shi paused when shi sensed someone in the hallway. Faera raised her hands into a defensive position and said, "I didn't hear a thing. I didn't hear a thing. I'm just going to go back to my room and have breakfast." Faera backed away, turned around and ran down the hall.
With a grin Blackstar said, "I bet she misses the days when all she had to worry about was whether or not her boyfriend was gay."
Faera's voice could be heard echoing down the hall, "HE WASN'T GAY!"
"She still can't accept that he was gay," said Blackstar. At Nightrose's confused look Blackstar said, "He wasn't that good looking either. I'm still not sure why she went out with him." After an awkward silence Blackstar added, "the word you're looking for is: anyway."
Nightrose laughed. "Anyway," said Nightrose, "um I think I'm going to get some breakfast. Would you like to join me?"
Blackstar agreed, "But don't think that means you're going to get out of talking about what's wrong."
Nightrose and Blackstar walked down to Blackstar's quarters and ordered their breakfast from the replicator. Blackstar ordered hir favorite cereal while Nightrose had the Caitian equivalent which resembled kibble, but tasted better. After a few bites Blackstar asked, "Now will you tell me what's going on?"
Nightrose sighed and looked down at the cereal, thinking she would much rather be eating that than having this conversation. "Well, I think it's a matter of bad timing on my part. You remember when I told you about how I was dumped, I believe the term is?" Blackstar nodded. "Of course you remember," Nightrose muttered to herself. "Anyway, I am also entering heat and that's why I wanted to sleep with you. While I don't want to make our relationship awkward by having sex with you, I still needed some comfort." Blackstar nodded in understanding; many a chakat had found themselves in similar situations. Nightrose continued, "and now, I'm not sure why but I feel more attracted to you then ever." Nightrose waited for a reaction from Blackstar but when Blackstar didn't say anything Nightrose said, "I sense you're worried about something."
"You have no idea about just how right you are," said Blackstar, "because that was exactly what I was thinking." Blackstar took a sip of hir drink before continuing. "As you know Chakats are empathic, and I have a very high rating," Nightrose nodded in understanding so Blackstar continued, "and we already have a close bond from our partnership. You were entering heat when you and I slept in the same bed, but what I haven't told you is that I am in my male phase at this time. I think we may be forming an even stronger empathic bond."
You have a little problem here. If shi was not empathic at all, shi would still have picked up on hir friend's heat. So you either have hir ignoring hir friend's need, or swing it over to where they are about to go into heat/rut.
"Does that mean we can have sex?" asked Nightrose.
Blackstar raised an eyebrow, "You really are coming into heat, aren't you?" It wasn't really a question because Blackstar could already sense the answer and was already beginning to feel aroused by it, Nightrose nodded anyway. "Well it wouldn't be the worst reason I've had sex with someone. And this time I actually have a chance at a successful relationship, but I want to do this the right way." Blackstar stood up, walked around the table and stood in front of Nightrose, got down on one knee and asked, "Nightrose will you be my Denmate?"
Nightrose giggled at the very human gesture Blackstar was making. She surprised even herself when she said, "Hell ya!" After getting control of herself she said, "I think we're both spending too much time around Serge."
Blackstar nodded in agreement, "But there is one thing that I believe is universal in both our species."
"What's that?" asked Nightrose.
Blackstar grinned, "Consummating it!" Nightrose smacked herself on the head for forgetting that. "You know when you do that, you're only hitting yourself." Nightrose rolled her eyes. "I'll work on the sarcasm."
Blackstar and Nightrose walked down to Blackstar's quarters, but just when they were about to enter, Blackstar stopped Nightrose, "Nightrose there's something I need to tell you. I'm a hopeless romantic." Before Nightrose could say anything, Blackstar bent down and swept her off her feet and carried her across the threshold.
"A girl could get used to this," said Nightrose. "Wait, what about returning the ship to normal space and landing on Quenxel?"
"Don't worry," said Blackstar, "Layla can handle it."
Three hours later
Blackstar was still putting on hir vest when shi and Nightrose reached the bridge. "What's going on?" asked Blackstar.
Serena reported, "We're receiving a distress signal from the capital, sir! A group of unknown ships is assaulting it. They also have giant battle mechs walking down Main Street and digging up the auxiliary power generators."
Layla reported on the technical readouts of the enemy, "The enemy fighters look like ornithopters that have eight machine gun type phaser weapons, four to a wing pod. The mechs are bipedal and equipped with an unknown type of armour. They've crossed Sixth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and they are using lasers to dig out the generators. They have resisted all weapons. Code 90216 has been declared. Also none of them appear to be manned."
Blackstar nodded in understanding. "Inform them that I'm on my way. Prepare my ship for launch." Blackstar ran towards the small launch bay in the bottom of the hull that held a blade-class fighter whose cockpit was designed specifically for a Chakat pilot.
Nightrose followed Blackstar down to the bay. "Don't think you're going to get away that easily. I'm coming with you."
"It would be a tight fit. And you wouldn't be doing anything."
"I'd be watching your back," said Nightrose, "and saving your life as usual."
"Fine," said Blackstar, "let's roll out." Once Blackstar was situated in the seat, Nightrose climbed on hir lower back right before the cockpit closed. The fighter was angular and aerodynamic, with variable geometry wings. Connecting the wings to the ship was an equipment pod on either side that contained the primary phaser guns and shield generators. The equipment pod could be replaced to give the ship a large number of mission profiles. A single engine was mounted behind the cockpit. The tapered nose housed the sensors and the main computer as well as a plasma cannon that gave the fighter a rechargeable punch. The fighter could carry a small number of missiles and had a single missile launcher. This model only carried three missiles in its current configuration. The fighter also had a number of modifications that Blackstar had made to it over the years.
The Blade fighter launched and ran into the planet's atmosphere. The re-entry was a bit rough but that was nothing compared to the sight of Quenxel's capital being consumed by flame and smoke. Once flying at normal combat speed, the fighter's wings reconfigured for a more maneuverable form, by using the elevators on the wings the fighter was actually more maneuverable in air then in space. "Hang on back there."
The fighter flew into the canyons of the city seeking out the vehicles attacking the city. It was only a moment before Blackstar spotted one of the flapping fighters and fired on it. The ornithopter was destroyed in a flaming fireball. "This is where it gets interesting." No sooner were the words out of hir mouth than a furry of phaser shots blazed past the cockpit. "What did I tell you?"
Blackstar put the fighter on its port wing and pulled hard up resulting in a hard left turn. The ornithopters didn't have enough time to follow as Blackstar flew down the side street. "You okay back there?"
"Keep your eyes on the road flyboy," said Nightrose.
Once back into a main street, Blackstar rotated the fighter so that it was belly down again. Blackstar was able to pick off a few stragglers before shi finally spotted a mech; several in fact. Shi fired several shots at the advancing mechs but the mechs were barely phased by the blasts, with only a few dents to show for its trouble. "Shit! The phasers are useless. Perhaps we should make it hot."
"Watch your language," said Nightrose.
"Sorry, I tend to swear when in battle like this," explained Blackstar. Blackstar switched hir chosen weapon to the plasma canon, charged it to full power and fired. The blast heated the metal enough for it to glow red but did very little actual damage. "Darn, they're immune even to the plasma cannon."
"What about the missiles?"
"We only carry three, hardly enough to take out this army," said Blackstar. Shi hit a button on the comm. panel, "Blackstar to Layla, I need options."
While Blackstar waited for reply shi picked off the airborne enemies and fired a few pot shots at the mechs. Layla finally replied, "The mechs are covered in some sort of metal that my scanners don't recognize. Its properties show that it is resistant to blaster and weaker physical weapons. The Blade's battle blades could cut through it and the missiles are very effective. They also have poor balance."
"Thanks Layla," said Blackstar. "It looks like we're going to be getting close and personal with those mechs. Still glad you came Nightrose?"
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," replied the Caitian, "oh, there are three fighters closing on our tail."
"Thanks, hang on," said Blackstar. Shi dropped altitude to just above the street with the wings barely clearing the PTVs, and hit the brakes dropping air speed rapidly. The three fighters overshot the Blade, and Blackstar raised altitude and fired on all three with the phasers and plasma cannon. "This is too easy. Now let's get a little closer to the mechs."
Shi felt Nightrose hug hir a little more tightly, she whispered, "I'm with you all the way."
Blackstar found a group of battle mechs being fired upon by the local military forces. "This is Captain Blackstar to defense forces, please cease fire; I've got a plan to take them out."
"This is Lieutenant Dawson. We're ceasing fire. I hope you know what you're doing," replied a female voice.
"That makes two " a digging of claws made hir pause, " three of us." Blackstar activated the feature that gave Blades their name, an energized blade on the edge of the wings. The fighter's wings extended to maximum wingspan and their forward edges glowed a yellowish color. "Let's get it on!"
The fighter's cockpit just barely fit in between the bodies of the mechanized soldiers, but the blades themselves slashed through one mech after another taking causing critical damage. What Blackstar did not expect was the resulting explosions. The blade barely stayed ahead of blast. "What the hell is powering these things?"
Layla answered, "They are using the scorched earth method. These bots are suicidal. If you destroy them, the generators explode. I'm uncertain about how we should attack them."
"I have an idea," said Nightrose. "Attack the legs. It will render them incapable of using weapons and will keep their reactors from being destroyed."
"Calculating," said Layla. "I estimate a 93% reduction in danger of explosion."
"Good thinking, Nightrose," said Blackstar. "We'll have to stay ahead of the falling bodies."
"What about those fighters?" asked Nightrose.
"Leave that to us," said a new voice, a female with a British accent. "Mobius Squadron engage at will."
Blackstar smiled as shi saw the blue-bodied fighters flying into the artificial valleys of the city. "It's about time you showed up Big Blue."
"Well I couldn't let you reap all the glory," said 'Big Blue'. "We'll worry about the fighters, and you take care of the mechs. They already have some of the generators, with enough casualties they should back off."
Blackstar started slashing the mechs at their legs, causing them to fall forward, rendering them immobile. It was only a few minutes before the mechs were disabled or destroyed. Blackstar grinned. "Sometimes it helps to not be in formation, especially when it's close range combat."
"All mechs disabled," reported Layla. "Now help Big Blue clean up those fighters."
"No problem," said Blackstar. "Now I just need to find some."
"Actually they found us," said Nightrose. "We just picked up a few bogeys on our tail and they looked pissed off."
"They look the same to me," said Serena talking over the comm.
"Oh, trust me they're pissed," said Nightrose. "They're definitely coming back with a vengeance. They're bots so it'll be impossible to shake'em if they don't want to be shaken."
Anything Nightrose could've added was drowned out by a number of phaser blasts weakening the aft shields on the fighter. "Can anyone help us?" asked Blackstar.
"Negative," said Layla. "No one can get to you for another two or three minutes. You're on your own."
Blackstar tried dodging the weapons fire but, as the aft shields were continually weakening, shi knew shi was running out of time. "Okay, I'm going to lead them out over the water. Try to buy some time." Shi flew the fighter out of the artificial canyons of the city and flew out over one of Quenxel's oceans. Blackstar took the fighter to an altitude of 10,000 meters before shi dove, losing most of what was left in the Blade's aft shields.
The fighter continued to pick up speed as it dove towards the ocean with a half dozen ornithopters on its tail. As the fighter got closer to the ocean, Nightrose started to panic, "um Blackstar, we're going too fast, you need to pull up." Another few thousand meters and Nightrose repeated her warning, but Blackstar either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her. Nightrose gripped Blackstar even tighter. She watched the altitude meter dropped farther and farther down, it read triple digits, double digits, and the meter went down so fast the single digits weren't even readable, before the fighter was submerged. Nightrose didn't even realize that she had closed her eyes until she slowly started opening them. She looked around and saw a blue glow around the cockpit and realized the fighter was underwater.
Nightrose's mouth worked up and down a moment before she finally said, "We're under water," she gave Blackstar a dirty look. "You knew this the whole time? I thought we were going to die! You should have said something."
Blackstar turned around and gave hir a cocky grin. "If you can't handle it, feel free to leave."
"You won't get rid of me that easily," said Nightrose. She asked, "How are we not sinking without the marine attachments?"
"It's something that Serge helped me rig up," explained Blackstar. "I got inspiration from an old twenty-first century movie he showed me. It was Sky Captain I believe, a human who flew a heavily modified P-40E and basically saved the day. One of the modified features was underwater abilities like this. You ain't seen anything yet."
The Blade began to picking up speed and broke the surface of the water; Blackstar briefly inverted the fighter to spot the remains of the unmanned fighters. Nightrose couldn't see Blackstar grinning when shi said, "I'm glad those weren't piloted. It makes it easier to destroy them without giving it a second thought."
Blackstar hit the comm. "Layla, status report."
"The robotic force has suffered 90% casualties and the remaining forces are in retreat. Mobius Squadron has not suffered any damage. The city however is a different story. Estimates are in the tens of thousands for casualties and it's being revised upward. All mercenaries in the air battle are being asked to report to Sand Island Defence Base for debriefing and job offers."
"Roger that, we're on our way," Blackstar replied. "Maybe we'll get answers as to what's going on around here." The Blade flew out to a small base that was used to house the local defense fighters. The base's survival confused Blackstar. Normally they would've been the first defense to be deployed, but there was no sign of the local squadrons.
After parking the fighter in one of the hangers designated for visitor usage, Blackstar and Nightrose were lead to a debriefing room along with the pilots of Mobius squadron, whom Nightrose never met but Blackstar was clearly friends with. The most unusual member of the squadron was its leader, who was of a species that Nightrose had never even heard about. The leader's scent indicated a hermaphrodite and hir features were caninetaur based, but hir fur was a light blue. Shi also had a black eye patch over hir left eye and spoke in British accent. Nightrose waited patiently for Blackstar to catch up with hir friends before she was finally introduced to them.
Blackstar introduced the blue taur first, "Nightrose I'd like you to meet Krystal aka Big Blue, and leader of Mobius squadron, a fellow team of mercenaries. Big Blue, this is Nightrose my partner and first officer, not by choice."
Krystal extended hir hand, "Nightrose, it's nice to finally meet the competition."
Blackstar had a shocked look on hir face and quickly said, "Shi's joking! Shi's just joking. You are joking, right Krys?"
Krystal got an evil grin on hir face. "Maybe," shi said. Shi turned around to take a seat in the front row. Blackstar was about to say something but stopped when Krystal slapped hir on the butt. When shi turned around Krystal winked at hir.
Nightrose raised an eyebrow. "How did you know hir, and just what species is shi?"
Blackstar looked back at Krystal for a moment before answering, "My father worked with hir mother a lot. We got to know each other real well before I left for Earth. Hir species is a whole another matter. Hir sire is unknown, but hir mother was a normal foxtaur vixen, except for the whole technology thing. Whenever we asked hir mother about it, she would claim that shi was a force from the future."
A slightly overweight wolf morph came in and took a position at the front of the briefing room. "I'm Colonel Orson Perrault, commander of Sand Island airbase. Thanks to your help, we were able to fight off the attack."
Blackstar raised hir hand. "Um what's with all this we stuff. Me and Mobius squadron did all the hard work. Where were your squadrons?"
Perrault glared at Blackstar. "This isn't the first attack we've dealt with. Most of my squadrons were destroyed earlier this week. An attack on a city up north was the first call today, but they quickly destroyed the squadrons I sent before continuing to the capital. The remaining fighters are trainees. Any more smartass questions?"
Nightrose shook her head, knowing what Blackstar was going to do. Blackstar said, "Yes. Have you thought about trying a Weight Watchers program?"
Perrault spoke above the laughter. "No I haven't. Now shut up before I have to talk to your commanding officer."
Blackstar stood up and said, "I dare you to call hir, asshole. You know what? Here you can even use my comm. device," which shi handed to the overweight wolf. Nightrose wished she could stop her mate's childish behavior.
"Fine," said Perrault. He opened the comm. device and waited for it to show that the channel was open. Perrault finally got an answer, "Hello, this is Colonel Perrault of wait a minute. Who is this? Pizza Barn? " Perrault dialed again, "Pizza Barn again?"
Blackstar raised hir hand, "since you keep calling Pizza Barn can you order a large mushroom pizza for me?"
Nightrose raised an eyebrow. "Only mushrooms?"
Krystal answered for Blackstar. "Believe it or not, Blackstar refuses to put any thing other than mushrooms for a topping on a pizza."
Perrault gave Blackstar a dirty look. He looked ready to pummel something before he said, "Let's move on. These assault forces have repeatedly attacked our planet, but this is the first time they've attacked a city. It's also the first time that more then a handful of mechs were destroyed. They come, they take what they need, and leave without a trace. We're hiring anyone we can to defend this planet and its territory. I'd like the opinions of the squadrons on how we should defend the planet." He groaned when he saw Blackstar's hand go up. "Yes, what is it?"
"Well first of all, I think it's about time I told you that your fly has been open since you entered this room," explained Blackstar. When the Colonel finished fixing his fly, Blackstar continued. "Second of all you should start purchasing Blade-class fighters and training pilots for close range combat to fight the mechs."
Perrault rolled his eyes. "Do you know how expensive Blades are? Not to mention the cost of training the pilots!"
"I know better then anyone. I helped design the Blades and I've trained a few pilots, Mr. Perrault," said Blackstar. "So don't give me one of those speeches where you act superior because you're a military officer while I'm just a lowly mercenary. Do I make myself clear?"
The colonel laughed, "Do you expect me to believe that you designed the Blade-class fighters? The design is as old as you are."
Blackstar gave hir characteristic grin, "Perrault, one thing you should know about me is: nothing is ever what it seems. A single Blade in a set of trained hands is equal to a whole squadron of normal fighters."
Colonel Perrault glared at the Chakat before asking, "Just who do you think you are? Do you really think I'm going to listen to some cub who claims to be self-employed and a designer of the Blades?"
Blackstar exchanged a glance with Nightrose and Krystal and gave hir cocky grin, "I am Blackstar, Captain of the Mercenary Starship Mystic and leader of the Blitz team. I destroyed more pirate ships by age ten than your entire military has in the past twenty years. I am also the one who took out the battle mechs and a large number of fighters, before Mobius squadron came in and cleaned up what I hadn't finished off."
Krystal laughed, "Well, we weren't allowed to land because of those fighters and we were getting impatient. We were just coming in from a long patrol."
Perrault's eye started twitching. "I think I'll let my second-in-command handle this." Perrault left the room and another male wolf took his place.
This wolf was much more fit and much more attractive in Blackstar's opinion. "I am Captain Allen Hamilton. Alright, I need names, prices, and resources. Once everything is checked out, we'll contact you with contracts we're willing to give until we get the local defense forces back on their feet."
After five hours of negotiating, Blackstar was assigned to train the training squadron that was on the base at the time. Luckily they were already piloting Blades, so it was only a matter of retraining them so they wouldn't get themselves killed using standard military tactics, and Blackstar used the term 'tactics' loosely when talking about the Quenxel air force.
The contract gave Blackstar full command of the unit for three months. Shi was hoping that some of them might want to join the team at that time and then shi could buy out their contracts.
A wolf named Rys Dallows was the senior of the trainees, but the most likely to sell out, in Blackstar's opinion. On the other end of the scale was Miles Prower, a rookie and a speed demon. He was an unusual fox morph with golden brown fur and had two tails, which had led to his being nicknamed Tails. A Quange named Tyria Sarkin was the most level-headed of the group, which wasn't saying much, and she was skilled when making repairs to fighters and often created her own little inventions, earning her the nickname, Gadget. The chief mechanic was Tyria's brother, Carl, who was also a decent cook. Serena also flew in a fighter that was provided in the contract and was flying under her street-racing nickname, 8-Ball. Blackstar thought that this would only be temporary, but shi had no idea just how long shi'd be working with this group of oddballs.
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Two weeks later, the MSS Mystic came in at high warp, maintaining a much higher speed than normal thanks to the modifications to the new AFU and some minor adjustments the warp engines. What surprised Blackstar was that hir little sister was on board. Apparently shi had stowed away and wasn't discovered until the ship was already two parsecs away from earth. When Blackstar talked to Trip about what shi had done, shi was given a most startling confession.
"They wanted to send me to Earth," explained Trip.
"What does that have to do with why you stowed away on our own ship?" asked Blackstar. Shi found it more then a little disturbing that shi couldn't read hir sister's eyes because of the VISOR Trip was wearing.
"Well, sis, one thing I don't think you realize is that I've never been on a planet," explained Trip, "I'm very scared of landing on a planet."
Blackstar's mouth hung open. "Have you really never landed on a planet? I never realized that. Why are you scared of landing on a planet?"
Trip hesitated for a minute, "Planets are very unsafe. They have tornados, hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, all sorts of horrible weather. It's just horrible on planets."
Nightrose giggled when she overheard that. Most people thought of space travel as being more dangerous than being on a planet, and here this little Chakat was afraid of landing on a planet.
Blackstar briefed the rest of the team on the situation and about the new squadron members they had been given as part of the contract with Quenxel's defense fleet. Duri
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 3: Invasion
Blackstar had assembled a small crew to man a group of modified freighters that Blackstar planned on using to search for the Time Matrix. Shi was accompanied by the Caitian Fleet Admiral V'Les, who was on extended leave from Star Fleet, a freighter Captain named Faera who was a normal cattaur, Vega Griffin, who looked as close to a cat-girl as a cat morph could get. Blackstar was also accompanied by new Blitz team member Serena, a cross-breed of a foxtaur and wolftaur. They were aboard Blackstar's personal ship, the Midnight Star, when they learned that the rest of the Blitz team aboard the Starship Mystic, were in the solar system. Blackstar sent the freighters on ahead while shi met up with the main members of hir team.
Blackstar was surprised to find hir partner, a Caitian named Nightrose, was escorting hir little sister to the Spacedock's infirmary. "What happened?"
Nightrose explained how the modified Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) had sent the ship at impossible speeds when they broke free of whatever they had been trapped in. When they did it the main screen became so bright that it blinded Blackstar's sister, Trip.
As the two felines waited for the doctor to finish examining Trip they began to discuss what happened, "I'm sorry about this Blacky. This is my fault," said Nightrose.
"How is this your fault?" asked Blackstar.
Nightrose gave hir a dirty look, "I let you do something without me around. When you go on dangerous assignments I am always there to back you up at the very least. Anyone else would be dead."
"If you went with that kind of thinking you should blame Faera, who convinced you to stay behind," noted Blackstar. "And if you were anyone else I would've left you behind a long time ago. Don't take this the wrong way, but you take being my partner too seriously."
Nightrose looked at the ground. "I gave you my word that I'd be your partner as long as you let me."
"You can leave this partnership anytime you want."
"But the thing is that I don't want to!"
Blackstar was surprised; shi had never known Nightrose to raise hir voice to anyone. Before shi could ask what was going on the nurse came in. "The doctor will see you now."
Blackstar and Nightrose walked into the examination room. The doctor, a human female, greeted them, "I'm Doctor Dove, now we need to talk about Firefox's condition."
"Dove, Dove," said Blackstar, "Where have I heard that name before?"
"Well do you read the Scientific Chakat?"
"No. I don't read much that's medical related." Blackstar snapped hir fingers a few times, "I know I've heard it somewhere though."
"Can we get back to the patient," asked the irritated doctor. "Hir eyes were heavily damaged. We have a few options, none of which are perfect. There is the possibility of cloning hir eyes and replacing them with surgery."
"That could take months, maybe years," complained Trip. "Are there any faster options?"
The doctor nodded. "There are cybernetic replacements that we could try. Not only will they replace your vision but they also will improve it. There is a device that could be linked to Firefox's remaining visual receptors. Shi can adjust what shi'll see. It'll take a few months for hir to go through the necessary therapy, but it's that or shi waits for the cloned eyes. Unless shi wants to go blind. Luckily shi is a Chakat so it'll only be a matter of time before the eyes naturally regenerate over time. With medical assistance shi'll have normal eyesight before hir First."
Blackstar turned to hir sister, "it's your choice Trip."
Trip nodded, "Doctor, would it be possible to remove and reinstall the device at will, even after my eyes regenerate?"
The Doctor thought about it for a moment, "I suppose so."
Trip turned to hir sister, relying on hir empathic sense, "It looks like I'll be sitting this mission out, sis. Hopefully you'll be back before my therapy's over." Shi walked over to hir sister and hugged hir. As Blackstar returned the hug hir sensitive hearing heard hir sister whisper, "Don't get killed."
"I'll do my best."
Nightrose smiled as she saw the exchange, while she made arrangements for Trip's stay. She and Blackstar were surprised when Trip hugged Nightrose. "Keep hir out of trouble."
Blackstar asked, "Trip, do you realize I can hear you?"
"Yes." Nightrose and Trip giggled.
Blackstar returned to the Mystic with Nightrose. Shi was surprised when they were greeted by Sky. Hy handed Blackstar a PADD. Shi scanned over it. "What is the meaning of this?"
"My resignation. My negligence resulted in the injury of a Blitz team crewmember." Hy was standing so straight and formal Blackstar thought shi was going to get a strain just watching.
"Explain," demanded Blackstar.
"While working on the reverse warp maneuver I overrode all safeties. Including the viewscreen's dimmer feature," explained Sky
Sky was shocked when Blackstar began laughing. "Sky, Trip's condition isn't permanent. And you saved the ship, when most engineers would've failed. If you think you're going to get away that easily, think again. It wasn't your fault. Now I want you to take your resignation and delete it. Then I want you to go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow and I need you at your best. Now I need to know how Parishka is duplicating herself."
Sky tilted hys head to the side, which Blackstar knew was a sign that hy was theorizing. "Maybe clones, but those are difficult to create a perfect duplicate, and it's even harder to add the memory engrams. Hmm maybe, a transporter duplicate."
"A transporter duplicate?" asked Nightrose, "Could you explain?"
Sky explained, "Well, a transporter normally transports a person's original matter, but it could use matter at the other end of the transmission beam and merge it with the pattern from the transporter's Mind Matrix. It would be difficult and inconvenient for regular transport process, but it's far from impossible. Something similar happened to an Ensign Dale Perkins a while back. He was transporting with a large amount of bio-matter when a damn Human's First group damaged the transporter. They lost his physical pattern, but they used the pattern of the last person through the transporter, a Chakat named Goldfur."
"Wait," said Nightrose, "Does that mean this Perkins is a copy of a Chakat now?" Sky nodded. "Bummer," Blackstar glared at her, "that didn't come out right."
"No," said Blackstar, "I just didn't expect a Caitian to say bummer."
"It could've been worse," said Sky, "I met Goldfur once back on Earth. Shi's very attractive, very intelligent, and very friendly. I know worse people that Perkins' body could've been turned into."
"Thanks Sky," said Blackstar, "now go to bed." Sky gave a small salute and walked off.
Blackstar began walking towards hir quarters, but paused when shi realized that Nightrose was following hir. "What are you doing?"
"You mean following you?" asked Nightrose. "Simple - I'm not letting you out of my sight. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."
Blackstar raised one eyebrow, "Does this mean you plan on being my roommate?" Shi was surprised when Nightrose nodded. "Then I have one simple question. Why?"
Nightrose looked around to make sure the corridor was empty. She grabbed Blackstar by the arm and led hir to hir room. "Let's continue this inside." When they were inside and Nightrose was sure they were alone she asked, "How much do you know about Caitian mating customs?"
Blackstar recalled, "Females outnumber the males five or six to one. They mate in a fashion similar to Terran lion prides. Each male can have up to six wives, but it's the first wife who is in charge of the household. Status goes up with each wife. While it's possible to have more then six status begins to go down. The wives are also assigned one of the six virtues of mating. The First wife is always intelligence because she has to make an informed choice on future mates. The other virtues are "
"Okay, that's enough," said Nightrose. "Where did you learn all that?"
"V'Les is mated to my grandfather, remember? She used to baby-sit a lot."
Nightrose sat down, while Blackstar lay down on hir bedding. Nightrose began, "it's rare for a Caitian to mate outside her species because we wouldn't be able to reproduce. And some people, like humans, only take one mate for life." Nightrose hesitated, "But sometimes, love overrides our need for tradition."
"Oh, I see," said Blackstar, "you've fallen in love with someone outside of your own species. And your love for him is fighting with your instincts and sense of tradition." Nightrose nodded, "As a chakat I suggest you go with love, naturally. But as your friend I suggest you think about the pros and cons of mating with this person. You may not even really be in love with them, and I don't want to see you throw your life away for a passing infatuation."
"Would you say that even if it were you?" asked Nightrose.
"Even if it was me," said Blackstar. "We're talking hypothetically now, right." Nightrose nodded almost too quickly.
Nightrose looked down, "Blacky, do you mind if I sleep here tonight?"
"Um sure, I guess. Why would you want to?"
Nightrose hesitated, "Knowing that you're near me makes me feel safe. Do you mind?"
"Only if you don't mind me sleeping in the nude," teased Blackstar.
Blackstar was caught completely off guard when Nightrose embraced hir in a hug and nuzzled hir, "Thank you. Oh, and I should warn you, you're not the only one who sleeps nude."
Blackstar grinned, "I think I finally know why I put up with you. You're the only person I know enough to be able to know exactly what you're going to say, but still catch me off guard."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"I know. That's what I like about it."
Nightrose giggled. Blackstar removed hir vest, revealing hir above average size breasts. Nightrose had seen the sight many times before, Blackstar often preferred being nude when in private, or on certain off-duty occasions. Blackstar however was surprised when Nightrose removed her top. Blackstar had only seen Nightrose naked on a handful of occasions in unusual circumstances. When Nightrose finished removing her clothes she noticed Blackstar staring at her. "Is something wrong?"
When Blackstar found hir voice again shi said, "I'm sorry for staring. I just didn't realize you were serious."
Nightrose grinned, "Blacky, I'm always serious."
"Even when you're joking?"
"Especially when I'm joking," Nightrose laid down and gestured for Blacky to lay behind her. A suggestion that Blackstar took. Shi curled up around the Caitian, who then proceeded to snuggle up closer to the Chakat. Blackstar was just falling asleep when shi heard the sleepy Caitian purring. Blackstar probed the Nightrose's mind with hir empathic sense and sensed a great amount of happiness emanating from the Caitian's mind. Blackstar grinned and followed hir partner's example.
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The next morning Blackstar, Nightrose, Faera, and Serena boarded the Midnight Star which was docked with the Mystic. Sasha met Blackstar at the airlock, "How long should we wait for you?"
"Zero seconds," said Blackstar, "I want you to begin the search immediately. Don't worry, I'll find you no problem."
"No problem? I've heard that before," said Sasha. "What about the person that sabotaged the ADF? For all we know the saboteur could be on the Star right now."
Blackstar gave Sasha a skeptical look. "The only people on board that had the chance to sabotage the ADF are Nightrose and myself. It could've been a simple case of Deus ex Machina."
"Or Faera. She's visited the Mystic while we were constructing the ADF," pointed out Sasha, "I don't trust her. I think she'd sell us out in minute if she was paid enough. Now you're escorting her back to her ship. What makes you think you can trust her?"
Blackstar looked behind hir to look at the ship's airlock. "Let's just say I've known her longer then even she knows. I trust her, just like I trusted you a few years ago"
"What about the cat girl?" asked Sasha.
"My advice is keeping one eye open, and hide the alcohol."
"I don't drink," said Sasha. Blackstar blinked twice before Sasha added, "Don't worry, you might be the captain but I still have a few hiding places you don't know about."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Blackstar who promptly turned around and added a confident swishing to hir tail as shi walked away.
Sasha shook her head, "Some day hir confidence will come to bite hir in the tail," she said to herself. "Then again shi might be right. I hope she is. I've got to stop talking to myself, people might start thinking I'm crazy."
"Too late for that," said a feminine voice.
Sasha spun her head around looking for the voice's owner, but couldn't find her. "Great, now I'm hearing voices. I've got to take a vacation soon. This job's getting to me."
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The Midnight Star left the Mystic far behind as she activated her advanced FTL drive. Unlike the Warp Drive traditionally used by Federation starships or even the skim drive of the Mystic, the Midnight Star created a slipstream in hyperspace, hence the name Slipstream drive. The Midnight Star was one of the few ships capable of navigating in Slipstream because of her unique computer and guidance systems, something the Stellar Federation's technology couldn't reproduce at present time, although it was one of many new Faster Then Light drives that scientists were working on.
Blackstar joined hir fellow travelers in what was the Midnight Star's only crew lounge. "We should be back to Quenxel in about twenty-four hours. So what did I miss?"
Serena giggled, "Is it true you were a street racer?"
Blackstar's cocky grin made an appearance, "People once claimed that I had Nitrous running through my veins. Back then I went the nickname of Silverbolt. And one of the only two racers to finish the Downtown jump of Sheboygan, I might add."
"But you were the only one of the two to get arrested by the cops, but I guess you never mention that," added Serena.
"Well, I was able to get away with a clean record, and I got the car back. Which by the way still ran once I replaced the tires. But the neon also had to be replaced, along with some minor body damage from when the cops scrambled my car's electrical system," Blackstar pointed out. "But you had to replace the neon, the front end and repair your radiator." Serena's eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't think I recognized you, 8-Ball?"
Nightrose interrupted, "Actually, you checked her record and realized where you knew her from." Blackstar gave Nightrose a dirty look.
Serena chuckled, "I must admit how surprised I was to learn that Silverbolt here was not only a law-abiding citizen, but that shi started an organization to enforce the law. I must admit you've come a long way from the street racing criminal I once knew."
"Well, I had some extra cash so I put it to good use and started a pirate fighting force," said Blackstar.
"Where did you get all that money from? If I remember correctly you were the one who bought the Majestic, and the one who constructed the Mystic," said Nightrose. "Unless you've been making secret contracts with our employers behind my back, in which case I would kill you, I don't know where you could get the money."
"It's quite simple, really," explained Blackstar, "I got a generous inheritance from my grandsire when shi died, and I made some very good investments." "I have two questions about that," said Faera. "One: isn't your grandsire MIA? Two: if you're really that rich, why do you risk your life on a regular basis?"
Blackstar grinned, "You're thinking of Starfox who, although I call hir my grandsire, is technically my grandmother. Weird, isn't it?"
"What about this ship?" asked Faera. "Not only does it have a Slipstream drive, but it can navigate Slipstream without a living pilot at the helm. I've never been able to do that with the Torrin. Federation computers aren't powerful enough."
"Wait," said Serena, "what can a live pilot do that a computer can't?"
Blackstar explained it for Serena's benefit. "For some reason a living pilot can navigate a slipstream's seemingly unpredictable nature for some reason only a biological can make the necessary corrections to travel though slipstream. A computer, even one with an advanced AI unit, can't seem to predict the right corrections. One theory is that maybe it's the biological pilot that makes it the correct path."
"Now that makes me even more confused about how this ship is on auto-pilot," said Serena.
Blackstar's grin got even wider. Nightrose was wondering just how much bigger that grin could get. "It's quite simple," said Blackstar, "the Midnight Star doesn't have an auto-pilot. Whereas some ships have an advanced AI system, this ship has an actual person as the equivalent of an AI. So when people refer to this ship with the female pronoun, it's actually true. Her name is Layla. Say hi Layla."
"Hi, Layla," said a feminine voice seemingly out of nowhere.
"Smartass," said Blackstar. "It must be anyone hooked into a computer."
"Layla's a pretty name," said Faera. "Does it mean anything?"
Layla answered, "It's Arabic, and it's usually translated as night, dark night, girl born at night, and/or ecstasy of wine and a moonless night."
Blackstar raised hir glass. "An appropriate name considering this ship's name."
Layla laughed. "The ship was named after I was, remember. Silly fuzzball."
"So, Layla, do you have a physical form?" asked Nightrose.
"That depends on what you mean," said Layla. "If you mean a body with limbs, eyes, that sort of thing, not really. I have on occasion appeared in holographic form on the hologrid though. My original body was crippled by a rare disease, but my mind was fine. I was given a mechanical body, and eventually I was transferred to my current ship form. My original body is protected by several layers of super strong metal alloys. Just like anyone else, I have skills, likes, dislikes, and pet peeves just like everyone else. Oh, and don't worry about privacy, I'm a computer not a peeping tom."
Nightrose breathed a barely audible sigh of relief. Faera posed a question, "Do you have complete control over the ship, and if so why do you need a crew?"
Layla laughed again, "I need a crew for heavy maintenance and for companionship. It's hard to find another ship with a sentient computer. But before we left Earth I did meet a very interesting one named Tess. As for control, I can override any system connected to the Midnight Star's computer cores, and related systems, but they can't override me. I can also override systems I'm connected to if I have the correct override codes."
"That's a lot of power to be given," said Serena.
"Not, really," said Layla, "many captains and owners of starships have a total override code that they can use to control a starship; this is no different." Everyone gave Blackstar the look.
There was a moment of silence before Blackstar said, "Well, this is awkward." Another moment, "So who wants to play twister?" Blackstar found hirself under assault by a number of pillows.
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After a boring day of talking with the girls, Blackstar returned to hir cabin to go to bed and was just taking hir top off when there was a knock on hir door. Out of curiosity Blackstar decided to see who it was before yelling at them. Shi was surprised when shi was greeted by Nightrose. "What's up?"
Nightrose seemed hesitant, "I couldn't sleep. Do you mind if I join you?"
"Um okay," said Blackstar. It wasn't long before they were snuggled together in bed again. Blackstar was surprised when Nightrose was purring without even realizing it again. "Perhaps you should move in with me," joked Blackstar.
Nightrose's head perked up, "Really?"
Blackstar's mouth hung open for a minute before shi got it closed again. Shi had never seriously considered having Nightrose move in, and never expected Nightrose to want to move in. Being cautious, Blackstar said, "I didn't expect you to take me seriously. Why exactly would you want to move in with me?"
A slightly embarrassed Nightrose took a moment to answer, "Well, it seems to help me sleep at night. And I'm, well, what I'm trying to say is " Blackstar gestured for Nightrose to continue.
"Nightrose, is there something else?"
"Yes," Nightrose's voice was barely a whisper, "before I left Cait, a male I was interested in promised he would make himself worthy to be my husband, and he wanted me as first wife. I told him to wait while I joined StarFleet for a few years. Then that failed, and I got side-tracked with you. When I fell off the grid he assumed that I wouldn't return out of shame. I learned that he gained his first wife last month. He was my safety net for a mate."
"You lost that net." Blackstar finally understood. "You've been worried about never having a family to take care of." Blackstar mentally filled in the blanks. Nightrose had become so protective of Blackstar and the Blitz team that they had become a surrogate family to her. Blackstar suspected which role shi was in but didn't want to make any unnecessary assumptions; they had bitten hir in the tail in the past. "You can stay with me as long as you want."
Nightrose teared up and hugged Blackstar, "Thank you."
The rest of the night was very private, but Blackstar had a nagging feeling like someone was watching.
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On the Mystic, Sky was having problems of hys own. "There is no way we could last more then five minutes in your pseudo-slipstream. We've never tried anything like that before and I believe those speeds would tear this ship apart."
Vega shook her head, "I must point out that isn't correct. In your most recent journey to Earth, your Advanced Flying Unit created an uncontrolled pseudo-slipstream. You went far faster than we would try with the controlled pseudo-slipstream. Besides, worst case scenario we'll have to drop the main core, but the auxiliary cores should be enough to limp to the nearest base."
Sky disliked being told what to do, or what hy was doing wrong, and Vega was doing both. "Do you realize how expensive the main core is? And if your pseudo-slipstream failed like our accidental one, we'd lose the AFU as well. I know the captain wants us to hurry, but I don't think shi wants us to tear hir ship apart in the process."
"Sky, what do you know about Blackstar's past?"
Hy thought a moment before shrugging hys shoulders, "Not much. Shi lived with hir family for a while, fought pirates. Lived on Earth for a while, joined the academy. Then shi got kicked out and then shi started the Blitz team. That's all I know, really. Why?"
Vega started explaining, "Between the end of hir traditional schooling and hir entry into the academy, we worked together as partners. I guess that's why shi never worked well solo. But when we worked together shi trusted me with numerous modifications to hir vehicles, and the only time it blew up in our face was when it was intentional." At Sky's questioning glance Vega said, "It's a long story. It was a trick that Blackstar came up with. Shi had used a similar one before I met hir, when shi was working on the Black Curse project."
Sky took a double take on what Vega said. "The Black Curse project? That project was discontinued over a decade ago."
"I shouldn't have said that," said Vega who returned her attention to the console in front of her. The Black Curse project was a project that never should have been started. Its purpose was to create temporal weapons. When the dangers of the project became known to the Federation Council, it had the project canceled.
"Vega, how was Blackstar involved in the program?" asked Sky
"Shi is the person who made it possible for the program to exist," said Vega. "Before the Time Matrix was hidden, enough study was done to figure out the basic principle of it. When the device was hidden, a group of scientists began working on duplicating its abilities. They even constructed a prototype temporal displacement device, but it was never tested."
"How is that possible? Blackstar's medical records show that shi's eighteen years old. Nineteen tops," said Sky, "does it have to do with this temporal project?"
"That's private," said Vega. "Everyone has their secrets. I'm sure you wouldn't want me to tell Blackstar about how you were ready to marry a human woman and left her at the altar when you accidentally changed gender in front of her whole family."
Sky's mouth hung open in disbelief, "how did you know about that? I never told anyone about that. Not even my family."
"I have my sources," said Vega. "Oh, and your mom wants you to stop all this crazy work and come home. Hy says you should take a more practical and more stable job back on Chakona."
She was stopped when Sky hit her with a left hook to her jaw. "I don't know how you got your information, but I want you to stop and I don't want you telling anyone else about that. Got it?"
"Ya, just remind me to never piss you off," said Vega. "Now let's start installing my new stealth equipment."
"Stealth technology? How does it work?" asked Sasha, who had just entered Main Engineering.
"How long have you been there?" asked Sky.
"Just got here. Were you talking about me?"
"Don't flatter yourself," said Vega. "My stealth technology works on the similar basis of Metamaterials. Are you familiar with those?" Sasha shook her head. "In the 21st century human scientists developed an invisibility shield that would make an object invisible. Metamaterial is a complex hybrid structure of metal and insulator that makes light move around an object like air flowing over an airplane wing. In a process called refraction, these materials interact with light in such a way that it travels faster through the metamaterial than it does through a vacuum, the famed c in Einstein's special theory of relativity. Properly tuned, the light emerges from the shield as if there were no object present.
"This cloak works on the same principle, bending sensor signals around the effected area. It also has the advantage of letting active sensors going out the cloak field. The trick is adjusting the receiver so that it can pick up signals behind the cloak. The problem is that another ship can still detect the active pulses."
"It'll be like crewing a submarine," said Sky, "sending out a "sonar pulse" will be the same as transmitting our position, so each time we send an active pulse we'll have to change our speed and course to avoid someone firing on our probable position."
"Essentially, yes," said Vega, "We'll have to work on upgrading the passive sensors. Who knows, maybe we'll run into someone who could help with us."
Sky said, "I've been working on creating Zulus. The originals were created by Captain Foster, but I haven't gotten my hands on them. They're so small that it's difficult to find them on active sensors, and they could easily double our passive range, but I haven't succeeded in creating the necessary range, or sensor abilities to make it work, yet."
"Unfortunate," said Vega, "but we'll have to make do."
Sasha said, "Okay. I'll leave you two alone with your technobabble."
Vega turned to Sky and asked, "How is Captain Foster?"
Sky looked confused, "I never met him. Do you know Foster?"
Vega shook her head, "I only know him by his reputation. I think Blackstar knew him a while back but I believe that they had some falling out a while back. Shi never really talked about him much. When I asked hir about it, Blackstar would say it started with Foster saying that the Flintstones could've really happened. Or at least that's how the story started. Over time shi's claimed that they had a fight about whether or not the first critter to leave Earth's atmosphere was a dog, who the strongest Power Ranger was, and I think once shi even claimed to have hit him with a shovel. I think shi was just too much of a brat for Captain Foster to put up with."
Sky nodded, "I can see that happening. Blackstar hates being wrong."
"No shi doesn't," said Vega, "shi's never wrong." Vega and Sky both grinned knowing that Blackstar always maintained the story that shi never had made a mistake. Changing the subject Vega asked, "What are this ship's unique abilities?"
"What do you mean?"
Vega rolled her eyes, "Nice try. Every ship has something unique about it."
"Fine," said Sky. "Almost everything is completely modular, the main computer's processors almost seem alive, the main warp core is positioned horizontal rather then vertical, and the bow has something that I can't identify," answered Sky. "That's only what I've discovered so far. I'm not quite sure what Blackstar was thinking when shi designed it."
"Blackstar designed the whole ship?" asked Vega. Sky nodded. When Sky turned hys attention to hys console, Vega said to herself, "That's interesting. That's very interesting."
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Serena was an early riser since birth and often had a few hours in the morning by herself, but when the Folftaur started exploring the Midnight Star, she was surprised to find Captain Blackstar on the bridge. "Captain? Is something wrong?"
"No just an early riser," responded Blackstar, "like you seem to be."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because you're awake," teased Blackstar. "What's up?"
"The opposite of down."
Blackstar mouth hung open, "I use that same joke. That's a little creepy."
"Your mother-in-law is trying to kill you out of vengeance for taking her daughter away from her, and you think us using the same joke is creepy? You have issues."
"Stay on for a few months and you'll have them too," said Blackstar, "For example, Nightrose has been ultra-jealous of her older sister, Rosepetal. Faera is a part-time artist and has a tendency to overwork herself. Serge's mother is a nympho and his father is gay. The others are too personal for the major stuff, but I think you get the idea. Now stop trying to change the subject; what is keeping you awake?"
Serena hesitated, so Blackstar gave her the puppy-dog eyes. "Oh, stop that. I was thinking about my mother. She was against me joining Star Fleet, so I joined the Blitz team. I wonder how pissed she'll be when she learns what I did." Blackstar sensed there was more through hir empathic abilities, so shi gestured for Serena to continue. "And I left a girlfriend behind. She knows what I was going to do, but I wonder how she's doing. I don't think she really thought I'd make it."
Blackstar sympathized, "I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better, but I know from experience that the words often sound hollow and never really change a thing."
"Bolts, how often does a long distance relationship work out?"
Blackstar grinned at hearing hir old nickname, "I'll be honest, 8-Ball - it's very rare. Only in cases of true love will it work out and sometimes not even then. Oddly enough, serious long-distance relationships tend to fail more often then a what's the word I'm looking for not serious long-distance relationship."
"You're a real poet Silverbolt."
"I know," replied Blackstar.
"Must you always be sarcastic?" asked Serena.
"Yes. It is a gift and a curse," Blackstar put on a cubbish pout. Serena rolled her eyes and grinned. In a sing-song voice Blackstar said, "You know you like it. You want more of it."
Serena was barely restraining herself, "I know you pay me, but I will kick your butt if you don't stop it." Blackstar knew Serena well enough to know that she would actually do it.
After a somewhat awkward silence Blackstar asked, "Would you like some grappler combat practice?"
"Grapplers? How often are they actually used in combat?"
"More often then you would think," replied Blackstar. "Pirates are very fond of using them on damaged ships. They were also turned into weapons during disputes among those pirate groups. I found that they can be useful both as weapons and as tools. Here, take the pilot seat."
Blackstar got out of the pilot seat and Serena took hir place. After switching the grappler system into simulator mode Blackstar showed Serena how to fit into the grappler manipulator, a glove and sleeve-like attachment. Serena got training with the various weapons and tools and even fought a few simulated pirates, and quickly became proficient in their usage.
A few decks away Nightrose was trying to wash away her problems by taking a shower. Normally a shower would make her feel better but she just couldn't get her mind off of last night. What's the matter with me? It's Blackstar, shi's my partner, and shi's a shi. I must be going crazy. When she was finished in the shower Nightrose, chose to drip dry and looked at herself in the bathroom's full length mirror. She leaned in close to the mirror and began talking to herself, "Blackstar is your partner. Shi is a Chakat, shi is not a male." Nightrose hung her head, "Then why can't I stop thinking about last night?" Nightrose punched the wall out of frustration, and instantly regretted it. "You have a crush on your partner, you have a bruised hand, you're talking to yourself, and you're starting to sound like a Terran. Smooth."
Nightrose replicated an outfit and made her way to the bridge, trying to calm herself. She finally entered the bridge and stopped in the doorway staring at the sight in front of her. There was Blackstar being close to Serena. Blackstar stopped for a minute and looked back at the main door and saw the Caitian silhouetted in the doorway. Blackstar excused hirself and went to talk to Nightrose. "Mornin' Nightrose. How are you this morning?"
"I'm doing fine," said Nightrose in an almost convincing tone. "How are you doing?"
"Nightrose, there two things you should know," Blackstar raised a finger for emphasis. "One, you're a lousy actor, and two, I have a very high empathy rating so it's almost impossible to lie to me. What's wrong?"
Nightrose fidgeted for a minute before saying, "I it's just that I'm not sure what's wrong. I don't know why I'm feeling this way."
"Well I felt some strong emotions coming from you when you entered the room," said Blackstar. "What's wrong?"
Nightrose hesitated, "I think I was jealous."
"Jealous?" asked Blackstar, "That means either you're actually a lesbian and have fallen in love with 8-Ball, or you've fallen in love with me which would be really weird. But it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."
"Do you mean you could fall in love with me?" asked Nightrose who seemed to be very excited at the prospect.
"Well, we're partners and close friends, and I'll admit that I think you're attractive. I've just never acted on it because you're my partner, and Caitians aren't known for their sexual stamina."
Nightrose put her hands on her hips. "Are you saying that you won't date someone because they don't have the same sexual stamina as you sex-crazed chakats? I'm more then willing to show you just how sexually powerful a Caitian can be!"
Blackstar was about to say something but shi paused when shi sensed someone in the hallway. Faera raised her hands into a defensive position and said, "I didn't hear a thing. I didn't hear a thing. I'm just going to go back to my room and have breakfast." Faera backed away, turned around and ran down the hall.
With a grin Blackstar said, "I bet she misses the days when all she had to worry about was whether or not her boyfriend was gay."
Faera's voice could be heard echoing down the hall, "HE WASN'T GAY!"
"She still can't accept that he was gay," said Blackstar. At Nightrose's confused look Blackstar said, "He wasn't that good looking either. I'm still not sure why she went out with him." After an awkward silence Blackstar added, "the word you're looking for is: anyway."
Nightrose laughed. "Anyway," said Nightrose, "um I think I'm going to get some breakfast. Would you like to join me?"
Blackstar agreed, "But don't think that means you're going to get out of talking about what's wrong."
Nightrose and Blackstar walked down to Blackstar's quarters and ordered their breakfast from the replicator. Blackstar ordered hir favorite cereal while Nightrose had the Caitian equivalent which resembled kibble, but tasted better. After a few bites Blackstar asked, "Now will you tell me what's going on?"
Nightrose sighed and looked down at the cereal, thinking she would much rather be eating that than having this conversation. "Well, I think it's a matter of bad timing on my part. You remember when I told you about how I was dumped, I believe the term is?" Blackstar nodded. "Of course you remember," Nightrose muttered to herself. "Anyway, I am also entering heat and that's why I wanted to sleep with you. While I don't want to make our relationship awkward by having sex with you, I still needed some comfort." Blackstar nodded in understanding; many a chakat had found themselves in similar situations. Nightrose continued, "and now, I'm not sure why but I feel more attracted to you then ever." Nightrose waited for a reaction from Blackstar but when Blackstar didn't say anything Nightrose said, "I sense you're worried about something."
"You have no idea about just how right you are," said Blackstar, "because that was exactly what I was thinking." Blackstar took a sip of hir drink before continuing. "As you know Chakats are empathic, and I have a very high rating," Nightrose nodded in understanding so Blackstar continued, "and we already have a close bond from our partnership. You were entering heat when you and I slept in the same bed, but what I haven't told you is that I am in my male phase at this time. I think we may be forming an even stronger empathic bond."
You have a little problem here. If shi was not empathic at all, shi would still have picked up on hir friend's heat. So you either have hir ignoring hir friend's need, or swing it over to where they are about to go into heat/rut.
"Does that mean we can have sex?" asked Nightrose.
Blackstar raised an eyebrow, "You really are coming into heat, aren't you?" It wasn't really a question because Blackstar could already sense the answer and was already beginning to feel aroused by it, Nightrose nodded anyway. "Well it wouldn't be the worst reason I've had sex with someone. And this time I actually have a chance at a successful relationship, but I want to do this the right way." Blackstar stood up, walked around the table and stood in front of Nightrose, got down on one knee and asked, "Nightrose will you be my Denmate?"
Nightrose giggled at the very human gesture Blackstar was making. She surprised even herself when she said, "Hell ya!" After getting control of herself she said, "I think we're both spending too much time around Serge."
Blackstar nodded in agreement, "But there is one thing that I believe is universal in both our species."
"What's that?" asked Nightrose.
Blackstar grinned, "Consummating it!" Nightrose smacked herself on the head for forgetting that. "You know when you do that, you're only hitting yourself." Nightrose rolled her eyes. "I'll work on the sarcasm."
Blackstar and Nightrose walked down to Blackstar's quarters, but just when they were about to enter, Blackstar stopped Nightrose, "Nightrose there's something I need to tell you. I'm a hopeless romantic." Before Nightrose could say anything, Blackstar bent down and swept her off her feet and carried her across the threshold.
"A girl could get used to this," said Nightrose. "Wait, what about returning the ship to normal space and landing on Quenxel?"
"Don't worry," said Blackstar, "Layla can handle it."
Three hours later
Blackstar was still putting on hir vest when shi and Nightrose reached the bridge. "What's going on?" asked Blackstar.
Serena reported, "We're receiving a distress signal from the capital, sir! A group of unknown ships is assaulting it. They also have giant battle mechs walking down Main Street and digging up the auxiliary power generators."
Layla reported on the technical readouts of the enemy, "The enemy fighters look like ornithopters that have eight machine gun type phaser weapons, four to a wing pod. The mechs are bipedal and equipped with an unknown type of armour. They've crossed Sixth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and they are using lasers to dig out the generators. They have resisted all weapons. Code 90216 has been declared. Also none of them appear to be manned."
Blackstar nodded in understanding. "Inform them that I'm on my way. Prepare my ship for launch." Blackstar ran towards the small launch bay in the bottom of the hull that held a blade-class fighter whose cockpit was designed specifically for a Chakat pilot.
Nightrose followed Blackstar down to the bay. "Don't think you're going to get away that easily. I'm coming with you."
"It would be a tight fit. And you wouldn't be doing anything."
"I'd be watching your back," said Nightrose, "and saving your life as usual."
"Fine," said Blackstar, "let's roll out." Once Blackstar was situated in the seat, Nightrose climbed on hir lower back right before the cockpit closed. The fighter was angular and aerodynamic, with variable geometry wings. Connecting the wings to the ship was an equipment pod on either side that contained the primary phaser guns and shield generators. The equipment pod could be replaced to give the ship a large number of mission profiles. A single engine was mounted behind the cockpit. The tapered nose housed the sensors and the main computer as well as a plasma cannon that gave the fighter a rechargeable punch. The fighter could carry a small number of missiles and had a single missile launcher. This model only carried three missiles in its current configuration. The fighter also had a number of modifications that Blackstar had made to it over the years.
The Blade fighter launched and ran into the planet's atmosphere. The re-entry was a bit rough but that was nothing compared to the sight of Quenxel's capital being consumed by flame and smoke. Once flying at normal combat speed, the fighter's wings reconfigured for a more maneuverable form, by using the elevators on the wings the fighter was actually more maneuverable in air then in space. "Hang on back there."
The fighter flew into the canyons of the city seeking out the vehicles attacking the city. It was only a moment before Blackstar spotted one of the flapping fighters and fired on it. The ornithopter was destroyed in a flaming fireball. "This is where it gets interesting." No sooner were the words out of hir mouth than a furry of phaser shots blazed past the cockpit. "What did I tell you?"
Blackstar put the fighter on its port wing and pulled hard up resulting in a hard left turn. The ornithopters didn't have enough time to follow as Blackstar flew down the side street. "You okay back there?"
"Keep your eyes on the road flyboy," said Nightrose.
Once back into a main street, Blackstar rotated the fighter so that it was belly down again. Blackstar was able to pick off a few stragglers before shi finally spotted a mech; several in fact. Shi fired several shots at the advancing mechs but the mechs were barely phased by the blasts, with only a few dents to show for its trouble. "Shit! The phasers are useless. Perhaps we should make it hot."
"Watch your language," said Nightrose.
"Sorry, I tend to swear when in battle like this," explained Blackstar. Blackstar switched hir chosen weapon to the plasma canon, charged it to full power and fired. The blast heated the metal enough for it to glow red but did very little actual damage. "Darn, they're immune even to the plasma cannon."
"What about the missiles?"
"We only carry three, hardly enough to take out this army," said Blackstar. Shi hit a button on the comm. panel, "Blackstar to Layla, I need options."
While Blackstar waited for reply shi picked off the airborne enemies and fired a few pot shots at the mechs. Layla finally replied, "The mechs are covered in some sort of metal that my scanners don't recognize. Its properties show that it is resistant to blaster and weaker physical weapons. The Blade's battle blades could cut through it and the missiles are very effective. They also have poor balance."
"Thanks Layla," said Blackstar. "It looks like we're going to be getting close and personal with those mechs. Still glad you came Nightrose?"
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," replied the Caitian, "oh, there are three fighters closing on our tail."
"Thanks, hang on," said Blackstar. Shi dropped altitude to just above the street with the wings barely clearing the PTVs, and hit the brakes dropping air speed rapidly. The three fighters overshot the Blade, and Blackstar raised altitude and fired on all three with the phasers and plasma cannon. "This is too easy. Now let's get a little closer to the mechs."
Shi felt Nightrose hug hir a little more tightly, she whispered, "I'm with you all the way."
Blackstar found a group of battle mechs being fired upon by the local military forces. "This is Captain Blackstar to defense forces, please cease fire; I've got a plan to take them out."
"This is Lieutenant Dawson. We're ceasing fire. I hope you know what you're doing," replied a female voice.
"That makes two " a digging of claws made hir pause, " three of us." Blackstar activated the feature that gave Blades their name, an energized blade on the edge of the wings. The fighter's wings extended to maximum wingspan and their forward edges glowed a yellowish color. "Let's get it on!"
The fighter's cockpit just barely fit in between the bodies of the mechanized soldiers, but the blades themselves slashed through one mech after another taking causing critical damage. What Blackstar did not expect was the resulting explosions. The blade barely stayed ahead of blast. "What the hell is powering these things?"
Layla answered, "They are using the scorched earth method. These bots are suicidal. If you destroy them, the generators explode. I'm uncertain about how we should attack them."
"I have an idea," said Nightrose. "Attack the legs. It will render them incapable of using weapons and will keep their reactors from being destroyed."
"Calculating," said Layla. "I estimate a 93% reduction in danger of explosion."
"Good thinking, Nightrose," said Blackstar. "We'll have to stay ahead of the falling bodies."
"What about those fighters?" asked Nightrose.
"Leave that to us," said a new voice, a female with a British accent. "Mobius Squadron engage at will."
Blackstar smiled as shi saw the blue-bodied fighters flying into the artificial valleys of the city. "It's about time you showed up Big Blue."
"Well I couldn't let you reap all the glory," said 'Big Blue'. "We'll worry about the fighters, and you take care of the mechs. They already have some of the generators, with enough casualties they should back off."
Blackstar started slashing the mechs at their legs, causing them to fall forward, rendering them immobile. It was only a few minutes before the mechs were disabled or destroyed. Blackstar grinned. "Sometimes it helps to not be in formation, especially when it's close range combat."
"All mechs disabled," reported Layla. "Now help Big Blue clean up those fighters."
"No problem," said Blackstar. "Now I just need to find some."
"Actually they found us," said Nightrose. "We just picked up a few bogeys on our tail and they looked pissed off."
"They look the same to me," said Serena talking over the comm.
"Oh, trust me they're pissed," said Nightrose. "They're definitely coming back with a vengeance. They're bots so it'll be impossible to shake'em if they don't want to be shaken."
Anything Nightrose could've added was drowned out by a number of phaser blasts weakening the aft shields on the fighter. "Can anyone help us?" asked Blackstar.
"Negative," said Layla. "No one can get to you for another two or three minutes. You're on your own."
Blackstar tried dodging the weapons fire but, as the aft shields were continually weakening, shi knew shi was running out of time. "Okay, I'm going to lead them out over the water. Try to buy some time." Shi flew the fighter out of the artificial canyons of the city and flew out over one of Quenxel's oceans. Blackstar took the fighter to an altitude of 10,000 meters before shi dove, losing most of what was left in the Blade's aft shields.
The fighter continued to pick up speed as it dove towards the ocean with a half dozen ornithopters on its tail. As the fighter got closer to the ocean, Nightrose started to panic, "um Blackstar, we're going too fast, you need to pull up." Another few thousand meters and Nightrose repeated her warning, but Blackstar either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her. Nightrose gripped Blackstar even tighter. She watched the altitude meter dropped farther and farther down, it read triple digits, double digits, and the meter went down so fast the single digits weren't even readable, before the fighter was submerged. Nightrose didn't even realize that she had closed her eyes until she slowly started opening them. She looked around and saw a blue glow around the cockpit and realized the fighter was underwater.
Nightrose's mouth worked up and down a moment before she finally said, "We're under water," she gave Blackstar a dirty look. "You knew this the whole time? I thought we were going to die! You should have said something."
Blackstar turned around and gave hir a cocky grin. "If you can't handle it, feel free to leave."
"You won't get rid of me that easily," said Nightrose. She asked, "How are we not sinking without the marine attachments?"
"It's something that Serge helped me rig up," explained Blackstar. "I got inspiration from an old twenty-first century movie he showed me. It was Sky Captain I believe, a human who flew a heavily modified P-40E and basically saved the day. One of the modified features was underwater abilities like this. You ain't seen anything yet."
The Blade began to picking up speed and broke the surface of the water; Blackstar briefly inverted the fighter to spot the remains of the unmanned fighters. Nightrose couldn't see Blackstar grinning when shi said, "I'm glad those weren't piloted. It makes it easier to destroy them without giving it a second thought."
Blackstar hit the comm. "Layla, status report."
"The robotic force has suffered 90% casualties and the remaining forces are in retreat. Mobius Squadron has not suffered any damage. The city however is a different story. Estimates are in the tens of thousands for casualties and it's being revised upward. All mercenaries in the air battle are being asked to report to Sand Island Defence Base for debriefing and job offers."
"Roger that, we're on our way," Blackstar replied. "Maybe we'll get answers as to what's going on around here." The Blade flew out to a small base that was used to house the local defense fighters. The base's survival confused Blackstar. Normally they would've been the first defense to be deployed, but there was no sign of the local squadrons.
After parking the fighter in one of the hangers designated for visitor usage, Blackstar and Nightrose were lead to a debriefing room along with the pilots of Mobius squadron, whom Nightrose never met but Blackstar was clearly friends with. The most unusual member of the squadron was its leader, who was of a species that Nightrose had never even heard about. The leader's scent indicated a hermaphrodite and hir features were caninetaur based, but hir fur was a light blue. Shi also had a black eye patch over hir left eye and spoke in British accent. Nightrose waited patiently for Blackstar to catch up with hir friends before she was finally introduced to them.
Blackstar introduced the blue taur first, "Nightrose I'd like you to meet Krystal aka Big Blue, and leader of Mobius squadron, a fellow team of mercenaries. Big Blue, this is Nightrose my partner and first officer, not by choice."
Krystal extended hir hand, "Nightrose, it's nice to finally meet the competition."
Blackstar had a shocked look on hir face and quickly said, "Shi's joking! Shi's just joking. You are joking, right Krys?"
Krystal got an evil grin on hir face. "Maybe," shi said. Shi turned around to take a seat in the front row. Blackstar was about to say something but stopped when Krystal slapped hir on the butt. When shi turned around Krystal winked at hir.
Nightrose raised an eyebrow. "How did you know hir, and just what species is shi?"
Blackstar looked back at Krystal for a moment before answering, "My father worked with hir mother a lot. We got to know each other real well before I left for Earth. Hir species is a whole another matter. Hir sire is unknown, but hir mother was a normal foxtaur vixen, except for the whole technology thing. Whenever we asked hir mother about it, she would claim that shi was a force from the future."
A slightly overweight wolf morph came in and took a position at the front of the briefing room. "I'm Colonel Orson Perrault, commander of Sand Island airbase. Thanks to your help, we were able to fight off the attack."
Blackstar raised hir hand. "Um what's with all this we stuff. Me and Mobius squadron did all the hard work. Where were your squadrons?"
Perrault glared at Blackstar. "This isn't the first attack we've dealt with. Most of my squadrons were destroyed earlier this week. An attack on a city up north was the first call today, but they quickly destroyed the squadrons I sent before continuing to the capital. The remaining fighters are trainees. Any more smartass questions?"
Nightrose shook her head, knowing what Blackstar was going to do. Blackstar said, "Yes. Have you thought about trying a Weight Watchers program?"
Perrault spoke above the laughter. "No I haven't. Now shut up before I have to talk to your commanding officer."
Blackstar stood up and said, "I dare you to call hir, asshole. You know what? Here you can even use my comm. device," which shi handed to the overweight wolf. Nightrose wished she could stop her mate's childish behavior.
"Fine," said Perrault. He opened the comm. device and waited for it to show that the channel was open. Perrault finally got an answer, "Hello, this is Colonel Perrault of wait a minute. Who is this? Pizza Barn? " Perrault dialed again, "Pizza Barn again?"
Blackstar raised hir hand, "since you keep calling Pizza Barn can you order a large mushroom pizza for me?"
Nightrose raised an eyebrow. "Only mushrooms?"
Krystal answered for Blackstar. "Believe it or not, Blackstar refuses to put any thing other than mushrooms for a topping on a pizza."
Perrault gave Blackstar a dirty look. He looked ready to pummel something before he said, "Let's move on. These assault forces have repeatedly attacked our planet, but this is the first time they've attacked a city. It's also the first time that more then a handful of mechs were destroyed. They come, they take what they need, and leave without a trace. We're hiring anyone we can to defend this planet and its territory. I'd like the opinions of the squadrons on how we should defend the planet." He groaned when he saw Blackstar's hand go up. "Yes, what is it?"
"Well first of all, I think it's about time I told you that your fly has been open since you entered this room," explained Blackstar. When the Colonel finished fixing his fly, Blackstar continued. "Second of all you should start purchasing Blade-class fighters and training pilots for close range combat to fight the mechs."
Perrault rolled his eyes. "Do you know how expensive Blades are? Not to mention the cost of training the pilots!"
"I know better then anyone. I helped design the Blades and I've trained a few pilots, Mr. Perrault," said Blackstar. "So don't give me one of those speeches where you act superior because you're a military officer while I'm just a lowly mercenary. Do I make myself clear?"
The colonel laughed, "Do you expect me to believe that you designed the Blade-class fighters? The design is as old as you are."
Blackstar gave hir characteristic grin, "Perrault, one thing you should know about me is: nothing is ever what it seems. A single Blade in a set of trained hands is equal to a whole squadron of normal fighters."
Colonel Perrault glared at the Chakat before asking, "Just who do you think you are? Do you really think I'm going to listen to some cub who claims to be self-employed and a designer of the Blades?"
Blackstar exchanged a glance with Nightrose and Krystal and gave hir cocky grin, "I am Blackstar, Captain of the Mercenary Starship Mystic and leader of the Blitz team. I destroyed more pirate ships by age ten than your entire military has in the past twenty years. I am also the one who took out the battle mechs and a large number of fighters, before Mobius squadron came in and cleaned up what I hadn't finished off."
Krystal laughed, "Well, we weren't allowed to land because of those fighters and we were getting impatient. We were just coming in from a long patrol."
Perrault's eye started twitching. "I think I'll let my second-in-command handle this." Perrault left the room and another male wolf took his place.
This wolf was much more fit and much more attractive in Blackstar's opinion. "I am Captain Allen Hamilton. Alright, I need names, prices, and resources. Once everything is checked out, we'll contact you with contracts we're willing to give until we get the local defense forces back on their feet."
After five hours of negotiating, Blackstar was assigned to train the training squadron that was on the base at the time. Luckily they were already piloting Blades, so it was only a matter of retraining them so they wouldn't get themselves killed using standard military tactics, and Blackstar used the term 'tactics' loosely when talking about the Quenxel air force.
The contract gave Blackstar full command of the unit for three months. Shi was hoping that some of them might want to join the team at that time and then shi could buy out their contracts.
A wolf named Rys Dallows was the senior of the trainees, but the most likely to sell out, in Blackstar's opinion. On the other end of the scale was Miles Prower, a rookie and a speed demon. He was an unusual fox morph with golden brown fur and had two tails, which had led to his being nicknamed Tails. A Quange named Tyria Sarkin was the most level-headed of the group, which wasn't saying much, and she was skilled when making repairs to fighters and often created her own little inventions, earning her the nickname, Gadget. The chief mechanic was Tyria's brother, Carl, who was also a decent cook. Serena also flew in a fighter that was provided in the contract and was flying under her street-racing nickname, 8-Ball. Blackstar thought that this would only be temporary, but shi had no idea just how long shi'd be working with this group of oddballs.
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Two weeks later, the MSS Mystic came in at high warp, maintaining a much higher speed than normal thanks to the modifications to the new AFU and some minor adjustments the warp engines. What surprised Blackstar was that hir little sister was on board. Apparently shi had stowed away and wasn't discovered until the ship was already two parsecs away from earth. When Blackstar talked to Trip about what shi had done, shi was given a most startling confession.
"They wanted to send me to Earth," explained Trip.
"What does that have to do with why you stowed away on our own ship?" asked Blackstar. Shi found it more then a little disturbing that shi couldn't read hir sister's eyes because of the VISOR Trip was wearing.
"Well, sis, one thing I don't think you realize is that I've never been on a planet," explained Trip, "I'm very scared of landing on a planet."
Blackstar's mouth hung open. "Have you really never landed on a planet? I never realized that. Why are you scared of landing on a planet?"
Trip hesitated for a minute, "Planets are very unsafe. They have tornados, hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, all sorts of horrible weather. It's just horrible on planets."
Nightrose giggled when she overheard that. Most people thought of space travel as being more dangerous than being on a planet, and here this little Chakat was afraid of landing on a planet.
Blackstar briefed the rest of the team on the situation and about the new squadron members they had been given as part of the contract with Quenxel's defense fleet. Duri
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Sionnach Glic
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Sionnach Glic
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Um, why didn't you just post this in the first thread you started? 
And you've got some damn long chapters if it got cut off by the word count!
And you've got some damn long chapters if it got cut off by the word count!
"You've all been selected for this mission because you each have a special skill. Professor Hawking, John Leslie, Phil Neville, the Wu-Tang Clan, Usher, the Sugar Puffs Monster and Daniel Day-Lewis! Welcome to Operation MindFuck!"
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Blackstar the Chakat
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Blackstar the Chakat
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During the first night the Mystic was in orbit, Blackstar, Miles, and Serena went on a simple patrol mission while Nightrose went to visit Snowfall.
Snowfall, Blackstar's half-sister, lived in a lighthouse on a small island a few miles out of the harbor of the capital. Snowfall's fur color was solid white, and shi had only met the Blitz team out of sheer coincidence (if you believe in that kind of thing.) Shi had left her mother, Parishka, and hired the Blitz team to serve as hir body guard. When Blackstar tried to find a legal solution, by trying to find another relative to take care of Snowfall, shi got quite a shock when Snowfall turned out to be hir half-sister. Parishka had a nervous breakdown and had been trying to get revenge by killing Blackstar ever since. Snowfall still kept in touch with the Blitz Team ever since shi relocated to Quenxel.
Snowfall greeted Nightrose with the traditional Chakat hug and escorted her to the living room. They sat down and started talking about how Nightrose and Blackstar had become mates, among other things. It was Snowfall who brought up the attack first. "I decided to do a little research on the net about the mechs and fighters that attacked us a few weeks back. I found a number of interesting facts in the process. They were created by an organization called E.V.I.L. That's an acronym for something, it just happened to spell evil. They use a scorched earth policy when, even when lending them to people they have contracts with."
"Who runs E.V.I.L.?" asked Nightrose.
"A firefox morph named known as Sly Wacoon," explained Snowfall, "but he's not the problem. E.V.I.L is just a weapons R&D now. And if they were doing anything illegal, Blackstar would've taken them down rather then investing in them."
"Wait a minute," said Nightrose, "Blackstar has money invested in a company that attacked the city, and then destroyed their equipment?"
Snowfall smiled. "Not exactly. Shi does have a lot of money invested in E.V.I.L. They loan out their equipment. According to their standard contracts,, none of their investors are liable for the destruction of the equipment that they've been loaned. It's who they loaned them to that's interesting. It's a group known as the Grey Knights. It's an anti-human group made up of wolf morphs. You'll never believe who some of the members are. My mother is one of them, and another one is " shi was interrupted by a large noise outside. "What the hell was that?" Snowfall walked over to the window and saw a light shining through it. "Oh, shit!" That was the only warning Nightrose had before an explosion destroyed the wall.
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Blackstar was so bored with the patrol that shi was actually listening to the conversation going on between the two rookies. Shi actually got so interested in the pointless debate that shi took a moment to realize that someone was trying to hail hir. Shi switched to the appropriate channel, and got Hamilton on the mike, "Blackstar, an explosion was just seen on the Lighthouse Island 5."
"This is Blackstar; I'm on my way at max speed." Shi set course for hir sister's lighthouse and pushed hir thrust indicator as high as it would go.
"Captain Blackstar, you must slow down. You haven't been authorized to exceed supersonic speeds. Slow down now or " Blackstar didn't hear the rest because shi 'accidentally' hit the off button on the comm. unit.
Even with the Blade going as fast as it could in atmosphere, it took Blackstar ten minutes to reach the island. When it finally came into view, Blackstar could see the flames engulfing the top of the lighthouse. After decelerating faster than the Blade was ever designed for, shi landed on a grass field just a hundred feet from the lighthouse. Shi leaped out of the cockpit and ran into the burning building. Shi yelled at the top of her lungs for Snowfall and Nightrose, but couldn't hear a response. Shi walked through the building until shi reached the downstairs living room. Shi could see a giant hole in the wall that could not be created by a fire but rather a powerful explosive. Shi heard something but as shi was turning around a flaming piece of wood fell and shi deflected it with hir left arm. Shi walked towards the voice and found Nightrose. "Nightrose, where's Snow?"
In a raspy voice she replied, "They took hir," before she slipped into unconsciousness. Blackstar picked up Nightrose and carried her out the front door and laid her on the ground just beyond the starfighter. By now a medical unit had landed on the small island and walked over to the Caitian and the Chakat. They started with working on Nightrose, while Blackstar ordered the two other pilots still in the air to search for any suspicious craft leaving the vicinity of the island.
One of the field doctors walked over to Blackstar and began scanning hir. Blackstar knocked the tricorder out of the doctor's hand and said, "I don't need medical attention."
"You're worse than your father. At least shi let people scan hir before shi knocked the tricorder out of the hand."
"How do you know my father?" asked Blackstar.
"I don't."
"Then how did you know about the tricorder, thing?"
A hand touched hir shoulder, "you told me. A few weeks back when you brought me here."
Blackstar took a good look at the man who had tried to scan hir. "Doctor Oliver? You aren't a medical doctor, are you?"
"I'm covering for a friend. I took some basic courses in field medicine," explained the doctor, "and from the looks of it, you need a mechanic to repair that arm of yours."
"It's just a scratch, I've had worst," said Blackstar. "How's Nightrose?"
Dr. Oliver linked his tricorder to the others to see the reading they were getting. "She appears to have some minor problems easily taken care of. Some impact trauma; they'll want to keep her for observation at a hospital overnight."
"I want her put on my ship."
"You don't have a qualified medic," Oliver pointed out.
"You're one," said Blackstar.
Oliver smiled for a moment. "No. Don't even think about it. No Way!"
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"Welcome aboard, Doctor Oliver," said Sasha as she escorted the doctor aboard. "This job'll suck. You're going to love it."
"This is just a temp job," he reassured her.
"Most of this crew said that at some point or another," commented Sasha. "Did you know that I was originally hired to kill hir?"
"Almost everyone has tried to kill me at some point," Sasha whirled around in surprise and found that Blackstar had snuck up on her. "Even Trip has taken a shot at me."
Sasha smiled knowing that was actually true. "And you haven't always gotten away clean," she added indicating the artificial arm which still had metal showing through the fake fur that had been burned off during the incident earlier that night.
"Ironically this injury has saved my life more then once, including tonight," said Blackstar, "if this arm was real, I'd have second or third degree burns on it and I'd be in the hospital for the rest of the night."
"How do you plan to find your sister?" asked Dr. Oliver.
"Radio isotopes."
Dr. Oliver nodded in understanding but Sasha asked for an explanation.
"Everyone in my family has a special isotope hidden somewhere under their skin that transmits on a specific frequency," explained Blackstar. "All we need to do is adjust the scanners to sense the frequency and then follow the breadcrumbs." Sasha raised an eyebrow. "The breadcrumbs aren't important; we just need to hurry, because it'll fade in a few hours from now. It has a life expectancy of 24 hours." Shi hit hir comm badge. "Layla modify the sensors to trace Snowfall's signal, and relay it to stellar cartography."
"I'll be in sickbay," said Doctor Oliver before he went to check on Nightrose.
Blackstar and Sasha went down to cartography and met Trip there. Inside was a holographic representation of the Quenxel system. At the touch of a button, a green line went away from Quenxel and moved on a course away and down, relatively speaking, from the system's sun. "Oh, my god, shi's outside the system!" exclaimed Trip.
"Trip, get to the bridge. Set a course maximum speed and inform Sky and Vega to stand by with the AFU," ordered Blackstar. "Sasha, have all fighters on board and on hot standby A.S.A.P." Shi slapped hir comm badge again. "Layla, keep the engines on hot standby. If we can't catch up in Mystic, we may need to go to Slipstream." Blackstar hit the badge again and barked out proper orders to prepare for launch and then addressed the entire ship, "All hands, prepare to roll out."
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Final notes: Who was the member of the Grey Knights that Snowfall didn't mention? Will they be able to rescue Snowfall? Will Nightrose and Blackstar be able to leave each others sight after the lighthouse incident? Will Blackstar forget to tell Doctor Oliver that they are leaving Quenxel?
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Continued in Episode 4
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove
Rosepetal is copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns
---
Sorry, I got cut off there.
Snowfall, Blackstar's half-sister, lived in a lighthouse on a small island a few miles out of the harbor of the capital. Snowfall's fur color was solid white, and shi had only met the Blitz team out of sheer coincidence (if you believe in that kind of thing.) Shi had left her mother, Parishka, and hired the Blitz team to serve as hir body guard. When Blackstar tried to find a legal solution, by trying to find another relative to take care of Snowfall, shi got quite a shock when Snowfall turned out to be hir half-sister. Parishka had a nervous breakdown and had been trying to get revenge by killing Blackstar ever since. Snowfall still kept in touch with the Blitz Team ever since shi relocated to Quenxel.
Snowfall greeted Nightrose with the traditional Chakat hug and escorted her to the living room. They sat down and started talking about how Nightrose and Blackstar had become mates, among other things. It was Snowfall who brought up the attack first. "I decided to do a little research on the net about the mechs and fighters that attacked us a few weeks back. I found a number of interesting facts in the process. They were created by an organization called E.V.I.L. That's an acronym for something, it just happened to spell evil. They use a scorched earth policy when, even when lending them to people they have contracts with."
"Who runs E.V.I.L.?" asked Nightrose.
"A firefox morph named known as Sly Wacoon," explained Snowfall, "but he's not the problem. E.V.I.L is just a weapons R&D now. And if they were doing anything illegal, Blackstar would've taken them down rather then investing in them."
"Wait a minute," said Nightrose, "Blackstar has money invested in a company that attacked the city, and then destroyed their equipment?"
Snowfall smiled. "Not exactly. Shi does have a lot of money invested in E.V.I.L. They loan out their equipment. According to their standard contracts,, none of their investors are liable for the destruction of the equipment that they've been loaned. It's who they loaned them to that's interesting. It's a group known as the Grey Knights. It's an anti-human group made up of wolf morphs. You'll never believe who some of the members are. My mother is one of them, and another one is " shi was interrupted by a large noise outside. "What the hell was that?" Snowfall walked over to the window and saw a light shining through it. "Oh, shit!" That was the only warning Nightrose had before an explosion destroyed the wall.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blackstar was so bored with the patrol that shi was actually listening to the conversation going on between the two rookies. Shi actually got so interested in the pointless debate that shi took a moment to realize that someone was trying to hail hir. Shi switched to the appropriate channel, and got Hamilton on the mike, "Blackstar, an explosion was just seen on the Lighthouse Island 5."
"This is Blackstar; I'm on my way at max speed." Shi set course for hir sister's lighthouse and pushed hir thrust indicator as high as it would go.
"Captain Blackstar, you must slow down. You haven't been authorized to exceed supersonic speeds. Slow down now or " Blackstar didn't hear the rest because shi 'accidentally' hit the off button on the comm. unit.
Even with the Blade going as fast as it could in atmosphere, it took Blackstar ten minutes to reach the island. When it finally came into view, Blackstar could see the flames engulfing the top of the lighthouse. After decelerating faster than the Blade was ever designed for, shi landed on a grass field just a hundred feet from the lighthouse. Shi leaped out of the cockpit and ran into the burning building. Shi yelled at the top of her lungs for Snowfall and Nightrose, but couldn't hear a response. Shi walked through the building until shi reached the downstairs living room. Shi could see a giant hole in the wall that could not be created by a fire but rather a powerful explosive. Shi heard something but as shi was turning around a flaming piece of wood fell and shi deflected it with hir left arm. Shi walked towards the voice and found Nightrose. "Nightrose, where's Snow?"
In a raspy voice she replied, "They took hir," before she slipped into unconsciousness. Blackstar picked up Nightrose and carried her out the front door and laid her on the ground just beyond the starfighter. By now a medical unit had landed on the small island and walked over to the Caitian and the Chakat. They started with working on Nightrose, while Blackstar ordered the two other pilots still in the air to search for any suspicious craft leaving the vicinity of the island.
One of the field doctors walked over to Blackstar and began scanning hir. Blackstar knocked the tricorder out of the doctor's hand and said, "I don't need medical attention."
"You're worse than your father. At least shi let people scan hir before shi knocked the tricorder out of the hand."
"How do you know my father?" asked Blackstar.
"I don't."
"Then how did you know about the tricorder, thing?"
A hand touched hir shoulder, "you told me. A few weeks back when you brought me here."
Blackstar took a good look at the man who had tried to scan hir. "Doctor Oliver? You aren't a medical doctor, are you?"
"I'm covering for a friend. I took some basic courses in field medicine," explained the doctor, "and from the looks of it, you need a mechanic to repair that arm of yours."
"It's just a scratch, I've had worst," said Blackstar. "How's Nightrose?"
Dr. Oliver linked his tricorder to the others to see the reading they were getting. "She appears to have some minor problems easily taken care of. Some impact trauma; they'll want to keep her for observation at a hospital overnight."
"I want her put on my ship."
"You don't have a qualified medic," Oliver pointed out.
"You're one," said Blackstar.
Oliver smiled for a moment. "No. Don't even think about it. No Way!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Welcome aboard, Doctor Oliver," said Sasha as she escorted the doctor aboard. "This job'll suck. You're going to love it."
"This is just a temp job," he reassured her.
"Most of this crew said that at some point or another," commented Sasha. "Did you know that I was originally hired to kill hir?"
"Almost everyone has tried to kill me at some point," Sasha whirled around in surprise and found that Blackstar had snuck up on her. "Even Trip has taken a shot at me."
Sasha smiled knowing that was actually true. "And you haven't always gotten away clean," she added indicating the artificial arm which still had metal showing through the fake fur that had been burned off during the incident earlier that night.
"Ironically this injury has saved my life more then once, including tonight," said Blackstar, "if this arm was real, I'd have second or third degree burns on it and I'd be in the hospital for the rest of the night."
"How do you plan to find your sister?" asked Dr. Oliver.
"Radio isotopes."
Dr. Oliver nodded in understanding but Sasha asked for an explanation.
"Everyone in my family has a special isotope hidden somewhere under their skin that transmits on a specific frequency," explained Blackstar. "All we need to do is adjust the scanners to sense the frequency and then follow the breadcrumbs." Sasha raised an eyebrow. "The breadcrumbs aren't important; we just need to hurry, because it'll fade in a few hours from now. It has a life expectancy of 24 hours." Shi hit hir comm badge. "Layla modify the sensors to trace Snowfall's signal, and relay it to stellar cartography."
"I'll be in sickbay," said Doctor Oliver before he went to check on Nightrose.
Blackstar and Sasha went down to cartography and met Trip there. Inside was a holographic representation of the Quenxel system. At the touch of a button, a green line went away from Quenxel and moved on a course away and down, relatively speaking, from the system's sun. "Oh, my god, shi's outside the system!" exclaimed Trip.
"Trip, get to the bridge. Set a course maximum speed and inform Sky and Vega to stand by with the AFU," ordered Blackstar. "Sasha, have all fighters on board and on hot standby A.S.A.P." Shi slapped hir comm badge again. "Layla, keep the engines on hot standby. If we can't catch up in Mystic, we may need to go to Slipstream." Blackstar hit the badge again and barked out proper orders to prepare for launch and then addressed the entire ship, "All hands, prepare to roll out."
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Final notes: Who was the member of the Grey Knights that Snowfall didn't mention? Will they be able to rescue Snowfall? Will Nightrose and Blackstar be able to leave each others sight after the lighthouse incident? Will Blackstar forget to tell Doctor Oliver that they are leaving Quenxel?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Continued in Episode 4
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove
Rosepetal is copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns
---
Sorry, I got cut off there.
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Sionnach Glic
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You could just put it into one thread entitled "The Adventures of Blackstar" and post the chapters one after the other. That's pretty much what everyone else has been doing, and it saves the Writer's Forum from getting filled up with the various chapters of multiple stories, thus making things easier to find.
"You've all been selected for this mission because you each have a special skill. Professor Hawking, John Leslie, Phil Neville, the Wu-Tang Clan, Usher, the Sugar Puffs Monster and Daniel Day-Lewis! Welcome to Operation MindFuck!"
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Blackstar the Chakat
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Sionnach Glic
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Well, if (for example) Chapter 2 gets only a couple of replies, and the others get a lot of responses, Chapter 2 will end up getting burried down the bottom of the forum somewhere, making it harder for readers to find.
I'm not complaining, I'm just making a suggestion.
I'm not complaining, I'm just making a suggestion.
"You've all been selected for this mission because you each have a special skill. Professor Hawking, John Leslie, Phil Neville, the Wu-Tang Clan, Usher, the Sugar Puffs Monster and Daniel Day-Lewis! Welcome to Operation MindFuck!"
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Blackstar the Chakat
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Adventures of Blackstar Chapter four
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 4
The tension on Mystic's bridge was high. The bridge was bathed in the blood red lights indicating that the ship was in battle alert mode, the equivalent of Star Service's red alert status during a combat situation. Mystic's engines were straining to get every last bit of speed they could to catch a signal being left by its captain's half-sister, Snowfall. In addition to being family, shi also may be the key to finding the Time Matrix, a device of infinite power. This device could literally do anything, even create other universes, change events in any universe, and even change the physics of the time-space continuum.
Almost everyone that came across the device and learned of its abilities agreed that it needed to be hidden, for it could not be destroyed. However there were individuals that wanted to use the device for personal gain. One of those individuals was a Wolftaur bitch named Parishka. When the device was first discovered, she tried to use it for improving the timeline by erasing key individuals. Even after being proven wrong she still wanted to try again. However Commodore Starfox, a Chakat, took a volunteer crew and hir ship into the area known as the Maelstrom. The Maelstrom was difficult to navigate even by modern day ships and had many anomalies, a perfect hiding place. Shi then had an illegitimate child with Starfox's daughter, a Chakat freelancer named Stareye, and did something to hir. It was believed that Parishka did something to hir daughter that would lead her to the Time Matrix. Parishka's plans were foiled when her daughter left her because she could no longer handle the condition the partially psychotic Parishka was creating at home.
When Snowfall looked for protection, no one could've predicted that shi would go right to the arms of Captain Blackstar and the Blitz team. Blackstar had followed the path set down by hir ancestors and had begun the pirate-fighting/freelancer force known as the Blitz team. To create a more permanent legal solution to protecting Snowfall, Blackstar had hir take a DNA test and find a relative to be hir legal guardian. They were both surprised when one of the matches was Blackstar hirself. Blackstar took care of hir half-sister until shi was a legal adult, at which point Snowfall moved to a lighthouse on Quenxel. Parishka never forgave Blackstar and was bent on revenge.
And only a few hours earlier, the lighthouse Snowfall lived in was destroyed and Snowfall was kidnapped. However, one thing hir kidnappers didn't know was that shi had a radio isotope that was leaving a trail for hir sister to follow.
Blackstar was waiting for hir crew to say that they had caught up to the ship hir half-sister was on. Sitting in the seat at hir right-hand side was hir Denmate and partner, Nightrose, still wearing bandages on her right arm and forehead. Nightrose had been with Snowfall and was severely burned by the fire at that finished off the lighthouse the night that Snowfall was kidnapped. Dr. Oliver was sitting by hir side, ready to provide medical assistance if necessary.
Blackstar hit the comm. badge on hir upper left breast, "Bridge to engineering - Sky, can you get any more speed?"
"Negative," replied the Skunktaur engineer, "we're already at 125% and we've shut down every non-essential system, minus the waste systems. I still remember what happened last time."
Before Blackstar could counter hym, another voice that shi recognized as Vega came up. "Any harder and we risk a warp core breach. And we've already voided the warranty."
"Can't we just use force fields to strengthen it?" asked Blackstar.
"Negative," said Sky, "they would drain a lot of power and we wouldn't benefit from pushing it like that. We would just make it more complicated."
Blackstar was about to order Sky to do it anyway in the hopes that they could still get a little power when shi felt a push that said no. Shi looked at Nightrose and found her looking at hir. Blackstar glared at hir and was a little surprised when shi heard, or rather sensed, Nightrose say, patience my love. Don't be foolish. We're faster; it's just a matter of time.
Blackstar sighed and gave in. Shi, like any Chakat was very protective of hir family, especially those in hir care. It was a gift and a curse at times. Blackstar took several breaths to calm hirself down. Thanks.
A beep came from the helm station. Blackstar's little sister, Firefox aka Trip, reported, "The signal just slowed to impulse. We'll overshoot them in one minute."
"Bring us out of warp fifty kilometers away. I want some breathing room," ordered Blackstar. Shi hit the badge again, "8-Ball, standby to launch the allied squadron. You take lead." Serena was effectively the lead fighter pilot for now and led the Quenxel squadron that was temporarily assigned to the Blitz team from the Quenxel defense force.
Meanwhile Serge took tactical and linked it to sensor control, not the most efficient way to work but the ship was short handed. It was Serena who reported, "I've got a tactical read on the enemy ship! I think you might want to take a look. This is pretty unbelievable."
"What are you talking about?" asked Blackstar. Then Serge put the tactical display on the main viewscreen. "That's not possible!"
There on the screen was a mirror image of the MSS Mystic coming about. Serena reported, "All sensor scans suggest that the ship we're looking at is identical to our ship; however I didn't detect an Advanced Flying Unit. They're powering weapons."
"Raise shields!" ordered Blackstar, "Target main phasers at the primary computer core, and set phasers to a frequency of 432.35." Nightrose raised an eyebrow. "I'm just hoping my luck holds out. Open a channel."
On the main screen an image of Parishka appeared, "It has been a while, Blackstar."
"Not long enough," said Blackstar, "Why don't you ever stay dead? This is going to be the third time I've killed you."
Parishka's reply was quick in coming. "You fool! I've got a ship identical to yours, I have Snowfall, and that leaves you with nothing but a cloaking device that prevents you from using anything useful. Now I will destroy your bridge with you on it."
Blackstar looked confused, "I wish I could help you but, you see I'm not really here. Execute attack pattern Vega-1."
Parishka's eyes widened when Blackstar faded into nothingness. Then her bridge shook violently and one of her bridge officer's reported, "The Mystic has disabled the main computer core and something has penetrated the mid-neck section."
The copycat ship's neck had been penetrated by the rarely used assault pole of the Midnight Star. The Midnight Star had used Vega's cloaking device and flown ahead of the Copycat. Once it dropped out of warp the Midnight Star inverted and deployed the assault once the order had been given. The Blitz team's own platoon, or rather Blackstar and Sasha boarded the copycat ship and began stunning anyone they saw as they made their way to the bridge. Sasha covered Blackstar as shi forced the door open. Once Blackstar entered the bridge, shi brought hir phaser to bear on the captain's chair, however shi quickly realized that the tail was far too long and thin for the old wolftaur. Blackstar spun the chair and found hirself staring at hir sister who had hir mouth, hands and both sets of legs were bound together with plastic ties.
Blackstar's jaw worked up and down for a moment, "No, no, no! That was my trick. I came up with that. I taught her that move. I can't believe this. This is so not fair." Blackstar's attention was captured by a noise every spacefarer hated, leaking air, "the bridge's airlocks are opening!" Snowfall nodded. "Layla beam us out!"
Sasha picked up the pure white Chakat and slung hir over her shoulder. Although Snowfall didn't like being hauled around like a sack of potatoes there was nothing shi could do about it. Sasha, Snowfall, and Blackstar were beamed up and the assault pole was retracted as soon as possible. Layla put impulse engines to full power before the pole had been completely withdrawn and the drill-like head took minor damage as the Copycat jumped to warp.
Blackstar took the pilot seat and took off the sweat soaked vest. "That could've gone better." A moaning sound reminded Blackstar about hir sister, "Sasha, help Snow with the ties." Blackstar put a headset on and put one of hir favorite soundtracks on as shi and Layla searched for any clues as to Parishka's whereabouts.
"I have the Copycat moving away at high warp," reported Layla, "I cannot asses their status. Well other than being able to travel at warp of course."
Blackstar opened a line to the Mystic, "I have the Copycat on the run. I want you following them with the Skim Drive; I'll cut them off with the Slipstream Drive."
"Only if I come with you," said Nightrose.
Blackstar sighed knowing it would be pointless to argue with her. "Sasha, switch places with Nightrose and take Snowfall with you".
The Midnight Star flew at Slipstream speeds to get ahead of the Copycat, and almost lost it when they dropped out of warp with no apparent reason. The Star made a hard U-turn and dropped out of Slipstream just ahead of the Copycat. Blackstar opened a channel, "we've got to stop meeting like this, Parishka. We'll hold you long enough for the Mystic to get here. Then we'll outgun you. Might as well give up now."
The old Wolftaur responded, "You should double check the field. That was always your flaw Blackstar. You are so focused on the pieces that you don't notice the battlefield's terrain. That's how I almost killed you when you rescued your sister, and how you and the Torrin's captain should have died. I may not stay dead, but at least I die. You can get some satisfaction from stopping my fellow clones and myself. You on the other hand just won't die! At least I'll survive this one."
"What is she talking about?" asked Nightrose.
Parishka gave a creepy grin before answering, "Simple, I chose this battle field because I have an escape route. I estimate a 98% chance of my survival. Sadly I estimate an 89% chance of your survival. Look behind your ship and you'll find a large nebula, that effectively renders shields powerless, weapons useless, and prevent high-speed travel. I just need to dive the Copycat in there and you'll never find me." She turned to the tactical station, which was in the same spot as the Mystic's. "Fire upon the Midnight Star. Clear a path to the nebula. Helm dive into the nebula."
The Midnight Star took a beating from the Copycat's gun. Over the sounds of the shuddering hull Blackstar ordered, "Return fire!" The smaller ship was rocked by the pounding of the Copycat's guns, but was able to hold it's own as the larger ship flew past and dove into the nebula.
The Mystic dropped out of warp and fired a few potshots at the Copycat before it disappeared but did little real damage. Sasha opened a channel with the Midnight Star, "Captain are you okay? What's your damage?"
The shaken Chakat replied, "We're fine, we just need to regenerate our shields. Scan the nebula and give me a tactical report in five minutes." Despite the fact that the last exchange of weapons fire had only lasted a minute Blackstar felt spent. Shi knew that it was the adrenaline wearing off again, having experienced it too many times in the past twenty-four hours.
Hir thoughts were interrupted by Sasha's report, "The nebula's particle density is so thick that we wouldn't be able to handle more then 18,000 kph. Weapon range is less than a kilometer, and sensor range even lower, shields would be useless and we would be unable to go to warp. I think it goes without saying that the cloak is useless as well. Should we pursue?"
Sasha was waiting for any number of answers but she got the one she least expected. "No, we let her go." Sasha's jaw worked up and down for a moment, many of the crew suffering from similar reactions. "As much as I'd like to give her a piece of my mind, she didn't try that hard to kill me and I don't think she was trying. There's something more here then meets the eye, but we don't have time to figure it out now. Let's pack up and head back for Quenxel, the freighters should have arrived by now. And have Dr. Oliver look over Snowfall, see if there is anything out of the ordinary for a Wolftaur/Chakat crossbreed. I'll be in the landing bay in a few minutes. Blackstar out." Blackstar had Layla handle docking and just laid back in hir seat. Shi then sensed Nightrose staring at hir, "What is the problem this time?"
"I don't quite know where to start," she said, "It's just not like you to give up on a chase. Normally I'm the one that has to talk you out of it."
Nightrose was baffled for the second time in ten minutes when Blackstar began laughing, "I'm not that unreasonable. We can't keep this pace up for hours on end with our current resources. Besides, we're due back at Quenxel in a few days."
Nightrose gave Blackstar a skeptical look. "This wouldn't have to do with that message you got just before we left does it?" It was Blackstar's turn for a jaw drop. "It's not my fault you talk in your sleep."
"We haven't slept since I got the message," pointed out Blackstar, "I knew bringing Vega was a bad idea." To answer Nightrose's unasked question Blackstar said, "You aren't the first person that she's blabbed my secrets to."
Back on board the Mystic Blackstar ordered Trip to set a course for Quenxel. When shi stopped in hir ready room shi was surprised to find Vega waiting for hir. "So are you here to apologize for telling Nightrose about the message or is this something new?"
"Something new I'm afraid," said Vega, "When Doctor Oliver did a scan on Snowfall, he found this." She put a small translucent cube on the desk. "This is a comm. Cube with your name engraved on it. I assume it's for you."
Blackstar picked up the cube and looked it over; it was about the size of a die and was only a little heavier. We'll have to wait till we're at a facility more suited to deciphering this than the Mystic. Have us dock with the station in orbit of Quenxel when we get there, for this as well as repairs and refueling. Is there anything else?"
Vega nodded, "I noticed that you haven't eaten for a while with all this excitement going on. How would you like to join me for a decent breakfast? I hear the reviews of Carl's cooking have been excellent."
Blackstar grinned when hir stomachs growled in reply, "I guess I am a little hungry. Who's Carl?"
"That Quange mechanic that tagged along with the Quenxelian pilots. He could build a fighter from scratch from what his sister tells me. She's the other Quange, Tyria," explained Vega. The feline grinned, "So how about we head down to the cafe for some grub?."
Blackstar stopped in the middle of hir nod. "Wait a minute. When the hell'd we get a cafe?"
Vega's face expressed her confusion, "you mean you didn't authorize it? He's been building it since they landed their ships here. He asked Sky and me for help with parts, construction, and power needs. I had assumed he asked you for the green light."
Thinking for a minute Blackstar made a decision, "I guess I'll talk to him about it. I don't know what he was thinking, but I could do with some real food." Vega and Blackstar made it their way to the new cafe, which had been converted from a normal lounge in the aft section of the ship, while the empty cargo bay adjacent to the lounge had been converted into a galley. When Blackstar got there, shi was impressed that Carl had been able to get this facility constructed without hir knowledge. The lounge area was filled with a number of tables of various sizes with matching chairs or pillows for the taur-sized tables, and a number of bi-level spots were also included to allow a variety of choice for the dinners.
Looking around, Blackstar saw the buffet style counter, and many of hir crew enjoying the food. Walking over to the buffet, a very nervous Quange came from the kitchen behind it. "Hello Captain, I wasn't expecting you to come down here, so soon."
Blackstar looked the older Quange in the eye and asked, "You're a cook, a mechanic, a scavenger it's a wonder you're still single." That quickly broke the tension. "So what's cooking?"
"Well, I've cooked up some hash-browns, sausage, pancakes, and bacon. I also make any type of eggs upon request. We've also got a variety of different flavored milks, orange juice and coffee," the smiling Quange replied.
"Sounds good," said Blackstar, "are you done back there?" The Quange nodded, "then join Vega and me when you have the chance."
The Quange walked back into the kitchen to clean up and Blackstar began gathering some food. Shi grabbed some sausages and pancakes from the food section and grabbed a glass of chocolate milk. Vega grabbed the pancakes and bacon and some coffee for her breakfast. They weren't eating very long before Vega pulled out a PADD, "I was googling before this morning's fight and I found that a Folftaur is reported missing in Wisconsin. Does she look familiar?"
Blackstar looked at the picture and shook hir head. "Nope. Never seen her." Blackstar took a sip from hir glass and noticed that Vega was glaring at hir. "What?" shi asked.
"Imagine that Serena was a redhead and then look at the picture," said Vega, "and you might want to look extra closely because that young Folftaur is only sixteen. And I know Folftaurs are among the rarest taurs in the world."
"Bah," said Blackstar, "she could have a sister that we don't know about. 8-Ball doesn't know who her father is, so it may turn out that he does live in Wisconsin and has a thing for vixentaurs." After a moment of Vega's glaring, Blackstar said, "I'll talk to her about it."
"See that you do," said Vega. She then cleaned up her plate and walked towards the garbage and dish receptacle area. Blackstar sighed and turned back to hir taur-sized meal. Even though Vega was much older and responsible, it still didn't help when it came to Blackstar admitting that she was right.
The old Quange came from the kitchen. "Does that feline actually inhale her food?"
"No, she just doesn't need that much food," explained Blackstar. "She has a very unique metabolism." Turning to Carl shi asked, "Just why did you go through all this work even though I'm only training your squadron for a few weeks?"
You didn't have to be empathic to know that the Quange was very nervous. "Well, I haven't had the chance to discuss this with you yet, but I was hoping that maybe you might have an opening for someone of my diverse talents. And I wanted to sweeten the deal because that would require you to buy out my contract with the Quenxel Defense Force."
Blackstar's sense of humor rose to the fore. "So you think that tearing my lounge apart, using my materials and a breakfast is going to convince me to buy out your contract?"
Carl was starting to get really nervous now. "Well, me and my sister, sir."
"First of all, don't call me sir," said Blackstar. "Second of all, I'm going to have to buy you out because this is some excellent food. And I'm guessing you and your sister are a package deal?" The Quange nodded in reply. "Well, do you want to just cook, or are you going to double up with other tasks?"
Carl was notably happier, "I could do that and more sir, I mean, um what do you prefer being called?"
"Captain Blackstar or Captain will suffice in formal situation, like when we're on duty, but for now you can call me Blacky."
"I see," said Carl, "I'm a decent fighter mechanic, that being my primary occupation at the base, and I could work on damage control if necessary. That just leaves the question: when do we take care of the paper work?"
"Right now," said Blackstar. Shi pulled a PADD out from hir vest, "here's a contract. Please read it over, sign where appropriate, and the ship's computer will file it into appropriate locations, and give you a hard copy. Have your sister sign her own copy. The rest will be taken care of by me."
"Thank you Captain, we won't disappoint you," said Carl.
Blackstar yawned. Yesterday had been a long day with rescuing hir sister and working on a lot of paper work for Carl and Tyria's transfer. Because hir sister had been through so much, and because shi was used to group sleeping with hir companions on Quenxel, Blackstar and Nightrose slept with Snowfall. After slowly extracting hirself from the fur-pile, shi put one of hir combat vests on and visited the bridge, where Serena was finishing the night shift. Serena, who was sitting in the captain's chair turned to face Blackstar, "Morning Silverbolt. All systems are normal, and we're cruising at warp five on skim-drive. Current destination: Quenxel. So, why are you up so early? I thought I had the bridge for another few hours."
Blackstar looked down and sighed before looking back at Serena. "I've known you longer than anyone else on this crew, with the exception of Vega. In all that time I thought I knew you. But I didn't even know that you were a red head." Serena visibly deflated. "So tell me something, how old are you, and why didn't you tell me before."
"You were my way out of that village," said Serena. "What else could I do? When you asked me before, I would say, 'I'll be eighteen on my birthday', but I never said which birthday. It's how I lived with myself." Tears started forming in her eyes, "I had to get away from that village. Everyone saw me as the oddball, the freak. I was the one with grey-fur, the one who loved technology, the one with no 'traditional' skills. Even my own mother seemed to despise me. Our last fight resulted in a visit to the hospital. I had to get out of there. The only person who knew I was leaving was my girlfriend. She was the only one who liked me for me for me." Now she was visibly crying.
Blackstar hugged Serena and gave her a shoulder to cry on. "I understand. I'll do what I can. Maybe you should take the rest of the shift off. I'll cover you." Serena didn't make any movement to leave, "Seriously, you've got to stop, I'm getting snot-tears on my vest." Serena let out a snort-laugh. "I'm going to need a new vest." Serena started giggling. Serena gave Blackstar a quick lick-kiss before leaving.
Blackstar grinned and turned to watch Serena depart the bridge. When shi turned around to face the main viewscreen hir hearts skipped a beat when shi came face-to-face with Vega. "What the hell did I tell you about doing that? One of these days, one of my hearts is going to stop permanently because of you. Someone should put a fricken bell on you or something. Aren't you supposed to be in engineering?" Blackstar took the captain's chair.
"Sky got up early to work on one of hys projects to improve the weapon control systems so they don't fail every time we go into battle," explained Vega.
Blackstar finished a check of the ship's overall status before looking at Vega and seeing a look in her eyes that Blackstar hated. "What is it this time? Are you going to spout off one of your fricken prophecies again are you? Last time almost got me killed."
"I just tell it like it is," said Vega, "I can see ki lines, and predict some possible futures. Your future is whatever you make it. That's why I find engineering fascinating. I can't predict what a machine will do." When Vega spoke of ki lines, it referred to life force or spiritual energy of the universe. She could see and predict the flow of ki lines and she would often be accurate, but there were still times when she would be dead wrong.
"What is it?" asked Blackstar. "What do you see?"
"Let's just say that a number of shadows from your past will cross your path again, but it'll be a while," replied Vega. She noticed that Blackstar was using the comm. to search the local newscasts. "You aren't listening are you?"
"How can I answer that if I'm pretending not to listen?" Vega had a problem with letting Blackstar get under her skin with those comments. She stormed off the bridge with enough anger emanating from her that a Chakat on the other end of the ship could have sensed it. Blackstar smiled inwardly at hir success.
Shi started playing a game on hir PADD, an old game shi had found while searching random things on the net. This one was found when shi searched hir grandsire's name, Starfox. Shi found that the game, Starfox Command, was actually quite fun for being from the early 21st century. Blackstar had gotten hooked on many games of that era, most of which survived because of their large quantities, but always came back to that series of games for some reason. Shi figured it had to do with being able to relate to the mercenary team of the game, or maybe because shi found an avian morph an interesting concept, or that Fox McCloud had a cute tushie. Whatever the case may be, it had saved hir from many hours of boredom during long boring jobs and assignments where the only other thing to do was stare at the view of warped space through the main viewscreen.
Shi was still playing when Tyria came on duty about two hours later. The Quange looked around in confusion for a moment, "I thought 8-Ball was on duty."
"She was," replied Blackstar, "I relived her because she was having emotional issues. Since when are you calling her 8-Ball?"
Tyria shrugged, "I've been hanging around with her while working on the fighters, and I helped her paint her preferred fighter. When I saw the nickname painted on the cockpit hatch I guess I just started calling her by it."
"Very well," said Blackstar, "I'll be back up here in six hours; that's about the time we'll arrive in the Quenxel system."
Tyria nodded in understanding. "Sir, I would like to address a security concern."
Blackstar was surprised, "It's unusual for a junior member of the crew to question the captain's policies, but I suppose I should hear you out just in case it's legit."
"Thank you, sir," said Tyria, "I was wondering if it is wise to allow a junior officer to have free rein of the bridge."
"Are you saying I shouldn't trust you?" asked Blackstar.
"No sir, that's not what I meant, but I know Chakats tend to trust too easily. If you trust the wrong person, who knows what could happen," explained Tyria.
"From your point of view that would be a valid concern," replied Blackstar. "I may not have eyes all over the ship, but Layla does. I don't think you've been introduced yet. Layla say hello."
Part of the main viewscreen was replaced with an image of a red headed vixen. Tyria couldn't tell if she was a biped or a taur because the picture cut off above the waist. The vixen grinned. "Hello Tyria. I'm Layla, the brain of the Midnight Star. With various data connections, I can link up and interface with the Mystic's computer system. I can override any system if necessary, but that is rare. I keep an eye on critical systems and areas of both ships. Nothing has ever happened on my watch."
"Wow," Tyria was in awe, "so you're some sort of AI? I've never heard of one with those abilities."
"No," said Layla, "I'm biological originally, but due to a childhood disease I was unable to move, so I was supplemented with cybernetic systems and was eventually grafted into the Twilight Maru."
"Okay," said Tyria, "every time you answer a question, two more come up. So are you naturally a Vixen or is that just your chosen avatar? And what is the Twilight Maru?"
Layla had a shocked look on her face, which was replaced by a look of concern, "I don't know. I can't remember. I've never thought about it." Layla's avatar disappeared.
"Don't take it personally," said Blackstar, "she doesn't have much need for manners, and after a while you'll begin to expect it. I can't believe I never thought about her species before. Well, I can answer the Maru question. It was a prototype ship, after it was heavily damaged and deemed unsalvageable. Two ships with similar designs would be built at a later date; both had parts from the original; however the majority of the wreckage was used as projectiles during an emergency. The first of the two ships was the Twilight Star which was also destroyed. The last ship was the Midnight Star. The only thing all three had in common was that Layla was used as the brain of these ships. That makes her at least over 50 years old."
"The Midnight Star comes from a distinguished line of ships," said Tyria. "I remember my father telling me about how he was saved by the Twilight Star. The pilot was a hero, capable of all sorts of impossible feats. He said that the Twilight Star could fly into a black hole and come back out again."
"That's a bit of an exaggeration," said Blackstar. "The Twilight Star wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of stress. The Midnight Star might be able to slingshot a black hole at Slipstream, but that would be risky even with Vega at the helm." Blackstar and Tyria encountered an awkward silent moment. "Well I'm going to head downstairs, I sort of left my quarters without telling Nightrose where I was going, and after all we've been through, she's going to get worried about me."
"Have a nice day sir," said Tyria.
Nightrose woke up with in a cold sweat. She looked around for Blackstar in a panic. "Layla, where's Blackstar?!"
"Shi's on hir way from the bridge."
Blackstar walked in only to be hug-tackled by Nightrose. "Is this the way we're greeting each other now, because I kind of like it." Nightrose began sobbing into Blackstar's vest. Rather than make a comment about everyone leaving snot-tears on hir vest, shi choose the more compassionate route. "What's got you so upset?"
"I just had a bad dream, that's all," said Nightrose.
"What do you say we go down to breakfast?" said Blackstar. Shi picked up a surprised Nightrose and put her on hir lower back.
Blackstar turned hir attention to hir sister, "I know you're awake. Are you going to join us?
"Is there enough room on your back?" asked Snowfall. "And since when do you give rides?"
"That's a good question I suppose," said Blackstar, "I guess it started when I started going out with Sly Wacoon. Well not so much as go out as fondle each other, then one of us would go to the bedroom. Or I'd carry him to the bedroom. One time he carried me to the bedroom, but he got a hernia so we didn't do that again. Let's discuss this over breakfast. My stomachs are growling."
Snowfall looked at the clock on Blackstar's dresser. "Actually it's more like lunch according to the clock."
"That explains why I'm so hungry! Let's go!" Blackstar took off down the corridor towards the café, with Nightrose hanging on for dear life.
Snowfall just shook hir head in dismay. "Shi might be older than me, but shi still acts like a little kid. Jeez, I've got to stop talking to myself or people will think I'm crazy."
A disembodied voice replied, "You aren't crazy when you talk to yourself. You're crazy if you answer yourself."
"That and when you start hearing voices," said Snowfall. The voice didn't reply. Snowfall shrugged it off as stress and followed hir older sister to the café.
In the café, Blackstar, Nightrose and, Snowfall enjoyed a light brunch. Nightrose was asking about Sly Wacoon. "For starters, am I ever going to meet him? Where is he from? You know all that jazz?"
Blackstar swallowed hir sausage before answering. "Well, Sly runs a corporation called E.V.I.L. We're more like weekend lovers a lot of the time. The HQ is on Tyrre in the Byrrilic Territories. It's not part of any formal government, although there are enough rumors of sentient rights violations to warrant an invasion by the Federation. However most of them are rumors created by their rivals. The ones that are true are usually justified.
"E.V.I.L is more of a think-tank now, creating new types of equipment. That's where we got the RX40000 personal artillery unit. Sly is actually working on a portable version of that system, albeit a bit weaker due to size limitation. He's also working on a way for bipeds and taurs to interbreed, so that he can father a child by me. And next time we talk, I'll make sure that it'll be possible for me to be the father of any children you might bear. If that's what you want of course."
Nightrose took a minute to absorb the information. Being co-mates with Sly might have its benefits. When Nightrose mated with Blackstar, she knew that there was a good chance that she would never be the mother of Blackstar's children, and she was willing to accept the loss of status if it meant that she could be with Blackstar. While she was sure the Blackstar would mate with other females, she never imagined that she could bear the children of her mate.
Nightrose grinned at the thought of finally being able to match her sister, Rosepetal, in status, if she wanted to of course. Nightrose would never force her 'man' to mate with more females for her personal benefit, even when she was certain Blackstar would do it. To carry the first Caitian/Chakat hybrid, with the help of a mate she loved was a far greater prospect than she could have ever dreamed.
"Do you think he could really do that," asked Nightrose. Blackstar nodded. "The first Caitian/Chakat hybrid. If you'd be willing to be the father of him or her or hir, I'd do it."
"Of coarse I world do it. I'd do anything for you, Nightrose," said Blackstar. "After all we're more than just mates. We're partners."
Nightrose couldn't help but laugh.
Most of the crew was enjoying dessert when the intercom paged the captain. Shi excused hirself and left the café. That's when the ship shuddered, the warped view of space returned to normal, and when the battle alert sounded.
Two Days later
"This is Mystic Captain's Log #104, Captain Blackstar recording. We have been fighting a running battle with Parishka's Copycat ship for the past two days. They hit us with a surprise attack during brunch and disabled our warp drive. With help from Carl, our engineers were able to get the drive working long enough to warp to a nearby system. We're currently hiding in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant, trying to finish repairs before Parishka finds us again. Our primary weapon control system is offline again, a system I plan to replace as soon as possible. We also had a failure in one of our antimatter pods. Due to a design flaw in the ejection system, we were forced to eject 15% of our full supply. I don't know why but our cloak is ineffective against their sensors. End Log." Blackstar sighed, shi was no stranger to desperate situations, but this was the first time that shi commanded the entire crew in the situation. Shi looked around the bridge - the forward stations were heavily damaged during the first assault, and only the helm, manned by Trip, remained operational. The console directly behind the captain's chair was covered in burn marks, a result of an overload when a phaser hit the aft bridge connectors.
Sasha walked out from the turbolift. "Repairs to the engines are complete, sir. The weapon control systems are repaired, but it's a patch job. We've reinforced the shields around it in attempt to compensate, but I recommend we avoid getting hit there anyway."
"I don't suppose Vega has any idea how they saw through our cloaking device?" questioned Blackstar.
Sasha shook her head. "No, but I was thinking, they didn't have any precise hits. If they could see us, they should have hit the cloak and fire control first. Instead they hit our shuttle bay, and the top-starboard nacelle."
What Sasha was suggesting hit Blackstar like a ton of breaks. "The isotopes?" Sasha nodded.
Blackstar opened a comm. line with engineering, "Vega, here."
"Vega, when you created the cloak, did you adjust it for the isotopes my family uses?"
Vega nodded. "Everyone between Starfox to Trip has been compensated." Blackstar groaned. "What? Did I do something wrong?"
"You used the database from the Falcon, didn't you?" Without waiting for an answer, Blackstar continued, "Don't worry. It's not your fault. The Falcon doesn't have records of Snowfall's isotopes. Parishka must have been using it to track us."
"Perhaps that was the plan all along," came a new voice. Blackstar turned to see Dr. Oliver, "Think about it. She kidnaps Snowfall, then you have to chase them down and rescue hir. Then she follows the trail you leave behind. She's been playing you from the start."
Sasha was acting offended. "That analysis is in error. If it was that simple, then she could've just followed the trail left by Blackstar or Trip, and why would she let us take Snowfall?"
"There's no reason to be offended," said the Doctor, "but like Vega said, Blackstar's and Trip's isotopes are blocked by the cloak. Also with Snowfall aboard, they could attack us at their leisure, rather than waiting for an attack from us."
"That's how she plays chess." When Blackstar received blank stares, shi added, "Chess is a game of strategy. She leaves an opening, a way for your power pieces to land a devastating blow. Then she unleashes the trap she planned from the very beginning, then checkmate." As if on cue the station on the starboard side of the ship, which had been converted to a tactical console, began sounding the alert of a lock-on from a torpedo. "Just like clockwork. Trip report."
"Two torpedoes coming in from five o'clock high, impact in 34 seconds," reported the young but professional Chakat. "Standard evasive?"
"Negative," said Blackstar, "hard to starboard on my mark." Blackstar began tapping the time out with hir handpaw, much like how a musician timed his music. Trip began looking nervously between hir sister and the console, making various hurrying gestures. At about ten seconds to impact, Blackstar said, "Mark!" The ship turned hard to starboard, and the torpedoes passed the ship, passing it in an arc, trying to compensate for the Mystic's new course. Once the torpedoes' onboard computer determined that they couldn't reach the target, they self-destructed. The resulting shockwave didn't even reach the Mystic.
Blackstar was ready to give more orders when a beeping from the tactical console interrupted hir thoughts. Sasha reported, "I've detected a ship of unknown class in a calm layer of atmosphere about 2500 meters below us, roughly two o'clock low."
"Put the data on the main screen," ordered Blackstar. When shi saw the ship Blackstar's jaw dropped. "It can't be. It's the Starsword."
"You're familiar with this ship?" asked Sasha.
Blackstar nodded. "She is, or rather was, one of the three ships that were part of Admiral Starfox's escort to the Maelstrom. The other two were the Tailstrike and the Galaxytree, both of the same class as this. A type experimental heavy cruiser, each with 15 phaser banks and 10 torpedo tubes. They were also heavily automated during the last mission with a crew of ten apiece."
"That ship must be pretty old then," noted Trip. "They must be very durable to survive this long in a gas giant."
"They're also very expensive," said Blackstar, "but they were designed to prove that the Federation could field a war fleet in a relatively short amount of time. This class of ship could carry a large contingent of ground forces and space Marines and were designed to handle any combat situation."
"And any pressure," said Sasha. "The atmospheric pressure would crush our ship even at full strength. Transporters are unavailable, however I believe the Midnight Star's hull could withstand the pressure."
Blackstar smiled, "Sasha, you read my mind. Get Nightrose up here and have her take command. Layla, prepare the Midnight Star for launch. Sasha, get Dr. Oliver and 8-Ball on your way to the ship. Tell Doc to bring a medkit. Full boarding arms just in case the automatic internal defense system doesn't recognize us as friendlies. And bring Rys as extra firepower."
The Midnight Star launched without a hitch and docked with the Starsword. When the team was past the airlock Doctor Oliver said, "That felt too easy."
"Don't say that," said Serena, "That's usually the point in a movie, book, or other form of media, where the characters are attacked."
"You worried?" asked Doctor Oliver.
"Of coarse," said Serena, "I'm the closest thing to an expendable character in this group."
"That's not true," said Blackstar, "Sasha's the glorified extra in this group."
The Rakshani's jaw dropped. "How do you figure that?"
"Basic math," said Blackstar. "Out of the people I would consider the main characters, you've had the least character development, you're also the biggest target, and there's a defense bot coming up behind you."
Sasha spun around and began firing on the automated defense bot. The bot was a simple arrangement designed for basic defense purposes, it was armed with a rifle and a defense shield, however the shield was little match for Sasha's battle rifle's physical ammunition and fell within a few seconds of the bombardment. The quick attack was too much for the simple defensive program of the bot to make a counter-move. As the smoking robot lost power Sasha declared in a loud voice, "I am not a glorified extra!" Looking around she realized the rest of the team had continued walking. "Oh, come on guys." She ran to catch up to them.
While Blackstar led the "ground-pounders" to the Starsword, hir mate Nightrose and the remaining crew fought the copycat ship. Serge already reported that Parishka's ship launched a landing craft of some sort towards the derelict vessel. The problem encountered by the Mystic was that energy weapons were almost useless at long range in the unique atmosphere, and targeting sensors on the torpedoes had trouble locking onto the target.
There was also no time to address the problem as Serge reported the launch of specialized missiles. Nightrose considered the situation, composition of the atmosphere, distance and relative speeds of the torpedo and the two ships. She smiled, "Trip, turn us to five o'clock high."
"Wait," said Serge, "aren't we turning into the torpedo?"
"Yes," Nightrose said matter-of-factly.
Serge turned back to his console. From where he was sitting he didn't see what Nightrose's plan was. "Distance is 1000 meters. 500 meters. 250 meters. 100 meters!"
Nightrose had been tapping the time out with her foot claw almost as if listening to a song. "Activate all starboard thrusters, NOW!"
Trip's fingers played across the console like a pianist playing a fast-paced song. The Mystic's thrusters pushed the ship to port, without altering its orientation. The missile tried to follow the sudden movement, but still overshot the target.
"The torpedo has overshot. It's coming around, and we're on a collision course with the enemy ship," reported Serge.
"Stay on this course," ordered Nightrose, "but be ready to turn hard to port on my mark. And I mean as hard as you can."
The enemy bridge, an undamaged duplicate of the Mystic's, was busy, with all stations being manned. The sensor officer was reporting, "The Mystic is on a collision course!"
The acting commander, a Voxxan, began barking orders. "Tactical, fire all guns at that ship! We're so close that even with this atmosphere, the guns will still hit!" Something was bothering him though. Why weren't they firing? Then it hit him, "Hard to port!" There was much confusion as to the new order and the helm's reaction time was delayed as a result.
On the Mystic, Nightrose gave an identical order, however because the Mystic had prepared in advance, its turn was much sharper. The torpedo behind it was confused about the target profile. As far as the torpedo's targeting system was concerned, its target was splitting in two. The torpedo ran a simple randomization program to select which one was that target, and it selected the Copycat. It slammed right into the starboard engineering section. The damage was heavy, and the uninhabitable atmosphere didn't make it any easier to handle.
"Time to finish it," said Nightrose. "Fire aft torpedoes full spread." A set of four torpedoes left the Mystic's aft launchers and quickly traveled the distance to the Copycat's aft hull. The Copycat's hull was almost unrecognizable from all the hits it had taken, except for the port side. If one looked at its port profile, the only sign of problems would be the ships rapidly increasing decent into the planet's atmosphere.
The entire bridge crew breathed a sigh of relief. Trip turned to Nightrose, "I didn't think you were the gambling type."
Nightrose giggled, "I guess my mate's attitude and luck is rubbing off on me!"
"If you could see my eyes, I'd be rolling them," commented Trip.
"How did you know the torpedo would go after the Copycat?" asked Serge.
Nightrose thought about it for a minute, "I guess I didn't. I figured that if both our ships turned at the same time we would have a 50/50 chance." A smug grin formed on Nightrose's face, "I just beat an enemy without firing a single shot! Wait until I tell Blackstar!" Nightrose began spinning her chair around and around, before jumping off and doing a back flip in mid air.
Trip and Serge stared at each other before Serge asked, "What was that all about?"
"I think she's burning off adrenaline or something. Blackstar will do the same thing if shi has the energy left. Well, not the exact same thing of course, but I think you get the idea."
Sasha found rest of the assault team in a laboratory of some sort, the walls lined with a number of prototype weapons and diagnostic equipment. On the far wall were five cryostasis tubes used to store living beings for extended periods of time. Three had been occupied, two were covered in condensation due to use. Blackstar began working on one of the consoles, while Sasha's curiosity got the better of her. She began wiping the condensation off one of the tubes, but Blackstar spotted her movement, "Sasha stop."
It was too late. Sasha saw the face in the tube, "what the what the hell is this?"
"Didn't you know, Sasha?" asked a new voice, "Every copy has to have an original."
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Don't you hate when I stop when something interesting happens? What has been discovered this time? What will it mean for the Blitz team? Will I stop asking so many questions after every cliffhanger?
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Continued in Episode 5.
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove
Rosepetal is copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr
The Quange were created by Roy D. Pounds II
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 4
The tension on Mystic's bridge was high. The bridge was bathed in the blood red lights indicating that the ship was in battle alert mode, the equivalent of Star Service's red alert status during a combat situation. Mystic's engines were straining to get every last bit of speed they could to catch a signal being left by its captain's half-sister, Snowfall. In addition to being family, shi also may be the key to finding the Time Matrix, a device of infinite power. This device could literally do anything, even create other universes, change events in any universe, and even change the physics of the time-space continuum.
Almost everyone that came across the device and learned of its abilities agreed that it needed to be hidden, for it could not be destroyed. However there were individuals that wanted to use the device for personal gain. One of those individuals was a Wolftaur bitch named Parishka. When the device was first discovered, she tried to use it for improving the timeline by erasing key individuals. Even after being proven wrong she still wanted to try again. However Commodore Starfox, a Chakat, took a volunteer crew and hir ship into the area known as the Maelstrom. The Maelstrom was difficult to navigate even by modern day ships and had many anomalies, a perfect hiding place. Shi then had an illegitimate child with Starfox's daughter, a Chakat freelancer named Stareye, and did something to hir. It was believed that Parishka did something to hir daughter that would lead her to the Time Matrix. Parishka's plans were foiled when her daughter left her because she could no longer handle the condition the partially psychotic Parishka was creating at home.
When Snowfall looked for protection, no one could've predicted that shi would go right to the arms of Captain Blackstar and the Blitz team. Blackstar had followed the path set down by hir ancestors and had begun the pirate-fighting/freelancer force known as the Blitz team. To create a more permanent legal solution to protecting Snowfall, Blackstar had hir take a DNA test and find a relative to be hir legal guardian. They were both surprised when one of the matches was Blackstar hirself. Blackstar took care of hir half-sister until shi was a legal adult, at which point Snowfall moved to a lighthouse on Quenxel. Parishka never forgave Blackstar and was bent on revenge.
And only a few hours earlier, the lighthouse Snowfall lived in was destroyed and Snowfall was kidnapped. However, one thing hir kidnappers didn't know was that shi had a radio isotope that was leaving a trail for hir sister to follow.
Blackstar was waiting for hir crew to say that they had caught up to the ship hir half-sister was on. Sitting in the seat at hir right-hand side was hir Denmate and partner, Nightrose, still wearing bandages on her right arm and forehead. Nightrose had been with Snowfall and was severely burned by the fire at that finished off the lighthouse the night that Snowfall was kidnapped. Dr. Oliver was sitting by hir side, ready to provide medical assistance if necessary.
Blackstar hit the comm. badge on hir upper left breast, "Bridge to engineering - Sky, can you get any more speed?"
"Negative," replied the Skunktaur engineer, "we're already at 125% and we've shut down every non-essential system, minus the waste systems. I still remember what happened last time."
Before Blackstar could counter hym, another voice that shi recognized as Vega came up. "Any harder and we risk a warp core breach. And we've already voided the warranty."
"Can't we just use force fields to strengthen it?" asked Blackstar.
"Negative," said Sky, "they would drain a lot of power and we wouldn't benefit from pushing it like that. We would just make it more complicated."
Blackstar was about to order Sky to do it anyway in the hopes that they could still get a little power when shi felt a push that said no. Shi looked at Nightrose and found her looking at hir. Blackstar glared at hir and was a little surprised when shi heard, or rather sensed, Nightrose say, patience my love. Don't be foolish. We're faster; it's just a matter of time.
Blackstar sighed and gave in. Shi, like any Chakat was very protective of hir family, especially those in hir care. It was a gift and a curse at times. Blackstar took several breaths to calm hirself down. Thanks.
A beep came from the helm station. Blackstar's little sister, Firefox aka Trip, reported, "The signal just slowed to impulse. We'll overshoot them in one minute."
"Bring us out of warp fifty kilometers away. I want some breathing room," ordered Blackstar. Shi hit the badge again, "8-Ball, standby to launch the allied squadron. You take lead." Serena was effectively the lead fighter pilot for now and led the Quenxel squadron that was temporarily assigned to the Blitz team from the Quenxel defense force.
Meanwhile Serge took tactical and linked it to sensor control, not the most efficient way to work but the ship was short handed. It was Serena who reported, "I've got a tactical read on the enemy ship! I think you might want to take a look. This is pretty unbelievable."
"What are you talking about?" asked Blackstar. Then Serge put the tactical display on the main viewscreen. "That's not possible!"
There on the screen was a mirror image of the MSS Mystic coming about. Serena reported, "All sensor scans suggest that the ship we're looking at is identical to our ship; however I didn't detect an Advanced Flying Unit. They're powering weapons."
"Raise shields!" ordered Blackstar, "Target main phasers at the primary computer core, and set phasers to a frequency of 432.35." Nightrose raised an eyebrow. "I'm just hoping my luck holds out. Open a channel."
On the main screen an image of Parishka appeared, "It has been a while, Blackstar."
"Not long enough," said Blackstar, "Why don't you ever stay dead? This is going to be the third time I've killed you."
Parishka's reply was quick in coming. "You fool! I've got a ship identical to yours, I have Snowfall, and that leaves you with nothing but a cloaking device that prevents you from using anything useful. Now I will destroy your bridge with you on it."
Blackstar looked confused, "I wish I could help you but, you see I'm not really here. Execute attack pattern Vega-1."
Parishka's eyes widened when Blackstar faded into nothingness. Then her bridge shook violently and one of her bridge officer's reported, "The Mystic has disabled the main computer core and something has penetrated the mid-neck section."
The copycat ship's neck had been penetrated by the rarely used assault pole of the Midnight Star. The Midnight Star had used Vega's cloaking device and flown ahead of the Copycat. Once it dropped out of warp the Midnight Star inverted and deployed the assault once the order had been given. The Blitz team's own platoon, or rather Blackstar and Sasha boarded the copycat ship and began stunning anyone they saw as they made their way to the bridge. Sasha covered Blackstar as shi forced the door open. Once Blackstar entered the bridge, shi brought hir phaser to bear on the captain's chair, however shi quickly realized that the tail was far too long and thin for the old wolftaur. Blackstar spun the chair and found hirself staring at hir sister who had hir mouth, hands and both sets of legs were bound together with plastic ties.
Blackstar's jaw worked up and down for a moment, "No, no, no! That was my trick. I came up with that. I taught her that move. I can't believe this. This is so not fair." Blackstar's attention was captured by a noise every spacefarer hated, leaking air, "the bridge's airlocks are opening!" Snowfall nodded. "Layla beam us out!"
Sasha picked up the pure white Chakat and slung hir over her shoulder. Although Snowfall didn't like being hauled around like a sack of potatoes there was nothing shi could do about it. Sasha, Snowfall, and Blackstar were beamed up and the assault pole was retracted as soon as possible. Layla put impulse engines to full power before the pole had been completely withdrawn and the drill-like head took minor damage as the Copycat jumped to warp.
Blackstar took the pilot seat and took off the sweat soaked vest. "That could've gone better." A moaning sound reminded Blackstar about hir sister, "Sasha, help Snow with the ties." Blackstar put a headset on and put one of hir favorite soundtracks on as shi and Layla searched for any clues as to Parishka's whereabouts.
"I have the Copycat moving away at high warp," reported Layla, "I cannot asses their status. Well other than being able to travel at warp of course."
Blackstar opened a line to the Mystic, "I have the Copycat on the run. I want you following them with the Skim Drive; I'll cut them off with the Slipstream Drive."
"Only if I come with you," said Nightrose.
Blackstar sighed knowing it would be pointless to argue with her. "Sasha, switch places with Nightrose and take Snowfall with you".
The Midnight Star flew at Slipstream speeds to get ahead of the Copycat, and almost lost it when they dropped out of warp with no apparent reason. The Star made a hard U-turn and dropped out of Slipstream just ahead of the Copycat. Blackstar opened a channel, "we've got to stop meeting like this, Parishka. We'll hold you long enough for the Mystic to get here. Then we'll outgun you. Might as well give up now."
The old Wolftaur responded, "You should double check the field. That was always your flaw Blackstar. You are so focused on the pieces that you don't notice the battlefield's terrain. That's how I almost killed you when you rescued your sister, and how you and the Torrin's captain should have died. I may not stay dead, but at least I die. You can get some satisfaction from stopping my fellow clones and myself. You on the other hand just won't die! At least I'll survive this one."
"What is she talking about?" asked Nightrose.
Parishka gave a creepy grin before answering, "Simple, I chose this battle field because I have an escape route. I estimate a 98% chance of my survival. Sadly I estimate an 89% chance of your survival. Look behind your ship and you'll find a large nebula, that effectively renders shields powerless, weapons useless, and prevent high-speed travel. I just need to dive the Copycat in there and you'll never find me." She turned to the tactical station, which was in the same spot as the Mystic's. "Fire upon the Midnight Star. Clear a path to the nebula. Helm dive into the nebula."
The Midnight Star took a beating from the Copycat's gun. Over the sounds of the shuddering hull Blackstar ordered, "Return fire!" The smaller ship was rocked by the pounding of the Copycat's guns, but was able to hold it's own as the larger ship flew past and dove into the nebula.
The Mystic dropped out of warp and fired a few potshots at the Copycat before it disappeared but did little real damage. Sasha opened a channel with the Midnight Star, "Captain are you okay? What's your damage?"
The shaken Chakat replied, "We're fine, we just need to regenerate our shields. Scan the nebula and give me a tactical report in five minutes." Despite the fact that the last exchange of weapons fire had only lasted a minute Blackstar felt spent. Shi knew that it was the adrenaline wearing off again, having experienced it too many times in the past twenty-four hours.
Hir thoughts were interrupted by Sasha's report, "The nebula's particle density is so thick that we wouldn't be able to handle more then 18,000 kph. Weapon range is less than a kilometer, and sensor range even lower, shields would be useless and we would be unable to go to warp. I think it goes without saying that the cloak is useless as well. Should we pursue?"
Sasha was waiting for any number of answers but she got the one she least expected. "No, we let her go." Sasha's jaw worked up and down for a moment, many of the crew suffering from similar reactions. "As much as I'd like to give her a piece of my mind, she didn't try that hard to kill me and I don't think she was trying. There's something more here then meets the eye, but we don't have time to figure it out now. Let's pack up and head back for Quenxel, the freighters should have arrived by now. And have Dr. Oliver look over Snowfall, see if there is anything out of the ordinary for a Wolftaur/Chakat crossbreed. I'll be in the landing bay in a few minutes. Blackstar out." Blackstar had Layla handle docking and just laid back in hir seat. Shi then sensed Nightrose staring at hir, "What is the problem this time?"
"I don't quite know where to start," she said, "It's just not like you to give up on a chase. Normally I'm the one that has to talk you out of it."
Nightrose was baffled for the second time in ten minutes when Blackstar began laughing, "I'm not that unreasonable. We can't keep this pace up for hours on end with our current resources. Besides, we're due back at Quenxel in a few days."
Nightrose gave Blackstar a skeptical look. "This wouldn't have to do with that message you got just before we left does it?" It was Blackstar's turn for a jaw drop. "It's not my fault you talk in your sleep."
"We haven't slept since I got the message," pointed out Blackstar, "I knew bringing Vega was a bad idea." To answer Nightrose's unasked question Blackstar said, "You aren't the first person that she's blabbed my secrets to."
Back on board the Mystic Blackstar ordered Trip to set a course for Quenxel. When shi stopped in hir ready room shi was surprised to find Vega waiting for hir. "So are you here to apologize for telling Nightrose about the message or is this something new?"
"Something new I'm afraid," said Vega, "When Doctor Oliver did a scan on Snowfall, he found this." She put a small translucent cube on the desk. "This is a comm. Cube with your name engraved on it. I assume it's for you."
Blackstar picked up the cube and looked it over; it was about the size of a die and was only a little heavier. We'll have to wait till we're at a facility more suited to deciphering this than the Mystic. Have us dock with the station in orbit of Quenxel when we get there, for this as well as repairs and refueling. Is there anything else?"
Vega nodded, "I noticed that you haven't eaten for a while with all this excitement going on. How would you like to join me for a decent breakfast? I hear the reviews of Carl's cooking have been excellent."
Blackstar grinned when hir stomachs growled in reply, "I guess I am a little hungry. Who's Carl?"
"That Quange mechanic that tagged along with the Quenxelian pilots. He could build a fighter from scratch from what his sister tells me. She's the other Quange, Tyria," explained Vega. The feline grinned, "So how about we head down to the cafe for some grub?."
Blackstar stopped in the middle of hir nod. "Wait a minute. When the hell'd we get a cafe?"
Vega's face expressed her confusion, "you mean you didn't authorize it? He's been building it since they landed their ships here. He asked Sky and me for help with parts, construction, and power needs. I had assumed he asked you for the green light."
Thinking for a minute Blackstar made a decision, "I guess I'll talk to him about it. I don't know what he was thinking, but I could do with some real food." Vega and Blackstar made it their way to the new cafe, which had been converted from a normal lounge in the aft section of the ship, while the empty cargo bay adjacent to the lounge had been converted into a galley. When Blackstar got there, shi was impressed that Carl had been able to get this facility constructed without hir knowledge. The lounge area was filled with a number of tables of various sizes with matching chairs or pillows for the taur-sized tables, and a number of bi-level spots were also included to allow a variety of choice for the dinners.
Looking around, Blackstar saw the buffet style counter, and many of hir crew enjoying the food. Walking over to the buffet, a very nervous Quange came from the kitchen behind it. "Hello Captain, I wasn't expecting you to come down here, so soon."
Blackstar looked the older Quange in the eye and asked, "You're a cook, a mechanic, a scavenger it's a wonder you're still single." That quickly broke the tension. "So what's cooking?"
"Well, I've cooked up some hash-browns, sausage, pancakes, and bacon. I also make any type of eggs upon request. We've also got a variety of different flavored milks, orange juice and coffee," the smiling Quange replied.
"Sounds good," said Blackstar, "are you done back there?" The Quange nodded, "then join Vega and me when you have the chance."
The Quange walked back into the kitchen to clean up and Blackstar began gathering some food. Shi grabbed some sausages and pancakes from the food section and grabbed a glass of chocolate milk. Vega grabbed the pancakes and bacon and some coffee for her breakfast. They weren't eating very long before Vega pulled out a PADD, "I was googling before this morning's fight and I found that a Folftaur is reported missing in Wisconsin. Does she look familiar?"
Blackstar looked at the picture and shook hir head. "Nope. Never seen her." Blackstar took a sip from hir glass and noticed that Vega was glaring at hir. "What?" shi asked.
"Imagine that Serena was a redhead and then look at the picture," said Vega, "and you might want to look extra closely because that young Folftaur is only sixteen. And I know Folftaurs are among the rarest taurs in the world."
"Bah," said Blackstar, "she could have a sister that we don't know about. 8-Ball doesn't know who her father is, so it may turn out that he does live in Wisconsin and has a thing for vixentaurs." After a moment of Vega's glaring, Blackstar said, "I'll talk to her about it."
"See that you do," said Vega. She then cleaned up her plate and walked towards the garbage and dish receptacle area. Blackstar sighed and turned back to hir taur-sized meal. Even though Vega was much older and responsible, it still didn't help when it came to Blackstar admitting that she was right.
The old Quange came from the kitchen. "Does that feline actually inhale her food?"
"No, she just doesn't need that much food," explained Blackstar. "She has a very unique metabolism." Turning to Carl shi asked, "Just why did you go through all this work even though I'm only training your squadron for a few weeks?"
You didn't have to be empathic to know that the Quange was very nervous. "Well, I haven't had the chance to discuss this with you yet, but I was hoping that maybe you might have an opening for someone of my diverse talents. And I wanted to sweeten the deal because that would require you to buy out my contract with the Quenxel Defense Force."
Blackstar's sense of humor rose to the fore. "So you think that tearing my lounge apart, using my materials and a breakfast is going to convince me to buy out your contract?"
Carl was starting to get really nervous now. "Well, me and my sister, sir."
"First of all, don't call me sir," said Blackstar. "Second of all, I'm going to have to buy you out because this is some excellent food. And I'm guessing you and your sister are a package deal?" The Quange nodded in reply. "Well, do you want to just cook, or are you going to double up with other tasks?"
Carl was notably happier, "I could do that and more sir, I mean, um what do you prefer being called?"
"Captain Blackstar or Captain will suffice in formal situation, like when we're on duty, but for now you can call me Blacky."
"I see," said Carl, "I'm a decent fighter mechanic, that being my primary occupation at the base, and I could work on damage control if necessary. That just leaves the question: when do we take care of the paper work?"
"Right now," said Blackstar. Shi pulled a PADD out from hir vest, "here's a contract. Please read it over, sign where appropriate, and the ship's computer will file it into appropriate locations, and give you a hard copy. Have your sister sign her own copy. The rest will be taken care of by me."
"Thank you Captain, we won't disappoint you," said Carl.
Blackstar yawned. Yesterday had been a long day with rescuing hir sister and working on a lot of paper work for Carl and Tyria's transfer. Because hir sister had been through so much, and because shi was used to group sleeping with hir companions on Quenxel, Blackstar and Nightrose slept with Snowfall. After slowly extracting hirself from the fur-pile, shi put one of hir combat vests on and visited the bridge, where Serena was finishing the night shift. Serena, who was sitting in the captain's chair turned to face Blackstar, "Morning Silverbolt. All systems are normal, and we're cruising at warp five on skim-drive. Current destination: Quenxel. So, why are you up so early? I thought I had the bridge for another few hours."
Blackstar looked down and sighed before looking back at Serena. "I've known you longer than anyone else on this crew, with the exception of Vega. In all that time I thought I knew you. But I didn't even know that you were a red head." Serena visibly deflated. "So tell me something, how old are you, and why didn't you tell me before."
"You were my way out of that village," said Serena. "What else could I do? When you asked me before, I would say, 'I'll be eighteen on my birthday', but I never said which birthday. It's how I lived with myself." Tears started forming in her eyes, "I had to get away from that village. Everyone saw me as the oddball, the freak. I was the one with grey-fur, the one who loved technology, the one with no 'traditional' skills. Even my own mother seemed to despise me. Our last fight resulted in a visit to the hospital. I had to get out of there. The only person who knew I was leaving was my girlfriend. She was the only one who liked me for me for me." Now she was visibly crying.
Blackstar hugged Serena and gave her a shoulder to cry on. "I understand. I'll do what I can. Maybe you should take the rest of the shift off. I'll cover you." Serena didn't make any movement to leave, "Seriously, you've got to stop, I'm getting snot-tears on my vest." Serena let out a snort-laugh. "I'm going to need a new vest." Serena started giggling. Serena gave Blackstar a quick lick-kiss before leaving.
Blackstar grinned and turned to watch Serena depart the bridge. When shi turned around to face the main viewscreen hir hearts skipped a beat when shi came face-to-face with Vega. "What the hell did I tell you about doing that? One of these days, one of my hearts is going to stop permanently because of you. Someone should put a fricken bell on you or something. Aren't you supposed to be in engineering?" Blackstar took the captain's chair.
"Sky got up early to work on one of hys projects to improve the weapon control systems so they don't fail every time we go into battle," explained Vega.
Blackstar finished a check of the ship's overall status before looking at Vega and seeing a look in her eyes that Blackstar hated. "What is it this time? Are you going to spout off one of your fricken prophecies again are you? Last time almost got me killed."
"I just tell it like it is," said Vega, "I can see ki lines, and predict some possible futures. Your future is whatever you make it. That's why I find engineering fascinating. I can't predict what a machine will do." When Vega spoke of ki lines, it referred to life force or spiritual energy of the universe. She could see and predict the flow of ki lines and she would often be accurate, but there were still times when she would be dead wrong.
"What is it?" asked Blackstar. "What do you see?"
"Let's just say that a number of shadows from your past will cross your path again, but it'll be a while," replied Vega. She noticed that Blackstar was using the comm. to search the local newscasts. "You aren't listening are you?"
"How can I answer that if I'm pretending not to listen?" Vega had a problem with letting Blackstar get under her skin with those comments. She stormed off the bridge with enough anger emanating from her that a Chakat on the other end of the ship could have sensed it. Blackstar smiled inwardly at hir success.
Shi started playing a game on hir PADD, an old game shi had found while searching random things on the net. This one was found when shi searched hir grandsire's name, Starfox. Shi found that the game, Starfox Command, was actually quite fun for being from the early 21st century. Blackstar had gotten hooked on many games of that era, most of which survived because of their large quantities, but always came back to that series of games for some reason. Shi figured it had to do with being able to relate to the mercenary team of the game, or maybe because shi found an avian morph an interesting concept, or that Fox McCloud had a cute tushie. Whatever the case may be, it had saved hir from many hours of boredom during long boring jobs and assignments where the only other thing to do was stare at the view of warped space through the main viewscreen.
Shi was still playing when Tyria came on duty about two hours later. The Quange looked around in confusion for a moment, "I thought 8-Ball was on duty."
"She was," replied Blackstar, "I relived her because she was having emotional issues. Since when are you calling her 8-Ball?"
Tyria shrugged, "I've been hanging around with her while working on the fighters, and I helped her paint her preferred fighter. When I saw the nickname painted on the cockpit hatch I guess I just started calling her by it."
"Very well," said Blackstar, "I'll be back up here in six hours; that's about the time we'll arrive in the Quenxel system."
Tyria nodded in understanding. "Sir, I would like to address a security concern."
Blackstar was surprised, "It's unusual for a junior member of the crew to question the captain's policies, but I suppose I should hear you out just in case it's legit."
"Thank you, sir," said Tyria, "I was wondering if it is wise to allow a junior officer to have free rein of the bridge."
"Are you saying I shouldn't trust you?" asked Blackstar.
"No sir, that's not what I meant, but I know Chakats tend to trust too easily. If you trust the wrong person, who knows what could happen," explained Tyria.
"From your point of view that would be a valid concern," replied Blackstar. "I may not have eyes all over the ship, but Layla does. I don't think you've been introduced yet. Layla say hello."
Part of the main viewscreen was replaced with an image of a red headed vixen. Tyria couldn't tell if she was a biped or a taur because the picture cut off above the waist. The vixen grinned. "Hello Tyria. I'm Layla, the brain of the Midnight Star. With various data connections, I can link up and interface with the Mystic's computer system. I can override any system if necessary, but that is rare. I keep an eye on critical systems and areas of both ships. Nothing has ever happened on my watch."
"Wow," Tyria was in awe, "so you're some sort of AI? I've never heard of one with those abilities."
"No," said Layla, "I'm biological originally, but due to a childhood disease I was unable to move, so I was supplemented with cybernetic systems and was eventually grafted into the Twilight Maru."
"Okay," said Tyria, "every time you answer a question, two more come up. So are you naturally a Vixen or is that just your chosen avatar? And what is the Twilight Maru?"
Layla had a shocked look on her face, which was replaced by a look of concern, "I don't know. I can't remember. I've never thought about it." Layla's avatar disappeared.
"Don't take it personally," said Blackstar, "she doesn't have much need for manners, and after a while you'll begin to expect it. I can't believe I never thought about her species before. Well, I can answer the Maru question. It was a prototype ship, after it was heavily damaged and deemed unsalvageable. Two ships with similar designs would be built at a later date; both had parts from the original; however the majority of the wreckage was used as projectiles during an emergency. The first of the two ships was the Twilight Star which was also destroyed. The last ship was the Midnight Star. The only thing all three had in common was that Layla was used as the brain of these ships. That makes her at least over 50 years old."
"The Midnight Star comes from a distinguished line of ships," said Tyria. "I remember my father telling me about how he was saved by the Twilight Star. The pilot was a hero, capable of all sorts of impossible feats. He said that the Twilight Star could fly into a black hole and come back out again."
"That's a bit of an exaggeration," said Blackstar. "The Twilight Star wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of stress. The Midnight Star might be able to slingshot a black hole at Slipstream, but that would be risky even with Vega at the helm." Blackstar and Tyria encountered an awkward silent moment. "Well I'm going to head downstairs, I sort of left my quarters without telling Nightrose where I was going, and after all we've been through, she's going to get worried about me."
"Have a nice day sir," said Tyria.
Nightrose woke up with in a cold sweat. She looked around for Blackstar in a panic. "Layla, where's Blackstar?!"
"Shi's on hir way from the bridge."
Blackstar walked in only to be hug-tackled by Nightrose. "Is this the way we're greeting each other now, because I kind of like it." Nightrose began sobbing into Blackstar's vest. Rather than make a comment about everyone leaving snot-tears on hir vest, shi choose the more compassionate route. "What's got you so upset?"
"I just had a bad dream, that's all," said Nightrose.
"What do you say we go down to breakfast?" said Blackstar. Shi picked up a surprised Nightrose and put her on hir lower back.
Blackstar turned hir attention to hir sister, "I know you're awake. Are you going to join us?
"Is there enough room on your back?" asked Snowfall. "And since when do you give rides?"
"That's a good question I suppose," said Blackstar, "I guess it started when I started going out with Sly Wacoon. Well not so much as go out as fondle each other, then one of us would go to the bedroom. Or I'd carry him to the bedroom. One time he carried me to the bedroom, but he got a hernia so we didn't do that again. Let's discuss this over breakfast. My stomachs are growling."
Snowfall looked at the clock on Blackstar's dresser. "Actually it's more like lunch according to the clock."
"That explains why I'm so hungry! Let's go!" Blackstar took off down the corridor towards the café, with Nightrose hanging on for dear life.
Snowfall just shook hir head in dismay. "Shi might be older than me, but shi still acts like a little kid. Jeez, I've got to stop talking to myself or people will think I'm crazy."
A disembodied voice replied, "You aren't crazy when you talk to yourself. You're crazy if you answer yourself."
"That and when you start hearing voices," said Snowfall. The voice didn't reply. Snowfall shrugged it off as stress and followed hir older sister to the café.
In the café, Blackstar, Nightrose and, Snowfall enjoyed a light brunch. Nightrose was asking about Sly Wacoon. "For starters, am I ever going to meet him? Where is he from? You know all that jazz?"
Blackstar swallowed hir sausage before answering. "Well, Sly runs a corporation called E.V.I.L. We're more like weekend lovers a lot of the time. The HQ is on Tyrre in the Byrrilic Territories. It's not part of any formal government, although there are enough rumors of sentient rights violations to warrant an invasion by the Federation. However most of them are rumors created by their rivals. The ones that are true are usually justified.
"E.V.I.L is more of a think-tank now, creating new types of equipment. That's where we got the RX40000 personal artillery unit. Sly is actually working on a portable version of that system, albeit a bit weaker due to size limitation. He's also working on a way for bipeds and taurs to interbreed, so that he can father a child by me. And next time we talk, I'll make sure that it'll be possible for me to be the father of any children you might bear. If that's what you want of course."
Nightrose took a minute to absorb the information. Being co-mates with Sly might have its benefits. When Nightrose mated with Blackstar, she knew that there was a good chance that she would never be the mother of Blackstar's children, and she was willing to accept the loss of status if it meant that she could be with Blackstar. While she was sure the Blackstar would mate with other females, she never imagined that she could bear the children of her mate.
Nightrose grinned at the thought of finally being able to match her sister, Rosepetal, in status, if she wanted to of course. Nightrose would never force her 'man' to mate with more females for her personal benefit, even when she was certain Blackstar would do it. To carry the first Caitian/Chakat hybrid, with the help of a mate she loved was a far greater prospect than she could have ever dreamed.
"Do you think he could really do that," asked Nightrose. Blackstar nodded. "The first Caitian/Chakat hybrid. If you'd be willing to be the father of him or her or hir, I'd do it."
"Of coarse I world do it. I'd do anything for you, Nightrose," said Blackstar. "After all we're more than just mates. We're partners."
Nightrose couldn't help but laugh.
Most of the crew was enjoying dessert when the intercom paged the captain. Shi excused hirself and left the café. That's when the ship shuddered, the warped view of space returned to normal, and when the battle alert sounded.
Two Days later
"This is Mystic Captain's Log #104, Captain Blackstar recording. We have been fighting a running battle with Parishka's Copycat ship for the past two days. They hit us with a surprise attack during brunch and disabled our warp drive. With help from Carl, our engineers were able to get the drive working long enough to warp to a nearby system. We're currently hiding in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant, trying to finish repairs before Parishka finds us again. Our primary weapon control system is offline again, a system I plan to replace as soon as possible. We also had a failure in one of our antimatter pods. Due to a design flaw in the ejection system, we were forced to eject 15% of our full supply. I don't know why but our cloak is ineffective against their sensors. End Log." Blackstar sighed, shi was no stranger to desperate situations, but this was the first time that shi commanded the entire crew in the situation. Shi looked around the bridge - the forward stations were heavily damaged during the first assault, and only the helm, manned by Trip, remained operational. The console directly behind the captain's chair was covered in burn marks, a result of an overload when a phaser hit the aft bridge connectors.
Sasha walked out from the turbolift. "Repairs to the engines are complete, sir. The weapon control systems are repaired, but it's a patch job. We've reinforced the shields around it in attempt to compensate, but I recommend we avoid getting hit there anyway."
"I don't suppose Vega has any idea how they saw through our cloaking device?" questioned Blackstar.
Sasha shook her head. "No, but I was thinking, they didn't have any precise hits. If they could see us, they should have hit the cloak and fire control first. Instead they hit our shuttle bay, and the top-starboard nacelle."
What Sasha was suggesting hit Blackstar like a ton of breaks. "The isotopes?" Sasha nodded.
Blackstar opened a comm. line with engineering, "Vega, here."
"Vega, when you created the cloak, did you adjust it for the isotopes my family uses?"
Vega nodded. "Everyone between Starfox to Trip has been compensated." Blackstar groaned. "What? Did I do something wrong?"
"You used the database from the Falcon, didn't you?" Without waiting for an answer, Blackstar continued, "Don't worry. It's not your fault. The Falcon doesn't have records of Snowfall's isotopes. Parishka must have been using it to track us."
"Perhaps that was the plan all along," came a new voice. Blackstar turned to see Dr. Oliver, "Think about it. She kidnaps Snowfall, then you have to chase them down and rescue hir. Then she follows the trail you leave behind. She's been playing you from the start."
Sasha was acting offended. "That analysis is in error. If it was that simple, then she could've just followed the trail left by Blackstar or Trip, and why would she let us take Snowfall?"
"There's no reason to be offended," said the Doctor, "but like Vega said, Blackstar's and Trip's isotopes are blocked by the cloak. Also with Snowfall aboard, they could attack us at their leisure, rather than waiting for an attack from us."
"That's how she plays chess." When Blackstar received blank stares, shi added, "Chess is a game of strategy. She leaves an opening, a way for your power pieces to land a devastating blow. Then she unleashes the trap she planned from the very beginning, then checkmate." As if on cue the station on the starboard side of the ship, which had been converted to a tactical console, began sounding the alert of a lock-on from a torpedo. "Just like clockwork. Trip report."
"Two torpedoes coming in from five o'clock high, impact in 34 seconds," reported the young but professional Chakat. "Standard evasive?"
"Negative," said Blackstar, "hard to starboard on my mark." Blackstar began tapping the time out with hir handpaw, much like how a musician timed his music. Trip began looking nervously between hir sister and the console, making various hurrying gestures. At about ten seconds to impact, Blackstar said, "Mark!" The ship turned hard to starboard, and the torpedoes passed the ship, passing it in an arc, trying to compensate for the Mystic's new course. Once the torpedoes' onboard computer determined that they couldn't reach the target, they self-destructed. The resulting shockwave didn't even reach the Mystic.
Blackstar was ready to give more orders when a beeping from the tactical console interrupted hir thoughts. Sasha reported, "I've detected a ship of unknown class in a calm layer of atmosphere about 2500 meters below us, roughly two o'clock low."
"Put the data on the main screen," ordered Blackstar. When shi saw the ship Blackstar's jaw dropped. "It can't be. It's the Starsword."
"You're familiar with this ship?" asked Sasha.
Blackstar nodded. "She is, or rather was, one of the three ships that were part of Admiral Starfox's escort to the Maelstrom. The other two were the Tailstrike and the Galaxytree, both of the same class as this. A type experimental heavy cruiser, each with 15 phaser banks and 10 torpedo tubes. They were also heavily automated during the last mission with a crew of ten apiece."
"That ship must be pretty old then," noted Trip. "They must be very durable to survive this long in a gas giant."
"They're also very expensive," said Blackstar, "but they were designed to prove that the Federation could field a war fleet in a relatively short amount of time. This class of ship could carry a large contingent of ground forces and space Marines and were designed to handle any combat situation."
"And any pressure," said Sasha. "The atmospheric pressure would crush our ship even at full strength. Transporters are unavailable, however I believe the Midnight Star's hull could withstand the pressure."
Blackstar smiled, "Sasha, you read my mind. Get Nightrose up here and have her take command. Layla, prepare the Midnight Star for launch. Sasha, get Dr. Oliver and 8-Ball on your way to the ship. Tell Doc to bring a medkit. Full boarding arms just in case the automatic internal defense system doesn't recognize us as friendlies. And bring Rys as extra firepower."
The Midnight Star launched without a hitch and docked with the Starsword. When the team was past the airlock Doctor Oliver said, "That felt too easy."
"Don't say that," said Serena, "That's usually the point in a movie, book, or other form of media, where the characters are attacked."
"You worried?" asked Doctor Oliver.
"Of coarse," said Serena, "I'm the closest thing to an expendable character in this group."
"That's not true," said Blackstar, "Sasha's the glorified extra in this group."
The Rakshani's jaw dropped. "How do you figure that?"
"Basic math," said Blackstar. "Out of the people I would consider the main characters, you've had the least character development, you're also the biggest target, and there's a defense bot coming up behind you."
Sasha spun around and began firing on the automated defense bot. The bot was a simple arrangement designed for basic defense purposes, it was armed with a rifle and a defense shield, however the shield was little match for Sasha's battle rifle's physical ammunition and fell within a few seconds of the bombardment. The quick attack was too much for the simple defensive program of the bot to make a counter-move. As the smoking robot lost power Sasha declared in a loud voice, "I am not a glorified extra!" Looking around she realized the rest of the team had continued walking. "Oh, come on guys." She ran to catch up to them.
While Blackstar led the "ground-pounders" to the Starsword, hir mate Nightrose and the remaining crew fought the copycat ship. Serge already reported that Parishka's ship launched a landing craft of some sort towards the derelict vessel. The problem encountered by the Mystic was that energy weapons were almost useless at long range in the unique atmosphere, and targeting sensors on the torpedoes had trouble locking onto the target.
There was also no time to address the problem as Serge reported the launch of specialized missiles. Nightrose considered the situation, composition of the atmosphere, distance and relative speeds of the torpedo and the two ships. She smiled, "Trip, turn us to five o'clock high."
"Wait," said Serge, "aren't we turning into the torpedo?"
"Yes," Nightrose said matter-of-factly.
Serge turned back to his console. From where he was sitting he didn't see what Nightrose's plan was. "Distance is 1000 meters. 500 meters. 250 meters. 100 meters!"
Nightrose had been tapping the time out with her foot claw almost as if listening to a song. "Activate all starboard thrusters, NOW!"
Trip's fingers played across the console like a pianist playing a fast-paced song. The Mystic's thrusters pushed the ship to port, without altering its orientation. The missile tried to follow the sudden movement, but still overshot the target.
"The torpedo has overshot. It's coming around, and we're on a collision course with the enemy ship," reported Serge.
"Stay on this course," ordered Nightrose, "but be ready to turn hard to port on my mark. And I mean as hard as you can."
The enemy bridge, an undamaged duplicate of the Mystic's, was busy, with all stations being manned. The sensor officer was reporting, "The Mystic is on a collision course!"
The acting commander, a Voxxan, began barking orders. "Tactical, fire all guns at that ship! We're so close that even with this atmosphere, the guns will still hit!" Something was bothering him though. Why weren't they firing? Then it hit him, "Hard to port!" There was much confusion as to the new order and the helm's reaction time was delayed as a result.
On the Mystic, Nightrose gave an identical order, however because the Mystic had prepared in advance, its turn was much sharper. The torpedo behind it was confused about the target profile. As far as the torpedo's targeting system was concerned, its target was splitting in two. The torpedo ran a simple randomization program to select which one was that target, and it selected the Copycat. It slammed right into the starboard engineering section. The damage was heavy, and the uninhabitable atmosphere didn't make it any easier to handle.
"Time to finish it," said Nightrose. "Fire aft torpedoes full spread." A set of four torpedoes left the Mystic's aft launchers and quickly traveled the distance to the Copycat's aft hull. The Copycat's hull was almost unrecognizable from all the hits it had taken, except for the port side. If one looked at its port profile, the only sign of problems would be the ships rapidly increasing decent into the planet's atmosphere.
The entire bridge crew breathed a sigh of relief. Trip turned to Nightrose, "I didn't think you were the gambling type."
Nightrose giggled, "I guess my mate's attitude and luck is rubbing off on me!"
"If you could see my eyes, I'd be rolling them," commented Trip.
"How did you know the torpedo would go after the Copycat?" asked Serge.
Nightrose thought about it for a minute, "I guess I didn't. I figured that if both our ships turned at the same time we would have a 50/50 chance." A smug grin formed on Nightrose's face, "I just beat an enemy without firing a single shot! Wait until I tell Blackstar!" Nightrose began spinning her chair around and around, before jumping off and doing a back flip in mid air.
Trip and Serge stared at each other before Serge asked, "What was that all about?"
"I think she's burning off adrenaline or something. Blackstar will do the same thing if shi has the energy left. Well, not the exact same thing of course, but I think you get the idea."
Sasha found rest of the assault team in a laboratory of some sort, the walls lined with a number of prototype weapons and diagnostic equipment. On the far wall were five cryostasis tubes used to store living beings for extended periods of time. Three had been occupied, two were covered in condensation due to use. Blackstar began working on one of the consoles, while Sasha's curiosity got the better of her. She began wiping the condensation off one of the tubes, but Blackstar spotted her movement, "Sasha stop."
It was too late. Sasha saw the face in the tube, "what the what the hell is this?"
"Didn't you know, Sasha?" asked a new voice, "Every copy has to have an original."
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Don't you hate when I stop when something interesting happens? What has been discovered this time? What will it mean for the Blitz team? Will I stop asking so many questions after every cliffhanger?
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Continued in Episode 5.
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated
Faera is copyright of Ileah Pankratz and used with her permission
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove
Rosepetal is copyright Boyce Garald Kline Jr
The Quange were created by Roy D. Pounds II
The Folly and her captain are copyright of Allen Fesler
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know
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Blackstar the Chakat
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Adventures of Blackstar Chapter five
Adventures of Blackstar
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 5: The Original
Sasha found her fellow crewmates in a laboratory of some sort, the walls lined with a number of prototype weapons and diagnostic equipment. On the far wall were five cryostasis tubes used to store a living being for extended periods of time; three had been occupied, two were covered in condensation due to use. Blackstar began working on one of the consoles, while Sasha's curiosity got the better of her. She began wiping the condensation off one of the tubes, but Blackstar spotted her movement, "Sasha stop."
It was too late. Sasha saw the face in the tube. "What the what the hell is this?"
"Didn't you know Sasha?" asked a new voice. "Every copy has to have an original."
The boarding team turned around and saw Parishka and a group of escorts. Blackstar waved. "Hey, how you doing? Hey how did you get here? The Midnight Star barely made it, and she's got one of the strongest hulls available."
"We improvised a way to increase the structural integrity on our shuttle, long enough to get here," explained Parishka. "It doesn't matter because this is where you die."
Blackstar crouched down and put hir left arm up defensively, and to position hir personal shield to an optimal position, but no shots were fired. After a moment Blackstar looked from one hired gun to the next, and quickly realized that no one was firing. Then Blackstar turned hir head to look behind hir and decided that shi had figured it out. "You need the original for something, so your men aren't firing. What do you need her for?"
Parishka crossed her arms. "Like I'd tell you. I talk too much as it is, but I'm not going to keep babbling about how I need something or someone to you."
While the Blitz team members could easily shoot Parishka and her cronies, Blackstar hesitated because it didn't quite seem fair. Being a Chakat, shi had difficulties in situations such as this one, and hir practical and peaceful sides would be in conflict. After a moment debating with hirself, Blackstar finally came to a decision. "Fire stun "
Blackstar was interrupted by Parishka shouting, "Attack!" to her men. Only 8-Ball was able to get a single shot fired before the morphs under Parishka's command engaged them in hand to hand. Most were able to disarm their opponents, however. The Blitz team had started out as primarily being a ground unit before they purchased a capital ship, and Blackstar made sure that every member could at least fight in hand to hand combat.
The Quenxelian wolf morph, Rys, delivered a quick kick to the knee of his opponent, a fox morph. As the fox began to lose his balance from the blow, Rys smashed his elbow into his enemy's snout, knocking the fox backward. Rys delivered an upper cut to his opponent's jaw, knocking the unfortunate fox to the floor. Rys recovered his stunner and used it to finish off his opponent.
Sasha was faced with two fierce wolf morphs, one of which was sent flying after receiving a blow to his chest. Judging by the cracking sound, at least one of his ribs was broken. The second wolf was far more cunning and tried to slide in close to his far larger opponent, and actually got behind her. However this would prove to be a far worse location when Sasha bent over and balanced on her hands. Her powerful legs sent the wolf into one of the unoccupied stasis tubes. The wolf tried to stand but fell forward.
8-Ball, having all but lived in a local bar during her youth, delivered a low blow to the badger's groin. This had been a move that had served her well in many a bar brawl, unless the unfortunate guy was too drunk to feel the pain While the war morph tried to recover from the devastating blow, 8-Ball delivered a one-two punch knocking the badger morph out cold.
Dr. Oliver was normally a pacifist, but when a badger morph tried to land a blow, he deflected it with ease. He grinned and said, "You really shouldn't pull your arm all the way back like that. It leaves you open to attack." An attack he demonstrated well, with a punch to the solar plexus, with a follow-up punch to the badger's face. The badger fell to the ground nursing his bloodied face. A wolf tried to knock the doctor down with a sweeping kick, but the doctor used the foot the wolf was aiming for to send himself into a spin. He used the momentum to kick the wolf's side. When the wolf doubled over, the doctor picked him up by his clothing and rammed him into a nearby computer console causing a number of sparks to be sent flying.
Blackstar had no problem with hir opponents, a pair of wolves and a male Caitian. The Caitian made a frontal attack, which ended when Blackstar grabbing an arm at a specific pressure point. The Caitian was then knocked out with a blow to the head. The two wolves tried to attack from hir right side and rear, believing those to be hir weakest points. The wolf attacking from behind was caught by Blackstar's prehensile tail. To counter the other wolf, Blackstar did a side flip to hir left side, grabbed the wolf with the claws of hir handpaws and sent him flying into a nearby computer console. Blackstar used the momentum to send the wolf that shi had trapped with hir tail flying to join his companion. The wolves were finished off with a series of shots from Blackstar's stunner.
Blackstar took a quick look around the lab looking for an opponent. Shi nodded in approval as shi saw the enemy had all been defeated. Then shi realized that Parishka was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, crap. Where has she gotten off to?" Shi went to work on the console controlling the stasis pods. "We'll need reinforcements," shi explained, "and these two are the best ground-air team we've got."
Sasha, being a curious feline by nature, rubbed the condensation off the second pod finding herself face-to-face with an armored figure. "Who is this?"
"That would be Tex," said Blackstar. "He's the ground specialist. The armor is also his life support system. He was badly injured and his neural net was grafted into that suit. He is about as strong as a Chakat and just as quick. He can shoot a flea off a dog's back at thousand yards with a pistol."
Sasha blinked twice. "You're making that up. Aren't you?"
"Just about his aim," Blackstar replied. The room began to fill with some sort of steam or smoke being released by the pods. "Yes arise! Arise my evil minions!"
The figures of the two that had been held in stasis emerged from the steam. The otherwise dramatic effect was ruined by them both coughing. The young Wolftaur looked at her armored companion with a look of confusion. "Hey Tex, if you don't have lungs why are you coughing?"
A deep synthesized voice replied, "I guess it's old habit." The armored figure, who stood at 6'10", turned to most likely look at Blackstar. However, a reflective visor prevented anyone from knowing where he was actually looking. "So Boss, what's so important that you woke us from our naps? I was having a good dream where Lucy and I were screwing like rabbits."
Once she stopped coughing, the young Parishka punched Blackstar in the face, and then as if nothing had happened, she stood at attention ignoring the fact that she was nude. However what was more surprising to Sasha than Parishka's posture was her southern drawl "What are our orders, shir?"
"What was that all about?" Sasha looked at Blackstar with a confused stare. "You were their commander? Parishka has an accent? What else have you not bothered to mention?"
Blackstar shrugged. "Maybe, I commanded them once. Those two, Vega, and myself were a squad of elite fighters. Our last mission was supposed to be escorting the Time Matrix to its new hiding place. Of course the best hiding place is where no one would look."
"The Maelstrom?" asked Sasha.
Before Blackstar could answer, Tex interrupted. "Not to be rude or anything, but I was under the impression that we weren't supposed to talk about the mission or the device to anyone. Who are these people and just how long have we been out?"
"Don't worry, Tex. Sasha is my chief tactical and security officer. You two have been in stasis for twenty years. And I am the Captain and owner of the Blitz team. Also, don't feel too jealous that I've been awake longer then you. I was injured shortly after my departure and was in stasis until a couple years ago. Also, I've been chased half way across the Maelstrom by Parishka's psychotic clones."
The young Wolftaur now interrupted Blackstar. "Um why would my clone be chasing you?"
Blackstar hesitated, looking for a way to explain it without putting the original Parishka into shock. Shi never got the chance though as 8-Ball had gotten impatient and answered for hir. "From what I understand, your clones are missing something or something went wrong in the process and they need the original, you, to fix it. However this defect has made them crazy, unless you are naturally going nuts, but in any case, the first clone taking care of your daughter went crazy when shi ran away. Since, by what I assume is only a huge coincidence, shi ran into the care of hir half-sister, the clone is trying to kill Blackstar for revenge and created more transporter clones of herself to ensure that is accomplished. And now her ship is in combat with our ship and she's on board this ship, trying to kill us." 8-Ball turned to Blackstar and asked, "Did I leave anything out?"
Blackstar shook hir head, "No, I think that pretty much covers it."
Parishka nodded and said, "Okay."
"Okay?" asked Blackstar. "None of that was confusing or anything?"
Parishka shrugged. "Well, I admit ya'll got to tell me more about this 'transporter cloning' stuff later, but I think I've got the gist."
Tex laughed before he asked, "I'm more concerned about this half-sister of Blackstar's. Please tell me it wasn't hir father that got you pregnant." The look of guilt on Parishka's face was answer enough. "That's wrong on so many levels. Have you thought about therapy?"
Parishka gave Tex a dirty look. "For your information, we were stuck on an alien planet, and I was in heat. And you of all people should know how bad I get when in heat. Shi turned out to be a very good lover."
"Oh, gods. That's something I don't want to hear about," said Blackstar. Shi was covering hir ears, which had lain back against hir head. "We've got bigger things to deal with then that. Is the armory still stocked?"
"As far as I know," said Tex.
"Good." Blackstar typed a number of commands into the computer and two containers filled with a number of weapons appeared. One container held Star Fleet standard phasers, phaser rifles, and stunners. The second contained more primitive weapons that used bullets rather then energy beams as well as some grenades. Blackstar pulled out a shotgun from the second container and tossed it to Tex. "Saddle up."
"Lock and load," finished Tex.
Blackstar grinned and grabbed an assault rifle and gestured to the others to grab weapons as well. Blackstar began thinking out loud, "If I were Parishka, where would I go?"
8-Ball interrupted Blackstar's train of thought with an observation, "Why don't we ask her? The clone might have twenty more years of experience then this one, but people will usually use the same strategy as long as there is no unknown factor affecting their decisions."
"Well if it was me," said Parishka, "which it technically is, I would be heading towards engineering to take control of the whole ship."
"We should split up and take the different access routes," suggested Tex. "Since only three of us know the way, so we should split into three teams."
"Agreed," said Blackstar. "Tex, you take Rys and the Doctor to the maintenance shafts. Parishka you take Sasha through the main access corridor. 8-Ball and I will take the back door. Let's get a move on." Shi led the heavily armed team out into the corridor.
The group hadn't even split up before they ran into eight armored figures, each identical to Tex except that they wore a dirt brown color rather then Tex's black color. "Oh, I forgot about them," said Parishka. "I guess I would activate the ship's compliment of robot soldiers as well."
"I got this," said Tex. He pulled out a grenade and tossed it into the group of robotic soldiers. The grenade detonated and sent the robots into the walls and disabled at least half of them. The team open fired and was able to defeat the bots before they could fire a shot. Turning to the team, Tex said, "Don't expect all encounters with those bots to be as easy. We just caught them off guard this time. Next time we'll be separated. Be careful."
After the team had separated, Tex was being annoyed by his companions as they opened up a maintenance shaft that led to engineering. Rys and Doctor Oliver were complaining about crawling around when Tex had enough of the whining. "I need you two to shut up. You think it's hard for you? I've got a massive suit of armor for a body! All I do is carry tank-sized cannons wait. Close that up. I just got an awesome idea."
Rys and the Doctor looked at each other. "What do you think we should do?" asked Rys.
"Well, anything is better then crawling through a maintenance shaft," said Doctor Oliver.
Meanwhile, Blackstar led hir Folftaur companion to the level above the main engineering room. 8-Ball was the first to break the silence. "How well do you trust her? The original Parishka I mean."
"I trust her more than you if that helps," replied Blackstar. "As you heard, we were part of the same team. We were well balanced. Parishka was the ace pilot and cook. Tex was the ground specialist and munitions. Vega was the rookie and psychic of the group. I was the team leader."
"Psychic? Do you really believe in that stuff?" asked 8-Ball.
Blackstar shrugged. "Not really. However Vega has often been more right than wrong."
Blackstar stopped in front of a door and indicated that 8-Ball should take the other side. After counting down with hir fingers Blackstar and 8-ball stormed into the room, weapons ready. At the center was a massive column, and a number of consoles on either side of the room. The column's blue glow was the only illumination, giving the room an eerie appearance. As the two taurs made their way around the column, they saw a figure below the upper deck's balcony. It was working on a console that Blackstar remembered was the primary Warp Core power management console. Blackstar whispered to 8-Ball, "Don't try this at home."
Before 8-Ball could stop hir, Blackstar ran and jumped from the balcony to a position on the opposite side of Parishka. Shi used hir momentum and the claws on hir right front leg to bring hir around to face the old Wolftaur. Blackstar got hir rifle into position before Parishka could even register what had happened. "Parishka you are under arrest. Now surrender. I hate bringing in corpses, and I don't think you're worth the price of a bullet."
Blackstar was surprised as Parishka's face broke into a grin. "My, my, my. You are persistent. Not to mention annoying. Now I'll be rid of you once and for all, and if I ever find where you hid the Matrix, I'll change things so that you'll never exist in the first place."
"You never learn, do you?" Blackstar slowly shook hir head in disappointment. "If I never exist, then you'll never meet my father, and you two will never have sex and have a kid. All you've fought for will also not exist."
Parishka wagged a finger in front of Blackstar's face. "You should know better then anyone that the device doesn't just change history, but that it has that failsafe that protects the user from being erased. If I can extend that power to my daughter "
"Shi'll remember everything you did, including try to kill me, kidnapping hir, and who knows what else," Blackstar grimaced as shi explained this. "You can have success in your mission but it'll take millions of years before you can get all the variables just the way you want them. Of course that's all assuming that you find the device. Which you won't because I'm a freaking genius." Just as shi finished talking, Blackstar open fired on the old Wolftaur. However each and every bullet was deflected by an energy shield that surrounded Parishka.
"You always were too cocky," said Parishka. "One of these days it's going to get you killed. I believe that day is today." Parishka snapped her fingers, and the younger Parishka and Sasha entered, escorted by twenty robotic soldiers. "I believe these are your people."
8-Ball watched as this all unfolded before her eyes. "I've got to do something, but what? I've got to think this through." 8-Ball watched as Parishka had one the robots toss her the weapon belts from the young Parishka and Sasha. Then it hit 8-Ball like a bolt of lightning. She pulled out one of the more unusual weapons that she found in the cases of weapons that Blackstar had let them use. It was designed like a crossbow, but it had a barrel of the arrows that were used for ammunition. She adjusted the fire rate selection for single-fire mode. Then without a second thought, she fired an arrow straight at the older Parishka's upper body, striking just centimeters away from her heart.
8-Ball fired another shot as Parishka turned, landing an arrow in her right arm. A third arrow landed in Parishka's upper heart, right as Parishka ordered her robotic troops to fire. 8-Ball quickly succumbed to the effects of the stunners. The robots grabbed 8-Ball and dropped her unconscious body next to her still-standing crewmates.
The old Wolftaur pulled the arrows out of her chest and arm. "How annoying. Really, how much more of this will I have to endure?" Without waiting for an answer she added, "At least one more since that hot wolf and the human are still missing. And I suppose if my younger self is here, it's reasonable that Tex was also revived. So tell me something, where are they?"
Blackstar looked around, specifically the maintenance hatches. "I'm going to be one hundred percent honest. I have no idea where they are. They should have come through a maintenance hatch by now and either a) saved us or b) got caught by you. If they don't show up, I am so docking their pay."
"I'm sure they'll show up and rescue us with a well-formulated plan any second now," said Sasha. The heavy double door that served as main engineering opened up. "Or they could just storm engineering in a suicide run too."
Then all hell broke loose as a massive explosion consumed five of the robotic soldiers. The explosion was followed by a large hunk of metal, otherwise known as a tank, rolled in through the doors, crushing anyone who got in its way. The elder Parishka took the chance to make a run for it. Blackstar yelled to the younger Parishka to cover the still unconscious 8-Ball, while shi followed the older Wolftaur. Sasha and young Parishka reclaimed their weapons and started picking off the robotic soldiers, a task hindered by the fact that they could take much more damage than any living being would take from similar hits.
Blackstar pursued Parishka through the hollow corridors of the Starsword. The only sound was the panting of the old Wolftaur and the young Chakat and the pounding of their paws on the deck. It almost seemed like time slowed down as Blackstar relentlessly pursued hir prey, making the seconds seem like hours, but in reality the chase only lasted five minutes. Parishka's front legs tripped over themselves and her front side smashed into the deck. Blackstar barely avoided running over hir prey, jumping over her instead, and spinning in midair to land, facing the elder Parishka and cutting off her escape.
Parishka was just getting to her feet when she felt Blackstar's left hand around her throat, claws exerting almost enough pressure to penetrate. When Parishka looked into Blackstar's eyes, she could see the hesitation and laughed. "'Can't kill the monster without becoming one', that's what Starfox used to say. Or at least when it came to situation like this, where you literally hold their lives in your hand. Tell me, do you have the strength to go through with it? Or are you just another weak, cowardly Chakat who's afraid of me?" Blackstar's grip loosened a little. "That's what I thought. Even when there " Parishka was cut off as Blackstar's right fist slammed into the Wolftaur's jaw. "So the Chakitty has some guts after all."
"After what you did to me and Snowfall, I have every right to toss you out an airlock," said Blackstar, "but do you know why I don't? It's because I'm not like you. So if you would kindly die on your own, I'd appreciate it."
"You can kiss my big fuzzy ," she was interrupted as Blackstar's other fist connected with her jaw. Parishka collapsed, fading into unconsciousness.
Blackstar looked down at the fallen Wolftaur with a grin on hir face. "I ain't 'fraid of no clone."
Blackstar looked up from Parishka's limp body to see 8-Ball staring open-mouthed at what Blackstar had done. "Did, you just kill her?"
Blackstar shook hir head. "No, she's just unconscious. Give me a hand with her. I wish I had brought cuffs or something." 8-Ball pulled a pair out of hir pockets. Blackstar raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you always carry a pair of handcuffs?"
8-Ball shrugged. "Ya, so what? You never know when you need a pair. Hey, need to make sure she stays quiet?" 8-Ball pulled out a ball gag.
Blackstar shook hir head. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask why you carry a ball gag. I honestly don't want to know. Put that away, and help me carry her."
"Wouldn't it be easier to use the combadges as a makeshift transporter enhancers and beam her back to the Midnight Star," suggested 8-Ball.
"Impressive, except to do that we'd need a third combadge. Where do you propose we obtain the third one?"
8-Ball crossed her arms and grinned. "There's a third com in your left arm. Just incase the external one you normally wear was lost or taken, like in a hostage situation."
The Chakat was a little disturbed by how quickly the Folftaur was adapting to a job that required improvising and know information that she shouldn't. "You catch on quickly. Okay, set it up in a triangular pattern. Blackstar to Layla, transport old Parishka to one of your holding cells and keep her sedated." The old Wolftaur disappeared in the transporter beam, and the combadges were put back in there proper places. "Let's see how the others are doing."
The two returned to main engineering to find the robotic soldiers to all be disabled, destroyed, or crushed by the tank. "Not bad for a day's work," said Blackstar. Shi saw the team was mostly trading stories and checking out the tank that had saved their tails. "Hey, why are we just sitting on our tails here? Parishka, Tex, Sasha and I will begin raiding the supplies for weapons, medicine, ammo, vehicles, and fuel. Layla will download the ship's database. The rest of you pack up and head back to the ship."
Before Blackstar could stop them, Dr. Oliver and Rys climbed into the tank and exited engineering with it. They were joined by 8-Ball who jumped up onto the tank and rode on top of the scorpion-like canon. Blackstar shook hir head at their antics. The young Parishka walked up beside hir and said, "At least they're in good spirits. Remember when we used to be like that?"
"Used to? I never did anything like that," said Blackstar.
"That's not true," said Tex. "I have video footage of you straddling a photon torpedo like that dude in Armageddon on the nuke when he went nuts."
Blackstar smiled. "Ah, fond memories. Well let's not waste time reminiscing. We got a wreck to loot. I assume most of the ground equipment is on board."
Tex nodded. "The crew took the stuff from lockers 2 and 4 when they helped the Commodore. Lockers 1, 3, and 5 are still full along with all planet-side vehicles. The rest were emptied before we left port."
"Okay, Tex and Sasha work on locker one, Parishka and I will take locker three, and we'll meet up in locker room five. Let's get to work," ordered Blackstar.
Tex led Sasha to the first locker room and began checking the weapons and ammunition, packing them into containers and placing them into a mini-transporter designed and used for small cargo transfers. After setting up an efficient process, Tex and Sasha were working well enough that they began to talk. Tex began by asking what had happened in the past twenty years since he had put in stasis and Sasha answered the best she could. Later Sasha began asking questions of her own about her captain's clouded past. She was certain that Tex was exaggerating about some of the more unbelievable stuff, such as the time that they won a four vs. thirty dogfight, or some of the alleged battles over the Time Matrix.
In locker room three, the two occupants were having a much more violent conversation. Blackstar snarled at Parishka, "Twenty years go by and the first time we're alone, you want to argue with me about who you work with? You have a group of clones hunting me down, a daughter who was sired by Stareye of all people, and the first thing you do is complain about not working with Sasha! You are supposed to be older than me."
Parishka rolled her eyes and shook her head, being used to Blackstar's lecture about how she behaved. "First of all, there is nothing wrong with being attracted to a woman with breasts that size. And the clones were only created to protect my daughter. But to be honest I'm not surprised you pissed them off enough for them to kill you. You've gotten me to that point a few times. Oh, and before you judge me for sleeping with your sire, at least hear me out."
Blackstar was sorely tempted to use one of the weapons in the locker room on Parishka, but hir Chakat instincts and years of friendship with her stopped Blackstar from pulling the trigger. "Alright, you can tell me why of all people you slept with my dad, you little sleazy slut."
"If you recall, shi and I were stranded on that sinkhole planet for nine months, and I have a very tough time dealing with my heats. I would've had sex with anyone. And I shouldn't have to defend myself against you, and would you really want it any other way?"
"What do you mean?"
Parishka explained, "From what I understand, you are very close to my daughter, your half-sister. Now would you rather things happen in a way that shi wouldn't have been born?"
Blackstar hated it, but Parishka had a point. While the result of Parishka's mating with Stareye did result in a number of problems for hir, Blackstar wouldn't ever trade Snowfall for any of it. "I suppose you're right. But that doesn't mean I hate you any less."
"That's okay, I'm not exactly thrilled with myself either," said Parishka. "So what is shi like? My daughter I mean."
Blackstar was glad that the original Parishka was interested in hir daughter despite the fact that Snowfall was almost the same age as her. "Snowfall is your typical Chakat-Wolftaur hybrid. Shi's not the violent type like me. During the year or so I was hir legal guardian, shi served as our team's unofficial ambassador. Shi normally lives at a lighthouse, and is paid to operate it. Shi's also writing the story for a new holo-program, which shi says is inspired by hir time with the team." Blackstar stopped talking when shi saw a tear role down Parishka's cheek, something that was out of character for her. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing that you can change," said Parishka. "When your kids are born I think you'll understand. I've missed my daughter's whole life. The parts of hir life that I should've been around for, and from what I gather my clone wasn't the mothering type. Shi was brought into this world without any forethought or planning and had to deal with whatever hell my clone put hir through. I'm sure shi hates my guts. And the sad part is, shi has every right to hate me. If shi wasn't a Chakat, I'm sure shi'd kill me the first chance shi got."
"Then I guess I should mention shi's on board the Mystic right now."
"I take it the Mystic is your ship?"
"Didn't I mention that?" Blackstar decided to brief Parishka on some of the points of hir life. "The Mystic is the flagship of the Blitz team. We also have three freighters that will arrive at Quenxel by the time we return. Also, Quenxel is now a civilized planet. In addition we own five state-of-the-art Blade-class fighters and one modified by yours truly. Also Layla has been moved to a new ship, the Midnight Star. The Star is also Slipstream capable, one of only a handful in the Federation. Also, I have recently gained a second denmate, my Caitian first officer, Nightrose. My first mate is a Red Panda named Sly Wacoon, although he occasionally goes by Jabbers, or on one occasion, Bessie."
Parishka grinned a little. "You know, it's a good thing I'm not as curious as certain felines. Although when you said Caitian, I half-expected you to say V'Les, because something that bizarre would be in line with our type of craziness. Sleeping with traitors wouldn't be too much of a stretch."
"Traitor? Are you saying Admiral V'Les is a traitor?"
"Admiral? V'Les' ship led an attack on our little convoy," explained Parishka.
Blackstar shook hir head in disbelief. "That's impossible. Computer, playback the last recorded images of V'Les' ship." A nearby console lit up with an image of a Star Fleet vessel that Blackstar recognized as the ship V'Les had commanded twenty years ago. It was firing a spread of photon torpedoes at a nearby ship that Blackstar identified as the Galaxy Tree. "I've known her for two years since I came out of stasis. She never told me about this. What happened?"
"The other ships jumped out of the system together and we played decoy. Antimatter failure forced us to eject our fuel. We put the Starsword into orbit of this gas giant in the hopes that we could find enough fuel here to get to a habitable planet. However there was nothing here that we could use, so Tex and I went into stasis waiting to be rescued. We didn't expect it to take twenty years though. We figured one of the other ships would be by to rescue us in a week or two at most."
"Well, at least we won't have to worry about anyone attacking us," said Blackstar. Almost as if on cue, the deck shuddered as the Starsword was pummeled by photon torpedoes. "You know, I almost felt that one coming. Layla, give me a report."
"Multiple torpedoes are penetrating the upper atmosphere and striking the Starsword's dorsal structure. We are losing altitude. Even if the attack ceases, the pressure will crush the ship in about five minutes. The attack is stopping. From what I can detect an object, I believe the Mystic, is blocking the attacks."
Blackstar swore under hir breath. "Everyone back to the Star now!" Luckily the group still aboard the StarSword was swift on their feet. Sasha's long legs and hours of training let her keep up with the two taurs and the cybernetically enhanced Tex. They were just within sight of the docking hatch when the deck suddenly fell away from them. Then just as unexpectedly the floor slammed into them again. Blackstar was the first on hir feet and when shi looked at the docking port, shi swore a second time. "I swear this bloody ship is cursed or something."
The port that had served as the gateway to the Midnight Star had become a portal of doom. When Sasha asked what had happened, Blackstar began explaining what shi could figure out. "The StarSword suffered a rapid descent of some sort beyond the inertia dampeners' ability to compensate for. The Midnight Star detached from the docking port for related reasons. Probably part of the survival programming that saves as many lives possible. In this case, sacrificing us in the process, and since we were already at 98% of its structural limits, we have probably descended beyond its ability to reach us, which is why the ship detached. The docking port then brought up an emergency force field that would hold long enough for the proper hull to return to its normal structurally sound position. Now we won't be able to escape because no one can reach us and this ship is out of fuel, which is why it was here in the first place."
"What about the escape pods," asked Sasha.
Tex shook his head. "No. They'd be crushed like a tuna can."
"Well, not all of them, but we could hotwire one with the systems from a few others and boost the structural integrity field and the engines to hold long enough for us to exit the atmosphere. The systems don't need to last long, just long enough to get into orbit," explained Sasha.
"That's brilliant," said a very enthusiastic Parishka. "It's just a matter of how long the systems will last with the forced overload."
Tex began using his cybernetic systems to run the necessary calculations, "If we properly calculate the engine power necessary to reach escape velocity, and balance it with the power for the SIF generators to make it last long enough to get rescued without blowing out the environmental systems in the process. However I estimate only a 19% chance of survival."
"I'd like to point out that if we stay on a sinking ship, we have a 0% chance of survival," said a slightly pissed Sasha.
"That's a good point," admitted Tex.
"Okay, where should we begin, sir? Blacky?" Sasha looked around realizing that her captain had gone running down the corridor. "Okay, shi is either beginning the work without us or shi's enacting hir own plan." Sasha began pursuing her captain followed by Parishka and Tex.
When they finally caught up, Tex asked, "What are you up to?"
"Saving our collective asses," said Blackstar, acting like it was something shi did on a daily basis. "The lifepod plan would work, but the additional equipment will reduce the crew capacity to maybe one Terran-sized biped. If Sasha curls up into a ball she might be able to escape. Not only that, but even if we could fit inside the refitted pods, we wouldn't have enough time to launch them before we got too low for the escape to work. If you feel like saving just Sasha, feel free, but I got an idea to save all four of us and this ship."
"How do you plan to do that?" asked Parishka.
"I plan on flying this ship out of here," said Blackstar.
"Once again I ask: how do you plan to do that?" asked Parishka.
"I'm going to blow it up," explained Blackstar.
Parishka's and Sasha's faces were a combination of worry and confusion. If Tex's face had been visible, it would have been a wide open grin. Instead he just nodded and gave two thumbs up. "Is this going to be like the Russian job?"
When Blackstar's nod confirmed this. Parishka visibly deflated, "I'm gonna get frostbite again aren't I?"
Blackstar shook hir head. "I didn't mean exactly like the Russian job you freak."
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8-Ball was still arguing with Layla to go back for Blackstar when the Midnight Star breached the upper atmosphere of the planet. The argument was stalled by the sight of the Mystic facing off with a Star Fleet ship. Layla zoomed a section of the viewscreen on a section of the Star Fleet vessel's saucer section. The name and hull number was FSS Los Angeles NCC-2525. Technical data was displayed to the right side of the picture and from what 8-Ball could tell, the Mystic was no match for the Los Angeles.
"What's the situation Layla?" asked 8-Ball, who seemed to assume command in Blackstar's absence.
Layla's pissed-off voice came through, "Do I look like I know? I'm a computer entity, not an all-knowing deity!"
"Well I thought you might be monitoring their communications and have some idea of what's going on, so you prevent us from doing something that could worsen the situation," explained 8-Ball.
A subdued Layla said, "Oh, sorry. I'm just a little upset about leaving Blackstar behind."
"Don't worry. Shi's a big herm and I have no doubt shi'll find a way home," said 8-Ball. "We can't let that distract us though. We must focus on the problem right in front of our faces. Now what's going on out there?"
Layla, who had been monitoring the situation since 8-Ball suggested it, explained it as best she could, "Nightrose says that the Los Angeles fired on a Blitz Team vessel. The Los Angeles' captain claims that she's interfering with a Star Fleet operation. She says that the StarSword belonged to us according to salvage rights as dictated by interplanetary laws. He says he's just following orders. They're now going back and forth about the legalities and I estimate that it's only a matter of time before they fire on each wait. The Los Angeles is targeting us now. They think we have classified material. They are demanding we surrender our entire computer core to them."
"Open a channel," ordered 8-Ball. "This is 8-Ball of the Blitz team. Please explain why you're targeting us."
A 'window' opened up showing the Los Angeles' captain, a wolf morph. "This is Captain Traven of the FSS Los Angeles. My orders are to prevent any information from the derelict ship from falling into the wrong hands. Even if it means destroying the Blitz team."
8-Ball struck what she hoped was a heroic pose and began a small speech of her own. "Any attack will force us to defend ourselves, and most likely result in your destruction. Seeing as you'd be guilty of both unprovoked assault and attempted piracy and we're outside of your jurisdiction, we don't have to worry about legal retribution from I'm sorry who gave your orders?"
"Admiral V'Les," answered Captain Traven. 8-Ball's and Nightrose's jaws dropped simultaneously. "Do you know her?"
Nightrose answered, "She's normally the person we have contact with when Star Fleet has an assignment for us. Not to mention that she's our captain's grandmother by marriage." After muting the audio to the Los Angeles, Nightrose asked, "Speaking of which where is shi?"
Before 8-Ball or anyone else could reply, Serge reported a massive explosion in the planet's atmosphere. Nightrose sighed and said, "Never mind. I have a pretty good idea." The explosion actually reached the highest point of the atmosphere. As the explosive fireworks died down, a form began to appear. It was a charred, but otherwise virtually undamaged Starsword. Nightrose opened a channel to the StarSword, acting as pissed off as possible. "What do you think you're doing?
Blacky appeared on the channel. "I can tell you what I wasn't doing. I sure wasn't recreating the coolest scene from Dukes of Hazzard ever on a ship-sized scale."
"You know what? I don't even care right now. I'm just happy you're okay," said Nightrose.
Blackstar smiled. "So what did I miss, luv?" Nightrose didn't get a chance to answer as 8-Ball started waving her arms. "Hold that thought. I think 8-Ball wants to answer. Go ahead 8-Ball."
"Thanks Silverbolt." 8-Ball cleared her throat and began explaining, "Traven and his Los Angeles are here by V'Les' orders to destroy the StarSword and any information from it, including that aboard the Midnight Star's database. I'm assuming this is to prevent any information on the Time Matrix's location from falling into the wrong hands. Traven also seems to be by the book on this one and won't give us an inch."
"Don't worry," said Blackstar, "I can be very persuasive. I'm opening a channel to the L.A."
Captain Traven's face was a cross between bewilderment and horror when he saw Blackstar's face appear on his viewscreen. He began yelling orders at his helmsman, "Get us out of here. Full speed. Everything we can afford to shunt into warp engines, see that it's used. Go, go, go!" He then cut all communication and his ship escaped at warp speed in the direction of the nearest Starbase.
Blackstar shrugged and said, "I know I'm good, but that has got to be a record." Under Nightrose's intense stare, Blackstar added, "He's paying me back a favor by running off so quickly. I helped him with a terrorist situation a while back. Between the time I left the academy and the time we teamed up."
"Whatever," said Nightrose, "just get your big butt over here before I drag you over here."
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Nightrose welcomed Blackstar home with a big kiss, while Snowfall settled for a hug. There was more than a little confusion with the new, younger Parishka. By the end of the night, she was talking about some of Blackstar's adventures with her. Sasha and Nightrose both were being cautious around Parishka while Snowfall tried to avoid her altogether. Tex on the other hand was accepted by the crew almost immediately. Tex's bizarre personality seemed to be par for the course on the Blitz Team.
That night in the Café, Blackstar was explaining to hir mate how shi was part of the StarSword's original mission crew but escaped before the battle. "You see after a number of needle shots passed through me, not only was I poisoned, I had enough holes in me that I'd look like one of those cartoon characters who drinks water and then have it leak all over the place." Nightrose giggled a bit. "Since we had limited medical resources, I was put into stasis and Vega took me back to Earth. The one thing that sucked was that the poison was unusual and there wasn't a cure for it at the time. I was in stasis for twenty years until they found a cure. I bummed around for a while, eventually landing up at the academy. You know what happened after that. It's crazy. I lost Vega during that time. She changed too much during those twenty years. Then I found out my team was still alive. Amazing, how I have gone through so much in twenty years or so of my life when others don't have this much excitement in 150 years. I wonder if I'll ever have a normal life."
Nightrose shook hir head, "No."
Blackstar was surprised when Nightrose was so definite about her answer. "Just what do you mean by that?"
"Simple," said Nightrose. "It's that you attract 'excitement'. Wherever you go trouble will follow. How did Vega put it? Ah, yes. 'Hir aura is strong, and like a magnet it attracts other powerful auras and like a magnet they are opposite of hir.' But that doesn't mean they're all bad. After all it got you me. Does that make any sense?"
"Trust me, if Vega hangs around long enough, you'll get used to it. Or have a psychotic episode in a month."
Blackstar and Nightrose were eating dinner when they were approached by Dr. Oliver just after Tex delivered a decent joke that made the crew that was listening laugh, and handed Blackstar a PADD. "I'm happy to inform you that Nightrose no longer needs regular medical attention. You have a very resilient mate. I hope you don't mind but I was looking through the EMH's medical records, out of boredom, and I noticed that you left before the EMH gave you the full report."
"What do you mean?" asked Blackstar "She gave me a clean bill of health. End of story. Right?"
Dr. Oliver bit his lip. "That's not the end. In fact it might only be the beginning. Tell me Captain, when was your last heat?"
"That's a bit personal," said Blackstar. "Why?"
"Think about it," said Dr. Oliver.
Blackstar was silent for a moment. Shi counted something out on hir fingers before getting up and running out of the café. "I think we'll be in sick bay," explained Dr. Oliver.
Nightrose sighed, wondering what was so important. Nightrose had to work on surprises of her own anyway. A surprise that she knew Blackstar would both be pleased with and caught off guard at the same time.
Before Nightrose could leave, she was approached by the young Parishka. Nightrose found the similar appearance between the cutthroat old bitch and this young high-spirited doppelganger more then a little disturbing, but from their personalities, it was hard to believe they originated from the same person.
Parishka held out her hand in greeting. "Howdy. I don't think we've been properly introduced. Well, with me at least. From some of the horror stories your crewmates have told me, y'all got too familiar with my clones. I'm Parishka the Original. And with luck someday I'll be the only one again."
Unsure what to do Nightrose, shook Parishka's hand. "I'm Nightrose. I'm Blackstar's partner, Denmate, and the second-in-command of the Blitz team."
Parishka laughed at Nightrose's surprised face. "I'm sorry; I guess after working with Kid for so long, some of hir straightforwardness rubbed off."
"Kid? Who's Kid?" asked Nightrose.
Parishka looked dumbfounded for a moment but quickly recovered and put on a grin. "Ya, that's what we called Blackstar before Commander Armstrong was lost. Shi was only in hir teens when shi joined up. I'm the only one gutsy enough to call hir Kid after shi took command. I won't call hir by commander until shi starts swearing like one."
"I see," said Nightrose, which was only half-true. "So could you tell me more about my mate's old antics."
Parishka tilted her head in confusion. "I would think shi would've told y'all about it."
So did I, thought Nightrose. "I didn't even know you worked with hir before shi pulled you off the StarSword. I didn't know about Vega until we picked hir up on Terra. You know more about hir then I do."
Parishka shook her head. "Not likely. Like how you got hir to not only mate, but mate a crewmember."
"Ah, the old don't screw the crew rule," quoted Nightrose. As a general rule most people tried to avoid having intimate relationships with fellow crewmembers as it often clouded judgment and created unnecessary drama. However Nightrose knew from spending so much time with Blackstar that Chakats rarely followed this rule due to their tough heats and ruts, but their nature also led them to be less susceptible to the drama that too often afflicted other species associated with such a personal affiliation.
Nightrose thought about why Blackstar agreed to be her mate, but she couldn't really come up with a reason why shi changed hir mind on the rule. "I can't think of why shi broke the old rule, but if I know who could answer the question of mating, I'd have to refer you to hir first Denmate, Sly Wacoon. I've never actually met him though."
Her eyes widening, Parishka asked, "Shi has another denmate? Wow. Shi's really growing up."
"Wouldn't shi be considered grown-up when shi started blowing up pirates?"
Parishka shrugged. "Well, doesn't everyone do that as a kid?" Nightrose shook her head no. Parishka feigned surprise. "Really? I thought that was part of growing up, like learning to read, having the cub of your best friend's dad, stealing a starship or stabbing your parents."
Finding the last part hard to believe, Nightrose asked, "Are you making some of this up?"
Parishka nodded. "Of course." Nightrose breathed a small sigh of relief. The Wolftaur then added, "I never learned how to read." Nightrose rolled her eyes in response. "I'm kidding. I didn't make any of it up," explained Parishka.
"How much have you been drinking?"
"Nah, drinking is too old school. I have alcohol injected right into my blood stream."
Nightrose groaned because she could tell that this was quickly turning into a difficult conversation. "So, Parishka, why don't you tell me more about my mate. Despite having known hir for a year or two, I hardly know anything about hir past, and shi barely mentions it, even when it's staring us in the face."
"So shi still tries to avoid hir past like talking about the Yankees in Boston," stated Parishka. At Nightrose's quizzical look, Parishka explained, "Rival baseball teams. Even after the curse was lifted."
"Curses?" asked Nightrose. "You don't believe in those do you?"
Parishka nodded. "That's how Tex got stuck in that suit. He was cursed to neither be truly living or dead for twenty years. When he was badly injured, he fused his neural synapses to the neural relays in the suit to support his higher brain functions. They can repair the suit, but even if they wanted too they can't separate his neural net from the suit. He can't physically feel anything, but he can't die either. The suit's most protected system is the neural net to prevent injury feedback to the user. Ironically, fusing of the neural synapses is one of the things it was supposed to protect against. Somehow Tex was shot, disabled the safeties and rewrote the codes to fuse his neural net all in under thirty seconds."
Nightrose followed along, learning more about the unusual armored man who did the impossible. Disabling the safeties on a priority system like that should have been near impossible, much less been done in under thirty seconds. "I don't think that's possible, even if he knew the codes by heart."
"That's what I'm saying," said Parishka. "I've known Tex for a good five years, and he's not that smart. And we checked the damage to his armor, and its records of the battle. There is no way the damage done to it could cause the safety to fail."
"I see, and you think the curse is at fault," Nightrose concluded. She wasn't totally convinced, but she did enjoy learning more about a potential crewmate. "I don't suppose you know anything that crazy about my mate, now do ya?"
"Well let me think. Did shi tell you about hir pirating days?" asked Parishka. Nightrose shook her head, partially to signal no, and partially out of disbelief. "It's not as bad as it sounds," said Parishka. "They only pirated from pirates. But Star Fleet still saw it as piracy and hired a freelancer to hunt hir down. That freelancer turned out to be none other then Stareye, Blacky's father. That's when they started their little feud. Even though Blackstar and hir crew were doing good, they were still hunted down. Of course that was before I met hir. Before the ship itself was finally caught, they mutinied and put Blacky in the brig."
"Now Nightrose, you need to understand something. Shi was able to escape from the ship's brig and make it to Quenxel. The station in orbit rescued hir, and shi claimed to have escaped from pirates after being held hostage. They bought it, and has been waiting to get revenge on the traitorous first mate that betrayed hir."
Nightrose who was fully engaged in the story asked, "Who was this first mate of hirs?"
"A Rakshani known as Jakkan na Borenth sa Larenne. He was relatively young, so he'd still be alive, so Blackstar has been keeping an eye out for him ever since," explained Parishka. "The really sad thing is that the last time shi had a chance to kill him, Blackstar couldn't without risking the lives of over a hundred innocent civilians."
Nightrose gave Parishka a skeptical look and asked, "How much of this are you making up?"
"None of it."
"How much did Blackstar make up?"
"About 90% of it," said Parishka, "and shi borrowed most of it from a movie shi saw a while back. But if you see Jakkan, don't tell Blackstar."
"So that's part of the 10% that true. But other than the usual moral reasons, why would I want to stop my mate from getting revenge?"
"Jakkan has kids. That's what really stopped Blackstar last time. His daughter, who was like four or five years old, was looking on. I guess she'd be an adult by now. Her name was like Sassy or Sala or something."
"Come to think of it, that name sounds familiar," said Nightrose, "I'm almost certain I've heard it before."
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Meanwhile down in the bowels of the Mystic's corridors, Blackstar was making hir way to the team garage where they kept a pool of vehicles ranging from old cars with internal combustion engines to PTVs to the tank they recovered from the StarSword. Shi was so engrossed in the information on hir PADD that shi didn't notice a brief breeze, something unnatural on a starship, or the shadowy figure appearing behind hir. Blackstar had no idea what was happening as hir muzzle was clamped shut by a strong hand and shi was whisked away in a transporter beam. A firm and familiar voice said, "Don't scream."
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The two-tailed Quenxelian fox morph nicknamed Tails, had hoped for a lot more action for this 'training' mission. Outside of a few simple patrols, he had done damage control and now was stuck watching some guys in a brig. The only bright side was that it was a slacker job where he basically did whatever he wanted on the computer. He was actually so bored he was watching a soap opera, when he came to full alertness by a loud hissing sound. He was looking around for the source when one of the prisoners, a wolf, asked, "What's that on your neck?"
"Is it a spider?"
A fox in the same cell said, "No, it's blue."
"A blue spider? Get it off." Tails was deathly afraid of spiders.
The wolf said, "No, it's like a pulsing blue fuzzy thing. And we can't, we're behind a force field."
"Is it danger " Tails was interrupted by an explosion from the blue thing.
The prisoners, who had all ducked or hid as best they could from the explosion, cautiously approached where the barrier had been. One reached out past the field, confirming that the force field barrier was gone. The clone of Parishka walked out of her cell and looked over Tails' body. She shrugged, "Nothing personal." The clone turned to the other prisoners and said, "Everything is going according to plan. Team Alpha secures the bridge, Team Beta will take the hanger, and I will lead Team Delta to the engine room. Let's move out people."
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Continued in Episode 6.
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
The Quange were created by Roy D. Pounds II.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
Sly Wacoon is used with the permission of his player.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know
By Chakat Blackstar
Chapter 5: The Original
Sasha found her fellow crewmates in a laboratory of some sort, the walls lined with a number of prototype weapons and diagnostic equipment. On the far wall were five cryostasis tubes used to store a living being for extended periods of time; three had been occupied, two were covered in condensation due to use. Blackstar began working on one of the consoles, while Sasha's curiosity got the better of her. She began wiping the condensation off one of the tubes, but Blackstar spotted her movement, "Sasha stop."
It was too late. Sasha saw the face in the tube. "What the what the hell is this?"
"Didn't you know Sasha?" asked a new voice. "Every copy has to have an original."
The boarding team turned around and saw Parishka and a group of escorts. Blackstar waved. "Hey, how you doing? Hey how did you get here? The Midnight Star barely made it, and she's got one of the strongest hulls available."
"We improvised a way to increase the structural integrity on our shuttle, long enough to get here," explained Parishka. "It doesn't matter because this is where you die."
Blackstar crouched down and put hir left arm up defensively, and to position hir personal shield to an optimal position, but no shots were fired. After a moment Blackstar looked from one hired gun to the next, and quickly realized that no one was firing. Then Blackstar turned hir head to look behind hir and decided that shi had figured it out. "You need the original for something, so your men aren't firing. What do you need her for?"
Parishka crossed her arms. "Like I'd tell you. I talk too much as it is, but I'm not going to keep babbling about how I need something or someone to you."
While the Blitz team members could easily shoot Parishka and her cronies, Blackstar hesitated because it didn't quite seem fair. Being a Chakat, shi had difficulties in situations such as this one, and hir practical and peaceful sides would be in conflict. After a moment debating with hirself, Blackstar finally came to a decision. "Fire stun "
Blackstar was interrupted by Parishka shouting, "Attack!" to her men. Only 8-Ball was able to get a single shot fired before the morphs under Parishka's command engaged them in hand to hand. Most were able to disarm their opponents, however. The Blitz team had started out as primarily being a ground unit before they purchased a capital ship, and Blackstar made sure that every member could at least fight in hand to hand combat.
The Quenxelian wolf morph, Rys, delivered a quick kick to the knee of his opponent, a fox morph. As the fox began to lose his balance from the blow, Rys smashed his elbow into his enemy's snout, knocking the fox backward. Rys delivered an upper cut to his opponent's jaw, knocking the unfortunate fox to the floor. Rys recovered his stunner and used it to finish off his opponent.
Sasha was faced with two fierce wolf morphs, one of which was sent flying after receiving a blow to his chest. Judging by the cracking sound, at least one of his ribs was broken. The second wolf was far more cunning and tried to slide in close to his far larger opponent, and actually got behind her. However this would prove to be a far worse location when Sasha bent over and balanced on her hands. Her powerful legs sent the wolf into one of the unoccupied stasis tubes. The wolf tried to stand but fell forward.
8-Ball, having all but lived in a local bar during her youth, delivered a low blow to the badger's groin. This had been a move that had served her well in many a bar brawl, unless the unfortunate guy was too drunk to feel the pain While the war morph tried to recover from the devastating blow, 8-Ball delivered a one-two punch knocking the badger morph out cold.
Dr. Oliver was normally a pacifist, but when a badger morph tried to land a blow, he deflected it with ease. He grinned and said, "You really shouldn't pull your arm all the way back like that. It leaves you open to attack." An attack he demonstrated well, with a punch to the solar plexus, with a follow-up punch to the badger's face. The badger fell to the ground nursing his bloodied face. A wolf tried to knock the doctor down with a sweeping kick, but the doctor used the foot the wolf was aiming for to send himself into a spin. He used the momentum to kick the wolf's side. When the wolf doubled over, the doctor picked him up by his clothing and rammed him into a nearby computer console causing a number of sparks to be sent flying.
Blackstar had no problem with hir opponents, a pair of wolves and a male Caitian. The Caitian made a frontal attack, which ended when Blackstar grabbing an arm at a specific pressure point. The Caitian was then knocked out with a blow to the head. The two wolves tried to attack from hir right side and rear, believing those to be hir weakest points. The wolf attacking from behind was caught by Blackstar's prehensile tail. To counter the other wolf, Blackstar did a side flip to hir left side, grabbed the wolf with the claws of hir handpaws and sent him flying into a nearby computer console. Blackstar used the momentum to send the wolf that shi had trapped with hir tail flying to join his companion. The wolves were finished off with a series of shots from Blackstar's stunner.
Blackstar took a quick look around the lab looking for an opponent. Shi nodded in approval as shi saw the enemy had all been defeated. Then shi realized that Parishka was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, crap. Where has she gotten off to?" Shi went to work on the console controlling the stasis pods. "We'll need reinforcements," shi explained, "and these two are the best ground-air team we've got."
Sasha, being a curious feline by nature, rubbed the condensation off the second pod finding herself face-to-face with an armored figure. "Who is this?"
"That would be Tex," said Blackstar. "He's the ground specialist. The armor is also his life support system. He was badly injured and his neural net was grafted into that suit. He is about as strong as a Chakat and just as quick. He can shoot a flea off a dog's back at thousand yards with a pistol."
Sasha blinked twice. "You're making that up. Aren't you?"
"Just about his aim," Blackstar replied. The room began to fill with some sort of steam or smoke being released by the pods. "Yes arise! Arise my evil minions!"
The figures of the two that had been held in stasis emerged from the steam. The otherwise dramatic effect was ruined by them both coughing. The young Wolftaur looked at her armored companion with a look of confusion. "Hey Tex, if you don't have lungs why are you coughing?"
A deep synthesized voice replied, "I guess it's old habit." The armored figure, who stood at 6'10", turned to most likely look at Blackstar. However, a reflective visor prevented anyone from knowing where he was actually looking. "So Boss, what's so important that you woke us from our naps? I was having a good dream where Lucy and I were screwing like rabbits."
Once she stopped coughing, the young Parishka punched Blackstar in the face, and then as if nothing had happened, she stood at attention ignoring the fact that she was nude. However what was more surprising to Sasha than Parishka's posture was her southern drawl "What are our orders, shir?"
"What was that all about?" Sasha looked at Blackstar with a confused stare. "You were their commander? Parishka has an accent? What else have you not bothered to mention?"
Blackstar shrugged. "Maybe, I commanded them once. Those two, Vega, and myself were a squad of elite fighters. Our last mission was supposed to be escorting the Time Matrix to its new hiding place. Of course the best hiding place is where no one would look."
"The Maelstrom?" asked Sasha.
Before Blackstar could answer, Tex interrupted. "Not to be rude or anything, but I was under the impression that we weren't supposed to talk about the mission or the device to anyone. Who are these people and just how long have we been out?"
"Don't worry, Tex. Sasha is my chief tactical and security officer. You two have been in stasis for twenty years. And I am the Captain and owner of the Blitz team. Also, don't feel too jealous that I've been awake longer then you. I was injured shortly after my departure and was in stasis until a couple years ago. Also, I've been chased half way across the Maelstrom by Parishka's psychotic clones."
The young Wolftaur now interrupted Blackstar. "Um why would my clone be chasing you?"
Blackstar hesitated, looking for a way to explain it without putting the original Parishka into shock. Shi never got the chance though as 8-Ball had gotten impatient and answered for hir. "From what I understand, your clones are missing something or something went wrong in the process and they need the original, you, to fix it. However this defect has made them crazy, unless you are naturally going nuts, but in any case, the first clone taking care of your daughter went crazy when shi ran away. Since, by what I assume is only a huge coincidence, shi ran into the care of hir half-sister, the clone is trying to kill Blackstar for revenge and created more transporter clones of herself to ensure that is accomplished. And now her ship is in combat with our ship and she's on board this ship, trying to kill us." 8-Ball turned to Blackstar and asked, "Did I leave anything out?"
Blackstar shook hir head, "No, I think that pretty much covers it."
Parishka nodded and said, "Okay."
"Okay?" asked Blackstar. "None of that was confusing or anything?"
Parishka shrugged. "Well, I admit ya'll got to tell me more about this 'transporter cloning' stuff later, but I think I've got the gist."
Tex laughed before he asked, "I'm more concerned about this half-sister of Blackstar's. Please tell me it wasn't hir father that got you pregnant." The look of guilt on Parishka's face was answer enough. "That's wrong on so many levels. Have you thought about therapy?"
Parishka gave Tex a dirty look. "For your information, we were stuck on an alien planet, and I was in heat. And you of all people should know how bad I get when in heat. Shi turned out to be a very good lover."
"Oh, gods. That's something I don't want to hear about," said Blackstar. Shi was covering hir ears, which had lain back against hir head. "We've got bigger things to deal with then that. Is the armory still stocked?"
"As far as I know," said Tex.
"Good." Blackstar typed a number of commands into the computer and two containers filled with a number of weapons appeared. One container held Star Fleet standard phasers, phaser rifles, and stunners. The second contained more primitive weapons that used bullets rather then energy beams as well as some grenades. Blackstar pulled out a shotgun from the second container and tossed it to Tex. "Saddle up."
"Lock and load," finished Tex.
Blackstar grinned and grabbed an assault rifle and gestured to the others to grab weapons as well. Blackstar began thinking out loud, "If I were Parishka, where would I go?"
8-Ball interrupted Blackstar's train of thought with an observation, "Why don't we ask her? The clone might have twenty more years of experience then this one, but people will usually use the same strategy as long as there is no unknown factor affecting their decisions."
"Well if it was me," said Parishka, "which it technically is, I would be heading towards engineering to take control of the whole ship."
"We should split up and take the different access routes," suggested Tex. "Since only three of us know the way, so we should split into three teams."
"Agreed," said Blackstar. "Tex, you take Rys and the Doctor to the maintenance shafts. Parishka you take Sasha through the main access corridor. 8-Ball and I will take the back door. Let's get a move on." Shi led the heavily armed team out into the corridor.
The group hadn't even split up before they ran into eight armored figures, each identical to Tex except that they wore a dirt brown color rather then Tex's black color. "Oh, I forgot about them," said Parishka. "I guess I would activate the ship's compliment of robot soldiers as well."
"I got this," said Tex. He pulled out a grenade and tossed it into the group of robotic soldiers. The grenade detonated and sent the robots into the walls and disabled at least half of them. The team open fired and was able to defeat the bots before they could fire a shot. Turning to the team, Tex said, "Don't expect all encounters with those bots to be as easy. We just caught them off guard this time. Next time we'll be separated. Be careful."
After the team had separated, Tex was being annoyed by his companions as they opened up a maintenance shaft that led to engineering. Rys and Doctor Oliver were complaining about crawling around when Tex had enough of the whining. "I need you two to shut up. You think it's hard for you? I've got a massive suit of armor for a body! All I do is carry tank-sized cannons wait. Close that up. I just got an awesome idea."
Rys and the Doctor looked at each other. "What do you think we should do?" asked Rys.
"Well, anything is better then crawling through a maintenance shaft," said Doctor Oliver.
Meanwhile, Blackstar led hir Folftaur companion to the level above the main engineering room. 8-Ball was the first to break the silence. "How well do you trust her? The original Parishka I mean."
"I trust her more than you if that helps," replied Blackstar. "As you heard, we were part of the same team. We were well balanced. Parishka was the ace pilot and cook. Tex was the ground specialist and munitions. Vega was the rookie and psychic of the group. I was the team leader."
"Psychic? Do you really believe in that stuff?" asked 8-Ball.
Blackstar shrugged. "Not really. However Vega has often been more right than wrong."
Blackstar stopped in front of a door and indicated that 8-Ball should take the other side. After counting down with hir fingers Blackstar and 8-ball stormed into the room, weapons ready. At the center was a massive column, and a number of consoles on either side of the room. The column's blue glow was the only illumination, giving the room an eerie appearance. As the two taurs made their way around the column, they saw a figure below the upper deck's balcony. It was working on a console that Blackstar remembered was the primary Warp Core power management console. Blackstar whispered to 8-Ball, "Don't try this at home."
Before 8-Ball could stop hir, Blackstar ran and jumped from the balcony to a position on the opposite side of Parishka. Shi used hir momentum and the claws on hir right front leg to bring hir around to face the old Wolftaur. Blackstar got hir rifle into position before Parishka could even register what had happened. "Parishka you are under arrest. Now surrender. I hate bringing in corpses, and I don't think you're worth the price of a bullet."
Blackstar was surprised as Parishka's face broke into a grin. "My, my, my. You are persistent. Not to mention annoying. Now I'll be rid of you once and for all, and if I ever find where you hid the Matrix, I'll change things so that you'll never exist in the first place."
"You never learn, do you?" Blackstar slowly shook hir head in disappointment. "If I never exist, then you'll never meet my father, and you two will never have sex and have a kid. All you've fought for will also not exist."
Parishka wagged a finger in front of Blackstar's face. "You should know better then anyone that the device doesn't just change history, but that it has that failsafe that protects the user from being erased. If I can extend that power to my daughter "
"Shi'll remember everything you did, including try to kill me, kidnapping hir, and who knows what else," Blackstar grimaced as shi explained this. "You can have success in your mission but it'll take millions of years before you can get all the variables just the way you want them. Of course that's all assuming that you find the device. Which you won't because I'm a freaking genius." Just as shi finished talking, Blackstar open fired on the old Wolftaur. However each and every bullet was deflected by an energy shield that surrounded Parishka.
"You always were too cocky," said Parishka. "One of these days it's going to get you killed. I believe that day is today." Parishka snapped her fingers, and the younger Parishka and Sasha entered, escorted by twenty robotic soldiers. "I believe these are your people."
8-Ball watched as this all unfolded before her eyes. "I've got to do something, but what? I've got to think this through." 8-Ball watched as Parishka had one the robots toss her the weapon belts from the young Parishka and Sasha. Then it hit 8-Ball like a bolt of lightning. She pulled out one of the more unusual weapons that she found in the cases of weapons that Blackstar had let them use. It was designed like a crossbow, but it had a barrel of the arrows that were used for ammunition. She adjusted the fire rate selection for single-fire mode. Then without a second thought, she fired an arrow straight at the older Parishka's upper body, striking just centimeters away from her heart.
8-Ball fired another shot as Parishka turned, landing an arrow in her right arm. A third arrow landed in Parishka's upper heart, right as Parishka ordered her robotic troops to fire. 8-Ball quickly succumbed to the effects of the stunners. The robots grabbed 8-Ball and dropped her unconscious body next to her still-standing crewmates.
The old Wolftaur pulled the arrows out of her chest and arm. "How annoying. Really, how much more of this will I have to endure?" Without waiting for an answer she added, "At least one more since that hot wolf and the human are still missing. And I suppose if my younger self is here, it's reasonable that Tex was also revived. So tell me something, where are they?"
Blackstar looked around, specifically the maintenance hatches. "I'm going to be one hundred percent honest. I have no idea where they are. They should have come through a maintenance hatch by now and either a) saved us or b) got caught by you. If they don't show up, I am so docking their pay."
"I'm sure they'll show up and rescue us with a well-formulated plan any second now," said Sasha. The heavy double door that served as main engineering opened up. "Or they could just storm engineering in a suicide run too."
Then all hell broke loose as a massive explosion consumed five of the robotic soldiers. The explosion was followed by a large hunk of metal, otherwise known as a tank, rolled in through the doors, crushing anyone who got in its way. The elder Parishka took the chance to make a run for it. Blackstar yelled to the younger Parishka to cover the still unconscious 8-Ball, while shi followed the older Wolftaur. Sasha and young Parishka reclaimed their weapons and started picking off the robotic soldiers, a task hindered by the fact that they could take much more damage than any living being would take from similar hits.
Blackstar pursued Parishka through the hollow corridors of the Starsword. The only sound was the panting of the old Wolftaur and the young Chakat and the pounding of their paws on the deck. It almost seemed like time slowed down as Blackstar relentlessly pursued hir prey, making the seconds seem like hours, but in reality the chase only lasted five minutes. Parishka's front legs tripped over themselves and her front side smashed into the deck. Blackstar barely avoided running over hir prey, jumping over her instead, and spinning in midair to land, facing the elder Parishka and cutting off her escape.
Parishka was just getting to her feet when she felt Blackstar's left hand around her throat, claws exerting almost enough pressure to penetrate. When Parishka looked into Blackstar's eyes, she could see the hesitation and laughed. "'Can't kill the monster without becoming one', that's what Starfox used to say. Or at least when it came to situation like this, where you literally hold their lives in your hand. Tell me, do you have the strength to go through with it? Or are you just another weak, cowardly Chakat who's afraid of me?" Blackstar's grip loosened a little. "That's what I thought. Even when there " Parishka was cut off as Blackstar's right fist slammed into the Wolftaur's jaw. "So the Chakitty has some guts after all."
"After what you did to me and Snowfall, I have every right to toss you out an airlock," said Blackstar, "but do you know why I don't? It's because I'm not like you. So if you would kindly die on your own, I'd appreciate it."
"You can kiss my big fuzzy ," she was interrupted as Blackstar's other fist connected with her jaw. Parishka collapsed, fading into unconsciousness.
Blackstar looked down at the fallen Wolftaur with a grin on hir face. "I ain't 'fraid of no clone."
Blackstar looked up from Parishka's limp body to see 8-Ball staring open-mouthed at what Blackstar had done. "Did, you just kill her?"
Blackstar shook hir head. "No, she's just unconscious. Give me a hand with her. I wish I had brought cuffs or something." 8-Ball pulled a pair out of hir pockets. Blackstar raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you always carry a pair of handcuffs?"
8-Ball shrugged. "Ya, so what? You never know when you need a pair. Hey, need to make sure she stays quiet?" 8-Ball pulled out a ball gag.
Blackstar shook hir head. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask why you carry a ball gag. I honestly don't want to know. Put that away, and help me carry her."
"Wouldn't it be easier to use the combadges as a makeshift transporter enhancers and beam her back to the Midnight Star," suggested 8-Ball.
"Impressive, except to do that we'd need a third combadge. Where do you propose we obtain the third one?"
8-Ball crossed her arms and grinned. "There's a third com in your left arm. Just incase the external one you normally wear was lost or taken, like in a hostage situation."
The Chakat was a little disturbed by how quickly the Folftaur was adapting to a job that required improvising and know information that she shouldn't. "You catch on quickly. Okay, set it up in a triangular pattern. Blackstar to Layla, transport old Parishka to one of your holding cells and keep her sedated." The old Wolftaur disappeared in the transporter beam, and the combadges were put back in there proper places. "Let's see how the others are doing."
The two returned to main engineering to find the robotic soldiers to all be disabled, destroyed, or crushed by the tank. "Not bad for a day's work," said Blackstar. Shi saw the team was mostly trading stories and checking out the tank that had saved their tails. "Hey, why are we just sitting on our tails here? Parishka, Tex, Sasha and I will begin raiding the supplies for weapons, medicine, ammo, vehicles, and fuel. Layla will download the ship's database. The rest of you pack up and head back to the ship."
Before Blackstar could stop them, Dr. Oliver and Rys climbed into the tank and exited engineering with it. They were joined by 8-Ball who jumped up onto the tank and rode on top of the scorpion-like canon. Blackstar shook hir head at their antics. The young Parishka walked up beside hir and said, "At least they're in good spirits. Remember when we used to be like that?"
"Used to? I never did anything like that," said Blackstar.
"That's not true," said Tex. "I have video footage of you straddling a photon torpedo like that dude in Armageddon on the nuke when he went nuts."
Blackstar smiled. "Ah, fond memories. Well let's not waste time reminiscing. We got a wreck to loot. I assume most of the ground equipment is on board."
Tex nodded. "The crew took the stuff from lockers 2 and 4 when they helped the Commodore. Lockers 1, 3, and 5 are still full along with all planet-side vehicles. The rest were emptied before we left port."
"Okay, Tex and Sasha work on locker one, Parishka and I will take locker three, and we'll meet up in locker room five. Let's get to work," ordered Blackstar.
Tex led Sasha to the first locker room and began checking the weapons and ammunition, packing them into containers and placing them into a mini-transporter designed and used for small cargo transfers. After setting up an efficient process, Tex and Sasha were working well enough that they began to talk. Tex began by asking what had happened in the past twenty years since he had put in stasis and Sasha answered the best she could. Later Sasha began asking questions of her own about her captain's clouded past. She was certain that Tex was exaggerating about some of the more unbelievable stuff, such as the time that they won a four vs. thirty dogfight, or some of the alleged battles over the Time Matrix.
In locker room three, the two occupants were having a much more violent conversation. Blackstar snarled at Parishka, "Twenty years go by and the first time we're alone, you want to argue with me about who you work with? You have a group of clones hunting me down, a daughter who was sired by Stareye of all people, and the first thing you do is complain about not working with Sasha! You are supposed to be older than me."
Parishka rolled her eyes and shook her head, being used to Blackstar's lecture about how she behaved. "First of all, there is nothing wrong with being attracted to a woman with breasts that size. And the clones were only created to protect my daughter. But to be honest I'm not surprised you pissed them off enough for them to kill you. You've gotten me to that point a few times. Oh, and before you judge me for sleeping with your sire, at least hear me out."
Blackstar was sorely tempted to use one of the weapons in the locker room on Parishka, but hir Chakat instincts and years of friendship with her stopped Blackstar from pulling the trigger. "Alright, you can tell me why of all people you slept with my dad, you little sleazy slut."
"If you recall, shi and I were stranded on that sinkhole planet for nine months, and I have a very tough time dealing with my heats. I would've had sex with anyone. And I shouldn't have to defend myself against you, and would you really want it any other way?"
"What do you mean?"
Parishka explained, "From what I understand, you are very close to my daughter, your half-sister. Now would you rather things happen in a way that shi wouldn't have been born?"
Blackstar hated it, but Parishka had a point. While the result of Parishka's mating with Stareye did result in a number of problems for hir, Blackstar wouldn't ever trade Snowfall for any of it. "I suppose you're right. But that doesn't mean I hate you any less."
"That's okay, I'm not exactly thrilled with myself either," said Parishka. "So what is shi like? My daughter I mean."
Blackstar was glad that the original Parishka was interested in hir daughter despite the fact that Snowfall was almost the same age as her. "Snowfall is your typical Chakat-Wolftaur hybrid. Shi's not the violent type like me. During the year or so I was hir legal guardian, shi served as our team's unofficial ambassador. Shi normally lives at a lighthouse, and is paid to operate it. Shi's also writing the story for a new holo-program, which shi says is inspired by hir time with the team." Blackstar stopped talking when shi saw a tear role down Parishka's cheek, something that was out of character for her. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing that you can change," said Parishka. "When your kids are born I think you'll understand. I've missed my daughter's whole life. The parts of hir life that I should've been around for, and from what I gather my clone wasn't the mothering type. Shi was brought into this world without any forethought or planning and had to deal with whatever hell my clone put hir through. I'm sure shi hates my guts. And the sad part is, shi has every right to hate me. If shi wasn't a Chakat, I'm sure shi'd kill me the first chance shi got."
"Then I guess I should mention shi's on board the Mystic right now."
"I take it the Mystic is your ship?"
"Didn't I mention that?" Blackstar decided to brief Parishka on some of the points of hir life. "The Mystic is the flagship of the Blitz team. We also have three freighters that will arrive at Quenxel by the time we return. Also, Quenxel is now a civilized planet. In addition we own five state-of-the-art Blade-class fighters and one modified by yours truly. Also Layla has been moved to a new ship, the Midnight Star. The Star is also Slipstream capable, one of only a handful in the Federation. Also, I have recently gained a second denmate, my Caitian first officer, Nightrose. My first mate is a Red Panda named Sly Wacoon, although he occasionally goes by Jabbers, or on one occasion, Bessie."
Parishka grinned a little. "You know, it's a good thing I'm not as curious as certain felines. Although when you said Caitian, I half-expected you to say V'Les, because something that bizarre would be in line with our type of craziness. Sleeping with traitors wouldn't be too much of a stretch."
"Traitor? Are you saying Admiral V'Les is a traitor?"
"Admiral? V'Les' ship led an attack on our little convoy," explained Parishka.
Blackstar shook hir head in disbelief. "That's impossible. Computer, playback the last recorded images of V'Les' ship." A nearby console lit up with an image of a Star Fleet vessel that Blackstar recognized as the ship V'Les had commanded twenty years ago. It was firing a spread of photon torpedoes at a nearby ship that Blackstar identified as the Galaxy Tree. "I've known her for two years since I came out of stasis. She never told me about this. What happened?"
"The other ships jumped out of the system together and we played decoy. Antimatter failure forced us to eject our fuel. We put the Starsword into orbit of this gas giant in the hopes that we could find enough fuel here to get to a habitable planet. However there was nothing here that we could use, so Tex and I went into stasis waiting to be rescued. We didn't expect it to take twenty years though. We figured one of the other ships would be by to rescue us in a week or two at most."
"Well, at least we won't have to worry about anyone attacking us," said Blackstar. Almost as if on cue, the deck shuddered as the Starsword was pummeled by photon torpedoes. "You know, I almost felt that one coming. Layla, give me a report."
"Multiple torpedoes are penetrating the upper atmosphere and striking the Starsword's dorsal structure. We are losing altitude. Even if the attack ceases, the pressure will crush the ship in about five minutes. The attack is stopping. From what I can detect an object, I believe the Mystic, is blocking the attacks."
Blackstar swore under hir breath. "Everyone back to the Star now!" Luckily the group still aboard the StarSword was swift on their feet. Sasha's long legs and hours of training let her keep up with the two taurs and the cybernetically enhanced Tex. They were just within sight of the docking hatch when the deck suddenly fell away from them. Then just as unexpectedly the floor slammed into them again. Blackstar was the first on hir feet and when shi looked at the docking port, shi swore a second time. "I swear this bloody ship is cursed or something."
The port that had served as the gateway to the Midnight Star had become a portal of doom. When Sasha asked what had happened, Blackstar began explaining what shi could figure out. "The StarSword suffered a rapid descent of some sort beyond the inertia dampeners' ability to compensate for. The Midnight Star detached from the docking port for related reasons. Probably part of the survival programming that saves as many lives possible. In this case, sacrificing us in the process, and since we were already at 98% of its structural limits, we have probably descended beyond its ability to reach us, which is why the ship detached. The docking port then brought up an emergency force field that would hold long enough for the proper hull to return to its normal structurally sound position. Now we won't be able to escape because no one can reach us and this ship is out of fuel, which is why it was here in the first place."
"What about the escape pods," asked Sasha.
Tex shook his head. "No. They'd be crushed like a tuna can."
"Well, not all of them, but we could hotwire one with the systems from a few others and boost the structural integrity field and the engines to hold long enough for us to exit the atmosphere. The systems don't need to last long, just long enough to get into orbit," explained Sasha.
"That's brilliant," said a very enthusiastic Parishka. "It's just a matter of how long the systems will last with the forced overload."
Tex began using his cybernetic systems to run the necessary calculations, "If we properly calculate the engine power necessary to reach escape velocity, and balance it with the power for the SIF generators to make it last long enough to get rescued without blowing out the environmental systems in the process. However I estimate only a 19% chance of survival."
"I'd like to point out that if we stay on a sinking ship, we have a 0% chance of survival," said a slightly pissed Sasha.
"That's a good point," admitted Tex.
"Okay, where should we begin, sir? Blacky?" Sasha looked around realizing that her captain had gone running down the corridor. "Okay, shi is either beginning the work without us or shi's enacting hir own plan." Sasha began pursuing her captain followed by Parishka and Tex.
When they finally caught up, Tex asked, "What are you up to?"
"Saving our collective asses," said Blackstar, acting like it was something shi did on a daily basis. "The lifepod plan would work, but the additional equipment will reduce the crew capacity to maybe one Terran-sized biped. If Sasha curls up into a ball she might be able to escape. Not only that, but even if we could fit inside the refitted pods, we wouldn't have enough time to launch them before we got too low for the escape to work. If you feel like saving just Sasha, feel free, but I got an idea to save all four of us and this ship."
"How do you plan to do that?" asked Parishka.
"I plan on flying this ship out of here," said Blackstar.
"Once again I ask: how do you plan to do that?" asked Parishka.
"I'm going to blow it up," explained Blackstar.
Parishka's and Sasha's faces were a combination of worry and confusion. If Tex's face had been visible, it would have been a wide open grin. Instead he just nodded and gave two thumbs up. "Is this going to be like the Russian job?"
When Blackstar's nod confirmed this. Parishka visibly deflated, "I'm gonna get frostbite again aren't I?"
Blackstar shook hir head. "I didn't mean exactly like the Russian job you freak."
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8-Ball was still arguing with Layla to go back for Blackstar when the Midnight Star breached the upper atmosphere of the planet. The argument was stalled by the sight of the Mystic facing off with a Star Fleet ship. Layla zoomed a section of the viewscreen on a section of the Star Fleet vessel's saucer section. The name and hull number was FSS Los Angeles NCC-2525. Technical data was displayed to the right side of the picture and from what 8-Ball could tell, the Mystic was no match for the Los Angeles.
"What's the situation Layla?" asked 8-Ball, who seemed to assume command in Blackstar's absence.
Layla's pissed-off voice came through, "Do I look like I know? I'm a computer entity, not an all-knowing deity!"
"Well I thought you might be monitoring their communications and have some idea of what's going on, so you prevent us from doing something that could worsen the situation," explained 8-Ball.
A subdued Layla said, "Oh, sorry. I'm just a little upset about leaving Blackstar behind."
"Don't worry. Shi's a big herm and I have no doubt shi'll find a way home," said 8-Ball. "We can't let that distract us though. We must focus on the problem right in front of our faces. Now what's going on out there?"
Layla, who had been monitoring the situation since 8-Ball suggested it, explained it as best she could, "Nightrose says that the Los Angeles fired on a Blitz Team vessel. The Los Angeles' captain claims that she's interfering with a Star Fleet operation. She says that the StarSword belonged to us according to salvage rights as dictated by interplanetary laws. He says he's just following orders. They're now going back and forth about the legalities and I estimate that it's only a matter of time before they fire on each wait. The Los Angeles is targeting us now. They think we have classified material. They are demanding we surrender our entire computer core to them."
"Open a channel," ordered 8-Ball. "This is 8-Ball of the Blitz team. Please explain why you're targeting us."
A 'window' opened up showing the Los Angeles' captain, a wolf morph. "This is Captain Traven of the FSS Los Angeles. My orders are to prevent any information from the derelict ship from falling into the wrong hands. Even if it means destroying the Blitz team."
8-Ball struck what she hoped was a heroic pose and began a small speech of her own. "Any attack will force us to defend ourselves, and most likely result in your destruction. Seeing as you'd be guilty of both unprovoked assault and attempted piracy and we're outside of your jurisdiction, we don't have to worry about legal retribution from I'm sorry who gave your orders?"
"Admiral V'Les," answered Captain Traven. 8-Ball's and Nightrose's jaws dropped simultaneously. "Do you know her?"
Nightrose answered, "She's normally the person we have contact with when Star Fleet has an assignment for us. Not to mention that she's our captain's grandmother by marriage." After muting the audio to the Los Angeles, Nightrose asked, "Speaking of which where is shi?"
Before 8-Ball or anyone else could reply, Serge reported a massive explosion in the planet's atmosphere. Nightrose sighed and said, "Never mind. I have a pretty good idea." The explosion actually reached the highest point of the atmosphere. As the explosive fireworks died down, a form began to appear. It was a charred, but otherwise virtually undamaged Starsword. Nightrose opened a channel to the StarSword, acting as pissed off as possible. "What do you think you're doing?
Blacky appeared on the channel. "I can tell you what I wasn't doing. I sure wasn't recreating the coolest scene from Dukes of Hazzard ever on a ship-sized scale."
"You know what? I don't even care right now. I'm just happy you're okay," said Nightrose.
Blackstar smiled. "So what did I miss, luv?" Nightrose didn't get a chance to answer as 8-Ball started waving her arms. "Hold that thought. I think 8-Ball wants to answer. Go ahead 8-Ball."
"Thanks Silverbolt." 8-Ball cleared her throat and began explaining, "Traven and his Los Angeles are here by V'Les' orders to destroy the StarSword and any information from it, including that aboard the Midnight Star's database. I'm assuming this is to prevent any information on the Time Matrix's location from falling into the wrong hands. Traven also seems to be by the book on this one and won't give us an inch."
"Don't worry," said Blackstar, "I can be very persuasive. I'm opening a channel to the L.A."
Captain Traven's face was a cross between bewilderment and horror when he saw Blackstar's face appear on his viewscreen. He began yelling orders at his helmsman, "Get us out of here. Full speed. Everything we can afford to shunt into warp engines, see that it's used. Go, go, go!" He then cut all communication and his ship escaped at warp speed in the direction of the nearest Starbase.
Blackstar shrugged and said, "I know I'm good, but that has got to be a record." Under Nightrose's intense stare, Blackstar added, "He's paying me back a favor by running off so quickly. I helped him with a terrorist situation a while back. Between the time I left the academy and the time we teamed up."
"Whatever," said Nightrose, "just get your big butt over here before I drag you over here."
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Nightrose welcomed Blackstar home with a big kiss, while Snowfall settled for a hug. There was more than a little confusion with the new, younger Parishka. By the end of the night, she was talking about some of Blackstar's adventures with her. Sasha and Nightrose both were being cautious around Parishka while Snowfall tried to avoid her altogether. Tex on the other hand was accepted by the crew almost immediately. Tex's bizarre personality seemed to be par for the course on the Blitz Team.
That night in the Café, Blackstar was explaining to hir mate how shi was part of the StarSword's original mission crew but escaped before the battle. "You see after a number of needle shots passed through me, not only was I poisoned, I had enough holes in me that I'd look like one of those cartoon characters who drinks water and then have it leak all over the place." Nightrose giggled a bit. "Since we had limited medical resources, I was put into stasis and Vega took me back to Earth. The one thing that sucked was that the poison was unusual and there wasn't a cure for it at the time. I was in stasis for twenty years until they found a cure. I bummed around for a while, eventually landing up at the academy. You know what happened after that. It's crazy. I lost Vega during that time. She changed too much during those twenty years. Then I found out my team was still alive. Amazing, how I have gone through so much in twenty years or so of my life when others don't have this much excitement in 150 years. I wonder if I'll ever have a normal life."
Nightrose shook hir head, "No."
Blackstar was surprised when Nightrose was so definite about her answer. "Just what do you mean by that?"
"Simple," said Nightrose. "It's that you attract 'excitement'. Wherever you go trouble will follow. How did Vega put it? Ah, yes. 'Hir aura is strong, and like a magnet it attracts other powerful auras and like a magnet they are opposite of hir.' But that doesn't mean they're all bad. After all it got you me. Does that make any sense?"
"Trust me, if Vega hangs around long enough, you'll get used to it. Or have a psychotic episode in a month."
Blackstar and Nightrose were eating dinner when they were approached by Dr. Oliver just after Tex delivered a decent joke that made the crew that was listening laugh, and handed Blackstar a PADD. "I'm happy to inform you that Nightrose no longer needs regular medical attention. You have a very resilient mate. I hope you don't mind but I was looking through the EMH's medical records, out of boredom, and I noticed that you left before the EMH gave you the full report."
"What do you mean?" asked Blackstar "She gave me a clean bill of health. End of story. Right?"
Dr. Oliver bit his lip. "That's not the end. In fact it might only be the beginning. Tell me Captain, when was your last heat?"
"That's a bit personal," said Blackstar. "Why?"
"Think about it," said Dr. Oliver.
Blackstar was silent for a moment. Shi counted something out on hir fingers before getting up and running out of the café. "I think we'll be in sick bay," explained Dr. Oliver.
Nightrose sighed, wondering what was so important. Nightrose had to work on surprises of her own anyway. A surprise that she knew Blackstar would both be pleased with and caught off guard at the same time.
Before Nightrose could leave, she was approached by the young Parishka. Nightrose found the similar appearance between the cutthroat old bitch and this young high-spirited doppelganger more then a little disturbing, but from their personalities, it was hard to believe they originated from the same person.
Parishka held out her hand in greeting. "Howdy. I don't think we've been properly introduced. Well, with me at least. From some of the horror stories your crewmates have told me, y'all got too familiar with my clones. I'm Parishka the Original. And with luck someday I'll be the only one again."
Unsure what to do Nightrose, shook Parishka's hand. "I'm Nightrose. I'm Blackstar's partner, Denmate, and the second-in-command of the Blitz team."
Parishka laughed at Nightrose's surprised face. "I'm sorry; I guess after working with Kid for so long, some of hir straightforwardness rubbed off."
"Kid? Who's Kid?" asked Nightrose.
Parishka looked dumbfounded for a moment but quickly recovered and put on a grin. "Ya, that's what we called Blackstar before Commander Armstrong was lost. Shi was only in hir teens when shi joined up. I'm the only one gutsy enough to call hir Kid after shi took command. I won't call hir by commander until shi starts swearing like one."
"I see," said Nightrose, which was only half-true. "So could you tell me more about my mate's old antics."
Parishka tilted her head in confusion. "I would think shi would've told y'all about it."
So did I, thought Nightrose. "I didn't even know you worked with hir before shi pulled you off the StarSword. I didn't know about Vega until we picked hir up on Terra. You know more about hir then I do."
Parishka shook her head. "Not likely. Like how you got hir to not only mate, but mate a crewmember."
"Ah, the old don't screw the crew rule," quoted Nightrose. As a general rule most people tried to avoid having intimate relationships with fellow crewmembers as it often clouded judgment and created unnecessary drama. However Nightrose knew from spending so much time with Blackstar that Chakats rarely followed this rule due to their tough heats and ruts, but their nature also led them to be less susceptible to the drama that too often afflicted other species associated with such a personal affiliation.
Nightrose thought about why Blackstar agreed to be her mate, but she couldn't really come up with a reason why shi changed hir mind on the rule. "I can't think of why shi broke the old rule, but if I know who could answer the question of mating, I'd have to refer you to hir first Denmate, Sly Wacoon. I've never actually met him though."
Her eyes widening, Parishka asked, "Shi has another denmate? Wow. Shi's really growing up."
"Wouldn't shi be considered grown-up when shi started blowing up pirates?"
Parishka shrugged. "Well, doesn't everyone do that as a kid?" Nightrose shook her head no. Parishka feigned surprise. "Really? I thought that was part of growing up, like learning to read, having the cub of your best friend's dad, stealing a starship or stabbing your parents."
Finding the last part hard to believe, Nightrose asked, "Are you making some of this up?"
Parishka nodded. "Of course." Nightrose breathed a small sigh of relief. The Wolftaur then added, "I never learned how to read." Nightrose rolled her eyes in response. "I'm kidding. I didn't make any of it up," explained Parishka.
"How much have you been drinking?"
"Nah, drinking is too old school. I have alcohol injected right into my blood stream."
Nightrose groaned because she could tell that this was quickly turning into a difficult conversation. "So, Parishka, why don't you tell me more about my mate. Despite having known hir for a year or two, I hardly know anything about hir past, and shi barely mentions it, even when it's staring us in the face."
"So shi still tries to avoid hir past like talking about the Yankees in Boston," stated Parishka. At Nightrose's quizzical look, Parishka explained, "Rival baseball teams. Even after the curse was lifted."
"Curses?" asked Nightrose. "You don't believe in those do you?"
Parishka nodded. "That's how Tex got stuck in that suit. He was cursed to neither be truly living or dead for twenty years. When he was badly injured, he fused his neural synapses to the neural relays in the suit to support his higher brain functions. They can repair the suit, but even if they wanted too they can't separate his neural net from the suit. He can't physically feel anything, but he can't die either. The suit's most protected system is the neural net to prevent injury feedback to the user. Ironically, fusing of the neural synapses is one of the things it was supposed to protect against. Somehow Tex was shot, disabled the safeties and rewrote the codes to fuse his neural net all in under thirty seconds."
Nightrose followed along, learning more about the unusual armored man who did the impossible. Disabling the safeties on a priority system like that should have been near impossible, much less been done in under thirty seconds. "I don't think that's possible, even if he knew the codes by heart."
"That's what I'm saying," said Parishka. "I've known Tex for a good five years, and he's not that smart. And we checked the damage to his armor, and its records of the battle. There is no way the damage done to it could cause the safety to fail."
"I see, and you think the curse is at fault," Nightrose concluded. She wasn't totally convinced, but she did enjoy learning more about a potential crewmate. "I don't suppose you know anything that crazy about my mate, now do ya?"
"Well let me think. Did shi tell you about hir pirating days?" asked Parishka. Nightrose shook her head, partially to signal no, and partially out of disbelief. "It's not as bad as it sounds," said Parishka. "They only pirated from pirates. But Star Fleet still saw it as piracy and hired a freelancer to hunt hir down. That freelancer turned out to be none other then Stareye, Blacky's father. That's when they started their little feud. Even though Blackstar and hir crew were doing good, they were still hunted down. Of course that was before I met hir. Before the ship itself was finally caught, they mutinied and put Blacky in the brig."
"Now Nightrose, you need to understand something. Shi was able to escape from the ship's brig and make it to Quenxel. The station in orbit rescued hir, and shi claimed to have escaped from pirates after being held hostage. They bought it, and has been waiting to get revenge on the traitorous first mate that betrayed hir."
Nightrose who was fully engaged in the story asked, "Who was this first mate of hirs?"
"A Rakshani known as Jakkan na Borenth sa Larenne. He was relatively young, so he'd still be alive, so Blackstar has been keeping an eye out for him ever since," explained Parishka. "The really sad thing is that the last time shi had a chance to kill him, Blackstar couldn't without risking the lives of over a hundred innocent civilians."
Nightrose gave Parishka a skeptical look and asked, "How much of this are you making up?"
"None of it."
"How much did Blackstar make up?"
"About 90% of it," said Parishka, "and shi borrowed most of it from a movie shi saw a while back. But if you see Jakkan, don't tell Blackstar."
"So that's part of the 10% that true. But other than the usual moral reasons, why would I want to stop my mate from getting revenge?"
"Jakkan has kids. That's what really stopped Blackstar last time. His daughter, who was like four or five years old, was looking on. I guess she'd be an adult by now. Her name was like Sassy or Sala or something."
"Come to think of it, that name sounds familiar," said Nightrose, "I'm almost certain I've heard it before."
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Meanwhile down in the bowels of the Mystic's corridors, Blackstar was making hir way to the team garage where they kept a pool of vehicles ranging from old cars with internal combustion engines to PTVs to the tank they recovered from the StarSword. Shi was so engrossed in the information on hir PADD that shi didn't notice a brief breeze, something unnatural on a starship, or the shadowy figure appearing behind hir. Blackstar had no idea what was happening as hir muzzle was clamped shut by a strong hand and shi was whisked away in a transporter beam. A firm and familiar voice said, "Don't scream."
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The two-tailed Quenxelian fox morph nicknamed Tails, had hoped for a lot more action for this 'training' mission. Outside of a few simple patrols, he had done damage control and now was stuck watching some guys in a brig. The only bright side was that it was a slacker job where he basically did whatever he wanted on the computer. He was actually so bored he was watching a soap opera, when he came to full alertness by a loud hissing sound. He was looking around for the source when one of the prisoners, a wolf, asked, "What's that on your neck?"
"Is it a spider?"
A fox in the same cell said, "No, it's blue."
"A blue spider? Get it off." Tails was deathly afraid of spiders.
The wolf said, "No, it's like a pulsing blue fuzzy thing. And we can't, we're behind a force field."
"Is it danger " Tails was interrupted by an explosion from the blue thing.
The prisoners, who had all ducked or hid as best they could from the explosion, cautiously approached where the barrier had been. One reached out past the field, confirming that the force field barrier was gone. The clone of Parishka walked out of her cell and looked over Tails' body. She shrugged, "Nothing personal." The clone turned to the other prisoners and said, "Everything is going according to plan. Team Alpha secures the bridge, Team Beta will take the hanger, and I will lead Team Delta to the engine room. Let's move out people."
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Continued in Episode 6.
Story and Characters are copyright of Alex Wiegerling unless otherwise stated.
Chakat universe is copyright of Bernard Doove.
The Quange were created by Roy D. Pounds II.
Skunktaurs are copyright Bob Reijns.
Sly Wacoon is used with the permission of his player.
If I've managed to step on anyone else's toes (or paws, claws, tails, or other various appendages) let me know