(Posted on 12-02-2000)
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Prologue
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The year is 2352, the place is Sigma Orionis II, one of mankind's newest conquests.
Inside the bar, gathered around a space veteran, are a group of young, and not so young pilots. Everyone is happy.
However, as the veteran is saying, it has not always been this way. Our drink arrives, and we go over and sit near to the veteran to listen to his story.
"It hasnt always been like this. Once upon a time, we were slaves." he nods to a plaque on the wall. "To our forefathers who died for our freedom. Come closer, and I will tell you a story. This is no fiction which I have put together, but real, and is a warning to us."
Mankind leapt for the stars as it did for all its other frontiers. With greed for the riches to be had and ignorance of the forces it was dealing with. It was a huge mistake.
After they had pushed beyond the borders of their own system, they probed further afield, and after several centuries of exploration, had amassed quite a tidy space empire that spanned over 20 systems. Given time, they became very wealthy, and it was this wealth that attracted some unwelcome guests.
Within hours, even minutes, the outer systems had been destroyed. Before Earth had learned of the invaders, they were already amassing just beyond Pluto. Mankind had no hope of survival.
Within a day, the aliens had decimated the empire which mankind had built. Most humans had been killed, except the few that the aliens had decided to keep for 'entertainment'.
These were lost as the alien force put them into old ships, and ordered them to fight. The prize was life, to lose was death.
The humans did not think much of this, and used every ounce of their power to overthrow their opressors, but their power was too great. The revolution of 2150 may have killed over 500 aliens, but reduced the human population by 75%. The remaining humans resigned to spending the rest of their lives as a form of entertainment, not knowing when they would be called to be killed.
The year is 2280, the alien's reign of terror is still going strong. However, all is not as quiet as it seems...
In one compound on Earth, a group is secretly plotting to overthrow the force. They are wiser than those involved in the revolution 130 years earlier, and have been continuing plans laid down by their fathers. This is their story.
In a cell block deep underneath the surface of Earth, five people were talking in hushed voices. Around them, corridors ran off into the impenetrable darkness. The silence around them was occasionally broken by the moan of someone injured in the days' fighting.
"I'm telling you Ben, this will never work." whispered one.
"Look Kilvain, it is very simple. You are being called to the arena tomorrow." said Ben. "I will shoot you around a bit, and then you will self-destruct your ship."
"I understand that bit." said Kilvain. "That's easy, the next part is difficult."
"It's a risk" agreed another.
"I'll agree with you that far Gildor." replies Kilvain. "The chances against it are astronomical."
"It's worth a try." said another, who called himself Shade. No-one knew his real name.
"Guys, can I get back to what I was saying?" interrupted Ben haughtily. "Before your ship goes up, you will get into your escape capsule. Hopefully, I will be in the way enough so our captors will not see it. It wont show up on radar..."
"You sure of that?" interrupted Shade.
"Yes, something three meters long will not show up. Gildor will back me up on that one." replied Ben. Gildor nodded. Ben continued.
"Anyway, hopefully, you will go into lunar orbit, which during the lunar night, will collapse and you will crash-land on the moon. You will then get out and find our group on the moon, and give them the other comms unit."
"And because Im dead, no-one will look for me." said Kilvain.
"Exactly!" replied Shade. "That's the nice part about it."
"Besides." added the fifth, a diminutive figure. "We know these aliens are superstitious. Your clothes will be battered, so you could pretend to be a ghost of sorts."
Gildor s######ed. "You would know about that wouldnt you Zelda, we've heard of some of the things you get up to."
Zelda stood up, her eyes gleaming.
"Why you..."
Shade pushed her back down. "Will you shut up Zelda, if you go off now, we run the risk of a guard coming down, and then we have some explaining to do." Zelda sat back down, and glared at Gildor.
"And then, when we can establish contact, maybe we can get something going on the convoys." said Gildor. "and then maybe something might happen."
Just then, there was the sound of distant footsteps.
"Guard!" hissed Kilvain. "Let's go."
"Ok. Good luck tomorrow guys." added Shade as he dived back to his cell.
Within seconds, there was no sign of the meeting, and the darkness had returned to the area.
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Part 2
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Next morning, the group met as was customary to wish Ben and Kilvain well.
"Remember Kilvain." said Zelda. "Make sure the escape pod works, else we will have problems."
"Teach your grandmother!" replied Kilvain, who was obviously nervous.
"Good luck, mate." said Gildor, patting Kilvain on the back. "If this doesnt work out, it was nice knowing you."
"It wont come to that!" said Ben. "It will all work fine."
"I wish I was that confident!" smiled Kilvain. "Uh oh, escort coming."
The five looked around to see the shadowy figure of the alien that would take Ben and Kilvain to the ships walking up the corridor.
"Good luck," said Shade. "and make sure the unit isnt seen."
Kilvain made a face at Shade, shook hands with everyone, and followed after the alien. Ben turned to Gildor, Zelda and Shade. "Oh well, now or never." he said, and to choruses of 'good luck', walked after Kilvain.
Zelda turned to Gildor and Shade. "Rather him than me!"
Gildor smiled. "He'll be fine."
"Lets go and get our lot ready." said Shade, looking at the retreating shadows of their friends.
The remaining three turned, and went to Gildor's cell, where the other comms unit was stored.
--
The battle went well. Just as Kilvain saw his armour fail, he dived into the pod, and ejected. From the observation ships, the escaping pod looked like a piece of wreckage. In his ship, Ben silently wished Kilvain a safe journey, and prepared to come in to land. Back on Earth, Zelda and Shade watched the visi-screens silently. Gildor had his eyes shut, praying.
Shade smiled. "Now for the fun part!"
--
After the obligatory memorial service for Kilvain, the remaining members of the group sat down to wait for the signal that meant that their plan had succeeded. Unusually for the group, no-one said anything, all staring intently at the screen of the comms unit for any signs of any transmission. It was going to be a long night.
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Part 3
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Zelda was awoken by Gildor tugging her arm. As she opened her eyes, she could see Shade working, his attention entirely focussed on the comms unit.
"We got word about five minutes back." said Gildor. "Apparently Kilvain managed to land safely on the moon, and make contact with Begemotike, our agent over there."
Shade moved away and let Zelda see the screen. Kilvain was smiling, and next to him was another man, presumably Begemotike. "Well Ben," he said. "what happened to all that doubt? I told you it would work."
Ben opened his mouth to say something, but saw Kilvain's face.
"Well done!" said Zelda. "Now we can start doing something properly."
"Heh, thanks." said Kilvain. "Begemotike has some information."
"Ok." said Begemotike. "We have found a nice supply dump over here, which is fairly easy to access. Another little bonus is a sympathethic guard on our side, who has been quite useful."
Ben blinked. "A sympathetic guard? Isnt that a bit risky?"
"No more risky than our little escapade today." replied Kilvain.
"Besides, he knows that if he thinks about saying anything, he's dead anyway." added Begemotike.
"I suppose that's some assurance." replied Gildor.
"Anyway." said Ben. "You said there's a freighter coming over tomorrow, or today, or whatever."
"Yes" replied Kilvain. "I can't come back, because Im dead, but we can send some stuff over on it."
"Like guns and such?" asked Zelda.
"Well, more 'and such' for the moment." said Begemotike. "but yes."
Shade stopped. "Kilvain, you're dead, right?"
"Yes?" replied Kilvain, slightly puzzled.
"So, if you're dead, no-one will look for you. See if you can find a ship. It will make things easier. If we can clear it with Begemotike's friend, then it's even better." replied Shade.
They all looked at Shade.
"That is a nice idea. Let's go with it." said Ben, his eyes gleaming. "Now to discuss tactics."
--
The work of the underground continued this way for almost a year, with the number of 'dead' people increasing steadily, and a small fleet of ships in various states of disrepair was created, it's flagship, Kilvain's original ship - the 'Freedom'.
With the help of Xaeomega, the alien sympathizer, they were able to get to Toutatis, an asteroid in deep in the belt. From the wreckage of the buildings on nearby Mars, they created a small base, and Gildor had even built a small jamming system, so their transmissions would go undetected.
Also in the base was a small shipyard, which repaired the underground's fleet, and several weapon silos.
The effort was boosted when one of the members of the underground, El Guapo, found an old missile silo, complete with a full compliment of ammunition among the wreckage. Things were going far too well.
--
Shade and Gildor were doing the late shift in the radio room, watching for signals from operatives on Earth or the Moon, co-ordinating cargo runs. One of the channels crackled.
Shade looked around, and recognised the ship. It was Stealth, their newest aquisition - an old Earth capital ship. Once they had equipped her with a cloaking device, she was easily the most powerful ship in the fleet. There was talk about her becoming flagship, but Ben, Kilvain and the rest insisted in keeping Freedom.
"Steath to base." came a voice over a comms channel.
"Base here." replied Shade. "What have you got for us."
"Nothing" replied Stealth's pilot. "There's a problem."
"What?" asked Gildor.
"Just when we were orbitting Earth waiting the drones to send stuff up to us, the aliens were scanning the entire stratosphere, as though they were expecting us." replied the pilot. "We didnt want to risk sending the drones back, unless they were spotted. Stealth was cloaked, and therefore wasn't seen."
"It could be coincedence." said Shade offhandedly.
"Shade, they dont suddenly decide to do a high powered scan of the stratosphere for no reason at all." replied Gildor.
"You think they know?" asked Shade.
"Maybe." replied Gildor. He turned to the microphone. "Stealth, you are cleared for landing, pad 4F" He switched off the microphone. "You think Xae will be up?" he asked.
Shade shrugged. "It's worth a try."
Gildor tapped in a number. "Hello, Xae, Gildor here. We need some information..."
--
Part 4
--
The following morning, a meeting was in full swing, as were a few tempers.
"...so what you are saying" said Ben. "is that someone on Earth may know about us?"
"It seems so, yes." replied Xaeomega. "There have been a lot of questions asked about various people who have 'died' - including people who's ships malfunctioned." he added, referring to the technique used to get Zelda out when things looked nasty.
"Uh, how do you mean about that?" asked Shade.
"Well, in Zelda's case, they have been asking what went wrong with the ship. Of course, they wont know because it has all burned up by now, but they're asking technicians." replied Xaeomega. "The answer they get is that they are all old ships, so things just go wrong."
"And that's satisfying them?" asked Zelda.
"Well, they dont have any other answers, and refuse to believe anything could outsmart them" replied Xaeomega.
There was a laugh from Ben. "Gee, I love these guys." He noticed Gildor sat by a console. "Whassup?"
Gildor looked around. "It's a message. From the 'Endeavor' to an alien capital ship just off Mars' orbit."
Everyone stopped, after all, why would the Endeavor, one of their ships, send a message to the aliens?
"You what?" asked Shade.
"Um, what didnt you understand. Endeavor was out patrolling, and for some reason sent a message to an alien ship." replied Gildor.
"What kind of message?" asked Ben.
"Um, a set of galactic co-ordinates." replied Gildor. "About 20 miles off the surface of Mars. Oh, and a time." he pressed a few buttons. "Oh God!"
"What?" asked Zelda.
"Well, at that time, the RB-351 passes those co-ordinates." replied Gildor.
"Um, the 351 is a meeting point isnt it. What time?" asked Shade.
"10:51TT" replied Gildor.
"Help, that's a muster time." said Ben.
Kilvain glanced at the clock.
"And it's in about 10 minutes." he said.
Ben jumped up. "Send a message out to the fleet except Endeavor. Rendevous cancelled. Fall into orbit around Toutatis"
Begemotike turned. "Um, why arent we telling the Endeavor?"
"Simple, they have arranged for a capital ship to attack our fleet when they meet." replied Ben. "Now, if they turn up, and find a fleet consisting of one very old ship, then they arent going to be too pleased. With any luck, they'll destroy it. The crew wont know why, and the problem should be solved."
Shade grimaced. "Hang on, there are a lot of good people on Endeavor" he exclaimed.
"Tough cookies." replied Ben. "We can do nothing about it. If we say 'all personnel except blah, please return' then it's going to look really suspicious."
"Besides," added Gildor. "the message is unsigned. We dont know who it is."
The six of them watched as the seconds ticked away. Sure enough, at 10:51TT, the Endeavor arrived at RB-351 and waited patiently. 30 seconds later, a huge alien capital ship appeared in the viewscreens.
"It's hailing the Endeavor" said Gildor.
"Intercept." replied Ben.
"Endeavor. Where is the fleet. End of message" read Gildor. "Endeavor are replying."
"Block it," snapped Ben. "and intercept."
"Xaxos. Unknown. End of message" read Gildor.
Xaeomega started. "The Xaxos is a powerful ship. They were expecting a lot of stuff. I feel sorry for the Endeavor."
"Cant be helped." replied Ben. "Gildor?"
"Endeavor. Please reply or we will destroy you. End of message" read Gildor.
"Oh well." sighed Shade.
"Xaxos. Do you read? End of message." read Gildor.
Zelda sighed.
"Endeavor. You have 5 seconds. End of Message." read Gildor.
"Oh well." remarked Ben.
"Xaxos. DO YOU READ? End of message" read Gildor.
All six blinked as there was a flash of light, and the Endeavor disintegrated.
"Whoa, Im glad that wasnt the fleet then." commented Zelda. The others were silent, simultaneously mourning the loss of ship and crew while thanking everything for it working. At times like this, diplomacy bit hard...
--
Part 5
--
The mourning was shortlived. Even though they had lost a ship and crew, the movement against the aliens was still continuing. But the loss of the Endeavor had released some pressure on the humans. According to Xaeomega, the concensus among the aliens was that the Endeavor, and the informant had been a few people out to cause havoc by spreading rumours about a dissedent human group. In fact, the aliens were now treating it as some sort of joke. As Zelda said, all it did was to convince the aliens they had nothing to worry about.
It was during one of the regular meetings that a new plan was forged. Its visionary, El Guapo.
"Ben, how powerful is our fleet?" he asked.
"Um, fairly." replied Ben. "Why?"
"Would it be powerful enough to take out an alien ship?"
Gildor choked on his drink. Shade and Zelda looked up in amazement.
"Erm, maybe." replied Ben.
"Are you crazy?" exclaimed Shade. "Those aliens slaughtered us when they attacked us, our ships are, on average, 200 years old. The newest ships in the alien fleet are less than 6 months old. New ships mean new technologies. We wouldn't stand a chance!"
"So?" replied El Guapo cooly.
"So," snapped Begemotike. "if we even tried anything, we would be space debris in a couple of seconds! No chance."
"If they saw us..." added El Guapo.
"Hang on, you mean cloaked ships?" asked Zelda, a faint gleam in her eye.
"Exactly." replied El Guapo. "We attack a smallish ship, say a destroyer..." Gildor choked again. "You OK? Anyways, we attack a destroyer, disable it, chuck everyone out the airlock, we have a fairly new ship."
"Attack a destroyer..." exclaimed Gildor.
"Why not?" said Zelda, smiling.
"It is a hell of a risk." said Ben. "If it works, as El Guapo says, we have a new ship. If it doesnt, we lose ships, and we alert the aliens that we are here somewhere. Shade, what do you think?"
"I dont know. It depends on how El Guapo plans to attack the ship." replied Shade. "If it works, we have a nice new ship. However, I reckon that the aliens would start getting suspicious if one of their ships disappears."
"He has a point." said Gildor.
Ben stood up. "El Guapo and Zelda, if you can come up with a feasible plan of action, including backup, then I will authorise the attack. If not, then it is not gonna happen."
"Thanks Ben" replied El Guapo, winking at Zelda.
"Great." added Zelda. "Come on El Guapo." With that, El Guapo and Zelda walked out of the room.
"Well?" asked Begemotike.
Gildor and Shade looked at each other, and then at Ben.
"I think they will surprise us." said Ben, smiling. "We'll have to see what they come up with."
Gildor sighed. "I wonder what Kilvain would think. It was him that made this all possible."
Shade looked at a visiscreen. "We'll find out in a minute. He's just landed."
(This message has been edited by moderator (edited 12-02-2000).)