ic Aces, Chases, Space Bases(IC)

[Ari]

GM

At first the ship specs looked like several tons of intricate gibberish. Every company in the galaxy seemed to be void-bent on making things as confusing as possible to neophytes(to the point where Lor engineers were known to sneak off to pray when ordered to work on certain classes, and the Senate was rumored to be investigating the relationship between technical schools and shipyards), and experimental crafts, not to mention custom-built, personally-funded experimental crafts, were the worst of them all.

Luckily, amid the maze of reaction types, obtuse numbering systems and pure damned vagueness, Kyle's instincts hit pay dirt.

A slight flaw in the Celestia's engines meant they had a tendency to overheat, which for a stealth ship was an impressive oversight. To compensate, periodic checks were made to keep things running at a relatively safe level. A small increase over the limit was massaged into the other systems, but a really large jolt, something really deadly, had a risk of simply overpowering the security check. A safeguard was in place for that, too. It shut the entire vessel down and vented the energy buildup into space until the crew could work out a solution on the backup power cells.

Of course, there were many ways one could accomplish that, but the surest bet was the magic crystal hovering intangibly close by. It was already giving Zanvir's ship trouble, and it wouldn't take much to push it over the edge.

[trollthumper]

Man, you'd think this guy would have put more stock in a ship that can hold its crap together than something that looks pretty. Then again, that's the problem with some star jockeys - they try to trade on style rather than substance. And while style may get you far, it's gonna hit you in the ass eventually.

He listed through his options. He could go outside and fiddle with the gigantic hideous gem of mass destruction, not knowing what might cause it to rise a few degrees and what might make it explode. Or, since the engine was already taxed to its limits, he could go downstairs and add a little fuel to the fire that way.

Well, either way, subtlety goes out the window. But in one scenario, I've got a better chance of not dying horribly.

With that, he went down towards the engine room, searching for something to throw a wrench into.

[Ari]

GM

As Kyle slipped noiselessly into the depths of the Celestia, he was confronted at every turn by the very laxest of security, the lack of even a complimentary wave-lock or RNA-scanner. As Zanvir's dinner party rollicked away, the Star Knight slid through a pleasantly quiet hatchway into the very inner sanctum of the vessel, and a vision of the future.

Thanks to frequent exposure to wonders most people on Earth couldn't have even imagined, Kyle's innate awe for things that were merely loud, huge or bright, had faded. It was now mostly replaced for a more mature awe of things that did impressive stuff.

So the clear, ten inch by five inch oblate spheroid that hovered gently in the grip of several gravitic fields, in the middle of the round dais ringed by control panels, whose only notable sign of even doing anything was the faint tingling at the back of Kyle's sensors, was very impressive indeed.

Most ships plying the space lanes needed something to provide lots of reactions in order to get enough energy. This made fuel a constant problem, but the cross-overs of parts and design cues meant that once you'd seen one advanced engine room, you could go hundreds of years back and try to fix something made before the Treaty of Westphalia. If you were really good and really smart, it would even work.

But apparently whoever had designed and built Zanvir's new ride before he stole it had wanted to do away with all that. Thus, the energy resulting from gravity warping around a super-dense object thrummed through every wall, and even adapted to the presence of a giant magic space rock.

It was almost a shame to shoot something so beautiful.

But "So pretty..." wouldn't exactly stand up in court. And Kyle had met enough lovely people with rotten hearts to know what hesitation could do.

The bolt of energy from Cavalier's armor sent the spheroid just too far from the safe zone, and with a crashing roar everything flared with implacable power, only to then grow still.

The jolt of the ship jerking off course sent Kyle slamming into a nearby bulkhead, which was lucky as the Blue Star came crashing through the roof right where he'd been standing. No longer tethered outside the material plane and up close, Kyle barely needed his enhanced sensors to see the growing cracks and dangerous glow within. Just being close the man could feel something wrong.

Of course, nothing would be gained from sticking around, and as furious shouts and yells of confusion boomed across his local comm-frequency, it was soon clear that Prince Zanvir and his pals would soon be on the trail of their saboteur!

[trollthumper]

Well. Take care of one problem, two more show right the hell up. Always the way of things.

There it was - what Cavalier had come looking for. And it was right in front of his face, throbbing menacingly, and full of fine and not-so-fine cracks. If there was something inside it, it looked fairly close to the boiling point. And then, of course, there was the fact that Zanvir and company would come rushing in to check and see what the hell was going on. Of course, the fact that the Star had broken a hole in the ship from space would probably be tripping them up a bit - he didn't know if anyone in that crew could naturally breathe vacuum, but he kind of doubted it. Fortunately, his suit was doing all the work for him.

And now, time for something really stupid.

Shifting his armor to full defensive capabilities, he grabbed the Blue Star in his hands and rushed out, diving into the depths of space. He kept his eyes fixed on the gem, waiting for the moments when the cracks became too big. Hopefully, he would be able to break off and reverse course before it went kaboom. As long as it went off somewhere unoccupied...

[Ari]

GM

Rocketing away from the lamed Celestia, his cargo blazing in the cool vacuum of space, there was plenty of time for Kyle to try and figure out what to do. The cracks on the Blue Star were spiderwebbing their way out from the core of evil, each new mini fissure sending a brief spike of energy through the Star Knight's armor. That close to the thing, it was impossible to be deceived any more, he could see clear as day the roiling, eye-studded horror crouching inside the cosmic gem.

From the way it pressed against the walls of its prison, it wasn't hard to guess that it wanted the thing gone as much as almost everyone else wanted it intact.

A coruscating column of energy blasting feet away from his head suddenly called attention to another problem. Behind him, brow thunderous with fury and body crackling with a sheathe of power, was Captain Cerise, green eyes aflame. Though his crew were presumably in the escape pod darting away to the stars 'below' them, it was plain that Zanvir wasn't going to let his prize go without a fight!

[trollthumper]

Yeah, he knew something like this was going to happen. He'd just hoped that there would be a bit more time to breathe before it did. Cavalier pushed forward, trying to split his attention between the gem that could easily go critical in his hands and the space pirate who appeared happy to take a risk on that eventuality happening sooner. He considered switching his energy focus so that he could actually return fire... but then realized that might weaken his armor, which was the last thing he wanted to do when an ancient magical bomb might go off in his face.

Mind you, that wasn't helped when he felt laser fire strike him right in the small of the back. Maybe he would have to prioritize...

[Ari]

GM

 

The two star-farers moving fast enough to go into lightshift, Zanvir and Cavalier streaked through the empty void of the Solar System, the prince leaving a brilliant rainbow of coalescent colors in his wake while the Star Knight blazed a deep green and harsh blue trail to Newtorch Station. Each of the men desperately swerved and rolled in their mad chase, Zanvir struggling to stay within range of Kyle and firing off snap shots when his quarry rolled in just the wrong direction to try and knock Cavalier off-course and complicate his flight.

 

In the lack of an atmosphere to press against, Kyle's grip on the Blue Star(aided by his armor's construction and ties to the Star Stone) was as solid as if he was frozen to it. And without even a jitter in his optical sensors it was impossible not to see the growing cracks widening in the core of the enormous gem, one fissure edging dangerously near to the surface. Through it the caged entity was somehow widening its space in the material world, long limbs and a non-localized body core that looked like cross between Swiss cheese and a black spiderweb revealed, waves of malice emanating from it that briefly flashed through the Star Knight's own mind.

 

Far ahead, the armor was starting to pick up comm chatter from the repair crews on the station, along with a burst of noise as the short-range sensors detected his armor and alerted the defense grid of a friend approaching.

 

~Sri Steward~ Admiral Kalf's terse voice growled over the armorlink ~Newtorch just reported that you're inbound, along with the Star. Apparently you have a pursuer, do you require assistance?~

Edited September 17, 2014 by Arichamus

[trollthumper]

This was every single kind of not good. Cavalier's usual exposure to things that wanted to kill him involved raiders, criminals, and the occasional bit of alien fauna. This... whatever was at the heart of this gem was pure malevolence. Hatred rolled off of it in waves and seemed to tear at his nerves. The potato had gone from "hot" to "volcanic," but he still had to see if he could hold onto it for a little longer - if only to make sure nothing else died. This is why I hate magic...

Fortunately, the call came in through his radio band. He'd never been so happy to be hailed by the military. "I have the package," he said over the band. "It's, uh... it's started to hatch. If I managed to drop off suddenly, do you think you'd be able to trace this thing's trajectory to the point that you could turn the heavy guns on it?"

[Ari]

GM

~Let me make sure._{'Will we be able to trace it', those irregular and crushing failures really are a pain}Affirmed, Star Knight! From the readings being picked up by Newtorch, the technicians are fully confident that you will arrive in plenty of time, so don't discard the Blue Star just yet, if you please. We'll drive off your suitor to give you some breathing room. Station guard ready, transmitting coordinates! Mid-range flares, ignite!~

From far ahead, the silvery smear of Newtorch research station was suddenly hidden by lances of blue fire that crackled around Cavalier, flashing into the darkness behind him only to explode in brilliant spheres of destruction. Each sphere was an expanding wave of energy, meant to act as a deterrent for smaller craft and to spark cascades in larger ships. Caught in the middle, Zanvir's coruscating whirlwind of color flashed and reared as the embattled prince summoned all his power to shield himself from the blasts. But each time he narrowly saved himself from one, another burst smashed against him, and soon Captain Cerise was flung steadily backwards.

With a final encore of detonating waves, the vivid sheathe wavered into darkness. Then, Cavalier's sensors picked up a gigantic surge of power, one that lit up hundreds of millions of kilometers behind him with a massively oversized image of Zanvir. The apparition of Ultra-Energy pointed at the retreating Star Knight, gigantic words flashing into being around him.

NEXT TIME YOU'RE MINE

With that, the image winked out, and Zanvir sped off into the interstellar void, viciously cursing the loss of his prize so close to his goal. "We'll meet again, Star Knight," he growled under his breath, racing for the ruined wreck of his beloved Celestia "and when we do I'll tear that armor off and we'll see what you're made of! The Ultra-Man swears it!"

---

Shortly afterwards, on Newtorch Station

"Exemplary work, Sri Steward. Thanks to your punctuality reversing that process should be simplicity itself." Admiral Louoy Kalf stood ramrod straight beside Cavalier on the observation & control deck, the stocky grey-furred creature looking like a dour Ewok afflicted with gigantism and stuffed into a grey admiralty tunic. Below the pair, and the ordered milling of Lor scientists in white encounter suits, was the room holding the Blue Star, a mass of floating metal circles maintaining local wavelengths, monitors crammed on nearly every wall showing the least measurable movements and a large cube in which the cosmic gem blazed. The creature had nearly been able to force its limbs into the cracks, and the last dash into the containment field had the thing shrieking noiselessly and flailing madly, even as its prison began to close around it once more.

With a rattling hiss, the rods that had been draining the Star of radiation retracted into their sockets, and the ominous red halo above the gem turned a calming orange. Nodding in satisfaction, Kalf gestured for Kyle to go with him, heading out into the thrumming corridors with rapid steps to keep pace with the larger human. Without preamble he spoke, not even waiting for the door behind them to iris close "Zanvir and his crew escaped, the fighters we sent found only trace energies. I am sorry we lost them. With this, the recent invasions, some...less than superb new crew transfers, and that business with the con artist on Sedna, it would have been pleasant to have better news than 'disaster averted' to give the Senate..."

Marching along in silence for a while, the diminutive Admiral glanced up appraisingly at the green-armored man "Two Star Knights from your planet. Both of you competent and adaptable. Hmph. I shall be glad when your world escapes its present barbarism. Any indication when that might be?"

Edited September 25, 2014 by Arichamus

[trollthumper]

Kyle tried very hard to ignore the "barbarism" comment - it was the whole tech level thing, these things just slipped out, and besides, sassing or gutpunching a Lor military official would not end well for either him or his planet. "I'm sorry to have let Zanvir go as well," he said, "but the gem was already showing deterioration, even with all the countermeasures he was taking. I had to prioritize apprehending him and his crew against letting that thing hatch and laying waste to a hell of a lot, and... well, you saw which way it came down. I'm always happy to be of service to the sector."

Just next time, please let there be less magic involved.

[Ari]

GM

Unaware of how his words had been been taken, Admiral Kalf nodded brusquely. "Given the overwhelming success, I have no hard feelings about your choices, Star Knight. With the Blue Star back in custody we can find out how it tries to escape, and barring gratuitous extremes like throwing it into a black hole, how to prevent it from doing so. Zanvir and his crew will be that much easier to keep tabs on as he attempts to scavenge parts for his beloved ship, which might be the stroke of luck SysSec has been...praying for all this time. Might get an arrest, even a holder. Time will tell."

Hopping up onto a short ledge easily as tall as he was, Kalf removed a glove and offered his hand to Kyle, the fingers underneath gnarled and scarred beneath the thick fur, claws blunted by frequent use long ago. His grip was as small as a child's, but as tough as iron.

"It was an honor, Star Knight. May we meet again, and may your example better your race as it overcome its divisions and fears. Now, no other catastrophe has arisen, so if you have some inclination to return home I heartily encourage it. May you see bright stars, Sri Steward." Taking a deep bow, and then tapping the emblem on his chest to take his leave in a whorl of rainbow light, Kalf vanished back to the Blockade Fleet, leaving Kyle on a dazzling splinter in space, with a quiet trip back to Earth and its welcoming Sun.

[trollthumper]

The good news about today was that he'd stopped a major catastrophe. The bad news was that he'd nearly had his face eaten by some mystical abomination, he'd most likely made some mortal enemies out of a band of daring space pirates... oh, and speaking of space pirates, he owed one of them tea. And not a cup of Earl Grey at Starbucks, but the good kind of full service, with cucumber sandwiches and everything.

Well, Cavalier thought, if I wanted life to be normal and peaceful, I would've gotten out of the suit the second I landed on Citadel. You've gotta have a little excitement, I guess. Though maybe a little less...

And with that, he kicked off from the void, blazing his way back home.