ic Incursion: Opportunists and Opposition

[souffle_girl]

Emily scanned around for more targets, force cannon ready to fire. while the group of pirates fending off the drones in melee were being strangely successful, their companions were struggling to shoot down another drone.

Mechanized spotted an opening and shot. The drone was hit squarely and thrown back like a rag doll, collapsing on the floor.

"These guys are tough. How many more can we expect?"

[Raveled]

Corona ripped herself free from the cockpit, smashing the console and bending the seats out of her way. The shuttle would never fly again, but if she could trade a Lor shuttle for a Communion cruiser she would not begrudge it. Instead she was practically whistling as she tore free of the confining metal. It was slow going, though, and by the time she managed to get to the shuttle lounge Communion drones had already boarded her. She bared her teeth in a fierce snarl and launched herself forward, her fist destroying what had been a Grue skull, before it had been invaded and subverted.

She turned to the other drone, glowing with power and rage. "One at a time or a whole ship at once," she whispered. "One way or another, I am going to kill you all."

[Thevshi]

Aboard the disabled Communion ship

If the other Communion drone was at all intimidated by Corona's show of force it showed no outward sign of it. Instead, the former humanoid insectoid alien regarding the Lor with its cold, mechanical eyes as its mouth opened and a screeching electrical sound came out. The drone then rushed forward towards Corona, slashing out with long, wicked claw-like fingers. The attack was faster than the Lor had anticipated, as it slashed across her right shoulder with several of the claws.

Corona then felt everything shake, as the Communion ship was rocked by blasts from the pirate ships. She also could hear more movement outside of the Nomad.

Out in space

The three large pirate ships continued their fire on the two Communion vessels, with the majority of fire concentrated on the Communion ship still active and moving towards them. The flagship poured out the most weapons fire, blasts ripping into the Communion ship that the Nomad. The other Communion vessel took the blasts with seemingly less direct effect. If anyone had been paying close attention, they would have noted that the amount of fire coming from the pirate ship which had been rammed by the needle ships was slowly diminishing…

[Thevshi]

Aboard the Aphelion

If the last remaining Communion drone near Mechanized, Memorial and the pirates had any concerns about being so outnumbered, it showed no signs of it, keeping its focus on the dazed insectoid pirate. But then the two large pirates moved over toward the drone, one stepping between it and the dazed pirate. Both of the hulking figures swung large fists at the drone, but it managed to dodge both attacks.

From further down the hallway, Mechanized and Memorial could hear the faint sound of blasters being fired and screams.

Out in space

The two remaining pirate interceptors poured on the speed, as they zipped and dodged around the larger ships, trying to line up shots at the three Communion needle ships darting through space. The first interceptor slid underneath the Aphelion, banking up sharply as it opened fire on one of the needle ships zooming by. The bright flashes of energy streaked through space, but the pilot's timing had been off, as they passed harmlessly behind the Communion fighter as it flew by.

The other interceptor came up behind another needle ship, rolling in unison as the Communion ship tried to shake it. The pilot opened fire, and the Communion fighter exploded in a bright flash of silver.

The large Communion ship that was still active had moved in much closer toward the pirate ships and the Aphelion, as it opened fire on the pirate flagship. Bright flashed erupted along the hull of the large vessel, as it took damage from the opening salvo, but it was far from out of the fight.

[Ecalsneerg]

Galvanic stopped short. Two more drones guarding this door? Well, it must lead somewhere, she reasoned. 

 

"Gentlemen," she smiled, floating down to the floor, electricity coruscating down her arms and sparking on her forehead. "You desirewant to clear that doorway." She hurled the bolt of lightning in an overhead throw, it crashing down between the two. The bolt sparked out in a wide cloud of explosive force, a combination of the displacement, force and electrical power smashing the two drones to the side. The power of it was such that the doorway ahead of her had a circular, smoking hole in it, ringed with red hot metal, revealing what lay beyond it. "Told you."

[souffle_girl]

Emily turned to face the last drone just in time to see it fending off the pirates' attacks. She smirked and charged right at it, expecting to crush it.

She couldn't be more wrong. The creature braced for the hit and rolled back in a surprisingly agile movement, immediately ready to fight back.

Emily cursed under her breath and got ready for another blow.

"This isn't over...."

[Thevshi]

Aboard the disabled Communion ship

The attack from the drone stung Corona, knocking her back slightly and dazing her. The drone moved forward once more, green energy dancing along its arms as he reached toward the Lor once more, grasping her wrist in its metal hand. The green energy surged through that hand, arching over Corona's arm as she felt pain all through her arm.

Two other drones appeared at the hole in the side of the Nomad, their cold eyes turning toward the Lor.

Aboard the other Communion ship

After burning a large hole through the door across the middle of the hallway, Galvanic found the hallway continue on beyond. For the moment it was clear of any more of the drones. Several smaller doors lined either side of the hallway as it went deeper into the vessel. The walls and floor around her vibrated slightly, from some sort of impact to the ship.

Aboard the Aphelion

The remaining Communion drone in the central section of the merchant vessel seemed little concerned about being all alone. Green energy crackled along its arm and hand as it reached out and grasped Emily's shoulder, the energy transferring into the human woman's body.

From down the hall toward the rear of the Aphelion, the sounds of another battle could still be heard.

Out in space

The final two Communion needle ships arched through the cold void around the merchant and pirate ships, continuing their duel with the two remaining pirate interceptors. While one interceptor continued to avoid the incoming green energy blasts from one of the needle ships, the second took another hit, suffering more minor damage but otherwise still in the fight.

[horngeek]

Memorial turned, noticing the last drone trying to... shock, or something... her ally and friend.  And she noticed the sounds of battle.

 

One thing at a time.  The cyborg soared over, her feet planting on the deck for the first time in the fight as her fist clenched.  "You.  Get away from my friend."

 

And her fist slammed through the drone's skull, crushing metal and bringing a final mercy to the drone.  "Em, you okay?"

 

She looked around.  "All right, everyone.  Looks like there's some fighting we missed, so we need to go help them out.  I'll take point, everyone get ready!"

[Thevshi]

The Aphelion

The two large pirates look over at Memorial appreciatively as she smashes the last Communion drone in the long hallway. But their attention was quickly focused back on the aft section of the Aphelion, as more blaster fire and screams could be heard. The two large pirates started back down the hall towards the aft sections of the vessel.

Meanwhile, the other pirates began gathering up all their unconscious comrades, while the Insectoid pirate got back onto his feet as well. He was a bit worse for wear, but did not appear ready to just quit. "There are more *tick* of these in engineering *tick* Join us?" He asked to Memorial, while Mechanized still seemed a bit dazed from the shock the last drone had delivered.

Out in Space

The remaining two pirate interceptors continued to try to circle back around to get shots off at the last two Communion needle ships. But the Communion fighters were moving at top speed, darting around the Aphelion and other pirate vessels, making getting a clear shot difficult. Both pirate fighters fired at the speeding needle ships, but both were off in their timing, the beams of energy passing harmlessly behind the Communion ships.

[Ecalsneerg]

This was taking too long. Way too long. Galvanic had to find that reactor and take down this ship now. She closed her eyes, fingers rising to her temples as her electric sacs on her forehead sparked a bright blue colour, even against her skin.

 

She could sense electromagnetic radiation at a distance, a huge concentration of it. While lots of smaller sources were present, running here and there, there was too much to interpret it all. So Galvanic just flew towards the largest source at high speed, arms ahead of her. At the first door between her and the main reactor, she didn't slow, the Tempestian flying at it like a humanoid missile.

[Raveled]

Corona gritted her teeth as the drone's energy arced over her body. She stared into the eyes of the Lor man that held her, circuitry spread over his cheeks and even his eyeballs. "You are not a traitor, my brother," she hissed through her teeth. "Your soul has fled here and is blameless. But your body acts in service to the enemies of the Republic!" Corona pushed free of the drone, reaching behind her and picking up a fragment of her cockpit door. She swung it in an upward arc, turning the metal on its edge to cut through the drone's arm.

[Thevshi]

Aboard the crippled Communion ship

Corona's attack smashed apart the Communion infected Lor that stood before her, what was left collapsing to the ground in a heap. The other Communion pushed their way through the gaps in the Nomad's hull, but stopped a bit short of the Lor officer, their dark eyes regarding her as a loud, high pitched keening reverberated through the Nomad and then forming into words…

On the operative Communion ship

Galvanic's attack smashed through the door blocking her path, shattering the center and reveling the hallway continuing on beyond. Another pair of the Communion drones stood in her path, moving forward. But suddenly they stopped, regarding the Tempestian a moment, even as more emerged from other doorways further down the hallway. A loud, high pitched keening filled the hallway, then, it formed into speech, seeming to come from each of the drones before Galvanic, and none of them, all at once….



"YOU ARE NOT OF US."

"THERE IS A SECRET SONG TO THE UNIVERSE, IN THE SOLUTION OF DARK MATTER. IN THE STATIC OF RADIATION FROM A COLLAPSED STAR. IT SINGS THE SECRETS OF EXISTANCE, AND YOU ARE DEAF TO IT. WE HEAR IT. WE HEAR ALL. WE ARE THE COMMUNION."

"JOIN US, AND BECOME REFASHIONED TO A GREATER PURPOSE."

[souffle_girl]

All of Emily's armor systems went haywire when the drone unexpectedly discharged the static attack.

 

"No, no, no! Don't die on me, don't you dare!" she screamed, frantically routing power back to the systems through her backup manual commands. A trail af sweat started to form on her face, uncomfortably close to the creature's cold eyes, and she wondered if her armor was going to become her coffin.

 

Just then, a punch torn the thing away from her and all her systems powered up again. She let out a sigh.

 

"Thank you Mem. I though I was a goner, there..." she pulled herself together and stared around.

 

"Hey, you called me Em. And your friend. That's nice! Head the way. I'll stay in the back... guarding this scum. They might be fighting the Communion now, but that doesn't mean they couldn't stab us in the back as soon as we're not looking. I think I can see them ogling my battlesuit already."

[Ecalsneerg]

"<Greater. Purpose.>" Galvanic nearly spat. "<Look at the stars. Look at them, all those whirling unpredictable star systems, all those clouds of dust, and the civilisations. So many people, so many languages, so many lifeforms. So many. And you think a greater purpose is wiping them out to replace with a homogeneous mass of robots?" She didn't know if they spoke Tempestian. She didn't care.

 

The alien just took aim at where she'd sensed the reactor. Enough stalling. Enough talk. She lapsed into Galstandard again. "So many lifes endedlost. Not today. No." Lightning was whirling around her, blue lights crackling and blazing through her veins and her skin, leaping out of her pores and into the air, spiraling from circuitry in the walls and into her veins, lightning coroscating hither and thither. She lifted one hand towards her destination, and let it all explode forth from her, a blinding bolt of electricity, so much energy packed into it that the air itself around the blast broiled and recoiled as if in pain. 

[Raveled]

Corona sneered at the Drone and its booming voice. "I don't need to be refashioned to have 'great purpose,'" she said. "I have a purpose. I'll protect the entire galaxy from people like you!" She surged forward, cosmic power rushing through her frame. In an instant she slammed against the Drone, easily lifting it above her head. "Now go ahead and die like a good little space plague, why don't you?" She charged the Drone with her cosmic energy and tossed it at the other one, the pair colliding in a fantastic explosion that filled the shuttlecraft with golden light.

[Thevshi]

Aboard the Aphelion

Mechanized and Memorial move along the main hallway with their temporary pirate allies, arriving at the Aphelion's engineering section to find four more of the Communion antibodies battling another boarding party of pirates and a number of the Aphelion's crew. The pirates and the crew appear to have been on the worse end of the exchange, with six pirates and four crew down, while the antibodies appeared unharmed.

The insectoid pirate that had been leading the boarding party the two heroes had initially been fighting rushed forward, swinging his sword around to try to strike at one of the antibodies that had just felled one of the pirates. The Communion foot soldier was prepared for the attack however, easily dodging aside as it turned to face the pirate.

Meanwhile, four of the other pirates not weighed down with their fallen comrades, or the ones already present in the engineering section all opened fire on one of the other Communion antibodies. Of the four, three managed to land hits on the antibody, but its metallic hide proved up to the task, as it shook off all three blasts with seemingly little effect.

In space near the Aphelion

The two remaining needle fighters arched around the pirate flagship, arching back towards the two active pirate interceptors as they crackled with green energy along the slender pikes on their forward hulls. Two blasts of green energy streaked through the void, with one of the interceptors banking at just the right moment to avoid the attack. The other however was too slow to completely avoid the blast, banking slightly but catching the blast across its left wing. However the pilot had maneuvered just enough that the blast was a glancing one, not delivering its full power in the impact, and the interceptor’s armor was able to withstand the hit.

The pirate of the interceptor that had been hit then executed a sharp reverse, bringing his ship back around towards his attacker even as the needle ship tried to speed past to safety. Beams of energy shot forth from the interceptor, striking the Communion fighter squarely and vaporizing it into a brief cloud of silver debris. The other interceptor meanwhile fired at its attacker, failing to land a hit.

Aboard the operative Communion ship

The lightning storm that Galvanic summoned up arched forward toward the power source she had detected, striking the two Communion directly in front of her as it went vaporizing both instantly. As it arched down the hallway, it blasted through walls and doorways, destroying several more of the antibodies as it went. Toward the end of its path, it pierced through heavy walls, finding the main reactor. The powerful blast stripped away much of the heavy shielding on the reactor, and managed to cause some damage to it, but it was still operational, providing power to the ship.

Aboard the damaged Communion ship

Corona easily grasped one of the antibodies, which was unable to resist her great strength, and soon was flying towards its comrade as a makeshift missile. The two antibodies collided with tremendous force, one breaking apart and collapsing to the ground. The other however appeared little damaged by the attack, its cold eyes remaining focused on the Lor officer.

[souffle_girl]

As the pirates' shots all bouced harmlessly over the drone's skin, a single powerful Force Cannon blast blew its head right off.

 

"That's how it's done!" smirked Emily, her armored frame rushing into battle with renewed vigor. "Come on, mighty Communion, where's your legendary strength? How are you going to conquer an empire if you can't even take down a single girl?"

 

She knew she was bragging, but it felt good; it helped fend off the fear. And it was true that none of the drones had managed to do more than just bruise her.

[horngeek]

"Or two."

 

Memorial simply flew forwards, her earlier moments of anger replaced by a cold rage.  Two drones to go- here, at least.  She'd need to head out to space pretty soon to take care of the remaining drones, most likely.  "But for now..."

 

She grabbed the face of one of the two remaining drones on the Aphelion, her palm glowing for a moment before she discharged her laser directly into its head.  Letting the remains drop, she spoke up.  "Okay, everyone, focus fire on the drone on the left, I'll take care of the last one!  Now!"

Edited January 16, 2015 by horngeek

[Thevshi]

Aboard the Aphelion

The two remaining Communion turn suddenly, their cold eyes focusing on Mechanized and Memorial, who had just cut their numbers in half. With sudden speed, the two launched themselves at the women, slashing out with their wicked claws. This time they attacked with a bit more abandoned than had the previous Communion they had fought, and the tactic seemed to work, as both scored solid hits.

The two hulking pirates closed with the Communion that had attacked Mechanized, swinging their massive fists at the thing. One of the two missed with its swing, but the second connected with a powerful blow that shattered the Communion's torso into shards of silver metal, as the remains collapsed motionlessly to the deck.

The insectoid pirate leapt over near Memorial, swinging its sword around at the Communion that had attacked her, but the blade whistled past harmlessly as the antibody ducked easily under the attack.

With no open shot at the last Communion, the other pirates held their fire, their blasters raised for any opening that might present itself.

Aboard the damaged Communion vessel

Even as one of the Communion went down under Corona's continued attack, the other was quickly moving to follow up. Its long claws slashed out ahead of it, catching the Lor officer across one shoulder.

The entire vessel shook, as the larger pirate ships continued to fire on it, blasting away large sections of the outer hull in the process.

Aboard the second Communion vessel

Even as the Communion vessel seemed to recoil under the Tempestian's powerful assault, the voice boomed loud once more.

YOU WILL COMMUNE!

As it did, Galvanic felt some force reaching out toward her mind, trying to seize control and batter aside her will.

Out in the depths of space

The last remaining Communion needle ship spun gracefully away from the missed attack, moving up behind the already damaged pirate interceptor before the green energy lanced out at the pirate fighter. The blast struck true, hitting the interceptor back near its power core, rupturing the already damaged hull and detonating the core. The interceptor vanished in a bright explosion, debris send in all directions as the needle fighter flew past.

The sole pirate interceptor in operation tired to follow behind, firing at the needle fighter as it banked back around the Aphelion, but the shots missed their mark even as the Communion fighter arched back around to try to deal with the last pirate interceptor.

[Ecalsneerg]

Galvanic gritted her teeth, sparks dancing up and down the enamel. The Communion was in her head oh god they were in her head what was she going to.

 

But she'd got this far. She'd flown through their fighter ships. Smashed into one of their cruisers. Fought through it, and had beaten to the reactor. They'd not beaten her. If anything, it'd been the other way around. She'd bloodied them.

 

"Will," she snarled, raising her arm to the gaping, ruinous hole in the ship she'd created. "Not." She let a jolt of lightning cascade down her arm, bouncing down the 'corridor' to detonate against the already-damaged reactor. "Commune."

 

She felt the pressure in her mind lessen, and looked at what she'd done. The reactor... looked quite unstable. Coat tails whipping and whirling, without turning back, she started flying back the way she'd came. Perhaps she'd be lucky and the ship would just fail, instead of unstably detonating or collapsing in on itself or however these ships were powered.

[Raveled]

Corona grunted as the drone's attack drove her back a few inches. She felt the pain through the protection of her hardsuit, and could just imagine the bruises forming underneath it all. She didn't hesitate, though, punching forward and embedding her fist in the drone's chest. "If that router that you replaced your brain with is still transmitting," she hissed, "make sure you transmit exactly what I'm doing to you." Her aura grew brighter and brighter, red-gold light painting the inside of the crashed shuttle as she let her anger grow. "If it takes the rest of my life, I'm going to hunt down every last one of you soulless husks and tear you apart limb from limb, just like --" She cut herself off, as the golden light began shining from within the Communion drone. All of a sudden, the poor creature fairly exploded in a burst of cosmic radiation, vaporized from within; Corona stared for a moment, open-mouthed, before the cruiser shook around her and reminded her where she was.

The Lor officer stumbled out of the shuttle and into the corridors of the Communion cruiser itself. The walls stretched out of sight, and she couldn't see anything like an airlock. Rather than search, though, she concentrated her power into a finger-thin line and cut herself an opening. She flew out into space and started putting some distance between herself and the Communion ship.

[souffle_girl]

Emily didn't expect such a direct attack, and she was still aiming her next shot when the mechanical monster jumped at her. Wicked metal claws found an opening in her armor and dug deep, sparks flying and alarms bleeping, before Mechanized's armored fist fell on the attacker like a hammer, tearing it away. The creature, however, immediately stood up, undamaged.

 

"Ugh. I actually felt that. So you can fight, after all! Computer, reroute power to melee systems. Come on, try again now, you cheap Borg rip-off!" she called, readying herself for the next attack.

[Thevshi]

Aboard the Aphelion

While Mechanized was able to shake off the powerful attack from one of the Communion drones, Memorial was not quite as lucky. The heroine was sent stumbling back a few steps from the brutal hit, even as Mechanized moved up to engage the last Communion on the merchant vessel. But while the Earth woman managed to land a solid hit, the drone managed to shake it off with seeming little effect.

The two large pirates moved forward towards this last drone, following after Mechanized, swinging their large meaty fists as they arrived. But the Communion drone was ready for their clumsy attacks, dodging both fluid movements.

The insectoid pirate moved back into range, swinging its sharp sword as it drew near. It also scored a solid hit on the drone, but once again the last Communion refused to succumb, remaining on its feet and apparently uninjured.

Out in space

The last needle ship looped back around the Aphelion, coming back after the last pirate interceptor as it did so. The Communion fighter’s green energy beams lit up the darkness, managing to score a hit on the pirate fighter, but interceptors shields and sturdy hull held up to the assault with minimal effect. The pirate piloting the fighter banked hard, causing the needle ship to overshoot his fighter. As the Communion fighter passed, the pirate pilot veered back into a path to follow the needle ship, turning with it as he struggled to line up a shot.

The needle fighter tried to evade, but the pirate interceptor stayed right after it, banking and climbing in perfect unison. Then, suddenly, the pilot managed to line up his shot, pulling the trigger as he did so. The beams of energy from the interceptor streaked through space, striking the needle ship and reducing it to a flash of light and a small silver cloud of debris as it exploded.

Galvanic emerged back out of the large Communion vessel, following the path she had made coming into the vessel, even as the energy cascade she had triggered caused the ship’s core to detonate. In an almost blinding flash, the Communion vessel blew appearing as the core exploded. The back half of the ship was completely gone, but the damage was severe enough that the remaining portion of the vessel was blasted apart into a number of sections of debris.

Corona similarly managed to make her way out of the Communion ship she had disabled just before it exploded. Only this time the final destruction of the Communion ship was caused by the fire of two of the pirate cruisers. The third cruiser, which had clearly been hit by some of the Communion needle fighters, was listing slightly to one side.

[souffle_girl]

Mechanized was starting to feel tired, bet she couldn't let it get to her. Not when they were so close to victory!

 

"Time to end this!" she screamed, and launched herself at the last standing drone. A punch in the chest, and the monster went down lie a rag doll under the force of Emily's armored fist.

 

"There. Someone else wants a fight?" Emily scanned the room for more antibodies, then gave a hard stare at the pirates to see if any of them was going to try anything.

 

She walked over to Memorial, and offered her a hand. "Everything alright, Mem?"

[Thevshi]

Aboard the Aphelion

With one last burst of effort, Mechanized managed to put down the last of the Communion antibodies, the engine room falling strangely quiet for the moment.

"I…I will be alright." Memorial replied to the Earth woman as she stood back up, shaking off the effect of the attack from the antibody.

Around the two women, the various pirates tensed slightly at Mechanized's aggressive comments. Even though they did not understand her, it was not hard to get the basic message from her tone and glare. But even as the pirate foot soldiers tightened their grips on their energy weapons and the two hulking pirates tensed up, the insectoid pirate with the sword stepped forward, shouting something to the other pirates that neither Mechanized nor Memorial could understand.

He then turned back to the two women, as Memorial translated his words for Mechanized. "The threat is *tick* over here. We *tick* will be departing now. It *tick* was a privilege to fight beside you both."

The pirate gave them a small bow, then started directing the others out of the engine room and back toward their shuttles. The pirates left without much comment, many carrying injured comrades with them.

Soon it was just Memorial and Mechanized with the handful of engineers for the merchant ship.

Out in space

As the two Communion cruisers came to sudden ends, breaking apart in two separate explosions, Corona and Galvanic soon found each other out in the cold void. The pirate flagship and one of the smaller pirate ships were still off a short distance from the Apheilon, but their guns now stopped firing with the Communion ships gone.

The second smaller pirate ship was still listing slightly, before it suddenly exploded, taking the Communion that had boarded it along with it.

As the flash of the explosion died down, Corona and Galvanic could see the pirate shuttles that had boarded the Apheilon returning to the pirate flagship.