"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
3-02: Sacrificial Victory
Rated:
R
On
patrol station, Horatio Gamma system, 19 May 2740
The
SLS Bahumat
The battlewagon was at the spearhead of the small task force as it
hurtled through space towards the hostile invader.
Hopefully a lethal spear, thought Sailor Cygni grimly, leaning forward in
her chair. "Split on my mark,
ready all TPA's for a crossfire; let's get to whites of their eyes range."
Sailor Cygni paused, and glanced at Sailor Ryujin, who was strapped in
the TPA. "You ready?" she
asked quietly.
Sailor Ryujin nodded, a smirk on her face.
"You betcha."
Sailor Cygni straightened and spun.
"Mark! Come to port,
heading zero five zero mark sixty-two! When
in range, turn in, and open fire with the TPA."
At this point, every ship in the fleet abruptly separated and traveled on
a different orbital plane, climbing, diving, or arcing to left or right; they
appeared as a firework in the night sky, except the ends were all arcing to the
same point.
"All ships, set blasters to point D.
Their torpedoes should be vulnerable to it, and we certainly don't want
to experience the effects of them. All
science departments find out everything they can; we need all we can learn about
them!" Sailor Cygni uncrossed
her legs, planting both feet on the deck. "Stand
by to fire..."
The
Unknown Ship
The massive shape took little note of the ships now spreading about them.
Like gnats, they could do little to bother them.
They were of no concern. They...
A message shot across space-time, and the big ship slowed slightly. One of their brethren, crippled?
How...?
Could these little gnats really harm such as them?
Where they, perhaps, mosquitoes, instead?
The ship abruptly found out, shuddering with the impacts...
The
SLS Bahumat
"Yes!" hissed Sailor Cygni, pumping her fist.
"Hard to starboard; unleash all weapons and fire!"
On the screen in front of her, the big enemy ship had slowed
tremendously, and physical damage was evident on their hull.
From all over, ships whipped about, and streams of red and white
torpedoes, and the occasional bright orange beam, slammed into the invader.
Crackling areas of darkness reflected the Ghost torpedo impacts; fiery
holes marked Phoenix impacts and the death rays; massive clouds of debris and
plasma streamed from the wounds.
"Target all weapon systems, first priority!" called Sailor
Cygni. She balled her fists.
The damage was registering, but...
...but the ship was so damn big!
"They're retaliating!" called Wizard Orien.
"Their beam weapons are charging!"
"Evasive action," snapped Sailor Cygni automatically. "Derrelli, TPA!"
Even as Sailor Ryujin struggled out of the TPA, catching her breath from
the drain, greenish-yellow lightning streaked for the battlewagon.
The next thing anyone knew, the bridge heaved, and a wave of flame swept
them, in time with a loud roar and showers of sparks.
The
SLS Unicorn
"By the Crystal," gasped Captain Shelia Thompson, staring as
the Bahumat fell aside, energy rippling down the battlewagon's flank.
Engines flickered momentarily; hull scorching was visible.
Shelia shuddered. "Target
all weapons batteries! All ahead
flank, sublight! Scatter shot,
pattern Thompson Phi!"
The Unicorn's fusion impellers glowed fiercely as the cruiser
leapt to the fore, giving the battleship time to recover.
The proton cannon buried deep in the nose of the cruiser suddenly
erupted, a massive orange beam streaking towards the primary generator near the
enemy's bow...
The impact caused a massive fireball, and more plasma drifted from the
ship.
Golden torpedoes began to fly out.
Bright yellow beams began to intersect them, detonating them prematurely.
A large quantity of the torpedoes were destroyed in the detonations of
the foremost torpedoes. Most of the
RSN ships were able to destroy the torpedoes targeted on them.
All but two, that is.
A destroyer exploded instantly as a sphere erupted about it; it consumed
a large chunk of the ship, and the core breach that resulted took care of the
rest.
And the light cruiser SLS Hyena detonated the last torpedo close
aboard; the sphere shredded a large portion of the lower hull, exposing quite a
bit of the starship's innards to the empty hostility of space. Smaller explosions rippled through the crystalline ship from
shock and backlash; power flickered off, and the ship fell aside, spinning
slightly as a large portion of the maneuvering thrusters were destroyed.
The
SLS Hyena
The bridge was black, backlit slightly by showering sparks and small
fires, barely contained by emergency force fields.
A piece of debris heaved slightly, and a fit of coughing burst into the
silence of the devastation. The
debris was shoved aside, and a figure wearing a charred RSN uniform in the white
of command and the rank insignia of a lieutenant struggled to his feet.
Blood streamed down his cheek; burns decorated his skin.
His uniform was torn and charred in several places; and his dark hair was
unkempt. He turned bloodshot blue
eyes about him.
Bodies.
His captain, the first officer, everyone else on the bridge... they all
sure as hell looked dead. He
staggered over to the only blinking console, at the comm station; blood coated
it, and as he looked at the comm officer, he realized her gash was across her
face, and she wasn't breathing.
"Hyena?" he asked, coughing with the effort, shoving her
unceremoniously out of her chair. His
eyes were drawn to words suddenly flickering across the comm console.
<Voice
system down. Text capability only.
_ >
"Can you scan?" he managed.
"Is anyone else but me alive? How's
the ship?"
<Affirmative.
All bridge crew except yourself, including the chief engineer, deceased.
Ship on emergency power; emergency comms available.
All major systems down. _
>
"So... what you're telling me is... I'm in command?" he asked
incredulously.
<Affirmative.
_ >
"Shit," he whispered. "Bridge
to Engineering."
There was a pause before a scratchy reply came through.
"Here, bridge," someone gasped; the voice sounded furry and
feminine.
The Isbanni ensign? The
newest member of the crew? Was she
all that was left up there?
"Report," he managed; his mouth was dry.
"Well, there are about five of us left here; most systems offline. We're working to get some sensors back up here shortly; I
think we're hosed on shields, sublight engines, and weapons."
The voice paused for a hacking cough.
"We've got some sort of leak, but we can't evacuate; the doors are
sealed, and we're not sure how."
"We're a sitting duck," he whispered.
He started as the viewscreens crackled back on.
The views were ravaged with static, but he could clearly see the beastly
ship that had done this to them. He
raised his voice. "Copy.
I'll try to get someone to help with the doors."
Assuming I can reach anyone else, that is, he thought grimly.
"What about the engines?"
"All Fusion Impellers offline; status unknown.
RIFT damaged, but repairable; should be usable in a few minutes.
Confirming now... weapons systems and shields wrecked via energy
backlash. Most thrusters sustained
damage; there should be just enough left to stabilize the ship."
He sat for a moment, thinking. "Hyena,
what is the casualty count?"
<87%
crew casualty rate; 5% injured. _ >
His shoulders slumped. The
ship couldn't even operate under normal parameters with that little crew!
And the Hyena had drifted to a point under the intruder, away from
allied help...
He looked back up, a cold glint in his eye.
"Hyena, reroute all command functions to this console.
Engineering, do we still have weapons targeting?"
"Yes," came the weary reply.
"Good. Give me what
thrusters you have; fix the RIFT drive. That's
now your first priority. Call me
back when it's done," he ordered.
"Be a few minutes," the female voice responded.
"Engineering out."
He activated the remaining thrusters as soon as Hyena finished ordering
the console; he righted he ship into a nose up orientation.
The
SLS Bahumat
"Shit!" gasped Derrelli; he blinked, his head spinning
slightly; one arm wrapped around the TPA console.
He finished climbing in.
"Is everyone okay?" asked Sailor Cygni, slowly standing. "Damage report!"
"Mostly shock damage," replied Neo.
"Five casualties; a score of injuries serious enough to warrant
immediate attention."
"Get sickbay on it," Sailor Cygni ordered, helping Sailor
Ryujin to her feet. The surfer girl
still bled slightly from a cut above her eyes.
Even as the pair stood, power flickered back on; the few spark showers
were abruptly terminated as Neo rerouted power.
"Shields layer two at 56%," reported Orien.
"Weapons coming back online; TPA and torpedo bays ready now."
"Fire at will, same targeting parameters," Sailor Cygni said.
"And the damaged systems?"
Neo answered. "Mostly
repaired by now; we have a good group of engineers."
Sailor Cygni grinned. "I
know. Fleet status?"
"The Einstein is gone; the Hyena is badly damaged, and
adrift under the enemy ship," reported comm.
"Captain!" called Duke, waving at screen one.
"They're firing again!" called Orien.
On screen one, the lightning again burst forth; three separate torrents
slammed into the Unicorn and two other light cruisers. Even as the attacks terminated, white and red torpedoes
struck and blew gaping holes into the offending lightning generators; but it was
another case of too little, too late. Generators
facing away from the Bahumat's targeting also fired, ripping harshly into
the GM fleet.
"Mother of Serenity," Sailor Cygni swore.
"Fleet status?"
"Widespread damage to most ships," Neo answered.
"This isn't looking good; they have more weapons ports than we can
destroy efficiently; they'll win in the end."
"Not if I can help it," snarled Derrelli, an aura of fire
arising around him. "Annihilation!"
A massive firestorm roared over the surface of the intruder, ravaging the
upper half. Derrelli relaxed,
slumping back in the console.
"All right!" cheered Orien.
"Go, Pyro! All of their
dorsal weapons systems are now offline; roughly half won't be coming online any
time soon!"
"Sweet," grinned Duke. "My
turn!"
As Derrelli and Duke swapped in the TPA console, Sailor Cygni turned to
comm. "Signal all ships to
move to the dorsal face of that ship!"
"More torpedoes from below; and every damned one is targeted on
us!" Orien shouted suddenly; screen three showed a stream of golden
torpedoes blazing right for them.
"Evasive action! Point
defense!" Sailor Cygni ordered, rapidly seating herself.
"They're proximity set!" Orien called at the last second, even
as the Bahumat slewed up and to the side.
Golden energy spheres burst beneath them as a virtual wall of blaster
fire streaked out.
Shockwaves ruthlessly pummeled the battleship.
The majority of the fleet was helpless; and the fight was not going well.
Sailor Cygni, holding on for all she was worth, sighed.
It appeared Neo was right; the enemy was simply too much for their little
fleet to handle.
And they were not to sacrifice themselves needlessly.
Direct orders. She hated
even thinking about retreating, but...
She sighed, resolutely preparing to run away... if they could.
The
SLS Hyena
Time crept. Eternity never
felt so long. Rage and anger
swelled within the lone occupant of the bridge of the ravaged Starship Hyena.
He glared hatefully at the screens, at the damage being inflicted on the
GM fleet.
Oh, I don't fucking THINK so! he thought in a furious rage. You assholes
are not getting away with this!
"Engineering to bridge! RIFT
engines online!" came the words he'd been waiting to hear.
"'Bout time," he growled.
"The leak is getting worse, sir," the voice added next.
He sighed. "There's no
one to help you; roughly ninety percent of the crew is dead, and we're in a bad
way. Our fleet is also getting
ruthlessly pummeled."
There was a long pause. Finally,
a voice replied.
"Understood, sir. We
know what you're going to do. Give
'em hell, sir. Engineering
out."
He sat for a moment longer in the silence, and then his fingers began to
dance over the console. "For
the Golden Millennium," he snarled. "For
Serenity!"
Red brackets overlaid the points on the hull leading to the enemy's main
reactor. Vectors were displayed;
the course was plotted; the RIFT drive percentage exceeded one hundred.
"For us!" he hissed victoriously, slamming his hand on the
panel.
An audible whine built as the RIFT engines charged.
The
SLS Bahumat
"Get me the fleet-" Sailor Cygni began.
"Screen five!" called Sailor Ryujin, fingers moving over her
armrest controls as her left hand was held over her cut.
The screen abruptly shifted to show the crippled Hyena's RIFT
engines engaging.
"They don't have a clear path!" exclaimed Orien.
"They're not looking for one," Derrelli said softly, eyes
widening in realization.
The Hyena glared blindingly white; the white spiral appeared as
the light cruiser turned into a white streak... that abruptly terminated into
the side of the intruder.
The big, brutish ship was slammed upwards from the force of the FTL
impact. Its hull crumpled along the
impact path; the rending went straight to the heart of the ship. Plasma and debris shot in all directions, and the massive
vessel spiraled upwards and out of control.
Energy rippled over the hull; small explosions began marching inexorably
around it. The blue glow faded from
the engine spires; massive cracks and rifts spread from the point of impact-
-"Get the fleet out of here!" ordered Sailor Cygni.
"Any heading, RIFT, all ahead flank!"-
And even as every surviving RSN starship bucked and turned, spiraling
into white flashes, a few jointly traveling via tractor beams, a massive
explosion utterly annihilated the aft end of the intruder, spreading rapidly to
consume the whole vessel.
A final explosion and shockwave marked the death of the invading ship.
Somewhere
in the Zerm Alliance, 19 May 2740
The big ship slowed to a stop. The
wreckage of several dozen Zerm starships dotted the space around it.
Its current target was a Zerm colony world.
But now there were only two of them.
Minutes after the abrupt cessation of contact from the ship assigned to
the measly GM, the crippled ship in the midst of the DK had just dropped off the
net.
Somehow, the local races had just managed to destroy two of their number.
A message blasted from the now immobile behemoth, directed out past the
galactic edge.
It was one of two.
Somewhere
in the Holy Droylian Empire, 19 May 2740
The bulk of the invading ship turned around.
It heeded the reply, as did its brother ship in the midst of the ZA.
Both ships' blue engine spires flared brilliantly, and they stretched
into FTL travel.
The four races would have a reprieve, for now... at least until what
danger the nuisances presented were thoroughly assessed.
But they would return.
Approaching
Lunar Expanse, Sol system, 27 May 2740
White flashes marked L-point as a beat-up fleet exited FTL travel and
slowed to approach vectors for the massive shipyard complex.
Of the fleet, three ships had died; five were being towed by their
fellows, and all of the remaining fourteen ships were uniformly damaged, with
hull scorching and flickering holes marking each ship.
No one had escaped unscathed; none had intact crews.
The
SLS Bahumat
"Request permission to dock," ordered Sailor Cygni wearily.
Of her little fleet, the Bahumat was the least damaged, and the
most repaired. Part of that were
the upgrades that were even now becoming standard, being applied to all the
ships currently occupying drydocks. Another
part was the Bahumat's bulk and resources.
The biggest part, she figured, was Derrelli and his well-trained
engineering corps.
One of the other destroyers had been ravaged by the shockwaves from the
blast; it had been abandoned and destroyed, since there really hadn't even been
enough to salvage.
If it hadn't been for the Hyena's valiant sacrifice, it was
entirely likely not a one of them would have survived.
"Permission granted via dockmaster," replied comm, glancing
about. The bridge still reeked of
fried ozone, fire, and smoke. Several
char marks had yet to be removed, and several consoles were missing, currently
under repair by engineering.
Sailor Cygni leaned back.
"Not a whole lot of fun, getting our asses kicked, is it?"
Sailor Ryujin asked sourly.
Sailor Cygni glanced at her. She
and Sailor Ryujin were the only primary crewmembers on the bridge at the moment,
for most were on their sleep cycles and Derrelli was working like a maniac.
"No, it isn't," she replied.
The Bahumat's forward motion slowed as the helm allowed the
shipyard's tractor beams to maneuver them into position for umbilical connects.
"I suppose we ought to be grateful that the other ships retreated
after we and the DK managed to kill one each."
"Grateful to the DK?" Sailor Ryujin asked, a slight smirk
forming.
Sailor Cygni turned a serious look upon her first officer.
"Mark my words. Sooner
or later we're all going to have to team up to rid ourselves of this
menace."
"That's crazy," Sailor Ryujin said flatly.
"They'd never team up with us."
"Desperate times, desperate measures," Sailor Cygni shrugged.
"Docked," reported ops.
"Power down to umbilical standard," Sailor Cygni ordered. "Docking complete."
"Time to face the music," Sailor Ryujin muttered.
"Fuckin' joy."
Sailor Cygni merely nodded.
Crystal
Palace in Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, 28 May 2740
"So," Neo-Queen Serenity I said, turning from the windows
overlooking the Palace gardens. "This
situation is perhaps more serious than it seems."
"Yeah, I'd have to agree, your Majesty," Sailor Cygni nodded.
Twelve hours of mostly sleep had certainly been a blessing for her and
Derrelli. "We seriously need
to find out a weakness, and fast. They
won't hold back for long. Once they
adjust their tactics to deal with suiciding starships, they'll be back."
It had been a curious duality, in that the DK had vanquished the
marauding starship threatening them in a similar fashion to the way the GM had.
"Amy?" Serenity asked.
Sailor Mercury rubbed her eyes. "Too
early for concrete conclusions... but I'd say the best chance we have is their
own torpedoes."
"Oh?" blinked Sailor Cygni.
Sailor Mercury nodded, as everyone's attention focused on her. The room was full; half the Planetaries were present, with
all three advisors and all the Royals. The
starship commanders involved in the incident filled the rest of the seats.
"I think we may be able to duplicate and improve those
torpedoes," Sailor Mercury said. "Until
then, we have a tactic we can use on them.
You see, due to the nature of those torpedoes, any impact sets off their
natural function- that sphere of golden energy.
It's actually comprised of a unique composite radiation, one we ourselves
only recently discovered. It's
called auric radiation. Its range
is very short, unlike typical radiation varieties; but within that range it
vaporizes all matter. A Ghost
torpedo will wreck the effect, but that's rather wasteful.
At any rate, if those torpedoes are detonated just after leaving the
bays..."
"Ouch," winced Shelia. "Yeah,
that might be useful."
"It just requires a degree of precision," Sailor Mercury
nodded. "And hopefully that
will suffice until we can come up with something better."
"No problem," put in another captain.
"We'll just use fighters; they're perfect for that, and we saw no
sign of point defense."
"There's just one problem," Sailor Ryujin said.
"What's that?" asked Artemis.
"That was just one ship," Sailor Ryujin continued slowly. "And I doubt they'll send just one at us anymore."
"That, and that energy weapon of theirs still packs a punch,"
Sailor Cygni added.
"Well, we're also rushing the upgrades," Sailor Neptune put in.
"They certainly helped the Bahumat."
"Well, we will have give Amy time to come up with some solution, and
allow the engineers to repair the damaged ships," Serenity broke in; it was
time to end the briefing. "All
stations are on the alert, and our fleet is mustering.
Border trouble is hardly a concern, now; the usual troublemakers were
hurt worse than we were. So, relax
while you can; you did very well with as little time as you had to prepare.
Dismissed."
As the briefing broke up, Sailor Cygni and Sailor Ryujin stepped out
together. To Sailor Cygni's
pleasure, Derrelli was waiting for her.
Sailor Ryujin grinned as the two embraced tightly.
"Enjoy your physical activities, you two," she snickered. "I know I will. I'm
gonna catch a few waves whilst you two are making them."
Sailor Cygni had the good grace to blush as Derrelli grinned widely.