~ the Decibel drifts over Gaea ~
Mixing batter for more cookies, Auto freezes as the ship echoes a deep thump from impact, setting it to drift.
Comm
- "Temple ship 'Decibel'. This is the Tartari ship 'Revenge'. We
know who you are, robot. And with no life signs present we see ... all alone. ... What are you doing ?"...
Auto - "... sneaking ... ?"
...
Comm - "Understood. For Clytemnestra's flagship. For her. And for our home. Prepare."
...
Auto - "Okay."
________
____
The
Decibel begins exuding a gas from its surface, as particle shields.
Similar to countermeasures but ongoing, causing detonation before impact
while the cloud's refractive particles disperse beams.
Electromagnetically
close to the surface, but does leave a comet's trail depending on
velocity. On porting in, the refracting particles are singed in to
black smoke filling in by the refracting beneath.
When
struck, the field compensates around the detonation the
counter-magnetism, pushing the ship away according to strength of
impact. As it's burned through the effect is lesser and lesser until
gone.
Depends
on how much particle the emitters are holding, and the ship's ability
to maintain the electromagnetic field that holds them.
____
The
Revenge's hull is a layers steel of the same sort as the rest of their
technology, that taken from these asteroids and the planet it once was.
Iron an nickel, stainless steel singed with time and port, but these
stealth cruisers are different, matte black and silent running.
The
engines deep withing their hull to conceal their light and vented
throughout the cooled hull to leave no heat. The outer surface is
layers of mesh forged over hard bulkhead, then mesh, then metal.
Nearly
impossible to break or blast through, these ships have no shields,
while the outer mesh dissuades sensors or sight in space, but any high
velocity entry into atmosphere becomes more conspicuous.
____
____
________
('Laydown' by Prince and the NPG)
Commander - Watching Decibel launch a homing barrage from their bridge view-port, "I really do hate that robot. Let's kill him. Finally."
(The bridge shakes with the missile hits)
Bridge agrees.
~ Inside the Decibel, an excess of processing servers begin a progressive hum, drives slightly shaking (like four clothes dryers drying bowling balls, rattling around the back-room).
Data officer - "Sir !"
Decibel glides to speed, jumping away just before the Revenge's bridge, cracking the fore view-port in hard decompression. Along one gunwale, cannons flip out from opening hull panels, then back along the other, all seeking target (they seem used to his strategy).
~ Auto stirs the batter and checks recipe, a spark from the cable at the back of his head, following it to the rattling processors, a completely different planet out the view-ports with weird glowey jellyfish giants around it. The planet unfurls into a beast to eat one as the rest scatter.
The Decibel arcs out of jump circling for 'Revenge', all quiet.
~ Auto stops stirring ...
Inside The Revenge, the captain and second watch Decibel's seeking drift. The room dark, crew in goggles, watching, consoles dark. He whispers to the second, the second turning away.
~ Auto starts stirring again slowly, eyes side to side ... the sensor console runs through flashes of sensor read protocols.
Feet fox walking quickly but quietly ... the second enters the gunnery chamber and pulls a comm tube from the wall. He exhales ... thumbs the switch.
~ Auto stops stirring, processors rattling ...
Second - Quickly into comm, "Fore twenty-one starboard up sixteen, fire."
~ Fast to the empty cockpit, the jump console runs the final numbers on screen, the stars streak.
Cannons flip at the fore and open on coordinates, correcting by sight-line, before it jump crashes them again at the fore, cannons facing knocked off into the nearing atmosphere.
It immediately exits jump at the aft, the gravitational vacuum dragging Revenge's tail.
~ He adds chocolate chips.
The Decibel spirals out from behind it, crossing the cannon fire in while warming another approach. Then directly to the aft and out the fore, dragging Revenge toward the upper atmosphere.
From the Revenge view port, turning to atmosphere as the auto-pilot deploys a blind of countermeasures against the lining cannon-fire before a hard zero degree burn to the planet, diving below view.
Captain - "Forgive the stealth protocols. We go full burn. ... I may miss him."
~ Auto applies the cookie cutters (dinosaur shapes).
Inside Revenge, the roar of engines and twisting hull as replacement cannons are moved to replacement on the closed gunwale panels. Through the center of the work, valve workers furiously control intake and output overloads around the central horizontal core, outputs to the hull.
________
At a makeshift camp in a grown part of the woods, undamaged, Orestes with Selene tending. Her bot alarms an approach, she spins into assault, the man from the pub.
Brotherhood - "Temple son."
Orestes - ... "Orestes."
Brotherhood - "Yes. I've heard. We wanted to know." Eyes in the woods ... "What do they tell you ? About our lost planet. Whose pieces we mine. What do they say." He stares, maintaining control through adrenaline.
Orestes - "That it was your home. That you drilled too deep."
Brotherhood - "Drilled too deep."
Orestes - "And now you ... mine the pieces ... to make weapons."
Brotherhood - Eyes sharp and piercing in stare, a madness in a short smile, "Weapons, yeah."
Motion in the woods.
...
Orestes - "That's ... what they say."
The newly forged gunblade sticks in the ground at his feet.
Brotherhood - "They lied to you, temple. We'd wondered. All of us, we'd wondered ... if it was true."
Others behind him, gathering, looking on with the same look.
Brotherhood - "That they just ... lied to you all and ... you all believed them. It's what our Queen says." He looks over shoulder to his brothers and sisters, then back. "And our war leader but we're not acolytes. We're a people."
He looks around, then back.
Brother - "And ... " A tear from an eye, "... we'd wondered if so ... grand a lie could truly be told and then be ... believed by so many ... but ... so there it is."
He strains a smile and puts a hand on his shoulder, near twitch.
Brotherhood - "You didn't know yesterday what you do now today. But you know it now tomorrow. Temple son. Tomorrow you do. And then we all act according to our natures."
He looks at the new gunblade.
Brotherhood - "A fine weapon." He turns to rejoin the rest. "A fine death. We join the battle on whichever side we enter it. Orestes of the Temple. My name is Aries."
...
Orestes - Looks to Selene, "Strophius."
She glares.
________
The Revenge and Decibel splash high out of water facing. Top panels flip on both, Auto with under-arm cannon and warlords with rifles. Immediately opening on each other, port lids as cover.
Inside Decibel, arms from the walls extend to repair, crawling drones dragging wire head for cannon works, others for shield.
Inside Revenge, they move hull-pounders into place to repair it from inside, a team moving a plate for the blasted port. They struggle against incoming blasts before setting it, followed by weld team with a floor brace.
____
Selene rides her bot toward the distant wood, Orestes ahead.
____
Atop the decks the exchange continues.
The repair drones inside Decibel at jump at cannon control amid sparks. The firefight continuing top deck, Auto-pilot ducks a barrage and tosses a grenade. He checks cannon charge and heat, drops it into the port.
Looking down, drones huddle at ladder's bottom holding up weapons.
Auto - "It's true I do like them all."
He grabs a chain-gun and concussion cannon, the two drones carrying skitter to work on the shield generator.
Auto - Pops back out, "Destroyers of Cookies !" Fires madly.
____
Orestes runs, passed by Selene riding by, he tries to run faster and stops holding his chest, then jogs.
____
The captain of the Revenge walks the deck checking repair along the engine's pressure tubes, steam being patched and valved. Along to main external valve to assist the crewman.
Captain - "How long until we can flush the vents ?"
Engineer - "Less than five. Cannon ?"
Captain - Holding a plate while the engineer welds. "Less than two."
Engineer - "Well alright then. I'll warn the teams." He bolts through the final setting. Yells out, "Need pressure check on this valve." To the captain, "I'll check the rest. Kill that bastard." He storms off. "Need Pressure Team Valve Eight Today !"
____
Orestes painfully attempts a 'brisk upright' run.
____
A concussive blast strikes across Revenge's fore-deck sending crew in the air. A fore cannon flips ready.
The Decibel's shields come online with a flicker, it fore cannon on swivel check before fire exchanged, knocking out Revenge's cannon. The Auto-pilot sprays the water between to dissuade a swimming team approaching before they dive.
____
Selene rides through the lumbering herd.
____
The Revenge's top engine valves flutter above the water before spouting the excess and echoing the fire within. The ship drifts circling in full fire exchange as Decibel works to take out Revenge's side cannons, keeping fore shields at high charge.
A mortar from Revenge deck hits it's aft, sparking across the weaker shield. Auto throws the mortar team back with the concussive rounds and drops the empty chain-gun into the port.
~ Drones hold up more weapons, Auto grabs a launcher and works the Revenge gunwale with the concussive and cannons with the launcher, rockets passed up while the fore cannon blasts. Revenge continues focused fire against the shields over cockpit.
____
Orestes breathes hard, keeping a steady pace.
Cuauhtémoc watches with curiosity through his rifle scope, a laugh.
____
A sputter in the water beneath the Revenge aft, the along the gunwales. Decibel starts to rise, the exchange in full continued, joined by Revenge.
____
Selene rides disappearing into the woods, past the crushed launch-bike.
____
Revenge closes, Decibel warms the drive.
The captain pops from the port angrily drawing his pistol, a pause and a shot, Auto's head pops off and the cable's shot through by a second. His body flopping into the port, the hatch slams after. Decibel jumps as the deck crew dives, Revenge is slammed back to the water.
Silence ...
Ports open, crew looks around and from the water ... one by one they start a quiet laugh before they all join loudly and cheers though-out the ship. The captain swims for the bobbing head.
(The bridge shakes with the missile hits)
Bridge agrees.
~ Inside the Decibel, an excess of processing servers begin a progressive hum, drives slightly shaking (like four clothes dryers drying bowling balls, rattling around the back-room).
Data officer - "Sir !"
Decibel glides to speed, jumping away just before the Revenge's bridge, cracking the fore view-port in hard decompression. Along one gunwale, cannons flip out from opening hull panels, then back along the other, all seeking target (they seem used to his strategy).
~ Auto stirs the batter and checks recipe, a spark from the cable at the back of his head, following it to the rattling processors, a completely different planet out the view-ports with weird glowey jellyfish giants around it. The planet unfurls into a beast to eat one as the rest scatter.
The Decibel arcs out of jump circling for 'Revenge', all quiet.
~ Auto stops stirring ...
Inside The Revenge, the captain and second watch Decibel's seeking drift. The room dark, crew in goggles, watching, consoles dark. He whispers to the second, the second turning away.
~ Auto starts stirring again slowly, eyes side to side ... the sensor console runs through flashes of sensor read protocols.
Feet fox walking quickly but quietly ... the second enters the gunnery chamber and pulls a comm tube from the wall. He exhales ... thumbs the switch.
~ Auto stops stirring, processors rattling ...
Second - Quickly into comm, "Fore twenty-one starboard up sixteen, fire."
~ Fast to the empty cockpit, the jump console runs the final numbers on screen, the stars streak.
Cannons flip at the fore and open on coordinates, correcting by sight-line, before it jump crashes them again at the fore, cannons facing knocked off into the nearing atmosphere.
It immediately exits jump at the aft, the gravitational vacuum dragging Revenge's tail.
~ He adds chocolate chips.
The Decibel spirals out from behind it, crossing the cannon fire in while warming another approach. Then directly to the aft and out the fore, dragging Revenge toward the upper atmosphere.
From the Revenge view port, turning to atmosphere as the auto-pilot deploys a blind of countermeasures against the lining cannon-fire before a hard zero degree burn to the planet, diving below view.
Captain - "Forgive the stealth protocols. We go full burn. ... I may miss him."
~ Auto applies the cookie cutters (dinosaur shapes).
Inside Revenge, the roar of engines and twisting hull as replacement cannons are moved to replacement on the closed gunwale panels. Through the center of the work, valve workers furiously control intake and output overloads around the central horizontal core, outputs to the hull.
________
At a makeshift camp in a grown part of the woods, undamaged, Orestes with Selene tending. Her bot alarms an approach, she spins into assault, the man from the pub.
Brotherhood - "Temple son."
Orestes - ... "Orestes."
Brotherhood - "Yes. I've heard. We wanted to know." Eyes in the woods ... "What do they tell you ? About our lost planet. Whose pieces we mine. What do they say." He stares, maintaining control through adrenaline.
Orestes - "That it was your home. That you drilled too deep."
Brotherhood - "Drilled too deep."
Orestes - "And now you ... mine the pieces ... to make weapons."
Brotherhood - Eyes sharp and piercing in stare, a madness in a short smile, "Weapons, yeah."
Motion in the woods.
...
Orestes - "That's ... what they say."
The newly forged gunblade sticks in the ground at his feet.
Brotherhood - "They lied to you, temple. We'd wondered. All of us, we'd wondered ... if it was true."
Others behind him, gathering, looking on with the same look.
Brotherhood - "That they just ... lied to you all and ... you all believed them. It's what our Queen says." He looks over shoulder to his brothers and sisters, then back. "And our war leader but we're not acolytes. We're a people."
He looks around, then back.
Brother - "And ... " A tear from an eye, "... we'd wondered if so ... grand a lie could truly be told and then be ... believed by so many ... but ... so there it is."
He strains a smile and puts a hand on his shoulder, near twitch.
Brotherhood - "You didn't know yesterday what you do now today. But you know it now tomorrow. Temple son. Tomorrow you do. And then we all act according to our natures."
He looks at the new gunblade.
Brotherhood - "A fine weapon." He turns to rejoin the rest. "A fine death. We join the battle on whichever side we enter it. Orestes of the Temple. My name is Aries."
...
Orestes - Looks to Selene, "Strophius."
She glares.
________
Outside
Revenge, the close skin of the hull, the ionization building in the
mesh, it's engines in atmosphere now roaring at every turn. The nose
dives slowly toward view of The Decibel before it slow spins off,
returning fire to individual cannon as it fires (detected) then toward.
Another jump across the bow.
Fire pulled from the bow as The Revenge's entry is sidelined.
~ He puts the cookies in the oven. From inside through the oven window, his eyes watch them ...
Inside Revenge the hull crunches inward, made to take it but sending orders and crew at the sound of a tiny depressurization squeal and a gun-port. A heavy ! Whump ! sound and the gun-port is removed.
Fire engulfed as the section is pulled into atmosphere, cannon closing to pod, the nearby crew sucked out from the deck. The Decibel seen twisting away through the port. The bulkhead seals with sliding door, alarms and steam.
On Revenge bridge, the captain moves to the chair while the view-port closes, engulfed and blinding to darkness.
Fire pulled from the bow as The Revenge's entry is sidelined.
~ He puts the cookies in the oven. From inside through the oven window, his eyes watch them ...
Inside Revenge the hull crunches inward, made to take it but sending orders and crew at the sound of a tiny depressurization squeal and a gun-port. A heavy ! Whump ! sound and the gun-port is removed.
Fire engulfed as the section is pulled into atmosphere, cannon closing to pod, the nearby crew sucked out from the deck. The Decibel seen twisting away through the port. The bulkhead seals with sliding door, alarms and steam.
On Revenge bridge, the captain moves to the chair while the view-port closes, engulfed and blinding to darkness.
________
Selene - Watching Orestes gear painfully, "Orestes no ... please. We're free now. Don't you understand ? It all just right ..."
Orestes - "No. It's not. I can't let him fight alone."
Selene - "Yes ... you can. I ... I ... fixed you."
...
Orestes - "I'm sorry. I'll find you."
Departs ...
She looks to the bot. Static sound.
________
A view across the Revenge bow in full burn, mesh shell flapping it through to maintain, a series of thin spikes emerge from the fore.
Selene - Watching Orestes gear painfully, "Orestes no ... please. We're free now. Don't you understand ? It all just right ..."
Orestes - "No. It's not. I can't let him fight alone."
Selene - "Yes ... you can. I ... I ... fixed you."
...
Orestes - "I'm sorry. I'll find you."
Departs ...
She looks to the bot. Static sound.
________
A view across the Revenge bow in full burn, mesh shell flapping it through to maintain, a series of thin spikes emerge from the fore.
__
As the spike sensors engage, stations read their interpretations, strapping in. A view pops on main over the view-port, data processed and updated from the stations. The captain takes the controls on either armrest.
He grins while the rough view dips shaking again to Decibel, cannon fire surrounding it's twisting path.
__
The burning stern of the Revenge, fore guns crossing Decibel's slow swooping dive downward, barely seen, inside the captain correcting by screen view tracking over rough video.
He looks close as turbulence jostles Decibel, Revenge gaining.
__
~ Auto watches the cookies rise ...
__
To Decibel cockpit, view out the port while the drives run the numbers, Revenge in view, he's flying in reverse.
Revenge captain - Eyes go wide, grabbing the arms of the chair, "! BRACE !"
A head on jump, crumpling the fore bridge and blowing the set stations. The remaining stations pull hard back on their tracks and into the second bulkhead set over the roaring engine.
The bulkhead starts to close with the survivors working in as the view port is pulled out in flame, Decibel seen veering away to horizontal, the last survivors pulled tumbling through.
The captain watches the veer on side console monitor set in the chair, then swivels it over his lap. He checks recovering crew and takes a count, returns to console.
Captain - "Make the jump on my mark."
~ The Auto-pilot pulls out the cookies ... looks to the side ...
Captain - "Now."
Decibel jumps to Revenge as Revenge jumps to Decibel's return vector slamming it from above.
~ Auto tries desperately to catch all the airborne cookies ...
Decibel jumps away, pulling Revenge fore and returns to the aft dragging it horizontal.
~ Server backups rattle hard ...
Crewmen grip tightly around and hanging off the jump console, they all look up to the captain looking over his shoulder.
First - "Got it."
Captain - Glances to the side wall with mounted Auto heads and smiles. "This time ... let's try water this time."
Another jump tussle and the Revenge slams Decibel into the lake, seen over the stone Orestes sat upon, watched by the phoenix as it picks apart bones.
She bangs the skull of another human on the stone to crack it, a settling silence at the shore. She looks up, eyes to small bird flock departing and takes flight with it clamped, away toward nest.
As the spike sensors engage, stations read their interpretations, strapping in. A view pops on main over the view-port, data processed and updated from the stations. The captain takes the controls on either armrest.
He grins while the rough view dips shaking again to Decibel, cannon fire surrounding it's twisting path.
__
The burning stern of the Revenge, fore guns crossing Decibel's slow swooping dive downward, barely seen, inside the captain correcting by screen view tracking over rough video.
He looks close as turbulence jostles Decibel, Revenge gaining.
__
~ Auto watches the cookies rise ...
__
To Decibel cockpit, view out the port while the drives run the numbers, Revenge in view, he's flying in reverse.
Revenge captain - Eyes go wide, grabbing the arms of the chair, "! BRACE !"
A head on jump, crumpling the fore bridge and blowing the set stations. The remaining stations pull hard back on their tracks and into the second bulkhead set over the roaring engine.
The bulkhead starts to close with the survivors working in as the view port is pulled out in flame, Decibel seen veering away to horizontal, the last survivors pulled tumbling through.
The captain watches the veer on side console monitor set in the chair, then swivels it over his lap. He checks recovering crew and takes a count, returns to console.
Captain - "Make the jump on my mark."
~ The Auto-pilot pulls out the cookies ... looks to the side ...
Captain - "Now."
Decibel jumps to Revenge as Revenge jumps to Decibel's return vector slamming it from above.
~ Auto tries desperately to catch all the airborne cookies ...
Decibel jumps away, pulling Revenge fore and returns to the aft dragging it horizontal.
~ Server backups rattle hard ...
Crewmen grip tightly around and hanging off the jump console, they all look up to the captain looking over his shoulder.
First - "Got it."
Captain - Glances to the side wall with mounted Auto heads and smiles. "This time ... let's try water this time."
Another jump tussle and the Revenge slams Decibel into the lake, seen over the stone Orestes sat upon, watched by the phoenix as it picks apart bones.
She bangs the skull of another human on the stone to crack it, a settling silence at the shore. She looks up, eyes to small bird flock departing and takes flight with it clamped, away toward nest.
Across the quiet water ...
('Peach' by Prince and the NPG with Mayte Garcia)
...
...
...
The Revenge and Decibel splash high out of water facing. Top panels flip on both, Auto with under-arm cannon and warlords with rifles. Immediately opening on each other, port lids as cover.
Inside Decibel, arms from the walls extend to repair, crawling drones dragging wire head for cannon works, others for shield.
Inside Revenge, they move hull-pounders into place to repair it from inside, a team moving a plate for the blasted port. They struggle against incoming blasts before setting it, followed by weld team with a floor brace.
____
Selene rides her bot toward the distant wood, Orestes ahead.
____
Atop the decks the exchange continues.
The repair drones inside Decibel at jump at cannon control amid sparks. The firefight continuing top deck, Auto-pilot ducks a barrage and tosses a grenade. He checks cannon charge and heat, drops it into the port.
Looking down, drones huddle at ladder's bottom holding up weapons.
Auto - "It's true I do like them all."
He grabs a chain-gun and concussion cannon, the two drones carrying skitter to work on the shield generator.
Auto - Pops back out, "Destroyers of Cookies !" Fires madly.
____
Orestes runs, passed by Selene riding by, he tries to run faster and stops holding his chest, then jogs.
____
The captain of the Revenge walks the deck checking repair along the engine's pressure tubes, steam being patched and valved. Along to main external valve to assist the crewman.
Captain - "How long until we can flush the vents ?"
Engineer - "Less than five. Cannon ?"
Captain - Holding a plate while the engineer welds. "Less than two."
Engineer - "Well alright then. I'll warn the teams." He bolts through the final setting. Yells out, "Need pressure check on this valve." To the captain, "I'll check the rest. Kill that bastard." He storms off. "Need Pressure Team Valve Eight Today !"
____
Orestes painfully attempts a 'brisk upright' run.
____
A concussive blast strikes across Revenge's fore-deck sending crew in the air. A fore cannon flips ready.
The Decibel's shields come online with a flicker, it fore cannon on swivel check before fire exchanged, knocking out Revenge's cannon. The Auto-pilot sprays the water between to dissuade a swimming team approaching before they dive.
____
Selene rides through the lumbering herd.
____
The Revenge's top engine valves flutter above the water before spouting the excess and echoing the fire within. The ship drifts circling in full fire exchange as Decibel works to take out Revenge's side cannons, keeping fore shields at high charge.
A mortar from Revenge deck hits it's aft, sparking across the weaker shield. Auto throws the mortar team back with the concussive rounds and drops the empty chain-gun into the port.
~ Drones hold up more weapons, Auto grabs a launcher and works the Revenge gunwale with the concussive and cannons with the launcher, rockets passed up while the fore cannon blasts. Revenge continues focused fire against the shields over cockpit.
____
Orestes breathes hard, keeping a steady pace.
Cuauhtémoc watches with curiosity through his rifle scope, a laugh.
____
A sputter in the water beneath the Revenge aft, the along the gunwales. Decibel starts to rise, the exchange in full continued, joined by Revenge.
____
Selene rides disappearing into the woods, past the crushed launch-bike.
____
Revenge closes, Decibel warms the drive.
The captain pops from the port angrily drawing his pistol, a pause and a shot, Auto's head pops off and the cable's shot through by a second. His body flopping into the port, the hatch slams after. Decibel jumps as the deck crew dives, Revenge is slammed back to the water.
Silence ...
Ports open, crew looks around and from the water ... one by one they start a quiet laugh before they all join loudly and cheers though-out the ship. The captain swims for the bobbing head.