Forsaken Ruins (513 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.8 on 8 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Craig Williams <thetyrant82.at.hotmail.com> (View user info) at 2005-04-08 06:44:33 EDT
Chapter 1:
Failure always begets reflection, and Mattias found himself asking the same question over and over again:
How could it have come to this?
He stared in crushed disbelief at the rippling translucent inner membrane of the warp tunnel, watching the planets and moons of the E8-YS9 system shoot past his ship. The Blackbird-class cruiser at his command was hurtling through the tunnel at hundreds of times the speed of light. Mattias was amazed the battered vessel was still capable of sustaining this speed without breaking apart.
We were so close to killing him, he thought. So very, very close.
The tragedy would not be in his own death, but in the fact that his prey would continue to live out its wretched, despicable existence. For Mattias and the team of loyal bounty hunters that he had dedicated his life to, this was the ultimate failure. They had lost the bounty, were about to lose their lives, and worst of all, lost an opportunity to do some good in a galaxy controlled by greed and evil above all else.
"Do you believe in God, Mattias?" asked the voice of his enemy. Mattias cursed his own misfortune and refused to answer.
"And what of the Amarr and Minmatar comrades that you are leading to death?" the wicked voice sneered. "Are they believers in an afterlife?"
In an instant, Mattias thought of the entire history of the two outstanding bounty hunters—and great friends—whose lives were in as much peril as his own. Kirlana was an Amarr by birth, but had rebelled against her lavish upbringing and become ashamed of her cultural roots. She renounced her family name and turned her back on the fortune that would have been hers by birthright. The only "possession" she took with her was Matuno, the Brutor slave that had looked after her since childhood. She transformed him into an independent, Tempest-class battleship captain. Now, he answered to no one. But he would never forget those he was beholden to.
Forever grateful for being set free of Amarrian bondage, Matuno found himself unable to leave Kirlana's side, and together they sought greater purpose in life. After months of wandering Empire space, fate would introduce them to Mattias Kakkichi. Inspired by his passion for truth and justice, they readily joined his self-appointed mission: To become the arm of justice where the laws of Empire space could not reach. The money received from collected bounties was unimportant to them. The real reward was the righted wrong, accomplished through the kill itself. Watching evil succumb to the thunder of guns filled each of their souls with delicious satisfaction. No single feeling was more powerful than knowing that an injustice had been avenged. But on this day, the odds of lethal misfortune for pursuing such a risky profession finally caught up with them.
Mattias, Kirlana, and Matuno were fleeing from the scene of an assassination attempt on Trald Vukenda, the leader of the infamous Angel Cartel and the highest profile target they had ever hunted. The operation had gone horribly wrong. Within sight of their prey, the enemy surprised the bounty hunters with reinforcements, and they suddenly found themselves greatly outnumbered. Their ships were punished almost to the breaking point, and they were lucky to have escaped into warp. But there were only two jumpgates leading out of the system, and Trald already knew which one the bounty hunters were running towards. Both exits were already blockaded by Angel Cartel ships.
"I'm going to nail your self-righteous corpse to that jumpgate, Mattias," snarled Trald. "As a reminder to others about the perils in pursuing delusional moral obligations."
The hatred that Mattias felt swelling in his heart was powerful. He forced himself to suppress his anger and focus on trying to find a way to keep his good friends alive. They would be emerging from warp in just a few moments.
"Kirlana, Matuno...I'm sorry I got the both of you into this, but I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet." Mattias willed the camera drones orbiting his ship to zoom out so he could see all three ships traveling inside the warp tunnel. Kirlana's Omen-class cruiser was in the worst condition of them, venting plasma from a rupture in the hull plating alongside one of the ship's engines.
"Standing by," said Kirlana. Her voice was terse, and filled with fear.
"At your service," said the deep voice of Matuno, who had not known fear since the day Kirlana set him free. Their ships were already beginning to decelerate.
"We're only going to get one shot at this, so pay attention." Mattias was thinking quickly. "When the warp engines quit, Kirlana, point your bow at the nearest object you can warp towards and get out...Matuno, we have to give her enough time to get aligned, so fire up your sensor boosters as soon as you're able to and concentrate fire on anything that tries to cut her off. I'm going to target link with your ship to assist your artillery tracking and target jam anything that tries to close in..." The warp tunnel surrounding them had just about disappeared, and the jumpgate was coming into view. "Matuno, as soon as she's out, warp yourself out of there, anywhere you can..."
Both of them started to protest at the same time. "Mattias, what about you—"
"Go, damnit! Go! Go! Go!" The warp core disappeared, and the Blackbird's engines switched to impulse power. The ship's threat detectors registered danger immediately. Mattias counted at least 4 ships, and saw the unmistakable profile of a deadly Arch Angel Warlord floating directly above the jumpgate. An icy lead ball formed in his stomach. He was well within range of the Warlord's most powerful cannons, and three Arch Angel Scout cruisers were speeding directly towards them. Mattias was certain that the Scouts were equipped with warp scramblers.
"Kirlana! Go!" Plasma trailed behind the Omen as it pitched upwards and turned away from the jumpgate. The first spread of Arch Angel heavy missiles began coursing towards them. The cruiser made painstakingly slow course adjustments to align itself perfectly with the warp tunnel projected in front of it. The ship accelerated and vanished just in time. Missile exhaust plumes crisscrossed each other at the exact spot in space where the Omen was just a fraction of a second earlier. One away. Right on queue, the Blackbird's sophisticated electronics systems established targeting locks on the three incoming Arch Angel Scout cruisers. Mattias linked with the weapons system onboard Matuno's Tempest, feeding it telemetry. The enormous 1400mm artillery turrets spread along the battleship's hull began tracking in unison. The Arch Angel Scouts unleashed a second spread of heavy missiles towards them.
"Matuno, go!" Mattias could see missile plumes from the Warlord extending towards them now as well. The Tempest's portside seemed to explode as the 1400mm artillery pieces unloaded. The shells slammed into the lead Arch Angel a split second later, nearly breaking the enemy cruiser's spine on the first salvo. Mattias willed his shield hardeners online and target jammed the second Scout. He simultaneously launched a missile volley of his own towards the crippled Arch Angel. "Warp now now now!" Mattias screamed in his mind at Matuno, inadvertently gulping down some of the ectoplasm inside of his pod.
Mattias could see the massive Tempest slowly swing its bow around in the same direction that Kirlana had warped towards. A half second before the detonation of the first incoming missile, a bluish-white aura engulfed the goliath battleship as Matuno activated his own shield hardeners. Mattias counted off eight devastating explosions as the Warlord's cruise missiles slammed into the Tempest, throwing it off course and ripping enormous gashes into the hull. The shockwaves expanding from the explosion sites crashed into the Blackbird, tearing through its shields and punching through the last of the ship's armor. The Tempest was violently spewing plasma and debris directly into space now, and a third Arch Angel missile spread was already on its way as Matuno desperately tried to coax his crippled battleship into warp.
User Reviews
Submitted by mbstateside (user info) at 2005-04-22 16:50:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Not bad, not bag at all.
I think I'll have to keep an eye out for more oyour stuff
Submitted by Williams_2004 (user info) at 2005-04-12 09:08:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2005-04-11 21:54:00 (#)
Ranking: -2
hahaha I thought it said foreskin ruins
-----------------------
Learn to read then.
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2005-04-11 21:54:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
hahaha I thought it said foreskin ruins
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-04-11 21:49:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2005-04-08 10:14:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Neato.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-04-08 09:11:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by theshrew (user info) at 2005-04-08 07:13:57 (#)
Ranking: 2
I like it. although E8-YS9 doesnt exist on any of my maps. maybe you made the common mistake of confusing it with E8-YS8?
YOU FUNNY GUY!
Submitted by Williams_2004 (user info) at 2005-04-08 07:41:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Lmao yeh maybe i did
Submitted by theshrew (user info) at 2005-04-08 07:13:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I like it. although E8-YS9 doesnt exist on any of my maps. maybe you made the common mistake of confusing it with E8-YS8?