MetroidFan2002
Spaceman
It was all so very long ago...but happened only yesterday. They were alive yesterday, my home was whole, but now...only chaos ensues. In another universe, these events did not happen, in another, the attack would have been swift and brutally complete. I suppose my universe is somewhere in-between.
We had been on patrol, as usual. It was a standard diamond patrol, you know, the usual...point A to B, B to C, C to D, D back to A and our home, the Tiger's Claw. What a magnificent vessel. The fact that it still exists now is a testament to its durability...and our great luck amidst greater misfortune.
My wingman Viper was feeling pretty cocky, but isn't that the norm for us space jockeys? He had toasted two furballs at our "C" point, but I was only able to account for one. Let him have his glory, I decided. I was looking forward to getting back to the Claw to crash and burn...on my bunk, of course, not the hangar!
It wasn't that we weren't vigilant; it wasn't that we were too tired, though the fatigue was there. But we were both surprised when our autopilot switched off...and the Claw was nowhere to be found. We saw a great deal of debris. Then, a flash of light from the left side surprised us. We turned towards it and prepared to fight whatever enemy awaited us.
It was the Claw! The Claw fired near us! But something wasn't right. That blast came near us, but it didn't stand a chance of hitting us. If the Claw truly had betrayed its pilots, we would both be dust. Their targeting scanners were certainly adequate to perform fatal laser surgery on both of our craft. A closer examination of the Claw revealed that it suffered a massive amount of damage! It was amazing that the hulk was able to fire, let alone move!
So what were they shooting at? I checked with Viper and he confirmed that he showed nothing on his screen but the Claw as well. But the Claw was hurtling at its best speed towards the jump point, shooting behind it seemingly at random. But, NOTHING WAS THERE!
Suddenly, the com board crackled to life. It was the Claw. The controller said simply: "Hurry, get on board! We're under attack!" I responded "From what? What enemy?" I needn't have bothered: I was talking to a blank vidscreen. Hitting the afterburners, my wingman and I dodged the Claw's blasts and engaged the automatic landing system. About the time we were actually able to make our final approach, a lone Kilrathi face filled the comm system.
By now, all the furballs looked about the same to me. But this furball, I don't think I could ever forget his face. All he said was contained in one sentence, but it chilled me to the core. "You can run, terran apes, but YOU CANNOT DEFEAT THE DRAKHAI!"
As soon as we landed, Viper demanded of me "What the FUCK are the Drakhai?!" As the Claw jumped out of danger, I wasn't quite sure, but I had the feeling that we would soon find out.
Oh...and I apologize if anyone takes offense at my using the F-word, but wouldn't you curse if you just had your carrier nearly annihilated when you weren't even there to witness the battle?! If it is a problem, I will gladly edit it out....but I'd like to keep the word, if I may.
We had been on patrol, as usual. It was a standard diamond patrol, you know, the usual...point A to B, B to C, C to D, D back to A and our home, the Tiger's Claw. What a magnificent vessel. The fact that it still exists now is a testament to its durability...and our great luck amidst greater misfortune.
My wingman Viper was feeling pretty cocky, but isn't that the norm for us space jockeys? He had toasted two furballs at our "C" point, but I was only able to account for one. Let him have his glory, I decided. I was looking forward to getting back to the Claw to crash and burn...on my bunk, of course, not the hangar!
It wasn't that we weren't vigilant; it wasn't that we were too tired, though the fatigue was there. But we were both surprised when our autopilot switched off...and the Claw was nowhere to be found. We saw a great deal of debris. Then, a flash of light from the left side surprised us. We turned towards it and prepared to fight whatever enemy awaited us.
It was the Claw! The Claw fired near us! But something wasn't right. That blast came near us, but it didn't stand a chance of hitting us. If the Claw truly had betrayed its pilots, we would both be dust. Their targeting scanners were certainly adequate to perform fatal laser surgery on both of our craft. A closer examination of the Claw revealed that it suffered a massive amount of damage! It was amazing that the hulk was able to fire, let alone move!
So what were they shooting at? I checked with Viper and he confirmed that he showed nothing on his screen but the Claw as well. But the Claw was hurtling at its best speed towards the jump point, shooting behind it seemingly at random. But, NOTHING WAS THERE!
Suddenly, the com board crackled to life. It was the Claw. The controller said simply: "Hurry, get on board! We're under attack!" I responded "From what? What enemy?" I needn't have bothered: I was talking to a blank vidscreen. Hitting the afterburners, my wingman and I dodged the Claw's blasts and engaged the automatic landing system. About the time we were actually able to make our final approach, a lone Kilrathi face filled the comm system.
By now, all the furballs looked about the same to me. But this furball, I don't think I could ever forget his face. All he said was contained in one sentence, but it chilled me to the core. "You can run, terran apes, but YOU CANNOT DEFEAT THE DRAKHAI!"
As soon as we landed, Viper demanded of me "What the FUCK are the Drakhai?!" As the Claw jumped out of danger, I wasn't quite sure, but I had the feeling that we would soon find out.
Oh...and I apologize if anyone takes offense at my using the F-word, but wouldn't you curse if you just had your carrier nearly annihilated when you weren't even there to witness the battle?! If it is a problem, I will gladly edit it out....but I'd like to keep the word, if I may.