Scattered Through Time

[antiaircraft]

((Okay, go ahead. I wonder if I should get Shade off the Echronal Physig, or just let him die... :P ))

 

"Bingo!" Hyemist said as a single human jet appeared on the scanner readouts. "Vector 290,443."

 

"Acknowledged." The corvette's pilot angled the capital ship towards the jet, its powerful fusion engines easily keeping pace with the plane's scramjet engines.

 

Several metres back, Mird paced a protective circle around Asyphar as the commander received and deciphered a flurry of encoded transmissions from the Chraxon forces hidden on the planet.

[Midtime]

NightStar had ordered the closest fleet to head towards the target sector. He couldn't give them the slingshot coordinates - who knows what they might do with them, and he would need battle-ready captains for this, not inexperienced lieutenants - or his magical help. He himself had taken the ship around the far side of the planet for the sake of secrecy. He would still have to later kill all the ship's crew. The fleet should arrive in time, but the battle needed his own expertise.

The fast, stealthy ship had just arrived at the target sector. He informed the fleet that now he was in charge, and demanded to see the current strategist. He was quickly brought onto the flagship bridge, where he received the shock of his existence((The shock of his life is not applicable)).

 

A human was at the controls, and the Che-jan were listening to it.

 

((NightStar might order the Echronal Physig to get close to Earth. He might die, but then...))

[antiaircraft]

Shade registered activity of some sort on the bridge, but he was far too occupied with his work to assess it more closely. "Procedure stage delta-delta-nine-oeschry. All ships confirm ready status. Visual probes have identified engine trails of incoming enemy ships."

[Ruto]

Holy wow. I didn't realize how popular this topic would be without me. :P Um...I guess I'll let you guys continue. I can't even follow up on the story anymore, there's just too much to read. :/ Good luck to everyone! ^_^

[Guest Levy]

The jet C was riding is was a F-22 Raptor with the window ripped off for C to fit. He noticed the large corvette keeping up with him. Then with lightning reflexes he dodged what would have been a fatal crash if he was a regular pilot.

The enormous dragon came out of no where, and blasted through the trail of the corvette. It roar was frightening. Being the size of a human jumbo jet, with three times the weight, it flew with incredible speed. The Chraxon corvette was flung aside into a spin while it gave chase to the F-22 C was piloting. The jet wouldn't stand a chance.

C flew it as fast as it would go but the dragon kept speed. He quickly ripped off the M61 Vulcan, the F-22's 20 mm Gatling-style cannon, and fastened it to his back with the electromagnet fixed in his back. He pulled the emergency escape lever and flew over the dragon just as it bit down on the jet. C fell and was barely able to hold on to the dragon's tail as it went into a death spin in an attempt to shake him off. He made his way up the dragon's back and near its head. It leveled off and just as it would have been easy for C to reach its head, it dove and C flew off its back.

Now in freefall, he was easy prey. The dragon reverted its flight path and dove on him.

C was in its mouth, holding the jaw open as long as he could. The dragon was charging a blast of superheated plasma breath. C saw this in its throat and jumped out of the mouth and held the jaws closed. The plasma exploded out the side of its jaws.

C climbed up its head.

Unloading the M61 Vulcan, he began firing into its cranium, but each powerful shot ricocheted wildly off its impenetrable body.

It flipped its head up quickly and swallowed C.

Now feeling as if its skies were still not safe, it flew toward the Chraxon corvette, still trying to regain control.

But, what it wasn't smart enough to realize was that even though its skin was impenetrable, its innards were soft like any other animal.

It screamed out a horrible screech of pain, then its eyes lit up, and a beam of light shot out of its skull.

It twisted and roared in pain before it curled its wings toward its chest and exploded in a brilliant display of white light. The energy emitted from the explosion was ten times as hot as the surface of the sun and it distorted the atmosphere creating a temporary superstorm of static energy and ultraviolet radiation creating a new portal in space-time, thus tearing the fabric of time further.

C began to fall. His armor was glowing white from the blast but quickly cooled off as he fell the two kilometers to the ground.

He slowly began to rise from the crater he created. His armor began to chip off in frighteningly large chunks.

 

((Now's the time Theo. Reunite then fire it! Kait needs to be near C.))

[antiaircraft]

"Interesting hunting patterns." Mird said to nobody in particular.

 

"A-Primary-Check; pneumatics engaged; fire." A set of magnetic clamps shot rapidly towards C, latching firmly onto his armour and reeling him several hundred metres back to the docking bay at breakneck speed. If Chraxon could wince, then every crew member in the docking bay would probably have done so at the sound of C's impact with the relatively solid floor, but Hyemist was relatively sure that his armour could take the pounding.

[Guest Levy]

"...eerrrrrrr..." C let out in a deeply mechanical tone as another chunk of his armor broke from his arm and another from his back. He slowly began to stand. His joints screeched as they moved.

He couldn't stand, his body took too much damage from the explosion.

He lifted his left arm and shot a wire into one of the lights. He began to absorb the energy from the ship. This clearly took effect as the ship's lights started to black on and off.

He took a deep raspy breath and his armor disconnected from him all at once.

Under his armor was a smaller layer of an exoskeleton, clearly not as strong as the original but better than nothing as his primary armor was now useless.

He stood and disconnected the wire from his arm. The armor he now donned was sleek and smooth. Clearly more suited for agility than strength.

[antiaircraft]

The corvette's systems blanked out for a few seconds, but rapidly recovered as the powerful nuclear fusion drive at their centre increased its output to compensate. Asyphar barely noticed the lapse as he focused on executing a furious series of coordinated guerilla assaults on strategical positions around the planet. Meanwhile, Hyemist scurried rapidly through the ship's series of corridors, guiding Kait to the hangar bay despite the human's assertion that she would have no problem following the universally recognizable Chraxon signs. Mird continued to stand guard over Asyphar, ever watchful for the slightest sign of a threat.

[Guest Levy]

((We need to get onto the ground for the finale of C and the Echronal Physig.))

 

He stood to his full height of about eight foot and he began to stretch his mechanical joints.

He took a few steps toward the end of the hangar and looked outside, the ground racing beneath them and the clouds rolling. Rolling rapidly around the time hole created by the explosion of the beast. It didn't seem like it was going to close.

[antiaircraft]

Making a sudden, sharp bank to the right, the corvette fired its reverse thrusters and descended swiftly towards a patch of clear ground barely large enough to accommodate it. This was no problem, as the ship's skilled Chraxon pilots had been trained to land any merchant craft, no matter how bulky, in even the most crowded of trading ports, an activity that they now performed with fluid ease.

 

((Kait should emerge in the docking bay about now. :yes: ))

[Guest Levy]

"Clint!" Kait shouted when she saw him.

C turned around to catch her as she ran into his arms.

"I thought I lost you." She said, crying.

"It takes a lot more to kill me than getting jettisoned in near-Earth orbit." He said, stepping off the corvette. He then looked up and saw the Echronal Physig come out of cloaking about a kilometer away in the sky.

 

((Sorry if it seems like I am controlling the EP, but I have to set the scene to what I described to you.))

[antiaircraft]

((That's fine - better to start it earlier than have it left until I finally clear my backlog of work. :P I just wish we had a few more people here...))

 

Shade focused his eyes on the small figure in the centre of the Echronal Physig's targeting brackets. He was too fatigued to achieve the level of concentration that he had been in at the start of the battle - even a specially constructed being cannot remain at peak performance after going without rest for almost a week. The current procedure was simple enough however - he did not even have to give the signal to perform the launch. The bloodthirsty battle cries of the Che-jan in the fire control centre emanated from the intercom as a deadly plasma projectile streaked towards C.

[Guest Levy]

The projectile was off course. It was heading directly for Kait.

C, not weighed down by the old armor, was there at an instant to throw her out of its path. But C couldn't avoid it himself. The missile crashed down on him and blew off his left arm. Sparks irradiated from the body.

"Kait! Go!!!!" He yelled mechanically.

"Clint!!!!"

His faceplate detached and his face was fully visible. His mouth moved, "GOOOOOOOO!!!!"

His right arm twisted and reshaped into a shape to properly positionable to unleash hell. The sword emitter positioned in his hand.

"Clint! No!" Kait yelled out, but a Chraxon grabbed her and covered her.

The air sparked eerily and the emitter blasted forth. It paused a bit, deflected by the Echronal Physig's shields, but that lasted less than a second. The blast cut through the hull like butter and continued into space.

The heat of the emitter bean to melt C's armor. His joints locked. The heat was incredible.

The Echronal Physig fell and crashed several miles away.

 

C stood like a statue as the beam faded and died. The flesh on his face had disintegrated. He fell back, and the last burst of carbon dioxide escaped his lungs. He lacked any energy to animate his heart. Though his heart stopped, his mind stayed linked and alive for a few seconds longer. He managed to make his mechanical vocals say, "Light, they always said there would be a light... It's warm..."

 

---

 

The portal created by the dragon's demise intensified and a massive dreadnought emerged. It was enormous, it dwarfed the Echronal Physig and it began to hover over the earth. Its design was unlike anything anyone has ever seen anywhere in the universe.

[antiaircraft]

((So... what now? :P ))

 

"All right, I guess that's our signal to leave port." Asyphar said, coolly sizing up the massive ship that had just appeared. All over the world, Chraxon forces were concluding their attacks and pulling back into a series of camouflaged hideouts scattered through Earth's terrain, following his orders to the letter when appropriate, and improvising when the circumstances called for it.

 

The corvette throttled up sharply once Kait and C's body were securely aboard, and within seconds the agile capital ship was out of the Earth's atmosphere and in the middle of the battle that was raging around the points of space where the new Chraxon elements had emerged. Asyphar sighed, gulped down several mouthfuls of coffee, and brought his mind back into sharp focus for the long struggle ahead.

[Guest Levy]

The craft hovered over Earth, slowly making its way into orbit. Its sleek structure and flawless design marked it a very large threat.

It began to hail on all frequencies to anything that would listen.

 

((This is an ally, they are here to help against the ultimate battle... with Yema's mother. The space around Earth has been corrupted by the time rips and Yema's mother has come to cleanse the system to halt further distortion.))

[antiaircraft]

((Ah, I see - I will shortly be throwing some very powerful elements into the battle on the Chraxon side. :yes: ))

 

Far, far below the void of space, where Asyphar's outnumbered Chraxon forces stolidly held their positions against the onslaught of the viciously directed Che-jan fleet, a lone humanoid figure lay crouched in the smoking wreck of the Echronal Physig's command bridge. All around him, bloodthirsty Che-jan warriors were leaping from the ship with ravenous war cries, only to find no enemies to attack. Intense waves of heat still swept through the destroyer's interior, at temperatures high enough to scorch human flesh, although harmless to the tough hides of the Che-jan.

 

But it wasn't this that was afflicting Shade - the Echronal Physig's bridge was now open to the surrounding atmosphere, and the excess heat was easily vented through the multiple breaches in the formerly solid seal between the transparent dome and the ship's armoured hull. The sheer unprecedented level of mental activity his mind had needed to maintain over the past few days had simply overloaded it. Even if the Echronal Physig hadn't gone down, Shade would have succumbed to the massive mental spasms searing through his nervous system within a matter of minutes.

 

Unusually for somebody whose mental processes are on the brink of total collapse, deep in his core, Shade felt no trace of pain, despair, or failure. He had performed the tasks he had been designed for to the best of his capabilities, and in doing so he had impressed even himself. Even more satisfying was the brief moment of contact he had experienced with his counterpart, the mysterious Chraxon commander who had been his opponent less than 24 hours previously. It was inexplicably calming to know that there would be another being in the universe with skills, knowledge, and memories to match his. As it finally toppled into the abyss of total darkness that awaited it, Shade's mind finally put words to the disjointed chain of thoughts that had been ricocheting around it for the last few seconds.

 

It's good to know that I wasn't alone. Shade thought, and closed his eyes.

[Guest Levy]

The massive behemoth breached the atmosphere and entered orbit. Its transmitters continued to hail any surrounding vessels on all frequencies. A matter of utmost importance has brought them here to this time and they intend to find out why. Little did they comprehend, they came between forces on the battlefield of space. Luckily, their defenses are equipped to deflect anything. Needing to be prepared, the shields are constantly active to deflect space debris which always litters the vacuum.

[antiaircraft]

The corvette scythed through several squadrons of enemy fighters as it spiralled through one particularly intense area of the engagement. With Asyphar aboard commanding the Chraxon forces and Shade out of action, the Che-jan fleet was slowly being pushed back, but this was by no means a guaranteed victory. The Che-jan would fight to the death, even flying suicide runs and deliberately overloading their nuclear fusion reactors when the situation became impossible. A total victory here would be extremely costly, even if the Che-jan weren't already holding most of the tactically significant positions in the Solar System.

 

Apart from Asyphar's skill, the only thing that had allowed the Chraxon force to maintain the upper hand was the huge capital ship that had launched itself deep into the heart of the fighting, raining death and destruction on any enemy ship in its path. Swarms of small ballistic projectiles launched from virtually every point on its finely constructed surface, smashing into their targets and dealing damage on a scale that anybody who hadn't studied black-hole theory would have thought impossible for objects so small.

 

The ship itself was a gigantic construction, but it could not be described as a behemoth, for even in the impossibly complex and seemingly random arrangement of unshielded orange-brown honeycombs interwoven throughout its superstructure, there was an element of grace that could be appreciated even in the face of its terrifying weapon arrays.

 

The Chraxon did not allow members of any other species on their nest ships, but the slightest glimpse of the beautifully designed craft, even from several light-years away would have awed any being, no matter what race they were from.

 

((The Chraxon nest ship is unshielded because its honeycomb structure can take easily a hundred times the pounding that an energy shield could withstand.))

 

Meanwhile, on board the corvette, the communications officer was receiving a communications link redirected from the Achyndar.

 

"Hello and welcome to the system. This a Chraxon channel I am currently broadcasting on, and of course that makes me a Chraxon - how may I help you?"

[Guest Levy]

The signal gave out a high pitched whine then subsided, finally, a voice, "We are Sovereign. We came through a tear in space-time. We are a hyper advanced energy being race which exists 12 trillion of this planet's orbits from this time. Can explain to us what is currently happening?"

The dreadnought shifted in color to a red-ish shade as it stayed stationary in the middle of the battlefield.

The hail continued, "We would also request to board one of your vessels. To our knowledge, a cybernetic organism within a vessel contains information that will help us to understand the situation further. We do not wish to cause any harm, but if you do not honor our request, we will be forced to act independently."

[antiaircraft]

"Well then, it is certainly an interesting coincidence that the vessel you are currently in contact with holds the cybernetic organism on board. We would be honoured to provide you with the hospitality of our ship; simply set a rendezvous point and we will head to that location as soon as possible, or if you wish you can head to us.

 

"We also apologise for the somewhat hectic situation in the area - our force was mobilised in an attempt to prevent an aggressive alien race, the Che-jan, from overtaking this star system. Unfortunately we arrived quite late, and the Che-jan have already gained a foothold on the one inhabited planet in the system. Multiple attempts were made to contact their lead ships, but our hails were not answered, except with repeated attacks. Therefore, we engaged."

[Guest Levy]

"Stay where you are, we have triangulated your position and have sent containment pods to your location. Do not be alarmed as these will attach to the hull of your ship and the containing lifeforms will enter through the hull. This will not do damage to your vessel." It assured.

Three small pods of unique design sped to the vessel. As soon as they hit, they opened up and crawled into position. Then under the area they struck, within the ship, three energy beings solidified the air to appear solid. They were about 12 feet tall and appeared hominid, though it might just be the effect of the air. They looked around, it seems like they had never been inside a ship of this design.

[antiaircraft]

Immediately, several squads of uniformed Chraxon soldiers scuttled up to the new arrivals and made graceful bows. "Welcome, honoured guests, aboard our humble ship. We apologise for the inconvenient condition of the ship, but it will be several minutes before we will be able to achieve a state where it is possible to disengage. In the meantime, we presume you will be eager to inspect the organism you came to find, so we will guide you immediately to his present location, unless you would prefer to have refreshments first. If you ever have any other conveniences you wish us to provide you, please feel free to ask."

 

((Chraxon ships are aesthetically pleasing to any species. :yes: ))

[Guest Levy]

One of the Sovereign appeared to whisper to another, but they made no sound. Just head gestures.

The third spoke, but had no mouth, the sound simply emanated from it. "No need for subtleties. We are here for one thing. Lead us to C and we will be on our way."

[Midtime]

((Um... sorry. I had exams and before that I was hooked on an anime series. :yes: I'll do my best to catch up.))

 

NightStar watched the wreck of the Echronal Physig. It was an unfortunate loss, and even more unfortunate was that of the organic apparatus that was, apparently, a battle coordinator.

He had ejected in time, of course, and was in star form. A glowing tendril extended and made a beckoning gesture. The limp form of Shade rose, encased in a shimmering sphere of contained air. If the organism was brought to the flagship intact, the genetic manipulationists should be able to create another clone. If they couldn't, he would do something about it.

It should take less than a year for the new fleet to arrive. In the meantime he would maintain a barrier around the planet, preventing anything from getting in or out. The planet itself, sadly, seemed self-sufficient. He would have to wait, but once the second fleet arrived, he could annihilate the planet and take control of the sector. The Chraxon should be a minor problem.

He began to move towards the flagship.

 

Echo watched as he followed Yema. Yema would be his anchor in this strange world until he found out more about it.

He was quite sure that what he saw out of the windows was far away, and up close would be much larger and much less pleasant. But whatever it was, he could probably get used to it, in time. It wasn't like anyone was dying out there.

[antiaircraft]

The leader of the small Chraxon group bowed again, then gestured down the hallway. "This way if you please." he said, unperturbed as another massive shock rattled the corvette. "My apologies once again for our current condition, but I would advise caution with your footing so as to avoid being knocked over by an impact."