Space Opera

[Xewleer]

Prologue: The last few players to be gathered

 

 

 

Edward Horatio and Hermione walked down an unnamed alley in the more run-down portion of London. The future had been very kind to the city, but still, the scum of society had to gather somewhere. "The Nightshade pub, a wretched hive of scum and villainy if I ever saw one." Edward Horatio said with a little humor. He was of average height, with brown hair and blue eyes. He walked a little funny, as if not really used to it, but his strides were very long.

 

 

 

Hermione snorted and made a tally on her notepad. "That's the fifth Star Wars quotation you've made today." She was rather average in build, blond hair, slightly tanned complexion. But what was unique about her was the robotic eye, which constantly adjusted itself as she focused on different things around her. Her back was absolutely straight, as if by habit, indicating a military background.

 

 

 

"And the best part is, I don't have to pay royalties." He said, with a little smile. They were approaching the door when a broken body flew out, shattering the wooden frame as well. A tough, large and fearsome man walked out nonchalantly, despite the feat of strength he had just performed. He had black hair, blue eyes and a five O'clock shadow on his chin. A woman followed him, after they arrived on the street, she clung onto him. She was bigger, bulkier and more rugged than Hermione, but she was a little less refined.

 

 

 

Edward and Hermione caught their eye and walked to them. Edward spoke first. "Wolf? Of the British Bulldogs?"

 

 

 

"Aye. What do you want with me?" He said slowly. He didn't sound very intelligent, but he didn't sound stupid either. He also had a bit of an American accent. "I hope it's not another tax audit, after all, you just saw what I did to your man didn't you?"

 

 

 

Edward waved his hands, as if brushing away stupidity. "Oh no no no! I'm from the space colonization program! I have a job offer for you and your team."

 

 

 

Wolf pondered this. His entire forehead wrinkled and he rubbed the sides of his head. He nodded after a minute's hard study. "I'll want more information before I promise anything." Edward nodded. "This is Mate." He said, indicating the clinging woman. "She goes with me." Edward assured him that everyone on the team could come. This satisfied him.

 

 

 

"Wanna go?" This was Hermione. Mate and she had been eying each other after Hermione had stared at Wolf too long for her liking. "Right now!" Mate and Hermione charged each other. Wolf calmly blocked both their blows and sent them flying back. He shook his head and helped Mate up. He handed a piece of paper to Edward.

 

 

 

"My number. I'll gather my team." Edward smiled as he accepted it. He promised to contact him soon.

 

 

 

"I don't see why we need him. That woman was a total..." Hermione was angry and her metal eye twitched near constantly.

 

 

 

"Just in case." He said with a smile. Hermione failed to notice this.

 

 

 

"In case of what? This is colonization! Not invasion! Seriously, if anyone was out there they would have contacted us by now."

 

 

 

"If you say so. But remember, that's some six thousand people. Five thousand innocents with little fighting ability. I think we can't be too careful. Not everything is on our side."

 

 

 

"You talk like you know something."

 

 

 

"We'll talk later. Review who we've gotten so far."

 

 

 

"The only people we need to find are the Five Samurai, Japan is our destination. I don't see why we have to meet them in person..."

 

 

 

"Why, to show that we care, of course. We don't want them to undermine our project..." He petered off as he walked ahead. Hermione sighed and walked quickly after him.

 

 

 

Reserved for when I get to writing chapter 1, 2

[Xewleer]

Chapter 3

 

 

 

Drake Horatio was a large, muscled man, every bit of his body proportioned well in a buff manner. He stood 'at ease' comfortable in the loose military dress he was wearing to its perfection. As they walked closer, he loosened up and nodded his greeting to the two as they walked into the main server nodule.

 

 

 

"Are you ready, Nelson?" He said, observing the screens in front of the only computer station in the room. "Will you take everyone's lives in your hands and move forward, like your father?"

 

 

 

Nelson took this in stride, his grandfather demanded answers from him nearly every time they met like this. This time, however, there was a great deal of truth.

 

 

 

"I have been made to be ready. It is my last remaining purpose now that our dream has landed in our grasp. It is in my being to lead them. Hermione, are all the colonists ready to go through final checks in preparation for launch?"

 

 

 

Hermione glanced at her notepad. "Five minutes until Mr. Wells arrives via ball-bearing. We are ready as soon as he is in the American Colony ship."

 

 

 

Nelson nodded and clambered into the large, over-sized chair in front of the lone computer. He ran his fingers over large amounts of buttons, eyes glowing with the charge he felt in his spirit. Drake and Hermione backed into the door way. Finally pressing one last button, the chair swiveled and molded itself like a gel around him, covering completely. He reemerged from the chair with his back exposed.

 

 

 

The chair transformed more, completely losing its original shape. It grew tendrils, holding his back, legs and arms steady. His head remained untouched for several minutes as he eased himself into the role he was even bred for. Then, the once-chair oozed over his head, covering it. Lastly, cords streaked out of many walls and the ceiling. Holes opened up in his back, avoiding the spinal column, but covering nearly everywhere else.

 

 

 

He was as much a machine as the Star Destroyer was. His father had turned him into the pilot that would have been necessary for optimum results. Able to use the nano-seconds of time the computer used to make decisions, he could control over five thousand nodules at once, in the simulations. But his father could only find enough funding for five hundred. But that did not matter to Nelson, it still required his full concentration.

 

 

 

Drake and Hermione walked out of the area, returning to the communications nodule, one of many. Hermione pressed a button and status reports flooded in. She sifted them all thoroughly, she eventually, at Drake's question, gave her approval.

 

 

 

"Drake Horatio to all ships. I believe we are ready for our test run. Last night was your last night on earth. We can no longer turn back. Please commit your souls to your deity, whoever it may be, and prepare for the next stage. Nelson, at your mark!"

 

 

 

Nelson, ensconced in his technological marvel, sent his thought throughout the ships, nodules and launch sequences. Lastly, his consciousness focused on the surrounding space, locating the space where radiation would do the rest. He also took one last, longing look to where his home had been. He would not miss it horribly, but he felt that he should take one last look, he was not the only one.

 

 

 

All of the colony ships were doing the same thing, the earth, humanities jewel, would no longer be their only home. Hermione only spared no idle thought on her once-home. Plugging in a communications jack into the socket of her mechanical eye, she communed with the commanders and soldiers on board the Star Destroyer, as well as the colony ship pilots.

 

 

 

"We are all ready, Mr. Drake. Mr. Nelson gives his signal."

 

 

 

"Thank you. Hermione. We are the first. The first humans ever to do such a momentous thing in all our entire history. What do you think of that?" Hermione did not really care, so she stayed silent, focusing on sifting through the data that was flying into the nodule.

 

 

 

Alarms sounded, a flustered and harried USA General appeared on the screen. He was in charge of the security of this project, a competent man who had never failed in a security job before.

 

 

 

"Drake! Dire news! Traitors hijacked our missile launch codes, the protection we set up couldn't stop them! Nuclear missiles are homing onto your location! There's nothing we can do! Get out of there!" Drake acknowledged calmly and set himself to a more militaristic style of talking.

 

 

 

"Hermione, get Nelson."

 

 

 

"Hup." Her fingers flew over the keyboard in front of her. She was completely engrossed in this new crisis.

 

 

 

"I'm here, Drake." Nelson's voice came out of a speaker, a little distant. "We have seventeen minutes. Orders?"

 

 

 

"We can't evade in time, we'll have to launch. Tell the pilots not to send that information to the colonists. Can you do that?"

 

 

 

"Col. Drake, let me focus on the pilots, Nelson can then use his time to send us to our destination." Hermione suggested; Drake agreed after less than a second's deliberation.

 

 

 

"All pilots, this is Hermione. Do not tell the colonists of the situation, repeat. Do not inform the colonists of the situation. We are going to jump, as planned for tomorrow morning. Repeat, jump as soon as Mr. Nelson gives us the signal."

 

 

 

Nelson, in his command station, ran through the last sequences. In less than three minutes they could jump. Finally, time passed and he sent the thought that would launch them into the next system they could have for their own.

 

 

 

They disappeared nearly ten minutes before the rockets would have destroyed them. Nelson was the only one aware of the actual journey. It was short, cold and still. Nothing moved except his mind and mounds of data. Finally, everyone returned to proper consciousness seconds after their leaving earth.

 

 

 

Nelson laughed to himself, and kept laughing as he watched the battle outside. Not even five minutes into their maiden voyage and aliens already discovered.

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

 

There were two different factions, that was certain; waging a battle right before the newly arrived human eyes. Nelson stopped laughing when his grandfather started to relay orders.

 

 

 

"We can't jump out for fifteen minutes! Nelson, arrange the Star Destroyer to defensive formation! Colony ships! Get behind it! Nelson, see if you can get a transmission to the ones opposite the ships near us."

 

 

 

Nelson immediately began relaying his practiced transmission. "We are the species who call themselves humans. We are willing to talk provided you deal peaceably with us. Please respond."

 

 

 

Within an instant, the ships nearest to them turned to engage, weapons already firing. Fortunately, the range lessened the damage sustained to a great degree. Unlike the enemies blue lasers, the projectile weapons of the humans had no such hampering. Using similar technology as the mass driver, the weapon nodules fired ball-bearings with deadly accuracy towards the offending ships.

 

 

 

"Listen, we still can't leave for ten minutes! Drake! What should we do?" Nelson sent the message to Drake's phone; he replied quickly.

 

 

 

"Send the hangar nodules to the outside. I'm entering the field."

 

 

 

While the ball-bearings were perforating the now declared enemy, they could do little besides superficial, and disabling damage. To really destroy the enemy, Edward Horatio had designed the All-purpose Combat Hedgehogs, or "[bleep]ers," as the soldiers called them. They were essentially over-glorified ball-bearings with engines, life support and weapons.

 

 

 

There were two. One was a high-yield missile launcher designed for finishing the victim, it had a magazine of ten. The other were some ten [bleep]es, of 5 different sizes and purposes. To list them: attack engines, attack general body, attack bridge, attack small ships and the last two were gigantic cones designed for anything that didn't fall into the other four categories.

 

 

 

Drake, Hermione and around twenty of the soldiers that accompanied the mission were proficient at using them. Drake and Hermione, however, were considered the best. They both sprang out of their hangar at lightning speed. They both paused a second, already outside of the line of fire, to judge their targets.

 

 

 

There were two very large ships, as big as the Star Destroyer, and about ten smaller ones, about half that size. They charged in, [bleep]es ripping through the plating with their special weapons. Very soon, ten more [bleep]ers shot out as soon as the lasers were pulled from their previous target and caused more havoc among the enemy.

 

 

 

The battle was essentially won. The twelve [bleep]ers went on to destroy the rest of the ships that fought them, but didn't touch the other faction.

 

 

 

Drake and the rest of the [bleep]ers flitted speedily in the wreckage, taking readings and making sure that the ships were indeed destroyed. Drake and Hermione left them, and went back to the Star Destroyer. Leaving their ship and taking up station in the communications nodule.

 

 

 

"Hermione, like we practiced." She nodded and activated.

 

 

 

"Greetings! I am Drake Horatio, commander of this voyage! Please identify yourselves!" He said this in a firm, powerful voice. He sounded no-nonsense and tough, that's what he wanted to show.

 

 

 

Static was returned, but that merely meant that neither of them were on a common communication's line. Hermione quickly cycled through the channels, until, on the Ultraviolet channel, they got their reply.

 

 

 

"I return your greetings, I am Prince Hie'gah'ha. My species, Hahhhaelavvehhas, thanks you for saving me and my ships."

 

 

 

"You are welcome, but may I ask why you know and understand English?"

 

 

 

"T.V. If I may say, you drove our own entertainment industries, for the entire galaxy, out of business." The prince said this with a smile; he meant no insult.

 

 

 

And Drake did not take it as such. "Sorry. To get to my point, I am leading the first inter-galactic colony expansion by the human race. If you would provide us assistance in our journey, and give us a map of the galaxy, we would consider ourselves in your debt."

 

 

 

The prince was disturbed at this, and uncomfortably shifted in his chair. "Let it not be known that the Crown Prince indebted his saviors! You shall come to the capital, a most pleasant place, and meet my mother, the Empress!"

 

 

 

"Thank you, if you would feed the information to our computers..."

 

 

 

The looked at him in surprise. "You do not use the Ley-lines? You just came out of one! Follow my Hhhhrraa closely, return your ships to yourself. My own guard shall treat you as they do I." The Prince nodded and sent a video feed, showing his ship turning to the proper direction.

 

 

 

"I put it on silent. You think we can trust them?" Hermione was already relaying the information to the colony ships. They would be intractable if they were not informed. "I feel that the Prince is honorable, but his Empress?"

 

 

 

"We can trust them. Entirely."

 

 

 

"But sir!"

 

 

 

"Hermione! Just relay the information. I know what I'm doing."

 

 

 

A voice warbled from the intercom. "I'm glad you do to, Drake. Because I don't like this."

 

 

 

Drake sighed. Despite their personal misgivings, they obeyed. And they soon arrived at the Prince's home system.

[Bluejayfan94]

BTW, you had more than 3 chapters out. But, Im glad to see its back :D

[Xewleer]

I know... but Google had yet to cache them...

[Bluejayfan94]

I know... but Google had yet to cache them...

 

 

 

[CABBAGE] that Google! lol

[Xewleer]

updated! added a prologue!

[Bluejayfan94]

And its only been... uh, 3 weeks?

[Xewleer]

You try to get inspiration for something you lost the beginning of! I'm working on it... gah...

 

 

 

really, I'm trying to get inspiration back. Most of it is stuck in my 'honor' series... I might abandon it...

 

 

 

Not before I take some characters...

 

 

 

(You'll see Wolf and Mate again, Hermione definitely. Maybe)

[Bluejayfan94]

You try to get inspiration for something you lost the beginning of! I'm working on it... gah...

 

 

 

really, I'm trying to get inspiration back. Most of it is stuck in my 'honor' series... I might abandon it...

 

 

 

Not before I take some characters...

 

 

 

(You'll see Wolf and Mate again, Hermione definitely. Maybe)

 

 

 

Definitely Maybe... Isn't that some romantic movie?

[Xewleer]

I'm too manly to watch romantic movies.

 

 

 

I'll go if and when I get a girlfriend, but only if it's one I approve of. d(Needless to say, I have yet to have a girlfriend, though I am a 'trusted' friend with several girls I know. Strange... why do bad boys get all the girls!?!! Nice guy over here ladies, guaranteed to be faithful!! Gah... Never mind... I'm too nice to say it out loud...)

[Bluejayfan94]

I'm too manly to watch romantic movies.

 

 

 

I'll go if and when I get a girlfriend, but only if it's one I approve of. d(Needless to say, I have yet to have a girlfriend, though I am a 'trusted' friend with several girls I know. Strange... why do bad boys get all the girls!?!! Nice guy over here ladies, guaranteed to be faithful!! Gah... Never mind... I'm too nice to say it out loud...)

 

 

 

Lol, I'm the same. Only had one girlfriend, but am trusted with alot more.