Version 2006 - Ch 65



INTERLUDE

Red Dragon watched the small Army emerge from the Silver Streak boarding the Intruder. His Comm Officer the beardless Kermac said." Captain I managed to break into Velvets Command line. She has a visual and audio feed going back to her ship!" "Put it on!" He saw what one of Black Velvets Pirates Helmet Cam showed and heard their comm. traffic. Black Velvet lead the boarding team herself, in her black outfit with a Blaster and a Boarding axe dismembering and torturing the crew of the Intruder in the most brutal and inhuman way he had ever witnessed. She showed no mercy even at those surrendering. Meateater wasn't exactly his friend but to see him tortured for the codes of his ships Computronics and treasure locations in such a gruesome manner was disturbing even to him. As she finally gouged the eyes out and ripped the throat from the already bleeding and mortally wounded captain. He looked away. Ivok called him" We managed to get into her Comm Traffic. Do you want to see what she does?" "No I just did!" " And I was almost going along with Meateater's plan! I never seen anything like that! Hell has no fury like her!" "I did not think she would be that vicious. But then that just confirms all the reports we heard and I've seen her fight in the arena. She is a savage beast." "I won't double cross her that is clear!" The Wartok chimed in." I was always decent to my prey. Seeing what she does I think she is even worse than you Red Dragon!" Dragon leaned back. He had lost his Celtest shields. They simply didn't activate and his Engineer of course could not even begin to guess why and his knowledge of it was also extremely limited. Now that Velvet had a few Loki torpedoes she was a serious threat. Only Shuputz had any chance to survive a direct hit in his Destroyer. He still wanted to kill that woman and take that ship from her, but he knew that this was now more wishful thinking than ever and he had to be very smart about that near the end. He didn't want her to find the Depot with him. How to get rid of her close before the target was more of a problem than he thought. Leaving her was also no option, he really needed her now since Meateater was gone. The first fuel stop and they already lost one ship. Things weren't going all that smooth at all. ________________________________________ I cringed in my seat as I watched the video."By Odin that is the most gruesome gory thing I ever saw. I can't watch! " Elfi turned it off." Don't blame me . Mao added details from some of the worst and even some illegal Slasher Virtu Shows. He loves that stuff!" Mao grinned sheepishly." I just like horror Virtus! I agree maybe it was a little too much!" Narth said." The human psyche is perhaps the greatest enigma of this Universe. That such Virtu shows find a ready audience is really fascinating." Then he added."But your plan worked . The remaining Pirates did hack into the stream and Crimson Hunter and Ivok really fear you know and are not as easily persuaded by Red Dragon to do anything against you." "That was the idea. Now Meateater and those who gave up are in Stasis?" Hans responded. "Yes 54 pirates are safely tugged away in security stasis. We can turn them over to the authorities when we return." I looked around."I haven't seen the Golden where is he?" " In the Lair tallying our loot we took from the Intruder. He took everything of value and is happy as can be." The pirates relocated their fuel making procedure to the other planet in the system. A rocky and cold world but with plenty of frozen water. While they did that we landed back on the other world. Shea took samples and with her team surveyed the living carpet thing. It turned out to be some sort of silicone based life form of incredible age and was dormant as it had consumed all it could from its own planet, and without food it was dormant, with the ships present and a new food source of metal it became more active. The Crabs were, as Shea and her team discovered in a symbiotic relationship with the carpet. The planet was named Carpet and put into the catalogs that way. Four days later we left the system and went to cross the gap between the two spiral arms. It was not completely without stars but only a few far and between and was mostly a gapping void of nearly 2000 light years. The Red Dragon and the other ships dropped out of FTL about half way. The reason was a Fuel leak aboard the Bloody Mary of Ivok, that needed to be fixed. He assured us it would take only a day, but he needed to get some fuel from Red Dragon to restock what they had lost. I just wanted to end my shift and planned to have dinner in the Pirates Den and then watch a popular chick virtu with Elfi, Cateria and of course Shea. As much as I got used and as much as I enjoyed my female persona I still found those virtus that focused on feelings, love relationships and more feelings. Of course made for females incredibly boring and wondered why even a girl like Shea with an IQ of over 400 enjoyed them so much. I was convinced if I came behind the secret what the allure was I would really be a female, however so far it had eluded me. Of course my pride did not permit me to openly admit to that, so I was forced by my own strange personality and pride to share these. TheOther and the officers of the Afternoon watch arrived and I got up, when SHIP raised alert. I plunged back in my seat and said." All hands Battle stations. Report!" Narth spoke." SHIP raised alert because a drifting dust cloud of matter just changed course and accelerated towards us!" "A dust cloud?" Shea analyzing the sensor data said." A concentration of cosmic dust, composed of hydrogen, frozen gases. silica, metals, minerals and other base matter. Combined mass of 14 million tons spread over a roughly spherical shaped volume with a diameter of 200 kilometers has just reduced its volume and thus density to less than 20 kilometers and changed from a drifting state to increase velocity and it changed course!" Narth said." I am feeling a presence. It is nothing like I ever touched. I do not understand it nor could I attempt to communicate at this state. The only somewhat familiar emotion is a sense of intense hunger and also loneliness." The Cloud had already reached the Red Dragon. Streaks of lightning like energies flickered over the ship's hull. The Dragon fired but the energy beam hit mostly nothing and the shots energy dissipated as if absorbed by whatever this was. The red Dragon accelerated and barley made it out of the energy leeching embrace. Alerts rang and SHIP said." Sir the Cloud has just increased the gravimetric conditions and created a gravitation sinkhole. We are caught in it!" Red Dragon hailed." Looks like I barely made it out. And so did Shuputz and Crimson. Our sensors detect an intensive Gravitation well increasing in strength. Since there is no way I am going to risk my ship to get you. It was nice meeting you Velvet. Sorry Ivok, it was your shitty repair job that got us in this mess, so deal with it!" The Red Dragon still increasing velocity followed the other two and went trans light! Not even waiting for a response. Shea said." Gravimetric pressure increasing. I am not sure if we can escape with our TransDim Gravi Drive as it might feed the entity out there even more. Our regular ISAH drive is only a secondary unit and if my calculations are correct no longer enough to escape fast enough." Ivok's Bloody Mary was firing out of every weapon and each shot vaporized a few molecules but its energies increased the power of the cloud. "Mao, shut down Shields and any external drives." If we don't emit Energies it might simply slip past us and then we can use a few graviton mines to gather it and destroy it with a TL load." Narth said."It is so hard to get a hold of it telekinetic. It is as if you would try to hold water in your hands. "Hail the Bloody Mary and tell those idiots to stop firing!" Elfi turned."Unable to raise them. No response!" Narth raised his voice a little." The fuel supply on the other ship is leaking again. Affecting the Antimatter storage. The being lost all interest on us and is now focused on the Bloody Mary." Cirruit had come on the bridge and activated his Engineering Station." Captain I give the other ship a maximum eight minutes before she goes!" Suit arrived moments later." I analyzed the Entity it clearly shows sentient behavior. I am certain I can extend my shields around the Ship to protect it." "No need Suit. We have very advanced shields as well but we can't use them without compromising our cover. The Red Dragon is still within sensor range." I leaned forward ." Hail them again. I would like to try to save the crew if possible." "I am not getting through Captain. But I am getting something from the Cloud on regular sub light electromagnetic radio." Even in this situation I felt pride in my crew. They worked together like a well maintained machine. Elfi transferred her Data to Shea. Shea signaled with a hand sign she was working on it and SHIP's screen image blinked at her console and I knew it was helping too, without being tasked to it like a regular Computronic. Narth said:"I think I can teleport 10 or 15 of them before it explodes, but not all." Starman Suit again said." My sensors located the ego center of the being. It is a small dense mass of Matter with synaptic neuro like activity." The Bloody Mary ejected her Reactor Core but it was too late. The Core exploded barely out the ejection port and ripped the entire aft section of the Bloody Mary to shreds." Narth said." There are still survivors. I am getting as much as I can." Suit said."I can teleport as well and will assist." I nodded and they both vanished. Hans got up and ran to the IST alerting his Marines to receive the Pirates. Har Hi informed Sickbay as well. Shea nodded to Elfi and then said."Captain I believe we can communicate now with the Dust cloud. the creature is indeed intelligent and responded to the mathematical sequence and now we understand it." "I can talk to it?" "Yes!" "This is Captain Olafson calling the space born entity. Can you hear me!" At first there was only a hissing sound crackling almost like wind. Elfi said:" Sorry these are radio wave statics I am trying to compensate. It is analog and not digital." Then a voice." Matter concentration speaks to I. I is not alone now there is other voice!" "Why are you attacking us?" "Attacking...not, no. I was hungry to far from heat light. Little Metal mass came has lots of food. Little mass gives much food. Unaware you have voice!" Narth interrupted via Intercom." Captain, I am getting more and more structure now. His thoughts become understandable!" "We are many voices inside the Metal Mass. Your gravimetric alteration is keeping us and caused harm." "When I stop mass wave increase you will leave?" "We must leave. We cannot remain here!" "Please not go. I am alone. So alone and now you speak. I am no longer alone." "If you would not be so big. We could maybe tow you across the Expanse." " Big, my size variable. Much mass can be discarded is only added mass. Please I no longer alone. Will not cause harm!" Narth almost sounded like out of breath as he appeared on the bridge and said." It has no concept of lie or false hood. It has no aggressive thoughts violence is unknown to it. It did not know our ships were anything else but dead matter. It never had any contact to another living being and thought it is the only sentient being in the universe. I see images now of stars and constellations from many million years ago. It is unable to travel faster than light. It feeds on energy and out here to far from stars it became weak and hungry and unable to reach the other side of the gap without straving to death." "How is the rescue operation going, Narth?" "Suit and I have transferred 79 pirates. The rest is dead. We are currently transferring the prisoners into Stasis Containers and store them." I switched the channel open." We will remain until we find a way to help you." "I is so happy. Not alone and talk with other is much joy! I will shed much matter." Muhammad said." Gravitational pull is gone. We are fully maneuverable." And Mao added." The Cloud center has separated from other matter. I can easily target it and destroy it now." He then said." Just in case of course." "Can we tow the rest mass across the rest of the gap?" Shea nodded easy." The Cloud center has approximately two tons of mass. We could load that in a big container for all that." Har Hi kept an eye on the long range sensors."The Red Dragon and the other two ships have stopped at their maximum sensor range and scanning us. I bet they going to hail us in a little bit." "Alright I want to help that being if we can. Do we want to take in. Can we contain it?" Har-Hi shrugged." I don't see why not. It is only matter and some energy and 2 tons. We could keep it in containment fields and destroy it too." "Well I guess we take this galactic orphan along." Elfi opened the channel and I said:" We will take you along with us. A door will open and you can enter our sphere." "One is overwhelmed!" "Shea would you go and make sure the thing is correctly contained and see if we need to feed it or something." "Aye Captain!" "Muhammad get us going and follow the Red Dragon!" As Har Hi predicted he called." I see you managed to get out of this gravitation trap as well. " "I thought we formed this little Armada of yours so we can assist each other in times of trouble. So I will make this perfectly clear. The next time you are in any sort of predicament. Don't expect me to raise a finger." "I must admit If I was in your place I think the same way. We lost two ships already and not even in a real fight with anything. If that continues we never make it, none of us. Who would have thought this is going to be such a challenge!" "Just lead the way Dragon. Don't expect any favors or social calls from me. It is strictly business from now on." ________________________________________