FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"When the light's gone out and we open our eyes

Out there in the silence I'll be gone

I'll be gone

Let the sun fade out and the other one rise

Climbing through tomorrow I'll be gone

I'll be gone..."

_ - I'll be gone - Linkin Park _

Space...

The final frontier...

...and all that crap that goes with it.

Prince-Commander Kyle Jason Garathy was furious, but didn't let any of his anger shown. First being forced by some politician to replace his first officer with some upstart pipsqueak, from a bumfuck Egypt of a colony, just because his father in the senate envisioned for his offspring a bright service in the military, and had enough connections to place the runt, that wouldn't normally pass the selection in the Galactic Navy. Still not so much, to give him his own starship.

His own starship...

In truth every starship in Galactic Navy, be it a interception corvette, or Planet-buster Dreadnought, belonged to UESA* High Command, but was passed to ship commanders as sort of fiefdom, and left in their authority to be commanded at their leisure. And as long as the commanders obeyed the orders of High Command, and maintained their starships at top efficiency, they had the liberty to choose their crew, and outfitting their starships with the load-out of their choice; even naming them if the starship was fresh out of the fleetyards.

Garathy was very proud when he heard, he will be commanding of a dreadnought. A Planet-buster. And even though The Dragonclaw (called The Finnegnan, back then) was heavily outdated by the time Garathy got him, probably being a test vessel for the jump drive, but regardless getting a dreadnought class starship just after but a few months serving as a first officer on a destroyer in a colonial defense fleet was a huge leap.

Even after he brought back the destroyer without the whole stardrive section, and banged up so bad, that they decided to scrap it, rather than send it for the repairs. And this was on the first day as he took command over it...

...It was a long story, anyway, now he was pissed. But not just because he was forced to take someone unchecked under command. It was of all of the things that seemed to be triggered by that event. The Murphy's law no. 2... something; stated that if something could fuck up, be assured it will, all at once at the least opportune time. And Garathy was actually seeing it happen.

• Damage report! - He shouted, trying to surpass the sounds of the alarm sirens - Damage report!

  • We're back in the normal space; FTL drive off-line! - responded helm officer Jurgen Steinbach, trying to read information on the blinking holo-screen - Core containment procedures are in effect. That last shot we took before we phased-out must've been directly into one of the ZPU's. No phase communication, nor long range sensors. Fire control not responding. Reported fires on decks from five through eleven, Fire brigades are barely handling them. No reliable data on casualties.

Dragonclaw's bridge was enormous, with giant screen in front and four consoles, all manned by an appropriate officer. Astrogation and communication, Helms, Engineering and Fire control. Behind them was a 'commander's nest', where Garathy was sitting with the first officer; surrounded by a rows of holo-projectors, hanging from the ceiling. As far as Garathy know, only the Dragonclaw was arranged like this. Most of the starships had a separate Tactical console, but he wanted it like that, so he could have a holographic overview of the battlefront when it was needed.

It just was better to have it in a 3D, than on the flat screen, no matter how big it was.

• Evacuate surrounding decks and seal them off. - He ordered - The fire will suffocate soon enough. Dispatch to the sick bays: Treat only light injured. Those with serious wounds should be confined in a stasis, and treated at nearest starbase.

• Sir! I must protest! The lightly injured... - said... What was his name again? Nah, who cares...

Garathy gritted his teeth in annoyance, at his first officer outburst. ANOTHER ONE.

• Will quickly recover and man their posts - He managed somehow to keep his anger out of his voice. - While severely injured will safely await specialist clinic on a starbase.

Normally He wouldn't be so frustrated with this, but that damn prissy pants was questioning almost every order he gave. There will be some strong words with a few chair-farts back home. Either they will reassign him to another ship, either Garathy will ask for a relieve of his commend. He was almost certain they wouldn't do that. Dragonclaw had made quite a name for itself since was passed on to him.

• It is you who learn from me - Garathy stressed that out - You will do well not to forget that. I am STILL YOUR SUPERIOR.

• Sire! I'm reading a heat buildup in fourth ZPU! - reported engineering officer, stroking franticly at the blinking in red sections of the starship displayed on his holo-panel - Controls are not responding!

• Flush it with coolant! - ordered the first officer, before Garathy could react.

• I can't!

` - Cut-off the cables manually. - said Garathy

• Abort that! - shouted first officer - We'll lose all power!

Engineering officer disregarded the outburst. He was in service onboard long enough, to know who's orders had priority. He promptly reached to the one of a few actual buttons on his console, and pressed it with clenched fist, nearly smashing the button. That made a small glasslike cage opposite to the button open, revealing a small knob. He turned it 45 degrees clockwise.

He heard four small explosions somewhere deep inside the starship, and suddenly all went dark. After a long period of time yellow holo-panels went to life. There were no other sources of light, even the big screen remained dark.

• Report status - ordered the first officer

• The entire system is rebooting - responded engineering officer - we need time to ascertain the situation.

• You incompetent fool! - he snarled at Garathy - You see what you've don..

He fell back to the console behind him, nearly falling out of the 'commander's nest', when Garathy shoved a fist in his gut.

• For your information, bonehead - He hissed looking at the bent officer, gasping for air - If I wouldn't do it we were be all dead by now. If you would have any brains at all and you would've do a little research on the Arpanet, and read about the basics of jump drive, you would know, just how unstable are the ZP units. There. Was. No. Other. Option. Yakubik. Get every available engineering teams outside, and on that collector. Tell them they can kill, rape and plunder, but give me back my FTL drive. I want that unit up and running ASAP. Launch emergency beacon now. Message: "Dragonclaw going down. Emergency power only. Massive structural failure. Requesting immediate assistance."

• That does it - said the first officer finally being able to stand straight - Commander Garathy; I am hereby relieving you of your command, under the law of Galactic Confederation paragraph 7223 sub section 212B for no longer being fit for duty, as you have been emotionally compromised. Sergeant; escort Garathy to his quarters, and make sure he stays there until further notice.

• This is mutiny. - said Garathy, as he felt a short prod of the rifle's barrel on his back - It won't even go as far as the court-martial. You will be executed on spot.

• I don't think so. - grinned the first officer.

• I bet daddy will be proud...

• Get this thing off MY bridge sergeant. - he ordered.

Garathy felt another thug in his back and sighing deeply he lifted his hands, and let the security to lead him out.

When they've reached his quarters, he saw the rest of the officer staff walking down the corridor. One of them looked at him meaningfully, and gave him a slight nod. Entering his quarters Garathy knew what that meant. His officers were highly loyal to him, as they were with him through thick and thin.

They will take back the ship.

...He just needed to figure out how.

With a silent crack two security men guarding the hangar entrance fell down unconscious, struck by a neural tazers. Clean 'n quiet. Garathy observed quietly as chief engineer Alexander Yakubik busted open a panel, below the door-lock, and plugged in his portable console. It was less than fifteen minutes since they broke Garathy free, and at first tried to take a straight route to the bridge. But that crafty devil sealed of the entire section. It was meant to stop boarding parties from seizing up the bridge, and three foot thick tritanium blast doors were more that anyone could handle.

At least without a capital ship grade cannon, and Garathy had to admit that that runt wasn't completely brainless. But like the old saying said: there were paths around every obstacle. So now they were trying to take one of the assault frigates docked in the hangar. Even though the section was a full lock-down, Garathy had every confidence in his chief engineer.

• They're trying to reconnect the ZPU's - said Yakubik manipulating the console - I estimate that it will take a half an hour to do so...

• Well, let's kick it into high gear. - said Garathy - We must take the bridge before they do that, or all would be lost. And I'm not planning on dying just yet.

• Maybe we won't have to. I've dispatched two engineering teams to install several power buffers. They should be able to take the overflow; can't promise anything though... There! - He said when the hangar doors begun opening.

• Steinbach at the wheel. Yakubik CO; launch a startup procedure, while the rest of us will work hard to look busy enough. - spoke Garathy as they ran up to the closest vessel.

• Did our illustrious leader just cracked a joke? - asked the tactical officer - Now I know we're screwed.

• Can it - said Garathy - This is no time to do a psychological analyze of my mental state.

• 'Cause you would fail it miserably...

• I said can it.

They've entered the vessel closing the hangar doors behind them. Steinbach and Yakubik went straightly to the cockpit, and sat at the two seats there. It was an Acadian-class Dropship with control panels not as advanced, as Dragonclaw's in a way that they were a touch-screens, rather than holographic panels, and worked a bit slower, so it took longer to prepare the ship for takeoff.

• What about the bay doors? - he asked noticing standing behind his chair. - You know they can only be opened from the bridge...

• Blast them.

• Sire..?

• We have a turbo-gauss onboard, haven't we?

• Yes but...

• Here - said Garathy and bend over the console and activated the cannon with few taps on the screen - Alex...

• Gravity tethers are engaged. Pressurizing inner hull... Sealed. The ship's ready for departure sire.

• Fire - commanded Garathy.

This time Steinbach obeyed the order without question. He grabbed the manipulator pad, unlocked the trigger casing and fired. Two high-explosive rounds were launched from under the ship, and dragging a violet plasma trails behind them smashed into the bay doors and exploded, tearing a big hole in them, big enough to let them fly through. Sudden decompression throw some loose crates out in the space, while the air from the hangar was sucked out.

• Vacuum, sire. - said Yakubik checking up the readings

  • Release the gravity tethers. Keep the Doppler** off-line for now. We'll go on thrusters - ordered Garathy and after Steinbach repeated his orders confirming their execution, added - Take us out Jurgen.

The Dropship hovered for a couple of seconds above the deck, while its landing gear was being retracted, and glided softly towards the hole in the bay doors. And into the space.

• There - said Garathy pointing at the front section of the starship displayed in the front screen - above that subsection.

• Uh... Guys? - spoke tentatively Yakubik - I'm reading a cascade power surge... Does that twit really trying to phase-jump with busted ZPU?

Garathy looked upon his console, and tapped at it several times, switching sets of sensors from one to another.

• He DOES! - he hissed - Bring the Doppler on-line now! Break-off! SHIELDS UP!

He instinctively grabbed a panel, hanging from the ceiling in order to prevent himself from falling down, when the dropship rolled abruptly 45 degrees to right, before realizing that even the dropship had independent gravity generator, therefore there were no inertial displacement.

• Reinforce bottom shields!

• How?! - shouted back Yakubik - This ain't no starship!

• Burn the fuel cells if you have to, but keep that tin-can in one piec...

Suddenly a powerful explosion erupted from within the starship, and ripped the Dragonclaw to pieces, sending little ship out of control, rolling wildly, followed by tons of debris. The next thing he remembered was him crawling out of a burning wreckage, dragging someone beside him by his arm; explosion and sharp pain in his back. He managed to somehow take a F-AID kit from the pocket on his shoulder. It contained a row of light-brown ampules. He picked one turning the cover with his index finger and thumb.

A small needle sprung from the top of the ampule, and he made himself an injection right to the artery on his neck and blacked-out

|

*UESA - United Earth Space Agency

**Doppler Engine - somewhat deprecated propulsion system utilizing 'quark burner' - a furnace that quickly transforms quarks from one variety into another, therefore accelerate interactions of the strong nuclear force. Based upon dr. Wanda Lemfort Reduplication Theory, the Doppler Engine remains the last and the fastest purely-human sub-light propulsion system.

|