Welcome Aboard
04 Sep 2020Zamen Kensata
Space was not meant for humanity.That's what Dan Pummell's father had always believed and he would often remind his family, especially his son. Though it obviously didn't take as Dan followed the career path of a space miner after a brief stint in the Arduan space defense force. Dan was sure people would say the same thing about the oceans of Earth before humanity first set sail.
Almost a decade had passed since he sat behind the controls of a Cobra Mk II, but after a few hours of dodging asteroids near Tise, Dan felt comfortable enough in the pilot's seat. However, knowing what lay ahead of him within the next few hours still brought unease to his mind. The sleek, half diamond; half square body of his craft glistened against the heat of Ardua's star while Dan waited. It wouldn't be long now before he needed to spin up the main systems and blast himself into what may be certain death.
Wonder what dad would think now? The thought made him shudder.
Would his father be proud? He was a simple farmer. Honest work is how he would always describe it. You couldn't get more honest than contributing to the continued sustenance of a population. But his hotshot hard headed son never had any respect for honest work. No, his dad would say. You just want to follow those city slickers into that smog ridden wasteland of a town, chasing skirts and easy money.
Dan couldn't see the problem with this.
Eventually he did leave home through way of the SDF and rather than chase, he caught multiple skirts and loads of easy money. The war had ended long before Dan was born but space pirating was a lucrative criminal profession and blasting those murderous bandits out of the sky was a very rewarding task handed down to him from his superior officers. More often than not the word hero would be floated his way from weary miners and their families. But that was not why Dan had joined. It was more about finding a sense of purpose beyond what life on the ground could offer. But the constant killing eventually took its toll. It wasn't so much guilt as it was a realization that never seeing the person you killed made it easier to kill and killing should never be easy. Honest would have been the last word his dad had used to describe his profession back then. Hero would have never crossed his mind. But he died a year before Dan's first mission so Dan was never able to hear his father tell him how disappointed he would have been.
Three chimes from the comm panel shook his attention back to reality. Tukka had just broken the atmosphere and was en-route. Had to time things just right. Roughly another hour and the attack would begin. Dan let his hands slide across the operation panel in front of him and the holographic keyboard near his left arm. Slowly, his ship began to wake with a low hum and the silence of space receded into the background amongst the simulated ambiance of thrusters and clanking metal programmed into most space-faring ships. Ten light seconds off in the distance, the Perseverance sat quietly within the confines of the orbital space construction site.
"Systems online." The Cobra's sultry female voice advised.
"Time to go to work." Dan muttered in affirmation.
The ex-soldier still couldn't fully figure out why he had agreed to this operation. Hijacking and terrorism weren't usually the odd jobs military veterans took up after a somewhat successful stint of bounty hunting. Dan had returned to Ardua, taking up contracts here and there in construction and nightclub security. That's how he had met Dr. Rask. She was drinking her sorrows away after losing her father to radiation sickness. Dan almost got a fist to the face for something he had said. Couldn't remember what it was but he had set her off without realizing that a silent rage was bubbling beneath the despair etched across her face. Rage combined with hatred; a bad combination. She was determined to see to it that the lower class of society got a fair shake and was yearning for a crusade but she didn't know where to look. Once the exodus mission became public knowledge Dan could tell that she had found her white whale. The poor and poverty stricken wouldn't be left behind to die on a dying planet. Not on her watch. Dan always thought she was a bit overzealous with her convictions. After all, it wasn't as if everyone from the lower class would be left behind simply because they were poor. The government just wasn't capable of saving everyone and those with the ability to fund it either through taxes or massive financial grants would be first in line for each ark. But a plan was in place to gather a good portion of the less fortunate. Though that wasn't enough for Tukka. Too much bad shit had befallen her throughout the years and almost every time there was some rich corporate asshole she could point the finger at. Her father had been the final straw and this crusade was her way of rebelling against a system she felt was unjust. Being the son of a moderately successful farmer, Dan couldn't really relate to the passion Tukka held in her hatred for the wealthy. But that passion combined with the compassion she held for the poor spurred something inside him he didn't realize was there.
Her supermodel level of beauty didn't hurt either.
Love was a mischievous force that could turn the most law abiding citizen into a criminal. If this whole thing ended in failure, the powers that be would most likely chalk the crime he was about to commit up to the seduction of a beautiful woman. They may be correct but Dan didn't care. Tukka's concern for the wellbeing of the poor was genuine. Nothing could change Dan's belief in that. It was more than a vendetta against the rich. Tukka had shown him Ford's letter the last night they were together and the passive disregard he held towards sacrificing those without the ability to buy their way onto the ark made it clear that Tukka was their best bet. Although he didn't trust Mar Ris. Shadowy figures behind the scenes usually turned out to be more trouble than they were worth. But as long as Mar supplied the ships to help defend the ark once it had been taken then he will have served his purpose.
About forty minutes had passed and Dan found himself within five light-seconds of the Perseverance. It was now or never.
"Unidentified craft, you are within illegal distance of Ark Perseverance, change course now or you will be fired upon. You have ten seconds to comply." A stern male voice crackled into Dan's ears through his comm system.
A single Cobra against a battle cruiser turned armored lifeboat. Dan smirked at the thought of it. But the SDF had trained him well in stunt fighter tactics against larger ships. His foot slammed on the acceleration pedal and the bright red thrusters of his craft exploded into life as his thumb keyed a button most military pilots were instructed to ignore.
"Flight assist, off" his robotic A.I. confirmed.
The nose of Dan's Corba spun upwards in unison as the veteran pilot pulled back on the flight stick. The brake pedal depressed beneath the weight of his left foot and the craft sailed through the airless void beneath the ark that had just cleared the construction site. The underbelly turrets turned towards the small ship just as it began releasing a hail of lasers towards them. The first turret sputtered and fizzled to a halt after receiving a few red bolts from the Cobra before it could release a single shot. Several volleys of red plasma were unleashed from the remaining five turrets towards the tiny ship; each continuing on harmlessly into the blackness of space.
Dan's feet danced with the acceleration and brake pedals while his left and right hands collaberated with the engine boost and flight stick, pushing his craft into a seemingly impossible ballet of movement through the void. More like an ancient hummingbird from humanity's past than a fighter craft, Dan's Cobra evaded an explosive death from the large lasers of the ark and with expert precision, shut down each turret above and beneath the massive cruiser with well placed volleys of his own.
"You're all clear, bunny." Dan said through a grin to his significant other. "Hope those Shield of Justice mercs can handle the skeleton crew."
"Hope was never a factor." Tukka's voice came back in reply. "We'll let you know when it's safe to come aboard."
Dan took up a defense orbit around the ark and waited. A small blip on his radar briefly caught his attention. A hollowed out yellow square that usually represented another craft. But it was only for a split second and he couldn't have been sure if it wasn't one of the millions of asteroid signals that filled up most of the radar's output readings. Best to just keep an eye out for anything else suspicious. If there was someone else out there; leaving the boarding shuttle defenseless would be playing right into their hands.
Half an hour went by in what seemed more like five minutes and there was still no signal from Tukka. Dan knew the ark had most likely managed a distress call to Ardua and Admiral Idle would be sending in the cavalry but as long as Tukka and the mercs could gain control of the ark then all of the cards would be in their hands. The SDF wouldn't risk damaging the ark. Once Tukka confirmed everything was clear he knew that their goal of negotiations could begin.
"All clear. You can come on in, Dan. Welcome aboard." Tukka's voice flowed once again from Dan's comm to the pilot's great relief.
"Roger that." Dan replied with a grin.
Viewing the ark from the outside did not give justice to how truly gigantic the ship actually was. It was almost a twenty minute walk from the docking bay to the bridge with an escort of mercenaries. Some belonging to the Shield of Justice and others loyal to Tukka's wallet. He saw her for the first time in the month since Tukka's plan was set in motion and her beauty had not waned. Her smile ignited a fire of anticipation in his heart he had forgotten existed and when she threw herself into his arms he returned the tight embrace with one of his own and a long sigh of relief.
"We did it." Tukka said after a brief kiss.
"We sure did. Now what?" Dan asked while taking in the sight of the bridge.
"Now we wait for them to contact us and we lay out our demands." Tukka responded knowingly.
"This all went a bit too well for my liking." Dan said with one arm still around her.
"You don't like it when things are easy?" Tukka asked with a tilted head, the smile never leaving her face.
"It's not like the admiral to get caught with his pants down like this." Dan suggested. "Just wondering where all the defense ships were."
"Who do you think ordered them a couple hundred light seconds away to investigate a suspicious signal near one of the last active asteroid clusters?" Tukka said as her smile changed to a sly grin.
A loud laugh escaped Dan in response. "You got to him too? I hope you didn't use the same methods you used on me."
"Don't worry." Tukka said with another kiss. "You were a special case."
A loud chime echoed throughout the bridge.
"We have a comm request from SDF command." One of the mercenaries said, glancing back at Dan and Tukka. "It's the prime minister."
Dan saw Tukka's eyes narrow and her grin widen into a satisfied smile at that announcement. "Go easy, bunny."
"Not a chance." Tukka replied, already walking to the comm panel.
Dan couldn't help taking in the aura of Tukka's righteous indignation, watching her confident stride towards the panel. They had won. She would negotiate free governmental medical assistance for every citizen in the slums and demand a spot for each on this and future arks. He hoped she wouldn't go too overboard and hamper the government's ability to construct actual battle cruisers and fighters in case the Endeavorent reports back significant hostile activity. For all of Ford's arrogance and bluster he was right about one thing; a fleet of colony ships were useless in the face of an overwhelming hostile alien force. It would benefit no one for all of Ardua's remaining resources to be squandered indiscriminately without first coming up with some kind of strategy. Getting the sick and dying off of the planet only to have them die floating in space wasn't what Dan had signed up for. He would have to have a talk with her when they could manage a few hours of privacy, he thought. However, that thought was unexpectadly and somewhat violently interrupted.
"Perseverance..."
The voice was loud, impossibly loud and trailed off with each syllable. It felt as if it were physically slicing at Dan's brain. His hands shot up to shield his ears but it had no effect.
"Perseverance..."
For a moment after the voice ended a second time, Dan managed to open his tear filled eyes and could see most of the crew around him were also in pain and covering their ears.
Most, but not all.
Everyone except for the Shield of Justice mercenaries, who happened to be the bulk of the boarding party, had fallen to their knees with their hands over their ears, crying out in pain. Dan noticed Tukka was still upright only because she had reached the comm panel and was holding on for dear life. Dan had managed to remain on his feet as well, trying desperately to keep his eyes open and process what was happening.
Until the voice boomed for a third time. Still trailing every syllable.
"PERSEVERE"
"PERSEVERE"
"PERSEVERANCE"
From his knees, Dan managed to gaze up in Tukka's direction when the voice finally gave them a reprieve. She had slumped down against the comm panel and was being pulled up by two of the Shield of Justice mercenaries. The other members of the boarding party, including Dan, were left to pass out on the floor, some with blood leaking from their ears. Dan couldn't let himself fade into the blackness of unconsciousness. He struggled to his feet, slowly reaching for his sidearm until he was stopped. This time not by the voice but rather his own eyes and the shock combined with disbelief that his sight wrought.
Dan had never seen a Thargoid ship before but at that moment he knew that is indeed what he was staring at through the clear plasteel window of the bridge. Massive was not a sufficient enough word to describe the alien monstrosity. It almost resembled a flower. A bulky flower with sharp pedals that harbored a bright nausea inducing, greenish white pulsating light. The front pedals spun clockwise and the larger back pedals counterclockwise. Suddenly the light pulsated brighter and dimmed. The green pedals changed black and a blood red light replaced the pulsating green.
"What?" Dan managed through labored breaths. "In god's name?"
The lights around the bridge began to flicker. Some went out entirely. From behind Tukka a black alien substance began oozing out across the window, the instrument panels, even the floor.
His eyes briefly locked with those of Tukka and her terrified expression only intensified his sense of dread just before he felt something punch his back and his body jerked forward, causing him to reflexively gasp. But he couldn't feel himself breathe. Confusion overtook him and suddenly he heard Tukka's voice. She was shrieking but he didn't know why. He couldn't understand what she was saying. Perhaps, no? Maybe that was what she was screaming. But her voice sounded too muffled for his ears to make out. Why? His hands had fallen from his ears. They must have because he could no longer feel them there. He could not feel them at all. Tukka looked so horrified. Was there some other inhuman horror behind him? What could be more terrifying than that thing outside? Something was dripping from Dan's mouth. What was it? His mind felt as if it was slowing down. His head began to sink and then his eyes saw what Tukka had seen. Some strange appendage had punctured his back and pushed its way out through his chest. It shared the same green color the alien outside once harbored. It pulsated and Dan soon realized that it was the only reason he still remained upright as his feet were no longer on the floor.
Dan knew what would come next but he was too far gone for fear to take hold. He just wanted to see her one last time before the encroaching darkness took him. He tried with all of the will power he had left to lift his head and lock eyes with her once more but all of his strength had left him. Dan's eyes remained open, a look of shock covering his face as his spark of life faded. Exhaustion overtook his senses and darkness devoured the silver floor beneath his feet.