VC2 Chapter 12-Touchdown

Sector 2300

Planet 2304

October 21, 2052

“The facility is right over there.” Papagiannis saw a distant base hovering in the sky.

“Let's get moving. That one hour countdown has begun already.” Johnson ordered as he steered his ship toward the massive base.

“Incoming fighters launching from the base. Two waves of Harrier frigates!” an officer reported as he scanned the radar.

“Harriers? These guys are amateurs.” Papagiannis laughed as his Revelation cruiser quickly made work of the Harrier spam.

“Combat turrets are activating.” Johnson noted as fusion torpedo turrets fired a wave explosives towards them.

“Captain, what's that odd looking weapon that's charging red?” Papagiannis watched as a turret turned and aimed at his ship.

Before Johnson could reply back, the turret fired a steady red beam onto Papagiannis' ship instantly holding it in space.

“Engines overloaded. This looks like a weapon designed to hold enemy ships.” Papagiannis looked at his own ship's status.

“We have multiple ships, it can't lock all of us at once. Full speed ahead.” Johnson broadcasted to the ships.

Johnson's fleet moved to engage the nearby turrets instantly wiping them out with concentrated fire. Papagiannis' fleet circled around to take out the other turrets. In a matter of minutes, the base was occupied with VEGA and NB fleets with a few ship losses.

“Papagiannis we have found a complete set of Hydra missile blueprints.” Johnson watched his men hurry out of a lab with a giant metallic crate.

“What about the new weapon Captain Johnson?” Papagiannis pointed at the dead turret outside the base.

“Looks like a prototype of some sort. There's nothing we can do to reverse technology on a dead weapon turret. We need to get out of here now. Something tells me this was too easy.” Johnson patted Papagiannis on the back as he hurried back to his cruiser.

The remaining ships launched and exited the planet encountering zero resistance from the rear side of the blockade.

“Du Preez and Tarbuck, do you copy?” Johnson sent a transmission.

“Shall we wait for them?” Papagiannis looked in the distant space for signs of battle.

“Du Preez or Tarbuck, are you there?” Johnson transmitted again.

“I think I see enemy ships inbound.” an officer alerted Johnson as ships appeared from the sides of the planet.

 “Local units, move to LZ Kilo.” Johnson made the call uncertain on the whereabouts of Admiral Tarbuck and Captain Du Preez.

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VC2 Chapter 11-Gibraltar

Sector 2300

Planet 2304

October 21, 2052

Johnson led his fleet towards the opposite of the planet where a small blockade was scattered as the ships flew to assist the frontal assault.

“Papagiannis, we need to punch through the lines and get on the surface quick.” Johnson transmitted to a fleet of Revelation cruisers beside him.

“You got it Captain.” Papagiannis replied and his fleet began to increase speed.

“The enemy has spotted us Captain.” an officer alerted Johnson who had stared blankly into space.

“Huh?” Johnson snapped out of trance.

“Enemy knows we're here.” the officer repeated.

“Full thrusters forward. Ready weapons.” Johnson sat on his command chair and strapped himself in.

Johnson's Apocrypha demolished the first Exodus cruiser scout with assistance from his other ships and quickly noted that the enemy have decided to form a defensive line.

“Arrow formation guys. We're going to ram through it.” Johnson issued the command to the ships.

“Solid copy Captain.” Papagiannis acknowledged as his fleet began to form in a triangle.

Two fleets in the shapes of triangles flew tightly together as they charged towards the defensive line. The enemy ships opened fire and unleashed a barrage of hex missiles and plasma torpedoes. The explosives appeared to be equipped with AM detonators as the blast radius rippled to the nearby ships on the point of contact.

“Hydra missiles!” Papagiannis shouted as the cluster of missiles tracked towards them as they got closer.

“Sir, lead ship is under heavy fire. Shields are taken out!” an officer reported.

“Cycle ship formations!” Johnson watched as the lead Apocrypha was pelted with explosives.

The lead Apocrypha reduced thrusters speed and allowed the two trailing ships to pass before going back to full speed. The ship was neatly protected from the hydra missiles, but were still getting beat up by the blast radius of the plasma torpedoes. In a matter of minutes, the lead ship blew up and drifted away from the formation.

“Captain, there's a venom blocking our path.” Papagiannis reported from his approach.

“Stay your course Lieutenant Commander!” Johnson directed.

“But I'll lose a ship upon impact.” Papagiannis replied as the his fleet were quickly nearing the venom in their way.

“I've already lost a ship son. Ram through it and get to the surface by all means necessary. I don't want to hear excuses...I want results!” Johnson scolded at Papagiannis through an open broadcast.

Papagiannis watched as his fleet smashed through the venom barrier as his lead ship made impact. In a matter of seconds, the lead ship was disintegrating in space as the hull lost its integrity.

“Damn it.” Papagiannis muttered under his breath as his ship flew past the debris of his dead Revelation cruiser crew.

Papagiannis sat in his chair in frustration as he watched other ships approach the surface of the planet.

“We did it guys!” Johnson congratulated everyone on comms.

 “But at what cost?” Papagiannis thought to himself.

VC2 Chapter 10-Sandcastle

Sector 2300

Planet 2304

October 21, 2052

“I see the blockade Du Preez. Let's do this mate.” Tarbuck sent the command to Du Preez's fleets in space.

Tarbuck's cruiser made its push forward with its other cruisers in a triangle formation while Du Preez flew in a straight line. The blockade dispatched some Revelation cruisers and began to engage the first NB ship.

“Contact starboard.” an officer alerted Tarbuck as the enemy pelted his ship with projectiles.

“Hold steady, return fire. Let's get them to loose up that blockade.” Tarbuck commanded as he watched his shields absorb fire.

The thermal beams on the Tarbuck's fleets charged and fired locking onto one cruiser shredding it into bits.

“They're breaking off to attack us.” an officer notified as he saw two fleets of venom battleships break off from the formation.

“Alright, let's get to Sandcastle. Notify Stein at once.” Tarbuck turned his ships and ordered his communications officer.

The venoms turned to fired their broadside weapons and a barrage of red missiles flew out and began to turn locking onto Tarbuck's fleets.

“Mother of god, hydra missiles!” Tarbuck watched as a cluster of missiles exploded near the ship and split into tinier missiles bombarding the ship.

“Shields at fifty percent Admiral!” the weapons officer shouted as parts of the ship were scorched.

“Full thrusters to Sandcastle.” Tarbuck pointed as he watched another barrage of hydra missiles slam into his cruiser.

“Cruisers one and five are down, repeat one and five are down.” an officer reported as two Revelation cruisers went up into flames from the explosions.

* * *

“Stein, do you copy over?” Tarbuck sent a transmission full of static.

“Yes sir, a little fuzzy, but I can hear you.” Stein replied back on comms.

“We're getting hammered and we won't make it to Sandcastle.” Tarbuck replied with images of fire in the background of the bridge.

“Shit! What's the plan sir?” Stein replied as he hopped off his command chair.

“You need...to...” Tarbuck transmission buzzed out.

“What's going on?” Stein rushed over to his communications officer.

“We lost contact with them. They're gone sir.” the officer pressed some buttons.

“What about Captain Du Preez?” Stein shouted in frustration.

“We are in the dark sir. Our comms are being jammed by them.” the communications officer walked to his other workstation to type on the computers.

“Enemy ships approaching!” an officer shouted as he watched his scanners.

“What do we do Lieutenant?” the communications officer asked.

“Damn, this is not going to plan. Who's next full senior?” Stein shouted out loud in the bridge looking at the crew.

 “You are, sir. You are.” an officer beside Stein replied as the whole crew suddenly went silent as they locked their eyes at their Lieutenant.

VC2 Chapter 9-Interrogations

Sector 2300

Planet 2305

October 21, 2052

“Let me rephrase it one more time. Captain Johnson's wife was Commander Thompson who was killed and now he wants revenge. How does Rumblelow tie into all of this?” Stein folded his arms as Irene was handcuffed to the chair in the portable room.

“I think the Vega corporation has other plans in mind and are playing with us.” Irene explained.

“You are crazy. For all I know, you may be a TFD spy feeding us false information. I'm not buying your story cadet.” Stein walked behind her.

“Are you stupid?” Irene struggled in her chair.

“Look around! Everyone is in uniform and not in some cadet training uniform.” Stein pulled at her hair to direct her head to his soldiers.

“Oww. Let me go, my brother is Lieutenant Commander Papagiannis.” Irene cried.

“How convenient, you already know all the officers in charge of the mission. What other info did you give to TFD hmmm? Coordinates? Strategies? I'm sick and tired of the spy shit.” Stein walked around her.

“I'm NB!” Irene shouted.

“Shhh, you are going to wake up the others.” Stein covered his hand over her mouth.

“Mhmmm” Irene tried to talk.

“Don't make this any harder than it needs to be.” Stein pulled out his switch blade and waved it in front of her frightened eyes.

All of a sudden, Wicker walked into the room and saw Stein with a knife waving around Irene and jumped into action.

“What the hell man!” Wicker pushed Stein away from Irene.

“Dude, she's a spy. I found her sneaking around.” Stein pointed at Irene with his knife.

“Put the knife away for god sakes. She's NB you noob.” Wicker uncuffed Irene.

“I kept telling him.” Irene stood up and walked to Stein and gave him a hard slap to the face.

“Doesn't matter. What are you doing here?” Wicker shook his head in annoyance.

Irene told Wicker what she overheard in the Johnson's ship and gave her concerns for the NB team.

“I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to have to tell your brother that you are here.” Wicker listened attentively.

“No please don't. He'll kill me.” Irene begged.

“I guess my knife wasn't intimidating enough...” Stein muttered as he looked outside the window to watch the sun begin to rise.

“Shut it Stein. You're not helping resolve this.” Wicker warned.

“Please Captain Wicker, don't. If he knows I am here, it will affect his mindset on the mission.” Irene asked nicely.

“You may have a point. You are staying here with me for the time being.” Wicker deduced.

“Thank you sir.” Irene gave her thanks.

“That doesn't mean the disciplinary actions to follow after for your insubordination.” Wicker replied with a serious tone as he pointed at her.

 “Sunrise Captain. Time to get the ships ready.” Stein turned his head from the window to notify Wicker.

VC2 Chapter 8-Commander Thompson

Sector 2300

Planet 2305

October 20, 2052

Irene slowly exited out of the closet of a sleeping quarter and made her way towards the cafeteria. The ship was dead silent as the crew had already gone to sleep for the big day tomorrow. She went to the counter and managed to grab two apples before a figure passed the entrance door.

“Hello?” the figure shouted from outside the door as the doors got pushed open.

Johnson scanned the dark vacant cafeteria before returning to his duties. Irene watched Johnson leave and quickly stuffed the apples in her pocket before making her way out of the room. She watched the man make his way down the corridor when a solider ran up to him.

“VP Rumblelow is on the line sir.” the soldier reported.

“Good.” Johnson increased his pace towards his quarters.

The word “Rumblelow” perked Irene's interest as she knew Rumblelow was the Vice President of the Vega corporation. She sneaked past some guards in the shadows and placed her ear to the wall of Johnson's office.

“Sir, I have news for you.” Johnson spoke.

“What is it Captain?” a deep voice replied which appeared to be Rumblelow.

“Commander Thompson's fleet is here.” Johnson replied.

“The hijacked fleets?” Rumblelow raised his voice in surprise.

“Yes sir. It appears that TFD are the ones responsible.” Johnson's voice cracked.

“This is an unexpected turn of events. I know you have been searching for the killers responsible for the death of your wife, but there is a job to be finished first. We will retrieve the lost ships after the job is done.” Rumblelow talked cooly.

“The bastards will pay for killing Evelyn Thompson.” Johnson thundered.

“Captain Johnson, are you fit for carrying your duties?” Rumblelow questioned.

“Um, yes. Yes sir I can.” Johnson toned down his voice.

“Good, I do not want to send Commander Vorzer here to clean up a mess you made.” Rumblelow threatened.

“No sir, I am good.” Johnson replied smoothly.

“Dismissed.” Rumblelow ordered.

Irene knew she needed to get off the Apocrypha and relay what she heard to the NB officers in the other docked ships of Johnson's condition. She scurried out of the ship access hatch and ran towards the portable room when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind.

 “Well...look who we have here.” the man questioned as he held Irene down to the ground twisting her arms behind her back.

VC2 Chapter 7-Missing

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

October 20, 2052

Charlie watched as Parks grabbed her bags and climbed aboard her Apocrypha cruiser in the loading bay.

“Come on Sarah, it was a joke.” Charlie pleaded her to stay as he grabbed her arm.

“Let go of me.” Parks shook away from Charlie and went inside the ship.

“Damn it!” Charlie kicked a nearby resource crate as he watched Parks' ship fly out into space and warp out.

“You alright sir?” a tall officer in full combat gear walked overhearing the commotion.

“I'm good, thanks.” Charlie watched the officer remove his helmet.

“Captain Rob McClelland.” the officer offered his hand.

“Admiral Charlie Chu. I haven't see you before...” Charlie squinted his eyes to think.

“I'm with the research division. Perhaps that's why?” McClelland guessed.

“Maybe.” Charlie crossed his arms.

“Don't worry too much. Women need space.” McClelland chuckled.

“I just don't get it...” Charlie sighed.

“You never will. Now go find another girl to talk to in the time being. Keep your mind elsewhere.” McClelland pointed at a distant girl watching them.

McClelland waved at the girl and motioned her to come over. As she got closer, Charlie noticed it was Natalia in her cadet training uniform.

“Yes sir?” Natalia walked over and saluted the men.

“Enjoy.” McClelland whispered into Charlie's ear and patted his back before walking away.

“Umm, how long have you been standing there?” Charlie inquired.

“A while actually. I was going to ask you if you have seen Irene, but then I saw you with Commander Parks having a...discussion.” Natalia chose her words carefully.

“Yeah, let's go talk to my office where I can access logs where Irene has checked in.” Charlie nudged gently.

The two made their way into Charlie's office which was decorated with lots of medals and awards hung on the walls. Behind his desk were two flags, one Canadian and one Australia, on each side of the back window overlooking the base.

“Take a seat Natalia.” Charlie pointed as he sat down in his chair.

“I see you know Commander Parks when she was young?” Natalia couldn't help but notice some photos of Parks that appeared to be younger.

“Ah that was a long time ago. I think you are too young to know about the Earth incident.” Charlie grabbed the photo frame and smiled.

“All I know what that we lost Earth from an outbreak of diseases making it uninhabitable.” Natalia watched as Charlie touched the picture of Parks' with his index finger.

“That's right. We abused the planet's natural resources and disregarded our wastes. When the virus appeared, we were almost wiped out to extinction. We had to leave the planet in search of new homes and join outer colonies in deep space.” Charlie took his sleeve and brushed off some dust on the photo before putting it back to its original spot.

“You love her?” Natalia studied Charlie's facial expressions.

“I do. I tried looking for her with hopes that she survived the outbreak and got off the planet, but I found nothing and thought she died.” Charlie reminisced.

“Ahhh.” Natalia tried to understand what Charlie went through.

“Nonetheless, enough emotional talk. We got a person to find, yes?” Charlie snapped out of his trance as he looked at his computer.

“Yes, Irene is not in her quarters nor attending her training classes.” Natalia nodded.

 “Ok, Irene Papagianni...where are you....?” Charlie typed in his computer as he looked at the data logs and then browsed through surveillance footages.

VC2 Chapter 6-Base Camp

Sector 2300

Planet 2305

October 20, 2052

Tarbuck's Revelation cruiser took point as it flew in front of the fleet of ships. The ship passed a green planet which appeared to be very peaceful compared to the other distant planets. A lone Nighthawk frigate flew out of the planet and flew in a circular motion hailing the communications.

“Follow me to the outpost.” a young Caucasian male with dark hair spoke in the hologram transmission.

“Miss me Wicker?” Tarbuck replied back as he followed the frigate towards the atmosphere.

“Not really, no.” Wicker replied cooly.

“All units, we are going to be landing at the forward operating base.” Tarbuck broadcasted.

“Solid copy Tarbuck.” Johnson acknowledged as he left his fleet of Destiny corvettes into formation to begin the descent.

The ships slowly began to land at a grassy field and turn off their engines. Stein's fleet of Exodus cruisers remained in the sky flying around the docked ships on high alert for intruders.

“We're all set Stein, you're good to land.” Du Preez parked his fleets.

“Roger that Captain.” Stein began his descent.

The officers left their ships and assembled into a small portable room with some charts and maps on the walls. Wicker watched as the men took the seats and began passing on the intelligence.

“Ok, here's the intel you need to know.” Wicker pulled down a map from the wall.

A big grid map was labelled in large sections with circles and arrows all over. Wicker took a pen out of his chest pocket and pointed at the top right corner marked with an “A”.

“Insertion point Alpha is located 100 kilometres from the rebel blockade. Du Preez and Tarbuck will draw fire to location Sandcastle southwest of the blockade where Stein will be waiting to ambush the enemy.” Wicker pointed at the map drawing invisible lines.

“What's the enemy fleet composition?” Johnson inquired.

“This is a blockade fleet so the majority of ships are battleships with some cruiser for support.” Wicker replied.

“Please continue.” Johnson jotted down notes.

“Insertion point Bravo is directly on the opposite side of the planet. Once enemy's attention has been lured to Sandcastle, Johnson and Papagiannis are to fight off the weak rear defensive line and head into location Gibraltar to find the blueprints. Remember, once you get the enemy's attention, you will only have one hour max...” Wicker drew some circles on the map.

“Wait, one hour? I thought this outpost was designed to jam communications outwards.” Du Preez interrupted.

“That's correct, but that doesn't stop them from sending supply ships every hour from the planet. If the supply ship does not arrive on their planet 2321, they will be on alert that something is wrong.” Wicker pointed at the large satellite dish outside the portable room.

“So much for cake walk...” Johnson joked to himself.

“If you do not find anything on that planet within the hour, get out and we'll all extract at LZ Kilo. I'll be waiting with my fleets to make sure you guys get home safe.” Wicker drew a big circle around the word “LZ K” beside planet 2303.

“What about us? We're not in the planet.” Tarbuck voiced his concern.

“Once I meet up with the crew at LZK, we will rendezvous here. LZ Mike.” Wicker pointed at a spot in deep space away from 2304.

“Outstanding.” Stein clapped with a big smile on his face.

“Any contingency plans Captain Wicker?” Papagiannis raised his hand.

“We are running on a tight schedule and there will be no room for error. This won't be like Tachyon Industries. In fact, it will be like the invasion fleets back in 1601 once TFD reinforcements arrive.” Wicker went to his desk and grabbed a folder full of photos.

“Shit son.” Tarbuck coughed.

“Take a look yourselves.” Wicker tossed the open folder onto the table and watched as photos of hundreds of ships scatter in front of the men.

“They got Apocrypha cruisers?” Stein picked a photo up and examined the ship hulls.

“These are hijacked vessels. I recognize the hull markings from Commander Thompson's fleet.” Johnson looked at the custom grey stripes on the Apocrypha cruisers.

“What happened to Thompson?” Papagiannis turned his head to look at Johnson.

“Two months ago, Commander Thompson was doing her routine supply escorts when she got ambushed. Twenty ships were captured and her crew were all executed on live transmission to the VEGA corporation.” Johnson told the story with a serious face.

“Public execution? No negotiations?” Stein's jaw dropped.

“These guys don't care about the money or the ships. They want to make a point to VEGA that they are unstoppable.” Johnson clenched his fist.

“Is it me or do I feel like we need more ships?” Tarbuck interrupted.

 “Too much ships will attract too much attention to get the job done. Good luck everyone, get some rest before the big day tomorrow.” Wicker put his pen back into his pocket and went to the table and began to collect the loose photos.

VC2 Chapter 5-Departure

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

October 20, 2052

“Let's go! Let's go!” Papagiannis waved at his men to board his Revelation cruiser fully loaded with thermal beams.

Irene ran up to his brother who was marshalling his crew and waved him over as she began to put on the space outfit.

“Sis, what are you doing?” Papagiannis stormed towards his sister.

“I'm coming with you whether or not you like it.” Irene strapped body armour to her chest.

“No you can't.” Papagiannis shook his head as he scanned the hangar for his superiors.

“You are not even fully trained sis.” Papagiannis held her down as she began to walk.

Charlie was walking alongside a middle-aged black man dressed in a Vega Captain uniform when the man caught the scuffle from the glimpse of his eye.

“Lieutenant Commander Papagiannis, is there a problem?” the Captain walked over and looked at Irene.

“No Captain Johnson.” Papagiannis released his hands off Irene.

“Good, move along. Time doesn't wait.” Johnson lifted his officer's cap and scratched his bald head.

Irene turned around and began to walk towards the Revelation when Johnson grabbed her shoulder.

“Not you cadet. You are staying here.” Johnson replied.

“Told you...” Papagiannis whispered as he walked past Irene shaking his head.

“But sir.” Irene complained as he looked at Johnson and then at Charlie.

“No, you haven't even co-piloted a ship in training yet.” Charlie gave the final decision.

Irene sighed in frustration and walked out of the hangar feeling annoyed with the order.

“She's young. She'll get in line.” Johnson chuckled.

“I'm sure she will. I'm sure she will...” Charlie crossed his arms.

Charlie walked Johnson to his Apocrypha cruiser where he turned around to look at the fierce thermal beam weapons of a stronger variant.

“Good luck out there Johnson.” Charlie wished as the man walked up the ramp.

“It's going to be a cake walk. I'll be back before you and Parks have any fun.” Johnson joked and winked.

“Oh I'll have lots of fun here with the girls...don't you worry about that.” Charlie grinned as Johnson closed the hatch.

The Apocrypha detached its ship locks and began to hover out of the of the bay to join other ships in the formation. One by one the ships began to warp in deep space as the space around them turned a lightish blue before engulfing the ship.

“So Charlie...girls huh?” Parks walked from behind looking unamused.

“Shit. You heard everything?” Charlie stared at his feet.

“Heard enough.” Parks scoffed and walked off.

 “Oh come on.” Charlie whined and chased after her.

VC2 Chapter 4-Hydra Missiles

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

October 19, 2052

“As of 0700 this morning, these photos were taken by Captain Wicker on his routine route to conduct trade.” Charlie briefed a room full of officers seated in rows alongside Owens who was pointing at the projection of images.

“A rebel blockade have starved the planet 2304 from any outside trade merchants. These guys are known as TFD, The Flying Dead, we have not heard of them before so I would take extreme caution in dealing with them.” Owens pressed a few buttons on computer as the images changed.

“Excuse me sir, are they insectors?” a young Lieutenant Commander with tanned skin raised his hand.

“We do not know Lieutenant Commander Papagiannis, which is why we are advising extreme caution when engaged.” Owens looked at the officer's name tag.

“Copy.” Papagiannis nodded.

“Also from these photos that we got, we have reason to believe TFD has a new weapon technology.” Owens zoomed in on a photo of a ship in the distant.

“What is that?” a tall Captain with the name “Du Preez” asked out loud.

“That is a hydra missile. We had spies within Vega that stole the blueprints from our researchers. We never finished the project.” Parks walked onto the stage as she inserted a computer chip into the projector.

“Hydra missile?” Du Preez asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Advanced missile with homing technology in spatial warfare. The first ever accurate explosives that won't miss its target.” Parks uploaded a photo from the chip for the audience to view.

“That is deadly! Can't believe these wankers have it and we don't.” a well-built Caucasian man with stubble in a decorated uniform joked in a British accent.

“Admiral Tarbuck, which is why it's imperative we get the technology back.” Parks crossed her arms and shot a stare.

“Great another retrieval mission. Look what happened the last time we did something like this.” Tarbuck flung his hands in the air.

“This is a textbook example of outsector warfare ladies and gents. Crossing sector to assist these locals will be dangerous as well as recovering that asset.” Charlie continued on.

“Which is why we are looking for volunteers for this mission to work alongside Vega.” Owens scanned the crowd ignoring Tarbuck's unpleased facial expressions.

“I'm in.” Du Preez quickly volunteered and stood up without hesitation.

“If you are going. So am I.” a tall Caucasian Lieutenant smiled at Du Preez as he stood up.

“Stein, you silly bastard. Always looking for a fight that you can't finish.” Tarbuck shook his head and stood up from his seat to volunteer.

“I thought you were retired.” Stein joked at Tarbuck.

“Not yet mate.” Tarbuck sighed.

“Excellent.” Charlie clapped his hands together.

“Charlie, if there's one more spot...I would like to participate.” Papagiannis stood up from his chair and looked at the others who were standing.

“Yeah sure. Mission launches at 0900 tomorrow. I'll get Lieutenant Franklin to give you the necessary details to your offices.” Charlie looked at a dark-haired Caucasian woman sitting beside Tarbuck and nodded.

 “Dimissed.” Owens ended the meeting.

VC2 Chapter 3-New Relationships

Chapter 3

New Relationships

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

October 19, 2052

A beautiful middle-aged blonde of good complexion was curled up beside Charlie resting her head on chest bare chest with her right arm hugging him tightly. On the ground were clothes scattered all over the room. One piece of clothing was a VEGA corporation uniform with markings of a Commander and the name “Parks” stencilled above the chest pocket. Charlie opened his eyes and stared at the woman sleeping soundly and decided to not to wake her up as he got out of his bed.

“Charlie, stay.” Parks mumbled with her eyes closed.

Charlie slipped on his undergarments and picked up his uniform beside the bed. Just when he was about to say something to her, there was a knock on his door.

“Hang on Sarah.” Charlie got up from the bed and walked over to the door.

Charlie opened the door to see a young Caucasian Lieutenant with brown hair holding a folder in his hands.

“What can I do for you Krawiec?” Charlie opened the door halfway.

“Good morning sir, I need you to take a look at...” Krawiec paused as he noticed clothes lying on the ground and a mess of blonde hair on the bed who he easily identified as Sarah Parks.

“What?” Charlie yawned as he looked at the folder.

“Are you busy? I'll...I'll come back later.” Kraweic muttered as he left.

“Later.” Charlie shook his head and closed the door.

Charlie walked up to his bed where Parks was semi-awake with her brown eyes trained on him.

“Who was it?” Parks asked as she nudged him.

“Lieutenant Krawiec. He had some folder to show me.” Charlie watched as Parks hopped off the bed and put on her underwear.

“Where's the folder?” Parks bent over to pick up her bra.

“He's going to show me later.” Charlie rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“I think I scared him off.” Parks clipped her bra on and slid onto the bed.

“What can I say? You're a fierce good-looking VEGA commander.” Charlie flirted as he brushed her hair behind her ears.

“You are too kind.” Parks laughed lightly.

“I love you Sarah.” Charlie stared into her bright eyes.

“I love you too.” Parks managed to say after looking back at him.

The pair continued talking and making out for a few hours before they had to get back to work.

* * *

“Sir, this is what I'm talking about.” Krawiec pointed at the images of ships beside a planet.

“What the hell is this?” Charlie studied the ship formations at a blue planet.

“A rebel blockade. They are forcing people to join them or die.” Krawiec reported.

“What force?” Charlie asked.

“The Flying Dead, also known as TFD.” Kraweic presented another picture of a ship hull with the words “TFD” painted on it.

“Do the others know of this?” Charlie looked at the various images.

“You are the first, sir.” Kraweic replied.

“Contact Admiral Owens.” Charlie picked up a photo and saw something important.

“Sir?” Krawiec raised his eyebrow.

 “Now!” Charlie demanded.

VC2 Chapter 2-New Recruits

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

October 18, 2052

Two women dressed in a technical uniform were busy on their computers linked to massive server.

“Irene, do you see the glitch in the system here?” a Caucasian blonde woman pointed at her own screen.

“All systems operational here Natalia.” the other brunette woman who appeared to be a bit shorter replied as she typed in on her keyboard.

“I'm using the backdoor to access the mainframe.” Natalia brushed her golden hair behind her ears as she crouched to inspect the server.

“It could be an isolated incident. Let me see if I can override to make the fix.” Irene grabbed a cable from her belt and linked it to Natalia's computer.

“Connection complete.” Natalia looked at her computer.

The two quickly worked on their computer as they made their repairs on the server.

“Done.” the women shouted in unison.

An alarm in the background sounded and flashed as the room lit up revealing a glass divider with several NB officers conducting an assessment.

“Irene Papagianni and Natalia Kraweic, record time in server fix. Top of the class again ladies.” a big Caucasian man with markings of Vice Admiral tipped his officer's cap as he spoke into the speaker.

“Thank you sir.” Irene smiled in satisfaction.

“Thanks Vice Admiral Owens.” Natalia flashed a smile.

The two women exited the training room and saw Owens and the other officers leave their observation room to enter another.

“Get some rest. I'll give you the assessment tomorrow.” Owens walked off.

Natalia high-fived Irene with joy as the two walked out of the facility towards the mess hall. Charlie was walking towards his office when he caught the two women strolling out of the training facility.

“Oh man it's the Admiral. I haven't seen him up close.” Natalia whispered.

“Act professionally.” Irene mumbled under her breath as Charlie approached them.

“Girls.” Charlie greeted.

“Sir.” the women saluted crisply.

“At ease. New recruits?” Charlie inspected their uniforms.

“Yes sir.” Irene nodded.

“Huh, I didn't get the memo on this one. No need to call me sir, just call me Charlie.” Charlie chuckled as he offered his hand.

“Irene Papagianni.” Irene shook Charlie's hand.

“Natalia Kraweic.” Natalia grinned as she shook the man's hand.

“Wait a minute. The last names sound familiar...” Charlie paused to think.

“Lieutenant Conrad Krawiec is my brother. Lieutenant Commander Chris Papagiannis is Irene's brother.” Natalia responded.

“Ahh that explains it. Well then, welcome to the NB family.” Charlie welcomed.

“Thanks.” the women replied simultaneously.

 “Well, I've got some ships to inspect. See you girls around.” Charlie winked as he walked off.

VC2 Chapter 1-Crash Landing

Sector 2300

Planet 2305

November 13, 2052

A tall asian man with black hair sat at the helm of a Nighthawk frigate. On his Admiral uniform, he was identified as “Chu” with a lot of decorated medals on his chest. Inside the bridge, lights were flashing red indicating that there was hull damage.

“Charlie, we've lost all engines.” an officer reported to the Admiral as sparks flew from his console.

“Send a distress signal out to Northern Base.” Charlie commanded.

“Aye sir. Patching transmission to NB.” the communications officer acknowledged.

“We're being pulled by the planet.” the officer reported as he changed his command station when an electrical fire broke out.

“I can see that. Get to the escape pods.” Charlie watched as the surface of the ship began to turn into a scorching red as it fell into its atmosphere.

“Negative sir. All pods are severely damaged by the fire.” a tall Caucasian man with a goatee with ranks of a Captain replied as he was managing his station flipping various switches.

“What's your recommendation McClelland?” Charlie turned his head towards the Captain.

“We have better chances here than launching a damaged pod.” McClelland strapped himself to his seat.

“Solid copy. Let's see if we can glide the ship down.” Charlie switched to manual controls.

“We're loosing hydraulics. Outer hull has already disintegrated.” McClelland reported as massive smoke covered the bridge windows.

“Mayday mayday. This is NB Charlie. We've been hit and we are going down. Repeat, we are going down.” Charlie sent a broadcast as he quickly strapped in.

Charlie attempted to pilot the crippled frigate at an angle to increase air resistance to reduce the speed. The bottom section of the ship was already molten red as the ship burned on its entry into the atmosphere.

“2000 meters. We're going too fast Charlie.” McClelland eyed his monitor.

“I'm trying.” Charlie yanked his controls hard and had no effect.

“I think the hydraulics are gone.” an officer reported.

“1500.” McClelland said.

“Shit man. Strap yourselves in. It's going to be a rough landing.” Charlie watched as the smoke in front of his ship clear up briefly to reveal a thick dense forest in their approach.

“500!” McClelland shouted as the ship began to spiral uncontrollably.

“Brace for impact!” Charlie shouted as he covered his head as the ship came crashing into the trees igniting everything in its path knocking him unconscious.

The frigate split into pieces and began tumbling in different directions. Some crew members were thrown out in the process as the ship mowed down the trees. Massive fire quickly spread out in the forest creating a long trail of smoke clouds.

“Owwww.” Charlie moaned in pain as he woke up from the sounds of some people screaming for help.

“Charlie!” McClelland unstrapped himself from his seat and wiped his bloody nose.

Charlie was wincing in pain as a tree branch had snapped off and impaled through the front window right into his abdomen.

“Hang on.” McClelland crawled under some metal debris before reaching Charlie's command chair.

Blood was dripping out from the tip of the tree spike and had already formed a small pool below the chair. An injured officer rushed to aid McClelland and began to put pressure on Charlie's wound.

“Put pressure there.” McClelland directed the officer's hands onto Charlie's stomach.

“No...no...no...” Charlie cried out in a state of shock once he saw the tree branch impaling into his body.

McClelland looked around the massive debris field and saw a few survivors who were moderately injured as well. There were no medic kits visible in the vicinity and the amount of blood leaking out of the officer's hand was too much.

“Captain, he's losing a lot of blood.” the officer shouted as he coughed from the smoke.

The Captain was certain that his Admiral was going to die due to lack of medical attention.

“Charlie. Hey Charlie.” McClelland gently tapped the man's face to keep his focus on him instead of the injury.

“Huh what?” Charlie breathed shallowly.

“You are going to die. It's going to be okay.” McClelland looked at Charlie with reassuring eyes.

“No...no...” Charlie shook his head as he coughed blood.

“It's okay. Let it take you. You won't feel any more pain.” McClelland held Charlie's head with his hands.

“I can't die...die. No...no...I can't.” Charlie stuttered.

“You did great Charlie, but you need to let go. Who do you love?” McClelland smiled softly in an attempt to divert Charlie's focus.

“I...can't die.” Charlie coughed again.

“Who do you love?” McClelland asked again as he watched the officer's hands covered in blood.

“Sarah...yes. Sarah.” Charlie reached his hand to grab McClelland's hand tightly.

“Let her take you to peace.” McClelland grabbed Charlie's hand tightly.

Tears formed beside Charlie's eyes as he blinked hardly. He was having difficulties seeing and could not make out McClelland's face.

 “God rest your soul Admiral Charlie Chu.” McClelland watched as the man closed his eyes into darkness.

VC Chapter 42-Road to Recovery

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

January 29, 2052

“He's in a stable condition, but still unconscious.” the doctor reported to Stella who was beside her husband alongside Dimitris in the medical facility.

“When will he wake up?” Stella gently shook Tassos.

“We don't know exactly. There are still more tests to be done ma'am.” the doctor grabbed a clipboard on the wall.

“Please come back Tassos. I am waiting for you.” Stella begged.

“That will be enough for now. We need to give him the rest.” the doctor patted Stella on the back.

Stella wiped her tears and then nodded at the doctor. She wrapped her arms around Dimitris and hugged tightly.

“It's ok. He'll pull through.” Dimitris comforted as he looked at the doctor pull the curtains around Tassos.

* * *

Charlie walked into the command bridge in his base and greeted his staff. He approached the window and looked out to see new cargo ships bringing in supplies. Some bases were being repaired while some were being rebuilt from scratch.

“So this is home now.” Owens walked up from behind and looked at the brown small planet below them.

“It sure is.” Charlie looked at his ship bay to see ships being repaired.

The ship bay was busy as it was crowded with lots of damaged fleets. Engineers and technicians were already working hard to repair the basic defensive ships. Wicker was busy directing ships to land the supplies whilst Du Preez was busy painting the new name on a Revelation cruiser.

“It's beautiful isn't she?” Owens looked at NB Pride.

“Yes she is.” Charlie agreed with a nod.

Charlie turned his head to look at the storage module to see that Parks' cruiser dropped off some resources. The cruiser then docked at a nearby hatch and she went inside the base.

“Excuse me Owens. I have some things to take care of.” Charlie spoke his mind.

“A missed date?” Owens chuckled.

“Sure, you can say that.” Charlie replied as he left the command bridge.

Charlie walked past the mess hall and saw Paul, Moxness, and Jaimes having a couple beers and waved at them as he passed by. He walked past Franklin who was knocking on Tarbuck's quarters and smiled politely at her.

“Hey Charlie.” Franklin greeted as Charlie walked past her.

After a turn around a corner, Charlie walked past the ship factory where Chase and Badyr were busy adding some customization to the stolen Apocrypha.

“How's the refit?” Charlie shouted.

“Going well.” Chase gave the thumbs up.

“Good!” Charlie replied with a smile and walked off.

“Charlie, NB Remali's rancors have proven to work in the battlefield.” Stein rushed beside Charlie with a folder.

“That's good to hear Stein.” Charlie patted his shoulder.

“We need to standardize our fleets with the specifications. Please sign this paperwork.” Stein presented the folder.

Charlie opened the folder and quickly skimmed the contents. He grabbed his pen from his chest pocket and swiftly wrote his name.

“Thanks Charlie.” Stein took the folder back and ran off.

“No problem. Haha.” Charlie laughed to himself as he continued to walk past the factory and into the storage modules where Parks was busy unloading resource crates with her crew.

“You missed me?” Parks teased and crossed her arms as she saw Charlie walk over.

“Of course I did.” Charlie went up to her and gave her a hug.

“So what now?” Parks let go of the embrace and asked him.

“We rebuild what was lost. Start it all over again.” Charlie replied with a double meaning.

“We'll see how it goes.” Parks winked in her reply as she caught onto Charlie's cues.

 “Good. The future seems bright. This...this is the calm after the storm.” Charlie placed his arm around Parks' shoulder as they looked at the distant cool blue sun as the light rays struck the facility.

VC Chapter 41-A New Beginning

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

January 28, 2052

Charlie walked into a large assembly hall seated by lots of soldiers as he walked to the stage in his ceremonial uniform.

“Quiet down.” Tarbuck shouted as he stood on the stage beside several other Admirals.

“A few days ago...we faced a force that threatened to tear us from the core. A force so formidable that nearly brought us to extinction. A force of uncivilized men with desires of galactic conquest at the expense of others.” Charlie spoke as he read his sheet of paper.

The crowd was silent as the soldiers listened attentively from the Admiral. It was so terribly quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

“Many of our friends, allies, and families gave the ultimate sacrifice to preserve peace. We are forever in their debt for what they died fighting for. I know this is a tough time for all of us. We were beat and we lost our homes.” Charlie took a deep breath and scanned the crowd.

Vorzer, Parks, and the VEGA crew stood at the very back row with melancholic faces. Wicker was seated beside Franklin who appeared to have a broken arm. Jaimes looked at Charlie and nodded at him to continue on.

“From this battle, we gained new allies who fought with us to the very end. The Myrmidons and the VEGA corporation fought alongside us with honour and valour. I personally give my sincere thanks and deepest condolences for the sacrifices they made.” Charlie looked at Stella seated in the second row who was holding Dimitris' hand.

Charlie flipped his piece of paper and then paused as his mind flashed back to the battle.

“Charlie?” Owens walked beside Charlie and whispered in his ear.

“Oh, sorry. Today we will be renaming a Revelation cruiser to NB Pride to honour those who gave their lives to that were proud to be a NB member. Also, a monument will be built in the heart of NB listing the names of all the men and women so that the tales of heroics will be passed on for generations to come.” Charlie pointed at miniature structure on the stage as few soldiers pulled the curtains.

“You did well.” Owens walked up beside Charlie and patted him on the shoulder.

“Thanks.” Charlie retired from the microphones.

“Now, this new sector is our home. We will grow and become stronger than before so that there will be peace once again.” Owens spoke into the microphones.

After the assembly was over, Vorzer walked out of the hall and went to board his ship when Charlie caught up to him.

“I know this is bad timing, but a huge majority of our ships are gone. We're running low on defences, think Rumblelow could provide some ships?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah sure. I'll go ask Rumblelow.” Vorzer nodded and walked into his ship.

Vorzer made his way into the empty cruiser and turned on the hologram transmission.

“Yes Commander Vorzer?” Rumblelow's hologram appeared.

“NB has moved into sector 2100. Do you think we can get more ships for them?” Vorzer reported.

“Of course. Good work Vorzer, Rumblelow out.” Rumblelow ended the trasmission.

* * *

Rumblelow shut off the hologram transmitter and walked towards a guarded elevator. He went inside and scanned his eyes on a retinal scanner.

“Vice President Betram Rumblelow” the scanner greeted.

He pressed a button and the walls of the elevator opened up revealing a small corridor leading to a door. He inputted several codes on the access panel and the door hissed open. The room was dimly lit, but the ship models and books were visible in the cabinets. The centre of the room was a neat table and a large chair with its seated back facing to the door.

“What can I do for you Rumblelow?” a silhouette of a figure spoke from the chair hidden in the shadows.

“Everything is going as planned sir.” Rumblelow looked at the chair.

“Good. Anything else?” the figure spoke.

“Can we give NB more ships?” Rumblelow eyed the ship models in the cabinets.

“Do what you need to do to complete your task.” the figure replied cooly.

“Yes Mr. President.” Rumblelow acknowledged.

 “Good, that will be all.” the figure dismissed.