VC2 Chapter 24-Elysium Hornets

Sector 2100

Planet 2103

November 21, 2052

A Caucasian middle-aged man with glasses sat in the command chair overlooking an armada of Revelation cruisers painted with “E-H” on their hulls. He brushed his dark hair and then activated his transmission.

“This is Admiral Simon Watts of Elysium Hornets...we have arrived.” the man transmitted.

Owens appeared on screen and looked quite worn out. In the background in Owen's base, there were explosions in the distance.

“Good to see you here Admiral Watts. CMD has already launched their attacks on us. We need all available hands. My forces are being depleted by the dozens.” Owens replied grimly.

“Understood Vice Admiral Owens. We're on our way and engage at once.” Watts nodded and turned off his transmission.

“Orders sir?” the communications officer at his station asked out loud.

“Deploy White Tiger squadrons two to five and commence attack. I want all of Black Tiger squadrons to deploy at NB Headquarters. Fortify and hold defensive.” Watts flipped some switches on his seat as he adjusted into battle mode.

“On it sir!” the officer nodded and began to relay commands.

A good chunk of the armada split apart and began heading towards the battle far way. Another chunk headed towards the NB planet where the main battle was ongoing.

“Move to engage hostiles.” Watts activated his ships engines and began to lead the remaining fleet of ships.

“Commander Dolan and his fleets have engaged enemy at planet 1601.” an officer reported.

“Commander Walton's fleet is under heavy attacks near 1602. Advise we send backup.” the communications officer reported.

“Alright, that's where we are headed. Ready all weapons!” Watts turned his ship and increase thrust.

Watt's cruiser sped forward at an amazing pace towards the battle near 1602. Hundreds of ships were in space firing at each other creating a spectacular display of lights. A CMD Fury battleship turned to its broadside weapons and fired a cluster of hex missiles.

“Hold on tight.” Watts sharply turned the ship left to avoid the incoming missiles.

The Revelation cruiser behind Watts was not agile enough and was splattered with tons of hex missiles leading to its demise.

“One cruiser is down.” an officer reported as the dead EH cruiser drifted in space.

“Break formation and cover each other's back.” Watts ordered as he turned his ships back towards the Fury.

The Fury turned and unleashed another barrage of missiles, but was easily avoided by Watt's quick reflexes.

“Fire all weapons!” Watts shouted as the Fury were in his ship's range.

Watt's cruiser fired a steady stream of scatter missiles towards the stationary battleship. The explosives seem have have minimal effect on the ship's shockwave shields.

“More hostiles incoming!” the radar officer alerted the crew as a three Revelation cruisers headed towards them.

VC2 Chapter 23-War Preparations

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

November 19, 2052

Tarbuck was seated in a roundtable full of NB senior officers. He looked agitated as Owens walked into the room and took his seat.

“I've called upon an emergency meeting to discuss the hostile actions CMD has brought to the neighbouring sectors.” Owens spoke cooly.

“Hostile? Mate, I'd use the word aggressive! Have you see the devastation firsthand?” Tarbuck interrupted angrily.

“I have...” Owens eyed Tarbuck sharply.

“Bloody hell! Well are we going to do something?” Tarbuck flustered.

“Let the man finish.” Wicker couldn't hold back his annoyance with the interrupts.

“Thank you.” Owens nodded at Wicker in appreciation.

Owens placed his datapad onto the table and linked up to the hologram projector. A hologram appeared on the counter of a base being attacked.

“They've annihilated over a dozen bases so far. It's only a matter of time they run out of targets and aim for us.” Owens watched as the base exploded.

“What about the Myrmidons?” Antonopoulos suggested.

“They are ready to fight.” Owens replied.

“I hate to bring the bearer of bad news...but have you guys seen their fleet? It's massive!” Stein interjected.

“I'm well aware of that. I know I'm not Charlie and not able to pull out new tricks like he does, but I do have a plan.” Owens tapped on his datapad.

“VEGA coming to help?” McClelland inquired as he rubbed his chin.

“This is not their fight so we're counting them out. Elysium Hornets will be joining our cause.” Owens projected another image.

“Elysium Hornet?” Tarbuck looked at the logo projection.

“Yes. They will come to assist if war breaks out upon NB.” Owens watched as the logo rotate clockwise.

“Question.” Wicker raised his hand.

“Shoot.” Owens responded as he disconnected his datapad.

“What are the chances they bring reinforcements?” Wicker folded his arms.

“Probable, but we have analyzed the possibilities. We should be able to do fine.” Owens answered.

Owens looked around the table for any more questions and then stood up.

 “Then it's settled. Get your fleets and defences ready. Dismissed.” Owens took his datapad and walked off.

VC2 Chapter 22-Core Militia Division

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

November 18, 2052

A young man who looked to be in his early twenties sat the the end of table gently loosening his collar as he was greeted by Owens.

“I'm Vice Admiral Owens...and you must be...?” Owens offered his hand.

“Jake. Jake Cornthwaite.” the man stood up and shook his hand.

Jake sat back down looking unamused at Owen's welcome.

“So, where's Charlie?” Jake said impatiently as he tapped his fingers along the rim of the table.

“You know him?” Owens grabbed a seat.

“Yes, we used to duel Nighthawks before. A good pilot like me.” Jake replied cockily.

“Ahh I see.” Owens nodded.

“So... where is he? He should be the one greeting me here first.” Jake looked at the open room.

“He's in a coma...” Owens stared uneasily being slightly offended by his remarks.

“Wait! What?” Jake shouted out in disbelief.

“It's a long story. I'm in charge of all operations. So what brings CMD here?” Owens asked.

Jake stood up from his seat and looked out of the window into space. The reflection on the window showed him smile a little and then he turned back to look at Owens.

“We'll be hitting nearby facilities for some fun and resources. We will be leaving NB alone and I hope you don't interfere for your sake.” Jake grinned mischievously.

“What is this nonsense?” Owens replied enraged.

“This is called insecting. Inter-Sector hitting. Plain and simple.” Jake replied cooly.

“This is a peaceful sector, why can't you go raid another sector? War is not good.” Owens hit his fist onto the table.

“Come on, don't be a sector cop. We're not fans of that.” Jake walked to the door.

“You think you can start shit here?” Owens threatened.

“Oh...we already have.” Jake winked and walked out.

* * *

Ten Revelation cruisers flew to a medium-sized mining facility stopped outside the combat turret defence ranges. Inside the bridge of a ship, a transmission was shown.

“Commanders, it's time to have some fun.” Jake transmitted.

“Engage the base!” the commander of the ship acknowledged and pointed forward.

The cruisers split into a line formation and began firing on the nearest mining modules. The defence turrets activated and began firing fast projectiles into the cruisers. Due to the sheer firepower of the combined cruisers, the turrets were being shredded into pieces by an array of lasers making quick work of the facility. In a matter of minutes, the entire facility was demolished and in ruins.

 “One down...who's next?” the commander looked at the next facility in view.

VC2 Chapter 21-Slow Days

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

November 18, 2052

Stein entered the Mess Hall and greeted Tarbuck who was taking a sip of cold beer.

“It's different with Charlie's absence.” Stein sat down beside the man.

“Yes it has. The mood here is not as lively as it used to be. We all worry about him.” Tarbuck pointed at the crowd of soldiers just standing about talking quietly to each other.

“Need a drink sir?” a solider attending to the bar offered Stein with a bottle.

“Sure, why not.” Stein took the cold beer into his hands and smiled.

“Let's make a toast.” Tarbuck wobbled as he stepped off his chair.

“To what?” Stein took a sip of the refreshing beverage.

“To Charlie! Of course!” Tarbuck shouted loudly unaware of his misdemeanour.

The crowds turned their head towards the Rear Admiral and raised their glasses.

“To Charlie.” the soldiers shouted in unison.

“To Charlie.” Stein raised his drink and clinked with Tarbuck's.

“Another one for me sir!” Tarbuck gulped his drink and slammed it on the table.

“I think you had one too many...” Stein sat Tarbuck down.

“Poor fellow woke up last night muttering about Sarah before going into a coma.” Tarbuck sighed and laid his head on the table.

“Come on, let's get you to your quarters.” Stein gently patted Tarbuck's back.

“Ahhhh, without Charlie handling diplomatic relations...things have been falling apart.” Tarbuck moaned and groaned as he got up slinging an arm around Stein.

“We'll talk about it next time. Let's worry about getting you sobered up.” Stein laughed lightly as Tarbuck walked into table.

As the pair slowly walked out of the Mess Hall, the alarms suddenly lit up and sounded off.

“Warning, new bases detected nearby! Warning, new bases detected nearby!” the alarm blared.

“Awww shit. My ears!” Tarbuck covered his ears in pain.

An officer rushed toward the two and saluted.

“Sir, initial reports that CMD is here.” the officer handed a slip of paper to Stein.

“Who the hell is CMD?” Tarbuck said groggily.

“Core Militia Division sir.” the officer replied without hesitation.

“Sounds like some noobs.” Tarbuck laughed lightheartedly.

“Officer, take the Admiral to his quarters to rest. I will take care of this.” Stein redirected Tarbuck's arm to the officer and glanced at the slip.

“Yes sir.” the officer nodded.

 “I'll get this to Owens at once.” Stein thanked and rushed off.

VC2 Chapter 20-Medical Bay

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

November 14, 2052

“This isn't how it's supposed to end.” Franklin stood next to a group of officers outside the medical bay watching as doctors operate on Charlie's body.

“This is the cost of war Lieutenant Franklin.” Tarbuck crossed his arms and sighed.

“He didn't ask for this. He never wanted to go find combat with this mission.” McClelland spoke out in defence.

“Then what? Even I wasn't notified of this black ops mission.” Owens watched as the doctors swapped a bag of blood to transfer.

“Are we allowed to speak of this?” Papagiannis looked at McClelland and then Owens.

“Poor kid went to find the girl of his dreams and you guys accuse him of picking a fight intentionally.” McClelland replied angrily.

“If I may say something here...” a middle-aged man with dark hair who had been quietly listening interrupted.

“Go on Captain Antonopoulos.” Owens looked at the man.

“If you knew Charlie well, that girl means a lot to him. He reminds me of my younger self.” Antonopoulos chuckled lightly.

“He still didn't deserve this.” Franklin spoke sadly.

“What did the docs say?” Tarbuck looked grim.

“He's in critical condition. The cryo pod actually made the difference between life and death. They were able to jumpstart his heart once we unlocked the pod. A lot of his organs were messed up by the crash.” Wicker looked at his datapad and reported.

“Is he able to pull through?” Owens expressed his concern.

“Doesn't say...chances are ...slim.” Wicker scrolled on his datapad.

“I believe in Charlie. I know he doesn't give up easy.” Antonopoulos looked at the doctors remove a foreign object out of Charlie's body.

“One can always have hope.” Papagiannis.

“There is nothing we can do here. We still have the stations to run.” Owens walked off.

One by one, the officers slowly exited the room until McClelland and Antonopoulos were left. McClelland look at Antonopoulos and nodded before leaving the man alone in the room.

 “Where are you Sarah...where are you?” Antonopoulos muttered to himself.

VC2 Chapter 19-Present Day

Sector 2300

Planet 2305

November 13, 2052

“Sir, our warp engines have overheated, we're being forced out of warp.” McClelland reported as he looked on his computer.

The Nighthawk violently exited warp space into an asteroid field. The ship slammed into an asteroid creating a spectacular display of fireworks sending debris and ship parts all over the space.

“Hull breach. Aft side, engines are shutting down.” an officer frantically typed on his computer.

“See that planet? We're going to land there with the remaining power.” Charlie pointed at the nearby luscious green planet.

Charlie steered the battered frigate clear of the asteroid field making sure he did not slow down or else they would not make the planet with such low speeds in the asteroid field.

“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.

                                                                        * * *

McClelland stared at the lifeless body of Charlie and zoned out into the crash debris in front of him. At the corner of his eye, he saw a section of the ship that was intact with three large capsules. One of the capsule glass case had been shattered, another was deformed by the crash, but one was fully intact.

“Get Charlie into that cryo pod now!” McClelland yelled as he dashed towards the capsule.

“But he's gone sir.” an officer grabbed an emergency fire pax and chopped off the tree impaling Charlie.

“Not fully. The brain is still alive for a few minutes. The cryo pod will put his brain into deep space hibernation just enough time for rescue. Do it now.” McClelland opened the capsule and keyed in some figures.

Two officers grabbed ahold of Charlie's arms and carried him to the capsule. McClelland inserted some needles into Charlie's arm and watched as the hibernation solution go into the body.

“Seal it up.” McClelland dashed to a nearby console for cryo sequence activation.

One officer buckled Charlie into the his place while the other monitored the flow of the hibernation solution. McClelland pushed a button on his console and watched as the glass door hiss shut.

“Is it going to work?” the officer watched as the capsule began to quickly freeze inside.

“We should be able to slow down the cell degeneration process. It's never been done before, but I sure hope to God that it works.” McClelland exhaled deeply and sat on the floor in exhaustion.

 “This is NB Rear Admiral Tarbuck, does anyone copy? Repeat, this is Rear Admiral Tarbuck, does anyone copy over?” a nearby computer fuzzed with static.

VC2 Chapter 18-Black Ops

Sector 2300

Planet 2315

November 12, 2052

“It's been two weeks sir and we have found no solid leads.” McClelland reported from the battle screen aboard Charlie's Nighthawk frigate.

“She's a drifter now bro. Or...what do we call it? Ah yes, a space pirate.” Papagiannis interrupted in the comms.

“You have something to say?” Charlie glared at Papagiannis.

Charlie swivelled around his command chair in annoyance when an officer approached him.

“Admiral, we have ships exiting warp ten seconds port side.” the officer alerted.

“Alright gentlemen, form up.” Charlie switched the battle screen.

Charlie's frigate flew in between Papagiannis' and McClelland's Nighthawk frigates and watched as the space left of them turned bright blue. Six Apocrypha cruisers with grey stripes exited warp and began to fire their hydra missiles.

“Contact! TFD!” Papagiannis shouted as the first wave of missiles splashed against his ship's shields.

“Break formation into kite formation. I want one by one by one strafing angle 30 degrees starboard. Do it now!” Charlie ordered as he began to turn his ship.

As the frigates began to turn away from the enemy cruisers, the mass drivers on the Nighthawk had already begun firing its penetrating rounds.

“Sir this is going to be hard kiting.” McClelland angled his ship and fired as he strafed his frigate away.

Charlie watched as one of his shots get dodged by the cruiser and shook his head in frustration. His weapons didn't have locking feature nor speed.

“Shall we call for reinforcements?” Papagiannis watched as his own round missed the enemy.

“No, we are black ops. We are dark.” Charlie immediately replied.

“I'm losing shields soon!” Papagiannis alerted.

“Warp out on my mark.” Charlie turned his ship away from the enemy cruisers in full speed.

“In three...two..” Charlie grabbed the throttle.

Suddenly a missile slammed into Charlie's engines and knocked the power out.

“I'm drifting!” Charlie jumped out of his seat.

“McClelland, we're ejecting pods. Pick us up now. Papagiannis, divert firepower now.” Charlie waved at his crew and pointed at the escape pods.

“Aye sir. I'll do my best.” Papagiannis watched as Charlie's frigate launched its escape pods.

He turned his ships forward and began to fire at the enemy cruisers while accelerating forward. McClelland quickly brought his frigate to the pods and hooked them into its cargo bay.

“My shields gone Charlie. I need to get out.” Papagiannis flew into the clear.

“Warp now.” Charlie exited his escape pod and rushed towards McClelland's bridge.

Papagiannis acknowledged the order and immediately warped out of the combat zone leaving McClelland's ship left.

“Officer on deck.” McClelland watched as Charlie entered the bridge.

“Let's get out of here.” Charlie commanded.

 “Chair's all yours sir.” McClelland got out of his chair and pointed.