VC Chapter 40-The Pod

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

January 27, 2052

Charlie watched as Park's Apocrypha approached his base carrying the escape pod. The pod was dented and scorched moderately from the transport. The window of the pod appeared to have cracked from hitting debris.

“Lower it down.” Wicker waved at the Parks.

The Apocrypha slowly hovered above the ship bay and dropped the pod onto the ground with a loud metallic bang.

“Get it open.” Wicker waved at team of engineers standing behind him.

A battered Revelation cruiser slowly made its way from outside and docked into a vacant spot. Dimitris was the first to rush out followed by his crew.

“That's Tassos' pod! I recognize it.” Dimitris shouted from the stairs as he quickly made his way down.

“Well, hurry it up.” Wicker watched as the engineers began cutting the hull of the pod.

“Captain Wicker, the hull is too thick for our cutters.” an engineer pointed at the metal.

“Take out the window.” Wicker crossed his arms.

“Yes sir.” the lead engineer replied.

The team quickly made their way to the broken window and began dismantling the window. The window shattered and air hissed out.

“We've got a few bodies in here.” the engineer called out.

Charlie watched as woman stepped out of Dimitris' ship escorted by a few MYRM guards. She immediately rushed towards the pod when she heard news of the bodies.

“Nooo!” the woman cried.

“Get her away from there.” Wicker commanded to a few guards as the woman dashed passed some of the engineers.

Some soldiers grabbed her and held her back away from the ship as the engineers carried out the bodies one by one.

“That's my husband. That's my husband in there!” the woman sobbed hysterically.

“I need a medic team here!” the lead engineer examined the bodies for pulse.

A team of medical personnel on standby rushed to the scene and began performing artificial resuscitation on some of the bodies with the weak pulse. One of them which appeared to be an oxygen-deprived Tassos and was completely motionless.

“Nooooo...” Stella cried as she collapsed to the group in distress.

“Clear!” a medic shouted as he sent a jolt through Tassos' chest.

“Come on Tassos.” Dimitris muttered under his breath and prayed.

Charlie looked at Tassos' body and then at his wife. He was lost for words and his eyes watered with sadness. Some of the medics were already shaking their heads at the other bodies that they were working on. Tassos was lifeless as a medical officer pressed his hand manually on his chest.

“Whyyyy?” Stella screamed as she lunged forward.

 The soldiers grabbed the distraught wife and pulled her away from the scene as the medics continued to work with Tassos' heart. Wicker looked at the ground in frustration and then watched Charlie shake his head and then rubbed at his teary eyes.

VC Chapter 39-Casualties of War

Sector 1600

Planet 1601

January 26, 2052

“Push forward.” Yale relayed the order to the VEGA ships as his Apocrypha led the charge.

“Parks and Yale, glad you folks got my message.” Vorzer transmitted as he flew his ship in retreat.

“Funny how it's me saving you now.” Parks giggled she watched her thermal beam weapons charge up.

“Just get the NB guys enough time to port out.” Vorzer briefed.

The swarm of VEGA ships collided with the SIN and MoB fleets and immediately opened fire. The Exodus cruisers were basically used as cannon fodder to protect the Rancors loaded with thermal beams. The weapons on the Rancors were maximized effectively as both sides fired continuously.

“Commander Parks. We have a distress beacon on an escape pod two kilometres starboard side.” an officer reported.

Parks took out the macrobinoculars from her command chair and looked right at the cluster of debris. In the cluster of broken ship parts and base components was a small pod with a weak flashing light.

“MYRM painted on the pod. Is that friendly?” Parks read the words out.

“Yes commander. They are here to defend NB.” Vorzer replied as he watched Wicker's frigate carrying Tarbuck into a NB base about to relocate out.

“Ok, I'll go pick that pod up.” Parks replied as she steered her ship away from battle towards the escape pod drifting in space.

Parks paused for a moment to scan the battlefield as her ship latched onto the escape pod. Time seemed to have slowed down as she watched the darkness of space get lit up by ship weapons and explosions. Shrapnel from the explosions flew in all directions like a distant fireworks display. Bodies got vacuumed out of the ships as the hulls broke apart.

“All NB bases have ported out. Repeat, all bases are safe. Fall back!” Vorzer's voice on the comms seemed to brought Parks back to attention.

“We are being overrun!” Yale cried on the comms as his fleets were smashed wave after wave.

“Come on Yale, warp out.” Vorzer watched as Yale's cruiser was pierced with projectiles.

“No can do Vorzer. My engines are fried! Get out of here while I buy you time. Go!” Yale turned his ship towards the enemy and fired.

“Commander Yale...” Parks rotated her ship to assist Yale.

“No Sarah. You must go. You have made me proud.” Yale smiled on the transmission as his ship tore into pieces.

“Nooo...” Parks watched as her mentor's ship get obliterated.

“Parks! Warp now!” Vorzer replied as the enemy ships neared Parks' Apocrypha.

With great sadness, she looked at the remnants of Yale's ship and put the engines to warp. Space warped around the ship and she was out of the hot zone.

“I'm sorry commander.” an officer gave his condolences knowing that it was Yale who taught her piloting and tactics.

 “Me too. These bastards will pay for this.” Parks rushed out of the bridge overwhelmed with emotions.

VC Chapter 38-Death at the Doorsteps

Sector 1600

Planet 1602

January 26, 2052

“You have got to be shitting me.” Tarbuck watched as hundreds of fleets headed towards them in a straight line.

“No fair.” Chase complained at the enemy reinforcements.

“You think MoB likes to play fair? They know no honour in fights.” Dimitris watched as one of his cruisers blew up.

“Charlie, I highly recommend that we fall back. Get the bases relocated off this sector.” Vorzer noticed his ships dropping out of formation as they exploded.

“What about our homes and everything that we worked on?” Owens interrupted.

“There is no more home if they are like this everyday.” Tarbuck eyed his smoking base and then at his ship.

“Fall back. Get the lower level bases ported out of here!” Charlie concluded after some thought.

The line of SIN ships smashed into the testudo formation splitting it in half. Tens of ships went down in the initial ram followed by a couple more in the centre. The centre was exposed and the weaker ships were quickly disposed of by an array of projectiles.

“This is Tarbuck, I'm abandoning ship. Repeat, abandoning ship.” Tarbuck broadcasted as his cruiser went into a blaze of fire.

Wicker piloted his Nighthawk beside Tarbuck's cruiser and watched a small escape pod launched out right before the ship exploded into oblivion. He manoeuvred the frigate and latched onto the escape pod and made a daring escape from the ships firing at him.

“This is Wicker, I got Tarbuck. We're getting the hell out of dodge.” Wicker replied on comms as his ship took a minor hit from an explosive shell.

Charlie watched as the other Destiny corvettes got shot down by a fleet of SIN Revelation cruisers. His ship turned to retreat when Dimitris' fleet passed him leaving a trail of smoke.

“Use the smoke to cover us.” Charlie pointed at the smoke beside his corvette.

“Aye sir.” the officer replied.

The Destiny cleverly flew right into the smoke coming out of Dimitris' ship and was disguised from the enemies' visual. One by one, the retreating ships were shot down as the enemy ships pursued.

“Admiral, all low level bases have already ported out. Waiting on orders.” Krawiec sent a transmission.

“We need some cover!” Charlie replied as he looked at cruiser in front of him smoking heavily.

“We're in position with what we have sir.” Moxness moved his ships alongside a row of Venoms marked “NB Remali”.

“I got some ships to spare.” Paul strafed his fleet of Revelation cruisers in front of Moxness.

As soon as the retreating fleets passed the final defensive line, the weapons on the ships roared to life as it began to lay down a heavy suppressive fire.

“Won't last long. Make it quick.” Moxness looked at the shields draining from his ships.

One by one, the NB bases began to warp out when suddenly the space behind the defensive line began to warp as ships began to pour in. Tons of Rancors, Exoduses, and some Apocryphas warped out of the space.

“Who the hell are they?” Tarbuck watched from his escape pod as ships warped beside Wicker's frigate.

 “The VEGA corporation.” Vorzer replied with a devilish smile.

VC Chapter 37-Home Front

Sector 1600

Planet 1602

January 26, 2052

“Any inspiring words Admiral?” Chase watched as the their ships were quickly reaching the enemy ships.

“This is Admiral Charlie Chu to all allied channels. Today, were are not only fighting for our lives, but we fight for our homes, families, and friends here. These mobsters think they can come here and rule the sector thinking they can take what they want and that nobody can stop them. We reply to them with a message that this...this is our home and we will fight back to defend freedom and peace!” Charlie spoke intensely on the communications during a period of silence.

“Yeah!” the officers in Charlie's ships shouted in unison.

“Hoorah!” Krawiec cheered in his comms from the base.

“My men will follow you to the death.” Dimitris replied honourably.

“That was some speech Charlie.” Owens felt his strength renewed as his ship was busy repelling invaders.

“It sure was. Let's take back our homes from these wankers!” Tarbuck cheered.

“It was an honour sir.” Paul smiled and clapped lightly.

“Now....fire all weapons!” Charlie commanded as the first MoB ship rammed into the front row of cruisers.

Weapons on both parties lit up intensely in the sky. Lasers flew everywhere followed by a bombardment of projectiles and explosives. The lead MoB ship was already peppered with fire and engulfed in flames as the testudo formation pushed forward.

“Enemy battleships port side!” Chase interrupted in comms as Trident's fleet broke formation and unleashed a barrage of hex missiles.

“Shields are still holding Charlie. Don't worry about us.” Dimitris watched as his Revelation cruiser absorb the explosions.

Wicker manoeuvred his ship left and right finding gaps in the formation and firing off mass driver rounds to engage the enemy. Barely nothing was getting through the turtle formation leaving the ships in the centre completely unharmed.

“We lost one Apoc!” Vorzer watched as an Apocrypha blew up in the front row leaving a massive gap.

“Tighten the formation! Push forward!” Charlie commanded as he watched one his Destiny corvette rush to close the gap.

“Charlie, my shields' are all out mate. I'll falling back.” Tarbuck steered his critically damaged ship into the centre of the formation.

“I got you covered bud!” Chase strafed his ship into the gap just in time before an enemy Revelation punched through the line.

“Sir, we got a problem!” the scanners officer reported as he looked at his radar.

“What is it?” Charlie got out of his seat and dashed to look at the radar.

 “That....are not friendlies.” the officer pointed at a line of several hundred ships heading towards them from the side with the names “SIN” attached to it.

VC Chapter 36-Strength In Numbers

Sector 1600

Planet 1602

January 26, 2052

Deividas watched the row of ships forming up making a blockade between the NB bases and his ships. He looked at his communications officer with exasperation and waved him over.

“Look at these shitheads. I knew they were working with VEGA.” Deividas scratched his nearly bald head.

“Shall we advance sir?” the officer asked his commanding officer.

“Send RGC MoB and Trident MoB to wreck them up. Let's see how much of a fight they have left.” Deividas commanded.

“Right away sir.” the officer rushed to his station to relay the orders.

“One more thing Lieutenant, time to call in NightTrain SIN and the crew.” Deividas added.

“Strength In Numbers clan?” the Lieutenant peered over his computer station.

“Yes, a pain train.” Deividas snickered evily.

Twelve Revelation cruisers marked RGC MoB disbanded from the formation and twelve Fury battleships marked Trident MoB formed up behind the offensive wave. The engines roared to life as the ships pushed forward towards the NB line.

* * *

“Okay ladies and gentlemen, they are sending their first wave!” Charlie broadcasted as the MoB ships slowly sped towards them.

“Charlie, do you know about the ancient Greek testudo formation?” Dimitris asked as he scanned the enemies.

“The turtle formation?” Charlie looked at the ships beside him and then looked at the enemy's.

“Yeah, box up with the Revelation and Apocrypha crusiers to absorb as much damage while the smaller and mid-sized ships are in the centre. We don't have enough ships so we need to save as many as we can.” Dimitris recommended.

“I agree Dimitris, good plan. Everyone, hunker down! Cover all sides with heavies.” Charlie commanded to all the local ships.

The Revelations and Apocryphas started to shift into a neatly packed box protecting the other classes of ships. Some battleships have already rotated to have its broadside weapons ready while others held their position maintaining a good 360 coverage of fire.

“We're in position and waiting for orders.” Tarbuck watched as the MoB ships formed into a V wedge formation.

“That wedge will ram right through us.” Wicker expressed his concerns.

“Dimitris, this is your ancient war tactics. What do you suggest?” Charlie looked around for ideas.

“We ram with our testudo formation.” Dimitris thought deeply.

 “You heard the man! Everyone, forward! Keep the formation tight as possible and fill in the holes if it breaks.” Charlie commanded his order as he increased his thrusters on the Destiny.

VC Chapter 35-The Last Offensive

Sector 1600

Planet 1601

January 26, 2052

Krawiec looked at the long range scanners on the bridge and noticed that the VEGA Corporation arrived with ships and began engaging MoB ships.

“Lieutenant, we have multiple ships in the vicinity coming towards us.” the radar officer reported.

“I can see that. How did the VEGA Corporation find out where we are?” Krawiec wondered as he rubbed his chin.

“Sir, VEGA is hailing all NB bases in comms.” the communications officer alerted.

“Patch them through, I want to know what's going on.” Krawiec watched Owens' ship in the area punching through MoB Rancors with its weapons.

The screen appeared and Charlie appeared in the seat of a cool looking ship with a serious face.

“Hello everyone of NB! I am not dead. Keeping things short, VEGA is here to work with us as partners. It's a long story, but I see we got an invasion to repel. Let's take back out homes!” Charlie greeted with a smile.

“It's the Admiral...” an officer stood up from his chair with his jaw dropped.

“Damn right it's him. Let's kick the intruders out!” Krawiec shouted with enthusiasm.

“Hoorah!” the officers in the bridge cheered with renewed hope.

“Fire everything we got!” Krawiec looked outside as a MoB Fury battleship headed towards them.

The remaining operational turrets swivelled to aim at the incoming ship and fired. Streams of torpedoes and projectiles flew towards the heavily armed battleship, but it continued forward as its hull rammed through the projectiles like it was nothing. Suddenly, four streams of laser beams hit the front of the Fury as an Apocrypha flew towards it over the bridge.

“Need a hand?” Chase sent a transmission as he piloted the stolen cruiser.

“Thanks man!” Krawiec watched as the Fury's shields get taken out and then got sliced in half with the kinetic drivers rounds.

* * *

Charlie watched as his ship flew towards the MoB fleet cluster with the two Destiny corvettes beside him. In the centre of the cluster was Deividas' flagship guarded by fleets of Venoms and Revelations.

“We kill the head, we can win this.” Charlie sent a transmission to Vorzer's ship.

“Heading my way Charlie.” Vorzer replied as he flew above Charlie's ship.

“Hey buddy, I think you are going to need a hand.” Chase flew his ship into formation.

“You missed me mate?” Tarbuck piloted his battle-damaged cruiser beside Charlie.

“At least I didn't miss the fireworks.” Wicker strafed his Nighthawk over into the block formation.

Charlie looked at the NB bases being peppered by the enemy ships and noticed Moxness, Paul, Owens, and some others holding a defensive line as other ships formed up.

 “The Myrmidons are here to fight alongside our brothers and to honour Tassos' sacrifice.” Dimitris interrupted with a transmission as two fleets of Revelation cruisers flew from the outer planets to join the cluster of ships.

VC Chapter 34-The Enemy's Enemy

Sector 1200

Planet 1201

January 26, 2052

Charlie walked down the vacant corridor beside Rumblelow as they headed towards the ship bay. Inside the bay were three Destiny corvettes in new coats of dark blue paint and an Apocrypha in repairs from the earlier battles.

“Those three ships are yours to command. More rebels you take down, the more you are rewarded.” Rumblelow pointed.

“The weapons?” Charlie tried to locate the weapons.

“All loaded with thermal beams and decent rear thrusters.” Rumblelow chuckled.

Charlie caught a glimpse of Parks standing in the command bridge watching him while Rumblelow was giving him the briefing.

“Vorzer's fleet is outside and waiting to escort you back to where you come from.” Rumblelow pointed at the distant ships beside the base.

“Thank you for your hospitality.” Charlie offered his hand.

“Well, thank you for taking the offer.” Rumblelow shook his hand.

Charlie turned his head to look at Parks one last time before he walked up the ramp into a corvette. Parks watched him with her arms crossed and smiled as Charlie gave an informal salute.

Charlie walked into the bridge of the ship and noticed it to be very similar to the Apocrypha layout.

“Vorzer is hailing us on communications.” the communications officer reported.

“Put him through.” Charlie replied.

“Charlie, don't you want to go home? I don't have all day.” Vorzer crossed his arms.

“Yeah...yeah. I'm new to the ship okay?” Charlie waved at the officers.

The three corvettes lifted off the ground and flew out of the bay towards a group of three Apocrypha cruisers orbiting the planet. The ships quickly joined formation and headed out to open space. Space began to warp around the ships as they began to make the jump to another sector.

“Coming out of warp now.” the officer alerted Charlie as he sat in the command chair wondering how he would explain this VEGA alliance he had negotiated.

The blue cloudy space surrounding the ships began to fade as the ship exited warp. The corvette flew into a large piece of debris and shook the ship sideways.

“Impact! Shields still holding” an officer reported.

“What the hell is going on?” Charlie looked out the window to see lots of debris floating in space.

The fleet of VEGA ships had jumped right into dead centre of a massive space battle. Revelation cruisers flew past them and fired at NB Bandit’s base while some Talons deployed to attack the invaders.

“Those are the Megalomaniacs!” an officer caught a glimpse of names on the Revelation cruisers.

“I thought they were the good guys?” Charlie watched as a MoB Fury battleship annihilated a base.

“No, they aren't. They are enemy to the corporation.” the officer replied as he watched Vorzer's fleet beginning to fire up its thermal beam weapons at the MoB ships.

 “More fleets incoming! These ships have MYRM markings on them. Who the hell are these guys?” an officer looked at the ship scanners looking dazzled.