Today,the 18th of January,a glorious Tuesday!How so? Cos its my 17th birthday!Whee!!!!
Happy birthday to me and Jay Chou!Contary to what most people would do on their birthdays,I had to go for a training session,complimentary of my employer-Yeo Hiap Seng or simply Yeos. The factory wasn't that difficult to hard to locate,but it was so inaccessible,and besides I didn't which BUS-repeat BUS-goes by there every half an hour-repeat half hour-,therefore I resorted to the next best thing,walk.
And walk I did,for a full half an hour.Stupid ppl,put the factory so inside for what?Can withstand nuclear strike ah?Kaoz,walk until my dry shirt become a soaking wet one.Once inside the accursed building,I was instructed to sit and wait for further instructions.Not too bad,at least there's air-conditioning in that particular wing of the factory.Soon enough,the receptionist told us to follow a fella,whose name we found out later to be Charles.He's supposed to be one of our trainers.He led us into an auditorium.Woah,I wasn't prepared for the sight before me.At the front,in front of the white screen,were two tables laden with Yeos drinks.That part isn't too bad, what was shocking was what was at the BACK.Thousands,yes thousands,of tetra-brik packs of beverage as well as the cool blue colours of Pepsi.I gasped,didn't see so many drinks together in a place before.An eye-opener.
We had to wait for a further half an hour before the training started,as the late-comers streamed in.The training started soon enough,with a guy going through the history of yeos as well as their products.He then handed the mike over to Charles,who briefed us on the proper stacking,display and merchandising techniques.It was pretty useful.When he finished,he passed the baton to a guy called Nick,the individual responsible for the promotion of Pepsi within Yeos.
He was something of a joker,cracking those as if they were nothing but peanuts,and led his colleagus into upheavals of hilarious laughter,minus us.He explained to us the importanceof effective advertisment using Listerine pocketpaks as example.It was a lame example.
Soon,Nick ended his humor-laced speech,and passed the baton to yet another guy,Patrick.He told us that they would call us within these few days to start work,and we needed to come back to claim our uniforms.Oh crap.Now I have ta wear a uniform.I think I'm gonna cry.No,no tears on my birthday,save it till tomorrow.
Finally,the training officially came to an end,and I dreaded it,cos I needed to walk the same way back.Yes,another half hour.Bummer.However,it was more eventful as compared to the previous one,good caring ppl were sending me Birthday greetings.How thoughtful.Thank You All! I mean it,especially Peggy.Haha,she should know why!Its been seven years since a Birthday song was targeted at me.I'm so touched.Thanks again!
At night,at about ten,TBC called.Drats,I was posted to Ang Mo Kio.Bummer.I hoped to be posted to the supermarket opposite my house.Oh well,you win some you lose some,at least there is a slighter chance of me running into anyone I know there as compared to the other location,both has its own pros and cons,and its no use crying over spilt milk,what is done cannot be undone,unless of course,through divine intervention,which is highly unlikely.Ok,I'm ending here,going to sleep.Take care guys!
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
The Conflict
"Fire main cannons on my mark."Captain Ziegler paused for three seconds then shouted:"Fire!"
Almost instantly,nine white-hot projectiles burst forth from the huge barrels of the Hydra's three sets of Supersonic Shock Cannons in nine simultaneous explosions. of flame and noise,and sped toward their intended target:a monolithtic Rencond flagship.
The conflict started two hours ago,with the Rencond initiating it.One of the Terran's scout vessels,a Sparrow-class interceptor by the name of the Raven,had collided accidentally into one of the multiple Rencond space probes,and wrecked it.Although the Raven was also severely damaged,it managed to return to Zion Prime,the massive,rotating complex in Zeanur 4's orbit that the Terrans call home.It did not return alone however,an armada of twelve alien vessels materialised out of nowhere,and started shooting at the sight of the Raven.Thus began the conflict.
Initially,the battle was going well for the humans,with their Orbital Defense Platforms keeping the Rencond ships at bay.One white-hot depleted uranium projectile was enough to punch through the silver,shimmering energy shields of a Rencond Stratoforce-class destroyer,and gut the hapless vessel from stem to stern.Out of the twelve vessels that had come after the Raven, only five remained after half an hour,a testament to the superiority of the Terran defenses.
However,all that changed an hour into the conflict,when the Rencond forces moved out of the Platforms' range,and started to bombard the Terran ships with long-ranged weaponry:energy beams and torpedoes.Six Tempest-class Terran destroyers went up in flame in the six minutes that the Rencond had renewed their assault,and Zion Prime wanted those robots terminated.
Thus,Captain Ziegler was ordered to mobilise,and quell the onslaught.
Captain Ziegler was a man of outstanding capabilities.His Career Service Vitae was a full seven pages long.He had survived eleven battles with the Xeno,six with the Zelarians and two with the Rencond.His charisma,as well as bravery,has gotten his crew out of dangerous situations time and time again.He was truly a war hero.His customised Dreadnought-class heavy crusier,the Hydra,is a ship worthy of the man's name.Along with the standard issue triple batteries of three Supersonic Shock Cannons each, four pods of Arbalest Atmospheric and Space-use Missiles and twenty-four 40mm autocannons,the Hydra had a secret weapon that gave it an edge over any ship in the fleet:a Neutron Cannon.
An advanced prototype,the neutron cannon is capable of delivering a compacted uranium bolt encased in a class-five electromagnetic field to targets almost sixty kilometres away,and place that bolt with pinpoint accuracy.Upon impact,the field collapses,and the compacted atoms disperse,their neutrons separate from the other members of the atomic system,and thus creating the deadly "splitting the atom" effect that ended the second World War in the 1940s. This effect is sufficient enough in force to decimate half of Earth's moon.However,once the cannon is used,the ship carrying it will lose all power,and be dead in space until another ship comes along to pick it up.The complicated array of equipment needed to fire the ray would also have to be remade,making the neutron cannon very not cost-effective.Captain Ziegler had pressured the dockmaster to install it on his ship,sacrificing a few cigars for it.Under Ziegler's relentless assault,the dockmaster finally gave in,and agreed to "accidentally" install the cannon on the Hydra's bow.Finally,the weapon could be of some use.
"Track those Apex fighters,Lieutanent Jones,"Captain Ziegler ordered,"and give them a warm reception."
"Aye sir,already engaged,"the cute-faced lieutanent replied.
On the sides of the Hydra,twenty-four rectangular hatches slid open,and an equal number of twin-barrelled 40 millimeter automatic cannons emerged from the openings.Almost immediately,spouts of flame spewed forth from the barrels,chipping away at the Rencond single-ship fighters' shields.The small,highly manuverable Apex-class interceptors were just another item in theRencond's bottomless arsenal.The small things proved to be both a nuisance, and a lethal threat,their energy cannons draining the shields of the Hydra precipitiously. Nevertheless,once the autocannons were deployed,nine puffs of fire emerged on the view screen and vanished from the radar.
"Stand by for course correction,declination zero zero three six by zero zero eight two."Ziegler told the navigation officer,Timmons.
"Course set.Awaiting your order sir,"Timmons replied,hand hovering over his console.
Ziegler,however,said nothing.He just stared at the massive metallic vessel in front of him. The Rencond ship was shaped like an arrow,with its bow sharpened to a point.The brigde stood on the stern,above the powerful engines.Cubes flashed beams of energy,cutting any unlucky ship nearby.The ship had a sort of odd,predatory beauty,blemished however,by a gaping hole in its starboard prow.The metal was jagged and serated,and curled away from the wound.One of the Hydra's cannon shells must have impacted into it just now.Yet,the vessel was still fully functional.If only we knew what goes on inside those ships,then we would have a better chance against these metallic monsters,Ziegler thought angrily. If only-
Ziegler halted in mid thought.He had a brainwave.
Quickly,he hit the button for the intercom.It buzzed to life,with a man's coarse voice enamanting from it,laced with static.
"Bunker to bridge,Smith here.What's up Cap?"Smith asked.
"Smith,I want you to ready your squad and get to launch bay Seven ASAP.I got a little mission for you."Ziegler smiled.
"You serious?"Smith quizzed dubiously,"I mean we ARE in space,aren't we?"
"You are correct Smith.But we require you to-",Ziegler paused to search for the correct word,"- take over an enemy ship for us.I'm sure you can handle it."
Smith processed the information for a whole three seconds,then said,"We're on it sir.Bunker out."He then proceeded to issue his own orders to his team.
Finally,there were aliens to kill.
And none of them wanted to miss out on the fun.
To Be Continued...
Almost instantly,nine white-hot projectiles burst forth from the huge barrels of the Hydra's three sets of Supersonic Shock Cannons in nine simultaneous explosions. of flame and noise,and sped toward their intended target:a monolithtic Rencond flagship.
The conflict started two hours ago,with the Rencond initiating it.One of the Terran's scout vessels,a Sparrow-class interceptor by the name of the Raven,had collided accidentally into one of the multiple Rencond space probes,and wrecked it.Although the Raven was also severely damaged,it managed to return to Zion Prime,the massive,rotating complex in Zeanur 4's orbit that the Terrans call home.It did not return alone however,an armada of twelve alien vessels materialised out of nowhere,and started shooting at the sight of the Raven.Thus began the conflict.
Initially,the battle was going well for the humans,with their Orbital Defense Platforms keeping the Rencond ships at bay.One white-hot depleted uranium projectile was enough to punch through the silver,shimmering energy shields of a Rencond Stratoforce-class destroyer,and gut the hapless vessel from stem to stern.Out of the twelve vessels that had come after the Raven, only five remained after half an hour,a testament to the superiority of the Terran defenses.
However,all that changed an hour into the conflict,when the Rencond forces moved out of the Platforms' range,and started to bombard the Terran ships with long-ranged weaponry:energy beams and torpedoes.Six Tempest-class Terran destroyers went up in flame in the six minutes that the Rencond had renewed their assault,and Zion Prime wanted those robots terminated.
Thus,Captain Ziegler was ordered to mobilise,and quell the onslaught.
Captain Ziegler was a man of outstanding capabilities.His Career Service Vitae was a full seven pages long.He had survived eleven battles with the Xeno,six with the Zelarians and two with the Rencond.His charisma,as well as bravery,has gotten his crew out of dangerous situations time and time again.He was truly a war hero.His customised Dreadnought-class heavy crusier,the Hydra,is a ship worthy of the man's name.Along with the standard issue triple batteries of three Supersonic Shock Cannons each, four pods of Arbalest Atmospheric and Space-use Missiles and twenty-four 40mm autocannons,the Hydra had a secret weapon that gave it an edge over any ship in the fleet:a Neutron Cannon.
An advanced prototype,the neutron cannon is capable of delivering a compacted uranium bolt encased in a class-five electromagnetic field to targets almost sixty kilometres away,and place that bolt with pinpoint accuracy.Upon impact,the field collapses,and the compacted atoms disperse,their neutrons separate from the other members of the atomic system,and thus creating the deadly "splitting the atom" effect that ended the second World War in the 1940s. This effect is sufficient enough in force to decimate half of Earth's moon.However,once the cannon is used,the ship carrying it will lose all power,and be dead in space until another ship comes along to pick it up.The complicated array of equipment needed to fire the ray would also have to be remade,making the neutron cannon very not cost-effective.Captain Ziegler had pressured the dockmaster to install it on his ship,sacrificing a few cigars for it.Under Ziegler's relentless assault,the dockmaster finally gave in,and agreed to "accidentally" install the cannon on the Hydra's bow.Finally,the weapon could be of some use.
"Track those Apex fighters,Lieutanent Jones,"Captain Ziegler ordered,"and give them a warm reception."
"Aye sir,already engaged,"the cute-faced lieutanent replied.
On the sides of the Hydra,twenty-four rectangular hatches slid open,and an equal number of twin-barrelled 40 millimeter automatic cannons emerged from the openings.Almost immediately,spouts of flame spewed forth from the barrels,chipping away at the Rencond single-ship fighters' shields.The small,highly manuverable Apex-class interceptors were just another item in theRencond's bottomless arsenal.The small things proved to be both a nuisance, and a lethal threat,their energy cannons draining the shields of the Hydra precipitiously. Nevertheless,once the autocannons were deployed,nine puffs of fire emerged on the view screen and vanished from the radar.
"Stand by for course correction,declination zero zero three six by zero zero eight two."Ziegler told the navigation officer,Timmons.
"Course set.Awaiting your order sir,"Timmons replied,hand hovering over his console.
Ziegler,however,said nothing.He just stared at the massive metallic vessel in front of him. The Rencond ship was shaped like an arrow,with its bow sharpened to a point.The brigde stood on the stern,above the powerful engines.Cubes flashed beams of energy,cutting any unlucky ship nearby.The ship had a sort of odd,predatory beauty,blemished however,by a gaping hole in its starboard prow.The metal was jagged and serated,and curled away from the wound.One of the Hydra's cannon shells must have impacted into it just now.Yet,the vessel was still fully functional.If only we knew what goes on inside those ships,then we would have a better chance against these metallic monsters,Ziegler thought angrily. If only-
Ziegler halted in mid thought.He had a brainwave.
Quickly,he hit the button for the intercom.It buzzed to life,with a man's coarse voice enamanting from it,laced with static.
"Bunker to bridge,Smith here.What's up Cap?"Smith asked.
"Smith,I want you to ready your squad and get to launch bay Seven ASAP.I got a little mission for you."Ziegler smiled.
"You serious?"Smith quizzed dubiously,"I mean we ARE in space,aren't we?"
"You are correct Smith.But we require you to-",Ziegler paused to search for the correct word,"- take over an enemy ship for us.I'm sure you can handle it."
Smith processed the information for a whole three seconds,then said,"We're on it sir.Bunker out."He then proceeded to issue his own orders to his team.
Finally,there were aliens to kill.
And none of them wanted to miss out on the fun.
To Be Continued...
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
The Conflict
The Hydra fired her port micro thrusters and flew sideways, just as a lance of slender green energy swept through the place where the Hydra was a moment ago.Captain Ziegler heaved a sigh of relief.That was close.Too close.
"Engines all stop and turn one hundred and eighty degrees.Point us at that thing."Ziegler ordered Timmons.
"Aye,sir.Engines answering.All stop.Rotating now."Timmons said,a tinge of worry present in his meek voice.
The four-thousand-ton Hydra came to a standstill and swivelled to face the owner of that energy beam.Captain Ziegler expected it to be one of the Rencond's deadliest starships,a Valken-class crusier,but it was not.
It was something larger.
Much larger.
Directly across the Hydra, the space started to distort.The area became like a pool of water,with ripples coming from the centre of it.Then,something emerged from the distorted space.A ship. A Rencond ship,unlike any Ziegler had seen before.Instead of the usual arrow-head design characteristcal of most Rencond vessels,this one was a solid rectangular block.A black,equipment-laden area was sandwiched between two silver-white layers.A circle served as the only decoration for the bottommost deck of the ship.On the topmost,layers of small squares, most likely hatches,could be seen surrounding a hexagonal region,probably the bridge.Captain Ziegler could not discern any weapons onboard.
"Computer,"He called out,"Give me a full scan of that ship.I want every plate of alien metal overturned for answers."
"Processing,"A female voice emnamated from nowhere,with the characteristic warble of synthesized vocals,"Vessel is approximately four point two kilometers long and two point four kilometers wide.Spectroscopic analysis proved inconclusive.Ship's material doesn't match any known Rencond materials.Black region impervious to scanning.Recommend caution."
Interesting,Ziegler thought,a new ship.This should be of some entertainment.
"All thrusters to station keeping.Computer,evade any energy beams fired in our direction and alert me if there are any anomalies."Ziegler commanded,"And get me Smith on the intercom."
***
Slowly,cautiously,Smith rounded a shiny metallic corner.Nothing.For some reason,the alien vessel was empty,devoid of any life.Since they landed the Albatross into the ship's hole, they had seen nothing but metal and more metal.Smith was getting bored.Sighing further,he gripped his weapon tighter and moved on,with his team in tow.
Smith was a commado,the creme de la creme of the human infantry. And he proved it numerous times that he was,too.His team was responsible for the deaths of thousands of enemy troops,and the victories on the ground.Name of his squad:The Freikorps,after the real ones during the German Weimar Republic.
Smith advanced slowly,right hand on his Mark 8A Light Machine Gun,standard issue for commandoes.Under the barrel of the weapon hung a small cylinder-the shell launcher.A modified grenade launcher from the now obselete M16 assault rifles,these tubes could either fire an armor-piercing round or an inciendiary one,making them very invaluable on the battlefield. The inbuilt fire-control computer,coupled with Smith's compulsory neural implants done at birth,made the weapon a monster.
Clank.
The sound of metal banging against metal resonated throughout the dark,deary corridor.
Clank clank.
And it grew louder by the second.Smith swallowed and put up two fingers,and pointed them to the left.Winfield,the heavy weapons specialist,and Suzuki,a stealthy Infiltrator,silently moved to the opposite wall,and prepared for their first meeting with a Rencond soldier.
The being rounded a corner,and came into full view of the Freikorps.It was astounding.It was about a meter high,stood on chicken legs,and had two metal extensions along its cuboid torso as arms.A single red line pulsed in the middle of the torso.It too,turned to face the intruders,and lifted its arms.Without any sound,two blocks slid forward from the back of the alien to cover its arms,and locked themselves there with a resonating click.Then,twin spheres of green energy started to materialise in front on them.
Energy beams.
Smith and his teammates were dumbfounded,all except one.At the back of the Terran group,a lone figure vaulted high into the air and came down,just infront of the alien.The alien,visibly surprised,hurriedly raised its charging arms and prepared to release their deadly cargo.Its efforts were in vain however,for the lone human had a M2C heavy pistol levelled at the creature's red line-eye.He fired a sustained burst of three armor-piercing rounds into it.
The alien fell to the ground with a satisfying clank,silver blood formed a pool on the metallic floor.
The human,Combat Elite Number 12,said in a cool monotone,"Threat neutralised.Resume initial operation."
"Engines all stop and turn one hundred and eighty degrees.Point us at that thing."Ziegler ordered Timmons.
"Aye,sir.Engines answering.All stop.Rotating now."Timmons said,a tinge of worry present in his meek voice.
The four-thousand-ton Hydra came to a standstill and swivelled to face the owner of that energy beam.Captain Ziegler expected it to be one of the Rencond's deadliest starships,a Valken-class crusier,but it was not.
It was something larger.
Much larger.
Directly across the Hydra, the space started to distort.The area became like a pool of water,with ripples coming from the centre of it.Then,something emerged from the distorted space.A ship. A Rencond ship,unlike any Ziegler had seen before.Instead of the usual arrow-head design characteristcal of most Rencond vessels,this one was a solid rectangular block.A black,equipment-laden area was sandwiched between two silver-white layers.A circle served as the only decoration for the bottommost deck of the ship.On the topmost,layers of small squares, most likely hatches,could be seen surrounding a hexagonal region,probably the bridge.Captain Ziegler could not discern any weapons onboard.
"Computer,"He called out,"Give me a full scan of that ship.I want every plate of alien metal overturned for answers."
"Processing,"A female voice emnamated from nowhere,with the characteristic warble of synthesized vocals,"Vessel is approximately four point two kilometers long and two point four kilometers wide.Spectroscopic analysis proved inconclusive.Ship's material doesn't match any known Rencond materials.Black region impervious to scanning.Recommend caution."
Interesting,Ziegler thought,a new ship.This should be of some entertainment.
"All thrusters to station keeping.Computer,evade any energy beams fired in our direction and alert me if there are any anomalies."Ziegler commanded,"And get me Smith on the intercom."
***
Slowly,cautiously,Smith rounded a shiny metallic corner.Nothing.For some reason,the alien vessel was empty,devoid of any life.Since they landed the Albatross into the ship's hole, they had seen nothing but metal and more metal.Smith was getting bored.Sighing further,he gripped his weapon tighter and moved on,with his team in tow.
Smith was a commado,the creme de la creme of the human infantry. And he proved it numerous times that he was,too.His team was responsible for the deaths of thousands of enemy troops,and the victories on the ground.Name of his squad:The Freikorps,after the real ones during the German Weimar Republic.
Smith advanced slowly,right hand on his Mark 8A Light Machine Gun,standard issue for commandoes.Under the barrel of the weapon hung a small cylinder-the shell launcher.A modified grenade launcher from the now obselete M16 assault rifles,these tubes could either fire an armor-piercing round or an inciendiary one,making them very invaluable on the battlefield. The inbuilt fire-control computer,coupled with Smith's compulsory neural implants done at birth,made the weapon a monster.
Clank.
The sound of metal banging against metal resonated throughout the dark,deary corridor.
Clank clank.
And it grew louder by the second.Smith swallowed and put up two fingers,and pointed them to the left.Winfield,the heavy weapons specialist,and Suzuki,a stealthy Infiltrator,silently moved to the opposite wall,and prepared for their first meeting with a Rencond soldier.
The being rounded a corner,and came into full view of the Freikorps.It was astounding.It was about a meter high,stood on chicken legs,and had two metal extensions along its cuboid torso as arms.A single red line pulsed in the middle of the torso.It too,turned to face the intruders,and lifted its arms.Without any sound,two blocks slid forward from the back of the alien to cover its arms,and locked themselves there with a resonating click.Then,twin spheres of green energy started to materialise in front on them.
Energy beams.
Smith and his teammates were dumbfounded,all except one.At the back of the Terran group,a lone figure vaulted high into the air and came down,just infront of the alien.The alien,visibly surprised,hurriedly raised its charging arms and prepared to release their deadly cargo.Its efforts were in vain however,for the lone human had a M2C heavy pistol levelled at the creature's red line-eye.He fired a sustained burst of three armor-piercing rounds into it.
The alien fell to the ground with a satisfying clank,silver blood formed a pool on the metallic floor.
The human,Combat Elite Number 12,said in a cool monotone,"Threat neutralised.Resume initial operation."
To Be Continued...
Monday, January 10, 2005
The Conflict
"Lock all missiles on that vessel and blow it out of the sky!"Commander Kim ordered her Weapons officer,Lieutanent Rosemary.
"Aye,ma'am.Missiles away,"the cool,porcelain-featured lieutanent calmly replied.
On screen,dozens of elonganated Fletcher missiles streamed towards their target,their exhaust leaving white streaks on the blackness of space.The Rencond Rampage-class destroyer,however, did not attempt to take any evasive manuevers.Instead,it just held its position,and continued to pummel the Freedom Alliance with energy beam after energy beam, reducing its proton shields to twenty-two percent,and dropping further.
The Freedom Alliance,a Terran Tempest-class destroyer, was a vessel built solely for the purpose of war.It sported two Supersonic Shock Cannons,thirty pods of twelve Fletcher missiles each,two Jupiter-class nuclear missiles as well as a launch tube capable of firing the vessel's sole Gamma Charge,its three Sparrow-class interceptors,or a team of highly-trained commandoes in a space-faring pod.A destroyer also had almost two meters of armor plating covering it from stem to stern,along with the standard-issue proton shields.Theoratically,the Freedom Alliance can take,and deliver,an enormous amount of punishment.Right now,that theory was being tested.
The Rencond equilvalent of the Freedom Alliance appeared out of the distorted space created by the Rencond monolith flagship.As soon as it re-entered normal space,it started attacking the Freedom Alliance,blasting her with energy beams and torpedoes.Commander Kim had lost more than twenty hands since she engaged the enemy,and she was not about to let them die without avenging them.
***
The Hydra lay hidden in the debris field,awaiting the chance to launch an attack on the Rencond forces.Already,the fleet had lost twenty ships,frigates and destroyers.Zion Prime did not want to risk the Armada-class carriers,for fear they will be easy targets.Captain Ziegler flinched.A carrier was two times larger than his crusier,and had nearly four meters of armor plating as compared to his three and a half meters.Each carrier was equipped with forty-eight 40 mm autocannons for mounting a point defense against the smaller ships,and relied on other ships for protection.However,the presence of a carrier would significantly increase the striking power of the fleet.Each massive ship carried six Assault Units,humanoid robots armed with a heavy machine gun and two pods of Fletcher missiles,capable of dealing massive damage to an enemy target over a short period of time.Six Sparrow-class interceptors are also carried on the giganyic vessels to tackle the faster ships of the enemy fleet.Along with those,carriers also had four Hawk-class Fighters.These larger versions of the Sparrow fly at Mach 4 and are capable of both deep space and atmospheric flight.A quartet of fifty millimeter cannons and a Fletcher missile pack served as the armnament for the swift ships,and are sufficient to put a Zelarian Hyperthorne-class crusier out of commission in just ten minutes.Ziegler,for once,resented the higher-ups' decision,but shrugged it off and continued to find a way defeat the Rencond,just as the frigate,the Mackenzie,flew up to the starboard flank of it,missiles firing.
What the hell was that ship's captain thinking?Ziegler thought,That's suicide!
As if he was right,a slender blue beam shot out from the black,equipment laden area,and engulfed the Mackenzie,immoblising it.A tractor beam of some sort,Ziegler pondered,interesting.
"Sir,we are receiving a distress signal from both the Mackenzie and Freedom Alliance,"Jack,the operations officer,suddenly called out.
"On speakers,"Ziegler calmly replied.
"Mayday,mayday!We are incapable of moving off!The Rencond ship has us trapped in some kind of tractor beam and we are detecting high levels of energy coming from the ship!Hurry! Send hel-"The speaker went dead,and static filled the room.
On the other speaker,"Commander Kim of the Freedom Alliance requesting reinforcements at these coordinates.We had depleted all of our ammunition and shields are at 8 percent and dropping steadily.Rencond destroyer and frigates bearing down on us.Please send aid,fast."
Captain Ziegler looked worried.He had to help both the ships.Both were under his command.He had to think of a solution fast,or else hundreds of lives would be lost.Finally,he made a decision.
"Lieutanent Timmons,plot a course for the Freedom Alliance's position but make these corrections to the course.We are going after both of them."
"Aye,ma'am.Missiles away,"the cool,porcelain-featured lieutanent calmly replied.
On screen,dozens of elonganated Fletcher missiles streamed towards their target,their exhaust leaving white streaks on the blackness of space.The Rencond Rampage-class destroyer,however, did not attempt to take any evasive manuevers.Instead,it just held its position,and continued to pummel the Freedom Alliance with energy beam after energy beam, reducing its proton shields to twenty-two percent,and dropping further.
The Freedom Alliance,a Terran Tempest-class destroyer, was a vessel built solely for the purpose of war.It sported two Supersonic Shock Cannons,thirty pods of twelve Fletcher missiles each,two Jupiter-class nuclear missiles as well as a launch tube capable of firing the vessel's sole Gamma Charge,its three Sparrow-class interceptors,or a team of highly-trained commandoes in a space-faring pod.A destroyer also had almost two meters of armor plating covering it from stem to stern,along with the standard-issue proton shields.Theoratically,the Freedom Alliance can take,and deliver,an enormous amount of punishment.Right now,that theory was being tested.
The Rencond equilvalent of the Freedom Alliance appeared out of the distorted space created by the Rencond monolith flagship.As soon as it re-entered normal space,it started attacking the Freedom Alliance,blasting her with energy beams and torpedoes.Commander Kim had lost more than twenty hands since she engaged the enemy,and she was not about to let them die without avenging them.
***
The Hydra lay hidden in the debris field,awaiting the chance to launch an attack on the Rencond forces.Already,the fleet had lost twenty ships,frigates and destroyers.Zion Prime did not want to risk the Armada-class carriers,for fear they will be easy targets.Captain Ziegler flinched.A carrier was two times larger than his crusier,and had nearly four meters of armor plating as compared to his three and a half meters.Each carrier was equipped with forty-eight 40 mm autocannons for mounting a point defense against the smaller ships,and relied on other ships for protection.However,the presence of a carrier would significantly increase the striking power of the fleet.Each massive ship carried six Assault Units,humanoid robots armed with a heavy machine gun and two pods of Fletcher missiles,capable of dealing massive damage to an enemy target over a short period of time.Six Sparrow-class interceptors are also carried on the giganyic vessels to tackle the faster ships of the enemy fleet.Along with those,carriers also had four Hawk-class Fighters.These larger versions of the Sparrow fly at Mach 4 and are capable of both deep space and atmospheric flight.A quartet of fifty millimeter cannons and a Fletcher missile pack served as the armnament for the swift ships,and are sufficient to put a Zelarian Hyperthorne-class crusier out of commission in just ten minutes.Ziegler,for once,resented the higher-ups' decision,but shrugged it off and continued to find a way defeat the Rencond,just as the frigate,the Mackenzie,flew up to the starboard flank of it,missiles firing.
What the hell was that ship's captain thinking?Ziegler thought,That's suicide!
As if he was right,a slender blue beam shot out from the black,equipment laden area,and engulfed the Mackenzie,immoblising it.A tractor beam of some sort,Ziegler pondered,interesting.
"Sir,we are receiving a distress signal from both the Mackenzie and Freedom Alliance,"Jack,the operations officer,suddenly called out.
"On speakers,"Ziegler calmly replied.
"Mayday,mayday!We are incapable of moving off!The Rencond ship has us trapped in some kind of tractor beam and we are detecting high levels of energy coming from the ship!Hurry! Send hel-"The speaker went dead,and static filled the room.
On the other speaker,"Commander Kim of the Freedom Alliance requesting reinforcements at these coordinates.We had depleted all of our ammunition and shields are at 8 percent and dropping steadily.Rencond destroyer and frigates bearing down on us.Please send aid,fast."
Captain Ziegler looked worried.He had to help both the ships.Both were under his command.He had to think of a solution fast,or else hundreds of lives would be lost.Finally,he made a decision.
"Lieutanent Timmons,plot a course for the Freedom Alliance's position but make these corrections to the course.We are going after both of them."
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