Hair of the Wolf: Open for Business

Posted: July 24, 2007, 10:03 pm

I'd been going on and on, I realized . I had to regroup. I sounded kind of strange to myself. Like I was listening to someone else talking with my mouth. I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak again when we heard the crash. My instincts kicked in and I started to rise. Vengeance's big hang gently pushed me back. "We got it, Bro."

I didn't want to move. I felt so tired. I let myself be pushed back into the soft leather.

It happened fast. The new guy was quick. After the commotion died down he returned. I caught a glimpse of a sinister-looking blade as he moved it from in front of his face and started toying with it. That blade... I'd seen one like that before. Recently.

Very recently.

I stared. Who IS this guy? ... I didn't even know I was bein' followed and he takes 'im out like he knew they guy was there. Hmm...

"You're safe now." broke in to my thoughts.

"Safe." I repeated, looking into red eyes. A sharp slap across the face couldn't have straightened me out faster. I swallowed. "Safe. Huh. Right." I tipped the glass in front of me, drained it, felt the warmth start to spread from the pit of my gut. I pushed it back across the low table in from of the sofa at a worried-looking Zeb.

"Safe. No one's safe, pal. None of us..."

"What are you on about, mate?" Zeb said as he pushed the refill back my way. His voice had gone up an octave.

"Yeah. What the hell you talking about?" I knew that voice. Vengeance. I turned toward him.

"You don't w..." I started, stopping mid-sentence. Red eyes.What the...

I looked back at the new guy. Evil, I thought. Evil in a skinsack. Then I looked back at Vengeance with a new point of view. Evil... just when you think you know someone...

I needed a distraction. I drained the glass again, the warmth beginning to give way to a welcome numbness. I slammed the glass on the table.

Zeb jumped. Vengeance raised an eyebrow. The new guy leaned back, crossing his arms.

"Dammit, Zeb! Gimme the good stuff!"

Zeb looked surprised. "That IS the good stuff, mate.

"Bull. I want... aw Schutz. If ya want anything done..." I lurched to my feet, grabbed Zeb by the arm, dragged him out of the office. Outside, I turned toward Zeb, jerking my head meaningfully toward the bar. He followed. I slammed the door.

"What the futz, Zeb!" I yelled, too loud, grinning at him. I gestured with my hands, frantically. "Come on, mate!" my hands said. He looked confused, then the light came on.

"The hell you say, Wolf!" he yelled in reply.

The place grew quiet. "Now what?" I heard someone say.

"Geez it's good to see you again, my friend," I whispered. "You're a sight for sore eyes!" Then, much louder, "Don't give me that crap!"

"I've been worried sick, mate, " he whispered. throwing his huge arms around me in a hug, slapping my back. "What's gotten into you!?" he yelled.

"You don't wanna know," I said in a quiet voice, grinning. "But I suppose you're going to want to anyway."

"Right."

"Right here! Don't hold out on me!!" I yelled back. I pulled open a cabinet door under the bar, eased a box from the back, set it carefully on top. Then I kicked the door shut. "Here!" I yelled.

I opened the box, tenderly pulled out one of two bottles. It was my Special Reserve, all that was left of what Shipper'd given me, what seemed so long ago.

"Well I'll be... " Zeb whispered. "Who's holding our on who?" He accused with a grin.

"Been saving it." I placed the box under the bar. Then, "Zeb, who is that guy? And what's wrong with V?"

"Wrong? What do you mean, 'wrong?' "

"His eyes. What's with the eyes? Both of 'em."

"Not sure, Wolf. That's a recent development."

"Well, I do..." I growled. "Come on. Just stay cool, follow my lead."

I jerked open the door, headed back to the sofa, Zeb close behind.

Plopping myself back down I pulled the old-fashioned cork out with my teeth, spit it out, and recklessly poured, letting some splash onto the table. Zeb looked absolutely horrified. I have to admit, it hurt me too. I took a long pull, set the glass down, wiped my mouth on my sleeve and let out a big "Ahhhhh!!!"

"Feeling better?" Zeb asked sarcastically.

I looked at my precious bottle. "It'll do..."

"Come on, Wolf," Vengeance said, then with a grin of his own, "Spill it."

I gave him a quick look, That familiar lopsided grin of his almost made me forget my fear. But no...

"Nomads. That's what I'm talkin' about. Hundreds of Nomads. More'n I've ever seen."

"My God, Wolf! Where?" That was Zeb.

I glanced over at Vengeance, gauged his reaction as I said, "Right here. On New London. Just a big as you please."

He looked surprised. I hoped he was...

"My God!" Zeb exclaimed again.

I swallowed my Port, poured myself another, more carefully this time. "Not just Nomads, either. The biggest Nomads I've ever seen."

"What!?" Zeb, Vengeance and the new guy (still don't know his name!) chorused like they were in a production of Pirates of Penzance.

"Yeah. Big. And Mean. With mean ships and mean weps like I've never seen. And from what I heard, there's more on the way. Lots more."

"How do Nomads get away congregating here on New London?" Zeb whispered hoarsely.

"How? Cuz they look just like us. Like you and me. Just like You " I gestured at Vengeance. "And you." I nodded toward the new guy.

"Then how do you know they're Nomads?" said the new guy. Perfect. Right on cue...

I looked right at him, lower my voice menacingly. "The eyes," I said. "They got red eyes..."

Sqdr. Commander Joined: Aug 20, 2005 Posts: 1366

Wolf stared at me, his voice deep and threatening. "The eyes," he growled. "They've got red eyes..."

I could tell where this was headed, and I didn't like it one bit. I'd just saved this guy from some freaky ass guy in a robe, had my favourite jacket ripped and was bleeding from my shoulder. And now...

Wolf started to stand up, and I pushed myself away from the wall. I toyed idly with the blade in my hand, and stared him down.

"Don't even try it man." I said softly. "You're in no fit state to take me on. And you wouldn't want to even if you were. I'm not your enemy."

"Oh yeah? Wana explain to me and Zeb why you've got those eyes then?" Wolf challenged me.

"Zebulon already knows." I faced him directly and asked him outright... "Well Zeb. Are you gona use that gun you've got hidden under the bar? We both know that tech isn't standard round here... Its probably all you have thats capable of killing me as well."

Zebulon looked at me with shock in his eyes. "How do you know about that?"

"I can feel it. Its like an itch on my mind." I leaned toward him. "You were shaken up by my and Vengeance's little tales weren't you? And now, even though you know full damn well that we're not a threat, you're wondering if you should call the girls in to shoot us down."

"If Wolf thinks something isn't right, then usually it isn't." Zeb stared at me defiantly.

"Well, what do we need to do to convince-" I broke off midsentence. I looked around, blinking furiously and trying to clear my vision... I couldn't see anything! Everything was red... pure, deep blood red. I could hear voices, shouting, hands grabbing me, but the panic was too strong.

Watchwolf looked on in fear as I writhed around on the floor. I was mouthing silently for help, but no one could hear me. As he got up to try and hold me still, I screamed... A flash of molten agony speared through my veins. It felt like stabbed everywhere at once. It happened again, and again, and again, and the screaming got louder and louder. Then, the screams turned to roars of pain and anger. I yelled defiance at the crippling pain that was shooting through me... and everything went black.

Posted: July 28, 2007, 1:42 pm

C's body went limp. Zeb and Vengeance helped Wolf get him onto the couch. He felt cold to the touch and his skin had gone pale. The outline of his veins could be seen highlighted against the drained color, their livid red like a highway map. Zeb looked and Vengeance. The big man was looking at C in a very thoughtful way. Wolf looked worried. "What the hell is going on here, Zeb?"

Zeb sighed and gave Wolf the brief rundown. Vengeance then spoke.

"Wolf, my old friend. Some things have changed and I am one of those 'things', as is the man you know as C. Zeb got lucky and escaped the bloodlust," the man infront of Zeb and Wolf looked positively ancient as he tried to explain. " We are still who we were, but with an added dimension, some of which we can't even begin to guess at. Zeb has been affected too, but not drinking the Nomad blood he has escaped the worst ravages of this transformation." On finishing it was almost as if a great weight had been lifted from the man's shoulders. Then Zeb began.

"Whatever has happened to us Wolf, we are still with you. You should not fear anything from Vengeance or Carnival, and certainly not from me. We are united in one thing and that is the destruction of the Nomad presence here in the Sirius system. Vengeance and Carnival are more easily able to move about in their circles because of the conditional changes that are occuring to them. It masks their humanity from the probing gazes from the enemy, Me, on the other hand? I'm stuck with my humanity and I am very much bait. Nomads can detect my "otherness" but my humaity is not masked, so I dare not get too close without the proper equipment."

Wolf seemed to be taking it all in and rather well at that. Zeb remembered the conversation earlier with Wolf. " You have nothing to be immediately concerned about from the rest. Respect given and respect recieved." .......

Posted: August 2, 2007, 3:15 am

I opened the doors to find ten dots on my chest. "Remove your weapons please" said the robotic voice. I removed my enhanced blaster pistol from its holster along with a sheath with a small sword, carefully placing both in a container. This place has gotten gloomier i thought to myself. I walked over to the bar. "diet coke please" i muttered to one of the girls. " Sure thing sir." Then she turned and asked " Why dont you ever get any real drinks?" I knew this was gonna happen some time, so i came prepared. "ehh, its my religion." She looked at me with an odd sort of face. " What religion are you then?" "um... im... a mormon." i replied.
" Ahh. Explains everything huh?"

" yep"

" have i seen you before?" She asked. "Uh... yeah. But its been a while....." I turned to get a good look at the scene when all of a sudden, a figure came to the other side of the bar and started harrasing one of the girls. And out of nowhere (most likely from a hidden back office) a man with a knife ran to the scene. The two personages seemed to freeze in time for a few moments and then, the second stabbed the first brutally, blood spilling everywhere. the man crouched over the body, blood on the knife when after a few seconds, he DRANK the blood. He then walked happily back to the office.

I stared in horror. " Is that legal!?!?" i muttered to the bartender " Or even RIGHT!?!?"
"dont worry" the bartender lady said while sliding me my diet coke " its just another typical day at work". " typical? is this like a fight club or something?" I took the can, left the money on the table, walked cautiously around the body, and took a seat in a not-too-dark-or-bright corner.

And then Pi came over and took a seat in front of me. " Hey Slice! long time no see! where have you been?" " Ehh, on vacation, trying to get my racing Super License. Its been tough though. they make you do some tough tests." I was still a bit shaky after that weird showdown. But Pi seemed fine for some reason. " well good for you. Anythign else?" It took me a second to register what was going on but i finally noticed a red tinge in Pi's eyes, like i was looking at one of those bad amature photographs. " uhh... learning sword fighting and uh..... cross country training and uh...." i was getting a bit uneasy. Those eyes were getting a little evil. maybe it was me. I had been working too hard on earning my license. Or maybe this "dude", whoever he was, was gonna kill me or something. " uh can you excuse me for a sec." i said.

I walked quickly to the doors, took my weapons and went outside. I started walking towards the landing pad, noticing that most of everyone was getting red-eye. Then i heard vicky shout" Slice, hang on!". i turned and came back. " whats wrong?" she asked. " this might seem weird to you but im noticing that everyones eyes are getting red and evil." i tried to explain. " dont worry i notice it too. its nothing serious, its just a bar" She said. "i guess i agree" i said as i turned to go back into the bar, remembering the security system. I went to the other side of the bar, Pi not noticing me.

This is gonna be a long night.......

1st Lieutenant Joined: Jul 27, 2007 Posts: 50

great story

Posted: August 4, 2007, 12:49 pm

Vicki came into the office. "You all ok in here?"

"Sure, honey, we will be fine. Just sorting out some of the fine print. Keep an eye out for any unwelcome guests though, that last one slipped through the net." replied Zeb.

Vicki turned to leave and then glanced back at Zeb. "Boss, the racer boy is back. Slicer? Remember him. Asking for that coke stuff you keep stashed at the back of the fridge."

Zeb had a quick thought and realised she was sweet on the boy and he smiled. "Don't worry honey, we wont hurt him. He may even have a use given his racing connections. If he has left go get him back somehow, we need to talk."

By this time C had started to come round. The Wolf had settled down and was talking animatedly to Vengeance. Sounded like they were catching up on much that had passed between them. The thought "Critical Mass" came into Zebs head. Too many of the same sort of people in one place causes an attraction of the same or opposite sort and the result is a "melt down". Time to get moving. Time to get these lads back out into the Void where they belong. Time to go hunting, cos if we dont get to them they will come to us. Zeb liked the bar and had no intention of it becoming another wreck hole in the long history of space taverns!

Zeb motioned to Vengeance who got Wolf's attention. Carnival was rubbing his sore head and his natural "colour" had returned. "Suit up and tool up, its time we were out of here. " Zeb explained breifly what he was afraid of. The others nodded and flight bags started to be unpacked.

Zebs flight suit was a little more snug than he would have liked but the truth was that out in the Void the excess gained in the bar would soon be shed. He opened the SureLok safe with the voiceprint and retina scan. The smell of the treated leather and the gunoiled metalic taste of weaponry greeted his senses. One low slung gun belt and a S&W Mark3 plasma projectile pistol (the triple P). The laser carbine folded and clipped to the rear sling attachment and the Browning rotary six barreled mini rail gun, "front slung and belt attached for ease of support and use" just like it said in the manual. The combat knife was in its usual place. Out of sight and virtualy undetectable. The needle gun was hip slung on the opposite side to the Triple P. All suited and booted Zeb entered the office and grabbed his crash hat. It showed the years of use with many scratches and dents all with a memorable incident attached.

He hit the comlink, "Rosie, get the baby ready to fly - I want that 'Nubis ready to rock! We are going hunting...!"

"Sure thing boss! Whooooohoooooo!!!" came the retort. Zeb loved his mechanic, she was a brassy and bold genius when it came to mechanics and other things in life.

The others were all equipped and ready to roll. They came out of the office and Zeb was about to get Liz to switch down the Security System when it happened. The first indication that something was amiss was the alarm that sounded, highpitched and loud. The systems voice stated: "System interference. Viral attack in progress. Weapons detection interface offline."

The group of commrades fanned out as they exited the office. People started reaching for the floor and the girls got behind the bar, cracked out their weapons and prepared to defend the till. There were shouts and the sound of fighting from outside the bar. Viki came running through dragging a rather perplexed Slicer behind her. "Boss! We are under attack!" She bolted for the bar as Liz threw the 50cal rifle to her and a blaster in the direction of the racer boy. They grabbed the weapons mid flight and hit the deck, locked, loaded and ready to roll. Two of the remaining four "Door Clerks" limped through, firing back at the unseen assailants as they entered the bar. "Zeb, its Nomads!!" yeld the first one. A rattle of returned fire cut down the limping guard and the second one shouted a curse as she tumbled down the few steps to lay still on the floor. Vengeance jumped forward and grabbed her arm draggin her behind the booth partition that he and Carnival had set up shop behind.

Zeb was thankful that Shippers knowledge of bar work had given the "Hair of the Wolf" a few extra security details such as the armour plated glass and the double thick titanium alloy booth partitions. Zeb and Wolf were to the right of the bar with Carnival and Vengeance on the left. The Girls and Slicer were in the middle. Well if the boy was going to die he would at least do it in some of the prettiest & toughest company Zeb had ever known!

They came through the doorway. The first two dropped to laser fire from the bar and the second two were cut down by Carnival and Vengeance in a blitz of plasma projectiles. There was a pop and a metalic tinkle sound as the smoke bombs rolled down the steps. "Switch to lenses!" yelled Zeb. The opaque smoke became a thin veil as the bio lenses filtered out the required spectrum. A little enhancement that Zeb insisted that his employees have done. Six more assailants tried to get through. Zebs rail gun rattled off several rounds as the Wolf's twin plasma revolvers cut down several of the attackers - it was like the old black and white Texas space ranger movies that Zeb had watched as a kid. What was more of a concern was the grin on Wolf's face and Zeb could feel his own elation. "We have been away from this for too long!" Zeb shouted as the Wolf and he blasted away at the Nomads. All four companions were standing and they advanced towards the door where the bodies were now in a small pile.

"Watch out. They will try and draw us out of the bar." said Carnival. The Nomads had stopped coming through the door and were firing from outside. Wolf and Zeb glanced round and noticed that Vengeance was fitting something to a large plasma bolter. "Oh Crap!" thought Zeb. It was a heavy calibre rail gun.
"Everybody! DOWN!" cried Vengeance. He leaned into the doorway. The crackle and bark of the massive weapon along with the plasma flashes filled the small door space. "YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" they could hear vengeance yell above the racket. "EAT THIS SCUMBAGS!!!" Concusions and detonations were heard and as Zeb lifted his head to look outside, bodies were flying everywhere, parked vehicles were exploding and masonary and bits of building were launched in all directions. The shooting stopped. The whirring sound of the rail gun stopped. Time stopped. They all stepped outside. Sounds from inside the bar indicated that most of the clients were still alive. The Girls plus Slicer joined them.

"Wow!" was the first thing Slicer said. They all turned and looked at the massive figure of Vengeance standing with the rail gun on his hip and a rather self satisfied grin on his face. Sirens could be heard. As always the law was slow to react to anything of note in this downtown area - however the sound of the rail gun must have got there attention.

Zeb turned to Vicki. "Girl, I need you to run things for a bit. Keep the law off our tail as best you can. They will hopefuly be more interested in how the Nomads got here than in pursuit of us. Its time we were gone for a bit." Zeb glanced round.

Carnival was licking his knife again. Vengeance was looking hungry and eyeing up one of the corpses. Wolf looked at me in disgust, but shrugged his shoulders. "Lets go. We better find out where this lot came from and clean out the nest."

Carnival sheathed his knife. Vengeance dismantled the gun. Wolf packed his shooters and they followed Zeb to the launch pad. The hunt was on.......

Posted: August 7, 2007, 4:54 am

As soon as i sat down, the alarm rang, telling us the security system had just turned into crap. Next thing i knew, i was next to the bar, the scumbag Nomads barging in, Shotgun and pistol ablaze as i started shouting " BOOM!! HEADSHOT!!" as i downed 2 of them with good-sized holes right between the eyes. Then smoke started entering the room. At least thats what i thought. For a second there i saw the smoke but then it disappeared, although i could still smell the smoke.

Ignoring this, i blew the head of a Nomad off with the shotgun. And then it was over. it took time for me to realize that the girls were surrounding me. it took me some more time to remember that these girls were robots, not actual human beings. But time was awasting. There seemed to be more of them outside. But after all of that thinking, by the time i got there, Vengeance and his rail gun had already tore apart half a city block (reminds me of Destroy All Humans)

After a quick exchange of words from the group, they started heading for the launch pad. I followed closley......

Posted: August 14, 2007, 7:11 pm

I'd seen enough. The storm assault back at the bar was all I needed, to know what I thought was going on was exactly what was going on.

Yeah, I knew enough that I hadn't told anyone yet. I knew more than I wanted to admit. I knew too much. I had to say someting. These guys had to know.

As we walked from the bar to the Star Park I made a decision. It was like a flash of instant light in my head, like when you take a holo-pic in a dark room. There, in the artificial light of the room, all the colors are faded and shadows hide the details from sight. Then suddenly the light flares and everything is brilliantly illuminated. Then, the true colors pop out and every corner lights up. Then, nothing can hide from close scrunity and everything becomes starkly clear. Then the light is gone as fast as it came, but the after-image remains, printed on your retina so everywhere you look you still see the truth of that moment in time when everything became clear.

I pulled the glove back from my right wrist and muttered into the comlink for several moments. Zeb heard me talking and gave me another of his curious looks. I raised my other hand in the universal sign.. "Wait a minute," my hand said. Then it pointed at Vengeance and spoke again, "I need to talk to him." Zeb nodded. He nudged Vengeance.

V drifted my way as I wrapped up my communiques. We talked in low voices at length as we continued toward the glow of the launch pads and the hulking shadows of the hangars that loomed in front of the bubble of light against the dark of night. He listened intently, grunting occassionally and asking questions as the picture became evident, much the same as when you're putting together one of those jigsaw cubes.

When we arrived at the field our little group stood in the glare in the middle of a square made up of three hangars, the fourth edge being the taxi-way to the launch pad.

"OK, listen up, guys," I said like I knew what I was talking about. What scared me was, I did. Slicer trotted up to join us just as I began to talk.

"Here's the deal. That little party we just crashed back at the bar was nuthin', fellas. Those guys wanted one thing, me on a spit. That's cuz of what I saw and what I heard and what they figure I know. And this is what I know...

"It;'s coming, guys. An invasion. Bigger than anything Sirius has ever seen. The Nomads have gotten 'hold of some Dom Kavash technology and it's not pretty what they're planning to do with it. They're also bringing a few friends along. Big, ugly, mean-ass friends.

"Friends?" said Slicer. "Since when do Nomads have friends?"

"You're right, my friend. The only thing a Nomad likes is another Nomad...." I let it trail off. It sunk in.

As if he was my straight man, Zeb asked, "So if Nomads got other Nomads for friends, where'd they come from? What makes them different?"

"Well I don't know where they come from, but I do know they got a few surprises in their pockets. And I'll tell ya, the Void isn't big enough for all of them and all of us. And they know it. And we don't. And that's their advantage."

"What sort of surprises?" C asked

"All I know is, it's not gonna be pretty. All I know is, they're coming. Lots of them. And they're bringing friends. And their friends got a few new toys and they want to play. For keeps."

"But we've got them pretty much sealed off," Vengeance said. "The ones we see we know where they are and where they come from and where they're going. Where are they coming from that we aren't ready for?"

"Look," I said with a little impatience. "It's not like they sat me down and briefed my on their plans, OK? All I know is this is going to change things around here. Enough to make this a whole new game. And they're not playing by the same rules we are."

"That doesn't sound good..." Slicer trailed off.

"Exactly."

As I said that a couple of rougish guys joined our group. These guys looked like they knew their way around a barroom brawl. Vengeance and C sized them up and I could see the looks, like four Kusarian fight dragons in the circle. Four hands flicked four snaps off four holsters and rested on the butts of four blasters.

"Whoa... whoa...whoa...whoa" I said, coincidentally four times. "Take it easy. Lemme introduce a couple of friends of mine. This here's Fear and this is Ravage."

"I've heard of you, Fear," C said. Your rep's gotten around. You're a rogue..."

"Yeah? You don't say..." Fear smirked. "Nothing bad, I hope..."

Vengeance peered at Ravage. "You look familiar. Where do I know you from?"

"Heh, " came the reply. "You hang around the Brit navy much? I used to be in with a bunch of enforcers out of Thames. Bad boys. Real space dogs"

"Yeah I heard of them."

"I used to go by the name of Rabid. But I didn't like the way things were going so I went off on my own. Hooked up with a friend of mine, Reever."

"Ahhhh," exclaimed Zeb. "So you're that rogue pair who's be roaming about."

"Yeah."

About then another guy ran up, puffing, out of breath. "Well lookie here!" he said between breaths. "Looks like a party."

I slapped him on the back and said, "And this is Dub. That's what I call him. He's the little brother I never had. Best trader you'll ever meet.

Dub grinned, blushing. "Aww come on, Wolfie. Been out of the trading game months. Me an' Galaxy do munitions now, you know that."

"Yeah well, once a Freelancer, always a Freelancer. Anyway, we're not here to chat."

"OK, I'll bite," C said. "So what are these guys all here for?"

"OK, here's the thing, guys. You gotta get things rolling on getting people geared up for war. Like I said, it's not going to be pretty. Things are gonna change around here and if we're not ready for it, there's nothing in all the Void that'll save us."

"Alright, mate. But what's this about 'you'? What about you?"

"Well, that's the sticky part, ol' buddy. I got something else I need to take care of. Me and Vengeace here and the rest of these guys, we're going off in a different direction. We got other business."

"Other business?!" C exclaimed. "Here you're telling us the fate of mankind rests on our heads and you've something more important than that going on?"

"Yeah. That's what I'm tellin' ya. We gotta go looking for something."

"Like what"

"I can't say."

"What. Is it a secret?"

"No, I can't say cuz I don't know."

"Hold on, mate," Zeb interrupted. "You're going off looking for something and you don't know what it is? How will you know when you find it if you don't know what you're looking for???"

"I'll just know. Like you know you're gonna like that other bottle of Shipper's. Like C here knows he's gonna lick the blood of his blade next time he kills. Like Slicer here knows he's gonna win a race. It's just something you know. And it's just something I know."

"Alright then, l guess I'll have to trust you. Always have, always will."

"There ya, go, partner. Trust me. So anyway, where we're going no one else can go, so we're going off on our own. Maybe I'll get a message through to you once in a while but I expect we'll ge gone a while. But I figure we'll be back. Some time. Maybe....."

"Sounds ominous..." C said.

"Yeah, well... we'll see," I let it trail off.

We stood there all looking at each other for a moment frozen in time, til it started feeling a little uncomfortable.

"OK, then," I said with more enthusiasm than I felt. "Let's get moving..."

We all said our goodbyes and slapped each other on the backs. C and Slicer headed off toward their ships. I gave Zeb a hug which he returned with sincerity. Then without another word I turned to go. Vengeance, Fear, Ravage and Dub all followed.

Zeb watched as we disappeared into the hangar. He stood for a moment as if he could see us around the corner. But just as he turned to go something caught his eye.

A shadow detached itself from the darkness just to the side between the hangars. It slid across the front of the hangar door, then paused at the opening. As Zeb watched, baleful eyes seems to appear out of nowhere, turning to peer directly at him. For just a moment, it seemed to see straight into his soul. Then the moment was gone and the darkness disappeared around the corner, following Wolf and his companions into the unknown.

"Goodbye, my friend," Zeb whispered to the night. "Good luck. Hope you find what you're looking for..."

Posted: August 20, 2007, 2:22 am

It was time to move. Given what they had just been told and had witnessed following the group to the hanger, Zeb decided there was not time to go home and pack.

Slicer and Carnival were already on the move. Zeb blipped them on the comlink.

"Rendevous outside and we will head for Dresden. We need to split from Wolf. To many of us in one place tends to attract attention."

They responded, agreeing to fly together for the moment and they all agreed that Dresden was as good a place as any. There were some folks that Zeb wanted to see and Dresden was the best place to meet with them.

Zeb got to the hanger and was pleased to see that the Anubis Mk2 was all set up and ready to go. The loading of the munitions was all but done and Rosie was doing some last minute checks as Zeb approached. She turned and grinned at him with that worldly knowing look that Zeb loved so much.

"So where are you Cowboys off to now?" she questioned with a lear.

Zeb smiled, "Never you mind, you minx. Just make sure its all in order here for when I get back!" and he pointed his finger at her in a "shooter" motion. Rosie laughed and slapped Zeb on the butt as he passed her.

Zeb slung his bag into the hold and pulled on his flight gloves. Grabbing his helmet and the back up pressure mask, he climbed into the cockpit of the Anubis. Everything switched up ok. Hums and clicks all sounding familiar and not a glitch in sight. HUD was up and working and the internal AI managment system was registering as active. All good to go.

Zeb exited the gate and was pleased to see that Carnival and Slicer had postioned themselves to cover Zebs exit. There wasn't much you could teach these two. Computers went to automatic as the destination had been prekeyed by Zeb, and they were off.........

Sqdr. Commander Joined: Aug 20, 2005 Posts: 1366

My head was spinning. Too much information. This Watchwolf guy was either mad or really did have a severe problem he needed help with.

Right now though, I didnt care which.

I'd just killed another man. I stared, dumbfounded, as we seperated, Zeb running over to his fighter and Wolf vanishing as quickly as he'd appeared. As I looked round, trying to calm the screaming voices in my veins, a voice spoke, low and threatening.

"I am Seraphear. Your name is Carnival, and you are mine."

My vision went red and I started to walk forwards. I stepped into my fighter... and the world went black.

Posted: August 28, 2007, 10:32 pm

SUB-M Wave FLASH: Priority A1Z0
Encryption Random-Parc Code ##3T8/S7%7F334%331##

//BEGIN MESSAGE:

// ZEB! I got it! You're not going to believe it! Damm, I wish I didn't believe it. I was right, partner. It's big, Zeb. REAL big. And in the middle of Alex! Can you believe the cajones!? Right here in the middle of Alex! I...what was that?... We gotta meet, buddy. We need to get the word... What the... sunuva....! Where'd they come from!?? V! Roll out! ROLL OUT! Cover 'im Rav! Get on his six! There ya go! Nice shot! Now get outta there! Ravage! Move! MOVE!!!! NOOOO!!! ..... Aww, Schutz. Annie, get us outta here!... Split, guys! Alpha-21...GO!! Zeb, meet me Primus, man. ASAP. We gotta.... oh Schu......................................\\

*SIGNAL TERMINATED*

:END MESSAGE\\

Posted: August 28, 2007, 11:37 pm

The flight to Dresden was relatively uneventful. To avoid to much attention the small band had flown via the Texas system and down into New Berlin.

Zeb noticed that Carnival had been quiet for most of the trip and had fought like a man possessed when they had been confronted by a bunch of Lane Hackers just outside the Texas jump gate. It had been a relatively speedy affair and they had not stopped to pick up survivors. They pressed on.

"Ok, Carn, cover my starboard. Slicer take my port side." He lined up the gate for Dresden.

They emerged into a fire fight with Hessians all over the show, tearing into a Universal Shipping Convoy. Carn took off at the first Sabre that tried to pop one off at Zeb. Slicer carved a curve any racer would be proud of and took out one with rockets and the other with a burst from his Vulcans. Zeb faced head on and banked sharp to starboard taking the lead Hessian in his slips, sliding to the blind side and tearing through the fighter with a short burst from his Annihilators. It spilled its ill gotten gains all over the vacum and had them retrieved by Zebs tractor beam.

With in about three minutes the Hessians had scarpered for home leaving the limping convoy to exit through the jump gate to the relative safety of New Berlin.

He was just about to key in the co-ords for the mining station when the Sub M-wave crackled into life and a message came through from the Wolf.

"Typical. We leave the confines of New York and head out just as all hell breaks loose in Alexandria...!" thought Zeb.

" Ok chaps, slight change of plan. We are off to Primus. Its a Wolf call. Follow me."

It would be jump holes all the way and first stop would have to be Omicron Gamma en route to Primus in the Unkown2 system. This was going to be interesting. Zeb hoped that his dealings with FTP would pay off and that they could get at least a trouble free passage to UK2. He knew that they were ok with the Corsairs and could rely on their assisstance should the going get rough. Trade did reap its benefits in these more hostile parts.

Checking his loading bay, he decided that unwanted passengers were not such a good idea. He would leave these ones to the mercy of whoever picked them up. One button pushed and the two captured Hessian pods shot out the back of the Anubis.
"Via con Dios, Amigos". With luck their own would pick them up. Without luck it could be the Bounty Hunters. "Tough Toots, dough boys" muttered Zeb as they took off for the jump hole.

Slicer buzzed the M-wave. "Ok Zeb, whats up? I thought we were leaving the Wolf and his pals to their own devices?"

Zeb sighed and smiled. "Well, the circumstances may have changed. Looks like this just got bigger than most of Sirius can handle. We are off to team up and see what the deal is. What concerns me is that he chose Primus. Its out of the way and its Monkey territory, and just one step away from Nomad 1. I think we are up for some big time action, and there is only one way to find out."

" Ok man, your the boss and I'm on your six." the m-wave clicked out.

Zeb's scanner pinged and to his initial alarm as they entered the cloud, it looked as if they had company. Carnival took a high six positon behind Zeb and Slicer dropped out to the starboard to take a quick look.

The m-wave buzzed at Zeb. "Good evening gentlemen! This is Greaver and company calling. Thought you could do with the assistance old chap!"

Zeb laughed out loud. "Jeeze! I wish you'd stop creeping up on folk like that! You'll give an old man a heart attack one day!" The four WA1's overflew the group and then dropped into formation. Greaver, Toranado, Hellboy and Bomber. Formerly of the Bretonnian Navy and now part of Her Majesties Unwashed Privateers.

"I believe that you are off to see a Wolf about a job? I couldn't help but get one of the Wolf's calling cards myself. Seems that Alexandria has just had some unwelcome visitors, so we are heeding the Wolf's call and heading off to that dreadful cesspit of a planet called Primus. Can't stand the smell of those damned primates myself, but they do have some good kit and at least they dont throw their food at you anymore...!"

Greaver had never been one for Sapiens and Simians mixing. The term, " I'll be a monkeys uncle" was not one that was used much within the BBD ranks.

Seven ships entered the jump hole, all headed for a rendevous with destiny. At least thats how it felt.....

Sqdr. Commander Joined: Aug 20, 2005 Posts: 1366

I fell in behind Zeb, covering his exhaust as we flew on. My hands were moving of their own accord, never resting.

"Ahead, you will be joined by a group of pilots. You will wait for the appropriate moment, and then you will strike." I tried desperately to speak, trying to tell this force that had possession of me that I wouldnt do it... but I couldnt. I tried to reach for the comm, to warn the others that I wasnt in control, but my hands wouldnt move. I felt a blinding pain in my head, and the voice spoke again.

"Stop fighting if you want to live through this." I gave up and relaxed... and the ships flew on.

Posted: September 3, 2007, 7:54 am

Quiet. So quiet...

That's the first thing I noticed. Strange, the first thing you notice is the absence of things you notice all the time. Or should anyway. Instead we take them for granted.

Quiet. And cold... "So is this what's like to finally die?" I thought. "Not like the ol' die-and-wake-up die. DIE. die."

I opened my eyes. And dark, too... I lifted my gloved hand before my face. Or I think I did anyway. I couldn't see a thing. I reached out, felt for something. Then it hit me. The pain in my head. Like a spanner wrench across the face. It told me I wasn't dead. I screamed a long howling scream through the pain in my head. In a way it was reassuring to hear it as it tore my throat ragged. It told me I wasn't deaf either.

When all I able to do was breath, I gasped, "Annie... You with me, babe?"

Nothing.

Well ok. Since there were none of the lights and hums and whirs and beeps that could drive you bats on a long cruise across a system, I figured the power was dead. So maybe Annie was just knocked stupid. The thought made me smile for a moment. Then it made me angry. Some-fookin'-body was gonna pay if there was anything wrong with my Annie...

I got a grip. Literally. My gyrating had pushed me across the cabin and I bumped into something. I got a grip on it. It was my flight-seat. "Always wear your seat-belts..." I smiled again. I pulled myself around and into the seat, strapping myself in. Why, I couldn't say. I wasn't going anywhere. But it felt like the right thing to do. Besides, floating around in a dead ship can be a little disconcerting. I needed some orientation.

What happened? Let's see. We were bolting across Alex at warp 6000... well ok, no one can go warp 6000. For that matter, what the bleep is "warp" anyway? It's just something people have been saying since as long as anyone could remember when they're going real fast. What did it mean? Hmmm... seems I remember something Grampa Wolf used to say in his Journal. "Fact is stranger than fiction, but fiction is more fun." Then he went on to talk about how lots of things people made up to amuse themselves somehow became fact even though they aren't true. It just takes a life of its own and sort of becomes real. Maybe that's where "warp" came from.

And maybe I'd hit my head. I was having a hard time staying focussed.

We were fleeing across Alex, headed for the Theta jump-hole. We'd seen enough to prove the invasion was coming. More Nomads than you could shake a Bel Sticksnake at. Them and those other ships clustered around that abandoned shipyard, all acting like they were up to something. And when they spotted us they took after us like Ptolemy sweatflies after a stinkbeast. Not that that was anything different for Nomads. But it was these particular Nomads that was the real point. Biggest, baddest, grouchiest Nomads I've ever seen. And they were everywhere.

They came at us from every direction. I tried to get a call through to Zeb on the secure 'net while we hauled butt outta there. A group got on Vengeance but Ravage got on their backside and took two out with one torp. Another was spinning around to make a come-back when three more popped outta nowhere, and they all closed in on him so fast he never saw it coming. I could still see the ball of fire and the debris scattering. I called for us to split off and Annie changed our heading for the Alpha jump-hole. She showed me some evasive moves I never knew a ship could do, but just as we closed in on the 'hole I saw a pair of blips on the rear scope and four more in front of me. A violet bolt seared across my line of sight and I heard the crack like lightning on a summer night. "Shields failed..." Then another, then a flash of fire and a burning heat. "Hull breach imminent" Annie announced as she took us into the hole. Then the engulfing swirl of inverted space, my body twisting itself through a klein-bottle, then another bone-jarring explosion and everything went blank.

And here I was, adrift in the cold black of the void, the pain slowly fading and the memory slowly returning.

Those other ships...

I know a Nomad ship when I see one. And I saw several, including some I'd never seen before. They were familiar but different. But a Nomad ship's a Nomad ship... they got one thing in common. They all got this violet glow around their arse like they got burning lavender stuck up their tailpipes. These did, but those others, they didn't. And they looked familiar too. I'd seen them before...

Zeb, buddy. I hope my beacon's running. Well, hm. Maybe I don't. Well... ok, I hope it is and I hope even more that you hear it before someone else does.

Cuz those ships... Either I'm a Monkey's aunt Tillie stoned on fermented banana skins,. or those were Order ships...

1st Lieutenant Joined: Mar 17, 2007 Posts: 32

The buoy drifted through the nebula. The strobe flashed in alternating colors: red, yellow, blue, white over and over in rapid succession. It had been designed to draw the eye simply by the nature of the discomfort it caused. It also broadcast the same cycle of annoying m-wave tones, over and over, across a broad spectrum of frequencies in the hopes that it would be picked up by any and all passing ships. The idea was, someone would pick up the beacon and follow it until in visual range of the lights.

It worked.

The battered Armored Transport drifted along the vector of the signal. It had to be close, the gain was just about pegged on the receiver. The lone occupant, a ragged trader out of Larrisa sat rigid in his fight seat, trying to look in all directions at once. His eyes flicked between the scanner, the M-Wave receiver, the proximity enunciator and the view screen in practiced succession. An AT pilot had to be alert at all times. He'd heard of distress beacons being used to bait unsuspecting traders into ambush before. He wasn't going to be unsuspecting. All guns were charged and ready and his hand rested lightly on the Cruise Engine switch. It, too, was in standby, ready to charge up and fire as quickly as possible. In an AT that was excruciatingly slow and every microsecond counted.

The beacon lights caught his eye just barely before he hit it. The buoy bounced off the pointed prow and sailed wildly back into the green haze. With practiced precision he targeted it with his tractor and hauled it in before it was out of range. Then he fired up the Cruise Engine and headed off in a new direction.

The lumbering ship seemed to take forever to get up to speed. Once it was, he set the waypoint to no place in particular about 50K ahead. Another trick he'd learned from a friend. Never take the expected route. If he headed for the nearest base marauders might well be between the planted beacon and there, waiting for the unsuspecting to relax, feeling they'd escaped. These new rogues were a shifty bunch. And the pirates, they were acting more like rogues every day. Sirius just wasn't the same with all the Navy groups disappearing and the Houses seeming so pre-occupied with making credits to care much about anything else.

He set the nav to Auto and crawled back to the hold. For a ship with such a huge hold you'd think they'd've put a little more thought into the pilot of the damm thing. The flight deck wasn't much bigger than a fighter's and the passages to the various parts of the ship were more like tunnels.

He re-compressed the hold and opened the hatch, then worked his way between the crates of machine parts and food rations to the tractor bay. There it was, frost coating the cold metal skin, a deep gash where it'd hit the AT's dense armored hull. The light was still flashing, almost blindingly in the dim hold. The first thing he did was slap the manual switch to kill the lights. Then we pulled out the recessed lever and twisted it to release the bright orange box planted in the side of the buoy. It was surprisingly light. He held it carefully in his gloved hand, making certain not to let the frozen metal touch his skin.

Back inside the flight deck he set it down and turned his attention back to piloting. He was just about to the waypoint. His scanner showed nothing nearby. He plotted a new course in a zigzag pattern toward Crete and reset the auto pilot.

The condensed frost on the orange box had melted into a puddle on the floor. He unscrewed the little door on the side and pulled out the thin wire, connected it to his comm console. He flicked on the recorder and then hit DL/Play. The voice filled the cabin.

"Not sure how much longer I'm going to hold out. My ship’s in pieces, the hull must be breached in a dozen places. O2 is running low. I’m going to have to set the buoy to auto launch and hold the release as long as I can. If you’re hearing this, I let go and odds are I’m dead. And I have no idea what that’s gonna be like, I get this feeling this isn’t going to be your ordinary die-and-wake-up kinda death. It just feels different…

“I’ve never seen so many Nomads in all my life. Someone’s got the get the word out. These bastards are different. Tougher. And a heluva lot better aim. And I got no idea what they’re using for guns but they’re not like anything I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot.”

The pilot shook his head. What was this guy on about? Nomads meaner than Nomads? Maybe he was getting oxygen-starved. He could hear the guy’s breathing getting more and more difficult as he talked. The voice snapped him back to listening.

“... wrong and ya gotta tell someone, someone you can trust. What the hell were they doing there? We all saw it. OK. Damm, it’s cold. OK. Let’s see, where was I…? Yeah. Get this to . uh… man I can’t think straight. To Wolf or … what the heck’s his name, that other guy. In the bar. Nice guy. Always liked him. Called me Big Guy. Tell ‘em I did what I could. Took ‘em off Wolf’s trail. Gave him a decent chance. Wolf, buddy, I done my best. Now get the bastards. Get ‘em… don’t let… let, oh crap. Uh… Take my Vengeance out on ‘em, k? make it… make it wor..w… w…”

There was a beep and the message started again. That was it. Poor guy. The Void’s merciless. Swallows you up any chance it’ll get. Someday someone would find the wreck and the corpscicle inside and most likely strip it for anything valuable and leave it there. The chances anyone would be told were pretty slim. Unless he told someone no one would ever know.

The pilot knew who he meant. Zeb. If this guy knew Zeb then he needed to get this through to him. Once a Freelancer always a Freelancer. He might not be in the Alliance anymore, but you don’t just let those bonds go like that. A trader needs all the friends he can get.

He reset his navcomp and set a new course for Larissa. The Zoner’s would know where to find Zeb, They knew everything.