Post by Admin on Aug 14, 2007 18:06:08 GMT -8
Darkness prevailed over the ruined earth like a thick wool blanket that muffled even the lights of the hovercraft speeding over the horizon. Dozens of ships kept a tight formation as they raced to thier destination somewhere in the distance. At the head of the pack the largest of them stalked menacingly above the ground on the alert for danger. It's gun turrets waved back and forth as the humans behind them scanned the horizon. They were a rag tag lot that were little better than jackals looking for a carcass to strip to the bone.
"Are you sure about this Captain?" A young man barely old enough to grow a beard asked the tall dark scowling man beside him. "I mean.. what if they are still there?"
"They aren't." The tall man stared intently at the path before him. "Believer Base was evacuated some time ago."
"Yeah but..." THe young man hesitated. "Look, John, I know you hate them as do we all but this could be a suicide run."
"It's not. Every ship is accounted for by our spies in Zion." John patted his young first mate on the shoulder as he flew the ship. "All but one. And one ship ain't gonna stop us Mike."
"Okay." Mike responded warily. "It's just that we're a new fleet. We're all vets but this .. this isn't something we Cypherites usually do ya know?"
"I know. That's why we are doing it." John nodded to the horizon. "The Machine will reward us for wiping that base off the map for them."
"I don't know.." Mike looked around at the darkness covering the earth outside. "But your our leader. I'll follow orders."
"Don't worry Mike. This is our chance to make a name for ourselves." John sat back a little. "Without that base the Machine will rule the surface again. Then we can kill them all at our leisure. We aren't far away now."
"Yeah. I guess. But you heard the same stories we all have. What if they're true?"
"What stories?" John glanced at his first mate. "You mean how these folks revealed who Veil was? Put her in a jail cell in Zion? Or how they alerted the Zionites to the fact that Gemaskeerd and Enmascardo were planting spies in Zion? Or maybe the one about how they were there when Enmascardo was killed?"
"Among others .. yeah!" Mike cast a worried look at his Captain. "I mean... these guys have been around since the War ya know? They have allies. Like The Pride...."
"They're just stories kid." John laughed. "Propaganda. Hell, if half the stories told about them were true ... what's that?"
A blip appeared on the radar before John. A large blip. He quickly gave the electronic signal for the fleet to spread out. The dozens of ships made an impressive sight as they fanned out into a V shaped line and weapon systems warmed up.
"What IS that?" Mike stared at the radar and then out at the horizon. "Part of the base?"
"Maybe." John frowned at the readouts before him. "To big to be a hovercraft. Might be part of a defence system. Or an old abandoned hoverbarge. I'll alert the fleet to get ready for the assault. We're getting pretty close to where the base should be anyway."
"Uh.. Captain?" Mike pointed at the Radar. "It's moving... and we have a message incoming."
"A message? From who?" John looked over at his first mate and saw the worried expression. "Answer me..."
"It's from the Hovercraft Format C." Mike reached forward and pressed a button.
"This is Commander Skyscream of the True Believers. In the name of Morpheus I order you to immediately turn back and return to the tunnels. Believer Base is off limits to ALL sentient beings. This is your last and only warning."
"Well... this is turning out to be a really good day." John smiled in the cold glare of the electronic readouts before him. "It's the legend herself. Prepare for attack. I want that ship destroyed!!"
***
"Report!" Skyscream practically leaped into the Captains chair as her first mate Telemancer glanced at her arrival. With practiced ease she was strapped to her chair within the blink of an eye in spite of her six foot height.
"We're screwed." Telemancer shrugged and pointed at the dozens of blips speeding towards them.
"Redwolf." Skyscream barked into the mic connected to the headphones she was putting on. "Is everyone ready?"
"Aye Captain." The voice of Redwolf growled back through the headset. "I've got all the newbies set up as best I can. Every gun is manned. Treck is around here somewhere too."
"Roger. Format give me a status report." Skyscream was flipping switches and glaring out the windscreen.
"All systems are a go. Secondary systems are online. I told you we shouldn't be here. We should be in New Zion like we were ordered to be."
"They didn't say when we had to go there." Skyscream stared at the radar. "Bloody hell... who are they Tele?"
"Some new Cypherite group out to make a name for themselves. I think. They aren't broadcasting much in the way of signals." Telemancer typed rapidly at the controls before him. "There is no way we can stand up to that many ships. I count at least thirty. We should run."
"NO!" Skyscream practically barked the word. "We aren't running. I'm tired of running. Running from agents.. running from sentinals.. today... we stand and fight. They will know what it means to cross the True Believers."
"I was afraid of that." Telemancer sighed and applied even more energy to the engines. "Here we go..."
"For Morpheus..." Skyscream frowned at the quickly approaching ships. "For Trinity..."
Her finger touched the trigger for the forward cannons. The explosive sound was deafening.
"FOR NEO!!!!"
******
Halcyon121 glared at the gates of New Zion as people prepared for the coming sentinal attack. At least everyone was convinced the sentinals were coming.
"Bloody fools." He mumbled mostly to himself as he sat on a crate with a scowl that would frighten even Lock himself.
"Who?" Aaroun strode up beside his old friend and shipmate as Hal glared at the young men and women scurrying about the docks.
"Them." Hal nodded at the busy humans. "Idiots. They don't know what it was like. They weren't there."
"Neither was I." Aaroun shrugged.
"I'm worried about Sky. Something is wrong." The look on his face kept the young operatives and freeborn around them from venturing too close. "She should have been here a long time ago."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Just a feeling I have." Hal stood up suddenly and his metal leg creaked quietly.
"I trust your feelings more than I trust gravity." Aaroun stood beside the old veteran. "But what can we do? We don't even know where they are."
"Yes we do." Hal stared at the gate.
"Yeah.. I guess we do." Aaroun glanced off to the side where his ship rested on the docks. The ship he and Hal had practically built from spare parts and scrap metal. He loved that ship like it was his own right arm. He also knew what his commander cared about. "But we have our orders. Defend Zion."
"What was it that Sky said to Lock that time?" Hal smiled a little.
"Screw orders. We'll do what we think is right." Aaroun and Hal both said at the same time.
"I'll go find Tonic." Hal stomped off on his creaky metal leg. Redpills and Freeborn scrambled to get out of the veterans way.
"Are you sure about this Captain?" A young man barely old enough to grow a beard asked the tall dark scowling man beside him. "I mean.. what if they are still there?"
"They aren't." The tall man stared intently at the path before him. "Believer Base was evacuated some time ago."
"Yeah but..." THe young man hesitated. "Look, John, I know you hate them as do we all but this could be a suicide run."
"It's not. Every ship is accounted for by our spies in Zion." John patted his young first mate on the shoulder as he flew the ship. "All but one. And one ship ain't gonna stop us Mike."
"Okay." Mike responded warily. "It's just that we're a new fleet. We're all vets but this .. this isn't something we Cypherites usually do ya know?"
"I know. That's why we are doing it." John nodded to the horizon. "The Machine will reward us for wiping that base off the map for them."
"I don't know.." Mike looked around at the darkness covering the earth outside. "But your our leader. I'll follow orders."
"Don't worry Mike. This is our chance to make a name for ourselves." John sat back a little. "Without that base the Machine will rule the surface again. Then we can kill them all at our leisure. We aren't far away now."
"Yeah. I guess. But you heard the same stories we all have. What if they're true?"
"What stories?" John glanced at his first mate. "You mean how these folks revealed who Veil was? Put her in a jail cell in Zion? Or how they alerted the Zionites to the fact that Gemaskeerd and Enmascardo were planting spies in Zion? Or maybe the one about how they were there when Enmascardo was killed?"
"Among others .. yeah!" Mike cast a worried look at his Captain. "I mean... these guys have been around since the War ya know? They have allies. Like The Pride...."
"They're just stories kid." John laughed. "Propaganda. Hell, if half the stories told about them were true ... what's that?"
A blip appeared on the radar before John. A large blip. He quickly gave the electronic signal for the fleet to spread out. The dozens of ships made an impressive sight as they fanned out into a V shaped line and weapon systems warmed up.
"What IS that?" Mike stared at the radar and then out at the horizon. "Part of the base?"
"Maybe." John frowned at the readouts before him. "To big to be a hovercraft. Might be part of a defence system. Or an old abandoned hoverbarge. I'll alert the fleet to get ready for the assault. We're getting pretty close to where the base should be anyway."
"Uh.. Captain?" Mike pointed at the Radar. "It's moving... and we have a message incoming."
"A message? From who?" John looked over at his first mate and saw the worried expression. "Answer me..."
"It's from the Hovercraft Format C." Mike reached forward and pressed a button.
"This is Commander Skyscream of the True Believers. In the name of Morpheus I order you to immediately turn back and return to the tunnels. Believer Base is off limits to ALL sentient beings. This is your last and only warning."
"Well... this is turning out to be a really good day." John smiled in the cold glare of the electronic readouts before him. "It's the legend herself. Prepare for attack. I want that ship destroyed!!"
***
"Report!" Skyscream practically leaped into the Captains chair as her first mate Telemancer glanced at her arrival. With practiced ease she was strapped to her chair within the blink of an eye in spite of her six foot height.
"We're screwed." Telemancer shrugged and pointed at the dozens of blips speeding towards them.
"Redwolf." Skyscream barked into the mic connected to the headphones she was putting on. "Is everyone ready?"
"Aye Captain." The voice of Redwolf growled back through the headset. "I've got all the newbies set up as best I can. Every gun is manned. Treck is around here somewhere too."
"Roger. Format give me a status report." Skyscream was flipping switches and glaring out the windscreen.
"All systems are a go. Secondary systems are online. I told you we shouldn't be here. We should be in New Zion like we were ordered to be."
"They didn't say when we had to go there." Skyscream stared at the radar. "Bloody hell... who are they Tele?"
"Some new Cypherite group out to make a name for themselves. I think. They aren't broadcasting much in the way of signals." Telemancer typed rapidly at the controls before him. "There is no way we can stand up to that many ships. I count at least thirty. We should run."
"NO!" Skyscream practically barked the word. "We aren't running. I'm tired of running. Running from agents.. running from sentinals.. today... we stand and fight. They will know what it means to cross the True Believers."
"I was afraid of that." Telemancer sighed and applied even more energy to the engines. "Here we go..."
"For Morpheus..." Skyscream frowned at the quickly approaching ships. "For Trinity..."
Her finger touched the trigger for the forward cannons. The explosive sound was deafening.
"FOR NEO!!!!"
******
Halcyon121 glared at the gates of New Zion as people prepared for the coming sentinal attack. At least everyone was convinced the sentinals were coming.
"Bloody fools." He mumbled mostly to himself as he sat on a crate with a scowl that would frighten even Lock himself.
"Who?" Aaroun strode up beside his old friend and shipmate as Hal glared at the young men and women scurrying about the docks.
"Them." Hal nodded at the busy humans. "Idiots. They don't know what it was like. They weren't there."
"Neither was I." Aaroun shrugged.
"I'm worried about Sky. Something is wrong." The look on his face kept the young operatives and freeborn around them from venturing too close. "She should have been here a long time ago."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Just a feeling I have." Hal stood up suddenly and his metal leg creaked quietly.
"I trust your feelings more than I trust gravity." Aaroun stood beside the old veteran. "But what can we do? We don't even know where they are."
"Yes we do." Hal stared at the gate.
"Yeah.. I guess we do." Aaroun glanced off to the side where his ship rested on the docks. The ship he and Hal had practically built from spare parts and scrap metal. He loved that ship like it was his own right arm. He also knew what his commander cared about. "But we have our orders. Defend Zion."
"What was it that Sky said to Lock that time?" Hal smiled a little.
"Screw orders. We'll do what we think is right." Aaroun and Hal both said at the same time.
"I'll go find Tonic." Hal stomped off on his creaky metal leg. Redpills and Freeborn scrambled to get out of the veterans way.