Star Force

Setting: Deep Space, near Mars

Captain: Conn., what’s the ETA until we reach Mars Colony?

Conn.: 5 hours at current speed, sir.

Conn.: Captain, something just appeared on the radar. I’m running it through the computer now to check for any ship matches…no ship matches it.

Captain: Unknown vessel, we would appreciate it if you would identify yourselves.

<A high pitched noise suddenly starts>
Captain: Conn., what’s that sound?

Conn.: I don’t know…but it’s loud its hurting my ears.

Captain: Eject the cargo! All crew abandon ship, I repeat all crew abandon sh-

Setting: Star Allegiance Headquarters, New York City

Time: 13:00 2 weeks after previous events.

General Stone: Captain Donner, I assume you have read over the mission packet and know the coming mission.

Donner: Yes, sir, I do.

Stone: Since you received the packet, 4 more freighters, on a convoy transporting farming supplies to the Mars Colony, were destroyed by the unknown vessel, or vessels, for all we know there could be a whole fleet of these ships out there.

Donner: Wouldn’t be reasonable to assume these ships are pirates?

Stone: That was our first conclusion, but the fact that they left the cargo behind in all of the scenarios rules out that theory.

Donner: So, I read the packet but it doesn’t exactly explain what my part in all this is, sir.

Stone: Isn’t it obvious? You are to find and capture this vessel. You have full authorization to destroy this vessel is it presents a threat to your ship and crew, good luck captain.

Donner: Aye, sir. Thank you

Ticketmaster: Okay…ticket for one…what is your destination?

Donner: Lunar Orbital Base

Ticketmaster: All right then, the next flight leaves in about 20 minutes.

Donner: Thank you.

Stranger: Can you put me on the next shuttle to Lunar Orbital Base?

Ticketmaster: Sure…what’s your name first off?

Stranger: John Icarus.

Ticketmaster: The next flight leaves in about 15 minutes.

John: Good day then.

Setting: Lunar Orbital Base: Conference Room

Time: 17:00

Admiral Hunter: Hello Captain.

Donner: Hello Admiral. I was told to come here for a ship assignment.

Hunter: Yes, I know. Admiral Stone contacted me and said you’d be arriving shortly.

Donner: Oh.

Hunter: <looks down at some papers> You are assigned to the S.S. Starfury. It’s an old Dreadnought class heavy cruiser. Her crew compliment is 25, plus the maintenance staff. Overall she has a fine record and has recently lost her Commanding Officer due to retirement. StarFury has been re-equipped with some tacheon missiles and a prototype laser cannon, capable of inflicting some heavy damage on the best of ships.

Donner: Sir, wouldn’t it be safer to equip a newer class vessel with this equipment.

Hunter: Yes…but as you might already know, the newer class ships are quite cramped. Fleet Ops tries to make them as compact as possible for maneuvering abilities.

Donner: Oh. When am I scheduled to leave?

Hunter: StarFury is docked at airlock 15 now, you can go aboard her today, but you aren’t scheduled to leave until 08:00 tomorrow.

Donner: Aye, sir.

Hunter: Good luck, Captain.

Donner <salutes> thank you, sir.

Setting: SS StarFury: Bridge

Time: 18:00

Donner: Walks to the middle of the room.

Commander Smith: Executive Officer William Smith reporting for duty, sir.

Donner: At ease Commander.

Smith: <relaxes> Welcome aboard.

Donner: Thank you, what’s the current status of the ship?

Smith: All systems are functioning at 100%

Donner: Good, we’ll be leaving port tomorrow at 08:00. Have the ship ready.

Smith: Aye, sir.

Donner: Lieutenant Reeves, contact the station. Ask them if we are cleared to leave.

Time: 08:00 the next morning

Reeves: Aye, sir. <A moment later> We’re cleared for launch, sir.

Donner: Lieutenant Wilson, bring engines online, back us away slowly. Inform me.

Wilson: Aye, sir…we’ve cleared the base.

Donner: Set course for Mars. Prepare to go to light speed.

Wilson: Ready sir.

Donner: Engage light speed now.

Donner: What’s our distance and ETA to mars?

Wilson: We are currently 5, 000 kilometers from Mars’s atmosphere. Estimated Time of Arrival is 3 minutes.

Donner: Smith, is there anything on radar?

Smith: Negative, sir. No ships are in the vicinity.

Donner: Send out a message to Mars Base

Reeves: Aye, sir. They’ve acknowledged us. They are sending us some revamped orders.

Donner: Revamped orders?

Reeves: Yes. We are to escort the next freighter earthbound in the hopes of the bumping into the hostile forces.

Donner: <sighs> what are the coordinates of the freighter?
Reeves: its coming out of Mars Dock now, sir.

Donner: Open up a radio channel.

Reeves: Open, sir.

Donner: StarFury to Freighter Intrepid, please stand by for computer link-up.

Intrepid: Ready for link-up.

Donner: Commander Smith, activate the computer link.

Smith: Link holding, sir.

Donner: Wilson, activate thrusters, take us to the freighters max. speed. Give me the ETA until earth.

Wilson: Aye, sir. Approximate time of arrival is 12 hours and 30 minutes.

Smith: Nothing on radar. Clear sailing to Earth

Donner: Lets hope so Commander.

Smith: Picking up something on radar, sir.

Wilson: Confirmed, we’re in visual range, sir.

Reeves: They’re requesting a video frequency, sir

Icarus: <appears on screen> Greetings, we highly suggest you surrender your vessel.

Donner: Your vessel poses no threat to us.

Icarus: On the contrary, our vessels can pose a serious threat to yours alone. But we also have a…secret ace up our sleeves. <pulls out a remote control>

Donner: And what may that be?

Icarus: Let me demonstrate <presses a button>

Reeves: Hull compromised, air pressure is low in sector B-16. Fusion reactor is off-line.

Smith: Weapons Grid offline. We have enough reserve energy for about 7 blasts from the laser system. That or a sustained 5 second blast.

Donner: Switch power to damage control. Get them working on the hull.

Icarus: As you can see we overpower you greatly. <looks darkly at them> And you will surrender to the Orchallion Regime, or you will die.

Donner: What’s the Orchallion Regime?

Icarus: An advanced race, to which I have the privilege of serving. Now, prepare for boarding.

Donner: Wilson, do we have any power to engines?

Wilson: Minimal, a ship as small as theirs could easily outrun us too. But, I can’t believe a ship that small is long-range. There’s got to be a mothership in the area. But then again we are unfamiliar with their race.

Donner: Scan the area, report anything unusual.

Smith: Aye, sir. (Looks at the radar screen) Sir, there appears to be massive radiation emanating about 500,000 kilometers from us.

Donner: Launch stealth fighters, if possible, tell them to investigate this radiations source.

Reeves: Aye, sir.

Camera switches to the launching bay.

Harris: All fighters prepare for launch

Reeves:(over the speaker) Head for the coordinates set in your navigation computer. Investigate the radiation anomaly and report back to the StarFury.

Harris: Blue squadron, form on my wing.

Harris: Wallace, cover me, I’m going in for a close run of this field.

Wallace: Oh my-

Harris: All fighters attack!

Taylor: Sir, enemy fighters are too powerful for us. They’ve destroyed half the squadron.

Harris: Pull back, we’ve gottent the mission completed, lets get home.

Taylor:Enemy fighters pursuing.

Harris: All fighters retreat.

Computer: Structural damage to port side wing. Main Power offline

Harris: Activate emergency power.

On the bridge.

Donner: Whats the status of the fighters?

Reeves: ¾ of the squadron is destroyed. We did get some valuable information. The enemy seems to be protecting a shielding flaw in the rear of the vessel, a single torpedo could cause considerable damage.

Donner: Full power to manuevering jets, try to get us behind their ship.

Wilson: Aye, sir. They are adjusting their own courses.

Donner: Drop a few proximity mines now.

Smith: Aye, sir.

Donner: Wilson keep moving us forward, tell em when their rear is facing the mines.

Smith: They are facing the mines now.

Donner: Activate mines.

<A large explosion cripples the Orchallion ship. The Mothership approaches.>
Smith: Mothership on its way.

Donner: Arm all weapons.

Reeves: Aye sir.

Donner: Fire

Reeves:Firing….direct hit.

Smith: They’re like kamikaze pilots!

Donner: Computer, take direct control over fighters in bay, launch them and ram them into the aft section of enemy ship.

<Fighters streak past the forward window and rush towards the Mothership.>
Donner: Can we fire off a tracking missile to hit the aft section of that thing?

Smith: First of all probablility of the missile reaching the Mothership 1 to 20 and we don’t have any heavy tracking missiles on board, which means they can’t perform a 90 degree turn.

Wilson:Incoming!

Donner:Evasive manuvers!

Wilson: Major damage to port side, sir. If that had hit one 1 meter from where it did we’d probably be dead right now.

Smith: <mutters> If these beings put half the effort into shields as they apparently do in offensive weapons we’d be dead in the water.

Donner: Well, that’s our fortune…although we still might get blown out of the sky.

Smith: They appear to be concentrating on the computer pilot attacks now…our power readings are so low they must assume we’re dead.

Wilson: Sir! They’re turning to face the fighters!

Donner: Arm laser systems. <hits te communication button> Fighter bay, get all the missiles from the fused tubes and dump them into freefall out the ship. Give computer control of the missiles guidance system, tell it to fire at the aft section of the ship. Inform me when you’re ready.

Landing Bay: <a few moments later> We’re ready sir.

Donner: Wilson is our window of attack still open?

Wilson: Wide open, sir.

Donner: <Into communicator panel> Deploy missiles now! Fire laser system!

<3 laser beams shoot out from the front of the ship and hit with deadly impact on the aft of the ship. The missiles reach their target soon after. The combined force of the missiles and lasers cracks the infrastructure and the Mothership explodes. The enemy starfighters retreat and soon after dissapear. A shockwave from the explosion hits the StarFury knocking out most of the reserve power>

Donner: Damage report.

Smith: <coughs from smoke on the bridge>Unknown, sir. The computers offline.

Reeves: Comm stations report heavy damage to their sectors. Landing Bay area seems to have the most. Half of the bay wall was destroyed depressurizing the bay. Fourteen maintenance workers dead.

Donner: Are there any enemy fighters in the area?

Smith: Negative.

Donner: Send a distress call to Earth and Mars. Which of them are we closer to?

Smith: Earth, sir.

Donner: Good, Wilson set course for Lunar Orbital Base, best speed.

Wilson: Aye, sir. We’ll reach Lunar Base in aproximately 18 days.

Donner: Hopefully a rescue ship’ll come along before that.

2 weeks later after StarFury is picked up by rescue ship.

Setting: Lunar Orbital Base, Commadant’s personal meeting room.

Hayes: Good morning, Captain.

Donner: Good morning, sir. I was told to come see you?

Hayes: Yes, I’m to give you your assignment for the next few months.

Donner: My assignment for the next few months?
Hayes: Months yes, possibly years. Your assignment is to patrol the Earth-Mars area scouting out for any Orchallion ships, those fighters are still around. You will not be in a lone starship though. You will have 4 Merythyl class Destroyers with you, and StarFury as your flagship, that is after it is repaired, which will take approximately 3 more weeks. It is with great pleasure that I promote you to Fleet Captain.

Donner: [surprised]Thank you, sir.

Hayes: I’m not sure how much a thanks it is. You do realize that the Orchallions have probably reached home by now and assembled a fleet ten times our size, and are most likely headed here right now. The basic point of your mission is to prevent them from reaching Earth.

Donner: Aye, sir. But, I was wondering, why did the Orchallions just start attacking our convoys and freighters? Why wouldn'’ the hit Earth when we didn't know about them.

Hayes: There are two reasons they might have. One, they didn’t know we were here at the time. Two, they wanted to get an estimate of our strength. Good luck, Captain, I must be going now.

Donner: Thank you, sir.

Hayes: <shakes Donner’s hand> Perfectly welcome.

The End.