The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers, once managing to defeat the attack squad, Zander found out that General Salidazar had been aboard Betha whilst he was unconscious, and could have a connection to the Federation soldiers gaining access to the ship.

And so we continue…

“Great, can Betha override it?”

“Unfortunately not Sir, Salidazar encoded it with his own locking mechanism,” Sin replies, Zander looks at him, his brow furrowed.

“Seriously, no one does anything to Betha without my say so! Can she at least shut power down to this area of the ship?” he says.

The hallway goes dark almost instantaneously, “It has been done,” Sin announces.

“I can see that,” he says, as he takes a step back, raises his blaster towards the door lock, and fires, the lock hisses as it decouples, then the door slowly slides open, Zander casts a concerned glance towards Sin, the back to the doorway, as it gradually opens, revealing a spiraling vortex inside the room, before either of them can act, they are both sucked inside, the darkness of the void swallows both of them whole, the void, is cold, Zander feels his body stiffen and pain envelope him, and then, he crashes to the ground, somehwere in the dareknss of an unknown place.

“S-S-Sin?” He says weakly.

“I am here Sir,” Sin replies quickly.

“Where the god damn hell is here?”

“That would be a difficult question to answer, as, we are nowhere.”

“Nowhere?” Zadner says, as he slowly pulls himself to his feet, he searches the darkness for any sign of movement, or Sin, but all he is greeted by is blackness. He holds his hands up towards his face, and squints his eyes, as he tries to make out his hands features, but the nonexistence of light makes it impossible to see anything, he could be surrounded, and not know.

“Can you see anything?” He asks, as he lightly reaches out towards the darkness, twisting his mouth and biting gently down on his tongue as he dose.

“Oddly enough Sir, I can see nothing,” Sin replies, Zander raises an eye brow and he turns quickly on the spot.

“Nothing?”

“That is correct Sir, nothing is registering on any of my displays, I can not even locate myself, even though I know I am all in one piece.”

“Ideas?”

“Only one Sir, but, you will not like the answer.”

“Try me,” Zander says as he reaches out once again, tightly closing his eyes as he takes a step forward. “Don’t keep me is suspense, what do you thin it is?”

“Halligans Box Sir,” Sin replies quickly, Zander freezes on the spot, his foot still in mid air, and he feels a cold shiver run down his back.

“Halligans Box  is just a legend, left over from a race that disappeared a long time ago, can’t you come up with something a little more believable?”

“Sir, to you , Halligans Box may just be a story, but to my data base, it is very real, the Halgree built the box to vanquish their enemies the Lorikaa some millennia ago. It is told that they placed the box inside a cargo freighter and journeyed towards the border of their system, knowing full well the Lorikaa would attack them, in the struggle the box was opened, and what was once sector twelve-nine-five, ceased to be. The box somehow eventually closed, many believe it became sentient, from all the life it ate, and become full, so it closed its lid, then slept and has, to this day, never been see again.”

“Don’t you think it would be a little-le-le….” Zander’s lip quivers, as he feels something slimy, slowly brings to wrap itself around one of his legs, and then, it tightens.

To Be Continued

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers.

And so we continue…

“Captain, we have intruders aboard Betha,” Sin voice declares, Zander leaps from his bed, grabbing his blaster as he does.

“Where are they?”

“Right outside your quarters,” Sin replies just as Zander slammed his hand against his doors palm reader, he freezes in place, as the door springs open, and a dozen Federation soldiers spill in, knocking him to the ground, his blaster tumbles from his grasp and he finds himself pinned, with blasters pointed at him.

“High Lord Quinn sends his regards,” one of them says.

“I’m touched,” Zander says, as they pull him to his feet.

“You’ll lose the attitude soon enough.”

“So will you,” Zander says, “SIN, GRAV LEFT!” He yells out, the rooms gravity settings suddenly shift, tilts and Zander crashes in the wall with a thud, the Federation soldiers quickly follow suit, landing on top of him. “MY LEFT YOU IDIOT!” He screams out from beneath the soldiers, everything suddenly flips, and they crash violently into the opposite side of the room, quickly Zander takes charge of the situation, wrestling a blaster from a disorientated soldier, then fires it into the struggling pile of soldiers beneath him, until there is no movement. “Rest the gravity points, and unlock the doors,” he says as the doors hiss open, and everything crashes to the floor, including Zander.

“Are you okay Sir?” Sin asks.

“I’d be better if you waited a couple of seconds before resetting the gravity, so I could get ready,” he replies, as he picks himself up from the floor, and holds his throbbing head.

“I’m sorry Sir, you did request the gravity points to be reset, I assumed you would be in the required positio..”

“Save it for later, what I need to know right now, is how a group of Federation soldiers managed to get on board Betha?” He says as he quickly makes his way through the corridor, and comes out into the cockpit, where Sin sits.

“Neither I, nor Betha can give you an answer to that question, at this point in time. We have verified that there is no vessel within the immediate vicinity, and there has been no forced entry on any of Betha’s external doors.”

“So, your telling me they just appeared?” Zander says as he collapses into the pilots seat.

“That is the only explanation we have at this point in time, until we have….”

Zander places a hand in the air, “Bring up the first footage we have of them aboard Betha, when she first detected their presence,” Zander says, a screen appears in front of him, showing the Federation soldiers slowly working their way along one of Betha’s corridors. “This is the first point of reference we have of them on her?”

“That is correct Sir, that is what you requested, that is what I have shown you, if you had asked for something different, I would have showed you something else, but….”

“Yeah, yeah, you can stop with the over explaining, just tell me, is that the corridor that leads to the sleeping quarters?”

“Yes Sir, that is correct.”

“So, how come there isn’t any footage of the quarters themselves?”

“General Salidazr ordered them removed when he came aboard, he sited that surveillance equipment in those areas were in breach of privacy,” Sin replies.

Zander slowly swivels around on his chair and turns to Sin, “When the hell was Salidazr on Betha?”

“General Salidazar came aboard whilst you were receiving the desired medical attention when we arrived at Galder Seven, and as he is your senior office in the Dark Collective, he ordered me not to discuss the changes with anyone else, including you,” Sin replies.

“Was there anything else you were asked not to discuss with me?”

“No Sir, that was all,” Sin replies.

“Right, next time something like this happens, you tell me, understood? Even if I’m on my death bed, you tell me!”

“Of course Sir, unless they outrank you and direct me not to, I will,” Sin replies.

“No, next time, you tell me regardless of who it is, okay?” Zander says as he gets to his feet, clenching his hands into fists.

“Of course Sir, unless..”

“No unless!” He yells, slamming his fists into a control board that sits before Sin. “I’m commander of this ship, screw it, this is my ship, not The Federation’s, not The Dark Collective’s, MINE! Zander BLOODY Kane, and no one outranks me aboard here, NO ONE! So, next time you tell me, or you’re dust in the wind, understood?”

“I’m afraid I do not follow Sir,” Sin replies.

“Betha, explain it to him so he understands,” Zander says.

Several seconds pass, before Sin becomes rigid, and looks slowly over to Zander, “I understand Sir, nothing will happen aboard Betha again, without first informing you.”

“Good, now, unhook yourself and come with me.”

“Where are we going Sir? I have not kept anything from you, please don’t turn me to dust!” Sin says quickly.

“No you sack of nuts and bolts, we’re going to see what problems Salidazar left for us down in his quarters,” Zander says as as he pulls his blaster from it’s holster, and steps from the cockpit, heading quickly down towards the sleeping quarters.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, do you think General Salidazar brought something on board Betha?”

“I haven’t a clue, but if you hadn’t let him disable Betha’s surveillance, we’d know, instead of having to go in blind,” he says as he comes to a stop outside of Salidazar’s quarters, he places a hand on the door, and pulls it back, winching in pain.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, it’s cold, really bloody cold,” he says, as he looks at the door. “Did  he have this lock placed on?”

“That would be correct.”

“Great, can Betha override it?”

“Unfortunately not Sir, Salidazar encoded it with his own locking mechanism,” Sin replies, Zander looks at him, his brow furrowed.

“Seriously, no one does anything to Betha without my say so! Can she at least shut power down to this area of the ship?” he says.

The hallway goes dark almost instantaneously, “It has been done,” Sin announces.

“I can see that,” he says, as he takes a step back, raises his blaster towards the door lock, and fires, the lock hisses as it decouples, then the door slowly slides open, Zander casts a concerned glance towards Sin, the back to the doorway, as it gradually opens, revealing a spiraling vortex inside the room, before either of them can act, they are both sucked inside.

To Be Continued…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed, he carries, would survive.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and, his crew save from Sin, perished.

And so we continue…

Zander slowly opens his eyes and is greeted by darkness, the hum of machines vibrate throughout the room, as well as the slowly steady breathing, of someone else within the room.

“You’re finally awake, we didn’t think you were going to make it back there,” a woman’s voice says from somewhere in the darkness, the voice sounds different, somehow, but he recognises it as Gadamrie’s non the less.

He tries in vain to lift his head, but lets it fall back into the pillow, as he tries to wet his dry lips with his tongue, “H-H-H…” His throat feels like it’s on fire, he quickly swallows to quell the pain, but instead feels like he’s swallowed a mouthful of razors, and let’s out a grimace of pain. “H-H-How long?” He manages to finally say.

“Four days,” she replies.

“Four days,” he repeats as he tries to sit up, the pain shoots through his body, and he collapses back onto the bed, stiffening with agony.

“Try to relax, you’ve been through a lot,” she says.

“H-How did, how did you make it out? I-I-I, I saw you light yourself up.”

“That doesn’t matter right now,” she says as her voice slowly comes closer, he sees her silhouette standing a few feet from his bed.

“But I saw you die,” he says, straining his head up from the pillow once again, fighting back the pain.

“Shhh my love,” she says, as she steps out of the darkness, he freezes in place, as he looks upon her, her face, her skin, are not that of the woman he remembers, but more, more like his, more human. “What’s wrong, Daddy?” She says.

He leaps up, sweat pouring from his body, his eyes search his quarters in a panic, he feels his heart racing a million miles an hour, and quickly places a hand on his stomach, feeling her movements below his skin.

“You’ve got to stop doing that.” He says softly, as he feels it move underneath his hand, like a fish trying to frantically flip itself back into water, suddenly the lights flick on and alarm bells sound out.

“Captain Kane, we have intruders aboard Betha,” Sin voice declares through his interlink, a device burrowed in behind his left ear. Zander leaps from his bed, grabbing his blaster as he does.

“Where are they?”

“Right outside your quarters,” Sin replies just as Zander slams his hand against the doors palm reader, he freezes in place, as the door springs open, and a dozen or more Federation soldiers spill in, knocking him to the ground, his blaster tumbles from his grasp and he finds himself pinned, with blasters pointed towards him.

“High Lord Quinn sends his regards,” one of them says.

To Be Continued Next Sunday…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, then, in a last desperate act, she sacrificed herself so Zander would survive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s former right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective. Tortured for information, he was placed on life support machines as a way to lead Zander into a trap.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, Gadamrie came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with Quinn once again, this time with a league of Federation soldiers, using a cloaking technology, known as the walk of the damned, Gadamrie tried to guide them to safety, but her strength gave way, so Zander had to improvise. It did not go as planned, and Gadamrie sacrificed herself so Zander could escape. Eventually he located Toulver, only to find him all but dead, his body hooked up to a life support machine, giving him the appearance of being alive, so Zander could be lured into a trap.

And so we continue…

“What the hell does that mean? I though you two were buddies!”

“So did I Sir, it would appear that the destroyer, was not telling the truth, we have been set up,” Sin says.

“Not you brainiac, I’m the one who’s been set up,” Zander grows, he looks over his shoulder, as footsteps approach his position, quickly he takes a step back, firing the blaster at the doors touch-pad, destroying it, and the door springs open. He rushes inside and his mouth drops open in shock, he can feel his stomach turn violently, lying on a media-pad, is Touvlar, his body riddled with tubes and wires, shoved into every orifice, as machines keep his life signs stable, but, really, Zander knows, he’s been dead for some time.

“Here we are once more, old friend,” Quinn says from behind him, Zander spins around and faces Quinn, and a group of Marauders, high level Federation soldiers.

“I see you brought friends.”

“Well, yours keep on dying, so I best thought I should make sure, you didn’t feel, alone.”

“I’ll kill you for what you’ve done today, and when I do, I’ll make sure you don’t rise again.”

“Not if I kill you first,” Quinn says with a smile on his face. “Don’t worry, he never gave up your secret, loyal right until the end, it was pathetic,” Quinn says with a snarl.

“WHAT’RE YOU TALKING ABOUT!” Zander yells. “WHAT SECRET?”

“Don’t play me for a fool Zander, we are beyond those sort of games now. I know you’re hiding something, why would the other be so protective of you? I think the Priestess entrusted to you with something back on Loker Twelve, something that could be a danger to the Federation, and I, will have it.”

“You’re crazy Quinn, the priestess gave me nothing, they were protective of me because I’m carrying Gadamrie’s seed you dick!”

Quinn’s face soften, and his eyes, widen, “What? You’re carry that woman’s child? That’s preposterous, Gadamrie is A sexual, she doesn’t need another to reproduce, doesn’t she jsut lays eggs, that hatching into, well, new host bodies?”

“Did you learn anything about any of us while you were part of my crew? It’s not her child, it’s HER, one of her eggs. It’s how Gadamrie reproduces with other species, that’s why she was so protective of me, they why they all wanted to keep me safe, you killed everyone for nothing!”

Quinn’s face, and it twists with anger, “No, everyone dies, who challenges the Federation!” He says, as he raises his blaster.

“Remember Palcram Zelta?” Zander says.

Quinn’s head tilts to the side, and his face shows his confusion, “Of course I remember that backwater system, you almost killed me with your stupidity.”

“My stupidity saved you that day, it wasn’t my fault you couldn’t hold your breath.”

“Why bring this up now, it will not change anything, I’m still going to kill you.”

“I never intended it to change anything, I just thought I’d give you a heads up as to what’s coming,” Zander says with wry smile. “SIN, NOW!” He screams, its then that Quinn notices Betha through the porthole window, holding positing alongside the destroyer. He stands there frozen as two harpoons fire towards them as Zander draws in three large breaths, the harpoons tear through the hull of the ship sending the room in a spin. One of the harpoons digs itself into the hull, then tears back, ripping a hole in the side of the ship, the other burrows its way into Quinn’s chest, Zander tightly latches onto the metal cord attached to the harpoon, and is quickly pulled back on board Betha, with Quinn’s lifeless corpse still attached to the end. The hull seals, and Zander crashes to the floor, his lungs burn, as he fights the urge to breath.

“The room is sealed, and the oxygen is now at breathable levels,” Sin says, Zander exhales and sucks in a deep, long breath, then lets it out again just as quickly, and sucks another in, he rolls onto the floor on his back, as he continues to inhale and exhale as if each breath was his last until finally the cargo bay doors open and footsteps run towards him.

“Zander, you crazy human, what the hell were you thinking?” A voice calls out.

“T-T-Touvlar?” Zander says weakly.

“Who else would it be, you rat biter?” Touvlar says as he pulls Zander to his feet.

“W-W-What the hell’s going on?”

“You just took a walk outside Betha, without a suit on, that’s what’s happening.”

“B-B-But, the destroyer, and Quinn…”

“I don’t know what you’re smoking human, but we’re out in the middle of the Segraz Quadrant, alone.”

“B-But, But it all felt, so real,” Zander says in disbelief.

“I did warn you of the effect carrying my seed would have,” Gadamrie says from the doorway, Zander staggers towards her, clutching her close, tears of joy running down his face.

“It felt so real.”

“Of course it would,” she says, pulling away from him. “Let’s get you to the infirmary, and get you cleaned up, you’re a mess,” she says, as she guides him down the hallway.

“I’m afraid, the injuries are more severe than we first thought,” Sin voice echoes around the room, Zander’s face screws up in confusion, as he looks around in a daze while Gadamrie stares at him.

“Are you okay?” She finally asks.

“I-I-I, I just thought I heard Sin,” he says, meeting her concerned gaze with an uneasy smile.

“You’re hearing things, let’s get these wounds looked at,” she says, he suddenly feels lightheaded and loses his balance, crashing to the floor in a heap, and, as the darkness takes him, he hears Sin’s voice once more.

“Yes, the seed is intact, and alive. Yes, yes, I know we must hurry, but that part is your job, I’ll do what I can to stabilise Captain Kane, but you need to get us to Galder Seven before we loose them both.”

The End

Dark Stars: Runaway begins tomorrow

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, then, in a last desperate act, she sacrificed herself so Zander would survive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, Gadamrie, who was hidden, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers, using a cloaking technology, known as the walk of the damned, Gadamrie tried to guide them to safety, but her strength gave way, so Zander had to improvise. It did not go as planned, and Gadamrie sacrificed herself so Zander could escape, now, following Sin’s instructions, Zander has found himself in another difficult situation.

And so we continue…

“Sin, are you serious?”

“I’m sorry sir, is there a situation?” Sin’s voice says.

“Damn straight there’s a situation. Your map’s telling me to jump down into the main air vent,” he says as he settles himself on the ledge, peering over into it again, he tightly squints his eyes, hoping this time to see the bottom, but still, he only sees darkness.

“That is correct Sir. If you read my instructions, they tell you, if you use maximum power and leap at an angle of at least one hundred and thirty-six degrees you will come into contact with the air duct for level two hundred and seven at some stage of your decent. My calculations based on your current weight put it at about fifteen seconds from when you jump from the coordinates I have placed into the map. Once you have successfully made the jump, and landed safely, Mister Touvlar is only two corridors away from where the vent comes out.”

“Maximum power? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“The information has been tailored specifically to you Sir, if you jump at full strength, you will complete the task successfully.”

Zander stares into the darkness with his mouth hanging open, “Is this seriously the safest route to Touvlar?”

“That is correct sir.”

“Great,” Zander says, as he nervously presses himself against the wall, and shuffles towards the jumping location, a few nervous minutes later, he takes three large, deep breathes, closes his eyes and pushes himself off the ledge as hard as he can, tumbling helplessly into the darkness of the shaft, he slams quickly into the metal tunnels side, dazing him for a moment, then, he feverishly grabs with his arms, trying to make contact with the vent’s entrance, he feels his arm tear in its socket as he somehow grabs hold of the shafts edge, and hangs there for several moment’s, sweat dripping from his exhausted body.

“Sir, I hate to be the provider of bad news, but, the angle you pushed yourself from, was, incorrect,” Sin says.

“YOU’RE TELLING ME I MISSED!”

“Not exactly Sir, you hit the side of the shaft earlier than anticipated, and therefore, have clasped on to the incorrect floor’s ventilation shaft.”

He peers down, into the darkness, letting out a groan, “How early?”

“Seven floors Sir.”

“Great,” he says through clenched teeth. “I’m not sure I can do this again.”

“Sir, you must, if you were to attempt rescuing Mister Touvlar from this position, you would not be successful.”

“Okay, new game plan, I’m going to pull myself up into this duct, and you’re going to think of another plan,” he says, as Zander tries to pull himself up, into the vent.

“Sir, you must believe me, there is no other way,” Sin says, Zander rolls his eyes, as he bites into his bottom lip.

“Just do me one thing,” Zander says.

“Of course Sir.”

“Next time I ask you to find me a way out of somewhere, remind me of this moment,” he says, as he lets go, dropping like a stone.

“NOW SIR!” Sin yells out, Zander reaches frantically for the vents opening, screaming in pain, as he fells his arm tear further from it’s socket.

“P-P-Please, tell me I’ve got there right one this time?” Zander asks weakly, hanging from the opening.

“This time you have been successful Sir, once you reach the end of the ventilation shaft, Mister Touvlar is two corridors to your right.”

“How’s everything looking otherwise? You still buddy, buddy with the destroyer mainframe?”

“Of course Sir, we have formed a quick bond, and he has been very helpful.”

“I still don’t want to know what you did for the big guy,” Zander grunts as he pulls himself up into the vent, and begins to drag his busted, aching body towards the opening. “Tell me when I’m clear,” he asks.

“There appears to be no one in your immediate vicinity Sir, the path to Mister Touvlar seems clear,” Sin replies.

“Are you sure?” Zander asks surprised. “Not even a couple of guards on the entrance to his cell?”

“No, there appears to be no Federation soldiers anywhere,” Sin replies.

“Something about this just doesn’t fell right.”

“The destroyer has assured me that there is nothing unusual happening, please Sir, if you are to make your move, you must make it now.”

“Okay, okay,” Zander says as he forces the vents cover off and falls out onto the corridors floor in a sweaty, bloody heap, he lies there for a few moments before Sin’s voice snaps him back to awareness.

“Sir, you must move, I’ve detected movement three corridors away coming towards you, you must hurry!”

Zander forces himself uneasily to his feet, and stumbles along to corridor until he reaches the door to Touvlar’s cell.

“C-Can, can you get it to open?” Zander asks.

“Of course Sir, I…”

“Sin?” Zander says quickly, as he stands outside the doorway, looking over his shoulder frantically. “For crying out loud Sin, what’s happening?”

“It appears as if the destroyer has not been entirely honest with me Sir.”

“What the hell does that mean? I though you two were buddies!”

“So did I Sir, it would appear that the destroyer, was not telling the truth, we have been set up,” Sin says.

“Not you brainiac, I’m the one who’s been set up,” Zander grows, he looks over his shoulder, as footsteps approach his position, quickly he takes a step back, firing the blaster at the doors touch-pad, destroying it, and the door springs open. He rushes inside and his mouth drops open in shock, he can feel his stomach turn violently, lying on a media-pad, is Touvlar, his body riddled with tubes and wires, shoved into every orifice, as machines keep his life signs stable, but, really, Zander knows, he’s been dead for some time.

“Here we are once more, old friend,” Quinn says from behind him.

To Be Concluded…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, but, for how long.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, and his crew presumed dead, but, as Quinn prepared to kill Zander, Gadamrie, who was hidden, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers, using a cloaking technology, known as the walk of the damned, Gadamrie tried to guide them to safety, but her strength gave way, so Zander had to improvise.

And so we continue…

“I’ll see you, somewhere soon,” he says clutching the blade and charges forward, as the world explodes with colour and light. The Federation soldier’s don’t know what hit them as Zander tears his way through the soldiers, slicing a pathway of blood towards Quinn, it only takes a few seconds before he feels blaster fire tear into his side, and he crashes to the ground. He clenches his teeth together, as he drives his fists into the metal surface and screams, then forces himself up from the floor, as soldiers come from every angle and tackle him to the ground once more, then, everything goes silent, as Quinn strides towards him, while the soldiers pull the struggling Zander to his feet.

“How pathetic, did you really think that would work?” Quinn says.

Zander feels a tear run down his cheek, “I hate to say I knew it would,” he says, closing his eyes tightly as a warmth hits his back, then screams fill his ears, as everything is engulfed in a white hot light that lasts for a few seconds, and then, is gone. Slowly, he opens his eyes, around him lay the burnt remains of the Federation soldiers, and Quinn, nervously he turns around to see the charred remains of Gadamrie, he feels his lower lip quiver, and the wetness of tears cascading down his face.

“ZZZZZEETTT…. Captain Kane, do you copy?” Sin’s voice says.

He wipes the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket, and draws back a large breath, “I read you, what the hell happened?” He says as he slowly moves down the hallway, blaster at the ready.

“A defense mechanism from the destroyer interfered with our communicator, I have now convinced the destroyer to disable the device and also give me the precise location of Mister Touvlar,” Sin replies.

“How did you… No wait, I don’t what to know, I still remember what you did for that battleship in the Nourus quadrant.”

“Sir, I detected Miss Gadamrie’s expiration, I would just like to off…”

“Save it for later, just tell me how I get to Touvlar, and find me a way off this hunk of junk.”

“Of course, I have already taken the liberty of mapping out a path to Mister Touvlar, one of course that will give you the least resistance. Once you have him, getting off the said ‘hunk of junk,’ might be a tad harder, as alarms are slowly popping up across the ship.”

“Just find us a way off, we’ll handle the getting there, okay,” he says.

“Of course sir, I will map the quickest route,” Sin replies. “May I ask you to be careful sir, this is not coming just from me, Betha wishes your safe return as well, considering, your condition.”

“Tell Betha not to worry about my CONDITION,  I’ll be fine, you two just be ready to haul butt when we get our tails off this piece of scrap, okay?”

“Of course sir, I have uploaded a safe route to Mister Touvlar, and will work with the destroyer to locate you a way off.”

A blue light on Gadamrie’s golden bracelet flashes, signalling the arrival of Sin’s data, “Overlay visor,” he says, as a visor like screen appears before his eyes, acting like a pair of glasses, outlaying the route to Touvlar on it. Quickly he makes his way day the deserted corridor, he notices the ships cameras pointing towards the ground, and allows himself to grin, knowing Sin obviously worked his magic. He comes to a stop and rips a vents covering from the side of the corridor, then quickly slides in, replacing the vent as he does and seals it back in place, as the sound of a dozen or more Federation soldiers charge down the corridor. Zander quickly crawls down the duct for several sweaty minutes, until he comes to a large opening, his eyes widen as he looks around the large shaft, a small rim running around the sides of the large shaft that the vent connects onto, he tilts his head upwards and then downwards, and swallows,  he focuses on the map in front of his eyes and lets out a nervous laugh.

“Sin, are you serious?”

“I’m sorry sir, is there a situation?” Sin’s voice says.

“Damn straight there’s a situation. Your map’s telling me to jump down into the main air vent,” he says as he settles himself on the ledge, peering over into it again, he tightly squints his eyes, hoping this time to see the bottom, but still, he only sees darkness.

“That is correct Sir. If you read my instructions, they tell you, if you use maximum power and leap at an angle of at least one hundred and thirty-six degrees you will come into contact with the air duct for level two hundred and seven at some stage of your decent. My calculations based on your current weight put it at about fifteen seconds from when you jump from the coordinates I have placed into the map. Once you have successfully made the jump, and landed safely, Mister Touvlar is only two corridors away from where the vent comes out.”

“Maximum power? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“The information has been tailored specifically to you Sir, if you jump at full strength, you will complete the task successfully.”

Zander stares into the darkness with his mouth hanging open, “Is this seriously the safest route to Touvlar?”

“That is correct sir.”

“Great,” Zander says, as he nervously presses himself against the wall, and shuffles towards the jumping location, a few nervous minutes later, he takes three large, deep breathes, closes his eyes and pushes himself off the ledge as hard as he can, tumbling helplessly into the darkness of the shaft.

 

To Be Continued…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, but, for how long.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, and his crew supposedly dead, but, as Quinn prepared to kill Zander, Gadamrie, who was hidden, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, and as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with a resurrected Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers.

And so we continue…

“Touvler’s alive?”

“As far as I can tell from the information I have managed to upload from the destroyers database he is being held several floors below you, awaiting execution, as High Lord Quinn has sentenced him to death once the ship reaches the citadel.”

“How long do we have?”

“We are almost a day away from th… zzzeedfffzzz….”

“Sin?” Zander calls out, he waits for a few moment, and casts a look of worry towards Gadamrie. “SIN?” But still no reply comes.

“What now?” Gadamrie asks.

“We go down, try to find Touvler, then hopefully re-link back up to Sin and get off this crate,” he says with a smile as he lifts Quinn’s lifeless body from the floor and presses one of his dead hands against the doors activation-pad, seconds later it slides open, revealing a sea of Federation soldiers waiting for them, and, standing at the back, with an evil smile on his face, is High Lord Quinn. “Should’ve know he was a Quadrapled,” Zander says through clenched teeth, he glances over to Gadamrie as he grips his blaster tightly. “You got something left in you?”

“Enough,” she says, placing a hand on his shoulder and the two disappear.

“DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!” Quinn screams out as the soldiers open fire.

Zander feels his head explode as the colour is ripped from everything except him and Gadamrie, he feels the blaster shots rips through him, like a cool breeze, he looks over to Gadamrie, her face shows her struggle, her energy, almost drained, he grips her hand and charges forward through the dream like landscape, passing through the Federation soldiers as if they were mist. He feels Gadamrie loose her footing, and catches her as they both crash to the ground in a heap.

“I’m sorry my love, I-I-I, I don’t think I can hold us here much longer,” she says weakly.

He looks down the hallway, then, back at her, “A couple more seconds, we just have to get throug…”

She places a finger to his lips and smiles, “Shhhh my love, you must go, I, I am too weak, you must find Toulver, free him, and get off this, sardine can, as you call it, and warn the Priestess, if, if,” she takes a deep breath and smiles once more. “The first time I saw you, with a thousand eyes, I knew, I would gladly give my life for you,” she says as they kiss, tears stream down his face, splashing onto hers.

“There has to be another way, I can’t lose you, not like this,” he says, cradling her weakening body.

“You won’t, so be brave my human, for you carry something special inside of you, something, wonderful. Now, help me to my feet, then go, before my energy gives,” Gadamrie says, as she runs a hand across his face and they kiss one final time, then he helps her to her feet, clutching her close one last time, before turning towards the horde, who still continue to fire, the hate that burns through him, aims directly towards Quinn.

“How long will I have?”

“A handful of seconds,” she says softly, as she pulls a golden bracelet from her arm and places it on Zander’s.

“That’s all I need,” he says, as he pulls a small metallic cylinder from his side, he looks towards her one last time, and smiles, yellow tears run down her face, as she pulls a similar metal object from her side, nodding towards him as the cylinders come to life, and large metallic like blades appear from within them. “I’ll see you, somewhere soon,” he says clutching the blade and charges forward, as the world explodes with colour and light. The Federation soldier’s don’t know what hit them as Zander tears his way  through the soldiers, slicing a pathway of blood towards Quinn, it only takes a few seconds before he feels blaster fire tear into his side, and he crashes to the ground. He clenches his teeth together, as he drives his fists into the metal surface and screams, then forces himself up from the floor, as soldiers come from every angle and tackle him to the ground once more, then, everything goes silent, as Quinn strides towards him, while the soldiers pull the struggling Zander to his feet.

“How pathetic, did you really think that would work?” Quinn says.

Zander feels a tear run down his cheek, “I hate to say I knew it would,” he says, closing his eyes tightly as a warmth hits his back, then screams fill his ears, as everything is engulfed in a white hot light.

To Be Continued…