ROC
STARDATE 07.03.25
FIMBULVETR
“FIRE ALL PHASERS!!!!”
The Unity Light Dreadnought tilted sixty-three degrees while following a curving flight path through the dark of space. Blue and yellow beams of light shot out of its wing sections, each one trying desperately to shoot down the incoming drones.
Just as each beam was about to strike its target, the drones disappeared as if they were never there. There was a slight shift in reality. Then the drones reappeared right next to the Roc, each drone swooping in from a different direction. The Roc shook violently from the multiple impacts.
“Our fourth shield is down!! Fifth shield down to twenty-two percent! Sixth shield down to thirty-nine percent! Third shield down to eight percent! Our first shield is still holding at forty-three percent!”
“Continue to <SQUAWK> repair shields with <SQUAWK> available power,” Captain Bellafina Rainbow Freefeather said in a loud voice. The tone of her voice was desperate, but overlayed with forced calmness. “Preserve our <SQUAWK> Reserve Power for <SQUAWK> our moment of need. How are our <SQUAWK> birds doing?”
“Not good, Captain,” Mister Yeren, the Roc’s First Officer, answered from his nearby seat. The eight foot tall hairy simian was staring at a small screen attached to his chair. “We’ve lost two ThunderRocs. The third is trying to make it back to the Roc, but she’s damaged.”
“Turn the Roc <SQUAWK> toward her in order to…”
Suddenly, a circular craft about half the size of the Roc appeared next to the damaged ThunderRoc. A Dissection Beam shot out of it, slicing the ThunderRoc cleanly in half. A fiery explosion followed. The circular craft quickly faded away once more.
“Too late.” Mister Yeren stated in a sad voice.
Curse them, Bellafina thought to herself. This was supposed to be an easy supply run to Ravin-II to collect some much needed Umbrilium. If I had known that we were going to be ambushed by a Neo-Invader Hauntling on the way back, I would have brought a Battle Pod instead of a Cargo Pod. Now, I’m not entirely certain I can get the Roc back to Planetbase in one piece…
“Quantum Torpedoes and <SQUAWK> the R Plasma?” Captain Freefeather asked. Her body was covered with beautiful feathers which displayed the full spectrum of a rainbow.
“Still unable to achieve a Lock-On,” Mister Cheshire replied with a purr. The Science Officer looked like a humanoid Persian Cat. “The Neo-Invader Hauntling is using its Ethereal Device to counter our Seeking Weapons. It continues to rapidly fade in and out in order to disrupt our Lock-Ons. I am trying to compensate…”
You won’t be able to achieve what countless other Home Sector Science Officers have tried to do, Bellafina stated in her mind. This is how the Neo-Invader Hauntlings destroyed so many fleets so quickly. You can’t fight what you can’t see…what you can’t touch…
The Neo-Invader Hauntling faded into normal space right behind the Roc, where she was most vulverable due to a down shield. Tractor-Repulsor Beams shook the Roc forward and back, starboard and port, violently shaking her to pieces. Twin Dissection Beams shot out, their deadly rays nearly cutting off the Roc’s wings. The final blow was a barrage of Phaser fire. The Roc shook from multiple explosions. Crew members screamed in terror. Part of the ceiling on the Bridge collapsed. Its Warp Engines went dark.
Marengo Firecloud Wildfeather…Revered Ancestor…I come to you now…embrace me in your wings…and fly me to the Great Egg…
“Captain, two Unity starships are dropping out of Warp!!” Mister Cheshire reported, his fur covered with blood and dirt. His furry tail whipped back and forth with excitement.
“By the <SQUAWK> Sacred Beak…” Captain Bellafina Rainbow Freefeather said as she stood up from her Command Chair. She stared at the View Screen in disbelief.
“IT’S THE SHIELD MAIDEN AND THE HELLHOUND!”
