Hell of all seasons
Posted By: Mr Bill Jr V<mr_bill_jr_5@hotmail.com>
Date: 10 September 2001, 4:33 am
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-Purge reached...-Activating main drives 1 through 15...-Activating main and secondary drives 16 through 30...-All drives online and functioning at 97% efficiency-The helm is yours commander-May the divine light guide your hand, and steer a clear path"it seemed all so simple then. When everything was just that.Percentages and drives. But things changed. And they changed fast.Faster then the computer spirit could keep up.""At about 1900 hours the fleet commander gave the order to move thefleet to a holding pattern around the planets main co-axle orbit core.That's a very slow order to complete. It took us 2 hours to bring thefleet into formation, and another hour to move the fleet into holdingpattern.""Id thought I'd seen a lot of things in my life. And hell I have! I'veseen whole planets wiped out by the aliens, and millions die in seconds.But when the aliens came to this god forsaken planet they brought rageincarnate with them.""As our ship moved to the fleet helm and the spirits gave me finalcontrol over the fleet, I felt a presence unlike any I've ever feltbefore. Time was slowed by there power. They were gods, and nothingcould stop them now.""And then they came."...-all systems nominal. A 10% power serge in section 298. 4th main drive--Purged...--200 range set scan--Understood...-Scan complete...--Comprehending..."But the spirit never finished. It started screaming. I told you thatI've seen a lot, but that is one thing I've never seen, and never hopeto see again.""The scan indicated well over 200 capital ships at a range of 200macrobes and closing. By god were they moving. I checked the scanneragain, not believing what my mind was telling me. They were gone. Irechecked at 100 and under Macrobes. There were 400 capital ships now.They would be upon us in minutes.""The ship shook as we were hit by the Lift. The Lift is the wave thatFaster Then Light (FTL) travel creates in its wake. When a singleCruiser drops out it is power full enough to sometimes push ships offcourse, or force us to rescan. The Lift that this monolithic fleetcreated destroyed the Wonder of mars.""She was moving into position when she was hit. The power from theimpact hit her broad side. It tore her open. She spilled her guts intothe dark of space. Then, almost gracefully, she plummeted into the frontof the light frigate redemption above all else .""As the crew behind me flew about controls and repeated scans, I satmotionless. This was the end. It had come. They had come. Theredemption Incinerated. She was pulled apart by her own FTLdrive, and she took the Wonder with her. In the massive glasswindow in front of me, I watched as the fleet scrambled."--Systems functioning"Good, I thought, the spirit lived"--begging short ranged scan...--Over 1 thousand ships in the nearest 50 macrobes--Closing at a speed of 2 macronogs ...--Will attempt to... ATTACK......--Systems functioning... WE MUST... ATTACK.....--HELLO COMMANDER"What the hell was happening to the computer spirit I can only guess"--incoming transmission directed to the fleet--Clearing...--It is... ALIEN... EVIL... PURGE... the Covenant"Then it played the first message that I ever heard from the aliens, Itwas the first and the last. The crew stopped rushing about and listened.It seemed as though the whole fleet came to a still"--Your destruction is the will of the gods, and weare their instrument. Do not prolong us."Why they choose use I will never know. But whatever there means thecaptain wasn't going to stand around to find out. He came to this simpleconclusion: 1) The Covenant was going to destroy Reach. 2) They weregoing to destroy our badly out numbered and out gunned fleet. 3) Ouronly hope was to point this ship into the depths of space and fly likethe titans. 4) It had to be done now.""I was interrupted by the clearly insane spirit computer."--The.... ATTACK NOW FOOL.... Wonderer of Olympus has beendestroyed--ARE YOU THERE COMMANDER?--The Reaver is demanding... COMMANDER?...orders ...--I'M AM NOW..... SHUTTING.... DOWN--GOOD NIGHT"I was glad to be rid of that thing that the spirit had become, ittroubled me. The Captain was at the helm now. He stood next to me, andhe was as cool and rock steady as a true leader should be.""Commander, he said, bring the ship with in weapons range of therenearest cruiser. Send orders to the fleet, Tell them to make a FTL jumpto the farthest system you can find. By god we cant win but I'll takesome of them to hell with us.""I did as he commanded.""I am flight commander Damuis. Our ship is the Hell of allseasons. And this was how we died. Died watching the Pillar of Autumnescape into the void. Its Lift, was the last thing I saw in fact, as then the helm was vaporized by a pulsar shot from one of the alien cruisers.""I recall the guns on the lower deck shuddering as we were killed. Wetook them with us. We were larger, and better armed, and our guns wentthrough there hull like butter. I recall smiling wickedly as I watchedthem die. But then several more were on top of us, and it was allover."--IT IS GOOD TO SEE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND COMMANDER. FOR I FEAR THAT ITIS TO LATE TO SAVE EARTH. NOTHING CAN STOP THEM NOW. THE ENTIRE 6THFLEET DIED IN UNDER AN HOUR FIGHTING AGAINST THEM, AND THEY AREUNSTOPPABLE."But one escaped, and that, that alone is hope enough."
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