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> Part 25.1
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> Adventures in Parodyverse - Saving the Future Part 25.2
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> Lara Night was invited onto Shen Rae’s bridge again. Sharon was already there watching the viewscreen.
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> The viewscreen had a holographic three-dimensional projection just in front of it. It mapped a large volume of red highlighted wireframe objects of varying sizes at the far end, quickly approaching a nearer blue wireframe object surrounded by dozens of tiny blue pinpoints. Behind it on the screen was the blackness of space with faraway objects barely visible.
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> It was a well-designed hologram. Lara didn’t have to ask what any of it meant. Even to her untrained eye, it appeared that there were many, many hostiles incoming. And they seriously outnumbered the Heart of Light, even including all of its fighters and Gliders.
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> “Information is that the Z’Sox have claimed salvage to Earth.â€Â Shen Rae summarized.
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> “So we’re screwed?â€Â Sharon guessed.
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> “We do not recognize the Z’Sox salvage claims.â€Â the First Officer, Jai Yoon, piped up, seemingly with pride.
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> “How are we going to fight so many?â€Â Lara asked. She tried counting the incoming craft, but she lost count.
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> “Our shielding and weapons are far superior to the Z’Sox.â€Â Shen Rae told Lara. It sounded almost like bragging, but the Captain was really just highly focused. Even she was a little nervous taking on so many.
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> Lara raised an eyebrow. “Can you get help from your military?â€Â
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> The First Officer answered that one. “The Galactic Government is forbidden to take action outside Alliance territory unless an action is voted upon and signed.â€Â
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> “Pardon me for making a suggestion.â€Â Sharon raised a hand as she quietly spoke. “If we wait for them to get here...is it possible they may destroy Earth if they see us? So nobody can have it?â€Â
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> Shen Rae and the First Officer looked at each other. Then Jai Yoon faced the Navigator. “Intercept course. Launch the manned and automated fighters, all weapons hot.â€Â
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> Just as she finished that sentence, the Heart of Light took a couple of hits from the first Z’Sox scout ships, barely sending a vibration through the bridge. The Alliance Cruiser was detected as its first fighters were launched.
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> “And leave no witnesses.â€Â Jai Yoon added coldly.
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> Lara gave Sharon a concerned look.
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>
> ---
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>
> The first the Z’Sox salvage crew were aware of the Trading Alliance ship was a radio message from their two scout fighters, telling them that they encountered an unknown Cruiser, small by Z’Sox standards. As required, they attempted to contact the Z’Sox planet to tell them of the discovery. They then discovered their long-range communications were jammed, and they raised their alert status.
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> Their second clue was a swarm of tiny, sleek silver fighters, glowing blue with energy. Each about the size of an automobile on Earth, none seemed like much of a threat. But after the first wave of Z’Sox fighters were completely ineffective against them, they became a formidable enemy.
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> The small fighters were firing some sort of blue pulse of energy that disintegrated anything it touched, but faded quickly. The Z’Sox Battle Cruisers opened fire, but were taking heavy damage quickly.
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> None of them noticed the Heart of Light appear from nowhere and blast one of the Z’Sox cruisers into atoms immediately. The explosion damaged two other Battle Cruisers nearby. The others turned to return fire, but they lost three before a single one of them had a good target lock.
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> The remaining Z’Sox Battle Cruisers all fired missiles. Large ones.
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> Shen Rae’s eyes widened as the nav data came in quickly, and displayed an automated alert on the hologram. The Z’Sox had built crude short-range transnuclear missiles, probably from technology salvaged from the Parody Master.
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> Lights faded out momentarily on the bridge, again and again, as the energy shields absorbed and redistributed the power of one crude transnuke after another.
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> “They’re bloody serious!â€Â Sharon called out as she noticed the next setback before anyone else did.
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> Looming onto the viewscreen, just uncloaking, was a city-sized salvaged Dimensional Dreadnaught. It looked heavily damaged, but definitely fully operational. The automated Z-Class Fighters surrounded it and began chipping away at its defenses quickly.
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> Shen Rae was angry now. She stood, keeping one hand behind her on the back of the Captain’s chair to steady herself against the vibration from the transnukes, as well as the future vibrations that would no doubt come from the Dimensional Dreadnaught’s cannon. “Destroy that thing.â€Â she said. “And notify the Company immediately, the Z’Sox are in possession of illegally salvaged technology.â€Â
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> “In my experience the Z’Sox don’t care about that.â€Â Lara pointed out.
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> As she spoke, a small silvery object passed the Heart of Light. It looked like a missile, only it was moving more slowly, and was headed in the wrong direction. It exploded without touching anything.
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> Then a volley of blue energy pulses began flying past the Heart of Light, hitting the Dimensional Dreadnaught over and over again. The sun behind them was blotted out momentarily by a much larger object.
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> Jai Yoon switched the hologram back on. Above them was a pair of blue cruisers twice the size of the Heart of Light. It was launching hundreds of smaller craft, which then appeared on the viewscreen, heading toward the Z’Sox force and the Dimensional Dreadnaught. It looked like an ant colony swarming upon a much larger prey.
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> “I’ve never seen a space battle before.â€Â Sharon commented. “I don’t like it a bit.â€Â
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> The hologram spread across all the walls of the bridge, and various objects were visible. Of interest was directly behind Jai Yoon, at the opposite end of the room. The First Officer was pointing to something there and speaking to the Captain.
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> “What’s going on?â€Â Lara asked.
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> “Nothing good.â€Â Shen Rae admitted. “We’ll be able to destroy the Dreadnaught--â€Â
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> Just as she said that, the Dimensional Dreadnaught on-screen exploded, dimming the lights on the bridge again as the ship’s energy field absorbed the force of the blast.
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> “--but if the Z’Sox sent a force this large, they won’t give up easily.â€Â The Captain then looked at her Communications Officer. “Send my thanks to the Company for the assist.â€Â
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> “Are you saying they’re going to send more?â€Â Lara asked. “Is there going to be some kind of intergalactic war right near Earth? Because I’m not sure that’s a good idea.â€Â
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> “I agree.â€Â Shen Rae replied confidently. She paced the bridge and sighed. “I’m going to have to request this point be brought up in Council of the Galactic Government. If there is enough evidence the Z’Sox are gearing up...we have have to take the battle to them before they have a chance. Cripple them so their plans are destroyed.â€Â
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> “What if you just leak back to them what happened to their fleet?â€Â Sharon suggested. “I’m sure then they might re-think their strategy.â€Â
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> “Yeah, but they might re-think it by blowing up Earth first next time.â€Â Lara said. Then she focused on Shen Rae again. “I don’t really want this to turn into a war, though. Maybe there’s some other way...something we’re not thinking of.â€Â
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> “There is a way.â€Â Shen Rae replied. “But it will require quite a quite clever ruse.â€Â
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> TO BE CONTINUED?
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> -- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 by Jason Froikin, and may not beÂÂ
> --  reprinted without permission. ÂÂ
> -- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
> -- Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
> -- Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin
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