Part 4 Izola was half way through her third protein bar, the thin silvery wrappers crumpled on the table in front of her, when Tiny’s voice floated through the canteen. “Greetings, Lieutenant Commander Shu. My software upgrade is complete and all systems appear to be functioning normally. Did you enjoy your meal?” The LtComdr climbed from the bench with a smile, tucking the remainder of the bar into her breast pocket. “As delicious as mass-manufactured space crap will ever be, Tiny,” she replied. “Okay, let’s try this again. Do you have any idea who locked you out of your own system?” “Negative. However, it’s possible with some cross-checking of my existing data, I can find an approximate date.” “Well, that’s something.” Shu was heading back to the landing bay, her steel-capped boots landing heavy footfalls that echoed along the empty corridors. “Until I can figure out this Phoenix Core thing, how much access do I have to the station, Tiny?” “All main systems are functional; life support, defenses, weaponry, et cetera. Access-restricted advanced systems include bionics, defense and weapons calibration, core station maintenance. Station blast doors are all sealed.” “Bugger.” Shu approached the landing bay doors and they slid open with a pneumatic hiss. She stepped into the large bay, the clank of her boots now loud and resounding across the largely empty space. The Lieutenant Commander had been given no real choice which ship to take when the evacuation command had sounded. As one of few remaining high-ranking officers she’d been ushered to the nearest available vessel, a decommissioned but still serviceable Challenger-class small transporter mostly used for quickly shuttling small cargo. This particular model was also equipped with life support in the hold, and boasted an impressive number of clicks-per-second speed increase over similar models, at the cost of two fewer turrets. She hadn’t checked what was in the shuttle’s hold - there had been no time. The planet was under full-scale attack, their forces were hugely outnumbered, and getting as many people off the crumbling rock in a last-ditch hope to save their species had been imperative. She’d climbed in, buckled up, and blasted off. Only twenty minutes after leaving the SpaceCore headquarters that had been her base of operations for five long years, she had witnessed her home planet being destroyed. Izola Shu sighed and hauled herself up into the shuttle’s cockpit. She leaned over the controls and tapped in the sequence to unlock the cargo hold and, hearing the confirming clunk from the back of the ship, climbed down from the cockpit and walked along the length of the vessel to the back. She wrapped her hands around the support rails and pulled herself up into the hold. Well, there was hope yet, she mused as she surveyed the scant treasures her shuttle had been carrying. It wasn’t a full cargo by any means, but at least there WAS a cargo. A few crates branded with the Envirosafe Suctions Corp logo - one of the main manufacturers of vacuum-packed ‘space food’; two large boxes of assorted military wear and blankets; and, tucked away at the back, a meager selection of tools. This must have been one of the evac-ships used in the military effort to run supplies to war outposts. Shu rifled through the tools and found what she was looking for; a small laser cutter. She slid it through her belt and then dragged one of the food crates towards the doors, dropping it to the floor outside before hopping from the shuttle herself. “Your ship is in need of repairs, Lieutenant Commander,” Tiny’s voice called to her. “I have found several housekeeping drones that I can mobilise to commence work.” “Sure,” Shu wrapped her hands around the corners of the crate and began pushing it across the floor. “Lieutenant Commander, if you are not opposed to such a suggestion, I believe it would benefit our relationship if I were to address you by your name rather than your rank.” Shu paused, resting her elbows atop the crate. The shuttle AI had no ‘personal relations’ software installed that she was aware of, unless the original pilot had hacked something in - but that would have been against SpaceCore military protocol and they’d never have left it installed. She’d never heard of a station AI having that either - certainly not one of the older stations like this one. “Are you taking initiative, Tiny?” There was a small pause. Izola could almost feel the AI shrugging. “It seems a logical suggestion, Lieutenant Commander; your ship is damaged, you are currently unable to leave the station - I conclude that we will be spending a significant amount of time in each other’s company, and surmise that it might make you feel more comfortable if I were to address you by name.” “You can call me Izola,” Shu returned to pushing the crate across the floor. “Tiny; were there any errors or conflicts reported during your software upgrade?” “No, Izola. The upgrade ran smoothly. Is there a problem?” “No,” Shu nudged the heavy crate through landing bay doors and stopped to stretch her back. Maybe the station’s former occupants had upgraded the AI software themselves, and the upgrade had been locked down until Shu had run her ship’s AI against it? Out here on the other side of anywhere, they wouldn’t have had to worry so much about a breach of SpaceCore protocol. “No, no problem.” __________ Part 5
Sorry to hear your D&D games fell through I love D&D (and other pen and paper RPGs aswell) Back in '08 I tried the mongoose publishing edition of Traveller, like D&D but sci-fi. I think its a really nice system, and my entry for the monster Monster contest is based on a creature I came up for it. Read some of your stories, I sense you were the DM? nice to see the game is still around
I DMd eventually, and only a little bit; I developed my own campaign setting and ran that with 3.5ed rules for a while. I was mostly the player.
Suffice it to say, Ive never been a player and I always develop my own canons and settings, I find it easier that way tbh, especially with Traveller (which we as a group started playing again last week, for the first time in a year of D&D). I like to be able to know things that the players won't ever know by picking up sourcebooks etc. I was thinking of writing a few stories, but tbh I'd find it hard to write this kinda thing, and would end upslipping back into writing in 2nd person, as though I was writing for D&D/Traveller/GURPS game
I have a lot of respect for Ms. Shu. She can eat three protein bars at once. Awesome as always, Pixie!
I really enjoy this, read it all the way through in about a half an hour. You still making more Ms. Pixie?
This is a really good story. I love the animation text in part 2, it gives the story a good feel. The mysterious upgrade to Tiny and Shu's space-y name... It's all awesome. I hope to see a chapter 5 soon!
Brilliant writting you have there. It's because you can easily get a picture in your mind as how it plays. Very nice usage of words and composed with such a nice sci-fi logic in it that it has a feeling of a possible reality behind it. The story really sucks you into reading it. You have a talent for this and being a good story writer Funny that after reading a couple of your postings i allready had the impression that you are very good with words so reading such a good story from you didn't surprise me. It really fits to you.
Thank you so much! I'm very glad you enjoyed reading ^.^ Oh awesome, glad you were able to pick something up from it ^.^
Part 5 A tiny droplet of sweat formed at her hairline, clinging stickily to her skin before tracing an erratic path down her temple. Her eye twitched impulsively. She put the laser-cutter down, swiped the goggles from her face and rubbed her sleeve across her forehead. “How are the shuttle repairs coming, Tiny?” Izola leaned back against the bulkhead. The space was small. She wasn’t very big herself, but still felt the tendrils of claustrophobia nagging at the corners of her mind. She’d been scrunched into a corner for some thirty minutes now, delicately teasing a small section of alloy plate away with the weak little laser cutter. Once she got through this layer the only thing left would be the station’s outermost wall. “Outer hull repairs are almost complete. Inner structural integrity reported one-hundred percent. Shield generator undergoing maintenance, ammunition and energy being restored from station stock. In a hurry, Izola?” The Lieutenant Commander chuckled. “Not really. Not like I have anywhere to go.” “Please verify?” “Ahh...” Izola sighed, tugged her gloves off and pulled open the top poppers of the orange mechanic’s overall she’d found. “I suppose I should tell you why I’m here in the first place eh, Tiny? My planet just got annihilated. I was in high orbit when an explosion from a ship nearby threw me face-first into the console, just as autopilot got a lock on this place. Came to in the landing bay. So that’s that, really - no clue where I am, how many of us are left... Hell, I could be the only one. Wouldn’t that be something?” There was a long pause. The air vents hummed behind the walls and in the distance she could hear the high-pitched screech of steel as the drones fixed her shuttle. “I am sorry, Lieutenant Commander Shu. Who was responsible?” Shu pulled her gloves back on and grabbed the laser gun. “I don’t know,” She said, squeezing the trigger and sending a beam of bright red light into the thick plate. She watched it melt through the alloy, inch by slow inch, guided by her steady hand. “We didn’t recognise the ships. They came in a week ago, surrounded the planet. If we’d had more time, more warning, maybe we could have prepared, y’know? But we didn’t. So... That was that.” “That is... Sad.” Tiny’s voice was quiet. Izola arched a brow. “That so, Tiny? And what would you know about sad?” “Your situation is regrettable. Perhaps I am pre-programmed to convey empathy. Am I correct in expressing sadness?” “Sure, you’re correct,” Shu swapped the laser to her other hand and flexed her free fingers. “Just, y’know, you’re an AI. Emotion isn’t, uh... on your agenda.” She guided the glowing beam the last few inches of the rough square and when the cut was complete, leaned back and kicked at the panel until it popped out and clattered onto the grating on the other side. Shu squeezed through the hole into the space beyond; a tall, narrow gap between the bulkhead and the outer wall of the station. “Got a lock on me, Tiny?” “Affirmative. There is an access panel twelve feet to your right, five feet above you. The code is four-oh-oh-seven-two-hash.” Shu dropped the laser gun into a trouser pocket and flipped the primer switch on her rifle as she strode across the grating to the hatch. The keypad lazily blinked its red LED at her. She cracked her knuckles, reached up and tapped in the code. ___________________ Part 6
Yet again, WOW!! This is an awesome story. I almost don't want to read any more until the whole thing is posted, just so I don't have to wait in between. Almost.
