Preview of a story
Edain
Join Date: 2002-09-06 Member: 1290Members
Join Date: 2002-09-06 Member: 1290Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Phaeobos</div><b>"E.T.A....one minute, 30 seconds and counting."
The computer had a pleasant voice, distinctly feminine with a dulcet tone.
"E.T.A...one minute and counting."
For all anyone knew, the voice could have been an airline attendant cheerfully announcing when their flight would touch down somewhere over Europe or some such tourist attraction. They would be right too. With the exception of the destination that is.
"E.T.A...30 seconds, please brace for impact."
At this point, one would have to agree Europe was most definitely not in the travel itinerary. Or that the pilot was grossly incompetent at landing. In the cold, starry background of space, a bulky dropship quickly adjusted and readjusted its thrusters in accordance with several complex calculations. It's destination was Phaeobos Port, a space station. It was a roughly tubular structure, pinched in the middle with two solar grid arrays on both non-pinched sections. It was not the most pleasant looking structure, one might even go so far as to say it was an eyesore. But years back, there was nothing so beautiful as Phaeobos Port. Its hundreds of shining lights, like beacons defying an eternal night, was a sight to behold. It represented the exploratory spirit of mankind, ever striving to go to the farthest frontiers. It represented his ingenuity, his adaptability, and hardiness. But one day, those hundreds of lights were turned off and thus they remained up to today. It now represented something else entirely...that man was not alone, and he was not liked. That he could not get over his prejudice against his fellow man. That he could not rise above his own greed. That he could not put aside differences for a common cause. Phaeobos port now stood in tribute to another race altogether and to mankind's colossal failure to stand united.
"Impact in 10 seconds...9 seconds...8 seconds..."
The boxy dropship slowed considerably as it reached Phaeobos Port's walls. There were proper docking bays on the station, but were of no use without any crew manning them. Besides, there were other things that would be waiting there anyway. Things to be avoided right now.
"6 seconds...5...4...3...2...1...impact."
The dropship latched onto the side of Phaeobos Port. The thrusters were on minimal power, keeping the ship still. Phaeobos Port's walls stood firm against this pressure. Robotic arms extended from the small dropship and began cutting with expert precision.
"Initiating penetration sequence.... Penetration sequence complete."
The robotic arms began gripping the severed edges of the space station wall and began pulling the dropship inside. Once firmly half-way in, the thrusters cut off. The dropship was now secure and an airtight seal had been established.
Inside the little ship, several red lights came on. The angry glow washed the interior with an eerie atmosphere. After determining the air in the station was sufficient, the computer promptly lapsed into silence. Another voice, much less pleasant, took its place.
"Ramirez! Allenby! Strafer! Mitch! Kaden!"
One by one, the seven men and one woman that comprised this particular TSA Marine strike force floated from their ready rooms and stood at attention. Or at least tried to as well as anyone could in zero g. While technology had reached the level in which artifical gravity generators were more or less commonplace, they still required massive power making them better suited for space stations and much larger ships than this.
As a veteran of more than one zero g fight, Commander Gerald Hayes didn't mind overmuch. For what must have been at least the twentieth time, his flinty gray eyes scanned the troops over.
"All present and accounted for?", he growled.
"Yes sir!" came the prompt reply from his second-in-command, Ramirez.
"Arm yourselves and move out!"
Flak jackets, various machine guns, pistols, grenades, ammo, and other materials were distributed in a quick and orderly fashion. Hayes himself took a light machine gun, shoulder light, a pistol, a flak vest, and some gas grenades. He had plenty of extra ammo, but those would be for the heavy gunners who had enough to carry as it was. The hiss of air escaping made him turn his head around. Strafer was deploying the tensile wires.
Tensile wires were high tension ropes that gave Marines a steady surface to latch on in zero g environments. They shot out from the dropship's forward array and plunged deep into any surface they hit, in this case, the floor of the space station. The Marines held on and dragged themselves hand over hand from the dropship to the floor below.
It was pitch dark within the station and their high powered lights helped the Marines only a little. This room was supposedly Secondary Engineering. There was a musty smell in the air and a sense of staleness... which was good news for the strike force. It was a sign that the enemy had not penetrated this deep yet. The troops spread evenly over the area, weapons held high, using any solid surfaces to push themselves around.
After the all clear signal, Kaden and Allenby immediately glided over to a com panel and began taking it apart.
"Attempting to activate auxillary station power." Kaden announced to no one in particular.
"Sealing extraneous exits." Ramirez added as he kept watch over several welders.
"Deploying automated defense turrets.", came the the last message from Mitch. Along with Commander Hayes, he armed the turrets, situated at the only two unwelded doors, with a generous supply of ammunition.
"All extraneous exits sealed."
"Turrets armed and activated."
The room suddenly flared to life as several light panels came on.
"Activated auxillary power. Establishing gravity field...now."
In gradual increments, the troops felt gravity return. Let it be known that the entire operation took less than one minute. Whatever their shortcomings, the Marines at least had efficiency on their side. Some of the younger soldiers were silently congratulating themselves for securing an area so smoothly. But the older ones knew any celebration at this point was premature. It was best to keep your emotions in check. Especially since the motion detectors were now showing that several large bodies were in rapid motion around the secured room. The enemy was as yet unaware of the intruder's exact location and were still quite a ways off but they were alerted. The Marines had a window of opportunity closing fast. No further time was spent on the room. A light gunner and a scout were in the lead. Four heavy gunners, two armed with flamethrowers, kept a rear guard. The commander roved about the middle and sides with the rest.
The faint smell of wilderness hung about the air as the TSA Marines moved out, heading deeper into enemy territory.</b>
____
Basically I'd like to hear whether or not this sticks reasonably well with NS so far.
The computer had a pleasant voice, distinctly feminine with a dulcet tone.
"E.T.A...one minute and counting."
For all anyone knew, the voice could have been an airline attendant cheerfully announcing when their flight would touch down somewhere over Europe or some such tourist attraction. They would be right too. With the exception of the destination that is.
"E.T.A...30 seconds, please brace for impact."
At this point, one would have to agree Europe was most definitely not in the travel itinerary. Or that the pilot was grossly incompetent at landing. In the cold, starry background of space, a bulky dropship quickly adjusted and readjusted its thrusters in accordance with several complex calculations. It's destination was Phaeobos Port, a space station. It was a roughly tubular structure, pinched in the middle with two solar grid arrays on both non-pinched sections. It was not the most pleasant looking structure, one might even go so far as to say it was an eyesore. But years back, there was nothing so beautiful as Phaeobos Port. Its hundreds of shining lights, like beacons defying an eternal night, was a sight to behold. It represented the exploratory spirit of mankind, ever striving to go to the farthest frontiers. It represented his ingenuity, his adaptability, and hardiness. But one day, those hundreds of lights were turned off and thus they remained up to today. It now represented something else entirely...that man was not alone, and he was not liked. That he could not get over his prejudice against his fellow man. That he could not rise above his own greed. That he could not put aside differences for a common cause. Phaeobos port now stood in tribute to another race altogether and to mankind's colossal failure to stand united.
"Impact in 10 seconds...9 seconds...8 seconds..."
The boxy dropship slowed considerably as it reached Phaeobos Port's walls. There were proper docking bays on the station, but were of no use without any crew manning them. Besides, there were other things that would be waiting there anyway. Things to be avoided right now.
"6 seconds...5...4...3...2...1...impact."
The dropship latched onto the side of Phaeobos Port. The thrusters were on minimal power, keeping the ship still. Phaeobos Port's walls stood firm against this pressure. Robotic arms extended from the small dropship and began cutting with expert precision.
"Initiating penetration sequence.... Penetration sequence complete."
The robotic arms began gripping the severed edges of the space station wall and began pulling the dropship inside. Once firmly half-way in, the thrusters cut off. The dropship was now secure and an airtight seal had been established.
Inside the little ship, several red lights came on. The angry glow washed the interior with an eerie atmosphere. After determining the air in the station was sufficient, the computer promptly lapsed into silence. Another voice, much less pleasant, took its place.
"Ramirez! Allenby! Strafer! Mitch! Kaden!"
One by one, the seven men and one woman that comprised this particular TSA Marine strike force floated from their ready rooms and stood at attention. Or at least tried to as well as anyone could in zero g. While technology had reached the level in which artifical gravity generators were more or less commonplace, they still required massive power making them better suited for space stations and much larger ships than this.
As a veteran of more than one zero g fight, Commander Gerald Hayes didn't mind overmuch. For what must have been at least the twentieth time, his flinty gray eyes scanned the troops over.
"All present and accounted for?", he growled.
"Yes sir!" came the prompt reply from his second-in-command, Ramirez.
"Arm yourselves and move out!"
Flak jackets, various machine guns, pistols, grenades, ammo, and other materials were distributed in a quick and orderly fashion. Hayes himself took a light machine gun, shoulder light, a pistol, a flak vest, and some gas grenades. He had plenty of extra ammo, but those would be for the heavy gunners who had enough to carry as it was. The hiss of air escaping made him turn his head around. Strafer was deploying the tensile wires.
Tensile wires were high tension ropes that gave Marines a steady surface to latch on in zero g environments. They shot out from the dropship's forward array and plunged deep into any surface they hit, in this case, the floor of the space station. The Marines held on and dragged themselves hand over hand from the dropship to the floor below.
It was pitch dark within the station and their high powered lights helped the Marines only a little. This room was supposedly Secondary Engineering. There was a musty smell in the air and a sense of staleness... which was good news for the strike force. It was a sign that the enemy had not penetrated this deep yet. The troops spread evenly over the area, weapons held high, using any solid surfaces to push themselves around.
After the all clear signal, Kaden and Allenby immediately glided over to a com panel and began taking it apart.
"Attempting to activate auxillary station power." Kaden announced to no one in particular.
"Sealing extraneous exits." Ramirez added as he kept watch over several welders.
"Deploying automated defense turrets.", came the the last message from Mitch. Along with Commander Hayes, he armed the turrets, situated at the only two unwelded doors, with a generous supply of ammunition.
"All extraneous exits sealed."
"Turrets armed and activated."
The room suddenly flared to life as several light panels came on.
"Activated auxillary power. Establishing gravity field...now."
In gradual increments, the troops felt gravity return. Let it be known that the entire operation took less than one minute. Whatever their shortcomings, the Marines at least had efficiency on their side. Some of the younger soldiers were silently congratulating themselves for securing an area so smoothly. But the older ones knew any celebration at this point was premature. It was best to keep your emotions in check. Especially since the motion detectors were now showing that several large bodies were in rapid motion around the secured room. The enemy was as yet unaware of the intruder's exact location and were still quite a ways off but they were alerted. The Marines had a window of opportunity closing fast. No further time was spent on the room. A light gunner and a scout were in the lead. Four heavy gunners, two armed with flamethrowers, kept a rear guard. The commander roved about the middle and sides with the rest.
The faint smell of wilderness hung about the air as the TSA Marines moved out, heading deeper into enemy territory.</b>
____
Basically I'd like to hear whether or not this sticks reasonably well with NS so far.
Comments
All my fans, gone. All of my 3 fans, stolen away. Gone! <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->