A Shape For Things To Come
Nathanael_UK
Join Date: 2003-10-18 Member: 21761Members
Join Date: 2003-10-18 Member: 21761Members
<div class="IPBDescription">How the TSA started</div> So far I have written two chapters, the first one may be a little stupid. Read and review.
I'll be releasing chapters every day.
<u><b>Chapter 1: No Warning</b></u>
The merchantman Sharprunner was a large cargo ship. It did a brisk business bringing food from Ariadne V and Jupiter's moon, Europa. However it would be unable to do anything against this particular attack, the planned offensive. The captain was inclined to do a dirty deal to get more money and today was such a day, he had 9 Light Machine Guns for selling to indepedent smugglers on Ariadne.
The journey was near to Ariadne when the trouble began. First there were anomalies in the sensors, large objects, moving towards the Sharprunner, first they were thought of as asteroids and then debris and finally wonder came upon the crew. The anomalies were invisible, but space itself seemed warped around where they were meant to be, long points ran out of some of the anomalies and some appeared to be...there was a feeling of terror.
Then more trouble came, invisible objects started striking the Sharprunner. Crew members called them 'spikes' and 'knife' objects that pummeled the freighter and gradually started to penetrate the armor. At this the captain sent out a SOS, but it wouldn't send and the ship seemed to be blocked by invisible things.
Finally the captain ordered the chaingun turrets to open fire. The terrified crew rushed to man the three guns, they were sure this would save them. The chainguns opened up at the object in front, to the horror of all the bullets showed an, organic wall that vibrated and emitted a high pitch as it was fired on. Now the ship saw the full extent of its troubles, rotating spiked balls hung around them and curved organisms that seemed to bounce their own radar back.
The chainguns fired madly at incoming spikes tearing apart some of them, but bouncing off others. The one-sided war continued, weird ships flew up to the turrets with acid blasts that seemed to rend the turrets open to the vacuum. One by one the turrets went out of action before the sensor array started getting hit. The crew sat in the ship in fear and terror they banged on the walls and walked around with pistols and guns.
The captain distributed the cargo, the LMG's and they got ready to defend themselves from these interstellar pirates. The first sign of a landing was the gradual loss of power to several sectors resulting in cameras being shut off, these areas quickly lost contact and the only people to return were stark, raving mad, their hair streaming and eyes bloodshot.
The crew retreated to the bridge welding the doors closed and watched them ceaselessly, unknown to them they were also being watched. Dog-like creatures crept silently through the vents to get into positions, they were translucent with fluctuating outlines. The attack came from behind, the crew fought bravely, but they were fighting a foe a thousands times their age and they had become intelligent... <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
I'll be releasing chapters every day.
<u><b>Chapter 1: No Warning</b></u>
The merchantman Sharprunner was a large cargo ship. It did a brisk business bringing food from Ariadne V and Jupiter's moon, Europa. However it would be unable to do anything against this particular attack, the planned offensive. The captain was inclined to do a dirty deal to get more money and today was such a day, he had 9 Light Machine Guns for selling to indepedent smugglers on Ariadne.
The journey was near to Ariadne when the trouble began. First there were anomalies in the sensors, large objects, moving towards the Sharprunner, first they were thought of as asteroids and then debris and finally wonder came upon the crew. The anomalies were invisible, but space itself seemed warped around where they were meant to be, long points ran out of some of the anomalies and some appeared to be...there was a feeling of terror.
Then more trouble came, invisible objects started striking the Sharprunner. Crew members called them 'spikes' and 'knife' objects that pummeled the freighter and gradually started to penetrate the armor. At this the captain sent out a SOS, but it wouldn't send and the ship seemed to be blocked by invisible things.
Finally the captain ordered the chaingun turrets to open fire. The terrified crew rushed to man the three guns, they were sure this would save them. The chainguns opened up at the object in front, to the horror of all the bullets showed an, organic wall that vibrated and emitted a high pitch as it was fired on. Now the ship saw the full extent of its troubles, rotating spiked balls hung around them and curved organisms that seemed to bounce their own radar back.
The chainguns fired madly at incoming spikes tearing apart some of them, but bouncing off others. The one-sided war continued, weird ships flew up to the turrets with acid blasts that seemed to rend the turrets open to the vacuum. One by one the turrets went out of action before the sensor array started getting hit. The crew sat in the ship in fear and terror they banged on the walls and walked around with pistols and guns.
The captain distributed the cargo, the LMG's and they got ready to defend themselves from these interstellar pirates. The first sign of a landing was the gradual loss of power to several sectors resulting in cameras being shut off, these areas quickly lost contact and the only people to return were stark, raving mad, their hair streaming and eyes bloodshot.
The crew retreated to the bridge welding the doors closed and watched them ceaselessly, unknown to them they were also being watched. Dog-like creatures crept silently through the vents to get into positions, they were translucent with fluctuating outlines. The attack came from behind, the crew fought bravely, but they were fighting a foe a thousands times their age and they had become intelligent... <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
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The Grand Senate Hall on Sol was packed with delegates from all over the human world. They were all different, the Mars delegation, called the Martians had darker skin and their eyes were not suited to bright daylight. The Venusians had red skin, but their eyes were extremely suited to working in bright conditions. Each had changed according to their enviroment.
A sniper looked down on the proceedings. Its orders were clear and it would carry them out, the human was on a job. A fierce debate was going on in the Hall, each delegation using amplified loudspeakers to pronounce its view, all of Sol's interests were here.
Some of the senators wore quite garish clothing, mixes of the colors of the rainbow were represented, mainly by the cold, dark planets. By contrast the Mercurians and the Venusians wore light clothes, shades of yellow and white formed in a toga shape and pinned with a brooch at the shoulder.
The main topic could be heard over the secondary topics as people argued and shouted and rose and fell. A quick glance at the bulletin board showed the topics for the day as well as the rooms for the evidence, the recording on the Mongolian mine planet and the Sharprunner audio log. This topic had been going on for well over a week, which was regarded as a long time, the Mars-Saturn tax agreement had only been on for 6 days.
A fear was over the plush senators who came here to do their service, their six months in politics before they returned to their home planets to rule and govern. The more affected areas had been voicing that the human army should go and wipe out the 'Kharaa' as they had been coined. But the richer places were reluctant to part with any money required to finance such an operation even with such threat on their borders, it was faintly depressing to hear the Earth and Mars consortium arguing against the deaths saying that it happened every century or so and they would not fund a fool's errand.
Armored Marines stood watching the proceedings, they tried to stay invisible acting as a hidden deterrent with LMG's and pistols with their safeties off. These guards were trained fighters and could put down most inserrections. But many parties disliked the way these talks were going and wanted to put a stop to them, in the recesses above shadows were lurking.
The group moving quickly past the fallen guard, a little bit of poison could go a long way to averting a war and they knew it. So far they hadn't been troubled too much, one man had been shot, but the guard got a knife in the throat for his troubles. The injured assassin had tried to limp on, but had been shot by them to keep their errand secret. The leader noticed a long shadow, he reached down and unclipped a silent fragmentation grenade, this was going to take some time.
"Fellow Senators, we must react to this attack, this offensive on Sol's interests," the crowd murmured its support for the dark-haired Plutoian ambassador, "We must resist this offensive and work out what is causing it!" The crowd clapped its approval before mentally raising the case for war up a notch, "For this, men will say we need will money," the crowd looked up waiting for a good case, "We must..."
The sniper activated the zoom, the ambassador must fall before he could cause anymore trouble, around the deserted viewing bays snipers were getting ready.
"Form a group."
The rifle scanned, it's invisible laser beam tracing out where the gun was aiming.
"From one that already exists."
There was the annoying one, the one they'd been sent to get rid of as the man had said.
"A group of soldiers."
The power meter slowly rose.
"Dedicated to stopping this menace."
The rifle made a barely audible ping as the power reached 'FRAG'.
"And supplied."
The heat-seeking got a lock on the target.
"By the best Terra can offer."
Get ready, only one chance.
The crowd clapped as the man got his notes together.
BANG!
Screaming erupted in the Senate Hall as the ambassador collapsed to the floor, neat holes through his head and neck. The Marines ran for the podium their guns scanning for the intruders, the perpetrators of this act of violence. The heat-seeking cannon pinged on a source, "Viewing Platforms!" the officer said in surprise, "We had guys up there." "Blow the terrorists away."
The siege cannon was a brainchild of one of the greatest humans to have existed in the last century, Robert Zunus. The shot went through walls and air to land almost direct hits on buildings and to some extent lately, weapons with an unusual power surge. The cannon swivelled on its axis to aim upwards and fired its sonic blasts.
The snipers started running, hardly any of them were expected to get out, but rich rewards were coming for those who did. The human grabbed a metal rope and threw it out of one of the back windows, which we kicked out with his armored boot. His gun exploded upstairs as the cannon wiped out the place where he had been, he could hear screams and explosions. Then the rope started falling, he looked up to see the window sill collapsing and tons of masonry coming down on him, he triggered his jetpack trying to escape. The cannon fired again at a new blip...
P.s: Thanx for the replies