Storm on the Horizon

Author: Paintchk

Original post: https://retribution1.blogspot.com/2012/12/storm-on-horizon.html

Entry for the YC114 Pod and Planet Fiction Contest in the Eight Thousand Suns in New Eden category.

The shuttle came out of warp and arrived at his destination after a long journey. The station lay ahead and the patrols of Sansha ships flew around the station and scattered about throughout space. The system was under heavy attack by the Sansha and the Capsuleers were nowhere to be seen. The Sansha were having a field day with the system and nearest planet was set ablaze by the ongoing ground operation.
The shuttle was targeted by all of them at the same time a few of them accelerated to the ship on a intercept course. The pilot heart pulsed for a moment thinking something was wrong.. The shuttle continued its course knowing they won't attack. The pilot was hailed and he showed them the information they needed. The shuttle docked without problems yet he bared witness to the destruction and horrors the Sansha soldiers have commented. The survivors of the attack were being rallied up and being prep for their journey to Sansha facility's, or worst. The Capsuleer stepped out of his ship and five Sansha troops had their weapons leveled ready to kill the Capsuleer without hesitation. Behind them a tall man in a dark uniform walked up behind the troops. He was pale, as most Sansha were, with scars across his face and a synthetic right eye. His medals shined from the lights and fires all around as he walked pass his troops and slowed his pace as he got closer to the hooded Capsuleer. The Officer was about to say something when a loud voice boomed behind him that made him jump, while the Sansha troops remained perfectly still. "He's clear to enter." A man with common cloths walked fast to the Officer with two heavily armed guards matching his speed. "You’re needed in Hanger 4. Go, all of you!." The Officer and the five troops left without question. "Apology's. Commanding this Incursion is harder than I thought it would be." The man looked at the Capsuleer waiting for a response, but the hooded pilot stared right back at him." Walk with me and we can talk business." The Capsuleer followed remaining perfectly silent while observing his surrounds, taking note of the Sansha and their ways.

Hanger

 The young girl held her mother’s hand tightly as she could. She was shaking and holding back her tears as her mother kept telling her to 'stay strong.’ The little girl glanced at the Sansha soldiers who stood guard around the line of survivors as they were being huddled to the transports. She watched as friends and strangers were herded away begging, crying, and bleeding, trying to cling on to love ones like herself.  She looked across the hanger to see the Capsuleer who looked directly at her as he continued to observe his surroundings.. The Capsuleer gave her a nod which gave her a small bit of hope....Yet didn't last long as the Sansha troops grabbed her mother and yanked her away to another line. The girl and mother screamed for each other as they were separated. The girl looked to her mother and swung back to the Capsuleer, but he dare not look back.

The Capsuleer and the man with his two guards walked along the corridors of the station. Shots were being fired across the station as the Sansha were 'cleaning' the station as the man put. The Capsuleer figured out that this man was a agent for the Sansha. If he was being controlled or not he couldn't tell but his actions were the same nonetheless and this system was in an free fall. "My Master has been waiting for this for some time. WE all have." He said turning to face the Capsuleer. "It has cost us much and put my alliance at risk. These plans better be worth it." The Capsuleer broke out. His voice was rough and deep yet almost synthetic the Agent thought. "Of course. You will be greatly benefited and your standings with us will improve greatly. Everything will be worth it. You Capsuleers little Incarna age has ended and with the riots over, you are all looking for a little extra cash." They entered the observation deck with a full view of the planet. The systems security fleet had arrived and was fighting the Sansha as best as they could, yet there efforts were useless. The Agent told his guards to leave them and they followed. The Capsuleer watch the ongoing battle and in his head he was telling himself what he would do in order to win this fight. The Agent turned to face when one of the battleships exploded in a ball of fire. The Sansha ships continued to ravage the security fleet as the planet behind them continued to burn. "So....what’s it going to be?" The Agent said clapping his hands.

Planet side.

The Sansha ground army continued their harvest of the planet meeting some but little resistance. The Sansha ships hovered all across the sky and a majority of their fleet was in orbit. Some ships were lifting people into their cargo holds for departure. The ground troops had order to kill or capture survivors of the attack.

The man carried a wounded boy in his arms away from the nearby massacre. Blood soaked, the boy was barely hanging on but the man told the boy to 'stay strong'. The man knew a place were he could help the boy and stay safe till help, if it ever came, arrived. After walking for hours he came across a small farm. He rushed inside and was able to help the boy. He would live but he needed a hospital for more his major injury's. The man took a breath and looked up into the sky, trying to look past the Sansha ships into space telling himself "Help has to come. Please." He was about to go back inside, when a explosion threw him against a wall knocking him unconscious.

Station The Capsuleer continued to look at the planet while the Agent continued to talk. "These plans and what we've gathered here can prove vital to our success and to let the Universe and the Capsuleer Alliances know that the Sansha are here to stay. We could.." "Stop talking like you will dominate the Universe. Your faction is strong, but pushing the borders of Capsuleers is another. Many have done this before and we have our moments of weakness but we control our own fate. “The Capsuleer turned at the last sentence and sat down and pulled out a datapad and handed it to the Agent. The Agent studied the information making sure it was he, or what his 'master' required. The information checked out. "I'll give you 10 billion for it." The Agent said. The Capsuleer grinned with anger and wanted to strangle the life out of him but he was too close. Too close for irrational actions. He took a breath. "30. This information cost me more than you can ever imagine." The Agent studied the Capsuleer. Another security battleship exploded, lighting up the room. The thud of the explosion soon followed. The Capsuleer kept his stance. The Agent got up and walked around the deck. He opened up a comm. "Is the Crucible ready?" He waited for the reply and soon got it. He closed the comm. Everything was in play and he and the Capsuleer could walk out rich men, or a dead men. The Capsuleer took note of his action. The Agent turned and opened his mouth.

Planet side.

With a hit the man woke up to find Sansha troops all around him. He and the other survivors had been captured and all hope seemed to have drained from him. Where the boy was, he did not know. Only hoping his death was quick or that he had managed to hide. Down the line a shot was fired. The Sansha were executing the survivors. Some people began to cry, scream for help or mercy but it was pointless at this point. The man felt his life had already left him. He didn't cry. There was no point. All he could do was accept his fate. A Sansha transport landed not far from them as more troops got off to search the area. He looked up to the sky thinking that someone would come but it was met with the Sansha fleet flying overhead in orbit. He looked down and waited for his time. The sun, was raising.

Station

"Fine. Now give me my ISK." The Capsuleer had, had enough of the Agents bullshit and just wanted to move on. Never to see him or the Sansha again. "Very well." The Agent took the files and pulled out his data pad and transferred the money. "I hope we can..." He looked outside and saw a red light in the far distance. The Capsuleer turned around to look as well. The Agent went to the console and brought up the optimal zoom controls and zoomed on the ship. In a instant, the dark emptiness of space became a light show of red flash's.

The Capsuleer Fleet had arrived. From the unknown, hundreds of ships came pouring threw the cyno field. Before the Sansha Fleet could react, they were taking losses. The space between the two fleets swarms of missiles and drones flew to the Sansha Fleet. The two fleets collided. The fight for this system had begun.

Hanger.

The girl was next on the transport ship. She witness one of her close friends be thrown into the ship. Her screams still echo in her head. Death and fear clawed at the girl, but she looked everywhere for anything to comfort her. She turned around to see if she can see her mother but she was lost in the crowd or possibly on the last transport. The girl looked across the hanger to where the Capsuleer once stood. The one bit of hope wasn't there. The girl felt let crying but she held her tears in. The hanger doors opened for the transport ships. One left while one entered. It was hers no doubt about it. She starred into open space but she could see a white dot not far off the station. "What is that?" She said to herself. In a moment, the dark space around it light it in red flash's that let up the hanger. Help had arrived.

Space.

The new Destroyers, the Talwars, Dragoons, Coraxs , and the Algos, flew towards the Sansha fleet with pure anger in the Capsuleers heart. In minutes both fleets were in a tangle in close combat while many other ships kept their distance and fired volley after volley of rockets or lasers. Another wave of ships poured through the cyno field but avoiding the conflict. As more threw to engage a large portion of the fleet warped to the planet along with war barges. More Sansha ships arrived to asset.

The Sansha Fleet in orbit hadn't realized what was happening near the station. They continued their harvest as ordered. As few ship prepared to leave, when a barrage of rockets and missiles struck many of the ships ripping them apart. Causing a majority to explode or veer off colliding with other ships. Before they could react another volley hit the massive fleet destroying even more. During harvest the Sanshas lower their shields and remove portions of their interior to make more space for the harvest making them more vulnerable. The Capsuleer fleet broke off into two groups. One keeping their distance while the other smashed into the fleet itself. A small portion broke off from the fight, mostly the war barges, kept their distance and started their operation. Their cargo holds opened up and from the inside, swarms of command ships, fighters, and bombers flew out of ship towards the planet. The Fighters kept any drones or lone Sansha Fighters away from the command ships while Bombers fired their missiles at the exposed Sansha ships.

Planet side Another shot was fired. The cry and pleads was getting more and more quiet. The man looked at the ground thinking he is in another place. Three people down, a woman begged for her life as she told the troop she had a family. Two children and that she was--Bang. The Sansha troop continued. The man looked at the transport in the distance. Bang. The man looked at the sun. It had raised a fair bit since he last looked at it. Bang. His turn was next. His heart was beating out of his chest. The troop faced him. The man looked back at the monster. He wasn't afraid and was ready. The troop raised his weapon. The man looked into the sky one last time. Bang. Then a loud explosion and bright light lit up the sky. The Sansha troops looked up to witness one of their ships hurdle in a ball of fire from space. Other pieces of ships fell from the sky in balls of fire. Above everyone could see the ongoing battle. The Fleet was being ripped apart, but from what they couldn't tell. The Sansha troops ran for their transport. In the distance more explosions can be heard. Fighters were swooping in from the sky clearing the skies of much of the Sansha air support. The Bombers soon followed bombarding the city and surrounding areas. The ground shook violently. The Sansha transport slowly hovered off the ground. The man looked up to the sky and from the gray clouds came hundreds of Command ships. As they slowed their decent their hanger doors opened and wave apon wave of transport ships flew out of the command ships. From the underbelly of the command ship puffs of smoke could be seen.

The man crawled his way out of danger as the Sansha troops were arguing what to do. The transport ship was about to take off when it exploded in two. Three more explosions happened around. The dust was thick but cleared up slowly. The Sansha troops slowly advance to the down transport ship. From the fire a tall dark figure emerged from it. They unknown man walked into the open with a mini gun in with right hand. The Sansha troops looked stunned at this when two troops in the back were struck in the heads. The rest turn to see what happen when one of them was riddled with bullets. The Sansha troops open fired in the direction it came. The man from the fire leveled his weapon and fired into the crowd of Sansha. The man crawled away as fast as he could while dodging the oncoming fire. One of the Sansha troops fell on him and his weapon smacked the man’s head.

Station.

The Agent looked in shock at the site of the battle. He checked to see how many Capsuleers have entered. It was spiking at around five hundred pilots and growing. The Escalation of the battle had the Sansha command in disarray. "This can't be happening. This is too soon. Too quick we're usually ready for them but..but.." The Agent hands were shaking and trying to figure out what to do. How their cyno jammer was down. In a blind order he ordered two fleets be converted to the station. "Do it now dammit!!" He yelled at the commanders. He opened up another comm. "Get the 'Crucible' to my ship. We can't risk it falling into--" The console was shot. The Agent turned pulling out his pistol to shoot his opponent when the Capsuleer grabbed his arm and stabbed the Agent in the gut. The Capsuleer smiled at the man. He yanked his pistol away and let the Agent drop to his knees holding the knife. "B-But…." "You think I would help you? You think I would turn against my whole Alliance? Let this system become a Inferno at the hands of the Sansha? My friend you think you know everything about the Capsuleers. We may be Immortal but we still have some human in us. There are those out there that would disagree, but those pilots are already died inside thinking that whatever they do will never affect them. Even if it means burning a whole system. But that is wrong my friend. Eventually we will hunt them down and deliver justice. As for your faction 'Agent' you time is up. You think you’re a monster?" The Capsuleer lowered his hood. His head was a mixture of metal plates, tubes, synthetic eyes, implants and other devices Capsuleers use. "We are the monsters Agent. Unlike you. A single bullet can stop you, but we just keep coming no matter what." The Capsuleer raised his pistol. "This is our RETRIBUTION!!" Bang. The Agent body fell to the floor. His blood splatted all over the window. The Capsuleer looked at the Agent then glanced at the ongoing battle. He left the room not looking back know he would never return to this station or system again.

Planet side.

The man woke up hearing explosions near and far. The weight of the dead Sansha troop made it difficult to breathe. He was tired and barely had the energy to move. He looked around to see if his saviors were close. They were. They were helping the remaining survivors while one with a shotgun finished one of the Sansha troops. The man became fully awake and attempted to push the dead troop off him but then a large hand grabbed it and threw it off him. "Medic" The large man said. The man fell asleep. He awoke against a wall with bandages across him chest. He shook his head and looked around. There were armed soldiers in gray armor. Some stood guard while others talked to one another. Their medic walked bye and the man reached over. "Hey wait." The man pleaded. "Will get you out of here as soon as we can sir. Try not to move too much." The medic said. "No, no, no. There was boy in the building. Is he okay? He is about--" The man was tearing up. "He's fine. He hid behind some supply crates and covered up during the attack. He's still inside but we are treating his wounds now. He'll pull threw at this rate." Tears rolled down the man’s eyes like a river. "Yes. Thank you." The man said. "Don't mention it." The medic said. The medic got up and was about to walk away when the man asked. "Who are you guys?" "Dust 514. We're here to help." The medic left. The man laded back against the wall. He looked across the plains and saw twenty or so Command ships hovering across the sky and ongoing battles between the Dust units and the Sansha raging on. He looked at the sun as it shined threw the smoke clouds warming he air around him. He looked up to see the clear sky. He could see small flashes of yellow and blue as the battle raged on in space. The man could finally relax knowing help was finally here for him and boy.

Hanger.

As the Sansha rushed as many people as they could into the transport the girl made a break for as many did dodging gun fire from the Sansha. A few souls found some weapons and fired back. The girl ran behind some crates covering her ears. She looked for her mother calling her name as loud as she could. As the fire fight continued. Outside the station fighters and drones fought one another. A war barge hugged the station, letting transport ships into the station. As the transport ships landed the Dust soldiers joined the battle. A few destroyers docked as well for repairs but a few Capsuleers left their ships and joined the fight with their crews assisting them. The girl closed her eyes still calling her mother. Suddenly she was grabbed by the arm by a Sansha officer. He used her as a shield. He moved his way away from the fight. Safe, he dragged the girl away from the fight. She begged to let her go but the man ignored her. After awhile of walking, they arrived at shuttle. The Officer threw the girl to the side slamming her into a wall. The Officer continued to the shuttle. The girl got up and watched the man walk to the shuttle. As the doors for the shuttle opened up the shuttle exploded sending him and a majority of the loss objects flying. The Officer slammed landed not far from the girl. He slowly stood up. His uniform was smoldering from the blast. From behind a hooded man attack him with a blade. The Officer dodged it and threw a series of punches. The man dodged a few but some connected. The man threw a combination back but did nothing to the Officer. The Officer punched the man pushing him away. The hooded man dropped his blade in the process. The man struck with more combos but again failed to any damage. The Officer grabbed the man and slammed him to the ground kicking up dust. Followed by a kick to the side the man slide a few feet away. The Officer picked up the blade and walked to the hooded man. The man slowly rose. The Officer laughed but his joy was short lived as the man pulled out a pistol and shot the officer the head. The Officer fell. The hooded man walked over to him and fired once more just to be safe. He searched the Officer and stuffed a few things in his pocket. The man looked over to the girl and rushed to her aid. The girl blacked up.

The Capsuleer carried the girl to the nearest aid station. The medic took care of her then and he took the medic who saved her. The Capsuleer boarded his shuttle and left the station. Flying past the battle. Two Sansha fleets had arrived with a Sansha Revenant aiding them. Who would win the battle he did not know, nor cared at this point. The Capsuleer inserted a disk into the console of the ship.
"I got it. Told you I would." He said to someone over a comm channel.
"Yes, he was killed in the process-----The fleet is engaging as we speak. It will only be a matter of time before more come to help-----We can start construction soon once we analyze the data.------Better safe than sorry. We don't know what we have here." A hologram of a long spike ship with a dome at the front of it appeared.
"A new titan could change everything. Let’s hope this wasn't a waste."
The shuttle accelerated into warp and the Capsuleer was never seen or heard from again.

4 Days later.

At a hospital, 10 systems away from the fighting a girl and mother were reunited, a boy and father recovered from their wounds and a family were reunited.