Caught Unaware (Short Story)

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Source

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The ships alarm blared, as it simultaneously filled the room with a pulsating red glow.

"All hands to their stations!" The captain barked through the intercom.

Thuds along the ground as staff jumped from their beds in haste, scrambling to prepare themselves. Emergency or not, everyone was required to wear their uniforms and look presentable.

"Think this is another drill?" Kearl asked, with the sideways smile he always wore.

"Could be," Gardara replied.

Marching through the halls of the ship, as lines of other staff ran past in order to get to their own stations. The ship shuddered as the floor beneath him shook. He lost his footing and reached for a handrail along the wall. Gardara held himself up, but watched many others fall over each other.

"It's no drill," he said as he looked back at Kearl, who had also managed to stay standing.

Inaudible orders were barked through the intercom. It was drowned out by the emergency sirens. The lights flickered as another blast hit the ship and left even more people staggering.

They made it to the turrets, and already one of the three seats were filled. The Trisken, M'Tyuse N'ag was at his station, gaining a visual on what was attacking them.

"How's the scope going?" Kearl asked.

"Nothing yet,"

Gardara jumped into his seat, and got his hands on the turret controls. He saw on the targeting screen and could see a ship. "Must be fighters, sensors have a lock on a frigate on the starboard bow. They can't possibly be in range at that distance."

"Kinetic cannons with a well placed shot." Kearl said distantly as he studied his own monitor.

"A punch like that on a small vessel? I don't think so," Gardara said, almost as if speaking to himself.

As he continued to inspect the large monitor in front of him he saw a fight zip passed the screen. He moved his turret as fast as he could, but it was too slow. "Fighters, I just saw one!"

M'Tyuse N'ag grabbed his com-link and raised it to his mouth. "We got fighters, Gardara just had visual. We're too slow to get a lock on them, these ones are on you lot."

The signal was dead for a moment, before an audio spike was heard. "Bigger isn't always better I see," there was some garbled laughter. "Okay, we got you covered, just keep your sights on the cruiser and frigate."

"What cruiser? We don't have a visual."

"It's coming up behind the frigate, we're reading its presence on our scopes but we can't see it."

M'Tyuse N'ag gave a sideways glance to Gardara, and then looked over at Kearl as he placed his com-link down and grabbed the turret controls once more, with both hands.

Gardara stared at the frigate, waiting to see something in the distance, but it was just dark. The blackness of space helped to hide it, but it was out there if the gunner was to be believed.

Another flash of a fighter was caught on screen, and then a glowing shimmer of blue light. Another impact rocked the ship. The lights of the screen flickered and went dead. They soon returned once more, and there was just enough time to see the outline of a large ship in the distance. Beyond the cruiser was a monster, hanging ominously in the distance.

"How are we supposed to take that on?" Gardara asked.

"Enough of that talk, you just maintained a visual and get ready to fire on my command." M'Tyuse N'ag responded.

The outline grew in the distance, until it finally showed itself. It was a Gnosian cruiser; big, ugly, and the embodiment of terror. Gnosians built their ships to resemble themselves in a way. Hard skin, and a powerful bit. Slow and lumbering, but dangerous when provoked.

"What are Gnosians doing this far into Free Space?!" Kearl howled as he stared stunned at his monitor.

Lazar fire from the small guns erupted, and seemed to go in all directions at once. An explosion off screen lit up Gardara's monitor, and all he could see was debris from it rain down against the ship. Simultaneously knocks against the hull of the ship echoed over the noise from within.

It wasn't long before the fighters assembled, and flew in formation away from the ship and back to their own.

"So ends the skirmish," M'Tyuse N'ag said, as he let out a deflated sigh and sat back in his chair.