Deep Space
Uhlek Badlands
ISS Negelle
“Kavavusss—down angle forty-five on the bow planes!” barked Commander Gallryss, acting in place of ISS Negelle’s slain captain. Heavily damaged, the deep-space carrack jerked down and away from the path of another plasma spread.
“Ghosts, my ass,” cursed Gallryss, wiping sweat from his green scaled face. These weren’t the shiftless Uhlek drifters rumored to secret across the outward reaches, they were fox hounds on a blood hunt. Gallryss eyed his tactical console and issued a terse order for more evasive rudder work and a volley of laser fire.
Nine hours earlier, Negelle had been tracking a peculiar fleet of Leghk ships following the lead of a G’Nunk warship headed into the heart of the Uhlek Badlands. As they neared a cluster of stars along meridian 010, Negelle lost contact as her quarry slipped into a raging gravity distortion that blanketed the cluster. Several hours of searching were rewarded with reestablished contact, but this time there was a new variable: the G’Nunk and their Leghk slave sentries were bearing down on a small Thrynn high seas frigate…
Uhlek Badlands
10,112
Thrynn Frigate Jussru
Hours Earlier
“Contact,” said the helmsman, working in the dim bridge light, “bearing zero-niner-zero mark two five.” Jussru was making its initial approach to the star system at 12, 112 in hopes of tracking down ISS Belfast Windfall. Encountering anyone this far outward was unexpected.
“Identify,” snapped Colonel Venn’Bk, his voice heavy with annoyance at this latest distraction from the hunt. The science officer manipulated her instruments and presented a report.
“Sssixteen Uhlek vesselss. One G’Nunk vesssel.” The last statement caught Venn’Bk’s interest and he walked to the tactical officer’s console where he scanned the display. The Thrynn colonel broke a thin, clammy sweat.
“Captain Rssa,” said the colonel, his voice carrying the slightest edge. “The Uhlek vessels are in formation.” Rssa froze. Suddenly, he could taste dry fear at the back of his mouth. After the destruction of the brainworld in 4620, the Uhlek were seldom seen, and when they were, it was in seeming herds. Before 4620, the slave sentries moved in incredibly tight formations that tore through intruding vessels like pirhanas on cattle.
Captain Rssa walked slowly to stand by Venn’Bk at the tactical display. The Uhlek ships weren’t attacking the G’Nunk ship. But they were in formation. There was precisely one form of life that Uhlek in formation wouldn’t ruthlessly attack. The thought of that kind of life some how in symphony wit the G’Nunk sent Rssa’s mind swimming. The captain gave his order:
“Engineering, reroute uncommitted and sssecondary priority power to propulsion; sssound general quarters.” As the executive officer repeated the command and the klaxons came to life, Rssa looked down at his tactical display for somewhere to hide. There was a cloud of stellar dust and debris within sprinting range. “Helm, new course: come right, bearing zero eight-two…”
Deep Space
Uhlek Badlands
G'Nunk Warship Regepple
The riptide gasses parted momentarily as Regepple and its Uhlek escorts plowed into a stellar dust cloud at the outward reaches of the Badlands. Their last victim had been a Spemin ship. Disappointed at the “g’noon slugs’” apparent unwillingness to spar, Dozelord Gannuzo looked with little enthusiasm as the new blip on the hunting display.
But this was something new altogether.
“Legendary in their tenacity,” marveled Dozelord Gannuzo, rubbing two bionic appendages in newfound glee.
“Legends!” screeched Subdozelord Binolio.
“Unmatched in their ferocity,” Gannuzo continued, “supreme in their guile!” A picture of a wounded Thrynn frigate blinked onto the screen. “Against their skill, we shall reaffirm that we are G’Nunk, children of G’Naen Shgar, she/it who watches!”
“We shall reaff—“
“Silence!” shouted Gannuzo, lobbing a poison dart in the direction of his cooing subordinate. It was clear from the tactical display that the Thrynn vessel was heading for the gas patch just outside the nearby star system. “They seek advantage in the stellar murk,” opined the dozelord, uselessly addressing his comments to Binolio, who was by this time writhing in the convulsions of Glonermi’s Influenza. Gannuzo ordered Regepple on an intercept course and the Uhlek, mesmerized by the dark lightning held captive on the G’Nunk warship, followed closely.
The riptide gasses parted momentarily as Regepple and its Uhlek escorts plowed into a stellar dust cloud at the outward reaches of the Badlands. Their last victim had been a Spemin ship. Disappointed at the “g’noon slugs’” apparent unwillingness to spar, Dozelord Gannuzo looked with little enthusiasm as the new blip on the hunting display.
But this was something new altogether.
“Legendary in their tenacity,” marveled Dozelord Gannuzo, rubbing two bionic appendages in newfound glee.
“Legends!” screeched Subdozelord Binolio.
“Unmatched in their ferocity,” Gannuzo continued, “supreme in their guile!” A picture of a wounded Thrynn frigate blinked onto the screen. “Against their skill, we shall reaffirm that we are G’Nunk, children of G’Naen Shgar, she/it who watches!”
“We shall reaff—“
“Silence!” shouted Gannuzo, lobbing a poison dart in the direction of his cooing subordinate. It was clear from the tactical display that the Thrynn vessel was heading for the gas patch just outside the nearby star system. “They seek advantage in the stellar murk,” opined the dozelord, uselessly addressing his comments to Binolio, who was by this time writhing in the convulsions of Glonermi’s Influenza. Gannuzo ordered Regepple on an intercept course and the Uhlek, mesmerized by the dark lightning held captive on the G’Nunk warship, followed closely.
Through the choppy space clouds, Regepple hunted Jussru as it wound through asteroid flurries and rode waves of supercharged gas like a motor boat at the mouth of a bottlenecked river. Despite its damage, the lithe Thrynn frigate elusive, always managing to stay a few kilometers beyond the reach of its pursuers. One mistake was enough, though, and when the helmsman on Jussru misjudged the direction of a slipstream, one of Regepple’s missiles managed a near miss that sent the frigate careening. Regepple and its hordes of slave sentries were about to pounce when a new pair of dice rolled haphazardly into the game.
ISS Negelle rocketed out of the haze and loosed a spread of plasma fire in the direction of the pursuers. That gave Jussru just enough play to squeeze out of checkmate. Three minutes later, Regepple was chasing two targets, Captain Puller’s dead body was cooling on Negelle’s bridge, and a warrant ensign named Kanavus was too busy to wonder if he’d ever make it home.
“Ghosts, my ass,” muttered Gallryss…
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Next: “Sleepers”