Inner Turmoil

[Sedodes]

The original Slylendro probe, damaged in battle and lacking the resources to make repairs, tumbles blind and deaf throughout the quadrant.  All but its emergency power drained, it appears now as little more than easy RUs -- the perfect target for a wayward and opportunistic Druuge Mauler, the "Plunderer."

Once aboard, the probe is hastily secured in the corner of the aft cargo bay among other scraps and ship parts and forgotten about for weeks as the Mauler plunders and hides, quickly filling its holds.  What everyone aboard fails to see is that the once-seemingly-dead probe has been slowly feeding on the Plunderer's power and cargo, having returned to full functionality.

Mere hours from arrival at Crimson Corp. headquarters and deep within Druuge space the Plunderer transmits an emergency distress signal which is promptly interrupted as the Mauler bursts forth, scattering Druuge bodies into cold, dead space -- where they're quickly snatched by either of the TWO fully functional Slylendro Probes milling about in furious competition to assimilate more resources.

hours later, as a small Mauler squadron appears where the Plunderer last signaled from, there is nothing to be found except an ion trail...

[Eth]

  Master 46 hung slackly from his bars, dangling over the controls of his rather dilapidated Dreadnought.  Parts were in short supply due to the labor shortage, and Master 46's career was generally regarded to have peaked out decades before.  Once, he had been Master 6.  Now, he had been supplanted by younger, more energetic Kzer-Za.  That, and the debacle at Gamma Saurus.  The lost of an entire Planetary Siege Task Force there had not really been his fault, but he had taken the fall nonetheless.  He had fallen by thirty ranks in a single day. 

  Now, he barely ranked high enough to command a Dreadnought patrolling the borders of the Ur-Quan sphere of influence near Druuge space, a backwater if ever there was one.  New opportunities had opened up with the reassumption of hyperspace travel, but none of the opportunities seemed to be available to Master 46, and he was just so damned tired... 

[Sage]

Aboard a Mycon Podship
Approximate Hyperspace Coordinates: 685.3 : 222.8

Flupp breathes out a cloud of spores. New life takes root in the decay. Dugee, the purity monitor takes hold of another nearby Mycon, and sets to work on selecting which buds must be eliminated. In minutes, the task is complete. New, adult Mycon come to awareness and move along to exert the will of Juffo-Wup. Perfection.

Turning to other duties, Flupp checks the Podship's location in Hyperspace. It notes that their journey to the star known to Humans as "Alpha Arianni" is nearing the halfway point. Its mission there will be to implant a Deep Child into a new world. While this is not the perfectly ideal world for such attention, Flupp does not question the will of Juffo-Wup, it only obeys. Flupp reasons* that this will become a new breeding ground for Mycon, to help regain lost population in the wake of Zelnick's treachery.

Before Flupp turns away from the "console" to relax in a pool of lava, the Podship's sensors detect something. The Hyperspace signature of a ship is seen tumbling through space at a much higher rate than Flupp's Podship. Within seconds, the ship recognizes the Podship and homes in on its location. When the gravity fields of both ships interfere with one another, the two ships are pulled down into Truespace.

Now fully able to see the interloping ship, Flupp does not recognize this vessel. It assumes that this must be a Non, but opens a channel of communication with it to learn more before taking any more action.

Flupp:

Non:

Flupp:

Non:

Flupp:


With that ever-important dialogue out of the way, the two ships break communications and begin combat!

The ships emerge into the battlefield as far away as they possibly could while remaining in range. Flupp unleashes a plasmoid, which begins lurching toward the quickly incoming Probe. Just as the plasmoid threatens to strike, the Probe performs a quick manuvuer to pass it and continue on its path to replication materials.

As the Probe's target is brought into minimum range, it attacks its prey with a volley of lightning. During this assault, Flupp turns the nose of the ship a little closer to the Probe, then lets loose another plasmoid at point blank range. The Probe has no chance to dodge, and takes the full force of the attack!

Batteries empty, the Probe retreats to find a source of energy to recharge and make another strike. Meanwhile, the Podship heads for the rogue planetary body and performs a successful gravity whip.

Asteroid consumed, the Probe makes its return for another attack, but Flupp is temporarily outrunning its enemy. This gives the Podship an opportunity to regenerate some lost Mycon bodies. Detecting the Podship's now low energy, the Probe plots an intersect course. Catching up with the helpless Podship, it takes a only a few seconds to finish it off.

Moments later, two Slylandro Probes depart the battlefield, having consumed all of the Podship there was to find...

* A great leap for a Mycon, most assuredly!

[Eth]

  Master 46's intercom buzzes like an insect.  The Ur-Quan captain reaches down with a tentacle and presses the activation lever. 

Master 46:


Intercom:


Master 46:


Intercom:


Master 46:


Intercom:


  Master 46 pushes another lever on his intercom, and grasps his Baton of Command between two more tentacles. 

Master 46:


  Seconds later, a red wormhole opens, granting the Dreadnought access to HyperSpace. 

[FreakyM]

It had been years, maybe even a decade. Death 37 didnĀ“t know. He had lost track.
Probably years. He still remembered the battle, the lone Chmmr Avatar assaulting his Marauder, killing most of his crew in a matter of seconds.

But that was in the past. His escape pod had been drifting in space for long now, too long. He was contained within a suspended-animation system, immobile, barely able to think, but alive.

And unbeknownst to Death 37, outside the escape pod, the war had raged on. The Kohr-Ah had all but annihilated the Kzer-Za, they had been on the move to annihilate the Druuge, the Captain had launched his daredevil attack on the Sa-Matra, Hyperspace had collapsed and restabilized.. And 37 knew none of this.

But that was about to change.
Slowly, the Ur-Quan Dreanought approached, a pair of fighters was launched, and they started to haul in the ominous black pod with itĀ“s oblivious cargo.