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JUL 10 |
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Into the Unknown, Part One:
“Renegades”
Somewhere on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy...
The planet glittered beneath the ship like a giant red and blue gem. The way the blood-red jungles contrasted with the nearly indigo seas would have taken the breath away from most people. The race that looked down upon the small world from their mighty ships were not known for their appreciation of natural beauty though. All that mattered to them was who lived upon the world.
“I can practically see them down there, breeding like animals, it disgusts me,” spat the figure cloaked in shadows.
He was not one for skulking in the shadows, nor was he overly fond of melodrama, and yet he could not bring himself to stand within the light. Not with such dark thoughts brewing within his mind. They had encountered several worlds since entering the galaxy two weeks ago, but none had achieved the godliness of a genetically perfected form, as his race had.
“We have the planet in range, what are your orders, sai?” asked a nervous looking Beta, his iridescent blue skin sparkling with sweat.
The shadow-cloaked figure scanned the planet’s readout briefly, boredom clearly showing in his glowing yellow eyes. The planet was nothing special; high levels of iron, nickel and silver and an amphibious race that had only just reached its bronze age.
He sighed deeply, disappointed once again. “Ignite the atmosphere, then send down the extraction drones. Strip the planet bare.”
“Yes, sen’khan.”
Down below, on the surface of the unnamed planet, a million death cries filled the air as the sky began to rain fire.
In orbit around Hala, former capital of the Kree Empire...
“I said evasive manoeuvres, dammit!” cried Corsair.
It was absolute chaos. The Starjammer’s Captain wished he had listened to his gut and avoided the former Kree capital, but the Shi’ar, conquerors of the Kree Empire, had allowed living conditions to become too appalling. None of the ship’s crew could bring themselves to ignore such crimes, except for Hepzibah, who was merely happy to strike out against the 'birdies'.
The Annihilation War hadn’t made anything easier, severely taxing the resources of both the Kree and the Shi’ar. In fact, the Shi’ar had largely withdrawn from Kree space in order to defend their own territory. Only a skeleton presence really remained to enforce the Shi’ar’s authority.
As usual, they had brought their sleek ship out of hyperspace in the shadow of the planet’s largest moon. The plan was that the large satellite would block any detection of their arrival, from which they would race down to the planet and collect as many refugees from their pre-arranged site as possible; unfortunately the Shi’ar had been waiting for them.
A massive Apocalypse-class destroyer had began firing the instant the Starjammer left hyperspace.
“Superficial hull damage on the port side, Captain,” reported Ch’od.
“Blast the birdies from the sky we must!” Hepzibah smiled wickedly.
“NO! Don’t fire, that’s exactly what they want!" irdered Corsair. “Waldo, get us out of here as quickly as possible.”
“Affirmative captain,” replied the disembodied voice of Waldo, the ship’s central AI and pilot.
On cue, the ship took a sudden nose dive beneath the destroyer before making a sharp turn to port; the hull groaned under the strain but Waldo knew what the ship could take. All the while laser fire rained down around them.
“Corsair, they are hailing us,” said Raza.
“Bring up the audio but not the video; we can’t have distractions,” the captain replied.
A regal Shi’ar voice crackled over the intercom, “This is General F’Dor of the Swooping Talon. You have illegally entered Shi’ar space. Shut down your engines and take your weapons offline now. You have twenty seconds to comply or we shall commence firing.”
“They’re already firing!” exclaimed Ch’od.
“It’s just for the recorders; they don’t have any intention of taking us in one piece," replied Corsair. To the Shi’ar ship he said, “We’re under Empress Lilandra’s protection, cease your fire, jackass!”
The only response was an increase in volleys from the enemy ship. So far, only a few had managed to hit the Starjammer as it was so fast an manoeuvrable, but the Shi’ar ship had a lot of guns.
Boom!
A massive shudder rocked the ship and arcs of energy feedback briefly rose up from each crew member’s terminal. All five aboard felt the intense inertia as the ship started spiralling out of control towards the planet below.
“Waldo, pull up!”
The computer’s unexpected reply came only after Corsair frantically shouted his order several more times.
“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
“Waldo’s fried again,” groaned Ch’od.
Corsair had no choice but to manually fly the ship, a difficult task at the best of times, but to do it while plummeting towards a planet and under fire from an enemy vessel was near suicide. With more than a little trepidation he took the controls;somewhere below decks he swore he heard Dr. Sikorsky crying “We’re doooooooomed!”
Hala seemed a lot bigger now that it took up the whole viewing screen; if he didn’t pull up now they were dead. With a mighty heave on the controls, the sleek ship quickly began to arc away from the planet, the lower hull being superheated as it brushed the atmosphere.
“We need to get out of here now.”
“There’s a gate on the far side of the planet, Captain!" shouted Raza.
“Perfect.”
A warpgate would take the ship much further away from the Destroyer than their lightspeed could, and by slingshotting around the planet the Shi’ar wouldn’t be able to keep up. The Starjammer had a reputation for being one of the fastest ships in several galaxies, one it rightly deserved, and Corsair was more than happy to prove it. A potent cocktail of adrenaline and fear ran through his veins as the ship travelled at amazing speed around the planet; the Swooping Talon was mere speck behind them now.
“Technical…error…pickle!”
“Shut up, Waldo!” The hardest part was coming and Corsair couldn’t afford a single distraction. With tremendous speed the Starjammer was flung towards the ring shaped warpgate. Two gigantic energy cannons awaited them if they dared to get too close, but the resourceful pirates had a dangerous way around that.
“Lightspeed now!” he ordered.
Faster than the speed of light they hurtled towards the gate, too quick for the cannons to detect. The trick was to disengage lightspeed seconds before hitting the gate or else they would be ripped into a million pieces and scattered across the galaxy like confetti at a parade. Corsair had never done this manually and the fear showed in his weathered face, but the rest of the crew looked at him with complete confidence, their trust gave him strength.
“Disengage lightspeed!”
The shimmering energy of the warpgate appeared directly before them, mere metres away and, before any of them could breathe a sigh of relief, the Starjammer passed through it into god-knew-where.
But they couldn’t relax yet.
“Hepzibah, destroy the exit gate.”
“We should wait forr the birrrdies to follow us, blow them up then.” The catlike woman’s hatred for the Shi’ar was clearly evident.
“No, Hepzibah, no deaths today. Do it.”
Sulkily, the female mephistoid launched a pair of missiles which destroyed the gate, ensuring they were safe once more.
The Swooping Talon, in orbit around Hala...
F’Dor slammed his fist down upon the console, seething with a barely contained rage. The ambush had been set up perfectly...if only he hadn’t underestimated the speed of their infernal ship.
“Sir, shall I sent a report to Chandillar?” asked his second in command, a runt of a man named D’Nell.
“Yes, but delete the pirate captain’s reply and don’t forget to mention they fired first.”
His plan to destroy the Starjammers may have failed but at least he could discredit them in the eyes of the people; in time Lilandra will have no choice but to lift her protection on the pirates.
The Empress was blind to the true ways of the Starjammers. She wasn’t there when the pirates attacked his ship ten years ago and stole precious weapons on route to a battle zone. Without those weapons the Shi’ar army, under the rule of Emperor D’Ken, lost an important planet to the hands of the vile Skrulls. Corsair and his rebellious crew had cost him the promotion to admiral he so rightly deserved, and more importantly they had helped depose D’Ken, in F’Dor’s opinion the greatest leader the Shi’ar had ever had.
The Starjammers would pay dearly.
Parts unknown...
Exhaustion threatened to take Corsair from the land of the conscious, as it always did after such a strenuous and nerve racking escape. With a drink of klah, a coffee-like drink made by the people of Standing Still, he was able to temporarily escape the fatigue.
“Where are we, Waldo?” he asked.
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…error 221”
A smile tugged at the corner of his moustached lip but he managed to compose himself before bursting into hysterical laughter. A little bit of stupidity was exactly what he needed to relieve the tension, but now was not the time, they could be anywhere in the known universe. He looked to Raza and repeated the question.
“We’re in the Milky Way galaxy, quadrant 4701,” replied the cyborg.
“Ok then. Ch’od, do your best to get Waldo back to his senses, Raza, scan for any ships that may be hostile. Once you’re done get some rest it’s been a hard day.”
Corsair couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed as he left the bridge; quadrant 4701 was nowhere near Earth, his home planet and where both his sons lived. It felt like so long since he’d seen Scott and Alex last. At the time, he had just learned his eldest son Scott was alive, returned from the clutches of the evil mutant Apocalypse. As always, the two younger Summers had tried to convince him to stay and yet he’d declined. He couldn’t but ask himself why. Why continue his missions in space when he could live on Earth and make up for lost time with his sons?
Transporting Kree refugees was important but the Starjammers could do it without him. Why stay then? His past twenty years in space had provided a richer life than anything Earth could provide. He’d seen hundreds of worlds, each with their own unique people, he’d watched as a giant red sun died and few could say they’d saved the universe on more than one occasion. Well except for the X-men, Avengers, Fantastic Four… That was why he couldn’t stand down.
There was another reason; her name was Hepzibah. The catlike alien had been at his side through everything and over the years they had gone from simply being shipmates to sharing a deep and intimate bond. Deep down Corsair knew she would never take his dear departed Katherine’s place in his heart but he still loved Hepzibah.
But the strength of that love was being tested by Hepzibah’s ever growing hatred of the Shi’ar. She took every opportunity to strike out at the 'birdies', as she called them, more often than not going against his direct orders. Her obsession disturbed him greatly, and often left him wondering if she would ever be free of it.
As they often did, his thoughts had lead him to his favourite part of the ship; the garden. The ever practical Hepzibah saw the garden as a waste of valuable resources but Christopher would never be convinced to part with it. Every person has their special place, somewhere they go to think, to reminisce, and this was his place. Plants from all over the galaxy, including Earth, filled the room with a variety of luscious colours. Ch’od had even set up a small fountain, in which his little 'pet'Cr+eee liked to swim.
Before he could even enjoy the serenity of the garden he was receiving an urgent call from Ch’od and Raza.
“Sir, we’re reseeving a distresss call. It’s Cadre K," crackled Ch’od’s voice over the intercom.
Cadre K were a group of mutant Skrulls, trained by Professor Xavier himself, and dedicated to the wellbeing of other mutant Skrulls. The Starjammers had met them only once before, when Earth had been transformed into an alien prison colony, but Corsair saw them as allies nonetheless. Professor X had encouraged the two groups to contact each other in times of distress, though inter-ship communications were tricky over long distance. This was the first time they had received a call for help from Cadre K.
Hepzibah was not present when the captain arrived on the bridge, “Where’s Hepzibah?” he asked.
“Probably off ssulking,” replied Ch’od.
“Well get her up her, we may need her on weapons.” Looking to Raza he asked, “What’s the transmission?”
“It’s a pre-recorded transmission playing on a continuous loop. I’m tracking it now.”
Upon the large viewing screen was a video image of Cadre K’s leader, Z’Cann. She had developed into a mature looking young woman since Corsair had seen her last, and he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. The audio accompanying the image was poor with much of it unintelligible.
“…Z’Cann of Cadre K…ambushed…ines dead…little life suppor...missing…help!”
“I have them,” Said Raza stoically, “just several light years away, in empty space.”
“Good…”
Hepzibah chose that moment to enter the bridge, looking rather agitated.
“Is everything ok, Hepz?” asked Corsair, concerned.
“What do you care?!” she practically spat back.
“Hepz, that’s not fair, you know I care…”
“Sssir, I have Waldo lucid once again, for a little while there he insissted on being called Enterprisse but he’ss all fixed now. We’re ready to retrieve Cadre K when you are.”
With a pained look at his angry lover, Christopher sat himself in the captain’s seat and started issuing orders.
“Waldo, take the ships to the location of Raza’s signal lock as fast as possible. Raza, maintain a wide range scan for any possible hostiles. Hepzibah, get the weapons ready just in case, and shields to full capacity Ch’od.”
A pang of guilt struck him as he gave Hepzibah her orders. He hated having to go into 'Captain-mode' when it was clear something was upsetting the one her cared about most, but lives were at stake and he had to push those feeling to the side for now.
At first Cadre K’s ship started off as merely a tiny blip on Raza’a console screen but soon the quartet could see it clearly on the viewing screen: a sleek looking Skrull transport, slightly smaller than the Starjammer.
Upon closer inspection, the crew could clearly make out large burn marks mottling the hull, the ship had been blasted open in several sections exposing its vulnerable interior. The ruined ship reminded Corsair of a corpse he had once seen floating in space after a raid many years ago; cold, devoid of life, alone.
“One life sign detected, thermal scans indicate a female Skrull.”
“Jusst one, Raza?” The sadness was evident in Ch’od’s reptilian eyes. His people, the Saurians, were a race a scientists and philosophers who held the preservation of life above all else.
“I’m afraid so, friend. Shall I teleport her onboard, Captain?”
“Yes, let’s not waste time, every second counts,” he replied.
In a brilliant flash of golden light Z’Cann appeared before them and collapsed to the floor. Ch’od was the first to her side, lifting her effortlessly in his strong green arms. Her eyes fluttered open briefly before passing out completely.
“Take her down to Sikorsky, see if he can get her conscious and lucid enough to tell us what happened.” Corsair was tense; some mystery attacker had knocked Cadre K’s ship out of commission and left them for dead, no easy feat considering the Skrull group’s ship was considerably armed. They could still be around, waiting to attack again.
As Ch’od and Raza left for the sick bay, Chris finally had a moment alone with Hepzibah to talk.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on now, kittycat?” he asked, using his pet name for her.
She narrowed her feline eyes. “Why do you prrotect them, Kreestoffer? Why the Birrdies you save?”
Corsair had expected this much, it wasn’t the first time she had been angry at him for not letting her attack Shi’ar. But this time she seemed more pained than angry.
“Hepz, I can’t let you kill innocents, you know that.”
“Change the Birrdies never will, I KNOW that much. We arre nothing to them but lesser races, inferiorrs. My rrace, my culture, all gone because of them! I HATE THEM!” Tears welled in her eyes, prompting Corsair to wrap his arms around her and hold her close; she sobbed softly into his shoulder. Such outbursts were not uncommon from the temperamental Mephistoid, and Christopher understood she just needed to get her anger out, but they did worry him. Her hatred for the Shi’ar was starting to harden her heart, it was forming a rift between them.
“Ssir, Z’Cann’ss awake and…um… ready to talk to uss,” came Ch’od’s voice over the intercom.”
“We’ll be down shortly,” he replied.
Hepzibah was starting to calm down now, her anger was spent. “I’m sorrry, Kreestoffer; you arre a good man, but prrotect the wrrong people you do. The Birrdies do not deserrve your help.” She rose to her feet, acting strong once again. “Come, we must see Z’Cann.”
The pair rode the lift down to the sick bay in silence. Hepzibah’s anger had dissipated only to be replaced with cold distance. She loved him, he knew, but he couldn’t come close to understanding her pain, and she hated it. Upon entering the sick bay they found Z’cann in quite a state.
“We have to go back for them!” she screamed.
Ch’od was holding her with little effort but it was clear it pained him emotionally. Meanwhile, the ship’s physician, Dr. Sikorsky was flitting around in the air, trying to convince her to calm down.
“Ah Captain, you’re here at last,” said the dragonfly-like alien, “She’s in shock and needs to calm down. Oh dear, oh dear.”
Surprisingly, it was Hepzibah who managed to bring the Skrull woman back to coherency. She stepped forward, looked her deep in the eyes and said, “Calm down, silly girl.”
Clarity returned to Z’Cann’s eyes, she looked at Hepzibah and said softly, “Such pain.”
Hepzibah merely scowled in return and hissed “Stay out of my head,” before stalking to the other side of the room. The Skrull woman was a telepath, nowhere near as powerful as Professor X but still quite skilled.
“Z’Cann, you need to tell us what happened.” Corsair was growing impatient; every minute they waited could be placing them in more danger.
Tears welled in the young woman’s eyes as she spoke, “We were investigating Phalanx movement in Quadrant 4702 when we received a distress signal from a mining station orbiting around a gas giant. Apparently the station had been invaded by Brood." All present gave an involuntary shudder at the mention of the horrifying insect-like aliens, the most feared race in many galaxies.
“Upon arriving at the station we found a single Brood-controlled shuttle docked with the station and quickly blasted it into shrapnel.” Her words were accompanied by surreal telepathic images seen through her eyes. “Unfortunately, the monsters had already infiltrated the station. Nuro, R’Tee, Spunje and Fiz all went on board to battle the creatures…while I remained on the ship to direct their movements with my telepathy. We were doing well until an entire Brood armada arrived out of hyperspace; I’d never seen so many of the beasts together! I…I tried to distract them with the ship but they annihilated the mining station, with their own kind on board! They then fired upon me, nearly crippling the ship, and I was forced to flee.” Through her psychic link, the Starjammers could easily sympathize with her emotional pain.
“There wass nothing you could do…” Ch’od started to say, but he was cut off by Z’Cann.
“You don’t understand! When I was fleeing I sensed my crewmate’s thoughts. They’d managed to seal themselves off in a section of the station with some crew and limited life support. I left them behind! I wanted to return but my ship’s system’s failed, I was certain the Brood would follow.” She wept openly into her hands now, with both Ch’od and Raza trying to console her.
“We’ll need to co-ordinates for the gas giant if we’re going to rescue your team mates,” said Corsair.
“What?!” cried Hepzibah in surprise, “Alrready dead they arre! The bugs will kill us too!”
“We don’t know that for sure,” replied Christopher stubbornly. “As for the Brood, this ship’s faster than anything they have.” He rubbed the inside of the hull affectionately.
Thank you, Captain. Z’Cann appeared too shocked to use her voice.
Several hours passed before they reached the solar system where the Brood attacked. It was a small system, with just four planets and a tiny white dwarf for a sun as well a thick asteroid belt between the second and third planets. The gas giant, a remarkable emerald sphere, was the third planet in orbit and according to Z’Cann the remnants of the space station would be on the far side of the planet. Raza was undertaking every kind of scan the ship had at its disposal but they were yet to detect any Brood vessels.
Meanwhile, Hepzibah had the weapons primed for an ambush. “Foolish, stupid mission,” she muttered to herself, “listening to that green little glagtch.”
All were tense as the ship made its way around the large planet, fully expecting a massive assault, but they were relieved to find nothing but the scattered wreckage of the space station. The Starjammers had seen mining operations like this before: the station floated as close to the atmosphere as possible, with huge extractors extending deep into the gaseous fury of the planet. A variety of extremely race minerals were drawn into the special extractors as well as a much higher level of hydrogen and sulphur. But now the extractors must have fallen away into to the cyclonic atmosphere of the gas giant, with the rest of the station floating above in pieces.
“They were in there,” said Z’Cann, pointing at a large semicircular piece of debris.”
As they drew closer she reached out with her mind, searching for signs of life, the strain was evident on her face. “I can sense thought patterns, but they seem…lost. The survivors may be delirious from oxygen loss.”
"Waldo’s reading heat signatures, so there’s definitely survivors in there,” said Raza, but it was what he didn’t say that worried Corsair the most; the Brood’s special anatomy prevented them from being detected by thermal scans, meaning there be any number of them onboard the station.
“Ok Ch’od, once we’re suited up, you’ll teleport Z’Cann, Raza and Myself on board to look for survivors.”
"What about me! Why does that Skrrull get to go and not me?” Hepzibah complained.
“Because I need you here on weapons in case the Brood return, and Z’Cann can help us sense any hostiles that may be onboard.”
After a few minutes the trio were dressed in protective spacesuits, providing them with protection from cold and all the oxygen they needed.
“Send us over, Ch’od”
A warm, tingling sensation spread over their bodies as their molecules were scattered and transported into the large piece of wreckage. Corsair always felt the urge to check all his body parts were still attached whenever he teleported.
Raza was the first to draw his sword as he took in his surroundings. Several mutilated alien corpses lay scattered around the room, the red emergency lights further emphasizing their bloody wounds.
“Oh these poor people…I sense someone this way,” said Z’Cann, pointing to a corridor to their left.”
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Starjammer, Hepzibah sat at her console impatiently grooming her fur.
“ALERT! ALERT! Brood vessels approaching!” warned Waldo’s disembodied voice.
“Bring it up on the sscreen, Waldo,” said Ch’od, worried.
Three gigantic space whales and a variety of other smaller vessels were heading in their direction at high speeds.
“Uh Oh.”
To Be Continued...
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The planet glittered beneath the ship like a giant red and blue gem. The way the blood-red jungles contrasted with the nearly indigo seas would have taken the breath away from most people. The race that looked down upon the small world from their mighty ships were not known for their appreciation of natural beauty though. All that mattered to them was who lived upon the world.
“I can practically see them down there, breeding like animals, it disgusts me,” spat the figure cloaked in shadows.
He was not one for skulking in the shadows, nor was he overly fond of melodrama, and yet he could not bring himself to stand within the light. Not with such dark thoughts brewing within his mind. They had encountered several worlds since entering the galaxy two weeks ago, but none had achieved the godliness of a genetically perfected form, as his race had.
“We have the planet in range, what are your orders, sai?” asked a nervous looking Beta, his iridescent blue skin sparkling with sweat.
The shadow-cloaked figure scanned the planet’s readout briefly, boredom clearly showing in his glowing yellow eyes. The planet was nothing special; high levels of iron, nickel and silver and an amphibious race that had only just reached its bronze age.
He sighed deeply, disappointed once again. “Ignite the atmosphere, then send down the extraction drones. Strip the planet bare.”
“Yes, sen’khan.”
Down below, on the surface of the unnamed planet, a million death cries filled the air as the sky began to rain fire.
In orbit around Hala, former capital of the Kree Empire...
“I said evasive manoeuvres, dammit!” cried Corsair.
It was absolute chaos. The Starjammer’s Captain wished he had listened to his gut and avoided the former Kree capital, but the Shi’ar, conquerors of the Kree Empire, had allowed living conditions to become too appalling. None of the ship’s crew could bring themselves to ignore such crimes, except for Hepzibah, who was merely happy to strike out against the 'birdies'.
The Annihilation War hadn’t made anything easier, severely taxing the resources of both the Kree and the Shi’ar. In fact, the Shi’ar had largely withdrawn from Kree space in order to defend their own territory. Only a skeleton presence really remained to enforce the Shi’ar’s authority.
As usual, they had brought their sleek ship out of hyperspace in the shadow of the planet’s largest moon. The plan was that the large satellite would block any detection of their arrival, from which they would race down to the planet and collect as many refugees from their pre-arranged site as possible; unfortunately the Shi’ar had been waiting for them.
A massive Apocalypse-class destroyer had began firing the instant the Starjammer left hyperspace.
“Superficial hull damage on the port side, Captain,” reported Ch’od.
“Blast the birdies from the sky we must!” Hepzibah smiled wickedly.
“NO! Don’t fire, that’s exactly what they want!" irdered Corsair. “Waldo, get us out of here as quickly as possible.”
“Affirmative captain,” replied the disembodied voice of Waldo, the ship’s central AI and pilot.
On cue, the ship took a sudden nose dive beneath the destroyer before making a sharp turn to port; the hull groaned under the strain but Waldo knew what the ship could take. All the while laser fire rained down around them.
“Corsair, they are hailing us,” said Raza.
“Bring up the audio but not the video; we can’t have distractions,” the captain replied.
A regal Shi’ar voice crackled over the intercom, “This is General F’Dor of the Swooping Talon. You have illegally entered Shi’ar space. Shut down your engines and take your weapons offline now. You have twenty seconds to comply or we shall commence firing.”
“They’re already firing!” exclaimed Ch’od.
“It’s just for the recorders; they don’t have any intention of taking us in one piece," replied Corsair. To the Shi’ar ship he said, “We’re under Empress Lilandra’s protection, cease your fire, jackass!”
The only response was an increase in volleys from the enemy ship. So far, only a few had managed to hit the Starjammer as it was so fast an manoeuvrable, but the Shi’ar ship had a lot of guns.
Boom!
A massive shudder rocked the ship and arcs of energy feedback briefly rose up from each crew member’s terminal. All five aboard felt the intense inertia as the ship started spiralling out of control towards the planet below.
“Waldo, pull up!”
The computer’s unexpected reply came only after Corsair frantically shouted his order several more times.
“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
“Waldo’s fried again,” groaned Ch’od.
Corsair had no choice but to manually fly the ship, a difficult task at the best of times, but to do it while plummeting towards a planet and under fire from an enemy vessel was near suicide. With more than a little trepidation he took the controls;somewhere below decks he swore he heard Dr. Sikorsky crying “We’re doooooooomed!”
Hala seemed a lot bigger now that it took up the whole viewing screen; if he didn’t pull up now they were dead. With a mighty heave on the controls, the sleek ship quickly began to arc away from the planet, the lower hull being superheated as it brushed the atmosphere.
“We need to get out of here now.”
“There’s a gate on the far side of the planet, Captain!" shouted Raza.
“Perfect.”
A warpgate would take the ship much further away from the Destroyer than their lightspeed could, and by slingshotting around the planet the Shi’ar wouldn’t be able to keep up. The Starjammer had a reputation for being one of the fastest ships in several galaxies, one it rightly deserved, and Corsair was more than happy to prove it. A potent cocktail of adrenaline and fear ran through his veins as the ship travelled at amazing speed around the planet; the Swooping Talon was mere speck behind them now.
“Technical…error…pickle!”
“Shut up, Waldo!” The hardest part was coming and Corsair couldn’t afford a single distraction. With tremendous speed the Starjammer was flung towards the ring shaped warpgate. Two gigantic energy cannons awaited them if they dared to get too close, but the resourceful pirates had a dangerous way around that.
“Lightspeed now!” he ordered.
Faster than the speed of light they hurtled towards the gate, too quick for the cannons to detect. The trick was to disengage lightspeed seconds before hitting the gate or else they would be ripped into a million pieces and scattered across the galaxy like confetti at a parade. Corsair had never done this manually and the fear showed in his weathered face, but the rest of the crew looked at him with complete confidence, their trust gave him strength.
“Disengage lightspeed!”
The shimmering energy of the warpgate appeared directly before them, mere metres away and, before any of them could breathe a sigh of relief, the Starjammer passed through it into god-knew-where.
But they couldn’t relax yet.
“Hepzibah, destroy the exit gate.”
“We should wait forr the birrrdies to follow us, blow them up then.” The catlike woman’s hatred for the Shi’ar was clearly evident.
“No, Hepzibah, no deaths today. Do it.”
Sulkily, the female mephistoid launched a pair of missiles which destroyed the gate, ensuring they were safe once more.
The Swooping Talon, in orbit around Hala...
F’Dor slammed his fist down upon the console, seething with a barely contained rage. The ambush had been set up perfectly...if only he hadn’t underestimated the speed of their infernal ship.
“Sir, shall I sent a report to Chandillar?” asked his second in command, a runt of a man named D’Nell.
“Yes, but delete the pirate captain’s reply and don’t forget to mention they fired first.”
His plan to destroy the Starjammers may have failed but at least he could discredit them in the eyes of the people; in time Lilandra will have no choice but to lift her protection on the pirates.
The Empress was blind to the true ways of the Starjammers. She wasn’t there when the pirates attacked his ship ten years ago and stole precious weapons on route to a battle zone. Without those weapons the Shi’ar army, under the rule of Emperor D’Ken, lost an important planet to the hands of the vile Skrulls. Corsair and his rebellious crew had cost him the promotion to admiral he so rightly deserved, and more importantly they had helped depose D’Ken, in F’Dor’s opinion the greatest leader the Shi’ar had ever had.
The Starjammers would pay dearly.
Parts unknown...
Exhaustion threatened to take Corsair from the land of the conscious, as it always did after such a strenuous and nerve racking escape. With a drink of klah, a coffee-like drink made by the people of Standing Still, he was able to temporarily escape the fatigue.
“Where are we, Waldo?” he asked.
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…error 221”
A smile tugged at the corner of his moustached lip but he managed to compose himself before bursting into hysterical laughter. A little bit of stupidity was exactly what he needed to relieve the tension, but now was not the time, they could be anywhere in the known universe. He looked to Raza and repeated the question.
“We’re in the Milky Way galaxy, quadrant 4701,” replied the cyborg.
“Ok then. Ch’od, do your best to get Waldo back to his senses, Raza, scan for any ships that may be hostile. Once you’re done get some rest it’s been a hard day.”
Corsair couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed as he left the bridge; quadrant 4701 was nowhere near Earth, his home planet and where both his sons lived. It felt like so long since he’d seen Scott and Alex last. At the time, he had just learned his eldest son Scott was alive, returned from the clutches of the evil mutant Apocalypse. As always, the two younger Summers had tried to convince him to stay and yet he’d declined. He couldn’t but ask himself why. Why continue his missions in space when he could live on Earth and make up for lost time with his sons?
Transporting Kree refugees was important but the Starjammers could do it without him. Why stay then? His past twenty years in space had provided a richer life than anything Earth could provide. He’d seen hundreds of worlds, each with their own unique people, he’d watched as a giant red sun died and few could say they’d saved the universe on more than one occasion. Well except for the X-men, Avengers, Fantastic Four… That was why he couldn’t stand down.
There was another reason; her name was Hepzibah. The catlike alien had been at his side through everything and over the years they had gone from simply being shipmates to sharing a deep and intimate bond. Deep down Corsair knew she would never take his dear departed Katherine’s place in his heart but he still loved Hepzibah.
But the strength of that love was being tested by Hepzibah’s ever growing hatred of the Shi’ar. She took every opportunity to strike out at the 'birdies', as she called them, more often than not going against his direct orders. Her obsession disturbed him greatly, and often left him wondering if she would ever be free of it.
As they often did, his thoughts had lead him to his favourite part of the ship; the garden. The ever practical Hepzibah saw the garden as a waste of valuable resources but Christopher would never be convinced to part with it. Every person has their special place, somewhere they go to think, to reminisce, and this was his place. Plants from all over the galaxy, including Earth, filled the room with a variety of luscious colours. Ch’od had even set up a small fountain, in which his little 'pet'Cr+eee liked to swim.
Before he could even enjoy the serenity of the garden he was receiving an urgent call from Ch’od and Raza.
“Sir, we’re reseeving a distresss call. It’s Cadre K," crackled Ch’od’s voice over the intercom.
Cadre K were a group of mutant Skrulls, trained by Professor Xavier himself, and dedicated to the wellbeing of other mutant Skrulls. The Starjammers had met them only once before, when Earth had been transformed into an alien prison colony, but Corsair saw them as allies nonetheless. Professor X had encouraged the two groups to contact each other in times of distress, though inter-ship communications were tricky over long distance. This was the first time they had received a call for help from Cadre K.
Hepzibah was not present when the captain arrived on the bridge, “Where’s Hepzibah?” he asked.
“Probably off ssulking,” replied Ch’od.
“Well get her up her, we may need her on weapons.” Looking to Raza he asked, “What’s the transmission?”
“It’s a pre-recorded transmission playing on a continuous loop. I’m tracking it now.”
Upon the large viewing screen was a video image of Cadre K’s leader, Z’Cann. She had developed into a mature looking young woman since Corsair had seen her last, and he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. The audio accompanying the image was poor with much of it unintelligible.
“…Z’Cann of Cadre K…ambushed…ines dead…little life suppor...missing…help!”
“I have them,” Said Raza stoically, “just several light years away, in empty space.”
“Good…”
Hepzibah chose that moment to enter the bridge, looking rather agitated.
“Is everything ok, Hepz?” asked Corsair, concerned.
“What do you care?!” she practically spat back.
“Hepz, that’s not fair, you know I care…”
“Sssir, I have Waldo lucid once again, for a little while there he insissted on being called Enterprisse but he’ss all fixed now. We’re ready to retrieve Cadre K when you are.”
With a pained look at his angry lover, Christopher sat himself in the captain’s seat and started issuing orders.
“Waldo, take the ships to the location of Raza’s signal lock as fast as possible. Raza, maintain a wide range scan for any possible hostiles. Hepzibah, get the weapons ready just in case, and shields to full capacity Ch’od.”
A pang of guilt struck him as he gave Hepzibah her orders. He hated having to go into 'Captain-mode' when it was clear something was upsetting the one her cared about most, but lives were at stake and he had to push those feeling to the side for now.
At first Cadre K’s ship started off as merely a tiny blip on Raza’a console screen but soon the quartet could see it clearly on the viewing screen: a sleek looking Skrull transport, slightly smaller than the Starjammer.
Upon closer inspection, the crew could clearly make out large burn marks mottling the hull, the ship had been blasted open in several sections exposing its vulnerable interior. The ruined ship reminded Corsair of a corpse he had once seen floating in space after a raid many years ago; cold, devoid of life, alone.
“One life sign detected, thermal scans indicate a female Skrull.”
“Jusst one, Raza?” The sadness was evident in Ch’od’s reptilian eyes. His people, the Saurians, were a race a scientists and philosophers who held the preservation of life above all else.
“I’m afraid so, friend. Shall I teleport her onboard, Captain?”
“Yes, let’s not waste time, every second counts,” he replied.
In a brilliant flash of golden light Z’Cann appeared before them and collapsed to the floor. Ch’od was the first to her side, lifting her effortlessly in his strong green arms. Her eyes fluttered open briefly before passing out completely.
“Take her down to Sikorsky, see if he can get her conscious and lucid enough to tell us what happened.” Corsair was tense; some mystery attacker had knocked Cadre K’s ship out of commission and left them for dead, no easy feat considering the Skrull group’s ship was considerably armed. They could still be around, waiting to attack again.
As Ch’od and Raza left for the sick bay, Chris finally had a moment alone with Hepzibah to talk.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on now, kittycat?” he asked, using his pet name for her.
She narrowed her feline eyes. “Why do you prrotect them, Kreestoffer? Why the Birrdies you save?”
Corsair had expected this much, it wasn’t the first time she had been angry at him for not letting her attack Shi’ar. But this time she seemed more pained than angry.
“Hepz, I can’t let you kill innocents, you know that.”
“Change the Birrdies never will, I KNOW that much. We arre nothing to them but lesser races, inferiorrs. My rrace, my culture, all gone because of them! I HATE THEM!” Tears welled in her eyes, prompting Corsair to wrap his arms around her and hold her close; she sobbed softly into his shoulder. Such outbursts were not uncommon from the temperamental Mephistoid, and Christopher understood she just needed to get her anger out, but they did worry him. Her hatred for the Shi’ar was starting to harden her heart, it was forming a rift between them.
“Ssir, Z’Cann’ss awake and…um… ready to talk to uss,” came Ch’od’s voice over the intercom.”
“We’ll be down shortly,” he replied.
Hepzibah was starting to calm down now, her anger was spent. “I’m sorrry, Kreestoffer; you arre a good man, but prrotect the wrrong people you do. The Birrdies do not deserrve your help.” She rose to her feet, acting strong once again. “Come, we must see Z’Cann.”
The pair rode the lift down to the sick bay in silence. Hepzibah’s anger had dissipated only to be replaced with cold distance. She loved him, he knew, but he couldn’t come close to understanding her pain, and she hated it. Upon entering the sick bay they found Z’cann in quite a state.
“We have to go back for them!” she screamed.
Ch’od was holding her with little effort but it was clear it pained him emotionally. Meanwhile, the ship’s physician, Dr. Sikorsky was flitting around in the air, trying to convince her to calm down.
“Ah Captain, you’re here at last,” said the dragonfly-like alien, “She’s in shock and needs to calm down. Oh dear, oh dear.”
Surprisingly, it was Hepzibah who managed to bring the Skrull woman back to coherency. She stepped forward, looked her deep in the eyes and said, “Calm down, silly girl.”
Clarity returned to Z’Cann’s eyes, she looked at Hepzibah and said softly, “Such pain.”
Hepzibah merely scowled in return and hissed “Stay out of my head,” before stalking to the other side of the room. The Skrull woman was a telepath, nowhere near as powerful as Professor X but still quite skilled.
“Z’Cann, you need to tell us what happened.” Corsair was growing impatient; every minute they waited could be placing them in more danger.
Tears welled in the young woman’s eyes as she spoke, “We were investigating Phalanx movement in Quadrant 4702 when we received a distress signal from a mining station orbiting around a gas giant. Apparently the station had been invaded by Brood." All present gave an involuntary shudder at the mention of the horrifying insect-like aliens, the most feared race in many galaxies.
“Upon arriving at the station we found a single Brood-controlled shuttle docked with the station and quickly blasted it into shrapnel.” Her words were accompanied by surreal telepathic images seen through her eyes. “Unfortunately, the monsters had already infiltrated the station. Nuro, R’Tee, Spunje and Fiz all went on board to battle the creatures…while I remained on the ship to direct their movements with my telepathy. We were doing well until an entire Brood armada arrived out of hyperspace; I’d never seen so many of the beasts together! I…I tried to distract them with the ship but they annihilated the mining station, with their own kind on board! They then fired upon me, nearly crippling the ship, and I was forced to flee.” Through her psychic link, the Starjammers could easily sympathize with her emotional pain.
“There wass nothing you could do…” Ch’od started to say, but he was cut off by Z’Cann.
“You don’t understand! When I was fleeing I sensed my crewmate’s thoughts. They’d managed to seal themselves off in a section of the station with some crew and limited life support. I left them behind! I wanted to return but my ship’s system’s failed, I was certain the Brood would follow.” She wept openly into her hands now, with both Ch’od and Raza trying to console her.
“We’ll need to co-ordinates for the gas giant if we’re going to rescue your team mates,” said Corsair.
“What?!” cried Hepzibah in surprise, “Alrready dead they arre! The bugs will kill us too!”
“We don’t know that for sure,” replied Christopher stubbornly. “As for the Brood, this ship’s faster than anything they have.” He rubbed the inside of the hull affectionately.
Thank you, Captain. Z’Cann appeared too shocked to use her voice.
Several hours passed before they reached the solar system where the Brood attacked. It was a small system, with just four planets and a tiny white dwarf for a sun as well a thick asteroid belt between the second and third planets. The gas giant, a remarkable emerald sphere, was the third planet in orbit and according to Z’Cann the remnants of the space station would be on the far side of the planet. Raza was undertaking every kind of scan the ship had at its disposal but they were yet to detect any Brood vessels.
Meanwhile, Hepzibah had the weapons primed for an ambush. “Foolish, stupid mission,” she muttered to herself, “listening to that green little glagtch.”
All were tense as the ship made its way around the large planet, fully expecting a massive assault, but they were relieved to find nothing but the scattered wreckage of the space station. The Starjammers had seen mining operations like this before: the station floated as close to the atmosphere as possible, with huge extractors extending deep into the gaseous fury of the planet. A variety of extremely race minerals were drawn into the special extractors as well as a much higher level of hydrogen and sulphur. But now the extractors must have fallen away into to the cyclonic atmosphere of the gas giant, with the rest of the station floating above in pieces.
“They were in there,” said Z’Cann, pointing at a large semicircular piece of debris.”
As they drew closer she reached out with her mind, searching for signs of life, the strain was evident on her face. “I can sense thought patterns, but they seem…lost. The survivors may be delirious from oxygen loss.”
"Waldo’s reading heat signatures, so there’s definitely survivors in there,” said Raza, but it was what he didn’t say that worried Corsair the most; the Brood’s special anatomy prevented them from being detected by thermal scans, meaning there be any number of them onboard the station.
“Ok Ch’od, once we’re suited up, you’ll teleport Z’Cann, Raza and Myself on board to look for survivors.”
"What about me! Why does that Skrrull get to go and not me?” Hepzibah complained.
“Because I need you here on weapons in case the Brood return, and Z’Cann can help us sense any hostiles that may be onboard.”
After a few minutes the trio were dressed in protective spacesuits, providing them with protection from cold and all the oxygen they needed.
“Send us over, Ch’od”
A warm, tingling sensation spread over their bodies as their molecules were scattered and transported into the large piece of wreckage. Corsair always felt the urge to check all his body parts were still attached whenever he teleported.
Raza was the first to draw his sword as he took in his surroundings. Several mutilated alien corpses lay scattered around the room, the red emergency lights further emphasizing their bloody wounds.
“Oh these poor people…I sense someone this way,” said Z’Cann, pointing to a corridor to their left.”
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Starjammer, Hepzibah sat at her console impatiently grooming her fur.
“ALERT! ALERT! Brood vessels approaching!” warned Waldo’s disembodied voice.
“Bring it up on the sscreen, Waldo,” said Ch’od, worried.
Three gigantic space whales and a variety of other smaller vessels were heading in their direction at high speeds.
“Uh Oh.”
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To Be Continued...
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