Universe in Peril. Part 1.

In a far away galaxy, in a forgotten solar system, a single planet floated around the remains of a dead sun. That planet is all that is left of a forgotten race. The only connection to a long forgotten age full of war and misery, a war that ravaged this half of the universe, and a misery that caused hundreds of people to leave and seek shelter. Their descendants know nothing of their path, or of their future. But not even the wise can tell the future of those who have forgotten that in their past a vital mistake was made, a mistake that would result in the deaths of millions more than even the first war could have even hoped to raise. The mistake? Well you will see.


On the surface of a desert planet in the galaxy of Narda, an insect-like head popped out of the sand. Hundreds of others followed suit. Then the rest of the body crawled out, revealing a slender muscular form, wasp like but with only four legs. Two glossy membraned wings protruded from the back. Giant evil bugs that had crawled under ground after their near extinction in the last war. There they had waited and re-populated, waiting for their masters call. A call that would take them to a forgotten system with only one planet……….


Lt. Ford looked out a view port of the imperial battle ship ‘Marlen’. Other crewmembers looked out nearby view ports. They were all looking at a massive cloud that was rising from the surface of a desert planet. The cloud’s head spiraled upwards into space; its base covered the entire surface of the planet.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it before’
‘Gosh… what is it? Dust?’
‘I don’t think so the individual members are fairly large, human sized about, possibly rock.’
‘Omigosh! It’s headed right for us!’
Ford rushed to the nearest emergency alarm, and smashed it in with his fist.
‘All crew members brace for impact, a rock storm is headed right for us!’ 
The swarm of bugs got nearer and nearer, soon they would have transportation to cross the voids between galaxies. Their master was waiting!

The United Systems for Universal Peace meeting was about to get underway. Mathew Dondala was sitting in his seat at the round table that stretched across the hall. Mathew was tall, straight backed. He was thin but well muscled. His hair was sleek brown, and was combed back away from his forehead, his eyes were yellow, a characteristic common of the core world people. After a few minutes, most of the cabinet members had arrived and all were awaiting the arrival of the head executive officer, Walter Scaritz. They were not kept waiting long. Soon a bell sounded and through a small disguised door at the far end of the hall, Walter and his retinue of attendants and aids arrived. He seated himself at the head of the table, then, glancing at some papers, he began to speak,
“Gentlemen, we are gathered here this day to mainly discuss the distribution of medical and financial aids to the refugees of those worlds struck by the red fever plague. Now this committee does not lack the resources to lend this aid, but we lack the labor. Thus, we have implemented the militaries help. Our representative in the military corps is here today to evaluate the situation and coordinate efforts as required.”
He gestured towards Mathew.
“Now then there will be a vote. All in favor of asking for the militaries help say aye.” About half of the room said aye.
“Well then it seems that this debate will proceed to high court committee’s and the decision will be established, hmm…. 3 months from now about this hour. Now then, that is about all we have to discuss now, you can post your comments on future topics on the board in the hall. Dismissed”
The majority of the committee members rose and started filing out the hall, Mathew was about to join them but Walter held him back, after they had positioned themselves in a corner as far away from the recorder that monitored the hall, as possible Walter spoke.
“Mathew, the main reason I asked for your attendance was so I could catch you and talk to you without it being on the record. Now, a battleship, that the chief corps was lending us, broke off contact several hours ago. They were running population scans in the Narda system when suddenly their connection broke off. Now as far as we know there are not any hostile representations in that area so we do not know what happened to them. We want you to take your strike team and find out what is going on there. Since the battleship was on loan, the military are expecting it back within the day. So be swift. You have approximately…. 15 hours to return WITH the battle ship. Now go “

Ford huddled with several other members of the crew in a small compartment located in the lower corridors. So much had happened in the last few hours since the ship had first entered the storm. Following procedure, all view ports were magnetically sealed, as was the main hatch. The majority of the systems were shut down to prevent energy spikes. Then the rocks began to strike, but instead of sharp blunt sounds of collision, there were rather wet noises. And then the tapping started. Tapping on the view ports, clicking on the hull. And then an explosion sounded, Followed by screams. Nearby crewmembers drew their weapons and charged to the area. The blast doors were completely obliterated. Only the force shield remained keeping oxygen inside the ship. However the feeling of the void of space tugging at your body could still be felt. Other than the missing hatch, there was no sign of anything unusual, as if a blasted outer hatch was not unusual. Suddenly, a glob of green liquid shot down from above and impacted the chest of an unfortunate crewmember. The was a small puff of flame, the man cried out in pain, then more flame, and very soon the entire man was covered in searing green flame, then he was nothingness. The remainders looked up in horror. Above them was a large wasp like insect about four feet tall, hanging bat like from the ceiling. Then more acid, another man down. The remainders ran, yelling wildly. One hit an ‘all hands alarm’ soon, the entire ship was buzzing with marines, and ship systems were thrown back online. More explosions rocked the outer hull. More gaps formed in the defenses. And then, the wasps began pouring in en masse. Firefights broke out all over the ship. Fords group was fighting in the lower sections were they had been repairing some relay conduits. The ships men fought gallantly, however no matter how many wasps were killed, several more always took their place. One by one, the marines and fighting crewmembers began to fall. Several minutes later, the wasps had reached the bridge level. The fight for control of the ship had begun. All hands were ordered to fall back to the bridge, but Fords group was cut off. After a small lull in the income of wasps, they had managed to find shelter in a storage cellar. The sounds of fighting had stopped a while ago. The ship had been captured!


Mathew Dondala was in the briefing room, giving orders to his strike team, which consisted of five members. Himself; the second in command Maria Balan. A tall, brown haired, yellow eyed, woman who was the spirit of independence; Donor Pruit, a blue-eyed new recruit from earth, promising, who’s love of explosives surpassed even his love for food, coincidentally, he was the demolition/engineer of the group. scout Blen Kastari, who graduated with flying colors from the spy academy, he was stocky, well built, yet lithe, in his forties, and just starting to get a good grip on life. He was black-eyed, which was the standard universal color. In addition, Nara Manhen, elite trooper, young, but already considered a veteran. She was short, black haired, and the most striking feature, was her red eyes. A very rare trait that only a few people in the entire universe could claim. She hated men, some called this a weakness, others, including herself, considered it an advantage. Mathew double-checked his supply of ammo packs. He was feeling doubts about this mission, he and Maria were supposed to be on the planet Agora surfing their hearts out. They were soon to be engaged, and had spent the better part of 3 years dating each other. He normally did not have doubts about missions, especially with such skilled members as Nara and Blen by his side, but the thought of dragging his girlfriend into a possibly hostile situation did not really appeal to him, but a mission was a mission. Somebody had to do it, and he figured an expert team had a better chance of coming out alive then a rookie one. He finished stuffing supplies into his pack. He hoisted it up onto his shoulder and moved in the direction of the shuttle.
“Alright kids, lets go”.
Blen looked up.
“Hey, watch at who you’re calling a kid yung’en. You’re looking at a soon to be antique.” Maria smiled as she followed Mathew into the shuttle.
“Don’t worry Blen, its only temporary; Mathew will feel the effects soon.”
“Hey, so will you deary, you’re about the same age.”
Blen finished his own packing when Nara walked by. She glanced at him.
“Pathetic” was all she said.
Blen rose to his feet.
“Why do I feel so cut off?”
Doner was right behind him
“You’re not the only one.”
Soon the pod was packed full. Blen took his seat at the controls, and the shuttle rocketed into space.


Ford peered out the small window built into the storage compartment door. Thirteen bugs stalked past. Some of them were carrying stun blaster side arms. The a-35 assault rifles were likely to big for the bugs to carry. One of them glanced at the door. Ford dropped to his knees. Slowly he rose and looked out again. The bugs were gone. He turned to the 10 remaining crewmembers.
“I think they know were alive, they appear to be searching for us.”
“That door wont hold them if they decide to look here” lt. Timothy Vrant said.
Ford closed his eyes, and appeared to be thinking deeply.
“Were ok, for water, but we’ll need solids”
He rubbed his eyes; fatigue was beginning to creep in.
”ok, we will split into two groups. Group 1 will head to the galley and see if they can rummage anything edible. Group 2 will search for possible escape routes. We will meet back here in… 1 hour. Timothy, mind taking group one?”
Timothy stood up and checked the ammo supply in his blaster. “It would be a pleasure, I am rather hungry.”
“Heh, I’ll take group two, remember, only 1 hour. If you cannot make it back here before then, head back before you reach the galley. If we can find an escape possibility we wont have to worry about food that much. Also, if you do happen to find anything that might be an escape route, let us know, ok? Ok people, their patrols are few and far between, so if we do this carefully, we just might be able to pull this off!”

The small shuttle approached the large battleship. The ‘Marlen’ was drifting slowly, slightly tilted to one side.




2


Freer: a small lush planet several galaxies away from Narda. Its population consisting almost entirely of small red moss mites. Larger herbivores also dwelt in the few prairies and glades between the masses of conifers, pines, and spruces. The federation had set up a small research camp in one of these glades. It had a crew of about 200 people. The majority scientists. Only small arms had been provided for defense, since there were no known predators on the planet. The commander of the base – a short, well muscled, and stocky man named Justin Carpali – was patrolling the outer perimeter. He did not expect to find anything, and was only performing the act for the sake of record. Freer was a boring planet. Thus, he was not surprised when he came across two guards fallen asleep over a crate they had apparently been using as a card table.
“Morning gentlemen.”
They snapped awake, and after recognizing, Justin snapped to attention as well.
“Captain, sir!”
“At ease, you know I’m retired.”
He had retired several months ago due to a bad leg, and had joined the ranks of the military scientists.
“Still getting used to it sir.”
“Anything to report?”
“A few horses” – ‘horses’ were the larger herbivores that were afore mentioned, they weren’t really horses. They have six legs, and are about the size of a car, but they have the same basic shape as a horse. – “dust mites, and of course, skeeters.”
“A few drinks as well huh?”
“Uh... well… it was a long night, and….”
“Don’t get so white around the face soldier, I don’t mind. In fact I…...” – he was distracted by a depression in the ground about 12 yards away in the direction of the surrounding forest. – “say, what is that over there?”
“What’s what?”
“Follow me.”
They walked over the spot and Justin knelt down.
“Looks like an over sized bear track.”
“What’s a bear?”
“Oh, it’s a large omnivore that is found on earth, maybe here too, but this one must be massive! At least 4,000 pounds.”
“That’s big sir.”
“Yah…. Big… keep alert boys.”
“Yes sir!”
He began walking towards the mess tent to acquire his breakfast. As he walked, he mulled over the event. A bear that size would be a massive threat to the lightly armed camp. He tried to remember all he could about bear behavior. He knew they ate berries, as well as meat if they could find it. Heck, they would eat anything. He could not remember if they hunted or not. Maybe they did, or maybe they just scavenged. He realized that he did not know much about bears. Maybe somebody in the camp did. Oh well, he was hungry, and he could not think when he was hungry. After receiving a pre made plate, he sat down with corporal Zanzoo, a citizen of the Morroc system.
“Hello Zan, you know anything about bears?”
“Great great grandfather eaten by bear.”
“Really? Well, what else do you know about them?”
“Great great grandmother eaten by bear.”
“Do you have a relative that wasn’t eaten by a bear?”
“Yes, my son.”
“Everyone else eaten by a bear?”
“Long time, our family live in Morroc forest, many bears, big bears, I move my son and me out of forest when bears start eating to much.”
“You ever hunted a bear?”
“Killed 10 bears that ate my family.”
“Really? Well then, I have good reason to believe there is a bear, or something like a bear, around the camp. About 4000 pounds maybe.”
“No bear get that big, biggest bear 2500, if you got bear that big, get you out of forest.”
“’fraid we can’t do that Zan, were here on commission, it’s not a yard sale after all. Do you think you could hunt the bear?”
“I no hunt bear that big, bad manna, get ate by bear that big.”
“Well Zan, its either we hunt it, or it hunts us, you say you killed 10 bears, I'm sure you can at the very least, track this one down for us?”
“Get eaten by bear that big!”
“*cough* what about this… 3 times and a half pay for the hunt. But, if it takes to long, no pay.”
“I get ready.”
“Hold on Zan, I’ve got to find some volunteers to go with us.”
“I no work with people, I hunt alone.”
“Cant risk it Zan, at least 2 others besides me.”
“Ok…but no promise.”
“No catch no pay, as long as you remember that.”
“I do my best, sir.”
“Very good.”

Since he had a bear hunter now he needed the volunteers. He figured the best way to do that was to use the c.a. system. He entered his office, and switched it on. Clearing his throat, he raised it to his mouth.
“this is Justin Carpali, your commander, I’m looking for volunteers for a bear hunt, if you are interested, come to my office, I only want people with real good experience, so if that’s not you, stay away. Thank you.”
He had not expected a mob, but he got one. Nearly half the camp had arrived in his office in less than ten minutes. He ushered them out side and then called them in, one at a time this time. He had gone about halfway through the group, and had yet to find anyone suitable, when Lieutenant Jade rushed in.
“Sir!”
“Yes?”
“You have to see this!”
“See what?”
“Real hard to explain sir, but it’s got something to do with your bear.”
“Oh! Ok, just a sec,” he switched on the c.a. again. “Corporal Zanzoo please come to the….”
“Sled run.”
“Right, come to the sled run please? Thank you.”



“Incoming bugs sir!”
“Duck down! Schyler! Put down that antenna!”
Lieutenant Timothy Vrant and his team were making their way to the galleys. Already, they had run into several bug patrols, but had managed to avoid all of them.
Soon, the patrol passed and Timothy ordered his team to continue.
“Where are we Schyler?”
“Deck 3, corridor 58, were almost to the galley sir.”
“Good, were almost out of time too.”
The patrols had slowed them down greatly. Therefore, it would take them about 29 minutes to make the mile long trek to the galleys. The ship was only about a half mile long, but since one simply could not go straight, getting from place to place involved navigating a massive maze. 500,000 feet cubed in total. Impressive for a ship only 2500 feet long. They rounded a corner, and timothy nearly ran into the dead end face first.
“Heck and a hand basket! Schyler! You told me this led straight to corridor 55, which led to deck 2 and from there straight on to the galleys! What is wrong here! We do not have time to make it around now! Heck! Do you even know where we are? What’s up with you Schyler?”
“I – I… I do not know… I can’t think, I – I – I.”
“Sir, his head is bleeding, he may have a concussion. It could be hindering his ability to think clearly.”
“*sigh* …. Ok, you take him back to the hold, we’ll see if we can’t get out of this mess.”
Suddenly a barrage of acid fire came raining in at them.

Blen was skillfully piloting the shuttlecraft past the dorsal fin of the Marlen. The five specialists were making last minute check up on their weapons and various clicks and beeps sounded throughout the cabin. Doner glanced out a side viewport, looked back to his work, and did a double take.
“Say!”
They all stopped and looked at him.
“What?” they said almost in unison.
“I’ve been to this system before, and I could have sworn that that planet was bigger. It’s almost as if the entire top layer just floated away…”
Mathew slapped a power pack into his rile. “That doesn’t matter doner, we have to focus on the mission. I have to tell you guys, this one doesn’t sound to good, if we don’t stay focused, we’ll buy it in there, you hear me? I have many misgivings, and I really do not want to lead you fine people into that ship; I do not want to risk lives. Nevertheless, I have to. Blen, Nara, your both capable of taking care of yourself, and im not to worried about you, but I want you to know, it will be a pleasure to serve with you, and I hope you come out alive. Maria, I know you are strong, but you are in my heart, and it hurts for you to be in danger, I know it is the job, but…. Just take care of yourself in there. Doner, you are too young to throw your life into a situation this dangouruos. However, if I cannot sway you from your decision of joining us, let me at least tell you this: be carefull. Ok, let’s go in, find out what's wrong, and do out best to fix it, ok?”
“Yes sir!”
Doner smiled. “I will be sir.”
Blen patted Mathew on the back. “We’ll do fine.”
Nara layed her weapon down. “It’s an honor.”
Maria looked at Mathew long and hard before replying. “I had wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and if I die today, I will have achieved that. And I will not feel sorry for it, in my 24 years of life, I have done many things, but nothing can compare to the joy I feel from serving with you. If we are to die, may we die fighting for life, and with out boots on.”
Mathew leaned over and he and Maria kissed. More was said in that moment than an hour long seminar could have achieved.
“Alright then, gentlemen, ladies, lets do this.”
The beeps and clicks sounded again as the shuttle made its way to the aft docking hatches.


“Ford! 10 bugs incoming!”
“Darn it!”
Fords group was in the upper corridors near the docking hatches. They had checked that area and there were no ways off the ship there. They had been returning to the cellars when the bugs fell upon them. Ford glanced around quickly, looking for hiding spots. There was none. The corridor was smooth walled, a bend back the way they had come led to the hatches, but it was many yards away and they would not make it in time. Oh well, no point not trying.
“Assume formation 2-3! Two firing, three retreating! Let’s move!”


The shuttle rocketed into the aft docking hatches. It slowed quickly, and latched onto the inner hull. Effectively sealing the other wise open hatch. Life support was administered into the inside and when all was safe, a ceiling light flashed green. The door of the pod lowered forming a ramp down to the ground. The team piled out, grateful for the extra air.  Doner advanced to the blast door leading to the inside of the ship. He inputted a code into the small keypad by the door. Nothing happened. He tried again, still nothing. He sighed, and then turned to Mathew.
“Can I blow it?”
If they blew it, it would attract attention, he didn’t much care for that, but then again, how would they get in?
“Let me hot wire it” Blen stepped forward.
“Thanks Blen, go ahead.”
Doner shrugged and stepped aside. Blen stepped forward; wringed his hands together, and began the process. Twenty minutes later Mathew was checking his blaster for the twenty-first time. Doner was standing by the blast door his hands twitching. Nara was staring out the viewport into space. And Maria was reading a letter that had arrived from home a week ago. She savored every moment that she received from her frail father.
“I got it!”
They all jumped and turned to Blen. A second blast door closed over the first one, nearly smashing Doners tapping foot.
“Ok, 1 up, 2 to go.”
Mathew sighed. “Keep at it.”
They all returned to their distractions and a little while later Nara spoke.
“The ships thrusters just activated, brace.”
They did, and a second later the ship rocketed forward.”
Mathew moved to the view port.
“There was no activity on the radio, but now the ships moving? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Blen stepped back, “I’m not getting anywhere, and I think we’ll have to blow it.
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Ok, Doner, do your stuff.”
“Sir, I’m glad I didn’t, there’s no escape room for the forces generated to go, and concussive forces would kill us. If we can’t hotwire it, were not opening it.”
“Darn it! This is no good. You sure you can’t hot wire it Blen?”
“I'm very sure; I’ll just end up making it worse.”
“Ok…. Let us see. Lets cut it.”
“With what?”
“Umm… Doner, can you rig one of your mines into a laser?”
“It’ll only be a temporary one, but yah.”
“Do it.”
Doner sat down and began. First he un-set the mine, trapping its chemicals into one compartment, then he carefully removed the capsule. Opening up the main body of the mine, he inserted two ruby panels, one on each side, placing the capsule between them. He cut off the top of the circular mines shell, only a small bit, thumb width maybe, and placed the end behind the capsule. He then placed the main body inside the shell. He got out a knife, and facing the opening of the shell at the door, punctured the capsule and quickly removed his hand. The agitated chemicals collided, and released particles, which in turn bounced on the ruby mirrors, and created more, faster moving, particles, with only one way to go, they came out as a laser through the opening of the shell. Within minutes, the protons had expended themselves, and the laser stopped.
“Half way through sir.”
“Rig another one.”
“Yes sir.”
Doner then repeated the process.


The barrage of acid fire from the bugs mixed with the blue bolts from the stolen stun blasters. Ford’s team had retreated down the corridor until only one hundred yards remained between them and a bend that was supposed to lead to the aft docking hatches. Two bugs had been eliminated, but four more came through a side door between them and the docking hatches. Strangely enough, they paid no attention to the current fight, and instead headed off towards the docking hatches. Ford thought that they would lay an ambush for his team.
“Hold your ground! Steady!"
The bugs continued their assault; soon the new threat that had arrived would be dealt with.

         “I’m out sir.”
         “What do you mean your out? Just rig another mine.”
         “It takes a certain type of mine, otherwise the protons just degenerate before they can be focused into a strong enough beam. I’m out of the chemicals that create strong enough protons.”
         “Blen, you’re sure you can get in?”
         “Positive Mat. Since they’ve changed the codes I would probably just end up doing more harm than help.”
         “Wait, since Who changed the codes?”
         “All battleships use a single six digit code for access, it is not supposed to be tampered with, if it doesn’t work then somebody probably changed it, who? I don’t know, maybe it’s a mutiny, could be faulty wiring for all I know.”
         As if to answer the question, the blast doors started disintegrating, globs of green goo dripping down in the rapidly spreading gaps. When the process was completed four shadowy forms stood, silhouetted in the light from the corridor beyond. They were thin, large headed, with two wings apiece. Their three fingered hands were clenched menacingly. The only reason you could not fear them was their measly four foot height.
         Suddenly the middle two leapt forward with immense speed and formed and launched a glob of goo apiece from their jaws. The shots were headed straight at Mathew, and they were going so fast it did not look like anything could be done to stop them. Maria screamed.
         With equal speed, Nara had thrown herself in front of Mathew her blast vest intercepting the globs of acid. In the same fluid movement, she had raised her assault rifle and squeezed the trigger. The extreme heat of focused light beams almost immediately incinerated the two bugs. Nara then turned her attention to the two remaining bugs, and they met the same fate.
         Mathew gasped. “Thanks Nara, I owe you one.”
         “My duty.”  She said simply.




3


         “It’s the first sign of any predatory species on this planet.”  Lt. Jade explained as the hover sled glided over the grassy hills and the thick trees, some of which exceeded the tallest hills in height. To the east was an expansive plain and there appeared to be a large number of animals within it. Justin leaned over the edge of the sled to get a closer look.
         As the sled neared the plain, he could make out the animals. There was a large herd of horses, about 50. Running amidst them were a dozen huge creatures. They were two legged, their feat were heavily furred, massive, bear shaped pads. Their legs heavily muscled towers of flesh. Their torsos were Cat like, but broad shouldered, their heads were shaped like wolves heads, though many times larger than even the largest timber wolf. All aboard the sled gasped in horror at the sight of the beasts.
         The two species appeared to be embattled with each other, Hunter Vs. prey. The horses were putting up a gallant fight, lashing out with their Clydesdale sized hoofs. Several of the hunters were even knocked down by a well-placed blow. One of them was surrounded by snorting horses and was eventually trampled to death. Despite these victories, the horses were in serious danger. The humans watched as one bear-wolf Picked up a horse in its massive arms and sprinted off into the forest with the screaming creature. Several other horses were either killed or carried off, and then the bear-wolves retreated.
         “Put the sled down near the dead one Jade. Let’s investigate.”
         “Yes sir.”
         When the sled set down, the humans; Justin, Jade, Zanzoo, and Sgt. Kliers, moved towards the massive body of the bear-wolf.
         “So this is our bear then.” Justin said as he prodded the corpse with his foot. “I had no idea there was something this dangerous on this planet.”
         “No one did sir. None of the previous expeditions reported anything of the kind. I will take some samples for analysis.” Jade went back to the Sled to get the needles and capsules. Justin looked over at Zanzoo who was staring with awe at the fallen bear-wolf.
         “What are you thinking Zan?”
         “This no ordinary creature, It has strength of bear, speed of tiger, wisdom of wolf. On my home, my people would worship creature. This one alpha creature. We have to go now.”
         “What? Why? Let’s get some samples first.”
         “No time, must go.”  Zanzoo quickly moved towards the sled. Jade had just got back.
         “What’s wrong with him? Oh yeah, the scanners are picking up a bunch of heat signs rapidly moving in this direction.”
         “Oh great, forget those samples Jade, Come on, let’s move!”
         Just as soon as they had all gotten back on the sled the bear-wolfs bolted into the field.
         “Jade! Take off now!”
         The sled was 20 feet in the air and the bear-wolves claws still raked long deep gouges in the titanium-steel hull as it leaped after the sled.
         “Ok Zan! What’s going on?”
         “Dead beast alpha male, pack mad, want vengeance. Pack will come after us. Get out of forest time.”
         “Want vengeance? I beg your pardon. There just…. Animals!”
         “I tell already, they have wisdom of wolf. They will hunt camp.”
         “Ahh…. Jade when we get back prepare some defenses, I am going to get on the hooter and get us a ride out of here. Better yet, make preparations to move the camp. If those things really are coming after us, then I’d rather be on a hill, not a field.”
         “Yes sir!”




         Nara pulled of the blast vest, it was dripping with green goo, she flung it to the ground in disgust. “I bet that stains.” She said sarcastically
Mathew and Maria were crouched down examining the dead bugs. “And what about their acid?” Maria asked. Mathew shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know.” He looked up as Nara came over. “But it doesn’t seem to be dangerous to humans.” 
They were interrupted by Doner muttering. “I should have brought something to store this stuff. I imagine it makes a great explosive!”
They all glanced at the remains of the door just as Blen came through it. Doner blinked in surprise. “Where you go?”
“I went scouting ahead. There appears to be a firefight down the hall.”
Mathew stood up. ”Alright team, let’s move.”
The group jogged down the corridor. After the left the discarded blast vest crumpled into nothingness, as if whatever was keeping it from achieving it’s goal, had left.

Only 20 yards remained between Ford’s group and the bend. Three bugs had been killed, but the humans were still pinned down, with no where to go. Suddenly Niko Farl took a stun blast directly in his forehead. The blast jerked his head backwards and he fell on his back with a smile on his face.

After a quick survey of the situation, the rescue team was discussing possible courses of action. Maria was monitoring the fight, and was peering around the bend. Just as Doner suggested throwing a stun grenade down the corridor, she spoke.
“Whatever we’re going to do we better do it soon, one of them just took a hit.”

Hyperspace Charter Niko Farl was about to fire his weapon when a sudden flash of blue light took him by surprise. As he felt his head moved backwards he thought he saw a mop of red hair that reminded him a lot of his old Dajarly, small furry monkey like creatures commonly used as pets on some worlds. He could not help but smile as he thought of his little Dajy.

Seeing a comrade shot down, space marine Davin Felth felt a surge of strength. He stood to his feet, raised his assault rifle and incinerated 2 bugs. After dodging a few returned shots, he took down another one. Unfortunately, he was forced to take cover again as the four remaining bugs let loose volley after volley of shot. Then suddenly without warning, a barrage of fire came from the corridor behind them, turning the four bugs into messy stains on the floor. The surviving humans turned and saw 5 heavily armed troopers standing at the end of the corridor weapons raised.
After quickly surveying the newcomers, Ford spoke.
“Um… hello… We’re the crew of this ship… and you are?”
“I am Mathew Dondola, U.S.U.P agent. This is Maria Balen, my second in command, Blen Kastari, scout from the Infiltrator Academy. Doner Pruit, and Nara Manhen. Your battleship  broke off content awhile ago, and my team and I were sent to find out what’s going on. I have approximately… ah… 10 hours to return, preferably with this battleship.”
“I am Lt. Heith Ford. This is Davin Felth, marine, gunnery officer Jasper Brown, engineer Kaytee Stez, and our unconscious navigator, Niko Farl. Besides us there is another 5 man group.”
“That’s all? Only 10 people? On the entire battleship?”
“Well, the ship was doing it’s scans, when suddenly we were hit by what we thought at the time, was a rock storm. It turned out to be the bugs, that you just happened to save us from. There are millions of them, I don’t know where they all are now, but when they attacked they were everywhere. The 10 of us managed to find shelter in a cellar. We tried radio contact, but there were no responses, I am sure we are all that are left. Unfortunately, the bugs managed to hack the computer, so they were tracking our signals; we had to dispose of our comms.”
“What signal does the ship use?”
“C-13 I believe.”
“Our radios use A-4, so they shouldn’t be able to track ours. How dangerous are the bugs? Without their blasters, I mean. When we first landed one of our members got hit by their acid, but it didn’t seem to do anything.”
“Really? Their acid is extremely lethal, at least as far as we observed. That is initially how they killed everybody. Maybe your armor protected you.”
“Where are the other ten then? We’ll find them and see if we cant reclaim the ship.”
“They were scouting about in the kitchen section, but they could be anywhere between there and the lower cellars. As for reclaiming the ship I don’t think that’s possible. As far as I’m concerned there are just too many bugs to even consider wiping them out.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. We’ll split into four groups. Doner, and Kaytee, take Niko back to the shuttle, and make sure we can take off fast. Nara, Daven head to the galley and try to locate the other five there, Blen and Jasper do the same in the lower cellars ok? Ford, Maria, and I will go to the bridge and coordinate the assault from there. Everybody stay in radio contact. Let’s go!”

Vrant’s team was being overrun. Schyler was dead, and another was stunned. The three remainders had done their best to hold off the enemies, with two firing and the other carrying their stunned comrade. They were making steady progress, and were almost to the galley. Suddenly a side door opened and dozens of bugs started pouring through it as well. They were trapped.
“We’re going to be overrun!” Timothy yelled. “There’s just to many!”
He searched desperately for an escape route with his eyes wile his arms and trigger finger laid waste to the oncoming bugs. Just as he was about to give up he spotted a possibility. The inner kitchen! It has only one door, and there was enough equipment in there to make a effective barricade. Anything was better than an open cafeteria.
He turned to his two comrades “To the kitchen!”
They half ran, half dragged themselves to the door. One of them was hit by a glob of acid in the back, but the other two made it, dragging the unconscious crewman as well. Timothy slapped the console, and the door hissed shut.
“That door won’t hold them for long, let’s barricade it.”
They piled up the shelves, holding frozen food, and whatever else they could find against the door. Then they overturned a large table and took up positions behind it, awaiting the oncoming storm.