Equinox I.S

[† Anras Rune]

here's another chapter of the story, but on a side note...i hvae put some asterixs ( * ) in to explain terms that some may not understand. The definitions are at the bottom.

Chapter 6: La Dolce Luccia

MDA-3's Spaceport Elevator, Nova Olympia, Mars

"There we go, all new" said a toned man wearing a welder's mask, covered in scars and bruises, holding an industrial welder in one hand, and a cigar in the other. He was welding a piece of toned red metal onto the side of a small corvette* class ship.

There was another man, also smoking a cigar and wearing a welding mask. He was trying to lift a large metal crate, but seemed to be struggling to do so. Eventually after much huffing and pushing he dropped the crate, which spilled its apparently volatile content all over the floor, jugding by the way he jumped back and dived to the floor. The toned man saw what happened an dove off to the side as well. They both peered over the top of another metal crate and started whispering.

"If that thing blows up Luccia I'm going to kill you" said the toned man, obviously pissed off at the other man's carelessness,"Or better yet, I'll make you pay for the damage, then kill you"

"Don't get you balls in a bunch Jericho, it won't go up in flames. The damn ship can re-enter the atmosphere and you're bitching a mere chemical fire will blow it up!" shouted the other man in retort.

"I KNOW it won't blow the whole thing up you damn idiot, I meant it better not ruin the damn paint job!" screamed Jericho.

After a while of arguing and few little fist fights the pair got up to see that nothing had happened, La Dolce Luccia was still there, in all her splendid glory. Jericho victory fisted the air and smacked the other man again for good measure, then proceeded to hug his ship.

La Dolce Luccia was a small corvette* class ship with a minimum crew requirement, 2 people could easily pilot this small craft and not have much problems, making it the perfect blockade runner. It's outer hull was made from a strong alloy combining titanium with various ceramics and had a tinted red surface. The actual craft was extremely aerodynamic, due to it's neccesity of re-entry for its job, smuggling. The design also gave it an agressive look about it, with it's minimal exterior portholes and its large rear engine block. The overall result was a ship that was both fast and intimidating, despite it's small size and minimal weaponry. The fuselage had only one decoration, a life size figurehead of a woman in a renaissance dress, at the prow of the craft. This seemed to be the object of Jericho's affections.

"I'm sorry for the idiot almost killing you ma lady, but you're okay aren't you?" asked Jericho, with what seemed to be actual concern in his voice, as if talking to a real woman.

There was no answer. But the silence was broken by another noise. The noise of the dock doors being opened, and the noise of Antonov's heavy footsteps bounding across the hangar floor. Jericho turned to see the commotion and saw that Antonov was carrying a pair of, or what appeared to be, children.

"What the fuck is this?!" shouted Jericho, throwing his hands up to empahsize his distaste,"I thought I was only taking you, not children!"

"Things have changed, now get us out of here before THEY catch up!" replied Antonov, between deep breathes.

"Who?"

"You don't want to know..."

.

*A corvette is a type of ship that ranges between ships of a frigate class and fast attack/patrol ships. In this saga, corvettes are generally between 50 to 300 metres and normally have a full crew of around 8 to 30, with some craft being able to field many more or less depending on design. Most corvettes are generally high orbit patrol craft, or fast transport craft, but their small managable size makes them suited to many tasks.

[† RazorDan]

just read it all............... tis great! looking forward to more!

[Kekashi]

Awesome chapter Rune!!! Keep it up man!

[† Anras Rune]

sorry for the ridiculous delay folks, been busy and distracted. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Escape! Part 1

MDA-3's Spaceport Elevator, Nova Olympia, Mars

"You don't want to know..."

"Oh believe me, I do" said Jericho, pulling out his pistol out and pointing it at Antonov's head. Antonov stopped in his tracks and looked at Jericho. A lesser man would have probably had a heart attack.

"Do you seriously think that is wise? Tell your mechanic to bring up the elevator base's camera feed. Landing pad 4. See where I just came from" replied Antonov, still staring at the end of Jericho's red pistol. The metal glinted as red light shined off the Dolce Luccia.

"Eddy! Get that feed up! Tell me what you see?!" shouted Jericho at his mechanic, who had already boarded the Luccia. He checked the dock cameras and scrolled through till he found the landing pad cameras.

"You might want to see this Jericho! It ain't pretty." shouted Eddy in a suprised manner.

Jericho lowered his pistol for a moment, and turned around to see what Eddy had in his hand. Eddy had ran out of the Luccia with a small, portable see through tablet screen. On the screen was an angled aerial view of Landing Pad 4, or what you could see through the smoke. There was Elevator security forces and ambulances surrounding a destroyed dropship. But something was wrong with the picture. Jericho could see it had already landed when it had been destroyed, but he couldn't see vapor trails or lateral scorch marks, which meant they weren't attacked from the sides. Then it donned on him.

"They are up here?!" he said as he turned on Antonov. He nodded.

Eddy looked at Jericho and they shared a single thought. Get the hell out.

"Get the Luccia ready, get her started!" shouted Jericho, as he turned back to Antonov,"Have you got the package?"

"Yes, and these children. They are even more important. You will be rewarded for their safe transport." replied Antonov who had managed to gain his breath.

"Okay, sure, but whats with the hoods?" asked Jericho, as he ran to get the loading machine to speed up its cargo transfer.

"I can't show you here. Later" commented Antonov bluntly, his thick accent veiling a cold undertone. He made his way to the craft's side entrance and ran into the ship. Eddy showed him to room for him to bunk in and returned to his duties while Jericho continued loading the supplies as fast as possible.

A large screeching noise came from the dock doors and was followed by a large patter of footsteps. Jericho quickly look around one of the crates and saw a group of six soldiers, from their attire, running across the hanger floor. They were all wearing grey block-camo Power Armor* and had a look of intense purpose. Jericho ducked to the side and moved closer to the open hatch. He tried to contact Eddy over his radio, but it turned out not to be neccesary.

"Psst! Jericho, here!" whispered Eddy, who had noticed the soldiers and was hanging out the exterior hatch with Jericho's backpack. He slid it over the floor, and it came to a stop just out of Jericho's reach.

"Shit! Sorry Jeri!"

"Cheers a bunch!" murmered Jericho under his breath. He glanced out again to see the soldier's progress. They were halfway between the hangar doors and the Luccia, and Jericho glanced back to see the supplies progress. They were almost fully loaded.

"Ah, fuck it!" he shouted, drawing his pistol and firing a couple of rounds down range. He didn't hit anything, but that wasn't the idea. They scattered, crouching down and spreading out. But in the distraction Jericho ran to his backpack.

By the time Jericho had got his backpack and reached cover again the soldiers had already opened fire. Jericho took his holster off, and fired a few more rounds at the scattered soldiers. He then dropped his pistol and opened his backpack. Inside was a large brief case shaped block, made from similar red tinted metal to the Luccia. He pulled it out of the backpack and placed it on the floor at his feet, firing off a few more rounds from his pistol inbetween the movements. He pressed the only visible button on the case and a small bead of glass protruded. The glass scanned his posture and began to unfold on his legs. After a couple of moments, and a bit of reposturing, the case unfolded completely into a red brushed Power Armor. As the face plate clipped into place he removed a rifle from a holster on his back, stored his pistol in the Armor's leg. Next he hailed Eddy on the com link.

"Eisaku! Get us the hell out of here!" shouted Jericho into the com, as he peered around the corner of the crate he was hiding behind. He squeezed off a quick burst from his rifle and was treated to a scream of pain.

Meanwhile the soldiers had spread out in a wide semi circle. They were planning to flank Jericho, and at least 3 were in his blind spot. They edged closer every second, returning fire when shot at, but only to surpress their enemy, so not to give away their movements. They saw one of ther comrades go down screaming, being hit in the thigh and hip by a burst from a rifle. They advanced cautiously, one soldier reaching the rear cargo bay hatch just as it closed.

Jericho let off another burst, clipping another soldier but not downing him. He cursed and wondered why Eddy/Eisaku hadn't answered. He saw that the supplies had been loaded and the hatch had closed, but he had to hold them off a little longer while the Luccia started up. Someone contacted him over the com.

"Eisaku eh? It must be bad! You never call me by my real name! We'll be out of here in a jiffy, the engines are going throught the ignition sequences now, but the dock is on lock-down." said Eisaku in a worried voice. He seemed out of breath.

"Just blow the bloody doors off!" screamed Jericho as he traded more salvos of ammuntion with the two soldiers in his sights. He didn't see the soldier sneaking up on him. But he did hear the shots...

.

*I've just realised I haven't really explained the few differences between Power Armor in this and in Pax. While both sagas use them for a wide variety of things, PA in this story isn't anywhere near as commonplace as in Pax. It is expensive to buy comercially, as such there isn't as much "sport" like aspects, at least at this point in the saga. In general they are used by soldiers, smugglers and all manner of combat orientated scenarios, but are commonplace in public services like the police and firefighters. It is also more advanced, with a very long life nuclear battery and facial/biometric recognition. It also needs a cyber interface module (CIM for short) too work and is more contolled by the mind than the body. Unlike PAX the only limitations are amount of weight and power a PA uses, and the stress the wearer can handle.

[Kekashi]

AWESOME Chapter Rune, I can't wait to read more!!!

[† RazorDan]

lol thanks for the explanantion but I already kinda got that tbh and a cliffhanger!

[† Anras Rune]

Chapter 8: Escape! Part 2

MDA-3's Spaceport Elevator, Nova Olympia, Mars

"Just blow the bloody doors off!" Jericho screamed, and was going to continue but was cut off by a pair of loud bangs, gunshots much closer than they should be. He flinched, tensing his muscles. But nothing connected.

He moved back to have a look what had happened, and saw one of the soldiers lying on the floor, with a pair of smoking holes in his Armor. Jericho couldn't see if he was breathing but he doubted he was. He pivoted on the spot to see who had shot him, and saw Antonov standing at the side hatch, with a rifle in his hand. His Armor was the same khaki colour of the suits he always wore, and he didn't seem much bigger than normal. The design itself was simplistic but striking, with an angular yet featureless faceplate and a minimal profile. He nodded at Jericho and ran down the stairs, readying his rifle as he went. The soldiers were surprised at the sudden apearance of the second assailant, another well trained enemy.

Meanwhile Eisaku was worried. Jericho and Antonov were outisde fighting these unknown soldiers, and he had to get the ship out of dock. When the dock doors were sealed shut. Jericho told him to blow the doors off but if he ddi that, the decompression could throw him or Antonov into the void. Or worse, the explosion could take out the whole hangar. He had to risk it.

"Jeri, you better hold on to something and get your ass in here!" he shouted over the com channel, hoping the sense of urgency was conveyed over the radio. He flicked a switch cover up and armed the Luccia's machine guns.

Jericho heard the telltale noise of the ships gunports opening and knew Eisaku was going to do it. He fired another round downrange and tried to hail Antonov, who had moved further under the ship and was currently spraying the right most soldiers with bursts of rifle rounds. Jericho managed to reach him without getting shot and pulled his foot to grab his attention. Antonov swiveled round quickly and saw Jericho with his thumb pointed up. Time to go!

Eisaku checked the side hatch camera to see where the pair were. Jericho had pushed Antonov into the ship and was shooting down range to stop one of the soldiers getting around to the cockpit. The first bullet connected and ripped through his Armor and skin. Jericho stepped onto the hatch just as Eisaku fired. The machine guns fired their large calibre weapons, ripping through the hangar doors like a it was paper. The explosive rounds blew metre wide holes in the doors, causing the door to buckle. It's reinforced metal ribbing was beginning to give way as Eisaku fired the cannons again, this time with a larger burst. Jericho closed the side hatch after hitting a large red caution button. As the hatch sealed, the hangar doors completely caved in, bending outwards on the seams and letting the last of the hangar's air out.

One of the soldier collapsed from hypoxia, the seal of his Armor having been broken during the fight. His chest had swelled and the oxygen wasn't getting in. The only soldier left standing checked the man's vitals, then shot him in the head. He wouldn't have survived. The soldier began firing on the LUccia again, but the thick ceramic plating was barely being scratched and bullets were riccocheting off into the distance. The Luccia's engines fired up, pushing the aggresive red craft along its anchoring clamps, four large metal cradle-like contraptions that held the ship in place along with its wheels. The sirens and warning lights were still going at it along with a new noise to add to the mix.

"This is MDA-3 Control Tower. I repeat. This is MDA-3 Control Tower. Ship No. Mike dash zero-eight-niner Dolce Luccia, you are not authorised to take off at this time. MDA-3 is on lock down. Please cease and desist. I repeat. Ship No..." and so on continued the voice over the annoucer. In the cockpit the same message was playing over the radio comms and Jericho didn't like it.

"Eddy, punch it!" shouted Jericho over the chorus of sirens, lights and angry voices.

Eisaku opened the throttle, putting the engines into maximum thrust. The rear wall of the hanger got the brunt of the force, bending and melting in the flame of the engine stream. The ship's docking clamps moved forward with the ship as it began to accelerate ever faster and after roughly 60 metres the clamps thrusted upwards letting go of the ship, and then downwards again, into the hanger floor. The Luccia was away and continued accelerating. The landing gear had retracted and the fuselage had changed ever so slighly for the faster travel becoming sleeker and more streamlined. By they weren't clear yet.

"MDA-3 Control to the Dolce Luccia, you have been warned. Cut engines or we will open fire. I repeat. Cut engines or we will open fire. This is your final warning"

Just before the end of transmission sign came up on screen, the rear view camera showed signs of movement. The station could be seen properly from here, its large saucer like main structure made of blackened alloys and ceramic plating. Every 10 degrees a large pylon-like tube stretched out roughly a kilometre in length. Some of these pylon-like contraptions were occupied by some of the largest ships in the Solar System. The main structure was visibly divided into three levels; the bottom one closest to the planet was where the public would get off the elevator and into the public area, which was littered with transit stations. The second level was the largest and contained all the docking stations, private and public. The third and final level was smaller than the second and housed the main control tower. It was also where all the defences were concentrated. It was these defences the crew of the Luccia just noticed pointing their way.

"Shit Eisaku, get us out of here! They are going to open fire!"

[Libitinarius]

You really have something special here. I could picture the whole story and look/feel of the characters. Your descriptions are spot on, I felt submerged in a sand storm filled with technologic wonders. I cannot wait for your next installment.