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The Shadow Hawk jerked violently as it entered the asteroid belt that surrounded the planet of Vrsabha. So far the shields were holding even though giant rocks were slamming into the ship’s hull. Yarkoon held the controls tightly banking left and right to avoid the largest asteroids. He even fired the ships cannons to break up some of the chunks so he could fly straight through them.
Hawk entered the cockpit with a satisfied look on his face “she’s the princess of Mithuna” he said with a gruff laugh “finally broke the little wench.”
“Princess, no wonder we drew unwanted attention back there” Alex said “I hope this doesn’t turn out bad.”
“Even if the ADF mobilized their fleet fast enough to follow us it will take them some time to navigate the space lanes. Besides the SOTA will be in our hands momentarily then we will be invincible!”
His plans were coming close to fruition at last. Hawk Hawthorne and a band of Raiders tried once before to get their hands on the weapon. They even managed to break through the ADF’s perimeter and capture the scientists who would help them unleash its power. If the blasted lead scientist Prof. Martin had tried to run for help, Hawk’s team wouldn’t have had to kill them.
But after that disappointment the Raiders decided to leave the weapon and regroup on Karka to try and come up with another plan of attack. The border wars were taking heavy tolls on both sides. The Raiders decided the weapon wasn’t worth it. But Hawk didn’t agree and so he left the group creating his own splinter cell of Renegades. He believed the weapon was worth it and now he was close to finding out if he was right.
“Yarkoon, program these coordinates into the navigation unit. I want to land as close as possible to the Sanctuary without being spotted” Hawk said handing a slip of paper to the pilot.
“Will do” Yarkoon responded hitting the proper keys in sequence to activate the landing gear as soon as they broke the stratosphere.
“Stalker come with me” Hawk turned his attention to his right hand man “we need to arm up. I don’t want any surprises once we land.”
Alex Stalker opened the footlockers where the arms were stored. Several assault rifles and boxes of ammunition rested at the bottom of each one. They were leftovers from their time with the Raiders. Hawk managed to smuggle a few out under the noses of their previous employers which was no easy task. Firearms as a general rule were very expensive and in very short supply. Only well equipped and financially backed armies such as the Allied Defense Forces could afford to arm their troops with them. Most militia groups like the Raiders had to rely on hand to hand combat weapons such as blades. But due to a lucky break the Raiders attacked a cargo ship carrying weapons for the Alliance and were overjoyed to find a large stockpile of rifles and ammo.
“Toss me the Spectre” Hawk nodded in the direction of a submachine gun with built in noise suppression.
Alex complied and then grabbed the Dragonauv Snyper for himself before closing the lid on the footlocker. The two men went to the ramp which took them past the cargo hold. Alex Stalker took a quick peek inside and noticed that the Mithunaen princess Skylar Blu now lay on the floor naked and covered in bruises. He knew Hawk was a hard man but didn’t think him capable of such brutality.
“Geesh Hawk, was that really necessary?”
Hawk Hawthorne gave him the evil eye before replying “are you questioning my methods? Of course it was necessary, the little wench fought back.”
Skylar Blu’s whimpering could be vaguely heard in the corridor. She tried her best not to succumb to the pain but it was proving too much for her. She had never been treated this horribly before; no one would dare lay a hand on a Princess of Mithuna. At least not while on Mithuna and she had never been off world before now.
She struggled to remain conscious afraid that if she didn’t she might never wake up again. What had the beast done with her clothing? The cold steel floor was forcing goose bumps across her flesh. Her teeth chattered and Skylar couldn’t help shaking. She had to endure a little longer for she knew her father would be sending someone to rescue her. Or at least he would’ve advised the Interplanetary Council of the situation and then the Alliance would probably send ADF forces.
Thinking about the Allied Defense Forces brought back her memories of Captain Rick Rapture. He was the kindest man she had ever met. Skylar had given herself to him completely and in the end he rejected her. Not out of some evil intentions but because of their different political stations, him the soldier and she the princess. ‘It could never work’ he had said to her at one point ‘the Council will never allow it’. What the hell did their happiness have to do with the Alliance? She didn’t care what they thought why did he?
This made her wonder where he was at now. Was he still off fighting for the ADF in some god forsaken outer territory? Or was he retired living it up back on Tula, married to some trashy woman that wasn’t good enough for him?
Moments later across the ship’s loud speaker Hawk’s voice crackled through “Yarkoon engage the cloaking device and stay here with the prisoner.”
With that last order Hawk and Alex disembarked the ship and headed east toward the location of the Sanctuary. Vrsabha had once been home to a highly advanced technological race of cybernetic organisms. But that was nearly millennia ago before the Interplanetary Alliance was formed. The ruins on Vrsabha were a treasure trove for those interested in history or technological pursuits. The Sword of the Apocalypse was found accidently by a group of historians on pilgrimage just before the border wars started.
Rumors of advanced weaponry then flooded through the galaxy reaching the ears of both the Alliance and their enemies such as the Raiders. Hawk often wondered about the people who created these wonders and what happened to cause them to die out. It didn’t seem he would get answers however unless he too decided to study the various ruins searching for clues.
“Just over the next rise is where the Sanctuary is supposed to be” Hawk told Alex “I want you to take cover in those trees at the top of the hill and keep a lookout. If anyone comes near the building I want you to take them out with that Dragonauv. I’m going to run ahead and check out the Sanctuary and see if I can locate the SOTA.”
Hawk entered the building pointing the Spectre submachine gun in front of him. The antechamber was littered with corpses wearing ADF issue fatigues. It looked as if the team met an ambush. He peered at the bodies but they were at least two to three years old judging by the decomposition. Still he should be careful for any such ambushes that might be lying in wait.
He skirted the wall of the room avoiding the bodies as much as he could and then proceeded through the door on the other end leading into a darkened hallway. He heard the ‘thwang’ of the trap before he saw the darts bursting forth from the walls on either side of him. Hawk dropped prone to the floor as the small metal projectiles whizzed by overhead.
“That was a close one” he muttered scanning the area for anymore traps.
Just inside the doorway was a small rectangular pressure plate now depressed into the floor from where he had stepped on it. Hawk looked and found three more such plates in this corridor. He careful stepped over these as he made his way to the T junction at the end. The Vrsabhians were very crafty indeed for their traps to still be operational.
Outside the Sanctuary Alex Stalker could see several figures moving in the distance, but even the scope of the Dragonauv could not bring them close enough for him to make out clearly. He kept his eyes trained on them as best he could, waiting until they wandered in range of his snyper. A loud screeching noise pierced the air causing him to cover his ears to keep his eardrums from bursting.
The noise came from the figures in the distance as if it were some mechanical creature letting out a cry of pain. As the noise rescinded Alex scanned the area only to find he had lost track of the figures. He looked around quickly in all directions trying to locate them. He began to panic as he heard footsteps coming up fast behind him. Then he felt nothing else as a large metal claw stabbed him through the back.
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Snnochie Boochies!
