Orbital Station Kappa-056, Planet Firrex, Tenlaub System, Federal Colonial Territories
Heavy cannonfire slammed into the orbital station high above the colonial planet’s capital city. Surrounding it was a quintet of Hegemony cruisers, each one circling the station as though they were vultures waiting for their prey to die.
Their sleek lines were accentuated by the thick armor and huge guns that peeked out all along their sides.
Up on the bridge of the lead cruiser, a Hegemony Rear Admiral watched as the battle unfolded on the screens in front of her. Her face was etched with a stern, stoic expression.
“Concentrate all cannons on the station’s main power junctions!” she barked. “All cruisers, fire on my mark!”
Pew pew pew. BRRRT. Boom!
The civilian fleet raced its way through the massive battlespace all around them. Most of them wove between ships and evaded as much fire as they could. The larger ones simply plowed their way through it all.“Where do you think you’re going, Fed scum?” taunted a Hegemony fighter pilot.A wing of fighters circled a civilian corvette - one of the many in the civilian fleet - and peppered it with simultaneous bursts of chaingun fire. They tore through its paper-thin armor with ease, and ripped through to its power plant.It quickly erupted into a red ball of plasma and tore the whole ship into pieces.Everyone heard their screams on comms for a brief moment before they were silenced forever.Amal sat in
Many of the civilian ships were able to escape the huge skirmish between the Hegemony and the Federation safely enough. Most of them were lucky enough to get away with scraped armor and a few punctures.Some made it, but had taken significant amounts of damage. Parts of their hull had been torn open, and some of their crew were lost.The cargo tanker took on the most amount of damage, and her hull was scarred with all kinds of damage. Blast marks, laser scoring, bullet dents. No doubt her repair bill was through the roof.But they were, for the most part, alive.Most of the ships headed off to the different parts of the planet, though at least half directed themselves towards the planet’s capital city. The city itself was highly contested, and both the Federation a
Eva and Claire walked towards town hall, which was located at the exact center of the settlement. Almost all of the settlements they had come to were laid out similarly. In some cases, they were the exact same.For the most part, the town hall was in the center simply because that’s what every settlement had built first. Everything else was assembled around it, no doubt based on standardized layouts that their building printers came pre-programmed with.Almost all town halls themselves were the exact same design, and so the Ravens learned to spot them on sight.Eva supposed it was the best performing design. Or at the very least, the default blueprint that was good enough so no-one bothered to modify it.The sounds of shouting and arguing grew louder and louder the
It was hours later when Firrex’s sun broke dawn, and slivers of golden light spilled across the settlement.But the work had already long since started. Throngs of people gathered around the Spirit of Amelia, whose belly was lowered and all her cargo was exposed. A handful of settlers wearing load-lifting exosuits pulled down crates of food and set them into piles off to the side.Meanwhile, Miko’s imposing chaingun drones patrolled all around and kept the peace by their presence alone.Miko and Amal were off closer to the ramp, and were talking with the settlement’s primary doctor. All three seemed to be in good spirits.“Thanks for your help Azrael,” said the doctor. “Without you and your meds, this settlement would still
Large flakes of snow drifted lazily down onto the quiet mountain settlement on HDV-502. A thin layer of it gathered up everywhere, but melted quickly along the heated roads and rooftops. Their warmth ensured none gathered too quickly, at least to a certain degree.Any further than a simple flurry, and the cold would have overwhelmed the settlement’s surface heating systems.All other places though, in corners and alleyways and secluded zones, snow and ice from previous cycles piled up nearly a meter high. These areas never enjoyed such leisures. Almost all colonies couldn’t enjoy unlimited energy like the Sol system - only the richest solar systems in Federation space were able to employ Dyson Spheres to get power.Small settlements such as this one had to rely on traditional fusion generators for power,
Planet Dro’ren, Fusil System, Federal Colonial TerritoriesEva’s tall mud boots sank into the soft ground with a wet SQUISH. In fact, all their boots did the same as they traversed the water-logged wetlands that Dro’ren was known for. The ground was so soft that their feet sank down to their ankles with each step.The Ravens all wore their rugged exploration outfits, each with C-ranked light ballistic armor over top of them. And also the mud boots. Without them, their feet would have been soaked in water long ago.“Remind me again why we’re here?” asked Eva.“Not a bad question,” said Max. “Allow me to add to it… Why am I here? It’s not like I’m getting paid like the rest of you are.”
Eva quickly drew her Handcannon and aimed it squarely at the swamptoad’s head, specifically right below the armored ridge between its bulbous eyes. She presumed that was roughly where its brain was.“Wait!” cried Amal. “Don’t shoot it!”“What? Why the hell not?” asked Eva.“‘Coz you might end up damaging its poison sac, wherever it is. With all that moss on it, it’s impossible to tell!”“Doubt it’d be right next to its brain.”“And you know where its brain is, yeah?”“Fine, so what do-”Before Eva could finish her sen
Back at the settlement, deep inside the clinic, past the foyer, and beyond the welcome desk. Past the general prognosis station, and past the patient recovery rooms. Upstairs, inside of the special care unit, a young man slept on a medical pad. A rebreather was attached to his mouth and nostrils, and it ensured that his chest rose and fell with regularity.Even as he slept with a face scrunched up in pain.His clammy and pale skin was accentuated by dark and highly visible veins just underneath. Anyone who looked closely could see his blood pumping weakly inside them.He looked like a corpse on the brink of being alive.Around him were a handful of other beds, all filled with children roughly his age. All just as poisoned as he was. Each of them seemed to be