Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Nebula ❯ ch1 ( Chapter 1 )

Kindreil nonchalantly turned a corner and fired her Shredder into the chest of a young Kra'zak who had let his guard down. The weapon tore through his body, scattering grey flesh and purple blood across the ground. Before the corpse had fallen, she had thrown down her gun and snatched away the Kra'zak's Scatter cannon. Whilst leaping into the air and kicking the lifeless mass into one of the Terrans who had just spotted her, she used her momentum to come close enough to a tree to grab it with her tail. As she pulled herself up, she blew open the head of the second Terran and climbed away as fast as she could. Her crest was practically glowing red from the adrenaline of the last two seconds. Once at the top she spun around and leaped from the tree, hurling a sticky mine with deadly accuracy into the rising Terrans stomach. For a moment he stood there in shocked silence. And was blasted in half. Kindreil landed behind the sniper who had been trying to track her as she climbed and spun both of them around as a salvo of bullets whizzed toward them. She jammed her gun into the spine of the dead sniper and open fired, ripping a hole through him to give her a straight shot into the squad ahead of her. Two of them fell under her Scatter cannon and she threw the body aside and ran off into the jungle. The rest of her team had moved in to launch the main attack after her shock squad had done their work. She could hear the rattle of Assault rifles and the wet thuds of Shredders hitting home. Her team had been ordered to meet up again after the shock assault. But she had a special job. Kindreil dashed, unseen through the trees, never pausing for breath. She came to the metal wall of an enemy stronghold. Without stopping the Chamael ran half way up the wall and kicked off onto a tree, which she climbed with ease. She reached the top of the wall and backflipped off a branch and over into enemy territory, landing on an unlucky guard and breaking his neck. Off the assassin ran, ducking and weaving to avoid being spotted. It wasn't that she couldn't defeat them but that she couldn't afford to draw attention and risk losing her prey. Now there was a clearing with a Terran standing in the centre, alone and unguarded. Kindreil threw down her Scatter cannon and pulled out her modified Shock rifle. She peered into the image amplifier, tracing his head. This was their leader. This was her chance to prove herself. Even if he saw her now he wouldn't be able to use the Sniper rifle he was carrying fast enough. He wouldn't have time to aim. And with that he spun around and shot a neat hole through Kindreils eye. Without even aiming it properly.
The visor lifted away from her face as she was gently lowered to the floor by the neuron harness. With a gentle hiss the fifty or so mechanical arms supporting her disengaged and Kindreil dropped lightly to the metallic floor of combat simulator room Y. As she left, she peered up at the two score other soldiers running or leaping, but not going anywhere, suspended from the ground by the mechanical neurone arms that gripped them tightly. Even as she watched Terrans and Kra'zak were lowered to the floor around her. She scooped up her personal Shock rifle from the gun rack and headed through the automatic door. Three of the people who had fallen to her were waiting outside. A beaming Terran she knew by the name of Thardan, aswell as a female Terran she hadn't met before and the Kra'zak she blew away at the beginning of the melee who was nervously fingering a personal power pistol.
"Kindreil!"
Thardan charged up and picked her off her feet in a bear hug that knocked the breath out of her, not only because of his strength, but of his smell.
"Thardan..." she wheezed "Let go. You stink like an unwashed Soor'ka!"
"Ha ha ha. You always did have a sensitive nose, Kindreil." he chuckled.
"Thats not just me! I'm a Chamael, you brainless Trath, we're sensitive as a species"
He dropped her to the floor, grinning madly.
"Let me introduce my wife, Prill." he indicated the glaring woman next to him with her arms folded. Kindreil extended a three fingered hand to Prill who shook it quickly before folding her arms again.
"Don't mind her, she's just grumpy cuz you blew open her skull in the simulator."
Thardan laughed.
"And this fellow here's Go'mek." he told her, indicating the small figure of the Kra'zak
next to him.
"I didn't really stand a chance against you." Go'mek said grinning sheepishly. "But all pilots have to be proficient with a ranged weapon and they must undergo at least novice combat training" He holstered his power pistol.
"But that was intermediate fighting though, not novice." Kindreil told him.
"I know but I thought it would be better for me to really get the feel of a proper battle where all the rules get thrown out the window. Its no good expecting something and then getting in the thick of it just to find that the enemy are gunning for you in ways that you never experienced before."
"Very good. So what ships do you pilot?"
"Anything from Fighter Class 32 down and I'm training for frigates and personal craft."
"What did you take as a grant ship?"
"A five man Personal Warship. Battle Class."
"Weaponry?"
"Two twin-linked Shock cannons, an Ion pulse generator and it will have a Hyperspace fission projector as soon as I can get it running properly."
"Want me to take a look at it. I'm an expert mechanic. Whatever anyone tells you Chamaels are naturally good mechanics. It's the fingers."
"Really, would'ja. That would be great. Give me a minute to get my stuff packed up and we can head over to it."
Thardan looked up from the conversation he had been holding with his wife.
"Could I come? I've always wanted to see a Chamael work."
"'Course. Soon as Go'mek gets his tools...."
"Got them!" called Go'mek from the other side of the corridor.
"That was quick. Right then. Lets go."
An hour later, Kindreil rolled out from under the weapon turret and wiped coolant from her hands.
"There you go. All wired up right. I hooked it up to the waste material ventilation aswell whilst I was down there. That should give it a little extra kick."
"Oh thanks a bundle. That would have cost several hundred discs to get someone out. Would you like some money for your trouble?" chattered Go'mek
"Don't be stupid. Least I could do. Your body was very useful for killing these two." she told him, indicating the Terrans behind them.
Thardan gave her a friendly punch on the arm, "Always a sense of humor, eh."
"What else were you expecting?" she retorted, and smiled at him.
They laughed together as Prill scowled at them from a distance.
"Now I just need something to test it on." Go'mek told them, screwing in a bolt on the access panel Kindreil had just vacated.
"Well I've got a thought. In two Keplon days I get a fortnights leave. Maybe I could hire your ship."
"Where would we be going?"
"Well, Intelligence has picked up a strange reading on one of the outer worlds which they believe may be a new type of life form. The weird thing is, almost every single individual had slight differences in their readings."
"It could be a chemical plant."
"With no lifeforms running it?"
"I see your point."
"Anyway, they're sending a team in to find out what's going on. Problem is they've only sent xenobiologists and diplomats with no combat training whatsoever. I think they intend to remain safe with a show of technology."
"But if it's a non-sentient...."
"And hostile then it won't be affected by a show will it?"
"So you plan on helping?"
"Yup. What do you say?"
"Well of course I'd have to read all the facts..."
"Of course."
"... and get an estimated chance of hostility..."
"Absolutely."
"And get a mage to give an estimation."
"Definitely a sensible choice."
"Or of course I could decide to do it right now and get the ship prepped."
"I thought so."
They smirked at each other mischievously.
Then Prill spoke.
"I assume your going to ask us to come along too!" she growled.
Thardan jumped to attention
"Could we?" He turned to his wife. "Could we, really? Oh, go on, please." he was bouncing excitedly in front of her now. "It's our anniversary." he pleaded.
Kindreil and Go'mek tried desperately not to laugh at the sight of this giant of a man begging to the small Terran scowling at him.
"Oh, stop being a baby." she snapped.
"Is that a yes?" he asked desperately.
"Fine, fine." she said rolling her eyes and looking away.
"Don't be like that." He stroked her cheek gently.
He glanced over at the pair of aliens trying fanatically to hide their laughter.
"You don't mind do you?"
"Not at all." Kindreil smirked, recovering a little.
"Fantastic. I'm gonna go clean my Grenade launcher. See you lot later."
Prill gave him a stare dripping with venom.
"Come on darling. I'll clean your Ion gun." he prompted her.
"Whatever."
They strolled off. As they got towards the end of the corridor, Thardan put his arm around Prill and she leant against him. He turned his head slightly and winked back at them.
"Two Keplon days. Thats about five regular days isn't it?" questioned Go'mek.
"Slightly less. Why?"
"No reason. Just had something on my mind, thats all."
"I've got guard duty in about ten minutes so I'd better be off."
"I'll see you in five days then."
"Yes, goodbye."
"Goodbye."