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The Exploratory War
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]By Aaron J. Matney[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Prologue[/FONT]
The red streams of light permeated and lit up the dark void like Fireworks on the 4th of July. People ran around the Bridge of the ESF Battle Cruiser, the Harvest Dawn. Outside, in the vacuum of space, missiles were launched from both the ESF Cruiser and the enemy ship it was currently engaging.
The Harvest Dawn symbolized the epitome of the Human Technology. 700 meters in length, Blue and Red in color, it sported two squadrons of Space Fighters, 20 Concussion Missile tubes, and 30 Anti-Aircraft Plasma Turrets. And so far, none were helping.
The two fighter squadrons had been decimated in mere moments, the remaining three fighters fleeing to the 'safety' of the ship's hangar. The enemy ship had followed into range of the missiles and the AAPTs, and the crew of the Harvest Dawn thought they had already won the battle. And in their hurry to seek vengeance and avenge their fallen comrades, the men and women manning the missiles and turrets opened fire.
That was then. That was before the unknown ship had disappeared. That was before it had fired back.
Now, Colonel Jonathan Crucible yelled commands over the intercom in the ship and to the crew members on the bridge. While he was in the middle of an order, the ship rocked from another hit from the hostile ship's strange missiles. Far more powerful than the Concussion Missiles, and faster, they did a great deal of damage to the Harvest Dawn.
The Gunners tried to fire upon the hostile ship, but were having difficulty. While it had, more or less, disappeared, the outline of blocked out stars gave them something to fire at. Not to mention the Crimson streaks that announced another volley of strange missiles.
But even so, the Enemy ship was smaller, and much, much faster than the Harvest Dawn. It easily avoided the attacks from the ESF Cruiser's crew and was already in position to fire again. Only once did a missile strike the enemy ship…. And it did nothing.
"Engines; Report!" cried the colonel as his ship was rocked by another blast. Static answered him before a woman's voice came through the speaker. She was panicked, that was obvious by the hurried and stressed tone of her voice.
"Fuel rod containment area breached!" she yelled. "Engines operating a-"
Right as her transmission ended, the ship lurched forward into a Death Keel. Out of the view screen, a large, Plexiglas window that separated himself and the crew from an unimaginable death in the vacuum of space, Colonel Crucible saw Escape Shuttles flying towards Pluto II, a Gas-Dwarf in the system. Missiles screamed from the enemy ship, which was visible now, as the front end of the Harvest twisted and pointed towards the system's sun. Even in the light, it was hard to see.
Blossoms of fire erupted every now and then as the enemy's missiles hit either the rear half of the Harvest or an escaping shuttle. Jonathan watched as some made shuttles and pods made it past the merciless slaughter. Most, however, did not.
He closed his eyes as a crimson light grew. Jonathan thought of the wife he'd left back home, on Earth. He thought of the last time he'd kissed her. And for an istant, he swore he could smell her perfume. And as soon as he had, Jonathan felt the mus excruciating pain imaginable, and then….
Nothing.
I'd appreciate some feedback and comments as this is updated. Constructive Criticism is most appreciated.