Homestar Saga

Chapter 25: Hunters of the Void

The Vrrl. Yvian shivered. In the lore of the Confed, there were three species feared by all. The humans, madmen of the stars. The Xill, machines of murder. And the Vrrl, hunters of the void. Humans were feared and hated the most, but the savage Vrrl were not far behind.

They stood upright like pixens, but the Vrrl had four arms, one set larger than the other. Each appendage was tipped with wicked curved claws. Their facial features were reminiscent of a picture Mims had hung up in his quarters, of a creature called a Kittycat, but their features were heavier, meaner. Their three eyes almost never blinked, and their cruel fangs were built for the rending of flesh and the crushing of vertebrae. The Vrrl prided themselves as the Apex hunters of the verse, Sapient bipeds were their prey of choice.

"How many are there?" Mims asked. "Are we talking fighters or capitol ships?"

"Fighters," Migo asserted. "Nine of them came after my station. There's a couple other groups out there, but they're going after freighters and such."

"You brought out the Paradigm Shift for nine fighters?" Mims scoffed. "Where the hell's your security fleet?"

"They ran the second the Vrrl showed up, the scrapsuckers," Migo cursed. "Not that it saved their hides. Vrrl chased 'em down. Pretty sure they're dinner, now."

"Are the Vrrl still there, or did they run off when you brought out the Paradigm?"

"They tried to run, all right," Migo had calmed a little at the human's businesslike tone. "But only five of them got away. I thought you were crazy to throw beam weapons on a carrier, but they sure worked a treat."

The Captain froze at the words. "Migo," he asked, voice grim. "Did you fire on the Vrrl after they turned to leave?"

"Course I did," Migo said proudly. "They attacked my station, didn't they? Killed my security fleet, scrapsuckers that they were. I can't let those three-eyed pricks get away unscathed after all that, now can I?"

The human cursed. "What Gate are they heading for?"

"What?" Migo seemed confused. "Why does it matter? They're running."

"What fucking Gate?" the human snapped.

"Uh...lemme check." A short pause. "The East Gate. Number XL34A."

"Initiating Jump," Mims put on his helmet. Yvian and Lissa did the same. "You better hope we get there in time, Migo."

"In time for what?" Migo's voice was starting to sound a little higher, again. "What's going on?"

"If you'd let the Vrrl go after they broke off their attack, they'd just look for easier prey. But you fired on them. That's a challenge." Mims informed him. "They're not running because they're scared. They're running to find a bigger ship to kill you with."

They emerged from the East Gate. Lissa ran a systems check. Yvian checked sensors. The remains of dozens of ships was scattered through the sector. Two small wings of Vrrl fighters moved among the wreckage. Vrrl in voidarmor prowled though the debris in small groups, retrieving corpses and the occasional survivor in a voidsuit.

The only other Confederation vessel was the Paradigm Shift. It stood motionless guard a few kilometers from a shipyard. The shipyard was small compared to the one at Milvari, a mere forty kilometers at its widest.

A third Vrrl fighter wing was headed towards the Random Encounter. They were moving at well over thirty kilometers a second and still accelerating. Yvian calculated they would enter firing range in thirty nine minutes.

"System check complete," Lissa reported. "All systems green."

"Acknowledged." The Captain hailed Migo again. "Migo, if you want my help, you need to give me control of the Paradigm."