Chaos Rising

2

Meanwhile, on the bridge, the hustle and bustle of muted conversation made the place seem more like an insect hive. The seven Techara ensigns crackled to each other in their guttal native language. 

Techara were surprising creatures. Genetically related to knifefish, they looked almost humanoid with their two arms and two legs. Their heads, on the other hand, were completely alien. A long, snout-like jaw and beady red eyes made them look like predatory reptiles more than fish. Living on a garden world that was over 70% water, the Techara had developed the ability to breathe by either filtering air from liquids, or from the air via their skin. 

Control of the continents on Tai'k, their blue-grey homeworld, determined the dominance hierarchy of Techara breeding lines. Prior to their discovery of space travel, the Techara clans had fought vicious wars with one another, to the point of severely endangering Tai'k's few land-bound species. It was a thing of universal relief that the Techara out in space tended to be much more prosocial than they had been on their planet. On alien worlds, Techara travellers tended to congregate together in small groups, regardless of their clan orientation.

However, despite their long history of in-fighting and complex biology, the Techara were most commonly known for their ability to carry and generate electrical impulses. The most dominant Techara were able to kill with a simple handshake, but less well-bred specimens were known to struggle with something as simple as stunning a colph (a large, six-legged bovine mammal native to three planets in Tai'k's system). 

The rumours and myths about the Techara had raced across the galaxy as soon as they lifted off their homeworld just over a millenia ago. Thanks to this dangerous reputation, most Techara isolated themselves with other Techara, forming small, tight groups, even on hub worlds. Solitary Techara were typically only seen in underworld dealings, and were largely shunned by Techaran society.

Captain Sei'rik stood at the master control terminal. Holographic projections of data screens and their destination - the planet of Alvee - floated around Sei-rik's head. Her leathery tongue snaked out and licked her dry lips. It had been a while since she had been able to swim, to feel the rush of a current on her body, to no longer fear falling. The other Techara also looked dehydrated. The recycled air only made it worse.

"Captain, I'm reading space-fabric ripples to our stern," one of the ensigns reported. Captain Sei'rik didn't know her name; many of the Techara had replaced clan allegiances with allegiance to their rank. As such, most only spoke with fellows on their same paygrade. This ensign oversaw scanning and data analysis - Scans for short.

"How big?" the Captain asked, pulling up a copy of the ensign's screen on his terminal.

"Delta-level and rising," the ensign reported urgently. She made a clacking noise with her tongue, a sound that only the females of the Techara species could produce. All the bridge crew were female Techara - ever since it was discovered that the ocular implants required to pilot starships were barely compatible with the visual system of Techara males, they were a rare sight on any ship's bridge. "It's definitely another ship. Frigate-sized at the least."

"Drop from lightspeed now," Sei'rik ordered. Her small hearts had begun to pound, sending a static shock along her dorsal spines. "We can't risk a collision at this speed."

"Speed falling," the Engines ensign reported.

"The ship... It's... slowing down," the Scans ensign reported.

"Pirates," the Communications ensign breathed.

The Captain's hearts skipped beats. The other ship wasn't necessarily a pirate vessel, but she had a damn bad feeling about this. "Turn the ship around. We'll face them head on. Mobilise Security."

The Communications officer began opening comm channels and issuing orders, while the Engines officer sent fuel to the thrusters. Sei'rik barely felt the ship turn, even though the artificial gravity on the bridge had been toned down to prevent motion sickness. She knew that the passengers in the Decks above and below her wouldn't even feel the turn.

"Operations, make sure the corridors are clear for Security. Weapons, give me targeting solutions."

"The frigate is coming out of lightspeed... now," Scans reported.

"We aren't turning fast enough!" the Engines ensign wailed.

"Belay that! Monitor the engines, ensign," the Captain said firmly.

"Inbound collision to starboard," Scans reported. "Heat emissions suggest... the frigate is readying pulse lasers!"

"Divert power to starboard shields," the Captain ordered. "Inform Security. Weapons?"

"The frigate is still out of our arc of fire," Weapons reported. The Captain had already known that. Belare's Gift was a passenger liner; it wasn't designed for combat.

"The frigate has slowed to cruising speed. It matches no known registered vessels. Mining vessel profile. I'm reading massive energy and heat emissions to the vessel's bow."

"Kerrah..." Sei'rik hissed in her native Techaran.

"Pulse lasers firing! Brace for impact!" Scans screamed.

The entire ship shook as the starboard hull was blasted by pulse laser blasts. Sei'rik gripped her terminal for support. The Operations ensign fell off her chair.

"Get me a damage report!" Sei'rik ordered as the ship still shook. On her screens, she could see Security forces surging towards the starboard corridors to intercept any boarding pods.

"Starboard hull is breached on Decks 3, 4, and 5!" Scan's reported. "Decompression... Decompression in 378 hab blocks." There was a hitch in the ensign's voice as she spoke and for good reason. 378 hab blocks gone... So many lives... Sei'rik hoped that the occupants of those rooms were off enjoying the Gift's recreation rooms and not floating off in blasted space.

"Communications, get me a connection to their bridge. We'll see if we can't pay them off. I'm not risking any more lives."

"Communications blocked," the ensign reported.

"The pirate ship is slowing below ramming speed. They're... Oh, gods! They're launching asteroid busters!"

"Brace!" Sei'rik screamed, as the entire ship shook violently. Asteroid busters were fighter-sized automated drills designed to be fired at asteroids for mining.

"The drills... They're aimed at Decks 2 and-" Scans reported, before a massive black shape burst through the starboard wall, swallowing the ensign and her desk entirely in a mass of churning blades and lasers. Alarms wailed as the bridge lost air. With a hiss, the bridge's decompression shielding activated, forming a buffer of shimmering blue between the end of the drill that stuck through the wall and the bridge crew. Two of the other ensigns were choking on sobs for their colleague.

Sei'rik looked at her screens, commanding the data that used to go to the Scanning ensign to go to her. Sei'rik hadn't even known the ensign's name...

"Boarding parties!" Sei'rik screamed into the comms as her screens showed internal camera feeds. Tattooed thugs of all races were pouring out of the five drills that had penetrated the hull.