Trading in Chaos 1: Star Hawk- The Birth of a Ship

by R. M. Miller

  “Well wouldn't want to disappoint the man now would we?” Her voice bubbles with a contained chuckle as she replies “I'm catching a train now, I should be there shortly”

  “I'll be waiting.” Ty responds a slight emphasis on the word waiting that sends a tingle down her spine, before he terminates the call. Smiling happily to herself, Tara almost bounces to the proper platform to catch the freshly arrived train, tonight was definitely turning into a night to remember!

  ******

  “Tara! Over here!” Ty's voice calls to her from the bar area of the restaurant, she threads her way through the crowd to join him. His suit displayed his muscular physique wonderfully, a far cry from the skinny teenager he had been years ago. Judging from the look on his face her outfit had a similar effect on him, she added a little extra sway to her step as she moved to sit beside him.

  “So our reservations were for the bar seating?” Tara teases leaning in slightly closer than necessary for communicating above the crowd.

  “Nope, I was just waiting for you to arrive.” He glances at his com-bracelet playfully then looks up with a grin “Punctual as ever Kitten.”

  “One of us has to be, if it wasn't for me you would have been in the juvenile lock up more often!” she smacks his arm lightly in rebuke for his shenanigans.

  “Well, I can't argue that. There were a number of times I thought my parents were going to disown me, and there you were taking the blame for one of my schemes in the nick of time. You are a life saver, you even pulled my bacon out of the fire on this project too!” Ty stands two drinks that the bartender had just delivered in his hands, holding one out to her he gives a shallow bow “Your drink my lady?”

  “You're a smooth one Mr. Boyer, but I think I could get to like it...if I tried hard enough” taking the proffered drink Tara allowed him to lead her through the crowd to a private dining booth equipped with a sound and visual screen to provide privacy from the crowd.

  ******

  “So this is my place.” Tara found her voice was a soft mumur as Ty begins to walk past her entry way, suddenly bashful she drops his hand coming to a stop as he takes a few more steps then turns. “Not much to look at but it's mine.”

  “Well, you always said one can never judge a book by its cover...even though you always do! Will I be getting a peek inside?” Ty asks recapturing her hand to kiss it lightly, he doesn't let go when he's done and she can feel how hot his hand is in hers.

  “Sure...I'll give you the royal tour.” Smiling up into Ty's eyes, she sees that even though she hadn't noticed as much at dinner and walking home, Ty was slightly taller than her leaving her to gaze up just a small amount. Shyly, she leads him up the short path bordered in Earth roses and through her front porch, at the front door Ty pauses to study her door mat.

  “Cute” He murmurs, Tara looks down at her normal everyday welcome mat not seeing what was so interesting about it. Ty takes a step forward and tilts her chin up to meet his lips “YOU are Cute and Beautiful, Intelligent and Sexy all rolled up into one dynamite personality.” he whispers across her lips before kissing her gently.

  “Would you like to stay the night?” Tara replies slightly breathless as heat rushes through her from his kiss, this time Ty's chuckle has a definite masculine edge.

  “I was hoping you would ask Kitten, but my answer is only yes if this isn't a one time invitation” his voice had a husky edge that was sex and longing mixed together.

  “I think I could get used to a long term arrangement...if I tried hard enough” her voice had a similar edge but there was a slight tinge of fear as well she had been rejected to many times to quell that tiny quiver of fear in her voice.

  “Then, I guess, I'll have to give you a good reason to try won't I?” he murmurs leaning forward for another kiss as she steps backwards into the house, the front door closes softly behind them leaving an empty porch and simple welcome mat to be softly illuminated by the setting sun.

  ******

  The strident sound of an incoming call on a com-bracelet dragged Tara awake dissipating the pleasant fog of her dream.

  “Wha?? Damn it where did my pants get to??!!” Ty stumbles out of her bed to sort through the discarded clothing littering the floor. “This had better be good!” he snarls as he finally finds his com-bracelet. Tara smiles at his antics as she drags herself out of the tangled bedding and strolls into the bathroom. Her house was one of the original housing units and while small they could be used as nearly bomb proof shelters, well the bathrooms could at least, so she couldn't hear Ty's grumbling anymore as the door shuts behind her. A glimpse of the bathroom chrono showed that they had fallen asleep barely four hours ago, no wonder she felt less than stellar. A look in the mirror showed she looked worse than she felt with her muffed fur sticking out all over the place.

  “Worst part of fur is the upkeep!” Tara cursed reaching for her brush. It took her five minutes just to gain control of her unruly fur, still far from what she would prefer if she was going out but for the house it would just have to do. She was reaching for the door handle when an explosion rocked her small house savagely, the pressure in the bathroom spiked causing her ears to pop then silence so profound it was like the world held its breath.

  “Ty? What the hell happened?” she asks opening the bathroom door, the bedroom beyond was covered in shards of Dima-glass. It was supposed to be shatter proof, her shaken mind focused on that before she started to actually see what lay beyond the doorway. Shards littered the floor and were embedded deeply into the far wall. Dread filled her as she edged out of the bathroom, carefully clearing each step of shards prior to placing her foot down. On the far side of the bed Ty lay in a quickly spreading pool of blood, two larger shards of Dima-glass protruded from his chest and his hand was a few feet from where he lay still holding his com-bracelet. Tara dashed to kneel beside him fear and hope warring inside her, she leaned in feeling for a pulse hoping for some sign of life but found nothing instead.

  “Colonel? Colonel Boyer?” Ty's com-bracelet was still transmitting it seemed. Tara left Ty's side to grab the com-bracelet, she had a brief struggle to remove it from his hand's death grip.

  “Hello?” She whimpered, she was starting to shake as the coppery smell of blood permeated the air along with worse smells.

  “Who is this? Where is Colonel Boyer?” The male voice demanded in a near shout.

  “Ty is....Ty is de..dead, I'm Professor Carter. Tara Carter I worked with Ty.” Her voice firmed up as she gained control of her terror and shock, at least for the moment.

  “Professor Carter? The programmer that allowed us to access the data dump from Earth?” The man was slightly less demanding now.

  “Yes” She began edging towards the doorway that led to her living room, she couldn't stay in the bedroom not with Ty laying on the floor sightless eyes staring at the ceiling.

  “Okay, maybe this will still work. Listen closely ma'am we need your help, we're under attack......I can't believe I'm saying this! But we're under attack by an unknown alien force. We needed Colonel Boyer to program the emergency message drone that we received, we need help.....at the very least we need to warn Earth about what's happening.” he explained, in the back ground she could hear shouting.

  “I can do that! Send me the file you want included and I can ensure the drone gets it and launches. I'll have to reach an authorized link system, um....the closest would be the Security Station for this sector. It will take me ten minutes to run there, after that I'll need another ten to program the drone.” Tara was already heading for her front door as she agreed to the unknown man's request, she couldn't cope with everything at once so she focused on what she could accomplish fulfilling the task given to her. Grabbing hold of the chance to push away the horrific scene in her bedroom, it wouldn't keep the screams and tears at bay for ever but for awhile at least she wouldn't have to think about it. She hesitated though as she opened the door and realized that she wasn't wearing any clothing, then the fire lit skyl
ine beyond her doorway pushed that worry to the rear, it would appear that being unclothed was the least of her problems, and of course she always had her fur.

  “The aliens are targeting Felden, they seem to be collecting them alive but they are slaughtering everyone else. You need to be careful they are concentrating on Landing City, according to our remaining satellites the area you're in is clear for the moment but they are headed that way rapidly.” his voice was stressed and the noise in the background was getting louder. “I've sent you the data files, I don't think I'll be able to help you anymore. Good luck ma'am, I'm sor.....” His transmission cut off into a short lived scream then the call disconnected. Tara shivered as the reality of her situation truly sank in, she was alone, unarmed, well mostly unarmed, and the weight of getting the rescue message to Earth rested entirely upon her shoulders. The streets were dim, the cities power grid was out and only the emergency backup power on every fifth light left pools of crimson color to break up the darkness the crimson and orange from distant and not so distant fires only served to washout the already dim illumination. For Tara it was enough to illuminate the night as if it was early twilight, for a human it would barely be enough for them to find their way. Her feet started moving almost on their own dragging her from shadow to shadow as she made the most of the dimness, soon she was traveling at the ground eating lope she practiced every free-day with Arien. The streets were filling with panicked pajama clad people some covered in blood, occasionally a fully clothed individual intermixed in the milling crowd, only a few of the Felden even noticed as Tara loped by clinging to the darkest patches of shadows.

  Do you know what's going on? a velvety soft mental voice asked, she didn't know the male asking but he was at least polite.

  An alien invasion She replied slipping around the edge of the crowd. They are hunting for Felden, they are capturing them but killing everyone else

  You're not joking are you? his reply was credulous, obviously unsure if she was pulling his leg.

  No, I am not joking! Try to get these people to scatter. The Terrans should hide at the very least. she sent as she was reaching the edge of her range. The Security Station was a bed of chaos, it was embarrassingly obvious that more than a few people noticed she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing except for Ty's com-bracelet. She also had Ty's blood spiking her fur on her legs and hands she realized, she probably looked like a disaster victim or a murderer.

  “Ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?” a deep voice asked as a huge furred hand descended on her shoulder. She turned to look up at a giant brandy colored Felden Security Officer, his badge read Donover.

  “Officer Donover? I'm okay....I think so at least...but I need to access your secure link. It is important, VERY important, about what's happening outside. The aliens, I have to warn Earth about the aliens.” Tara replied, even to herself she sounded slightly off...okay maybe even more than slightly. Luck was with her though as she used the physical contact between them to push the entire memory onto him, his eye's dilated briefly as her talent forced a match with him even though he had no telepathy of his own.

  “Okay, wow...that's some talent you got there ma'am. Come with me and I'll get you hooked up with that secured link.” He moved in front of her clearing a path towards the back, Tara followed him silently locking down her talents to stop any unwanted intrusions or accidental touches from the crowd. They got a lot of odd looks, but most of the people ignored them, to caught up demanding to know what was going on. The Security Officers were trying to keep everyone calm and answer every question, even though they knew as much as everyone else so most of their answers was informing people of that fact.

  “Sergeant Donover, What can I do for you?” The officer at the entrance to the rear of the station had to shout to be heard over the din as they approached his security point.

  “Need access to the secure link, important information from a government agent.” Donover replied, blatantly lying about her authority.

  “Your sure that's a government agent? Looks more like a victim......or a perp.” the sandy haired Terran asked keying the door while keeping an eye on her, Tara felt an urge to cover up but fought it as being a pointless urge.

  “Telepath, strong one, no arguing with a direct memory transfer.” Donover ushered her past the security point and through the barely open door closing it firmly behind them. The rear of the station was eerily quiet compared to the chaotic noise of the front, only a few people were working at the various desks and they appeared to be completely absorbed by their tasks or the news channel.

  “How long until they reach the station?” one of the officers asked, the news was showing shots of fire and the aliens in what appeared to be armored suits dragging Felden out of buildings prior to destroying the building.

  “An hour maybe, probably a lot less, the Chief just issued the order to arm up. Not that we're gonna be able to do much against that tech.” a second replied as she headed for a door labeled Armory. Donover led the way down a hall to a back room, the door wasn't labeled but it was heavily armored, he typed a long series of numbers into the wall panel then waited as a scanner analyzed his irises.

  “Look the link operator is a bit of an odd ball, not a bad guy but not all there.” Donover uses one of his massive hands to emphasize his remark as the door finally swings open in a slow arc.

  “I don't care what kind of person your operator is, I only need him to stay out of my way long enough for me to do what I need to do.” Tara moves into the dim interior letting her eyes adjust before scanning the room for the system she needed, focusing on the task kept the image of Ty's shattered body from filling her mind.

  “What the hell do you think your doing in here? And why the hell are you fucking naked?” a chubby Terran in a uniform best described as distressed, or possibly soiled based on the smells emanating from it, demanded stridently.

  “Language Sam, there are ladies present!” Donover barked from the open doorway.

  “I don't care what she is! She is not authorized to be in here!”

  “She has my authorization, let her do what she came to do.”

  “When did a beat cop have the authorization to dictate who uses my resources? And what did she come here to do exactly?” Sam demanded stepping away from his station towards her.

  “I need to use your secure link to reprogram a faster than light emergency message drone to inform the Sol System about what is happening here and I only have a short amount of time before the aliens start tearing this station apart to find all the Felden inside. Now get the hell out of my way before I do something you will regret!” Tara's claws extended to their full length, not as intimidating as she could have wished but it seemed to get the job done as Sam edged away from her towards Donover. Tara ignored the argument that was escalating at a rapid pace between the two men to slide into the recently vacated seat, Sam had locked the station. Unfortunate, it took extra time to access the proper subroutines she required to start the station back up. Of course it was also proper security, so she shouldn't be too upset she thought as her fingers flew across the board bringing one string of programming after another into existence. The video and data dump from the murdered agent was waiting for her once she accessed her account, it wasn't very big she could upload some of the net feed while she was at it. She ran into a snag as she tried to upload the data to the drone, the Sol Systems computers had taken a different track than their New Eden cousins and the computer language was also divergent if not as much. She had the download interface algorithm already completed of course but it required tweaking to act as an upload interface.

  “Not that I want to joggle your elbow ma'am but we have company outside.” Donover soft murmur from right behind the chair caused her to jump slightly.

  “Almost finished! I have to get this done, but you can leave now, I will follow shortly.” Her voice was clipped as she frantically typed the last part of the interface algorithm, now to upload the data and get the drone on its way.
/>
  “No ma'am, I think it's a little to late to leave now. Just wanted you to know the aliens are assaulting the station and judging from the feeds will be inside in a minute or two.”

  “Right, I didn't expect to escape what was going on anyhow. I'll be done in thirty seconds, I just have to cross reference the drones astro data.” She replied typing feverishly her long fingered hands dancing over the keyboard, the sounds of heavy fighting started to penetrate the heavy armor of the room as she hit the send button. Tara turned towards Donover as the world exploded in light, then she was falling into darkness her last view an alien armored foot crushing Ty's com-bracelet which had fallen from her hand into bits.

  New Eden Near Orbit, New Eden System, 2915 A.D

  The message drone considered its commands curtly before streaking away from the planet it had been orbiting quietly. The massive ships that had recently entered orbit ignored it as it raced for the edge of the planet's gravity disturbance,but one of the smaller alien ships started an attempt at pursuit. It was far too slow to overtake the drone before it reached the invisible point in space it had been racing for. As soon as the drone had reached the minimum safe distance from the planet it dropped into subspace heading towards the Sol System to deliver it's message.

  Harvest Command Ship, New Eden System, 2915 A.D

  “Harvest Master, the space craft has vanished. We are unsure of what kind of faster than light technology it was using but obviously it is different than ours as it was able to transition inside the system.” the master of the third hunter ship bowed low as the connection cut.

  “How much longer to finish the harvesting?”

  “Within the next three cycles, Harvest Master.” his aide hovered close by in case he had any further demands but far enough away to be out of his reach.

  “Recall all of the teams, we have the majority of the ship-minds. Deploy the cleansers, as soon as our teams have returned engage them. We are leaving, no one sends a message unless there is someone to receive it. Since we do not know how long it will take them to come we will leave now.” the Harvest Master clicked his claws gently together as his forked tongue flickered in and out in thought “And get me a report from the Processing Master, he has not relayed the data on how his technicians are handling the new ship-minds preparation.”