Ares Chronicles: An Exercise in Futility : Prologue

Among the glittering stars, the S.N.S. Silent Derivation glided silently through space. Though distinctly Salrilian in origin, it's hull was covered in imperfections; it was indicating either a long lifetime of honest service in space, or a short and disastrously unsuccessful career in piracy. But despite it's slightly textured hull and numerous "enhancements" plastering it's underside (probably added in a last-minute decision during the final stages of it's construction), the Silent Derivation still managed to slip past the station's security web of strategically placed tachyon force fields in the outer rim of the system.

Any object caught in a force field would instantly be sliced into two sections: the half that made it through and the half that didn't. While used mostly for passive military defense during the Great War, these complex devices were nowadays used to prevent asteroids, comet fragments, or other dense masses from colliding with the inhabited planets and stations in the system. It was in the final hours of the Boodan Civil War, several Cantharan saboteurs deactivated such a device guarding the system of Bood, allowing the Star League Navy to slip several unstable asteroids into the system; eleven minutes later, the Boodan Republic Surrendered.

On the bridge of the Silent Derivation, the tall Salrilian Admiral Kirhanimo uncoiled and stood erect. He showed many signs of his age: his skin was a darker shade than the others, his tail had long since gone bald, and the skin on his back sagged. He was past his prime in life. His ocular socket glanced at the circular translucent screen in front of him and he clapped his whiskers together (the Salrilian equivalent of an impatient cough). His middle mouth spoke Interworld. "How long until we arrive at the coordinates?" he slurped at the navigation officer behind him.

The young ensign glanced over her holo-display for the seventh time that minute. "Three-point-ssseven gatagumsss (about half an hour) and closssing." The youth warbled. Her voice showed the same basic hint of concern as the rest of the crew did. "We're in communicationsss range now, Admiral."

"Good. You are dismissed." Kirhanimo pressed a button (marked Engineering in Interworld) and spoke into the communications terminal next to him. "Activate the Tanjon Prime (Cloaking Device), Chief". Without so much as an 'aye-aye', the stars temporarily blinked on the oval view screen and the ship was cloaked.

"There'sss the ship now," pointed out the Weapons Lieutenant, who had a series of very unattractive scars covering his faceplate. A secondary screen brought up an enhanced view of a ship half a lightyear away. It was a massive superfreightor of 'heumin' design. Such a vessel would dwarf even a Cantharan Carrier, but it was a similar size to the Silent Derivation. "Ssscans are complete and have been loaded into our computer banksss."

"Yes. That one will do nicely. We will, however, have to destroy the original so the 'heumins' won't suspect anything. " The Admiral observed sardonically. "Engage the super-light boosters in five, four, three, two one." The order echoed throughout the bridge. He clawed at his navigation console and stared back up at the view screen.

Deep within the bowels of the Silent Derivation, the surge of energy from the reactor spilled into the engines, causing the whole ship to buzz. The maneuvering jets at the aft section retracted and the subspace repulsors extended. With a bright flash, the Silent Derivation jumped to super-light speeds. The speckled stars on the view screen dimmed momentarily. They stretched out into lines. The lines separated into segments of many spectrums. Stars, asteroids, and other stellar objects became a blur as the Silent derivation reached it's top speed.

A few seconds later, the streaks of color separated into stars again, as the Silent Derivation dropped back into normal speeds to match the velocity of it's target. Suddenly, with a flicker, the Silent Derivation decloaked right above the Heumin SuperFreightor!

Admiral Kirhanimo watched the Heumins try to take evasive action, amused smiles set on all three of his mouths, and spoke one word: "Fire".

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