Post by D'Kali Hegemony on Mar 11, 2014 3:52:53 GMT
Three months. For almost three months the small fleet had been on edge. The Pilgrim's Guard they were called at home, a name that Xurk himself rather admired. Almost as soon as the Othello pilgrims had entered the Boratis system, the strange automations from Shy'elme had begun appearing in the system as well. Concerned with the safety of the pilgrims, Xurk had been selected to lead the escort of the colony ship. Hobbling together what ships were available and could be fuelled, the veteran D'Kali had made all speed for the Nomad, barely chasing off an automaton scoutship.
Now, the emerald-scaled drake stood on the command deck of the First Jav'leen, one of a the newest warships launched from the dockyards high above Kalisa. The combat lighting cast an almost bloody pallor across the spartan deck plating a half-dozen other warriors and serfs manned their stations. "Automaton spheres are closing rapidly, m'Lord..." squeaked the slave at the sensor consoles. It was the same whelp that had served under Xurk on his old ship, the very same that had been the first D'Kali to see an alien species.
"Anything new, Y'xan?" Xurk inquired. While he would never openly admit it to a fellow warrior, the D'Kali captain had come to rely on the azure slave, taking him from command to command as the eyes and ears of his ships.
"Still too far out to tell for sure, but mass and configuration is confirmed. Four identical spheres...same energy output, speed...mass." the smaller drake hesitated for a moment before the last word, and everyone on the bridge knew why. When they had first been detected, Xurk had thought his sensors were malfunctioning, but three other ships had confirmed the scans. Each massive sphere was 600 kilotons; more then twice the size of even the largest ship in the D'Kali fleet.
"Never mind the mass, just picture them as mastadons if it helps," the commander growled to his nervously shifting subordinates. "Signal the Nomad to veer away and make a wide arc for the gate-star. Form up the Preyseeker and S'muul on the flanks. We protect the pilgrims!" he snarled, circling in the centre of the command deck as he felt the vibrations of the engines through the floor plating.
As the fleets closed in on one another, the priests aboard the D’Kali ships led rites of battle and the hunt, crews chanting together and preparing for what they all suspected was their end. Xurk too did not delude himself with the thought of victory, but he intended to sell the lives of his warriors dearly. In the best of cases, to buy the escape of the colony ship…
Now, the emerald-scaled drake stood on the command deck of the First Jav'leen, one of a the newest warships launched from the dockyards high above Kalisa. The combat lighting cast an almost bloody pallor across the spartan deck plating a half-dozen other warriors and serfs manned their stations. "Automaton spheres are closing rapidly, m'Lord..." squeaked the slave at the sensor consoles. It was the same whelp that had served under Xurk on his old ship, the very same that had been the first D'Kali to see an alien species.
"Anything new, Y'xan?" Xurk inquired. While he would never openly admit it to a fellow warrior, the D'Kali captain had come to rely on the azure slave, taking him from command to command as the eyes and ears of his ships.
"Still too far out to tell for sure, but mass and configuration is confirmed. Four identical spheres...same energy output, speed...mass." the smaller drake hesitated for a moment before the last word, and everyone on the bridge knew why. When they had first been detected, Xurk had thought his sensors were malfunctioning, but three other ships had confirmed the scans. Each massive sphere was 600 kilotons; more then twice the size of even the largest ship in the D'Kali fleet.
"Never mind the mass, just picture them as mastadons if it helps," the commander growled to his nervously shifting subordinates. "Signal the Nomad to veer away and make a wide arc for the gate-star. Form up the Preyseeker and S'muul on the flanks. We protect the pilgrims!" he snarled, circling in the centre of the command deck as he felt the vibrations of the engines through the floor plating.
As the fleets closed in on one another, the priests aboard the D’Kali ships led rites of battle and the hunt, crews chanting together and preparing for what they all suspected was their end. Xurk too did not delude himself with the thought of victory, but he intended to sell the lives of his warriors dearly. In the best of cases, to buy the escape of the colony ship…