Post by D'Kali Hegemony on Dec 11, 2014 13:56:33 GMT
"Adherent ship is maintaining speed and course...intercept in 2 minutes," the radio crackled from the wall panel.
"Good. Hold course and keep formation with the Au'ra" Xokal growled though the panel to his second. "You have the ship until I return." Slamming the butt of his clawed hand into the switch, he cut the signal to the bridge and turned to his fellow warriors. A month ago the Adherent frigate had breached the Asteria system and slipped past the picket fleet over Xar'xera colony. Lord Karo had given the word to all ships that from them on the Adherents were fair prey, and Xokal, scion of the Knights of Roxal and master of the Third R'dair, was hardly going to let such an opportunity pass him by. Now, his ship was minutes from making contact with the blasphemous vessel that had dared breach Hegemony borders.
In the cold black, the Adherent ship was still making best speed along its previous course, trying to outrun its interceptors as it had when it passed Xar'xera. If the angle had been more extreme, the ship might have even succeeded. As the two D'Kali corvettes closed at combat speed however, the Adherent ship turned in to meet them, its missile tubes flaring with the contrails of their deadly payload before veering away again, desperate to escape its hunters. Cannon fire flared in bright bursts as the seekers homed in on the Hegemony ships, the missiles proving difficult targets indeed for the D'Kali gunners, blue-white tracers detonating in the space between the three ships.
Undeterred by the heavy fire and minuscule clouds of debris, the scarlet ships closed in on their prey with a renewed vigour. "Knights of Roxal!" Xokal bellowed to his soldiers, blind to the next volley of missiles that had been loosed by their target. His warriors snarled in unison. "Oaths you have sworn before the All-Sire! You are his scions!" Another snarl. "You are his vanguard, his righteous fury!" Each sentence was punctuated by another growl from the assembled boarding party. "Your teeth, your claws, your weapons; they are extensions of him! DO HIM PROUD!" As the D'Kali warriors thrummed and thumped their armoured feet along the deck plating, there came a great shudder as a bank of harpoons fired from their ship. Diamond-hard spikes drove themselves into the outer hull of the Adherent ship, locking into place and forcing the alien ship alongside its captor. Vibrations shook the whole of the D'Kali corvette as it reined in the larger vessel, it boarding airlock sealing against enemy hull.
Xokal could feel his ship shudder as explosive charges cut their way into their target, his grip tightening on each of the short, curved swords in his hands. At his back were a dozen of the finest warriors of his order, claw-picked for service. And now they would taste blood. In a rush of air, the boarding door flew open, revealing the teal blues and soft greens of the Adherent decks. With a bellow, the D'Kali knight charged into the breach and turned down the exposed hallway. At first, there was just silence and smoke from the breaching charges as his marines poured in, fanning out and each taking separate paths whenever corridors split. "Keep alert, watch for ambush," Xokal muttered into the voice-feed of his armoured collar. Not two seconds after he had uttered those words, the hallway to his left suddenly erupted in laser fire, a burst fanning out and sparking at it struck bulkheads and the deck plating.
Adrenaline flooding fresh into his system, the D'Kali turned and charged with a bellow, swinging his left arm in a sharp arch. The finely honed blade bit into flesh and sent a streak of Adherent blood across the far wall, Xokal delivering a second quick, off-hand stroke to the body of the panicked rating before it had even hit the deck. Xokal had never actually seen an Adherent outside of a pic-capture before that moment and he looked down at his kill, snarling as his blood rose from the thrill of it. If he had to guess, he would have taken the expression on the alien's face as one of shock. Around him, the sporadic sound of laser fire and the crash of combat started to echo through the halls as the D'Kali marines made contact with the crew of the ship. "You two, with me." Xokal snapped to a pair of warriors behind him.
The drakes advanced deck by deck as quickly as they could, laser burns scorching into one warrior's armour as another rating tried to ambush them from a service crawlspace before being run through. The fury of the D'Kali assault seemed to have the crew of the Adherent ship completely disorganized, with Xokal never meeting more then one or two of the aliens at a time. Intermittent reports crackled in his ear as groups of his Knights checked in or reported any resistance. Leading his own men towards the bow of the ship, Xokal shifted his bulk around a corner, pulling back moments before a searing laser bolt removed his head from his neck. "I suppose we've found the bridge," he remarked back over his shoulder, one of the marines chuckling a little.
In his momentary glance, the D'Kali warrior had seen a larger blast door guarded by a small handful of Adherent crew. "Loop back around that last corridor we past, it should let you flank them. We'll charge together." Nodding, the marine backed up and turned, a rather awkward movement in a corridor not build with D'Kali physiology in mind. Xokal filled the passing moments listening to the sporadic chatter in his ear and muttering a prayer to the war god, an eye keeping alert to any sudden movement of counter-attack. It never came though, and when he heard the bellow of his men from the opposite hall, his concentration honed into a singular focus. His hind legs pushed off form the deck plating in a single, bounding push, Xokal leaping into a charge while the Adherents guarding their bridge focused on their opposite flank. With a great roar, his four and a half meter bulk slammed into the closest alien, the force of the impact leaving a streak of blood and ichor in his breastplate as his right sword-arm delivered a cleaving stroke through the skull of a second. Now confused and out of formation, the remaining Adherents attempted to bring their weapons about, only to receive a charge from Xokal's remaining Knights.
Blood still dripping from his sword, Xokal ordered charges on the blast door before them and pulled his men back. Once the charges had detonated and the smoke began to clear, the commanding drake carefully approached, only to find who he presumed to be the captain and the remainder of his senior staff waiting there, standing tall. *I am the commander of this vessel. I will surrender its command to you. It is the Truth that you are the one who controls it now* the alien in the centre spoke. Xokal advanced wordlessly even as his ear piece continued to translate the Adherent's words. In one clean, practiced stroke, the D'Kali removed the captain's head from it's shoulders, snarling at the remaining officers as it thudded and rolled along the deck. "I am Xokal, Scion of the Knights of Roxal. In the name of my Archon and his Hegemony, I lay claim to this ship!" Pointing his gore-coated blade at the most ornately-decorated alien he could see, he curled back his lips and growled. "You, command your slaves to take us back to Xar’xera. You may then begin your funerary rites”
"Good. Hold course and keep formation with the Au'ra" Xokal growled though the panel to his second. "You have the ship until I return." Slamming the butt of his clawed hand into the switch, he cut the signal to the bridge and turned to his fellow warriors. A month ago the Adherent frigate had breached the Asteria system and slipped past the picket fleet over Xar'xera colony. Lord Karo had given the word to all ships that from them on the Adherents were fair prey, and Xokal, scion of the Knights of Roxal and master of the Third R'dair, was hardly going to let such an opportunity pass him by. Now, his ship was minutes from making contact with the blasphemous vessel that had dared breach Hegemony borders.
In the cold black, the Adherent ship was still making best speed along its previous course, trying to outrun its interceptors as it had when it passed Xar'xera. If the angle had been more extreme, the ship might have even succeeded. As the two D'Kali corvettes closed at combat speed however, the Adherent ship turned in to meet them, its missile tubes flaring with the contrails of their deadly payload before veering away again, desperate to escape its hunters. Cannon fire flared in bright bursts as the seekers homed in on the Hegemony ships, the missiles proving difficult targets indeed for the D'Kali gunners, blue-white tracers detonating in the space between the three ships.
Undeterred by the heavy fire and minuscule clouds of debris, the scarlet ships closed in on their prey with a renewed vigour. "Knights of Roxal!" Xokal bellowed to his soldiers, blind to the next volley of missiles that had been loosed by their target. His warriors snarled in unison. "Oaths you have sworn before the All-Sire! You are his scions!" Another snarl. "You are his vanguard, his righteous fury!" Each sentence was punctuated by another growl from the assembled boarding party. "Your teeth, your claws, your weapons; they are extensions of him! DO HIM PROUD!" As the D'Kali warriors thrummed and thumped their armoured feet along the deck plating, there came a great shudder as a bank of harpoons fired from their ship. Diamond-hard spikes drove themselves into the outer hull of the Adherent ship, locking into place and forcing the alien ship alongside its captor. Vibrations shook the whole of the D'Kali corvette as it reined in the larger vessel, it boarding airlock sealing against enemy hull.
Xokal could feel his ship shudder as explosive charges cut their way into their target, his grip tightening on each of the short, curved swords in his hands. At his back were a dozen of the finest warriors of his order, claw-picked for service. And now they would taste blood. In a rush of air, the boarding door flew open, revealing the teal blues and soft greens of the Adherent decks. With a bellow, the D'Kali knight charged into the breach and turned down the exposed hallway. At first, there was just silence and smoke from the breaching charges as his marines poured in, fanning out and each taking separate paths whenever corridors split. "Keep alert, watch for ambush," Xokal muttered into the voice-feed of his armoured collar. Not two seconds after he had uttered those words, the hallway to his left suddenly erupted in laser fire, a burst fanning out and sparking at it struck bulkheads and the deck plating.
Adrenaline flooding fresh into his system, the D'Kali turned and charged with a bellow, swinging his left arm in a sharp arch. The finely honed blade bit into flesh and sent a streak of Adherent blood across the far wall, Xokal delivering a second quick, off-hand stroke to the body of the panicked rating before it had even hit the deck. Xokal had never actually seen an Adherent outside of a pic-capture before that moment and he looked down at his kill, snarling as his blood rose from the thrill of it. If he had to guess, he would have taken the expression on the alien's face as one of shock. Around him, the sporadic sound of laser fire and the crash of combat started to echo through the halls as the D'Kali marines made contact with the crew of the ship. "You two, with me." Xokal snapped to a pair of warriors behind him.
The drakes advanced deck by deck as quickly as they could, laser burns scorching into one warrior's armour as another rating tried to ambush them from a service crawlspace before being run through. The fury of the D'Kali assault seemed to have the crew of the Adherent ship completely disorganized, with Xokal never meeting more then one or two of the aliens at a time. Intermittent reports crackled in his ear as groups of his Knights checked in or reported any resistance. Leading his own men towards the bow of the ship, Xokal shifted his bulk around a corner, pulling back moments before a searing laser bolt removed his head from his neck. "I suppose we've found the bridge," he remarked back over his shoulder, one of the marines chuckling a little.
In his momentary glance, the D'Kali warrior had seen a larger blast door guarded by a small handful of Adherent crew. "Loop back around that last corridor we past, it should let you flank them. We'll charge together." Nodding, the marine backed up and turned, a rather awkward movement in a corridor not build with D'Kali physiology in mind. Xokal filled the passing moments listening to the sporadic chatter in his ear and muttering a prayer to the war god, an eye keeping alert to any sudden movement of counter-attack. It never came though, and when he heard the bellow of his men from the opposite hall, his concentration honed into a singular focus. His hind legs pushed off form the deck plating in a single, bounding push, Xokal leaping into a charge while the Adherents guarding their bridge focused on their opposite flank. With a great roar, his four and a half meter bulk slammed into the closest alien, the force of the impact leaving a streak of blood and ichor in his breastplate as his right sword-arm delivered a cleaving stroke through the skull of a second. Now confused and out of formation, the remaining Adherents attempted to bring their weapons about, only to receive a charge from Xokal's remaining Knights.
Blood still dripping from his sword, Xokal ordered charges on the blast door before them and pulled his men back. Once the charges had detonated and the smoke began to clear, the commanding drake carefully approached, only to find who he presumed to be the captain and the remainder of his senior staff waiting there, standing tall. *I am the commander of this vessel. I will surrender its command to you. It is the Truth that you are the one who controls it now* the alien in the centre spoke. Xokal advanced wordlessly even as his ear piece continued to translate the Adherent's words. In one clean, practiced stroke, the D'Kali removed the captain's head from it's shoulders, snarling at the remaining officers as it thudded and rolled along the deck. "I am Xokal, Scion of the Knights of Roxal. In the name of my Archon and his Hegemony, I lay claim to this ship!" Pointing his gore-coated blade at the most ornately-decorated alien he could see, he curled back his lips and growled. "You, command your slaves to take us back to Xar’xera. You may then begin your funerary rites”