Naorhy Story

Bittersweet Revenge

by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Age old dust tickled Mefliah's sensitive nose as she lay on the ancient beam. She was spying, which was her try vocation. Only this time she was spying against a deadly enemy. For the canine based IRII didn’t just arrest you, they ate you too. Usually alive. And they had a love for feline flesh. Therefore her every move had to be with the utmost care, for the Naorhy/IRII peace treaty was a very fragile thing, held together only because neither race had enough forces to defeat the other. Yet.

Melfliah had been ‘captured’ a year ago in a IRII raid of a prison station just before the treaty had been signed. Of the eleven heavy IRII ships involved in that raid, only two had survived. A battered cruiser and the transport she had been in. It had been a set up certainly, and of the six hundred plus Naorhy and other races captured with her, only two others still survived. She knew for a fact that after tomorrow’s feast they wouldn’t be. She herself survived only because the high ranking IRII that owned her was enamored by her lovemaking, and the way she could twist her feline body to do things no canine could hope to equal. She was a favorite, an uncommon but not unknown classification in the IRII civilization. Not that it gave her immunity from death, for she knew that as soon as he found another she would become his next meal. Yet for now her body, her skills and her scent and her abandonment to the moment still drove old male mad. Such had her near complete debasement allowed her to complete her mission.

Far below her, walking about upon the Great Hall's floor, she could see the Kularian Clan dogs as they plotted another secret attack against her people. One was her owner, he being one of the three leaders of this base. If it was like the last plan though, she knew they would blame the attack on ‘pirates and other dissatisfied forces not under our control.’ Her owner had a tendency to talk between the sheets, not knowing that she understood much more than the few commands that he had chosen to give her. There was nothing to do now but wait. When the meeting began she quietly slipped her camera and microphone from her makeup kit. Adjusting the camera’s tiny lens for maximum magnification, she carefully aimed the tiny device. Taking pictures of every document she could see.

For some time she worked, and after finishing her first pass with the camera she lowered the pea sized microphone towards those below her. Once it was in place she connected it to the recorder hidden in her false slave collar. She couldn't hear what was said, and could only hope that the recorder was working. Melfliah wouldn't know until after she was rescued, and able to access the ships computers, what if anything she had recorded. This was her final mission. She had been at this much longer than any other Intelligence agent, and had lived through madness that had finally broken her soul. It was time that she left, before she became nothing more than what she appeared to be.

High above the planet, Captain Teemiel Quarial watched in silence as her repair party worked to restore DARKRIDER's weapons control. Her bridge screen showed that several ships were still hunting them, though she was fairly certain that they still had no idea whom they were hunting. Their pattern was one of pirate hunting, not searching for a lynx crewed state-of-the-art stealth Survey ship. As long as they thought that they were hunting a group of pirates she had the upper paw. It was maintaining that paw that was such a delicate operation.

Tactically her position demanded that she retreat, but her orders made that impossible. She was Agent Mefliah's pickup, thus she had to remain within gating range. After nearly a month of hit and run battles her ship was much the worse for wear. Looking around at the battered bridge she wondered how long her ship could hold out. But they needed that agent, or in the least, the data she had. Forces had been building all along the border between Naorhy and IRII held space, with minor probes common. It was reaching a point where one side or the other had to either attack, or stand down. As for the treaty, neither side had expected it to last this long. It was a simple matter of intelligence, who knew what first. And Naorhy much preferred the attack, but it helped to know what, where and how much you were attacking.

"Comm, send out a general aid request" she ordered. “In broken civilian code.” There was a moments silence as everyone realized what she had said. Survey ships rarely sent out such a request, most often only when the issue was considered lost. All knew that Teemiel had never issued such an order before. They watched in silence as their Captain sat back in her battered command chair. "Someone get some food up here" the lynx ordered as she plugged her headset into the chairs communications port. On the screen a small frigate turned towards them, alerted by the communications blip. 'Well, here it comes' she thought, watching as the small ship slowly hunted for Darkrider's hiding place.

On the planet below Mefliah slowly rolled up her microphone cable as the last alien left. Their meeting had lasted hours, her recorder had barely had enough memory space for this last meeting. Still it had been safer to stay where she was than to try to slip away, for the chance of detection was too great. Knocking dust from the massive support beam would have been impossible to avoid, and the IRII, though bloodthirsty monsters, were not idiots. With her important gear retrieved she reached up and pressed a small stud on her collar, triggering her recall signal. Then rolling up the last of the hair thin microphone line she hung it on a nearby support, there wasn't time to pack it away. Rising to her knees she crawled back to the tiny alcove where she had hidden her clothing, and a scented brush to clean her fur with. Dust floated around her, tickling her nose and drying her throat. Dust that fell to the floor below, covering everything with a fine layer tat would expose her secret. Though much to late to do anything positive about. It was an effort not to sneeze or cough, so dry was the air this high. If she did make a noise here, she would be surely detected. That would be fatal.

"Captain. I have received the agents recall signal" reported DARKRIDER’s Communications Officer.

Captain Teemiel sat up instantly, her tail flickering in restrained excitement. "Take us out of these rocks" she ordered. "Can we dive?" There was a flurry of movement as her crew acted on her orders.

"Negative Captain, mass levels are too great" Navigation reported.

Teemiel groaned in frustration. An FTL jump would get them to the planets area in seconds, but mass and null-space were finicky things. Currently they were surrounded by too much mass. "Flank impulse, charge the weapons. We are going through that frigate" she ordered. Slowly the battered destroyer picked up speed, her coal black nose turning to face her enemy. As a puppy finding her first adult cat the little frigate leapt to the challenge. With exactly the same information said puppy would have about the cats abilities. None. And exactly the same outcome. Total defeat.

Mefliah finished her grooming and began pulling her dress on. Lynx fur was tight, so was the minimal clothing her owner allowed her in public places. She slipped on the stolen blade that would mean a very slow death for her if she was found carrying it. Time was running out for her, somehow the dogs had been alerted. Either to her presence, or the ship high above. Alarms were sounding and she could hear them hunting. It was only a matter of time before they found this alcove. By her scent if nothing else, even though she had weeks before coated the ancient tapestry hiding this place with pepper oil.

Finished dressing she slipped down the small hall, stopping as she reached the old tapestry that hid the entrance. She listened for anyone waiting on the other side, but the general noise level was now so great that there was no way she could be sure. Taking a breath she slipped through the tapestry, right into path of a running guard. They slammed together, the guards weapon sliding across the floor as Mefliah fell underneath him. Moving quickly she drew her hidden dagger, slashing the guards throat before he could call out. Struggling she clawed her way out from under the dying guard, staggering to her feet she ran the way he had come. 'If I can just get through that old gate they can never find me in the rocks' she thought to herself. Behind her the guard gasped his last, still wondering how a broken Naorhy slave could attack anyone, much less an Imperial battle guard.

In space powerful Masers flashed silently between the two ships. Crew died on the smaller ship as hull vaporized, leaving nothing between them and the vacuum of space but seconds of life. DARKRIDER closed with the frigate, mauling it. As well as using its superior scout sensors to disrupt the smaller ships weapons array. Unseen, a small shuttle slipped away from the Naorhy ship, a single pilot aboard. In the general confusion of close in battle the frigates sensors, overwhelmed by the interlaced webs of energy, missed the launch. In seconds the little craft closed the distance, slipping in through shattered shields, closing to the undefended hull. Starfire blossomed, enfolding the frigates engine section, ripping the tiny warships power away. Abruptly powerless the little ship died under DARKRIDERS weapons. Died exactly like a puppy who suddenly realized that the cat it had attacked was a full grown Lynx. Not a helpless little kitten.

Captain Teemiel coughed in the smoke laden air as fans struggled to clear the smoke, while crew fought to kill severial small fires. "Tactical" she yelled through the haze.

"Aye Mistress" a voice answered, weak and pain laded.

"What's still between us and the planet" she asked. Seconds flashed before the answer.

"Three LDD's, coming fast. They will intercept us somewhere near the planet."

Teemiel almost moaned in despair. Help had better arrive soon or DARKRIDER and her crew, would be nothing but dust in the solar winds. LDD’s and their squadron of fighters each were nothing to play around with. Not at this range. "Close on the planet, maximum available speed" she ordered.

Mefliah staggered against an ancient stone wall, she could feel winterdeep cold through the heavy stone. It shouldn't be long before rescue. She had to keep believing that or she was lost. Somewhere behind her she had left her shattered blade in another young guard, who had in turn left several iron slugs in her side. She coughed, bright orange blood splattering the front of her dress. Time was running out for the Naorhy spy. Death was reaching out for her with its cold claws. Desperately she pushed away from the wall, running to a heavy oak door that stood between her and the outside. It took but seconds to throw the latch, almost the last of her strength to force it open. Finally she stood outside on the castle walls, cold night air brushed her cheeks. Her freshly washed, long pale hair flowed behind her in the night wind. Behind her she could hear the hunters searching for her and the information she carried. Her heart pounded and each breath came with needles of pain. She coughed again, more bright blood splatted on the frozen stone. She was dead, she knew it but her body would not let her fall. Not quite yet. Stumbling across the crumbling stone she headed for the forgotten gate and safety. Then a Kelvur mind taster cried, its blood chilling shriek causing her to misstep and fall, twisting her ankle as she fought for balance. With a tiny cry of dispar the lynx slammed into the pitted stone floor, her head cracking against unyielding limestone. For a dozen seconds she lay there, unable to remember why she was running. Then the mind taster howled again.

Shaking her head in a useless attempt to clear it she staggered to her feet. Desperately she tried to hobble to the metal gate less than twenty yards away, but her ankle failed her, forcing her to her knees. Looking back she could see the hunters coming. In moments they would find her and all would be lost. Quickly she opened a tiny compartment in her collar, tucking the memory crystal within it. Closing the compartment with one paw she reached up, grasping the edge of the wall with the other. As she stood the hunters spotted her, raising the cry as they released the Kelvur. In desperation she pulled herself up, climbing the small wall and looking down. Over two thousand feet below she could see slivers of moonlight glinting off patches of snow. A natural shear drop with certain death at the end. Looking back she could see the Kelvur reaching for her, its barbed tentacles almost upon her. If it reached her death would be slow, if it ever came at all. She had seen firsthand the results of the dogs interrogation on their own people and knew she could expect worse. Without a sound she pushed herself over, feeling her dress tear as the creatures barbs grasped and missed.

Captan Teemiel paced the bridge, her tail snapping too and fro in anger. They had been running at maximum sublight speed from the moment they had received the agents signal, yet they were still too far out for the damaged gate system to be trusted. Nothing she or her crew could do would get them there any faster, not in this random planetary debris and with a crippled ship. Still she couldn't help trying, "How long" she asked quietly.

Her Navigator didn't even look up as she answered. "Four minutes, one less that the last time you asked Mam" she replied.

Teemiel swore, she had promised to be there in time, yet the entire operation had gone sour. Forced to pull away from the planet by heavy military forces, hounded in minor battles to the systems outer reaches she had been forced to blow one heavy frigate to star dust, taking heavy damage themselves while losing both their fighters in the process. Fuming she threw herself into her Command chair.

Mefliah slipped through the heavy Winter air, using her dress as a sail she glided away from the cliff as she fell. Glacier winds tore at her body, freezing her fingers and toes to blocks of ice even as she watched. She reached up to her collar and tripped her personal recorder, talking rapidly but softly as she fell. As she spoke, she watched a small patch of snow resolve into a high drift, now speeding at her with deceptive silence.

“Status of those cruisers" Teemiel asked, her voice still as soft as velvet.

"Heavy cruiser FIREWAND is three days out. Heavy cruiser FIREBLADE has just entered the system and reports that she will reach our position in five minutes. Both ships are battle ready" came the rapid reply. Then the report she had feared came. "Captain, the signal has gone tonal" Communications reported.

Teemiel sighed, seeming to fold into herself. "Tonal" she whispered to herself. "She's dead. Too late I am and I've failed her." Slowly a tear rolled down her cheek, matting the fur there. It never dawned upon her how a ship that had just entered the system could possibly reach her in five minutes, though there was only one possible way.

Aboard the Heavy Cruiser FIREBLADE Senior Captain Reeshale leaned forward as if to see what lay before her ship more clearly. "Status of that Survey ship" she asked, electric currents crackling in her voice.

"Approaching the planet from minimum distance emergence" Tactical replied. "Captain, I have three ships trying to close with her. All Light Destroyer class." Reeshale grimaced, she wasn't as good in tactics as her wife Admiral Seelsa Ironclaw, although her skills were stronger in other areas. Without a word she looked at her Tactical officer.

"I suggest we remain in hyperspace until the absolute last moment" the officer replied to her unspoken question. "When we emerge our wash will overpower even the Survey ships sensors. If we launch our fighters at that moment they will be on-line before the enemy can fire. It will be dangerous yes. But by the time their fire control system regain lock we should be in range."

Reeshale thought over her officers words. "Do it" she ordered.

Mefliah's limp body slowly slid to a halt at the snowdrifts edge. Remarkable she was still alive, though her body was shattered like a crystal goblet, bright orange blood staining the snow around her. 'She didn't come' she thought through the pain haze as with a bubbling rattle her last breath slipped from her lips, her body relaxing into the crumbled snow. On the cliff far above the Kelvur cried in lost victory as it felt her mind slip away.

"Captain, light destroyer class ships attacking" cried DARKRIDERS sensor officer. Teemiel had just enough time to open her eyes when the emergence wash rolled over all four ships. Scanners screamed as fire control swung wildly. She laughed then, laughed with heartfelt relief. "Only one thing does that" she cried, "Our friends are here." As the video screens cleared they showed the vast bulk of a Command Cruiser. Her painted nose pointed hungrily at the attacking ships, fighters already launching while her heavy weapons crackled with excess energy. Teemiel watched as the three light carriers vainly tried to turn away and escape. Then ionic plasma screamed from the cruisers nose, washing over the three small ships, rolling them towards the atmosphere now dangerously close.

"Drop shield, get a team down and get her home. Now!" Teemiel ordered as she leapt for the weapons station. FIREBLADE continually pounded the three smaller ships as they vainly tried to fight clear of her attractor beams. Tried to break away from the devil ship that was pushing them toward the planets atmosphere where they could never survive. As they fought, DARKRIDER slowly began to move away from the battle, her prize finally aboard. Teemiel herself struggled with shattered controls, managing to score a few hits before they were out of range. "Notify the cruiser we're free. Lets get out of here" she ordered. She barely heard the assent as she ran into the lift.

Later Teemiel rubbed her eyes, it had been hours since they had cleared the Kularian system and Reeshale deserved answers. She glanced at the pages in her hand, then nodded to her communications officer. Slowly the screen faded, to be replaced by a tired officer. Teemiel was amazed at what she saw, for the woman could pass for one of the marines standing behind her. Shaking her head in wonder she held up the papers. "My greatest thanks for your assistance" she said. "These papers were copied by one of our agents datachips. Without your help we would never have recovered them." She watched as Reeshale's eyes narrowed.

"And your agent" the other asked.

Teemiel shrugged, her eyes lowering slightly. "She didn't make it. We have her body aboard and we will take her home" she answered. "That is, if you would be so kind as to protect us from the dogs. It seems that our ship has received more damage than we expected. It may be months before DARKRIDER is battle ready again."

Reeshale nodded, "You have my word. Mo ship will fire on you as long as we are here." She smiled then. "FIREWAND will be here in a two days. I believe that Fleet will be happy to repay Survey some of the debt we owe you."

Teemiel lowered her head in acceptance. "Until later then" she said, waving at the communications officer. Seconds later the screen was again showing stars. She sat back in her Command chair, flipping through the pages slowly. "Mefliah, you gave us the dogs plans to invade our homeworld" she whispered. "Such a price you paid." Smiling to herself she remembered the sight of three battered light carriers falling to the planet below, one arching in to strike the ancient castle that had claimed her sisters life. Quietly she slipped a small cartridge into her private player, slipping on her headset as it rewound. With a soft click the little capsule stopped, then started playing. Teemiel sat quietly, listening to her little sisters last message. Eventually tears slowly began to fall again.