Starswift (chapter 7)

"I don't want that fucking thing on my away team!" Dr. Nightstarr shouted across the launch bay of the Machs Pride as Lieutenant Taumata slapped the power cell into the receiver of the ATK Rifle.

Tanè smiled, adjusting the stock of the sleek angular weapon, brought it up to his shoulder and aimed it at a nearby bulkhead making sure it felt comfortable. "This little beauty? Don't worry, miss, I've got it set to stun."

"But it can kill, right? It certainly looks pretty damned dangerous." Lorrie Nightstarr's face puckered with repugnance as she eyed the grey and black colored rifle with caution.

"Oh sure. It can kill quite easily. But, I've got it set to stun." Tanè said lightly dismissing her protest.

The ATK was what was known as a Pulsed Energy Projectile weapon or PEP gun for short. It stemmed from a military program known as the Pulsed Impulse Kill Laser but was modified to offer a wider range of non lethal options to the user. It used ultra violet laser pulses to induce plasma bursts on the surface of a target. The bursts alone could knock down a target if you turned up the juice high enough on the rifle. But the real effect came when the plasma collapsed a millisecond later and created electromagnetic pulses that overrode the target's nervous system, causing all sorts of effects.

Lorrie stiffened and clenched her fists. After a few moments she glowered, shrugged her shoulders and marched towards Tanè passing a glowing holoprojection of the starship as it hovered high up in the atmosphere beside the upper reaches of the giant Lyrian tree outside. A dozen or so royal blue coloured blips spread out cautiously in a loose formation along the largest of nearby limbs.

"But we've already sent scouts out there with weapons to screen for any dangerous fauna." Lorri growled referring to the security team Lieutenant Hoyt had deployed earlier to form a protective perimeter.

"Shit happens ma'am. The rifle's coming with us." Tanè said as he clipped the strap of the rifle to the weight distributing harness of his exo vehicular suit. "Besides, we still dont know what that anomalous contact was the fleet detected when we first entered the atmosphere. Whatever it is, it's still out there potentially stalking us and we haven't a faintest clue as to its intentions."

Lorrie rolled her eyes, gave a huff and pushed her way passed Tanè as she stomped off towards the exo vehicular suit locker at the back of the bay.

Above, silloueted through the ship labs observational view ports overlooking the bay, the wizened frail shape of Dr. Shazahd, lead Exobiologist, could be seen as he gazed down on the bustling scene. Next to him the imposingly tall frame of the vessels captain Lieutenant Hoyt stood, his hands on his waist. Together, they surveyed the bay and the preparations for Lyrias exploration. Hoyt shook his head and bent down to whisper something into the doctors ears. Shazahd leaned on his cane and waved away the Lieutenants concerns.

Although the newly descovered planet Lyria had been determined by earlier probes to have a breathable atmosphere with the air pressure and elemental gasses at comfortable levels, and the protiens on the planet were different enough than to what comprised life on Earth, leaving little danger of being infected by virus or malignant bacteria, the protective suits were still a necessity. There were still cancerous levels of UV radiation at these upper altitudes from the intense Lyrian sunlight that could degrade DNA and do all sorts of nasty things.

But, more importantly, one simply did not operate within proximity to the ships drive field without proper precautions. The drive functioned by altering the metrics of time and space its self. Along with reduced inertia, increased energetic states and alterations to the speed of light, there were changes to the permability and permittivity of the electromagnetic force and brains weren't the biggest fans of that. And so, if one were exposed to the drive field, one tended to hallucinate or find themselves paralyzed. The suits, especially the large bulbous helmets, were always worn until a safe distance from the ship during exo vehicular operations.

Tanè sighed and watched the spectacle surrounding him. Usually a quiet place aboard the starship, today the launch bay of the Mach was congested with tight knots of busy launch crew technicians and members of the ship's scientific staff as they mingled in between stacks of equipment and various vehicles strewn about the compact hanger.

"Hey Tanè, the Ashketars ready for launch." A voice called out from behind him. "Lets hope she doesnt sink quicker than whale shit with the way shes overloaded with all that extra gear the doctors dragging with her." Steve Garrison, the Chief Launch and Recover technician onboard said in his usually sardonic voice referring to the small hover craft that served as the ships tender.

Tanè glanced over at the Ashketar and winced. The small cylindrical craft hovered on the deck a few meters behind Steve looking bogged down by all the boxes and containers strapped to it. He knew of course that with the crafts inertial reduction drive weight was of little concern. But still, considering they'd be landing on a giant alien tree branch cantilevered several kilometers in the air, the very thought of it was still a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah, thanks. We launch in fifteen." Tanè said as he popped open a box and started pulling out six flash guns. One for each member of the team.

The wands resembled handheld flashlights and were utility tools used for lifting and moving small objects. They worked on similar principles as the ships drives but instead formed a focused beam that could be pointed at targets that needed moving. Reversing the beams polarity allowed an inertial gradient that would mimic a gravity source either drawing an object gently towards you or pushing it away. Today with the help of a few resonant reflectors he had brought along, the wands would be serving as personal lift beams to aid in scaling the colossal tree. The concept was simple. Place the reflectors at point A and B fire up the wand, and jump in riding the beams shaft to your destination. A high tech grappling hook of sorts.

"Wands.... Groovy." Steve said as he inspected one of the cylinders, turning it over in his hand. "You should see the ones O'Kieran's modified for the cargo handlers on the Starswift? Keeps promising me he'll do a couple for my guys." Steve grumbled before tossing the device back to Tanè .

Tanè gave a wide smile and shook his head. " We all know that ain't going to be for a while. See if Victor can do up a few."

"Victor?.... Yeah, I'm not gunna suffer through that." Steve said over his shoulder as he waved off the suggestion and headed back towards the Ashketar. "Let me know when your team has the Mule packed, and all members suited up. I'll pilot you down."

The next few minutes passed quickly as the first expedition team to explore a life bearing alien planet finished suiting up and worked their way over to the waiting launch vehicle. Tanè placed both his hands on Dr. Nightstarrs shoulders and looked down at her, sharing a final comment privately with the biologist through their comm links. She nodded an affirmative back at the man towering over her and climbed aboard the hovering craft.

Tanè then turned and stared up towards the Mach's captain watching through the observation windows high above and signalled a thumbs up.

Throughout the bay a mechanical voice boomed as the illumination dimmed to a deep red and flashing yellow hazard lights shot severe shadows across the chambers features . "All ships personnel. Be advised away team launch will commence momentarily. All launch bay ingress points are now secured. Prepare for outer door seperation."

Standing on a pair of foot rails outside the craft Tanè glanced back behind the Ashketar as it slowly crept forward towards the launch line and saw that their Mule, an aging automated JDY-32 "hover bike," was following stoically close behind.

The launch bay doors cracked open and the blinding light of Lyria began to flood in consuming all within.

Silhouetted against the brilliance, the lone figure of Tanè waved farwell and merged with the form of the Ashketar as he finally climbed aboard.

And then the Ashketar its self was swallowed by the light and vanished as it dropped over the precipis of the doors and into the unknown.

---

The warm sun felt good on his aching back and shoulders as the rays found their way through a temporary parting of the persistent cloud systems and mist that lingered at this elevation of the sky forest or Sil'Ban. Having trekked for the last several hours without rest his body begged for him to stop and recouperate, if only just for a few moments. There amongst the patches of fiery red and orange foliage that dotted the massive bare limbs on the outer reaches of the giant sky tree, he found a patch of lacy moss in which to collapse.

Sensing his blood was low on oxygen, he unfurled his external lungs and gazed up into the sky, wondering how much longer the clouds would allow him the comfort of the soothing sun. As the feathery appendages dangled in the wind reinvigorating his blood with fresh oxygen he saw high above that a new Lei'Tian was beginning. The whitish blue streaks of the icy meteors paraded across the silvery backdrop of the day moon as it dominated the sky overhead. Already beginning to burn in the upper atmosphere, the icy shards were followed by luminous wispy tails of moisture that descended gently and shimmered softly, tickled by the sunlight .

The rain would be here soon he thought to himself and stood up again getting his bearings. The gods were still in the Sil'Ban Heights, their glow like a beacon through the blanket of clouds that enshrouded the upper most reaches of the forest. Like a burning ember, one of the gods angels sat high above the dieties as if keeping watch over them. A brief column of light from the emisary flickered upward and disapeared into the heavens.

Hours earlier he had been on Fal'Tak, the spiritual right of passage his kind underwent to become an enlightened elder of the village council, when the gods had returned unanounced after milennia heralding the end of the dark ages. Far from his village and tribe he alone was positioned best to envoy the masters on behalf of his people. It was his fate to travel to them, his destiny.

His path to the gods ventured into the jungles that were the Sil'Ban Deep, the thick dark undergrowth of the sky forest, before finally ascending to the upper canopy where the divine awaited. There in the Deep, navigation was treacherous, the leaves black and the shadows long. Predators were merciless and the terrain unforgiving.

He stared gloomly at the darkness ahead and set off as the rain began and the sky darkened once more.

---

Fuzzy yellow pollen drifted past on the breeze like snowflakes adrift. One landed on Tanè's tablet screen as he read an updated message and left a lemon coloured smear as he brushed it away.

Blasted pollen. He cursed to himself looking upward at the stream of particles showering out of the bouquet of flowers far above. Each pastel coloured blossom was as large as their away team hover craft. Beside the limb, like a polished chrome tear, the lenticular shape of the Mach hung suspended, the suns rays dazzling a pale blue as they danced against the halo of her drive field.

Tanè finished reading and switched his comms channel over to that of the starship overhead. "Taumata to Mach. Acknowledged. Channel two prioritised for ship to ground communication. " Tanè spoke into his helmet microphone. " Relay the update on the comm frequencies to Ishiro's security detail. Let him know we've reserved channel five for Dr. Nightstarr's contingent. " Tanè added.

"Ishiro's men are keeping an eye on the Lyrian megafauna, which are keeping their distance for now. " The ships communication officer paused briefly as someone spoke to him off mic before continuing. " But the captain is more concerned about those intermitant cerenkov signatures and as to whats making them. The DeSitter detected one twenty minutes ago. Still at 8 kilometers but further down in the atmosphere a few trees away where the foliage is denser. Hard to get readings. Its worrysome." The officer said, his voice sounding tense.

Tanè subconsciously touched the receiver of the ATK Rifle strapped to his chest as if seeking comfort at its presence. "Let me know the second any of the fleet detects another appearance of that anomalous contact. I want enough time to pull my crew from all exovehicular operations and get them back on board the Mach if whatever it is decides to make a run at us. " Tanè said.

"Will do. The captains talking right now with the commander of the Starswift regarding what to do about the anomaly. Word is the marines might send down the Lucian...just in case." The comm officer responded. "In the mean time, the DeSitter is holding four klicks out as a screen. Maxwell is departing shortly for the far side of the planet. Good luck down there. Mach out."

A soft whiring sound drew Tanè s attention behind him. The JDY-32 "mule" had returned from running biological samples up to the Mach overhead and settled down next to the Ashketar, their hovercraft. The away team had only been deployed to the surface for three hours now, but this was already the second load of Lyrian plant samples it had ferried this morning. The samples once onboard the Mach were busily being whisked away to the ships wet labs near the aft of the science deck for sorting and storage for more detailed study.

A pair of the science team began securing a large yellowish green palm like plant to the mule for its next run back. The palm was large enough that it took both the men to handle it, and its floppy large leaves took on a faint blue luster as it swished back n forth while the men fastened straps to its base. Curiously, a distinct pale amythest glow tipped each frond as if their ends had been dipped in ultra violet paint. Tanè reminded himself to ask one of the biologists about it, as he had seen it on several of the plants already that he had found growing through the cracks and nooks of the giant limb they were currently exploring.

"Officer Taumata!" Dr. Nightstarr called. "Come take a look at this!"

Tanè trotted over to the doctor as she kneeled next to a large patch of multi coloured...something. To Tanè it looked like a collection of lichens encrusting large swaths of the massive trees trunk and limbs in amorphous contrasting patches of dark purple against a background of ivory.

The doctor chipped a large chunk of the lichen off and examined it through a magnifying scanner she held up to her eye like a monocular.

"This looks like lichen doctor" He whistled in surprise at just how thick the growth really was. "Everything is bigger on this planet. Looks at least a foot deep."

Lorrie smiled still focusing on the lump in her hand. "Not lichen Tanè. Coral." She said.

"Coral?" He questioned and kneeled next to her to get a closer look. "Whats with the two different colours?" He asked after gently poking the patch with his glove. It felt hard like a calcification.

"There's two types of algae using the corals as a substrate. Both very different." The Doctor answered.

"Algae?" Tanè pondered.

"Yes. Thats how corals get their colours. They're fascinating." She explained. "The pale whitish yellow ones here have an algae that reflect most of the harsh Lyrian sunlight up here. If you'll notice they have a sort of blue pearlescence to them. That's its defence against the high levels of UV radiation up here."

Tanè had indeed noticed that bizare sheen that all of the foliage had up here. "Hows that work?" He asked.

Lorri stood up and grined her bubbly side emerging as the conversation gravitated towards her expertise and natural element. "Thats a F type star up there. Mostly blue and white light. Not like our sun. Plants here have a yellow or red colour because they are favouring the blue light for fuel and rejecting everything else. But the extreme UV radiation here is a cancerous hazard so they're also rejecting that extreme too. Thats where that lustre comes from. "

Tanè slowely nodded giving a blank stare not quite following along.

" Think of it like the organisms own sunblock." Lorrie offered helping him understand better.

Tanè pointed to the dark splotches "And those?"

Lorries eyes lit up and she became more animated. "Ah...that right there is really interesting. It absorbs nearly all wavelengths of light and can soak up UV radiation like a sponge. Its practically immune to it!"

"I guess your team will be studying that for a while."

"You bet!" Dr. Nightstarr chirped. "Hey! How can we get up there?"

Tanè crooked his neck up to where she was pointing and saw what looked like an oasis of plants growing out of the crook where the next limb 60 metres above attached to the tree's trunk.

"With this." Tanè said pulling the flash wand out of his belt.

"Tractor wands?" Lorrie said as she looked down into Tanè s hand confused.

"Stay here. I'll be right back"

Tanè jogged over to the Ashketar and dug through the storage compartment until he found what he was looking for and headed back towards Dr. Nightstarr, a pair of reflectors tucked under each of his arms.

It took some time for Tanè to set up and establish the beam and then even more time to calibrate its polarity properly. "Patience doctor. You pacing back and forth isnt going to make this happen any faster. " Tanè grumbled.

Dr. Nightstarr just continued to shift from foot to foot prompting Tanè to remind her that she looked like an impatient child.

"There! All set." Tanè beckoned the doctor toward the beam.

"How's it work?" Lorrie asked uncertain as her eyes followed the beam up to where it met the reflector attached to a smaller branch that conveniently over hung the "oasis."

"You just hop in. Once you get to the top simply grab the handles attached to the reflector and swing out onto the ground. " He explained.

"What?"

"Here let me show you." Tanè stepped quickly into the beam and felt his body become weightless as he floated up towards the limb overhead. As he approached the reflector he reached out for the handle he had mentioned and swung his body out of the beam and tumbled onto his hands and knees onto the massive limb.

"See nothing to it miss. " Tanè stood up and turned to face the crook. "Whoa... you're going to want to see this."

---

The deep thuds reverberated across his body. He could feel them pass through his back and feet with each step the terrifying A'kyl took. Cowering, he held perfectly still hoping if he made no sound or indication of his presence the nightmarish savage would move on with its hunt and pass over the hallow he was hiding in.

Only moments earlier he was wading through the aboreal water tributary above his coverture, harvesting aquatic ferns and their small fruit that floated like pearls on the surface of the water to fend off the growing hunger pains in his belly when the silent stilness of forest was shattered by the shrieks of the behometh.

A'kyl were unseen by most of his kind. A few intrepid who had ventured beyond the sanctuary of the home forest and lived had brought with them tales of the legendary creature upon their return.

The tremors gained in intensity. The beast was closing in. He pressed himself deeper into the tree's alcove and prayed the sheet of water that concealed the entrance would hide his scent and warmth from the monstrosity as it hunted, for the creature could detect both.

Outside somewhere else a flock of Sha'tal birds screeched as they fled from their roost. A shrill piercing cry from the A'kyl tore through the air. The echos from the emanation aiding the terrifying animal to see its surroundings. An adaption the wildlife of the Sil'ban Deep developed to navigate in the dim sun starved layers of black hued forest.

The ground shook violently. A wave of water sloshed over the entrance to the alcove causing him to retract protectively in fear. The A'kyl had leapt down onto the landing ontop his hiding spot from a branch above following his scent trail.

Panic overtook him, his two hearts beating frantically and out of synch, enough to become a danger if allowed much longer. But respite was far away.
Alone in the wilds far from help, without weapons or tools he was at the mercy of his own cunning and natures cruelty.

A shadow slinked across the thin sheet of water as the A'kyl's tail searched like a hungry serpent for its prey. Sniffing and probing its surroundings. The tail pierced the falling water its sensory glands scintillating bioluminescent signals of excitement as it at last detected its prey.

Frantically he searched the hallow for a way to escape. There! Near the floor along the back. A slit of daylight peeked through rotted wood.

Scurrying towards the crack he could feel the A'kyl's heavy footfalls on top of him, its keen senses tracking his every movement. A deafening shriek momentarily stunned him before loud crackling and snapping spurred him back into movement. The beast was using its immense claws to tear directly through the ceiling. Eager to have its prey.

He desperately tugged and tore at the corners of the rotted opening hoping to make it big enough to fit into. The floor jolted as the ceiling cracked partially open and water from the stream overhead poured in. Making himself flat as possible he squeezed his body into the rotted fissure and burst through just as the creature lashed out with its claws into the hallow searching greedily for its meal.

Fleeing for the safety of the denser forest he scrambled through a woven maze of smaller branches hoping to put enough distance between the A'kyl to escape its pursuit. But the the monster was not fooled, spread its arms wide and simply smashed the limbs out of its way. Shredded leaves and splinters rained in its path of its malice.

Ahead he saw his salvation. A bramble of giant tree urchins, Ek'nas as his people called them, their quills glowing phosphorescent in the dark of the mist like a beacon.

The slow moving animals dwelled in the moist cloud layers of the sky trees feeding on the algae that grew along the bark. Their spikes were laced with toxins and venom. In defence the animals were able to launch them like spears at threats, their poisons always acting swiftly. His kind had often harvested the prongs of the creatures for weapons and medical remedies in exchange for offerings of the algae they feasted on. In turn the Ek'nas never saw his people as threats or did them harm.

The Ek'nas could sense the malicious beasts rampaging approach and began to flash bright red warnings of their agitation. The A'kyl blinded by its hunger and ignorant of the urchins threats unfurled a pair of wing like membranes and leapt for his prey hidden within the brambles.

As the assailant soared through the air towards its target a flurry of poisonous bolts struck out and found their mark. The A'kyl roared in pain and plummeted into the darkness below crashing through the forest. The wails of its death throws echoed against the stillness.

Shaking uncontrollably, feeling faint and exhausted he crawled up into a ball in between a pair of urchins and sunk into unconsciousness.

---

Tanè struggled to keep the individual team members in sight as they explored around the small jungle of plants growing at the top of where the lift beam had carried them from the landing below. Consisting of yellow fan shaped ferns, ebony bamboo-like shoots and an assortment of mosses, the thicket surrounded what he could only describe as a sort of wooden pond that nestled into the notch of where the massive trees limb met its trunk.

One particular plant made Tanè s task especially vexing. Its burgandy and fuschia veined leaves were the size of elephant ears and held aloft by spindly stems two metres high. Only by peering through the partings of their maroon coloured leaves as they swayed gracefully back n forth with the breeze could he catch glimpses of them trudging about collecting samples and writing field notes.

Careful of where he stepped, he manuevered between the clumps of strange plants and approached the group of scientists who were now huddled around Dr. Nightstarr as she lectured about some aspect of Lyrian biology that was beyond him.

The group turned and followed the doctor to the ponds edge as she continued to point out specimens of note. Here Tanè noticed the ground was spongy and different, resembling soft tissue, and his weight caused impressions with each step he took along the waterline. In the center of the pond he could see electric blue speckles of light as they welled up from the deep. Seemingly pushed by a unseen current. The blue flecks would surface and spread out eventually becoming entangled with the reed- like plants that grew along the waters periphery forming a glowing sludge. Mixed here and there within the reeds, large lili pads floated with small hyacinth coloured spear shaped flowers bobbing along side them.

Tanè stared at the surface of the water mesmerised by the circulation of light. The whole scene reminded him of a Monet painting of some alien pond.

"Whats going on with the lights in this pond doctor?" Tanè questioned.

"They're bioluminescent algae. I wanna study them. See if they have something similar to luciferin. " Lorrie said tapping the surface of the water watching blue arcs flare around each ripple. "And this isn't a pond big guy." She laughed.

"It's not?" He said, perplexed.

A hand clapped Tanè on the shoulder and he could hear the laugh of Dr. Harjani, one of the Mach's senior exobiologists from behind him. "No my friend that is a symbiotic worm!"

Tanè looked down at the short jovial man in mock horror. "Its a what?"

"Calm down sir!" The scientist said putting his hand up reassuringly. " I released smart-tracking nano dust into the water an hour ago and been charting the interior of that 'pond.' "

The man waved him over and pointed to a small box with electrodes running into the water that must have been registering the nano dusts path as it coursed through the inside of the tree.

"Its more like an intricate vascular system complete with water pumping hearts and its definitely something akin to a worm. Er..or a half plant worm thing..." Harjani said shrugging his shoulders grinning.

"Lovely...giant worms.". Tanè muttered.

"Well to be fair its more like a viny, plant thing thats has organs similar to a worm. It spans the height of the tree and grows inside the trunk. We think it helps pump water the kilometres height needed to the tree's canopy. " Dr. Nightstarr interjected. "We believe the bioluminescent algae has hitched a ride from the lower levels of the tree up to here. Its dark down below the cloud layers in the undergrowth. I bet lots of things down there utilise bioluminescence."

Tanè nodded in understanding and held his hand up. He was receiving another hail from the Mach.

"Taumata here."

"Sir, the Maxwell is heading out to the southern hemisphere. Anderson has ordered the Huygens to go with her to maintain the OAM Comm Relay Node. We'll establish our own plasma bloom once they're gone and
keep things going for you. You should think about calling it a day though. Night fall soon. It's getting dark out there." The Comm Officer said.

Tane looked up through a clearing in the foliage and saw the Maxwell, slowly turning on its axis. The blue haze from her drive field that encapsulated her beginning to instensify as she did. Then the haze quickly turned dark red as the ship powered up and with a flicker of psuedo-motion, disappear over the horizon.

With twilight quickly approaching, the alien sky steadily became deep purple. The nebula that enshrouded Lyria and the Syoss system began to reveal its self as bright blue stars appeared one by one piercing through the lacy green and red gaseous veil.

"Roger Mach. I'll tell the team to wrap it up for the day and have Garrison prep the Ashketar to take us back. Give us ten more minutes. " Tanè said motioning to the imaginary watch on his wrist to Dr. Nightstarr.

"Better make it quick. Security wants to pullout for the night too. Ishiro's team is reporting the wildlife is getting bolder the darker it gets." The Comm Officer mentioned just as a roar from one of the Lyrian dragons roosting high overhead added a degree of urgency.

"Acknowledged."

"Oh, and one other thing. The Captain requests, that if you can you manage it, to bring back a few more of those glowing palms you guys have been sending up. He reckons they'll make nice trophy's for the Mach's quarterdeck. " The officer added.

Tanè rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no worries. One for every stateroom." He said. His tone facetious.

As the science team assembled and stowed the last specimens on the awaiting Ashketar the Huygens began to move into position for its jump across the planet. The eerie seething orange ball of plasma it used as a data relay trailed behind it as the two crossed infront of the moon. And then, the orb dispersed and fizzled out just before the Huygens bolted across the sky to the horizon in a blink.

The loading of the Ashketar took ten minutes longer than Tanè had expected. Even with the griping and prodding by Steve the tenders pilot, the scientists couldn't be made to work any faster. Lorrie and Steve weren't the most amicable of work partners. Besides standing out of the way while the two bickered there wasn't much Tanè could do to help the situation.

Instead he took that time to watch the Mach form its own plasma bloom and then launch the LLD from it's modular ventral bay. The manta ray shaped drone plunged down into the darkness and cloaked just as it passed by the Ashketar. In a bizarre imitation of cellular mitosis the ball of plasma divided in two. One of the fiery orbs raced after the Drone into the lower canopy of the Lyrian forest while the other floated upward into the sky.

"Hey Tanè we're all set. Burton is piloting the other tender, the Rovelli, down in a sec to pick up the security team. Time to go. "

Tanè looked up and saw the five other members of the away team peering out at him through the pollen stained windscreen of the waiting hovercraft like impatient children in the backseat of a car. "Yeah lets go"

As the hovercraft lifted off and began to ascend back towards the Mach Dr. Harjani commented about a new bright violet star that appeared in the sky. Before Tanè could look out the window to see, his tablet lit up with an incoming message.

"I dont know if i should be worried or feel safe. Thats the Lucien. The marines on the Starswift are coming down. " Tanè said.

"The Lucien! What for?" Steve exclaimed.

"That anomaly just circled back behind us in a flanking position and moved in a klick. They're deploying the Lucien to provide overwatch." Tanè said as he craned his head up to see the violet star grow larger, reveal a strange spider shaped craft.

"Overwatch? More like overkill." The pilot grumbled.

"Whats so bad about this Lucien?" One of the scientists chimed in from the back seat of the cabin.

"511. Positronic weaponry and angry gammas. Some real evil shit." Steve answered.

"Didn't know we had that." The scientist said slightly alarmed.

"Officially, nobody does. Lets just hope nothing major happens through the night. A suntan on my liver is the last thing I need right now." Tanè said as the Ashketar finally reached the open bay doors of the Mach and settled onto the hanger floor.

---

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest installment of the Starswift series. Sorry it's been a while between postings of the series. I have a ton of new material for the upcoming Starswift chapters that will be adventurous and hopefully exciting for the reader. I'll be coming out with the next few chapters in the coming weeks.

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this little SciFi series about a fleet of ships exploring the farthest reaches of the known universe. I started writing it as a way to battle the stress and anxieties of daily life. I hope it offers a bit of escapism for the reader too.

For anyone interested in reading the prior chapters of the Starswift series they can be found at the below links.

Starswift
Chapter 1
https://steemit.com/fiction/@steemydave/starswift

Chapter 2
https://steemit.com/scifi/@steemydave/starswift-chapter-2

Chapter 3
https://steemit.com/scifi/@steemydave/starswift-chapter-3

Chapter 4
https://steemit.com/scifi/@steemydave/starswift-chapter-4

Chapter 5
https://steemit.com/scifi/@steemydave/starswift-chapter-5

Chapter 6
https://steemit.com/scifi/@steemydave/starswift-chapter-6

Thanks again. Feel free to leave a comment. I love reading them and i respond to each and every one of them.

Best,

Steemydave

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All pictures provided by pixabay and modified by the author using paintshop pro.