Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 20:35:18 -0800
From: Amethyst Rose <thepleiadescall@gmail.com>
Subject: Starlight 7 Part 1

This story is fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate
relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is
illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age
of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I
honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place. To the
story... away!


				STARLIGHT 7

...loading...

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*access to galaxia history databases granted*

*DEFINE: ARJIDIN CONFLICT*

The Arjidin Conflict (FC 250-254) was among the most prolonged and
influential galaxy-wide wars in the last century. Many historians attribute
the beginning of the Conflict to Oolian traders who, in violation of Common
Spaceflight Regulations, illegally exchanged space travel technology for
access to the life-extending Capo's Herb- a botanical remedy found only on
the Arjidin homeworld.

A warfaring culture, the Arjidin made well use of their newfound
technology, and within a matter of years became an interstellar force to be
reckoned with. In order to continue their trade and monopoly over Capo's
Herb, the Oolians forged a military alliance with the Arjidin. In an
unexpected and unsolicited preemptive, the Arjidin-Oolian diad launched
aggressive attacks on the outlying territories of their neighbors. Meresyn,
Rax, and Solan colonies, taken by surprise, were the first to fall under
control of what was being dubbed by some as "the Stolen Space." Conquered
by Arjidin and Oolian forces, colonies in the Stolen Space faced occupation
at the hands of Arjidin warriors.

Advised by the Oolians, the Arjidin offered an olive branch to the
small-numbered Lune, with whom the Oolians had long been engaged in trade
with. The Lune, already embroiled in civil war with the Solans, were eager
to join in on the quest for Stolen Space.

Faced with little to no other option, the Prime Races of the galaxy banded
together: the Peacekeepers, the Tintalans, the Rax, the Meresyn, the
Solans, and the Chremans formed a united front against the encroaching
triad.

Despite the military strength of the Peacekeepers and the Solans, none
could deny that the Chreman forces, who protected the lesser colonies from
sure obliteration, were the strongest. Still, the brilliant strategists of
the Lune, the limitless resources of the Oolians, and the fearless might of
the Arjidin proved more than enough to fight against the newfound pact.

The turning point came at the now famous Battle of Gamma 7. After the
"Great Awakening" of the Gwillgwenning in the Gamma System, Arjidin forces
suffered drastic losses, while the Oolian and Lune forces
retreated. Infuriated by their allies' betrayal, the Arjidin surrendered to
their enemies, and in fact joined the fight against their former pact
mates.

Throughout a series of ensuing battles, the Arjidin

*PAUSE*

*DEFINE: CONCLAVE*

The end of the Arjidin Conflict left chaos in its wake. However, the
alliances formed in the Conflict gave birth to the first galaxy-wide
organization now known as the Conclave.

The Conclave originally consisted of the original Prime Races that took
part in the Arjidin Conflict: the Rax, Meresyn, Solans, Tintalans,
Chremans, and Gwillgwenning. The Peacekeepers took the Chair. However, the
Chremans fell victim to an unfortunate

*PAUSE*

*SKIP TO: PRESENT CONCLAVE*

Currently, only four of the seven original members of the Conclave remain
in power: the Solans, Tintalans, Gwillgwenning, and Peacekeepers. The Reyn,
inhabitants of Tintala's sister planet, the Tik'qa, and the Arjidin
themselves now hold the remaining three positions on the Conclave. Perhaps
most controversial was the Arjidin

"Shora."

Shora turned from the computer. Pahn couldn't see her face or eyes under
her black wrappings or goggles, but he still knew he had taken her by
surprise. "What are you doing?"

"I was checking the history databases." She sighed. "As usual... the Tik'qa
are blatantly overlooked."

"Wrap it up," said Pahn sharply. "We've been called for an inspection."

"Of what? We're done, aren't we?"

"No."

The tone of Shora's voice revealed expectant disappointment. "...Astra 7?"

"Correct."

"I did know the harmonics were off."

"Of course. Please prepare yourself and meet the team in docking bay 12,
0800 hours."

"Understood." Pahn exited, the door to Shora's room closing behind
him. Shora shook her head in frustration, turning the computer off with the
angry push of a button.

*************************************

Zack lay down on his rather spartan bed, staring at the metal ceiling. He
ran a hand through his messy brown hair before trying to fall asleep yet
again.

"Hey. Anyone there?"

Zack murmured a curse word to himself: he had forgotten to turn off his
computer. He reluctantly got to his feet and flipped his screen on. With a
gentle whir the projector spread beams of light to reveal the flat
holographic image of Ahn.

Ahn was Reyn. Perhaps one of the best known technocracies in the galaxy,
the Reyn had strong cultural ties and affinities for technology in all its
forms, and it was clearly expressed in the cybernetic implants they strived
to get. Ahn himself was quite well endowed- his right arm was an enhanced
cybernetic limb, and his left eye was replaced by a dark metal implant that
wrapped around his head, dotted with small red lights. Nevertheless, Ahn
himself was very handsome with his jet black hair, sharp features, and
strong stature.

"...Mmm, whaddya want?" Zack mumbled.

"Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry. You'll hate me for this."

"No, it's ok. What?"

"We're being called back."

"...I hate you."

Ahn pursed his lips. "The Astra 7's on the fritz. Auric harmonics, weapon
gradients, navigation and helm..."

"Why should I be there if Dawn and Aurora aren't malfunctioning?"

"Dawn and Aurora are fine, but Pahn wants you there anyway. Just run some
diagnostics and take a nap or something."

Still fatigued, Zack rubbed his cheek with the sleeve of his
t-shirt. "Fine. You'll be there, right? What's the time and place."

"Docking bay 12. In half an hour."

"Great. See you."

"Goodbye, Zack."

The screen folded into a thin sliver and disappeared. With a big yawn Zack
shook his head to wake himself up, then slipped on his DR Mechana uniform,
a white and blue jumpsuit number with the SLE's insignia emblazoned on the
shoulders. He fumbled on his desk for his ID card then took a moment to
gaze at it. That was him: SLE computer engineer number 4156. Zack grimly
pursed his lips before slipping the card into his pocket.

As he stepped out of the door to his room, that was all he could think of:
number 4156. After all his work, that's all he was. Of course, that's what
every SLE scientist was. And that's what every soldier in every military in
the galaxy was. Just numbers everywhere. Zack yawned yet again. He was so
tired of numbers. So, so tired.

Solan Station Cantata was meant to be the last stop; the herald of a final
rest orbiting peaceful green Cantata Prime. Sinfonia 9 was docked and
inspected. Zack, Ahn, and the rest of the team completed the tour for the
stern but secretly excited Solan generals. Everyone was looking forward to
some sleep, or at least recreation. So much for that.

A small regiment of Solan station technicians passed Zack in the clean
white halls, and upon spying his uniform, gave him a distasteful look. Zack
returned the favor as he passed them. He was pretty sure he was going the
right way... Solan stations had a tendency to be terribly dull and
repetitive, and being Solan himself didn't help at all to differentiate.

He found it eventually. As the passerby's became more and more clad in
Solan military uniforms and the screens on the walls dictated radar and
starcharts, Zack knew he had reached the docking bays. Finding the right
staircase, he plunged down and into an enormous docking bay, a hulking
warehouse of glass and steel in which a large shuttle sat. He took a moment
to survey the scene; technicians and soldiers scurried about, their
conversations echoed by the largeness of the place, their size minimized by
the towering ceiling. Somewhere a female computerized voice echoed on the
overhead speakers. Outside, only the strong glass windows separated the bay
from the cold empty space dotted with starlight.

"Zack!"

Zack looked up. Jo, jumping up and down and waving his hand like a madman,
motioned Zack from across the docking bay next to the large transport
shuttle. Zack could see Pahn and Ahn already gathered next to him. He began
to make his way over before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Good to be back, isn't it."

He recognized the nasal accent of the voice. Turning around, Zack came face
to face with Shora. Or at least, as face to something as Zack could
tell. Tik'qa came from a sunless planet, so to compensate for the bright
lights that much of the rest of the universe was used to, Tik'qa that
strayed from Dradine were forced to wear UV repellent black clothes as well
as the classic pitch black goggles. Still, Shora had a nice body, so
considering not an inch of her skin was revealed to the air, she had a lot
of fans.

Zack sighed as he walked with Shora to the shuttle. "Yeah. Great," Zack
mumbled with sarcasm. He rubbed his face in his hands. "I wasn't the only
one who planned on sleeping, was I?"

"Your species are spoiled when it comes to slumber."

"Thanks. That helps." Together they made it to Ahn, Pahn, and Jo. Ahn put a
robotic hand on Zack's shoulder, as if in reassurance, and Zack just smiled
at him.

Jo, however, seemed more hyper than ever. "Yeah, I knew Astra 7 was
crazy. I knew it all along. Hi Zack. Yeah, I knew it. It was bad ever since
we started the installation of the damn Drive. I knew it."

"We all did. Tone it." Shora said with frustration.

Pahn's robotic eye, as bright as a flashlight and far more obnoxious than
Ahn's, focused on Jo. "Jo, calm down. Maintenence is our job too, we can't
forget that." He turned to Shora and Zack. "Where is Flower?"

"I don't know."

"No idea."

"Pahn." Ahn motioned Pahn to the docking bay entrance. A slim figure with
gorgeous black ankle length hair entered with a suitcase in hand and a
spring to her step. She gave a luminous smile as she joined the rest of the
team. "What'd I miss?" Flower whimsically inquired as if she really had
missed anything.

"You're late."

"It doesn't matter," she declared in response to Pahn.

"The skeleton team's all here except Christoph." Shora commented.

Ahn replied. "He's already on the Astra."

"Then why can't we go?" Zack asked Pahn.

Pahn met Zack with the condescending gaze he was quite used to by
now. "Solan generals are requesting we be escorted by a military
company. We're in no position to argue."

"Alright. Whatever."

As soon as he said that, a small regiment of about ten Solan soldiers in
black body armor entered the docking bay and made their way over to the
shuttle. Their commanding officer addressed Pahn. "Ready for departure?"
Pahn nodded. "Alright. We leave now." He led his men onto the shuttle.

Behind the soldiers, an additional team of technicians, not SLE but from
the Cantata Station itself, fumbled onto the ship. Behind them, an elderly
woman in a white and green jumpsuit signifying DR Vita walked up to
Pahn. Her silver hair gathered in a bun and her sharp eyes probing, they
knew she was anything but past her prime. "Dr. Bolero." She stuck a hand
out to shake. Pahn took it. "I presume you're the leader of this team?"

"Yes."

Dr. Bolero nodded. "Fantastic job. I only saw a glimpse of the medical bay
on the Sinfonia 9, but it's marvelous. I don't know how they had the nerve
to tear me apart from it." She chuckled. "Anyway. Good luck to you." With
that, she shuffled onto the ship as well.

Without a word spoken to his team, Pahn stepped onto the ship. Jo followed,
then Flower and Shora. Zack gave a brief glance to Ahn. "I am so tired."

"Just a little further, Zack. Considering you don't have implants that
inject serotonin directly into your central nervous system, you're a
trooper."

"Thanks."

"You should consider getting some though."

"No thanks."

They stepped onto the shuttle and the doors closed loudly behind them.

*******

Astra 7 had been taken on a test run by prospective Meresyn
buyers. Although the ship ran proficiently at first, midway into the trip
the Auric Drive malfunctioned, the weapons systems overloaded, and basic
propulsion became impossible. The deal was called off and the Meresyn
buyers left on their own shuttle. A small group of DR Mechana technicians
are already attempting to reboot the system, but it has become necessary to
summon the expertise of the original SLE team assigned to Astra 7:

*Pahn 5,572,031- Chief Technician, Team Supervisor.

*Christoph Forten- Technician Grade I, Matrix Analyst.

*Flower of Morning Light- Technician Grade I, Weapons Engineer.

*Jolee Adagi- Technician Grade I, Systems Operations Engineer.

*Ahn 1,000,000,001- Technician Grade I, Systems Operations Engineer.

*Alanakari Shora- Technician Grade II, Auric Physicist.

*Zackary Alton- Technician Grade II, Computer Engineer.

"These reports are so boring." The soldier said to the one next to him,
rifling through the datapad with his finger. "And how are we supposed to
know who these people are? There aren't even any pictures."

No response or eye contact from the fellow soldier.

The journey to the Astra 7 had persisted for almost three hours so far, and
they had just finished exiting the nearest warpgate. Still, it felt a
little too long for those on the shuttle. Seeing a guy in a white and blue
DR Mechana uniform, the soldier stopped him. "Hey, excuse me."

Zack looked the young man over. Actually, he couldn't have been much older
than himself: 23, perhaps? He couldn't tell with the man's helmet
on. "Yes?"

"Are you... Jolee Ada-gee?"

"No."

"Oh, okay..." He went through his datapad again. "...Christoph Forten?"

"No."

"Um... Ahn one billion and-"

"Do I look Reyn to you?" Zack didn't let him answer, although he seemed
about ready to. "Zackary Alton."

"Err, right. Sorry."

Zack glanced at him, then the other taciturn soldiers seated by the
window. He rubbed his face. "It's alright. Sorry if I snapped. Why did you
want to know?"

"I always want to know the people I'm working with."

"Oh... How... not smart."

"Wh- why?"

"Well, Private 1st class Tremel." Zack began, squinting a little to spy his
dogtags. "As a soldier, the people you're working with that you want to
'get to know' so well will probably be killed."

The private gave him a stunned look. "You're gonna die?"

"No, not me, I mean in any other combat situation. Are you surprised by
that?"

"I try not to think about it."

Zack wrinkled his brow. "What war were YOU in?"

"Reyn Machine Wars."

"Oh. Now I see. Here's a useful tip, although I don't know why you're
hearing it the first time from a technician... stay impersonal. Like your
friends over there."

"But I don't-"

"Tremel!"

The private spun around. His commanding officer, a stern tall and strong
man, stood in the doorway. The private, without another word, took his seat
again. "Apologies." The man said, addressing Zack. "These men won't bother
you again."

"Mm. It's alright, sir. We were just chatting," said Zack. He and the
commanding officer exchanged a nod to each other before Zack turned and
went to the helm.

Ahn was already there. Plugs in his robotic arm and a nav screen displayed
over his normal eye, he gave a chance glance to Zack and smiled. The wide
display window showed nothing but empty space, and the stars cast a strange
glow on the various control panels. "Get any rest?" Ahn asked.

Zack took a seat in the empty co-pilot chair. "No. I can't sleep in a cargo
bay with Jo snoring in my ears." He yawned.

"I heard your conversation with the soldier back there. You don't think you
were a little harsh?"

Zack just yawned again.

"You're mean when you're sleepy," commented Ahn.

"I'm a Solan operating on Reyn time. You'd be grumpy too if you were my
species."

"I like you better when you've had sleep."

"Ahn, please be quiet."

Zack closed his eyes. In the silence of the helm, with only the faint sound
of Ahn's subtle navigation, Zack began to finally began to gather
slumber...

"We're here."

He opened his eyes. "You're kidding, right?" Zack asked quite genuinely.

"Nope. We need to dock." Ahn turned to Zack, apparently unaware that he
just woke him up. "While you're in that seat, could you message them?"

Zack took the opportunity to finally look out the window in front of
him. Meters away was the Astra 7, a medium-sized, slick grey thing with new
veneer. Its lights were off, and its drive unoperating. Zack flicked
several switches and spoke into a microphone. "Astra 7, this is Cantata
Transport Shuttle 2, do you copy?" Nothing. He tried again. "Astra 7, do
you copy?"

A grainy voice replied. "Zack, is that you?"

Zack sighed. "Hi, Christoph."

"The comm's barely functioning. I'm rewiring the entire system matrix right
now, but it looks pretty bad. I hope the rest of the team's with you."

"Yeah." Zack said with frustration. "Pahn was insistent on it."

"Great. The docking clamps are still operational, so... prepare for docking
now. Astra 7 out."

*******

The commanding officer and his men went through the bay doors first. Zack
saw the soldier he was talking to before at the front of the regiment,
twiddling at his helmet strap and unsuccessfully trying to spark
conversation with the private next to him. Rifles at the ready, they filed
out, leaving the DR Mechana crew in the bay.

Zack swung his own bag back and forth, carefully enough not to damage any
of the equipment inside. Shora stood at his side. Her goggles were just
temporarily on her forehead, and Zack could see her big-pupiled eyes framed
by her albino skin. "I don't suppose this is your fault, " she asked quite
seriously.

He glared at her. "The computers are fine. I don't suppose it's YOUR
fault."

"Don't get so angry, I was only joking. I suppose you really do need to get
some rest, Alton. Such frail people..."

Zack mumbled a "whatever." Behind him, Ahn and Jo were discussing possible
problems in Astra 7's schematics. And behind them, Flower of Morning Light
hugged her briefcase to her chest as she giggled in conversation with
Pahn. Zack rolled her eyes when her distinctive laughed assaulted his ears
from down the hall.

Rather suddenly, someone pushed their way between Zack and Shora. The old
lady, Dr. Bolero, gave them both a radiant smile. "Hello there, you two!"

"Hello." Shora responded for both of them.

"Well then, I see I'm going with you folks. Can you believe they've got me
stocking the medical bay? I can remove brain tumors and diagnose over five
hundred psycho-dissociative disorders, but I don't think I've ever
'stocked' anything in my life." She shook her head and gave a hearty laugh,
apparently quite amused with herself.

Shora, again, replied with the appropriate forced laughter. Zack did not.

"All clear." Said a soldier who was sent back to the bay doors.

Zack took off as quickly as he could, leaving Shora in the dust. He knew
she wouldn't forgive him for leaving her with that rambling geriatric, but
he didn't really care much at this point.

*******

"I never talked to him much when he was sleep deprived," Christoph
remarked, ruffling his messy brown hair. He input complicated code into an
open control panel. "Well... actually, he was pumped up on neural
stimulators most of the all-nighters we pulled, so I wouldn't know."

Ahn, in the meantime, lay onto his back and slid under the helm's steering
panels. His upper body was hidden, voice echoey but still audible. "I told
him to get serotonin implants. It helps me all the time."

"What are in those neural stims anyway?" Jo asked. He was kneeled at Ahn's
feet, and he twirled a wrench between his fingers. "They're DR Vita grade,
but I don't even know what's in 'em. Talk about crazy, huh? Pretty
crazy. Don't even know what's in 'em."

Both Christoph and Ahn had adjusted to Jo's keen, hyperactive voice by
now. "They're actually diluted Capo's herb, if I understand
correctly... Ahn, is the Coordinating Matrix operational on the helm end?"

"No."

"...Great." Christoph lightly punched his fist into a metal wall. "See,
Daw-Radiance still had some leftover Capo's Herb after the Conflict. The
Arjidin aren't supposed to know about it though, so they keep it hush and
sneak it into neural stims. Good way to get money and cover your tracks, if
you ask me. Try it now."

Ahn turned something under the helm. Streams of platinum blue brightness
illuminated and outlined the steering panel. Ahn slid himself out from
under, the light on his robotic eye still bright, his face dirty with
grease and other mechanical fluids. "We got helm."

"Alright." Christoph turned to Jo. "See how Shora's doing with the Auric
Drive."

Jo jumped to his feet and went to the control panel next to Christoph,
lights blinking on and off, a screen displaying Daw-Radiance Industries'
insignia. Jo punched in a code. The screen read "Calling..." until Shora's
face appeared. "Hello, Jo."

"Christoph wants to know how you're doing. We just got helm, but he wants
to know how you're-"

"I'm fine. I don't know about this Drive, though..." Behind her, the Drive
Core, a series of 7 large cylinders perpendicular to a floor deep in the
depths of the ship and a high and arching ceiling above, lay dull and
colorless behind a yellow force-field, only two of the tubes shining with a
blunt glow. "...if I didn't know better, I'd say it's completely shot. The
backup battery kept the protection field in place, but even if it didn't
there's almost no Aureole flow anyway. I'm surprised you can get anything
done."

The door of the bridge slid open. Pahn entered and pushed Jo out of the
way. "Shora, power is out on half of the lower deck. Get that Drive running
again."

"Understood, I'm trying my best." Shora hung up on her own. She made a
frustrated noise as she continued to punch commands into the holographic
interface embedded in the forcefield. "Dhori sha ni lar arandi..." she
mumbled to herself.

The communications screen behind her suddenly began to call
again. Perplexed, Shora turned again and answered. Flower's pretty face
bloomed onscreen. "Is the Auric Drive even flowing to the weapons
manifold?" she asked without hesitation.

"No. There's only enough for life support and comm. But basic computer
functions are up, and-"

"Could you hurry please? Thaaank you." With that, Flower closed the
channel.

Shora narrowed her eyes, of course unnoticeable behind her goggles. She
went back to work.

*******

In the deepest bowels of the ship where the Auric Drive ended, a cold steel
amphitheater shone with a bright blue light. The doors opened for Zack and
closed behind him, enclosing him in the silent glow.

He nearly dropped his suitcase on the floor, the loud noise echoing off the
walls. Zack looked to the ceiling. "Permission access. Astra 7 computer
mainframe."

A disembodied, robotic voice responded. "Access to computer mainframe
requires passcode. Please respond with authorized username and passcode."

"Username zalton4156. Passcode vespertine gamma."

"Access granted." Suddenly, the blue light grew more intense. With a flash
of flickering brightness, two large holographic faces, feminine in feature
but composed of beams of azure light, appeared in the middle of the
room. They spoke in unison with two voices, feathery but with an
indescribable mechanical ring to them. "Hello, Zack."

"Hello, Dawn. Hello, Aurora." Zack said. He barely looked at the faces as
he bent down and opened his suitcase. "How are you?"

"Systems are operating normally."

As he turned on the computer embedded in his suitcase, the holographic
screen booting up, Zack raised an eyebrow to himself. "Incorrect. Aurora,
check Aureole Flow and Auric Generation."

Only the face on the right spoke. "Analysis shows normal Aureole functions
on all levels."

Zack shook his head. "Maybe you do need a diagnostic..." he whispered. With
several swift keystrokes he brought up a program onto his screen. "Girls,
how long ago was your last shut down?"

"Approximately ten hours and twenty three minutes ago, standard time
units."

"Were there any malintent anomalies before that time?"

"No."

"Aurora, please check Auric flow again."

Again, the right face. "Analysis shows normal Aureole functions on-"

"Dawn? Repeat command."

The face on the left. "Analysis shows normal Aureole functions on Weapons
Manifold, Helm, and-"

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Girls, please prepare dual network input
via port 7," Zack said hastily, typing into his keyboard.

"Preparing... Dual network connected. Harddrive Alton2 found."

"Good..." With satisfaction Zack swiped the enter key. "...Begin level 5
diagnostic."

"Understood. Initializing."

Zack sighed. The faces of Aurora and Dawn scrambled into rows of code. His
job done, Zack placed his screen on the floor. Resting his back on the far
metal wall, he slid down until he was sitting, and tried in vain to close
his eyes.

*******

"...emergency situation. This is not a drill. Enemy presence has been
detected..."

Zack opened his eyes. The Computer Room glistened red, Dawn's crimson face
burning in the air. Zack heard a rumbling, like distant
timpanies. "...Dawn? Report."

"Enemy presence has been detected."

"Specify."

"Unkown Aureole-based presence detected on decks 2, 4, 5..."

"Shit!" Zack screamed. Folding his computer into his pocket, he headed
towards the exit. "Dawn, prep Cantata Transport Shuttle 2 for undocking,
and allow all escape pods permission to eject!" he yelled over his
shoulder. He heard her say "understood" as he strode out the door.

The deep noise reverberated tenfold in the halls, and distant gunfire
compounded on it. Screams sent shivers down Zack's spine; quickly but with
deliberate steps, he ran down the red corridor. He didn't get far. From out
of the wall, like a specter or something worse, more otherworldly and
frighteningly alien. It was a ghost, a shining silhouette of pure brilliant
energy, red light, blue light, yellow light, eyes and claws and unspeakable
limbs in a terrifying, towering monster. Its presence made the whole hall
darker, and itself brighter. Zack yelped in horror, for his fears were
correct: Phantoms.

He could have tried to run in the other direction, but he knew it would be
hopeless. All a Phantom needed was one touch, and their pure aureole-based
physiology would irradiate and destroy human tissue. And they were fast--
swift in the entire meaning of the word. In other words, this was it: this
was the end.

"Get down!"

Zack instinctively did as he was told, even in the throes of death. But
then came the sound of gunfire, and the deep bellowing scream of the
Phantom. Zack, crouched on the floor, turned around to see Private 1st
class Tremel, his assault rifle firing volleys of glowing bullets that left
sparkling trails as they flew. He briefly let up his gunfire to grab Zack
by the hand and pull him out of harm's way, running while the Phantom was
momentarily wounded.

"Did the shuttle leave yet?!" Zack yelled as he ran.

"No! We still got time!" Rather suddenly a Phantom made of green light
dropped from the ceiling, nearly cleaving Private Tremel in half. But Zack
managed to push him out of the way in time, barely dodging it himself;
Tremel shot the thing from the ground, quickly jumping to his feet again to
guide Zack in the other direction. "We gotta get back to that cargo bay!"

"Wait. Wait, what about survivors? The rest of my team!"

Private Tremel stopped in his tracks. He looked left and right, the halls
clear of Phantoms for now. "...We'll check if there's anyone left. Where do
we go?"

Zack never imagined he would be grateful that Tremel was a softie after
all. "Th-the Drive Core."

Private Tremel nodded, grabbing Zack's arm again as they ran deeper into
the Astra 7, both equally terrified out of their wits.

*******

Hello, everybody!

Thanks for getting this far. ItÕs my first sci-fi story! Starlight 7 draws
inspiration from shows like Firefly, DS9, BSG... Mass Effect. Yeah, IÕm
geeky, so sue me :D. WeÕre coming into a story of very large proportions,
once I get around to writing everything :P.

Um... so hereÕs the thing. You probably noticed that thereÕs a lot of
unexplained acronyms, random species and names, etc. ItÕs a bit of a
complicated universe that I made up in my sick mind, but IÕll try my best
to get everything explained with time. But if you ever get confused, shoot
me an email and IÕll explain everything :).



As per usual, thanks for reading!


Questions? Comments? Recommendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail, maybe? Wanna
just chat? Email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you!

If you like Starlight 7, maybe there's the very vague possibility you'll
like other stories I've submitted:

Charmed Reborn (celebrity), Final Fantasy Rosa (celebrity), Pokemon:
Amethyst (celebrity), Teth (fantasy), Diana Celes (High School), Hallow
(sci-fi/fantasy), Crystal (Encounters).