Fiction:Attack in Quadrant 89

Commander Lithus II looked over the bridge of his Imperial Type II ship. A bead of sweat dripped down his head, and Lithus swatted it away. This wasn't a time to be nervous, this was a time to focus. This was one of the largest weapons deliveries ever, and Lithus was planning to get it to the Deep Space Colony of this Quadrant, called 01. Unfortunatly, that meant passing through Quadrant 89, and Lithus was quite nervous about that. There were many dangerous Pirates, criminal organizations, and evil Empires in this Quadrant. It seemed to be hive of scum, and Lithus was hoping they could get to 01 without being attacked. Of course, that was wishful thinking, and Lithus approached Jacnus, a female Amahani. She sat in the scanner station, her large tribal mask covering her entire head. Lithus didn't know how she, or any Amahani, saw out of that thing, but she was one of the best pilots and scanners in the entire Seven Starr Alliance, so he didn't question her.

"Anything out of there, Jacnus?" Lithus said, leaning over Jacnus's shoulder and gazing at the scanner screen.

"Nothing, Commander. Entire areas clean of any ships at all." Jacnus gruffed, her voice slightly muffled by her mask.

"Too blasted quiet." Lithus muttered, walking back to his station on the bridge.

A ping suddenly sounded from Jacnus station and she yelled, "Commander! Ship approaching ours at Hyperspeed 2.02!"

"Do a scan. See if its-" Lithus yelled, running back toward Jacnus.

"Already have, sir." Jancus said, a view of the ship appearing on the holo monitor. "Let see its...oh dear."

"Who is it?!" Lithus yelled.

"Its a Lizardian cruiser, Captain. Moving a bit slowly, only at 2.02, but it definatly knows we're here."

Lithus tightened his spikey fist. A Lizardian Cruiser! The Lizardians were a powerful empire that was pretty dominant it this Quadrant. They had many illegal activities, like slave trading and attacking any vessels that came into their territories, by, from what Lithus had heard, were steadily growing larger.

"Reverse thrusters and open fire on those freaks with a barrage of proton missiles.!" Lithus yelled, his crew members pushing the firing buttons. Dozens of missiles zoomed past the window at full speed. Lithus gripped the spiked banister near him.

"Captain, dozens of fighters are being deployed out of the Cruiser. It looks like they are going to try and intercept our missiles." Jacnus said.

"THOSE-aggh." Lithus said, feeling the rage build up inside him but quickly surpressing it. "Reverse thrusters and get us the hell out of here. The Rambo will have to understand, I'm not risking my crew's lives for some weapons delivery."

The ship began to fly backward. In the distance of space, Lithus could see the Lizardian fighters opening fire on the proton missiles. All the missiles exploded, several kilometers away from the Cruiser. The fighters then began to fly full speed toward the ship. Lithus gave another curse and said, "Oh, hell! Their pursueing us! Go faster!"

It was too late. The fighters zoomed next to the ship and fired several EMP blasts. The blasts slammed into the ship, and the lights immediatly shorted out, computer screens turning black, and the ship coming to a complete halt.

Lithus slammed his fist into the wall. Now they were helpless and the Lizardian were probably going to blast them into space dust for intruding in their space.

Lithus waited for the lasts sounds of explosions and blackness, but nothing came. He looked up and said to Jacnus, "Why aren't they firing?"

"I'm not sure, sir." Jacnus said. "They may know about the enormous weapons cargo or just want to enslave us."

"Or both." A voice said in the darkness.

"Or both."

A loud explosion suddenly echoed across the ship. Lithus looked down the blackened corridors. "What was that?" He said.

"I think they just boarded us." Jacnus said, looking pale even in the dark.

"Huh. Well, their probably here to kill us. But I'm not going down without a fight." Lithus growled, grabbing a Energy Blaster out of from his hip. "Quenis, Intru! Come with me! We're going to give these freaks hell before they take us or kill us."

Lithus sprinted into the corridor, two soldiers running behind him. Lithus walked down the pitch black hallways, his only light that from his glowing Energy Blaster.

"Anything, Quenis?" Lithus whispered. No answer. "Quenis?" Lithus turned around, only to be greeted by a giant lizard creature in the hallway. Even in the darkness, its red eyes penetrated the gloom, licking its fanged jaws with hunger. Its enormous claws flexed, its left claw holding a small pistol with a bayonet mounted on the bottom of it. Spikes covered its head and the bottom of its chin. The body of Quenis lay at its feet, along with decapitated head of Intru. Lithus aimed his Energy Blaster at its head.

The Lizardian instantly gave a roar and charged forward, its muscular body slamming into Lithus and sending him flying backward. Lithus slammed into the deck, groaning rubbing his secondary arms coming out of his backside. The Lizardian slammed its foot into Lithus's ribcage, sending him rolling over. Lithus tried to rise, but the clawed hand of the Lizardian grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him up, slamming him into the wall with a powerful force.

Lithus groaned, pain flowing through his entire body. He aimed a kick at his tormentor, but it had no effect on the Lizardian's scaly hide. The Lizardian hissed again and hurled him to the ground. Lithus looked upward, and saw the barrel of the Lizardian's pistol aimed at his face. Lithus gave a yell, and with ferocity that surprised himself, shot upward with lightening speed, and grabbed the Lizardian's arm, forcing its hand backward toward the monster's face. The Lizardian gave an angry screeched and slashed at Lithus with its other claws, tearing through his suit and drawing blood. Lithus didn't notice and squeezed the trigger of the Lizardian's pistol. A blast of energy shot forward and slammed into the Lizardian's head, causing it to explode.

Lithus let go of the Lizardian's now headless corpse and sat down on the ground, panting. He had never been pushed to that extreme before. Sure, he'd been in combat, but he had never stared death in the face. He'd always considered himself lucky. Until now.

More hisses sounded from behind the corridor. Lithus stood up. He was clearly outnumbered and if he was captured by the Lizardians, there was no telling was secrets about the Alliance he'd be forced to reveal. But his crew...there was no telling what would happen to them either. Lithus turned the dilemma over in his mind, and in a spilt second, made his decision. He ran toward the escape pods at the end of the hallway. The hisses were behind him now, and energy blasts shot past him, destroying the walls. Lithus slammed his fist into the pod, the door sliding open with a hiss, and Lithus jumped inside. The door slammed shut, and Lithus once again caught a glimpse of those horrible red eyes, locking eyes with him for a second. Then the pod shot backward, and Lithus found himself floating in space. He activated the radar jammer, and zoomed quietly underneath the fighters still circeling the ship like vultures.

Lithus slid back in his seat. He had prevented possible secrets from being revealed. But he'd probably sacrificed several good lives in the process to. This decision would haunt him for the rest of his life.