Chapter XLVIII: Space Battle!

Chapter XLVIII: Space Battle! 

As they’re leaving the solar system, a blockade of Zorgon ships stops them. Gorgax turns the ship around, only to be met with another blockade. “Shit.” She says. 

“Surrender or you will be destroyed!” They hear. 

“What should we do, Bal?” 

“Hmm... I’d like to think they’re bluffing.” Ballester says. 

“You can’t be serious, we’re outnumbered!” 

“Not entirely. Shoot the first three ships ahead of us, Manboutu.” 

“But that’ll deplete us.” Manboutu says. 

“I know, that’s what I’m counting on. 101, send a distress signal to your planet, we could use their help. Manboutu, fire.” Manboutu fires the first shot. “Stop, wait, fire.” Manboutu fires the second shot, “Stop, wait, fire.” Manboutu fires the third round. The ship still has power. 

“How are we still functioning?” 

“After last time we did this, I noticed it slowly starts recharging after the shot. Evenly spaced like we just did, we didn’t deplete ourselves, we have just enough energy to not blow our fuse. Now look at them out there, dead in the water.” 

“Nice one, captain.” 

“Let me know when we’re good for another shot. Meanwhile, Gorgax, start driving around. Looks like they’re trying to help each other instead of going after us. Odd, considering their leader said he’d be willing to sacrifice his citizens for an army of Zorkon me’s.” 

“Maybe that’s the problem. Without a leader to tell them what to do, they’re at a loss. They probably figure it’s better to stay in the fight as long as possible rather than try to defeat us.” Gorgax says. 

“One thing I’m sure they didn’t count on, their systems are down, it won’t be long before they freeze.” 

“We got a shot!” Manboutu says. 

“Fire at any moving target.” Ballester says. Manboutu fires, disabling another ship. The power goes out. “Oh, f**k! Repair teams, get on it!” He says through the loudspeaker. A ship begins firing at them.  

“Shields critical, that one almost wiped us out!” 

“S**t, f**k, we’re going to die out here, aren’t we?” The power comes back online. “Woah, that was fast!” 

“Shields recharging, weapons at 23%.” 

“Damn, that’s not enough, get us moving, hun.” Gorgax gets the ship out of time right before a shot whizzes by them. “That was a close one.” 

“Weapons at 30%.” 

“Still not good enough. Wait, who’s that?” A ship appears from the distance and starts firing at the Zorkon’s ships. “101, is that one of yours?” 

“No sir, still out of range for communication.” 101 says. 

“Then who the f**k?” A centaur appears onscreen. “Who are you?” 

“I am Shedwin, captain of this vessel. We caught readings from the disturbance in Zorkon space, I can’t believe you actually destroyed their homeworld.” 

“It was a last resort, believe me.” 

“I do, and that’s why we’re here to help. We’ve destroyed the Zorkons before, we can do it again.” 

“Funny, we thought the same thing.” 

“Well, the odds aren’t really in your favor, but we don’t mind improving them.” 

“Thanks for the support.” 

“No problem, Shedwin out.” The screen shuts off. The ship that was pursuing Ballester’s ship is getting fired upon by Shedwin’s ship, so the Zorkon ship breaks off its attack to avoid Shedwin. 

“Shields fully charged, weapons at 38%.” Manboutu says.  

“Fire!” Manboutu fires at the same ship now fighting Shedwin, and ends up disabled. One of the repair ships joins the battle. Gorgax is expertly driving, avoiding the lasers. One of the downed ships is repaired, and joins the battle, along with the repair ship that was working on it. “Where are we at on those weapons?” 

“22%.” 

“S**t. Hail the Fantasix ship.” Arizona calls them. 

“Hey, dodging fire here, what can I do ya for?” Shedwin asks. 

“Any chance for reinforcements?” 

“We have another ship, but it only has a skeleton crew, not enough people on our planet are trained for this.” 

“F**k. 101, any word yet?” 

“Still out of range.” 

“Wait, what if we leave the system? They can’t stop us now!” Gorgax goes back towards their original route, and Shedwin follows, followed by the three Zorkon ships. “Manboutu?” 

“35%” Manboutu says. 

“Shoot one and let’s go!” Manboutu targets the nearest Zorkon ship, disabling it, while another crashes into it, and the third continues its pursuit. “Good, we seem to have bought some time.” They fly through space, and more Zorkon ships are getting repaired and start following. “S**t! 101, anything?” 

“Signal is faint.” 101 says. 

“Start dropping distress calls, our lives depend on it.” 

“I am replaceable, therefore my life has no value.” 

“As ambassador, your life DOES have value.” 

“Calculating...you are correct. Sending out distress signal...” 

“Good, now, Arizona, contact Serge.” 

“Contacting Serge.” Arizona says. 

“What’s up, guys?” Serge asks. 

“Are there any Galaxian ships in the area that can help us?” 

“Sort of, there’s a ship that just picked up a ship full of Void refugees.” 

“Think they can help us fight these Zorkons? I’ve got five on my tail, and the Fantasix ship can only do so much.” 

“Alright, I’ll send them your way.” 

“Thanks, boss.” 

“Good luck.” 

“Where are we on weapons?” 

“30%” Manboutu says. 

“S**t. Ok, just a few more minutes.” 

“Our shields are taking a beating here, boss.” 

“I’m trying my f*****g best!” Gorgax yells, as she swerves the ship in another direction, confusing the pursuers. 

“39%!” 

“Fire!” Ballester says. Again, Manboutu hits the closest ship, disabling it, but the others maintain pursuit, leaving the disabled ship behind. “S**t, they’re getting really desperate now!” Shedwin manages to disable another ship, leaving three left. They stop pursuing. “Yes! We won! Keep heading towards Planet Automaton, we’ll take a break there, get our upgrades, and rendezvous with the Galaxian ship hopefully on the way.” He breathes a sigh of relief. “Babe, put it on autopilot, and let’s celebrate! 

“Connection established...distress signal sent.” 101 says. 

“Good, I hope your people can help us.” 

“Contract has been fulfilled, upgrades will be available upon arrival of Planet Automaton.” 

“I wonder why they stopped following us?” Chimmy asks. 

“I don’t, I’m just taking it as a sign of good luck, I’m not questioning anything. Right, Scorpious?” He looks up at me. 

“Yeah, don’t question it.” I tell him. On the way, the Galaxian ship zooms out of nowhere. 

“Hey, can we be of assistance?” I am Golog.” The Galaxian says over the screen. 

“Yeah, come with us to Planet Automaton.” 

“Where is that?”  

“At the end of your solar system.” 

“Ok, what’s going on?” 

“We were being pursued by the Zorkons. They broke off their pursuit, and I don’t know why.” 

“I heard you dealt them a major blow, though.” 

“Yeah we did, the only reason we’re still alive is...well... probably Scorpious.” That’s right b***h, know your place. 

“Hail Scorpious.” 

“Let’s just go.” The three ships head towards their solar system and finally reach Planet Automaton. 

“Welcome to Planet Automaton. Atmosphere enabled.” A robotic voice says as they set down.  

“Arizona, call ONE, let it know we’re here.” The screen automatically turns on and they’re greeted by ONE’s face. 

“Hello, and welcome back. Since you’ve been gone, we’ve established an atmosphere for you organics, I did research, I hope I got the levels correct. Oh what am I saying? Of course I did.” 

“Thank you so much, ONE.” 

“No, thank YOU. You did the impossible and took down the Zorkons.” 

“Not exactly, there’s still 3-5 ships still out there, but they broke off pursuit for some reason.” 

“Well, we’ll worry about that later, for now, we’re going to upgrade your ships, and while we’re doing that, feel free to wander the city. We’ll alert you when you are finished. 101 Recall code 523.” 101 immediately rolls out of the ship and into ONE’s building. 

“Alright, everyone take a break. Me, Gorgax, Golog, and Shedwin need to talk to ONE.” Ballester says. The captains leave their ships and follow 101. 

“What’s up, guys?” ONE asks. 

“This is Golog and Shedwin.” 

“Ah, another Galaxian and a centaur, very nice to meet you.” 

“I didn’t even know this planet was here.” Shedwin says. 

“Well, you don’t leave your planet too often, now do you?” 

“No, no we really don’t. But when Zorkon VII was destroyed, we knew our friends here needed help.” 

“Admirable. Yes, we received the telemetry, also.” 

“We think they’re still going to come after us, I think they turned around to help the disabled ships.” Ballester says. 

“Well, don’t worry, with your upgrades, and one of our ships at your disposal, along with your two allies, you should have no problem winning.” 

“I sure hope so.” 

“We are the most advanced technology in the universe, your chances of winning are 97.3%.” 

“I like those chances.” 

“Good. If there is nothing else, please enjoy the city or rest, you certainly deserve it.” 

“Thank you, sir ONE.” 

“Just ONE will be fine. We’re allies after all, no need for formalities.” 

“Ok, thank you, ONE.” 

“Have a nice day.”