Sunday, February 9, 2025

The Marvelous Mallories

An extended family of mixed ancestry (fox-rabbit-ferret-clone-etc) primarily based out of Birr, Ireland. They've got a strong metahuman gene running in their bloodline and are often involved in the cosmic tales of the Cryok in addition to their own Earth-based superheroics. Contentious and often at one another's throats, they nevertheless manage to maintain something resembling a family unit throughout the decades.

 

 

 

FIRST GENERATION

 

Mallory Mallory


Real name and age unkown.

Likely born sometime during the Early-to-Mid 20th Century.

Deceased, 2017

Voiceclaim: TBD

A red fox vixen of ambiguous eastern European origin. Mother of Doc, Morgan, Margo, and Mirko. Adoptive mother of Mira. Grandmother of Rebecca and Ma'atthew. Retired pro-wrestler turned promoter and trainer. Missing her left eye; presumably lost during a fight. Very much a carny constantly looking for a new grift. Surprisingly very good at business management and promotion despite an apparent lack of a formal education. Frequently emotional and standoffish, many of her family members suspect she suffered some traumatic event in her early life that rendered her histrionic. Loves her children and husband deeply despite being overbearing. Killed by a brainwashed Squire during the 2017 Siege of The Cryok.

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 4

Strength: 2

Speed: 2

Durability: 2

Combat Skills: 3

 

 

Dr. Edvin Mallory (née Tolos)


Born 1967.

An Irish rabbit of Greek ancestry. Husband of Mallory Mallory and father of Morgan, Margo, and Mirko. Adoptive father of Mira. Stepfather of Doc and grandfather of Rebecca. Upperclassman and peer mentor of Doc Mallory when he was a teenager. Began a secret relationship with Mallory Mallory in the late '80s while being trained in pro-wrestling by her and her son. When she became pregnant with triplets in 1989, he married her despite the large age gap between them. The reveal of their relationship caused a huge rift between Doc, his mother, and his best friend, leading to Doc’s leaving the country and not speaking to them for nearly two decades. Against all odds graduated college with a doctorate of sports medicine and opened a successful practice with help of his wife. A caring soul and responsible everyman, Edvin is nevertheless loathed by Doc for his perceived betrayal leading to a lot of tension between the two sides of the family. It's unclear if they'll ever be able to reconcile. Currently resides aboard The Cryok.

Voiceclaim: Sean Bean


Intelligence: 4

Charisma: 3

Strength: 2

Speed: 3

Durability: 3

Combat Skills: 2

 

 

Elias Hawkwind


Born 1934.

Deceased, 1970.

Former lover of Mallory Mallory and father of Doc. A black-footed ferret and full-blooded member of the Ute tribe. An American journeyman pro-wrestler best remembered for being the only Native American performer of that era to fully embrace playing a heel character. Died suddenly at a young age due to mixing alcohol and painkillers. Mallory Mallory was very mum about him while Doc was being raised, leading to him falsely assuming that local promoter Chip Amos was his father, only discovering the truth about his parentage well into his adulthood. Little known about personality outside of wrestling career and scant archival footage. Has grandnephews that Doc has occasionally contacted. Despite being qualified for it, Doc has declined to seek recognized membership to the Ute tribe: “I don't have a people. Not really.”


Intelligence: 2

Charisma: 3

Strength: 3

Speed: 2

Durability: 3

Combat Skills: 3

 

 

 

 

SECOND GENERATION

 

Andrew Rutger “Doc” Mallory 


née Marion Malloryson Mallory

Born 1970. 

Red fox / black-footed ferret hybrid. Son of Mallory Mallory and Elias Hawkwind. Stepson of Edvin Mallory. Father of Ma'atthew Mallory. Adoptive father of Rebecca Mallory. Genetic predecessor of LADY. Former foster father of Isak Kitao. Husband of Zahra Xerfantes and former husband of Renée James Mallory. Founder and co-owner of Mallory & Kitao (formerly Mallory's Tailor Shop) in Niigata, Japan. Semi-retired pro-wrestler, martial artist, and actor. Frequent companion, right-hand man, and character foil of Zucca Xerfantes. Superhuman “pattern recognition” powers from traumatic brain injury as a youth; functionally a form of enhanced intuition via synesthesia. Moody and aloof, confrontational, and self-destructive. Devout Irish Catholic convert. Left Ireland and halted communications with the Mallory family in 1989 following a physical confrontation with Edvin and his mother after learning of their relationship. Vanished from Earth on Christmas Eve of 2012 and declared dead two years later. Returned to Earth on Christmas Eve of 2016, reuniting with the Mallory family for the first time in a quarter century. Initially vowing to stay with them only as long as it took to get his legal statuses restored. Decided to remain in contact with his extended family on insistence of his daughter. Was left with a limp in the right leg due to the 2017 Siege of The Cryok and requires a cane to walk (though the Xerfantes family maintain he has fully healed it is merely a psychosomatic pain). Dropped over 100lbs of weight to compensate for his injury. Considering a return to pro-wrestling just for the hell of it. Currently resides aboard the starship Swan Song with the ship's owner (and his wife) Zahra Xerfantes. Reverted to his birth name upon marrying Zahra. If everyone was gonna keep on calling him Marion anyway....  

Voiceclaim: Colm Meaney

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 4

Strength: 3

Speed: 2

Durability: 3

Combat Skills: 4

 

 

Margo Mallory / Marathon


Born 1989. 

Part of the Mallory Triplets with Morgan and Mirko. Red fox-rabbit hybrid, vulpine, lean. Daughter of Mallory Mallory and Edvin Mallory. Takes the most after her older brother and was the clear favorite of her siblings because of it. Outgoing, sporty, charismatic and bull-headed. During a house fire at age fifteen she unlocked the ability to utilize either super strength or speed alternatively for a day, requiring a full night's sleep to switch between the two. Enhanced strength has upper limit of five tons, enhanced speed has upper limit of 250 mph and can be isolated to individual limbs for purpose of enhanced reflexes. These abilities come with the added side-effect of enhanced bone and cellular density and enhanced resistance to friction. She chooses to primarily go with the enhanced speed. Teamed up with Morgan and Mira to become the superhero team the Marvelous Mallories in 2007; identities publicly known and marketed by mother. Gradually learned her powers burn through her metabolism at an advanced rate, resulting in her aging faster than her siblings. As of 2021 is residing aboard Accuz Xerfantes' ship the Salvator as a patient after developing advanced early onset dementia.

 

INTELLIGENCE: 3

CHARISMA: 4

STRENGTH: 5

SPEED: 5

DURABILITY: 4

COMBAT SKILLS: 3

 

 

Morgan Mallory / Multitude


Born 1989. 

Part of the Mallory Triplets with Margo and Mirko. Daughter of Mallory Mallory and Edvin Mallory. Red fox-rabbit hybrid, vulpine lean. Chatty and political with early aspirations to become involved in the legal sphere. Deeply afraid of being alone or abandoned. Marked jealousy of her sister due to her developing classically heroic superpowers at a young age. Suffered a public panic attack during one of Mirko's stand-up routines upon realizing her siblings were accepted to college and she wasn't. This resulted in her developing the ability to divide herself into perfect duplicates with the limiting factor that each copy “fades” and has decreased mass and tangibility. After dividing herself three times (nine copies) she's basically just a strong breeze. For obvious reasons has never attempted to copy herself beyond this amount. The first use of her powers also resulted in the loss of her left thumb and the creation of Mira Jane. Currently living aboard The Cryok and serving on the Cryok Cooperative Council.

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 3

Strength: 3

Speed: 3

Durability: 3

Combat Skills: 3

 

 

Mirko Marion Mallory 


Born 1989. 

Part of the Mallory Triplets with Margo and Morgan. Only son of Mallory Mallory and Edvin Mallory. A particularly rough hybrid – lapine, lean with vulpine teeth and eyes, usually hidden under contacts and dentures to pass as full rabbit. Marked antisocial tendencies due to suffering bullying earlier in life and feelings of inferiority compared to siblings. Has the ability to completely psionically control any technology he creates or improves within a bubble of roughly 500 feet. Homosexual. Possible narcissistic personality disorder. Lover of flannel shirts. Rare blonde guy who can convincingly pull off a mustache. Deep hatred of Marion stemming from a potpourri of reasons, not the least of which being jealousy and repressed sexual desire. Has demonstrated similar feelings towards Kristie Sparks so who knows what's really going on there. Became a space pirate following the 2017 Siege of The Cryok. Currently ventures around the stars in his customized ship Theseus; wanted and extremely dangerous. 

Voiceclaim: Kefin Mahon

 

Intelligence: 5

Charisma: 4

Strength: 2

Speed: 3

Durability: 2

Combat Skills: 1

 

 

Mira Jane Mallory


Born(?) 2006. 

A complete, unbanishable genetic replica of Morgan Mallory accidentally created by the first use of her self-replication powers. Missing the thumb on her right hand. Having all of Morgan's memories and initially being physically identical to her, it fell on Mallory Mallory to determine which was the original version of her daughter utilizing the most scientific means available to her at the time: eeny meeny miny moe. Despite immediately being adopted into the family, being officially designated “the clone” was not something she enjoyed all that much and even years later she still keeps her sisters at arm's length and tends to side with the male side of the family whenever the usual arguments crop up. Mira Jane appears to have the balancing half of Morgan's self-replication powers: her body is permanently quantum-locked in the state she was when her powers first manifested, resulting in her being physically indestructible, requiring neither nourishment nor sleep, and seemingly being immune to all forms of radiation, hypnosis, and even extremes such as the pressures of the bottom of the ocean or the vacuum of space. Winning the superpower lottery comes with the downside of her body being completely unalterable; she will forever have the same haircut, weight, muscle memory and neurons of a nervy eighteen year-old regardless of how hard she tries to change and grow. This is played for horror. It's been postulated that her state is due to her not fully existing in our reality. Effectively having eternal youth and physical immortality, Mira Jane is a walking Macguffin and doom magnet that seemingly every faction in the setting has been drawn towards at one point or another. JAQ/L and the Church of Revenance in particular are VERY keen on keeping tabs on her for VERY different reasons.

Mira Jane, due to forever being stuck at age eighteen, is viewed as the baby of the bunch and is just about the only member that the entire family will spring to the defense of. She has refused to enter the superhero game despite her obvious utility. This hasn't stopped others from attempting to coax her into it or suggesting codenames for her with varying degrees of seriousness; the most popular of which being Mirage (jokingly suggested by Mirko), Memory (Zahra), Monolith (Squire), and perhaps the only one of the bunch she seems to kinda like, Madonna (independently thought up by both a sarcastic Jaden Vale and a dead serious JAQ/L). She currently resides aboard The Cryok.

 

Intelligence: 2

Charisma: 2

Strength: 2

Speed: 3

Durability: 5

Combat Skills: 2

 

 

Renée James Mallory (née Madison)


Deceased. 

First wife of Doc Mallory. Squirrel Rathi. Earthling. Daughter of an electrician in rural Georgia who created a solar energy converter with an absurdly high conversion rate. Used newfound money to journey abroad. Met and fell in love with Marion in Japan in the early '90s. Married him in 1995. A very rocky relationship between two dumb, incomplete people that only got worse when Marion revealed THE Cryok to her. Feared for her life when Doc began turning his frustrations her way and separated from him. Died alongside her father in a car wreck in 1997 before the marriage could be annulled; possibly part of an assassination, possibly a freak accident; possibly while driving home from an out-of-state business meeting, possibly while returning from an abortion clinic. Regardless, Doc suffered a minor stroke while attempting to piece it all together and retired to “a less stressful life” of tailoring in the wake of it. Hundreds of years and many more heartbreaks later, he seems to have finally gotten over it. Doc donates generously to the Madison Foundation For STEM Skill Development and has ensured that the Madison Solar Converter found its way into the hands of Prometheus Labs. It is, after all, the foundation on which The Cryok's Dyson ring technology is based.

Voiceclaim: Jennifer Grey

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 3

Strength: 2

Speed: 3

Durability: 2

Combat Skills: 1

 

 

Zahra Prometheus Xerfantes


One of the one hundred Xerfantes siblings created by Prometheus Labs. Sister of Zucca and Accuz. Wife of Doc Mallory. Mother of Ma'atthew Mallory. Approximately 220k years old factoring in time dilation. Captain of the worldship Swan Song (mostly built by her siblings) which is predominantly unoccupied save for her family and the dozen garden planets within. Following in her eldest brother's footsteps, acted as an ambassador between worlds for several centuries before making the classic mistake of attempting to peacefully resolve a dispute involving demons. Was maimed almost beyond recognition, losing nearly 80% of her body before being rescued and rebuilt by Accuz. After several millennia of healing, returned to the public sphere as a musician and humanitarian. Maintained a constant psychic glamour of her old self whenever out in public. Met and gradually fell in love with Doc Mallory over the course of several centuries, eventually marrying him in 2022 after bonding in the years following the 2017 Siege of The Cryok. The common misconception that she was a warrior woman once upon a time and is still capable of mopping the floor with everyone is a running gag and a bluff that she finds too useful to dispel. (Her bionic limbs are indeed very, very powerful but she seldom uses them for anything other than lifting loads of loam) Often jokingly called “Galadriel” or “Lady Zaza” by family... except for Mirko, who rather tactfully calls her “The Toaster” but never to her face.

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 5

Strength: 4

Speed: 3

Durability: 2

Combat Skills: 2

 

 

 

 

THIRD GENERATION

 

Rebecca Renée Mallory 


Born(?) circa 1997. 

Adopted 1999. Daughter of Doc Mallory. Goddaughter of Zucca Xerfantes. Stepdaughter of Zahra Xerfantes. Space raccoon Rathi. Sister of the Mallory Triples and Mira Jane. Granddaughter of Mallory Mallory and Edvin Mallory. Artificially created infiltration unit of the Fa'tik Empire. Rescued from one of their cruisers and adopted as an infant by Doc Mallory. Raised by him in Japan in the attempt to give her a “normal life”. Taken to Ireland and handed over to the Mallory family following Doc and Zucca's disappearance in 2012. Joined the Marvelous Mallories under the codename Pinpoint, much to her father's chagrin when he returned. Fa'tik sleeper cell activated on her 20th birthday, leading to the 2017 Siege of The Cryok and all the fallout of such. Murdered dozens including Mallory Mallory while under sleeper programming. Eventually broken free from the programming by her father. Exiled from the Cryok by the CCC and elected to establish herself on another planet instead of returning to Earth. 

Currently resides in Volencia, working as a member of the Mercenary Guild.

Voiceclaim: Lauren Bacall

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 2

Strength: 3

Speed: 3

Durability: 3

Combat Skills: 4


 

Isak Kitao


Born 1982. 

Jackal-husky hybrid rathi. Unknowing son of Lord Shane Hagan. Business partner and foster son of Doc Mallory. Brother of Rebecca. A part of the orphanage system and former loW-ranking member of Niigata's Oni Green street gang. In 1999 the gang was sent after Doc Mallory by Sid Rockatansky and got effortlessly taken apart. This led to a moment of clarity when Isak realized the life of a mixed-race gangbanger in Japan had no upside to it. Profusely apologizing to Doc and all but swearing fealty to him, Isak was put through the wringer for weeks before Doc eventually relented and began mentoring him in earnest. It wouldn't be until Doc's seeming death in 2012 until he learned that the tailor had in fact legally become his foster father thanks to an experimental social rehabilitation program put forth by the Diet. He'd also inherited Mallory's Tailor Shop, which he managed to keep running with his inheritance money until Doc's reappearance four years later. Confronting Doc on his mysterious dealings, Isak was told that learning the truth about his life wouldn't make him any happier. It sure hadn't for Renée. Isak accepted this non-answer...on the condition their shop be renamed Mallory & Kitao and he get primary ownership of it. Doc relented and accepted these terms, perhaps a little too readily. Isak is well aware that Doc holds many, many secrets...but out of respect and love for him, they've decided to not look any deeper into it. Doc, for his part, is extremely proud of Isak (though he seldom shows it in public) and considers guiding him to be a normal, whole person the one objectively good thing he's done in life. Isak still lives in Niigata, Japan and is the primary owner of Mallory & Kitao now that Doc is mostly retired. He is married to a completely off-screen, eternally unnamed woman whom he has two kids by.

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 3

Strength:  2

Speed: 2

Durability: 2

Combat Skills: 1



Ma'atthew Isak Mallory


Born Christmas Day, 2025

Son of Zahra Xerfantes and Doc Mallory. Wolf-ferret-fox-human-alien hybrid. Nephew of Zucca Xerfantes. Godson of Accuz Xerfantes. A perfectly normal, healthy baby boy... insofar as the Xerfantes family can be “normal”. Takes after his mother physically. A surprisingly sound sleeper, as most Xerfantes children tend to be. Enjoys chilled teething rings and Bob the Builder reruns. Dislikes butternut squash.

 

Intelligence: ?

Charisma: ?

Strength: ?

Speed: ?

Durable: ?

Combat Skills: ?

 

 

 

 

ANCILLARY MEMBERS

  

LADY


Born (?) 1997.

 Chimeric creation of the Fa'tik Empire cobbled together from genetic swabs of the Argonaut Privateers and Doc Mallory. Initial attempts to blend in Zucca's DNA were not viable.  Possessing the combined powers of Aries Passadar, Catherine Sonora, Doc Mallory, and the voice of Kristie Sparks, the poor creature known as LADY (acronym unknown) was little more than a guided missile towards the Argo's crew; a poorly constructed, waifishly thin thing falling apart from an overdesigned cellular structure contaminated by Hellfire. A disastrous initial confrontation with the Argo crew in which she was seemingly destroyed heralded the end of the short-lived romance between Doc Mallory and Aries Passadar that rebounded immediately following the death of Renée. Believed to be dead for well over a decade, LADY reappeared in a much healthier (read: pear-shaped) and saner (read: clothed) form in 2017 and sought to have a sit-down talk with her “parents” regarding past misgivings. Unfortunately, she chose her “dad” as the point of entry for this discussion and had the terrible timing of doing so mere months after the death of his mother at the hands of her “sister” and fellow Fa'tik creation. After a very long and tense afternoon, Doc Mallory, grinning very broadly and speaking very slowly, told her she was an affront to God, no child of his, then handed her a chit with the equivalent of ten million dollars on it and told her that if he ever saw or heard from her again, he'd kill her, in broad daylight, in front of thousands of witnesses if need be. Seeing that this was the closest thing to closure she was gonna get, LADY accepted and hopped aboard the next transport out of the quadrant. LADY's current whereabouts and alias are unknown save to the Church of Revenance, who are keeping her in the back pocket just in case.

 

Intelligence: 3

Charisma: 2

Strength: 4

Speed: 3

Durability: 4

Combat Skills: 4

 

 

Thomas O'Hare Jr. / Wild Hare I / Tom O'Bedlam


Born 1990. 

Former boyfriend of Mirko Mallory. Rabbit rathi. One of Ireland's first supervillains (the premier and preeminent one, to hear him say it), Thomas O'Hare Jr. has either the best or worst luck possible depending upon how you look at it. A classmate of the Mallory Triplets, at age fifteen he gained the ability to randomly transmute inorganic material at a molecular level by touching it. Plastic into diamonds, gold into bubbles, that kinda thing. This would be extremely useful and make him a billionaire overnight if he had any conscious control over it. However, it seems that the harder he tries to manifest it in useful ways the harder it resists him. He's lucky it's never turned anything into plutonium or liquid magma. What's a guy to do in this situation? 

Don a jester suit and rob banks, of course! A frequent foe of the Marvelous Mallories, Wild Hare was best known for getting the absolute snot knocked outta him. Over the course of his career, he's managed to rack up a truly impressive number of scars, including losing half an ear. He was also on the receiving end of one of the scariest beatdowns ever administered by Doc Mallory after accidentally turning his wedding ring into saran wrap. (He fixed it, though it cost him a couple teeth). A consummate theater kid, Thomas and Mirko were friends for many years before and after their subsequent falls into evil, even dating briefly in college, much to the alarm of the entire family. This kept on until he broke up with Mirko after the latter used a robotic version of him to steal millions of pounds worth of equipment for his secret lab, something that Thomas always suspected he was capable of doing but had no way of proving beyond hearsay.

Now retired from supervillainy and rebranded as Tom O'Bedlam, he makes a killing doing insurance commercials in the UK wherein he plays the anthropomorphic personification of chaos.

The Wild Hare gimmick is apparently brilliant bit of branding since no less than eight other supervillains have since adopted the moniker, including a kangaroo (who is ironically the most dangerous of the lot since she can turn anything into an edged weapon by touching it – yes, anything). Tom's attempts to pursue legal action for gimmick infringement have all be fruitless since supervillainy is by its nature an outlawed pastime.

 

Intelligence: 2

Charisma: 3

Strength: 2

Speed: 4

Durability: 4

Combat Skills: 2








Bio by Groveclearer

Friday, January 24, 2025

The Soriano Sisters


Legal Names: Silvina Sonia and Sasha Sofia Soriano

Aliases: The Twins, Squat and Skinny, “Those Two”

Sex: Female

Species: Rathi (wolf)

Age: 27

Place of Birth: De La Vega Province, Spira

Legal Status: Wanted 

Occupation: Privateers

Allegiance: Church of Revenance 

Height: 5’11” (Silvina), 4’11” (Sasha)

Weight: 210 lbs. each

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Mama Soriano

Vehicle of Choice: Privateer vessel The Gemini

Weapons of Choice: Laser Pistols, Cutlasses

Creator: Pyrodox

Voiceclaim: TBD

 

 

The Soriano Sisters are Sass personified. Born in one of the ghettos of the De La Vega Province on Spira, they learned to how to be tough, or at least even tougher than they were when they were born. They had always been very similar in their appearance and temperament and were generally presumed to be identical twins until Silvina underwent her growth spurt and Sasha underwent what passed for hers. 

Despite their demeanor, Mama Soriano (whom they speak of with great respect) succeeded in instilling a strong code of honor in them. Dissatisfied with their society’s ways and unconvinced by the theology of the street missionaries who frequented the area, they eventually found their purpose in the Church of Revenance, where their tenacity made them rise through the ranks and become Privateers tasked with raiding ships for revenue and unofficial strategic gains. While sufficiently independent in emergencies, the Sisters work best as a team, which Silvina’s possessing a better memory and Sasha’s possessing more logical acumen.

The sisters are excellent examples of the X35 Phenotype, and as such they are one of the many individuals rumored to be Elizabeth De La Vega, a theory that would no doubt annoy Mama Soriano. That Silvina has more or less the same build as Aries Passadar does not help with this popular tale. 

The two are very argumentative, especially with each other. There are multiple arguments between them, not the least of which being the supposed superiority of their respective body types. Unfortunately, many men have chosen to court Silvina over Sasha while operating under the stereotype that she is somehow less sassy than her stout sibling. This is a surefire way to annoy Sasha and, if the secret is found out, provoke the ire of both sisters. Despite their dating, they’re saving themselves for Alvaro Munez, though they have yet to accost him on the matter. They still haven’t quite settled the debate on who has the right to make the first move.  

 

 

STRENGTHS

 

Cunning: Both of the Sisters are clever and unpredictable, which makes them good strategists

Tenacious: They never give up and often shock their enemies with their sheer boldness

Decent Combat Skills: Silvina is more agile than Sasha, who is stronger and boasts a lower center of gravity

Ship-Handling

 

WEAKNESSES

 

Cocky: The Soriano Sisters can sometimes be overconfident and make mistakes

Combative: They have a tendency to argue with each other to the point of distraction

Blunt: Their attitude makes them less than ideal for negotiations, and they have trouble making friends

Slow (Sasha): her body type is not conducive to speed.



STATS


Silvina


Intelligence

nnnnn

Charisma

nnnnn

Strength

nnnnn

Speed

nnnnn

Durability

nnnnn

Combat Skills

nnnnn

Luck

nnnnn


Sasha


Intelligence

nnnnn

Charisma

nnnnn

Strength

nnnnn

Speed

nnnnn

Durability

nnnnn

Combat Skills

nnnnn

Luck

nnnnn




- Bio by Pyrodox

- Image 1 by Pyrodox

X35 Phenotype

X35 is a relatively common phenotype seen among Rathi wolves defined by a bright blue coat, a blonde mane, and gray eyes. It is especially common in the De La Vega Province of Spira and Castile on Earth-660.


 

NOTABLE SPECIMENS


Aries Passadar

Aries Passadar (deceased)

Aries Passadar’s Clone Line

The Soriano Sisters






The Soriano Sisters demonstrating the X35 Phenotype




Sunday, January 19, 2025

Two Steps from Hell

by Zucca

(musical accompaniment)


Sparks erupted from a power relay as it overloaded, sending Ensign Deekin flying, breaking his arm on the railing in CIC. The I.S.S. Argo was listing, having absorbed the atomic missile destined for the middle of the civilian fleet. 

"DAMAGE REPORT!" Commander Aries Passadar roared over the sound of an explosion as Captain Catherine Sonora regarded the flickering tactical display. 

"We've lost power to all starboard thrusters, engines 3 and 5 are dead, and all starboard mass drivers are offline. Repair teams dispatched. The core's still good, but we're venting atmosphere on decks 19 through 23." Kristie's voice crackled over the internal comms. 

"They only had the one nuke. Their fleet's regrouping for their final push. Deekin, what's the status on the reinforcements from Confed?" Catherine calmly asked.

Deekin used his good arm to pull himself back into his seat, studying the latest communication from the fleet. "Twenty minutes, plus or minus two minutes." He said, his words hanging grim and heavy in the air for a moment. It may as well be days.

Catherine studied the display, green eyes darting from one point to another. The militia squadron that had been formed from any civilian ship capable of fighting had been decimated by the Principality's assault fleet. Their starfighters had been intercepting bombers intent on destroying the civilians and were tied up as a result.

Argo stood alone against a numerically superior foe.

Cruisers, frigates, one heavy cruiser as their flagship.

"We're not finished yet, people." Catherine stated matter-of-factly, blood pouring down her face from a piece of shrapnel that had struck her just under the brim of her combination cover.

Harold cracked his neck. "I've still got lateral thrusters, so we can spin in either direction." The navigator noted.

Catherine rubbed her chin. "Gorza, have every close-range mass driver at the ready. Masers won't be effective so shunt power form them to kinetic barriers. I want a roll axis after a thirty second hard burn at maximum forward thrust. Transfer reloading teams from the starboard mass drivers to the portside, I want those barrels glowing. Is our forward railgun still operable?" 

The muscular hyena studied her screens. "Affirmative. Kali wills us retain our destructive capability there."

"In addition to the previous orders, I want the railgun charged up and ready to fire twenty seconds into our hard burn with added compensatory engine power. Once we breach the enemy fleet perimeter, roll us as hard as the thrusters can and I want every weapon firing. The railgun's target: That heavy cruiser. The mass drivers' and missiles targets: Everything else. Execute my orders in thirty seconds on my mark..."

She pulled up her sleeve, inspecting her watch, a gift from her grandfather.

"...Mark."

Aries stepped up to Catherine. "When this is over, supposing we're not captured or killed, remind me to buy you that wine I owe you."

"I'd like a cellar's worth if I get us through this. They won't expect it. They think we'll keep soaking up damage for the civilians. That's why they're preparing a pincer. One to keep us occupied, the other to wipe out the civilians." Catherine noted, dabbing blood off her face with a kerchief.

"It's been an honor, Catherine." Aries said, shaking the other woman's hand.

Catherine managed a smile.

"... three... two... one. All-ahead, maximum burn!" Harold’s brother, Gerald the Helmsman shouted.

The ship careened forward, spinning in order to give the Portside gunnery crews access to all targets! Argo fired its heavy railgun, normally reserved for planetary bombardments, at the heavy cruiser, punching through its barriers and burning a hole through the hull. The enemy fleet frantically began firing at Argo as it ripped through them, pelting the battleship. CIC was awash in eruptions of sparks, explosions and violent shaking...

The privateer craft, with its almost impregnable framework, plowed into the damaged heavy cruiser, ripping it asunder!


The Argo herself burst through a cloud of expanding vaporized metal and gas, black streaks decorating the hull as she twisted about, coming back into the fray!

She rammed a light cruiser in a similar fashion, but her momentum was killed and by then, the engines had all but been destroyed, Argo began spinning out of control, still being pelted by enemy fire.

"Status?" Catherine coughed up some blood, having been thrown about. 

"They're still attacking us. No guns on the civilians." Aries reported from Gorza's post, the tactical officer’s having been struck in the head by an exploding panel, laying against the wall, shaking.

"Good. Deekin, where's the fleet?" 

"Four minutes..." The Nelkini murmured, the reptilian's wings steadying him against the trembling of CIC. 

"Engineering here... we're dead in space. They're hitting us everywhere. Eventually they'll penetrate the outer shell and when that happens, we're dead." Kristie's voice crackled.

"At least they're hammering us and not the civvies..." Aries huffed. 

"Deekin... hail the closest cruiser. Offer terms of surrender." Catherine stated.

"They're refusing hails." Deekin winced.

Catherine sat in her command chair. "Crew, I-"

 

BOOM

 

"They're here!" Aries barked as one of the Principality cruisers burst apart, Confederation ships pouring from a bridge hole!

"Admiral Nguyn here. Good job protecting the civilians, Argo. We'll take it from here!"

Catherine slumped into her seat, relief washing over her expression. "Softened them up for you."