Havok Bringer

Chapter 28. Hungry Like the Wolf

A few hours earlier the Bloodhound and the Retribution were on course to the detention facility. Princess Denae had an organized map of all designated Council facilities in the quadrant and in the universe for that matter. The Havokium had done their research before undertaking this current rebellion and were determined to bring the Council to its knees.

The first step in the rebellion would be to attack the Council’s infrastructure. The taxes paid by the various galactic entities that undertook the sowing and reaping of non-initiated planets were the biggest influx of revenue for the Council. Denae planned to hit them where she could be sure they would feel it. If she could interrupt the flow of revenue, even for a short time, it would weaken the Council’s hold on the universe.

There could not be two dungeons running concurrently, the strain on the System AI race was too great. The reclusive race known as the Coeus were tasked with building and maintaining the dungeons for each event, and the resources required to do it were outside the intellectual grasp of most sentient biological races.

The Coeus were not enslaved like many of the other stewards of the dungeon, yet they weren’t exactly willing participants. Their home system was a mystery and the quadrant had been quarantined and cut off from the rest of the universe. This was partly a request from the Coeus and partly a bargaining chip for the Universal Council.

The Universal Council saw them as dangerous and too powerful to control, so instead they decided they would keep them occupied. As far as anyone knew, the Coeus were immortal, they weren't biological life-forms, but rather a remnant of the Furistian civilization. The Coeus had existed for millions of years and would continue to exist indefinitely.

They did however need stimulation, and the dungeons provided just enough stimulation to keep them occupied. The Coeus were not individual beings but operated as a sort of collective mind. They did, however, still have their limits like any other life form in the universe biological or not.

The agreement that was made was that the Council would protect their galaxy from intruders, and they would be architects for all future dungeons. The Coeus accepted, though somewhat reluctantly.

The initial stage of Princess Denae’s plan was to start taking out strategic points that held value to the Council. Refuel and maintenance stations, troop carriers, and power generation stations. It would be death by a thousand cuts. So why not start with this detention facility?

This was not an initial target and was of little import in the grand scheme of things, but it would provide a much-needed test to her crew.

Princess Denae sat in her quarters as she prepared for the meeting with Tiffantrimore and the crew of the Bloodhound. She wasn’t thrilled that she had allied herself with the Bloodhound and Captain Dawes, but the Havokium culture demanded honor to be upheld. Once an agreement was made, it was imperative that one upholds their part in the agreement.

The opportunity to retrieve Captain Dawes and Havok Bringer armor could also not easily be passed up. Denae knew the possibilities that the armor and ship held, and they would definitely turn into allies that she would need in the future if Captain Dawes survived.

The display in front of Denae blinked on and she saw Tiffantrimore and SR-Jennings sitting at a table preparing for her arrival to the meeting.

“Hello Tiffantrimore, SR-Jennings, are we ready to start?” she asked.

“Hello Princess Denae. Again, we thank you for your assistance. This would not be possible without you,” Tiff said.

“We think we have a plan, but it will require heavy investment from the Retribution and your crew. Is that acceptable?”

Denae steepled her hands in front of herself, preparing to speak, “It was expected, Tiffantrimore. While you are a capable guardian, and the Bloodhound continues to impress, a crew of two would not be able to best an Enforcer General.”

“I have a strike team of five of my best warriors prepared to infiltrate the facility so they can locate Captain Dawes and evacuate him to safety. If they encounter the Enforcer they will, with luck, be able to overcome him. They range in Level from 54 – 60.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Tiff responded. “We will still need the strike team, but they will not be the primary team in the facility…I will,” Tiff said.

“Please explain,” Denae said.

“We need the Retribution to provide a distraction of sorts. Your drop ship will approach the station cloaked. I assume your drop ship has the same cloaking ability as the Retribution?" Tiff asked.

"Yes, it does," Denae responded.

"Good, after you enter the docking bay you will uncloak your ship and release the strike team. That will draw the attention of the guards and hopefully the Enforcer. Once he is away from the detention cells, I will infiltrate the facility and lead Captain Dawes out to the waiting drop ship. We can evac on your ship and rendezvous back with the Bloodhound at a pre-disclosed location," Tiff explained.

“The Bloodhound will swing around and provide defensive support as soon as I am on the facility.”

“I will accompany Captain Dawes to find and destroy the suppression field generator and then we will deal with the Enforcer. I will need the assistance of your strike team for that part of the mission.”

Denae leaned back in her chair, “I will be assisting with the operation as well. I am Level 63, and my Electro Savant class will be needed. As I stated earlier Tiffantrimore, we don’t abandon our allies and I lead from the front. I will not put my crew at risk if I am not willing to risk myself.”

“I understand and appreciate that, Princess Denae. Your presence on the facility will be greatly appreciated,” Tiff said.

A few hours later the Bloodhound was within one light day of the detention facility when Elvis spoke up, “Unknown vessel located, Port side 500 kilometers out. Should I kill?”

“Wait, Elvis. What do the initial scans show?” Tiff responded.

“Full power on board the vessel, no life signs. Vessel is rabbit class cruiser,” Elvis replied.

CJ walked up beside Tiff, “What the hell is a rabbit class cruiser, and why do aliens know what rabbits are?”

“Anyone that travels through a pod warp station is implanted with a neural decoder that allows you to understand most any language. If there isn’t a word that translates fully, the decoder will use the most relevant term. In this case, the term is rabbit,” Tiff said.

“Why rabbit?” CJ asked.

Tiff smiled, “Because it jumps a lot. That could be useful.”

“Elvis, can we tow that ship? Is the Bloodhound capable?”

Elvis grunted excitedly, “Elvis make it work. Stand by for visual.”

CJ looked at Tiff and sighed, “What exactly does he mean by that?”

“I’m not sure, but we can probably salvage some parts off that ship. The Bloodhound is painfully lacking in some key areas. To my knowledge, we have no cloaking ability, and our warp cooldown is agonizingly slow. If he can manage to bring that ship into tow, we can strip it for parts,” Tiff said.

The ship in question appeared on the bridge display about 5 minutes later. There were no exterior lights and it seemed to be floating harmlessly through space. It was about a quarter of the size of the Bloodhound, but it looked much more advanced. If the Bloodhound was a 15-passenger cargo van, this thing was a Porsche 911.

“That’s weird…right?” CJ asked.

“It does seem a little odd,” Tiff said.

“Elvis, you are sure there are no life signs on board that ship?” CJ asked.

“Elvis sure, there are no advanced AI aboard the ship either, but SR-Jennings doesn’t ask about AI because he is racist piece of shit.”

“Hey, what the hell, I’m not racist! I didn’t think about AI being on board,” CJ replied Incredulous at the accusation.

“You didn’t know because you are piece of shit!”

“Okay, you two, that’s enough. Let's just get that ship attached and in tow,” Tiff said.

As the Bloodhound approached, music started playing through the ships PA:

Straddle the line, in discord and rhyme

I’m on the hunt I’m after you

Mouth is alive, with juices like wine

And I’m hungry like the wolf

It was Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran.

“Elvis, what the fuck are you doing?!” CJ shouted as the Bloodhound looked to be on a collision course with the mystery ship.

“Elvis hungry! Hungry like Wolf, haaaaa haaaa ha!” Elvis laughed maniacally.

“Strap in!” Tiff shouted, “he is gonna ram it!”

Just as the front of the Bloodhound approached the mystery ship, the front portion of the ship opened up. As the mystery ship began to enter, the opening on the Bloodhound slammed closed, tearing the mystery ship to pieces. This process repeated several times until the mystery ship was completely gone.

“Uhh,Elvis? Did you just fucking eat that other ship?!” CJ said.

“YES! It is dead and I devoured its lifeless corpse. Elvis is warrior, Elvis is predator, ELVIS IS AWESOME!”

The music still played over the ship’s speakers as Tiff and CJ sat slack jawed in their seats staring at the display that now showed empty space.

CJ spoke without even looking in Tiff’s direction, “Soooo, is this normal? Do lots of ships do this sort of thing?”

"I I’ve never seen anything like that. Ships don’t do that. I don’t know what just happened,” Tiff replied.

“Elvis, we needed that ship for parts. Why did you destroy it?”

“Elvis will be able to allocate relevant parts of ship and upgrade Bloodhound. Do not be concerned, XO Tiff,” Elvis replied.

“Wait...you can build your own upgrades by consuming other vessels?” Tiff asked.

“Yes, Elvis is awesome,” Elvis replied.

“Mystery ship is being broken down and upgrades will begin within hours. Elvis will update you on available upgrades before proceeding with install.”

“O...Okay, just keep me posted I guess,” Tiff replied.

The Retribution had been following at a safe distance when the event occurred. Princess Denae was beside herself when she contacted Tiff.

“Tiffantrimore, did the Bloodhound just…eat that other ship?” Princess Denae asked.

“Umm, I believe so, Princess Denae. We weren’t aware of that particular capability of the Bloodhound but apparently Elvis can repurpose technology from other ships to upgrade the Bloodhound. That is what you just witnessed,” Tiff said.

“Interesting to say the least. That ship of yours has the ability to become one of the most advanced vessels in the universe. This is…it's just astounding,” Denae responded.

“We should be at the detention facility in approximately 90 minutes. We will be going on radio silence until then. Hail us if something urgent comes up. Good luck, Bloodhound.”

“Elvis. Is. Warrior!” Elvis said one last time to drive home his defeat and consumption of the defenseless mystery ship.

“I gotta give it to you, Elvis, you never cease to surprise us,” CJ said as the Bloodhound continued its journey to the detention facility, and hopefully to the rescue of Captain Dawes.