Gabatrix: The Magenta Racer

A nuclear blast erupts in space. Technically, the explosion is little more than a violent burst of radiation as there is little air to convey the concussive force. The bright light flows outward momentarily, consuming the visual spectrum, but the nuclear shell has found an internal space of atmosphere. Inside the ship, it rips and spreads outward. The concussive force is beyond what the interior hulls can ever withstand. The UHN battleship is incinerated from the inside out as only a few surviving pieces of debris flow outward into space. The bright light fades as the warship has been annihilated, its crew never even feeling it.

We continue to zoom in on the single UHN battleship that continues to ready another salvo of railgun round onto the damaged Itrean warship. Finally, we get close enough to see the hull registry of the warship. It is named the "UHN Tsunenaga," written in both English and Chinese. A single sizeable blasted hole could be seen near the forward section of the missile tubes. We fly through this hole as we can see the emergency seal panels have engaged to prevent the loss of atmosphere. Through the interior, we can start to see the chaos that the ship is undergoing. Emergency repair crews traverse the passageways. Dressed in red and blue jumpsuits and magnetic boots, they keep themselves braced in the zero-gravity environment.

It is here that our journey is complete, to witness a pair of crew members that are struggling to move towards the bow section of the battleship. The great passageway is brightly lit as tiny pieces of debris hover in the air. Red and blue lights slowly flash in the overhead areas to indicate that the Tsunenaga is in general quarters. One of the crew members is carrying various tools with him. He is a young adult with a fair but slightly tan complexion. His short-cut dark hair and facial features are reminiscent of that of a Polynesian or Micronesian of former Earth. On his nametag is the name "Neo."

The other crew member is a woman of mixed complexion. She has long dark hair tied up in a bun to prevent it from floating freely in zero gravity. She carries additional tools with her, but her tablet is one of the things that her eyes are glued on as she walks behind Neo. Her name tag has the name "Jade" written on it.

"God....." the woman said with a Martian accent. "The UHN Hyecho has been destroyed...."

"Come on," Neo replied with an accent similar to that of the Oshunian people. "We need to reach the missile launchers!"

They continued to move as fast as their feet could go. They could hear the sounds of the dorsal railgun opening fire. It was very faint, but the sound reverberated throughout through the hull. Neo's adrenaline was in full swing. A part of him now felt like he had a deep regret on serving on this ship. The idea of encountering an alien race was beyond understanding. The fact that they were hostile only meant that things were in dire straits. The room didn't wouldn't take long to reach it, but the fact that everything was getting rocked around and under attack changed everything. Now it felt like he was making the longest traverse of his life. They had only reached a third of the way there.

"I.....just want to let you know, Neo, that it was a pleasure to be your friend," Jade told him.

"We.....we....have to make it," Neo struggled to say. "It is a matter of life or death. They need to get the missile launchers working again if we can try to fire back at them."

"I agree. I just wanted to say that.....because....."

"I know," he said as he continued to move. "You have been kind to me as well since I transferred to here half a year ago."

A part of Neo thought of doing a blow-through in the vast open corridor. This would involve leaping and using momentum to take you to the bow section of the ship. It would shorten the trip drastically, but the vessel could engage in evasive maneuvers at any second. With the lack of gravity, both could be implanted into the deck and walls the moment that the ship jolted. Severe injury would be the end result even in an emergency situation such as this.

"We have to make it....." Jade said to herself. "I still want to be with my family."

"You'll get that chance," Neo tried to assert. He knew that he was trying to cheer her up.

"How.......the Itreans are trying to take Oshun. If they do it, then....."

"They won't," he interrupted.

Jade could see the lines of data feed that were coming through her tablet. It depicted the schematics of the Tsunenaga with a separate text of events. The forward launchers were offline. The forward-most bulkhead had sealed the breach, but the Itrean round's unique structure had to be more than just tungsten. It was some sort of special blend of metals designed to break and splinter inside once the ship took a hit. While the main shell would keep going, the shrapnel it would emit would go in all directions in the interior. At its speeds, the fragments could tear into machinery, flesh, and hardware. There was almost no response from the missile room, except that all but one of the crew was alive. He was in badly needed assistance to get the equipment working again.

"Are the other planets going to send reinforcements?" Neo asked.

"No," Jade replied. "At least from what I saw."

"They have to send help......please send help to us."

"Didn't they announce earlier that they wouldn't?" there was a hint of dread in her voice. Even Neo hated to admit to the truth. So little was known about the Itreans. All that was known was that they consisted of clans. They had warships color-coded to their identity. It seemed that the alien race had an almost infinite amount of resources. He could only imagine what would happen if these intruders wiped out the rest of the defense fleet. The planet would be next. Would Oshun be another Cipra? What if they were like the other clan that kidnapped the people of Eutera? Mars, Cebravis, New Olympia, and Batrice refused to lend any further vessels to assist in hopes of protecting the most critical locations in the UWA.

Neo knew that his life could be extinguished at any moment. A single nuclear round or well-placed shot would result in instantaneous death. He could at least feel that his end would be quick and painless. His only regret was the one thing that he wanted to do more than anything. He reached the halfway point in the ship when the vision of the street races filled his thoughts. The thrill of driving his motorcycle loomed and provided a sense of comfort on the battlefield. How much he dreamed of being back on the ground.

"We'll make it," Neo said.

"Their firing!" Jade yelled out loud. "Brace!"

Neo grabbed the small side brace of the passageway and waited. In space, the damaged Itrean battleship had its working dual-guns aimed at the UHN Tsunenaga. Suddenly, it fired one from each barrel as it did the tiniest of adjustments between each shot. The trail of blue and purple particles quickly dissipated in space as two hypervelocity rounds were expelled directly into the UHN warship.

Almost simultaneously, the two shells struck the battleship at once. One struck the dorsal bridge of the ship, blowing through the entire interior and into space. Atmosphere, bodies, debris, and even limbs were expelled into space. The other shell, however......

Neo almost never felt it. It happened in a split second, and only his mind could relive the events as best as his eyes could capture. The other shell hit the bow section at least thirty feet from his location. The hypervelocity round had entered and exited from the one side and out the other side of the vessel. Shrapnel pieces blew through the decks and radiated outward in all directions. He barely heard the screeching sound that they made. He was in front of the blast as his body almost shielded Jade from the raining metal. It bounced around until the bulkheads finally absorbed enough of it to slow their advance. Something was wrong, however. He heard the sound that rang his ears a little bit. There was the feeling of something hot that happened below one of his legs.

It was pure horror in his eyes. His right leg was gone. One of the metal pieces had flown and tore it completely off. Blood was raining in all directions and floating around harmlessly into space. It happened so fast that his adrenaline was masking the pain. He watched as the leg was floating away. He had but one response.

"AHHH!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Jade barely had a chance to respond as she too realized what had happened. A small piece of metal had grazed her right arm, but she knew that she was fine. Neo had saved her from the worst, but the cost was monumental. The horror struck her as well as she could hear his screams combined with the fact that he was losing blood. For a few seconds, she shook a little bit as her mind was trying to comprehend what had happened.

"Neo!" Jade snapped out of her shock. She could see that he was losing blood as he was starting to run out of breath. She practically let go of all her tools as it dawned on what she could do. The man was bleeding out as it continued to flow out into the compartment. Slow-moving pieces of metal were floating around as she saw one of her tools that she could use. If she didn't act fast, it was possible for Neo to bleed out and die. She slapped the magnetized tablet to the wall as she grabbed a sealant projector on the floating gear. Used to mend bulkheads and parts together, the sealing foam might work.

"Help me!" Neo yelled out. "My leg! HELP!"

"I'm here, Neo!" Jade replied as she grabbed his shoulder. She took the tube-like device and held him in place.

Even with the shock and awe of the event, there was a slight amount of clarity in everything. Neo could see that Jade was trying to get ahold of him as the blood continued to flow. He could see her bring the tool to his severed leg. He didn't look as the emitter activated. The foam began to flow outward and apply to the mess. They both knew that this form of sealant foam was not exactly designed to mend tissue together. In fact, it was never meant to be applied in this particular fashion, but it was all that they had. The foam would spread outward and begin to harden immediately. Forming a red cap over the cut area, it was working.

"H......hurts......" Neo grimaced as the pain was starting to him. He was shaken as he could see that the bleeding was slowing down. Jade was working as fast as she could, applying another firm layer over the wound. The bleeding had been averted as it formed the perfect clot over it.

"I got it!" Jade said as she practically let go of her tool. "I sealed the bleeding!"

There was a minor form of lightheadedness coming from Neo. The bleeding had ended, but he lost some blood. His brain and body were still trying to get ahold of everything that had happened. It was here that Jade's instincts were in full swing. She looked at the tablet and could see the results of the Itrean barrage. The damage had become near catastrophic. The main command bridge was gone, and the forward bulkheads had sealed ahead of them. There was no hope of ever reaching the missile launchers, and one of the repair teams had suffered a horrific loss of a limb. The battle on the ship was becoming a lost cause. Jade frantically grabbed her tablet and tapped a button to call for help.

"Medical team respond!" She yelled out to the tablet. "This is repair team Gamma. We have taken injuries......located compartment Level 1......loss of right leg.......shit......"

She shook a little bit as she waited to hear a word of it. Finally, an overhead announcement was called out.

"Primary bridge is out," a male voice called out in the announcement. "I, Lieutenant Josiah, am assuming command. Prepare for evasive maneuvers!"

There was no response as they could hear the other railgun on the Tsunenaga fire. Neo naturally grabbed the brace as Jade held onto him. The forward thrusters were firing as the battleship was limping backward. As pain rode through Neo's system, he faintly recalled seeing the metal pieces begin to float forward along with his severed leg. He looked away from it. It might as well be miles away from both of them. The inertia began to cease as the two were accustomed to the new movement. Their magnetic boots kept them anchored to the deck.

"Can't....feel......too much.....pain...." Neo said as he was trying to keep control of his breathing.

"Medical team to repair team Gamma, report to the medical bay," another male voice called out on the tablet.

"En route," Jade replied. She grabbed Neo as he faintly noted that he was being pulled. Jade was going to do a blow-through. With no gravity and one grab of his arm, she leaped and let inertia take them down to the center portion of the warship. She could only hope that they would both survive this encounter. It was beyond risky as the ship could move in another direction at a moment's notice.

Things started to become a daze to Neo. He closed his eyes as he felt that he was getting weak. He dared not look down to the forward compartment. He had to say goodbye to his leg. There was no hope in retrieving it.

"Just......want.....to go home......." Neo stated.

As Jade considered his words, she had to think at the spot. The medical bay was not far from the shuttle bay. It was best to be ready if the inevitable were to occur. The Tsunenaga might not even survive another salvo from the Itrean battleship. As they flew down the passageway, she briefly looked at the tablet. The UHN battleship, despite the damages, was still in the fight. The problem was that it was reversing course, and there wasn't much room for the ship to go. That direction would start to take it closer to the planet.

It worked. Jade reached the main elevator that would lead to the medical bay. She pressed the button on the panel as she touched the deck. Neo barely felt anything by now as his eyes would open and close. The lift's doors had opened as they both entered it. The one significant advantage of the lack of gravity was that it made things easier to traverse for the most part. Jade was not a physically strong individual, but it didn't matter as Neo was weightless. His one leg pressed the deck plating as the elevator started to go up. He didn't even see that Jade had pressed the buttons on the lift control to traverse a deck above. There was a sudden shift as the elevator was lifting upward.

Neo blacked out momentarily. The loss of blood was taking its toll. Then, he remembered that he was in the elevator and now was in the passageway leading to the mid aft compartments adjacent to the medical room. Wounded individuals were gathering as corpsmen and doctors were treating the injured just outside the door. Emergency straps were in place to hold the people in as the ship threatened to shift or move.

"I have him!" Jade called out.

Neo's head turned to look towards the forward passageway of the new deck. Far ahead was the sealed bulkhead. It was leading to the area where the railgun round had damaged the vicinity and destroyed the dorsal bridge section. He barely felt his body being strapped into the side bulkhead as he could hear one of the medics holding a medical scanner of some sort near his body. His eyesight was going in and out as he was drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Loss of a lot of blood," another female voice echoed in his head.

"I used our sealants on his severed leg," Jade responded.

"Good call, but....shit.....let me give him something for it. You used Erdinsealant?"

"Yes."

"It can poison him. I'm giving him a pain reliever sedative and coagulant stimulant."

Neo briefly opened his eyes to see a woman in front of him that pulled two small hypo needles out of her pocket. She stuck each one into his leg. The pain was so much that he barely even felt the medications being applied to him. He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he was consciously aware of it, the pain was muted in his body. At times, he wondered if this was just a bad dream and that he would wake up soon.

"I need to give him something else to treat for the toxic effects that sealant has," the corpsman stated.

"No......" Jade said as she looked at her tablet. "They are firing again. Everyone, brace yourselves!"

Deep in space, the reversing warship was still in a slugging match against its adversary. The UHN battleship's ventral railgun fired as the round took several seconds before successfully hitting the front midsection of the alien battleship. The damage seemed to have some impact as it struck one of the starboard CIWS batteries, tearing it into pieces before penetrating deep into the framework. Meanwhile, the alien warship readjusted its only functional dual railgun at the Tsunenaga.

It fired two more rounds, taking at least eight seconds for the hypervelocity round to strike the centripetal ring of the UHN ship. Living compartments from the ring were blown out into space as the shell kept going. It finally hit the power generator in the aft section of the ship. Another non-hypervelocity round was heading dangerously close behind. Much as the fate of the previous warship, the combination of the hypervelocity and nuclear round salvo was being used. The flak guns hastily tried to hit the incoming round when power fluctuated inside the ship. Lights on the vessel flickered as the guns were temporarily knocked out. However, unlike the fate of the previous ship, the flak guns did hit enough shrapnel into the nuclear shell that it diverted the shot off course a little bit. Instead of heading towards the blown-in hole of the hypervelocity round, the shell was now heading towards the vessel's midsection.

Neo had passed out again. A part of him felt like he was in heaven as the pain relievers gave him a form of euphoria. It would only be temporary as he could feel the ship be rocked from the shell that struck it. His closed eyelids could momentarily tell him that power went in and out. Had they taken another hit? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that his partner was there beside him.

It happened. The nuclear shell struck near the mid-portion of the hull as a powerful radiation burst went outward. The blinding light filled the area. Exploding in the vacuum of space, the concussive shockwave was primarily mute, but it seemed catastrophic. The massive amount of heat generated flowed across the starboard portion of the Tsunenga's hull instantly but quickly dissipated. The emergency bulkheads barely held. When the light finally left, the battleship was sent in a slow spin towards the planet.

Neo thought he heard screaming as his eyes opened. Power had gone out entirely with only emergency lights kicked on. Even a powerful warship such as the Tsunenga couldn't take a beating such as this. It was rated to handle a nuclear blast, but not when it was continuously being battered like this. The EMP blast was enough to punch through the weakened bulkheads and knock out much of the equipment. There was a massive tug as the ship was being pushed as inertia could be felt throughout the interior. The straps were doing their part in keeping him in place.

"This is the acting CO. All hands, abandon ship!" an overhead announcement called out. "I repeat, abandon ship!"

Even with the euphoria, Neo understood enough of what that meant. The ship of his posting was lost. Was the battle a defeat? He couldn't think as he blacked out again.

*******

Darkness and black.......

The inertia was mostly stable. Where was he? Neo had no answer. His eyes opened up as he was on a stretcher. Was he in a shuttle? It had to be. The large cabin was well-lit and smaller. He could see numerous individuals, mostly wounded, that were in there. It was so difficult to make out.

"Ah.....help......" Neo tried to say. He could see another corpsman put his hand on him but couldn't see his face.