Prologue- Ferrin

A brief introduction to the world of Tchanok, especially the mercenary sunship Sun Runner

Dark lightning flashed in the void of space. A bulky figure with eight spidering limbs limped along the narrow hallway outside the engine room of the solar mercenary ship Sun Runner. The Dracotaur technician, Ferrin. His rusty orange scales were webbed with scars, and one of his four grasping limbs had been severed at the knee and replaced with a metal socket, which currently held a wrench for engine maintenance.

Ferrin checked the readings on the engine room door, watching the lights flash up and down the translucent plastic of the door. When he tapped on the plastic, the lights rearranged themselves. Solar particle flow was steady, filling the sails of the Sun Runner. The backup ion engines were idling, ready to deploy if the ship needed to maneuver accurately.

“Ferrin? We got reports of a Void Pirate ship targeting convoys taking off from the planet surface. Are the engines ready for combat?”

Sighing, Ferrin pressed the button on the intercom to acknowledge His little cousin took too many risks- a rogue fighter captain with a dysfunctional crew. An imperfect pair of telepathically bonded Haploka. A trampy Hurinai- what was his name? Himir? His family name was Jorgen, though. That was an easy enough name to say.  And that Gwentor, the little bird-creature with big words and a sharp temper. Syzygy. The Gwentor’s name was Syzygy.  A strange sort, to be sure, and overconfident to boot. Not the group Ferrin would normally have entrusted his life to.

“We’ve picked up a transmission. Might be more than one ship- Ymir’s working on the decoding algorithm. Hold tight-”

The alarm lights began suddenly to flash. Pulling on a protective mask to guard his sensitive secondary eyes, Ferrin stepped inside the engine room, sliding the door shut behind him. From the array of tools on his belt, he pulled out a short blade and unscrewed the wrench attached to his arm, replacing it with the weapon.

They’d been boarded before, by a handful of Haploka trampers who hadn’t been at all prepared for two Dracotauri warriors. Even with the blade, though, a Void Pirate crew wouldn’t be as intimidated by a worn-out technician.

The Sun Runner lurched as the captain pulled it into a dive, the sides of the engine room glowing as bolts of energy slammed into them. Staggering, Ferrin leaned against the wall, bracing his talons against the floor.

The intercom crackled to life. “Ferrin! How’s the engine holding?” Ferrin checked the heat, laying the back of one of his scaly hands on the engine casing. Hot, but not painfully so. Dracotaur scales were relatively impervious to heat and radiation, but their eyes were sensitive. Ferrin reached up with one of his other arms, checking that his mask was sealed firmly around his face.

“Well, I think. How are the odds up there?”

“Three against one. Feel sorry for them, ssa?”  Smiling in spite of himself, Ferrin answered, “Ssa.” Crazy cousin.

He flicked on a viewscreen in the wall, showing live footage from the bridge. Syzygy and the Haploka twins were manning the onboard cannons, shorting out the camouflage shields on the Void Pirate ships with a few well-placed bursts. He didn’t see the Hurinai.

One- two- three. Three accurate shots ripped open the pirate ships’ hulls, a brief flicker of fire sparking up where the atmosphere of the ships began to escape. Two of the ships backed off, electric pulses sparking along their engines as they began to spiral down into Haru’tai’s orbit. The third still circled, sustaining shots from Sun Runner’s energy cannons as it retaliated with a barrage of fire.

“I think it’s on autopilot- the crew must have evacuated.” said someone on the bridge. “Aim for the engines, that should kill it-”

All of a sudden, one of the walls of the engine room gave way.

That’s not good. Ferrin thought.

As the final ship began to sink down towards the ocean planet, inexorably being pulled into orbit, the Sun Runner’s engine room intercom still showed a light, blinking in time with the words being shouted on the bridge,

“Come in Ferrin- Ferrin are you okay- can you hear me?

Come in Ferrin? Ferrin?

Ferrin?”

Author's Note

I'm considering leaving this out, but I feel like diving into the next (first) chapter right away might be a little sudden. I appreciate reviews!