Komodo
“There are many rare things in the 8 galaxies, the natural phenomena - and then the sentient-made... from monuments to orbital graveyards. There are one or two oddities that fall into both categories, the Caduceus being one of them.
It is believed (according to several well-read yet unofficial dossiers) that the Caduceus was the brainchild of Udian Foraga Shulth, the youngest (and arguably most talented) son of the bio-maniac Mirias Shulth. Whilst several thousand books,personal testimonies, holo-recordings and overly sentimental documentaries have been penned as to the exploits of his father. Little is known about the formative years of Udian (most official records having been lost in the first great shard bio-purge). He does surface as a young adult embroiled in the new genesis war as something of an unlikely hero. Saving several sub-core trading systems from the gene-menace through the unlikely unification of celltec and nano-mechanics.
One of the few quotes directly attributable to Udian is also probably the most telling: "I don't build ships, I birth them. They are my children and like any good father I watch over them. "Indeed most traders, pirates (who survive) or military personnel who happen to see a Caduceus, concur that there is something distinctly biological about its construction. They tend to be encountered cross stationside of industrial planets, dropping in and out of the atmosphere delivering Giles knows what, to Giles knows where, for Giles knows who.”
- - Intergalactic Database, (EliteWiki)
“They're fierce gunships, and know it. They never try to avoid a fight, but instead charge right in and too bad for any being that gets in the way. A Caddy Omega is a born Tharg slayer. If the bugs don't have any fear of one, at the very least they have a healthy respect.”
Komodo was a strange creature. It was hard to tell exactly what category she would fit in. She was a Caduceus Bio-Ship. Part spaceship, part living. The Caducei are a very strange breed. They are vicious, and rarely get along. They hate flying in formation with other Caducei, and would rather fight each other, but will obey the orders of their masters. They are very loyal. To bond with a Caddy, fly her or him around often in Anarchic systems, killing pirates.
Komodo was in a shipyard on an orbital Icosahedron station. She was longing for open space, to fly again, to fight, but was unable. Her master had sold her there, to purchase another ship. Komodo wanted to go back to her master, who had lead her into many a glorious battle, but was stuck. Plasma. Must fire. Destroy.
Joe walked into the shipyard. He was responsible for keeping the ships in like-new condition. He looked at the only Caduceus in the shipyard. What I’d give for a ship like that. He looked the ship over. All was fine. He stepped back a bit to get a good look. “Oh, no,” he said as he saw power flood the broadside Plasma cannons, ready to fire. He ran away from the shipyard, to get away.
Komodo had charged the weapons! But now the hard part. She summoned all her willpower, and took full control of the ship part of herself. Complete control granted. Relaxing, she checked all systems. Caducei were able to control themselves, but getting control was hard work. Even harder when the mechanical systems were on and somebody was at the controls. Her plasma cannons fired, sending balls of plasma energy straight at air-lock doors. After a few hits, it shattered, allowing the Caduceus to fly out, pieces of broken metal impacting her durralium hull (or skin, if that’s what you want to call it). Now the hard part. Vipers. Sure enough, Komodo could tell she had a fugitive status. “This is station control. Caduceus Omega #14789, why have you left dock?” Komodo ignored the station, and headed out towards deep space. “Caduceus Omega #14789. Please respond.” Several Vipers launched and started heading for Komodo. She fired her rear military lasers, hitting one if the V-shaped ships head on. Will kill Vipers. Enemies. The vipers got out of formation and started firing. Oh, Glorious battle! Komodo took out a viper with the rear lasers. The Vipers responded with missiles. Komodo activated her ECM, and started firing her plasma cannons. In ten minutes, she had destroyed seven Vipers and two Viper Interceptors. Go now! Witchspace in Fifteen seconds. As the Caddy disappeared into the wormhole, she thought about how good it felt to be back in space after a week in the shipyard.
The Order of the Black Monks of Saint Herod is a pain for commanders. The Black Monk Gunships are one of the most powerful of ships in the universe, but that was not the reason they were hated. They gave out loans. They have monasteries in the spacelanes of higher technology systems, offering people loans with statements like, “The love of solvency is the root of all evil.” They believe people who suffer from “the sin of positive equity” can only be saved by the “Holy state of Debt.” And if a commander is foolish (or desperate) enough to get a 20,000 credit loan, they need to pay it back within a short time, plus ten thousand credits in interest. And if they are late, they get hunted down and killed.
Commander Ryan Hoots sat at the controls of the Koneko Maru, a Boa Clipper Class. As a Fierce Furry Feline from Cesousla, he took pride in his battleskills. He had recently got a loan from the Black Monks, but didn’t wish to repay it. He wanted a fight with a “Holy Gunship,” and he was willing to risk his life to get “Elite” status. He knew he was somewhat foolish, but at least he was alive, and had a brand-new Boa II Clipper Class. “Loan should be due soon, ” Ryan said to himself as he checked his ship’s on-board calendar. Sure enough, the loan was due. “Computer. Note to self. Look out for gunships.” “Recorded.” "Thank you, Computer.” Ryan knew it was not as much fun to talk to a computer compared with talking to a Bioship, but he needed the Boa's cargo space for his trading. Maybe I don’t need to trade. Maybe I could be a bounty hunter fulltime. His thoughts were interrupted by the computer. “Two ships on radar. Both hostile. Black monk gunships.” “Thank you computer. Open hailing frequencies.” “Open” “This is Ryan Hoots of the freighter Koneko Maru. What is your business here?” “Your loan is due. You have committed the unforgivable sin. Prepare for holy plasma!” “Oh yeah? Take this!” With that, Ryan fired all of his ECM-Hardened missiles at one of the ships. They all hit, sending the gunship in a spiral. The other ship fired, piercing the shields quickly. Ryan turned, and started firing with his rear guns. His target injected towards him, firing plasma cannons. “Rear shields failed. Shield boosters damaged. Two crates of food destroyed.” “Thanks a lot, computer.” Ryan turned again, firing his main lasers as he sped for the ship. The other gunship fired on his aftside, decimating what was left of the shields. Ryan saw a third blip on the radar. Another ship? “Computer. ID that new ship, pronto!” “Caduceus Omega. Fugitive. Attacking a gunship.” “A friendly fugitive?” “Yes.”
Komodo had jumped right into the fight when she saw it was her master under attack. She fired, sending the damaged gunship tumbling. The gunship exploded, plasma radiation from the guns everywhere. Komodo turned to the other ship in time to see the Koneko Maru explode. Scanning for escape pod ... Found. Scooping .. Done. Cloaking device activated. Four Hardened Missiles launched. Target destroyed. Right on, Commander! Opening escape pod door ... done. On audio ... “Master. This is Komodo. Please proceed to the bridge. You are in command.”
A hundred light years away, a Caduceus Omega came alongside a black monk gunship. "Stormbringer here. You wouldn't know of a fellow named Ryan Hoots, would you?" "Hoots..? Oh, yes! He defaulted, and we have been tracking him. Would you know where Commander Hoots is, by any chance?" "Umm ... Maybe. But to show there's no hard feelings for you boys shooting up his freighter, he asked me to deliver some dinner." "That's nice of him! And I am feeling a little peaked. Pray tell, what's in the doggie-bag?" "A plutonium sandwich with malice on the side. Foxfour!"
Notes
Ryan Hoots wrote this when he was a young teenager. He was active on Oolite between 2011-3.
