The dark armada
- Thread starter Mysteron
- Start date
Sole Hunter
Banned
Is that the blacklight retribution logo lol ?
The Headless Hydra
Link below or read below
Link below or read below
"Keep going," I instructed from the copilot's chair. "Not far now."
The new initiate kept his hands on the throttle, beads of sweat trickling down his youthful face as he manoeuvred his bulky Asp through the treacherously dark asteroid field. The young wannabe had full lips, a strong jaw and was well muscled under his flight suit. Whether he could handle himself in a fight was another question, his soft hands looked like they'd never thrown a punch. Maybe I could set up a little test for him, all part of the training of course.
"She won't show up on the radar." I said as I flicked a switch on the comms panel and lifted the speaker. "Mamba, this is Ron, light her up."
In the murky distance a display of bright orange beams weaved back and forth drawing us in like a galactic lighthouse. The proximity alert sounded and the young pilot yanked the throttle back turning the lumbering ship out of the path of danger just as the headlights lit up the surface of a huge rock.
"Nicely done," I complimented him on his fast reactions. The copilot's chair was situated directly below the command chair. The expansive protruding canopy gave a clear line of sight, useful for dodging dark rocks.
At first the great ship was almost indistinguishable from the asteroids amongst which it was anchored. "There she is," I said.
"Where do I park?" Asked the young pilot.
"Find a nice spot not too near a rock and set your thrusters to station keeping. Power down the rest of your systems, we don't want any unwanted attention."
As the pilot scouted for a good spot, the lights of his Asp lit up the hull of the huge ship. It was an Anaconda. She was large and powerful almost submarine-like in her silhouette. The hull was jet black, painted in light absorbent pigment. Chunks of rusty scrap had been welded to its hull protruding like jagged tumours giving it an uneven profile that helped blend it in to the rocky environment.
There was a decal pasted to the hull of the ship bearing its name. "The Headless Hydra", although this technically wasn't the name of the ship but rather the bar and general drinking chamber that was located within the grand belly of the beast. One by one the rookie powered down each subsystem including shields and weapons until his heat-sig was under 5.
The Anaconda had been converted into a mobile lair for initiates of the Dark Armada to convene, drink and discuss their adventures and plans. The huge cargo bay had been converted into a cavernous chamber lit by plasma orbs and furnished with an eclectic mixture chairs, sofas and tables of all shapes and sizes. A long bar stood at the far end of the bay closest to the cockpit and above it was a large screen that displayed exterior views in place of a window. There was a lot of dark empty space in the chamber and the ceilings were high, almost cathedralesque, there were even gargoyles perched on metal struts looking down at the band of rogues that drank there. Music played and drinks poured fourth as a collection of dangerous initiates lounged, enjoying a break from the relentless battle in which many of them engaged. Slave-bots buzzed around cleaning up smashed glass and serving the clientele.
The Headless Hydra was where you went after you'd battled so hard that the palms of your hands were calloused from pulling on the flight stick so much and your fingers ached from hitting the trigger. It was a lost place, constantly on the move, a nomadic rest stop for those who thirst for strong drinks and companionship in a lonely galaxy. There were even a collection of cabins where rogues could rest up for as long as they wanted. Periodically the Headless Serpent would move to a new position, under heavy escort, based on the current location or mission of The Dark Armada. The ship was no longer capable of heavy duty combat but she could still defend herself if necessary and there was always protection close at hand.
Behind the bar was Lady Mamba. Captain of the Headless Hydra and server of exotic drinks. She had latched onto the Dark Armada during the battle of Lugh and had been initiated into the order. After many years of sublime carnage in the name of darkness, she had amassed more creds than she knew what to do with and so one day she parked up her ship at a pirate's base and converted the ageing Anaconda into a mobile base for the void rogues who came and went, it was time to take things easy. But Lady Mamba was no mere bartender, she was one of the most dangerous bounty hunters in the galaxy and most of the scrap attached to the hull of the Conda were the remains of her enemy's mangled ships.
The auto doors had been replaced with large heavy swing doors constructed from oak wood and thargonite and bore intricate designs of unknown origin.
I pushed open the double doors and entered the vast black walled chamber known as the Headless Hydra. The young initiate followed me through with some trepidation. Lady Mamba was sat on a bar stool watching the local galnet news and grazing on tapas and sangria. Another rouge was lounging in a large red, leather arm chair, he held a silver goblet between his hands and watched us enter, he nodded respectfully, I gave him a half salute in return and strolled towards the bar.
Lady Mamba swivelled around on her stool to face us. "Lord Mysteron, once more you grace us with your dark company," she wasn't tall but her posture was sturdy and neat, she wore her hair short and spiked, swept over to one side. Her overall appearance was that of a seasoned combat specialist, she had a hint of asian in there somewhere, maybe Japanese or Korean.
"Not so much of the Lord, Miss Mamba." I said as we approached the bar.
"Not so much of the Miss,"
"It's a deal." I replied.
"Who's the young gun?" Asked Mamba, nibbling on an olive.
"I saved his ass in a conflict zone, or rather, I saved his Asp?"
"Sounds like you saved both. Asps are suited to exploring, not conflict." She said.
"He knows that now." I said.
"Well if he's crazy enough to take an Asp into combat, then he's crazy enough to join us. What's your name anyway kid?" she asked.
The initiate stepped forward, "My names David, pleased to meet you." he said politely.
I smirked to myself knowing what was coming.
Lady Mamba downed her drink and stepped off her barstool. "Pleased to meet me huh, we'll see about that. What kinda name is David, doesn't really suit a void rogue" She circled him like a curious shark. "Now that's an ass worth saving. How about, let's see... Angelo, yeah that's more like it. You're sure cute enough to be an angel, and it was Michael Angelo that sculpted David. Kinda fits I reckon."
She ran a finger down his chest, "So what'll it be Angelo?"
For a moment he didn't quite know what she meant or where she was going with her finger.
"You do drink don't you?" She enquired staring into his blue eyes.
"How about some beer?"
"How about something stronger, I'll rustle you up a cocktail. Sit down and relax baby."
Angelo, as he would now be known, sat down on a stool as Lady Mamba busied herself behind the bar. I sat down next to him.
Mamba poured a glass of Mercury spirit for me and popped a bowl of bar snacks down next to it. She got to work on a cocktail for Angelo. "So what's your story kid, what brings you to the Dark Armada?"
"Well, I'm mighty grateful to Mr. Mysteron here for saving me and well, sounds like this is the place to be if you're looking for death and glory in the void?"
Mamba laughed, "I hope you get more glory than death, kid."
"So do I," he replied, relaxing a little more.
Mamba finished shaking up his cocktail and poured the purple, ice filled, mixture into his glass. Angelo stared at it then picked up the glass and took a sip. His brows raised in delight and he took another generous swig. "Man that's good," he said.
"Plenty more where that came from kid."
He finished the drink quickly and Mamba mixed him up another.
"So where is everyone?" He asked, looking around at the vast empty space.
"Who knows," replied Mamba, "Maybe attacking the feds or pirating some poor shmuck for his rares." She pointed at the long haired rogue sitting with the silver goblet, "That's Manco, he flies a Conda with military hull upgrades and full kinetic load out, old school. How long you guys staying anyway?
"Maybe a night or two." I replied. "Maybe longer."
Mamba grabbed a couple of card keys from behind the bar and slapped them down next to our drinks. "No Imperial luxury here but it's clean and safe. We got a bunch of radar limpets attached to the rocks. Any ship comes within a thousand K of this place and we'll know about it."
"What if they're running silent?" Asked Angelo.
"Good question kid. Well, in that case we got some overcharged shields waiting and full pips to weapons. And I got a few tricks up my sleeve that I ain't quite ready to disclose if ya know what I mean. The trick is finding us in the first place. You could drift through these asteroid fields for centuries and never come across us or fly right over us and not even notice. Our thermal signature is low enough to blend into the background and unless your damn lucky or you got some inside info then you're never gonna get here."
"Mamba's rep is enough to keep most people away." I said.
"Don't listen to that bull crap baby. However good you think you are, there's always someone better, and one day your gonna meet em. When that time comes there's no shame in turning tail and boosting out. There's no point in dancing about in front of an entire god damn fleet of ships with your shields down just to keep your honour."
"Always have an escape plan," I added.
Angelo sunk his drink and Mamba refilled it.
"Best not to get into that kinda situation in the first place, least not without some serious backup." Said Mamba.
"Wise words Lady Mamba, wise words." I said smiling.
"So," said Mamba, "How's the initiation going?"
Angelo looked up from his drink a little confused. "Initiation?" He asked.
"I think it's about to get real." I added, glancing at Mamba. She smirked, taking my meaning and pulled a plasma pistol from under the bar pointing it straight at Angelo's chest. He spat the remainder of his drink over the bar and half fell off his barstool staggering backwards.
I swept my cloak back revealing my beam pistol. I drew it and took aim straight between the rookie's temples. "Keep moving kid." I instructed. He stumbled backwards knocking a chair over as he went.
"What's going on, what've I done?" He pleaded desperately.
"It's what ya didn't do kid," came a voice from behind him.
Angelo turned to see Manco circling behind him with double shot canons pointed in his general direction. "First rule of staying alive, never walk into a bar unarmed."
Mamba vaulted over the bar, her pistol arm never wavered and kept her aim dead on Angelo. "Wise words Manco," she shouted over. With her free hand she pulled a close quarters combat trainer from her pocket. It was a small black orb and as she threw it toward Angelo she shouted, "Pucker up baby, this thing got all the safeties switched off."
Angelo dodged the little black orb and it landed under a table nearby him. Manco was already putting some distance between himself and the orb. Both Mamba and I backed off too. The table flipped as the stream of nanites poured out if the orb and started to assemble themselves into a truly grotesque looking insectoid creature that stood a foot taller than Angelo and had two arms too many. It screeched sickeningly and its pincer like hands smashed the tables and chairs in its way as it headed straight towards Angelo.
Angelo grabbed one of the few remaining intact chairs and used it as battering ram, smashing it into the thing's thorax. The creature struggled to keep its balance but it swung its four, pincer tipped, arms wildly and smashed the chair to pieces. The thing swung repeatedly at Angelo swiping and cutting, Angelo dodged and blocked the heavy exoskeleton. The insectoid landed a heavy backhand which Angelo blocked but the force threw him to the floor. He scrambled about grabbing two bottles and got to his feet as the thing approached. Angelo smashed the bottles together and ran at the monstrosity. He launched himself at the creature arms wide with a smashed bottle in each hand. He hit the beast and thrust the jagged glass bottles into its bony body. The glass did no damage to the tough exoskeleton but Angelo's body weight was enough to topple the thing and they fell to the floor together with Angelo on top.
Mamba smirked at me, "Not bad," she said.
"You sure the safeties are off?" I asked.
"To be honest I can't remember." She replied.
The creature was thrashing about as Angelo repeatedly smashed his elbows into the head. It's four arms were begging to do damage, the pincers were shredding Angelo's flight suit and blood was seeping from the ripped material. Angelo rolled off and got to his feet puffing and high on adrenaline. He spotted Manco in his peripheral vision and turned to focus on him. The rogue was holding up one of his shot cannons. "Try this on for size!" he shouted and lobbed the gun to him.
Angelo followed the flight of the weapon as it rolled through the air in slightly less than earth gravity. The canon landed perfectly in his grasp just as the creature embraced him with all four limbs and started squeezing. The insectoid's mandibles were snapping just an inch from Angelo's eyeballs. The creature forced all the air from Angelo's lungs and for a brief moment it seemed that the cannon was about to slip from his grip. But he somehow kept a hold of it and with great difficulty managed to press the barrel up against the creature's abdomen. Angelo clicked the trigger and a boom echoed through the bar. The shot pulse ripped the creature in two. It's legs fell to the floor but it's four arms kept a dying embrace and Angelo had to shake them from him. Thankfully there was no blood or innards to be spewed forth. The green body parts reverted to their nanite form and swirling streams slithered across the floor and back to the black orb that they had come from.
Just as Angelo was about to let out a huge sigh of relief, he sensed the barrel of a gun hovering next to his head. "Not bad for a rookie." Said Manco. "Now I'll take that cannon back, if you don't mind."
Angelo with a slightly wavering hand passed the weapon back to Manco, taking care not to make any sudden moves. Manco backed off lowering his cannons, when he was far enough away he holstered them both.
"Hey kid," shouted Mamba, "You think you could smash up any more tables and chairs, it's not like we need em, this being a bar and all."
"Was that my initiation?" He asked gasping for breath.
"No kid," I replied "that was just Mamba's way of saying howdy. When you really get initiated then, you'll know it."
Mamba grabbed a pair of scissors from behind the bar and approached Angelo. "Don't worry kid I ain't gonna cut off anything important. Take a seat you got scratched up a little."
Mamba started cutting away Angelo's flight suit to tend to his wounds, nothing serious by the looks of it. A med-bot hovered over and started applying various topical treatments. Mamba ripped open a pain patch and stuck it on the Angelo's neck.
"What was that thing?" Asked Angelo.
"You'll find out one day, pray that you never have to fight a real one." Said Mamba.
After Angelo had calmed down we all sat down at a table, Manco hovered nearby drinking. "It's time to tell you what you've gotten yourself into kid." I said to him.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"We mean that the Dark Armada exists for a reason," added Mamba, "We serve the Empire and that means anyone who's not Empire is space dust."
"But we have one particular speciality," I said, "There are a bunch of independent systems on the rise and they want just one thing, power and more power and it's our job to send them packing back to the lousy, two bit, backwater systems they came from with their tails between their legs and belly full of cannon shot."
"Your mission is my mission," replied Angelo without blinking.
"Hey he's gonna fit right in," said Manco, reloading his cannon.
"That's good enough for me." I said.
Mamba raised her glass and toasted, "Death and glory in the void!"
We drank and got to work.
As the night wore on, our strategy was refined. It was a simple matter consisting mainly of inflicting grotesque amounts of destruction. However there always new tricks and tactics that came up as we discussed the plan of action.
A few more rogues strolled in and joined the discussion and the drinking, Yolos, Biscuit and Goodhand along with a few others. The Headless Hydra had come to life and was filling up with void rogues ready and eager for the next adventure.
Angelo got a lot of attention that night, he must have told the story of his fight with the beast about ten times and it seemed that the rogues we're accepting him as one of their own. Our plans were coming together and our next attack was taking shape. The rouges prepped their ships, resupplied and rested their itchy trigger fingers. Angelo seemed different as if he had been infected by our quest for glory.
It was Yolos who ended the night on glorious note. He jumped up on the bar, held his drink high and shouted loud enough for the ever watchful gargoyles to hear. "Wrath never dies!"
We stood and echoed his proclamation. The infinite, velvet void was waiting to be filled with the bright heat of beam lasers and the smoking trails of hot cannon shot. We had a date with destruction and a dark dawn for the Dukes…
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*Hansyolos strides into The Headless Hydra full of gusto and pride of a young earl who has left a system in ashes*
"Hey Mamba look what I found tucked away in my Anaconda the last case limited edition Vulture Soda Pop! You know this stuff is canned out of an infamous Mercs wreck of a ship. Thought you could make one of ya banger drinks with it, just be careful this soda pack quite a kick if you know what I mean sweetheart"
"You know I will gut you if you keep calling me that right Yolos" scowls Mamba.
"Haha even with all the rare brandy I bring your way? Well you know I have a thirst for danger..." Hans says with a youthful wink of his remaining human eye. "Bye the way ill take a bunk for the night, a few thousand system authority are on high alert for me right now so I could use some safe shut eye, better make the first drink a triple I have some memories to forget"
With a shake of her head Mamba reaches for the over-proof "Just take it easy kid last time you went missing for a few months"
"Hey Mamba look what I found tucked away in my Anaconda the last case limited edition Vulture Soda Pop! You know this stuff is canned out of an infamous Mercs wreck of a ship. Thought you could make one of ya banger drinks with it, just be careful this soda pack quite a kick if you know what I mean sweetheart"
"You know I will gut you if you keep calling me that right Yolos" scowls Mamba.
"Haha even with all the rare brandy I bring your way? Well you know I have a thirst for danger..." Hans says with a youthful wink of his remaining human eye. "Bye the way ill take a bunk for the night, a few thousand system authority are on high alert for me right now so I could use some safe shut eye, better make the first drink a triple I have some memories to forget"
With a shake of her head Mamba reaches for the over-proof "Just take it easy kid last time you went missing for a few months"
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That's 3 Goals....
Ah yes, three goals our three goals are
1. To gain Wealth
2. To gain Glory
3. To gain Power
4. Do it in a secret way....
4 Goals...our four goals are...
Oh dear.... I heard your attack last night didn't turn out as well as your excellent comic suggested it would. I await round two.
The best group I'm seeing is yours.
I love the style but I have a group.
Maybe someday we find ourselves in the dark confines of the empire.
i would recommend the dark armada.
Greetings from the wretched void Lord Lucifer...
I seem to remember leaving quite a few scars on the fragile hulls of the Merc's ships. As for our attacks they proceed with little or no opposition. I also await the next dark round...
Rise in darkness...
I seem to remember leaving quite a few scars on the fragile hulls of the Merc's ships. As for our attacks they proceed with little or no opposition. I also await the next dark round...
Rise in darkness...
I am Here ready to answer the call of the Empire and join
REGULAS
REGULAS
Are you the proud owner of the mighty Anaconda? Do you serve the unbreakable Empire? Do you seek chaos, carnage, wrath and darkness?
If you answered yes to all these questions then The Shadow Wing needs you! The Shadow Wing is our army of darkness, the military wing of the Dark Armada. It is an ever expanding fleet of Anacondas that can de deployed on dark missions to deal truly horrifying levels of destruction... Darkness death and glory await you in the velvet void, seek out The Dark Armada tonight...
The Dark Armada need you !
[video=youtube;c_gF5CdfPmU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gF5CdfPmU[/video]
[video=youtube;c_gF5CdfPmU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gF5CdfPmU[/video]
Greetings from the infinite darkness...
Your ruthless dark heart pleases me... If you wish to join our ranks then simply click on our dark Facebook page on page 1 and you will be initiated. There is much to do and remember this always, there is much more darkness in this galaxy than light...
We look forward to your presence in our dark ranks commander.
