“The Virgin Valkerie wakes up, her image in Captain of the Fleet Vortigen’s mind intoxicates his senses and eases the pain of the coming battle.  She hungers for the war, he lusts for her embrace, together they become one for war.  A Kadien and a Voragian, a symbiotic need to survive from which a War Marriage is borne.”

Picture used with permission from http://www.eroszona.com/graphics/3d_art/dim008.jpg.

The Battle of the Marne Rim Nordelum Strait

Voragian Star Time: 00:200:4617:01:47 Lokarian Central System Time.

“This is  Captain Jira, our combined forces of Garian and Levenian Pirates have been greatly reduced.  Bengra Longships were waiting, in ambush, at the rendezvous.  They have killed half our fleet in ambush.  They knew we were coming here.  They know you are coming.  Someone betrayed us.  They were using a Gasinium Stealth shield onboard a Bengra Cloaker.  We have broken their ability to stealth.  We destroyed their Cloaker.  They have a superior force, we have not been able to fall back and recharge, our units are spread out and fighting as solo fighting ships.  Your Navigators and Readers should be seeing them now.  If you can cover our pull back, we can reform into cohesive fighting units, Hurlers can set a holding action, until you arrive, and we can resume after recharge.  We will commence pull back in five Garsems.  Our Captain of the Fleet and his ship has been killed.  We will fall back to point Hedron and regroup, then we will rejoin you.  Jira Out.”  the command communicator squealed out.

The situation was desperate for the Garians and the Levenians, especially now that someone had betrayed the rendezvous.  

Captain of the Fleet had just returned from his quarters, dressed in the traditional Battle uniform, known as the Groom’s Uniform.  He ordered, “Navigators and Readers Report.  Chart Major to your station.”  

The Chart Major made his report, “Eighteen hundred longships identified as the sixteenth Bengrain Fleet.  Four Command Longships, several Graisum Solar Subs, and one Stryker Night Demon, Sir.”  

Captain Vortigen walked up to the ship’s Command Orb and then turned to the Chart Major, “Very Well. Inform Combat to spark the Guns, set Comms to SQRL mode, inform combat tugs and barges, Battle Stations, inform all fleet captains to prepare for battle.”  

“Yes Sir.” replied the Chart Major.

“I shall prepare now,” said Captain of the Fleet Vortigen, then unveiling the glowing orb, he gave the second order, “Command Deck, Blind shade on now.”

The crew brought down their helmet glasses to protect their eyes from what would soon happen, Star Sergeant Major covered his face then keyed his weapon to protect the Captain in what would become his most vulnerable state of being.   Vortigen looked around the deck and seeing the crew had made precautions and giving a nod to both his Chart Major and his Star Sergeant Major, he touched the Orbs.

Captain Vortigen’s hands started to glow and the Groom’s Uniform began to charge with alternating energies, first a forest green energy, then a Tyrolean purple.  The energies were absorbed into the respective color banks of the Groom’s Uniform.    The forest green energy went into the forest green portion of the uniformed and Tyrolean purple energy flowed into the Tyrolean purple  portion of the uniform.  The ornately etched multiple gold connectors that covered the entire uniform sparked from the excess energy.  Over the uniform, Captain Vortigen wore the Voragian War Cape with additional green and purple banks of energy holding charge in the respective banks inside of the cape.  The outside portion of the War Cape carried black matter energy and white matter energy that flowed and sparked in the external energy traps of the cape.  

Now charged with energy Captain Vortigen spoke softly to the orb, “My love, my ship, Sweet Virgin Valkyrie, Time has come for Battle, the time has come for you to awake, your lust for life and war drive your hunger, time to feed, wake up for war, great Kadien.”

The ship responded and the domed area of the command Core opened up. revealing a large throne chair in the middle, when the opening was completely opened, the ship then responded, “Enter My love, enter for the ritual, enter for the wedding.  We live and die together.” 

Once more he made commands to the crew, “We go to Battle.  Spark the guns to maximum.  Engage star Swords.  Raise the new colors! Chart Major you have your orders.  We do this for our new Empire, The Vorgarian Privateers.”

Prior to the battle, fast and furious negotiation between the conquered Empires of Garia, Levenia, and Voragia, known as the Sister Empires, along with the survivors of the eight empires that formed the Smaller Border Empires, had a space conference.  It was decided that the Bengra Empire was going to exterminate them all, if they could and that something had to be done.  First an Alliance was made and then it became a new empire.  The empire was to be called the Vorgarian Privateers, which combined the Voragains, the Garians, and the First Levenian Privateers, who represented the Brethren of the Levenians, known as the Levenian Pirates, and the only survivors of the Benra Empires invasion of their Empire.  

This all happened while the Voragian Mighty Fifteenth Fleet was en-route to the agreed upon rendezvous.  A pass through the Animor System had been granted to the new empire  by the Pari Republic, as long as they moved on through the Ceril system.  The Pari blocked off all but the entrance and the exit to the Sarlean with their blackhole webs.  The Pari were considered a Superior race and did not allow anyone in their settled systems but they would allow them to cross their protected territories, like the Animor System.  The Bengra knew they were no math for the Pari but also knew what limitations that the Pari would grant to the Vorgarian Privateers.  Only problem with that, at least for the Vorgarians, was that it meant crossing the Sarlean Liquid Space Ocean.  No one had ever done that and the Bengra did not think it possible.  The Avrivion Scientists had a theory. The only way to do that, and it was just a theory, was to travel inside the Galaxy Shields of the Fleet’s Grand Nova Battleship, Star Beauty.     One hundred million people traveling inside her shield, through uncharted liquid space to an unsettled Star System on a theory.

The other option left to them happened, if Captain Cremelyn failed to find and bring that ship and the rest of her battle fleet to Animor, then the newly formed Vorgarian Privateers could go no further and would have to make a final stand at Animor against the Bengrain Empire and its two Billion Warships.

This all weighed heavily on the Captain of the Fleet Vortigen.   A New Empire, its people, and its very survival.  

The Captain of the Fleet had a responsibility and a duty that few would accept, it was the call of battle or better known to all as the “first merging.”   The Captain entered the domed area to begin. 

All Voragian, Garian, and Levenian warships were living beings, known as Kadiens, and except for battle, they would remain in a semi-stasis state of awareness.   Allowing crews to use their bodies as ships to travel from here to there without interference.  But come a war and they fed on the energy and they expended energy by those people who crewed them.  The Voragians were the best for this symbiotic relationship.  War woke them up, however there were exceptions to this, such as if a ship became involved in a raid or a single combat skirmish.  When this occurred the ship usually would let the captain fight on their own.  Battles required a lot of energy and the ship would not squander it on small fights with one exception, in which both the crew and the ships fought equally, and that was against their natural enemies, the Stryker Night Demons, Night Star Demons, and the humongous killer of space, a giant Night Star Demon, known as the Universe Collapser.  

Another reason that Kadiens would not war marry with the ships captains was if the ship were a manufactured ship like those ancient ones made by the old Altima Star Docks and Shipbuilders, like the older Luxfor Cruisers and the Bold Star Class VIII Stealth Cruiser-Subs.  They were not Kadeans but coldly produced and heavily armed warships, but few were built, with even fewer still in operation, of which the Mongoose was one.    They were always scrounging and salvaging for parts, or if they had money, would have custom parts made at a Star Gijo Emporium.  This of course was expensive and time consuming.  A report from Captain Cremelyn was just coming in, when the Captain sat in the chair and began the war marriage with the Virgin Valkyrie.  The message would have to wait had to wait until the battle was over.

Nothing could interupt the ceremony of the marriage, for the Kadiens, when battle came and the Captain of each ship entered the Command Core, it would be death by muscular convulsion, and for the crew, during its convulsions, the entire ship would release a space wyrme that would release a super toxin that would kill the entire crew, until it would become spaced, itself and slowly die in space tides.

Once the ceromony had been completed and the kadiens had sated their appetites the living conditions for the crew were not endangered but the ship and its captain would still be, depending on how much energy was expended in battle.  

Because of this, for any others to enter the dome during this time would mean instant death.  

The Captain, now sitting in the Groom’s Chair, suddenly felt the familiar cable tentacles of the Virgin Valkyrie connect to the gold connectors throughout his uniform.  The chair gently changed to a battle Ring that slowly cradled Vortigen into the proper position.  Energy levels began to raise in intensity.  The ship now physically merged with the Captain until both were connected as one.  The Captain’s physical body began to glow, his mind and the hearts, Voragians have three, would merging its life force and energy with the ship.  The Virgin Valkyrie accepted his energy and returned hers into him, so complete symbiosis had been reach with each giving there all to the other.  The process was known as the “war marriage.” 

Captain Vortigen now spoke from the dome, first to the Captain’s of his fleet, “Attention all Captains, prepare for war marriage.”  Then in softer tones, he spoke the traditional vows to The Virgin Valkyrie, “My blood and energy are yours,  I give my strength, you give me life, together we face death, for Voragia, for our new Empire, for Honor, for family, for duty, for Battle and Blood, for each other.”  

He Command Chair metamorphosed, as the ship wrapped itself, like a cocoon of bio-armor, around him.  This would protect him during the next step of the ceremony.  He, alone would start the process, Captain Vortigen and the Virgin Valkyrie would be the catalyst that would awaken the other ships with war energy, Thus the purpose of the First Merger.  

He would continue to feed energy to the other warships during and for a time after to the other warships, as a parent caring for its young, and when one would die, along with its Captain and Crew, the agony and the pain was felt within the Captain of the Fleet and The First Ship.  It brought real physical pain as their life energies left that existence.  It was also a drain of some energy as the ship was sent back through space to the secret burial place of the Kadiens.  

This would drain Captain Vortigen, with each time bringing him to the edge of death.  It would drain the Virgin Valkyrie down to her dark matter reserves.  Both would win or die in Battle.   The decision for war was not an easy one for them but once made it was total commitment, for the Kadiens it was a time to feed or die.

The ship spoke, “We are one, I feel your hearts, I feel your strength, now open your mind and let loose your energy.  My spear longs for blood and battle.  My wings ache with anticipation of war.  Let us awaken our children and fight.”

In that instant, an immense green aura of energy engulfed Captain Vortigen and domed around the command core. The Virgin Valkyrie then merged another layer of colored energy, her soft lavender energy on top of the Captains domed energy.    The ship rumbled about in agony and the Captain went unconscious.  Suddenly, a great white light erupted from within the dome, its origin was the Captain himself.  The light extended beyond the core, throughout the ship itself and then beyond.  Beams of light left the Virgin Valkyrie and struck the other warships.  

They, in turn, lit up like stars with each Kadien and their captains becoming war espoused.   Only in war, only in large combat, did this spirit of the ships merge with the Captains of each ship,  and only if the First Ship, The Virgin Valkyrie, had awaken them.

It was a responsibility few desired, for the energy used in war, was from the life pool of all Voragians, Garians, and Levenians, which they channeled through their captains.  The Captains thus married the ships in mind, spirit and body during this time. 

With the ships all in marriage, coming back to consciousness for but a brief moment, Captain Vortigen, said one word, “Now.”  The warships all responded, as if, in a symphony, the ships followed precise paths to their targets, gracefully soaring in on their attacks, and fighting with fluid precision.  

The commanders of the longships were experienced in combat, and while amazed and in some awe of the Attacking vessels, fought equally as hard and with determination.  their four Command Longships directing the fighting.  

The first casualty was a Voragian Corvette.  It flamed and crashed into the deck of the first Bengra Command Longship.  

Both had perished but Captain Vortigen and the Virgin Valkyrie felt the Corvette, its captain, and crew die.   A Scream of great agony left the mouth of the Captain.

The battle raged.   The Garians and Levenenians, who had briefly, pulled back, regrouped, after they had recharged, returned to the battle. 

A Levenian Star Sloop was badly crippled but destroyed five longships and a scout before becoming not fight worthy.

Two Garians Teller-Rams rammed a group of longships with two of the three Command Longships, destroying themselves and five longships including the two Command longships.  

Three hundred Light Longships, lead by a group Gasinium Solar Subs charged for the center of the Mighty Fifteenth Fleet and the Virgin Valkyrie, only to be intercepted by Voragian-Corelion Destroyers.  Thirty Voragian-Corelion Destroyers were lost in the attack but no Gasinium Solar Subs, nor any Longship made it through.

The Virgin Valkyrie moved to her alternative Command  point, as her escorts attacked the intruders, but  then she spotted her enemy, the Stryker night Demon.  Alone, she would have to take it on, the other combatants all pulled back.  She release a red Energy, that heightened the awareness of her crew, with the exception of the Captain.  It would take there combined effort to beat a Stryker Night Demon.   Her eighty-four Voragian Particle guns were charged and Sparked, her Stars Swords were lowered and her Scale Shields where raised.

The Stryker became aware o her and turned to attack her.  It let loose twenty four Meteor Torpedoes and began firing her sixty eight Hurlean Blaster guns.

The two giant ships maneuvered in a dance of death.  One would win and one would lose.  The loser faced certain death, the winner may win its fight but might not be strong enough to live through the continuation of the rest of the battle at hand.  

The Virgin Valkyrie avoided all, but three of the torpedoes, that hit her in non-critical points, near her tail.  She let loose her Star Swords, they raked the port side of the Demon but not severe enough for a kill.  That battle would be settled by close combat, Voragian Particle Guns versus Hurlean Blaster Guns, and if need be, by the boarding parties that would be Avrivion Warriors  versus Bengra Elite Guardians.  

The Stryker Night Demon made a critical mistake when it turned to Starboard, when the Virgin Valkyrie feigned a broadside attack and then returned to a head on strike.  She dove a ninety degree snap dive and then snapped back to a one hundred and eighty degree assent.   Her bow caught the Demon in her soft under belly and the ship reeled to a forty five degree angle.

The Virgin then rolled and fired her guns just under the range of the lower row of Hurlean  blasters.  It was a kill shot but, as the Stryker Night Demon died, it let fire one final shot from a Hurlean Blaster gun.  It struck the turn Virgin Valkyrie in her port midships area.  A severe injury and she began to trickle dark matter energy.

She writhed in pain and a squadron of longships felt an easy kill but did not count on one Captain Jira.   She and her Garian  Ship, The Old Battle Axe, saw their intentions and went in Garisecs before the did and laid waste to all of them.   The limping Virgin Valkyrie was escorted back to her escort ships and placed in a protective picket.  The Old Battle Axe, went back to the fight with a five squadrons of Voragian Raptors joining her. 

The rest of the Longships retreated.  They formed for more attacks under the leadership of the remaining command longship.  They attacked again.  

Each time, the Voragian Fleet fought on, aided by Garian and Levenian Sloops and Hurlers, and with each time more Voragian Ships and their captains and crews died.  

In all, when the time of the battle had come to an end, the new Vorgarian Privateers were victorious.  

It had been costly, the Bengra had lost most of their eighteen hundred longships, including their Command Longships, the Garians had lost five fifty three, including those that had been ambushed before the battle, the Levenian Pirates hadn’t lost one, but all of their ships were crippled and in need of a very long stay in dry dock, and the Voragians lost forty-five ships, with twenty two plus the Virgin Valkyrie, were badly crippled and operating on minimal energy, all desperately needing one more shot of Captain Vortigen’s and the Virgin Valkyrie’s energy, or they would  become casualties, as well.

Captain Vortigen, barely able to move, dug deep into his energy spirit and once more sent out the white beam of energy.  The Virgin Valkerie combined all she could, but her reserve black matter energy, with some of that slowly leaking out of her side, with the Captain’s.  It revived the crippled twenty two ships.  The Captain came back to consciousness for a brief moment and with great effort, whispered out his order.  It was heard by the keen hearing of the Charts Major.  He said one word, “Animor.”  He collapsed and the ship engulfed him in a biopod.  The Virgin Valkyrie then spoke to the crew, “Auto navigation is engaged, I am injured, medical stasis is require for both of us, but for the moment, the Captain and I shall sleep in victory.  You have all done well.” 

Meanwhile Captain Cremelyn, stealth towing the Luxfor Training Cruiser, The Sassie Gussie has just transfeered the Avrivion Warrior Cadets to her ship, the Mongoose.   The male members of her crew are besides themselves as the semi-clad warriors, all women, come on board.  The warriors are aware of their seductive effect on the crew.  Cremelyn, aware of this effect, sends down two female security teams that escort her daughter, Jen Kniye to the bridge.

When she arrived before Cremelyn, Jen Kniye, began, ” How dare you take my ship in tow?  We are Avrivion Warriors, Mother!  We fear no one, especially those cowards of the Bengra Empire.”

Captain Cremelyn considered her answers carefully and then spoke, “Jen, Shut Up.  That was a Third Fleeter and it was going in for the kill the PCT could have taken you out at any time, they were using you for practice.   You are lucky that they were busy watching you and not looking around for us.  As for your ship, I can not leave it here and it does give us some place to put the salvage.  I…” 

Captain Cremelyn was interrupted by her Chart Major, “Sorry Ma’am, but you had better look at this intel beam.”

She holds a beam of energy in her hands and looks deep into the various colors as they glow information to her.

The Captain looks up at him with a grimace.  

” Jen, we will discuss this, later, for now you and the rest of your cadets just enlisted in the new Vorgarian Privateers, One Fleet, on my ship.  You are now part of my crew, you will report to Avrivion Commander Cort.  Chart Major award them the Darrick Award for Bravery and then put them on mess duty for a month.” commanded Captain Cremelyn.

She continued “Was the ping Confirmed?”

The Chart Major said, “Yes, we will meet up here.  General Bratykol and his forces are amassing here.  We will be able to make it with her to Animor two weeks before his forces will arrive.  He has recalled the Fourth from the  Arica system and the Third, Seventh, and Ninth from our sector.  They mean to kill us all at Animor.  I think that is why he called off the search for the Star Beauty.   Ma’am, I hate to bring this up but that is a lot of ships.  One more thing, they put a bigger bounty on your head, your now worth double of your last reward, three hundred and thirty million, now.”

Captain Cremelyn looked a the  Chart Major and said, “Let me know when its at a billion, I’ll turn myself in. Okay, lets join the Star Beauty here,” she pointed to a point on her star orb and then continued to commanding her order out, ” and get her to Animor.  Captain Vortigen better be right, I never would have thought it possible.  Spies, I hate them. Jen, you are dismissed, but you will join me for dinner tonight in my cabin, I want to know what you are going to tell your father about this little episode. “