Agent Orange My Great-Great-Grandfather was a Battle of Britain pilot, or so my father told me when I explained to him that I wanted to join the Intergalactic Agricultural Research Establishment. "Let's hope that some of his flying skills are still present in your genes!", were my father's only remarks when I was awarded a […]
Starbike
Starbike
The Edge, 1984
Address to Starbike Warriors, Starbike Command; Stardate 242417.6
They are funny-looking creatures, the Orola, comical, bouncing yellow blobs of sentience. But they are the closest thing to human that Galactic Command has tracked down in all its searches. Now you guys know that the Mordra took a couple of decs away from continuously bombarding us to amuse themselves by blowing the Orola's planet into tiny pieces. Maybe they thought they would destroy every mother's son of them just to spite us. You also know that they came close, too, with some of the Orola getting away by the skin of whatever passes for teeth for them, using their escape-pod system.
Now, all we know is that quite a few of the fellas got away in these pods. We also know that each pod could only hold a maximum of five of the beauties in frozen form. We're also pretty sure that they've been flung to the far corners of the Galaxy - probably no two pods landing on planets which are within megadecs of each other.
Beats us why, but the Orola put special droids on every pod. Now these droids are programmed to erect five teleports together with five scanner dishes in each of five designated sectors around the planet that the pod happens to crash on. Seems the little yellow guys don't much like each other's company, and so you are goinng to find no more than one Orola in each sector. This system will make your job a fraction easier, and you'll be able to tune your Starbike's comsys into that of the scanner dishes so long as you get close enough to one. Your bike's comsys is pre-programmed to indicate whether the dish detects an Orola in that sector and how to get to the little guy fastest. Once he's safely aboard your machine, your comsys will indicate your fastest route to a teleporter and hence to safety.
Trouble is, these Orola droids tried too hard to make matters easier for you guys. You see they arranged their teleports so that they automatically take you on to the next sector clockwise around the planet. If you enter one with an Orola in tow, then he gets automatically tele'd backto your ship as you go to the next sector. But they slipped up - you see, when the last Orola on that planet has been saved by you mugs, then the entire system shuts off. Now that's OK if you happen to be beside your lander craft, but if you ain't, then start praying that you've still got every ounce of skill you ever had to fight your way around that planet to your craft.
That's all men. Good luck, you're gonna need it...