Tales of The Rubellion (Part 1)

My mother was wanted across the universe for her ingenuity. Couldn’t expect any less from a woman who was feared and known for building ships and weapons for the lowest life forms in the universe, from smugglers to warlords. She wouldn’t build just for anyone though. The only things you needed to have her grant you an audience was not only bottomless pockets, but be in possession of the rarest tech or material for her to build whatever her heart desired. All with one thing in mind, go big or rot away like the rest.

She built a ship for a very powerful being who ran the Crovix Sector long before man was a spacefaring species. It was the most sophisticated, yet barbaric vessel to pass through the void of space. The mad woman ran the ship on a synthetic tetranitromethane fuel system that was twenty times more potent than its former. All self-produced in an unmanned laboratory on the lower level of the vessel furthest away from the bridge.

The ship alone was made of an unknown metal seeing that it was created by my mother herself. She was so excited she failed to name it all together. The metal she forged was able to neutralize any sort of signal and made it virtually translucent. That alone was illegal in any occupied sectors making the only way to port was to use the infamous vantablack cruiser, known as the Vampire Queen. One of the many reasons the ship remained a ghost to this day.

Its defense system was a work of art. It used AI generated, pinpoint black holes that had a gravitational pull two million times greater than Terra’s. Then with the press of a button they simply collapse on themselves. What made the ship special to my mother was the harpoon docking system installed on both sides of the vessel. The ship was lined with six pods on each side that were pointed at one end and had a cable attached at the other.

Each one fit about ten fully suited crew members that were launched across the vacuum of space at their unsuspend treasure troves. The pods would breach through the side of the ships they were boarding and barb out. If the impact or the breach didn’t kill anyone, then the crew would finish them off in the midst of plundering. That is if they were feeling merciful that day.

My mother was so impressed with her work after her first test drive that she stole the ship for herself, bringing me along with her. The powerful being chased us across the universe for countless years while we plundered each sector for all that they had to give. Now it is just myself and the 136 crew members that accompany me. My name is Ruby Marceline, and I am the Captain of The Rubellion.

Data Log #16357

The ship we raided yesterday ended in disaster. Lost about half the crew, and don’t have much to show for other than trade routes. It was supposed to be an abandoned trade vessel from what the scanners told us. Clearly, that was not the case.

My crew suited up ready for war just in case the readings came back faulty. We loaded into the pods with me taking charge of Pod One. The hatch closed leaving us in darkness until we breached. My first mate stayed back to feed us the map vessel from the bridge. Once we were all in place the pods launched simultaneously at the side of the vessel.

We were seconds from breaching the trade vessel when my first mate contacted me on my private channel. He mentioned that there was a metallic substance creeping over the ship that was now visible from the side we were breaching. I told him to, “keep me posted,” before switching back over to the main channel.

The breach was successful. Each pod barbed out, securing them to the ship before opening. It was very unusual that the ship was already depressurized. The ship also seemed intact before we boarded, but the infrastructure told us otherwise.

It looked to be put together with pieces of different ships. Not one wall was the same as the other. I called out to the rest of the crew to, “call out any abnormalities. Regroup back at the pods in an hour.” I chose three to come with me while everyone else ran in their respective groups.

I made my way to the bridge with the crew members that I had. Each wore a black modified Mark 8 engineering exosuit with the skull and crossbones on their shoulder plates. They were armed with gamma infused rail rifles we looted from that Vandelion special forces ship. Now that was a score.

I wore my usual Captain’s attire with a breathing apparatus to uphold the guise. There was a reverberating sabre in my left hand and my matter destabilizing pistol in the other. My goal was to secure the ships data logs so we could pinpoint trade routes. Everything else was up to the rest of the crew.

The way to the bridge was uneventful. No signs were left behind from the original crew except for the hand impressions all over the walls. We passed through a cafeteria and a gym in between corridors before we got to the bridge. The only issue we ran into was that the door was pried open from the bottom that rendered it useless. It only took a couple swipes with my sabre to create an entry big enough for my crew to fit through the passage with their bulky suits.

It was mostly empty. A skeletal Captain sat in their chair all by themself. I began siphoning data while my crew tore apart the room. My first mate called over the private channel letting me know that, “the spread of the metallic substance is closing in on the pods. l advise you head back, Captain.”

I could hear the crew’s findings over the main channel. The things we found and the state of the ship should have been a red flag. One team called out that they had found military grade weapons. Another called out about an infirmary. None of which matched the specs I got from the data logs.

I called out over the main channel for the crew to, “head back to the pods immediately. Drop whatever weighing you down, and let’s get the fuck out of here.” Bitching and groaning was all I heard in response.

The three that were with me grabbed what little they found before we made our way back to the entry of the bridge. That’s when I noticed the metallic substance creeping down from the vent. I followed the trail with my eyes to see where it ended. It started to cover the skeletal Captain of the trade ship from feet to head.

The Captain lifted themselves from the chair with the sound of metal scraping against metal screaming whenever they moved. The metal film stretched over their mouth until it ripped open when the undead Captain let out a mechanical wail. I raised my pistol to its chest and pulled the trigger. The Captain’s body bloated and shifted where it stood before falling to the ground in a metal soup.

The metallic substance crept off the body towards me leaving the bones of the Captain in a puddle of their own. All I heard from the rest from the crew were their screams over the main channel. We made our way back to the way we came as fast as we could. That is when the rest of the ship’s crew made themselves known. They were all being controlled by the metallic substance just like the Captain was.

They slowly pushed themselves out of the walls wherever hand impressions were left. It was almost as if they’d been there the whole time watching from the other side of the walls. The crew that was with me held their own the best they could. Their rail rifles were useless though. Each rail they shot crumbled when making contact with the metal zombies.

There were too many for my pistol alone, so we made our way back to the pods avoiding any contact we could. We made it to the gym when my sensors went haywire from metallic fingers about to grab the back of my neck. I turned around swinging my sabre at an upward angle bisecting the metal zombie from hip to shoulder. It didn’t take too long for it to pull itself back together like it never happened.

My crew bulldozed through the gym equipment to clear a path for us while I liquefied the insides of our pursuers. One of my crew misjudged his step over a medicine ball before we got to the exit of the gym. He stepped onto the ball, falling to his back. His rail rifle smacked the ground so hard it sent a rail through his foot.

His suit instantly sealed up the hole, but the damage was already done. He screamed in pain asking for help. We really only had two options. We didn’t have the time to amputate the limb before the radiation spread through this body. Nor could we afford dead weight.

I thanked him for his service to The Rubellion before putting him down with my pistol, leaving just the suit behind. We continued through the next corridor with myself taking the lead. I commanded the crew that was with me to, “use your rifles to push them back. I’ll handle the rest.” The metal zombies were slow but there were many.

I used my sabre to sever the arms of any who reached out at us, then cut them at the knees to buy us some time. Each metal zombie I shot turned into a puddle before searching for another host. We immediately blocked the entryway when we got to the cafeteria. Only to realize there was another horde between us and the next corridor.

We ran on top of the tables to the other side trying to stay out of reach. I swung my sabre from side to side making their metal heads roll off their shoulders. A metal zombie lifted itself onto the last table in front of us to cut off our exit. One of the crew members took point, and continued to close the distance while firing in an attempt to shatter its metallic shell.

The metal zombie drove its hand through his visor once he was in reach. The metallic substance was fed right into him. It quickly covered him from head to toe making him one of their own. I brought my sabre down on both of their heads, splitting them down the middle. They fell in two off both sides of the table clearing the exit.

I did my best to protect the last crew member I was running with through that ship. Cutting and blasting anything that got in our way. All was well until I heard his scream. I turned around to see him being pulled into the wall of the last corridor we were running through before reaching the pods.

Four out of the six pods had already been pulled back to The Rubellion by the time I made it back. I watched the metallic substance start to ooze over the breaches we made. I knew I was short on time. I jumped into my pod and closed the hatch.

The pod next to mine was pulled back to The Rubellion while the hatch to the pod I was in was still closing. Shortly after I was being pulled back to The Rubellion myself in the darkness of my own pod. Sixty three of our crew boarded that ship. Only nine made it back. None of which brought back anything of value, minus myself.

My first mate has informed me that a good portion of the remaining crew may be staging a mutiny. If they think they can take The Rubellion without its Captain, then will give them a ship without its Captain.

End log.