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Chaos Rising	By : TerminusEst Category: +S through Z > Sonic Views: 1284 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic The Hedgehog game series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Three: Militant Reprisal
Sleep faded away as Riptos felt himself being shaken gently. He heard Rex's voice in his ears. "Hey! Rip! Wake up!" the younger man said.
Riptos groaned and opened his eyes. "Unnnhhhh, Rex, why'd'ja wake me up?"
"You've got to see what's on the news! You know that attack on that freighter yesterday? The Earth Republic said we did the same thing to them, and they're absolutely furious!"
"Nothing like a political shitstorm in the morning, I guess at three in the morning the way I feel." Riptos moaned again as he sat up. He dragged himself over to the edge of his bunk and began to climb the ladder down.
Rex stood behind him to catch him if he fell in his half-conscious stupor. He sat down next to Riptos on the bottom bunk and hooked an arm around his shoulders for support. Rex pulled a large chalky-looking pill out of his pocket and handed it to Riptos. It was a fast-acting caffeine tablet, designed to be dissolved in the mouth for faster release. Riptos put it in his mouth, already glued to the TV screen.
A human woman stood behind a desk, speaking in that flat, almost robotic tone affected by newscasters whether they were talking about a comedy act or the apocalypse. "We come to you with this breaking story," she began. "At 8:06 interstellar time, eighty fighters believed to be of Mobian origin launched a sneak attack on observation post P-42. The station was destroyed within seconds and all 1,632 of the station crew are dead or missing. The Earth Republic Congress has condemned this action. We go now to the senate chamber for the senators' reactions."
Riptos sat up straighter. "I don't think I'll be sleeping anymore tonight," he said.
A woman in a navy blue suit stood almost impossibly straight behind a podium, her face set in an expression of fury. "Six hours ago, an observation post on the edges of Earth space was senselessly and brutally attacked, resulting in the deaths of every man and woman aboard. This act of utmost savagery is almost certainly the doing of the Mobian Confederation. We even have scans of the attacking fighters to prove it."
Riptos' eyes widened slightly.
"The Earth Republic Congress has unanimously voted to condemn this attack and its perpetrators. We are considering options to redress this shocking act of cruelty, possibly including military action. Earth will not tolerate the wanton destruction of our assets and people. This is an outrage of the highest order."
Riptos shook his head. "I bet you more than anything this has everything to do with the attack on that freighter."
"Hell, I think it's the same guys responsible for both," said Rex.
"Yeah, but can you prove that in a war crimes tribunal?"
"You have a point."
"I don't like our chances in a war. We have fewer systems, a smaller navy, fewer resources, and no long-established planet like Earth with a millenia-long history of civilization. Mobius itself has been inhabited for, what, four hundred years?"
"Hey, at least you'll get some action before the brass shove you out the door."
Riptos nodded. At the age of forty-three, he was only two years away from the mandatory retirement age for a fighter pilot. He had passed his prime a long time ago, and the inexorable process of aging was steadily wearing him down. He wondered if he had acquired a couple more gray spines just thinking about it.
He felt Rex pat him on the back. "Cheer up, Rippy. I'm sure you'll be able to find a nice civilian job after you have to retire. You might even be offered a captaincy, and then you'll be able to stay in the navy until you come apart at the seams, on your very own starship. Even if the Earthers go to war, win, and occupy us, it's not like they're going to drag fighter pilots before a judge and hang them."
Riptos sighed. "This career has meant so much to me, and even being a captain wouldn't be quite the same. I've been doing this ever since I got out of the monastery on Orososh. And I'm sure no company would hire someone as old as me as a pilot." Riptos stood up. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower. Maybe that will feel better."
"Go ahead," said Rex. "We still have a couple more hours to kill before 0430. I'll probably take one myself when you're finished."
"You know what one of the great things about being in the command group of a squadron?" said Riptos. "Being able to take a shower by yourself."
Rex laughed and lay back on his bunk as Riptos went into the en-suite bathrom.
--
The stress headache Adrian had had for the last couple of months seemed twice as bad now, and it mingled with the myriad symptoms of gravity readjustment to produce pure unadulterated misery. He had just watched news coverage of the attack on outpost P-42 and it was like his worst nightmare come true. A bunch of people who appear to be Earthers attack Mobians. A bunch of people who appear to be Mobians attack Earthers. It was like some witch cooked up a brew for interstellar war.
He looked up as a nurse entered the room. "Hello, Mr. Spencer," she said as she scratched him behind the ears. "How are you feeling?"
"Terrible," said Adrian. "And please call me Adrian."
"That's fine."
"And could you get me some more painkillers? My chest is killing me."
"You're already on the maximum safe dosage. It would be dangerous for us to give you more." The nurse laid a hand on Adrian's chest and rubbed below his collarbones. Adrian relaxed a little under the treatment.
"Could you get me a glass of water?" said Adrian.
"Of course." The nurse left for a few minutes before returning with a glass of water. Adrian took it and gulped it down eagerly.
"Thanks," he said.
"You're welcome. You should get some rest now," she said. "We'll start your physical therapy tomorrow."
"Sure," said Adrian.
"I'll see you around noon," said the nurse. She briefly rubbed Adrian's left ear between her thumb and forefinger before leaving the room.
Adrian picked up the phone as the nurse left the room, the soothing feeling of her touch quickly fading. He put in the code for the Earth Republic, then, the planet code, then the region code, then the area code, then the number. The series of prefixes was longer than the number itself by far.
"Hello?" he said over the phone.
"Adrian? Is that you?" said his adoptive mother, Natalie Spencer. Adrian had been adopted as an infant by a human couple.
"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you now because there's a good chance the Earth Republic and Mobian Confederation could go to war, and this may be the last chance I have to talk to you for a long time."
"Are you referring to the attack on the frontier outpost last night"

"Yes. There's a lot of ugly talk on both sides. My freighter got attacked by what seemed to be Earth fighters a few hours before that attack. Two of the crew were killed. The Mobian government is absolutely outraged."
"Oh my God! Are you alll right?"
"Yeah, some Mobian fighters came to our rescue. I'm on a Mobian starbase. Right now I'm in the infirmary while I readjust to gravity. They say I should be strong enough to go back to Mobius in a week or so. They're going to put me in physical therapy tomorrow, and that's probably going to hurt a lot. But, as they say, no pain, no gain. And I gained a hundred thousand credits for my troubles."
"I'm just glad you're OK, honey. You make your father and me worried when you go on those ships. How will we know if you get hurt?"
"It's not as dangerous as they say it is, honest. The ships I work on stay in the safe systems. Unfortunately my girlfriend doesn't believe she. I got her break-up letter today. I tried to reason with her over the phone but she just chewed me out. I can't believe she'd just throw me away after two years together."
"Sometimes life is like that, honey. You just have to move on. Hardly anyone has a successful relationship the first time.'
"Yeah, but it's still hard to deal with. I'm still in love with her, even if she wants nothing to do with me."
"I'm sure you'll find someone new. Don't get yourself down like this, Adrian. It's not good for you."
"I guess you're right," said Adrian with a sigh. "Anyway, it's two in the morning in interstellar time, so I think I should go to sleep now."
"All right. Take care, honey."
"Bye, Mom." Adrian put the receiver back on the hook, feeling a little better than he had before. He pressed a button on the nightstand to turn off the lights, curled up under the covers, and closed his eyes. He was asleep within moments.
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Chaos Rising