"DON'T attack the Fairy Good-Parent's planets. You won't like what happens."
They named themselves after a damn children's story, how strong can they be??
"Ok, but remember, I did warn you, sir."
Just shut up, you still owe me decades in debt!
"Yes sir."
@internutter/challenge-04129-k111-spiralling-upwards -- Anon Guest
Planetary Respite, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairy Goodparent Corporation, seemed to be on its eternal dance in the cosmos, unprotected. Like a luxurious gem waiting to be plucked from the black velvet of infinity. A luxury resort full of the undeserving poor.
And in CEO Magnifeek's mind, there was no such thing as deserving poor. If they deserved anything, they wouldn't be poor.
"Not even defended," he crowed. "Arm the canons... Full speed ahead to cordon the area." His staff obeyed. Of course they did. Disobedience meant immediate termination and seizure of property. These fools in the Alliance had no clue. Magnifeek had exactly three minutes to feel superior before the countermeasures engaged.
Stage one. Grapplers attached to asteroids latched on to any ship passing too fast nearby. Forcing the ship to use extra power in order to speed towards Respite. They had to re-engage their engines in order to combat the asteroids' inertia.
Stage two. Weapons concealed in those selfsame asteroids targeted the engines of the vessels they were attached to. Working to disable them before the ships could become a problem for the actual planet.
Stage three. Automated systems hacked into the public address aboard the ship. Announcing in a pleasant voice, "This ship has been declared an aggressive vessel. You have. Five. Minutes. To stand down. Countermeasures are being deployed."
Stage four. Countermeasures reached the Deregger fleet. Microships packed with self-replicating Hungry Caterpillars, all set to take the attacking vessel apart. People caught in the device had lifepods constructed around them, which were then sent towards the closest rehabilitation and re-education centre. Which happened to be a handy moon to their last communicated location.
Stage five. The lifepods reach the rehabilitation centre as the last fragments of the attacking vessels are snapped up. The people and other living things are unpacked, sorted, and placed according to their needs.
The people on Respite never even knew there was an attempted attack. They might have noticed an influx of patients, but few said anything about it. It was, after all, business as usual.
[Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash]
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