Work Text:
16 April 3306
14:51 Galactic Mean Time
It was supposed to be a routine cargo run for Bluestar PMC. A highly dangerous cargo run, moving very valuable cargo, but routine nonetheless. Delivering vital, high-grade military supplies a long distance through Low-Security systems is never safe, but I had done it before.
There was supposed to only be a random pirate or two.
There was not supposed to be an Elite pilot after the cargo.
There was not supposed to be a gaping hole in my ship.
I was not supposed to have a timer on my life.
O2 Remaining
00:59…
00:58…
00:57…
/\\//\\/
13:48 Galactic Mean Time
Abe Dock - Shapsugabus
“Incoming mission-critical message,” my ship's computer said as I turned in the latest supply run at Abe Dock. It was a simple thank you message, and a request for one Commander Ester to take a look at the mission board for a follow-up mission.
“Well I guess I’m checking the mission board one more time than I intended today,” I said, flicking open the station services mission board. Right at the top, I found the mission from Bluestar PMC requesting a long distance classified cargo transfer. For 20,000,000 Credits. Ten tons of cargo, and a payout of 20 million credits.
“That is ridiculous,” I said. “Not even mining for Low-Temperature Diamonds gives you a per-tonnage value over two million credits.”
So I accepted the mission because it was free credits at that point. I loaded the cargo into my Python just in case. My Python, nicknamed Star by a random Commander I met while delivering goods, was outfitted specifically for the job I was taking on. Transferring high-value cargo into systems where piracy was rampant and system security was practically nonexistent was the whole reason my diamond shaped ship sat in Abe Dock, waiting to be used.
Plotting a course for the Narri system, specifically Bobko City, I ran through a simplified version of the pre-flight checklist to make sure everything on my ship was running smoothly.
“Control, this is BS-127 requesting permission for takeoff and egress by automated launch procedures,” I said, throttling to zero so the autopilot could work its magic.
“BS-127 you are approved for automated launch. Be advised of heavy station traffic,” the station control operator said as my ship moved to a launch position inside the station.
The bay that held my Python moved upwards to the interior of the Orbis class station, the interior of the starport practically filled with ships moving to and from landing pads in the cylindrical docking bay. The gleaming white and curved design of imperial ships was common here, but not as much as the more rigid independent styled ships favored by most of the inhabitants of Shapsugabus.
My ship started moving under the control of the autopilot, making navigating this mess of ships less of a chore. It also would prevent fines in the event of any collisions, but I wouldn't want to be kept waiting too long. After all, nothing says get out like a glowing red sign in your face that tells you to leave the station in five minutes.
“Shapsugabus Purple Major Limited is not responsible for damages that occur when traversing the docking bay, and remember, loitering is a crime punishable by death,” the station broadcasted to every ship in the area.
I retracted my previous statement, nothing says get out like loitering is a crime you can die from. My roughly painted ship glided towards the station’s exit. The exit was affectionately named the Mail Slot as it looked exactly like a mail slot along with being the only way in or out of a station. It makes it great fun to fit some of the larger ships out, or dealing with inane pilots who don’t wait and nearly crash into your ship when you're trying to fly a Type 9 that takes up the entire slot as it moves through it.
Angling towards the next system in my delivery route, ICZ MX-T b3-1, I cleared the mass lock of the spherical end of the station and charged my FSD. The system was 10.14 light-years away and had no population, so no police force. From the looks of things, almost every system in my route was the same. Five seconds later, the only sounds to be heard were the groaning of a ship in witchspace.
/\\//\\/
14:22 Galactic Mean Time
Supercruise – ICZ CQ-Y c18
The whir of a ship traveling relatively close to a star was the only thing I heard as my ship guzzled tons of gaseous hydrogen to be processed and stored as fuel. The Fuel Scooping Complete notification almost covered up the one new signal detected notification on my ship's sensors. Twisting the throttle, I broke orbit with the star and directed my ship towards the next system in my route.
“Your presence is not welcome here,” I said to the empty bridge of my ship, glaring at the holographic shape of a Viper MK IV sitting in front of my left hand. The status indicator panel and sensor panel lit up with more information now that I had a target selected, but as the Viper was the only other ship in the system, it was quite clear when it started to follow me.
The Viper MK IV was designed for taking down small and medium ships. It’s maneuverable, decently armored and well-armed, and not something I wanted to fight while carrying cargo. Luckily, jumping away is a great way to avoid an enemy. Until everything jerked.
“Interdiction Detected,” my computer announced.
“No shit!” I said as I was thrown into the side of the chair. The blue streaks of decaying faster-than-light travel that filled the viewport hummed with energy, its melody was only broken apart by my ship groaning under the abrupt change in direction. The constant shuddering was not helpful to my attempts at guiding my ship to the escape vector which was oh-so-helpfully painted in my view by the ship's computer.
“Comeon, just give in already, you stupid pirate,” I said as the blue indicator marking my escape from the interdiction crept towards completion. I struggled to turn my ship in the face of the Viper’s superior maneuverability, but I had a lot of experience in breaking interdictions.
“Oh geez, what is with this guy?” I said as I watched the red indicator pass the blue on my display as the viper came closer to pulling me out of supercruise and attempting to steal my cargo. By this point, we had completely turned around and were facing the sun once again. Taking inspiration from my early days as a pilot, I rammed my Python directly into the star’s gravity well. The safety systems in the FSD ripped my ship from supercruise and nearly threw me out of my seat.
“That was way too close for my liking,” I said, making sure the pirate did not follow me into this part of space. My ship was already starting to heat up from being so close to a star as I pointed my Python towards the next system in my route. Using one of my three heat sinks to make sure my ship did not cook itself when charging my FSD, I jumped away to the next star. The last thing I heard in system was the thwip of a ship exiting supercruise.
/\\//\\/
14:40 Galactic Mean Time
Supercruise - Narri
My lucky escape would not hold it seemed, because a Viper MK IV was following me and I doubted that it was a different Viper than the last one that interdicted me. I had some 400 light seconds left to travel to get to Bobko City, but a ship slows down when getting closer to gravity wells, in this case, the planet Bobko City orbited. So the odds of me making it to the station with no interruptions were close to nil.
“At least system security will eventually show up,” I mumbled. The Narri system was a medium-security system so the police response would show up. Whether either of us were destroyed before they showed up was up for debate.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” I said as my world turned blue when the Viper interdicted me once again. It went much the same as the first time, but without a nearby planet or star to faceplant into, there was no easy way for me to escape.
My ship creaked and groaned as it was torn out of supercruise, blue waves fading into the black starry horizon of space. I corrected my ship’s out of control spin just in time for the radio to crackle to life with a beep.
“Now, hon, you put up a good fight and using the star the first time was truly inspirational, but let's not make this any more difficult than it has to be,” a male voice said, my communication panel displaying the name Jack Elanor.
“Hm. How can I help the great Commander Elanor?” I replied, ignoring the way the sun glinted off his Viper MK. III’s hull as it danced in front of me.
“Ah! You flatter me! You know, Ester, not many people take the time to talk to a lowly pirate.”
“What can I do for you, Commander?” I said while plotting a jump into my ship's computer, making sure to pick a system at my max jump range. The limitations of a Viper’s Frame Shift Drive should prevent this pirate from following. After all, I can always come back to this system and try to deliver the cargo later.
“You see, that’s some rare cargo you are hauling, and I’d hate for there to be some unfortunate accident that results in a hefty insurance payout,” Elanor said.
“Surely you don’t mean to escort me? The insurance on these goods is quite expensive,” I said, looking down the front end of my Python as I drifted closer to the jump direction.
“I didn’t take you for a fool, Commander. Drop the cargo and you might get to see another day,” he said, deploying his hardpoints. The glow of a plasma accelerator caught my attention as it slid out from inside his ship.
“Well, Elanor, your argument is very convincing,” I said, my suit creaking as I gripped my flight stick.
“But, Ester?” he said, after my pause in speaking.
“But, I don’t think I will be able to accept your proposal, Commander.”
“I thought you were smarter than this. Commander Ester Calithian, prepare to die,” he said before a click signified Commander Elanor had turned off comms.
“With pleasure,” I said, with a smirk that threatened to split my face in two.
/\\//\\/
14:42 Galactic Mean Time
Realspace – Narri
The fight was not going well and it had barely even started. Every inch of the Viper MK IV was engineered to be faster, stronger, and pack a bigger punch. Elanor's ship had started with a single barrage that took out my shields before tearing into my armor with a multicannon. Not that losing shields in a Python is a huge problem, as the armor is the strongest defense on the ship.
I had turned to engage, but being stopped still made me a wonderful target for a fast-moving ship. Elanor did know what he was doing when he focused all his fire on my FSD, knocking it out of commission until I could reboot my ship's systems. And a reboot would put me dead in the water, so that was not happening until the threat had been dealt with. It went from what should have been an easy fight to a fight for my survival while I waited for system authority to distract Elanor enough for me to run.
The fight turned into a dance of survival for me, as I spun out of the way of each plasma accelerator round that followed. My chaff helped disrupt the targeting system of his multicannon and beam lasers, but I only had so many chaff to spare. I gave as good as I got with my set of armaments, but it's hard to hit something that does laps around your ship. It was in a boosted spin where the Viper and I were face to face that I was able to get a good shot off on Elanor.
Everything was fine. Until the glass cracked.
“Oh hell, this is not the time,” I said, but the bright purple ball of plasma headed straight for me broke my train of thought. The thrum of my engines and groan of my ship was silenced in a flash of light. My entire viewport blossomed with purple and blues, a rush of air pulled everything away and left only my breath and a blue counter behind.
O2 Remaining 4:00
The coms were brought alive with a faint beep, but without any of my display, it was impossible to see who was calling. The comfort of the glowing orange display was gone and only a terrifying blue counter remained.
“You could make this a lot easier on yourself and drop the cargo, I’ll even let you go and you can fix that broken canopy before you asphyxiate afterward,” Elanor said, the smug superiority in his voice clear to anyone listening.
“I’ll pass, thanks,” I said, already putting as much power into the engines as I could.
“I thought you were smart!” he said as another ball of plasma impacted my ship, “but it seems I was wrong, so I’ll just do this universe a favor and get rid of your idiotic mind!”
O2 Remaining 3:00
Putting my ship in a tight spin, I triggered another chaff and hoped that I still had some left. From the sound of multicannon impacts upon my hull, I doubted hope would miraculously provide me with another chaff.
Three bright flashes of light caught my eye and I immediately flew straight for the three new ships that had dropped into the area. I hoped they were system security, but without my sensors, I couldn’t be sure. Hopefully, Elanor didn’t have any other friends that were joining the party.
The cursory “submit to a police scan” message hadn’t been broadcasted and the ship’s profiles were starting to become clearer. It seemed a Federal Corvette and two Viper MK IIIs had jumped into the system and were headed right for Elanor and me. It was an impressive amount of firepower to be deployed by system security. I doubted they had a Federal Corvette laying around in a medium-security system.
O2 Remaining 2:00
The wing that had jumped in turned out to be an Advanced Tactical Response team that immediately engaged Elanor. They didn’t even check to see that I wasn’t dead, but system authority isn't much better at saving lives so I wasn’t surprised.
“No time to wait around, gotta restart the ship,” I said, and without the heads up display, getting the ship rebooted was a bit tricky. The engineers of the ships were smart enough to include an emergency restart switch at the back of the pilot's chair, and the zero-g environment of the ship made it very easy to remove the protective paneling.
Twisting the heavy knob caused everything to still and the few lights on my chair to go out. Even as the thrusters on my Python shuddered online, all I heard was my rapid breathing in the silence.
O2 Remaining 1:00
“I am not going to die out here,” I vowed, gripping my throttle hard enough that it might crack as I dropped out of supercruise without a canopy near Bobko City. The communication systems onboard a ship worked separately from the main display, so there should be no problems in getting a line to the Ocellus class station.
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is TP-127 reporting canopy breach, bingo oxygen, requesting immediate docking access,” I said over the comms. The radio silence lasted for longer than I would have liked, but I didn’t stop my approach to the station. If they wanted to fine me for staying alive they could.
“TP-127, this is Docking Control. Docking permission granted on pad 12. Be advised, we are halting air traffic until you are clear of the entrance,” I heard over the communicator.
“Understood counter, proceeding to pad 12,” I said, no longer strangling my flight stick.
The sound of my ship's engines after I had entered the atmosphere of the station was the sweetest thing I had heard in years.
O2 Remaining N/A