It was the big day. Galcom had finally granted me command of my own craft. A beauty of a little Sunflash christened the GCV-Insurmountable. I couldn't help but feel proud as the cruiser rumbled out of GHQ on her maiden voyage.
Before long the comms officer had me patched through to HQ and we received our first mission. Escort a Terran diplomat to the Majoris station in Alpha Majoris and defend said station until instructed otherwise. I'd been hoping for something a little more exciting. Boy did I get more than I had bargained for.
We formed on the diplomat's wing, brought our main guns and PTA system online and were off. I ceded control to the navigation and flight officers so I could personally monitor long range sensors. Our first several jumps went without a hitch.
My eyes had begun to blur from watching that scanner readout when, as a welcome turn of events, alarm klaxons sounded. A MKIII Battlecruiser had decloaked off our starboard bow and was already firing her main guns into the diplomat's exposed rear.
Our PTA system had responded in kind with a barrage of cannon fire. Designating a pair of Vagrants to FATAL, I spun the cruiser round and unleashed them along with a volley from the main guns. Fireworks forever lost their allure as I watched that Raider ship go up in the most dazzling light show imaginable.
Our first kill. Not bad for a bunch of raw recruits fresh out of the academy. Aside from a scare, our diplomatic friends were doing just fine and everyone on the Insurmountable seemed much more confident in their abilities. We resumed course and reached the station without further delay.
Apparently the brass upstairs had let information on this little job leak. Not ten minutes after our charge had docked did a fleet of Gammulans arrive. A Stormcarrier escorted by a pair of cruisers. Fun.
Readying several missiles, I merely abided my time. I figured it best to engage them within range of the station and ODS. Like fools the Gammulans closed in. Personally, I'd expected more from such a war-like species.
Majoris station launched a compliment of fighters which quickly engaged the carrier's own fighter wing. One of the cruisers had already fallen victim to the ODS as I ordered evasive maneuvers.
"Sir, we've got intruders onboard," barked my Combat Officer, a fidgety man by name of Resnig.
"Well deploy marines and round the bastards up!" was my rather harsh reply. I had enough on my plate just dodging the crossfire.
It was about then that my Tac Officer informed me of an unauthorized launch. In the chaos I, along with my apparently incompetent CO, had forgotten to cut power to launch control. A quick scan of our resources revealed that a large quantity of precious radine had been stolen as well.
By now all cap' ships had been disabled or destroyed and the Majoris station was mopping up the last of the enemy fighters. There went my transport shuttle along with a good deal of my fuel. Just then, however, the transport did a funny thing. It stopped and began emitting an SOS signal.
A grin lit up Resnig's face. Not your normal grin, mind you, but the grin of a very young child... or a man with the IQ of a dingo. "Sir, the transport's dead in the water. Shall I initiate recovery procedures?" My gut told me something wasn't right. A ship full of highly volatile materials could do quite a bit of damage to an unshielded craft such as mine.
"No you half-wit. Bring us around and target the cockpit. Lower the main guns to fifty percent efficiency and fire." Boom. No more hijackers. The shuttle itself was greatly damaged but still in one piece. "Now tow her in," I ordered. Slight problem with that, the ship was still emitting a hostile IFF signal and so the near worthless computer refused to reel her in. Just great, now I'll have to drag the thing to Galcom for everyone to see. My mates back at the Officer's Lounge will have a good laugh.
Or perhaps there was another solution. If I were to board the craft and input the proper security codes, assuming the ship was still in stable enough condition, it would appear as friendly and our computer would have no problem pulling it aboard. Five minutes later I was suited up and regretting this whole idea from the airlock. Never did get used to free fall.
There was no turning back now. The airlock depressurized and the blast doors slid open. With my stomach somewhere around my throat I took a step out into infinite nothingness. It was a good while before I managed to unclench my eyes and get a look at my surroundings. The transport was a few meters away, held steady by the tractor beam whose close proximity I feared would leave me sterile and hairless.
Down I went, my tiny rocketpack providing just enough thrust to propel me. I drifted for what seemed an eternity until my magnetic boots locked with the vessel's hull and I found my way in. The first thing I noticed was the lack of life support and artificial gravity. The next thing I noticed was the organic material floating about the cargo bay. The remains of our intruders no doubt. All the same, I kept my Sabre rifle at the ready as I moved past the crates of radine and into the cockpit.
There was more blood and tissue drifting here. Along with an enormous hole straight through the canopy. All that held this transport from rapid depressurization was a steadily dying stasis field. I had to work fast before the whole thing crunched like a tin can. Luckily there was still enough juice left to activate a computer terminal and switch the IFF signal back to friendly.
*csk* SC-1 to Insurmountable, SC-1 to Insurmountable. Request immediate retrieval, over. *csk*
*csk* Roger Commander, we're on it. *csk*
Not bad for a day's work I thought as the shuttle was tractored into the appropriate bay. I left my report to HQ vague in regards to SC-1's role in this whole fiasco.
