Nature of Business

Posted on Thu Apr 1st, 2010 @ 7:21am by Khiy Tal'ehrihn

1,242 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Preparing The Fleet
Location: Shipping lanes

“FIRE!†The Caitian roared as he picked himself off the floor.

The last salvo of enemy fire had launched him out of his chair and deposited him face first onto the deck. Two others of the bridge crew found themselves likewise scrambling to get back into their chairs. The attack came so fast that the team hadn’t enough time to brace themselves for the impact.

Brand, the weapons officer, responded immediately as his hand slammed down on the firing control. “YOUR TURN!†He yelled at the attackers.

The newly refit Ju’day responded to the toggled command as its pulse phaser cannons responded sending deadly blasts that ripped through the space, eagerly searching out its intended target.

The armoured pirate attack freighters were fast and extremely manoeuvrable, but so was the Decorus Era. The pulses found their mark on one of the shuttles which splashed over its shields. The shuttle’s shields, while powerful, weren’t designed to hold up under such powerful weapons; they flickered and faded a moment after the assault. The damaged shuttle remained intact, though the power must have been knocked out as the craft ‘listed’ in space and began to drift on its momentum.

“Craft disabled.†Gavin, the 16 year old, said eerily calm despite the circumstances. His face was glued to the sensors in front of him.

“Yeah but we have four other ships on our asses...†Brand responded while he gripped the panel in front of him and steadied himself from the torpedo that just hit their ship. “...And they are pissed the hell off.†He finished through gritted teeth.

“Keep drawing them away from the cargo freighter.†The Caitian said. He could feel warm blood coursing down his chin from a nasty split in his lip from the earlier fall. He did nothing to stem the flow. "I don't want to lose this contract."

"Always the business man." Connor said while shaking his head. He suddenly sent the ship in a series of dips and turns. "Damnit, I can't shake this guy."

One of the attackers he was evading got behind their ship and let off a number of torpedo’s and arcs of phaser fire. The resulting blast jarred everyone in the ship again. One of the instrument panels behind the command chair blew apart in an explosion of glass and sparks. Smoke started billowing into the confined room.

Though several meters away, the cockpit crew could hear the chief engineer yell out orders behind them to her team. “GET THAT FIRE OUT. AND SOMEONE GET THIS DAMN BODY OUT OF MY WAY!â€

“Why are we doing this? We are outnumbered here. We should just let the pirates take the cargo.†Caleb said nervously while looking over his shoulder at the yelling coming from engineering. He was new to the ship and wasn't used to what was happening.

"We are getting paid good money for their security, that's why we are doing this." Connor said with a frown.

"Not THAT good." Gavin yelped back. "I mean, do we even have a plan here?"

“Just this one.†Brand said with a calm voice as he toggled the ships torpedoes and lined up his sights. “Goodnight.†The weapons officer said to the crew of the pirate freighter as he thumbed the fire control.

The rear burst fire torpedo launcher lit up for a second before five torpedoes lanced out. The pirates that hit them from behind had continued to close in on the ship and harrass them with their phasers, because of it were too close to avoid the attack. All five warheads hit the craft square on its hull. There was a bright flash as they detonated on the shields followed by a brilliant plume of fire as the hull was torn apart. Just as fast as the fire lit, it was extinguished by the cold space leaving only debris behind.

The Captain growled approvingly at the destruction.

The remaining three attack craft weren’t deterred by the loss of one of their numbers. The closest of them swung in to face the Decorus Era while the other angled to swing around back. Unfortunately, for all the havoc this group of pirates had been causing in the region lately, their group battle tactics proved weak.

“Bad move.†Gavin said almost stoically.

The rest of the bridge crew saw the opening as well and nodded with grim smiles on their faces at the youngster’s words. It was a stroke a good luck in a still pitched battle; bad luck for the pirates.

The Decorus Era’s shields were weak on the rear; however, the forward deflector was nearly untouched. Instead of balking at the ship coming straight at them as the pirates had planned, they veered straight into it. For a moment it became a game of chicken with two ships of nearly the same size. The pirates on the assault freighter noticed too late their fatal mistake as the Decorus Era fired all weapons straight into them. Three Burst-Fire torpedo tubes and the two U Pulse Phaser Canons all lit up at once. Much larger ships and better shielded ships than that have been destroyed on less. The explosion was terrific as the weapons impacted on the 70 meter long ship. The Decorus Era flew straight into the flash engulfing the entire ship in fire. The bridge crew held fast as the impact and concussion from the explosion rocked them violently. The forward deflectors took one hell of a beating but held despite the intense conditions. They came out the other side of the wreckage ready for more.

The two ships that were closing on the tail had to break off the pursuit as their sensors and weapon systems momentarily blinded. It seemed with the assault stalled and one less ship to their group the two remaining craft suddenly lost their stomachs for combat. Both turned away and began fleeing.

“Running huh?†S’rrin growled to himself. He finally ran his paw across his chin soaking up some of the blood from his fur. “Destroy them.â€

“Wait. It’s over, they’ve given up.†Caleb, spoke up in a concerned voice. “This would be like murder.â€

The others never even looked away from their stations, all too familiar with the action. No one felt like explaining why the act had to be done. Pirates were well known in the region to be murderers in addition to their theft of cargo. It was Trans Galactic Trading's business to keep these shipping lanes clear of these sorts of people.

When S’rrin refused to answer him, Caleb looked pleadingly at the other people on the bridge. “Come on guys, this isn’t right.â€

For several seconds no one spoke. This kind of justice was hard to understand at first, everyone on the ship had to learn it.

Connor broke the silence as he turned the ship and toggled in a pursuit course. "I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.â€

Brand finished. “Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell." With the last words he fired the weapons...


OFF


S'rrin (NPC)
Captain
Decorus Era
Trans Galactic Trading

Connor Williams (NPC)
Pilot
Decorus Era
Trans Galactic Trading

Brand Helis (NPC)
Weapons Control
Decorus Era
Trans Galactic Trading

Gavin Helis (NPC)
Sensor Control
Decorus Era
Trans Galactic Trading

Caleb Moore (NPC)
Communications
Decorus Era
Trans Galactic Trading

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