I adjusted the ships heading just a little lower than where we would have been if we had maintained course, and kept my eyes peeled, my sensors open, waiting for it.
The Frigate came lumbering back, this time it's turrets screamed out a stream of bullets at where we would have been if we maintained course, lightning arcing off it's shields as it came.
“Is that thing using Gatling guns?” Megan said out loud.
“Looks like. They must be hurting to be using them. Cheap to mount, but expensive to actually use. Both in terms of actual cost and how much room they take up on the ship.” Carolina replied, providing context that she knew I didn't have.
Rekki-Ricky chimed in “So what we thinking? Their Captain has fallen on hard times? A little desperate?”
“I'm thinking a lot desperate” I said, as I watched the pulsing sphere of the enemy ships shields come around again, this time lower.
I had figured out the maximum visual range someone could see our ship, and had dropped us just within that range, giving him a whiff of our location as he roared past. Now he was heading almost straight for us, angling down.
Which was what I wanted.
“Brace for acceleration.” I intoned as I cranked up our main drives
I had been keeping the drives at a relatively sedate level, because atmospheres had a speed limit, and if you want to break it you would have to pay a heavy price in fuel. Since we were here to GET fuel, it didn't seem like a great idea to push things.
But now refueling was a side objective to dealing with this asshole.
I zipped ahead as more tracers came lancing at us from behind, most missing, but a few bounced off the hull.
“Brayden, we need to be able to fire back!” Rekki-Ricky said.
“Wait.” I replied.
Rekki-Ricky got a constipated look on his face. He should ask the doctor about that.
I took the ship through a graceful set of evasive maneuvers as I lead the frigate on a chase through the clouds and the rain and the thunder, arcing us in a graceful spiral, down and deeper into the storm.
About five minutes after the chase started, their shield winked out. Lightning scored their hull without their defenses up.
A minute after that, their guns started firing erratically, the six streams of gunfire quieting the five, then three, then none.
Thirty seconds after that the captain tried to run.
It was far too late for that.
I had gotten the other captain so focused on the chase that he had not kept track of where we were going, and we were now so deep in the atmosphere that, with the guns silent, I could practically hear the hull of his ship cracking like an egg.
Indulging my morbid curiosity, I flipped the ship end for end and burned towards the enemy vessel.
When I entered visual range of it it was trying to stand on it's engines, attempting to push itself up like a rocket.
But three of it's five drives had already been crushed like a soda can, and as I watched the prow of the ship bent in on itself as it's internal compartments collapsed.
It had almost arrested it's downwards momentum when the fourth of it's drives gave out, the drive housing suddenly squashing itself down to a third of it's size.
The frigate began to tumble as I circled it, it's last drive flaring futilely as it fell through the clouds.
Just as I lost visual contact I received a brief transmission.
It was a distress call.
“Yeah... ain't no one answering that friend.” I said to the bridge.
“Do they really expect us to help them after they tried to kill us?” Megan asked.
“Free traders are weird. They are willing to screw anyone and everyone over, then act affronted when they are called to task for it, and god forbid anyone else screw them the same way. It's a weird psychological thing they all seem to have going for them.” Carolina said.
“I am honestly surprised the other factions allow them into their space at all sometimes.” Doctor Smith replied.
“Not all do. Every few years a free trader fucks something up in Alliance space and none is allowed past the border stations. It kind of screws over our trade for those years but it does force the Free traders to self regulate, even if only a little.” Rekki-Ricky said.
“Do any try to sneak in by saying they are independent or something? I recall that free traders aren't really a proper faction.” I asked, curious and making conversation as I steadied the ship in the deeper atmosphere, opening the ramscoops to full and watching as our tanks rapidly filled.
“Oh all the time, some even manage it, but it's not a great idea to try to get that shit past a customs agent who can read your mind.” Rekki-Ricky replied.
“It's honestly a lot more complicated than I make it out to be, cause your right, they aren't a faction, so instead of a blanket ban it's a series of a thousand individual bans and tariff's and embargo's. I was forced to learn all the intricacies of one of them in high school as part of a project, it sucked.” Rekki-Ricky said.
“Sounds like the alliance's education system is pretty... comprehensive.” I said.
“Compulsory university level education. You are not considered a citizen till you get a degree. At minimum. Most planets have extra steps on top of that.” Rekki-Ricky said. He was fiddling with his drone display while he off-handedly info dumped all of this information on us.
“That's... intense. Sounds like you might have a pretty overeducated workforce.” I said, making conversation as I watched our fuel gauge rapidly increase.
“Eh... our workforce is pretty skewed to high specialty jobs. When you have telekinetic builders that can do the job of an entire workcrew on their own, you REALLY want that builder to have an engineering degree.” Rekki-Ricky said.
“Telekinetic's can be that powerful?” I asked. It sounded like a nation of super's like out of a comic book. What did DC call them? Metahumans?
“Eh, with technological assistance. Most powers still draw power from the human body, they still burn ATP... but if you figure out how a power works you can design gear someone can plug themselves into, and now you aren't limited by blood sugar, but the cities power grid. And figuring out how these cool alien powers work is literally what the Alliance was founded on.” Rekki-Ricky said, a grin on his face.
As much as he seemed down on his old nation, he did like talking about it a lot. I think he might actually miss his home.
“So... don't have to worry about anyone throwing fireballs at us if we ever go to alliance space.” I said flippantly.
“You'd be surprised what a pyrokinetic is able to do if they are willing to sacrifice most of their body fat to cook you alive, but no, generally not. As a general rule powers in the alliance expand the ways you can do something, they don't directly make you more powerful.” Rekki-Ricky continued.
“The Deacons seem pretty powerful.” I replied.
“But If you think about it on a conceptual level, they are only changing a few neurons in other people at a time. Hell you can do that with a good speech. They just cut out the speech. And don't give you a choice.” Rekki-Ricky said.
“Anyways, we're about full. What do you say we blow this popsicle stand.” I said as our gauge reached full.
“And blow away those ships that came at us.” Hwang said, bloothirst tinging her speech.
“That I can get behind.” I replied. I was tired of people taking swings at us. I wanted blood, and this new group seemed more than willing to spill mine.
I did a last minute systems check while I sent the ship vertical.
Vessel Name:Hook
Propulsion:
1 CFD-111 Fusion Reactor(FUEL: 100%)
2 CFT-10 Fusion Torch Drive
14 CFT-97 Fusion Torch Maneuver Thrusters
4 CMDCGAMT-4 Auxillary Cold Gas Thrusters
Primary Armament:
1 CPL-77 triple barrel tracking plasma projector
1 CPL-66 double barrel tracking plasma projector
Secondary Armament:
2 CSL-3 Missile Launchers1
Current warhead count:67(max 108) Heavy MIRV shaped plasma warheads
1 Missile Auto-fabricator(current production loadout: Heavy MIRV shaped plasma warheads)
Current missile fabrication limits:0(RAW MATERIALS SHORTAGE)
2 CDL-3 Drone Bays:
Current drone count:10 CCD-14 plasma drones(max bandwidth limit's to 3 drones per bay)
FABRICATION LIMIT: 0(RAW MATERIALS SHORTAGE)
Defensive equipment:
1x CEWJ-90 Radar Jammer
1x CEWD Laser Dazzler,
1x CEWODJ Omni-directional Radio Jammer
1x CEWCM Countermeasure Launcher
Current Ordnance Count:
Chaff: 8
IR: 4
Active: 2
4 CPP Plasma Particle Shotgun Point Defense System
2 CPP Guided Plasma Munition Point Defense System
Stolen novel; please report.
Utility equipment:
Autonomous repair drones(108/108)
Autonomous repair drone printer
1 CML 2 MINING BEAM
1x CTU Medical Unit
C.O.G. REPAIR MATRIX: 4 OF 4 NODES ONLINE.
CURRENT STATUS: IDLE
4 CDS-SWR Radar Panels
2 CDS-LWR Radar Antennae
1 CDS-RTR Radar
HULL INTEGRITY: NOMINAL
The ship looked and felt the best since I had taken command and made the initial changes.
I kicked the drives to full and soared up through the storm.
I think something about going from the lower depths of the cloud to the upper levels all at once caused some kind of charge differential, because as we went we started getting hammered again and again by lightning bolts, ten times the amount we were before, to the point that the ship looked like it was wreathed in lightning.
“Brayden we're overcharging our capacitors! Hull is heavily ionized it's messing with our regeneration!” Carolina said to me.
Shit. I was committed. Something to keep in mind for next time.
We blew up and out past what I suspect was a very surprised little corvette, within fifty meters.
What was even more surprising was the lightning that followed us up and out that then arced right into him, causing his shields to flare bright, and then disapper.
“Winds are down to thirty kilometers per hour! Brayden, release the drones, we can fight!” Rekki-Ricky, who had been intent on his display, shouted out.
I did so, releasing the drones from their little foxholes, and Megan, Hwang, and Rekki-Ricky immediately went to work, blasting their drones weapons off the sides and behind us at the corvette that we were rapidly leaving behind in the lower atmosphere.
With the corvette's shields down things went from bad to worse for the little corvette, and one of the drones weapon systems found something vital, despite the atmosphere making their plasma weapons into something more akin to shotgun's, and the corvette began losing altitude.
“Now where is the other one.” I said over the bridge comms.
I had sent my sensors to active, and turned on all of my EWAR gear to prevent any locks from catching us, but I was not seeing the corvette anywhere down here yet.
“The hell did his friend go?” Hwang muttered.
I agreed with the sentiment. This felt like a trap. Another one even.
Carolina spoke up. “Atmospheric density is falling off. Drones should probably be able to fly without burning all their fuel up in a few minutes.”
“Got it. Guys, soon as you see that corvette, jump off the boat and dive for him. Light his ass up.” I said.
“Acknowledged” Came from Hwang and Megan.
“Confirmed command.” Came from Rekki-Ricky.
“Captain Brayden, I am dispensing medication to you now, I am showing lowered respiration and heart rate despite the tense situation which are indicators of brain trauma, at least in your case and coupled with your current fever.” He paused and looked up at my body. “And the fact that you are currently swimming in your own sweat. For your own health I recommend you end this engagement as soon as possible.” Doctor Smith said, his voice remaining calm and passive. Serene even despite everything going on. It was actually a little comforting... or you know it would be if we weren't in a fight.
Carolina beat me to a witty rejoinder.
“Sure doc, I'm sure if we just tell the enemy the cap is having a bad time and if they could please stop shooting at us they will and everything will be fine.” Carolina said flippantly.
“I am not suggesting we talk them down I am suggesting we kill them as fast as possible. This ship has missiles. Use them.” Doctor Smith said, ice cold.
This clinical recommendation sent a chill down my spine, and I could tell the others were a little freaked out as well, but we did not have time to dwell on that as I finally picked up the last corvette in the outer atmosphere. It was hovering close to two bulky vessels that had massive cylindrical objects attached in a hexagonal arrangement round their main hulls, and a strange wide mouthed device on the front.
Ah. The hydrogen gathering vessels, I realized before the description of what they could possibly be popped up without prompting from Hook. Huh. No life support. Interesting.
Barely thinking about it, I dumped two missiles at the corvette.
A beat behind me the drones threw themselves off my hull and began diving for the corvette, their guns blasting and impacting before the missiles hit, barely.
Then the missiles hit, separating into a volley of five different warheads each before bearing down on the corvette.
It's own point defenses started shooting, but they only took down one of the incoming warhead before they impacted.
The fusion warheads aboard each generated a miniature sun on contact with the corvette's hull.
There was not much left of the corvette after that.
“Re-target on the drone freighters.” I said out loud.
“Why?” Megan asked.
“Because they are the meal ticket of the asshole who sent those corvette's after us, and I want to hit him in the only place people like him care about. The credit balance.” I said, waffling on whether to say pocketbook or bank statement.
Hwang got a feral grin on her face, and Rekki-Ricky grew a smile that looked more creepy than anything. Megan looked pensive and Doctor Smith didn't seem to care. Carolina nodded with satisfaction.
The drones swam gracefully from the wreckage of the Corvette over to the freighters that were... doing nothing, really, they were still continuing on their decent down to the gas giant, presumably to fill up.
“That's weird.” I said.
“Not really.” Carolina replied. “The free traders use the cheapest of the cheap for literally everything. If they can get away with a basic auto-pilot system instead of a dog-brain for their drone ships, they will. I am willing to bet that the other corvette was up here updating their flight path manually since they wouldn't do it on their own.”
“That seems real dumb.” I said.
“It is, They also gotta make due. I didn't see any kind of manufacturing on that space station so they'd be at the whimsy of whatever imports they could get.” Carolina continued.
That made a lot of sense actually. Just cause I could fab up a dog-brain for a drone whenever I wanted didn't mean everyone else could.
I watched as the drones stitched the freighters up and down with plasma fire, Rekki-Ricky whooping as he twisted in his seat, obviously enjoying himself.
I ramped up my reference frame and took a look at what was actually happening.
The drone was taking Rekki-Ricky's input and evaluating it, but was overwriting bits that were either out of date due to the data delay;which was not much, they were still within five kilometers of the ship; or simply not implementing them; such as when Rekki-Ricky pressed the trigger too early and would have sent plasma into space. Otherwise it was following along with his instructions fairly accurately, taking them more as guidance than direct control.
Megan meanwhile was using her display more like a plot in a strategy game, she was highlighting parts of the freighter she wanted the drone to prioritize, setting an orbital path for it to hit all said critical areas, but otherwise was letting the drone pick its own way of doing things.
Of the two Megan's seemed a bit more efficient.
The only one of them who seemed to be struggling was Hwang. She hadn't really decided on a control scheme and so was trying to direct the drone like Megan, but through a first person camera of the drone, which made things slow and clunky. Cat-bot had begun ignoring her attempts at giving it commands entirely, and any targets she specified were getting destroyed more due to cat-bot's overall viciousness rather than following any of her commands.
Cat-bot, by the way, was keeping score on which drone had caused more damage. It was winning. By a lot.
I got the impression that the other drones were a little scared of Cat-bot.
The first ship's drive detonated after Cat-bot targeted what I believe were several fuel lines, and the entire rear third of the ship tore off, sending the fire end spinning.
The second lived much longer than I thought it had any right too, at first it was only Megan shooting at it, but soon the other two drones joined in, both Cat-bot;with some nudging from Hwang; and Rekki-Ricky following the targets that Megan had plotted, and methodically shutting down first the ships drives, then it's sensors, maneuvering thrusters... until every single external component on it was slagged, and the entire ship was drifting.
“Good job, that second one was almost surgical.” I said.
“I did my best to pick targets that would disable the vessel but leave it intact, in case we wanted to salvage it.” Megan said, as she motioned to the other ship, which was even now entering a decaying orbit and beginning to burn up in the gas giants upper atmosphere.
“Good thinking, we're practically out of salvage... do you think we can tow it to a higher orbit and scrap it?” I asked Hook.
“If we use the magnetic capabilities of the ships mining beam, and open up the manufactory to space, we should be able to attach it directly to the ship and and completely disassemble it for parts Captain Cofey.”
I blinked.
That sounded a lot more efficient than what I did when I first woke up.
“Why didn't we do that last time?” I asked.
“We did not have the manufactory when you first woke up Captain Cofey.” Hook replied.
Had that really been the last time I had salvaged something?
I guess it had, I had stayed away from the berzerker tech after it infected Hook and necessitated their deletion...
“Alright, let's grab it and strip it for parts! How do I do that...” I honestly had not used the manufactory to it's fullest potential, I had been so focused on moving as fast as possible that I hadn't really taken advantage of it, but it was time to learn.
