Post by Angel on Apr 13, 2010 14:39:07 GMT -8
Saif ka'Cabri smiled as he watched the ships run through his viewing window. One ship, a beautiful piece of work if he was any judge of ships, limped through near space, an entire side of her ripped out by some type of energy weapon. "Target that one first," Saif said in a calm, commanding tone. The PG pilot nodded and carefully maneuvered their guns to target the wounded ship.
"Cabri, what about the other one?" A voice spoke up behind him. "It's running. We let it go now, we'll lose it." Saif turned to look at the young man in question. A new recruit, fresh from the Grua House. He liked the young man but the boy had too much ambition. He would have to be watched.
"One in the hand Loren." Saif turned back and motioned to his pilot to finish the limping ship off. He was hoping to blow enough holes in it to compromise the ship's life support. If everyone inside it were dead there was no one to contest his claim. He could rebuild it and they could mass produce the jump engines. It would be the seed of his fleet, the flagship.
"Cabri, the other one, she's headed for the planet." Saif turned back to Loren and then looked up at the display. The boy was correct. The other ship was heading right for the planet and he couldn't imagine why. Did they think they could hide on his planet? They were better off running.
"Alright, take her down," he said with a last, wistful glance at the wounded ship. All around him the PG's formation turned to engage the other ship. His own vessel was no longer at the head of the formation and the others got shots off before his did. Most missed. Despite their intensive training and their diligence, the PG hadn't actually engaged an enemy in over a hundred years. Their skills were beyond rusty, they were atrophied. He'd fix that though, he'd fix it all.
A couple of the shots hit and he saw the other ship take damage. He expected them to pull up but they didn't. "What do they think they are doing?" Saif growled, the thought of off-worlder feet touching Safi soil actually disturbing him. "Take them down," he roared to his crew and they scrambled to comply but it was too late. The ship disappeared past the night line and went down somewhere on the surface. Saif ground his teeth together. "Turn about, get me that other ship!" he yelled in frustration, already figuring it was too late. If the wounded ship could jump away, it would, as soon as it had gotten far enough away from their planet.
"Cabri, its down." Saif turned to look at Loren. The young man looked back at him, his face unreadable but his hands shivering on his console. Saif wondered if it was from excitement or fear.
"What do you mean its down?" he asked, going over to look over Loren's shoulder. On his reading he saw two yellow dots. The reader was tracking the fuel outputs of the ships they'd encountered. Interstellar fuel left a certain signature and none of the Safi ships had it. It was an effective way of tracking intruders in their solar system but the traces of the fuel would fade within hours and it was hard to get very specific locations with it. In space that didn't matter much, you just had to be in the general area and you could normally spot what you were looking for from millions of miles away. But he saw both yellow dots gleamed faintly on the surface of their planet.
"What territories are they in," the Cabri asked in a quiet voice. After only a second or so of computation Loren had an answer.
"The first is in Kikuto territory, the other in Lupo." Saif stood up. Which to go after first?
The Madras: It's Not Chance, It's Destiny
After accidentally jumping into an unknown solar system you were attacked by a pirate ship. Your ship was severely damaged and your captain made the decision to try to run for it rather than fight. On your way out of the solar system you were engaged by the near-by, hostile, Planetary Guard and ended up crash landing on the very planet they were trying to protect.
It's the middle of the day and when you step outside you find you've crashed into the middle of the desert. Your water tanks were ruptured in the attack or the crash, you're not sure which, and your captain was injured and is unconscious. You don't know if the Guards that shot you down are coming to find you though you do remember the pirate ship beating a fast retreat.
What do you do? Stay with the ship and hope to repair it before anyone finds you? Or try to get to the nearest town or oasis to pick up supplies and maybe get in contact with a UIR official that can intercede on your behalf and maybe send a rescue ship?
The Laika: This Is Not A Test
Passing along the outskirts of mid-ring solar system you encounter a juicy looking cruising ship. Hoping to score some easy money on your way between jobs you ambush the cruiser and manage to do some serious damage before it starts to run. Giving chase you run right into the teeth of the local representatives of law and authority. Figuring the cruiser wasn't worth it, your captain gives the order to disengage and beat a quick retreat. But when your escape route gets cut off you try to hide out on the planet and wait for a better time to run. It has worked before and so you head for the nightline. Unfortunately, the local gun totters catch you at it and damage your anti grav drive, the engine designed to help you escape planet gravity wells.
You crash land in the middle of the night in a mountain forest landscape. What do you do? Do you stay with the ship and try to fix it, hoping that you can't be tracked? Or do you strike off on your own and try to contact the local people? And, as an added surprise, you learn one of your prisoners is actually a native.