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A Crossing of Energy
A Crossing of Energy.
Chapter 1
by Jasmine Atamoss
A pink Corvus Vulturis floats in Sedina B8, it’s sole occupant watching the communications screen, idly reading the 100 chatter as she monitors the traffic in the sector. A big yawn escapes her lips as the beginnings of a wormhole open, lighting up the cockpit. She shields her eyes as the magnificent blue fills her cockpit. Her hand reaches up and flicks the Auto-Dimmer switch and her windows tint enough to take the harshness from the light. A lone Behemoth emerges from the wormhole as the Comm Computer lets out a ‘Blip’.
*Xolodink* Greetings from the TGFT, Jasmine Atamoss. Safe travels!
‘Another trader…’ she thought, ‘No-one good to hone my skills on’. She lets out a sigh and hits one of her hail buttons.
->Xolodink: Greetings from the Phoenix Alliance.
The Behemoth slowly wobbles as it points itself away from the asteroids, engages it's turbo and slowly jets off to jump distance. As the Jump Drive engages off in the distance Jasmine turns back to watching the comms. New pilots requesting assistance on how to dock while the more experienced pilots banter back and forth over trivial issues. She kicks her feet up onto the instrument panel and reclines in her seat, a hand reaching over to turn her music back on again. Overdriven power chords and furious drumming fill her cockpit while the vocalist growls incomprehensible sounds at the audience. Something on the Comm screen catches her attention and she sits up in her seat.
[4357] <Strat> VPR is on patrol. Death of Rats has been spotted in Latos. Traders should take care and report any pirate activity on this channel. PM Strat for an escort.
As she reads the message a small siren lets out a quick shrill and the beginnings of a wormhole open up in front of her.
Death of Rats: Out of range.
*Death of Rats: Valkyrie X-1 - 100% health 2218m away.
Jas mutters a small expletive and fumbles with her seat's harness, her feet kicking the control pedals while her hand quickly taps the throttle forward before finishing buckling up. Her hands rest on the controls as she selects her target and moves her ship in to engage. She quickly sends off an aggressive engagement hail to her target as she lets out a stream of AAP fire toward DoR as it's ship takes evasive manoeuvres and turns to face her. Jas manages to roll just in time to avoid a burst of Neutron fire from DoR, but not enough for the flare. Her ship kicks up and shakes viciously as the flare detonates, revealing her Vulturis' belly to DoR who opens fire. She manages to right herself and evade most of the fire before backing off to get some distance.
"C'mon Jas... Concentrate!" she mutters as she chastises herself for her poor dodging. Her grip tightens around the controls as she moves in again, unleashing another volley of AAP fire at DoR while spinning and strafing to avoid the incoming Neut blasts. *Boop ... Boop* Two hits strike the ship as she passes under DoR and retreats back to a safer distance, narrowly avoiding another flare in the process. DoR moves in to make a strafing pass but the shots fly wide as Jas strafes down and under, scoring another AAP hit.
The two ships dance, dodge and weave as shots fly at each other in a constant barrage of fury. Neither side takes a hit, but all the shots are very narrow misses. Jasmine feigns a strafe and DoR angles his ship high, showing it's wide belly in full range of her AAP's.
"Eat Shit and Die, Ratty..." she says triumphantly as she releases bolt after bolt at DoR's ship, scoring three direct hits and lowering it's hull to the same percentage as hers. DoR swings the nose of the X1 back around and manages to score a hit on Jas' Starboard wing, cracking the panel and bubbling the paint. She lines up for another quick release of fire but DoR beats her to it scoring a direct hit on the nose causing the hull panel to be torn from it's place, wires and minor components hitting against Jas' window, obscuring her view. She manages to pull back to 350m while releasing a steady stream of cover fire to hold DoR back but her screens begin to flicker, thrusters begin spurting chaotically, wobbling her ship about and reducing it's responsiveness ten-fold.
Death of Rats seizes the opportunity and goes in for the kill, releasing a flare and blast after blast of Neutron fire. Jas' eyes widen in fear as she sees the incoming barrage, but the flare detonates prematurely. The explosion shudders Jas' ship violently and pushes her out of the way of the incoming onslaught of fire. DoR moves in to make another run as Jasmine kicks her instrument panel, screaming obscenities and praying that she regains control again.
Suddenly a stream of orange Ion Blaster flies in and pounds Death of Rats' ship, causing the X1 to take evasive measures, throwing his shots off wide. An Orion Centurion Rev C darts between DoR and Jas' ships and lets fly another salvo of Raven fire toward DoR. DoR rolls and weaves out of the majority of the shots, but enough strike true to cause sparks and flames to spew forth from torn panels and holes. The X1 makes a long strafe out of range of the Rev C before lighting it's turbos and making a dash for the Sedina-Latos Wormhole.
Distorted sirens wail throughout Jasmine's cockpit as she flicks switches, pulls circuit breakers and smacks components. The whole cockpit dips into a red glow and fills with silence as the whole ship shuts down to emergency power. Jasmine lets out a long sigh, crosses her fingers and goes through the Ship startup routine. The ship whirs and complains, but all systems kick in and come back online.
"Computer! Status and damage report!" she yells, her display flickering as it comes alive, displaying technical data of all her ship's subsystems. A calm female comes over the ship's speakers, "Hull at 50%, Flight Computer A Malfunctioning, Flight Computer B Enabled. All systems operational."
Jasmine quickly checks the Sector List and spots Death of Rats at 22% and an unscathed lone Viper in the Rev C. She quickly targets DoR, spins her ship around and engages the turbo, her ship shuddering as it accelerates toward the wormhole. The Rev C is in full chase of the X1, but is unable to get close enough before the X1 jumps. The Rev C quickly engages it's jump drive and heads through the wormhole. Jas disengages her Turbo 100m from the wormhole and her battery charges to full as soon as she touches jumping distance. She taps the 'Activate' button and she is engulfed in light from her wormhole opening in front of her.
As Jasmine makes her way though the warp, she makes a few adjustments to her Flight Computer, optimising it and rerouting subsystems around the damaged components. A few moments later she's spat out in Latos and her Alert Machine lets out a Shrill and displays a list of ships.
Death of Rats: Valkyrie X-1 - 22% health 4882m away.
[VPR] Veracity: Orion Centurion Rev C - 100% health 3521m away
[VPR] Strat: Out of range.
[VPR] Niut’Likatisin: Out of range.
'Wonderful' she thought. 'I'll let the vipers handle this.' She spins her ship around and spots the fleeing X1 jump off in the distance, out of the jump detection range of the pursuing Viper. A few lines of green text flash up on her Comm Screen.
<Strat> Block the wormholes!
<Veracity> Rgr
<Niut'Likatisin> Omw.
Jas turns her ship around, engages the turbo and flies toward jump distance. She opens up her Nav screen and plots a course to the TPG station before beginning a minor diagnostic on her damaged Flight Computer. As she hits 3000m, the jump drive engages, and is soon entering the plotted Sector. Another Shrill comes from her Alert Machine.
*Death of Rats: Valkyrie X-1 - 22% health 3430m away.
She manages just only get a glimpse of the X1 before it disappears out of radar range and into one of the docks. Jas pulls over the comm keyboard and starts typing a brief message.
->Veracity: Just spotted DoR docking at N-15. Guess he'll be making a run for it once his repairs are done. Want a hand?
*Veracity* Sure. Another fighter won't hurt.
The Pink Vulturis swings around to the dock and swiftly enters and lands. The cockpit hatch swings open as it touches down. Jasmine quickly jumps out and dashes off to a neighbouring dock where she has has her own X1 stored for special occasions. As she gets to the dock her PDA starts vibrating in her flight suit.
*** You have been invited to Strat's group.
She thumbs the accept button and she immediately hears voices inside her head. The new voice implants were still a little buggy and she still had to get used to the volume of it all, but it seemed to be working fine today.
"Hey Jas. He still docked at that station?"
"Heya. Uh, yeah... Still docked. I'm just prepping my X1 and I'll be ready to hunt in a few.", she replies, wondering who's voice that was.
The bay doors open, revealing a dusty pink and white X1 sitting in the center. She thumbs at her PDA a bit more and the ship comes to life, the high pitched squeal as power is restored to it's systems. The cockpit door slides open and she climbs in, flopping into her seat and begins preparing for launch...
Chapter 1
by Jasmine Atamoss
A pink Corvus Vulturis floats in Sedina B8, it’s sole occupant watching the communications screen, idly reading the 100 chatter as she monitors the traffic in the sector. A big yawn escapes her lips as the beginnings of a wormhole open, lighting up the cockpit. She shields her eyes as the magnificent blue fills her cockpit. Her hand reaches up and flicks the Auto-Dimmer switch and her windows tint enough to take the harshness from the light. A lone Behemoth emerges from the wormhole as the Comm Computer lets out a ‘Blip’.
*Xolodink* Greetings from the TGFT, Jasmine Atamoss. Safe travels!
‘Another trader…’ she thought, ‘No-one good to hone my skills on’. She lets out a sigh and hits one of her hail buttons.
->Xolodink: Greetings from the Phoenix Alliance.
The Behemoth slowly wobbles as it points itself away from the asteroids, engages it's turbo and slowly jets off to jump distance. As the Jump Drive engages off in the distance Jasmine turns back to watching the comms. New pilots requesting assistance on how to dock while the more experienced pilots banter back and forth over trivial issues. She kicks her feet up onto the instrument panel and reclines in her seat, a hand reaching over to turn her music back on again. Overdriven power chords and furious drumming fill her cockpit while the vocalist growls incomprehensible sounds at the audience. Something on the Comm screen catches her attention and she sits up in her seat.
[4357] <Strat> VPR is on patrol. Death of Rats has been spotted in Latos. Traders should take care and report any pirate activity on this channel. PM Strat for an escort.
As she reads the message a small siren lets out a quick shrill and the beginnings of a wormhole open up in front of her.
Death of Rats: Out of range.
*Death of Rats: Valkyrie X-1 - 100% health 2218m away.
Jas mutters a small expletive and fumbles with her seat's harness, her feet kicking the control pedals while her hand quickly taps the throttle forward before finishing buckling up. Her hands rest on the controls as she selects her target and moves her ship in to engage. She quickly sends off an aggressive engagement hail to her target as she lets out a stream of AAP fire toward DoR as it's ship takes evasive manoeuvres and turns to face her. Jas manages to roll just in time to avoid a burst of Neutron fire from DoR, but not enough for the flare. Her ship kicks up and shakes viciously as the flare detonates, revealing her Vulturis' belly to DoR who opens fire. She manages to right herself and evade most of the fire before backing off to get some distance.
"C'mon Jas... Concentrate!" she mutters as she chastises herself for her poor dodging. Her grip tightens around the controls as she moves in again, unleashing another volley of AAP fire at DoR while spinning and strafing to avoid the incoming Neut blasts. *Boop ... Boop* Two hits strike the ship as she passes under DoR and retreats back to a safer distance, narrowly avoiding another flare in the process. DoR moves in to make a strafing pass but the shots fly wide as Jas strafes down and under, scoring another AAP hit.
The two ships dance, dodge and weave as shots fly at each other in a constant barrage of fury. Neither side takes a hit, but all the shots are very narrow misses. Jasmine feigns a strafe and DoR angles his ship high, showing it's wide belly in full range of her AAP's.
"Eat Shit and Die, Ratty..." she says triumphantly as she releases bolt after bolt at DoR's ship, scoring three direct hits and lowering it's hull to the same percentage as hers. DoR swings the nose of the X1 back around and manages to score a hit on Jas' Starboard wing, cracking the panel and bubbling the paint. She lines up for another quick release of fire but DoR beats her to it scoring a direct hit on the nose causing the hull panel to be torn from it's place, wires and minor components hitting against Jas' window, obscuring her view. She manages to pull back to 350m while releasing a steady stream of cover fire to hold DoR back but her screens begin to flicker, thrusters begin spurting chaotically, wobbling her ship about and reducing it's responsiveness ten-fold.
Death of Rats seizes the opportunity and goes in for the kill, releasing a flare and blast after blast of Neutron fire. Jas' eyes widen in fear as she sees the incoming barrage, but the flare detonates prematurely. The explosion shudders Jas' ship violently and pushes her out of the way of the incoming onslaught of fire. DoR moves in to make another run as Jasmine kicks her instrument panel, screaming obscenities and praying that she regains control again.
Suddenly a stream of orange Ion Blaster flies in and pounds Death of Rats' ship, causing the X1 to take evasive measures, throwing his shots off wide. An Orion Centurion Rev C darts between DoR and Jas' ships and lets fly another salvo of Raven fire toward DoR. DoR rolls and weaves out of the majority of the shots, but enough strike true to cause sparks and flames to spew forth from torn panels and holes. The X1 makes a long strafe out of range of the Rev C before lighting it's turbos and making a dash for the Sedina-Latos Wormhole.
Distorted sirens wail throughout Jasmine's cockpit as she flicks switches, pulls circuit breakers and smacks components. The whole cockpit dips into a red glow and fills with silence as the whole ship shuts down to emergency power. Jasmine lets out a long sigh, crosses her fingers and goes through the Ship startup routine. The ship whirs and complains, but all systems kick in and come back online.
"Computer! Status and damage report!" she yells, her display flickering as it comes alive, displaying technical data of all her ship's subsystems. A calm female comes over the ship's speakers, "Hull at 50%, Flight Computer A Malfunctioning, Flight Computer B Enabled. All systems operational."
Jasmine quickly checks the Sector List and spots Death of Rats at 22% and an unscathed lone Viper in the Rev C. She quickly targets DoR, spins her ship around and engages the turbo, her ship shuddering as it accelerates toward the wormhole. The Rev C is in full chase of the X1, but is unable to get close enough before the X1 jumps. The Rev C quickly engages it's jump drive and heads through the wormhole. Jas disengages her Turbo 100m from the wormhole and her battery charges to full as soon as she touches jumping distance. She taps the 'Activate' button and she is engulfed in light from her wormhole opening in front of her.
As Jasmine makes her way though the warp, she makes a few adjustments to her Flight Computer, optimising it and rerouting subsystems around the damaged components. A few moments later she's spat out in Latos and her Alert Machine lets out a Shrill and displays a list of ships.
Death of Rats: Valkyrie X-1 - 22% health 4882m away.
[VPR] Veracity: Orion Centurion Rev C - 100% health 3521m away
[VPR] Strat: Out of range.
[VPR] Niut’Likatisin: Out of range.
'Wonderful' she thought. 'I'll let the vipers handle this.' She spins her ship around and spots the fleeing X1 jump off in the distance, out of the jump detection range of the pursuing Viper. A few lines of green text flash up on her Comm Screen.
<Strat> Block the wormholes!
<Veracity> Rgr
<Niut'Likatisin> Omw.
Jas turns her ship around, engages the turbo and flies toward jump distance. She opens up her Nav screen and plots a course to the TPG station before beginning a minor diagnostic on her damaged Flight Computer. As she hits 3000m, the jump drive engages, and is soon entering the plotted Sector. Another Shrill comes from her Alert Machine.
*Death of Rats: Valkyrie X-1 - 22% health 3430m away.
She manages just only get a glimpse of the X1 before it disappears out of radar range and into one of the docks. Jas pulls over the comm keyboard and starts typing a brief message.
->Veracity: Just spotted DoR docking at N-15. Guess he'll be making a run for it once his repairs are done. Want a hand?
*Veracity* Sure. Another fighter won't hurt.
The Pink Vulturis swings around to the dock and swiftly enters and lands. The cockpit hatch swings open as it touches down. Jasmine quickly jumps out and dashes off to a neighbouring dock where she has has her own X1 stored for special occasions. As she gets to the dock her PDA starts vibrating in her flight suit.
*** You have been invited to Strat's group.
She thumbs the accept button and she immediately hears voices inside her head. The new voice implants were still a little buggy and she still had to get used to the volume of it all, but it seemed to be working fine today.
"Hey Jas. He still docked at that station?"
"Heya. Uh, yeah... Still docked. I'm just prepping my X1 and I'll be ready to hunt in a few.", she replies, wondering who's voice that was.
The bay doors open, revealing a dusty pink and white X1 sitting in the center. She thumbs at her PDA a bit more and the ship comes to life, the high pitched squeal as power is restored to it's systems. The cockpit door slides open and she climbs in, flopping into her seat and begins preparing for launch...
Thirty minutes later, the blockade was abandoned. Veracity began detailing the full extent of the failure, a habit of his, developed to help him file away the experience for future reference.
"Only chance we had was when I took that shot at him while he was fighting Jasmine. I've never seen a runner like DoR. Not much we could do when he decided to fly past you."
"We could still get-"
"Not realistically. Can't stop a valk from behind."
The group broke up, everyone heading in their own direction. Escorting was the most effective way to beat a criminal who wouldn't engage. Veracity found himself alone on the group channel with the helpful PA pilot.
"Hey, Vera.." her voice began, a strange mix of courage and timidity, "thanks for saving my butt back there."
"Oh, no prob."
"Do you think I could get a couple fights?"
"I'll be here."
"Awesome! Be right back with a vulture."
Not a full minute after Jasmine flew off, Veracity was greeted by a subtle alert on his HUD. Duty calls.
->Retractile: Park that ship of yours and I will make this quick, pirate.
*Retractile* Arrr! Your hull be mine today snake!
Retractile wasn't much of a marksman, but he could sure make a Corvus Vulture hard to hit. Veracity twisted and spun around his foe, seeking a broader surface of the enemy vessel, all the while raking space with Raven Ion fire.
He was a quarter of the way through the pirate's armor when Jasmine returned to the sector. He didn't notice, and she didn't say a word, instead continuing to Sedina. When only shrapnel remained of the pirate's vessel, Veracity was already executing the repair-and-relaunch drill VPR had ingrained in his head. It wouldn't do for the pirate to beat him back to the contested sector. Wonder where that PA girl went.
"Only chance we had was when I took that shot at him while he was fighting Jasmine. I've never seen a runner like DoR. Not much we could do when he decided to fly past you."
"We could still get-"
"Not realistically. Can't stop a valk from behind."
The group broke up, everyone heading in their own direction. Escorting was the most effective way to beat a criminal who wouldn't engage. Veracity found himself alone on the group channel with the helpful PA pilot.
"Hey, Vera.." her voice began, a strange mix of courage and timidity, "thanks for saving my butt back there."
"Oh, no prob."
"Do you think I could get a couple fights?"
"I'll be here."
"Awesome! Be right back with a vulture."
Not a full minute after Jasmine flew off, Veracity was greeted by a subtle alert on his HUD. Duty calls.
->Retractile: Park that ship of yours and I will make this quick, pirate.
*Retractile* Arrr! Your hull be mine today snake!
Retractile wasn't much of a marksman, but he could sure make a Corvus Vulture hard to hit. Veracity twisted and spun around his foe, seeking a broader surface of the enemy vessel, all the while raking space with Raven Ion fire.
He was a quarter of the way through the pirate's armor when Jasmine returned to the sector. He didn't notice, and she didn't say a word, instead continuing to Sedina. When only shrapnel remained of the pirate's vessel, Veracity was already executing the repair-and-relaunch drill VPR had ingrained in his head. It wouldn't do for the pirate to beat him back to the contested sector. Wonder where that PA girl went.