VENDETTA - Chapter 6: Clash
22 Dec 2024Isabella Adair-Levine
NOTE: This story contains mature themes.Previous Chapter
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DATE: 22nd of December, 3310 [13:43 UGT]
LOCATION: T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N, HIP 71682Aurora Adair-Levine
Sat in the flight seat of the Borealis, Aurora tapped at menu navigation buttons as she scrolled through the list of modules, prominently newly mounted ones including modified weapons and hull improvements. After Isabella's birthday... the two had spent a lot of time away from it all, looking after Violet and spending time at home. It'd been two weeks or so since Tyrese had attacked the Azure Star carrier... and then, nothing. Granted, the squadron was more preoccupied with the Thargoid war... but now with the last Titan destroyed, their focus could turn to this.
Aurora figured waiting for Tyrese to make a move would let them catch him off-guard... but so far, he hadn't done anything. She supposed that was a blessing in some sense. Just when she thought the carriers were secure, she was proven wrong - again. Now, here they were... mounting weapons to a ship she intended fully for exploration. A way to escape everything, while it just kept drawing them back in.
Crossing her legs as she went through the new modules and checked out their information, Aurora started to softly hum to the tune of distant music echoing through the bridge. Everything looked good with the new weapon installations, and it was necessary in some sense. They couldn't just lounge about at their home forever, living under fear of Tyrese. This wasn't the way it should've been after everything.
Letting out a sigh as she closed the module panel, Aurora carefully got up off the seat and rose to her feet, stretching in her Maverick suit a little before she turned and squeezed past the seat. Her wife stood behind the flight seat, seemingly entranced by a diagnostic screen behind the flight chair that spat out data and readings. They both wore their suits, just in case that was needed. Plus, part of Aurora wanted to go join that CSF scout team investigating Gage's gang and see what they could find.
"How's the calibrations going, love?"
Aurora's words seemed to snap Isa out of her trance as she looked over, meeting her eyes.
"Hm? Oh. It's going well... I think. Ship is... quite powerful. Compared to mine, ha. But... I love my Cobra..."
"Well... your new Mk5 isn't too shabby. Certainly a lot faster than the Borealis... even if it doesn't have the same kind of range. But, it's not too far behind. The squadron crew did a good job outfitting it and getting it all optimized in time for your birthday~..."
Leaning in and giving Isa a soft kiss on her freckled cheek, Aurora placed an arm around her wife and leant back to gaze at her after the loving peck.
"But... we'll make a ship mechanic of you yet, my little banana. Then you can tinker and make your own improvements~..."
Isabella smiled.
"Ha. You think? I've never been that good at doing that stuff. You've taught me what I know. Violet actually has a really good sense for that stuff."
"Yeaaah... why not? You can do whatever you put your mind to, love~..."
Aurora released her arm around her wife as she leant against the protruding part of the wall under the diagnostic display.
"It would be cool to... alternate. Maybe some days we take the Borealis out exploring... then others your Mk5. You need to name it, by the way~..."
"Name it? Why, is Cobra Mk5 not a good name~...?"
"Well... no. It needs more... personality~..."
Aurora giggled to Isa's tease, rolling her eyes playfully. She was about to continue her sentence before the bridge filled with a COVAS alert. There was an incoming call. Aurora sighed softly as she walked over to the flight seat again, stepping around it and having a seat as she looked at the comms panel.
"One sec... looks like Faust is calling us."
"Wonder what he has to say. Usually doesn't just call..."
"Hopefully nothing exciting today."
Tabbing through the comms panel and accepting the call, Aurora got up again after setting it to bridge-wide speakers as she heard Faust's gruff voice come through the initial comms fuzz.
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[Commanders, hope I'm not intruding.]"
"No, it's all good. We're still aboard our ship, just checking some stuff out."
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[Right. I just received an update from the CSF scout team investigating Gage's assets. They've explored a couple systems of interest, following the breadcrumb trail from those data drives you pulled out of that listening post.]"
"Okay... let's hear it. Anything interesting?"
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[So far... no, but we have confirmed that Gage's gang has used several settlements as a network to deliver supplies, station gang members and perform deals. A lot of these settlements seem to have been abandoned... meaning they're probably only used intermittently. And while most settlements have some traces of his gang, it's not very concrete information. Nothing linking to Tyrese yet.]"
Isabella sighed heavily, crossing her arms over the slightly thick armor that covered her chest.
"So... really we have nothing on Tyrese or where he's hiding?"
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[Unfortunately not. There's still some further information to comb through, but this seems to be one thing Gage was fairly thorough with.]"
Aurora exhaled through her nose as she walked behind the flight seat again and looked at the diagnostic screen, tapping on it with a gloved hand as she went through some final prompts to clear all the ship systems for full function. Instinctively, she looked over at the ship dashboard, even though Faust couldn't see them and the microphone had good coverage on this part of the bridge.
"Well... I suppose with Tyrese being in the picture, Gage is forced to be more careful with covering his tracks. Unless he wants to get offed by Tyrese. I figured waiting for him to make a mistake was a good idea... but now that just feels like we're giving him more time to prepare."
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[I understand. We're working to keep the carriers as secure as can be - which is a lot easier now considering the final Thargoid Titan has been destroyed. Protocols are being abided by seriously - there will be no repeat of the Azure Star.]"
"It's not good enough, Faust. Every passing hour, every day, is more time Tyrese gets to prepare. It's just like dealing with fucking EMBER all over again. They get to hide in the shadows while we play guessing games."
Isa sighed again, speaking.
"Well. We can't act on anything yet. Unless we can get close to Gage. He's our ticket to Tyrese most likely. Just gotta wait for him to mess up."
"He won't be messing up if Tyrese has him on a tight leash... or dead..."
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[The teams will continue to see if they find anything from the settlements, see if anything comes up. The attack on the Azure Star didn't seem to draw you out as expected, I suppose Tyrese is trying to plan his next move carefully.]"
"And yet here we are... outfitting an exploration ship with combat equipment..."
Isa lowered her head a bit to what Aurora said, loose strands straying in her face slightly with the lack of gravity.
"Yeah... this sucks. But... I guess we just... wait. Or find information and draw him out. Maybe we hit Gage where it hurts. His criminal dealings. Something, right?"
"Well... I guess some of those settlements must be for deals... caches, whatever. We could have teams watching them to see if anything happens. Safe to assume that his gang has the system authorities under their thumb, if nothing is being done about these settlements. This whole situation is just messy..."
Aurora turned to face Isa, folding her arms and leaning against the wall console again, before she looked down at her feet and thought. Maybe getting more proactive was the answer here... apply the pressure on Tyrese and force the mistakes. But that was risky...
"Yeah, tell me about it. I had to deal with Tyrese and all his paid off goons three years ago. I had a bounty on my head. And you-... well... yeah. It sucks."
Aurora felt a bit of anger over that, just frowning to herself as she looked over at Isa. She was just... frustrated that they were stuck in this situation, but that anger beneath the surface softened as she saw her beautiful wife standing there... by her side.
"Well... Tyrese will have wished he stayed in prison. Not that he'll be alive for much longer to think about it if I so much as see him. Just... glad we can handle this side by side now..."
"Yeah. Hope we just... finish this once and for all. I... don't want to live in the old days where I hurt a lot of people. I... just want this to be over."
Aurora's face softened fully with sympathy now as she nodded slowly.
"... you and me both, honey. But we keep moving forward, together. Ha... all I can think about after all this is just... getting in our ship and... going. Just... going out there. To the galactic core. To the edge of the galaxy. Just... escape... you know?"
Aurora did note that this conversation was starting to get a bit personal, so she looked over at the dashboard where the ship comms panel was still active. Faust hadn't said anything for a bit.
"... Faust, are you still there?"
... but no response came. Weird... and definitely worrying. Isabella frowned, speaking as well.
"Did he just leave us? I didn't even know. Faust?"
With no response coming, Aurora just sighed heavily and shook her head.
"Ugh... always something. Probably some squadron stuff he got pulled away for."
Aurora shrugged as she walked over to the flight seat and sat down again, moving to check the commlink before Faust's voice suddenly came through again.
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[Well, Commanders - it looks like you'll get your wish. I just got word that one half of the CSF scout team has been attacked by several vessels. They just left one of the settlements believed to have been used by Gage's gang.]"
Aurora felt that tinge of worry hit her as she shot a concerned look at Isa, before her mind finally caught up fully.
"We... we need to get out there, then. They need help. Who the fuck is attacking them?"
But... Aurora knew the answer to that question already. Isabella quickly turned and climbed down the ladder behind the pilot's seat, before she ascended the second one leading to the co-pilot seat as she crawled under the dash and got into her seat.
"I'm ready. This could be our chance to snag Tyrese."
IDENT: {COSO Meddley Faust} "[Commanders, I'll send a team-...]"
"No, we're going. Alert the Elite Guard, but we're heading out now. Send me the system coordinates. We'll be back later..."
The engines of the Borealis began to spool up as Aurora closed the comms link, powering up ship systems and requesting pad ascent. The hangar doors parted above with a groan, the pad lifting the ship up to the flight deck as stars littered the skies above. Giving the thrusters more power as the landing gear disengaged, Aurora took off and pushed the throttle forward. The Borealis's inputs were snappy, immediately responding as the rear thrusters fired, sending them off into the distance.
As the Borealis sped away from the Solaris, it eventually resolved its destination and began to charge the Frame Shift Drive, heat vents glowing and intensity increasing before the ship suddenly vanished with a bright flash, only a blue trail of its existence remaining as it sped off into Witchspace...
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DATE: 22nd of December, 3310 [13:55 UGT]
LOCATION: Empty Space, Undisclosed Planetary OrbitAurora Adair-Levine
Locked onto the signal of the CSF team, Aurora quickly picked her helmet up from her lap and slid it on over her head, sealing it to her suit as she turned and looked back past her seat to speak to her wife, even though the ship had microphones configured to ease communication with the co-pilot without needing to turn.
"Hold on tight, hun, and put your helmet on. No telling how this is going to go."
Watching Isabella slide her helmet on, Aurora turned to the instruments again as she held the controls firmly, getting ready to disengage on the nav-marker. The FSD let out a low groan as the ship shuddered for a moment, transitioning from supercruise to normal space as the Borealis suddenly dropped out, bursting into the middle of what looked like a combat zone. In an instant, flashes of light and yellow tracers filled their view, streaking across the black, beating hulls and shields alike.
"Holy shit. We really dropped into a mess, Aurora."
The scan data for the CSF ships was resolved immediately by the ship's TCON datalink, tagging them as friendly and the other ships as neutrals. Aurora pushed the throttle forward as they began to approach the brawl, flicking the master safe on the joystick up with her thumb before depressing the hardpoint button. Hatches could be heard opening on the hull, simulated sound and slight vibrations through the hull catching the sound of the multicannons as they locked and loaded.
"Okay... let's do thi-..."
The ship suddenly lurched violently as the shields flashed, a railgun round skimming off the bubble and lasers cutting across the shield. Aurora cursed as she slammed the throttle forward and targeted their assailant, the ship's hull creaking as the thrusters roared. She quickly tried to avoid further incoming fire as the enemy ship zipped past them, leaving them outside the brawl as things quickly turned into a duel. Her heart pounded as she hadn't really been in ship combat for ages... but here they were. She just hoped she remembered how to do this dance... enough to keep them alive, at least.
"Fuck..."
Aurora yanked at the stick suddenly as a flash of light passed the canopy while they turned around, the enemy's railgun narrowly missing. Bringing them around, she quickly distributed more power into the engines with the remaining pips in weapons. With the extra power, the ship wrenched around as the hull shuddered, Aurora quickly depressing a thumb button on her stick as beam lasers shot out from the sides of the cockpit, striking the enemy ship but only for a second. The ship boosted again, the g-forces a lot more intense now with the moves she was pulling as Aurora tried to focus on her breathing, the seat holding her down firmly. As they broke out of the dogfight slightly and started to come around for another strike, Aurora found an opportunity to talk.
"Just keep our shields up and pop chaff if you see them using gimballed weaponry. Remember what I told yo-..."
Aurora could hardly finish her sentence as another railgun round hit the shields - one that would've found itself true near the canopy if their shields weren't up. Another chip off the shield's integrity as Aurora brought the ship to bear and squeezed the trigger, tracers flooding the space in front of them as the drum of multicannons reverberated through the hull. The hostile ship veered off as their shields flashed and began to degrade, another flash of beams assisting the multicannons as Aurora chased down the ship, watching as they deployed chaff. The cloud of reflective particles disrupted the tracking of the gimballed multicannons as she released the trigger to avoid wasting ammo, cursing. The ship dove out of their view again as Aurora was still trying to get into the rhythm of combat, the beams missing now as she tried to continue tracking the ship.
"Fuck! Ugh!"
"Try not locking them. Just fire by eye if they chaff... sometimes works."
With Isabella controlling the distribution of power to their shields and the ship's defensive measures - which was really just chaff - Aurora focused on trying to get back on target. The way the enemy ship maneuvered forced them into a tight circle as Aurora boosted and pulled back on the stick hard. The Borealis was insanely agile to the point that flight assist limited its flight profile, but even then the g-forces were becoming hard to mitigate as Aurora fought to keep a grip on her breathing. Keeping focus was hard as she struggled to get guns back on target, over-committing to the turn. Her focus started to slip as her vision gradually began to darken, her breathing becoming more labored and hearing draining.
Both of them were approaching G-LOC as the ship flashed warnings, automated flight threatening to take over just as the enemy ship came into view. Aurora groaned as she pushed through and squeezed the trigger, the multicannons firing off into space before finally tracking at the last moment as the cloud of chaff dispersed into space and ended.
The Borealis won the circle fight, coming around as beam lasers connected with the hostile's shields, draining the weapon distributor as Aurora watched the shields tick down. Under the combined fire of the multicannons, the target's defensive barrier collapsed, dozens of multicannon rounds pelting their hull before they burst past again, breaking out of the Borealis's cone of fire. Deciding not to enter another tight circle like that, Aurora took advantage of the ship's speed to quickly boost the opposite direction, gaining distance before attempting to turn around as she tried to catch her breath, condensation fogging up her visor. Helmets were both a boon and a curse right now...
"Hhh... s-shit. That was close..."
Isa took a moment to respond as Aurora began to turn around, adopting a wider circle.
"Y-... yeah. Let's try not to do that again if we can help it. Shields are holding but took some damage..."
Bringing the ship around as her breathing echoed in her helmet, Aurora saw the fight continuing a few kilometers away. They'd drawn the attention of this single ship and brought it away from the brawl, which was both a good and bad thing. Good that it took heat off the scout team, bad that this was a test of Aurora and Isa's mettle in a fight to the death.
"Incoming..."
The target came into view as both ships turned to face each other, prompting Aurora to quickly boost as she yanked the stick left, forcing the ship into an abrupt roll. That instinctual dodge paid off as a railgun round flashed past the right wing. The drum of the guns sounded through the hull again as the Borealis let loose a hail of lead, brilliant sparks and pieces of ship breaking off of the target. A small explosion caught their thrusters, sending the hostile ship veering off course slightly as their lasers glanced the Borealis's shields.
Pulling the ship around quickly to chase, Aurora just held down the trigger as she watched rounds pummel the ship. The enemy pilot seemed to be trying to turn, but their efforts were futile as their ship gave into the pressure. Their ship's hull integrity fell apart as another few hits caught the thrusters and some internal components, sending explosions through the ship before the hull suddenly ripped apart in a massive blast. Debris hit the shield of the Borealis while the flash of light caught the sleek hull as Aurora weaved past, guiding them back towards the fight.
COVAS: "Target destroyed."
"Nice! Good flying, love. More targets over there in the fight just to our 3 o'clock. About 6 kilometers away."
"Yeah. Ugh... so much for the Elite Guard being behind us."
Aurora sighed as the Borealis sped back into the fight, watching about five ships battling with four CSF ships. So far, it looked like they hadn't lost anyone... not that she had time to check the scan data of the friendly ships. With the speed of the ship, crossing six kilometers was nothing as they began to approach the brawl... only for a hail to come through their ship's global channel. That voice was unmistakable, the exact same as that blackbox recording.
IDENT: {U̵͠n̴̕k̀͠n̢͢o̷͡ẃ̡n͜} "[Well... I'll be damned. It's nice of you to both join the party. I suppose this fight will have to do... though wrapping my hands around-...]"
Almost slamming her fist down on the flight controls, Aurora very forcibly muted the global channel as she cut off Tyrese's voice. Sudden rage hit her as she started to cycle through the targets, trying to scan and figure out which ship hailed them.
"Shut your fucking mouth. What ship are you in, asshole...?"
It didn't take long for Aurora to find out, as one of the ships broke formation - a Federal assault ship. Flashing lasers filled the view as they cut away at the Borealis's shields, bursts of light breaching through the shield and scraping erratically at the hull near the canopy.
COVAS: "Warning: shield breach attack. Hull integrity compromised."
Quickly trying to dodge and return fire at the same time, Aurora watched a scattered laser cut right across the canopy through the shields, etching a few lines into the glass. Thankfully, the reinforced canopy could resist laser fire for the most part... but their shields were taking an absolute beating. Their defensive barrier was close to breaking as the Federal assault ship continued its attack, adding in tracer fire from its multicannons.
"Holy shit. His ship... it's... fuck. Uhh... popping chaff. Should throw the multicannons off us for a bit..."
Chaff burst forth from the launcher the moment Isabella triggered it, the multicannons seeming to lose track as tracers spat past the canopy and wing. The lasers didn't seem to relent though... they must've been fixed. Flashes continued to chip away at the Borealis's shields as Aurora broke off the attack when Tyrese's ship fired its own chaff, diving beneath and trying to come around. Other attacks came from another direction however, judging by the ship hologram Aurora had. Shields were critical... until they weren't as the ship suddenly lurched, the hull reverberating as it took a hard impact.
COVAS: "Shields offline. Taking damage."
Aurora felt panic get the better of her now as her heart pounded and her hands shook. The only thing keeping her focus was the knowledge that if she didn't do her best... they were both dead.
Wrenching the ship around as she turned off flight assist, Aurora popped a heatsink to force the enemy to lose lock for a moment, while she focused on Tyrese's ship. The chaff expired as she held down the multicannons and beams again, focusing in hard on her aim as the beams connected with his shields. The attack was only able to take away half of his shield integrity before he deployed chaff again, coming around. The Borealis's heat signature began to rise again as Aurora played defensive, hearing kinetic rounds smack into the reinforced hull.
"Popping chaff again! Want me to pull some power from the engines to shields?"
Focused on trying to evade the radar targets, Aurora managed to hear what Isa said amongst the chaos of the simulated sound and thuds coming through the hull.
"No... I think the shields are going to take too long to recharge. The hull can take it for now, just... not forever. Looks like we got the attention of his whole wing. Fucking asshole knows he'd lose in a fair fight..."
The speed of the Borealis thankfully let them dodge most of the incoming rounds as Aurora flew evasively, soon breaking out of weapon range where multicannon rounds self-destructed and lasers scattered too much to be useful. They had a bit of breathing room as Aurora began to turn, looking up through the canopy to see the chasing ships. The CSF scout team seemed to be re-engaging, trying to draw attention away which they managed to do. Only two ships ended up pursuing Aurora and Isabella... odds she was far more comfortable with.
Pulling the ship around to face them, Aurora boosted back into combat. They'd have to go shieldless now that the defensive barrier was gone. The reinforced modifications, while it let the shield take a beating, made the charging conduits slow as hell. They had four heatsinks left to play with... Aurora would have to make them count.
COVAS: "Silent running."
Rigging the ship for silent running as the heat vents on the exterior closed, the internal module heat of the ship began to slowly build up as Aurora used one heatsink to start with. They were brought back into weapon range, but Aurora watched as the enemy weapons scattered and failed to track easily. That was exactly the advantage they needed. A few stray rounds skimmed off the unshielded hull, but the Borealis was able to return fire far more accurately as Aurora went for Tyrese's FAS.
The beams skimmed off his shields, wittling down the remaining integrity before he popped chaff and broke off. Quickly switching to his escort, she began to pummel their shields with kinetics and lasers alike while they orbited. The enemy ship was over-committing... but so was Aurora. The thrusters and weapons were building up energy quick, she'd have to make a choice to break off or use a heatsink to try kill this hostile.
COVAS: "Warning: temperature critical."
The COVAS only confirmed that fact. Aurora was focused intensely, something about Tyrese's threat sending her into cold rage as she decided to commit to killing the nimble ship in front of her. Deploying a heatsink, she yanked the stick to follow the target as they tried to dive, losing a bit of time on target before she was able to come around and unleash all of the Borealis's weapons on them.
The poor bastard didn't even seem to have chaff on their ship as the sustained fire ripped through their shields, and then their hull. The multicannon rounds went straight through the hull, as the Vulture spun out of control and was suddenly engulfed in a flash.
COVAS: "Target destroyed."
Pulling the ship to face Tyrese's FAS, Aurora saw him coming in for another run, the burst lasers missing narrowly as she flew evasively. The ship began to scream as the heat build-up was becoming too much. Deploying another heatsink to dump heat... they were down to their final one. Due to silent-running, the shield hadn't recharged at all either. She wondered if they'd be able to take down Tyrese in time... a thought she didn't get to finish fully as she saw multiple friendly contacts arrive on radar.
IDENT: {Scythe 1-1} "[Attention all criminal vessels. Stand down immediately and surrender, or you will be destroyed.]"
"About fucking time!"
Seeing the whole wing of Elite Guard spec-ops was a huge relief... until Aurora saw the fighting suddenly break as Tyrese's wing began to retreat. Frame Shift charges were detected as Aurora turned off silent running, cursing out loud as she slammed the throttle forward and pursued.
"No-no-no! Goddamnit!"
Tyrese had popped chaff and broken off, so Aurora switched to a target she could actually engage, a Krait MK2 that either had no chaff, had run out, or was reloading. Either way, they weren't getting away. Subtargeting the thrusters, Aurora squeezed the trigger as the Borealis easily matched their speed, the hostile ship trying to evade as their shields collapsed, already battered by the previous engagement.
Several rounds found themselves true to the thrusters as the target lurched, the drum of the multicannons ceasing as they reloaded for a moment, only for them to continue. She watched as one of the enemy's thrusters suddenly went up, taking out the entire drive as it exploded. As CSF ships chased down the other criminal vessels that flashed away into hyperspace, Aurora fixated on this one they had stopped in time. She quickly ceased fire as the ship tumbled slowly, deploying landing gear as she used the floor glass to guide the Borealis in closer.
It was hard to time it right, but as she saw the ship roll and face its top to her, she quickly brought the ship down and manually engaged the gear. The magnetic lock stuck to the hull as the Borealis's damaged superstructure groaned, thrusters firing to counteract the rotation as she brought the hostile ship to a halt. After a moment of their whole ship shuddering to a stop, everything went quiet as she breathed heavily, trying to steady her shaking hands as she fumbled to open a channel to the CSF team.
"Captain... cover the area. We need to board the ship locked to us."
IDENT: {Scythe 1-1} "[Copy that. Need any boarding support, Commander?]"
"N-no... Isa will come with me. Just cover us."
Getting up from her seat, Aurora kept her helmet on as she quickly approached the ladder behind her, climbing down with her wife to the lower deck between the two seats as Isa spoke.
"Let's board. Think we'll find someone alive? If so, we can have CSF interrogate them."
She let her magnetic boots engage with the floor as she approached a small equipment rack down by the lower deck's exit. Isabella grabbed her Eclipse laser SMG first, checking the cell and safety while Aurora grabbed her wife's suit pack first, unclipping it from the rack and stepping behind her as she fitted it onto her partner. She made sure it locked properly before she turned and grabbed her AR-50 rifle, her Tormentor sidearm already on the magnetic pad strapped to her right thigh.
"Yeah... that explosion hopefully just took out the thrusters. Help me with my pack?"
"Yeah. Here."
Isabella took Aurora's pack from the equipment rack and moved behind her. Aurora felt her slot it into her suit, locking it in place as her suit HUD confirmed the connection.
"Looks good. Ready? Got everything?"
Double-checking the seal of her helmet, Aurora reached back and locked her rifle to her backpack. Before they left, she quickly raised her left forearm and tapped on her PDA to synchronize her suit with the ship communications, before she turned to the door to exit.
"All good. Let's go."
Stepping out of the flight deck after she opened the door, Aurora quickly stepped out into the living section and immediately turned to head for the ladder that led down to the airlock. She climbed down to the lower deck, her magnetic boots keeping her righted as she turned and approached the airlock. Opening the inner door and stepping inside, she waited for her partner before cycling the airlock, looking towards the exterior door.
As the pressure equalized with outer space, the door opened and revealed the dark, sparkling sky, and the ramp of the landing gear leading right to the damaged hull of the Krait. Aurora quickly began to descend down the ramp, keeping her weapons on her as she walked out onto the hull of the ship. The thrusters were to the rear... and so was one of the entry airlocks if she remembered right. She began to carefully walk back underneath the Borealis, around the gear and passing under one of the wings.
Approaching the edge of the ship and peering over, Aurora sighed softly as she saw the rear airlock was still intact between the gap in the large thrusters... though this was a bit of a dangerous approach. One of the thrusters had been almost blown out completely, only smoldering hot metal remaining as the fuel lines had sealed, so it seemed.
"Okay... let's go..."
Aurora bent her knees a bit and stepped over the edge, locking her boot to the hull between the thrusters as she carefully began to walk down the wall between the remaining thruster and shredded mess to her left, turning on her suit light to overpower the shadows. She was so focused on getting aboard that she missed something Isabella mumbled over the comms, before her name was called.
IDENT: {CMDR Isabella Adair-Levine} "[Aurora... wait up, please. I'm... a bit slow... I'm sorry...]"
Aurora paused as she looked down at the rear airlock to make sure it was safe, before she carefully walked back to the edge where her wife was. She knew the longer they took, the more time the enemy would have to barricade themselves. But that concern wasn't as much of a priority as making sure her wife was okay.
"... It's okay. Not like this ship is going anywhere. Come, give me your hand hun~..."
Aurora extended her left hand warmly. She helped Isabella down the edge, letting them both stand sideways on the back of the ship. Now that Isa was on the same plane as her, Aurora still didn't release her hand as she held her firmly, turning to walk back to the rear airlock as she guided her wife with. With only one hand free, Aurora reached down to her right thigh and drew her Tormentor - having it in hand just in case.
IDENT: {CMDR Isabella Adair-Levine} "[I'm sorry... I can fight on land with gravity. Shoot things with good accuracy while under pressure. Be a pilot. But I stop at open space with no umbilical. Like walking on the edge of a skyscraper. I hate it.]"
Avoiding the remains of the thruster as she stuck to the intact one, Aurora listened to Isabella speak as they approached the edge above the rear airlock. She squeezed her partner's hand as she holstered her sidearm again, looking back at her wife.
"... It's okay, honey. I know. Let's get this done with and then we can go plant our feet back on some terra firma when we get home, okay?"
Carefully releasing Isa's hand after giving her one final squeeze, Aurora looked down at the airlock. The edge wasn't too drastic, so being cautious of some exposed ship components, Aurora continued to walk until they were next to the airlock. She squatted down and reached over to grab a handrail over the edge, unlocking her boots, pulling herself down and orienting herself relative to the ship as she brought her feet down to stand outside the airlock. She looked up at Isabella to make sure she was alright, before she turned to the console and began to examine it.
"Okay... give me a sec to get this open..."
Aurora reached back to the knife sheathe on her belt, slotting open the cover as the hilt popped out. Drawing the weapon, she brought it forward and looked at it - her plasma knife from her time in the navy. She sighed to herself before dismissing her thoughts and using the sharp tip to jam between the console and the wall, ripping the screen off. She stowed the knife again and pushed it back inside its sheathe, the cover automatically closing again as she grabbed an e-breach from her pouch.
Picking through the exposed wires, she pushed them against the e-breach contacts and held them firmly as it overrode the door's authorization, taking a solid few seconds. Eventually, the console flashed green and Aurora chucked the e-breach aside, facing the door and drawing her sidearm as it opened to reveal the airlock within. She slowly stepped inside, letting her wife have room to come down behind her and enter.
"They might have the airlock covered... so shields on."
Once her wife was with her in the airlock, Aurora turned for a moment to tap on the console, cycling it before she focused on the door. The airlock was... not exactly spacious, so she kept her sidearm handy for the time being as she waited for the airlock to cycle. Clasping her left hand to toggle her shields, she waited in silence for the airlock to pressurize... before it did with a soft beep.
The door soon opened to reveal a hallway splitting left and right. With a slow exhale, Aurora dared to take a step forward... only for a flashing, beeping object to suddenly come around the left corner as a hand chucked it into the airlock. Aurora instinctively kicked the floating frag out of the airlock, sending it slightly up and pinging back into the hallway as it detonated. The shockwave sent shrapnel bursting through the corridor, Aurora's shields flashing as she yelped. The shockwave reverberated through her body as she stumbled back into her wife, but her shields held and she was otherwise unscathed.
Fueled with anger, she brought her pistol up and quickly dashed out of the airlock, taking the left corner as she squeezed the trigger at a figure in the haze. Brilliant plasma flashed down the corridor as the assailant ran, disappearing past the corner as the bolt narrowly missed them and hit the end of the hallway near the corner. Aurora quickly gathered her surroundings, checking her wife before she continued to push the initiative, approaching the corner.
Leaning left as she began to slice the corner, Aurora heard shouting which soon came into view as she peeked the corner, looking down the long corridor. Tracers spat past her, forcing her to back off a bit before one figure who held a bunch of tools dropped them near an open maintenance panel, and began to sprint away. An armed figure near that same panel took cover behind a narrow structural pillar of the hallway, yelling out again.
"They're on the fucking ship! Run!"
Peeking quickly, Aurora squeezed the trigger as she let loose a plasma bolt that connected with the crouched, armed figure, shattering their shields. The second found itself embedded in their upper chest, a scream filling the hallway as they went limp, magnetic boots rooting them to the floor as they floated slightly and dropped their Aphelion rifle.
Quickly crossing to the other side of the hallway, Aurora took cover near a pillar as she saw two contacts at the far end. Fire was exchanged as golden beams spat past her, one catching her arm and making her shields flash as she quickly squeezed behind the pillar. Isabella took up position at the corner Aurora was just at, bringing her SMG to bear as she squeezed off a barrage of shots down the hallway, catching the enemy's shield for a moment.
Aurora peeked again to increase the pressure while her partner engaged. The duo both fired back onto the same target, their combined fire managing to eliminate the threat as a plasma bolt from Aurora's weapon put an end to the fight. The body floated as the last figure dashed across the hallway, weaving through a burst of Isa's shots before they disappeared through an open lift door. Aurora began to push, the lift closing behind the figure. Clearing the hallway, she checked the corner up ahead to make sure they were clear before circling back to the lift, sighing as she looked over at her wife.
"Based off the... signs, I guess the lift goes to the bridge. Not too sure how I feel about being in a cramped space again... if we get another frag thrown at us."
"Yeah. Not sure either. But we have to. And the shields can take a direct hit, as much as it sucks."
Aurora watched Isabella walk over to the lift, pressing the button to call it before she quickly took a moment to reload, swapping cells on her SMG. Aurora sighed and nodded, accepting what they had to do.
"Ahhh... yeah. Let's just move quickly and try get these guys..."
Aurora half-raised her pistol as she waited for the lift to arrive, clearing it as the doors opened with a ding. She made sure there were no traps or anything before she stepped inside with her wife in tow. With that, Aurora hit the button for it to go up one deck, the doors closing before slowly heading upwards. She readied her weapon, the short distance being easily traveled by the lift before it slowed to a stop, and the doors parted.
The moment the hallway was visible, Aurora pushed forward, clearing it swiftly as she expected something... before nothing came. She kept her guard up, holding her pistol firmly and letting it lead the way as she slowly and quietly began to advance, following a sign that led to the bridge. Isabella mumbled to herself as they made their way down the hallway, moving carefully.
"Man. Bet he locked us out. I want to blow our way in. Fuck up this guy's day..."
Taking the immediate left corner as they left the lift, Aurora carefully swept the small extension of hallway and saw the junction ahead leading towards the bridge to the right. Listening for a moment, she began to advance carefully, leaning left again to peek the junction leading towards the bridge. The moment her muzzle moved around the corner, a shot suddenly flew past. It was right at the end of the hallway - a rookie mistake to give away their position before Aurora was even fully visible.
Keeping her pistol close, she quickly grabbed a frag from one of her rounded pouches on her belt, using the ring finger on her firing hand to hold the pin and yank it out while she held her gun. With the spoon still compressed, she quickly leant around the corner and gave the frag a firm, but not hard chuck, letting it float in the low gravity. Curses came before the hallway shook with the detonation, flooding it with fiery light for a moment before the smoke began to clear. Quickly crossing to the other side of the junction so Isa could take her place at the corner again, Aurora brought her sidearm up and took aim, waiting for the haze to clear.
Tracer fire cut through the haze from a single shooter, prompting Aurora to fire two inaccurate shots before she took cover and reloaded, noting her low ammo. She broke open the Tormentor before chucking the cartridge aside, fumbling for one of her pouches to get a fresh one as Isa had a moment to return fire. Inaccurate golden beams spat down the hallway, clipping the target's shields as they ducked behind a pillar for cover. Aurora took this opportunity to advance as she pushed the cartridge into her gun, grabbing the barrel and flipping the Tormentor closed before bringing it up to aim.
Stepping around the corner, she began to walk forward with her eyes trained on the corner where she last saw the hostile, sticking to the wall. The assailant peeked again, giving Isabella a chance to fire again and catch his shields, shattering them before Aurora timed her trigger pull and delivered a plasma bolt right in the center of his visor. The glass of his helmet broke as his head recoiled back without a noise, floating there in a crouched position as he released his Karma rifle.
Focused on getting to the bridge, Aurora quickly advanced past the body as she kept her pistol ready. Approaching the junction ahead, she paused near the corner and peeked it, seeing the bridge door ahead. This was it... they were certainly waiting for them, what with the bridge doors being locked. She didn't know how many were left on this ship... maybe three or four, considering they'd taken out two of the criminals. It could get intense quickly...
"We should capture one. There's got to be one or so inside."
Aurora looked over at Isabella as she joined her side, sighing a bit as they paused a few meters from the door.
"Yeah... it's a bit hard when they keep shooting back. Right... cover me while I get the door open."
Advancing slowly, Aurora holstered her sidearm and crouched down in front of the door as she opened a pouch for her last e-breach. Pulling out as she reached for the console, Aurora went to interface with the door before it suddenly slid open with a hiss. Startled, Aurora quickly dropped the e-breach as she scrambled back, her hand reaching for her sidearm as an armored figure with a rifle started to raise their rifle. Isabella quickly reacted as she mag-dumped her SMG into the figure, prompting a yell of pain as their shields shattered and lasers scorched armor.
They squeezed the trigger, a few inaccurate rounds hitting Aurora as she quickly drew her sidearm with one hand and point-shot, her shields shimmering. The first bolt of plasma connected with the man's lower abdomen, before she quickly brought the sidearm up to eye-level and put a second in his upper chest. He collapsed with a gurgle, prompting a yell to sound out from the bridge.
"Fucking bitch! You'll pay for that!"
Looking into the bridge, she saw a figure hiding behind the pilot seat, and another armed soldier hidden behind a console mounted near the starboard co-pilot seat. Focusing on the immediate threat, Aurora didn't have as much time to react as lasers hit her shields, suddenly shattering them as a beam caught her left arm. She quickly crossed to Isa's side of the hallway, the angle of the door giving her cover as she winced, glancing at her arm. It looked like a superficial hit that didn't go through the tight layers of armor, but that didn't stop her feeling the sudden intense heat of the laser.
"You okay?!"
In anger, Isabella squeezed off the last few rounds of her SMG into the bridge, spraying lasers wildly before she retracted and quickly exchanged cells again, ejecting the empty one.
"Yeah, I'm good! Fuck..."
Trying to shake off the slight discomfort from the heat for now, Aurora peeked quickly to see where their attacker had moved, before she shouted out into the bridge.
"Surrender or you're not leaving this goddamn ship alive!"
"Try me, motherfucke-..."
Aurora's aim was precise and snappy as the man peeked over the console. She put sights on target as she leant around the doorframe, the muzzle exploding in a flash of plasma as the bolt of plasma met his head. He recoiled as his shields shattered, before a second bolt met his throat. He gurgled and convulsed before slumping behind the console, floating like the rest.
Aurora saw a movement out the corner of her visor as she trained her sights on a figure rising up behind the pilot's seat. Arms were raised and hands splayed as an unarmed man in a lighter Maverick suit with no suit pack surrendered, coming out of hiding.
"Okay, okay, I surrender! Jesus christ, you killed them all..."
Entering the bridge as she kept her Tormentor trained on him, Aurora felt a momentary pit in her stomach as she reflected on what the man said, before snapping out of it and focusing on the voice. She stopped in the center of the bridge, keeping her distance from him and a steel grip on her gun. That voice sounded familiar...
"Any sudden movements and you're dead. Take off your helmet."
The man chuckled nervously, keeping his hands up as he glanced between the two women.
"Come on, ladies! We can talk about this, right?"
"Take your FUCKING helmet off NOW!"
Aurora watched carefully as the man removed his helmet with slow movements, pulling it up over his head and letting it float away. The voice was her first suspicion... the face was just the confirmation. It was Gage, his hair tied back and a scar across his right face. That charismatic, smug grin he had in that mugshot had now drained from his face, eyes tracking Aurora as she suddenly began to approach.
"Hey, wait, I-..."
The bridge filled with a sickening crack as Aurora pistol-whipped him in the face, drawing blood as he stumbled. He barely had time to right himself before Aurora grabbed him by the throat, taking advantage of the momentum from his stumble to shove him back into a pillar near the pilot seat. It didn't matter that Aurora was a bit shorter than him, Gage was scared shitless as her great equalizer pressed into his throat, the warm muzzle of her Tormentor touching skin.
"Agh! P-please...!"
Aurora seemed to have completely switched at the sight of Gage. Information or taking a life was the only objective now.
"Where's Tyrese? Pick your answer... Very. Fucking. Carefully."
"I... I don't kn-..."
Aurora jabbed the sharp, warm barrel of her Tormentor into Gage's temple as he filled the bridge with a pained cry. His hands shook as he sunk back into the pillar slightly, panicking.
"Where is Tyrese? Where is his base of operations?"
"Look, look... I-I can take you there, it's..."
"I'm telling you to give me a GODDAMN system name, or name the place. I won't fucking ask you again."
Releasing him as she stood back slightly, Gage slid to the floor in absolute fear as he blubbered and struggled to get through the words in his panic.
"It's an old... military installation, I... Point Nexus, yes! It's... I... I don't... remember the system name off by heart, just let me..."
"You're just fucking stalling for time."
"No, PLEASE! Please don't kill me plea-..."
The bridge suddenly filled with a flash and the dull thud of Aurora's suppressed Tormentor as she raised her pistol and shot Gage in the upper chest. His face contorted in fear and pain before he let out a pained scream, the plasma melting through his suit before he went limp, the life draining from his eyes. A burnt hole sat in the center of his chest, cauterized flesh slightly visible. Aurora watched him die as she lowered her sidearm, before Isabella raised her voice in shock.
"Aurora! What the hell?! Y-... you didn't have to do that!"
Isa's voice snapped her out of it as she looked over at her partner, immediately feeling a pit in her stomach as she realized what she'd done. Part of her mind still tried to justify it, but she knew it was wrong. This wasn't who she was anymore.
"Are you... okay, hun? What was that?"
"He was just... stalling. Tyrese probably didn't... tell him."
No... that didn't make sense. He gave the name of the installation. Aurora looked over at a dead Gage as she felt a sudden sick feeling wash over her. She wanted to throw up, panicking slightly as she forced herself to turn away, facing her wife... only for her to see the other two bodies floating in the bridge - one by the console behind them and one by the door. Deep down, she didn't even really think of taking anyone alive until Gage surrendered. Part of her wanted to kill whoever followed Tyrese for hurting her. For attacking her family. She looked back up at Isabella, trying to find the words... but she couldn't.
"He was... but he said it was some military base. We could've captured him for CSF to interrogate further. Tyrese is one thing but Gage was... just a petty criminal. Being used."
Isabella looked down at the body, before she looked over at Aurora and gently took her hand.
"Come. Let's... just get out of here. Okay? We can talk about this later when we're more relaxed. Okay, hun?"
Aurora felt her hand being taken, but didn't move as she looked at Gage's corpse again.
"... I... I fucked up. I..."
She didn't know what to say. Coming to terms with what she had just done had her in shock. She looked back at Isabella, trying to think of a way to offset this loss, as if it could make it any better.
"Let... let me download the data off the nav-computer... before we go. We... we need some kind of... trail to follow... maybe it'll lead back to this... 'Point Nexus'..."
"Okay. Let's get it and just. Go home."
"O-okay..."
Quickly turning to the flight seat as she just wanted to leave the ship at this point, Aurora walked over and tapped on the unlocked flight controls as she brought up the ship's flight log on the right hand panel. With it open, she quickly tethered the data connection to her PDA and began to download the ship's previous and current flight plan, before retracting and looking at her PDA. She skimmed it, before she then saw it. Point Nexus... a military installation on some rocky world.
"Fuck... he wasn't lying. It's... it's here. Point Nexus."
Aurora switched her PDA off and quickly walked over to Isa seeking comfort, wanting to leave this bridge even quicker as she couldn't even bear to look at the bodies.
"L-let's just... get off this ship. I'll radio the CSF team to... recover all this..."
Isabella nodded slowly as she took Aurora's hand once more, leading her out of the bridge. The two traced their way back through the hallways, heading for the rear airlock and exiting the ship as they made their way back to the Borealis via EVA. The red Mandalay was soon to detach as its landing gear detached, thrusters pulling it away. As CSF spec-ops ships converged on the floating Krait, the Borealis sped off into space, disappearing with a flash of light as the Frame Shift Drive whisked them away into hyperspace...
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DATE: 22nd of December, 3310 [14:19 UGT]
LOCATION: T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N, HIP 71682Aurora Adair-Levine
The Borealis sat in one of the medium hangars aboard the Solaris as repair crews worked away at its damaged hull. Most of the combat damage was superficial thankfully, save for some module damage here and there. With their return to the Solaris, data about Tyrese's location could be provided and now investigated... their next step. A prelude to an end... hopefully.
Aurora exited the lower flight deck of the Borealis as she step out into the living section. Her suit pack, helmet and weapons were all removed now, her Maverick suit unzipped and resting down near her hips where it was tucked in, exposing the wispy blue t-shirt she wore beneath. She quietly began to walk back to their quarters, alone for a moment as Isabella was still getting her gear off in the bridge. Approaching the door to their room aboard the ship, Aurora opened it and left it open as she entered.
Calm, warm lights filled the room, a spacious bed on the left side of the room indented into the wall. This was a luxury to have on an exploration ship like this, as some space sacrifices had to be made to support a room with a whole double bed - even a bathroom with a shower and other amenities hidden behind a door further in to the right of the room. Aurora slowly approached the bed as she turned and sat down on the edge heavily... her mind traveling back to what happened on that Krait. She hadn't felt that kind of rage in years...
Footsteps entered as she looked up, seeing her wife enter and approach the table roughly in the center of the room. She slowly sat on the edge as she looked over at Aurora, wearing her suit in a similar fashion and exposing the purple long-sleeve Cobra Mk5 shirt she wore. They were both quiet for a moment, studying each other before Isabella decided to break the silence.
"... I know it's a stupid question but... are you okay? Don't know if... you want to talk..."
Aurora sighed as she just looked down at her feet, bringing her hands down to hold the edge of the bed as she was quiet for a moment.
"... I don't know. I'm just s-so angry..."
Reaching down to undo her boots and slide them off, Aurora then stood up and slipped out of her suit as she just promptly chucked it aside, revealing the slim black pants she wore and grey socks covering her feet. She climbed onto the bed and sat down on top of the sheets again, sitting with her back against the wall. She tucked her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, her emotions starting to kick in as her eyes watered. She looked over at Isa, still not managing to make proper eye contact as she rested the side of her head against her knees.
"I'm s-sorry..."
"You don't need to apologize, hun. It's... behind us. I just... I've never seen you like that. That's all. It... was worrying and I'm just... concerned for you."
Isabella got up and slowly started to approach as she moved over to the bed and sat down next to Aurora, looking at her.
Aurora nodded slowly as she started to cry quietly, tears running down her cheeks as she sniffled a bit, speaking in a wavering tone.
"... e-ever since I met you I... I wanted this one beautiful thing i-in this galaxy and that w-was you. I'm so tired of... having to fight to just b-be happy. I thought this would... be behind us a-and... I'm just... s-so angry that another asshole is trying to take t-this from me... from us..."
Aurora shivered a bit as her tears started to flow, letting out a soft sob as she wiped her face and tried to continue.
"I sn... sna-... snapped just l-like I did in the... the Navy and... and you s-shouldn't have... had to... see t... that. If h-he had cleared his f... flight plan or... whatever... I c-could've put us in more danger and we... we'd be in the dark ag... againn~..."
"Fuck Tyrese. You're right. He's ruining everything we've built because he's a little man who wants revenge for something wrong he did. I promise you... after this is over... we'll get away from here or something. Anything. Have time away. I just... don't want you to... lose yourself, love. Not to Tyrese. He's the only one that needs to be put in the ground."
Aurora sobbed as she hugged her legs tighter, tears streaming down her face as she gazed at Isa with shimmering blue eyes, her lips quivering as emotion overcame her.
"I k-knowww... it's s-so... difficulttt. D... dramatic but... I w-would let this whole... f-fucking... horrible galaxy burn... if it meant... k-keeping you safe. It's s-selfish but... that's m-me. All e-everything does is k... keep h... hurtinggg meee..."
Aurora broke down crying as she couldn't continue, closing her eyes as she suddenly started to bawl her heart out, shaking next to her wife as she cried. Isabella rested a hand on her knee as she leant in slightly, her partner's voice getting a bit strained.
"I know... and honestly... I would too. You mean everything to me. I... what happened just... shocked me. I... know that wasn't you... and... it's okay... just... we'll get him and it'll be over. The data is with CSF now. We'll find him... take him out and... then we're done. We... take off for the stars, okay?"
Aurora nodded as she cried, opening her eyes slightly to see her wife with teary hazel eyes. She clumsily turned and wrapped her arms around Isabella, burying her face into her shoulder as she just hugged her tightly and sobbed her heart out, the silence of their quarters only disturbed by Aurora's muffled crying. Nothing more came as the two just cried together in their own comfort after experiencing such painful memories. All the darkness and horror they had to face together in an uncaring galaxy.
All Aurora wanted was this... to just hold onto the only person she ever truly loved or wanted in this galaxy.
To not become who she was before.
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Credit: Written together by CMDRs Radiumio and Maple, imagery created by CMDR Radiumio and story provided by CMDR Maple. Thank you so much for reading!
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