Slaying a Monster
01 Jul 2020Bublephart
Imagine knowing the future, or at least how you'll die. The ancient Earth culture of Greece believed the hideous monster's they dubbed Cyclops, knew just that. Now days, thanks to science, we know the Cyclops traded that eye for additional hearts. --
A notorious hunting ground for those willing to brave the danger, Asterope is quite the place. You might not know it, but there's a war going on here. A brilliant white star plays center stage to a single station, and countless unknown dangers.
The 400 light year flight from the Bubble was uneventful. After arriving in Asterope I docked at the Observatory. I spent the night on the station, there was no time for sleeping though. I bribed a few of the spare deck crew with Kongga Ale and Fujin Tea, and we spent the evening stripping down the Krait Mk II, installing hull reinforcements in as many module slots as possible. Station Services would have you think this an easy task, but the size and weight of those structural components is laughable. What should have taken the better part of the next day, we had done before you could say "fly dangerously". Fully kitted, this Krait Mk II, dubbed Ripley's Escape is a pretty formidable ship. With all it's speed and maneuverability, I should have no problem out performing my adversary.
Ship boot sequence initiated. Docking clamps released. Landing gear stowed.
I felt ready and left the pad. Making my way toward the mail-slot, I couldn't help but be in awe of all the heavily armed ships currently docked. Corvettes and Cutters, Kraits and Chieftains... out here the line between Federation and Empire is blurred. The only faction that matters is Humanity. I felt a sudden knot in my stomach, perhaps I'm not as prepared as I should be.
The Nav Beacon was packed! For a system in the midst of alien incursion, there sure were plenty of tourists. No doubt looking to be the first from their home planet to glimpse a Thargoid. So, with the flight computer locked on a Non-Human Signal Source, I took a moment to remember why I'm here. The assault on the Bubble, put forth during Distant Worlds, resulted in the death of many friends and family as they attempted to escape the countless planets and stations overwhelmed by the alien threat.
As I dropped from super cruise it was eerily quite. Throttled to zero, I slowly coasted forward. A huge cloud of debris in the distance. Radar contact, there was a ship out there. Visual confirmation was more difficult, as whatever was out there was obscured by the debris of a large ship and a curious green fog. My heart racing I approached... There it was, massive compared to the Krait. Eight monstrous petals spiraled out away from a center cockpit, grossly organic. A Cyclops.
My ship slowly came to a stop, the Cyclops stopped meters off my bow. My cockpit canopy automatically dimmed as the alien ship let loose with a scan. Followed by a thunderous roar that rippled across the hull plating, everything rattled. Then, the ship pivoted and thrust back toward the debris field.
Am I not a threat?
I had come for a fight, and wasn't leaving without one. I fired! The beam laser sliced through the darkness striking the Thargoid's hull. Immediately I was overrun by a swarm of Thargons. The Krait's bi-weave shield generator wasn't going to be able to handle much of this. I put pips into weapons and fired several volleys of gauss into the Interceptor, causing it to dump the acquired heat out of one of the many petals, a heart. I aimed for the exposed heart and let off another several rounds, missed. Another salvo and the petal exploded into pieces, leaving the Interceptor reeling.
My excitement was only momentary though, the swarm had done a number on my shield. I veered radial-in and slammed the throttle forward, jamming on the boost. If this 'goid was going to pursue me, let him do it with the star in his eyes. As I put distance between myself and my opponent, my shields quickly regenerated. I hit the boost one last time. Flight assist off. With a fine bump of the flight stick, I sent myself rotating to retrograde. Physics still carried me on my original vector. The swarm, three kilometres away, appeared in a tightly packed formation. A few good flak shots could prove to be the deciding factor.
It took half a dozen shells, but I had knocked out most of the drones by the time the Interceptor caught up with me. I was gently cradled by the seat as I reengaged flight assist. As I slowed, a brilliant flash danced across the canopy as the Cyclops lashed out with it's energy weapon. I, in return, fired another series of guass. He had no shields and with the heart exposed at such close range, there was no possible way I could miss. I missed, and missed again. A third and fourth volley tore the petal from his ship.
Another swarm of Thargons sent me running. I did everything in my power to evade, but two caustic missiles slammed into the ship. It wouldn't be long before this stuff ate through the armor plating. With the second wave of drones dispatched, I again focused on the Interceptor. Several wild shots failed to impact the Cyclops, but did succeed in burning off the corrosive material slowly consuming my ship.
With hull plating down to 67% and a number of internal modules out of service, I was able to destroy the third heart. What I failed to prepare for though... was a massive energy surge. The shock wave knocked out everything, there was complete silence as I was sent tumbling end over end through the void. Easy pickings for a fresh wave of drones.
I could tell the Interceptor was getting desperate, the swarm of Thargons were no longer firing at me from an organized formation. They were making suicide runs. Slamming into my ship, knocking my shields offline.
It was make or break. I locked on the Interceptor, unleashing as much abuse as possible. Drones were everywhere, as the Cyclops deployed another surge from it's energy weapon. I exposed and destroyed the final heart. That should have been it, I should have won. It appeared to just laugh it off as it deployed another shield.
That last beating sent my hull plummeting below 30%. By the time his shield went offline, 19% hull. I desperately fired everything. Finally, a tremendous groan escaped from the Cyclops. It was no longer able to vent the dangerous levels of heat inflicted by the Guardian technology. The ship exploded, leaving the Thargon drones to fizzle out, no longer under the direction of any command authority. Carefully minding the enormous cloud of caustic, I ran a series of reboot and repair protocols. Between the sound of the rebooting systems, I could hear the sizzle and pop of damaged circuits. No longer under pressure, I took a moment to peak out the cockpit at the state of my ship. Wide swaths had been gouged out of the armor plating and a gauss cannon hung limp, twisted, and melted. With 12% hull I turned my attention toward making it home.
Having barely survived, upon my return to the Observatory, I was elated. There was no fan-fair. This is a daily occurrence here in the Pleiades. Thousands of pilots risk everything to defend Humanity from annihilation. The only thing I can do, is my part.
--
And you can do yours! Join the Anti-Xeno Initiative.