Carcosa housecleaning pt.2; Settling in
16 Nov 2021Nathan Atterlein
Four hostiles displayed on the sensors, as the carrier came into view from the star-filled panorama of the Eol Prou sector. An alien sight for Nathan, despite his increasingly lengthy occupation in Colonia. No amount of stargazing would ever produce a single constellation made out of the endless ocean of natural fusion reactors, littering the infinite void of space. A chaotic mess with it's own charming unfamiliarity. This is exactly the type of mental stimulus he's been craving for so long, rotting among the bubble's pathetic powerplays in the same old locations. This time, unfamiliar faces, in an unexplored area...... against a familiar foe.
In a casual manner, the mamba made it's way towards the landing pad. The aforementioned multitude of stars reflected on its deep blue metallic hull perfectly. The only thing breaking it's camouflage was the searing red edges of wreckage around it, which originally belonged to a handful of system authority vessels. Nate looked out through the side of the canopy.
"Law enforcement my ass."
Before the clamps could engage, the pad immediately started descending into the inner hangar of the Rocher. Nate positioned the ship over the center point of the platform to avoid any unnecessary complaints from the hard working maintenance crew. The carrier was a wreck by the time it arrived to the Nebula. A megaship designed to house political prisoners, cargo laundering operations, acting as semi-stationary headquarters for the Privateers, suddenly made to travel tens of thousands of light-years to a place with minimal infrastructure for large scale maintenance works and resource-procurement. Going in without a plan was a pretty foolish move, judging with the benefit of hindsight, but it was nothing unusual for the crew on board. Their job description was detailed enough for them to know what they're signing up for, and no matter how life threatening their voyages have been, the Rocher always got away without internal casualties.
As the hangar's lock mechanism finished securing the pad within, and the loud noise of rolling and shifting metal bodies subsided, an eerie electric hum filled the environment.
"Jess, we're not that much in a hurry"
The noise became more intense by the second, accompanied by the tremor of the carrier's hull, as it's gigantic frame shift drive approached it's firing sequence. Nate quickly maneuvered his still unsecured ship towards the back end of it's hangar, having it's front-side thrusters running continuously. The maintenance crew will have to take care of the rest later.
A loud thud, then everything went silent for a moment. A tear has opened on the fabric of spacetime, and the giant structure began slipping through it. Nate barely heard the cautionary honking of the megaship, as his own vessel was pushed up against the wall of it's cage, shrieking, as the friction between the metallic surfaces intensified. Even though the hangar had no windows, it was evident, when the entirety of the Rocher got swallowed up by witch space. As the tear closed behind them, the mamba immediately threw it's bumpers upward to the ceiling of the room, punching a distinctly shaped dent on its surface, and unleashing a torrent of scrap and debris within this confined space. The light show, that ensued from the collision of these with the prismatic shields of Darkdrift, was quite the sight to behold, as violent green flashes completely lit up the hangar. If the pilot wasn't as worried for the integrity of his property, he would've probably enjoyed the ride.
In a fraction of a minute, the auditory chaos finally began subsiding. The carrier has arrived to it's destination, under the bright light of a neighboring yellow dwarf.
"Attention! We have arrived to Zipa 370. Carcosa is to be considered a warzone from here on forward. Until further command, all system security vessels under the command of the dictator shall be considered target practice. Happy hunting, trophies can be turned in at the bar for compensation!”
With the announcement, carrier lockdown has been lifted. All landing pads have ascended to their functional positions, all except for a medium one, where the blast doors have failed to fully disengage. A mamba slipped out from underneath the malfunctioning metal beast.
"Did you at least have your seatbelts on?” a woman's voice emerged from the speakers next to Nate.
"Barely had time to do so, but I'm alright. What's all the hurry?”
"They're onto us now, with the accomplishments of the Reapers and us, it's becoming increasingly hard to mask our involvement. System control is all too happy to bend the laws to a way it suits them, so don't expect to call emergency hotlines in Carcosa without getting incarcerated. We faced two open attacks on the Rocher, and since murdering cops is bad for our continued existence within their space, we had to move out quickly."
"You will have to find an alternate place to restock the ship from here on forward" Nate exclaimed, after a short pause.
"We've been eyeing Union for a time now. Their infrastructure might be more advanced, so we can take care of that in less frequent bursts."
"Alright then. I expect to see the hanger doors functioning by the time i get back."
"Sure thing, Nathan, we'll sort that out. For once it's my bad."
"I wouldn't say it's the first-"
"Ok gotta go, lot to do, byye!" Jess slammed the commlink offline before Nate could've spoken another syllable.
They were safe for the time being. After a short break, everyone has gone back to work. The mamba, and a dozen other vessels have returned to Carcosa, while the haulers of the Rocher dispersed into the black, to begin preparation for the coming storm. The cleanup process is well underway.