Blood and Thunder Pt. 1: Them Crooked Vultures
17 Apr 2019Virtus Vrtra
Our mission was simple. Eliminate the local pirate infestation, collect their leaders bounty and go home. Easy. My wingman was TF-13's newest prospect. A young pilot by our standards, but boy could he fly a Krait. Despite his lack of experience, he had a certain aire about him. Calm and collected, even in the face of death. Guys back at the base have taken to calling him "Cools." A fitting name, I must say. Our destination was the ring of a mighty gas giant, covered in storm clouds. Close quarters, zero visbility... Great. "Alright Cools, we have the coordinates. Lets bring it in, nice and easy"
"You got it boss"
An eerie glow was cast upon the rocky belt from the nearby Red Dwarf. The dusty fog was bathed in a dull blood red light. Perhaps a premonition of the violence to come? Sure seemed like it. We maintained an altitude of 1 km above the ring, searching for enemy activity. Nothing. We continued for at least an hour without even a hint of movement.
My motion scanner shattered the silence. "INCOMING MISSILE DETECTED!" Dammit, they got the jump on us! The missile cracked against my shields, sending a violent jolt throughout my hull. "Cools, break formation. Get a scan on that bastard. I need to know what we're dealing with here"
"Already on it sir. Three Vultures. They were silent running in the belt."
Odin had smiled upon us. Silent running means no shields. If we were going to make it out alive, we had to act fast. "Jump on that straggler Cools, Ill take these two for a ride. This missile guy is mine!" I wheeled my ship around and sprinted straight into the field of rocks, my assailants hot on my heels. I deftly maneuvered through the narrow openings between the rocks, gun fire and explosives erupting all around me. As I crested a sizeable asteroid, I cut power to my reactive control surfaces, and manually whipped a 180° on the blind side of the rock. As the Vultures came around the corner, I kicked my flight assist back on, and boosted straight towards my vulnerable prey. With a smooth squeeze of the trigger, my plasma accelerators cleaved right through the first Vulture's port thruster, sending him off course. The second Vulture wasn't so lucky. I had him locked in my sights, and it was time for my trademark "Tactical Headbutt." My thrusters trembled as I pushed even more boost. As I thundered toward my opponent, a smile crept upon my face. The nimble Vulture attempted to evade the killing blow, but it was a futile effort. The side of my ironclad hull clipped the fragile ship, and he careened toward a nearby asteroid. Spiralling out of control, the Vulture crumpled into the rocky mass, and erupted in a blaze of glory.
"Cools, how you hanging in there bud?"
"Target eliminated sir. Are we gonna take on that last bogey?"
"Negative. Lets maintain distance, see if he brings us to his boss"
"Roger that."
Just then, my ships computer interrupted with his usual nonchalant voice. "Incoming message from Rear Admiral Novy." This had better be important I thought to myself.
"This is Rear Admiral Novy, requesting all available assets to Eravate, IMMEDIATELY!"
"But sir, we're hot on the trail of a--"
"Just do it Virtus, that's an order! I'll brief you on the way."
"Sir yes sir. Ogre out"