Mission Log: Pleiades Sector IH-V c2-7 - Non-Human Signal Source (T4): 23 Ls from Borrego's Vision June 3rd 3306 11:24
03 Jun 2020Greybeard Seawolf
Today I was on a routine AXI patrol out of Borrego's Vision when I detected a NHSS (T4) approx 23Ls from the station. I jumped into the region in my Krait Mk II, GSS War Pig, deployed hardpoints and launched my XG7 Trident fighter. Apart from the wreckage of some poor bastards ship the area appeared empty. A scan didn't detect any activity and no visible wakes. As my finger hovered over the retract hardpoints button my xeno scanner lit up and the space all around me exploded with witchspace entry portals. As the Caustic Missile alert blared I hit boost and spun the ship to get some distance from them and figure out what I was facing. I ordered the fighter to engage at will and tried to make sense of the readings on my scanner. 4.....5....6........7 targets, I cursed at the time it took to twirl through the ident algorithims until finally the first target resolved into a Regenerator Class Thargoid Scout, temporarily separated from the rest of it's group as my fighter led them away in persuit. Still having no idea what the rest of the targets were I knew at least that I had precious little time to try and even the fight. I swung around and tagged the target with my long range beam, closed to 2 klicks, boosted straight at him opening up with my 4 AX multi's. I was rewarded with a cloud of debris as the AX shells struck home. As we roared around each other I managed to clip him each pass until it finally erupted in an expanding caustic cloud, which I only avoided by wrenching back the stick and boosting the hell out of there.
About 5 klicks away my fighter was taking damage in a web of weapons fire and thruster wakes, I tapped through the targets and managed to identify the remaining ships as 2 Inciter and 4 Maruder Class scouts. With their attention firmly on my fighter I got within 500m of the first Inciter undetected and hit it with everything I had. It lurched sideways, rolled and tried to accelerate away with me right on its tail, AX bullets tearing into it's hull. I was now the centre of attention and with missile warnings blaring in my ears, I didn't hear its death squeal and plowed right through its caustic explosion taking damage. My ship shuddered as at least 2 missiles hit and a wave of energy bursts battered my shields. I boosted away and assessed the damage shields at 60% and hull at 92%
My pilot announced ''We've lost the fighter Commander'', things were not looking good. The remaining Inciter was ahead and coming straight towards me. I lined it up dead centre in the crosshairs and pressed both triggers. Shit, shit shit, the multis were reloading and only the weaker beam laser fired. My knuckles whitened as I jammed the throttle forward, wrenched the stick back and punched the boost as a wave of energy bursts slammed into me, shields at 40%. I knew that if I didn't end this fast, I was toast so I throttled back, pitched the stick forward and used the boost to come in right behind the Incitor as it screamed past beneath me. The bullets tore it to pieces at point blank range and there was no way to avoid the explosion.
The rest of the action is a bit of a blur to be honest, I remember launching another fighter, without the speed boosts the Inciters gave them and the regen from the Regenerator the Marauders were slower and easier to take out. I made it back to Borrego's Vision with no shields and 46% hull damage, the post action shakes are so bad now that it's hard to drink this Rum without spilling most of it down the front of my flight suit, but I made it back. Barely!!