Phoenix found; time to go.
19 Jul 2022Cayce Luther
(The following starts back earlier, after Phoenix had been found in one of Ember's logbooks.)"Load her up; I got her from here. Everyone get back to their ships and follow me! Best we get the fuck outta here before anyone else shows up."
The Folly lifted off from the planet's surface as soon as Cayce hit the command chair. He didn't even reach the orbital ceiling before he hit supercruise. The black Anaconda tore through local space as Cayce looked over the Galaxy map, trying to find a friendly port nearby, Ember following in the Crusader, and Arisu and Ruben bringing up the DBXs, the four ships trying to maintain a formation, though supercruise made that difficult. Cayce slammed his fist against the armrest of his chair. "Damnit!"
Shyanne looked over from her station. "Problems?"
"I know better...I know better. And I still dove into that on foot."
"Yeah. That wasn't your finest moment."
"I'm such an idiot.."
"We said you needed sleep but no...you didn't listen."
"Right...let's get out of here before things go to shi-"
Ping "Commander I heard what was going on!"
"...Too late." Cayce groaned and clicked the comms open. "Sapphire..yeah. We got Phoenix we're getting ready to retreat. Swing around and form up."
Another squadron member, Sapphire Lanse, had popped in. "Roger. How is she?"
"Not great; but holding on; we need to get her help and fast."
Shyanne picked through navigational data. "There are plenty of carriers nearby. We should be able to hai-"
"Frame shift injection charging"
Shyanne slowly looked back over towards Cayce as she plotted, He was in the nav screen looking around. "Commander?"
"Don't worry Shyanne I got it." Cayce sat back and pinged the squadron locally. "All ships; set a course for Atropos. Inject if you have to but the Folly with her booster can make it in two."
Cayce was met with a cacophony of protests, to which Shyanne also joined in on. "Atropos sir? That's Federation space."
"Not trusting a carrier to help Phoenix and we're hip deep in fed territory according to the maps...may as well make for a semi-friendly port."
"But how can you know they'll help?"
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!" The verbal clutter over the comms went dead. "...We've helped Atropos in the past. If we're lucky they won't ask questions...at least right away. Plot your courses for Kepler orbital and make tracks before Salvation's goons show up. That's an order."
After a round of hesitantly spoken affirmations, Cayce cut the comms and started to aim the ship. He gripped the controls tightly as even he had reservations. It was a risk, but it was the best move they had outside of waiting for the Renegade or Alexandria, and that meant hanging around the system, vulnerable to another potential attack. Best to retreat and plot the next move somewhere safe..
The FSD pinged and Cayce hit the button, the Folly and her escort disappearing to various systems, leaving Iraxon Lane and DG Canum Venaticorum behind.
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The Folly exited into Atropos space little more than minutes later. Cayce sat around the star just long enough to search for and wait for the rest of the squadron to appear on his screens and he began to aim the ship towards Kepler. "Everybody good?" A chorus of 'Affirmatives' came over comms as the ships settled in on the Anaconda. "Good. Let's get out of this mess..."
The wing of ships travelled in silence as their pilots focused on their tasks. Finally, the ships exited supercruise and the red engine trails of the Folly lit up as the ship launched forward towards the mail slot of the station. He pinged ATC the second he hit 7500 meters. "Kepler ATC this is the DPHS ship Luther's Folly requesting emergency docking permission. I've got a squadron member in bad shape and in need of immediate medical attention."
There was a pause as the Anaconda flew towards the mail slot. For a moment, Cayce thought he was going to have to break off. But just as he was about to. "Commander Luther this is Kepler ATC; permission granted. Please make your way to pad nine as quickly as possible. Medical services will be waiting on your arrival. We wish it were under happier circumstances, but welcome back Commander."
Cayce turned and looked at Shyanne, who nodded. Cayce nodded in return. "Acknowledged. All ships; head in."
The Folly slid through the mail slot shortly after, followed quickly by the rest of the squadron that had followed her.
