Operation Wych Hunt
07 Aug 2022Cayce Luther
Gunshots rang out on a planetary base in Maia as fire was traded between independent pilots and Taurus Mining Ventures, which had rebranded itself 'Azimuth Biotech.' The pilots in question had formed a coalition as Salvation made his intentions known, and launched 'Operation Wych Hunt' with the sole intent of hindering or permanently stalling progress on the 'Proteus Wave.' Dozens, if not hundreds, of pilots from every walk of life descended upon Azimuth's bases throughout their territory raiding, bombing and engaging in BGS warfare against the corporation. Dead Pirate commanders joined in many of the operations, and this particular raid was no different.
Cayce ducked around a corner, kneeled and hucked a grenade down the hall. The Shield disruptor went off in the middle of a group of three and his AR50 opened fire. Rounds ripped through two as a pair of pilots backing him up joined, their weapons combined mowing down the Azimuth soldiers in short order. And no sooner had the three men fallen that the battlefield also fell silent.
Cayce slowly lowered his weapon after making sure the area was secure and started to stand and reached for his comms, clicking them on. "This is Luther. Echo is secure. Any more targets?"
A male voice responded. "Negative commander, the area's secure. Make for the drop ships and return to supply."
Cayce paused for a moment, taking a moment to exhale and secured his AR-50 to his back. "Copy that. Returning to the carrier."
"Copy that, Commander. See you aboard the Rest."
Cayce sighed and reached for the computer on his wrist, calling for his ship and started leaving the facility. It didn't take long for the Mamba Nanashi Mumei to drop from supercruise. After it set down nearby he boarded and the ship immediately took back off for the stars.
After some time and a few FSD jumps in the Mumei, Cayce emerges from supercruise at the Nautilus-class fleet carrier Stardragon's Rest, flagship of the Nebula Roses squadron and home base of the squadron's leader and one of the head organizers of 'Operation Wych Hunt,' Selene Stardragon. He let out a sigh and opened comms. "Stardragon's Rest this is Commander Luther aboard the Mamba Hotel Oscar Lima, requesting permission to land."
"Permission granted; pad 15 is open. Welcome to the Rest, Commander."
"Acknowledged." Cayce swung Mumei around and approached from the starboard side, settling down quickly.
Cayce climbed from his seat as the ship slowly lowered below decks, departing the Mamba as soon as the ship's movement stopped and making his way to the elevators.
Inside, the carrier was bustling with activity, crew and pilots running around, the majority of them wearing the Roses emblem. Cayce glanced around, taking in stock of the area as he walked the corridor. The atmosphere in the fleet carrier had the air of purpose, but despite the adversity the operation was facing overall spirits were high.
Cayce walked to the bar and grabbed a drink from the bar, then took to a nearby booth to sit down. The second he dropped into his seat all of his strength left him and he slumped back against the back rest exhaling slowly. "Fuck...I can't move."
He took a drink from his glass and sat it down, then just sat there, thinking. How long has he been awake? How long's he been pushing? What day is it even? Days on end was nothing new but on-foot combat was a different animal to ship combat or rescuing passengers. Cayce was running on fumes, and he knew it.
"Looking for some company?"
Cayce cracked his eye open and looked towards the voice, then visibly winced. "Oh, hey Shyanne."
The former Federal pilot grinned and sat down across from him, sliding a fresh glass across the table. "Heard you were finally back. Successful mission, I see."
"Heh, yeah. Pure cakewalk. Can't wait to go again."
"Right.." Shyanne eyed her Commander with a look that's heard that line before. "Get up, then."
Cayce, who's seen that look before, chuckles and shakes his head. "I think I'll stay, thanks."
"That's what I thought." She took a drink and looked back at him. "When was the last time you slept?"
"Good question...was just trying to figure that out myself."
Shyanne sighed. "You seriously need to stop doing this."
"Doing what?" Cayce raised an eyebrow.
"Going overboard in these fights. You do it far too often."
"Oh come on..."
"Atropos, with the Kepler evacuations, hell the entirety of the NMLA conflicts. The trips to Colonia and Sag A, the return and immediately going out to find Phoenix. And now you've been on this absolute warpath since Lucius' body was recovered."
Cayce grimaced, sat up and leaned forward, resting his arms on his table. "They almost took out Phoenix. They did take out Lucius. They don't get to walk away from that."
"I know that. But you're fighting this like you're the only one who can do anything. Look around."
Cayce glanced to his left. The bar was filled with pilots. Be they Nebula Roses, or from other squadrons or straight independent, there were dozens of people in this room alone, some he had fought with in recent days.
He turned back to Shyanne. "You're not alone in this, Commander. But every time the shit hits the fan you revert to this point of working by yourself, and then pushing way too hard."
Cayce lowered his head, sighing. It wasn't easy to admit, but she was right. Cayce was so used to doing things on his own. Being brought up in and out of orphanages on Achenar, and running around on his own after that as he worked his way towards his first Sidewinder, which he immediately plowed into the ground. It wasn't until Cayce ran into Phoenix while doing deliveries in Tumuzgo that he had finally found a group to settle down with. He shook his head and chuckled. "Heh...hard habit to break, I guess. Been at it so long.."
"All the more reason to take a break. Now. If you don't the next one joining Lucius will be you, and I don't think any of the others want to run this mess."
Cayce just looked at Shyanne for a second, then ran his hand through his hair. After a few minutes of sitting there he nodded and sighed. "Damnit...I hate when you're right."
"And yet you keep me around anyway." Shyanne chuckled.
"Yeah yeah. Alright I'll get some rest."
"Good. From the reports it looks like Azimuth will be retreating from Maia. So things should quiet down until we can figure out what to do about T Tauri."
Cayce paused for a moment, then just gave Shyanne a look. "...You couldn't, I dunno. lead with that?"
"And miss the opportunity to take you down a peg? Hardly.~"
Cayce just chuckles, grabs his glass and takes a drink. "Alright. Fair enough."
