An Unexpected Outcome (Part 1)
28 Jun 2022SupremeAnu
23:34 27 Jun, 3308 - Hedetet, Hermite DockI awoke abruptly to the sound of my comms. At this time of night, it had to be important. I rolled over lazily to check the new message notification on my screen. Through my sleep-encrusted eyes, I see a reply from the Paladin Consortium, a squadron I had reached out to over a day ago. I knew I would need some allies if I was going to follow in my mother's footsteps. When you're in the shadows, it's good to have a few friends watching your back.
The message was welcoming, accepting me with open arms. I only had to complete a few tasks and meet them at their HQ in LFT 37. I turned over to look at the security monitor across the room. "Good, my father is still sleeping," I thought to myself. I began to get dressed and head out the door towards the docks. Who knows how this will turn out? I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
I figured I'd make a couple of runs along the way, to clear my head. There's always money to be made in the margins.
I sent a comms signal to my co-pilot, Wiley Pennington, so he'd be waiting at the docks by the time I arrived. Wiley was a friend I had made while I was in flight school. We got close and have stuck together ever since.
Wiley was a man of few words, he came from a strict military family. He was raised around ships... and conflict. So what if his social skills were a bit dull? Even so, he was some of the best company to have in a firefight.
As I reached the starport docks, I walked through the door to my bay and saw the Songhai towering over me. I purchased this Anaconda with, literally, my entire life savings. I have this thought every time I see her, but she makes me happy all the same.
Wiley was waiting for me outside of the ship, as expected.
He greeted me with a nod and a gruff, "Commander!"
As I boarded the Songhai and sat in my chair, I quickly pulled up the galaxy map, planning out which goods to haul.
Wiley looked over at me and growled, "We know what we're walkin' into, Cap?"
Without taking my gaze off the map, I replied, "Hardly. It should be a friendly welcome, though. Let down your guard."
Wiley let out an indignant grunt in response. "I'm guessing he's insulted I asked him to drop his guard." I thought to myself.
I finished plotting our route and finally looked over at him, "We need the rest of that survival equipment loaded before we take off."
Wiley didn't acknowledge my statement, he was pretending to be distracted by our pre-flight checklist. He looked up from the co-pilot's seat and sighed, "Already done."
I nodded at him and said encouragingly, "As expected. Everything is ready. Are you?"
Once again, Wiley didn't respond. Another typical day, but this time with an unexpected outcome.
We detached our landing gear and began to take off into the black, in search of riches and answers.
01:38 27 Jun, 3308 - Songhai, Nemet
We had just dropped into the system, headed for our destination Hirase Horizons with a hold full of Cobalt. Suddenly, we hear the ship's computer alerting us of an interdiction!
"Commander! I'll outmaneuver them!" Wiley shouted over the ship's computer.
I calmly waved to him as I said, "No, need. I'll throttle down and submit. We will show them what we're capable of. I need you in the Condor, now."
Wiley nodded as he rushed out of his seat towards the fighter bay. As I dropped from supercruise, I deployed the ship's weapons and directed full power towards the engine. As I turned the ship around, I caught a glimpse of our guest.
"Look's like a low-rank pirate," I muttered over the comms to Wiley.
He responded with a laugh, "We'll make quick work of them and be on our way, then!"
As he deployed from the fighter bay in our F63 Condor, I locked onto our target and pelted them with my multi-cannons and missiles.
Wiley flanked our opponent and took down his shield with his pulse lasers. In a matter of minutes, we had him on the brink of death. The Songhai detected a high-wake signal, but it was too late. His ship exploded with a satisfying BANG before scattering into the void.
"Bring her in, bud! We've got a schedule to keep," I said triumphantly to Wiley over the comms.
No response, but I knew he was satisfied. Once Wiley docked the Condor, we continued our journey to Hirase Horizons unimpeded.