The Folly (HIP 22460)
09 Aug 2022Ember Kurokishi
Ember was docked ar Ried Ring, back home when the weapon fired. When the news feed showed what she had feared would happen. The weapon worked at first.... and then all hell broke loose. Once it was all over and the Evac alert was sent out by the Pilots Federation, she chuckled. "Never time for a break these days." As she opened comms to Ruben, Phoenix's old fighter pilot.
"Ready the jump ship, I have a couple AX ships stored on the Renegade and I want to know what the hell just happened."
Ruben responded: "You know as well as I do its gonna be risky, the place is probably swarming with those damned aliens! What do you hope to find?"
Ember stopped for a moment, before replying: "Survivors, logs for evidence. I was never the biggest fan of the superpowers, or Azimuth. I have to know if anyone survived. Yes the superpowers were lead into this bullshit in the hopes of finally having a solution to this problem. As much as I disagreed with it, there wasn't really a change their mind option. They clearly weren't listening. Now they say they want to exercise caution? Fuck that. We're going in there. "
Ruben chuckled: "Sounds like there is no changing your mind either. Very well, you know where to meet me. I'll make sure to drop a line to Cayce and the others. Sure they would like to know where we're going."
Ember nodded: "Wouldn't be right to leave em in the dark after everything we've had happen recently. Phoenix, the operation, and Lucius... if he were here now he'd probably be rushing headlong into it with us. Something tells me Cayce won't be too far behind us though."
Some time later
Ember sat aboard the Renegade, which was orbiting a T Tauri star in Synuefe GX-B C16-6, not far from HIP 22460. A voice cracks over the PA,
"Commander Kurokishi, your ship is ready for you on Pad 7. I am not sure why the hell you want to go into that mess. I won't waste my time trying to discourage you. I know already that's pointless. Godspeed." It was Captain Hudson.
Ruben spoke up: "Seems our ride is ready, and our old Federal friend knows not to discourage us."
Ember gave Ruben a look: "I think even your old comrades in the Imperial Navy would know not to discourage me, I'll do what I have to do."
Ruben chuckled: "Fair point, you remind me a bit of Phoenix you know. Ready to do what needs to be done, I think we'll get along just fine. Besides, that life is behind me as I am sure Hudson's Navy life is behind him. The old banter habits die hard."
Ember smiled as she made her way down to the Corvette, simply designated "Matoi" It was a purpose-built ship made for combatting the thargoid threat head on while providing repair support to other commanders. Armed with four guardian Gauss cannons and a complement of Guardian Module Reinforcements to protect her internals....
Ember took one good long look at the ship, and mentally prepared. She didn't know what she'd see when she got into the system.
She turns to Ruben one last time with a serious demeanor: "So long as its ONLY banter and not jabs at one another. It's fine. Remember, he works for Cayce. Now let's get going." Her voice giving an unusually stern undertone.
Ruben nodded "Yes Ma'am" and along with Ember made his way to the ship, climbing into one of the other seats in the cockpit.
Ember sat down in the pilot's seat and looked out the canopy in front of her. "If anyone's out there..." She took a deep breath, "We're coming"
"This is Core Dynamics Alpha Romeo Kilo One requesting takeoff." It only took a moment before there was a response. "You're clear for take off commander, exercise extreme caution, we don't know what you're heading into." The Corvettes pad lifted to the surface and the ship was released. Ember pointed the nose up, set course for HIP 22460 and engaged the FSD once she was clear of the carrier. "We'll be back, that much you can count on." The ship disappeared into hyperspace shortly after.
Nothing could have prepared the two for what the nav panel showed them once they arrived. Or for the warning that blared in their ears as the star came into view and the Hyperspace jump completed. "WARNING HAZARDOUS ENVIORNMENT" The panels were glitchy, the nav panel only showed multiple debris field signals. The megaships Azimuth had brought in we're showing as damaged. Ember's heart sank a bit.
"Don't tell me .... there are no survivors."
Ruben appeared just as shocked but managed to get a sentence out: "Maybe those who survived already escaped."
Ember was plotting a course for one of the megaships when the Corvette suddenly threw out warnings for internal damage.
"What the fuck?!?!" She quickly did a systems check and saw that the guardian modules were taking heavy damage.
"What in the hell did you do Salvation?!" She exclaimed as she plotted a course for the Audacious Dream.
Ruben played through all of the possibilities in his head, even with his time in the Imperial Navy, he'd never seen anything do this kind of damage so quickly. "It appears to only be damaging the Guardian modules, this does mean we will be defenseless. Is this Salvations doing or the Thargoids?"
Ember snarled a bit as the weapons went inoperable followed by the module reinforcements: "I knew this whole superweapon thing was a stupid idea. I just knew it. If the aliens find us we will be sitting ducks." The ship reached its destination and dropped out of supercruise.
Both Ember and Ruben froze when they looked out at the carnage. The Hull of the Majestic class, stained with signs of caustic damage, and the dozens of imperial navy vessels floating lifelessly nearby it. The lives that Ember had tried to save just days prior, had been snuffed out anyways, the realization set in. Operation Wych Hunt had been right to oppose Azimuth and Salvation, to try and prevent all of this needless bloodshed. It was only a matter of time before the superpowers learned exactly how much they lost.
Ruben stared out at the carnage: "Salvation... no more like Damnation, there are debris field signatures near the other capital class vessels commander. I don't think there's anyone left out here to save. This system is a graveyard now." Moments after he finished his sentence.
"WARNING FRAME SHIFT ANOMOLY DETECTED!"
Ember snapped back to reality as the alert repeated a few more times: "SHIT THEY FOUND US, WE'VE GOTTA GO."
She hurried and set a course back to Synuefe GX-B C16-6 to report back to the Renegade what she'd found. As multiple Medusa and Hydra Class Interceptors started appearing around the lifeless Audacious Dream. The FSD spooled and the system left, narrowly escaping the shutdown fields.
Ruben and Ember remained silent all the way back to the hangar bays of the Renegade... Ember knew Cayce was not going to take this news lightly.