The Hellstrom Deception 2
26 Jun 2023Vodan
Find Part 1 here
There was an impact to the rear of the hull so powerful it sounded like a siege ram hitting the cockpit bulkhead. It was followed by two more impacts just as powerful, one after the other in quick succession.
Creamys’ impulse was to target the escape jump and charge the FSD, but knowing Vengerfields fleet was watching every jump point within range, Creamy hadn’t set one. Honestly, he didn’t expect anyone to be fool enough to follow him this far anyway. All he could do now was fly evasive until he knew where the enemy was.
Nervous of the unknown, Creamy didn’t want to enter the maelstrom so the Knight twisted and drifted, skimming the xenon blight. By the way his ship moved, he could tell main propulsion had taken the brunt of the damage from the unknown attacker. As he was trying to feel out how to compensate for the imbalance, Ninette sounded the missile closing alert. Before he could react, another less powerful strike with an explosion pushed the Knight into a slide.
“FSD offline” reported Ninette.
Creamy wasn’t going to jump, he couldn’t this close to the maelstrom, but it would have been nice to have supercruise as an option if he got out of its influence. Now, that chance for escape had been taken away.
“Ooh, we’re fucked” said Vodan his voice low, still in denial about his raising panic. “Those hits were a Hammer and an RPD. That’s the fuckin Acinonyx and its pilot Mutara only flies to kill”
Again, as if to validate Vodans’ assumptions, the one-after-the-other quick hits of an Imperial Hammer, were followed by the double impact of two smaller rail guns. That was the Acinonyx’s load-out and Vodan knew what was on the Mamba’s largest hard point.
There was no way Creamys’ AX ship could stand up to, or get way from the Acinonyx, Vodan was sure of it. If they somehow outran the much faster Mamba, Mutara would snipe them to death with the rails. If he caught up with them, he’d drop a torpedo right on top of the Knight.
Looking into the dead-moss like maelstrom, Vodan watched ship-sized Thargoid objects, like the seeds of an alien tree hanging in space drift by. Heavy thumps of more rail shots punctuated by the ripping of meatal as the rounds were tearing the Knight apart sounded distant. Ninettes sweet voice telling them that the engines were in critical condition felt more like the memory of a dream.
Undoing his belt, Vodan pushed himself towards Creamy and forced the man’s hand to turn the Knight into the Maelstrom. Concentrating on escape and the unexpected action of Vodan meant Creamy was completely surprised, and didn’t kick Vodan into concussive sleep before he was to close for Creamys’ feet to enter the game.
“The bloody hell are you doing man” exclaimed Creamy, easily able to resist Vodan, bring the Knight back into the sanguine glow of the red star.
The unexpected wobble in the Knights’ flight-path did let a volley of rail shots from the Acinonyx go by instead of finish off the engines. The near miss reminded Creamy how close they were to being adrift, completely at the mercy of the Mamba.
“We need cover now, and that’s all the cover there is. Get the fuck in there you poncie cocksucker” threated Vodan pushing with all his might against Creamys’ arm.
He did have a point, so Creamy stopped resisting Vodan. Watching the green trailed near miss disappear into the distance was all the convincing he had needed.
Pulling Vodan out the way by his suits belt, Creamy plunged the Knight into the heavy smog of Thargoid war, heading for the closest caustic generator.
“Ninette, give me a rear view in my suits hud, and be ready for Creeping Frost”
Launching a repair limpet, Creamy waited a half second before he boosted straight for the heretical crucifix of a pulsing caustic generator. The rear camera view let him see the long green trail of the Mamba curve, showing Mutara was not going to give up the chase no matter where his prey was bolting.