Homecoming
14 Mar 2022Fallharbor
*The pouring of liquid into a glass can be heard near the microphone. A chair is rolled closer and creaks under the weight of someone sitting. The glass thumps back onto the table.* ///Commander Fallharbor...Personal log March third, thirty three oh eight... ///
I'm not sure what had happened or where it had been but the Carrier was under attack by pirates. Not surprising with how easy a target it seemed. We dropped out of super cruise 8km out and could already see the the corrosion. Fires burst throughout the carrier as ships blazed by. There were no fighters from Hecate's Rest, only the carrier's main cannons firing. It looked like the pirates were keeping any fighters from being able to launch with constant bombardment of the landing pads. That's if anyone was still in there to fly...
"Jen, I'm going to fly us right up to one of the carrier's airlocks. I'll need you in a taipan to-"
"Distract the pirates. Got it," she says immediately starting up the telepresence.
I switched the ship to silent running and began flying closer to the carrier as soon as Jen's fighter was off. I saw her fly to the stern of the carrier and start firing off at the pirates. Enough of them took the bait and gave me an opening to fly under the carrier near the bow. The closer I got the more I saw the extent of the corrosion. This wasn't regular wear and tear. It resembled the caustic damage I'd seen at various stations attacked by Thargoids or the NMLA but...how? When? There wasn't time to think about it. I found a corroded airlock and flipped the Arbmos on her belly to flush against it.
"Commander...be careful. There's no telling if any of them are in there..." Jen said as she prepared to launch a new fighter.
I nodded and I ran to the armory where I donned my maverick suit and strapped on a tormentor and intimidator. I could hear the Taipans redeploying quicker than usual. The pirates must have been targeting Jen which hopefully meant giving the landing pads an opening. I ran to the airlock and closed it behind me then, I took a deep breathe before I was thrown out of the ship immediately after opening the outer airlock.
"The Arbmos was hit! Commander!? Commander! Are you ok!?"
My ears rang a little before the sound of Jen's voice became clearer. Luckily I was thrown into a crevasse not far from the carrier's airlock. I gripped to whatever was around and started making my way.
"I-I'm fine! You'll need to move the Arbmos. Take out whoever you can! And if it gets too hot-"
"Shut up and get in there!"
The Arbmos flew up over the carrier out of sight as I made it to the airlock and began cutting the panel. It felt like an eternity has I slowly made a circle big enough to zap the panel and open the airlock. It jammed due to it's corroded state and I pulled it open enough to squeeze through. Once inside I jammed the doors closed enough and hoped it sealed before opening the inner doors. The halls were only illuminated by the occasional flashing red lights. My suit notified me the atmospheric pressure was low. I took the Tormentor in hand and began navigating towards the bridge closing the bulk head doors behind me as I cleared each room. So far there weren't any enemies inside but I didn't see any of the crew either. It was when I stood in the hall before the concourse that my suit notified me of ideal atmospheric conditions. "Maybe they're in there...I hope..." I thought to myself. I froze as I turned the corner to the concourse. The door was shut but on it was a symbol I'd only seen in passing on Galnet a few months before. The triangle with the flower shaped alien in front. The planet like symbols circling it. The Order of the Far God's emblem and below it strange writing scratched frantically.
M̴̤͒̾̾a̴͉̐́y̸̨͙̒̎̀ ̸̢͉̚T̸̹͋h̶̭̰̑͝ē̶̖͑ ̵̨͉̺̉̚F̸̡̡̆ͅạ̵̈r̷̺̳̊̆̚ ̵̡̛̣̐Ǵ̵̠̘̳o̵͎̟̙͝d̸͈̈̽̆ ̷̢̳͙̈B̷̯͉́l̵̡̑͂é̴̖̞̭̓͗s̷̞̦͗s̴͇͐̆ ̶͓̟̰̑͘U̴͓͗s̸͈͍̼̈́
There wasn't time to figure it out then, so I cut into the panel and opened the concourse doors. I was immediately stopped by a young man.
"Stop right there, pirate!" he yelled holding a rifle to my face with shaky hands.
"I'm not a pirate. I'm here to help." I responded calmly as holstered my gun and raised my hands. "I am Commander Fallharbor. My ship is out there attempting to distract some of those pirates so that your fighters could launch. Are there any pilots left?"
The young man didn't lower their rifle. Behind him were huddled families and in certain corners were groups praying or...chanting? I couldn't tell. I looked back at the young man and quickly grabbed the rifle away from them.
"If I wanted to hurt anyone I already would have. Where is the crew of the ship?"
The young man was startled and took a step back. An older woman walked up behind him and held on to his shoulders. "It might be easier to talk to whoever is behind that mask."
I pondered a moment and remembered I was wearing the Tiger helm. I removed it and saw the two in front of me relax if only a little. "You said your name is Fallharbor?" the woman asked stepping forward and examining my face. "The crew is on the bridge. You'll have to talk to the Captain," she said and pointed to the far side of the concourse.
I thanked her and headed towards the bridge walking past the hurt families and chanting circles. The doors to the bridge opened and I was yet again stopped by armed soldiers. These must be the pilots.
"Halt! Identify yourself!" one of them yelled.
"I'm Commander Fallharbor. I'm here to help" I repeated. I hate repeating myself.
"Unidentified Faulcon deLacy ship respond immediately!" I could hear a voice from the command deck yell.
"That's my ship! Let me speak to your captain!" I said pointing up at the command deck. The two looked at me and then each other before they escorted me up to the deck. At gun point no less.
"Forget it. Open fire at all the ships! It must just be another pirate." the woman at the Captains chair said.
"Wait! That's my ship. My crew is out there trying to make an opening for the landing pads!" I yell out running towards the Captain. I stopped dead in my tracks with my arms raises as the rifles behind me charged up. "Please!"
The Captain stood up and looked me up and down. "And how do I know all those ships aren't yours and you're not just part of a boarding party?"
"If I was I wouldn't have left everyone in the concourse alive."
She looked behind me to the two guards and then back at me.
"If you have any pilots left we can get them out and regain control of this. The Arbmos is good on it's own but even better with a wing."
The Captain looks at me hesitantly.
"Captain! Hull break in sectors 9 and 10! We're losing air fast!" says the officers at the controls.
"Fine! All pilots, report to any functioning hangars and fly out! Let's take these bastards out!" the captain yelled into the comms. She turned back to look at me, this time with a more pleading look "Tell your ship to do what they can until we can get the fighters out and make emergency repairs!"
I nodded and followed the pilots back to the hangars. "Jen! Prepare to do a run on my mark. Get as many of them away from the pads for as long as you can! We're coming out!"
"Roger that Commander!"
There weren't may ships left and the remaining pilots seemed to have their preferences. Tucked in a corner was a red alliance challenger. The paint of the name barely legible but it read Berserker. Berserker...The ship seemed familiar. I vaguely remembered playing around a similar ship as a kid. Could it be? Could this be my mother's ship!? I jumped in and was overwhelmed by memories. Corners of the ship I played in. Stories my mom and dad would tell me of space and mythological beings. As I sat on the chair I memories of my mother teaching my to fly. This was is it. There was no doubt in my mind.
"Welcome back young Fallharbor, this is Luciana. COVAS of the Berserker," the ship said as it booted up. It remembered me... "It has been 24 years since my last diagnostic. Please wait while I run-"
"There's no time. We need to go now! Override pre-flight diagnostics and all checks."
"Commander, it is inadvisable to-"
"Now, Luciana!"
The ship's controls were released to me. I opened a channel to all pilots and linked it with the Arbmos. "All pilots, shout off when ready." The 10 ships that were functioning all sounded off and got into position. "Open hangar bay doors! Now Jen! Mark! Mark!"
We flew out of the hangars, missiles, beams, plasma all shooting. Three ships immediately went down but the rest of us got far away enough. The Berserker took a little getting use to. She was faster and much more agile than the Arbmos and her firepower was a godsend. With the Arbmos, the Berserker, and the remaining pilots we managed to fend off the pirates long enough for the carrier's engineers to repair the FSD.
"This is Captain England of the Fleet Carrier Hecate's Rest calling all friendlies. Dock now for an emergency FSD Jump! Now! Now! Now!"
The hangar bays were open enough for our ships to get in as the carrier ripped into Witch-space. It was done. I was home and home was safe, for now...
*Doors can be heard opening in the distance on the recording. The microphone is covered while muffled voices are heard. The recording ends.*