The flames of Summerland
21 Feb 2022Mary Quinn
The right engine made another slamming sound and its thrust weakened significantly, forcing the other engine to compensate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another warning light come on to my right, but my attention was focused on the communications panel. Ahead of me, Henry O'Hare's Hangar Station spun slowly through the vacuum of space, its illuminated, advertising-laden airlock taunting me as I waited two minutes to enter. Gritting my teeth, I contacted the station again."Delacy Mike Alpha Romeo to station, one of my engines has failed, I can't wait any longer, let me in for God's sake, or you'll have a disabled Krait MK II right outside the airlock!"
The response crackled through the communicator, telling me that a pad was - at last - available and that the damage would be taken care of as soon as I arrived at the indicated location. I turned the aircraft 90 degrees to take advantage of the thrust of the side engines to gain speed while sparing my right main engine, then turned the right way just before passing through the airlock, accompanied by thick black smoke. I heard my shield crackle as it grazed the airlock gates, while a Cobra Mk III coming out had to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid the collision.
More lights lit up on the right panel. I had just entered the station, and the oxygen in the artificial atmosphere caused the damaged reactor to ignite, no doubt making the arrival spectacular. I made my way as fast as I could to my assigned area, there was a small emergency crew on the edge of the pad - they're used to it by now, with all the fighting out there. My landing gear hit the ground hard, the Krait Mk II bounced once before coming to rest. Black smoke caught me for a moment, before the glass in my cockpit was drowned in firefighting foam, along with the rest of my ship. After the last jolt, I slid back into my seat, closing my eyes. The communicator crackled again.
"Delacy Mike Alpha Romeo, please stay in your spacecraft while the emergency team is working."
It's okay, I thought. I can wait. It took some effort to get my hands to let go of the controls. Then I put the cost of repairing my Krait out of my mind, after all, the Empire was paying big for the forced dismantling of Darkwater. Forced dismantling... I should say massacre. Although I had never held the Empire in my heart (it always seemed far away), I understood the importance of what was happening. The attachment of the Imperial people to the ruling family was strong. They had been afraid, they had suffered, and it had all crystallized for a year until the actions of the traitors and the activities of Darkwater were exposed. I didn't see this conflict as a political maneuver, but rather as a cry of anger, an outburst of pure hatred for those who had attacked the heart of the empire. This fervor in battle, in the Summerland system, reminds me once again that we are always torn between the calculated decisions and the more vivid and fiery ones of our emotions. Foam was slowly running down the cockpit canopy when the communicator crackled again.
"Delacy Mike Alpha Romeo, the emergency team response procedure is complete, watch out for slippery ground, and welcome to our station."