A rescue mission
03 May 2021Totallymady
Transmission signal connectedSabre 2 status report:
Receiving the distress call I immediately ditched the conflict at Nanomam and headed straight towards its source at Apura and once I entered the system began picking up the remnants of Rapier 2's beacon on the moon A7. Upon arrival at the source it was immediately clear that his Diamondback Explorer had impacted with tremendous velocity, I have never seen a ship so damaged yet still intact, well most of it.
Initial scans showed no sign of it's occupant, fearing the worst I landed on the surface and took to scouting the nearby area in an SRV, it didn't take long before I found what I was looking for.
In the distance I saw a purple SRV on it's side on the steep slope of a cliff, the lights were flickering but I could clearly see movement on the inside along with the occasional frantic turning of the wheels, presumably in an attempt to stabilize himself.
As I approached we managed to establish a communications link, after several attempts we managed to flip his SRV back the right way but damage was bad. The engine was barely functioning as it gasped for fuel, the main tank was badly damaged and was spewing fuel everywhere.
We proceeded to head back to the remains of his Diamondback Explorer and closely inspect the damage, shockingly most of the core internals were functional, most of the damage and been absorbed by the landing gear and hull, albeit the drives were busted, scans reported they were sitting at 5% integrity and falling. Acting quickly we agreed to part ways for a moment as I scrambled to the local station for tools, limpets and basic supplies.
I immediately returned to the scene of the incident and began attempts at repairs but local interference from the moon caused several problems with this, with a bit of luck and a lot of perseverance a limpet managed to attach itself in the perfect spot and began working its technical magic.
Rapier 2 luckily had the foresight to bring with him a welding unit which he used to seal up most of the rupture to the right Engine. After exhausting all our options we decided that we had nothing left to try but firing them up, it wasn't pretty and it certainly wasn't quiet but sure enough after several attempts the engines burned beautifully bright, throwing out the biggest light show I have ever seen.
As we ascended from the surface to make our way back to the nearby station of Piccard Gateway Rapier 2 proceeded to inform me of what happened moments before impact, I still cannot believe what I heard so I will keep it brief.
Rapier 2 was performing reconnaissance in the area when he was hit out of nowhere by an object of unknown origin, he said it might have been a railgun but as he couldn't see that it could have been anything.
The impact shredded his thrusters and he had no choice but to enable auto pilot and make an emergency exit via his SRV, launching it from the bay like an escape pod, using his thrusters to try to slow his descent and using the steep cliffs to his advantage.
I think it would be better to hear the story from the source but as you can imagine he is pretty shaken up right now and is taking a moment to recompose himself.
As we approached Piccard Gateway the impromptu repairs started to give, a malfunction caused him to drop from supercruise, fearing the worst I held my breath and waited for a sign.
Luckily it was just a reboot and moments later his signal appeared on my radar, I let out a sigh of relief, we were too close to fail now!
As soon as we closed in on Piccard Gateway the impact of dropping out of supercruise combined with his weakened thrusters sent him into an uncontrollable spiral. Trying to match his vector I positioned my ship just in front of his and reduced speed ever so slightly, this allowed him to regain control and slowly approach the station, continuing docking procedures as normal.
I need to lie down, It's been one hell of a day, [REDACTED] where is that coffee I asked for?
Transmission ended