Commander Grind and the Alliance Chieftain - The AX Engineered Titan
14 Sep 2024CMDR GRIND
In the deep, dark reaches of space, where star systems shimmered like distant fireflies, Commander Grind stood tall aboard The Grindstone, his beloved Alliance Chieftain. A rugged man in his late thirties, Grind had spent years traversing the void, carving his name into the very fabric of the galaxy. His legend as a fearless bounty hunter and skilled combat pilot was well-known throughout the galaxy. But now, a new challenge loomed—one that required more than just speed, firepower, or cunning. The Thargoids were back, and their invasion was fiercer than ever.The Thargoids, those enigmatic, biomechanical alien ships, had recently begun sweeping through human-inhabited systems, leaving destruction in their wake. Anti-Xeno (AX) combat was the galaxy’s latest and most desperate form of warfare. And if Grind was going to stand a chance, he needed to upgrade his ship to take the fight to these alien monstrosities.
His Chieftain, the Grindstone, was already an incredible vessel. It had taken down countless human adversaries, been through pirate ambushes, and even survived battles against Federal Corvettes. But the Thargoids were an entirely different breed of enemy. Their organic hulls regenerated, their weapons pierced shields as if they didn’t exist, and their swarming drones overwhelmed even the most experienced pilots. AX combat required a completely different kind of ship.
Grind gazed at his Chieftain in the docking bay of Jameson Memorial, deep in thought. He had called in favors, traded rare commodities, and traveled far across the galaxy to get the parts he needed for the modifications he envisioned.
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The engineering began.
First, he stripped out the old weapons. They had served him well in countless dogfights, but they were useless against the Thargoids. Instead, he installed a pair of Gauss Cannons, the signature weapon of the AX combat elite. These high-powered railguns could punch through Thargoid hulls like nothing else, provided you could aim them right. Grind had spent weeks in the simulators mastering the precision required, knowing that in the heat of combat, he would only have seconds to hit a Thargoid’s heart—their only true weak spot.
Next came the hull reinforcements. Regular armor was no match for the corrosive goo that Thargoids fired, which could eat through metal in seconds. So, Grind had outfitted the Grindstone with specialized AX armor plating, capable of resisting the organic weapons. He also fitted the ship with Guardian technology—ancient alien relics that were humanity’s only hope of turning the tide against the Thargoid menace. Guardian shield boosters, Guardian power plants, and even Guardian weapons were integrated into the ship’s systems, making it a hybrid of human ingenuity and alien might.
But Grind knew that brute force alone wouldn’t win the day. The Thargoids had a habit of swarming their enemies, overwhelming even the toughest ships with sheer numbers. So, he focused on agility. The Grindstone was already fast, but after countless modifications, it was now a nimble predator in the black. Reinforced thrusters, engineered by the legendary Professor Palin, allowed for rapid direction changes, giving Grind the edge when dodging Thargoid attacks.
"That should do it," Grind muttered as he completed the final tweak to the power distributor. AX combat required an obscene amount of power for weapons and shields, and the slightest misstep in energy management could mean death. The upgraded distributor would ensure that his ship’s systems would stay operational even under the harshest conditions.
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A week later, Commander Grind sat in the cockpit of The Grindstone, gazing out into the dark abyss. In the distance, a Thargoid Cyclops floated ominously near a wrecked human megaship. Grind clenched his jaw, adrenaline pulsing through his veins as he armed his Gauss Cannons.
The first shot was the hardest. The Cyclops didn’t flinch as the railgun’s blue-white trail punched into its hull. But then, the familiar screech of a Thargoid ship filled the comms as it turned its menacing, flower-like body toward him.
Grind maneuvered the Grindstone like a dancer, sidestepping the incoming plasma volleys with fluid grace. His Guardian boosters hummed as they soaked up the next wave of caustic missiles. His fingers danced over the controls as he primed the next Gauss Cannon shot. The Cyclops launched its swarm of Thargon drones, but Grind was ready.
With a quick flick, he deployed his AX multi-cannons, shredding the drones before they could close in. Sweat trickled down his brow as he dodged another barrage, spinning his ship into a high-speed barrel roll. His heart pounded in his chest as he lined up his next shot.
Then came the moment of truth. He fired once, twice, and finally, with a perfectly placed shot, the Gauss Cannon slammed into the Cyclops’ exposed heart. A deafening screech echoed through the ship’s comms as the Thargoid exploded in a burst of green fire, shrapnel, and organic debris.
Grind let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, watching as the remains of the alien ship drifted off into the void. He knew this was only the beginning. The Thargoid war was far from over, but with his engineered Alliance Chieftain, the Grindstone, he was ready for whatever came next.
Commander Grind smirked as he set a course to the next system under threat. The galaxy was a dangerous place, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, in AX combat, there were only two types of pilots—those who were prepared, and those who were dead.
And Grind had no intention of being the latter.