Tavgans.
23 Mar 2017Hersilia
Zed snickered to himself as his cobra mk3 propelled away from the wreckage of a T-6. The Cobra shuddered as it tried to accelerate to full speed with a 30 ton load of an assortment of fine wines, delicious food and hand made silks. If he could make it back to his contact in Sol, he could make a pretty penny. "C'mon Lady, just a bit more..." he urged Lady to move quicker, he had a feeling the T-6 will have sent out a distress beacon as he disabled it's thrusters and ordered them to unload their cargo or they ran the risk of becoming naught but space dust. Zed didn't like the idea of the incoming security vessels turning him into space dust. He flicked the FSD into action and let out a lung full of air as the countdown to hyperspace started. He was safe, for now at least.
Zed soon arrived in a system which instantly filled him with dread. His hurried fingers flicked through the system panels, trying to find another route but his heavy load was a restriction. This was not only the fastest, but the only route. Zed swallowed hard and looked at the glowing red 'Wanted' sign just to his right. He'd heard stories about this place. No crime went unpunished and the punishment was nearly always death. The Tavgans regarded themselves as judge, jury and executioner. Zed started to panic and moved his Cobra around the star, trying his best to make it to his next jump point without being noticed.
Too late. The interdiction shook Zed to his core. He'd only had it done to him a couple of times and that was for training purposes. Lady twisted and turned trying to find the escape vector but the force on the stick was too much for Zed to cope with. It was like trying to push a T-9 with your bare hands. Suddenly a loud bang signified Lady's exit from super-cruise and she went spinning out of control through a tiny sector of Tavgan space. Another bang. A steely, cold shape loomed out of the darkness and slowly, silently made it's way towards the spinning cobra. Inside Zed struggled with the stick and throttle. He swore profusely as the ship came to a stand still and heaved over the arm of his pilots chair. Wiping his mouth of his sleeve a loud, mechanical sounding voice blurted out over the voice comms.
"You have been selected for a random security search. Hold your position until told otherwise." The mechanical voice crackled and finished abruptly.
"Ship scan detected" Lady chimed. Zed went pale and slammed his throttle forwards without hesitation. He didn't like that voice nor did he like the fact he couldn't see the ship it was coming from. Panicked, he did the only thing he knew how, he fled. The mechanical voice burst in again over the comms.
"Cease and desist!" A large shot from a plasma accelerator flew across the Cobras canopy. Zed shrieked and pulled up, foolishly straight into the path of the second shot. Lady detonated instantly.
"Mission complete." the cold mechanical voice sounded once more with the roar of engines in the background. Then without warning, the ship vanished back into super-cruise.