The Hunting Blades
02 Aug 2023Centuris Blake
I don't think I've ever encountered anything as disconcerting as the Scythe.None of us were ready for this latest development. Thargoids have been known to grab occupied escape pods for as long as I can remember, but never have we seen them create a ship designed specifically for that task.
I've been running rescue missions for months, doing my best to get folks out of targeted systems. The odd hyperdiction on the way into an alert or invasion system is easy enough to escape. My trust Orca can outrun even the Basilisk with comparative ease. Been snagged so many times it doesn't even phase me anymore.
Today, I got my first real scare in months... Being interdicted by Thargoids in affected systems isn't a surprise, but when it happens in a human-controlled system that has no threat from the bugs? With 60 souls aboard, the panic I felt wasn't so much for myself as it was for those I was trying to bring to safety. Being pulled out of supercruise and finding myself face to face with that beast... I don't know what came over me. I've run from the other hunter, the Glaive, so many times, but I froze when the Scythe attacked me. When the missile warning flashed across my HUD, I finally brought myself back to my senses and hit the boosters, but it was too late. The missile, which I later learned was being classified as a "Breacher Drone" slammed into the lower hull of my Orca. It was targeting the passengers, but luckily only hit the empty cargo bay and one of the auxiliary fuel lines.
The refugees were understandably shaken. Audio logs from the Dedicant have circulated, and many of us have heard the last moments of some of those who were on board that megaship. I believe we all feared that, for a moment, we too would share that fate.
Upon my return to the Rescue Ship Bertschinger and ensuring the safe disembarkment of all 60 souls, I did what any sane pilot would have done; I made my way to the bar and ordered a double of their strongest spirits before returning to my ship for some rest.
As harrowing as that experience was, I cannot stop running these rescue missions. Those people cannot be left for the Thargoids to find. I know how to escape the Scythe, to avoid a breacher striking its mark. I will see those systems cleared of refugees so that those more adept at combat are free to fight freely without fear of collateral damage.