Prologue: Ghosts in the Smoke - Part 1
25 Jun 2017Giyari
"Shields offline!"
"warning, taking heat damage"
The hull crunched under the barrage of cannon rounds. Each seemed to strike harder than the last, the composite plating creaking and screaming out as it gave into the pressure. Sparks cracked across the cockpit as the dashboard's holo display faltered and glitched out, flashing through its colour range in a strobe of panic.
"Under attack." The incessant ship voice called out as the hull warped and sent a lightning crack across the canopy's edge.
"Damn it I know just shut up and let me think!" Dasha roared as the enemy gunship cruised by her reticules once more. She responded to it's presence with a ripping assault from the Corvid's multicannons, but it was no use. One was already malfunctioning, and the enemies hull held fast. This wasn't going to end well.
"Shit…" she muttered under her breath as the enemies SLF Taipan fixed itself to her contrails.
A click of the throttle and a boost with the last of the engines power reserves sent the corvid hurtling through the asteroid belt and out of the fighters sights. Dasha weaved the best she could, using the new cover while she attempted to put some distance between herself and the Gunship. Cannon shells plowed deep into the rocks beside her, each shot narrowly missing her hull. Dasha weaved in response as she got clear of the field, sending herself into a spin to knock off the pirates aim. The next shot grazed her paintwork leaving a scar down her starboard side, it wasn't working…
"Come on, come on!! Charge already!" She screamed at the FSD as another shot blasted past. The ticker counted down as drive warmed up and gathered fuel, another shot beating into her hull like a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil..
"5… 4… 3.." The count felt like angel song as the blue warp began to open up in front of the ravaged courier.
"2…" Another shot blasted into her hull, the last round the pirate would fire. It made a direct strike on her starboard wing, ripping the nacelle clean off and causing warning lights and sirens to fill the cockpit.
"1… Engage." The warp opened up, swallowing the Corvid as the ragged ship accelerated into the black.
"I made it. I made it! Oh shit I made it!" Dasha roared as she set her sights on the closest full station, Citi Gateway. Smoke filled her cockpit by the second, however her Remlok's helmet had taken some damage. It wasn't enough for life support systems to fail, surprisingly, but Dasha still felt herself struggling to focus. Fumes from the engines had mixed through the air. With each breath Dasha felt her eyes grow heavy.
"Damn it. Just… keep it up. Just… Wait for me!" It was too much. With the smoke now thick enough to obscure her instruments and the warning light diffusing through the entire cabin, a single voice snapped Dasha back to her senses, a transmission through her coms.
"Dash, on my six! I can't shake him! Dash, please! Help me!"