Hurling Lead
28 Jul 2016TheDarkLord
Leopold Heckmann Ring, Malaikudi. Faulcon deLacey Anaconda “TDL Agamemnon”.June 3302.
I returned from my operations in Patreus space, frustrated that in spite of completing all requirements in the Viscount rank of the Imperial Navy, I had not yet been offered a shot at promotion to Count. Still, my Asp Explorer – TDL Eratosthenes – had performed admirably, and it had been a fruitful trip.
After a great night’s sleep in my own bed for the first time in three weeks, I made myself some coffee, luxuriating in the smell from the fresh beans. Yes, it was nice to be home, in a Coriolis, with the wide availability of quality produce. Dressed only in boxer shorts and a faded T-shirt from a whisky distillery I once visited, I padded through to the office and called up my fleet specifications.
While I was away, there had been some changes to weapon availability, and I fancied doing some different mission types. It was time to reactivate the Anaconda. With all my recent activity, TDL Agamemnon had lain parked up in Leopold Heckmann Ring for some while now. She awaited fitment of one of the new Huge class multicannons, and I authored a range of detailed internal configuration changes too. It was time for a quick out-and-back to Omicron Columbae to procure the new equipment. After spending so much time in the Asp, Agamemnon felt massive in both size and weight.
As I crossed the 150Ls between the Malaikudi witchspace jump exit point and Leopold Heckmann Ring, a Federal Agent lined up on my six and threw an interdiction tether. Agamemnon writhed in protest. I tapped my targeting panel, selecting the bogey. A Federal Dropship.
“Operational testing of the new weapons load commences now, then.” I thought to myself as I chopped throttle, submitting to the interdiction.
“Power to weapons; deploy hardpoints, target nearest contact,” I barked to the ship. I flipped Flight Assist off and rotated the Conda to face my assailant. He was chatting shit over the comms, as I read my scanner output.
Federal Dropship…Federal Agent…Elite…Wanted.
It was that last word that I was waiting for.
We opened fire on each other at the exact same time, the space between us fizzing with energy. Distinct purple blobs launched from the Dropship. I rolled hard right, causing one of the plasma balls to miss. My three large pulse turrets were depleting the Agent’s shields whenever there was a break in the chaff cloud. The Agent boosted towards my retreating ship – a mistake that would give me a decisive advantage. Flight Assist off again, I pitched to keep my nose on target, then lit up my huge forward thrusters, chasing down the Core Dynamics ship. My enemy fired a shield cell into his dwindling shields, which I took as my cue to open up with the projectile weapons.
Two class 2, two class 1, and one class 4 multicannon started hurling bullets at the enemy ship. The different rate and pitch of fire of the guns caused an unholy sound. The buzz-saw noise of the smaller-calibre weapons underpinned by the bass drum dunk-dunk-dunk-dunk of the huge multicannon. The enemy Dropship rippled against the volume and weight of inbound fire, much of its hull covered by explosive impact detonations. Its crew, defeated by the onslaught, turned the Dropship to face me, desperate enough to try one last jousting pass. Two plasma shots impacted my shields, but they lacked sufficient energy to have a meaningful effect. Meanwhile, my eight hardpoints threw barely believable amounts of firepower in return. It passed overhead, out of the arc of fire from my multicannons, but the three dorsal pulse turrets tracked the target faithfully and completed the job. I heard the explosion behind me, and saw the bounty credit notification.
Retracting hardpoints, I swung Agamemnon’s nose towards Leopold Heckmann Ring and engaged supercruise. It was the first meaningful combat engagement that I had had in weeks, and it felt good.