My ship is under siege by the enemy. I'm running out of options. -- The Cat Chase Part III --
25 Jan 2016iModar
January 17, 3302. 02:17Returning home from the chase to Borfor. It's getting late and I grew fatigued, so I decided to camp out in my Cobra overnight three jumps from Wolf 1301 — LTT 11244. The second planet from the Nav Beacon. I programmed The Scrub's Dream's navigation system to enter standard orbit around the rice rock. The artificial gravity is turned off since there's no need for it since microgravity will keep me in my cot. Soon, I'm asleep and dreaming.
January 17, 3302. 04:26
My weight suddenly shifted against my mattress. Microgravity shouldn't do that, I thought. I open my eyes to check the panel next to me.
"Maybe a system malfunctioned and activated the artificial grav." The soft whisper exited my mouth. Sometimes I end up talking to myself—thinking out loud. "The hell...?" Artificial gravity is on, orbital pathing is off, and I'm mass locked.
The subtle clacking of footsteps caused me to sharply rise up and reach for the sidearm stored nearby. Turning towards the rear hatch I see the intruder.
"Greetings, CMDR. I didn't wake you too suddenly I hope."
The face which greeted me was scarred, old. This person has seen many wars and countless battles. Short white hair, scars running down both sides of his face in irregular patterns. "Trying to track down a lone pest in an entire galaxy is damn near impossible; fortunately, your routines are predictable. Trade here, trade there, some light bounty hunting here, and some operations there."
I had some questions that needed immediate answers.
"How did you find me?"
"I had been following you for some time, ever since you tried to kill me. Now, Isaac, the time for vengeance has come."
"What? Who are you? How the hell do you know my real name?!"
"My name is Scott Hensley, but you may recognize me as General Scoot. You interdicted me and tried to assassinate me."
"You're supposed to be dead! Your ship was out of power, and mine barely survived!"
"I almost was, but fortunately my allies found my ship drifting in the void of Mantja space."
General Scoot. I remember him. Back in mid October, an EXO operations officer offered me a job to kill him. I was just a recruit, new to the faction and trying to get my foothold in the market of Wolf 1301. He helped out in Operation Black Out, opening the doors for the founders of EXO to make a new home in his system. In the chaos he lost majority of his power. For some reason he decided to undermine us.
He raised his voice, "I was in charge! Wolf was my system. I welcomed DrunkRenegade and his posse of outcasts with open arms. They took it from me. Saunders's was my throne, and they...you...took it from me."
I wasn't even a part of EXO at the time. I was still in the middle of my life falling apart back in LHS-3447. I had to calm him down somehow.
"Scoot, listen, I wasn't a part of the faction at the time. I merely took a job offer. You had a job to take care of system security, why throw away your life so recklessly. I will defend myself."
"I orchestrated the Unknown Artifact attacks against Saunders's. I funded the Corvos's actions against you. I whispered discord among your ranks which turned the civilian population against you. I brought the return of the Cartel to the system. I also funded Shadow Company with enough supplies to crusade against you."
His voice grew deeper and more monotone. His next statement froze me. "I've been tailing you for a long time."
I quickly turned to the window of the cockpit. Two Federal Corvettes and... A Diamand Back Explorer....?! What does the IFF data say? Target 2!!! "You're the one who has been following me!"
"That's right, Isaac. While you were sleeping, I also dumped several terabytes of Unknown Artifact data into your main computer set to automatically upload it to the main system in Saunders's once you dock. I win. I'll build an Orbis station in orbit of Navia while I watch your precious Dive burn. There's no way to stop it. I've gotten this info from Dr. Ishmael Palin...the scientist you tried to track."
I had to stop this. Before I could crash the main computer to reformat it a sudden, sharp pain erupted in my right shoulder. I looked at it and could see blood. He shot me! Another shot shattered my right knee. In the moment I dropped my own pistol—I forgot I was even holding it.
"I set your auto navigation system to take this ship back to Saunders's Dive. You don't have to be alive for this to work," Scoot said. "All that needs to happen is for your system to sync up with the mainframe."
I'm out of options. There was only one thing I could do...
To be continued...