As Villains Die Part 3
15 Apr 2018Kiyomo
The “road” was rocky and almost impassible for the mostly destroyed piece of machinery. He had such difficulty even getting it to move that steering it almost seemed to be more reliant on fate than actual skill. He had spun out more than a few times, and it had become a constant thought on his mind that he could just lie down and embrace the end of it all. No one would notice, and they would likely just chalk it up to a pirate who made a bad jump. If they found him. Still he pressed on, determined to find his goal. He had been traveling for what felt like a day at least. He was more than likely coming up on his objective, though he couldn’t be sure as most of the functions that had mattered on the SRV were beyond repair. He had passed other wreckage along the way and had made an attempt to fix what he could, but still nothing much could be done. He did manage to get the main cannon operational again, so there was that. At least I can die knowing that if I’m attacked, I’ll be a decent resupply point.
“This is an open hailing to all ships in the area!” The intercom buzzed to life, though the transmission was gargled. “This is Freyja Elliot of Kotov Landing! Were under attack! Any ships in the area please assist! They seem to be pirates, we don’t know how much- “The line went dead. Kiyomo tapped the transceiver and made to respond.
“This is Commander Keys,” he coughed and tasted copper on his tongue “I’m responding to the open hailing, do you have me on your radar?” There was no response other than steady static. Ahead he could hear the sounds of blasters and cannons. Kiyomo shook his head and adjusted the direction of the SRV, he prepped the main battery and shifted the priority from engines to be even with weapons. The SRV slowed but kept a respectable enough pace. He crested a hill and saw the battlefield before him.
Several, he counted four at most, SRV’s were parked in a line before a terminal entrance to the Landing, traces of the blasters spluttering against the boxes and walls of the Dock. Several of the guardsmen of the Station were firing back but they seemed to have sustained some damage. Kiyomo sat atop the cliff, completely ignored and pondered over the mess he was about to place himself into. He was injured, clearly, but he wasn’t sure of the extent of the injuries. This was a blind attack, he had no plan and no back up. He also had no guarantee that the Guards would back his play. This is stupid, who would do this? He carefully leaned back in the remains of his chair.
You would.
He wanted to ignore this, he could just go back to his- To his what? He had no ship, no home, barely an SRV if anything. He fiddled with the controls, a nervous habit he knew, but he needed to make this decision quickly. Had there been fewer he would have rushed in, but like this what chance did he have? Another spark of static came across the intercom. He went silent and waited.
“Commander! Can you help us?” It came in through a private channel, at that moment he realized he had been spotted by one of the guards. They were hailing him privately asking for his help. The sounds of the ordnance crashing against their makeshift cover came across louder. Each one seemed to get louder. He knew it was just his imagination playing tricks on a guilty conscious, but still he couldn’t help but feel each shot. “Well?” came the voice.
Kiyomo clicked the COMM off and sighed. If he survived this, hed have to seriously consider his mental health. Maybe a have a doctor check him for space madness. He pressed the console forward and the SRV lurched lazily forward. He switched as fast as he could to the Main cannons targeting screen and lined up his first target. One of the pirates had stepped out of his SRV and was firing a blaster from the cover of the machine. Its shields were shimmering the signal of total collapse. Kiyomo smirked, sighed, and then depressed the triggers. The cannons let out two quick bursts that blasted into the parked pirate vessel. The first two broke the shield, sending the driver onto his back. The second lodged into the main of the pirate SRV and set it ablaze.
There was a moment of pure silence as both the Guards and the pirates turned to see the shambling mess of a broken and beaten SRV hobble down the side of the outcropping while destroying one of their own. He had caught them completely unaware and without any idea that they may be flanked. He could use this but hed have to act fast. He made aim at the next SRV in the line. It wasn’t shimmer in the least, and the commander aboard it was in the cockpit, but the cannon was down. He seemed to have set all his management to shielding and so the weapons had overheated. Another two bursts flew from Kiyomos’ mess. Both landed direct against the cockpit of the stationary target. It took both bursts to burst the shield.
By this time, the guards had regained their muster and were back to firing upon the pirates. The pirates were back to firing on the Guards, though the one Kiyomo was firing at seemed to be aimed at the new player, him. At this point, Kiyomos SRV was coming up on the first one he had destroyed, and he could see the main battery of the pirates’ cannon heating up for its return fire. He made two quick motions in the few seconds he knew he had. He quickly fired another burst at the Pirate, and then dove from the remains of the cabin. He had miss timed the burst and so only one struct true to the cabin, breaking the glass, the second smashed into the cannon proper, sending it spinning off target.
Kiyomo made a quick, what would likely have been considered half-assed, roll to break his momentum from the moving SRV and fell flat onto his back against the body of the first Pirate. He took no break as he grabbed the blaster, badly damaged but hopefully still operational, and fired into the cabin once more. The round followed along the guided path and slid through the already broken glass and into the torso of the weakly armored pirate. He convulsed and fell limp, his fingers still against their trigger of the cannon.
The cannon then went off, it having been aimed at another pirate vessel thanks to his accidental aiming snafu. The guards, who had largely been waiting out the assault, took this opportunity to return fire. It was a mixture of flashes and noises. Kiyomo stood and steadied himself on the charred corpse of the destroyed SRVs’. He waited as the smoke and dust settled and saw that the remaining pirates’ vehicles had either been destroyed, or the pirates themselves had been killed. Slowly he began to limp his way over to the guards who were standing as well, more than likely surprised by the events that had just transpired.
He made it most of the way before a feeling, almost a weight, fell atop him and he collapsed once more into the dirt. He could hear the sounds of shouting being vocalized through the inter unit communication devices affixed to the helmets but couldn’t make out what was being said. There, I did what I said id do. And once more he embraced sleep, not knowing if this would be the last time he would risk his life for others.