Exile:

[Sabrina Bergin]

Playing AP no mods. DID style no salvage insurance if I get Killed.

Start point Argon patriot:
Vincent Sladon (vinny) to his friends fresh out of fighter school and then given an elite and ordered to board the colossus hauler where he is to begin active service in the military.


Vince ran back to his quarters his blood still pumping after the presentation service. clutching his Lieutenant's insignia in his hand. He pinned the rank badges to his epaulettes then stripped and showered before heading dockside to the bars where the rest of his friends would be gathering for the party.
They had beat him to it of course and had occupied a table on the upper tier of the bar.
He grabbed a beer at the bar and joined them,

"Hey Vince" Called Keller " grab a seat before its gone" Vince took the seat and sipped his beer looking about for her but she wasn't here yet woman he figured took longer to get ready for a party.

He listened to the banter with half an ear wondering at his good fortune three years of work and sweat to get here.
His father had wanted him to take over the family business running trade goods in that old mistral freighter that he had always considered home.
His brother would take up that option he knew Carl had never wanted too look beyond what he knew.

Not me though I had always wanted more and my father had tried to talk me out of it but he couldn't, I had spent my whole life to get here and now I had made it and had the wings to prove it.
I wondered at what lay ahead what I might see and do it was too much. I took another swig of my beer and ordered a round for the table feeling the buzz we all felt.
The party went on until the early hours and I vaguely remember climbing into my bunk.

I woke up to the shrill alarm and groaned grabbing my head and feeling sick.
I ran for the head and threw up all that was left and then some more.
Then I stood in the shower for an hour just letting the water wash away the stink.

I eventually felt well enough to get dressed and go down to the canteen for breakfast, I opted for toast and scrambled eggs and a coffee not trusting my stomach with anything more adventurous and sat down in a corner just taking my time.

Join you asked Sandi seating herself down opposite me with a huge breakfast that made feel queasy just looking at it.

"I didn't see you last night" I said glad at the sight of her she had signed on the day I did and I considered her to be a true friend I had higher hopes but it was early day's yet.

"Nope didn't go and that's why I feel good and you look like shit honestly Vinny is it a prerequisite that you have to get blasted out of your tree every time there' a reason to celebrate something ?".

"No" I answered truthfully " I wish I hadn't to be honest but I was buzzing so I needed to vent a little dammit we made it girl".

"Yeah we did didn't we, and tomorrow we go join the crew of that carrier and we start right back at the beginning. You factor that in yet ?".

I grabbed a bite of toast and sipped my coffee she was right of course tomorrow we would be back at the bottom end of the food chain inexperienced M4 qualified pilots. "Want to bet how fast we get upped to M3 ships ?" I asked.

"I'll beat you" she said.

She might at that I realised Sandi was driven and damn good to boot she had knocked me into second place in every test we had done and I had tried my hardest. "What's the stake" I asked intrigued.

"Dinner at Milano's" she answered and I nearly choked on my coffee Milano's was a high end expense restaurant but how could I refuse and not loose face, she had done it again I realised as I accepted the bet.

She just grinned that obnoxious grin of hers so I finished my coffee and left her to it.

I went back to my bunk and started packing then headed for the docking bay's.

There it was my own fighter an M4 Elite I checked her over then climbed up into the cockpit sealing the canopy as I pulled my helmet down and sealed it to my flight suit.

"Deck control this is Lt Sladon requesting permission to undock".

Roger that came the response over com's we have heavy traffic incoming from the south gate, maintain station advised course and speed till you are clear.

"Roger that" I replied as the as my ship was lifted into the launch bay.
I powered her up bringing the systems on line as the dock crew removed the umbilical's then waited for the launch itself.
It was a thrill I lined up on the markers the station had laid and let her get there by herself bringing up the rest of the systems and the gravidar.

Finally I was clear and opened her up aiming for high above the ecliptic then I put her through her paces.
This was a thrill not a school ship that was limited in power and controls this was my plane I would be spending a lot of time in this seat and I wanted to know what she could do.
I played for a while till Betty cut in and announced an incoming missile, I altered course and trajectory aiming back for the system centre and locked down the missile launcher and targeted it a xenon m had targeted me and so I whipped her plane about and hit the throttle bringing the missiles online.

One launched as soon as I did so and hit the incoming shit was this the life or what I wandered as the Xenon moved into range, remember your recharge rates I recalled the words of my flight instructor to take a shot and then evade.
Good advice I decided firing a short burst and strafing to the left cutting my speed and rolling over to come up on the targets rear.
I fired a longer burst shredding its shields then following it as it tried to break free, no chance sucker I whispered locking on and maintaining my fire till it exploded ahead of me.

I levelled out and cut my speed trying to get my bearings.
The Dauntless was down to my left no other enemies were in range so I com'd the carrier and got swift docking orders.

I Landed in the main hanger and climbed down from the plane feeling the cold of his sweat as I lost the rush of adrenalin felt it leave my system.

I took of my helmet and stowed it and walked to the control tower, time to report in I thought grabbing my duffel bag.
I followed the signs and entered the tower to be confronted by the operations chief a short wiry woman who looked like she had started the day on a bad note and that it was on going.

"And just who the hell are you ?" she demanded to know as I approached her desk.
"Ma'am Lt Sladon I have been assigned to the Dauntless" I replied handing her my orders pad.

"Fighter quarters are on deck three" she said registering my arrival on board before giving me back his orders pad and turning back to her monitors.

I took the hint and left finding a lift that deposited me on the appropriate deck. A steward caught sight of me and showing some sympathy showed me to my bunk much to my relief.
It wasn't much a cramped cubicle with some stowage so I stowed my gear and freshened up before heading for the deck mess hall.

There were only a few people in the room so I grabbed a cup of coffee and walked to the observation wall watching the in system traffic.

"Not what you expected LT Sladon ?", asked a woman from behind me.

"Ma'am" I replied "I honestly didn't know what to expect its the first time I've ever been on an operational carrier". I turned and faced her she was not what I expected She was tall and lithe but her face was scarred at some time she had been badly burned.
Why she hadn't had reconstructive surgery to her face was her business I supposed but it was disconcerting to say the least.

Squadron Commander Onamu read the name tag I resisted the urge to salute it was not a requirement in the crew deck, even so this woman was a legend she had seen service in every major action in the last ten years.
She was also known to be a hard taskmaster.

Onamu smiled inwardly shock and awe had just set in she realised looking at Sladon.
She saw him resist the urge to salute and gave him that much "Okay hotshot" she said you failed to report your kill and the crew chief down in the hanger is wondering why your bird is missing a missile from its rack.
Now Mr Sladon you are in my wing and you I hope are not going to cause me problems".

"That is not my intention ma'am" I replied truthfully.
"Good to hear Sladon well enjoy yourself because once we are fully crewed we are going in harms way so till then settle in and get some rack time".

"Yes ma'am" I replied lamely as she spun about and left me alone. Great start idiot I thought watching her go.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Black Hole Sun:

Vince turned his attention back to the view screen there was nothing for him to do for the moment and he found it relaxing just standing here looking at the ships drifting through the system.

Tomorrow the rest of the crew would board and then they would jump to Omicron Lyrae, He never watched the war reports as a rule suspecting that what information put out on the net was censored and only partly reliable tomorrow he would be there himself and such reports would be irrelevant.

He stayed in the mess hall and had a late meal before turning in knowing that come six am he would be on active duty.

He woke at five and showered before heading for the mess hall for breakfast and then the briefing room.

He entered the small room and found his assigned desk and logged in. The desk display lit up with the names of his wingmen who had yet to arrive, they came in at random over the next ten minutes finding their seats before turning around to look at each other, trying to get a feel for them Vince smiled as Sandi took her place next to his.

"I hear you got a head start on us hotshot and bagged an M, you trying to make a mark already Vincent ?".

"No he replied honestly I wanted to fly my bird before I got here and the thing tagged me, it was no big deal".

They both turned to the front as Onamu stepped into the room and took her place at the dais.

"Pilots" she said her eyes sweeping the room "you are designated as amber wing your primary mission is to support the heavy fighter wings and to defend the Dauntless".

"We are at war make no mistake of that and we will lose people that is a certainty but we will not lose people through lack of training so in fifteen sazura I want you in your ships to begin a sector patrol.

I will lead for now but I will assign some of you as team leaders over the next few days so lets hustle people".

Vince took that as an order and headed for the hanger bay, the ships were ready the deck crews clearing the power lines and auxiliaries as he saw his ship and climbed into the cockpit.

Sealing his helmet he powered up the ship and waited the whole wing was being lifted into the launch bays simultaneously he waited for the deck crew to finish their prelaunch drills then waited for the catapult to throw him out.

[BankruptAssasin]

Hi Shaun, I am liking this story so far, i am enjoying your writing style. Will look forward to more.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Thanks for the Kind words:

Vince formed up with the rest of his wingmen and began receiving orders from Onamu who led in the lead ship, it was al pretty standard stuff at first and Vince sensed she was just going through the standard drills to better judge them. after an hour of that she changed tactics and pulled clear of them and began giving them wildly varying orders that stretched his reflex's to the limits.

Finally they were ordered back into a standard patrol formation during which they covered pretty much the whole sector before being ordered back to the Dauntless.

He needed a hot shower and something to eat he realised as he walked back into the briefing room.

Onamu seemed unfazed and waited for them all to be seated before lighting up the main display and going over the patrols manouvers, giving valid criticism at some points but mostly just making sure they had absorbed what they had been taught.

"Alright" she concluded "tomorrow we get to all this again until you have it down to perfection, till then I want you to acquaint yourselves with the specs of the fighters you are in that is all.

Vince followed the rest out of the room and headed for his crib to get that shower.

Afterwards he changed into his coveralls and grabbing his data pad made his way to the mess hall where he grabbed a sandwich and a coffee before finding a table and sitting down to read up on his ships specs.

There was a lot more to learn than the manual he'd had access to in flight school and he found himself paying real close attention to the details when he realised it was assumed he should be capable of carrying out pre and post flight maintenance.

H only put the pad down when his coffee went cold and he replaced it with a fresh one. Enough he decided after getting through more reading than he had done in a week and his head was starting to ache with all the stuff he was trying to memorise. He turned of the pad and sipped his coffee quietly.

The view screen was showing a sector view and all appeared quiet. Mind you with the large number of military ships in system that was no real surprise.

He looked at the pad as it signalled he had a message incoming and turned it on.

"Sir" he said seeing his father sat in his chair in his office aboard the Venturer.

"Son just a quick wave to congratulate you on passing flight school. Send me a reply when you have time no doubt you are going to be busy getting settled in on your new ship.
We'll be heading back that way some time over the next few months so we'll have to try and hook up around then till then everyone sends their best just be careful Vincent".

The message ended and Vincent wondered where the Venturer was heading now last he'd heard she was heading south and east a long way from the warzones.
His Old man would never put the ship in danger and he had accepted that it would be a while before he saw her again.

"Credit for them" said Sandi joining him at the table.

"Just a wave from my father" I replied.

"He's a trader isn't he ?"

"Yes in a mistral super freighter the Venturer with home station up and running he does'nt really need to do it but he loves it to much to settle down. Though mum makes sure he makes regular stops at home ".

"I don't think I could live on a ship all the time" Sandi replied to restrictive".

"Not really there's always plenty to do and always new stations to visit though I was fourteen jazura's old before my old man let me go off ship and then only in company ".

"That's what I mean" She Said "you've spent nearly your whole life on that ship so why did you leave ?".

"I don't really know but all my life I wanted to join the fleet and I never really felt like it was all I wanted to do. I guess I just don't have the passion for it my old man has ".

"What happens when he retires ?".

"My brother Carl will take her on he is a born trader, I guess that was he has always wanted so it left me free to go my own way".

"So back to business How do you think it went today ?".

Sandi took a long pull on her coffee as she considered her reply, "it was okay not quite what I expected but that Onamu is one hell of a taskmaster.
I can see the need though some of us were getting a bit sloppy thinking we knew it all. Now we know there is still a lot more to learn and I figure the faster we learn the more likely we are to stay alive out there.

It was a sobering thought and they both looked at the view screen again saying nothing.

[Sabrina Bergin]

The next day was more of the same though this time after thety had all landed she ordered them to assist the hanger crew in securing the planes and connecting the umbilicals.

The hanger crew chief didn't speak to any of them just watched to make sure they didn't screw up.

They had another swift debrief session then dispersed. "All Hands" came the message blaring over the ship wide com, as they made their way back to quarters " The dauntless will jump to Omycron Lyrae at 10 am tomorrow all action stations are to be fully manned all pilots to be in pre launch that is all".

An early night then he decided after showering He made his way to the mess hall and picked out a meal loading it onto his tray before finding a seat.

There was a sudden air of tension in the room not just from the rookies like himself. He ate his meal in silence grabbing a coffee flask before returning to his crib.

He managed to get some sleep that night thanks to going over his ships specs again, then his mission debriefing notes but he was still up early.

He got dressed and went to the mess hall and ate a large breakfast knowing he would not have much chance during the day ahead.

He had a couple of coffees before leaving to report making sure he visited the heads before signing in.

"Hey Sandi" said quietly as he sat down next to her and powered up the desk monitor. "You couldn't sleep much either" she guessed.

"Not really, got a few hours nerves I guess".

Onamu walked to the desk at the front of the room and waited for the others to arrive.

They all filed in over the next few minutes and looked to Onamu to begin the briefing.

"Okay I am going to keep this brief, on arrival in omy-li Amber wing will deploy and begin a defensive search pattern centred on the Dauntless, this this time your weapons will all be hot so no silly mistakes the heavies will remain on standby unless we find a few nasty surprises out there".

"You will keep com chatter to a minimum and be alert for an alpha signal and any subsequent orders from the Dauntless. Remember people you are not here to win the war on your first day just do your jobs and coordinate your movements , now you can all wait in the pilots lounge until we get the pre jump warning".

They all took the hint and made there way down to the lounge on the hanger deck from here they could see the ships being readied, teams of people were swarming over the fighters with cargo handlers putting the missile racks into the bays.

There was a sudden pause in the activity below then the deck crew began clearing the deck.

All Pilots this is the CAG man your planes carry out pre flight checks we jump in five minutes.

They scrambled for their planes, Vince sealed his helmet and cockpit as soon as he was aboard and powered her up.
He checked his controls then activated the Com link. That would immediately let the tower know he was ready. Was he ?.

He felt the drives build up so much so that he could feel the vibration through his seat despite the padding.

The jump lasted a mere ten seconds he felt the slight twinge of nausea as he and the carrier were suddenly somewhere else.

"Amber wing launch" came the order from the tower and Vince hit the button.

He was fired a good way clear of the ship and homed in Onamu forming up behind her, his fellow wingmen were also taking position.

"Amber wing This is Onamu, we will begin sweep pattern delta the gravidar is clear but that may change so stay alert.
Look out for distant missile explosions that will often tell you more than the gravidar she added".

Vince did as instructed and began a full 180 degree eyeball sweep through his cockpit's canopy as well as maintaining his position in the formation.
They swept the whole of the system both above and below the ecliptic, He glanced down at the Dauntless as they passed over it and he watched as a regular convoy of transport ship's shuttled between it and the equipment dock.

It was with some relief as he heard Onamu order them all to land as another wing came up from behind to relieve them.
"Stay sharp Amber wing I know you are all tired but I don't want anyone letting us down with sloppy landings".

Vincent was tired he had lost all track of time and had to concentrate hard as he hit the guide markers and decelerated into the retrieval bay.
No sooner had he touched down than his plane was being towed out of the way ready for the next wing to be readied.

He waited till it was stationary before shutting down its systems and opening his canopy, greatfull for the assist from a deckhand as his foot searched for the first ladder rung.

"Thanks" he said quietly pulling off his helmet once his feet hit the deck and headed for the briefing room.

He watched his wingmen who all showed signs of fatigue as they entered the room and sat down.

Onamu entered and sat down behind her desk "You did well today pilots the patrol was far longer than normal as escort ships were required for the transports" she said.

"As a result you have tomorrow off on standby duty, I will post my mission report later today I suggest you all read it that is all you're dismissed ".

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vince just collapsed on his bunk when he got back to his crib. He awoke some time later wondering how long he had slept. groaning he got out of his flight suit and threw his clothing into the laundry chute before showering and heading for the mess.

It was fairly late but he was able to grab a meal and a cold beer to take to his table turning around to find somewhere to sit he saw some of his wing mates at a large table towards the back of the room, Keller waved him over and he sat down gratefully and began eating listening to the subdued conversation between them. " Hey Sladon what did you think of that patrol today" ? asked Hallon.

"It was pretty damn tiring" he admitted "how long were we out there I lost all track of time ?".

"Ten hours in total Keller" replied "man I had to use my suit to take a leak".
"That is so gross Sandi" chipped in "I mean I know its supposed to be a sealed system but I've never yet found it comfortable".

"Tell me about it" Keller replied "but at least we get some standby time tomorrow".

"I'd make the most of it" suggested Vincent "from the amount of transports they had loading the Dauntless up today I would guess we are going on a long range patrol some time soon probably heading north".

"There's certainly enough capitals out there for that Sandi agreed, I've never seen so many in one place" her eyes once more going to the view screen.

Vincent left the table briefly to get rid of his plate then returned glad to see some one had got a couple of pitchers of beer. He refilled his glass glad of its coolness. Shame it lacked the strength of a real beer but it was good enough.

"You've been there haven't you Vince up north I mean ?" asked Louis who had come all the way from Argon prime to be here.

"Yes back on my old mans ship we used to do regular long haul runs all the way to the earth sector and the Oort cloud. One thing you'll find when we do get there is those sectors are really big and their stations are massive you need a twenty click approach even when you get close to them ".

"I hear the same can be said of their capital ships chipped in Hallon".

"That's true enough the Osaka is one of the most heavily armed beasts I.ve ever seen with over twenty turrets and their carriers are half as big again as the Dauntless".

luckily as regards the smaller ships our M3's can carry a wide range of missiles theirs are limited and they only use there own lasers which means they can't swap out as ours can ".

They all began chipping in on the conversation for his part Vincent just leaned back and listened. They hadn't been there and seen the sheer size of those ships. As a boy passing through Terran sectors he had learnt as much as he could about them but had not got any specifics from the Terran's he had spoken with no matter what their station in life it was almost an unwritten rule with them not to give information to outsiders.

Finally the conversation drifted back onto other subjects Vincent chipped in now and again but it was mostly light banter as the evening progressed most of them began drifting of to head for their cribs or the gym. For himself Vincent thought he might give that a go himself in the morning for the moment he was content just to sit here and chill out.

Finally there was just Sandi and himself He grabbed a plate of snacks from the counter and a pitcher of beer.

"Not tired ?" she asked.

"No to be honest as soon as I got back to my crib earlier I just crashed, I reckon it will be a few hours before I'm ready for more sack time figured I'd send my old man a wave later ".

"Well I'm still whacked" Sandi replied "how about we meet up for breakfast then try out the gym the girls say its fully equipped ".

"Its a deal Sandi what do you say for 0800 that will give us enough rack time I figure".

"See you then " she agreed leaving for the crew cabins.

Vincent stared out into the dark on the monitor a little apprehensive as to what lay ahead but content within himself he was after all where he wanted to be.
He gave it another hour letting his thoughts settle then turned in.

Before hitting the sack he sent his father a wave letting him know he was fine and settling in.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Sandi was right about the gym it was as well equipped as the one at flight school and they spent a couple of hours using the machines. after a quick shower they took a tour of the ship with the exception of the bridge deck of course.

They passed through the hanger bays on the way back and gave their planes a quick once over being sure not to get in the hanger crews way.

"Dinner time Sandi" announced grabbing his hand and heading for the mess, just as well because I'm starving".

Vincent laughed Sandi's appetite was notorious and for such a slight woman he often wondered where she managed to put it all.

The grabbed the prepared meal trays and grabbed a seat by the view screen. Vincent was delighted the cooks had done Argnu steaks his favourite.

"So when do you think we will head out ?" she asked

Vincent thought about that for a moment "tomorrow I would think, the crew are all pretty hyper the planes are all prepped and if we stall to long we'll lose our edge, also the M3 pilots have been pretty quiet today I figure they were all resting up before we move".

"That makes sense guess I'll just stick to the coffee tonight then you want one ?". "

Please he said as she grabbed their trays and headed back to the counter for himself he figured an early night wouldn't go amiss plus he still had to read that patrol report.

Sandi returned with the coffee flasks and they talked for an hour or so before the large number of crew coming in made them feel obliged to give up there seats and move down to the Canteen where the main monitor was showing some film that had been popular a while back.

They watched that for a bit then almost as one decided it was time turn in.
He hit his crib and pulled up the patrol report on his cabin monitor.
All standard stuff he decided as he shut it down a while later and tried to get some sleep.

The briefing room was full when he got there he checked the time but he was early, Onamu waited for him to settle before powering up the tactical monitor.

"This is Heretics end" she announced, "and this is our target the Terran orbital defence station.
The brass have decided that it is time to take it out as it is a major front line base for the enemy, as a result the fleet's task is to clear a path for our bombers.
Our task is to back up the heavies as we establish a bridgehead at the south gate, the bombers and their escorts are standing by in circle of labour.
Once the gate is clear we will patrol towards the north gate the bombers won't come in till we have secured the sector so if we encounter strong opposition we will have to take it out whilst protecting our capital ships the Dauntless will move to this position where it can defend the gate and be ready to recover fighters. Any questions.

"Ma'am" Louis raised his hand "are we attacking the enemy or defending the Dauntless ?".

"That depends on the situation Louis, orders will change rapidly in a battle zone so be alert to that also no matter what happens we work as a unit directed by the tactical officers on the command ship. I can tell you this a lot of orders will be to take down incoming missiles heading for the capitals, just remember to tag them before they get to close or you will incur heavy damage ".

"Anything else ?" she asked "okay man your ships and stand by for orders".

Vincent grabbed his helmet from the rack by the door and went to the hanger bay and got in his plane.
The carrier jumped just moments later and they were immediately launched.

"Amber wing form up on me we have our heavies behind us so give them a ten click distance then match speed and course with them" Onamu signalled.

"Roger" that Vincent confirmed noting that he had a cargo bay full of mosquito's for missile defence then he saw a target on his gravidar "this is Sladon I have hostiles at extreme range a flight of M4's and some M3's they are on intercept".
"Copy that" Onamu replied "assume attack pattern alpha concentrate on the heavies we do not want them getting close to our guy's"

After that Vincent was busy strafing an M4 that popped in his sights but maintaining his position in the formation. soon the M3's came into view.

"Okay break formation and begin strafing runs team up with your partners and lets inflict some hurt on them" came Onamu's calm voice.

Vincent peeled left with Keller on his wing and powered up to attack the first target in range, against the heavies they were outgunned but by using their better speed and manouverability they were able to do some serious work on its shields they arced clear and came back for another pass they came in from behind it and Vincent dropped his speed to keep his guns on target till the recharge warning started screaming at him he peeled of allowing Keller to take his shot his eyes scanning for any immediate threats.

Keller pulled clear and Vincent dived back in not giving the target a chance to get clear and recharge his shields, He was shocked when the thing blew up ahead of him and barely had time to roll clear Keller coming up on his left and giving him a thumbs up. After that the targets kept coming as the controllers directed them from one to the next.

Finally the orders from the controllers slowed then stopped and they formed up on Onamu as they headed back to the Dauntless where he could see more wings being launched. A Glance to the gate showed the bombers were in system and launching at the target halfway across the sector.

they waited for the out going wings to leave then landed in tight formation a sure sign the planes were to be turned around as fast as was possible.

He climbed out and followed as Onamu led them all to the pilots lounge.

"Grab a coffee and any one that needs to visit the heads".
A couple wandered off and returned a few minutes later grabbing a coffee before taking seats before her. "Okay people you did well out there, and we tagged a few of them before the heavies got involved, but do not get complacent.

"You all did it right so I'll leave the back patting there, as you can gather we are on standby from what I have seen from the sector reports we have secured the sector and the fleet will move to a position south of the north gate.
We will sign of duty when our relief arrives till then make yourself comfortable.

[Sabrina Bergin]

At one point Onamu sent Vincent down to get sandwiches from the Hanger canteen. Normaly the stewads would take care of that but he guessed they were all busy on their secondary duties whilst the ship was at action stations.

There was some light conversation but nothing of note every ones eyes kept turning to the alert status board occasionaly.

After another three hours The lounge speakers blazed into life standing them down. "Okay" Onamu ordered "get changed and grab a meal we will debrief in one hour".

They didn't need to hear any more and all headed for the crew deck.
They changed and all arrived at the canteen where a meal was waiting for them all. It wasn't as good as the previous meal but under the circumstances Vincent figured the cooks must be working round the clock to cater for the differing return times of the fighter wings.

No one complained about the meal and after clearing the tables they headed for their briefing room.

Onamu was the only one in uniform still and she powered up the screen and showed video records of their engagement with a side monitor displaying the relevant tactical display at the time it happened.

She gave a concise account of each pilots actions through out, suggesting alternatives they could have used in the given situation.

"A copy of this debrief is available use it as a reference point for future actions" she concluded. That is all you are dismissed Keller Vincent if you could wait a moment please".

The room cleared and Onamu turned back to them as the door sealed "now gentlemen I will say this once only so pay close attention", I do not tolerate hotshot's on my wing.
You were both lucky today do not count on that good fortune continuing.
Care to explain why you decided to go head to head with that M3 ?".

"Ma'am Keller replied we strafed that thing real good on our first pass and clobbered its shields, there was no other target so we went after him I was amazed the thing blew up the way it did, our PAC's couldn't have hurt it that badly."
We figured if we could keep its shields down one of the heavies would move in to tag it".

Onamu considered this for a moment before turning to me Ma'am I said truthfully it happened just the way Keller said it did to be honest I was so focussed on keeping my fire on it I didn't have time to think of anything else".

"Alright then" she allowed after absorbing what they had said "for your information gentlemen it blew up because it launched a missile at you a stray burst of fire detonated it and the target took the full force of the blast as I said you were lucky, okay you can go".

They both left and headed for the mess hall where the rest of the wing were gathered.

"Well what was that about" asked Louis " a private congrats on tagging the M3".

"Hardly" Vincent said "unless you consider a roasting a thank you".

"Harsh" Louis replied "I saw that thing blow up and it just freaked me".
"It was a lucky shot" Keller interrupted we hit a missile it launched by chance ".

"Its still a kill" Louis said.

" that's as maybe but we were lucky and she pointed that fact out to us, chances are it will never play out that way again" Vincent answered realising how lucky they had both been not to have been caught in the blast.

They all began discussing the engagement at length some of the stories stretched credibility but they all enjoyed it winding down from the day's event's.

They left the mess as the next bunch of pilots arrived heading back to either the recreation rooms or their crib's.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Heretics end:

"Amber wing roll right course 125 by 65 we have incoming announced" Onamu breaking out of their patrol pattern.

Vince could see nothing on his gravidar but in the distance he could see missile bursts.

They hit flank speed and accelerated at the distant targets ahead of them a scout dropped a nav sat and they began to get real time data on the targets.

"Okay pilots" Onamu said calmly "we have a Yokohama and its escorts exiting the north gate its fighters are in the air we can expect support ships to be incoming once they clear the gate so let's stop that happening, remember to keep your distance from that carrier so that means a range of three clicks do not get any closer is that understood ?".

They all comm'd back their acknowledgements then followed Onamu as she headed for the nearest cluster of terran fighters a mix of Scimitars Thors Sabre's and Rapiers.

"Amber wing" came an interrupt over their coms "This is Viper we are on intercept with the heavies in your flight path reduce speed by 5ms and we will hit the tango's at the same time".

"Roger that" came Onamu's reply as the whole wing eased back a notch on the throttles as they neared the targets it was clear the terran fighters were targeted on Vipers wing and they hadn't seen Amber wings approach.

It was a classic pincer move as the Teran ships engaged the heavies and their escorts Amber wing came in from above and behind them and blew a hole through the middle of them.

As soon as they were clear the heavies launched a barrage of missiles that shattered the Terran M3's attack.
Onamu swung them around and they headed back in at flank speed targeting the M4's and M3's that were still recovering from the missile barrage.

Once again they cleared a path through the terrans leaving wreckage in their wake. "Amber wing this is Viper we are going for the carrier can you guy's clear up here".

"Roger that" Onamu replied swinging them about for yet another pass, Vincent's targeting display flashed up as Onamu designated his target he broke formation and peeled of Keller at his side as they closed on the damaged M3 it never had a chance as both he and Keller ripped into it, dogging its tail as it tried to evade their fire. The pilot bailed just as his hull reached critical his escape pod throwing him clear of all three ships.

Vincent swung clear of the M3 and selected his next target that was aiming for them. The Scimitar pilot was good Vincent thought as his shields took a beating on the first pass. He swung around onto its tail and fired a wasp to distract it whilst he peppered its shields.

A couple of the wasp warheads got through to it and the scimitars shields plummeted as Keller rolled in above him and added his guns to Vincent's.
It lasted mere seconds under the barrage and disintegrated.

they both swung around and headed back to the wing which was engaging another group of fighters north of them.

to the south there was a swarm of flail and hammer missiles targeting the carrier and a couple of heavy Centaurs were closing rapidly.
They were soon in the thick of it. Vincent's helmet was filled with terse instructions from the controller as he switched from one target to the next be it a missile or a fighter.
Time ceased to exist for him as he synched in with his ship so that it became almost an extension of himself.
To his surprise he was incredibly calm throughout the dogfighting he seemed to settle into a zone where each target became nothing more than another series of statistics its specs unfolding in his mind as he attacked it.

Too soon it was over and the return to base command irritated him till he realised there were no more targets to be had.

"This is" Onamu "we will cover Viper patrol before we dock ourselves Keller, Sladon you bagged a capture go and claim it and send it to the Dauntless".

A Capture the Sabre Vincent realised he located it and headed for it with Keller providing cover.

"Are they sure this is worth keeping asked Keller the dammed things down to 6% hull"

"Standing orders" Vincent replied releasing himself from his ship and going eva to the ship " any tech we can get from it is a bonus okay I.ve tagged it I'm going to be here a while so watch my six ok he asked as he began working on the damaged ship".
It was lucky his old man had made sure he had some engineering training as he welded up the hull and made bypass's on a lot of the ships damaged systems.

"Okay that's as good as I can make it out here" he said getting back to his ship and restoring the life support. He instructed the M3 to dock at the Dauntless and they both followed it in at a comparatively low speed.

When they did finaly get to the hanger bay the crew chief strode up to them and asked them what the hell they though they were doing having that piece of junk land on his deck.

"Orders chief Keller" replied "our Co told us to fetch it so we did".

That got the chief off their back and he turned to the nearby deck crew and told them to get the heap of junk of his deck.

Vincent grinned at Vincent as they made their way to the debriefing room where they found Onamu waiting for them.

"Take a seat" she said as they entered the room, " I am not going to go through the debrief again " much to their relief "I've uploaded it to your terminals so make sure you watch it, the capture of the M3 means you both get a bonus in your pay this month, other than that it was a good operation I think you both felt that we are beginning to work effectively together as a unit which makes it a lot safer for everyone out there so well done now get some rest".

"Yes Ma'am" they said in unison as she left them in the room.
"Was that a compliment" asked Keller a grin on his face.

"I believe it was come on lets get cleaned up and get some rack time we are still are on standby".

[Triaxx2]

Forgot to mention, added this to the DiD list.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Thanks Triax:


Vincent watched the displays changing slowly in the pilots ready room feeling a deep tiredness that no amount of rack time could assuage.
They were all starting to feel it he realised they had been here for three months now carrying out multiple sorties on a daily basis.

They were also starting to take casualties Louis was still in the med bay having bailed from his ship when he got to close to a carriers guns, he was lucky to be alive which could not be said for his partner Janni who had tried to cover his six and had been blown to pieces for her efforts.

Word was that Louis wasn't going to make it back to duty he and Janni had been an item and her death had broken something inside him.
the hanger deck crew chief had also been sending in complaints about the amount of damage they were getting to their planes.
God dammit couldn't the man see they were tired he wondered.
"Amber wing scramble" came the order over the speaker and as one they ran for their planes with a speed born of repetition they were launched within minutes and formed up on Onamu.

There was no chatter as they followed her lead heading north to a reported threat.

"Our targets are ahead we have a heavy Terran recon patrol in system our task is to eliminate them stay sharp people this is when we can expect an incursion" warned Onamu.

they mixed it up with the Terran ships backed up by a bunch of their own Nova's who arrived right behind them.
Vincent forgot his tiredness as he slipped back into the zone once more.

They eliminated the recon force but apparently they had already sent their scans back to base as a large Terran fleet jumped into the system at the south gate. They made a course change to engage them but Onamu ordered them to keep out of range there was no way they were going to be able to take on a fleet that size without a lot of help.

They got close enough to the enemy to get a good scan of their numbers and composition before heading back to the Dauntless when the Terran carriers started deploying swarms of fighters.

Ahead of them there was a blinding explosion as Their fleets command ship the Titan Invincible disappeared under a heavy missile barrage.

"Amber wing this is Dauntless you are to assume a defensive screen position ten clicks out target all missiles is that understood ".

"Roger that" replied Onamu leading them back towards the dauntless to the specified perimeter then turned and began scanning for missiles.

They did not have to wait long they could see dozens of the things zeroing in on them.
"Okay ladies this is where we earn our pay" Onamu said over the com "switch you missile defence system to command beta our job is to take out the lighter missiles that they are using to cover the heavies, and remember if you go for a heavy with guns do so at max range understood ?.

"Yes ma'am" Vincent replied feeling his hairs rise on the back of his neck sensing what Onamu had not said the Dauntless was going to jump out as soon as it had retrieved the heavies and as many of it's fighters as it could.

He had time to realise it was all the Dauntless could do against a fleet that size with the command ship gone before the battle had even started.
He became strangely calm as he waited for the missiles to come into range.
His mosquitos were launching automatically as Onamu gave them the order to scatter and take out as many of the incoming missiles as they could.

After that he had no time for thought as he began switching from one target to the next loosing count of the numbers he hit, there were to many he knew some must be getting through hopefully not the heavies then there was a blinding flash from behind him and for a moment he feared the worst.

"Amber wing break of and follow my lead set missile defence back to command one The Dauntless has jumped out.

Vincent had a job spotting Onamu but there she was going at max speed away from the missiles and the Terran ships as fast as she could.

They regrouped way above the ecliptic Onamu ordered them to power down as much as they could.

"Okay people we did our job our next task is to get back to the Dauntless" she continued" Once that fleet clears the gate they will likely head North to make sure there are no stragglers out there to give them a sucker punch.

Once that happens we will wait and make our way south and get ready too do a run on the gate, so in the meantime we stay low profile and avoid detection".

They waited for hours just using their eyes to monitor the Terran fleet as it moved slowly north its fighter screen searching in a wide arc ahead to detect threats. The Terran Capitals started targeting any in system traffic leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake.

That made Vincent's blood boil wondering if he had known any of the trader families on those ships.

"Okay lets power up at low thrust and drift over to the south gate maintain this level above the ecliptic" Onamu ordered.

It took forever to get into the position Onamu wanted there were a couple of M4's acting as sentry's but nothing else close enough to reach them if they timed it right.

"Amber wing aim for the gate now maintain formation and as soon as they spot us I want everyone to go to max power and go for the gate if those M4's get in our path we obliterate them ordered Onamu."

They didn't need any orders to hit the throttles when the Scimitars started to head for the leaving their positions just behind the gate one managed to get a few shots of before the combined power of their guns vapourised it.

"We have incoming missiles Keller" shouted over the com.

"Ignore them" Onamu ordered "just aim for the gate and once through break high and right and climb, remember we don't know what's waiting for us so be ready ".

Vincent was glad of Onamu's orders as he pulled his ship into a steep climb barely avoiding the Tokyo that was on its final approach to the gate there was a brief burst of light from behind as he realised some one hadn't been so lucky. they followed Onamu until she levelled out then headed for the south gate at full power the guy who hadn't made it had been one of the replacements.

"Captain I have a problem" came Sandi's voice over the short range com' a short while later "I'm loosing thrust I won't be able too keep up".

"Copy that Danil let me know when you think you've gone as far as you can then we'll have to figure out what to do, pilots match speed to Danil" ordered Onamu.

"Negative on that Ma'am, I'm loosing power fast chances are the south gate has sentry ships as well and I won't make it nor will the wing if you try and stay with me" Sandi replied "I'll try and get to a station while I still have some control".

There was a long silence before Onamu replied " Okay Sandi nearest station is the power plant chances are it's occupied though good luck".

Sandi changed course and reduced thrust to conserve her dwindling power then Onamu ordered the wing to follow her lead and headed at full power for the distant gate.

Sandi would not make it Vincent realised and cut power to follow her plane.

"Sladon what the hell do you think you are doing ?" Onamu demanded the anger evident in her voice.

"You know what I'm doing ma'am I'm going to cover her six the shape her ship is in I don't think she'll make it to that station you know we only have an hour of air in our flight suits". There was another long pause before4 she answered.

"Understood Sladon but I want a word with you in my office when you get back understood ?".

"Roger that ma'am" Vincent replied as he closed in on Sandi's crippled plane.
The wing was soon out of sight as he slowed alongside Sandi's ship seeing the extent of the damage it must have grazed the Tokyo as she came through the gate and to be honest it was a wonder it was still holding itself in one piece.

Sandi powered down as she saw him draw up along side her, "okay Vince you know she's gonna rip you a new one if you ever get back ?".

"We'll both get back Sandi the only question for the moment is how your plane is in no condition to take a tow so you're going to have to come aboard mine".

"Nice try Vince and small as I am there's no way we can both fit in that cockpit"

"Your not going to, I'll jettison the missile rack and tuck you in there all we have too do is connect you to the life support there's an access point in there for it ". Vincent answered already visualising how he could do it.

"Stay put for a few minutes whilst I get your new crib ready though you might want to start unclipping the padding off your seat".

Vincent opened the cargo bay before exiting the ship The loading rack took a while to get out but not as long as the missiles that were stored in the body of the plane those he carefully tied onto the rack and took off the safeties mannualy before towing them to Sandi's Plane where he secured them with a tether.

"Okay you ready ?" He asked Sandi.

"I still think this insane" she replied drifting over to him after pulling the last of the cushioning of her seat, Vincent manouvered her into the limited space wedging her in as tightly as he could with the cushioning she had taken from her seat.

"Okay we will have internal comm's just plug into this maintenance jack here and I've got a power feed for your suit so you can keep the heaters going, once the hatch is closed you can turn on your suit lights do not use the radio okay".
"I'm going to rig a destruct receiver to your plane which will hopefully bring any gate sentry's out this way" he explained.

"Seems like a plan Vincent if we get out of this I'll owe you one and thank's" Sandi said getting herself ready.

Vincent closed the hatch and went over to her plane setting the remote self destruct that would activate as soon as he sent it the signal.

A few minutes later and he was back in the cockpit of his plane He checked that Sandi was okay and linked to the life support system before bringing his engines online and plotting a low power course that would take him above and behind the south gate.

"Get your self ready" he said over the com link this could get a little bumpy".

Vincent triggered the self destruct of Sandis plane the blast was clearly visible and sure enough a Scimitar headed in that direction at full speed, He gave it time to get beyond the range where it would be able to turn back and catch him when he was spotted and slowly closed the distance to the gate.

As soon as they spotted him he hit the power knowing they had seen his wing mates do this and would be expecting him to do the same, He grinned insanely as he realised they had failed to realise what he was about to do as they moved to intercept him he altered course and dived through the rear of the gate.

It was what he had been hoping for trans orbital accelerators could only be entered from one side and years of conditioning had meant they had failed to realise what he intended till it was too late.

"We are going to make it" he shouted into the com so Sandi would not be alarmed before he was in the wormhole Vincent powered up to max throttle clearing the gate whilst his gravidar reset itself. to late he saw the incoming warhead to close to avoid it he rolled the plane so it impacted on the engine nacelle the most heavily armoured part of his plane. The blast threw the plane into a wildly oscillating spin. He wrestled with the controls surprised they still responded and fought desperately to regain some form of control. He managed to bring her out of it fighting back the desperate urge to vomit and checked his status, not good he realised systems were starting to fail the gravidar was already gone as was the com and the radio.

He picked the nearest station a Cahoona bakery and headed for it feeling the engines struggle to move the ship.
It was only then the pain kicked in and he felt the console that had crushed his right leg against the seat.
Obviously he had taken a lot more damage than he had hoped as he realised the cabin was loosing air some where.

Then he smiled as he heard a tapping from the cargo bay Sandy was alive he tapped back a response using a piece of metal tubing that had come adrift then turned his attention back to the station that was slowly but surely growing in size as he approached.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Recovery:

Vincent woke slowly his eyes failing to take in what he was looking at his mouth felt dust dry and he felt strangely numb.
There was someone nearby he could hear them talking quietly he tried to sit up but he couldn't but it did set of a muted alarm.

A nurse he realised as the man bent over him and shut down the alarm then placed a straw into his mouth he sucked the water through it greedily trying to clear the taste in his mouth.

"That's enough for now sir you have to take it slowly Dr Keldon has been alerted he'll be here shortly and the drugs will wear of fairly soon".

Vincent nodded his acceptance realising he couldn't speak above a whisper, the Dr couldn't have been far away as he arrived fairly quickly and took a seat by the cot.

"Welcome back Vincent" the doctor said "you gave us quite a scare when you arrived but you are making excellent progress and we'll have you up and about in no time at all the drink the nurse gave you should enable you to speak in a few moments but keep your voice quiet we don't want you harming your vocal chords.

Some friends of yours are waiting to see you we notified them as soon as we realised we would be able to wake you up, now remember no shouting and if you begin to feel tired just hit the button on the caller in your hand" he said placing it there.

He left and opened the door where he spoke quietly to the people who had come to see him.

Then he left allowing them to approach he smiled as he Saw Sandi her arm was in a sling and he could see bandages under her shirt but she was alive banged up but alive.

she moved round to the far side of the cot and grasped his hand giving a squeeze. Keller sat to his left grinning as ever.
He was surprised To see Onamu who took moved to stand next to Keller but he was still glad to see them all.

"Hey guys glad you made it back okay" he whispered in a voice they could hear if they listened carefully.

"Hell man you made it" continued Keller "your a hero now you know your face has been all over the news the man who traversed two enemy held sectors and rescued a damsel in distress we barely got a mention ".

"But hey buddy I am glad you made it through said Keller shaking his hand.
The doctor here says you'll be up and about tomorrow so rest up okay now I' going to leave you with the ladies see you tomorrow Vinny".

Keller left and something about that bothered Vincent for some reason he couldn't place he began to get an inkling when Onamu took the seat he had vacated.

"I guess this is where I get the bad news right Ma'am I'd rather know now than have it worrying me. "

"Sadly you are right Vincent the injury to your right leg was quite extensive and the doctor has told me that whilst still in shock you still attempted to fly your plane which exasperated the injury, as a result you have for the moment been taken of flight duty this is of course subject to review at a later date once you have had time to heal more fully" Onamu replied with sympathy evident in her words.

Even though he had anticipated it her words hurt him and he guessed she would not have spoken this way if there was any chance of him being a fighter jock in the near future.

"Well it could have been worse I guess thank you for coming to tell me yourself Ma'am" Vincent whispered.

Onamu nodded then left the room.

He turned to Sandi and saw the tears welling in her eyes "hey he said giving her hand a squeeze don't go there, I am alive which to be honest is more than I expected or hoped for when the Dauntless jumped.

"But if you Had'nt come back for me".

" Hey chance deals the cards we are dealt and remember you owe me a drink by the way where the hell are we any way ?".

"M148 the Dauntless is still undergoing repairs at the shipyard here apparently the damage they took meant if there were hostiles in Omycron the ship would be under serious threat so he jumped here instead, just as well that missile we took was fired at us as the last of the Terrens were cleared from the sector".

He took that in realising the Dauntless must have been hit pretty hard for the captain to make that choice. Then he realised the wing must have walked right into that one and asked her.

Sandi continued "well Onamu sees all this going on so she ordered the wing to dock at the equipment dock to refuel and reload they had to do most of that themselves by the way then she took them out again and helped out.
By the time we came through the gate there were just a few stragglers left".

Huh and Keller tells me people think I'm some sort of hero, no it was the likes of Onamu who did what had to be done.

His eyes began to droop as he suddenly realised he was drained. "Hey Sandi said squeezing his hand again I'm going to let you be for now but I'll be back tomorrow promise".

"Okay" he whispered wondering why the hell he couldn't keep his eyes open.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Onamu left the ward and walked to the doctors office a short way down the hall.

"Captain please take a seat, did you tell him "?.

"Not the details" Onamu answered "but he guessed the fact he would not be flying again any time soon before I spoke to him, it is regrettable he is a natural pilot and I had high hopes for him.
He will want to know the full extent of his injuries when he wakes do you wish me to remain on hand "?.

"No" the doctor replied "I will tell him myself, its a shame really the bone reconstruction and tissue regeneration were without fault but the damage he endured when his suit failed well we still do not fully understand it.
But thank you for coming Captain I will of course inform you when he is ready to be discharged probably late tomorrow".

Vincent woke up and was relieved to feel clear headed the nurse saw that he had woken and told him the doctor would be in to see him shortly and then placed a breakfast in front of him it was only some Cereal and a glass of juice but it stopped his stomach rumbling.

The nurse cleared the tray and he waited for ages for the man to arrive.
When he did come in he sat down next to Vincent and gathered his thoughts as if he knew what he had to say would be something Vincent did not want to hear.

"Vincent as you have been informed by your commander your combat flight status has been revoked, regrettably you suffered a suit failure en route to the station this resulted in some brain damage that was aggravated by the injury to your right leg.
the result is that despite being able to repair the damage to your leg bones and flesh your brain does not have the degree of fine motor control you require as a combat pilot.
There is of course a possibility that given time this will remedy itself but I am afraid given the extensive tests we have carried out this is unlikely to occur.
For the moment you will also require some mobility support until such time as your leg muscles have had a chance to develop".

Now for the moment you will need a wheel chair but if you work with our physiotherapists that will be very short term. Other wise you are free to go I understand quarters have been arranged for you on board the station so if you have any questions in the future please contact me.

Vincent grimaced at the news but he had expected it and as he had told Sandi things could have been much worse.
the nurse placed his clothes on the cot and He was grateful that he was able to dress himself.
Once he had his uniform on the nurse helped him get into the wheelchair explaining the simple control pad and letting him try it.

"Thanks for your help doctor please pass my thanks on to your staff" he shook the mans hand then followed the signs to the exit.

Keller was waiting for him and showed him the route to his apartment. It was obviously designed for the wheel chair he decided seeing the large spaces around the furniture.

"Well this is nice" he said trying to get Keller to say something involving more than two syllables.

" We already had this conversation Keller this is not your fault" he said.

"I should have stayed Vince if I had then perhaps".

"Keller if you had stayed yeah it could have been different and I could have lost a friend so lets move on okay my only concern at the moment is who is going to keep your ass intact out there, besides the doc said there is a chance the problem will fix itself so don't write me of just yet okay".

"Now lets see if we can find some food the doc says I can eat properly again they were just waiting for the drugs to leave my system ".

"Already arranged" Keller said leading them out of the apartment with a genuine smile on his face this time.

Instead of heading for the restaurant areas Keller led him into a high end hotel and through to a large dining room on the ground floor. The door swung open to reveal the Captain himself waiting to greet him he shook Vincent's hand and left them to go to a small rostrum at the front of the room.

Vincent was shown to a table where Amber wing was seated including Onamu they welcomed him then quieted down as the Captains voice came over the hidden speakers carrying his words clearly to everyone.

"Ladies gentlemen I have already held services for those we lost and I won't go over that again instead we are here to welcome one of our fighter pilots back I give you Lt Sladon" he lifted a glass mirrored by every one else in the room and they drank a toast to him.

He was touched by that realising that almost all of the pilots from the Dauntless were present.
He removed the crutch concealed in the chair and used it to stand up and took the glass poured for him.
"I am not one for speeches but thank you all it is good to be here he raised his glass to return the toast , The Dauntless he said draining his glass and resuming his seat there was applause from around the room after that a swarm of waiters arrived and began serving.

A while later the place became noisy as instead of food the fighters turned their attention to the drinks available.
I am going to miss this he knew the camaraderie and the people here around him who had become firm friends.

Once the party was well underway he made his excuses and left for his accommodation unit.
"Hey wait up" called Sandi carrying a bottle of wine as the doors to his block lift opened up .

He entered the room powering up the wall monitor with a real time view of the system he transferred himself to a chair with a view of the wall monitor before turning to face her. "Okay Sandi something is bugging you what is it ?".

"The Dauntless leaves tomorrow she said quietly we are going to finish up repairs in Argon prime apparently we are causing a serious resource problem here. I am sure the Captain would be glad to take you along".

"Thanks Sandi but I'll pass on that it would hurt to much being there every day and knowing I could never really go back, no I'll stay here till the doctor can get me on my feet again his team are right on top of the treatment I've had and I'll return to the Dauntless when I can walk on board in my pilots uniform".

"Onamu said you would say that can't say I wouldn't feel the same so what are your plans other than getting back into a fighter cockpit ?".

"One step at a time Sandi first I have to see if my leg will heal that may take months, till then well we shall see".

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent handed back the the wheel chair at the hospital. Then headed to meet up with the fleet rep who wanted him to go on a publicity campaign with the media.

That he had no intention of doing he had sick leave coming and had no intention of wasting it on all that nonsense.
He entered the admin office and was routed to meet the publicity guy.
He took a seat as he was let into the office and sat there for two hours whilst the man kept trying to change his mind.

"Look he said finally losing his patience I will do, three days of interviews with the media but no commonwealth wide tour I have family I want to see and I am not going to burn up my medical leave on this ".

The media man gave in considering he was lucky to get as much as he had and not wanting to irritate the man any further lest he refuse to do any thing at all.

Vincent did as he had said he would and gave dozens of interviews trying to avoid becoming repetitive in his replies or to give any operational details except in the most general terms. Even so they lapped it up and he took to avoid watching the programs he was being featured in.

He also avoided going out in public much if he thought the media was bad enough the civilians who kept pointing him out to each other were far worse.

So it was with some relief that he headed for the docks with his duffel bag and boarded the elite they had loaned him for the duration of his leave after of course they had stripped of all the secret software and targeting systems leaving him just an upgraded version based on civilian ships software.

He wasn't to bothered he would not be going into battle any time soon. His old man was still down in the south east so he had arranged to meet him on the trade station in Distant clouds as it was a common end run point for the Venturer.

It would mean a long tedious journey till he got to Queens Harbour but he figured it would be safer than trying to get to the Goner temple to get a jump drive especially in this ship.

He hit the max setting on the throttle disappointed that instead of the almost instant acceleration the ship powered up to max speed a lot slower than he had grown used to.

That he could rectify himself he decided once he was clear of Argon controlled space.
It wouldn't get him to Distant Clouds that much sooner but it was an irritation he wanted to get rid of.

Vincent stepped out onto the station boarding dock and made his way to the main ring in the Air breathers section of the station where he had booked a room. Then he opened up the com unit and after inserting his credit chip he was able to send a message to the Venturer to let the old man know he had arrived.

He received a call back that evening he was startled to see it was a live comm feed not just a wave his old man never wasted money.

"Vincent good to see you again you're looking well".

"Thank you sir but what do you want ? this call is to expensive to waste time on Idle chatter".

"Well" his father admitted "knowing you were down there I took a job do you think you could handle a scanning job in the sector whilst you are there, and send me the results. in a data burst ?".

Vincent couldn't help but grin at his old mans cheek and agreed He wouldn't be in system for a few days and it Would give himself something to do till he got here.

So it was the next day when he climbed back into his ship and started the laborious process criss crossing the sector each time as his sweeps revealed more asteroids out there.

Once he was certain he had mapped the entire sector he punched in the numbers and started the scanning program on auto pilot having activated the collision warning alarm.

He docked at the station again taking the data module with him to make sure the mapping data and the asteroid scan data matched he was just reaching the end of it at the point when he had turned around to dock at the trading station when he saw a glint of light of something in the Image.

He shortened the data burst by those few seconds then waved it to the old man. The next day he was back in his Elite and heading for the site he had pinpointed by a circuitous route.

He could hardly believe it when he finally got in range of it He had grown up when the media was full of images of this type of ship a Khaak fighter. He ejected and made his way to it and managed to find an access panel plugging in his data pad he managed to get the main hatch to open and got a hack going through the ships control systems , he knew for what ever reason the ship had been abandoned in full power down mode for years and from what he recalled from the results of the research at the time even the Khaak needed an atmosphere to survive. and there was no sign of an occupant or its remains in the cockpit.

He closed the hatch and rigged a tow line to it and headed for the derelict he had found by chance years ago and managed to get it into what must at some time have been the hanger deck and tying it down he manouvered out of the hanger and paused to plug in a power line from his ship to enable him to close the main bay door.

Satisfied that the Fighter would be undetectable to most types of scan even at close range he retraced his earlier route and arrived back at his room on the station just as the Venturer arrived in system.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent was on the dock when the Venturer came in he watched as Carl supervised the unloading of some cargo modules waiting till the cargo handlers had finished before going down to the ships ramp.

"I see the old mans still keeping you hard at it Carl is he on board ?".

Carl turned around startled to see Vincent "Vinny" Carl exclaimed embracing him "the old man said you would be here you're looking good vinny come on board the folks will be damn glad to see you".

Vincent followed Carl down the loading ramp into the bowels of the Venturer noting the holds were almost empty. "Looks like you had a good run he allowed what are you here for this time ?".

"Energy cells" Carl answered as they made there way to the crew deck and the family dining room the real heart of the ship the Old man got a real big order for the local mines in system so once he gets back we'll be working here for the next week or so, I figure he arranged that so we could have time to see you but he will never admit to that of course".

"Yeah he never changes does he" Vincent agreed as they walked into the dining room where Carry squealed with delight at seeing him and after giving him a rib threatening hug she sat him down and fetched him and Carl a jug of coffee and a tray of sandwiches commenting that he looked half starved.

"So Vincent the old man heard you got banged up pretty good up north He wanted to go see you when he heard you'd been sent to M148 but he couldn't get security clearance, so what's the real story the way the news feeds put it you held of practically a whole Terran fleet by yourself and saved your squadron at the same time".

Vincent sighed he had seen those stories and wondered how those people thought they could publish such fiction. "The media tend to exaggerate truth of the matter is it was my Co who led the squadron out, now she's a real hero he said as for me I volunteered to help a wing mate out when her plane got into difficulties".

"The other pilot was a woman the media never mentioned that just called Her Lt Danil so tell me brother is she good looking ?. Hah I knew it Carl laughed" when he didn't answer the question " I thought you would have learnt better by now woman always manage to get you into trouble, Vince so tell me how long will you be here its like been Three Jazura brother that's a long time and the old man has sure as hell missed you, though you didn't here that from me right".

"Fair enough Carl" Vincent grinned " I'll be here for a week or so before I have to head back, to be honest I'm hiding from those damn media people if I had stayed another day I swear I would have started hitting some of them".

Carl grinned at him but the look he gave Vincent told him he knew there was a lot Vincent hadn't said, Carl had always been able to read people but thankfully he let it go unchallenged for which he was grateful.

Carls wrist com beeped an he glanced at it frowning "sorry Vince I have to go on dock again look the old man will be back soon he's been itching to see you so no scooting off okay"

Vincent agreed to stay on board glad to be able to sit back and take in the familiar sights and sounds of the ship that he didn't realise how much he had actually missed till this moment.

A few of the crew called into the dinning room on breaks as he waited for the old man to return they all greeted him warmly enough but without pestering him for which he was grateful he suspected the old man or Carl had given them the word not to pester him.

Carry kept an attentive eye on him and made sure his coffee jug was kept topped up she obviously was not bothered by any instructions to let him be and fussed over him to the point where some of the crew gave him looks of sympathy but there was no stopping Carry even the old man new better than to bother her in her own kitchen as she had been heard to tell him on many occasions.

The old man arrived a little while later and Vince stood as he entered the room his old man said nothing for a moment then just gave him a hug. before sitting down at the table and accepting the coffee from Carry.

"Carl said I'd find you here, you're looking fit Vincent I was a little worried when they wouldn't let me visit you but its good to see you again".

"You too dad, so how's business going ?".

"Brisk the his father answered oh and thanks for those asteroid scans we made a nice few credits on that deal, now how are you fixed accommodation wise I'm sure we can get you your old cabin back for you whilst your here ?."

"No I'm good dad got a room on station no need to fuss things up on board besides if I did come on board I suspect you would draft me into working whilst I'm on leave".

"No Vincent the scan job was a stroke of luck and with you just sat here it was easy money, no lad you rest up a bit you've got that gaunt look about you that tells me you got hurt more than the media or the military are saying".

Vincent said nothing to that at which his dad just gave him one of his famous humph's, no doubt he would badger him for details later but for now he would let it lie.

They talked for a while more before it became obvious his old man was itching to get on with his work so Vincent thanked Carry for the coffee and headed back on station.

[Sabrina Bergin]

He got a wave from Carl asking him to meet the family at one of the restaurants not far from the docking ring He arrived on time and was directed through to a private room where a lot of the family and crew were gathered with the kids who saw any chance to get on a station as an adventure.

"Sit yourself down Vince called Carl hey Milo get the man a beer he called" to one of Vincent's childhood friends who was at the bar.

Vince took a seat exchanging greetings with those around him, a few more drifted in as the evening progressed and at some point the children were rounded up and taken back to the ship where they would be put to bed by the duty mom's.

"So Vincent tell us about this girl you saved Carl tells me you like her" asked Glisa Carls fiancée and as it happened the Venturer's new engineering chief she had taken over from her dad last year and Vincent could see why Carl loved her she had a bubbly personality and she had grown into an attractive young woman since he had left.

Vincent gave Carl a look but he waved his hands trying to signal his innocence he turned back to Glisa and it was clear she was not going to let this go she had always been persistent he recalled.

"If you mean lieutenant Danil she is a pilot in my wing and a damn good one at that".

"Whoa what's this has the best pilot in known space finally found someone better than himself ?" Carl asked but Glisa wasn't giving up that easily.

"Well Vince is she better than you and is she good looking you know I'm going to keep at this till you give in don't you ?".

She would at that Vincent knew so he gave in " to answer to your questions to the first possibly as to the second yes and before you ask your next question no we are not involved does that satisfy you".

Glisa glared at him he had answered her questions and by family rules she couldn't keep on at him about it now and she was as frustrated as anything by that fact.

After deflecting that line of inquiry some of the others began to ask him about life in the fleet in general and were surprised that it was not a rigid adherence to the rule book when of duty though they were horrified when they learnt the beer in the fleet was practically alcohol free though some of the women seemed to be considering it seriously.

The gathering went on into the early hours and Vincent was shattered when he finally got back to his room he knew a lot of the crew would be staying on station whilst the Venturer was running energy cells around the various factories in the system with a minimal compliment to give as many of the crew as possible a chance to relax on station so it was no surprise to see many of them wandering around the commercial parks getting new vid books and clothing, the next morning.

For himself he headed for the dockside bars where he would likely find the things he wanted to stash in the derelict where he had hidden the Khaak fighter.

He made a few deals and had the stuff placed in a pod to load onto his ship asking himself what he intended to do with it, he could sell it would be worth a bundle but no he admitted there was a chance that if his leg didn't fix itself it might be the only chance to fly a combat M3.
Which begged another question if he couldn't return as a pilot did he want to stay in the fleet, hardly as he'd told Sandi he would hate that.

Then there was The Venturer he knew he couldn't go back oh he would be made welcome enough but it would be too limiting for him.

Which left what certainly not a pirate but there were other jobs out there escort duties and patrols he should be able to handle that sort of life.
There it was he realised the reason he has hidden fighter it gave him options.

The Venturer came back into dock at the end of the week and the crew on the station flocked back on board.
After a short while the crew who had stayed were given a few days shore leave and most of the younger ones headed for the bars and nightclubs on the strip.

The old man Joined him at a dock side café he had taken to using and signalled for a jug of coffee.

"So the old man asked when are you shipping out ? you've got that itchy feet look in your eyes again".

"Tomorrow I guess I'll need some time to get back and I'll be cutting it close. How about yourself "?.
This evening we've got a cargo to deliver in Heavens assertion before we head back here to pick up the rest of the crew. Now you take care out there Vincent and if you ever need any help you know where we are".

Vincent nodded and sat back and enjoyed the chance to sit and just relax.

[Sabrina Bergin]

M148:

Vincent parked the Elite in the Hanger bay of the station he had of course removed all the software upgrades he had applied to it but had left two banshee missiles which he'd salvaged on the way here and had sold to the dock when he had landed.

He went to his new billet that had been assigned to and was told his personnel belongings from the Dauntless could be found in storage.

He checked the room number and opened the door startled to see two men in the room, "sorry he said I must have misread the door number" and turned to leave.

"You didn't make a mistake Lt Sladon said the man standing in the centre of the room.

Vincent closed the door behind him and put his duffel to one side on the floor wondering what the hell was going on. The men were fleet of that he was fairly sure despite the casual clothing they wore.

"I am Lt Daril Braks This gentlemen is Major Harlon, we were notified when you came in system and wanted to speak with you privately.
We have reviewed your record and we think we can offer you a position of interest for a man of your abilities, and we wanted a chance to speak to you about it before you made any irrevocable decisions about your future".

Definitely military but not regular fleet Vincent decided and thought about it for a moment. "Okay so what is this position and what's the catch "?.

The man smile and sat down indicating Vincent should seat himself in the rooms only vacant chair, "We work outside the regular forces remit" Braks continued as Vincent sat down opposite him "we try to aid our forces in the current conflict by trying to stop Terrans and others from stealing our tech and commiting sabotage at crucial installations throughout the commonwealth the position is reasonably well paid and there are performance bonus's that exceed your current pay grade significantly but I don't think that is what you signed up for and if it was we wouldn't be having this conversation.
So I will tell you what the real bonus is we can give you the ability to pass the advanced pilot course".

That had him caught right there and they knew it he waited for Braks to go on but he just sat there waiting for him to decide.
"Alright that's not what I expected but you know if that's possible I'd want to be back on the Dauntless".

"Understandable Lt and that is no problem for us we would require your cooperation very rarely and by maintaining your position there it increases your security and minimises the chances of our enemies identifying you.
There is one slight problem not with the situation but with the treatment which is of course classified at levels that start in the Stratosphere and go up from there.
The treatment requires a regular supplement so on occasion you would have to return here and its existence must remain a secret. I would suggest we suggest to the Captain of the Dauntless that we have used an experimental surgical procedure that will give us time to get your treatment completed before you returned to the Dauntless.

With Dauntless still in for refit the timing could not be better how convenient, Vincent doubted there was any coincidence involved "alright I'm in, what now ?"

"Now you report to the hospital on the Beta outpost Lt we have a transport waiting" Braks said indicating they should leave now

" You were that certain of my answer he asked "

"Of course Lt we had your profile studied very carefully to our mind once you listened to the bare outline of the proposal and gave it serious thought your answer was a foregone conclusion, add to the fact that this the Major has been getting live data reports on your heart rate respiration brain activity suffice to say we knew before you did that you would accept now come we are keeping the ship waiting".

There was no surgery involved just a progressive series of scans and a large number of injections some of which provoked severe reactions when the course of treatments stopped he was given a container of Capsules and told to take one per week and to keep these with him at all times except when in positions where he might be captured.
Well that was clear enough he thought what ever was in those capsules they did not want the terrens to get there hands on it.

He was pronounced fit enough to resume duty the next day and was taken to a combat simulator. where he was put through a series of flight exercises.

He was off he knew it since his injury he had learnt to compensate for his right leg but now it was hindering him.

"Lt Sladon your performance is off we can see that from here" said Braks from the control room you are obviously still trying to compensate for your injury. So we are going to skip the basics and put you in a full combat situation you've got to learn to trust yourself standby".

The view changed instantly as the displays reset he checked his position Heretics end he decided looking out over the system he knew all to well.

"Sladon this is Braks, we are going to run a series of attacks on you by hostiles at increasing levels of difficulty each time you get hit you will receive an energy jolt at varying levels of intensity I would advise you to avoid that if possible".

The com ended and the gravidar showed two hostiles closing in fast he rolled to intercept them and accelerated to max flicking the safeties of his weapons.

Scimitars he realised as they closed the distance between them rapidly. time to separate them he thought swinging high and left to give him an angle on the trailing ship.

He got in weapons range and opened up till the energy drain became critical then rolled clear and turned to come behind the target he kept up the attack reducing his fire to short bursts. Then he yelped as he felt several sharp burst of pain as he heard impacts hitting his shields he broke of his attack and rolled clear of the fire to evade the incoming hit's.

Within seconds they were back on him again and shocks kept distracting him as he wrestled with the controls throwing every manouver he knew into the mix but it was useless they kept coming. It was insane no one could be that good, the test was rigged he decided and at that point he was filled with a cold rage flinging the plane end over end he went straight at it ignoring the pain he was feeling. he shredded its shields and tore into its hull. He dived under it and looked for the second one but it vanished as the simulator shut down.

His hands were shaking he realised as the canopy opened up and he was helped out of the seat.
He took of his helmet and was given a beaker of juice which he swallowed in one draught.

Braks came down from the control room "very impressive Lt based on that test you just exceeded the advanced combat test requirements and your coordination and reflex's were exceptional.
We estimated you would last about ten minutes in the end there was a chance you would actually defeat the hostiles and given the simulation was patterned on some of the best pilots in the fleet makes it even more remarkable. So clean up and report to my office in an hour".

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent entered the office he was directed to by the numerous security men on this level of the station he took in the hardened defence points he saw on the way there and stepped into the office and waited Braks was in uniform this time it suited him better he thought.

"Take a seat Lt I can now confirm that you are now a part of this group and we have a mission for you which will help the commonwealth in the war effort I have a briefing report for you to view study it now it does not leave this room"

Braks turned the monitor on and left him alone in the room Vincent watched the briefing angered by the treachery he saw detailed then came the mission parameters.

A Disco this must be a joke he realised and with just one shield then he looked again the payload occupied most of the available space on the ship he assumed that was the surveillance gear.

He shut down the monitor and a moment later Braks walked in. "Okay when does this meeting take place ?" Vincent asked already planning his route.

The assignment was a bust he decided in that he got spotted eventually not surprising with the number of scans the targets ship had bee running but apparently he had got enough for Braks".

The next day he was put on a transport that jumped to Black hole sun where the Dauntless was on system patrol duties apparently they were waiting for their pilots to finish up training at flight school before returning to active duty in the war zones.

The fleet had passed him through the combat tests and he picked up his new plane there. He didn't go for a tour this time instead he flew straight to the Carrier getting a course and clearance from the ships flight control tower.

He landed smartly and grinned when he saw the Crew chief staring at him in astonishment "Hey Chief it's been a while good to see you again" the chief recovered from his shock and started barking orders order's at the deck hand's.

"Hey Sladon if you've come back just to bust my ships you and I will talk okay".
Sladon grinned at him and walked to the tower handing his datapad to the controller she gave him a room assignment and he left before she had a chance to give him directions.

He stowed his gear and secured his pills in one of the bunk frames he had six spares he had concealed in his flight suit just in case so he was good to go.
Before he had a chance to change he was ordered to report to amber wings ready room.

Onamu was alone in the room when he entered, he had expected to see the rest of the team here "Sladon take a seat, so you think you can just waltz right back into my wing Lt Sladon and expect me to accept that after what that doctor told me that in effect you would never make it back no way mister you don't walk in here without me checking you out I've had people try to fool the tests well this time it won't be in a simulator get to the hanger deck you will get orders once you are in your plane understood ?".

"Yes ma'am" he replied and did as he was told knowing what was coming knowing Onamu he had expected it but not the minute he arrived.

He powered up his plane and waited to be launched he waited for five minutes before he was launched. She was out here already he figured and he started scanning left to right taking his time and making sure he missed nothing.

He reached the start point the tower gave him then he began his patrol. He figured Onamu would be out there powered down waiting for a moment of her choosing to attack the delay was also deliberate to unnerve him but that wasn't going to work.

Even though he was waiting for it she surprised him just letting him go by before she powered up and trashed his shield's rolling away and accelerating he saw her now as she brought her engines on line and started to pursue him.

He had a lead but not much enough to let the shields recover somewhat but running wouldn't work so he dived down hard and twisted away using his strafe controls to give a brief advantage in speed then plotting her next move he let her gain on him a bit before diving for the place he suspected she would move to.

He was right he had her in his sights and gave her some payback but she was agile and evaded him pulling out of his field of view with a mastery of the plane that only years of combat could teach you.
Despite having studied hours of her combat routines she was better than he was and despite doing his utmost she kept tagging him.

He was getting frustrated and it started to show then he was back in the Zone he had forgotten what it felt like and the two fighters performed an intricate ballet across the sector. After some time Onamu disengaged and ordered him back to the Dauntless.

As soon as he hit the hanger deck she told him to freshen up and get to the briefing room.
He was there a few minutes later his hair still damp from the shower his coveralls still stiff and from the packaging they had been in.

Onamu was already there not a hair out of place how the hell did she do that he wondered as he sat at the desk she pointed too.

"Very slick Sladon so explain this to me three months ago you were finished with no way back yet to day you flew better than I've ever seen in a pilot with barely eighteen months experience who's been out of the seat for the last three months and who's studied my moves.

The silence was deafening and he showed her the card he held in his hand hoping the camera's wouldn't pick it up Onamu said nothing for a few minutes then nodded."Okay that buys us three minutes so what gives".

"A new type of treatment he admitted and a damn painful one its classified and experimental and they thought it had worked till I failed a mission and the Terrans managed to take out the Jonferco Hq.
At that point I got shown the door and threatened with dire retribution if I ever spoke to any one about it I had a choice stay in M148 or come here".

"That answers that question so how did you get to study my combat manouvers ?."

"That was part of the treatment they had a fancy simulator rigged to give me a lot of pain if I made a mistake it was programmed with your moves".
and a few other peoples I don't know who." She nodded and moved back to the position she had been in a few moments earlier and said for any watchers.

"Okay Sladon you are back but on probation you frakk up one time and you are gone do you hear me "?.

"Yes Ma'am" he replied unable to keep the smile from his face as she ordered him to join the wing down in the rec room.

There were gasps of surprise and pleasure as he walked into the room and joined them at the table.

"I take it you passed Onamu's test we watched it on the monitor " Sandi explained.

"Provisionly he replied", as Hallon put a coffee down by his hand.

Keller gave him that look "okay hot shot how come you were able to keep her amused for nearly an hour out there"?.

"I've spent every spare hour for the last two months in a simulator he replied truthfully for the most part and then combat school all over again followed by a test that was harder than the one we did for combat training.
What do you expect that I wasn't paying attention"?.

They all accepted that and they talked about what they had been up to since he had last seen them and he told them of meeting up with his family they stayed there till mid evening then with an early start in the morning they headed for their racks.

[Sabrina Bergin]

It was just prior to his next period of combat leave that Vincent was contacted again and told to dock at the military base in M148. This time he didn't get into the station proper He was escorted from the hanger to an external docking port and told to go on board where he would be briefed.
He went on board and Braks voice told him to go up to the bridge once then he was confused there was no one here.

The main viewer lit up and he saw Braks seated in his office. Lt Sladon thank you for your prompt response. This is your new home for the time being it has been fully automated so you can fly it by yourself though you might be more comfortable with a crew aboard, that's down to you.

Now this is a fairly short mission but you will need the fire power this ship carries the Jonferco people are moving their research materials it's on route to Paranid space and if you are quick you will get there in time to act as an
escort for it We suspect the Terrans have got wind of the move and are planning to intercept it if that looks like its going to happen you are cleared to destroy the ship is that understood Lt Sladon ?.

"Yes Sir he answered".

"Good now before you tell me you've never flown anything bigger than an M4 all you have to remember is that its faster than your family's trade ship which I am sure you have piloted but is a lot more manouverable and of course its a lot better armed now you do have a Jump drive on board but I don't want you to bring it online till after you get some e'cells at the SPP in enduring light.
We are pretty sure the Terrans have a spotter in this system and you should flag up as a ship transfer mission Same applies to the weapons and the missiles once you open the cargo to get them equipped they will be visible to scans we will monitor your progress and hopefully we will get a fix on the traitor amongst us that's our mission not yours now get going that Transport will hold station in Interworlds till we give the order so get there as soon as you can Braks out".

Vincent took the mans advice and undocked after filing a flight plan for Black hole sun. His route clearance churned out of the hard order printer along with a recommended route.

Vincent used the controls that had been added to the standard command chair and set course for the North gate leaving it on manual control so he could get a feel for the Ship. Braks was right this thing was incredibly slow to respond compared to his M4 but a hell of a lot better than the Venturer.

once well clear of the gate he altered his course slightly as if to make it seem he was heading for the east gate He would have time to change that when he was a lot deeper into the sector.

He docked at the SPP and loaded up on e'cells the dockmaster got him to sign a recipt which he did using the name Braks had left instructions for him to use then beforhe undocked he unpacked the cannisters in the cargo bay and had the ships automated systems install them.

I a slight variation on Braks suggestion he undocked manualy and then whilst he was still hidden from sight of the trade lanes he jumped out to the jump Beacon in Tears of Greed moving away from the system centre till he had all the equipment online and tested. Only when he was satisfied did He jump for Interworlds.

He was startled when the ship started answering hails from intercept ships that were obviously on a high alert status. it was almost as if the ship was being crewed by ghosts. Especialy when a young woamns voice asked him to take an incoming message from the escort wings Commander.

"Captain Hallard thank you for joining us we are to escort the Transport to Sacred Relic where a Paranid fleet will take over. Be advised we are expecting hostiles" as a satttelite was taken out near the south gate blinding us all traffic incoming from it till we can deploy another one".

"Under stood Commander we are standing by" they did not have long to wait a group of enemy fighters came at them from the south He accepted the target selection form the tactical control station and moved to prevent the enemy fighters reaching missile range on the transport which was still slowly accelerating to its max speed He moved ahead of it the set the weapon's targeting system to protect it leaving him free to select individual targets with the missile control system selecting the appropriate missile for the task.

The escort commander was good and he chased down all the hostiles before they could get out of range of the sector's defence zone where they could act as spotters for future attacks.

He was about to plot a course to jump back to M148 when a Terran task force appeared at the south gate a carrier with a flock a flock of Katana's and M3 fighters acting as a spearhead.

Het began selecting targets loading firing solutions into the computer the missiles would launch as soon as the targets were in range.
The sec def commander reformed his fighter wings and moved forward to engage the Katanaa's and their escorts. a squadron of Centaurs undocked from the equipment dock and charged at flank speed for the carrier.

The Katana's responded instantly and a heavy battle ensued with both sides taking casualties. He felt his launch tubes begin to fire repeatedly as hostiles came in range he took manual control of the ships control interface changing attitude and pitch constantly to enable him to get as many guns on targets as he could.

The approach of the Tokyo was inexorable and neither he or the Transport had much hope of surviving a toe to toe fight with it at extreme range he switched to the banshees and launched all of them then set the targeting to fire the wasps as soon as they were in range. They wouldn't do any real damage but might shield the heavier missiles.

The situation was desperate and he readied himself for what was to come expecting the worst when he saw the arrival of the Paranid fleet behind the Tokyo and they were running it down fast. as the fleet caught it the Carrier launched what must have been the last of its fighters as its shields dropped rapidly.

Then it disappeared in a neuclear blas that nearly blinded him till the viewer compensated for the light level.

The screen switched to a view of the Paranid Commander aboard his Battle ship."Captain Hallard the Paranid Empire is grateful for your assistance The Paranid Empire will now take charge of the Transport's protection".

"Of course commander " he replied using the tones of respect the Paranid expected to hear from all other races, the Paranid gave him an almost respectful nod before cutting the transmission.

"Helm assume system patrol duties all weapons to be kept online" confirmed Capatin acme the ghost's reply as the ship began sweeping the system though the local sec def was dealing with any threats he detected long before he could get into range.

"Captain Hallard we are returning to base thanks for your assist" the sec def commander comm'd before he and his remaining forces headed for the equipment dock to the north.

Carl stopped the ship to orient himself and called up the sector display on the main screen. There were half a dozen bailed ships out there waiting to be claimed.

It was in the early hours that he transported back on board the last of the claimed ships en route to the trading port to get speed upgrades.

He the set a jump to M148 and on arrival headed for the military base. He was commed immediately and ordered to report to the equipment dock where a team of technicians were standing by to replenish his supplies.

No doubt to remove all the fancy tech more like he though but did as he was told and took and booked into an accommodation unit as soon as he docked and the specialists were on board.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent hit the docks the next morning expecting a transport back to Black hole sun instead he was escorted back to the Centaur and told to pilot there himself He walked back onto the bridge and was amazed at the changes that had been wrought in his absence the ghosts were gone but not the automated controlled systems better yet they had left the weapons bay loaded as if they knew he would be needing them in the near future.

Checking his fuel reserves after undocking he jumped again for Tears of greed then another two hops south.

The ship was untouched and he spent the next few days putting modules he had bought into the fighter as well as some of the fancy software they had placed on the Centaur which he had copied and duplicated before he had gone back to M148.

They wouldn't know what he had done his old man had taught him a few tricks over the years and he had a personal mission now two days ago the Venturer had been attacked on a routine cargo run and had barely made it out of sector to evade the hostiles which coming from deep within Argon controlled space just didn't make sense.

When he got back to the Centaur he flew to the local SPP plant and then jumped for Argon Prime.

He walked through the dock unhindered