.therjw sent me a message asking about more...so therjw...here you go. Hope you like it.
remember...I'm bound to make a few gramatical mistakes and the time thing sort of confuses me. I was going to write it with the assumption that everything was translated to Jazuran time while it read hours and minutes, but I thought that might be too confusing.
Also keep in mind that I was staying with the timeline as well.
The Khaak invasion, which just hppened in X² The threat happened nearly 15 years before.
I just thought I'd add this in before people got confused about the type of corvette that the Fire Spray is. Just so you all know, instead of having to go back and re-read the prologue and chapter one, its an advanced Drednaught corvette that was made well before the Khaak attack on Presidents End.
With that said....here it is. Its a little rough and the chapter kind of ends in a cliff hanger, but there is a reason for that, not to mention that its one very long chapter.
Also., I can't seem to get the format right on the forum when I paste it in..really sorry about that. I was going to try and double space it, but that wasn't working very well. So I tryind to space it out so it wasn't so hard to read.
Cheers
Chapter 2
Understanding
“Study the enemy carefully.
See how they perform and
Watch for a weakness. Its
Not always brute force that
Wins a battle, it’s the cunning
Of the commander”
-Warchild
The Firespray was vast, and there was good reason for this. At the time
the Firespray was built, there were already corvettes cruising through the
galaxy, but in much less numbers. The Firespray was the very first dreadnaught corvette as well as the dreadnaught cruiser the Scorpion. Jorion surmised that the Firespray was also the only dreadnaught corvette to be made after the malfunction that kept the corvette in hyperspace for nearly 12 jazuras, and with the disappearance of the dreadnaught cruiser as well; it was no wonder that the ships were never reproduced. Jorion continued to read the ships data banks looking for any information about the Firespray he could find. It dawned on Jorion that he might want to keep the corvette a secret, as the Argon military might actually want the ship back. With all the technical advances the ship had, the Argon military wouldn’t be the only people to want to get their hands on it.
Jorion thought for a moment as he looked up from the console. Where can I hide a ship of this size? He quickly punched up the galaxy map and began searching for a
place that he could hide the Firespray. Why hide it? He thought as he continued to look through the star charts. I found it fair and square; I own it under salvage rights. Even the computer said as much. He argued silently with himself. It was evident that the only place that he’d be able to hide the ship was in the pirate sectors, and even that was a risk as pirates would eventually find it and try to take it for themselves. The registry was changed. Leelu saw to that. He thought silently. So it’s not going to appear on the argon registration, it should be safe to bring this ship anywhere. In fact, according to all the files in the database, there were virtually no records of the Firespray in any database except the one aboard the ship. All the schematics and information pertaining to the Scorpion, and the newly named Firespray, were all contained in one computer… and Jorion was in control of that information now.
As Jorion was reading through the ships data base and waiting for the area around the jump gate in Split space to calm down, Leelu gathered information from Jorions outdated fighter, and downloaded it to the dreadnaughts own mainframe. “Captain” Leelu began. “I believe that I have encountered this species of life form referred to as the Khaak.” The computer finished.
“What do you mean you have encountered them before? Before when?” Jorion asked noting that the computer was recognizing him as the captain now.
“I was downloading more information from your fighter to be up-to-date with the current information of the known galaxy and found reference to a race called the Khaak. The description and the digital photos of their ships match the same ships that this vessel had encountered here in this sector a few mazuras ago. Two ‘clusters’ came to this sector and tried to attack the ship. When they scanned the ship and found no life aboard, they seemed to halt their attack. Their attack triggered the dreadnaughts automated self-
defense systems and the dreadnaught engaged the Khaak ships and over came them. Two Tazuras later, there was another ‘cluster’ that attacked, most likely, in retaliation of the first cluster that was destroyed here. The dreadnaught overcame the Khaak fighters once again, but was damaged in the process during the battle. All of the dreadnaughts repair droids that were aboard were used attempting to repair the damage.” The computer finished.
The information of the Khaak having been in this sector with the ship was not a pleasant one. The Khaak attacked viciously, relentlessly and without provocation. The unwarranted attack, which devastated Presidents End a few jazuras ago, left the system in ruins and the sector was declared a war zone. It had taken months to rebuild, and people were still cautious about returning to the sector even today. This information steeled Jorions decision to use the dreadnaught regardless of who might want it. Let them try to take it Jorion thought. They’ll have their hand full with this ship.
Jorion finally left the engine room and made his way back to the corridor that led to the access way where his fighter was attached to the dreadnaughts external docking plate. Jorion was still a little unnerved at the emptiness of the ship. I’m never going to have enough credits to hire a crew for this beastie. He thought as he reached the access way.
“Captain, are you returning to your fighter now?” Leelu inquired as the computer tracked him on his route through the ship.
“I have to retrieve the fighter; don’t want to leave it behind.” He answered.
“Would it not be more efficient to utilize the transporter devices on board that are in the hanger bay?” Leelu asked him.
“Transporter devices?” Jorion asked as he raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, there are 42 transporter devices currently in stock located in the hanger bay.” The computer informed him. “I’m already here at the access way, I’ll get one when I dock the piranha. “ He answered. More and more surprises Jorion thought as he made his way back to the fighter.
Jorion closed the bottom access hatch, climbed back over the seat, and repositioned himself at the controls. The fact that the piranha was made for Boron pilots might have had a lot to do with the cockpit being harder to reach coming back through the access hatch than it was getting to it.
Jorion stabbed the comms switch and hailed the Firespray.
“Leelu, after I disengage the piranha from the docking plate, would you initiate the ships engines and reposition the ship away from the asteroid and the nebula?” He asked.
There was silence for a moment, and then Leelu responded. “Yes captain, I will wait until you are six kilometers away before I begin to maneuver the dreadnaught away from the asteroid and will set course heading toward the east gate.”
“Very good, I’ll be docking as soon as you are under way.” Jorion stated as he undocked from the docking plate.
It took very little time for Jorion to undock the fighter and maneuver around the dreadnaught. As he reached the six-kilometer mark away from the dreadnaught, Leelu began maneuvering the vessel away from the asteroid. Jorion watched as the computer righted the ships orientation to the ecliptic plane. It was much larger than he had first thought, but still not as large as a cruiser but much larger than a normal corvette. Jorion noticed that after he targeted the dreadnaught once again, the words ‘Unknown’ were now replaced with all the information pertaining to the ship on all the data displays in the fighter. Jorion wasted no time making his way back to the Firespray at top speed. Jorion
was about to hail the Firespray once again, when the immense docking doors began to open.
The docking bay itself was huge. Jorion had only landed his fighter on a cruiser once to deliver documents on a contract run. The dreadnaught wasn’t nearly as large as the cruiser, and the hanger was definitely dwarfed compared to the size of the cruiser, but it still had him in awe as he looked at all of his new ships still sitting in the docking cages.
Jorion slowly made his way through the hanger and spotted an empty cage that had its lights flashing. Evidently, Leelu wants me to dock here. He chuckled to himself as he slid the piranha into the docking cage and felt the clamps lock the fighter into place. Jorion looked at his computer readout and saw that there was air in the hanger and the hanger doors were still closing. “Leelu, how is it that there is air in the hanger, but there is no breach?” He asked curiously.
“There are force fields in place around the hanger doors in a sequence that allows ships to dock while keeping the air inside the hanger. There is also artificial gravity in the hanger as well captain, please watch your step as you exit the fighter.” Leelu stated as Jorion absorbed the information. Jorion punched the button for the blister as he watched it quickly slide back allowing him to exit the fighter. He gave a quick look at the displays before exiting the piranha. The delivery time was still not for another three tazuras yet.
Jorion looked around the scaffolding of the hanger and noticed that there were six docking cages that looked different from the rest. They seemed to be slightly larger and longer than the rest of the docking cages that some of the other fighters were occupying.
“Leelu, why are docking cages 10 thru 15 longer than the ones that the fighters are in?” He asked curiously. “They are special docking cages fitted for TS freighter class and TP personnel class transports.” Leelu answered.
With three tazuras left to deliver his cargo to Great Reef, Jorion could easily make his way back to Atreus Clouds, retrieve his transport, and still make it back in time to deliver the space weed to the pirate base. Jorion smiled at the thought of the pirate station as he arrived to deliver the goods in a capital ship.
“Leelu, how many energy cells do we have onboard?” Jorion asked as he made his way towards the hanger bays prep room.
“We have 300 energy cells currently in stock.” She answered promptly.
“Excellent. Are the jump engines in working order, or did I make a mess of things by disconnecting the extra connections to the malfunctioning systems?” he asked as he clasped the transporter devise around his left wrist.
“The diagnostic you began running is now complete; the jump drive engines are now in working order and ready to begin charging to engage hyper space maneuvers.”
“Good. Set jump co-ordinates to Atreus Clouds sector, jump gate west.” He ordered as the jump drive engaged. He noted the familiar hum of the engines charging with a slight sigh, as he continued to make his way towards the bridge. “Jump engines charging at, ten percent, and counting.” Leelu stated as the computer continued to countdown to jump.
The Firespray made the jump easily as the hyperspace anomaly formed in front of the ship and it slipped into hyperspace. Jorion felt the familiar rumble as the ship entered hyperspace. He was relieved that the dreadnaught hadn’t exploded, but the trip wasn’t over yet. The dreadnaught still had to jump through the gate first.
The jump to Atreus clouds would take some time, so he figured that he would find the captains quarters and make himself at home. After all, this was his ship now.
Jorion came to a cross section in the corridor and tried to decide which way to go, but didn’t want to spend the next lifetime trying to locate the captain’s quarters.
“Leelu, which way is it to the captain’s quarters?” He asked off handedly, still looking down the three corridors hoping that it was just a few steps away.
“Deck one section three near the officer’s quarters.” The computer stated sounding more and more like a real person every time the computer spoke. “Umm… What deck am I currently on Leelu?” He asked, trying to keep the confusion and frustration out of his voice.
“Captain, you are currently on deck three section four. Turn down the right corridor and enter the turbo lift to deck one. Exit the turbo lift and turn left. The designated captain’s quarters are 200 meters from the lift.” She directed.
Jorion found the turbo lift with no problem. Everything on the Dreadnaught was practically new. He still wondered how it was kept so clean. As the turbo lift doors opened onto deck one, his question was answered. A group of cleaning droids was making their way down the corridor as they left a swath of sparkling floor plates behind them. Jorion turned in the opposite direction of the cleaning droids and made his way towards the captain’s quarters. Once again, Leelu had made finding the quarters easy by having the control panel outside the door activated. In fact, the control panel to the captain’s quarters was the only panel that seemed to be activated as none of the other quarters were going to be occupied.
The Captain’s quarters were extremely spacious. It was more like an apartment rather than quarters. Jorion had his own dinning area in addition to the large bedroom and rest room. The captain’s quarters also had a large observation port that would give a spectacular view had the ship not been in hyperspace.
The entertainment area, which
served as a study, was very spacious as well. There was even a library of information disks available along with a control panel on the desk that was situated away from everything else in the room. The furniture was exquisitely made from the finest wood he’d ever seen. This truly rivaled any luxury apartments available even on luxury cruise ships.
Jorion made his way to the sleeping area and lay down on the bed. It was by far the softest bed he’d ever felt. “I could get very used to this.” He said aloud.
He left the bed reluctantly, made his way to the study area of his quarters, and sat at the desk. The desk was very ornate indeed. Even the control panel was inlaid with carved and shaped metal. This was obviously something that had been added by the pirates. They do have good taste in furniture. He thought to himself as he activated the console. A view screen rose from inside the desk and projected the information onto it. The computer screen was large. It even had a smaller window inside superimposed on the screen that showed the bridge and view screen there so he could see everything that happened on the bridge. He quickly pulled up a schematic of the ship and located the bridge in relation to where his quarters were. The schematic showed the entire ship and then zoomed in to the section that he was in, and then showed the location of the bridge. It was on the same level down the corridor. He then pulled up more information about the dreadnaught and began to familiarize himself with the various functions of the ship. Everything was automated as it was, so there was no need of a crew, but there were functioning stations that crew could be added to. All that needed to be done was to assign the person to it through one of the consoles and that system would be accessible to a crewmember. All of this was done without the use of a slave chip as he’d originally thought. That explained the lack of slave nodes on the consoles on the bridge.
Evidently, the only truly slaved system was the navigation system, and that was controlled by another ship that might as well no longer exist.
Jorion looked at the small overlay on the vidscreen and saw that the ship had exited hyperspace and was making its way through the jump gate as the computer began to announce that the ship had entered Atreus Clouds. He quickly made his way to the bridge so he would be able to see everything that was going on. Just as he reached the bridge, the alert klaxons sounded throughout the ship. There was an enemy ship nearby. Quickly he ran through the hatchway before the door was completely opened and jumped into the captain’s chair. The gravidar showed a red blip on the screen denoting an enemy vessel… then suddenly there were dozens of red blips kilometers away from the Dreadnaught. Khaak ships! He screamed in silence.
“Enemy ships now in firing range captain.” Leelu stated as Jorion began to strap himself into the chair. “Target all enemy ships and fire.” He ordered as he watched the screen begin to roll towards the enemy ships. Suddenly he began to hear the roar of the plasma canons as the turrets fired. The ship vibrated with the salvo, but nothing else. Before he could even ask, multiple screens began to appear on the main vidscreen. They showed all the turrets and their targets. He watched as one after another of the Khaak ships exploded in balls of energy and flame shooting pieces of debris in all directions. Then he saw it. The Khaak fighter. He’d never actually seen one before now. It was large and triangular with hues of blue and purple. As the alien ship fired, he could feel the ship shudder as the energy beam impacted with the shields. Most other ship would have been vaporized by now, but the dreadnaught was a capital ship and had the shielding to protect it from a lot of enemy fire, but it wasn’t impervious to it. The turrets finished off the other smaller scout type fighters and began tracking the larger Khaak ship.
The entire area was ablaze with plasma fire as the dreadnaughts canons fired on the alien ship and tracked along with it as it attempted to evade the incoming plasma bolts. It never stood a chance. Even as the alien fighter attempted to evade the fire from one turret, another turret tracked and fired at the fighter. The dreadnaught dispatched the entire cluster in a matter of moments.
Suddenly there was comms chatter all over the ship where there shouldn’t have been, then the communications screen opened up.
“This is Boron commander Balagi Fu of the Boron trading station; I thank you for your swift intervention. We’d like to thank the Argon navy for responding quickly to our distress calls.” The Boron commander finished as his tentacles waved behind him on the view screen. Jorion was lost for words for a moment, and then he spoke.
“This is Jorion Davidson aboard the independent corvette Firespray; it was a pleasure to help out the Boron in their time of need.” He said in the most official tone that he could muster managing not to stutter as he spoke.
“Independent corvette?” The Boron asked surprised and awed. “We were under the impression that you were part of the Argon navy patrolling mutual borders.”
“No sir, I am an independent trader here to retrieve one of my personnel transports from the trading station. In any case, I’m very happy to be of service to you.” Jorion replied, measuring his voice trying to appear as if this was something he was used to doing from time to time.
“Very well then Commander, thank you again for your help. If you need any assistance repairing any damage your ship received during battle, please feel free to request a repair shuttle free of charge for your help defending the sector.” Balagi Fu stated smartly as the vid-connection closed.
“Leelu, how is it that the Boron fighters in the area recognized the dreadnaught as a corvette and not unknown as I first did in the piranha?” Jorion asked.
“This vessel has not yet been scanned by any other ships besides the piranha you first arrived in.” Leelu replied. “Their onboard computers will recognize the class of the vessel as corvette, but until a ship actively scans the Firespray, Argon corvette is the designation the computers will relay.”
“Can you alter the registry of the dreadnaughts transponder to transmit that this is a modified corvette trader?” Jorion asked.
“Yes… Altering transponder registration code… now transmitting registration as modified class corvette transport ship.” Leelu replied.
“Very good, bring the ship within ten kilometers of the trading station and hold position. I’ll be using one of the discoverers to go aboard the trading station and retrieve my transport. Do the fighters onboard have navigation software installed, or will I have to leave the scout there on the station when I transfer to the transport?” he asked quickly as he un-strapped himself from the captains chair and headed for the hatchway.
“All fighter class ships have navigation and remote software installed. Enter the commands into the onboard computer and the ship will escort your transport back to the Firespray.” Leelu informed him as he exited the hatchway leading to the corridor. Jorion made his way back to the turbo lift that he’d taken to get to his quarters. It was getting easier for him to find his way around the ship the more that he walked through the corridors. Someone should have put up signs. He thought as he reached the turbo lift.
Jorion looked to the left of the lift, saw a small map of the level, and rolled his eyes.
The ride in the lift only took a few moments. The doors opened up to the lower hanger levels where the scout fighters were docked. Although the discoverers were small, they were still magnificent looking… and they were his. From the look of the scout that he’d passed by, none of these ships had ever been used. There were no scoring marks on the barrels of the laser canons. There were no signs of repair on the hulls of the ships. Everything looked original. “All these ships and no one ever used them?” Jorion asked aloud. He stared at the ship for a moment then climbed up and pushed the button to slide the blister back to get in. Once again, like the outside of the fighter, it was clean as if the cleaning droids had just serviced it. Jorion started the engines and stabbed the button to slide the blister back into place. The blister slid silently back into the closed position just as easily as it had opened. Jorion pushed the button to engage the comms system and a young woman appeared on the screen. She seemed to be in her early 20’s at least.
“Yes Captain?” The woman asked in the same voice as Leelu.
“Leelu?” Jorion asked a bit confused.
“Yes Captain?” The woman said again. “How may I help you?”
“Umm… How is it I see a picture here with you talking…I mean…you’re a computer… I mean…” He trailed off confused and shocked at the picture of the beautiful girl on the screen.
“This is a computerized avatar of me that I broadcast when communicating with people on other ships.” She smiled. “It sometimes makes it easier for other people to accept direction from a computer AI when they think that it is an actual person.” She explained.
“I like it.” Jorion smiled. “Is that what happened on the bridge when all the comms channels opened up and there was chatter coming from all over the bridge?” He asked.
“Yes, I presumed it would be more believable that there was an entire crew running the ship rather than having the individual think that there was only one person and the computer AI operating the entire ship. This is something that the pirates had integrated into one of my sub-programs. When flying into any races core sectors, to display this image and send background chatter along with the broadcast.” She finished.
“Well…I was going to have you re-route all communications to the ship I was in at the moment, but… seeing as you have that under control… I suppose you have the bridge until I get back.” He smiled at the computer image. “Just one more thing… Are there anymore surprises that I don’t know about yet Leelu?” He asked hesitantly knowing that there had to be more that he didn’t know about the dreadnaught.
“Yes, in addition to my being able to send the holographic image of my avatar to the comms channels as a display, I can also appear anywhere on the ship as well when commanded to have the avatar present. As I said before, sometimes it is easier to communicate with people in the form of an avatar rather than just the AI voice.” She stated.
Jorion backed the fighter out of the docking cage and headed for the hanger doors.
“I’ll have to remember that when we have to communicate with other ships then.” He said as the scout slid past the hanger doors and into space.
The flight to the station would be a relatively short one as they were only 10 kilometers off its portside. The only thing that made Jorion nervous was the way that the Boron stations spun. The end structures at either end tended to play with the mind and sight as the seemed to swing at the passing ships. They gave a feeling of vertigo as one approached. Jorion targeted the station and stabbed the comms button.
Instantly the comms sparked to life. “This is the Boron trade station alpha, how can I help you?” The Boron controller asked. Jorion was a little surprised at the ‘live’ controller, but it did happen from time to time.
“This is Discoverer four of the independent corvette Firespray requesting permission to land.” He said as he sent the recognition codes from the transponder. “Landing granted, please enjoy your stay aboard the station. Docking speeds are now set at 35 KPS to prevent accidents. Thank you.” The controller said as the vidscreen flashed off.
“Just as polite as ever”. Jorion said aloud as he brought the fighter through the hanger doors. The landing on some of the stations was tricky due to the design, but Jorion was somewhat used to landing on the Boron stations. He checked his speed as he entered the first turn in the landing tube as he piloted the ship towards the docking platforms. After a couple interesting turns that seemed like loops, the docking platform came into view as he exited the landing tube. He could see many Boron technicians walking through the docking area and other races in their space suits. It was standard procedure to have a space suite on when in the docking bay. The air was only breathable to Borons in that area, but the other levels had breathable air for Argons and other species.
Jorions comms sparked to life once again as he drew closer to the docking platform.
“Scout fighter four, please land in docking cage 32. Thank you.” The dock controller said.
Jorion looked to the numbers quickly as not to take too long getting to the cage. Slowly he followed the numbered cages until he spotted cage 32 and slowly maneuvered the fighter into the cage. He knew he was nowhere near his transport, but this would do.
After making sure that the helmet was securely attached to the suit, Jorion punched the button to slide the blister back as he selected the commands for the navigations software for the discoverer to follow the transport and punched in its designation.
Normally he would have just piloted the fighter over to the transport, but it might take a while to get everything situated in the transport before take off.
As Jorion slowly backed away from the fighter, he saw the blister close back over and darken. It was very common to have the blister darken to prevent someone from seeing inside the ships. It made it harder for someone to steal it not knowing if there was anyone inside. His own piranha had the same type of security as well. It also helped when flying into a sector that had a sun factor of 400 percent, It helps to have the shading then as well. The Borons had been using this type of feature on their ships for a while now, but the version on the discoverer had to have been one of the first with this feature produced by the Argons.
The jetpack on the spacesuit was slow, but it beat walking through the entire docking area trying to get to his transport. He could easily use the transporter device he wore, but he would have had to target the ship first in order for it to work.
After passing a dozen or so cages, he came to the transport section of the station. He stopped and looked up at the docking platform for the transports and spotted his easily.
It was the only Teladi made transport docked there. It was a little slower than the other transports, but it was also much cheaper to afford at the time. Jorion watched as a couple freighters moved into docking cages and one with a heavy fighter escort leave the platform. The blisters were darkened, but he was sure that they were looking directly at him in his tiny suit. He watched the freighter and its escorts moved off and enter the docking tube to exit the station as he continued to make his way towards his ship.
After what felt like hours of flying in the tiny suit, he reached the docking cage and made his way forward to the station airlock. This section was designated to Teladi and Argon trade ships, so Jorion knew there was air circulating through this specific section of the station. He reached the controls, opened the hatchway to the air lock, and entered the station. It was only a few moments before the chamber was decontaminated and fresh oxygen was pumped into the chamber. Jorion watched as the red lights on the wall blinked and then changed to green indicating that it was safe to remove his helmet and exit the airlock. It had been weeks since he’d first docked his transport on the station, but he’d paid the docking fee for a mazura in advance. It wasn’t extremely expensive, but he was glad he had done it when he’d had the credits to. Jorion stepped out into the corridor from the airlock and headed over to the boarding tube attached to his ship. As usual, the corridors were somewhat clean. It was hard to keep an area like this extremely clean as it is a high traffic area, but they managed to do a good job of keeping most of the grime off the floors and walls. The air in this section had a metallic taste to it, almost as if some of the gases from the Boron section had been leaking into this section. Jorion thought about getting a drink before he headed back to the Firespray, but changed his mind after thinking about the small battle that he had participated in when he entered the sector. The Khaak seemed to be attacking random sectors as usual. Sometimes there would be an attack and then nothing for weeks and months, and then there would be repeated attacks on the same system. It was almost like the Khaak were trying to avenge their fallen comrades. Who knows what those aliens think like. Jorion thought as he tucked his helmet under one arm and punched his security code in with the other hand. After he entered his code, the hatch to the boarding tube slid aside. Jorion gave a quick look to either side as he entered the tube and closed the door behind him. As he entered the
Passenger cargo area, he saw there was a good amount of dust on the few seats that were still set up, and that the ship was in need of a good cleaning. Jorion walked over to the console panel on the wall and stabbed at the button for the cleaning droids.
As Jorion made stepped through the hatch to the cockpit, he made a point to activate the air recirculation, as the air was stale from weeks of sitting still. After running the ships diagnostics to make sure that everything onboard the transport was operational, he’d decided to check the food stores aboard the ship. Even though there was plenty of food stored on the Fire Spray, he liked to keep emergency food aboard the transport, as one never knew how long one might be aboard.
Although he knew he could easily order the supplies from the comms and have the supplies delivered, Jorion really wanted to get a drink in the bar. It had been several weeks since he’d actually had a break to have any fun. Seeing as he had enough time to actually make this next run and get there on time without worry, he felt he’d deserved a treat. He quickly programmed the communications controls with the wrist comm he wore so he’d be able to receive any communications coming in while he was inside the station. He set the security commands into the computer and made his way to the hatchway leading to the station corridor.
Even though it had been a while since he was last onboard the station, he still remembered the most direct route to the cantina. Jorion had always thought it was funny that the cantina on any station was found very quickly. Must be a prerequisite when designing a station. Jorion thought as he made his way through the corridor.
The station’s all call system was constantly broadcasting messages and special deals and offers for the merchant shops. Occasionally, there was an announcement for a specific person, but most of the announcements were advertising. The Teladi stations were a little worse. They were non-stop advertisements, and if you were lucky you might get the rare personal message now and again.
Jorion arrived at the cantina fairly quickly as it wasn’t that far from the docking area. Like most cantina’s, it was a little darker inside than it was in the somewhat well lit corridor. On the Boron stations, it was more for comfort and relaxation rather than security like the pirate stations. The Borons were very good with keeping the peace aboard their stations. Violence was not tolerated and was swiftly dealt with by security forces. This was not to say that there were no fights aboard Boron stations, they just happened less frequently than they did on other stations.
Out of habit, Jorion found a booth towards the back of the cantina that was somewhat more dimly lit than the rest of the cantina. Every Cantina would have that one hard to light area. Usually the people that chose those areas wanted the privacy. Jorion chose it out of habit, but more truthfully, he was nervous. Better to keep you back against the wall if trouble breaks out. He thought to himself as he sat down. For some reason, everyone seemed to give the area he was in a wide birth, as if the darkness was a tangible thing that might ensnare an unwary passerby. Even as the waitress came over to take his order, she seemed a little more than nervous to be in the somewhat darkened area of the cantina. Jorion gave the waitress his order and she quickly made her way back to the main bar.
The entire cantina was centered around a circular bar. Looking at it from a tactical aspect, it was highly defendable. Even though this was a Boron Station, the primary clientele was a mix of Argon, Boron, Split, and the occasional Boron. The Borons tended to have a mixed security force in the trade areas. Whether it was nervous habit or unconsciously, Jorion quickly took note of all the people inside the cantina. He also noted where the security personnel were as well. For some reason his sense were on high alert. Even the hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand up every time someone walked into the cantina. This might have been a bad idea to come here now. He thought to himself as he saw the waitress making her way back to the booth. The waitress was a slim argon girl, close to her early twenties it seemed. She was polite enough, but she seemed to be nervous entering this particular area. Enough is enough. He thought as she set the order down. “Excuse me…but…you seem a little nervous coming over here…should I move to a different table.” He asked her trying to sound sincere. “Well…there was a rumor about the corvette stationed outside the station. Rumor has it that there is a very high-ranking officer on board the station. Security was just raised and they were sending more security to patrol the areas between here and the trade docks.” She replied. “That and usually the only people that tend to sit in this both are of the criminal element…and…well…with the security being tightened and the corvette sitting outside the station…well…a couple of the Teladi customers said that you might be an assassin.” She added meekly. Jorion began to chuckle a little and saw the waitress begin to relax a little as he did. “There could be nothing farther from the truth. The ‘corvette’ ...” he said as he raised his hands and made quoting gestures “happens to be a transport corvette. You can tell by the size and shape.” He lied. “Also, the security was tightened because of the attack. Sometimes during the confusion, the criminal element might try to take advantage of the situation and loot shops while people are running for their lives.” He finished.
“How do you know so much about the corvette?” she asked.
“I’ve seen a few of them before. I made a delivery to one once. They have all the same weapons as a war corvette, but they don’t have the fighter escorts…and this one, if you get a look outside, has no fighters flitting around it.” He winked.
The waitress was visibly relieved to get that information even though it was only partially true. “Well…let me know if you need anything else, and enjoy your meal.” She beamed as she almost bounced back to the bar. Jorion glanced up from his food just in time to see her cuff one of the patrons and point to him. The abused customer just raised his hands in mock surrender and laughed as he looked towards the booth that Jorion was occupying. For a moment, Jorion thought the patron might make his way to his booth and pry for information…or take retribution for having foiled his fun in making the waitress nervous but the Teladi didn’t look like he was the type to cause a confrontation.
Jorion sat back in the booth and took a long pull on the bottle of ale that he’d ordered as someone entered the cantina. Even though the lights in the corridor were a little brighter, he could still make slight features of a woman. She looked a little nervous as she made her way towards Jorions booth. As she drew nearer, he could make out her features a little clearer…and she was definitely making her way towards him. Just as she reached him, four men came in behind her dressed in the loose worn clothing of space traders, but they didn’t seem all that they appeared to be. There was something about them that was out of place. Something just didn’t seem right about them.
Just as the woman reached his booth, his wrist comm began to beep with an in-coming message. Jorion activated it as she approached and listened to the female voice leave a message to contact her through the station bulletin boards.
“I see you just got my message…you do own the Teladi transport docked in the bay right.” She asked.
“I might own it…what dock number?” he smiled knowing it was her that had left the message. “Look…” she started. “…do you want a job or not?” Jorion motioned her to sit.
“Calm down a bit, I was just having a little fun with you. Its not often that someone gets a message from a person requesting services as the very same person walks up and sits down with them.”
“Sorry, but I’m in a little bit of a hurry” she stated. “I need transport out of system. Location and price will be discussed once we’re under way.” She finished flatly, as she glanced over her shoulder.
Jorion could tell something was up. She was in a hurry all right. Not everyone was willing to discuss payment en-route. That meant she was willing to pay a lot.
“Is this a time sensitive transport...Because I already have a transport contract to Great Reef, and I can’t guarantee good time as I have a tight schedule.” He stated trying to see just how desperate she wanted the transport.
“That’s fine; I just want to get under way as soon as possible.” She said as she looked over her shoulder towards the door once again.
“Are you expecting someone?” Jorion asked, “You keep looking over your shoulder towards the door.”
“No… It’s just that I thought there was someone following me…but I must have been mistaken. I have a lot on my mind lately. When do you think we could get under way?” She asked as she glanced back towards the door once again.
“If it makes you feel better, we can leave as soon as I get to my ship. I just finished up here anyway. I’ll just have some supplies delivered while we head to the ship.” He said as he started to get up.
“Fine” the woman said as she took a step back from the table.
Jorion rose from his seat, tapped the controls on his wrist comm, contacted the stations supply vender, and ordered the food staples that he wanted for the transport along with some miscellaneous items that were easily attainable.
“Sounds like you have a long journey ahead of you. A lot more than you might need for a trip to Great Reef.” She smirked.
“I like to be well supplied. Never know what you might need and how much until it’s too late. Don’t like being caught off guard.” He said as they made their way to the door.
Once out in the corridor, Jorion was able to get a much better look at the woman. She looked as if she was in her early to mid 20’s. Her shoulder length hair was tied back in a series of braids. By the look of her clothing and the way she had her hair, she had the look of a kept woman, but she moved like the sort of person that had been in the military.
Either way, there would probably be enough time to get to know her once they were on board the Fire Spray. Now that will be worth the look on her fact when she sees that the transport will be done with a corvette class ship and not a TP class.
Something still nagged at Jorion. Something just wasn’t right. He could feel it. Even though he thought it might have been something to do with the way the waitress was in the cantina, the feeling of danger was still there in the back of his mind.
Jorion made a casual glace over his shoulder trying not to make it obvious as he passed by one of the many shops. There were a lot of people milling about in the corridor. It would be next to impossible to tell if someone was actually following them unless they were completely blatant about it.
After a few moments, they reached the docking pads corridor and headed to the slip that the transport was in. Jorion made it look as if he was looking at the numbers on the hatchways, but he was actually looking behind them. Jorion new very well where his ship was docked. That’s when he saw the four men walking behind them and looking as if they were keeping their distance. Very non-saliently, Jorion reached for his needle gun.
The needle gun was his favored weapon. It’s based on a magnetic canon principle shooting many tiny needles at the speed of light. The needles reach a velocity that would enable them to rip through nearly any type of armor except for the extremely heavy military body armor, but the impact would still incapacitate its target.
Just as Jorion’s hand had reached the pistol, he heard the sound of a blaster charging behind them.
“DUCK!” Jorion shouted as a shot rang off the corridor wall in a small explosion. Jorion aimed his needle gun at one of the attackers and fired. Unfortunately, for the target, he wasn’t wearing any armor. The shot ripped through the attacker’s shoulder ending a small puff of blood into the air and splattering the wall behind him. Laser fire filled the corridor as alarms sounded throughout the area. The laser fire had set off the alarms. Soon the entire area would be swarming with security forces.
Two more shots rang off the walls as Jorion and the woman tried to make their way to the transport. Jorion noticed a security camera scanning the corridor and seemed to be focusing on the attackers. That was good. They would know that he was not the one that was provoking the incident.
They were only meters from the hatch-way to the transport. Jorion kept the woman in front of him making sure that nothing happened to her. She was right about being followed. These guys look like the men that came into the cantina just after she did. Jorion thought as he ducked and fired again.
“Open the hatch-way… Access code seven-seven-two-six-one-three-three-one!!” Jorion shouted to her as shots continued to ring off the walls. More shots than there were previously. The attackers called for back up.
The hatchway to the transport slid open and the woman all but dove into the entrance as Jorion backed his way to the hatch and fired at their assailants. Five more shots impacted the inside of the hatchway before Jorion was able to close the hatch.
“You know something…I think you’re being followed.” He said to the woman as he jogged up the ramp and entered the transport.
As the woman entered the ship, Jorion closed the hatch and headed for the cockpit with the woman close behind. The air in the ship was definitely fresher. Jorion also noticed that the supplies he’d ordered had been delivered. They used a freight beamer to transport the goods since he wasn’t in the ship when he placed the order. It was all deducted from his credit account.
“So, you want to tell me your name and what all that was about?” Jorion asked as he took the pilots seat. The woman sat in the navigators chair next to him.
“My name is Jenna Bennam, and those men were pirate slavers. I escaped from them when they landed on this station. They were going to try to sell me to someone here. I saw a chance to escape and I took it. I also had the opportunity to transfer 100,000 credits from their account to my account…so they might be wanting that back as well as me.” She stated sourly.
“I get the feeling that they aren’t finished with you just quite yet. We’ll see them again…I can feel it.” He replied as he disengaged the docking clamps and began to exit the docking cage.” As if on cue, the Discoverer hove into view and fell into a tight escort formation with the transport.
Jenna watched the scout fighter as it followed along side the transport. “You’re full of surprises. Have any more of those…we might be needing them.” She smirked.
“Oh…I don’t think we’ll have much trouble with them…as a matter of fact, I have a couple more surprises up my sleeve.” He said as he maneuvered the transport through the bay doors with the discoverer close behind.
Once they were out in open space, Jorion scanned the area, spotted the corvette, and then glanced at the gravidar. The transport was moving at top speed and they managed to get a good distance out before shots began to pound the transports shields. Jorion activated the auto-turret as he brought the heading towards the corvette.
Quickly he stabbed the comms button. “Leelu, I need a little help. We’re being pursued by hostile fighters.” He said keeping the urgency in his voice as low as possible not wanting to alarm Jenna.
“Aye captain, I was watching the whole time. I’ve already dispatched a fighter force to deal with the attackers. They should be there in …. 20 sezuras.”
Jorion looked ahead of the ship and saw the fighters in the distance. She’d sent a small fighter group to deal with them.
“Captain, I noticed you said ‘We ‘. Can I expect you’ll be having company?” Leelu asked.
“You are correct, se if you can have some quarters ready for our guest, I have the feeling that she’ll want to freshen up a bit when we get aboard.” Jorion smiled as he glanced at Jenna.
Jenna absorbed the conversation after a few moments. Then she saw the four Nova heavy fighters shoot by the transport and begin to engage the attackers.
The three Bayamons were really no match for the Novas. Jorion activated a monitor showing the battle as they made their way to the corvette. It was then that Jenna realized that the Novas had come from the corvette and that is where they were heading.
“You mean to tell me that you own that warship that had everyone in the station on edge?” Jenna said slightly shocked an a little amazed.
Had it not been for the corvette sitting outside the station, she might not have had the chance to escape. Her captors were so interested in knowing about the corvette sitting just outside the station, they didn’t notice that she’d made her escape. It was later that they noticed her absence…and the reduction of their cred account.
“Like I said, I have a few surprises up my sleeve.” Jorion smiled.
Jorion set the transport on auto-pilot while he watched his fighter group engage the pirate attackers from the station. The Novas wheeled around with amazing speed as the rear turrets ripped into the pirates catching them off guard. They had no idea that the Novas were protecting the transport. That’s when Jorion saw the discoverer veer off and strafe one of the Bayamons. As the discoverer finished its attack run, the pirate fighter began to rocket passed the transport. Jorion looked at the gravidar and it read as friendly.
“I’ll be damned…the pilot bailed.” He smiled.
Quickly Jorion activated his scanner and scanned the cargo hold of the newly acquired Bayamon. It had nothing in the hold save for some Silkworm missiles. Those would come in handy. Quickly Jorion connected to the cockpit of the Bayamon and began to set its heading for the corvette. Suddenly the fighter took off at top speed heading for the corvette with the discoverer close behind it. Leelu must have set the co-ordinates for him when he accessed the fighters’ navigation commands from the transport.
“Captain, we’ve seemed to have gained a new fighter. I’ve set its navigation to dock with the Fire Spray. It proves to be an interesting addition to the fighter compliment that we already have.” She stated smartly.
“Thank you Leelu, I was in the process of accessing it myself. You seemed to have saved me the trouble.” Jorion smiled.
He looked at the monitor window and saw that the battle was still going on. Although the Novas had the pirates outgunned, there were still three more Bayamons left. Just then, there was a bright flash as one of the Bayamons exploded in a ball of fire and plasma sending bit and pieces of debris everywhere.
“That’s two down.” Jenna said as she watched the battle intently.
It wasn’t surprising, as her attackers seemed to be dying. She’d get away from these pirates, but she might never be safe. She escaped...and not very many manage to do that. There was no telling how many might be left on the station, but the ones that tried to attack them in the fighters weren’t going anywhere. They couldn’t land back on the station after attacking the transport, and after attacking them in the corridor, the ones that might have been on the station are in either custody or trying to find a way off the station without being caught.
Jenna smiled as another of the Bayamons exploded leaving so much debris behind.
Jorion watched as the four Novas engaged the last pirate fighter. Suddenly the Novas broke off. Jorion noticed that the gravidar showed the fighter as friendly. That was two fighters captured. No sooner than Jorion was about to access the Bayamons navigation controls, the fighter began to head towards the corvette. Leelu had beaten him to it once again. That was probably something that was in her sub-programming as well. After all, the ship was a former pirate ship once upon a time.
Jorion looked over at Jenna to see her smile as she watched the local police patrols pick up the two ejected pilots. The woman looked as if she was about to cry, but Jorion looked away before she might have.
“Captain, we’ve managed to capture another of the pirate fighters. Both fighters together have enough equipment to equip one of them. The first Bayamon has both shields still intact, and the second Bayamon has all four beta particle accelerator cannons intact. What would you like to have done with the ships?” Leelu asked.
“Outfit the better of the two. Find the maximum speed for each, take the faster of the two, and outfit it. We can see about either selling the other or holding onto it for parts to keep the other going. Assign it a cage and I’ll have a look at them sometime after we dock. It’s not like they’ll be going anywhere.” Jorion finished.
“Aye-aye sir, since both fighters have the same speed of 206Kps, I will have the ship with the least bit of hull damage. One is at 88% and the other is at 62%. We can repair both of them at minimal cost and with little efforts as we have the needed materials in stock. Shall I have one or both of the repaired?” The computer asked as it awaited orders.
“Repair both of them. I’m sure they’ll come in handy.” He replied.
they just didn't match up. 
lessons and freetime, then copy them into the new topic thing and do a brief five minutes search for things to improve or change.
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