05/12/5323
Unknown
After coming to, Colt looked around but saw nothing but inky darkness all around him. Feeling around he found he was still in his truck but apart from that he could discern nothing about his current situation or his location.
'The hell was that?!?!?!' he thought to himself as he tried to figure out what to do.
'Maybe the headlights will work?'
Colt turned the key and hit the lights illuminating a light grey wall directly in front of him.
"what in the world? where am I???" He said aloud.
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05/12/5323
Frontier zone, Caligian republic space
On the bridge of the bridge of the 'Swift Defense' the crew was franticly trying to regain the use of the exterior monitors, Kalis could currently do nothing to aid in the battle that was almost certainly taking place.
'Damn it, what was that flash?!?!? some kind of new electronic interference weapon?'
"Ma'am we've regained the use of the bow and aft cameras all other sensory equipment is still down it'll take a few minutes at least to get it up and running again" reported one of the bridge officers
"Thank you ensign, keep me updated, get us turned towards the fight, I'm sure that Captain Gene has reestablished visual."
As the ships bow slowly turned to face the direction of the battle Kalis was shocked to see the 'Swift Heat' in two pieces and neither of the two enemy ships damaged, not only that but a small spark of light indicated an escape craft speeding towards them at high speed from the direction of the wreck!
--------------------
Colt was currently trying to ascertain his situation. First he took stock of his supplies, finding he had a lighter, a flashlight, a pocket knife, and like any good American he had a handgun, never mind it being locked, cocked, and pointed at his boys in an appendix holster.
'So lets try to figure out just what the fuck is going on.' he opened his door and stepped out.
'Best keep quiet.' he tried to shut the creaky door of the old pick-up as quietly as he could.
Upon turning around and scanning his surroundings with the light he found himself amongst a long row of what appeared to be grey steel storage containers.
'The cargo hold of a freighter? Was i a victim of human trafficking? I don't want to be sold as a sex slave.'
He began trying to find an exit, mostly to protect his water tight seal, that which must remain unbroken at all costs!!!
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Kalis was filled with dread upon seeing the scene on the monitor, not because she was in command of what was now the only escort ship, but because of the escape craft that was tracking to her ship like a missle to it's target.
'Please let that repulsive degenerate not have made it!'
The comms officer a pretty boy ensign snapped her out of her dark thoughts, "Ma'am the escape craft is trying to raise us!"
"Thank you ensign put them on monitor 2."
The now familiar pudgy face of Captain Gene appeared on screen.
'I guess a little luck is too much to ask for'
she sighed and asked "Are you alright Captain? how many made it out?"
The Captain, looking extremely distraught and mildly confused replied distractidly "only 4, The XO, Nav officer, the intel officer and myself."
Kalis furrowed her brows as she thought solemnly
'only 4 men made it out on a craft that is normally crewed by 250?!?!? isn't that too few? those poor crewmen.'
"anyways Lieutenant Commander we will be linking up with the 'Swift defense' at which time I will be taking command so we can take the fight to those damn treacherous pirates!" At this point Gene cut the connection but something he said still lingered in Kalis' mind or perhaps the way he said something unsettled her...
-------------------
After searching for what seemed like hours but in actuality was only a few minutes Colt found a large door.
'Now how do i open this thing?'
He felt around for a handle or switch but found nothing, next he tried hitting, kicking, and even throwing his weight into the door none of which proved effective.
'Damn this things solid, maybe its voice activated?'
"open!"
Nothing
"Activate"
Nope
"door, open"
zilch
"open seseme"
nada
"hocus pocus?"
Still the door did not open. Giving it one final frustrated kick the floor shook slightly and the doors began to slide to either side.
Colt, not really knowing what to expect ducked into the shadows of the containers to his left and flicked the safety off his pistol. From the door emerged 4 men, one balding and on the plus side of sizing, one who just stared at the first in awe seemingly without averting his eyes or blinking even, one who seemed unreasonably pissed off for no reason given the others moods, and one who seemed scared out of his wits with shifty eyes.
'Strange I wonder where they came from?'
Colt looked behind them through the door that was now closing and what he saw took his breath away.
"IS THAT A FUCKING SPACESHIP?!?!?! Ah hell." Before he could stop himself Colt shouted out in surprise!
"@#%&%$^$$^ @#%%^^& #%%#!" The heavy set man in front yelled something out in an unknown language.
Colt, thinking fast, pointed the handgun at the men but something seemed off.
"hands up!" he assumed they would get the picture, but the man that yelled just smiled coldly and spoke.
"!@$@! #%^@#" again he spoke in the unknown language.
"MANOS ARRIBA MOTHERFUCKER!!"
Still no reaction.
'well aren't you a confident one...'
It was at this point that two things happened, first Colt recounted the men. The fat one, the fan boy, and the scared one, all three of them. the angry one seemed to have disappeared.
'Ah shit'
Then the second thing happened, Colt felt something cold and hard pressing up against his head.
"!!%@!#%$^^."
Although Colt couldn't understand what was whispered in his ear, the message was a universal one "Gotcha bitch, drop it."
this was understood loud and clear.
After dropping his gun the angry one policed it, searched him before taking his stuff, and finally bound his hands with some kind of cloth.
With the cold object from before, the angry one poked Colt in the back, another universal message
"Move, run and I'll shoot you."
After moving Colt out into the open the tubby one looked to be speaking to the group
"!@#%%$% $^#(%#$"
"!#$##%$#$%%^ $^$^&#."
to which the shifty one replied.
"!@#@%%#@$!#$^%^&*&^$% $&."
The fat one shrugged and started walking followed by the one with the staring problem. When the angry one Prodded him again Colt reluctantly followed. The chubby man led the group through the large room confidently, which made Colt just a little upset.
'I thought it was some kind of sick sadistic maze designed to led me to some banjos in the woods, but no this man knows his way like he was born here.'
eventually they arrived at a door leading to a corridor.
'Wow whatever this place is it's massive!!'
As they continued down the corridor Colt took in as much as possible about his surroundings leaving nothing out, he even counted the steps before each turn, but what grabbed his attention the most was the floors which were some kind of rubberized material.
'Ooooooo non-slip, I like it.'
After walking quite some distance they arrived at another door which slid upwards.
'Nifty'.
------------------------
'Can't we just shoot him out of an airlock? I think it would be rather comical to see his fat face explode in the vacuum of space.'
Kalis was sulking in a corner when her violent thoughts were interrupted by the door to the bridge opening.
'Well i guess there's no helping things, must keep my bearing.'
Getting her train of thought back on track she straightened and saluted Captain Gene as he entered, however her bearing faltered a little when she saw that after Gene and his XO entered another young man enter bound and at gun point.
"Sir, good to see you made it out, even if your crew didn't. If I may be so bold as to ask who is this?"
She observed his strange clothing; blue colored pants of a rough looking material, pointed black boots with a strange reddish hue and a crisp long sleeved white collared shirt rolled to his elbows. She also observed his scarred arm and his eyes that darted about as if looking for a chance to lash out.
'He looks like a tiger on a leash, and his clothes are so peculiar, is he maybe a pirate!?!?!?'
Captain Gene returned her salute before slapping the back of his captives head.
"A Pirate who must have snuck aboard your ship, I can see how, with such lax security"
Gene said with no small hint of contempt for Kalis.
"I captured him in your cargo hold, skulking about planning some kind of sabotage no doubt."
At this point Gene turned to the captive.
"Eh is that it you pirate scum, were you planning on sabotaging a ship of the republic?"
-----------------------
"!$#^# @$^# $%@$#@@# #@$%@$%"
'oh great the fat man is talking again, and here comes the slap.'
after taking the slap to his ear Colt just glared at the man.
'asshole.'
As soon as the ringing in his ear stopped Colt started observing his captors, all of whom seemed to be wearing the same kind of khaki colored uniform. More out of habit than anything else, Colt started looking for gold, silver, or black. His eyes went from person to person before landing on the fat man, who had the most gold on his uniform as well as what appeared to be the most pompous air about him, a quality many officers have in Colts experience.
'Him. He is in charge here, oooh I got something for you fatso'
So he started to form a loogie
-----------------
"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH, THE LITTLE SHIT SPIT ON ME!"
Roared Captain Gene before striking the captive across the face with the back of his hand, knocking him to the ground and causing blood to start dribbling from his nose.
'Isn't that a little excessive?!?'
Kalis was mildly pertrubed by the violence her superior was displaying, however as the Caligian republic had very loose regulations pertaining to the treatment of prisoners and none regarding the treatment of pirates, she couldnt do anything.
"Sir, you said you'd be taking command of the 'Swift Defense'? What are your orders?"
It was at this point that all hell broke loose aboard the ship as all the individuals on the bridge were thrown to the deck by a violent shaking as though the very universe was experiencing a magnitude 8.0 earthquake.
"WE'VE BEEN HIT!!!!”
After regaining her feet Kalis looked to Gene for orders but to her surprise, he was sitting on the deck with a vacant look on his face.
"Sir, what should we do?"
Getting no reply she nudged him with her foot.
"SIR!?!?"
Finally he seemed to snap out of his daze.
"A-ah yes. I believe that with the 'Swift Defense' being merely a Destroyer and having lost the 'Swift Heat' that... uh.... I.... uh... ahem.... with the current insurmountable odds...….. I ah think we should r-run."
After finally stuttering out his answer he adopted a rather meek face, which disgusted and mildly enraged Kalis.
"so you want to abandon the civilian supply convoy that we are under orders to protect, and save our own skin?!?!?!?!?!? After all those men and women on the 'Swift Heat' gave their lives for the mission, YOU, want to tuck tail and run??? YOU FUCKING COWARD!!!!!!"
By the end of her statement she was beyond angry, not thinking of anything but her rage she had serious thoughts about actually shooting him from the air lock.
"Hskjerfjvfudbsdnsfd"
From the side the prisoner finally spoke up but his words were completely unintelligible to Kalis, however this only served to anger her more. After sending a glare his way the prisoner shut up much to her liking.
"Captain we need an actual plan, and if you don't have one then this convoy may very well be doomed!"
She looked hard at the Gene who, in turn, replied
"If your so keen on fighting then why don't you come up with a plan then?"
Not expecting this response Kalis could only blink.
"Well... uh.... maybe we could talk to them?"
Gene shook his head in a hurry.
"NO!!"
Realizing he was putting up too much of a fight he corrected himself.
"I mean no we can't negotiate with pirates its against the laws of the republic!"
Kalis frowned.
"So we have to fight? Ensign what kind of ships are we up against?"
The ensign at the sensor panel looked at her shortly after and replied.
"Two Destroyers Ma'am, class 272 and 262."
Kalis nodded as this answer pleased her.
"Outdated glass cannons with the old armor style, still a formidable foe when attacking in groups."
Kalis was actually immensely pleased with the situation for two reasons. first, that this explained why the 'Swift Heat' was destroyed so easily. The 272 and 262 classes didn't use digital displays, instead coming from the factory with outdated reinforced windows, meaning they didn't suffer from the loss of vision like the 'Swift Heat' resulting in it's destruction..... probably.
The 'Swift Defense' was a new 453 class destroye, under the three number class ranking system created many years ago with the first number being a ships armor rating out of 9, the second being the weapon rating out of 9, and the third the speed out of 9. She could both take bigger hits and outrun her opponents albeit dish out less damage. Kalis smiled to herself
'I can win!!!'
Captain Gene was not nearly as happy with this information
'If this twat wins I wont just be the laughing stock of the entire navy, I may be demoted!!'
But all he could do was take a back seat now and look for an opportunity to get himself out of this situation.
----------
Little did Gene know but his thoughts were mirrored by Coltons who, having seen the monitor realized his predicament if only partly.
'What the hell is this?? I must have gotten in an accident and am in a coma... Why couldn't you have just finished the job truck-kun no that's not it.'
Just as quickly as the thought came to him Colt dismissed it.
"@#%@!$#!#$"
The woman officer said something and pointed towards the huge monitors in a dramatic manner her meaning clear
"Move to attack".
--------------
"Aye Commander!"
The bridge suddenly burst into action people, scurrying here and there, readying for the coming fight. Kalis sat back in the chair and turned her attention to the prisoner.
"So what's your story? what are you doing on my ship?"
---------------------
Colt of course didn't understand her so he chose to ignore her. instead he continued to observe his surroundings, finally he saw what he was looking for in the form of some writing on one of the monitors.
'Ah!! Latin letters!!! All is not lost, there must be some way to find out what's going on just have to keep looking.'
-----------------
"Hey I'm talking to you, pirate!!! don't ignore me!"
Kalis, enraged, sent her coffee mug flying at the prisoner.
----------------
After getting hit with the mug Colt decided to stop ignoring the woman.
"Me?" Colt indicated himself.
"I hope you know I can't understand a word of what you say, no comprende, Ich habe keine idea, got it? Now don't throw things, its rude."
------------------
Kalis of course didn't understand a word of the gibberish coming out of the prisoners mouth, all she could do was sigh and turn her attention back to the screen. They were now approaching the first enemy vessel, the 262, who had separated from its ally to rush at the convoy. Kalis didn't like the angle they were approaching at so she issued her first command of the battle.
"Turn 30 degrees to starboard so we are going straight on, and give us half thrusters, just because we are faster doesn't mean we have to use it straight out of the gate."
On the screen the enemy ship started to turn away from the convoy and the approaching 'Swift Defense'.
"Commander, the enemy is turning to regroup with the other enemy contact, shall we ready weapons?"
"Yes get the HVMS ready, increase engine output, get us within a range that we cant miss, but don't fire until I say."
"Aye Commander."
The range of the expensive but powerful High Velocity Magnetic Shell, known colloquially as "Zip" shells because of the zipper like sound the launcher made, While technically infinite, is severely limited by user error, and has an effective range of about 500 Kilometers against mid sized vessels such as the 262 and 272. The 'Swift Defense' was currently 1000 kilometers from the 262 which was, in turn, 1500 kilometers away from the 272.
'With their speed and ours we should be ok, by my math we should be just about in effective range of the 272 when we catch the 262. I might just be able to do this!'
Kalis began to get hopeful once again.
"What do our ammo reserves look like?"
"Ma'am we have 8 HVMS' our close range cannons are at 100% capacity and we have 2 SRAHT's."
'I'll save the SRAHT's for the 272, keep them at arms length and dance around them. Odds are the enemy doesn't have anymore zips. It'll still be dicey at that range.'
Referring of course to the first and likely lucky hit they took.
Where the HVMS' left off the Short Range Anti Hull Torpedoes picked up, known affectionately as "S RATs" they have a max lock on range of 250 km but are extremely accurate.
"Range to target 800 km Commander."
The seconds ticked by painfully slow on the hushed bridge, everyone absorbed in their own thoughts and thoughts of the impending battle, many of the crews first.
'Don't rush things Kalis, wait for the perfect shot.'
----------------
'Don't rush things Colton, keep looking for information.'
-----------------
'Don't rush things Robert, she'll slip up eventually.'
"Range to D262 is 600 km. Distance to D272 1100 km."
"550 km."
'Not yet.'
"500 km."
'Just a little longer.'
"450 km, we are in range and on target."
'closer.'
"Ma'am do we fire?"
"Negative, I said wait."
"Aye commander."
A few more tense seconds pass.
"350 km."
"300 km."
"FIRE!"
"Aye, zip away."
-----------
Colt heard what sounded like a jacket being zipped up followed by a bright trail launching away from the monitor.
'Hmm doesn't look like a laser weapon must be some kind of projectile. Some things never change I guess.'
On the screen the light trail made impact with the aft of the enemy ship.
-------------
"Direct hit Commander."
"Reload and be ready to hit them again."
"Good effect, Enemy D262 is breaking up."
'That's one down, now for the other one.'
"Ready both SRAHTs!"
"Aye Commander"
'What is this stupid girl planning, blowing all her torpedoes at once, is she really just a dumb bimbo?'
Captain Gene scoffed at the apparent inexperience of Kalis, only going off what he had learned, that zips were what won battles near and far.
"150 km to D272."
The 272 loomed threateningly on the screen as it made some final adjustment as it prepared to fire, and although it was quite some distance away, the zoom of the monitor made it seem close enough to touch. A bright red abomination that made a sharp contrast to the verdant green of the planet behind it.
"Enemy is in firing position Commander."
Regaining his self confidence Gene saw the impending danger and spoke up.
"Commander Kalis we must disengage and retreat to zip range!"
Kalis just rolled her eyes at the man.
"Let me know when we have a lock. On my mark increase port thrusters 3 through 7 to 100% and port thrusters 1 and 2 to 55%. Ready? 3."
Kalis began to count down.
"2."
"1."
"Mark."
The ship made a sudden lurching movement to starboard while the front of the ship seemed to stay pointed at the general direction of the 272. As the enemy fired the 'Swift Defense' shuddered but not nearly as violently as before.
"They raked our port side Commander, no serious damage sustained."
Captain gene was dumbstruck as evasive maneuvers had not been taught in the Caligian naval academy for centuries, knock down fights having become the common method of fighting long ago.
"Lock is good Commander."
'I sure hope this works.'
"Fire both SRAHTs"
Kalis shook away her doubts.
'No, this will work!'
"SRAHTs away."
"All port and forward engines to 100%."
The ship again lurched this time they rapidly started to go away from the enemy ship.
"Time to impact, 5....4....3....2....1.... Impact times 2!"
The monitors lit up with a flash as both torpedoes hit the 272 in front and slightly to the port side of the ship. Kalis and the whole bridge crew waited with bated breath, no one daring to speak. Finally, Kalis decided to speak up.
"Effect?"
"Commander, the enemy has halted all movement and appears to be without power... signs of explosive decompression in multiple areas....... I... I think we got them! Ma'am we hit the enemies life support module!!! The 272 is no longer a threat."
'We did it? We won? Wait we survived?!?!?!?'
These thoughts rushed through Kalis' mind all at once.
"YEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!"
Kalis and the other officers on the bridge as well as the other crewmen in other parts off the 'Swift Defense' were beyond ecstatic at their first victory.
"Turn us around, get us back to the convoy!"
As she was finally sitting back in the chair Kalis noticed how exhausted she was.
'I'm alive....I'm alive because they aren't.'
She immediately crushed all sense of remorse she felt welling up inside of her.
Just as she was about to exhale the breath she hadn't realized she was holding the ship was shaken like a ragdoll and she was thrown across the bridge crashing shoulder first against a monitor with a gut wrenching CRUNCH
"AAAAAAH"
she screamed out in pain as her vision went completely white for a moment.
"What was that?!?!?! REPORT!!!"
The ensign in charge of the 'Swift Defense's' vast sensor array struggled to his feet before nearly passing out from shock.
"Ma'am. Its a Triple 8 dreadnought."
"ALL AHEAD FULL GET US THE FUCK AWAY FROM HERE, NOW!!!!"
Another jolt this one accomponied by the sound of screaching metal. Kalis felt something take her legs out from under her, when she looked to see what it was, it was the prisoner, he was uncouncious and bleeding profusely from a head wound. Screams could be heard from the other side of the bridge, Kalis rushed over to look only to vomit upon witnessing the scene, one of the panels had burst open sending a metal plate flying taking the poor ensigns leg with it before lodging itself in a junior lieutenant's neck. After retrieving a first aid kit mounted on a nearby bulkhead and quickly looking over the two officers injuries Kalis gave up on trying to bandage the gaping hole in the lieutenants throat and instead started tying a tourniquite on the bloody ragged stump of what was left of the ensigns leg. she quickly gave up on that too, having seen the young officer bled out. Standing up she Looked at the instrument panel and sighed in resignation.
'It was going so well, Too well I guess.'
Wadeing through the carnage, Kalis made her way back to the Captains chair. Keying the Intercom she issued the one order she hoped she would never have to.
"ALL HANDS, ABANDON SHIP.”
