Severe McCald
|
Posted - 2003.08.28 13:31:00 -
[2]
This is a continuation of "Born in the Flames": Link
So far my rehabilitation was going well. I was already back in command of a cruiser, had established a couple of factories and the money was beginning to roll in. I had managed to re-established links with some of my old contacts, although this was proving one of the most difficult aspects of rebuilding my life. How I mourned my lost social skills. These days, I was as likely to drool into the cleavage of a successful businessman's arm candy while spilling my drink all over his new suit, as remember to ask after his wife and kids and to do the deal that I was there to make. I've taken to carrying an electronic organiser (oh god! When can I get my implants back?) with a one minute alarm, to refocus my attention out of that cleavage. But by then the damage has usually been done. And trying to wipe up after yourself just makes things worse.
Anyway, I was on a routine journey back to my agent's base after yet another tedious supply mission when suddenly, in local chat, I noticed some names that struck a chord in my memory; Evl Homer and Skull. I checked out who they were and alarm bells started ringing! The chord had been drowned out by screaming feedback....
These guys were pirates, serious negative security ratings and millions in bounty on their heads. So what, I said to myself, they're in system, but so are half a dozen others. There's no reason for them to be at the Nalvula gate, rather than one of the others, but somehow I knew that wasn't true.
Only the day before I had been targetted by a lone Blackbird pirate, who had attempted to warp scramble me before firing off a salvo of torpedoes. Fortunately, despite their Gallentean origin, I have always had a fondness for drones, so I sent a couple of missiles his way followed by some drones (a nice mix of EM and Thermal damage), before commencing rapid fire with my hybrids. Once the drones were out of range I fired up my medium EM smartbomb to take out the torpedoes. My skills being new, I slightly misjudged the wait with the smartbomb and one of the torpedoes got through, taking out my shields, but by this time my attacker had had enough and warped out.
Until this moment I had thought yesterday was just one of those isolated incidents that come to all of us who make our living in space. These pirates changed all that. Surely, it was too much of a coincidence? The pirates must be paid assassins?
By now my autopilot had warped me towards the Nalvula gate. Tense and expectant, adrenaline pumping, I was poised to take action. The warp ended, I hit the ABs and shield hardener before I could see anything. Suddenly directly in front of me I could see a ship, a bright red threat bar glaring, so bright I couldn't make out the ship design. Drones, red threats... move! move! move! I screamed at my ship as I targeted a station in system to get away from the threat. "Warp drive active", said the calm voice of my onboard computer. Taking a close look down the barrels of Evl Homer's hybrids, I was out of there.
My enemies know I am back. The war has begun.
SM And Moses was content to dwell with the man:and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom:for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. |