Starflare Universe – Ghosts-2
1033 Words
Joe grimaced as the Panther dropped out of hyperspace. The transition wasn’t exactly painful, but it was always unpleasant. For several seconds his body felt as if things weren’t quite in the right place. Then the universe snapped back into existence around them, distant stars and galaxies once more visible. And something much closer which the scanners were already identifying.
“A ship!” Janine shouted. “She did it!”
“Of course she did,” Joe answered. “Did you doubt her? Dave, what have we got?”
Dave was hunched over the scanners, studying the information being revealed.
“A freighter. Quite a big one. If the cargo hold is full we’ll struggle to take everything.”
“Even if it’s not there should be plenty we can strip off the ship. What sort of state is it in?”
“It’s… it’s still powered.”
“What?”
“It’s powered. Engines, life support, everything. There’s no sign of damage.”
“Then what’s it doing out here? I don’t like this.” He opened a comms channel. “Doug, get four birds out. Two to recon the area, two on close defence. Get the others ready to launch too.”
“On it,” Doug replied. “I’ll lead the close defence. Trouble?”
“Maybe. Our target is powered and undamaged. That makes it being here damn suspicious.”
“Got it. On our way.”
Joe saw the first pair of fighters appear on the sensors, swiftly followed by the second. The first moved in close to the Panther, ready to provide defence if needed. The other pair started to sweep the surrounding area, alert for any hint of danger.
“Dave, are their weapons active? What about their shields?”
“All energy weapons are powered down. Shields are at baseline.”
Joe pondered that. Baseline was a level somewhere between fifteen and twenty percent of full shield strength and was what ships would normally run with. Increasing the strength took exponentially more power, so every step up in defence took far more power than the last. Shields weren’t normally raised above baseline unless there was a risk of a fight or a dangerous environment with a lot of debris flying around. The ship having its shields at baseline suggested it wasn’t preparing for a battle.
The energy weapons were powered down, another sign of a ship that wasn’t preparing to fight, though missiles and solid matter weapons could still be ready to fire in moments. By contrast the Panther had its shields at ready level, roughly forty percent, and its beam weapons were charged and ready. So far their target didn’t seem dangerous… yet something definitely felt off.
Joe spoke into the comm again.
“Blaze, were you listening in?”
“Of course, Captain. My men are getting kitted up for hostile action now.”
“Good. Make sure to remind them we don’t know what the situation is. This might be a civilian ship with a real problem that needs our help.”
“I will. Any response from them so far?”
Joe looked over at Dave who shook his head. “Nothing except the identity beacon, Captain. The ship’s called the Sundrenched, the stars alone know why.”
“Nothing so far,” Joe told Blaze. “We should have lit up their sensors like a Christmas tree and Dave’s been hailing them too. If there’s anyone home they’re not aware we’re here, they’re ignoring us, or they’re laying a trap for us.”
“Oh great,” Blaze replied. “My three favourite scenarios. Whatever happens we’ll probably get shot at, the only question will be whether shooting back makes us heroes or villains.”
“Well, you’ve got a few minutes yet. No one is going anywhere till we’re sure there’s no nasty surprises lurking nearby. Speaking of which… Doug, they’ve had long enough to reply now. I don’t care about spooking them anymore, they’re doing enough of that to me. I want the rest of the fighters up. Two on intermediate defence, the other three on recon. If this is a trap I want us to have as much warning as possible.”
“Sure Captain, but how could this be a trap? How could anyone know we’d be coming here, unless… unless… Captain! Our new friend might have led us straight into a trap.”
Sasha was sitting at a station several feet from Joe. He saw her stiffen, then turn to him with a face like thunder.
“Captain!” she shouted. “I would never do that! You must believe me, I didn’t…”
“Enough!” roared Joe. “Doug, I think that’s a damn unlikely scenario. She didn’t even decide which bit of space to scan through, I did. Even if you were right it wouldn’t change what we need to do now. Just focus on your job and make sure we don’t get jumped by anyone.”
“Aye, Captain,” Doug growled, killing the connection.
Joe hit a button to broadcast ship-wide.
“All crew to combat stations. All crew to combat stations.”
Most of the crew would be there anyway, not that it was a particularly big crew once the fighter pilots and troopers were taken out of the equation, but he wanted everyone to be ready. The ship’s turret weapons were already charged, now the crews in them would know they needed to be ready for action at a moment’s notice.
“Dave, I need to know what you’ve got.”
“I’m not picking up any transmissions at all. There’s nothing moving on the outside of the ship and no sign of anyone trying to signal us in any other way. No lights flashing, nothing.”
“Alright, keep checking. Doug, is there anything out there?”
“If there is then it’s running so dark it’d take minutes to become a danger.”
“Alright. Keep two birds on recon. We’re going to send two shuttles over. I want you covering them all the way in.”
“On it.”
“Blaze, from the scans there’s an emergency airlock near the flight deck and a standard one near the engines. I want both areas secured, then start a sweep.”
“Kicking in the door by the flight deck might seem a tad hostile,” Blaze replied. “You sure?”
“I’m sure. I want you leading that team.”
“Alright. I’ll send four to the engine room, they can secure it. The rest of us will take the bridge then sweep from there. Do I get to fly?”
“No. The flyboys are all out, though. The doc and his intern can fly. As long as they keep the shuttles buttoned up once you leave they’ll be safe, and that way they’re on hand if they’re needed.”
“Sounds good. We’ll be ready to launch in two minutes.”
- Writer
