Tales of the Terrapin: A FTL Story
Maxwell was all smiles. Aisha couldn't remember the last time he was in such a giddy mood. Certainly not while loading spoils into the cargo bay. That was more of her department.
"Alright, let's set it down over here," Maxwell beamed, grin from ear to ear. The shipping container slid onto the shelving unit, and with a click, latches sprung up securing it in place. A gracious tribute from Federation sympathizers, an increasingly dangerous thing to declare oneself as nowadays. After entering this system, they were hailed by the settlement, "Showing a distinct lack of appreciation for both the brevity and secrecy of our mission," as Maxwell had so glumly put. Maxwell's disposition quickly changed once he learned the settlement was a situated on an oceanic planet. Ever the sucker for shellfish he was, and even Aisha had to admit you could only eat space rations for so long. Not that his opinion was word, Aisha was the captain after all.
Reaching to the back of the container, Aisha pulled a strap over the crate and through the shelf, then again in the front. Climbing to the other side, she tightened both straps as hard as she could. A veteran of many dogfights, she knew better than to trust anything to stay secure in the cargo bay. Not that Maxwell felt so passionately the same way. He claimed that the loose latches were more incentive for him to be a better pilot. Sometimes she thought he'd charm a slug if it meant he could get out of some work. But for however lazy he could be, it was a small price to pay for his skills behind the helm of the Terrapin, her Kestrel-class cruiser. She turned to look at him. He certainly could use to carry a few more crates in, with his Federation blues slightly bulging at the seams. While at the academy together, nearly a decade ago, Maxwell was a much fitter man, Aisha would even go so far to say handsome: sporting a crew cut and strong jaw line. Spending most of his time sitting at the piloting console had not been kind to his physique. While he still kept his crew cut, his face was quite a bit rounder, jollier as he would say. Sometimes she was amazed at how he could gain weight when rations were all that was available most of the time. Then, when the crew stopped for an actual meal, she quickly remembered how. Maxwell patted his belly with both hands.
"Well that was well worth the stop I'd say!" Maxwell chimed.
Aisha hopped down from the shelf and stretched her arms out. While the years had not been kind to Maxwell, Aisha was as limber as she had ever been. Muscle-bound and graceful, she was no stranger to battle. The laser pistol at her side was merely a symbol of rank than anything; she reveled in meeting challengers in hand to hand combat. A splotchy plasma scar on the side of her neck was the only visible wound she wore. Sustained from a laser pistol while fighting on planet; without any medical attention the wound had healed on its own, bleaching her neck from her natural tan skin to a pale white. It served as a physical memento of her perseverance, and she wore it as an emblem of pride.
Her hair dangled down as she touched her toes, stretching her back. While there were no restrictions on hairstyles in the Federation military, Aisha preferred keeping her olive hair short, though she allowed herself the luxury of longer strands that hung down the left side of her head. Her hair practically showcased her scar on the other side, the fact of which she had used to intimidate on more than one occasion. With a long exhale she straightened out and turned to Maxwell.
"We've enough scrap to repair our ship twice over, thanks to Baron Kruzchov and his associates!" Aisha stated, "Why don't you load up the rest of the fuel cells so I can make the arrangements for departure." Maxwell turned and slowly dragged his feet to the door.
"Why can't Baars do it, he hasn't moved a single crate in!" he pleaded.
"Baars doesn't take too kindly to the environment here, I'd imagine he doesn't want any drift salt getting into his joints." Aisha responded, "Besides, I don't think you want to start counting how much he's salvaged back to the ship compared to you." Maxwell clammed up quickly and scratched the back of his ear. With a chuckle and a nod he exited the room, leaving Aisha a quick 'yes ma'am.' Aisha was not long to follow. As a Kestrel-Class fighter, the Terrapin was outdated, but with more refits and adjustments than Aisha could count, it was just as formidable as any other fighter they'd encountered. The only feature indicative of the ships origins were the immaculate white hallways and rooms of the ship. Originally designed to grant the crew serenity during long voyages, they were phased out since they were too much of a hassle to clean up; A common joke among Federation spacefarers when the Kestrel-Class was in commission was: "Which is worse, the boarding crew or the mess they leave." Aisha always believed the calmness the ship could provide was well worth the efforts of keeping it clean. A little blood never hurt anyone, she would constantly tell herself. Though it never seemed to be just a 'little'. The two came to the access ramp, and exited on the landing pad. Maxwell walked by an picked up the two remaining fuel cells to carry back to the ship.
The sun was still high in the sky, barely moving in the time they'd spent here. Trying to worry about solar arrangement of different planets was not a passion of Aisha's, though she could calculate the length of the day if she needed. The landing pad was a large circular platform made of an orange brick that Aisha did not recognize. The platform itself was suspended over the ocean, as far as the eye could see in each direction. It was connected to the main settlement through long strip of the brick, with an ornate glass sunroof along the way. The rest of the settlement was surrounded by the orange-brick, a large wall that concealed most but the tallest buildings. Aisha wasn't halfway to the wall when the Baron Kruzchov came bustling out to see her. A red silken robe covered his obtuse body, golden spiral literally snaking throughout it. The man had a hellacious neck beard that continued up the side of his face and completed a full circle around his face exacerbating the man's incredibly broad nose as a bulls-eye. Suffice to say the universe was a large place, full of many strange people; you always have to take help where you can get it.
"Ah, Aisha! So glad I could catch you before you left." the Baron said, his voice a deep rumble.
"Baron Kruzchov, I would not leave without giving you one last thanks."
"Once again, this is no need," the Baron acknowledged. "You are the one putting yourself in danger. While we have no more desire to see the rebels in control of our sector than you do, we've not the skills to do anything about it."
"So please! Take our resources, not with humility, but with our respects." he said, drawing into a deep bow. Aisha returned the gesture. As the two returned upright, Baron Kruzchov let out a deep sigh. "If not for the gravity of your situation I would extend you an invitation to stay longer. But I know there isn't much time to be dawdling with the rebels hot on your tails." He leaned over the railing of the bridge, gazing out across the ocean. A moment of silence passed between the two of them. A flock of birds were flying high above, their shadows cast upon the two of them. "When you've accomplished your mission, you will always be welcome here. Once this is all over..."
"Well I've no choice to return, with your hospitality, Baron." Aisha replied with a smirk, easing the moment. Baron Kruzchov returned the smile. "We'd best be off now." She added, turning back to the ship.
"I'll prepare your clearance for departure, Captain!" the Baron bellowed. Aisha gave him a wave and returned to the ship.
When Aisha entered the lounge, she found Maxwell and Baars chattering with each other over a game of cards. Baars was an imposing figure; a Rockman of Vrachos IV, he stood another half meter above Maxwell. His body, dozens of different rocks, interconnected to assume the shape of a man. Aisha had always assumed that the rocks grew outward from a softer underbelly, but she had never felt the need to ask. With two red specks for eyes, and a darkened maw, he spoke with a booming, and yet hollow tone, "Ah, here is our Captain now. Finally time for us to get off this forsaken planet."
"You really should have joined us and had a nice meal." Maxwell remarked, poking Baars in his would-be abdominal region. "I don't need you getting any good ideas and eating the ship when you're tired of rations."
Baars brushed Maxwell's hand aside. "Don't think for a moment I'd eat anything you've had your hands on Maxwell! Besides," Baars stated. His beady red eyes fixated themselves on Aisha. "I said I would join your crew. I said nothing about enjoying it."
Aisha couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm quite sure the climate here has nothing to do with your disposition." A blip on the wall telescreen carried the message that the Terrapin was cleared for departure. "All systems operational?" Aisha asked. "Yes Captain," Baars replied. "I'd got the whole ship repaired well before you two even got back."
"Very well then. To stations." Aisha commanded, "We will embark immediately."
With a quick burst from the engines, the Terrapin took off from the landing pad and quickly left the planet behind it. A textbook launch for Maxwell, though Aisha expected nothing less at this point. Peering from her viewport, she watched the ship leave the atmosphere; the blue sky turning darker and darker until they had reached the twilight that is space. On her telescreen she could see Baars making adjustments on the FTL drive in the engine room, and Maxwell rubbing his hands together, eager for what the next jump had in store. Aisha did a few calibrations of her own on the weapon systems, ensuring they were all powered.
"Baron Kruzchov said there was a scrap trader a few jumps away," Maxwell stated through her communicator. Her gaze fell upon the beacon map. A swirling portrait of the cosmos, it served as their means of navigation throughout the galaxy. Trying to outrun the rebels had brought them through many uncharted sectors, leaving them with only a general idea where the next exit beacon may be. The beacons served as waypoints for travel within a sector. With the power of FTL technologies, you could travel halfway across a galaxy in a matter of moments. Of course, you couldn't get anywhere without any fuel. Aisha knew what happens when a ship runs out of fuel, and it was an experience she hoped never to share again. With a pulse, the beacon map updated, and a marker labeled a beacon as 'STORE' only a few jumps away. The beauty of the sector was marred by a red glow. An ugly, yet necessary addition, Maxwell had coded up the map to reveal the general location of the rebels search party, and the approximate speed of which they would expand throughout the sector. Aisha grimaced; she knew they couldn't afford to be dallying on-planet for too long, but she justified the stop as a morale boost.
"FTL Drive is prepped, awaiting your orders Captain." Maxwell voice chimed through the communicator.
"Chart the course to the trader, jump on my mark." she responded. She watched Maxwell quickly prepare the navigation systems on her telescreen. The beacon map glowed, highlighting the anticipated jump. As the outlined route turned green, Aisha gave the order. What followed was the all too familiar hum, as the engines boosted to full strength, spewing through gallons of fuel. The room began to pull away from her, as the noise intensified. Glimpsing at her hand, it seemed to stretch farther and farther as darkness began to cloud her sight; an intensifying tunnel vision leaving only her hand in view, so far away, yet right next to her the whole time. With a noise that could only be described as a shimmer, both heard and yet unheard by the crewmates, the Terrapin jumped to the next sector.
The ship came back to her with a snap, abruptly returning her full vision. Nearly all space-farers get sick after jumps early in their career. It only took Aisha an instant to collect her bearings. With the dangers of deep space voyage, sometimes that was all the time you had. Aisha knew immediately that this was one of those situations. Something was wrong.
"We've jumped right into an asteroid field!" Maxwell cried out, as he diverted engine power to their shields. "This beacon must have been put here as a trap, or..." he trailed off.
"Baars, prep the FTL drive again, top priority!" she belted through the communicator. "We're getting out of here as fast as possible. Maxwell you have my clearance to jump and stay alert!"
"Yes, Captain!" the two replied, quickly beginning their tasks. Aisha was tense, her heart-rate increasing. In battle she was fluid and relentless; she could react without a moment hesitation. These brief moments of uncertainty, waiting...just waiting to react-this was torture. Aisha gripped the blast railings firmly, manning the weapons. She was ready.
Maxwell was in a flurry, working in tandem with Baars to get the Terrapin ready to jump. Typing away at his telescreen, all the while maneuvering the ship around asteroids, he was having trouble keeping an eye on the sensors. He swore under his breath, narrowly dodging one small asteroid only to have the shields take the brunt of another. The shields only reformed just in time to absorb a third.
"Baars, I can't pilot the ship with one hand, you'll have to finish the prep on your own!" he trembled through the communicator. He knew from past experiences that they couldn't afford to have Aisha off weapons, if they needed to make a quick strike. "I just need more coolant!" Baars belted in response. Maxwell spun his chair, accessing the Terrapin's fluid path control. He redirected more coolant from the reserves to the main flow path, sweat pouring from his face. The one task only took seconds, but it had cost him an eternity away from the sensors.
Baars was shifting around the engine room, taking calibrations on how the system was venting. Compared to his human compatriots, he couldn't move quickly, but that only forced him to move decisively. He often laughed at the indecisiveness of humans; he had travelled with many, far and wide across the cosmos. He yearned to find a leader, worthy of his services. He found one in Aisha. He was not concerned with her purpose, but her drive. He was not concerned with the stakes, but the glory. Upon meeting the woman and learning of her circumstances, he had found himself with no choice but to join her crew. And what an exciting ride it has been. Baars saw an alert from fluid path control that the reserve coolant was entering the main flow path. He opened the respective fluid intake nodes on the engines and sealed off the vent system. He adjusted several valves to achieve the correct flow rate into the engine, and while he was worried about the intake pressure, it was nothing he couldn't fix.
"FTL Drive prepped, engines are not safe yet, 30 more seconds." Baars explained into the communicator. "Hold in there Maxwell, I just need to-"
Baars was cut out immediately as an explosion engulfed his vision, consuming him with flame .
The ship shuttered from the concussive blast and Aisha clutched the blast railings tight, keeping herself level. That was no asteroid, she thought to herself. Indeed only a missile could cause so much damage so quickly. She traced back the trajectory of the strike, scanning the field. Yes, there it was, the scanners picked up the ships power outburst and brought it on screen.
It emerged from behind an asteroid, eclipsing over the top ridge and now bearing down on them from behind. The front of the ship nearly dome-like, bending out to a bow in the back. Though calling it a bow wouldn't do it justice. The ship was covered in large, sharp extrusions, splotches of a dark crimson on the blood red hull. It was through no fault in design that the back of the ship looked like a mantis jaw, poised to strike. The Mantis are known for their intimidation-even more so their willingness to back it up. It was no use hailing them, they were now hunting their prey.
"Mantis Cruiser, closing in!" Aisha relayed through her communicator.
"There engines are too heavily damaged, switching over to thrusters!" Maxwell responded. Aisha grimaced as she tried to lock the weapons onto the ship. "Baars, get up! We need the engine room online!" The telescreen revealed the engine room roaring with flame. If it didn't get back online soon, they'd have no chance of escape. Aisha wasn't sure how many more missile hits like that they could take. Suddenly the weapons bay was beset by a dim red light.
"WARNING! INTRUDERS DETECTED." The siren wailed. "WARNING!"
Aisha scowled. This was not good.
Baars opened one beady eye to survey the room. He had been tossed from his feet, and buried under debris. From the floor he could see the fire had thankfully not spread out of the engine bay, but was poised to compromise it. The metal on the blast rails that adorned the walls of the room glowed with a yellow tinge, the fire superheating them. Usually there were subsystems to prevent the room from being untreatable in a situation like this; The subsystems failure was indicative of how bad the damage was. Not that the heat ever mattered to Baars though. Rockmen are a hardy race, and extreme heat was no barrier to Baars. It was however, a barrier for the engines. FTL jumps required a tremendous amount of energy; even though the engine system was incredibly efficient, there was still substantial heat generation. Thus, it was crucial for the engines to be below a designated temperature threshold or they would overheat mid-jump. If that were to happen, the best case scenario would be the complete decimation of the ships engine systems, stranding them in space.
Baars was never one to think about the worst case scenario. It wouldn't matter if no possibility of the jump remained, that is. If even something as small as one fastener melts, the entire engine system was jeopardized. He would have to move quickly. Rising up from under the debris, Baars set to work. Maneuvering around the engine bay, he sought to stomp out the fires-literally. The 'soles' of his feet were no more vulnerable than the rest of him, and could put out fires just as fast as an extinguisher. Hopefully faster than it takes for whatever hit us to finish us off, he thought.
"They're in the sensor control!" Maxwell belted through the communicator. He could see the Mantis on his telescreen, two of them. They were in a flurry. Mantis Ships were usually outfitted with a teleporter that allowed the crew to board enemy vessels, bypassing their shield system. By the rate in which they were thrashing the room, it was clear they had done so before. Once the system went offline he would lose both the feed from the ship and the communicator stream. He hoped Aisha would take care of them quickly; He did not want to be trapped in the cabin with either of them, especially if no one could hear him scream for help. To his dismay he saw that Aisha had not moved an inch.
"I'm still trying to get a target lock," Aisha said hastily. "Once I have it, the AI will take control and I'll go after the Mantis." By design, the targeting system was a component of the weapons bay, a separate entity of the sensors. The bay was sentient enough to be capable of targeting and firing on enemy ships, but the manual control of a skilled gunner was much faster and time was of the essence.
Abruptly, the feed cut to static and the communicator attached to his collar powered down. Just as well, less distractions he humored himself. He activated the crude external sensors integrated with his cabin to detect the Cruiser. While the engine bay was shambles, powerless, it meant the ship was only operating at three quarters capacity. The reactor was teeming with power, and Maxwell was directed it all to the Thrusters. Normally only used in emergencies when fuel supplies were low, they activated in pulses to move the ship small distances. With a bit of luck, that's all Maxwell would need. He put the roaming Mantis in the back of his mind, wiped the sweat off his face and rested his hands on piloting console, comfortable for the first time. He focused on the Mantis Cruiser behind them and couldn't help but smirk.
The dance had begun.
The Terrapin had been a sitting target without its engines. Asteroids had been pelting the ship consistently, keeping its shields down and pounding the hull. Most of the hits had been merely glancing blows, but the Mantis Cruiser was prepared to leave a greater mark. Spiraling around a large asteroid, the Cruiser brought the Terrapin into its sights once again and fired all weapons. A burst of lasers pulsed from one side of the Cruiser, and a missile launched from the other. They raced towards the Terrapin, barreling in. Suddenly, the Terrapin's thrusters activated, shifting it clear of impact. The lasers fizzled out upon on a nearby asteroid, which shattered from the force of the missile. The fragments rained down upon the Terrapin, its shields dissipating them to dust. The Terrapin began to flip, its landing thrusters activating sole in the front to turn the ship about face. The Cruiser was dead ahead, Maxwell could see it with his own eyes. The streak of Red seemed to flicker, one moment illuminated by a nearby star and the next, obscured in the shadows by the larger asteroids. Whether it was hidden from sight mattered not, for its position was known. The Terrapin's weapons swivelled forward as Aisha finally acquired the target lock.
Maxwell engaged the frontal thrusters in an attempt to give more space between the two, pitching the Terrapin backwards. If they could get a shot off, they could force the Cruiser's trajectory and buy themselves more time. If not, the Mantis could easily out-maneuver and flank them again. Aisha's heart was still racing. It was hard enough to get a target lock on a ship; trying to target and shoot a ship in an asteroid field was like trying to catch a fish without getting your net wet. Even if there was a target lock, there was only a slim window where a shot would be open without being absorbed by an asteroid. She had to make her shot count. Waiting for the right moment felt like an eternity while the siren warning about the boarding party tormented her. The Cruiser rounded around another asteroid and for the briefest moment there was an opening, but she didn't take it. She couldn't settle for a small opening. The Mantis Cruiser was closing the gap quickly, her time to fire was waning. Then, her opening appeared to her in the form of a miscalculation. The Cruiser was hugging the larger asteroids to use them as cover, and this time their luck had run out. As the Mantid Vessel plunged underneath an asteroid, the asteroid was hammered by a shower of debris from their previous attacks. The strikes broke free a sizeable crag, such that as the Mantis Crawler rose up from underneath the Asteroid, it collided with the crag. The crag grinded against the shields, too large to be dissipated, and killed the momentum of the Cruiser. The ship's tail end rose up as the crag nearly sent it flipping. They recovered by using their thrusters to slide along the side of the asteroid, freeing themselves, but they had left their broadest side free for too long. Aisha fired.
The Terrapin's cannon system shot a hot, bluish spherical projectile first, an Ion pulse, capable of deactivating a system on contact. The globe fizzled the shields system, leaving the Cruiser open to strike and the Terrapin let fly a barrage of lasers, each one making contact. The Cruiser swerved off its path to the Terrapin, the true extent of the damage unknown. Maxwell propelled the ship forward; He would try to keep the Cruiser in range for as long as he could. The change in momentum stilled the Terrapin for a moment and Maxwell had to pull it into a roll to avoid an asteroid. He pulled the roll tighter to avoid another. The Terrapin spun forward at the Cruiser; they were slowly losing ground, but the weapons would still be in range. 'Aisha should have the weapon systems on Auto-Fire by now.' Maxwell told himself. It was up to him to give the Auto-Fire systems every chance to hit. It was Aisha's responsibility to take care of the Mantis.
Aisha rushed out of the weapons bay and down the corridors of the Terrapin. She had reasoned that after wrecking the sensor bay, they would chewed through their reinforced doors into the door control room. From there they would have overwritten the Terrapin's keycard system. For Kestrel-class cruisers with reinforced doors the personnel carried a keycard that emitted an specific signal that specific doors could detect and open automatically when in close proximity. With the system destroyed, the Mantis would have free roam through the ship. From what Aisha had seen on her monitor, the boarding crew appeared experienced so she assumed that they were familiar with the Kestrel-class Terrapin. If so, they would know the layout of the ship and the Oxygen System would surely be their next target. She hoped to cut them off in portside cargo bay. As she rounded a bend and approached the cargo bay doors, she found herself face to face with a Mantis scurrying out. The Mantis stood at least a foot shorter than Aisha in height, but was easily as long as she stood tall and it's four lanky legs spread it out wide. Undoubtedly the most dangerous part was their folded arms, adorned with naturally sharp spikes, like coiled snakes ready to lash out. It's small pointed mandible gave way to a nearly triangular head adorned with two antennae on top and large, bulbous eyes. They were wide with surprise.
Rather than hesitate, Aisha moved swiftly, before the Mantis had a chance to react. With an open palm, she struck the Mantis' head, sending it reeling. The Mantis gave a scratching, high pitched shriek as it tried to back into the cargo bay. Aisha didn't give it a chance. At the academy she was trained in the anatomy of all species capable of space travel. Mantis evolved as hollow entities, allowing a large and constant flow of oxygen through their system and eliminating the need for blood. Covered with a thin carapace, their bodies were flexible and capable of withstanding direct blows. Still, they had plenty of weak spots of which Aisha was well versed. And though they couldn't bleed, she intended to make it hurt.
Aisha quickly snatched the arm of the disoriented mantis and unfurled it. With a firm chop of her hand, she snapped the joint backwards prompting another screech from the Mantis, this time sending it into a rage. It lashed out with its other arm, but Aisha had already slid underneath. The Mantis tried to stomp Aisha, but it's legs were too wide to reach her. Grabbing hold of the Mantis' front legs, Aisha swung her feet up to its underbelly, once delivering a stinging kick, and once again to flip the mantis forward onto it's back. For how big they were, their hollowness made them very light. Aisha came down hard, her knees hammering it's leg joints. The Mantis struggled, trying to get back up and battered Aisha with its legs, piercing her blues and leaving deep gashes along her sides. The blows stung, but did little to faze her; a Mantis using it's legs for self defense meant it was desperate. The same couldn't be said about humans though. She swung her leg out and reeled it back. In an instant, Aisha had delivered a ferocious kick to the Mantis' jaw. Her foot extended it further and further until a grotesque crunch marked the flexible membrane of its neck snapping in two.
She got up quickly, scanning the room for the other Mantis. She did not have to look far, as another Mantis was bounding down the aisles of shelving to meet her. Aisha had surprised the first Mantis and dealt with it swiftly. She would not have such luck with the second. A chattering noise above her broke her concentration and she looked up to see a third Mantis crawling on the ceiling. It pounced at her, arms poised to strike and Aisha only barely managed to dive away. Scrambling to her feet, she took off down another aisle of the cargo bay, with the Mantis hot on her tail. She had miscalculated, assuming there were only as many as she had seen on her telescreen. She hadn't thought they would have beamed on more reinforcements, given the state of the ship. One by one she might have a chance, but against two, she was in trouble. One of the Mantis launched itself at Aisha, and she broke her stride to roll down another aisle. It wouldn't be long until they had cornered her.
Maxwell had kept the Terrapin close, but the auto-fire system was nigh useless in the asteroid field. Most shots were absorbed by asteroids and those that weren't didn't pierce the Mantis Cruiser's shields. He supposed it didn't matter, so long as they kept the pressure on the Cruiser, it wouldn't have a clear shot at them. He only hoped to get lucky on one of the shots. The Terrapin twirled through the field, dancing around asteroids.
"FTL SYSTEMS CHARGING!" the telescreen announced. Maxwell grit his teeth and pumped his fist, "Yes!" 'Baars must have gotten the engines back online,' he told himself. 'Not much longer and we'll be out of here.' He drew his attention to the Mantis Cruiser. 'And if I can keep them from following us, all the better.'
If the Cruiser's sensors were still online, the Mantis would know that the Terrapin's engines were still online. If they were going to try to stop them, now would be the time. 'All the more reason to put the pressure on them.' Maxwell thought. And it looked like they finally had a chance. The path between the Cruiser and the Terrapin was clear, and the Cruiser was flying dangerously close to a large asteroid. The auto-fire systems would recognize that the Cruiser had limited their degrees of freedom to avoid fire, and would take advantage of the asteroid likely ensuring a hit. Maxwell held his breath as the Terrapin fired it's ion cannon and then burst fired it's lasers. The globe hurtled through space and once again hit the Cruiser directly, deactivating its shields. "Come on...," Maxwell urged, on the edge of his seat.
The lasers were dashed at the Cruiser. If they sat, they would be torn apart and if they moved, they would still take a beating. Suddenly, Maxwell witnessed something he had never seen in his years of piloting. The Cruiser veered off and collided into the Asteroid. Rather than the shields disintegrating part of the asteroid, one of the Cruiser's large spikes dug deep into the Asteroid. The Cruiser's engines roared, and instead of putting distance between the two ships, it swerved teetered along the asteroid. Using the asteroid as a pivot, the Cruiser had turned 180 degrees in less than a second. The Cruiser fired its lasers at itself, cleaving the spike from the ship and sending it head on, directly at the Terrapin. Maxwell was in awe. Had they planned this, to leave themselves open for an instant? The Cruiser launched a missile right at them, answering his question. "WOAH, WOAH, WOAH!" He spat out, pulling back on the controls. He knew the Terrapin's hull was low, and that they couldn't afford many more hits from asteroids, but he didn't know how low. Alternatively if the missile hit the pilot cabin, shields room or the engines bay they would be as good as dead. If the Mantis pulled that maneuver knowing the Terrapin's FTL systems were charging again, he was certain that one of those bays would be their target. He crossed his fingers and used the thrusters to pulse the Terrapin up into a larger asteroid. The Terrapin grinded hard on the asteroid, sending Maxwell flying out of his seat, knocking the wind out of him as he hit the ground. The Mantis had put them in the same exact situation. He scoffed at the irony. Maxwell was dazed, but he recognized the orange light coming from the console. He knew that it meant the FTL Drive was ready.
The entire ship rocked, and Aisha was thrown from her feet. She launched forward, smashing her forehead against a cargo container and opening a large wound. The ship rumbled still, and a deep tearing noise came from above her. Trying to wipe the blood from her eyes, she could not see anything above her. She tried to focus on the aisle, scanning for the Mantis. She saw several large black boxes strewn through the aisle haphazardly, but she couldn't quite make them out. Underneath one of the boxes, she could see the sprawling arms of one of the Mantis. She tried to focus again, but a piercing pain went through her head; her vision was too shrouded by a ring of white. She stumbled over again, and grabbed onto the other aisle to secure her balance. She rubbed her palms on her eyes and tried to reassess the situation. More clearly to her now, she should see that one Mantis had its arms trapped underneath a black box and the other Mantis was trying to help him out. Suddenly it clicked in her mind. The black boxes were units of fuel for the engine. She had asked Maxwell to load them earlier and he must not have done a thorough job securing them. Maybe this time she would go easy on him.
As she raised her laser pistol, the trapped Mantis shrieked, suddenly aware of his fate. The containers were protected from fire, but were not built to withstand a blast of plasma. The other Mantis scrambled back trying to escape, but Aisha had already pulled the trigger. She ducked behind the storage container she had hit her head on, as the plasma struck the fuel barrel and exploded. Aisha had covered her head with her arms, and the explosion raged out and seared her fingers. She gave out a shout as she began to feel faint. She rolled out from behind the container to see that the blast had torn a hole through the bottom of the cargo bay and a fire had sprouted from the now uprooted insulation.
Aisha holstered her pistol and took out her fire extinguisher. It fit in one hand and spray out foam that would rapidly expand to smother fires. She went up to the blaze and began spraying it out. Perhaps in her disoriented state she had thought herself safe. She had though wrong. With a burst, the last Mantis leaped out of the flames. A wave out flame flashed out and Aisha covered her face with arm to protect it from the heat. She could see the Mantis was badly charred and its carapace was bubbling. But as time marched, the Mantis seemed frozen in place. It moved slower and slower, until it seemed to be leaving her. Her fingers were next, stretching further out, and her arm followed until it was her vision itself that faded away. She felt as if she was falling down a well, only the well had no end. She fell and she fell, until she was left only in darkness. She felt nothing. She desperately wanted something to hold on to, in this vast nothingness. She searched her memories to fill the darkness.
Images of battlefields past flashed through her in view. Visions of the Academy. Years of hard work at the Academy had granted her the experience she needed to fulfill her dream and Captain a vessel for the Federation. Visions of being stranded on-planet. She had lived off the land, determined to survive. Visions of the Terrapin. The Terrapin had served her well over the years, a home away from home. Home. It had been a long time since she had been home, the reason for which she was fighting. It would be a longer time still until she could return. Why was that? She was Captain of the Terrapin, which held secret information critical to defeating the rebels. She needed to get to the Federation fleet. And to do that, she would need to wake up. So it was time to wake up.
Aisha's vision came back to her, not like a snap, but with a sweep. She clearly had not been in the right condition to handle a jump. As her vision returned, so did the pain, like a flash. She looked at her right arm to see the Mantis had pierced it with its arm, pinning her to the floor. It was raising to strike again, likely to pin Aisha's other arm. Though she couldn't move her arm, she could still feel the fire extinguisher in her hand, so she sprayed it upwards at the Mantis. It sprayed over the Mantis, but she managed to tilt it to hit the Mantis in its eye. It stopped it's strike and wheeled away, using the arm pinning Aisha as cover as it cleared off its eye. Aisha gave it a few swift kicks to try to raise it off of her, but the Mantis only came down harder, slamming its spiked arm onto Aisha's left arm, pinning her. Aisha let loose a scream, and kept trying to spray the Mantis' face with foam. The Mantis buckled down and started biting at her with its mandibles. Aisha heaved her head forward and delivered a head butt to its jaw which only halted its attacked for an instant. She squirmed as the Mantis chewed her face and cut her ears with its claw-like mouth. In a latch ditch effort, Aisha put her two legs underneath the Mantis and pushed with all her might. She raised the Mantis up, but it was rooted to her by its arms. She pushed again, and again until blood had covered her eyes and she couldn't see so she pushed some more. Finally, one kick ripped the Mantis off, freeing her. She used her feet to pull herself backwards and shook her head to try to rid the blood from her eyes. It was Baars. He had grabbed the Mantis off of her and walked into the fire, to finish it off. He came back over to Aisha and bent over her.
"I bet you're glad to see me, aren't you, Captain?" He told her. Aisha couldn't muster a response. Baars waited a moment for his arms to cool off by putting the fire out with Aisha's extinguisher. He picked her up and carried her to the Med-Bay.
"I knew you'd be in the cargo bay," he started. "because the Mantis were in the Sensors room. I know your protocol by now and so I knew you knew they'd go to the door control room and make way to the Oxygen room from there, so I knew you'd cut 'em off in the Cargo Bay." He shifted her so she would be more comfortable. "'Course, I didn't know for sure until I heard you screaming. Wish I could have been there sooner, but I'm a trifle slow and the engine room was in pieces. My what a tale this will make! One Rockman's ingenuity repairing an engine against the clock so we could make our escape! Perhaps, I was quick in that regard..." But the rest of it was beyond Aisha as she dozed off, faint from the pain.
She awoke several hours later in the Med-Bay. The Terrapin was outfitted with only the best healing nanites, as Aisha would accept nothing less. She was certainly glad of that at this moment. She slowly got up and looked into the Med-Bay. Maxwell and Baars were playing cards on the table and eating an assortment of food. Sandwiches? She peered into the mirror on the other end of the bay. Her face looked completely untouched. The pain had left her too. She held her arms out and looked for any markings. The spots where the Mantis had pinned her were completely gone as well as the pain; she couldn't even say where they had been for certain. Baars was the first to notice her.
"Ah! Captain, you are awake already!" He bellowed. Maxwell picked up a sandwich and handed it to Aisha. "THREE Mantis, Aisha? You're incredible, that must be some record. I've never seen a man take two at once." he spoke, incredulously, but with a smirk on his face.
"Well, two and a half really." she replied. "And that would have been it if not for Baars. Thank you Baars, I owe you one." Baars shuffled in his seat. Was he...embarrassed? Baars looked at her with squinted eyes.
"I'm sorry Captain, I really wish I could have been there sooner. A big smile broke out across his face. "Though I won't stop you from doing me a favor if I need it."
Aisha looked down at her sandwich. "Oh," Maxwell stammered, having just taken a big bite. "We made another jump to the Scrap Trader, Baron Kruzchov told us about. Apparently the Baron had commed ahead to him and he's giving us a discount!"
Aisha grimaced. She hated that the scrap they had just received from Baron Kruzchov would have to go straight to repairs, but if it was at a discount, she could hardly complain. "Well isn't that nice. I'll have to go meet him." Aisha said. She hopped down from the bed and stood next to Maxwell. The two of them had left an extra chair at the table, a silent invitation to play.
"But that can wait 'til after a few hands!" she chimed. Baars and Maxwell cheered, happy to have suckered their Captain into a few game. She sat down at the table and Maxwell dealt out a hand to her. The three of them were safe and they had all survived. She wondered if her luck would stay through for a game of cards!