A/N: I was planning on playing a game of FTL alongside this fanfiction, but in the first event Max died! So I had to scrap that. Also, in case you couldn't tell from the first chapter, I'm deviating from the original game assets for the sake of storytelling, so you can expect some original events a bit later on. Finally, honest reviews will be greatly appreciated. Who knows, I may name a character after you!
Chapter 2: Close Encounters of the First Kind
The Avian's first hour in space was a rocky one.
"There's another ship on the radar!" said Lukas. "I'll update our map."
Alex looked at the beacon map, and a tiny infographic of a freight ship being guarded closely by several smaller combat ships flashed into view. "It looks like Rebel supplies. Shall we try and get them?"
Max suddenly sat up. "Did you see that?"
"What?"
"Yes!" shouted Lukas. "It looks like… another Fed ship is trying to bring it down!"
"Oh, what the heck." Alex turned the ship and sped towards the fracas. Upon closer inspection the ship that they were aiding was a much more well-equipped ship than theirs, but it was being beaten back by the three combat ships at once. The Avian's radio gave an insistent squawk, and Lukas hurried to adjust it to the correct channel.
"Thank Res! Someone else from the Fed. Fancy helping me?" came a female voice over the intercom.
"Sure. We can only take one, though." Lukas replied.
"That'll do. Better than nothing, eh? Besides, our ship is equipped with a self-destruct, so we can always do that as a last resort."
"We'll take the red one. Can you manage the other two?"
"Yep." The radio transmission ended abruptly as they swooped back into the fight.
"Shields to 100%!" barked Alex.
Lukas flicked a few switches and pulled a lever to its foremost position. "Done!"
"Firing Artemis!" Max hit a button, and the missile launcher spat fire and smoke.
The red ship rocked under the impact of the missile. "Shields down! Their shields are down! Where shall I aim the laser?"
Alex never got a chance to answer, as the corridor behind him suddenly caught fire. "They have a bomb! They have a fire bomb!" He ran over to the door and slammed it shut.
He watched the other ship through the cockpit as three lasers thumped into its weapon system. The lights on the bomb launcher turned off and the entire system was retracted back into the ship. "We almost have 'em! Wait for the lasers to recharge, then hit the coc-"
Suddenly the cockpit cracked, and red lights all over the walls started to flash and blare warnings. Alex was trapped between the fire and the cold vacuum of space.
"Guys! I'm trapped!" shouted Alex. "The corridor out of here is on fire! What do I do?"
There was a thumping on the door. Alex sprinted over and pushed to open button. A woman fell through, gasping for air. "Our ship…"
Suddenly there was a great explosion that rocked both the Avian and the red ship. Alex grabbed the woman by her arms and dragged her out of the rapidly decompressing cockpit, through the fire. Luckily it had all but been put out by the lack of oxygen, but this meant that Alex and the mystery woman had only just gotten past the corridor of fire before falling down and blacking out. Lukas heard them fall and dragged them into the Medbay, where they sat for the rest of the fight.
Meanwhile, Lukas opened the door to the corridor and let the oxygen fill the room. Once it had settled, he marched through it, into the cockpit. He immediately felt a pulling, and noticed the crack in the glass. He ran into the storeroom, fetched a roll of duct tape and a sheet of corrugated iron, and patched the hole. As he looked up, he saw Max firing their laser again, and watched on as the ship broke apart. He flew the ship closer in to the debris, and scrapped their remains. As he was scrapping he noticed an unusual piece of technology, and manoeuvred the ship closer to investigate.
"Sweet!" It was an augmentation, a Shield Charge Booster. As he fitted it, his headset suddenly buzzed. "Hello?"
"Lukas!" Alex said. "While you're there, can you fetch an extra headset? We have a new member of our crew!"
10 minutes later, the whole crew of the Avian was assembled in the dormitory playing cards as they waited for the FTL beacon paths to stabilise. Zoe, the newest member of their crew, was recounting her tale.
"We had just finished off the two ships and were docking with the freighter when suddenly there was a huge explosion! Someone had trapped the docking port, and we lost one of our crew. Our oxygen system was damaged, and the doors were on lockdown due to hacking. We'd just pulled out of there when they remote-activated our self-destruct. I'll never know why they put them in ships these days. I had just enough time to teleport myself out of there when our ship exploded. My crew…" She sniffed, and Lukas put an arm around her.
"We're your crew now. Dwelling on the past will do you no good. You need to look to the future, and think of what you'll do to the Rebels for taking the lives of your crewmates." She looked up, and smiled.
"What use am I to you? All I can do is plot routes. I was the cartographer for my crew. How can I assist you in any way?" She sighed, and put her head in her hands.
The three men looked at each other, and smiled. Finally, Max spoke up. "We need someone to keep an eye on the FTL system in the engines. It would also require you to plot some of our routes in advance. Think you can do that?"
Zoe looked up. "Seriously?"
She looked so happy it was impossible not to laugh. "Welcome aboard."
A/N: First fight! Any tips, hints or constructive criticism would be accepted with open arms.