Chapter 8

Several hours had passed since they'd jumped into the system. Several hours of scanning, reporting and listening to Ginger's god-awful playlist of late 2010's and early 2020's music. Hat had almost murdered him until he'd stormed out of the crew cabin and into the troop bay with the scanner. Most of the squad joined him in an attempt to escape the music.

Reaper wasn't so lucky.

The crew needed to be ready for anything, which meant he sat in the turret seat. Seriously contemplating suicide as the music cut through his mind and threatened to crush his sanity. He glanced longingly at the pistol locked to his thigh, but then the music stopped. Looking up, Ginger was furiously tapping at his controls, bringing up reports from the scanner. Hat rushed back in.

"I see them." Was all Ginger said as the lights in the cabin dimmed and Ginger grabbed the flight stick.

"What's going on?" Reaper asked with a hint of concern as he prepared to raise the chair into the turret housing.

"We picked up radio signals coming from the fourth planet." Hat answered as his chair rose up behind Ginger's. "They're distress calls from a colony and they're in English."

Reaper's eyes widened as the implications dawned on him.

"What's the plan?" He asked.

"I've already sent our findings to the Swordbreaker. Now we're gonna go save a colony." Ginger reoriented the ship to line up with the jump point Hat marked for him and before Reaper could question the sanity of the action, they shot into Quantum.


Marie took the next data pad held put to her with a thank you, scanning the contents quickly, she handed it back and dismissed the Tech. Repairs were well underway and damage to the hull was estimated to be complete in the next hour. The power grid was...getting there. Overloads weren't a risk anymore, so that was something.

She was just about to take another data pad when her new Comm Officer called out.

"Captain! Incoming priority message from MechaGinger."

"Forward it to my console, Lieutenant." Marie ordered as she turned to the holo display in front of her. Ginger's report appeared and she read it. Then she read it again. And a third time.

"What's the time delay on this report?" She demanded, already starting a call to the chief engineer.

"About an hour, Ma'am."

"God dammit." Marie cursed before the call to her chief engineer was answered.

"Captain, what-"

"Can the ship jump?" She cut him off.

"Ma'am?" He questioned, caught off guard by her question.

"Can. The. Ship. Jump?" She gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Yes Ma'am, though it may-" his reply was cut shirt as she ended the call.

"Recall the work crews and prepare for Qunatum Jump to the coordinates in MechaGinger's report! Have all gunners to their posts and prepare for combat!" The bridge jumped into action as they prepared the ship, Techs typed furiously at their consoles and her pilot maneuvered the ship to line up with the jump coordinates. It took seven minutes for the final work crew to enter the ship. Seven agonizing minutes where God only knew what trouble Ginger and the others had gotten into.

"Jump!" Marie ordered and watched as the familiar blue and green hues appeared as they entered Quantum.


"Sir, an unknown vessel just dropped out of FTL, twenty kilometers behind us!" Crathan's head whipped to face the sensor tech who'd spoken.

"Who is it?" He demanded, rising from his chair and walking toward the sensor station.

"I'm not sure, the ship doesn't register with any known faction and the design is unlike anything I've ever seen."

Crathan stood behind his underling and looked at the monitor. The ship was small, larger than a Kodiak, but not by much. It had the general shape of a wedged block with two short wings extending out from beside the cockpit. There was a turret on top with two guns and two large engines attached to the back on the sides. The canopy for the cockpit took up almost the entire front of the ship and he could spot what looked like weapons attached on top and beneath the front wings.

"Prepare the GARDIAN System, shoot them down as soon as they get in range." Crathan snorted at the stupidity if these interlopers. A single ship would be annihilated by the laser defenses of his vessels.

He leaned over the sensor tech's chair, his fingers gripping tightly as he anticipated the kill. The ship hadn't changed course and was on a trajectory that would take them right past his vessel. His smile grew when the ship finally entered range of the GARDIANs. Crimson lances lashed out at the speed of light, appearing for a moment as though someone had flipped a light switch on and off quickly.

Crathan was already turning to go back to his seat when his bridge crew gasped and he turned back to see the ship still coming, no damage done that he could see. There was another flash of light and a translucent blue bubble appeared around the ship, protecting it from the GARDIANs.

"That's not possible." Crathan whispered as he watched the ship open fire with its own laces of red.


"Well, now we know they're hostile." Ginger muttered as he depressed the trigger on his flight stick. The twin FL-33 Laser Canons fired in unison, the twin shots streaking through space and colliding with the enemy's hull.

"Forward shields down to eighty-four percent, diverting power to shields and weapons." Hat announced as he focused on his console.

"I'm engaging." Declared Reaper and Ginger watched the red trail from the Badger Repeaters mounted on the turret fire in a staggered pattern. He noted that the shots also impacted the hull of the enemy vessel.

"I'm not seeing any shield flare!" Ginger called as he swept over the enemy vessel's hull in a strafing run. He aimed for the weapons spread across the hull and let out a cheer as he saw two detonate spectacularly as he scored direct hits. Reaper continued to unload into whatever looked important on their pass and stitched a trail of laser bolts across the hull, melting through the hull and exposing several areas to vacuum.

"I can't make heads or tails of these readings." Hat grumbled as he tried to understand what the Cutlass' sensors were telling him. "There's an energy source that I've never seen before."

"We'll worry about that later, I'm breaking for the planet. Divert power to shields and thrusters." Ginger ordered, leaving the wounded enemy vessel in their wake. Hat adjusted the power output and was pushed back into his seat as Ginger slammed the throttle forward while flying erratically to throw off their opponents aim.

Three other ships were trying to move to support the ship they'd just attacked, but it had been too sudden and ended too fast for them to respond properly. Within moments, they were out of range for the laser weapons on the enemy ships, or so they assumed, and were about to hit the atmosphere of the planet.


Crathan picked himself up from the floor of the bridge, wincing in pain as he surveyed the damage.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" He screamed at no one in particular.

"They bypassed our barriers completely, they must have some kind of energy weapons."

"Impossible! No ship that small could have a GARDIAN system." Crathan rounded on the tech that answered, rage flowing off him in waves.

"Those weren't GARDIAN lasers, Sir. I've never seen anything like it."

"Where are they now?" Crathan knew that a second attack wasn't likely. As annoyingly powerful as that ship had been, it was still just one ship against four.

"It broke for the planet. Its trajectory shows it heading toward the colony."

"Warn the troops and tell the frigates to bring their GARDIANs online." He seethed as he glared after the ship that had so easily wounded his. He wanted to fire his ship's Mass Accelerator, but the chances of hitting the planet were almost a hundred percent and bombarding a Garden World was off the table. He didn't want the Citadel fleet coming after him.


"Itchy, get your squad strapped in. We're gonna deal with their air power before finding you an LZ." The announcement over the ship's comm was quick and to the point.

"You heard him, check your harness and get ready for turbulence!" Itchy called as he gripped the bars of his crash harness.

"I don't think we can be any more ready than we currently are." Bacon replied from across the bay while gesturing to his own crash harness.

"You can always tuck your head between your legs and assume the crash position." Suggested Nixie in a mocking tone. "Actually, you should definitely do that."

"Fuck off." Bacon retorted while holding up his middle finger. Itchy listened quietly as his team bantered. He knew they'd be all business as soon as the doors opened, so he'd let them goof around for now.


"Colony is two-hundred kilometers ahead." Hat provided as the Cutlass began descending through the atmosphere. "You should be able to see it after we break through the clouds."

"Copy, any threats I should be concerned about?"

"Looks like three frigate sized ships on the ground outside the colony and 6 fighters in the sky."

"Alright. Hat, have you been able to connect with anyone from the colony?"

"I've got Sgt. Wylde on the comm. Patching him through now."

"Sgt, Wylde, this is MechaGinger. We're coming in behind attacker lines and need intel. Who are we shooting at?"

"I don't know where you came from, but you have my thanks, enemy forces control the colony. Anyone outside the central bunker is either a Batarian or a prisoner. The Batarians are trying to break through the bunker doors right now. If you could distract em, it would be appreciated."

"Solid copy, Wylde. We'll clear the skies for you and take some of the pressure." Ginger cut the comm and switched over to the ship channel. "Alright folks, friendlies are either prisoners or in a central bunker. All armed personel are to be assumed hostiles."

"Target priorities?" Reaper asked over the comm.

"Reaper focus on enemy fighters, Hat, I want you on the remote turret, pick targets at your own discretion." Ginger received affirmatives from his crew. They were only thirty kilometers out from the colony and he could already see the frigates resting in a neat row. With a grin, Ginger made up his mind and pushed his control stick forward, taking the Cutlass into a steep dive. He pulled back and leveled out 20 meters above the ground, his ship almost skimming the trees on the planet.

"Reaper, do you have a shot at the engines?"

"Not a good one. Tilt to port and I'll have a shot at the two on the left." Answered Reaper.

"Rog." Ginger began tilting the ship as he sped toward the grounded frigates and lined up his canons with the far right frigate's engines.

"We've entered their weapons range." Hat called as Crimson lances flashed in and out of existence, causing the shields to flare. "Shields down to seventy-two percent. Redirecting power."

Ginger kept his course steady, watching his HUD as the distance closed. The Cutlass took several more shots and Hat announced that shields were down another twenty percent, but now he was in range. Depressing the trigger, the Cutlass shook as twin shots from his canons streaked toward the frigate and Reaper began unloading into the other two, he managed three more shots before he pulled up and blazed over the enemy ships. Reaper continued firing until Ginger leveled out and he lost his firing angle.

Pulling back on the throttle, Ginger slowed down to combat speed and pulled the Cutlass into a wide turn to the west.

"Enemy fighters approaching!" Hat called out before opening fire with the remote turret on the rear of the ship. "Scratch one!"

"Five fighters left."

"Pull up, I've got no shot!" Reaper called over the comm and Ginger pulled the Cutlass into a shallow climb. The vibrations through the ship let him know that Reaper was engaging as well.

His console chimed a warning and he glanced down to see he had multiple missile locks.

"Fuck, missiles inbound!" Ginger banked left and deployed flares, watching as two missiles took the bait and then cursing as the third missile continued tracking him. "Brace!"

The Cutlass bucked forward, slamming the crew back into their seats. Ginger maintained his control over the Cutlass and glanced at the damage display. His shields were low, less than twenty percent. They couldn't take another hit like that.

"Diverting all power to shields!" Hat was already working on the problem and Reaper was now firing short bursts at their pursuers to save energy.

"Prepare for high G manuever!" Ginger shouted before cutting the Cutlass' engines and using the maneuvering thrusters to pull a one-hundred and eighty degree turn before reengaging the engines. His body fought against the G-force of the maneuver and red began to creep into the edges of his vision. Everyone aboard the ship was struggling, feeling as though an elephant was stomping down on their chests. Ginger lined up his targets and depressed the trigger for his secondary weapons. The Badger Repeaters opened up and tore into the closest enemy vessel, smashing through its canopy and tearing out the back before the ship detonated in a fiery blue explosion. He lined up the next target and repeated the process. Black was starting to overtake him and he knew he had only seconds before he passed put. Seeing the second fighter explode, he pulled back on the stick and flipped the ship to its original heading, easing most of the G-force and allowing him and his crew to take in a deep breath.

The maneuver bought him precious seconds, time that he saw was being put to good use as he watched his shields begin to recharge. He heard Hat gasping behind him as he recovered and could easily imagine the rest of his team doing the same.

"Everyone alright?" Ginger wheezed as he spoke.

"We're...good." Itchy replied, gasping for oxygen.

"We've still got...three bogies...in the air, but...holy shit...it looks like they're holding back...for now." Hat's breathing evened out and he sighed heavily as he focused back on his console. "Shields are recharging, back to forty percent."

"Reaper...do you...oh fuck me...do you have eyes on targets?" Ginger questioned while he slowed the Cutlass and began a wide turn to take them back to the colony.

"Yeah...they're uh...they're pulling back toward the frigates."

"Okay." Ginger took a moment to get his breathing under control. "Let's finish off their air support."

The Cutlass sped after the retreating ships and Ginger switched over to his missiles as Reaper opened fire on the nearest target. Ginger pulled the trigger as soon as he got a target lock and watched as two missiles streaked after the remaining fighters. Reaper's target disintegrated in a hail of shrapnel and he let out a 'whoop' in celebration. The first missile smashed into the tail of the middle fighter, blowing it off and causing the ship to spiral toward the ground where it detonated upon impact. The final fighter tried to lose the missile, but proved incapable as it too was struck, this time impacting behind the cockpit. Debris flew out of the explosion as the missile obliterated the main body of the ship and Ginger let out a sigh of relief as he slowed the ship and turned toward the colony's central structure.

"Itchy, get your team on the door guns. We're gonna clear you an LZ."


Hey guys, so first bit of combat here. I feel like I did a decent job, but maybe I could've done better. let me know in the reviews. Ground combat taking place in the next chapter with a focus on Itchy and his squad of misfits. And the Swordbreaker is gonna show up for the party! Let's see how Marie handles her first battle as Captain of the Swordbreaker

Now as I've said before, I'm always looking g to improve my writing and if you have any helpful tips about space combat or how I can write things better, just let me know.

Current ships in use by Dysfunction

Custom Javelin Destroyer (Swordbreaker) (Marie Bennett)

Cutlass Steel (MechaGinger, Hat, Reaper)

Anvil Arrow (Bacon)

Avenger Titan (Nixie)

Vanduul Scythe (ItchyPsycho)

Hope you enjoy the chapter, leave a review!