FOW Snippet 1

 Sitrep:

  So, Loki is doing better, the vet called and said his blood work was shockingly clean (for a cat who is 20!) except for minor elevations in his kidney function. So, whatever he's got he's hopefully coming out of it soon. He is going to be on a form of dialysis for a month. His second treatment is this afternoon.

  So, that is a relief. He's been sick for the past week and depressing me. He's my buddy. Whenever I have anything in my hand (pen, pencil, screwdriver, etc) he would try to cheek rub it driving me crazy. lol

  In other news, Rea got a late start on FOW so it will be a slightly longer wait for it. BSC3 is ready for her too, (no you can't see it until late November or early December) and BSC4 is in the hands of the last 2 Betas.

I am trying to get a lot of deferred stuff cleared from my To-Do list before I look at Tauren Invasion again next week. :) Fun.

Anyway, on to the snippet!

Chapter 1

 

SG65-8, Sigma Sector

 

Captain Cathy Kopper smirked as the ship she was tailing seemed ready to jump into hyperspace. They were slowing down and her ship was now closing ground. "Gotcha now," she said. She turned to the navigator station. "Do you have a lock on where they are going?"

"No ma'am."

She blinked and then her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"There are no jumps in this direction. The closest along this line is 66. There is nothing there, it is another destroyed system. In fact it is a dead end."

"So... are we near the end of the line and close to El Dorado?" the captain asked hopefully.

The navigator shook his head in a negative.

The captain's face fell. "Why the hell not?"

"We're well outside the search zone ma'am. Whoever is over there is taking a jump we don't know about. It is a wild goose chase."

The captain scowled. Putting herself in the shoes of the enemy captain, that made sense, she wouldn't lead someone back to her classified base if she could help it. If she wasn't killed by one side her own people definitely would do the job when they found out.

She shook herself to discard the thought. "Get a recon drone out there to get another perspective," she said as she turned to the tactical department. The more platforms they had out there the more viewing angles and the higher the probability of identifying the star the enemy was headed for. Or at least their jump line.

"Drive charging," the sensor tech at the CIC station reported. "Calculating charge... Four minutes to Bogy One jump," she warned.

"We're seventeen light minutes away. It's already happened," the XO warned quietly to the captain.

The captain scowled but then gave a choppy nod.

"Do you want the drone to be launched anyway? Ma'am?" the TO asked.

"Yes!" she practically barked. "Get it out there, get as many eyes on where they are going as possible!"

"Aye aye ma'am," the lieutenant replied as he ordered the drone to be launched.

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Ariel-X felt relief as the ship entered hyperspace smoothly. She felt the thrill of success, it was like their narrow escape in the previous star system.

She was tired, she'd been on duty for sixteen hour shifts, all to try to squeeze as much speed as possible out of the ship. It hadn't done much though, the enemy had been ahead of them and waiting when they'd jumped out. But they'd managed to dodge their trap and they were now free.

She still didn't like flying blind but the jumps were getting easier, especially if she took into account a possible stop. Which she had, star system SR66XL. She had jumped from there once before so she had enough waypoints to make a short jump.

Once they arrived near that dead system they could take their time to orient on the next jump to 72.

"We're away sir. Enemy has not picked us up," the XO reported to the captain.

"Very good," the captain drawled. "Excellent even." His eyes fell on the reason for their successful escape, the mermaid in the tube nearby. She was little more than a child, actually pre-pubecent. He knew that some in her crew lusted for that sort but he had strict orders to protect and coddle her.

Now he fully understood why. He hoped the crew did as well.

It had been seven and a half months from their successful raid on Tortuga and the gate complex. He'd picked up word during their last resupply stop at a cache several months ago. He had orders to return to El Dorado with his full cargo holds and latest intelligence but he'd been forced off the track by the nosy Federation cruiser. The cruiser had picked up his ship's trail several jumps ago and they'd had a devil of a time shaking her. Hopefully this jump would do the trick.

They had followed protocol and headed south into the lower reaches of the sector to avoid leading the enemy to the pirate base. But now his ploy should allow them to escape fully and get back on track.

"Good work one and all," he said with a nod to the cybernetic mermaid. She flicked her tail and her long dainty fingers danced as she continued to guide the ship. Her lips did curve briefly up into a smile though.

"See that she gets rewarded," he said in an aside to the XO. "And let's try to squeeze as much speed out as we can. There is no telling what we'll run into in 72. I want to get back on track before we're declared lost and our codes changed," he said.

"Aye aye sir."

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