Mystic Worlds

Shadows of New Eden: Fallen – Part 3 of 3

“Nice,” was all Silas said after giving the interior of my frigate the once-over.   We both knew that nice meant, “What a shithole you got here.”  He didn’t waste time after that.  “I want to see Reya.”

“Sure.  She’s in a passenger pod just forward on the main deck.”  I pointed in the general direction on the ceiling.

“After you,” he said, waving me forward.  “You have the advantage here.  Your ship.  Places to hide weapons and spring an attack.  You’ll have to forgive me not wanting to be jumped from behind.”

I made like it didn’t matter to me who went first and headed toward the stairs.  I kept my eyes on him, looking down as I climbed upward.  I walked the short distance in the narrow passageway, slightly turned in his direction the whole time.  When we entered the chamber with Reya, I moved to stand against the far wall.

I watched as he meticulously checked her vitals.  I started forward when he adjusted two of the settings.  He held his hand up for me to be silent or stay where I was, I didn’t know which.  I wasn’t ready to attack and there was no sane reason for him to risk his safety coming on board, if all he wanted was to hurt her.  He could have done from the safety of his ship.

Shadows of New Eden: Fallen – Part 2 of 3

The green LED of my communication module flashed.  I flipped the switch to accept the incoming message.  Silas’ face appeared.  He was seated in the co-pilot’s chair.  I could tell by the surrounding instruments that he was in one of the interceptors.

“This is very unfortunate business, Gilles.”  His tone was calm and unhurried.  “I was expecting – hoping for better from you.”

Stay cool I told myself.  Stall for time to think.  “Sorry to disappoint - nothing personal.”

“Stealing from me is personal,” he retorted.

“Freeing” I said emphasizing the word, “isn’t the same as stealing.”

Silas smiled.  “I’m willing to concede that is perhaps what you believed, however misinformed.”  He paused and leaned forward into the console, his face filling the screen on my end.  “If you return her to me right now we can end this without violence.”  He leaned back and crossed his legs.  “The scanner identified an active passenger pod.  Spit her out.  We’ll scoop her up and be on our way.”

I had to laugh, I wasn’t that stupid.   “Just like that?” I asked.

“There is the small price of being banned from Prime and regions under my control or jurisdiction.  You should probably avoid Jita too.  I have friends there.  But yes, that’s it.” He became speculative.  “I had plans for someone with your background. You could have been a valuable asset.”

“My loss I’m sure.”  I surreptitiously checked my gauges.  The ship was still snared .  The capacitor was holding at fifteen percent.  I sounded calm but my mind was running all the angles, looking for an escape.

Sticky:  Regularly scheduled programming has been temporarily interrupted to bring you, Shadows of New Eden, serialized fan fiction inspired by the subtle beauty, vastness and infinite possibilities of EVE Online, where I’m currently flying as Alysianah Noire. 

Shadows of New Eden: Fallen – Part 1 of 3

Essence Region – Peccanouette
Aeschee System
Near Aeschee IV – Moon 4

12-03 YC 112 | 20:30

 

“Gilles,” I chided myself, “what the hell were you thinking?”

It was suicidal, attempting to smuggle someone out of Serpentis Prime.   I wasn’t prepared for space combat.  I activated the microwarp drive a millisecond too late.  Now we were being scrambled like eggs in a skillet.  There was no way in hell we were warping away from this situation.  The damage control unit was engaged but not for long.  They were slowly draining my ship’s capacitor.  In a little while we’d be sheep for slaughter.  We were alone in this fight; the drones I’d deployed when the ships first appeared had long since been destroyed.

Adrenaline surged through me.  My nervous system tingled, groping for the cauterized metallic capsuleer comm-ring embedded at the base of my skull.  Dead - no live signals there.  Yet like an amputee, my body kept searching for the cybernetic connection to the ship it had previously known.  The base of my skull burned.  A blinding pain, like white lightening ricocheted through my cerebral cortex – phantom synapses firing.  I swallowed down bile.

All three targets were locked and my hand hovered over the controls to start firing at one.  I pulled my hand back.  Could I clear a path? I thought better of it.  My Imicus couldn't blast through or evade two Ares-class interceptors and an Eris-class destroyer.   Good news was that they weren’t firing – not yet anyway.  It was probably better if I didn’t ignite a shootout I wouldn’t win.  If they blew the ship to bits and her pod, she could still escape if she had a clone in a system not under Silas’ control.  For me, it would be permanent lights out.