The Bleak Path, Part 2

[Archie Phoenix 0]

The Bleak Path

Part 2 - Sentry

 

Tan Simox was recalled from a brief meditation by a proximity alarm emanating from his ship's scanners. He reached overhead to flick the switch that shut off the alarm and looked at his tactical monitor, hoping that the energy emissions the scanners were picking up were on the safe path ahead.

 

The only way that non-Serberite scanners could detect a ship in the Bleak Zone was if that ship was giving off some sort of emission. The engine exhaust and weapon charge were always the tell-tale signs of an approaching Serberite vessel. Those would never be detected following one of the safe paths because the Serberites never navigated the safe paths -- they simply had no need.

 

When Tan observed that the energy emissions were indeed following the safe path he felt both anticipation of a mission nearing its fulfillment and trepidation at the terrible danger that his quarry presented. A quick check of the energy signature confirmed that it belonged to a Renazian ship. Lars Man was ahead! Tan's trepidation only grew as he realized that his own engines were giving off the same emissions; his presence would be revealed as well. He could not help recalling stories of Lars Man's brutality, but he kept his unease in check -- there was a mission to be performed.

 

Tan pushed the flight handle in and forward, accelerating his ship. He'd previously been flying at only half of his ship's potential speed, both to reduce the engine emissions that could catch the Serberites' attention and to give him more time to react to any obstacles on the path. He gave two dials beside the handle slight twists, enough to power up his ship's particle beams to disabling mode. He would have to get close, dangerously close, before firing on the engine emissions that Man's ship was giving off; once the engines were disabled, he would have to quickly grab it with his towing cable to keep it from drifting into the uncharted areas of the Bleak Zone. His tactical monitor beeped to confirm weapons lock. He waited for confirmation that the ship was in towing range.

 

But another proximity alarm came first.

 

Tan's crimson eyes darted to the tactical monitor as he quickly grabbed the flight handle and slowed his ship down. More engine emissions!

 

Serberite signatures!

 

Tan cursed quietly to himself. Had his ship's acceleration been noticed? This quickly? But … no. The Serberite emissions were not approaching. In fact, they were heading in the same direction as Lars Man's ship. There was one Serberite vessel slightly ahead of Man's ship, moving at the exact same speed.

 

Tan's brow furrowed deeply as he looked up at his ship's front viewport. He could see nothing but the stifling darkness of the Bleak Zone, but he knew that no more than five kilometers ahead Lars Man's ship was -following- a Serberite ship.

 

This was a troubling development, one that Tan took a moment to ponder. The Serberites had long made their policy toward Renazian ships clear -- shoot on sight and shoot to destroy. Why had an exception been made for Lars Man's ship? Tan could think of two possibilities. One, the Serberites had commandeered Man's ship and either killed Man or taken him into their custody, a perplexing break from their usual response to Renazian trespass. Two -- the far more troubling and, in Tan's mind, likely possibility -- Man was collaborating with the Serberites in order to gain their protection from Renazian authorities. Either way, Man's ship, with its limited sensor capabilities, had to remain on a charted path. They were likely going to rendezvous with one of the Serberites' mobile outposts so that Man's ship could dock and be escorted deep into the Bleak Zone where it could never be located by the Renazians.

 

Tan took in and let out a deep breath. With a Serberite presence, this mission was almost certain to end in failure. But that was not going to stop him from doing everything in his power to see it through.

 

Tan pushed the flight handle forward and lifted the caps on the particle beam controls. When he received confirmation of towing range, he pulled the flight handle back and pressed the exposed beam controls, firing short bursts at the engines of Man's ship. He gave the flight handle a twist to bring his ship about 180 degrees and hit the switch to release the rear towing cable. He had never executed a towing maneuver in this sort of a sudden crunch, but it only took one attempt to lock on to Man's ship. In any other situation, he'd have cheered his good fortune. But the only way this mission would succeed was if that escort ship decided to demonstrate kindness uncharacteristic of the Serberites and allow a Renazian matter to be resolved by Renazians without interference.

 

Tan pushed the flight handle forward slowly, realizing that an acceleration too rapid would rip the towing cable right off of his ship. As his ship overcame its rearward momentum, he looked at his tactical display. The Serberite vessel had stopped, but it was not giving pursuit! Perhaps they -wouldn't- interfere, despite their puzzling interest in Man's ship. Perhaps Tan had rendered it useless to them by disabling its engines? It was a slim hope that Tan was clinging onto; even if Man was dead, there would be clues to this mystery on his ship and the Agency would be well pleased if it were brought back for investigation.

 

Tan barely registered the third proximity alarm. His attention was fully on the front viewport, where the dust of the Bleak Zone had suddenly dispersed in a roughly 500 meter area. In the void that was left, a second Serberite ship was staring down at him.

 

It was a terrible thing to behold. The viewport of its bridge was near its center, a small speck of red light barely visible between the three masses of shimmering black metal that jutted around and in front of it. They were roughly ovoid in shape, but their surfaces were broken by the Serberites' imposing arrays of starship weaponry. Each weapon platform by itself was larger than a Renazian ship; all three had their weapons trained directly on Tan's. With their deflector arrays pushing the dust of the Bleak Zone away, they could not have enjoyed a clearer shot.

 

Clearly, the Serberites had detected Tan's ship long before he detected Man's ship. This second sentry had moved off the path and shut off its engines so as to avoid detection, setting up a perfect ambush. It was a common Serberite strategy. They knew their engine emissions were enough to scare off Renazian agents, but they were not content with letting Renazian ships escape the Bleak Zone unharmed -- escape was the only victory that an inferior foe could achieve.

 

Tan's ship quivered. The first Serberite sentry had swooped in and fired on his towing cable, snapping it and freeing Man's ship. Tan merely stared at the three harbingers of destruction getting larger in his viewport as he drifted closer to the second Serberite ship. The main particle beams on the front of each weapons platform lit up as they charged. Tan's eyes closed. As he awaited the inevitable, he recalled the last time that he was in this exact same position. His eyelids could not fully block out the brilliant flash of light that filled the cockpit.

 

Three beams hammered his ship. It was vaporized within a second.

 

Death embraced Tan Simox.

Edited May 17, 2008 by Archie Phoenix