Han, You've No Idea

[Crash Calestorm 0]

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” – Han Solo, Star Wars: A New Hope

 

Captain Calestorm had a bad feeling about this as well. Unlike the smuggler with the heart of gold who fought against the forces of darkness in those old fashioned 2D science fiction films, the pirates ahead could be real trouble.

 

Settled in the command chair, she intently watched the main bridge view screen, hazel-green eyes carefully watching the graphs of the tracking programs as they transmitted real time data. The ‘Creek and the Dover Castle maintained cover behind a convenient moon. Nice moon, happy moon, friend moon, hide me moon. Most of the fighters had been recalled, with a small contingent patrol remaining on alert alongside the two ships. Electronic Countermeasures suites were transmitting constant deflection programs and communications were kept to priority only.

 

The Black Sparrows - and honestly, why was it always Black Something or other with these buckos? - had taken up residence in Grid 43, employing an abandoned asteroid mining platform as a base of operations.

 

The grid was blanketed with Sparrow starfighter and small craft activity. The pirates had been causing trouble in the sectors, ransacking pleasure vessels and hapless civilian transports. Crash’d be well within rights to invoke Starfleet protocols and set about repelling, scattering and arresting the criminal elements.The Comanche Creek could take out the platform with two torpedoes, tops. The Aero Wing was more then a match for the pirates’. Even their SAR heavy shuttles could mix it up with the conglomeration of mis-matched starfighters and assault shuttles employed by the reprobates. The kicker was, when you had charge of a transport vessel carrying viral diseases bound for permanent cold storage? You walked real damn soft and didn’t do anything foolish or to attract attention. The local authorities would have to deal with this one.

 

She half turned to Commander Wesley, standing nearby. Making eye contact with the green skinned Orion, the elder woman gave a slight shake of her head to indicate ‘no go’. Calestorm then turned her attention to the two officers standing quietly towards the back of the command bridge.

 

“Major Fasjovik*, have your anti-boarding teams stand down, leave Alpha Squad on alert...”

 

“Lieutenant Honor-Scar*, I know you got pilots climbing the walls in the Ready Room, but we’re maintaining non-combat action. Have Alert 5 fighters remain on standby, have the active patrol maintain EC….”

 

(To Be Continued In Sim)

 

* Marine Detachment Commander

* Commander of the Aero Group