It was a surprisingly peaceful day for the crew of the Shadowstrike as they performed yet another routine patrol of their assigned area. The hum of the ship's engines, the low chatter of the crew's monitoring stations, and the occasional beep of a nearby console filled the air as everyone casually worked on their individual tasks. However, despite the calm atmosphere of the day, something just wasn't quite right about all of this.
The patrol so far had been quiet, almost too quiet. In fact, it was so quiet that the Shadowstrike had passed through several sectors without seeing so much as a stray piece of debris or any other unusual anomalies. Everything was so calm that it almost felt as if the universe itself had decided to give the ship and her crew a break. And this had been the case for the last week or so.
Times like these were truly a rarity. Or at least, they had been in the six months that Elias had been a member of the Shadowstrike's crew. Most of the time, the crew would end up shooting down some stray asteroids or chasing off a random pirate ship that wandered a bit too far into the nearby trade lanes. But today had been different.
'The calm before the storm.' The young man quietly thought to himself as he kept his eyes peeled for any sudden activity.
Elias wasn't dumb, he knew that it was only a matter of time before something happened. Pirate activity in the area around the colonies had been steadily on the rise. And the likelihood that they could go this long without encountering any rogues at all was remarkably low. The young man had learned early on that the Colonial Navy's work was nothing if not unpredictable. And that sometimes, the calm before the storm was more ominous than it first seemed.
In spite of all that, the rest of Elias's crewmates were taking advantage of the unexpected peace. Even their leader seems unusually relaxed compared to how he normally carried himself.
"Thorton." Commander Brix called, his deep voice cutting through the silence. "You see anything?"
Elias snapped to attention. "No anomalies, sir. The area looks to be clear."
Brix nodded, his eyes not leaving his terminal. "Good. Hopefully, it stays that way."
"Way to jinx us, sir...." Petty Officer Mera rolled her eyes. From what Elias could tell, the ship's helmsman was probably more bored than the rest of them. Which made sense considering she was the one actually piloting the ship through the never-ending darkness in front of them.
Elias suppressed the urge to laugh and kept his eye on his terminal. This particular area, not too far away from the Brasheer Colony, was known for its low traffic during this time of year. Only a few vessels carrying newly extracted minerals from nearby asteroids ever really passed through in large convoys en route to either Earth or the moon. Pirates occasionally roamed these parts, but the Navy had done a good job of keeping them a little more than a nuisance. And the same went for any would-be smugglers.
Just as Elias began to relax, his terminal emitted a sharp ping. At the same time, a distress signal came over from Petty Officer Jor's screen. The green-eyed youth's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Distress calls were always a cause for concern, especially in such a quiet sector.
"Commander!" Jor called out, his voice steady. "We just got a distress signal from a nearby vessel. It's coming from a civilian cruiser, one named the Miranda, based on its registration code. The signal indicates possible engine failure."
Commander Brix's brow furrowed. The man looked toward Elias, then glanced at Petty Officer Mera. The woman immediately began turning the ship in the direction of the signal.
"Let's go see what we're dealing with." Brix ordered.
Soon enough, the cruiser appeared on screen. It was quite an impressive vessel in Elias's opinion, one with a sleek design that was obviously well-maintained. However, such a vessel was out of place in this part of space. The cruiser looked far too expensive to be operating in such a remote region. You only ever really see them flying between the vacation colonies located at L-1.
The ship's hull shimmered under the dim light of the distant stars, revealing its extravagant pink and gold paint job. And in that dim light, Elias could see faint signs of engine trouble on the monitor, such as the flickering lights along the ship's starboard side. It was clear the cruiser wasn't moving under its own power.
"Jor, open a communication channel." Lieutenant Vera suddenly ordered, the slight raspiness in her voice carrying the weight of authority.
With the press of a few buttons, the ship's communication system came to life. And almost immediately, a voice crackled through the speakers, low and hurried.
"This is the Miranda." The voice said, a young man's voice, if Elias had to take a guess. "We appreciate you coming all the way out here, but there's no need for any assistance. Everything's fine. We already have a wrecker on the way, and the situation is under control. You guys can just go back to whatever you were doing."
Commander Brix narrowed his eyes. The man exchanged a quick glance with Lieutenant Vera, who herself couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Jor, open the channel back up." The commander ordered, his tone firm.
Elias and the rest of the crew knew that something was up. The guy on the other end of the line was obviously trying to get them to leave as quickly as possible.
"This is Commander Jason Brix of the Colonial Navy ship, Shadowstrike." The man then said, his voice steady but commanding. "We are responding to your distress signal. Please stand by for boarding procedures. We will assist you shortly."
There was a brief silence before the voice returned; this time, the man on the other end was a lot more insistent. "No, no! I told you, everything's fine. We don't need any help. Please, just leave us alone!"
That statement pretty much confirmed it for the rest of the ship's crew. The Colonial Navy had the authority to board and search any ship within the government's jurisdiction. It was a well-known law, albeit one that many people didn't agree with. To try and dispute that made you look incredibly suspicious. Even smugglers knew not to argue against it. It was the reason why so many of their ships were outfitted with secret compartments to hide contraband.
Commander Brix stood up, his expression darkening.
"I don't like the sound of that." The man stated with a frown. "Vera, get ready to board that ship. Thornton, you're going with her."
"Yes, sir!" The two officers said with a salute before heading over to the ship's armory.
A few minutes later, Elias's heart raced as he grabbed his pistol and followed Lieutenant Vera to the airlock. Boarding an unfamiliar ship always came with risks, and it was clear that they were about to jump head-first into something bad.
Once the rest of the Shadowstrike's boarding party suited up, the group of five exited the airlock and sealed the door behind them. Elias stood at attention with his weapon firmly in his grip as he waited for the signal. He even took a moment to gauge the expressions on everyone else's faces.
Just like the young man expected, the other members of the crew were remarkably calm, all things considered. Then again, this wasn't really anything to be surprised about. The Shadowstrike was a ship designed for scouting and direct combat, so boarding actions like these were par for the course. This was something that Elias knew he was going to have to get used to as soon as possible if he was ever going to cut it as a member of its crew.
The quiet hum of the ship was deafening in the moments before they initiated the airlock breach.
As soon as the outer door opened, Elias and the boarding party stormed in, weapons at the ready. The cruiser's interior was dark, and the main cabin was only illuminated by a few flickering emergency lights. The air also smelled stale, which meant that it had been some time since the vessel had been to a port to restock on fresh oxygen. Maybe one or two days at the least.
'What the hell is going on in here?' Elias thought as he quickly tried to assess his surroundings.
There was no immediate sign of the ship's crew, however, that wasn't what concerned Elias at the moment. What really had his undivided attention were the armed men lurking in the shadows.
Before the young man could react, gunfire erupted from the darkness. As they had suspected, the group had walked right into a pirate ambush.
Elias immediately dove behind a nearby table. And his years of training kicked in as he fired back at the criminals. The pirates may have been quick, but they were quicker. The Shadowstrike's crew was disciplined and trained for moments like this. All those hours they spent rehearsing troop movements when they were back at their home base were really paying off.
Elias fought with a surprising amount of precision for a rookie officer. His crisp moves gave off the impression that he was more experienced than he actually was. The young man managed to shoot two pirates in quick succession before ducking to reload his weapon. Lieutenant Vera, however, was a blur of action. Her usually calm voice barked orders amidst the chaos as she gunned down two more pirates with a ruthlessness that only came from years of first-hand experience.
Eventually, the remaining pirates fell back, deciding to retreat deeper into the ship as their numbers slowly dwindled away. And within minutes, the last pirate was subdued. But more importantly, the crew of the Miranda was safe.
"All clear, ma'am!" Elias said, panting slightly as he holstered his weapon. His first real taste of man-to-man combat went remarkably well. And somehow, none of the Shadowstrike's crew had been hurt. Something that was nothing short of a miracle.
'I guess numbers don't matter when faced with a better-trained force.' The young man surmised. 'Still, though, they had us outnumbered by at least three people.'
Lieutenant Vera nodded before she turned her attention toward the crew of the Miranda. All of whom were still recovering after having just been freed from the storage unit that they were stuffed into before the Shadowstrike's crew arrived. They were still a bit shaken, but mostly unharmed.
Once the ship's inhabitants were freed from their restraints, one of the four women present stepped forward. Her face was dirty and her clothes were wrinkled, but her eyes were wide with gratitude.
"Thank you!" The woman said breathlessly. "Thank you for saving us! We didn't think anyone would be able to hear the distress call. These psychos had us trapped for two days while we just floated around aimlessly waiting for their friends to show up!"
Elias immediately found himself staring at the woman. To say that she was beautiful would be an understatement. Her long, dark hair fell in soft waves around her face. Her features were soft, but her piercing blue eyes radiated a quiet intensity. Her name, much to everyone's surprise, was Marida Hull. She was the youngest daughter of a well-known business mogul based out of Utopia, a popular vacation colony within the L-1 cluster.
As it turns out, Marida and her friends were on their way to another colony to attend a concert when their ship got ambushed by some pirates. And according to the crew, the rogues were planning on taking this ship to a black-market chop shop somewhere on the moon to strip it for parts. As for people inside, well...it was pretty obvious what they were going to do with them once they were done with the ship.
"Well, it's nice to see that everyone is okay. That's what's important." Elias said with a shaky smile, his steady voice did well to hide what he was actually feeling on the inside right now. His adrenaline was still pumping due to the battle they just won.
Marida then smiled, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "Thank you, seriously...we owe you our lives."
With the threat of the pirates finally neutralized, the crew quickly arranged for a towing vessel to bring the Miranda to a nearby star station for some much-needed repairs. Fortunately for its passengers, it wouldn't even be a few hours before they were in a safe location. One that was far away from any more pirates.
A couple of hours later, as the sailors left the damaged cruiser behind in the care of the newly arrived wrecker, Elias couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. He had really made a difference today. The feeling of getting to save a few lives and take down some rogues sure was a satisfying one.
Commander Brix placed a hand on Elias's shoulder as soon as the young man was back within Shadowstrike. "Good work today, Thorton. You handled yourself well."
Elias simply smiled, the pride in his chest expanding. "Thank you, sir!"
As the Shadowstrike began to make its way back to the Vanguard to drop off the bodies of the freshly slain pirates, Elias felt a renewed sense of purpose. There was still much to be done, but the green-eyed youth was definitely ready for whatever happened to come next. After all, it was moments like these that made him realize why he even joined the Colonial Navy in the first place. It wasn't just to explore the stars and to see what space had to offer, it was to do some genuine good in a universe that often felt so cold and uncertain.
And who knows? Maybe he'll get to save a few more lives before it's all said and done.