Chapter 1:
[Warning! Shields at 50%]
The crimson alert flashed across the main viewport, its reflection painting a frantic, strobing pattern across Silas's sweat-slicked face. He didn't have time to curse or think, before the universe outside his cockpit lurched violently.
BOOM!
The ship shuddered, The groaning sound of it's metallic structure echoing through the hull as if the vessel itself was crying out in agony.
The force dampeners strained to compensate for the attack, but the strength of the impact still slammed Silas against his harness, his breath knocked out of his lungs for a moment.
[Warning! Shields at 46%]
He gritted his teeth, his hands a blur across the control panel as he initiated a desperate corkscrew maneuver, trying to throw off the aim of the attackers swarming behind him.
Flares in the form of a smoke screen and chaff burst from the ship's flanks, creating a temporary, glittering cloud of chaff in a vain attempt to confuse their targeting systems.
BAM!
Sadly, he was struck with another hit even then. this one hitting the ship on the port side.
CREEEE....
The ship shook violently, at the same time, a shower of sparks erupted from a console to his left, the acrid smell of burning insulation immediately filling the small cockpit.
More alarms blared into being like a maddening cry.
[Warning! Shields at 40%]
All around him, Silas's ship computer system kept flaring up one warning after another. Accompanying each warning was the uncomfortable feeling of collision, each one causing his ship to tremble greatly, as if on the verge of collapse.
The viewport showed a dizzying, spinning of the space around him, filled with indifferent stars and the growing, menacing shapes of the pirate vessels that were constantly tearing his ship apart.
The bloody assholes were like wolves harrying a wounded stag, relentless and savage in their pursuit.
DUMM!
A glancing blow against the rear deflectors sent another tremor through the deck plates.
' Fuck! At this rate she won't be able to last past a few minutes!' Silas cursed within his mind, he could feel it in his bones, not only that, but the jarring vibrations brought by each hit was begun to rattle his teeth.
[Warning! Shields at 38%]
Silas's eyes were filled with a desperate, hunted look as he struggled to hold on, wrestling with the controls to keep the ship from spiraling out of control.
Unfortunately, all the ship could do was continue to respond, although growing more sluggish as time went by. The damage to the thrusters making it harder to flee from his pursuers.
At the same time, the transmission he'd already initiated was, according to the flickering indicator on his comms panel, moments away from going through. It was his only lifeline, a thin, fragile thread of hope he prayed would come true so as to save his pitiful life.
He'd already lost all his people due to this operation, being the only one left, he didn't want all their sacrifices to end up in vain.
' Don't worry everyone, just a bit more and we can all make it through this. I won't let these wicked pirates get the last laugh!'
Even while being hunted throughout the cold expanse of space, deep in his heart remained hope. It was a stubborn, irrational ember that refused to be extinguished by the cold reality of his situation.
He was a Megacorp soldier, or to be specific, a captain sent out on a mission he now concluded was the most dangerous mission he'd ever experienced. Throughout his entire training, as well as his years of service, not once did he expect to be placed in sh b a hopeless situation before..
At first, he thought it was merely a simple extraction mission ordered by his higher ups, But to think that the moment he and his squad were in the process of transporting that said item, they'd be ambushed and hounded by ruthless space pirates.
The ambush had been perfectly executed, consisting of a precise and devastating strike that had torn through his squadron before they could even form a defensive perimeter.
If one didn't know any better, they would've believed that the wicked souls had been tipped off by some inside personal.
Currently, his ship was the only one remaining, a fact that hammered at his consciousness with every passing second.
His entire squad had been wiped out already, their ships now nothing more than drifting debris fields in the expanse of space, their silent tombs marked by the occasional flicker of a dying emergency beacon.
Such developments made no sense to Silas. He knew that space pirates were a dangerous but cautious bunch; normally, they wouldn't dare to take on the soldiers of Megacorp directly, after all, the organization was one the greatest powers within the galaxy.
The corporation's reach was long, and its retribution for such brazen attacks was legendary and absolute. But right now, those past inclinations had long since been thrown out of the window.
These pirates weren't just attacking; they were hunting with a single-minded purpose that bordered on suicidal as if possessed, such things were completely unforeseen!
Right now, all he cared about was getting to safety, and he believed that once his superiors realized what was going on, that they would surely send some reinforcements his way. It was the only logical outcome. Megacorp always protected its assets, and right now, he and his cargo were the asset.
Though it pained him greatly to have his entire squadron wiped out, he held onto the belief that he would be the one to survive and bear witness. He only saw himself getting revenge for his men after his superiors would learn of this matter. He would give them the coordinates, the ship identifications, everything. The pirates would surely pay with blood for this! He vowed to himself.
[Warning! Shields at 35%]
But right now he had to stay focused and try his best to avoid getting hit. The numbers were dropping too fast. Another few direct hits and the shields would collapse, leaving the hull exposed to the enemy's weapons.