The ship groaned as it set down on the colony berth, local gravity stressing old joints and honeycombed titanium - the thrusters cut out, and the mass envelope softened the last drop to the launchpad of Aeneas Verge, a rotating spaceborne hulk of a hive colony just on the edge of fucking nowhere, as far as Captain Haelin was concerned. It was fourteen light-seconds past the recognized border of the Perseus Theocracy and their entire sector full of batshit crazy humans pumped up on propaganda to varying degrees, which made most interactions with them unpleasant. Yes, he was a recognized Interceptor with all the rights and responsibilities inherent, but the law only went as far as it could be enforced, and he was a long ways from any kind of outside help.
And if it was that bad for him, it was worse for Hearth civilians, which was what had pulled him out this far from comfortable territory - a Hearth beacon pulse, asking for aid and evac from a hostile location. It had taken him most of a day at full burn to make it to the colony and even then he wasn't sure if the lady who'd sent it was still alive.
Eying the Air Defense towers sitting motionless on either side of the launchpad, Haelin keys his mic to the frequency she'd been broadcasting on and clicks it twice, then says, "This is Interceptor Haelin, here responding to a beacon popped seventeen hours ago at this location. Sorry for the late arrival, but you're a long ways from the common routes. If you're still around and alive, sound off."
He didn't think the colonists would up and shoot at him off-hand, but the longer he was here the less fond the local humans were going to be of him. Best to get the VIP and get out before things had the chance to ferment into something ugly.
And if it was that bad for him, it was worse for Hearth civilians, which was what had pulled him out this far from comfortable territory - a Hearth beacon pulse, asking for aid and evac from a hostile location. It had taken him most of a day at full burn to make it to the colony and even then he wasn't sure if the lady who'd sent it was still alive.
Eying the Air Defense towers sitting motionless on either side of the launchpad, Haelin keys his mic to the frequency she'd been broadcasting on and clicks it twice, then says, "This is Interceptor Haelin, here responding to a beacon popped seventeen hours ago at this location. Sorry for the late arrival, but you're a long ways from the common routes. If you're still around and alive, sound off."
He didn't think the colonists would up and shoot at him off-hand, but the longer he was here the less fond the local humans were going to be of him. Best to get the VIP and get out before things had the chance to ferment into something ugly.