Tanuki
Horny typist
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2004
- Posts
- 839
Lt. Aya Otada knew she was in trouble. Her escape pod was spiraling slowly through the outer edges of a solar system, behind enemy lines. Their ship, a radio surveillance craft, had been ambushed by two Dominion fighters, and she'd been lucky to escape in one of the three life pods. She'd seen no sign of the others, and she hoped they were ok. But her luck was running out, she'd used up most of fuel in a full throttle panic flight, she'd only slowed down when the low fuel light started flashing.
"Damnit!" she shouted, mashing her hand on the console, then yelping at the sharp pain. As she massaged her hand, she tried to fight the panic welling up like a tidal wave in her belly. "Why did I volunteer for this?" she murmured, looking across her controls desperately, in hopes of some inspiration. Six weeks out of the academy, a computer officer only 21 years old, and here she was behind enemy lines, in a ship running out of air and power. It was getting cold in the confined space, and Aya's deck uniform was rather thin, consisting of only a skirt and tight-fitting top that left her arms bare. She rubbed her upper arms furiously and took another look at the nav screen.
"Well, hello there!" she said, brushing her ebony hair over her shoulder and leaning forward to peer at the blinking green object that hadn't been there last she'd checked. Her fingers flew over the keyboard and she punched up the information:
Target Designation: Unknown transponder
Course: Lunar orbit
Power Scan: nominal
Life Scan: Indeterminate
Recommendation: Avoid contact
"Avoid contact?" scoffed the Lieutenant at the computer's recommendation. "What am I supposed to do out here, wait til I turn to ice, to be found by some cross-eyed space salvage collector?"
Her words hid her cautious elation. A ship, here in space, orbiting a small dead moon, was a stroke of luck she could hardly believe. Even better, it seemed to be empty, which in this neighborhood, was a good thing. She powered up her engines - she could just make it on her remaining fuel.
It was only when the unknown ship came into visual range, that Aya began to wonder if she'd made the right decision, wasting the rest of her fuel to find . . . this.
The ship was large, cruiser size, but of strange design that she didn't recognize. Dominion? she wondered. It certainly did look like any Earth ship she remembered seeing. Jutting superstructures, almost organic in shape, reached out from each side, as if claws of a giant beast reaching out to grab her tiny escape pod. Aya shivered, biting her lip. She changed her mind, she didn't want anything to do with this ship.
As she floated past the bow, she turned in rapt fascination to see lettering on the side. It looked like Dominion language, only different. Aya put her hand to her head, trying to remember her language classes.
It came to her . . . Angel of Darkness. The strange name was a good match, the black ship seemed to swallow up the light from distant stars. Aya swallowed nervously, then jumped when a proximity alarm began to sound.
"Oh crap!" she yelled, "It's going into auto-dock mode!" She scrambled frantically to countermand the order, but without power, the ship's computer was doing what it thought best, to dock with the only available ship. Aya listened to the loud, creaking sounds of metal on metal, and then there was silence. They were docked. She jumped again in her seat at the hissing sound of the airlocks equalizing. "Oh damn, oh damn," she said under her breath, as she undid her harness with trembling hands, and climbed out of her chair. Grabbing the emergency pack, she ripped it open, scattering food packets and chemical lights, until she held the service pistol in her shaking hands, pointing it toward the door.
The doors slid open, but instead of monsters, she was greeted by the silence of dark, empty hallways. Emergency lighting came on inside the ship, lighting a way into the belly of the derelict spacecraft. Aya could hear a thumping, and realized it was her heart, trying to pound its way out of her chest.
"Damnit!" she shouted, mashing her hand on the console, then yelping at the sharp pain. As she massaged her hand, she tried to fight the panic welling up like a tidal wave in her belly. "Why did I volunteer for this?" she murmured, looking across her controls desperately, in hopes of some inspiration. Six weeks out of the academy, a computer officer only 21 years old, and here she was behind enemy lines, in a ship running out of air and power. It was getting cold in the confined space, and Aya's deck uniform was rather thin, consisting of only a skirt and tight-fitting top that left her arms bare. She rubbed her upper arms furiously and took another look at the nav screen.
"Well, hello there!" she said, brushing her ebony hair over her shoulder and leaning forward to peer at the blinking green object that hadn't been there last she'd checked. Her fingers flew over the keyboard and she punched up the information:
Target Designation: Unknown transponder
Course: Lunar orbit
Power Scan: nominal
Life Scan: Indeterminate
Recommendation: Avoid contact
"Avoid contact?" scoffed the Lieutenant at the computer's recommendation. "What am I supposed to do out here, wait til I turn to ice, to be found by some cross-eyed space salvage collector?"
Her words hid her cautious elation. A ship, here in space, orbiting a small dead moon, was a stroke of luck she could hardly believe. Even better, it seemed to be empty, which in this neighborhood, was a good thing. She powered up her engines - she could just make it on her remaining fuel.
It was only when the unknown ship came into visual range, that Aya began to wonder if she'd made the right decision, wasting the rest of her fuel to find . . . this.
The ship was large, cruiser size, but of strange design that she didn't recognize. Dominion? she wondered. It certainly did look like any Earth ship she remembered seeing. Jutting superstructures, almost organic in shape, reached out from each side, as if claws of a giant beast reaching out to grab her tiny escape pod. Aya shivered, biting her lip. She changed her mind, she didn't want anything to do with this ship.
As she floated past the bow, she turned in rapt fascination to see lettering on the side. It looked like Dominion language, only different. Aya put her hand to her head, trying to remember her language classes.
It came to her . . . Angel of Darkness. The strange name was a good match, the black ship seemed to swallow up the light from distant stars. Aya swallowed nervously, then jumped when a proximity alarm began to sound.
"Oh crap!" she yelled, "It's going into auto-dock mode!" She scrambled frantically to countermand the order, but without power, the ship's computer was doing what it thought best, to dock with the only available ship. Aya listened to the loud, creaking sounds of metal on metal, and then there was silence. They were docked. She jumped again in her seat at the hissing sound of the airlocks equalizing. "Oh damn, oh damn," she said under her breath, as she undid her harness with trembling hands, and climbed out of her chair. Grabbing the emergency pack, she ripped it open, scattering food packets and chemical lights, until she held the service pistol in her shaking hands, pointing it toward the door.
The doors slid open, but instead of monsters, she was greeted by the silence of dark, empty hallways. Emergency lighting came on inside the ship, lighting a way into the belly of the derelict spacecraft. Aya could hear a thumping, and realized it was her heart, trying to pound its way out of her chest.