abstract
| - The Corellian "Action VI" transport is a staple of large-scale convoys and this one arrives with a shuddering lurch as it abruptly decelerates from lightspeed just clear of Caspar's moon, the pale blue-green orb of the temperate capital of the Democratic Union slowly revolving below them. Aboard her cramped bridge, Vane looks over the passive sensor readouts. The Crimson Lightning should have been there and under her breath the Rattataki utters a coarsely languaged curse. "Active sensors..." she orders, the half dozen pirates who'd constituted the boarding party forming a skeleton crew at the essential stations. "Where did we end up?" Staying close to the planet is the Nemesis. The use of active scans does seem to attract the duty officer straight away. "Communications blackout, only incoming feeds. Focus on narrow band and wide band," she instructs the bridge. She steps up to take over from one of the less senior officers. The transmission is wide band when she transmits. "Unidentified vessel, this is Warship Nemesis," says the young sounding officer over the comms. "Identify yourself immediately, approach slowly, and await additional orders." While Amaza does mute her microphone, there's a good chance she's looking for any planned arrivals or reasons for an active search. "Sithspit!" Vane mutters as the incoming transmission from not just any ship, but the Nemesis, flagship of the whole damned fleet hails her. The pirate's arms fold into the small of her back. "Open channel. Throw in some static." she directs the nikto standing at the comms-station. She clears her throat and puts on her best 'Imperial accent. "'Nemesis' this is Lieutenant Collins, Imperial Navy. Captain of transport Corulag Haul. We have suffered an astrogation failure and become separated from our convoy. Transmitting transponder codes now..." There's a few moments of silent as Amaza pours over her incoming and outgoing ships. "Lieutenant Collins, this is Leuitenant-Commander Sunrider," says the same young sounding female voice from before. "Approach the Nemesis slowly. I want a full transcript of your ship logs and activity while you do so." "Affirmative, 'Nemesis'." comes the 'Haul's reply. Her engines fire, the bulk freighter making half-speed toward the Nemesis, and the planet beyond her. "Give us a moment, we weren't expecting to need to present them." Vane's fingers draw across her throat, the comm-channel falling silent. She turns on her heel, striding back to where the real Lieutenant Collins is bound and gagged. She squats down in front of him, drawing a wicked looking blade from her belt and pulling free the gag. "I am truly sorry about this, one Captain to another. I don't want to torture anybody...per-say. But it would appear I need those logs. If you do not give them to me..." she drags the point of the dagger down his cheek just hard enough to draw blood. "Understood 'Corulag Haul'. Understand you have arrived without the rest of the convoy you were assigned, so I will inspect them," comes the reply from Amaza, as she leans against the console and glances towards her commanding officer on the deck of the Nemesis. If the young Hapan was in control of the ship, she might have listed the top of the ship towards the incoming vessel, but she isn't, so the ship remains where it is. She's also completely unaware of the plight of the real Lieutenant Collins. The captive Lieutenant is not the sternest of souls and utterly powerless as he is, he yields up the information. "Transmitting logs now." Vane relates across the communications channel, transceiver broadcasting the requested data. Everything would appear to be in order, the Corulag Haul was loaded with her cargo as part of a three ship convoy at an Imperial supply station and continued under escort by the Imperial Carrack Cruiser Vulture until her final jump to Union space, where presumably the alleged hyperspace mishap took place. "Nemesis, we appear to have sustained damage during lightspeed. We have a substantial hull-breach on deck two, starboard side. Particle shields are holding but I don't hold out much hope for these Corellian bulkheads if they fail. Request clearance to proceed to our destination." There's silence as Amaza quickly goes over the logs, and then assigns the job to one of the Lieutenants nearby. She listens to the plight of the current commander of the vessel. "You are now reporting that you have ship damage? If you do not trust the hull of the ship, then why attempt to enter the atmosphere of the planet? Evacuate crew from deck two, and we will dispatch people to help patch that damage for you. With your report, I am concerned that you may break up over populated areas if the worst outcome happens. If you can approach closer, we should be able to gauge the damage for you." "With respect, Nemesis, the issue is decompression." The Corulag Haul answers, at Vane's signal the helm vectors fractionally in her course, exposing her starboard facing to the Nemesis where indeed a large diameter hole has torn open her sole docking port. "We presently have no means to take on repair crews." the line goes quiet a moment. "Commander Sunrider, I need to put my ship on the ground or I risk losing her. The safety of the Corulag Haul and the officers under my command is my responsibility as Captain of this vessel. Is there a problem with our documentation?" "A ship is not worth as much as the crew that serves on her," states Amaza. "If you are suffering from decompression, then seal the sections off." Due to the darkness of space outside, she relies on a junior officer to relay the damage report to her, informing her of the damage of the ship. "There is no problem with your documentation, my concern is additional damage tthat could be caused through landing, gravity well or not." "Assessment and handling of risk is the purview of the Captain, Commander." the Corulag Haul replies. Her engines tick upward, accelerating to cruising speed and vectoring away from the Nemesis and toward the planet. "I have my orders. Unless your Captain is refusing to grant clearance, I am landing this vessel. Corulag Haul out!" Vane breathes out a deep lungful of air. "Boring conversation anyway. Prepare to raise deflector screens...hold until my command. "Lets see how stubborn they are..." "Lieutenant, I hope it goes well for you," Amaza from the Nemesis replies. "I, Lieutenant-Commander Sunrider, want it on record that I am concerned about the craft holding up when out of micro-gravity." It seems that she won't fire on another Imperial craft. "I will pray for your safe arrival, and we will monitor your landing and dispatch technicians to aid you if you make it down." Vane breathes another sigh of relief, the tension aboard the freighter's bridge could've cut with a knife - the pirates about her visibly relaxing. This slug of a bulk freighter wouldn't have stood long against the Star Destroyer's guns. "Roger that, 'Nemesis'." the Corulag Haul responds. "We'll transmit our location once we reach the surface." The bulk freighter's engines maintain their cruising thrust as she closes in on the planet. Vane crosses to the helmsman, gesturing through the viewport to the fast-approaching planet. "Caspar's magnetic shadow will cloud their sensors...we'll lose them in the atmosphere." drawing herself back to full height she address comms. "Signal the Republic that we've arrived. And somebody find my ship! ...I don't want her falling prey to that behemoth."
|