Before i hit the final sector I will put up a Spoiler alert so those that haven't made it that far can stop reading if you wish.
So without further delays here is the fast and frantic flight of the Hermes!
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Initial Startup
Ship - Kestral Class A named Hermes
Crew - Pilot - Lieutenant Lauren McAvoy(pilot second class, human)
Shields - Ensign Mara Line(1st class graduate, human)
Engines - Hector “Greybeard” Jones (civilian mechanic, human)
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Personnel Log - Lieutenant Lauren - 3rd Day since escape
I can't believe we made it out, I'm barely out of flight school only just received my Lieutenant pips and I'm expected to command a ship and a crew carrying essential intelligence through hostile territory. I'm not sure I can do it. Mara is already positioning for the captains chair after one bad decision, if it wasn't for Hector I think I would have just given it to her Let her have the responsibility of getting us back the Federation bases, and the knowledge that failure wouldn’t just mean our lives but the existence of the Federation itself. Maybe I should tell her and Hector the truth, maybe that would get her to back off.
I think I should explain about our situation just in case... just in case I don't make it through. Three days ago Admiral Travis had a number of Senior and Junior Officers in Stellar Cartography explaining that we had come upon some vital intelligence that needed to be relayed to Federation command with all haste. He explained that the Rebellion had a weapon that would wipe out the Federation with little effort, and it was travelling with a fleet made up of more ships than the whole of the Core Worlds Defense Fleet. Just as he started detailing the plans for multiple ships and the routes they would take, the station was rocked hard enough to throw me clean across the floor knocking down Captain Mezzra. When i stood up i couldn't believe my eyes, half the senior crew were dead or dying. Mezzra had landed on torn piece of bulkhead inadvertently saving my life. I saw that Admiral Travis had a shard of the Holo display thrust through his side pinning him to the floor, i don't think I have ever been so scared. I just stood there, not helping, not moving in total shock. Then it hit me, the light, the sound, the smell, my training kicked in. I ran to the Admiral he would know what to do, he had to be saved.
As i tried to remove the shard from Admiral Travis he sat bolt upright. I could see from the look in his eyes that he was in pain, a lot of pain. It was then that i received the orders that put me on this path, he told me it was too late the Rebel fleet was here and i had to get out. He told me to avoid the main Hangar and head for civilian hangar gamma epsilon where a small ship was birthed. His last words will haunt me for the rest of my life, he told that I would only have a sliver of a chance, but that sliver was the only chance the Federation would have. Thrusting a data disk into my hand he pushed me away with his remaining strength. I’m ashamed to say I ran, i didn't look back I just ran.
I kidded myself it was the smoke but deep down I knew better the tears were my fear, my grief coming out but I couldn't stop to think I had been given a sliver of a chance I wouldn't waste it. To many lives had already been given I had to get out. On my way to the Hanger I passed Mara a recently graduated student. She was only posted here, out on the fringe of nowhere recently, bad luck for her. I had heard her family where all career naval officers and great things were expected of her, why she was her I have no idea. I didn't stop to think I if i did i might just break down I just grabbed her and told her she was coming with me. I shouldn't have done it, but my mind was in overload I just couldn't take anymore. When she tried to walk away saying she had more important things to do i just flipped, throwing and pinning her against the wall I made it very clear that she had no choice in the matter, she was coming with me.
I don't remember much of the journey to the hanger it was fifteen minutes of noise, vibrations, warning klaxons and flashing lights. What I do remember is finally walking into bay nine, the only one with a ship, a ship powered and ready to go. There was an older man standing at the airlock at the time I didn’t notice but it definitely looked like he was waiting for someone. As we ran at him I heard him say something about it being time and that we really ought to get going. As soon we were on board I sent Mara to shield control and told her to keep them up no matter what it takes, Hector or Greybeard as he introduced himself as later didn’t need an order he went straight to the engines and I swear that as we sat at our individual stations the background vibration of the ship changed, it settled, it became less discordant, like it knew it was under control in state it hadn’t experienced for years.
In those early minutes I didn't question many things. Things like where the rest of the crew was, why was it fueled and prepped to go and why was it the only ship in the whole hangar bay. In those early minutes my only thoughts were focused on making it through the battle raging around the station, and making it to the beacon in one piece. My flying skills were put to the test and as much as i would like to say it was my skill it was a mixture of skill, luck, Maras work on the shields and Greybeard pushing the engines far past whatever safety limit they were designed for. We made it to the beacon and once again luck shined down on us. The first beacon we translated to was in empty space, no rebels, no pirates, just time to breathe and take stock. I still couldn't stop everything was still too fresh I had to keep us moving I had to get us back to the Federation
Checking the systems and the ship I have found myself in an old style Kestral Class, a federation ship that was decommissioned while I was only child and before Mara was even born. It had a decent amount of fuel a few missiles and came equipped with a Mk II Burst Laser and Hermes Missile system. For a ship older than one of my crew it could certainly pack quite a punch, a punch I am sure we are going to need.
I asked both Greybeard and Mara to the Sensor room to explain our mission. Greybeard took it in his stride just saying he had faith in me, gave me an odd little wink and went back to the engine room. Mara on the other hand started making trouble. She said that maybe I should hand control of the ship over to her, that she had been training for command since birth. The fright I had given her back on the station still held and for now she didn't push too hard. I don't know how much longer that will last but with Greybeards help I think i can keep her inline. I have to admit she was amazing on those shield controls, at any other time I would give her the credit but as it stands right now I can’t do anything to make her feel superior to me
I had everyone back at their stations to make ready for translation. With the Rebel fleet so close and the unknown systems we where heading into I wanted the weapons fully powered. I had the med bay powered down so I could get both the Burst Laser and Missile systems online. A risk I know but I wanted to hit hard and fast taking anything we come across out long before any of us got hurt. With all systems ready I moved the Hermes into position of the beacon and translated to the next I am going to try and keep to a path along the edge of the current sector.
We translated into a system that contained a lot of debris, while waiting for the FTL drive to power up I made my first command decision. A pirate ship had become crushed between two large rocks and was giving off a distress beacon. I made the decision to try and free the ship. I thought that any friends we could make could be the difference between life and death. Ordering Mara to keep the shields up I fired the Laser into the rocks. A small patch of explosive rock not shown on the scanner ignited. It seemed the rock was laced with pyrecite the resulting explosion caused minor damage to the hull but the shields held stopping the majority of the damage. My first decision, my first mistake. We should have just salvaged what we could from the ship and left. I will have to be careful now, but this mission won’t accept caution. Time isn't on our side we have the Rebels biting at our heels and many light years of unknown space ahead of us.
I have to get this data disk back. I don’t care what it takes I have to make it back.
Right there is the first update. I will try and get the next up tomorrow. I will be putting a few turns in each post to keep the story moving. Probably put a little to much into the intro but started to get a bt carried away
