NEW GALAXY
STARDATE 01.24.23
MITRAX GALAXY
“CAPTAIN, OUR NEUTRONIUM ARMOR IS NEARLY GONE! WE ARE DOWN TO FIVE PERCENT!!”
Captain Frank Unger stared at the View Screen. He seemed to not have heard the announcement. But in fact, he was mentally tracking every detail of the battle. His crew was his responsibility. Frank would see them through this even if it cost him his last breath.
Captain Frank Unger was a middle aged man with short, pure white hair. He had experienced his share of defeats and victories in life. But he knew better than to question his fate. Instead, Frank did what he does best: trudge on, take the hits on the chin, and make the most of what remains.
A Jandar Raider had stolen a shipment of Orium from a mining facility on the Taurus Moon. The New Galaxy had been in the area, so the Human Cooperative sent her to intercept. The New Galaxy chased the Jandar Raider for eight hours at high warp, when the Jandar Raider finally slowed and decided to make its stand in an asteroid belt.
The battle was fierce, with the edge given to the Jandar Raider because it seemed to be familiar with this particular asteroid belt. Using the asteroids as cover, the Jandar Raider would dart in and out, firing its weapons, and hiding once more. Frank was more accustomed to open combat, and this style of deceptive fighting was not his strong suit. It wasn’t long before the Jandar Raider’s Subspace Compression Detonators and Proton Dischargers had pierced three of the New Galaxy’s Shields, scoring hits on the Neutronium Armor that protected her critical systems. However, the Jandar Raider had taken its own fair share of damage, and Frank calculated that the odds were about even at this point in the engagement.
In his mind, Frank Unger estimated that the remaining Subspace Compression Detonators on the Jandar Raider had cycled through their arming and were about ready to fire once more.
“Activate Tractor Beams,” Frank instructed his Navigator. “Pull the smaller asteroids close to the New Galaxy. Keep us surrounded and protected.”
The Jandar Raider fired its Subspace Compression Detonators. Their primary force tore through the protective asteroids and destroyed the remaining Neutronium on the New Galaxy. But when their Detonator went off in the following moment after impact, the smaller asteroids around the New Galaxy absorbed the massive energy discharge.
The New Galaxy now had the advantage, but only for a moment.
“Filter our remaining Quantum Phased Torpedoes and Type E Proton Dischargers through the Targeting Scanner,” Frank ordered his Tactical Officer. “Home in on the Jandar Raider. Take your time, don’t rush it, let the Jandar Raider try to slip away again. Once the Targeting Scanner has a firm lock on…Fire.”
Three blinking orbs of glowing, orange energy shot out of the New Galaxy, along with two swirling purple streams of protons. They slammed into the Jandar Raider, devastated its hull, and put the Jandar Raider in critical condition.
Then Captain Unger saw it on the View Screen. A lone Shuttle was on its way to impact the New Galaxy. Instinctively, Frank knew this Shuttle was armed with an anti-matter bomb. It was a Suicide Shuttle.
Having spent his Tractor Beams, Frank Unger responded in the only way he could. “Launch the Dagger Missiles!”
Two small missiles shot out of the New Galaxy, one followed by another. It took a moment for them to reach their target, but they were able to impact the Suicide Shuttle before it reached the New Galaxy. The first missile severely damaged the shuttle, the second missile destroyed it.
The forward half of the Jandar Raider separated from the rear half. This command module, which was roughly the size of a fast patrol ship. was relatively unscathed. The small vessel moved to leave the area, abandoning the rear half which contained the Orium.
“Shall I fire on the escaping vessel, Captain?” the Tactical Officer asked in an anxious voice.
Frank let out a sigh. “Negative. Let her go. Prepare to retrieve the stolen Orium from the damaged section of the Jandar Raider vessel. Send our Powered Battle Armor in case the Raiders left any kind of surprises for us.”
“Yes, sir!”
THAT’S ENOUGH KILLING FOR ONE DAY. THE NEW GALAXY HAS ACHIEVED HER OBJECTIVE.
