The Red Racoon Dog

[Tain]

What the hell. Tain hadn't expected this at all.

He had overheard chatter from a passing squadron of transports about an abundance of activity within the Newcastle system, and decided to check it out for himself. He needed a distraction after being hunted for several days; a story which needs to be told another time.

Upon jumping into the system, his partner (who shall remain nameless until a time of his choosing) had offered to scout the system in advance of the Red Racoon Dog. He agreed, and proceeded to begin his own sensor sweeps while his friend opened the ventrical hatch of the ship and deployed his fighter in the void. They parted ways for a time, his partner tending to business while Tain continued reaching with his sensors as his ship cruised about the system.

His scanner finally picked up something while his friend was docked not far away, refitting and giving the fighter a quick tune-up. A blip, almost invisible, intertwined with the hull of a space station in the "center" of the system. Tain ordered helm about and approached it, sending it darting off into the void. It appeared to be a small fighter, and it hadn't occured to Tain at the time, but it was a herald to a larger force. Shortly after he gave chase, his friend came over the communication link, shouting that he had been fired upon.

A long story short, the Red Racoon Dog eventually fell to greater power and numbers. Though his partner valiantly engaged and defeated the opposition's fighter craft, the pair of Huegenot cruisers was too much for the Dog to handle. In fact, one was too much to handle.

The Dog now listed in the far reaches of Newcastle, slowly regaining power and repairing hull breaches. Tain's partner had seperated for the time being for the sake of a low profile. He didn't used to be the type to turn the other cheek to such a deed as this, but the thought did plague him now... what would he do?

... Old sensations crept up on him as he firmed his jaw, tightening his lips into a thin line. "Droids, begin dumping out the port and starboard ammunition caches. Clear the space for added cargo. We're going to drive an economical war machine into action!"

The droids acknowledged Tain's order before they froze in midstep and stood there for the better part of an hour. It didn't matter. It would get done eventually.

---

Penguin.