Death of a comrade

[Stoat]

Fortunatus looked in disbelief at the news feed. Isaac Brock, lynchpin of the QCR, missing in action in Cambridge whilst engaging the Corsair threat. His heart sank further as the report went on. The Omega Pirates Guild had been attempting an incursion into Cambridge and Isaac, as usual, had dived in to intercept without a wingman. Search teams had been unable to locate his pod at his last reported location. Rumours abounded that the fight had been with none other than the infamous Heartbreak, though there was no evidence to confirm this.

Damnation! he swore, slamming his fist into the table. Too many good men were being lost. He pushed the table away and rose, grabbed his flight jacket and headed for the spaceport.

Five minutes later he was deep in an argument with the New London control tower.

Im sorry, Commodore, but as I said we cannot authorise your launch at this time. There is a fault wi..

I dont care about your bloody faults, do you hear? Either give me permission to launch and open the doors, or I damn well take off anyway! I havent got time for your bloody safety codes right now!

Commodore, any attempt to launch will directly endanger the work crews attempting to fix th..

Wrong answer! he said as he flicked the comms unit off. He climbed out of his Hussar and moved to the security panel at the bay doors. Andrew Stuart had taught him this trick on his first day! The panel pulled away from the wall easily, revealing the cabling behind. He pulled out his pen, and carefully shorted the gap between two of the wires. The bay doors started to swing open.

Heres to you, Andrew he thought, smiling, as he settled himself back in his ship. Thirty seconds later he reached escape velocity. Thered be hell to pay with the brass for that little manoeuvre. He set the autopilot for Cambridge and settled back for the trip.

----

The ice crystals were really playing havoc with the sensors today. Hed been scanning Grasmere and the region around the Omega 5 jump hole, on maximum gain, for the last three hours, and still hadnt picked up any signs of Isaacs ship, or pod.

Finally, something registered, but just outside the ice field. He swung the Hussar around and headed for the blip. As he exited Grasmere, he came across a small scattering of wreckage. There wasnt a lot there, but the flight recorder seemed to have survived. He tractored it in, and confirmed it as Isaacs. This was not good. The recorders were housed in the escape pod, and that meant only one thing. Sighing deeply, Fortunatus headed back to New London.

----

As he settled his ship in its hangar, the Chief Engineer, George Langley, was waiting for him.

Sorry to intrude, sir, but I thought you should know the brass are looking for you. Seems you caused quite a stir when you left, sir! he grinned.

Thanks for the heads-up, Chief. The recorder from Isaacs ship is in the hold. See what you can get off it.

The grin quickly vanished. He knew what this meant. Fortunatus put his hand on the Chiefs shoulder as he passed.

Isaac deserves a good send off, Chief. Gather the men. Well meet at the Crown and Coin at 1800. Now, Ive got to give the brass the slip.

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