Ein langer Weg .. ( a long way)

[Schattenkralle92]

Open space, Sigma-15
November 26, 835 A.S.

He still couldn't quite believe it all. First, they had dismissed him from his post as transport captain due to a shortage of orders, and now he was on his way to Hamburg as a messenger boy with a Falcon-class escort fighter. The agile fighter was a welcome change from the otherwise sedate steel colossus that Lutz had flown through the Rheineland and neighboring systems in recent years.

The Falcon had been equipped with all kinds of innovations, such as an improved tracking system and new Venomspitter tachyon cannons. Since his time in the Rheinland Military Defense Force, a lot had changed in terms of combat systems. He didn't like to think back on that time; too many painful memories, too much death and suffering, and far too many friends he had lost. Sometimes he wondered what it had all been for.

He was abruptly torn from his thoughts when the ship was suddenly jerked from cruising speed back to impulse. With a sense of foreboding creeping over him, Lutz immediately checked the systems. Several flashing warning messages indicated that the travel engines had been hit and deactivated by an interceptor missile. Only a few milliseconds later, the owners of that very missile appeared on the sensors. There were three Corsair ships, which presumably thought they would have easy prey in a single ALG fighter.

Quick-witted, Lutz activated the automatic emergency systems, sent an emergency call to the local authorities and activated the weapon control system. Not a moment too soon, as the first Corsair fighter was already preparing its attack. Although it had been some time, the combat reflexes honed through rigorous training took control of Lutz's body. Before he knew it, he had already fired several salvos at the attacker and skilfully evaded enemy fire with his manoeuvring jets. The Falcon was more manoeuvrable than the heavy Corsair fighters, which were apparently already loaded with all kinds of loot.
After two more volleys, one of the enemy's wings broke apart, the sparks-spraying debris hit the main thrust nozzle, and the Corsair fighter exploded in a fireball.

Unfortunately, this small victory also had a downside, as the other two comrades-in-misfortune now knew that they were not dealing with an inexperienced newcomer but with a battle-hardened veteran. They had apparently decided on a coordinated approach and attacked him alternately so that Lutz would have no opportunity to counterattack. He therefore focused on using his greater agility to evade as many attacks as possible, hoping that the alerted Kaiserliche Polizei ships would arrive soon. This spectacle, which resembled a dance performance with deadly stakes, dragged on for several agonizing minutes.
Suddenly, one of the Corsair fighters landed a hit and the Falcon's shields collapsed after a final struggle. The two Corsair`s now sensed their chance and threw caution to the wind. They launched their next attack impetuously, unwittingly giving Lutz a chance to do the same.
While the Falcon took hit after hit, the attackers fared no better. The improved tracking systems now showed their effect as the second Corsair fighter also ended in a fireball.

The remaining attacker now gave it his all and continued his attacks. With his last salvo, he managed to hit the Falcon's engine and cause an overload of the H-fuel injectors before he too went up in a fireball. The last thing Lutz saw was the blinding flash of fire from the last exploding Corsair ship and a shrill alarm.
Then he was ejected from the Falcon by the emergency escape system.
Pressed firmly into his seat, he lost consciousness under hellish G-forces and the sudden loss of atmospheric pressure inside the cockpit.

---

With the start of the wildfire . . . its the end of an empire
In the death of a desire . . . its the end of an empire
again . . . again . . . again . . .
At the edge of the hellfire . . . its the end of an empire
In the line of the gunfire . . . its the end of an empire
again . . . again . . . again . . .
Through space and time . . . you can't escape this paradigm
At the close of a lifetime . . . its the end of an empire
this time
Another ending that's beginning to unfold . . . its the end of the Rheinland empire

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