Pre-Genesis

[Turbo Chalgar]

Fightworld

[color=#FFCCCC]It's weirdly serene in the launch bay just before take off, the docking bay doors slide away slowly revealing nothing but darkness, spreading frozen crystals of vapour. If you close your eyes you can hear those crystals hitting the canopy...it's raining...it's quiet, nothing but the rain...It's a serene moment. Almost ironically put there just before engine ignition, the most most un-serene thing you could possibly imagine. The engines roar, metal squeals as the the fighter slides along the guide rail and G-forces of violent acceleration crush you against the seat. Why didn't you close your eyes? And then it's serenity again...free of metal cages, free of violent accelerations pulling away from reality...serenity...Victoria hated serenity it made her feel vulnerable. Good thing there was always someone with a higher rank to pull remind you that life isn't that serene.

"Cardamine, do a LIDAR scan on that big rock in front of us"

Garrison's voice crackled in her headset

"Aye sir!"

Victoria activated the LIDAR and started scanning the asteroid. Not long after she could clearly look distinguish two shapes that looked like flies stuck to a fresh pile of dung. Regrettably those flies were a bit more ferocious and a lot more deadly than their planet-side counterparts. Those peculiar species were known as Series "Z" more familiar as "Sabres"

"Sir, two marks in the asteroid's radar shadow. The LIDAR made them light up like Christmas threes though"

"Well... you put presents under the Christmas three don't you? Let's not disappoint"


Victoria knew exactly what to do. Her skin became over-sensitive her eyes focused and her heart was beating seemingly slower. She was a junkie yet again, a junkie for a whole new level of high...high on blood.

The two Nyxes flew gracefully around the Asteroid not unlike flaming arrows missing their target only to hit a barrel full of gunpowder. The two flies sensing new food took off from their dung pile blasting dust with their engines. What they did not expect however was a volley of micro nuclear devices detonating. The nuclear flame shredded them to bits, melting their metal hull only to freeze solid again in shapes resembling dull needles. The excitement got to Victoria which resulted in rather childish screams over the comms

"Woohoo, eat that 'niffies"


Her joy was quickly ended by Garrison's cold voice

"Something's not right here..."

"What do you mean sir? We just tagged two Sabres"

"They didn't explode Cardamine, their reactors did not meltdown, no fuel explosion nothing...Do a LIDAR chemical composition scan on the wrecks, look for H-Fuel traces"

"I don't see what good it will do but all right....there are " her words slowed down " ...no traces of H-Fuel..."

"Frakk! Reaction engine powered decoys! Active radar scan now now NOW!

The element of surprise. It was like love, when you use it on your side it's hell of a thrill but when it is against you it hurts like hell."

"No need sir! I've got visual! Two bandits 6 O'clock high!"

"Charge capacitors! We are going in"

What happened next was chaos. Somebody put two Nyxes and two Sabres in the blender and added asteroids for flavour and pressed the "On" button. For your enjoyment Salad a-la 23. After several minutes of ferocious dogfighting the radio made a tormented sequel and came to life with Garrison's voice being the hole water to resurrect it.

"Dammit it I'm hit! The cockpit's depressurising frakk's sake can't see a thing the glass's freezing!"

Life is a series of moments like this one, you either turn out a hero, or you turn out a sad statistic, a letter to be given to your relatives...Victoria was no logner the hunter. Drops of cold sweat were running down her spine, her eyes were "jumping" around to catch a sight of the Sabres and her heart was pounding more relentlessly than the Kraken blasts on her shield.

"Col, Eject on my mark I'll catch you and make a brake for it!"

There was no cinematic "I can still save the fighter" or "Go save yourself" lines. There was no unnecessary tragedy. Garrison simply said, "Ok"...Just one "Ok" completely aware that those might be the last words that his mouth will ever pronounce and yet he said it somewhat casually, without unnecessary drama. Victoria positioned herself right om top of Garrison's stricken fighter downed her shields and opened the cargo hold cover.

"Eject, Eject, Eject"

She wasn't done saying the third "Eject" and Garrison's pod separated from the fuel venting Nyx. Cardamine used her tractor beam to pull him in and closed the cargo doors. But the dogfight is a cruel mistress you kiss her in the wrong spot and she will give a kick in the teeth. Well that kick in the mouth was actually a mini-razor blast in engine 3 ,the top engine, completely separating it from the craft along with the rudder. She didn't need it in space anyway...Cardamine hit the rudder pedal and the RCS thrusters propelled the fighter in a flat spin, the G forces changing from negative to possitive in less than a second hanged her on safety harness dislocating her left shoulder in the process. But the adrenaline didn't let that pain reach the brain, she pressed the trigger and watched as blasts from her cannons overload the shield and rip the hull of the perusing Sabre. Victoria could clearly make out the shape of the ejection pod separating from the burning Sabre. It takes a little fire to awaken the hunting beast...She pressed the trigger again but this time aimed at the escape pod which exploded in a crimson explosion. The second Sabre disengaged within seconds and headed away. After all the rumble it was serenity again. Victoria closed her eyes for a bit and listened. She could hear the rain, she could hear the frozen crystals hit the canopy only this time around the crystals were frozen blood droplets from destroyed escape pod leaving a dark red trail as they melted on the headed glass. The crimson rain, the crimson serenity...now this was the type of serenity she enjoyed.


Several hours later she managed to get the crippled fighter back to Minato Harbour and land it on the main flight deck. She tried to open her canopy but she didn't have the strength to. Her left arm was hanging hopelessly disconnected from the shoulder, the right one trembling unable to do anything as if frozen in the shape of the flight stick. She felt an uncomfortable warmth between her legs, looking down Cardamine noticed that she had let herself go a bit. The technicians opened the canopy for her. Some cheering, others realizing how much work they had to do to put the wrecked Nyx back in service. Victoria was unable to move, as if sleeping with open eyes. One particular voice brought her back to reality. It was Jason's

"He's Alright! The colonel is alright! Well done ace!"

'Ace' She got called an ace...Scared, unable to move ace who pissed herself...somehow she didn't feel like it. A sentence managed to snug past the wall of emotions raging in her mind

"How am I an ace, we've lost a fighter..."

"A pilot to the sniffers is a lot more than a fighter to us!" Said Jason helping her get up from her seat then he gave her a hug and kissed her ecstatically. If this had happened in the morning when she woke up next to him she would have slapped him probably even mess up his nose but right now she felt that hug and kiss were the only things in the world she needed...