Lieutenant jg. Mi'shune sh'Sonora - Tempting Murphy
d.reinhart
Weaving the Maximum Thrusters through a slalom of clapped-out asteroids, The Andorian pilot kept the modified freighter out of direct line of fire. Her shields were peppered by the blasted chunks of the Marauder’s near-blind firing, it seemed the gunnery on the pirate vessel was starting to get the Maximum Thruster’s range. Keeping her movements unpredictable while hiding behind cover was getting more difficult.
And then the boom came.
A ball of released matter-antimatter energy made itself heard to dramatic effect. Mi’shune couldn’t see it, but she saw the flash from behind, then felt the wash of heat and the rattle of kinetic forces buffeting their vessel, and last the smattering of pellets and stones dusting their shields.
One of the probes winked out of existence.
She didn’t have as much developed sense as a combat pilot, but she could guess how big of a mine exploded. It was a cruiser killer, but going for further out explosions. What she didn’t know, focused intensely on keeping the ship alive, was the fact the mines were…
Foster: Did we get anything from that?
Ysatch: ::shouting in realization:: They're not networked! They can see each other, but they can't talk to each other. One mine doesn't know what any other mine is gonna do! They're just relying on sensors and collision detection to avoid setting each other off!
sh'Sonora: Waitamicrot… that means those mines aren’t all that bright!
Foster: How much did you get – how much control can we enact on them?
Ysatch: We now know their collision subroutine logic. We have multiple remaining probes and our probes CAN talk to each other, and to us. This means we can set up a bait-and-switch protocol on the probes that leads the mines into collisions with each other. And since we know how they'll seek to avoid a collision, we can basically manipulate them to go anywhere we want.
Mi’shune: Because they can’t network information, they won’t be able to adapt on their own fast enough.
Foster: And how does that affect the Corsair?
Ysatch: The mines probably do have the Orion ship on their collision list to avoid. It would be pretty dumb if they didn't. But the Orion ship isn't being piloted autonomously. If we flood the space around them with their own mines, it's gonna become very tough for them to maneuver. They might even blunder into a hit or two.
It was the germination of a plan, but it didn’t address Mi’shune’s main issue. The mines were still not going to target the Orion vessel, the Orions wouldn’t obligingly fly into their path, and they would eventually pin down the Maximum Thrusters.
Ysatch: Where do you want the mines?
Foster: Cluster the mines all around that trio of asteroids.
And there was the plan, enlightening Mi’shune like her old seifu’s hand smacking her upside the head.
Blind corners were a bad hazard in a built-up flying environment. One didn’t know what they would smack into in a sensor blind spot. Such as a stray mine.
sh'Sonora: YES! I mean, yes, Captain! Let’s lead ‘em along!
Ysatch: ?
Foster: Even if they do move, then they have to follow us – that lets us choose the field, not them. Also it puts distance between them and the mine so it's one less thing to worry about.
sh'Sonora: Gotta warn you, Sir, that won’t last forever. Faster speed, no pilot, more maneuverable, they will eventually catch up to us.
Ysatch: ?
Foster: Also, if they move…
His thought was cut short by the commline.
Voss/Ross/A’Mayri: =/\= ( Any?)
Foster: =/\=You need a what?=/\=
Voss/Ross/A’Mayri: =/\= ( Any?)
Mi’shune huffed. She’d predicted this kind of problem before when Ysatch wanted to run off and liberate the mining rig. As she was the instigator of this latest set of hostilities, having revved up the Maximum Thrusters and abandoned their fellow crewmates on the trading post, she couldn’t complain.
Didn’t stop her from blaming the creator of the human’s most immutable law.
sh'Sonora: Gods-damn it Murphy…
Ysatch: ?
Foster: =/\= We’re kind of in a fight right now, protecting the Pidgeon and trying not to get blown apart… can you hang on for a few minutes?=/\=
To the Andorian pilot’s relief, Foster muted their microphone
Foster: Get those mines into position. Mi’sh, get us behind that bigger asteroid, I’m not too proud to hide to block some of those blasts.
Voss/Ross/A’Mayri: =/\= ( Any?)
sh'Sonora: You got it, Sir!
Ysatch: ?
Dashing behind the asteroid bought the Maximum Thrusters some distance, and some time. As if trying to process between hitting the asteroid and each other and guessing where in the sensor blind spot their lack lock-on disappeared to, the trio of mines began to slow down, spreading out to cover more of the asteroid’s circumference.
The Orion Marauder, eager for the kill and unafraid of the mines being trailed by their quarry, began to pursue.
The mines were slowing down while the Marauder was coming in for the kill. Almost parallel to the position of the Maximum Thrusters. To the point where the Marauder was overtaking the mines.
Antennae sprang up. Inspiration came, for the Andorian pilot, at the most random of times.
sh’Sonora: Sir, Permission to eject one of our photon torpedoes… unpowered, set for proximity explosion!
Foster: ?
sh’Sonora: Yeah, it’s a firecracker next to those mines, but it’ll work, I swear!
Ysatch: ?
Foster:?
sh’Sonora: Get ready… dry fire torpedo!
She felt the whoosh of air escaping the photon torpedo tube, tossing out the beetle-black tube out of the freighter’s rear launcher. Without its powered guidance, the device disappeared into space, tumbling at sunlight speeds towards their sheltering asteroid.
At the same time, the Marauder, rounding the corner and slavering at the chance of seeing the Maximum Thruster’s rear lining up for the perfect shot, sped forwards, disruptor banks charging for a final pulse.
Then the photon torpedo detonated.
The detonation of matter and antimatter splashing against the shields of the Orion Marauder briefly overloaded the shield projectors. In of itself it wasn’t much, a firecracker against bare skin, stinging and drawing a little blood, but nothing more.
To the asteroid caught in the explosion it was enough to fracture it into several pieces, flying away from the Marauder.
And into one of the creeping mines crawling over the asteroid’s ventral side.
Too late to maneuver out of the way, the mine took the full force of several tonnes of sandstone, cracking its antimatter containment and cooking off another explosion, throwing the rest of the asteroid debris several directions like a shotgun blast, including towards the Marauder.
For the second time in several minutes the ship was caught in another stoning.
sh’Sonora: But wait… ::Jerking the controls around forcefully.:: …there’s more!
The two remaining mines were overtaking the Orion Marauder in pursuit. Right under its dorsal side. With the Corsair appearing to be immobilized.
sh’Sonora: Gotcha!
Any: ?
The Maximum Thruster’s rear phaser bank fired a single beam of ruby red light, sweeping the path of the oncoming mines. Their rudimentary systems dodged the oncoming phaser fire, but it was too late for one, veering close enough for the Marauder to scrape the shields and detonate under its vulnerable belly. The phaser beam struck the other, blossoming into a fireball that shattered the shields and breached through the engineering section.
Out of the fires of detonation, the Orion Marauder vomited out a cylindrical metal structure.
sh’Sonora: Warp core ejection! We have a warp core ejection! Mobility kill! I repeat, mobility kill!
Any: ?
Then her heart sank as she saw the warp core tumble towards more spinning rocks.
sh’Sonora: Oh frell, we have a warp core ejection!
Any: ?
TBC
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tags/tbc
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Lieutenant jg. Mi’shune sh’Sonora
Helm Officer
Starbase 118 - Ops Department
O240208MS1