The Edge of Space - chapter 3

The Edge of Space

Chapter 3

We traversed the outer boundaries of the Regalis system and slowly began our passage to Orisol, the gentle hum of the Flux Drive soothing my nerves and calming my spirit. The pale yellow orb of Sepho growing and then receding from view as we delved into the heart of this unknown and probably dangerous system.

I exited main viewer, and the stars diminished as the room became aglow in the soft dome lighting that replaced them. I checked some system parameters on the control panel to my right. Flux drive and life support we're within normal parameters. I switched to shielding and weapon systems, checking, double checking and fine tuning each one as best I could, knowing that my life and ship depended on these systems if we ran into trouble out here. To my right against the outer wall stood several supply lockers. Space suits, weapons and other gear filling them.  I started going through them checking the weapons first. Everything seemed to be in good order---looks as if Bot had been doing a good job maintaining and charging them.

"Captain," interrupted Luna, "scanners picking up two anomalies, one bearing 75.45.50 and one at .... power surge from anomaly detected."

"Full power to starboard shields, evasive maneuvers three" I screamed, my heart pounding so hard it felt as if it would rip out of my chest.

I scrambled toward the control chair and leaped toward it as a deafening screech of tortured metal and the resulting concussion hit me, the whole ship jarring violently to one side, throwing me against the far bulkhead. I regained my footing instantly, and vaulted into the control chair, ignoring the bruises from the impact with the wall, adrenaline overriding the pain.

"Battle viewer" I roared.

My view switched instantly to a quickly shifting star field, stars moving left, then down, now right, a red dot just to the upper right of center keeping pace with every move. 
   
"Magnify contact, point two zero"

A small image of a starship coalesced in the star field before me, dark and threatening, almost blending into the star field behind it---a fat wide body with two protrusions below, like claws of a predator and above on a short central neck, a narrow yet wide head with bulges near the ends. 

"Oh crap, Mantine pirates... why Luna, why did it have to be Mantine pirates."

Mantine's were an insectoid species that had recently joined the Galactic League of Worlds, but just barely. They were warlike and ruthless as they ventured out among the stars and only the combined force and resolve of the then eleven Galactic League of World members deterred the Mantine from unleashing a swath of terror and death across the known galaxy. It was forcefully and painfully made known to them that any world that wished to venture out among the stars needed to join and adhere to the principles of the Galactic League of Worlds or be quarantined to their home systems, banned from space travel throughout the known galaxy. Only after a bloody space battle that saw the Mantine lose over half their starships and their subsequent quarantining for sixty years did they finally request and receive membership into the Galactic League of Worlds. It was a tenuous membership at best with four of the now twelve members still adamant that the Mantine should still be banned.

"Power surge detected, Captain." The narrow head of the Mantine ship glowed a pale green and then a burst of bright red erupted from the bulge on the right followed by a burst of yellow from the left.

"Evasive maneuvers two" I barked.

The image of the Mantine ship disappeared from view as the wraith launched into a series of evasive maneuvers in an attempt to avoid the incoming blast. The stars were now gyrating wildly as I suddenly felt a mild thud as if being elbowed by an older brother and the lower left quadrant of my view glowed a pale red as the shields absorbed the blast from the Mantine ship.
   
Relief began flooding through me as I spoke, "nice flying Luna, now go to attack pattern delta and get me a shot at this bug," when suddenly my entire view lit up with a yellow glow. The glow increasing in intensity by the second as the shields tried to absorb this latest energy attack, the shields shimmering and sparking, with silver and white streaks radiating everywhere like lightning in the summer sky.
   
Then, suddenly, the lower left quadrant went black and I felt a tingling on my skin like a thousand pinpricks, my vision blurred momentarily and I felt disoriented and queasy as if I'd just gotten off the neutron star spin ride back home. I could never handle spinning amusements rides very well, it was an inner ear disorder I had inherited from my father. I had upchucked more than once during my starship pilot training---once on my instructor, and it was only my stubbornness, above average aptitude and piloting skills that kept me from flunking out or quiting.

I resisted the urge to spew and looked around the control module. The air appeared thick and tinged with a yellow color. "Status Luna" I managed it say. "What is this stuff and what's happening to the ship." Red warning lights started popping up on the control panels to my left and right.

"I .... What captain?......systems going.....shields down....sensors indicating..... "  Then nothing.

The silence dragged on for what seemed like minutes although only a few seconds had passed, everything seemingly moving in slow motion. The stars before me were gone replaced by the soft red glow of the emergency lighting reflecting off the domed ceiling. I furiously began checking systems on the control panels. Shields were down, weapons and propulsion were unresponsive and emergency life support had kicked in. We were a sitting duck out here with the shields down and only one energy blast would be all it would take to make us one with the stars.

Sweat poured down my forehead as I desperately tried to reboot the system and get shields back up, propulsion, weapons.... something.  I started banging my fists on the control panels and cursing the ancestors of the previous owners of the Wraith. Then suddenly I felt and heard a metal to metal contact like a giant magnet attaching itself to a metallic plate. My eyes went wide and my head cleared instantly as I realized what I had just heard.

Oh crap, boarders.