TS-1

**BEFORE YOU READ**
Yep, just like many other things I've written, this one is unfinished. Believe it or not, this actually takes place in the same universe as my Macairin stories. This one, however is at the galactic scale as opposed to the planetary. As always, though this is an ancient project and not necessarily a reflection of my current writing skill, I am always open to criticism as it can only help.

**OK HERE WE GO**

“We’ve got one on the port side!” Hex yelled as warning lights flashed. “Hold on!” Cried Pixel as she yanked the control sticks left. One massive hulk of a ship crashed into another as the enemy's bulkheads buckled and cracked, sending the last two crewmen out into the void. “Are you cra-” Hex began, promptly interrupted by a look of pure insanity from Pixel. To the right of the pilot seat, a small holoscreen blinked on, displaying Gin’s cold calculative face. “I would hope you consider the damage to our own vessel before you try another maneuver like that Pixel. I have two breaches in engineering and heavy damage to the V.B.S. sensor.” Gin said calmly. “Are weapons online, trashcan?” Hex asked the holoscreen over Pixel’s shoulder. “Weapons are online and undamaged, Hex. And you will address me by my codename on missions.” Gin once again stated in a cold synthetic voice. “Yea whatever.” Muttered Hex as the holoscreen blinked back off. “Why are you so mean to him?” Pixel asked sincerely. “It. I am so mean to it. Fake people. It’s just not natural.” Hex grumbled, leering at Pixel. ¨You know me too well to try to stare me down." Said Pixel, with the darkest death glare known to man. Hex held his head in place for a second more; before retreating from the deadly laser battle emitting from their eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway. We've got a job to do." Hex said, storming back to his console. Just as he did, a beep came from the main nav computer. “That would be our “fake” friend getting the sensor back in working order.” Pixel said while tapping the screen where the blip was displayed, and Hex looked over hoping for good news. “Another ship?” Asked Hex. “Not unless it’s a cloaked sojourner class.” Pixel responded. “This is way too erratic to be a ship. It’s shifting across three frequencies and it’s a couple million kilometers wide. No, this is some kind of giant FTL scar… But from what? Nothing that big can make it into warp without a gate; and the nearest gate to here is just a comm array. It could barely push a nova class into FTL.” Pixel was equal parts excited and scared. She marveled at the prospect of flying a ship with hyper advanced systems, and was horrified by the thought of the kind of firepower with which such a ship would no doubt be protected. “Saddle up” Pixel said confidently, flipping switches and pressing buttons. “What about the packages?” Hex asked, looking over to the massive cold storage units full of alien fish, bound for the Ghellasi nebula. “They’ll have to wait. The commander is going to want to know where this ship came from. Do you really want the Fed’s jumping Sojourners wherever they want?” Pixel asked in a cocky tone. “Good point. Weapons are hot.” Said hex. “Three… Two… One… JUMP!” Pixel Exclaimed as she pulled the throttle back as far as it would go. The Starhopper’s engines flared, and the shields blinked off as the very fabric of space imploded before it, and blasted forward into the inky blackness ahead, with ship in tow. The velocity indicator was teetering between twice the speed of light, and a crudely drawn line reading “TOO DAMN FAST” written in Hex’s messy handwriting. Pixel wrestled with the controls as the ship gyro went crazy, spinning it’s crew like stew mixed in a pot. Small stresses in the hull began to creak and clatter louder and louder until they’re dominated by a massive explosion coming from somewhere in the aft sections. The engine slowed before jerking to a halt when it neared its destination. “Well that’s just great!” Yelled Hex, brushing debris from his hair. “All hands, status report!” Pixel shouted into the intercom. “Total decompression of both cargo bays, Massive damage to the engines’ runner shaft, and several pieces of hull have been jettisoned off the ship.”Gin said. “Translation, we’re dead.” said Hex, in a matter of fact tone.. “Don’t worry; we’re near the Corabin system. They have a nebula-class service station.” Pixel answered, hoping to calm his nerves. “We just have to hide our call number, and pray they don’t investigate further.” Pixel said optimistically. “And if they do?” “Then we shoot ‘em.” Pixel muttered matter-of-factly. “Now you’re talkin my language!” Hex Said excitedly.