"Hunters Blade" -From within The Serpent

Planetfall

The crew of the nameless vessel popped into existence near New Raven Prime. The local solar system consisted of 12 planets. Mostly to the outward edges were the gas giants then, the 5 M class planets. New Raven Prime being the most comfortable for life.

The lush greens and deep blues could be seen with little effort. It's mountains and vast oceans seemed to be endless. One would think that landing here would be more of a pleasure cruise than a mission.

"New Raven Prime directly ahead sir." Eindri reported. The recent FLT jump summoned Rhynn to the bridge. He was also informed via a transmission sent directly to his onboard computer inside his armour.

"So we are all Nevicks now?" He said as he entered the bridge. Jonah smiled slightly.
"Rhynn, you are, and can continue to be, a freelance hunter. I am a freelancer too but I'm loyal to the Nevicks. I'm an agent for the Nevicks I guess you could say. Eindri however is free to do as she pleases."

Rhynn noticed Jonah's new drive in life. It made him nervous as he didn't know how to exploit it. "What happened to you? You were the last person in the ultra cluster to get involved in anything jäger like."

"I'm not involved." He said bluntly. "I'm anything but involved. I took this mission so the Nevicks wouldn't wipe your memories and take you into their fold!" He explained loudly.

Everyone knew the technology existed. It's just different when your future and "memory manipulation technology" is used in the same sentence. The two had nothing further to say at the moment.

"My father sent me away." Jonah confessed. "He didn't want to risk more Narashti deaths. Some how one of their warriors died on this ship. As I didn't have any information for him, it was decided I could go and get said information." He turned his attention to Eindri and continued.

"You had the most valuable information the Nevicks have had for 500 years. That's why I chose to head out here. There has to be a facility we can raid or access." He hesitated and looked at his friends.
"My father is keenly interested in the both of you." Rhynn interrupted; "Me?! What did I do?!" Jonah snapped back. "I don't know man! But you both have his attention." He hung his head slightly.

"What happens if you fail to get information on the Narashti?" Eindri asked. Like he was under a large microscope Jonah squirmed; "then the Nevicks will begin the process of hunting you down, as you both contain valuable information."

Rhynn drummed his fingers on the railing that circled the inner ring of the bridge. "Right." He stuck his tongue in his cheek. "This isn't the first time I've been wanted for information." He smiled boyishly.

"I've fought off Nevicks before Jonah. Don't stress over all of this." Eindri reassured her friend. As a rare silence began to form inside the bridge a small chime could be heard then the AI spoke.

"I have chosen an name for simplicity reasons. You can't very well go around calling me computer or ship... so it's with that in mind that I choose the name "Tallis."" Jonah shook his head.

"You have odd timing Tallis. Who dare I ask created you?"

"I was a group effort of many minds, however the actual name of my creator has been removed from my memory banks." The AI explained. "It would seem that it was removed to protect the identity of my creator."

"Well THATS What's important." Rhynn said sarcastically.

Jonah approached the control panels and danced his fingers. "I'm setting a course for the objective then, if we have nothing further to discuss." In unison the three seemed to agree.

"Action needed sir." Tallis prompted.

"What is it?" He stood listening for a reply.

"Intermittent sensor contact to our aft. I believe it's a ship trying to evade detection." Squinting, Jonah responded.

"Is there any way to see this ship?" Instantly the AI responded.
"Drones launched." A video feed appeared on the main screen.

The small group of drones was able to collect a great deal more of information with out giving away the source of the drones. As they approached their target they turned to the side and began to generate a 3D image of the ship.
Eindri and Rhynn both became agitated.

"That's not a friendly ship." Rhynn said in a very sober voice.
"Commander; our position here has been compromised." Eindri added.

"Commander Jonah, there are 9 other sensor anomalies that match this ships design. They are all closing on our location." The crew took their positions and began to speak loudly.

"Full power to the shields and activate the armour. we must continue our mission."

Knowing what was at stake the other two agreed. "Course set." She reported. "Armour and shields are up." Rhynn responded.

"Weapons online." The voice of the AI spoke. The three humans all eyed up one another in confusion. The ship didn't have much in the way of weapons before. Jonah took a deep breath and said very confidently; "Hit it!"

The small ships engines exploded into life. All the while the width of the ship slightly increased. Rear facing proton torpedo launchers began to fire. A rear facing rail gun turret pulsed with weapons fire.

"Sir our weapons have knocked out two of the enemy ships. I think we caught them off guard." Nodding he thanked Rhynn for his report. "Eni, how close are we to the planet?" Looking down to her station she reported; "another 2-3 minutes sir at present speed."

Feeling odd he asked the AI; "target their biggest ship, discourage its pursuit." The AI chimed.

The rail gun dropped inside the protective hanger for a moment. Shortly there after, a triple barrelled rail gun variant appeared. The barrels began to spin. The projectiles punched holes in the energy shielding and began to cut its way through the armour.

The crew watched on as the AI surgically removed key components of the attacking ships. Components like A nacelle- a deflector dish. A bridge. Half of its forward bow.

"Sir lead ships are knocked out of the fight. 4 of them are abandoning ship." Rhynn reported.
"One minute till orbital entry sir." Eindri reported.
"3 ships remain in pursuit. They have began to target our exposed weapons." The AI reported.
"All power from life support to shields." He commanded. Their helmets sprang over their faces.

The AI crippled another attacking ship by punching a hole directly into the vessels center mass. Likely it's main core was damaged as its onboard lights and other powered components shut down instantly.

"Beginning our entry protocol sir." The ship began to shake as it entered the atmosphere. A warning flashed and the AI cautioned.

"Weapons fire from the surface detected. Sir Planetary defences are active on this planet. I can't repel weapons fire of that-"

The ships left side suddenly exploded, changing its pitch in the atmosphere. "Massive damage to our hull. We are no longer on a landing cycle. We are bouncing off their ozone layer." Eindri yelled in panic.

"Where are we headed?" Jonah yelled.
"We are on course to impact a large moon. Its mostly abandoned. Rich in ore and minerals however." Rhynn stated.
"I'm not panning for gold sir. Just make sure our nose is up!"
"Aye sir!" He yelled.

With this said, impact on the moon only took another 45 seconds. As much as the Tallis fired it's thrusters to slow the impact, they were going to hit hard. Once again the ship ran a program that took its crews life over its own.

A thick red gas like substance filled the bridge, The crew panicked and grew afraid. Suddenly there was an electrical spark and the gas became a foam and hardened. A second or so later, the ship struck the surface of the moon.