Cold Call - [Sibby-verse 1]

17

"Drop chaff!" I order, seeing these other two missile salvos linking up and coordinating efforts to collide into us and shift our course forty degrees declination and blow off some velocity.
               "We're slowing down!" Amy notes.
               "They're denying us exit at the moment, I need to maintain consistent position to bombard the field to open a gate."
               "Getting the impression they want us dead." Styx observes.
               "Just what I'm thinking. Did Eds send off that comm-packet?" I ask.
               "Sure did. Maybe that's what got them pissed." Styx says.
               "I agree."
               "What was in it?" Dells asks.
               "I don't know exactly." I answer as one salvo goes for our chaff but I'm having a hard time out-maneuvering this last salvo that blocked our path to open a gate. "Where's those drops?"
               "On our three, six and nine and closing!" Dells answers. "Separations! Our ten!"

I blow off more velocity and we quickly lose the distance between us and the Resolute.

               "Uh, Jay..."
               "I hope you know what you're doing!"
               "We're headed right for them!"
               "You got those guns ready?!" I demand.
               "Yes!"
               "Get ready to fire when I say!" I direct just as that last missile salvo bypasses our tail and loses target. "We have to get within Resolute's envelope to fire our weapons, unfortunately but maybe we'll cause enough damage to get away...maybe scraping the paint'll piss 'em off? Get ready Dells....hit 'em!"
               "Incoming!" Dells yells as our missile packets hit the Resolute's port-bow and I execute a hard-over port over Resolute and we take solid staccato thud hits against the hull that cause small tremors throughout the bulkheads.
               "What was that?!"
               "Resolute's railguns! Drop more chaff!" I order.
               "We're outta chaff! Short-burst rounds incoming!"
                I double pulse the gins, hoping that Capitalist doesn't break with that move. "Fire back! Whatever we got!" and she lurches forward with increased velocity.
               "Resolute ordering we stand down, that we can't win a battle with them!" Styx relays.
               "Jay run for it!" Addie-Lit, over my navboards.
               "Aye!" I say, while seeing those short-burst explosives heading dead for us, burning up the distance as Dells is firing everything we got at Resolute but its not enough – we don't have the ammo to go toe to toe with a Colony-classer.

She's easily swatting down our fire. Best we can do is run and hope. Our ammo is making a small imprint on Resolute however! Probably because of the proximity but its not enough to slow her down but we're gonna take these hits from these short-bursts though.

               "Brace!"

Those short-burst hits are mini-missiles in a set of six for short-range distance that's gonna hit us on our port but if I time it right, maybe a couple will miss and the others hit the aft...the first four pass us but with a boom! BOOM! Those last two impact on the port aft with a sickening reverberation through bulkheads but I manage to maintain trajectory and velocity (amazingly) and pick up V and start my slide-run after all...

               "Dropships! Inbound!"
               "Missiles and short-bursts!"

I'm steadily increasing our V with all sorts of weaponry burning up our tail with dropships closing in on us. The short-bursts reach us first and again with maneuvers we miss the first four but the last two impact on the starboard and starboard aft – causing two close-shot booms reverberating through bulkheads and this time, shifting my trajectory as a missile goes off on port! Not a direct hit but the blast wave impacts and The Capitalist shudders as another blast wave impacts the port. I change trajectory and maintain speed.

I see the Resolute, like a lazy evil beast, easily keeping up with us and spitting out missile after missile and I see they're again overshooting our expected trajectory to deny us gate-entry. However, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve, too bad this vessel is civ-grade is the downside. I shift trajectory, pulse the gins again and I think I got it...when BOOM! We're hit right as we enter slide and carry that V with us right into the gate, throwing off the trajectory with red lights flaring across the boards and we unintentionally exit slide, off plot in a spiral that with sheer force of will I manage to correct with groaning strains through the deck-plates.

Damage klaxons swing on and we lose power to the jumpcore itself – we won't be sliding outta here anytime soon – and I see we've gotta hull breech on port through decks seven to ten and we're trailing debris and atmosphere as we're continually losing precious V. We still got thrusters and the unSOLgins looks like but a few of them are signaling red lights.

               "Contact!" I alert. "Resolute! Forty light-minutes starboard!"
               "Incoming!" Dells yell.
               "I see it!"
               "Get us outta here Jay!"
               "Whadda'ya think I'm doing?! This all could've been avoided if not for you!" I pulse the gins, whatever we got left. "We've lost the Core!"

Again I manage to miss most of the salvo but we take three direct hits, sustaining another hull breech starboard through decks three to six. We lose tremendous speed as we're bleeding atmosphere, debris and people and we just lost Gin Two but got containment up over the breeches. We're still moving but Resolute can kill us at will now. We're in Sans Boundary's backyard, so to say, but not in range of their scopes.

Don't look now, here's some more short-bursts to cover the stern. I haven't given up and am still determined to get us outta here.

Don't panic.

Stay calm despite it all.

I enact all the moves I've learned throughout the years. I have a fiancé-wife I need to get back to.