Luck Runs Out

[Crazyeye McGee]

Been playing Elite for a while now. Started way back when with Oolite.
Right now I've been having more fun writing about Elite than playing it and this is my first foray into... any kind of writing really. Hope you enjoy it
Ill try and post updates daily or until I burn myself out

Luck Runs Out
Part One


I suppose our luck had to run out sometime.
The Fools Errand was an aging Anaconda that didn't seem to know the meaning of "dodge" and a crew of one and a half people who didn't know how to teach it. Commander John "Crazyeye" McGee had an unremarkable past with the Federal Navy Auxiliary. Had taken part in quite a few missions supporting transports and light bounty hunting. When combat was involved his greatest skill was simply not dying, which is a skill some of the greatest heroes of the Federation didn't seem to have.
His navigator and weapons officer was a recently acquired AI named Cheryl, who's blasé attitude was barely enough to fill his need for human contact. The engineer McGee stole Cheryl from must have loved that AI dearly since it was programmed with such a strong sense of self preservation. Must have been the brainscan of a spouse or significant other. They were working hard to gain an Admiral rank with the Federation and this was supposed to be a simple courier mission to get one rank closer to that goal when everything seemed to fall apart on that last jump.

The transition back to realspace gave the usual feeling of vertigo as a yellow star came rushing in to meet them.

Frameshift drive recharging. We have arrived at system ACS-46...
McGees thoughts drifted as Cheryl stated one of the unintelligible and boring system names given to one that was not remarkable enough to get any love at all.


Our contact is scheduled to meet us at 13:00 outside of docking bay 27 at station Hunters Folly circling the third gas giant.

Why haven't they named this system yet? McGee asked impatiently

Hmm? Said Cheryl

They named the damn space station and I can search for that easily in my charts, why couldn't they come up with a name for the system?

Unknown

Can I name it?

No

Fine, run the usual scans and set a course for Hunters Folly. And search Galnet for any events going on in the area. There are more commanders in this system than I am comfortable with.


There certainly were quite a few pings on his sensors with the unmistakable black cutout in the middle signifying a commander. System authorities were predictable and easily avoided even at their most hostile, but commanders were unpredictable and downright tenacious if they were in a bad mood. For those reasons the major factions only hired them in their most important missions. And the mood on the bridge of the Fools Errand quickly turned as more and more commander dots filled McGees contact screen.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Luck Runs Out
Part Two
One event found on Galnet. Two Majestic Class Interdictors are being constructed in our current system, all Imperial commanders are...
The sound of all the air escaping from Commander McGee's lungs was audible.

I'M SORRY WHAT?!


All Imperial commanders are...
Cheryl was cut off again


I heard you the first time. This kind of operation is bound to attract an insane amount of heat. That Federal contact of ours could have at least mentioned the giant imperial death cruisers and army of unstable warmongers beforehand. Turn the Errand around, were going home and I'm throwing that contact out an airlock. Federation be damned.

And that's what would have happened if McGee had noticed the three signal blips maneuvering behind him just a moment earlier.
The outside view from the bridge warped as one of the pursuing ships poured energy into the Fools Errands frame shift drive from a distance, attempting to drag them out of supercruise.


Interdiction detected. Three Python class vessels in pursuit. Said Cheryl in her usual monotone.


I noticed, that was quicker than I expected. I doubt we can take them in a fair fight, were gonna have to shake them. Give me the details on the nearest planet.


Base scans reveal a size of 11,274km with little to no atmosphere. Gravity estimated to be between 3-4 times that of Earth. Visual scans report likely high iron content. Mineral composition unknown, detailed surface scan unavailable.


That is one beast of a world. Set my navlock and seal all bulkheads. Prepare for high gravity insertion.

Commander McGee fought with his controls, attempting to keep his ship on an escape vector while maneuvering towards the planet. 6 seconds to target.


Incoming mission related message Commander.


Fantastic! Are they sending reinforcements?


Our contact requests we meet him earlier than scheduled. A 6000 credit bonus will be given if we arrive in the next 5 minutes.


You tell that greedy dumpster fire of a man that he can choke on biowaste for all I care! If we get out of this alive I swear...

McGee's thoughts were cut short as the Fools Errand smashed into the planets thin atmosphere at hyperlight speeds.
With major systems offline from the shock McGee tumbled uncontrollably towards the ground. Life support was the first to come back online, then sensors, weapons, thrusters and minor systems.
Again McGee fought with the controls, this time to point himself away from the planet back towards space. As he turned he noticed three silhouettes coming into view, spinning just as wildly as himself a moment ago.

It looks like they're having a rough day too! lets try and make it worse. Full throttle to engines, divert all power to shields and thrusters and deploy hardpoints.

Exterior hatches slid open as multicannons and beam lasers of various sizes extended outwards along with one huge fixed cannon which ran across the length of the Errands hull. All were limp as no power was being supplied to them. They were just for show right now, McGee only wanted to look like he was up to fight.

The Errands engines fired in retrograde full force in an attempt to slow her decent as the pursuing commanders finally gained control of their ships, deploying hardpoints of their own and opening up with an intense barrage of plasma and metal. The shield absorbed most of the initial damage but the interior temperature of the ship skyrocketed. The excess heat from high g maneuvers coupled with weapons fire made it impossible to disperse outwards quickly enough so instinctively Cheryl dumped the excess into ships systems rather than cook her pilot alive.
Another volley approached as the three Imperial Commanders screamed forwards and the Errand scrambled to keep altitude. Shields still active and decent steadily slowing.


Just a few more seconds.
McGee pleaded as the second volley connected with shields and heat rose to dangerously high levels. Any more and the reactor containment was guaranteed to fail, annihilating his ship and irradiating much of the surrounding area.

The Fools Errand finally matched her output to the planets enormous gravity well and held steady at 10 kilometers from the surface. The first and second Python flew by either side and started making their turn for another attack run as the third clipped the port side of the Errand, throwing both ships off course and tearing holes in their hulls despite their shields.

At this point the attacking Commanders may have wondered why they weren't being shot at but with the rush of an easy kill, things could get lost. Such as the little high gravity warning light on their console.
All three commanders barely had time to realize what was happening when their ships refused to pull up and soon enough three new craters were added to the planet.

 

[Arnoldo]

good story Cmdr, looking forward to further episodes..

+1 Rep

Cmdr A

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Thanks boss [up]

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Luck Runs Out
Part Three

The in-atmosphere collision sends the Fools Errand flying. Sheets of hull plating from the struck area are torn away like newspaper in the wind and anything not nailed down in those sections follow with it. Again the ship and her crew fall towards the planet below but lurch to a halt as her thrusters realign.


"Three impacts detected, there are no longer energy signatures from the pursuing vessels." Cheryl hummed contently.


"Well that's one less problem we have to deal with but I'll bet more of them will be right behind and I don't think they'll be too happy about what happened to their friends. We need to find a safe place to set down, somewhere out of sight. I see a ravine nearby, can we make it?"


"Unknown, internal sensors throughout the ship are offline. A report at this time would be speculation."


"Great, we could be exploding right now and we wouldn't know."


"External sensors are operating at minimal capacity, I would be able to detect an explosion."


"Thank you Cheryl that's very comforting."


The ship is rocked hard accompanying a loud bang and begins to list towards port, losing altitude.


"What was that!?"


"An explosion, port side thruster fuel line rupture due to our previous collision. Starboard thrusters are compensating and overheated. Speculated 30 seconds till failure."


Commander McGee aligns his ship with the entrance to the ravine and pushes the throttle as far as it will go. The main engines appear to be mostly functional to his relief as he begins to pick up speed while straining to keep level. As his adrenaline pumps the distance melts in almost an instant and he is hurtling through the ravine with meters of clearance on either side. The thrusters finally go silent, the landing gear is deployed, the ship becomes an incredibly fast brick.


"Your orders commander?" Asks Cheryl.


"Pick a god and pray."


The Fools Errand lands

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Part Four

Commander McGee awoke on the bridge floor to the muffled crackle of electricity and took what felt like his first breath in forever. Choking on the smoke and dust from his wrecked ship all he could think about was how amazing it was that he survived at all. Taking a seat back in his command chair he attempted to calm himself and assess the situation.

"Status report Cheryl."

Holoviewers on either side of him popped back to life with data.

"As per your order I have researched and sent prayers of assistance to 1256 deities in various religions." Cheryl stated confidently.

McGee scoffed that his AI would take the order seriously but in all respects he did believe it was the last one he would ever give.

"Any responses dear?"

"The only incoming communication received was from our mission contact expressing his disapproval that we could not make the 6 minute deadline."

McGee was far too tired to express his frustration.

"Well he's going to have to wait a lot longer than that, we may be stuck here for a while. How bad is the damage?"

"Auto field maintenance bots have brought our status back to minimal functionality. In atmosphere flight is possible but not advised. Class 1, 2, and 3, hardpoints are past repair. Class 4 cannon hardpoint is functional. Shield emitters are at 23% and charging. Hull integrity at 34%. Frameshift drive is repairable, however our stores of vanadium needed have been lost after in-atmosphere collision with the Python class vessel."

McGee would have been happy with life support and communications simply being active after the landing they went through. He was downright amazed at how much punishment the old Anaconda could take and still fly. Still, most of the credit should go to his AI Cheryl. Her resourcefulness in keeping the ship repaired was impressive, he would say she was money well spent if he hadn't swiped her from the last engineer he visited.

"First things first, does this planet have vanadium?"

"Surface scans inconclusive."

"Fine, vanadium is also used for maintenance bots on outposts. Are there any outposts in our area?"

"One search result found from local advertisements. Madame Boost's Physical Improvement Retreat."

"Who in the hell puts a weight loss center on a high gravity planet?"

"Madame Boost's has been in operation for 12 years. Originally used as an instillation for infantry endurance training it was closed due to excessively high fatalities. It has since been rebranded as a retreat for the children of Imperial aristocrats. Fatalities since the rebranding have tripled."

"I really don't know what to say. Just prep the SRV."

"Of course Commander."

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Part Five

After clearing one last ridge the facility finally came into view. The trip taking much longer than expected due to the high gravity, even small mistakes could leave you hopelessly stuck and walking the kilometers back to the ship would be a death sentence. This outpost looked particularly sturdy yet still had the graceful curves Imperial architecture was known for. From this high angle it almost looked like a conch shell with its outward spiral. Smaller service buildings and landing pads dotted the surrounding area. There were no turrets or anti air defenses he could see, only a handful of skimmers hovering about on patrol. The robotic skimmers themselves looked like they were having an awful time trying to stay afloat. They were cheap enough to replace, even a poor outpost could afford a swarm of them so why even bother with costly upgrades for this new environment. In all, security seemed pretty lax. After all, what sort of madman would go out of their way to attack a resort smack in the middle of Imperial territory? Especially when there was a small armada guarding the construction yard in the same system. Any ship would no doubt be shot out of the sky long before it could threaten them as McGee learned firsthand earlier that day.

An Orca class luxury transport flew overhead and landed on an exterior pad, its massive elevator gently lowering the ship underground. Likely filled with fresh vacationers.
Commander McGee maneuvered his SRV thru the patrolling skimmers and into an alcove on the outside of the nearest service building.
Soon enough three skimmers lumbered their way towards the building and the service doors opened in response. McGee would have to be quick, or at least as quick as he could be on a 4G world. As soon as the last skimmer cleared the threshold McGee climbed out of the SRV and dragged himself inside. Thankfully the doors were in no rush to close and the gravity inside was a comfortable 1G.

Inside he quickly made his way through the service tunnels until he reached the pad the Orca had recently landed on. Peering through a crack in the door leading inside he could see droids unloading the cargo. Its passengers has apparently disembarked before he had arrived. McGee followed the droids into the storage room where the passengers baggage was being collected.


"These clothes wont do at all." McGee said to himself as he looked down at his flightsuit and began rummaging through luggage.

The service droids didn't seem to mind and went about their business. Almost everything was way too big, the passengers must have been massive people but what would he expect from a physical improvement retreat. Choosing the best ill-fitting imperial garb he could find McGee stashed his flightsuit behind some exposed pipes in the corner of the room and resealed the baggage as best he could.

Ok, step one complete. McGee left the service area and followed what he thought was the most likely path the passengers would have taken only to turn a corner and have his face buried in the chest of the largest man Commander McGee had ever seen. If you could put hair on a refrigerator that would be it.
McGee fell backwards in shock. The man staring down at him looking just as confused.


"Are you lost sir? The man said sheepishly."
The tone coming from him made McGee realize that this man must be an Imperial slave.


"Yes, I apologize... I was looking for the bathroom. It's been a long flight."


"You will have to wait until the introduction ceremony has ended."
The slave brought McGee back to his feet.
"We apologize for the inconvenience, please follow me."


"Follow" was a bit of an understatement as the slave took McGee's arm and dragged him through a set of large double doors.
McGee was nearly blinded as he entered a bright room from the dank entry tunnel. He looked up to see the roof was transparent, giving an amazing view of the sky. Roman columns surrounded the periphery of this large, open room with a floor of checkered black and white marble. On a balcony on the far end overlooking the room stood a woman who seemed just as large as the slave next to him even at this distance and wearing one of the sleek, clean dresses popular with Imperial ladies. He cracked a smile as he imagined that dress would probably be large enough to make a wonderful dust cover for his SRV.

Suddenly his head and everything else felt unbearably heavy as he realized this room had much higher gravity than the previous areas.
His head pivoted back down to its natural position and ahead of him he saw a group of the most pathetic looking schlubs he had ever seen.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Part Six

"What a sorry looking bunch." McGee thought to himself.
Arrayed before him were members of the Imperial aristocracy who most definitely did not fit their high physical standards. About 40 all together lined up in four neat rows. Some were overly fat, skinny, sickly, he guessed their ages ranged from early twenty's to mid thirty's. One poor soul had keeled over already due to the harsh gravity and was being carried out a set of doors on the far side of the room, unceremoniously thrown over the shoulder of another massive Imperial slave.
McGees escort brought him to the end of the back row.


"Stand here please." The slave said to McGee before walking to the corner of the room to observe the ceremony.

A few of the guests nearest him tried looking over to see this newcomer. Most of them ignored him completely and concentrated on staying on their feet. They did not want to end up like the gentleman being dragged away moments ago.


A voice came booming towards them from the balcony overlooking the room, no need for speakers or amplification.
"Greetings esteemed guests! Thank you for joining me at my physical improvement center. I am Madame Boost.
Your families have sent you here because they believe in you. They believe in your potential as their oldest children and heirs to one day become strong heads of your households and bring the Imperium as a whole to further greatness. And to make you great men we will first make you strong men, men who can be feared and respected by your presence alone. I will be your guide on this six month journey."


"Six months?" McGee thought to himself.
"I doubt anyone could survive more than a week here."


Madame Boost continued her speech.
"The main portion of the facility will be kept at a comfortable two to three times Earth gravity. We will spend our days exercising our bodies and our minds. But, you all look tired from your trip. It appears one of our guests has fallen from his exhaustion before I could introduce myself!"

Boost laughed heartily. No one joined her much to her disappointment.

She cleared her throat.
"You can take the next few hours to get your rooms in order. Food will be served at the dining hall through the doors in front of you. Afterwords you will all join me on a short, five kilometer run. And good luck! I look forward to working with you all."
Madame Boost spun on her heel and left quickly. This gravity didn't seem to phase her or her slaves. The crowd of guests shuffled forward to the dining hall.


McGee collapsed into the first seat he could find and began strategizing his next move. Soon after he was joined by another one of the guests.
The man dropped a tray of food on the table in front of himself with a loud clang and took a seat directly across from McGee.
He was portly, not overly obese. Probably around 30 years old. His face was not unpleasant to look at with golden blonde hair and a chiseled jaw and chin. In all honesty he would be quite handsome if he lost fifty pounds.


"I don't know how my father could do this to me." The man stated.
"I know I wasn't the most ambitious person in my family but I don't think I deserve this."


"Hmm?" McGee responded with a purposeful lack of attention.


"Since my damned younger brother started applying himself my family started looking at me with disgust. My mother said there was no way she could arrange a marriage with me looking the way I do and father didn't speak to me at all. If he did I know he would tell me how much of a disappointment I was. I would have given up my right as the first heir if they would let me live in peace, I didn't deserve this at all."


McGee stayed silent. He had no intention of making friends here or drawing any attention to himself.


"I don't recognize you from the flight. Whats your name, friend?" The man said


"My names John..."

McGee cut himself short. John doesn't sound regal at all, it needs to have more pomp. Something prestigious and ridiculous. Imperials love that.

"Johnstable. Johnstable Welleger, pleasure to meet you."

McGee cringed. That was awful, I really screwed the pooch on this one. He thought to himself.


"Alright Johnstable." The man said.
"My name is Tobias. Tobias Worthington, my friends call me Toby."


"OK, maybe my name isn't so bad after all." He thought.


Toby leaned forward.
"Well, Johnstable. On the way down we heard rumor of some madman running through the Imperial garrison, destroying three Pythons and disappearing like a ghost."
He leaned even closer.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Toby glared at McGee.


"Can't say I do. And I should really be taking some time to unpack while we have it free."
McGee stood up and walked towards the exit.
"See you at the run! He called back to Toby."


As McGee neared the exit he could see Toby leave his seat and walk after him in the reflection of the window of the door in front of him.

He walked quickly down the hall, turned a corner and waited. In short time he could hear what must be Toby's heavy footsteps drawing closer. It would be tough to do anything discreetly in a place like this. As Toby rounded the corner McGee grabbed him by the collar and pressed him against the wall.


"Listen buddy." McGee said in a harsh whisper.
"I don't know what or who you think I am but if you follow me one more step I swear I'll slice you up so bad your parents will have to glue you back together."


Toby fell to his knees. Maybe the shock knocked him out like it did the guest from before.
He raised his head, tears welling in his eyes.
"Please get me out of here!"

His head lowered again in defeat.
In a quiet sob McGee could hear him say "I don't want to die in a place like this".

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Part Seven

"Please, get me out of here." Toby pleaded again. "They say this is a place for self improvement but I haven't heard of anyone leaving here alive. I doubt many of us will even survive the first run today."

McGee stared at Toby with disinterest.

"All of us are the oldest of our siblings, we're given the right to inherit when our parents pass. As you can tell were not exactly what they had hoped for. They sent us here to make us disappear. This is a death camp!"


"Yeah, I realized that" McGee replied.


"Huh?" Toby cocked his head inquisitively.


"I'm not stupid, Toby. I know what a death camp looks like, even if it's dressed up real nice. But that's not my problem."
Pointing at Toby's face. McGees voice starts to raise.
"I never wanted to get stuck on your little resort and I'm sure as hell not staying here any longer than I need to."
He turned to leave.
"So if you would excuse me, I need to fix my ship before this gravity turns my bones into paste."

Still on his knees, Toby grabbed at the cuff of Commander McGees coat.

"But what about me?!"


"What about you" McGee replied in biting tone.


Toby thought to himself for a moment.
"I'll pay. I'm not dead yet so my accounts are still open, if I die my share of the family estate goes right back to them. Until then I have enough money to buy a small space station, I'll make sure it's worth your time. Just get me off this planet... Please?"

It was McGees turn to think. There was no way he was going to complete his current mission and get paid. Even if he did, it probably wouldn't be enough to cover the damage to his ship. Here's hoping they could both fit in the SRV.

"Fine, help me find some vanadium to fix the engines, and stay quiet"


"Really?" Toby was overjoyed "Of course I'll find it for you, and thank you Johnstable. Thank you!"


"Don't mention it. And stop calling me that ridiculous name please. It's John McGee"

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Part Eight

Finding the vanadium was easy. Sneaking it out was another beast all together.

By the time Commander McGee and Toby made it back to the service bay they were gasping for breath. Moving around your own body weight on this planet was challenging enough, add an extra two hundred pounds of metal carried between the two made it the toughest workout of their lives.

"Are we there?" Said Toby in a strained voice.

"Yeah, we're there". McGee struggled to stay on his feet. If he fell now there was no way he would have the energy to get back up.
Looking back down the hallway McGee could see four slaves sprinting towards them, practically flying. The monstrous bodies they built up to survive in high gravity environments made them absolutely terrifying when they were back to normal.
"We can't rest yet" McGee hit the override for the exterior service door and signaled his SRV to pick them up.

McGee tossed the vanadium into the cargo hatch and climbed inside. Toby squeezed in behind him, pinning himself in the small space between the pilot seat and the back firewall. The SRV was clearly not designed for two passengers.

"Here we go" McGee pushed the throttle and the SRV leapt forward towards the exit.
The rush of speed was short lived. Just as the SRV cleared the exit almost all of its momentum was sapped as they went back into the crushing natural gravity of the planet. Steadily the SRV picked up speed as it acclimated itself. It was no high speed thrill ride but they were making progress.

Three shots went flying overhead. Turning back they could see the skimmers out on patrol had formed up behind them. Another thirty came streaming out of the service buildings and landing ports scattered around the base. Finally, four SRVs came crawling out of the same dock McGee and Toby had left from. The slaves piloting them could barely fit their massive frames inside. They would have found it hilarious if they weren't currently shooting at them. Thankfully all of the pursuers were having the same issues they had and the chase continued at a snails place.

Stray shots began to ping off their shields.
"This isn't good" McGee said. "They won't be catching up anytime soon but the shields can't hold out forever."

Suddenly the ground ahead of them exploded, leaving a crater 20 meters in diameter.

"What the hell was that?!" Toby cried.

A large silhouette the size of a football field came floating over the horizon towards them
"That's my girl! That's the Fools Errand!" McGee shouted.

"You named your ship the Fools Errand?" Toby responded. "That has to be the dumbest name for a starship I've ever heard"

"It's a long story, and shut up about it or you'll be walking there" McGee called back. Toby was silent.

McGee opened a channel to his AI Cheryl currently piloting the ship.
He shouted at his AI. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"Gravitational interference with the main cannon, recalculating." Cheryl responded.

The Fools Errand tilted itself upwards, it's nose pointing to the sky and continued to travel towards them. It fired off another round. The recoil jerked the ship backwards almost forcing the engines into the ground. The shot flew high overhead, well beyond both McGee's SRV and their pursuers.
Feeling the shockwave, McGee and Toby looked behind them to see smoke billowing from Madame Boosts resort. A huge chunk was torn off the top and side closest to them. Toby looked mortified.

"That's not good" McGee said under his breath. "One more time please Cheryl"
The ship tilted its nose down and let loose. This time the shot hit home and a group of ten skimmers were torn to shreds. Chunks of rock and metal were thrown into the air and just as were quickly dragged back down to the surface from the high gravity. A reminder that, much like Madame Boosts, this planet did not like its visitors to leave.
The four slaves braked immediately. Unlike trained Imperial soldiers the slaves had no intention of running towards a cannon firing motorcycle sized shells at them. The skimmers didn't seem to mind as much and the surviving robots continued their chase.

The Fools Errand tilted level again and positioned itself above the SRV. The docking bay doors slid open and gently started pulling them inside as the skimmers shots connected with their shields. As they were almost inside the Fools Errand gave one parting shot and obliterated the closest group of skimmers.

Inside the SRV bay Cheryl commanded the service droids to transfer the vanadium and begin repairs immediately. By the time McGee and Toby made it back to the command deck the frameshift drive was already humming back to life. Given the right materials field maintenance bots could preform miracles.
McGee strapped himself into the pilots chair. Toby took the navigation station to his left.

"Four new contacts. Eagle heavy fighters" Cheryl reported.
Madam Boost must have sent word to the garrison that she had found their ghost. Eagles are far more maneuverable in atmosphere than the Pythons from before. Not heavily armed but more than enough to finish off the Fools Errand in her current state. These were taking their time closing the range, they had no intention of rushing in and ending up plastered on the surface like their comrades.

"They've learned from last time. Plot us an escape vector" The Fools Errand pointed skyward and began gaining altitude as the main engines fired up.

The Eagles were just coming into weapons range as the Errand left mass lock range.

"Frameshift drive charging" Said Cheryl.

Muticannon shots bounced harmlessly off the Errands shields. A completely futile effort from the enemy pilots. Before they could deliver their second volley, reality warped around the Fools Errand and she streaked away into witch space.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Part Nine

Two days later. Commander McGee and Toby sit a refueling station bar waiting for the Fools Errand to finish repairs.
The bartender passes McGee a tumbler of whiskey and a glass of the stations most expensive cheap wine for Toby.

McGee raised his tumbler to the air. "Here's to Madame Boost and her army of monster slaves."

"I hope they all die slow painful deaths" Toby responded. Their glasses clink.

McGee gave a look of confusion at Toby's statement, but it soon melted away. "That last part may have been a bit over the top, but I'm glad you're loosening up a bit. So what's your plan now?"

Toby pivoted to face him. "I'm not too sure honestly. I've never really done anything on my own in my entire life, my family always made my decisions for me."

"Yeah. Freedom can be a terrible burden you know" McGee responded.

"Maybe I'll buy a ship of my own while I'm here. Take a trip around the galaxy. I'll be a new man by the time I return home." Toby chuckled. "I doubt my father will even recognize me".

The monitor playing the Galnet news feed in the corner of the bar caught McGees attention.
"Well you'll have to figure it out quick because it looks like the good lord heard your toast" He motioned towards the monitor with his glass of whiskey.

Toby turned to the monitor as well. On it he could see an aerial view of Madame Boosts resort, complete with the new flaming hole the Fools Errands main cannon had added to the side of it. Images of Toby and McGee popped up on the next screen with text reading "Two suspects wanted in terrorist bombing leaving thirty civilians dead. Fifty million dollar reward for each suspect will be awarded by the Imperial government."

Toby turned pale. "Oh god" He said, rushing out of the bar.
McGee paid their tab and followed him out.

He caught up with Toby in one of the stations narrow service corridors.
Toby turned to McGee. "This is all your fault"

"My fault? How exactly is this all my fault?"

"You blew a hole in that place and now all of the people I came there with are dead."

"First off, it wasn't me it was my AI Cheryl and it was an accident. Second, we have no idea if they are telling the truth. What's the government going to say, "secret aristocrat extermination camp prisoners were killed before they were supposed to?" You said it yourself while we were on the planet, they weren't likely to last through their first high gravity jog."

Toby turned towards the wall and began to breath heavily. McGee doubted he had even heard what he just said.
"Oh god, I'm a terrorist now. I can't ever go home"

McGee placed his hand gently on Toby's shoulder. "Calm down and think. Your life isn't over just yet, you've got plenty of options"

Toby jerked his shoulder away and faced McGee. "Don't you care? People are dead and my life is ruined"

McGee began to lose his patience. "This is as much your fault as it is mine. Don't you think it would have been easy for us to just have stayed down on that planet and died? But we didn't did we. If I recall you were on your knees begging me to get you out."
Toby took a step back in shock. McGee continued to berate him verbally.
"They're dead and were alive and that's how it is now. I'm getting back to my ship and leaving for Federation space until the heat dies down, I suggest you find a way to do the same."
McGee spun away and left, leaving Toby with his thoughts.

Hours later McGee is standing at the top of his ships loading ramp monitoring service droids stow the last round of supplies. He turns to see Toby at the bottom of the ramp carrying a large piece of luggage.
"What are you doing here?" McGee inquired.

Toby looked much more composed than when he last left. His Imperial pride must have come back to him.
"I apologize for my earlier remarks. You have done more than enough to help out a stranger like me. I have one more request though"

McGee placed his hands on his hips. "I'm listening"

"You seem to know how to survive out here. More than I ever could. I doubt I could last even a day on my own."
McGee nodded in silent agreement.
"I want you to take me as part of your crew"

Commander McGee could not control his laughter. "You have got to be kidding me. You're serious?"

Toby kept his composure. "I know how to deal with Imperials and I have had some of the best education the galaxy has to offer. Any company would be happy to have me there."

"Not with that bounty on your head they wont." McGee snapped back.

Toby motioned to the suitcase next to him. "I also managed to liquidate my share of the family estate before the Imperial Police could freeze my assets."

Both were silent for a few moments to let the last statement sink in.

McGee grinned and held his arms wide. "Welcome aboard the Fools Errand crewman Toby!"

"Thank you, Commander" Said Toby as he walked up the ramp with his luggage. His face looked relived, but skeptical at what he had gotten himself into.
"You never told me why you called your ship the Fools Errand"

"It's an old Earth term for an impossible task. A snipe hunt, something that has no chance of success." McGee stated.
Toby began to look concerned.
McGee continued. "Since I've been in the black the universe has sent me on these more often than I care to admit, but each time I seem to come out okay. I named her that to spit back at the universe for all the bad luck its given me" He stated proudly.
Toby's concern turned to fear as he realized what he went through the first time he met Commander John "Crazyeye" McGee might be normal for him. His head turned back towards the exit of the ship as the ramp closed and sealed shut. It was too late to turn back now.

He was part of the crew.



I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm gonna take a short break though, writing close to 6500 words in a week will kill ya.
Don't worry though. McGee and his crew will return shortly in Episode 2: Last Flight of the Soyokaze!