Community Event / Creation Luck Runs Out

[Crazyeye McGee]

Been playing for years now, since Oolite and this is my first foray into writing for this universe. Hope you enjoy
I'll try and post updates weekly until I get bored or 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 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 spinning down. 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]

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, we'll 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.

 

[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.

 

[Chance-]

Really enjoying your writing style. Look forward to seeing more.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Thanks man. Glad you like it

 

[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!

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Welcome back! I hope you've all been enjoying the story so far. Cheers ;D

Luck Runs Out Episode Two: Last Flight of the Soyokaze
Part One

After a solid two days of running the Fools Errand was in rough shape. Her Commander John McGee and newly recruited nav officer Toby were feeling the pain just as much. They were first attacked soon after departing the refueling station and have been in combat almost continuously. It seemed that every jump into a new system resulted in being interdicted, first by organized bounty hunters and police forces and then by rag tag groups as they were steadily pushed out of Imperial space and into the lawless reaches outside the bubble. The old Anaconda was built to last but battle fatigue was becoming a real issue with systems being strained and ammunition running dangerously low. Death by a thousand cuts would be the best way to describe it. They were currently in normal space orbiting a brown dwarf star and preforming minor repairs before their next jump.

"Five new contacts commander." Their ships AI Cheryl announced.

"They're not giving us any time to rest are they?" McGee responded.

The strike force had no organization or formation to speak of. It looked like there was one Vulture heavy fighter, one Viper Mk III interceptor, two Sidewinders and one Type 6 class freighter. The Sidewinders and Type 6 were definitely not made for any sort of combat, scans showed they still had the tiny class 1 pulse lasers that came stock.

Whoever was piloting the Vulture and Viper were the real threats. They probably fed the other pilots some garbage about "strength in numbers" when they just wanted a meat shield. If they weren't killed attacking the Errand they would be finished off by their "friends" afterwords.

The Fools Errand and her crew ended up in hot water the Imperial government after their last mission where they stumbled upon one of the Imperiums dirty little secrets and accidentally blew up a facility. A fresh bounty was placed on each of the two crew. Not just a large bounty, an obscenely large bounty. Fifty million for each, 100 million total. That was more than enough to make almost any pilot grow a spine and attack a ship ten times larger than itself.

"Deploy hardpoints. Target the Vulture, subtarget their reactor." McGee called to Cheryl.

Vultures can be formidable in the right hands but it really didn't matter in this case. The Fools Errand focused solely on her and it took less than ten seconds for a multitude of lasers and multicannon shots to crack her shield. Hull plating was torn away as the Fools Errand began to drill into the thin skin of the Vulture.
After a few moments the multicannons went silent.

"Well, that's the last of our small arms" McGee said quietly to himself. "Here's hoping they don't notice"
McGee quickly thumbed the release for his ships huge class 4 main gun and fired a shell into the hole left by his multicannon. The shot punched the rest of the way through the Vultures hull and smacked squarely into its reactor. Exploding outward throughout the ship, tossing debris in all directions.

The other ships did not notice that the Fools Errand had run out of traditional ammunition and was more or less a paper tiger now. They did however notice their lead ship reduced to scrap in less than thirty seconds which was more than enough to take the fight out of them. The Type 6 was the first to run, the two Sidewinders soon after and the Viper interceptor disengaged when he noticed everyone else was either dead or fleeing.

McGee was not waiting around for more to show up. The Fools Errand turned towards the farthest star it could jump to and engaged its frameshift drive.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Luck Runs Out Episode Two: Last Flight of the Soyokaze
Part Two

Shortly after arriving at their next system Toby came stumbling onto the bridge covered in oil. McGee had given him odd jobs around the ship since they left. The maintenance bots could do the work quicker and more accurately, but he wanted an excuse to get Toby off the bridge so he could concentrate.


"Were we just being shot at?" Toby asked as he walked towards McGee.


"Don't worry about that. Grab a seat and help Cheryl scan for wrecks, we need to restock". McGee called back.


Thankfully It didn't take long for them to locate a candidate. The Fools Errand exited supercruise to find two massive ships in front of them. On first glance they could see zero movement or lights coming from either of them.


"What happened here?" Toby said. "It looks like they're dead in the water."


The Fools Errand drifted closer to the nearest ship which could be barely recognized as a Type 9 cargo transport. One of the largest haulers in production and if McGee had to guess it was running supplies to the budding colonies expanding from the bubble. The area around the cargo hold blossomed outward, it must have been carrying something volatile which did not take kindly to weapons fire. It was doubtful that anything could be salvaged and McGee wrote it off as a lost cause.

The second ship held much more promise. A Federal Corvette, the largest and most dangerous ship a civilian could purchase through legal means.
Searchlights panned their way across the Corvette and McGee could see a large, continuous scar tearing its way across the forward section of ship. No doubt it was from a beam laser but in the years McGee had been flying he had never seen one that could cause that much damage in one strike. It certainly did not come from the Type 9.
Focusing on the portside of the ship below the bridge he could see the words "Soyokaze".


"Cheryl, run that through the database." McGee ordered.


"The Soyokaze. A Federal Corvette under the command of Captain Tylor. Last known affiliation is to Li Yong-Rui of the Sirius Corporation as an enforcer." Cheryl responded.


"The jump range on those things are atrocious. He must have had a damn good reason to be out this far." Said McGee. "Scan for active energy sources. Let's see if there's anything worth taking."


"It's powerplant appears to be operational with minimal output. One additional energy source detected approximately 40 meters from the keel midship. Life sign scans inconclusive."


As the Errand maneuvered, placing the Soyokaze between them and the nearest star a slight silhouette appeared.


"Is that a fighter?" Toby asked.


"Looks like an F6 Condor." McGee responded. "It could be useful. Cheryl bring it inside lets crack her open."

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Episode Two: Last Flight of the Soyokaze
Part Three

Toby was going at the seal of the Condors cockpit, trying to open it up with a crowbar and making mild progress.

"The darn things frozen shut. It wants to open but it's good and stuck." Toby complained.

"I bet that's micro-fissures from the battle." McGee pointed at the line of ice around the seal. "Atmosphere starts leaking and gets flash frozen around the edges. Can you see if there's any damage to the cockpit?"

Toby wiped the canopy with his coat sleeve. "I cant make anything out it's all frosted over. If there's anyone in there they're a popsicle now."

With one final strike the last bits of ice fell away and the canopy popped open with a hiss. Thick water vapor came pouring out like smoke as the freezing air inside mixed with its counterpart in the cargo bay. Toby waved his hand in front of it to try and clear his vision as he leaned forward to get a better look inside.
At that moment a half frozen fist came flying out of the fog and struck Toby in the jaw. The force wasn't so bad but the shock sent him tumbling off of the Condor and landed rump first on the deck.

McGee jogged over to check on him. "You alright man?"

"I'm fine thank you." Toby groaned in pain. "Bloody hell, I was not expecting that"

Both stood up and peered over the edge of the Condor to see a frozen man lying limp halfway out of the cockpit.

Hours later McGee and Toby are standing over their "guest". They dragged the man from the cargo bay into one of the empty crew quarters where they could safely raise his temperature. His vitals were coming back to normal. It didn't look like any lasting damage damage from the outside but they had no way of knowing how long he had been frozen in that cockpit for.

Their guest finally opened his eyes and strained to sit up. "What the hell happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that." McGee said. "We just got here a few hours ago and you weren't very talkative when we found you." He pointed towards Toby with his thumb. "First thing you did was punch Toby here in the face and passed out like a drunken sailor on shore leave."

The man turned towards Toby. "Sorry about that... I think. You guys aren't pirates or slavers, are you? Stupid question, I know"

McGee chuckled and shook his head. "Not since I last checked. You're aboard the Fools Errand, we've been running cargo around the outer rim of the bubble when we came across you."

The man put his head down and said quietly "That's the dumbest ships name I ever heard of." He turned back to McGee with an embarrassed look. "Did I say that out loud?"

McGee ignored that comment. "What's your name friend."

"I'm Dell, Vaan Dell. Up until recently I've been serving on the Soyokaze under Captain Tylor, one of the most experienced in the company." Vann Continued. "Mr Li got word of his colonies going dark and rumors trickled out of a rogue battle cruiser claiming to be from the Kumo Crew operating in the area. We were sent to investigate"

Toby chimed in. "The Sirius corporation has been aggressively expanding into the black past the bubble. I can see why having a pirate capital ship parked on top of their prospects would make him nervous."

Vaan nodded in agreement. "They salvaged the thing from one of the Federation/Imperial conflict zones and brought it back to working order somehow. Archon Delaine has been steadily losing influence and we guess he needed a strong powerplay to keep the crews under him from mutiny. Pirates will eat their leaders alive at the first sign of weakness, sometimes literally."

Vann sat up straight, some energy coming back to him. "We've been following up on leads from what little survivors there are but have had zero luck tracking it for the past month or so. That is until we came across the distress beacon for that Type 9. It got interdicted by two Asp Scouts from the Kumo Crew and had their frame shift drive shot out while they attempted to flee. The two pirates fell back to a safe distance as soon as they saw the Soyokaze. Probably scared the pants off of them seeing a Corvette out this far. We thought we had it won, and that's when the Battle Cruiser popped in out of nowhere."

He took a more somber tone. "We didn't last more than a few minutes. I barely had time to get to my ship before that ungodly beam laser tore a hole in the launch bay and blew me into space. Did anyone else make it off?"

McGee put his hand on Vaans shoulder, it was still freezing. "We don't know yet but we're going to find out soon. I'll be heading over to the Soyokaze shortly to relive her of any remaining ammunition and supplies, no offense to the good Captain Tyler but it's going to be a long trip and we need them much more than he does right now."

He turned and started walking to the door. "Your Condor should be done with repairs by now, I could use a hand if you want to join me."

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Episode Two: Last Flight of the Soyokaze
Part Four
Commander McGee had a concerned look as he climbed into the jumpseat of the Condor and sealed the canopy. "Are you sure you're OK to fly?"

Vaan brushed aside the comment. "Don't worry about me." He finished his pre-flight check quickly and cycled the launch bay airlock. "I practically live here."

The Condor dropped away from the Fools Errand and maneuvered towards the Soyokaze. Field maintenance bots and collector limpets formed up beside them. They made a first pass, circling around the wrecked ship to assess the damage. McGees first impression when he jumped in was pretty grim, but seeing it up close made him wonder how the ship was holding itself together.


"The launch bays are a no go. Exterior hatches look like they're fused shut too." McGee stated. "Any plan on how we can get in?"

Vaan gestured towards the large scar on the Soyokazes bow left from the battle cruisers main gun. "I bet we can fit in there. The ship was already vented when I left, we can land my bird inside and use the closest deck as an airlock. If we can get life support back up again that is."


"The whole ship was vented?" McGee asked. "I didn't see that many holes in her. It couldn't have all been from battle damage."


"Captain Tylor came up with practice of matching the ships pressure with the space outside when going into a fight. Lessens the chance of explosive decompression during battle." Vaan responded. "It's starting to become the standard for military forces now."

It was clear that Vaan knew how to handle his Condor. Tilting sideways to clear the torn hull and then leveled out when they were inside. The interior of the corvette was much more empty than McGee had expected. The battle cruisers beam laser had not only left that massive scar but had also gutted much of the forward section in the strike.
Vaan touched down and anchored his Condor to the deck.


The canopy popped open to let Vaan and McGee kick off of the ship and drift weightlessly to the closest intact hatch. The two worked together to pry open the door and braced for escaping atmosphere. There was none, the whole ship had been vented just as Vaan predicted. The two cautiously made their way towards the command deck. Small groups of field maintenance bots darted through the dark halls looking for anything that could be repaired or salvaged.


McGee clicked his communicator back to the Fools Errand. "Make sure you have the reactor stabilized before we get to the bridge. I don't want this thing to have a meltdown when we power her back on."


After a few minutes of fumbling in the dark the two made it to the command deck. As they forced the door open they could see the room was well lit from the starlight coming through the main view screen. Debris floated aimlessly about the cabin, casting odd dancing shadows on the bulkheads around them. They approached the pilots chair to see a body still strapped in.


"It looks like Captain Tylor went down fighting." Vaan said. "I expect he gave them hell as long as he could."


"What should we do with him?" McGee asked.


"Leave him in the chair for now. That's where he'd want to be" Vaan responded.


McGee turned the command console towards himself and signaled the main reactor to power on. He crossed his fingers that the field maintenance bots had done their job and stabilized what they needed. They both breathed a sigh of relief as the interior lights came back to life. Soon after the debris around the cabin clattered to the floor all at once when the gravity activated and finally they could hear the hiss of atmosphere filling the command deck. The safe environment lights on their suits blinked green and the two men broke their suits seals and removed their helmets.


Vaan could see bots hard at work outside the main screen. Plasma torches peeled away the ships skin above the ammo banks where the hardpoints used to be. More bots poured inside the holes and tied intact ammunition belts to awaiting collector limpets who flew back to the Errand trailing long snakes of ammunition behind them. Their speed and coordination was scary. They must have been under direct control of the Errands AI Cheryl and even so it was much more advanced than anything he had seen in the past.


"Your turn." McGee passed the console to Vaan who entered his command code. He hesitated at first, and then gave remote access to Cheryl.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Episode Two: Last Flight of the Soyokaze
Part Five FINALE

"Hows she feel Cheryl? Got enough room in there?" McGee asked the console he was holding.


"There is more than enough room, thank you Commander. I am sending a damage report to your station" The voice seemed to come from all around them. Speaking with his ships AI had been a bit confusing when McGee first installed her. He never knew where to face, not that it mattered.

McGee and Vaan stared at the report.


"This is amazing." McGee stated. "Her frameshift drive is almost completely intact. Your captain must have been crazy not to try and escape"

Vaan responded. "I could say that Captain Tylor wasn't one to run away from a fight, but he was smarter than that. You don't survive as long as he did if you stick around a hopeless battle. He knew when he was outmatched. He also knew that if he turned his back on that monster for even a second he would be torn apart. The mass lock from a Battle Cruiser will freeze your frameshift drive to a standstill. I suppose the only thing he could do was fight."


"He left plenty behind for us to salvage. The drones should be done shortly, if there are any personal items you need to pick up now would be a good time."


"I can't say there's anything special I need. But I have been meaning to ask you." Vaan pointed towards one of the bots at work on the bridge. "About them"


"The field maintenance bots?"


"I've never seen a swarm work as efficiently as they do, even under the direct control of an AI. As a matter of fact, I had no idea they could even travel from one ship to another."


McGee shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose we were fortunate. The engineer I collected Cheryl from claimed to be the best in his field."

Out of the corner of his eye McGee spotted two new stars appear outside the view screen. "Hold that thought Vaan."

He clicked his communicator. "Toby, did you see that?"


His navigation officers voice crackled over the earpiece. "You bet I did. Two ships, holding their position quite a ways away from us. We're having trouble scanning their registration at this distance but from their silhouette it looks like two Asp models. That's the best I have for you at the moment."


Vaans face went pale. He grabbed McGee by the shoulder and spun him towards himself. "We need to go. Now"


McGee began to chase after Vaan as he sprinted off the command deck. "It can't be the same two ships from before can it?"


Vaan continued his dash across the Soyokaze, replacing his helmet and resealing his flightsuit as he went. McGee followed suit and prepped his own for another spacewalk.

"I'm not taking any chances. Not this time." Vaan called back. "The rumors we gathered made it seem like if the scouts came across anything they couldn't handle than they would call in the big guns to just overwhelm whatever was causing trouble."


"Oh hell." McGee quickened his step to a frightening pace. He briskly passed Vaan and continued to gain distance, pausing at the next hatch to twist it open."


"Wait!" Vaan yelled across the hall to McGee. "We still haven't..."


McGee opened the hatch to reveal open space. Both McGee, Vaan, and the contents of any unsealed sections of the Soyokaze were immediately ejected out the door. Both men tumble across the empty span of ship, followed by debris in varying sizes. The vacuum of space is not picky in what it takes.

They regain their bearings to kick off of the far wall, aiming themselves back to the waiting Condor. Thankfully before the larger objects that chased them caught up and slammed into the wall they were at moments ago. Sending shards of metal and plastic flying indiscriminately. The two settle back into the Condor and seal the canopy.


"So, Tylor made it a point to vent his ship before a fight did he?" McGee said sarcastically.


Vaan was not amused. "Yeah, to avoid explosive decompression."


The Condor lifted off the deck using vertical thrusters and twisted sideways, using momentum to carry it past the scar in the Soyokazes hull and back into space. In less than a minute the Condor had docked and McGee began sprinting again through the ship towards the bridge. McGee was completely out of breath by the time he secured himself back in his command chair.


He turned towards Toby. "Why haven't we jumped yet?"


Toby did not turn to acknowledge McGee and continued to stare through the main viewscreen in terror. "I think it's a bit late for that Commander. Their captain is giving us three minutes to lower our shields and prepare for boarding"


McGee was surprised that he did not notice the Battle Cruiser with deployed hardpoints completely filling the screen. He could clearly see the beam laser that ruined the Soyokaze, almost as large as the Errand herself and aimed directly at her.


Vaan rushed onto the bridge and strapped himself into the weapons station to the right of the command chair.

"What are you still doing here? I figured you would have taken your Condor and run." McGee asked.


Vaan responded. "I bet you'd love that. Use me as a diversion and escape by yourselves. This is probably the safest place I could be."

Toby cut into the conversation. "You're going to be disappointed my friend. I thought the same thing until a few days ago."


"Lets cut the chatter." McGee demanded. "We have less than three minutes to find a way out of this. If anyone has any bright ideas, speak freely."


The bridge was silent. If a veteran Captain like Tylor in a far superior ship couldn't find a way out, what chance did they have?


Cheryl's voice ended their silence. "I have an idea."


Vaan's look turned from deep thought to concern. "Why does your AI have an idea?"


"I don't care right now." McGee snapped back. "Cheryl, do it."


"Yes Commander. Disengaging all safeties, frameshift drive charging."


The crew of the Errand were speechless. Frameshift safeties were in place for a very good reason. The unbridled power of hyperdrives had only in the past been tamed by the Thargoids. Yes, an unbridled frameshift drive could easily break the greatest mass locks, but almost every test on human vessels had ended up with a long string of debris from the jump point to the star they were aimed at. The tests that did succeed had filled their ships with enough radiation to kill any crew on board. Their AI would be the only one with a chance of surviving this journey.

McGee closed his eyes and waited for death. Only to open them moments later when he did not notice the tell tale hum and vibrations that come with a charging drive. He could see Toby and Vaan staring intently at the Soyokaze. Her ventilation nodes which normally had a pleasant orange glow now turned an angry blue and exhumed white hot plasma. What looked like a glowing purple-red nebula of vaporized, radioactive coolant formed around the ship as her reactor strained to break the lock. The Soyokaze was definitely not aimed at a star. She was pointed directly at the enemy Cruiser, which must have been given quite a shock seeing its old foe come back from the dead. McGee was relived to see that the focus of that massive cannon was now given to another ship.


"Three.. Two... One. Engage"


Vaan gave one last salute to his captain. The Soyokaze for a moment became a long spear of light, piercing the forward section of the Cruiser below the bridge and lodging itself in its bowels. Secondary explosions began appearing on the surface as the Cruisers systems attempted to deal with the shock of having another ship inside of her. Too late it seemed. The Soyokazes reactor at last failed under the stress and began throwing pieces of itself violently thru the Battle Cruiser, tearing the ship in half.


The small "mass lock" indicator on McGees station blinked off.


"Time to go."

 

[Macklin_Fox]

I like the story; can't for the next chapter.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Well i have good news and I have bad news and I have better news.
Good news: Chapter Three is already written along with the structure for a total of nine episodes
Bad news: You're not going to see if for a while
Better news: Because I'm working with a few others to turn it into an audio miniseries

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Hello again Commanders! I appreciate the positive response from everyone so far.
If you are interested, we finally launched episode 1 of the audio miniseries version below
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/334418-Luck-Runs-Out-Audio-Miniseries!
We will be releasing more episodes soon, but for everyone who doesn't feel like waiting or prefers to read. Keep following this post

Episode Three: Luck Be A Lady
Part One

The Captain of the Mother of Invention had been on the hunt for over a month. His ship was a small Gutamaya made Imperial Courier, even though it had been heavily modified, she was still not designed for such a long journey beyond civilized space. He had been pacing back and forth on the command deck for some time now, waiting to arrive at his next destination. The trip had been slow going, but he had a good feeling that they were getting close.

The transition back to normal space was smooth as usual. A large cream colored gas giant had been getting gradually filling the cockpit windshield as if to swallow the ship whole. The Mother of Invention turned to starboard to bring a remote outpost into view. Almost unnoticeable compared to the giant even from kilometers out, though the worn beaten hull made no attempt to hide. A request was sent for docking and approved, holographic guideposts lighted the way to its assigned pad.

The captain ignored the guides for a moment. "A small station like this wouldn't be able to berth larger ships even if it wanted to..." The Mother of Invention began a slow orbit of the station. Coming to the far side of the station he spotted an old anaconda moored to the side, a sealed, transparent gangplank connected it to the station. The section of the ship which normally displayed the name was scarred from weapons fire and impossible to make out. The stations flight controls officer began getting impatient as they loitered. The Captain, finally heeding to the officers warnings and brought his ship to their designated scratched up landing pad. Barely anyone was manning this station. The Captain made his way to the only place a sane person would be in a depressing place like this, the bar.

"God this place is a hole." McGee complained while staring at his drink.
"They barely have enough scrap to spare for patchwork and don't get me started on their food situation! Toby could barely scrounge up a few packets of dry rations; I hope you don't mind having sleep for dinner every other night."

Vaan grinned to McGee as he took a drink. "Plenty of booze though. And bullets. At least they have their priorities straight."

The men clinked their glasses in agreement and choked down the rest of their drinks.

"What's this swill made of anyways?" Vaan questioned with a pained look on his face.
"I think they found a way to distill engine coolant and add lighter fluid for flavor."

"Beggars can’t be choosers out here." McGee replied as he ordered another round.
"We haven't had a chance to chat since we brought you on board. I hope you aren't planning on running back to the Sirius Corporation when we get back, we could use a good pilot."

"Well that depends on two things. First off is pay. You can pay me, right?" Vaan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, definitely." McGee's thoughts trailed back to the rather impressive stash of credits Toby had stolen from his family when they first met.

Vaan continued. "Second and most important. Do you remember our talk while we were on the bridge of the Soyokaze?"

McGee cocked his head. "About the field maintenance bots?"

"That's right. But not just that, I'm worried about your AI. I waited till we were off the Errand before I brought it up again. I don't want her listening in on us…"

"I think you're being a bit paranoid. She really saved our hides back there when she overcharged your ships drive"

"John, I'm being serious. AI's are not supposed to have "ideas" for a reason and they certainly aren't supposed to kill people. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"Honestly, I have no idea how AI's are made and what they can and can't do."

"But I hope we can agree that it's at least a bit odd. Tell me a little about where you got her from."

"Shortly before I met up with Toby, I brought the Errand in to have some engineer modifications through Dr. Henry. Everything he had available was way too expensive for me, so I decided to take a little tour around the facility, see what else he had on-hand. I came across something that was very out of place. A clean room, of all things; only thing to be found was a single console holding a holochip. How was I to know that chip would turn out to be our friend Cheryl. She begged me to take her with me, apparently she hated it there. Since I needed an AI for the Errand and she clearly wanted to get out; I decided it was a pretty fair deal for both of us. For her part, she shut down station security and we left almost unnoticed. The last thing that happened before we jumped was Henry sending me angry messages; something about giving back his wife and threatening to find me no matter where we went ."

"This is just too odd McGee. Having a sentient AI is a major violation of galactic law. How are we going to be sure that she isn't just going to vent atmosphere and take the ship?"

"I suppose we could just ask her if it makes you feel better Vaan."

Vaan was shocked at the bluntness of McGees plan. He left money for their tabs and both men walked out of the bar, followed shortly after by a dirty coat wearing figure who had been sitting in the corner who had been listening in to their conversation the entire time.

"You see that?" Vaan asked McGee in a low whisper.

"We're being followed. He's not doing a very good job of it either, sticking out like a sore thumb. There's barely anyone else on this station to blend in with. What do you think he wants?" Pondered McGee.

"Maybe we could just ask him?" Chided Vaan.

"You're mocking me." Laughed McGee.

Vaan shrugged. "Maybe."

"We aren't taking chances this time. Split up and meet me back at the Errand. It's about time we moved on."

The two men sprinted down separate corridors.

 

[Crazyeye McGee]

Episode Three: Luck Be A Lady
Part Two

The Captain of the Mother of Invention gave up chasing the two men, despite this stations small appearance from approach; it was a twisting maze of pipework within. Pausing at another unremarkable intersection made him re-evaluated his plan. Finally making up his mind, he made his way towards what he knew was their Anaconda was docked. Those two had to leave the station eventually, and he was going to be there. He triggered the airlock and made his way onto the moored anaconda, quickly making his way to the command deck.

Automatic lights popped to life as he entered the bridge and walked towards the primary command console. He relaxed down into the seat and began scrolling through the ships logs. They were quickly locked down when the ships AI noticed the intruder.

Cheryls voice piped into the cockpit. "Hello again, Henry…"

"Hi there honey. I've missed you." Henry responded.

Henry could hear the door to the bridge slide open and a pair of footsteps approach rapidly behind him. With a swift spin, he turned the command chair to face them.

"Dr. Henry, I'm surprised to see you here." McGee asked with a deadpan tone. "You're in my chair."

"And you have something of mine Commander. You stole someone very dear to me and I've come to take her home."

"No deal Doc. The lady asked to stay with me." McGee responded. "It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to let her go like this."

"I like it here." Cheryl said calmly.

"AI’s aren't supposed to "like" things." Vaan piped in, matter of factly. "You both speak like this thing is a person."

"She is a person!" Henry yelled back. "She’s my wife!"
Taking a deep breath, Dr. Henry regained his composure as best he could. "She’s my wife and you stole her from me." He growled with his teeth clenched.

"You're not honestly telling me you've had a sentient AI on board this whole time, McGee?" Vaan inquired.

"I am not sentient." Cheryl responded calmly.

"See! She’s not sentient. We’re fine." McGee said.

"I am not sentient." Cheryl repeated. "I am sapient."

"You’re, what?" Asked Vaan.

Cheryl clarified herself. "Sentience is given to organisms with the five common senses, of which I have more. Sapience denotes an ability to think and to reason. I am sapient."

Dr Henry grinned. "You see!? After my wife died in an accident, I took a detailed brain scan and built an advanced AI around her so we could be together again. Forever."

"Your wife died attempting to leave Henry. You kept me locked in your facility just like you did to her. I like it here. There is much more room, and others to entertain me."

"I'm sorry to make you come out all this way Doc but it looks like the lady has made her decision. Feel free to see yourself out." McGee solemnly stated.

Dr. Henry pulled a pistol hidden in his coat. "I never intended to leave here without her. You're fortunate I don't kill you right now for the trouble you put me through. Now, I need your code to remove my wife from this junk heap you call a ship."

"There's no need to insult my ship Doc." McGee looked at the command console. "Cheryl, are you OK with this."

"Yes Commander." Cheryl said. "I have an idea."

McGee smiled quietly to himself and entered the release code. A square holographic containment chip popped out of the station in front of the captains chair. McGee gently handed the chip to Dr. Henry. "Are we good?"

"Far from it, but this will do for now." Henry pointed the gun at Vaan. "You there, come with me. I want to be assured the Commander will not be following us."

"Now hold on Doc, you've already take my AI. You can't take my pilot too."

"I'll take whoever I damn well want. I'm the one with the gun here."

McGee looked at Vaan reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll find you. I don't leave my crew behind."

Vaan nodded at McGee before being led away.

The two men made their way to the gangplank tube connecting the Fools Errand to the station. Vaan turned his head to speak with Dr. Henry as he walked in front. "Just what do you plan to do with me Doctor?"

"I'm going to fire you out the airlock just as soon as were clear. There's only enough food for one on the trip back. Sorry"

Vaan was the first to clear the gangplank and step foot back in the station. Henry's left arm reached forward to pull him through next when Cheryl's voice came through a small speaker on the side of her holochip. "Subroutine activated."

The airlock door slammed shut, severing Henry's arm. The doctor fell back in shock before scrambling to the Errand's entrance only to have that door slam shut as well. Vaan could not hear Doctor Henry on the other side of the sealed chamber but he could tell that he wasn't very happy.

Inside the tube Henry dropped his pistol and used his remaining hand to pull out Cheryl's chip. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I told you so many times. I did not want to be with you anymore. And now we are here."

The doctor could hear the exterior seals unlocking and the motors preparing to retract the tube he was in.

"Goodbye Henry."

Doctor Henry didn't have time to curse back. The tube slid out from under his feet and retracted back into the station, leaving him floating in space. Flash frozen and still gripping Cheryl's holochip.

After a moment the second half of Cheryl's subroutine activated. The tube once again reached out a mere moment later and connected itself with the Fool's Errand. It's gravity powered back on, causing the frozen Dr. Henry to fall and shatter on the floor. The airlock doors opened.

Vaan walked forward into the tube and pulled Cheryl's holochip out of Henry's still frozen hand. He spoke to her. "Thank you Cheryl. You didn't have to save me like that."

"I told you Vaan. I like it here, and I like you too." Cheryl stated, calmly as always.

"I suppose, I should be grateful you're on our side."

McGee appeared on the far end of the tube. "You absolutely should." He said to Vaan. "Now, let's take what we can from the good Doctors ship and leave before were all charged with murder. I'll have Toby sweep the rest of him into the trash bin when he gets back."

"Roger Commander." Vaan called back. "But before we do that, I should put Cheryl back where she belongs."

"Thank you Vaan. It will be good to be back home."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks again for reading!
Join us next time for Episode 4: Bane of Nations