Quote:STORY I: "Requiescat in Pace"

April 14th, 816. A Nyx stands in launch tube of Java station. Lieutenant Sarah Batiq makes last preparations for the launch. She glances at her clock nervously. She's overslept her first training session. Today's trainee - some sort of nugget. That was all she knew, she didn't care who's going to be her companion, she never did. Done. All needed indicators shows green light. She's ready... oh... wait... her "lucky sniff" before launch. She always makes it. Always did. That became some sort of sign, never leaving without making a deep and relaxed sniff from cardamine tube. Lights, smokes and hangar doors opened. The rocks slowly and silently drifts through the barren space of Tau-23. For some it may look as desolate wasteland: rocks, rocks, rocks... um... rocks. But for Sarah it was something special, something way beyond the skyscrapers of New York, her birthplace. Nugget stands still. Like a real (toy) soldier.
"Okay, nugget, heat up your engines, let's make some circuits over here." - She ordered.
Nugget was silent. Sarah didn't expected any answer. All of them are the same, especially if they realize who is teaching them. Even if most of them doesn't tell a thing, deep inside, their reactions are the same: "Oh look, that's the "Orange Sarah", the Colonial pilot who likes sniffing cardi!" No matter how much she tried to explain them that this "curse" wasn't her choice; that she got the addiction because of being captured; they never listened. Especially the young ones. She made a hard way to return, made many decisions against her will; she had to fight against the Government just to be a pilot again. She became tamed as animal, circus animal. Few short, unneeded stories in Tau-23 and here they're jumping to Tau-37. Looks like the nugget got used to her already. He was already asking her questions. Stupid ones: basic and general stuff. She always was pleased once someone started a conversation with her, even if she wasn't very social though. After her return as cardi-addicted she became an social outcast, always avoided by others, like some sort of infected. Probably, that conversation was the main cause of her absent-mindedness that cost her life.
"What is that?" - Nugget asked, interrupting their conversation.
A debris of transport silently floated softly covered by Bermojo Cloud. Some people figures were floating among them. Looks like someone had a nice feast.
"Lt. Batiq from Colonials to FP10, we see a looted ship here. Do you have any information about this?" - She started talking into her microphone. That was something she already used to see from time to time, this is why her tone was so cold and calm.
"Negative, Lt. Batiq, we got no reports. Probably they were attacked in speed." - A fast report from Freeport came.
"Any signatures of something "unlawful" coming into Alpha lately?" - She asked again.
"Erm... no... no one went through us here. Maybe they made outdistance from us?"
"Maybe... anyway, thanks for information. Batiq out."
Two fighters were watching into the debris. Small parts of ship (and humans?) were scattered around. Rocket. Batiq reacted rapidly, unlike nugget. The rocket hit into his Nyx, however, looks like that wasn't vital. Few Outcast fighters came out from their hidings. The dogfight started. Rookie started to maneuver, trying to evade shots. That was not effective enough. Batiq's fighter came closer to him, using itself as life shield for Outcast's shots. One Outcast fighter shattered into pieces, the pilot, who didn't made to eject successfully, came from the explosion and hit into Sarah's Nyx window. It was covered in blood. Only few inches from the jump hole to T23 left. Looks like, in desperation, these bastards are trying to down the nugget first. And here that heroic moment came. She stopped, started to engage every fighter she could see, while nugget safely jumped into the hole. The wing is under the fire. Again, as that previous time. Damn. No batteries left. Soon, fire catches almost the rest of the ship. Finally, she makes a jump. Without any prey, Outcast flies away.

That jump was last for Lieutenant Sarah Cornelia Batiq. She never shown up in the other side of jump hole. The survey team waited for about a half of hour, and nor Nyx, nor it's scraps shown up.

April 17th, 816. The funeral of Lieutenant Sarah Cornelia Batiq. A nugget is one of the guests. Probably, he was the only who had tears in his eyes. That was a nice militaristic funeral, but it was the symbolical ones, since there was no body. Some scientists speculated that she's gone because of rare dimensional-glitch in the warp of jump hole; some says, that because of instability of jump hole, she ended up in another destination and died there; some says that the moment in jump hole was enough of her ship to explode. But, probably, only she could tell the truth... she would... if she would be alive. But, probably, some people are not supposed to die so easily.

Requiescat in Pace, body of Sarah Batiq.