Shadows of the Past

[Capt. Henry Morgan]

A year and a half had passed since Kim Ye-jin had sought treatment for her condition, but fate, in the form of the Bretonian military, had intervened. Dr. Holliday had been called back to his estate for a meeting with some Bretonian official, the situation on Gran Canaria soon spiraled out of control, and her treatment was cut short. Holliday's subsequent imprisonment and Kim's new Fleet assignment meant that she was never able to pick up where she left off. After seeking other treatment options, and failing, Kim resigned herself to her fate. She accepted that she was going to die some day, as her nerve staple adapted to what treatment she had received and punished her for being a traitor to a dead man and his failed cause. It was only a matter of time. Until that day, though, she served to the best of her ability, throwing herself into her work.

For the last week, her ship, the gunboat Night Witch, had been playing a game of cat and mouse with a Hellfire Legion gunboat that had been raiding Mercantile Guild shipping in the Barrier. Every time they got close, the enemy ship slipped away before they could get into range, leaving them picking survivors out of the wreckage of broken transports and freighters. This time, though, the Lane Hackers at Mactan were feeding them data from the Spyglass Network. Now they were better able to anticipate where the enemy would strike next, and would be there when they did.

To that end, they had modified their engine emissions and IFF transmitter to disguise their identity. As long as the enemy ship didn't examine the Night Witch's power consumption curve too closely, their sensors would show them an OMG Serenity-class transport. They were flanked by a pair of OMG-tagged Camara-class freighters. The freighters were modified with for combat, with heavier armor and Fleet pilots, but to any outside observer, they appeared to be just another merchant convoy. By the time the enemy realized the deception, they'd be too close to escape again. The Night Witch's sensor officer spoke up.

"Commander, we're getting a ping from the Spyglass Network. A ship has moved to intercept, signature is consistent with our target."

"Good. Alert our escorts, but maintain course and speed. Don't let them know we've seen them."

"Yes, Commander."

Minutes passed as the intercepting ship got closer, with no sign they had cottoned on to the Night Witch's deception. As the ship passed into communications range, the comm officer reported an incoming hail.

"Octavarian ships, power down your engines and prepare for boarding. Resist or try to run, and you'll be...." The enemy commander trailed off, but voices could be heard in the background before the channel was abruptly closed. Clearly they had realized their target wasn't what it appeared to be and were preparing to escape again. Before they could turn and activate their cruise engines, though, Commander Kim ordered the Night Witch's escorts to fire cruise disruptors, preventing the enemy from escaping.

"Helm, take us in. Engineer, bring us back to full power. Weapons, as soon as we're in range, open fire. They're not escaping today."

As soon as the Night Witch entered weapons range, the firefight began in earnest. Though the Legion ship proved a skilled and dangerous enemy, the Octavarian gunboat and her escorts began to wear them down with superior firepower. The enemy ship began to show visible damage, and attempted to maneuver to keep all three ships from targeting them. They alternated between targets in an attempt to keep the three Octavarian ships off balance and on the defensive. A few lucky shots took down the Night Witch's shields, and they followed up with a torpedo. Just as Kim was about to order countermeasures and shield batteries, though, she felt a sudden pain in her head a familiar voice rang out where only she could hear it.

YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE VOLKHAN'S JUSTICE!

The unexpected activation of her implant caused her to hesitate, and though her crew quickly compensated for the lack of orders, the lost seconds made a difference. Despite her efforts to push past the pain, she started to lose focus, she heard reports of damage to the cruise engine, and the enemy ship making good their escape.

As the pain escalated, she was dimly aware of her XO calling her name, and realized she had fallen to the deck. The last thing she was aware of as she finally passed out was pain, like every synapse in her brain was on fire, and the sound of her own screaming.

(//RP continues here, and in the following few posts)