Hermando Cortaz had just graduated from the Malta Fleet Academy and was on R&R at home. It was dinnertime and he was having a peaceful meal with his parents when an Orange Alert sounded. Now, Orange Alert just meant that a Corsair raiding force had been spotted in Alpha. It was just a raiding party, not a full scale invasion so only on-call pilots were ordered into space.
Unfortunately for the Outcasts the Corsairs had more pilots then expected and managed to push all the way to Malta orbit. At this point ALL pilots were called into space and Hermando rushed to the hanger to get his ship. He never made it to combat though. 2 Corsair ships collided sending one of them into the planet's atmosphere. The ship turned into a fiery ball of death streaking through the atmosphere. The friction immolated the pilot but left the remains of the ship smash into the ground. Right near Hermando's house. The Tizonas, being fairly unstable weapons, detonated flattening 2 square blocks of Malta. Vengeance's parents were right near the epicenter of the explosion and never had a chance to escape.
Swearing revenge Hermando took off after the 5 Corsair ships that had managed to flee the battle. He brought with him 8 close friends from the academy. They managed to catch up to the enemies right outside Freeport 9 and despite the protestations of the Zoners there the Outcasts ripped into the Corsair formation. This happened before AW guard was formed. The Corsairs had managed to comm ahead though and had set up a trap, 24 more fighters were waiting, hiding out at the Freeport. As soon as the Outcasts were embattled the enemy fighters poured out the docking bays and swarmed the Outcasts.
Hemando's friends were caught totally off guard and the Corsairs had clean shots for a few seconds. 4 Sabers exploded almost immediately. The 5 remaining Outcasts managed to take down 6 fighters before all but Hermando and his best friend Carlos Franco were the only remaining Outcasts in Theta. Carlos Franco was that year's Ace Pilot at the Academy. Hermando could see him through their cockpit windows. They both knew this wouldn't end well.
"Hey Vengeance?"
"who are you talking to?"
"You"
"Whatever, I am kinda busy here"
"I know.
Get these bastards for me will ya? All of them."
"So that's why you called me Vengeance, well, if any of us will survive this it will be you. You have the mad skills"
"No, you will avenge us, and your parents, now go!"
"Wait what?"
But Carlos had turned off his transmitter. As Vengeance watched in awe Carlos flew straight at the enemy forcing them away from Vengeance. Carlos downed 1, then another, then another then another Corsair ship, but he was flying offensively now, burning through bats and bots for the sake of scoring hits. And for the sake of distracting the dog Corsairs away from Vengeance. With pure rage clouding his vision Vengeance punched the cruise button and fled the battle. At 10k away he turned around to watch. Never before had he seen such grace in a battle.
"Carlos I'm clear, get out"
"Carlos, I said I'm clear, save yourself"
No answer ever came. Carlos managed to destroy 9 more ships while Vengeance was watching. Then a lucky shot pierced Carlos' engine core and his ship turned into a fireball. At that point Vengeance almost rushed back into the battle to engage the remaining pilots but he saw that the 3 remaining original raiders were fleeing under a screen put up by the 7 remaining fighters. Vengeance knew he couldn't get to The Hated Ones without throwing away Carlos' sacrifice. With a near-sob of grief he turned toward home. As he did, he changed his transponder signal from his family's name to 'Vengeance' in honor of Carlos.
Vengeance fought for years against the Corsairs racking up an impressive amount of kills. He always asked for a duty station in Eta so he would have a better chance of killing them. But he never saw The Hated Ones again. The Malta Dons refused to use the spy network to search them out. If they helped everyone looking to get revenge on the Corsairs they would have exposed their entire network.
So Vengeance started up his own network of contacts. These were mostly Zoners he paid to keep watch out for those 3 pilots. But Or Marquez, Juiz Gonzales, and Zavier Benitiz were never located. When his commander found out what he was doing Vengeance was dismissed from the Navy. The network disintegrated as he lost his means of communications and the funding to keep the contacts bribed.
He worked for months in a Cardimine packing facility saving up just enough money for a Falcata. With that Falcata he worked as a merc for the Outcasts, tagging along on operations as backup, going solo to assassinate a bounty hunter that had wandered into the wrong spot, ect. One day there was a minor Corsair patrol in Eta which High Command wanted eliminated but could not send any ships because they were preparing for a major push. So they sent Vengeance and another Outcast who was not officially part of the Navy.
They got to the co-ordinates where the enemies were last seen. From there they picked up an engine trail that led them straight to the Corsairs trying to get past the minefield. The enemy force was made up of a Gunboat and 3 Titans. Poor odds for 2 Falcatas. But they had a job to do and would do it well. Then the gunboat hailed Vengeance.
"Last time you escaped you little rat, but this time, you don't have friends to protect you, my ambush will be complete." It was Or Marquez, one of The Hated Ones.
Vengeance lost all control and charged the gunboat with his backup flying wing. The Titans flung themselves at the 2 suicidal Falcatas. Vengeance's wingman wasn't very bright...his shields were ripped off by the Tizonias and he still flew right at them. His Inferno canon belched an orange ball that crushed one of the Titan's shielding. Both pilots decided to play chicken and charged each other, looking for that great insta-kill shot. The Supernova and Minirazor FIRED!!! and both missed. Both pilots dodged up to get out of the way and slammed into each other. They fused into a mess of parts and bodies and then the reactors went off immolating both ships.
Vengeance hardly took notice of this as he charged the gunship hitting it with an Inferno/Supernova combination. The gunboat didn't take that sitting down and withering fire lanced out from it into Vengeance's shielding. One bomber against one gunboat and two Titans. Suicide for all but the best pilots, and even for them such a battle is almost unwinnable. But Vengeance was blinded by his rage at being outwitted twice now. His guns pummeled the gunboat's shielding eventually collapsing it. He dodged and wove around keeping the gunboat between him and the two Titans. But at that range the gunboat's gunners could not miss. Within a few short minutes his hull was cracking and his shield generator was sparking and about to give out. Being desperate the next time his shields recharged he nudged one of the Titans. The pilot was so focused on getting Vengeance that he didn't notice the mine right in front of him...
The explosion illuminated the battle. The gunboat was scarred and leaking atmosphere and one of the guns was a smoking crater. The last Titan was still fresh, while Vengeance's ship was literally falling apart.
Using the explosion as cover he drifted into the space where the mine was and shut down all power and drifted as though the explosion had knocked out his ship.
"And now I have won again" Or snarled. "Let's go home brother."
"Aye sir" the remaining Titan pilot replied.
After 2 hours of hiding and waiting Vengeance was picked up by a patrol through the area and with their help he limped back to Palmerneo.
Vengeance was transferred back to Malta to recuperate from the injuries he had taken in that battle. Half his face had been burned when a counsel shorted out throwing sparks everywhere, and one of his legs was crushed when that same counsel collapsed.
Within five days Vengeance was released from Malta General Hospital. His first stop was to the shipdock to see his precious Falcata. Well, what was left of it. In the battle 2 of his Krackens had been ripped off of the port side, which was in and off itself a terrible loss. Those guns were not cheep. But more importantly the power plant had overloaded and the entire engine had turned to slag. The lower port side stabilizer was just gone. The entire ship was blackened and crispy from where all the firepower the Corsairs had dumped into it. The whole nose section had been crumpled in and would need to be replaced before this ship could fly as all the navigational equipment that was in the nose and was now in lots of little pieces. The only parts that could be saved was the Supernova Antimatter Canon, the ejector seat ironically, and one Kracken II. The hull of the ship was unrepairable and Vengeance had no choice but to scrap it. Because technically he failed his last mission Outcast Command didn't pay him.
Vengeance accessed his neural net bank and looked at the depressingly low number. There was no way he could afford an old broken down ship, let alone a new ship. The Hated Ones had won again in a way more devastating then killing him, he was now grounded and unable to get to them yet they still lived. His parent's murderers still roamed free and he could do nothing to stop them. Carlos' sacrifice was now in vain. All his friends had died for him and he was now unable to honor and avenge them. Vengeance flopped down right on the dock floor and started to sob.
When he finally started looking around again it was dark and his ship had been moved to long term storage. The owner of the dock knew Vengeance's father and the situation he was in. He was unable to offer monetary support but he could, at the very least, give Vengeance a place to store his ship. Well, what was left of his ship.
Vengeance slowly picked himself up off the floor and stumbled off toward the bar. if I can't die in glorious combat against the Corsairs maybe I can drink myself to death he thought.
“Yo! Brother!” An Outcast with longer hair jogged to catch up to Vengeance as he turned around. “Hey, I saw your passion and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help.”
“Unless you have a ship up your sleeve I doubt it. But thanks for the offer, comon, I'll buy you a drink.”
Vengeance turned toward the bar again.
“Well, not up my sleeve no, but I could put in a good word with my Commanding Officer, maybe he has room for you in our squadron.”
Vengeance kept walking toward the bar. “Nah, I've already been dishonorably discharged from the Fleet. Do you want that drink or no?”
“Well, sure.”
The stranger started walking beside Vengeance on their way to the bar.
“So tell me, what's your story? Why so dejected and why were you kicked out of the fleet?”
“Ah, Julio, a Sinistre drink for me and my new friend here. And keep em coming till I fall over dead. Hehe”
“Sure thing” Julio the bartender replied.
Vengeance proceeded to tell this new stranger, who's name was Juan, his story.
“And now my ship's in pieces and The Hated Ones are roaming free. And I can't stop them.” he concludes.
“Well, maybe I can help. Can you obey direct orders and never leave a brother behind?” Juan asked.
“Suuure, I gess.” Vengeance drained another Sinistre, his eleventh drink that night, and motioned for Julio to get him another.
“And I already know you will willingly fly into unwinable fights...” mused Juan
“I'm good at sthat, not winning.”
“Well, let's try to turn that around huh brother?”
“Unesss you wanna to let me win a fistfight now I will not win any more flights, yeah, flights.” muttered Vengeance.
“Well, why don't we see about getting you a new Sabre and Falcata? I will talk to my CO about it in the morning, for now, why don't you go to bed and sleep off that massive hangover you will have?”
“Nah, I am duuun shere anyway, I go to sjoin the ancestors. Besides, the MNF swon't accept me, they kiccked me out already.”
“ah, but friend, I never said I was MNF.”
“swell, I don't want anny part of the CHF (Corsair Home Fleet) eisther.”
Another Sinistre down and as Vengeance motions for another he falls off his chair. “Ahhhh crapssss”
While Vengeance is struggling to get off the floor Juan motions for Julio to NOT refill Vengeance's drink. Instead Julio puts water in Vengeance's glass.
When he finally struggles off the floor Vengeance sees his newly refilled glass and his eyes go wide.
'sJulio my man, sthanks, here, lets me finish sthis and sthen you can refill it again ASHAP. K?”
“Ok brother, whatever you say.”
Vengeance quickly throws back his “Sinistre” drink and then the pitcher Julio was holding.
“Julio smy man, swhyed you save the best for last? Sthanks.”
“Oh anytime” Julio tosses over his shoulder as he walks away.
“sThat Julio, always looking for me out. He's guy a good.”
“Yeah...the best.” Juan's voice is dripping with sarcasm that Vengeance doesn't catch. “Now, like I said, I'm not MNF, what I AM is a Reaper and as your luck may have it we are looking for good pilots. You fit the bill perfectly.”
“sReamer, Reamer...don't know any Reamers. Sorry. Julio! Another Drink!”
“No, not Reamer, I am a member of Reapers of Sirius.” Juan Zavala turns and for the first time Vengeance sees the RoS badge on his shoulder.
“Oh” Vengeance's eyes go wide. “You want me to be a Reaper?”
“Yep”
“Oh” and with that Vengeance falls off his chair, curls up on the floor, and falls asleep.
“Well at least I'll know where to find you.” After paying Julio for all the drinks Juan walks away to find his Archon.