Breaking Beams (Tractor Beam Shroud Development)

[Barkt Melan]

There were rumors that a tractor beam could be broken, and even escaped from. A rare tech, but perhaps not impossible. With the way they worked, a feedback or even a displaced lock would be enough to escape. Mostly usefully for last-ditch efforts. But it could mean life or death. So the last few months had been test after test to get a possible version made. After a while, they had a pair of them ready for use. One model released a wave bomb, a tactic that effectively wrecked the sensor' s ability to form a lock. However, the device had a possibility to catch the ship in it's blast range, so if timed wrong, could very well blow a Starfighter apart. The other option was safer, but required much more power to operate. It created a force field around the vehicle, blocking the tractor beam from grabbing it, in theory. A few other solutions existed, but without the time or resources to create an infinite mass generator, they were on the table for later. Probably forever.

The EagleEye was currently in the Bothuwai system. Enough empty space to run tests without need of collateral damage. "Prototype one is ready for testing."

"Fire."

 

[Barkt Melan]

The test drone streaked closer to the ship, flying by the tractor beams. An audible beep came from the target lock for a moment, and the drone let the wave bomb out. The small crackle of sensors and then nothing. "What happened?" the bothan asked, a mix of worry and surprise in his voice. The drone wasn't showing up. That didn't bode well. He half walked, half-ran to the radar station.

"We're not sure. Scanners are still recovering from the pulse." The bothan cursed. "Wait, we're getting readings. The drone was destroyed in the blast."

"Alright. Ready the second prototype." Stepping away, he tapped his ear. "You catch that?" he asked the man on the other end.

"Yeah, fuse is too short. We'll reset for the next run." the older bothan on the other end responded. "By the way, weren't the new ships supposed to meet us out here?"

"They should be along soon enough." Barkt replied. "Let's get that second drone into the air." Something was bothering him, that much was clear. This tech was supposed to be finished a week ago, but he hadn't had he funds to get the materials needed. The Spynet would get touchy if he didn't finish this up, and soon. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the figure standing near the back of the bridge. Cloaked in shadow, it would be difficult to recognize them if you didn't know them. Snapping his gaze back out the viewport, he tapped his ear. "We good to go?"

"Yep. Just give us the word."

"Alright." Drawing his hands behind his back, he called out to the bridge, "Prepare for Test two." After a few moments, as the bridge settled into position, he gave the command to launch.

 

[Barkt Melan]

The second drone followed a similar flight path to the first, streaming past the viewport before the Tractor Lock bliped it's conformation. As soon as the station fired, though, the drone's flight path screeched to a halt. The beam slowly hauled the drone in. "Test two a failure, sir."

"Do we know what went wrong?" He asked, and a chorus of no was enough of an answer for now. "Well, send any data you have to R&D. Let's see if they can figure it out." A flurry of motion on the deck ensued as the various sensor and data teams sent down their packets of information. Calling back down to engineering, he sighed. "Think you got it this time?"

"Yeah. Ship should be good to go."

 

[Barkt Melan]

As the pulse bomb went off again, something jumped into view at the edge of sensor range. It took a few moments for the EagleEye to pick them up, but once the group of ships was on radar, the flurry of activity was doubled. Comms attempted to hail the ships, as well as call in the Fireline-class ships from Bothuwai. Scanners were trying to identify the number and type of ships that were approaching. The spynet agent pushed off the wall, walking forward to where the bothan stood. "That's not good."

"No, it's not. The Firelines should be coming out of hyperspace soon." Almost as he spoke, a pair of frigates dropped out of hyperspace. The agent seemed a bit taken aback by that development. Smiling, Barkt watched the pair of them advance on the mystery ships.

 

[Barkt Melan]

"Prepare to jump back to Bothuwai." Barkt called out. As the groups seemed to settle down, the unregistered ships opened fire on the Fireline-class. Green streaks dashed by the viewport as the Navi-computer churned out the hyperspace jump. The pair of corvettes, Christened the Ar'krai and the Mussal, the pair of them advanced on the group that appeared to be a raiding party, They noticed the EagleEye jump to hyperspace, and after a brief engagement, the pair of them left for the planet.

"Why did you do that?" The agent asked, angry. "You could have gotten the data before jumping!"

"Every moment we took gathering data put every person on this ship at risk." He responded, replying as much in annoyance as in anger. "Even as important as that information is, I will not risk my people for it!"

"You're going against the Spynet. Watch your step."

 

[Barkt Melan]

Three days later found Barkt at his desk, head down. In front of him was an offer to meet with the head of Tapani Starship Cooperative. The two companies had been discussing a merger, although it wasn't clear which one would keep their name. Some days it seemed that Barkt had the upper hand, and other days it looked like Tapani was going to devour everything he had made. He wasn't sure what to do. He had half a mind to let them buy everything and be done with it all. Maybe then he could move out of the Spynet's shadow.

Nallai had been sent into Republic space as a field agent yesterday. For life. They had said their goodbyes and she had left. His hand closed on the ring she had left behind. Don't wait for me. He needed to focus. R&D should have scrounged up whatever they could from the last test by now. He reached for the comm, ready to send a message when it beeped at him. "Sir, Research is on line one. It's about the tractor shroud."

Immediately he picked up the phone. "This is Barkt."

"It fired!"

"I'm sorry, what" he asked the excited voice on the other end. Fired? What did that mean?

"The shroud worked! We've been reviewing the data, and it worked! The drone escaped the tractor beam!" There was a silence on the phone for a moment, and the man on the other end asked, "Sir?"

"I'll be right down."