He wanders alone, under dim starlight

[Desente Blissex]

Vibre-class Assault Ship Mako I, somewhere in Deep Space

"I don't like this...sir."

"Our feelings aren't always something that we can act on. Not for the sake of the Empire..."

Or our own careers... Desente wistfully shrugged the thought away. He tugged at the hem of one of his black gloves as he peered out through the slit-like bridge viewport of the Mako. It was a far cry from the expansive vistas normally afforded to him on a proper warship, yet perhaps the Kuati man most missed the luxury of space back on his normal command. He peered out at the tumbling space station. He briefly squinted. But our feelings and wants are only secondary to it...Lieutenant Shorn's baritone voice rang out from the sensor operator's station.

"Twin sensor contacts arriving from our stern sir."

"Thank you Mister Shorn," muttered Blissex, performing a rigid about-face to pace back to the ship's diminutive command chair.

"Sir," continued the lieutenant, "one of the contacts is the Alaat, as advertised."

Desente plopped down in the chair and turned his gaze to Shorn, "And the other?"

"It's not running a transponder...wait...a third ship is entering the area just behind those two. It's the Freedom's Way."

Desente fought to suppress the involuntary shudder he felt whenever that ship's name came to his mind. He snorted as he began to pull up the sensor feed for himself. The man wants a favor called in...but doesn't tell us all of his plans...What has he drawn into this plot now? A brief icy feeling swept over his heart. Is he planning on betraying us? He pulled up the unidentified vessel, which passive telemetry suggested was an almost ancient Discril-class Attack Cruiser, a ship class just as improperly named as his own in the officer's mind. Shorn cleared his throat.

"Sir, do we stay with the plan?"

Desente ruefully nodded, "For now. Take us into position."

"Aye sir."

 

[Desente Blissex]

"New contact dropping out of hyperspace," announced the Shorn.

Desente tapped in a few commands, pulling up a holo of the newly arrived Pride of Telwar, a bulk cruiser owned by the Kelsier Cooperative. Bright beams of light began to flash between the armed freighter and the trio of pirate ships that had just arrived minutes earlier. He watched a brief fireball blossom on the bow of the Pride and felt his heart quicken. It's a good thing they can't see us...The Mako continued its silent approach to the stern of the bulk cruiser. he glanced down at the sensor readout, watching as they closed the distance. His eyes darted up to make eye contact with his weapon's officer, Ensign Xalto.

"Xalto," started Blissex, "prepare to fire all weapons on the Pride's engines once we enter weapon's range..."

He flipped a switch on his headset mike to match the channel of the dozens of Zero-G troopers in his vessel's hold, "Squad leaders, we are arriving at the target zone. Prepare to disembark. ETA is three minutes."

He switched the mike off, turning his eyes to increasingly radiant glow of the Pride's aft engine bank. As the Imperial vessel snuck up closer to its prey, Desente wondered if he could ever become use to such combat. There's something almost dishonorable about it...even if our ultimate goal is for the betterment of this galaxy...He quickly dismissed the thought from his head as the Mako suddenly revealed itself to the other combatants but unleashing a flurry of emerald and sapphire bolts against the bulk cruiser. The bulk cruiser's shields briefly turned red before they collapsed against the surprise attack. He squinted. They must have shifted shield power from their rear shields to reinforce the front where they're taking most of the fighting...sometimes being efficient doesn't pay...The Imperial fire began to lash out at the ship itself, causing Xalto to redirect the ship's laser cannons to rake the still shielded starboard side of the Pride while the ion cannons began to disable the cruiser's engines. His headset crackled.

"Glad to see that you could make it Captain Blissex..."

Desente briefly considered correcting his acquaintance, but quickly thought better of it, "We were here before you."

Ivan barked a surprisingly warm laugh for a man of his reputation, "I bet so."

"I see you brought another friend along..."

"Yeah, Gill just happened to be in the area, and said he'd lend a hand. It never hurts to have extra friends..."

"No, I suppose it doesn't," agreed Blissex.

He pursed his lips together. It's too bad we're not friends...

 

[Desente Blissex]

"It looks like they're trying to send out a distress signal-" started Ensign Ido, "but I'm working on jamming it."

Desente dutifully nodded. He's starting to take initiative more and more, and appropriately too...He might be ready for a higher position if his performance keeps up. The Imperial officer catalogued that thought and shuffled into his mind for later retrieval. The kuati man began to pull up various status screens of the combatants. The Pride was taking a beating, more so than Desente had been anticipating. He watched as its shield's strength dipped lower under the combined pirate-Imperial assault. A brief bit of worry crept into his mind. Are they holding out for someone? Or are they just that stubborn? The last of the Pride's engines flickered off under the ionic assault of the assault cruiser. He glanced at Veers, but the man was already taking the Mako in closer to the enemy bulk cruiser to unload its Zero-G troopers. He nodded to no-one in particular. They're anticipating my commands...like a well-oiled machine...I might regret leaving for a larger ship soon...He smirked. I suppose I could arrange to take them with me...But his plotting was interrupted by a flashing icon on his screen.

Streams of laser fire suddenly ripped away at the Mako's shields. But the assault cruiser simply coasted forward to use the bulk of the Pride as a shield. Blissex pulled up a tactical report and began to swore. Ivan's face burned in the back of his minds. Well, we were never really friends...allies of convenience...He flicked his headset comlink to the channel shared by the crew of the Mako and the Zero-G troopers.

"We were just targetted and fired upon by our allies," announced Blissex dryly, "the Pride isn't going anywhere, and neither are we. Therefore, at this time, we will ignore the Pride and focus on eliminating our newfound hostiles. Standby for new orders coming from your departments. The plan is being revised. Blissex out."

Ivan, you will regret this...Desente began to type in new orders, but his headset began to ring; the sign of incoming private call. He glanced at the sender through his console's display and tapped a button on its side.

"I almost thought that we were buddies," admitted Desente coolly, "but I knew this might happen one day...I just expected the job to be finished first."

Ivan's voice oozed in thicker than a can of hydrogel, "Well, it's more unexpected this way...but it seems that you anticipated my plan already. Some smooth moving by your helmsmen there, using the Pride like that..."

"I wish I could return the compliment," said Desente, "but I typically don't do social calls in the middle of a battle..especially with someone as insufferable as yourself..."

"I hear you, but I've always found a little small talk to go a long way when brokering a deal."

"What deal?"

"You're outgunned, and we both know it. I suppose it goes without saying that you know why I brought that other ship with me. he's your replacement."

"Is that so? Cheaper, I'd wager..."

"I won't insult you Blissex. You know how to plan an Op, and you and your crew do it well. But there's certain limitations with working with your type, and frankly, I don't need them anymore, and I don't need you. But you were a good partner, and I respect that. Let's strike up a truce between your ship and mine. You can leave the battlefield, and we won't fire upon you and..."

"No deal."

Desente tapped a button on the side of his headset and bringing their conversation to an abrupt end. His eyes rested on the vibrant tactical map. So how do I salvage this now?

 

[Desente Blissex]

Desente half-watched the ship's Zero-G troopers jet off to board the Pride of Telwar. Not even a minute passed before flashes of light broke out across the cruiser's tan form as the Imperial troopers cut their way into vessels. As they entered, brightly colored objects began to spurt out of the newly made holes. Desente zoomed his console in on a particularly bright orange one. The ejected man grasped to cover his face. The jumpsuit might help with basic environmental protection...but he won't be able to breathe for much longer...I didn't want to have it come to this, but Ivan's not given me much choice...there will be a lot of civilian casualties...but it will be quick...

He briefly tensed his jaw as he turned his attention to Ivan and his other pirate allies. The Freedom's Way was maintaining its position on the opposite side of the Pride, but his new ally in the Discril-class Attack Cruiser had started to descend almost straight down. Trying to force us from our cover...He glanced at his wrist chrono. Not enough time...He turned his attention to the helmsman.

"Take us away from the Pride, passively," said Desente, "Weapons, hold all fire. We're running dark towards the Way."

The helmsman didn't even bother to look back at him, but quickly began to maneuver the Mako away from their potential prize. Desente turned his attention to Ivan's starship, a converted bulk freighter. It's a poor plan to hang onto a ship just because it's sentimental...they're tools after all...nothing more than that...

 

[Desente Blissex]

The Mako drifted through space, looping around the stricken Pride in an arc that would eventually take it towards Ivan's Freedom's Way. The kuati man tapped his fingers on his chair's armrest. He glanced at his navigation console and suppressed a sigh. Well, silent running never was known for being quick...Desente fumbled in his pants pocket for a battered gray comlink. He eyed it briefly before turning to Ensign Netbers.

"Ensign, you have the bridge."

"Sir?"

"Make sure you keep us on-course to the Way's aft. I'll be in the ready room."

"Yes sir."

Desente rose from his chair and exited the miniature bridge. He entered the narrow corridor that ran across the ship but almost immediately did a left face to enter a room the size of his bunk. After sliding the door shut behind him, he pulled out the comlink and tapped its activation stud.

"Are you there?"

A disembodied voice emanated out of the cylindrical, and Desente almost felt that he could see Barnab's glaring cybernetic eye staring at him.

"Give me a moment...all right, I'm alone. What do you want?"

"You remember our deal..."

"You expect me to do that now?"