StarFleet Comms Fanfiction entry

This is my entry to the Inspired By Images Of Eve Competition 3. More details and links to all entrants can be found at Starfleet Comms.
email: spninm@hotmail.com

Love Affair

Warping was always one of my favorite experiences -- the powerful tug as the ship entered warp would push me deeper into my seat as the roaring engines would begin to flare, signaling pure ecstasy. Adrenaline would start to surge through my body as swirls of space would start to engulf me and the ship was projected further into darkness. There was nothing in this void, save the ravenous beating of my nervous heart and my love affair.

My love was a workhorse. She had been with me since the first day I started running missions and as we pushed on in warp, she began to lead me in a waltz. The disruptions in the warp tossed us gently side to side as we side-stepped through the solar system. She was steady, gentle, and firm. She was my rifter, and we were here to conduct business.

Torr Azor had sent us to a far off solar system to inspect a complex that was said to have a few petty thieves in hiding. It was just another quick mission for some quick cash, but as the warp broke I saw nothing. Damn him! Torr Azor had toyed with me before, sending me on wild goose chases again and again, but none were as far out of my was as this one had been. If I ran into trouble out here, I would be dead.
Running missions was my lively hood, and Torr had screwed me time after time, and yet, I would always wind up in his office again, begging for work. I must have had some kind of unyielding compassion for the damn fool. But then, maybe I was just the fool.

I checked my scanners out of desperation. I did not want to have to go back with nothing to show for the long travel. The display flashed with multiple blips of various size. Asteroids, or as I like to call them, rocks – just rocks out there. It seemed that the whole universe was made out of rocks – asteroids, small rocks; moons, big rocks; planets, bigger rocks, and the suns of the universe, while molten at their outer fringes, are nothing but solid iron-rich rocks at their core.

The closest rock was 50 km away and 30 km in size. It glowed with the light of the closest sun in the solar system, illuminating the small clouds of blue and red gas that surrounded it. Slowly, it was turning in an orbit through space. In its early life, something must have projected the large rock into a trajectory. Something large and something violent had left it spinning. Spinning for eternity.

My eye slowly glassed over the edges of the rock that was out in space. Peaks and valleys, craters and calderas were all crisp along the edge, outlined by light, easily visible. As I continued, something was amiss. A large, straight object poked out into space, the smooth lines of nature gone from its design. It was a foreign object. It was an alien object. Perhaps this was it – my objective. I gathered my courage and set a course for the object.

As I drew closer to the complex, I could see light starting to flood the surrounding area. It was coming alive. The complex became a flurry of activity – gates and hangar doors began to open as red lights flashed. I had been spotted.

I knew it wouldn't be long before ships were up and ready to engage me, so I prepared my ship. I checked and rechecked my systems and weapons. I even had enough time to check again before the bogeys were on me. They bolted toward me as quickly as they could, afterburners flaring at their ends.

Impact. Blasters began to tear at my shields and they pulsed blue with fatigue. I engaged quickly and started with my own volley. Streaks of light crossed space and caught the enemy in an orange glow. Hisses and pops sounded from my shields as energy began to drain from them. More sounds erupted from the shield as it gave its dying breath. Now, a new sound, metallic and hard. Enemy blasters had started eating away at my armor. Bits and pieces began to eject into space at high velocity. The ship shuttered with the pounding rounds. I returned fire with more light responding as the rounds found their mark. A second star shined in the system as one of the enemy ships popped.

One down, I thought, and more to come. I couldn't take much more of this. My ship was bleeding armor and I couldn't deal enough damage to deter the enemy onslaught. I would need a miracle to escape unscathed.
My scanner started to flicker. I looked down at it and saw multiple signatures registering nearby. Who could it be? I recalibrated my scanner so I could get a better reading. Three frigates, two cruisers and a battleship. They were closing in fast and as my ship started into structure damage, I could only hope that they were friendly.

The ships dropped and the guns from the battleship began to blaze as the rounds came streaking across space. I though for sure they were coming for me, but as I braced for impact the rounds crashed into the enemy frigates that were around me. Help had arrived, but they were too late. My beloved rifter was covered in holes and she began to drift aimlessly as the last spark of life drained from her.


The other ships began to clear up the last of the enemy and blew up the compound on the asteroid. After the area was secured and neatly salvaged, my overview started to crackle and I could barely make out a figure. It was Torr Azor. Damn him! I began to swear and kick at my lifeless ship, ruined by hands of this man. He began to explain himself and said that I was sent here as bait in hopes of driving out an high value target from his hiding spot. He apologized for not telling me the full story, but I couldn't accept it as I sat in my lifeless ship. He told me that in spite of losing my ship, there was good news – my mission was a success and he said that I should be proud of the duty I performed this day – the target was disposed of and peace and order would be restored to this system.
I had to hitch a ride back to my home base as Torr Azor promised medals for my bravery and courage. His promises of glory didn't make me feel any less humiliated or proud – I couldn't believe that someone could be awarded a medal for being toyed into a harrowing feat of bravery, but I accepted his offer. It was the only thing I had after this disaster. It wasn't going to revive my ship and it wasn't going to restore any of my pride, but it would have to do.

The ceremony was grand. It was filled with people I had never seen before in a large building I had never stepped foot in before. Words like “hero” and “courage” were thrown around, but I didn't fell like either of those. I felt empty. As I accepted the medal, I wanted to curse Torr Azor in front of all these people. I wanted to say “Damn him! Damn him for destroying my ship! Damn him for toying with me! Damn him for giving me this medal!” but I couldn't. I received my award and quietly sat down.
After the ceremony Torr Azor said that he had another surprise for me. We both got into a car a drove to one of the hangars that surrounded the station. He told me that I would be very surprised. As we arrived at the hangar doors we both stepped out. He led me to the control panel for the large doors and gave me the honor of opening them. I was frozen in amazement as a pristine rifter was unveiled by the hangar doors. He said I must have liked it because I just stood in awe for a minute or two.

I glazed over the lines of ship – straight and clean. My eyes stopped at a small ding in the side of the ship. Torr Azor noticed me looking at it and said that they hadn't got every dent or hole out yet, but that the technicians should be done by the end of the week. I quickly disregarded the comment, but as I continued over the lines of the ship, I realized that this was my lifeless ship brought back from the dead! I stood back to admire my old ship and had a quick thought: damn him! Now he was really toying with me.