Incursion Vector

023

[▲] Unidentified vessel, Caminha Waypoint

Locking down a vector into the analog computer using an actual mechanical keyboard that clicked when its keys were pressed, Nim unconsciously rubbed her hands clean on her legs and then unholstered her rifle from her chest. With a faint hiss the weapon expanded back to its full size and chambered a round.

“All right, we're drifting to about twenty thousand klicks neg-z of the fleet,” she announced. “Should be there sometime tomorrow.”

Keiji glanced back from where he had taken up a defensive position facing the door down to the subdeck. “What?”

“This piece of shit is just running on momentum,” retorted Nim, slightly irritated that he would be surprised with how slow the scow was moving. The Cusith, Anansi and Agamemnon had blasted almost everything of value and the insane crew had taken care of the rest before they even hopped off of the jump bridge. “I had to chain vent all the dorsal and aft compartments to push it on to that course. I could pump and dump all the O2 and get us there faster, but that means Ifrit's fangirls suffocate.”

“Please don't call them that,” muttered Leo.

“Sorry,” she apologized quickly, then looked back at Keiji. “That's all I can do unless we jump in a frigate with the parts that need replacing or start heading aft and see what they've got stashed near the reactors. Bet someone a hundred credits it's a pyramid of skulls.”

Keiji glared at her, obviously annoyed with her making light of the situation. Oblivious to their flight leader's directed ire Vic asked, “Shouldn't we have heard alarms or something?”

“Safety systems are about as fried as the coms,” reported Karda, still trying to get a decent signal out from the ship to the Heinlein from the communication console behind where she had been rigging the propulsion. “Pretty sure this is going to be a no-go with our gear Lawman. I need about five meters of new cabling and a working generator to get this thing going.”

“All right, leave it for now,” ordered Keiji. “Flight Tantalus is on the hull and loading in. Wildcard, Mantis, Hardcover, you're in charge of the prisoners here. If they move shoot them. Ifrit you're still translating for us.”

“Clear read,” said Leo rather stiffly. Nim couldn't quite tell if it was because he hadn't slept in almost two solar days or if standing on a ship full of face-eating fringe psychos that had once been part of someone else's migrant fleet was finally starting to get under his skin. Even if it was bothering him she doubted he'd shut down on them until they were all safely back on board the Heinlein. Leo never did anything half-assed or left anything only halfway finished. Honestly she was more afraid of Vic loosing it. She thought he would have puked in his helmet when they had loaded into the corridor of corpses. It was impressive he still had whatever he ate for dinner in his stomach.

Coming across people who had gone insane after long periods spent in space wasn't anything new to Nim. Her mother had written her master's thesis on the subject of fringe psychosis and their ship at the time had made a layover at a psychiatric facility so she could interview the staff looking after a few crazy wards of the Federated Colonies. Almost as soon as Lyall had gotten her first commission she came home every leave with all sorts of insane stories about happening upon drifting freighters whose crews had taken up eating personnel by rank after their emergency supplies ran out. Aries had never really talked about it much, preferring to tell his little sister about pirate-fighting heroes over people who lost their minds after too long alone in the black. It was the only thing she thought her brother was truly afraid of, mainly because it really could happen to anybody.