(( Continuing story w/ @starstruck-galra | Infinite Possibilities | Flight or Fight | ))
Light-speed was peaceful. The Omen wasn’t the smoothest ride with thrusters and rockets propelling her through the emptiness. But when the light-speed drive engaged, she would glide between the stars without a hitch or bump to speak of.
Corvidus leaned back in his chair, and popped open a can of trail mix. He brought his legs up to rest atop the chassis corner of his console, as he watched the stars zip past by the dozens out the main window. He exhaled a sigh.
“What about you, Qess?” he asked, between munching. “You’ve gotta stay taken care of, yourself. Any work you’ve had issues with? Any way I can help?”
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here… looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
Qessyn smiled as the bay doors opened. “Understood.”
The Wolfen II hummed to life. “Launching in three…two…one.” Carefully, the sand cat maneuvered the fighter out of the docking bay. It handled even better than she was expecting, smoothly exiting The Omen and gliding through space.
She took the ship for a couple of laps around The Omen, testing out the various systems and controls. Barrel rolls, somersaults, u-turns, the Wolfen II handled all of them effortlessly.
“She’s handling beautifully. More precise than anything I’ve ever piloted. How do things look on your end, Corv?”
A squawk of excitement came as the initial response over the communicator!
“Haha, looks marvelous, Qess! Graceful as can be!” Corvidus’ image grinned in the corner of the Wolfen II’s HUD. “Maneuverability testing’s complete, for now. Let’s see what this thing can really do, yeah?”
He tapped away at his console, causing the Bay Alpha doors to open once more. This time, a number of drones emerged, and dispersed around the makeshift arena. They placed some static communicator buoys at various coordinates Corvidus himself dictated from the Omen’s computer interface.
“Put out a few tin cans for you, Qess. Think you can hit any of them?”
Qessyn grinned as she watched the drones work, until all the buoys were placed.
“Oh I think I can manage.”
The buoys popped up on the Wolfen II’s HUD, and Qessyn pulled the trigger. Even more accurate and precise than its flying, the fighter made quick work of each. Its charged shots were surprisingly powerful, taking out a cluster of targets in a single shot.
“No wonder Star Wolf has such a fearsome reputation. She’s incredible, Corv. Smooth, streamlined, she’s the whole package. Why would anyone just ditch her in space?”
“Couldn’t tell you, Qess. I’m betting it was a mistake, or oversight. No one would do this in purpose, right?”
Corvidus couldn’t help but smile at the data stream as it all compiled on not one but TWO of his monitors! So much information, flowing in not just from the Omen’s scanners, but from the Wolfen II’s computer feed. It was so much better than he imagined! So sophisticated, agile, and potent! A true work of art, especially with a competent pilot at the stick. He knew he wouldn’t be able to yield that kind of result from it, himself. His fighter pilot days were long behind him.
“I’ve got enough data for now. Bring her in, and we’ll move to another location for further testing. I’m thinking a derelict world for atmospheric tests, and then maybe a–”
A sudden alarm interrupted Corvidus, pulling his attention from the data stream to another console. The Omen’s proximity sensors had tripped - someone was coming!
“–Uh oh…” he cawed. “We’ve got some visitors, Qess. Get back to the bay, quickly!”
But it was too late - a number of ships emerged from between the asteroids in all directions. Smaller fighters, mostly, and a command frigate. The markings were all too familiar to Corvidus. A burning skull encircles by two orbital stars - it was the Firelight Gang!
“Well, well! Look who it is!” came a coarse voice over the comms - accompanied by an even more unpleasant image. “Thought you could hide from us, Beaky? You still owe us for those bad parts you tried to pawn off on us!”
Leader of the Firelight Gang, Torta “the Terror” Tamlin was a ruthless pirate. Her reputation for treachery was growing in recent months, attracting a dastardly spread of unsavory underlings into her gang of bandits and thugs. Corvidus used to deal with Torta, before she became too infamous - something he came to regret time and time again. This was likely to be another.
“Rawwk! They weren’t bad parts, you half-wit!” Corvidus screeched back, in frustration. “You just installed them wrong, because you’re an idiot! If you’d have let me install them right, like I wanted to–”
“–Too late for that now!” Torta all but laughed. “We’re here to collect! And I’m thinking that’s a really nice looking fighter you found. Hand it over, and we’ll call it even!”
Corvidus cursed under his breath. He switched channels to a private connection to Qessyn.
“Take that thing as far away as you can, Qess!” he squawked. “I’d sooner die than let Torta and the Firelight Gang get their hands on a fighter like that! They’re a terror enough as it is!”
She was cut off by the appearance of the Firelight gang. She glared; she knew them, knew their reputation. So they wanted the Wolfen, huh…
Listening to Corvidus, she remained silent. Then her lips curved into a grin.
“Run? Why? I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but we have one of the most sophisticated pieces of fighter technology at our disposal. If these guys won’t stop harassing you, a more effective way of dealing with them springs to mind. Besides…you want combat data, right?”
She grew serious. “I’m not leaving you to their mercy, Corv. It’s about time someone put them in their place. Keep that data feed rolling…”
The sand cat grinned and licked her lips. “It’s beatdown time.”
With that, she put the thrusters on full speed, and started opening fire on the rogue faction.
“Qess, no! You’re gonna–” Corvidus protested with a screech!
But he knew his objections fell on deaf ears - Qessyn was too much a fighter to back away from a challenge. Especially one like this! She was a good soul, always looking out for those in need. She wasn’t the sort to let bullying and oppression like this slide. It was admirable. But foolish!
With furious tapping away at his control console, Corvidus brought the Omen about. The bay doors closed quickly, as the deflector shields thrummed to life around the freighter’s outer hull. He began executing some evasive maneuvers, while setting an executing another string of commands on-the-fly for his drones in Bays Alpha and Bravo.
He had a plan. Sort of.
“Buy us some time, Qess! I loaded you up with a modest compliment of missiles. Make them count!” he chirped over the communicator.
The Firelight Gang responded to the aggression quickly! The fighters converged on Qessyn, lasers flying in all directions! None of their fighters, though, could match the speed and maneuverability of the Wolfen II! It was a true battle of quality versus quantity, as the Gang fighters locked into an attack formation.
“Hah! Give it up, Trash Collector! You and your little friend can’t possibly think you can stand up to us!” Torta taunted over broadcast. “Have it your way, then! Blast them to bits, boys! We’ll collect our dues from the leftover wreckage! Ha-haa!”
Oh Qessyn knew her stubbornness would get her killed one day, but she had seen too much during the Lylat Wars to stand idly by while someone needed help. “Make myself the bane of their existence. Got it.”
With that she got to work. The Wolfen easily wove in and out of the laser fire, (it was a masterpiece of engineering, after all) but those numbers would overwhelm even her soon. “Let’s see how you guys like this~”
Switching on a targeting system, she marked the enemy fighter in the center of the formation, and launched one of the missiles that Corvidus had so kindly provided. “Chew on that you bottom feeders!”
She guided the Wolfen closer to the freighter, weaving in and out of enemy fire. “Let’s see how you boys handle me while I’m flying around your own ship.”
So far so good. “I can’t keep this up forever, Corv,” she called out over comms, “your plan better be a good one!” The sand cat didn’t let up for a moment, harassing the gang members and not giving them an inch.
The Firelight Gang couldn’t keep up with Qessyn! The center fighter lit up and exploded as the missile struck true. The remaining fighters broke formation to barrage the Wolfen II, with little success. But those lasers they shot had to go somewhere… Torta shrieked over broadcast as her own ships peppered her frigate with laser fire!
“Hold your fire, morons!” she scolded them. “Don’t attack the fighter when it’s so close! Attack the freighter instead!”
The Gang fighters broke off from their attack, then formed up in a loose array as they darted for the Omen. But Corvidus was ready for them!
“Please let this work…” he chirped, before taking the Omen’s controls manually!
She wasn’t graceful, but Corvidus had slipped a few tricks up the Omen’s sleeves for such occasions! Usually, they were just countermeasures to make a hasty retreat. But if Qessyn wouldn’t leave him, he sure as hell wasn’t about to leave her! He hit the thrusters, driving headlong towards the fighters as they approached. Laser fire glanced off the deflector shields. They held, for now - but every hit dropped their integrity by a significant percentage!
“Get ready to come about, Qess! Pick them off when they scatter!”
He turned the Omen sharply, swinging its broadside to face the fighters as they closed in. Bays Alpha and Bravo opened up… and tons of loose scrap parts were thrown out of the side by the inertia! Some of the fighters managed to break away in time, but about half of them were barraged by chunks of loose scrap that scraped, shattered, and otherwise destroyed their ships! They blew up one by one, leaving a disoriented mess of remaining pirates for Qess to clean up!
“–Caaww… all my scrap!” Corvidus whined, as he piloted the Omen clear.
Qessyn gave the enemy no chance to recover, bearing down on them like a predator cornering it’s prey. She made quick work of the disoriented enemy fighters, taking advantage of their confusion. They simply couldn’t keep up with the likes of the Wolfen. “I’ll help you get more scrap later. How’s it look, Corv?”
She growled. “You don’t scare me, Tamlin. I’ve faced off against worse than the likes of you! If you hurt Corv, there won’t be enough left of you to drag in for a bounty!”
Doing a u-turn, she once again faced the enemy freighter. “This oughta keep you occupied for a while…” Engaging the Wolfen’s targeting systems, she marked a spot on the freighter, then fired one of her remaining missiles.
The missile hit its mark - with such dead-center accurate targeting, how could it miss? Torta shrieked over the communicator, as her unofficial flagship freighter rocked from the concussive blast!
“D-Damn you, whoever you are! Mark my words, you’ll pay for siding with this swindling, two-timing pigeon!” she snapped! “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me, or the Firelight Gang!”
Torta’s freighter reconfigured - armor plating formed a shell around its hull as it turned about. Rockets propelled her off and out of the asteroid field, leaving behind a mess of magnetic mines to deter any would-be pursuers. A common ploy pirates used pretty often. But effective nonetheless. Corvidus himself used such countermeasures on occasion.
“Hah! That’s right! Run away, Torta! About time you get chased off from a fight, for once!” he cackled over broadcast. “Steer clear, Qess. Those mines are nasty. By the time you get around or through them, she’ll be gone.”
The Omen came about once again, centering in the asteroid field clearing before coming to a stop. The bay doors opened - already cleared and ‘organized’ by the drones to provide a clear docking area.
“Best bring her in, Qess. We’ve gotta jump. Probably not wise to linger here much longer. If Torta and the Firelight gang could find me, who knows who else could’ve?”
“YEAH THAT’S RIGHT RUN AWAY!” Qessyn taunted, grinning widely.
“Alright Corv, I’m comin’.”
It didn’t take her long to dock; as smoothly as she had taken off, and the Wolfen was back safely in its place, none the worse for wear. The cockpit opened, and she rose, stretching.
“How was that for combat testing?” she chuckled, hopping down. “You okay, Corv? How long has the Firelight Gang been harassing you?”
Regardless of his answer, the man now had a target on his back; Qessyn couldn’t ignore that.
“Bah… too long. Torta was right, though; this won’t be the last of them I’ll be seeing. Persistent, to a fault.” Corvidus chirped over the bay speakers. “Come on up to the bridge. We’re getting out of here.”
With a few skillful calculations, the Omen navigated out of the asteroid field. Course set, the light-speed drive revved up, and propelled the freighter further into the depths of space!
“This data’s outstanding! Look, Qess!” Corvidus called out, as Qessyn arrived on the bridge. “It’s all cutting edge tech crammed into a deadly fighter! Beautiful…”
He almost looked entranced as he stared at the monitors displaying the data readouts. Eyes full of wonder and awe… smiling as wide as he possibly could!
Qessyn examined the data; she wasn’t nearly as well-versed in the more technological aspects of flight, but she could at least tell the numbers were incredible. “Whoa…honestly, the way she handled, this data is spot-on. I have never in my life handled anything so sophisticated.”
She looked over at Corvidus, brows furrowing in concern. “…are they the reason you’re limping, Corv? I noticed you were having some trouble…”
Folding her arms, she frowned. “If they’re not going to stop harassing you, then you’re not going to have to face them alone anymore. I’ll look out for you from now on.”
Reflexively, Corvidus brought his hand to his left leg, frowning. He let out a sigh, as he looked at Qessyn.
“Not much gets past you, eh?” he joked, giving a light smirk, before shaking his head. “Torta and I used to have an... arrangement. I’d fix up her crew’s fighters and such, and she’d bring me whatever scrap and parts she didn’t want or need. This was before she started getting too big for her shell, y’know?”
He leaned back in his chair, and shook his leg with a shrug.
“So she decides one day she wants all her fighters to have these new type of experimental G-Diffusers on them. I’d scooped up a few from some wrecks, so I sell them to her. But rather than have me install them, she thinks her crew can do it on their own.” he scoffed. “Didn’t end well for them or their ships. Naturally, she blamed my parts over her crew’s incompetence. So she catches up to me in orbit around Venom. Gets on my case, says I swindled her, tells me I’m to be ‘made an example of’ in front of her and her goons. Got into a fire fight, shook me up good - busted my leg up when a big missile hit brought some parts down on me.”
He tugged the pant up from his left leg, showing it off. It didn’t look all too bad on the outside; the injury appeared to be internal. A single brace wrapped around the center of it, but it didn’t look like it did much to help. Corvidus chirped.
“But the Omen and I managed to crawl away in one piece. Somehow, we always do. Like you saw, though - she’s got it out for me, still.”
He eyed Qessyn over, appraisingly. He’d always liked her; she had a protective personality, a good moral sense of what was right and what was wrong, and didn’t back down in the face of adversity. Traits he admired, going as far as wishing he, himself, possessed them. But he felt conflicted. He didn’t want Qessyn to get involved in protecting him and hist stuff. With a gang of pirates actively after him, that was a tall order. He thought for a moment, before smirking.
“Heh. Won’t be much help to me in that bucket you drive now, Qess.” he cackled, teasingly. “So let’s do it this way; you trade me that tin can of yours for the Wolfen II. The obvious value difference between them we’ll call a protector’s retainer, yeah? I’ll buzz you if I run into trouble. And with your new toy, you’ll actually be able to help me out. What do you say?”
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here… looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
Qessyn smiled as the bay doors opened. “Understood.”
The Wolfen II hummed to life. “Launching in three…two…one.” Carefully, the sand cat maneuvered the fighter out of the docking bay. It handled even better than she was expecting, smoothly exiting The Omen and gliding through space.
She took the ship for a couple of laps around The Omen, testing out the various systems and controls. Barrel rolls, somersaults, u-turns, the Wolfen II handled all of them effortlessly.
“She’s handling beautifully. More precise than anything I’ve ever piloted. How do things look on your end, Corv?”
A squawk of excitement came as the initial response over the communicator!
“Haha, looks marvelous, Qess! Graceful as can be!” Corvidus’ image grinned in the corner of the Wolfen II’s HUD. “Maneuverability testing’s complete, for now. Let’s see what this thing can really do, yeah?”
He tapped away at his console, causing the Bay Alpha doors to open once more. This time, a number of drones emerged, and dispersed around the makeshift arena. They placed some static communicator buoys at various coordinates Corvidus himself dictated from the Omen’s computer interface.
“Put out a few tin cans for you, Qess. Think you can hit any of them?”
Qessyn grinned as she watched the drones work, until all the buoys were placed.
“Oh I think I can manage.”
The buoys popped up on the Wolfen II’s HUD, and Qessyn pulled the trigger. Even more accurate and precise than its flying, the fighter made quick work of each. Its charged shots were surprisingly powerful, taking out a cluster of targets in a single shot.
“No wonder Star Wolf has such a fearsome reputation. She’s incredible, Corv. Smooth, streamlined, she’s the whole package. Why would anyone just ditch her in space?”
“Couldn’t tell you, Qess. I’m betting it was a mistake, or oversight. No one would do this in purpose, right?”
Corvidus couldn’t help but smile at the data stream as it all compiled on not one but TWO of his monitors! So much information, flowing in not just from the Omen’s scanners, but from the Wolfen II’s computer feed. It was so much better than he imagined! So sophisticated, agile, and potent! A true work of art, especially with a competent pilot at the stick. He knew he wouldn’t be able to yield that kind of result from it, himself. His fighter pilot days were long behind him.
“I’ve got enough data for now. Bring her in, and we’ll move to another location for further testing. I’m thinking a derelict world for atmospheric tests, and then maybe a–”
A sudden alarm interrupted Corvidus, pulling his attention from the data stream to another console. The Omen’s proximity sensors had tripped - someone was coming!
“–Uh oh…” he cawed. “We’ve got some visitors, Qess. Get back to the bay, quickly!”
But it was too late - a number of ships emerged from between the asteroids in all directions. Smaller fighters, mostly, and a command frigate. The markings were all too familiar to Corvidus. A burning skull encircles by two orbital stars - it was the Firelight Gang!
“Well, well! Look who it is!” came a coarse voice over the comms - accompanied by an even more unpleasant image. “Thought you could hide from us, Beaky? You still owe us for those bad parts you tried to pawn off on us!”
Leader of the Firelight Gang, Torta “the Terror” Tamlin was a ruthless pirate. Her reputation for treachery was growing in recent months, attracting a dastardly spread of unsavory underlings into her gang of bandits and thugs. Corvidus used to deal with Torta, before she became too infamous - something he came to regret time and time again. This was likely to be another.
“Rawwk! They weren’t bad parts, you half-wit!” Corvidus screeched back, in frustration. “You just installed them wrong, because you’re an idiot! If you’d have let me install them right, like I wanted to–”
“–Too late for that now!” Torta all but laughed. “We’re here to collect! And I’m thinking that’s a really nice looking fighter you found. Hand it over, and we’ll call it even!”
Corvidus cursed under his breath. He switched channels to a private connection to Qessyn.
“Take that thing as far away as you can, Qess!” he squawked. “I’d sooner die than let Torta and the Firelight Gang get their hands on a fighter like that! They’re a terror enough as it is!”
She was cut off by the appearance of the Firelight gang. She glared; she knew them, knew their reputation. So they wanted the Wolfen, huh…
Listening to Corvidus, she remained silent. Then her lips curved into a grin.
“Run? Why? I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but we have one of the most sophisticated pieces of fighter technology at our disposal. If these guys won’t stop harassing you, a more effective way of dealing with them springs to mind. Besides…you want combat data, right?”
She grew serious. “I’m not leaving you to their mercy, Corv. It’s about time someone put them in their place. Keep that data feed rolling…”
The sand cat grinned and licked her lips. “It’s beatdown time.”
With that, she put the thrusters on full speed, and started opening fire on the rogue faction.
“Qess, no! You’re gonna–” Corvidus protested with a screech!
But he knew his objections fell on deaf ears - Qessyn was too much a fighter to back away from a challenge. Especially one like this! She was a good soul, always looking out for those in need. She wasn’t the sort to let bullying and oppression like this slide. It was admirable. But foolish!
With furious tapping away at his control console, Corvidus brought the Omen about. The bay doors closed quickly, as the deflector shields thrummed to life around the freighter’s outer hull. He began executing some evasive maneuvers, while setting an executing another string of commands on-the-fly for his drones in Bays Alpha and Bravo.
He had a plan. Sort of.
“Buy us some time, Qess! I loaded you up with a modest compliment of missiles. Make them count!” he chirped over the communicator.
The Firelight Gang responded to the aggression quickly! The fighters converged on Qessyn, lasers flying in all directions! None of their fighters, though, could match the speed and maneuverability of the Wolfen II! It was a true battle of quality versus quantity, as the Gang fighters locked into an attack formation.
“Hah! Give it up, Trash Collector! You and your little friend can’t possibly think you can stand up to us!” Torta taunted over broadcast. “Have it your way, then! Blast them to bits, boys! We’ll collect our dues from the leftover wreckage! Ha-haa!”
Oh Qessyn knew her stubbornness would get her killed one day, but she had seen too much during the Lylat Wars to stand idly by while someone needed help. “Make myself the bane of their existence. Got it.”
With that she got to work. The Wolfen easily wove in and out of the laser fire, (it was a masterpiece of engineering, after all) but those numbers would overwhelm even her soon. “Let’s see how you guys like this~”
Switching on a targeting system, she marked the enemy fighter in the center of the formation, and launched one of the missiles that Corvidus had so kindly provided. “Chew on that you bottom feeders!”
She guided the Wolfen closer to the freighter, weaving in and out of enemy fire. “Let’s see how you boys handle me while I’m flying around your own ship.”
So far so good. “I can’t keep this up forever, Corv,” she called out over comms, “your plan better be a good one!” The sand cat didn’t let up for a moment, harassing the gang members and not giving them an inch.
The Firelight Gang couldn’t keep up with Qessyn! The center fighter lit up and exploded as the missile struck true. The remaining fighters broke formation to barrage the Wolfen II, with little success. But those lasers they shot had to go somewhere… Torta shrieked over broadcast as her own ships peppered her frigate with laser fire!
“Hold your fire, morons!” she scolded them. “Don’t attack the fighter when it’s so close! Attack the freighter instead!”
The Gang fighters broke off from their attack, then formed up in a loose array as they darted for the Omen. But Corvidus was ready for them!
“Please let this work…” he chirped, before taking the Omen’s controls manually!
She wasn’t graceful, but Corvidus had slipped a few tricks up the Omen’s sleeves for such occasions! Usually, they were just countermeasures to make a hasty retreat. But if Qessyn wouldn’t leave him, he sure as hell wasn’t about to leave her! He hit the thrusters, driving headlong towards the fighters as they approached. Laser fire glanced off the deflector shields. They held, for now - but every hit dropped their integrity by a significant percentage!
“Get ready to come about, Qess! Pick them off when they scatter!”
He turned the Omen sharply, swinging its broadside to face the fighters as they closed in. Bays Alpha and Bravo opened up… and tons of loose scrap parts were thrown out of the side by the inertia! Some of the fighters managed to break away in time, but about half of them were barraged by chunks of loose scrap that scraped, shattered, and otherwise destroyed their ships! They blew up one by one, leaving a disoriented mess of remaining pirates for Qess to clean up!
“–Caaww… all my scrap!” Corvidus whined, as he piloted the Omen clear.
Qessyn gave the enemy no chance to recover, bearing down on them like a predator cornering it’s prey. She made quick work of the disoriented enemy fighters, taking advantage of their confusion. They simply couldn’t keep up with the likes of the Wolfen. “I’ll help you get more scrap later. How’s it look, Corv?”
She growled. “You don’t scare me, Tamlin. I’ve faced off against worse than the likes of you! If you hurt Corv, there won’t be enough left of you to drag in for a bounty!”
Doing a u-turn, she once again faced the enemy freighter. “This oughta keep you occupied for a while…” Engaging the Wolfen’s targeting systems, she marked a spot on the freighter, then fired one of her remaining missiles.
The missile hit its mark - with such dead-center accurate targeting, how could it miss? Torta shrieked over the communicator, as her unofficial flagship freighter rocked from the concussive blast!
“D-Damn you, whoever you are! Mark my words, you’ll pay for siding with this swindling, two-timing pigeon!” she snapped! “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me, or the Firelight Gang!”
Torta’s freighter reconfigured - armor plating formed a shell around its hull as it turned about. Rockets propelled her off and out of the asteroid field, leaving behind a mess of magnetic mines to deter any would-be pursuers. A common ploy pirates used pretty often. But effective nonetheless. Corvidus himself used such countermeasures on occasion.
“Hah! That’s right! Run away, Torta! About time you get chased off from a fight, for once!” he cackled over broadcast. “Steer clear, Qess. Those mines are nasty. By the time you get around or through them, she’ll be gone.”
The Omen came about once again, centering in the asteroid field clearing before coming to a stop. The bay doors opened - already cleared and ‘organized’ by the drones to provide a clear docking area.
“Best bring her in, Qess. We’ve gotta jump. Probably not wise to linger here much longer. If Torta and the Firelight gang could find me, who knows who else could’ve?”
“YEAH THAT’S RIGHT RUN AWAY!” Qessyn taunted, grinning widely.
“Alright Corv, I’m comin’.”
It didn’t take her long to dock; as smoothly as she had taken off, and the Wolfen was back safely in its place, none the worse for wear. The cockpit opened, and she rose, stretching.
“How was that for combat testing?” she chuckled, hopping down. “You okay, Corv? How long has the Firelight Gang been harassing you?”
Regardless of his answer, the man now had a target on his back; Qessyn couldn’t ignore that.
“Bah... too long. Torta was right, though; this won’t be the last of them I’ll be seeing. Persistent, to a fault.” Corvidus chirped over the bay speakers. “Come on up to the bridge. We’re getting out of here.”
With a few skillful calculations, the Omen navigated out of the asteroid field. Course set, the light-speed drive revved up, and propelled the freighter further into the depths of space!
“This data’s outstanding! Look, Qess!” Corvidus called out, as Qessyn arrived on the bridge. “It’s all cutting edge tech crammed into a deadly fighter! Beautiful...”
He almost looked entranced as he stared at the monitors displaying the data readouts. Eyes full of wonder and awe... smiling as wide as he possibly could!
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here… looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
Qessyn smiled as the bay doors opened. “Understood.”
The Wolfen II hummed to life. “Launching in three…two…one.” Carefully, the sand cat maneuvered the fighter out of the docking bay. It handled even better than she was expecting, smoothly exiting The Omen and gliding through space.
She took the ship for a couple of laps around The Omen, testing out the various systems and controls. Barrel rolls, somersaults, u-turns, the Wolfen II handled all of them effortlessly.
“She’s handling beautifully. More precise than anything I’ve ever piloted. How do things look on your end, Corv?”
A squawk of excitement came as the initial response over the communicator!
“Haha, looks marvelous, Qess! Graceful as can be!” Corvidus’ image grinned in the corner of the Wolfen II’s HUD. “Maneuverability testing’s complete, for now. Let’s see what this thing can really do, yeah?”
He tapped away at his console, causing the Bay Alpha doors to open once more. This time, a number of drones emerged, and dispersed around the makeshift arena. They placed some static communicator buoys at various coordinates Corvidus himself dictated from the Omen’s computer interface.
“Put out a few tin cans for you, Qess. Think you can hit any of them?”
Qessyn grinned as she watched the drones work, until all the buoys were placed.
“Oh I think I can manage.”
The buoys popped up on the Wolfen II’s HUD, and Qessyn pulled the trigger. Even more accurate and precise than its flying, the fighter made quick work of each. Its charged shots were surprisingly powerful, taking out a cluster of targets in a single shot.
“No wonder Star Wolf has such a fearsome reputation. She’s incredible, Corv. Smooth, streamlined, she’s the whole package. Why would anyone just ditch her in space?”
“Couldn’t tell you, Qess. I’m betting it was a mistake, or oversight. No one would do this in purpose, right?”
Corvidus couldn’t help but smile at the data stream as it all compiled on not one but TWO of his monitors! So much information, flowing in not just from the Omen’s scanners, but from the Wolfen II’s computer feed. It was so much better than he imagined! So sophisticated, agile, and potent! A true work of art, especially with a competent pilot at the stick. He knew he wouldn’t be able to yield that kind of result from it, himself. His fighter pilot days were long behind him.
“I’ve got enough data for now. Bring her in, and we’ll move to another location for further testing. I’m thinking a derelict world for atmospheric tests, and then maybe a–”
A sudden alarm interrupted Corvidus, pulling his attention from the data stream to another console. The Omen’s proximity sensors had tripped - someone was coming!
“–Uh oh…” he cawed. “We’ve got some visitors, Qess. Get back to the bay, quickly!”
But it was too late - a number of ships emerged from between the asteroids in all directions. Smaller fighters, mostly, and a command frigate. The markings were all too familiar to Corvidus. A burning skull encircles by two orbital stars - it was the Firelight Gang!
“Well, well! Look who it is!” came a coarse voice over the comms - accompanied by an even more unpleasant image. “Thought you could hide from us, Beaky? You still owe us for those bad parts you tried to pawn off on us!”
Leader of the Firelight Gang, Torta “the Terror” Tamlin was a ruthless pirate. Her reputation for treachery was growing in recent months, attracting a dastardly spread of unsavory underlings into her gang of bandits and thugs. Corvidus used to deal with Torta, before she became too infamous - something he came to regret time and time again. This was likely to be another.
“Rawwk! They weren’t bad parts, you half-wit!” Corvidus screeched back, in frustration. “You just installed them wrong, because you’re an idiot! If you’d have let me install them right, like I wanted to–”
“–Too late for that now!” Torta all but laughed. “We’re here to collect! And I’m thinking that’s a really nice looking fighter you found. Hand it over, and we’ll call it even!”
Corvidus cursed under his breath. He switched channels to a private connection to Qessyn.
“Take that thing as far away as you can, Qess!” he squawked. “I’d sooner die than let Torta and the Firelight Gang get their hands on a fighter like that! They’re a terror enough as it is!”
She was cut off by the appearance of the Firelight gang. She glared; she knew them, knew their reputation. So they wanted the Wolfen, huh…
Listening to Corvidus, she remained silent. Then her lips curved into a grin.
“Run? Why? I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but we have one of the most sophisticated pieces of fighter technology at our disposal. If these guys won’t stop harassing you, a more effective way of dealing with them springs to mind. Besides…you want combat data, right?”
She grew serious. “I’m not leaving you to their mercy, Corv. It’s about time someone put them in their place. Keep that data feed rolling…”
The sand cat grinned and licked her lips. “It’s beatdown time.”
With that, she put the thrusters on full speed, and started opening fire on the rogue faction.
“Qess, no! You’re gonna–” Corvidus protested with a screech!
But he knew his objections fell on deaf ears - Qessyn was too much a fighter to back away from a challenge. Especially one like this! She was a good soul, always looking out for those in need. She wasn’t the sort to let bullying and oppression like this slide. It was admirable. But foolish!
With furious tapping away at his control console, Corvidus brought the Omen about. The bay doors closed quickly, as the deflector shields thrummed to life around the freighter’s outer hull. He began executing some evasive maneuvers, while setting an executing another string of commands on-the-fly for his drones in Bays Alpha and Bravo.
He had a plan. Sort of.
“Buy us some time, Qess! I loaded you up with a modest compliment of missiles. Make them count!” he chirped over the communicator.
The Firelight Gang responded to the aggression quickly! The fighters converged on Qessyn, lasers flying in all directions! None of their fighters, though, could match the speed and maneuverability of the Wolfen II! It was a true battle of quality versus quantity, as the Gang fighters locked into an attack formation.
“Hah! Give it up, Trash Collector! You and your little friend can’t possibly think you can stand up to us!” Torta taunted over broadcast. “Have it your way, then! Blast them to bits, boys! We’ll collect our dues from the leftover wreckage! Ha-haa!”
Oh Qessyn knew her stubbornness would get her killed one day, but she had seen too much during the Lylat Wars to stand idly by while someone needed help. “Make myself the bane of their existence. Got it.”
With that she got to work. The Wolfen easily wove in and out of the laser fire, (it was a masterpiece of engineering, after all) but those numbers would overwhelm even her soon. “Let’s see how you guys like this~”
Switching on a targeting system, she marked the enemy fighter in the center of the formation, and launched one of the missiles that Corvidus had so kindly provided. “Chew on that you bottom feeders!”
She guided the Wolfen closer to the freighter, weaving in and out of enemy fire. “Let’s see how you boys handle me while I’m flying around your own ship.”
So far so good. “I can’t keep this up forever, Corv,” she called out over comms, “your plan better be a good one!” The sand cat didn’t let up for a moment, harassing the gang members and not giving them an inch.
The Firelight Gang couldn’t keep up with Qessyn! The center fighter lit up and exploded as the missile struck true. The remaining fighters broke formation to barrage the Wolfen II, with little success. But those lasers they shot had to go somewhere… Torta shrieked over broadcast as her own ships peppered her frigate with laser fire!
“Hold your fire, morons!” she scolded them. “Don’t attack the fighter when it’s so close! Attack the freighter instead!”
The Gang fighters broke off from their attack, then formed up in a loose array as they darted for the Omen. But Corvidus was ready for them!
“Please let this work…” he chirped, before taking the Omen’s controls manually!
She wasn’t graceful, but Corvidus had slipped a few tricks up the Omen’s sleeves for such occasions! Usually, they were just countermeasures to make a hasty retreat. But if Qessyn wouldn’t leave him, he sure as hell wasn’t about to leave her! He hit the thrusters, driving headlong towards the fighters as they approached. Laser fire glanced off the deflector shields. They held, for now - but every hit dropped their integrity by a significant percentage!
“Get ready to come about, Qess! Pick them off when they scatter!”
He turned the Omen sharply, swinging its broadside to face the fighters as they closed in. Bays Alpha and Bravo opened up… and tons of loose scrap parts were thrown out of the side by the inertia! Some of the fighters managed to break away in time, but about half of them were barraged by chunks of loose scrap that scraped, shattered, and otherwise destroyed their ships! They blew up one by one, leaving a disoriented mess of remaining pirates for Qess to clean up!
“–Caaww… all my scrap!” Corvidus whined, as he piloted the Omen clear.
Qessyn gave the enemy no chance to recover, bearing down on them like a predator cornering it’s prey. She made quick work of the disoriented enemy fighters, taking advantage of their confusion. They simply couldn’t keep up with the likes of the Wolfen. “I’ll help you get more scrap later. How’s it look, Corv?”
She growled. “You don’t scare me, Tamlin. I’ve faced off against worse than the likes of you! If you hurt Corv, there won’t be enough left of you to drag in for a bounty!”
Doing a u-turn, she once again faced the enemy freighter. “This oughta keep you occupied for a while…” Engaging the Wolfen’s targeting systems, she marked a spot on the freighter, then fired one of her remaining missiles.
The missile hit its mark - with such dead-center accurate targeting, how could it miss? Torta shrieked over the communicator, as her unofficial flagship freighter rocked from the concussive blast!
“D-Damn you, whoever you are! Mark my words, you’ll pay for siding with this swindling, two-timing pigeon!” she snapped! “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me, or the Firelight Gang!”
Torta’s freighter reconfigured - armor plating formed a shell around its hull as it turned about. Rockets propelled her off and out of the asteroid field, leaving behind a mess of magnetic mines to deter any would-be pursuers. A common ploy pirates used pretty often. But effective nonetheless. Corvidus himself used such countermeasures on occasion.
“Hah! That’s right! Run away, Torta! About time you get chased off from a fight, for once!” he cackled over broadcast. “Steer clear, Qess. Those mines are nasty. By the time you get around or through them, she’ll be gone.”
The Omen came about once again, centering in the asteroid field clearing before coming to a stop. The bay doors opened - already cleared and ‘organized’ by the drones to provide a clear docking area.
“Best bring her in, Qess. We’ve gotta jump. Probably not wise to linger here much longer. If Torta and the Firelight gang could find me, who knows who else could’ve?”
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here… looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
Qessyn smiled as the bay doors opened. “Understood.”
The Wolfen II hummed to life. “Launching in three…two…one.” Carefully, the sand cat maneuvered the fighter out of the docking bay. It handled even better than she was expecting, smoothly exiting The Omen and gliding through space.
She took the ship for a couple of laps around The Omen, testing out the various systems and controls. Barrel rolls, somersaults, u-turns, the Wolfen II handled all of them effortlessly.
“She’s handling beautifully. More precise than anything I’ve ever piloted. How do things look on your end, Corv?”
A squawk of excitement came as the initial response over the communicator!
“Haha, looks marvelous, Qess! Graceful as can be!” Corvidus’ image grinned in the corner of the Wolfen II’s HUD. “Maneuverability testing’s complete, for now. Let’s see what this thing can really do, yeah?”
He tapped away at his console, causing the Bay Alpha doors to open once more. This time, a number of drones emerged, and dispersed around the makeshift arena. They placed some static communicator buoys at various coordinates Corvidus himself dictated from the Omen’s computer interface.
“Put out a few tin cans for you, Qess. Think you can hit any of them?”
Qessyn grinned as she watched the drones work, until all the buoys were placed.
“Oh I think I can manage.”
The buoys popped up on the Wolfen II’s HUD, and Qessyn pulled the trigger. Even more accurate and precise than its flying, the fighter made quick work of each. Its charged shots were surprisingly powerful, taking out a cluster of targets in a single shot.
“No wonder Star Wolf has such a fearsome reputation. She’s incredible, Corv. Smooth, streamlined, she’s the whole package. Why would anyone just ditch her in space?”
“Couldn’t tell you, Qess. I’m betting it was a mistake, or oversight. No one would do this in purpose, right?”
Corvidus couldn’t help but smile at the data stream as it all compiled on not one but TWO of his monitors! So much information, flowing in not just from the Omen’s scanners, but from the Wolfen II’s computer feed. It was so much better than he imagined! So sophisticated, agile, and potent! A true work of art, especially with a competent pilot at the stick. He knew he wouldn’t be able to yield that kind of result from it, himself. His fighter pilot days were long behind him.
“I’ve got enough data for now. Bring her in, and we’ll move to another location for further testing. I’m thinking a derelict world for atmospheric tests, and then maybe a–”
A sudden alarm interrupted Corvidus, pulling his attention from the data stream to another console. The Omen’s proximity sensors had tripped - someone was coming!
“–Uh oh…” he cawed. “We’ve got some visitors, Qess. Get back to the bay, quickly!”
But it was too late - a number of ships emerged from between the asteroids in all directions. Smaller fighters, mostly, and a command frigate. The markings were all too familiar to Corvidus. A burning skull encircles by two orbital stars - it was the Firelight Gang!
“Well, well! Look who it is!” came a coarse voice over the comms - accompanied by an even more unpleasant image. “Thought you could hide from us, Beaky? You still owe us for those bad parts you tried to pawn off on us!”
Leader of the Firelight Gang, Torta “the Terror” Tamlin was a ruthless pirate. Her reputation for treachery was growing in recent months, attracting a dastardly spread of unsavory underlings into her gang of bandits and thugs. Corvidus used to deal with Torta, before she became too infamous - something he came to regret time and time again. This was likely to be another.
“Rawwk! They weren’t bad parts, you half-wit!” Corvidus screeched back, in frustration. “You just installed them wrong, because you’re an idiot! If you’d have let me install them right, like I wanted to–”
“–Too late for that now!” Torta all but laughed. “We’re here to collect! And I’m thinking that’s a really nice looking fighter you found. Hand it over, and we’ll call it even!”
Corvidus cursed under his breath. He switched channels to a private connection to Qessyn.
“Take that thing as far away as you can, Qess!” he squawked. “I’d sooner die than let Torta and the Firelight Gang get their hands on a fighter like that! They’re a terror enough as it is!”
She was cut off by the appearance of the Firelight gang. She glared; she knew them, knew their reputation. So they wanted the Wolfen, huh…
Listening to Corvidus, she remained silent. Then her lips curved into a grin.
“Run? Why? I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but we have one of the most sophisticated pieces of fighter technology at our disposal. If these guys won’t stop harassing you, a more effective way of dealing with them springs to mind. Besides…you want combat data, right?”
She grew serious. “I’m not leaving you to their mercy, Corv. It’s about time someone put them in their place. Keep that data feed rolling…”
The sand cat grinned and licked her lips. “It’s beatdown time.”
With that, she put the thrusters on full speed, and started opening fire on the rogue faction.
“Qess, no! You’re gonna–” Corvidus protested with a screech!
But he knew his objections fell on deaf ears - Qessyn was too much a fighter to back away from a challenge. Especially one like this! She was a good soul, always looking out for those in need. She wasn’t the sort to let bullying and oppression like this slide. It was admirable. But foolish!
With furious tapping away at his control console, Corvidus brought the Omen about. The bay doors closed quickly, as the deflector shields thrummed to life around the freighter’s outer hull. He began executing some evasive maneuvers, while setting an executing another string of commands on-the-fly for his drones in Bays Alpha and Bravo.
He had a plan. Sort of.
“Buy us some time, Qess! I loaded you up with a modest compliment of missiles. Make them count!” he chirped over the communicator.
The Firelight Gang responded to the aggression quickly! The fighters converged on Qessyn, lasers flying in all directions! None of their fighters, though, could match the speed and maneuverability of the Wolfen II! It was a true battle of quality versus quantity, as the Gang fighters locked into an attack formation.
“Hah! Give it up, Trash Collector! You and your little friend can’t possibly think you can stand up to us!” Torta taunted over broadcast. “Have it your way, then! Blast them to bits, boys! We’ll collect our dues from the leftover wreckage! Ha-haa!”
Oh Qessyn knew her stubbornness would get her killed one day, but she had seen too much during the Lylat Wars to stand idly by while someone needed help. “Make myself the bane of their existence. Got it.”
With that she got to work. The Wolfen easily wove in and out of the laser fire, (it was a masterpiece of engineering, after all) but those numbers would overwhelm even her soon. “Let’s see how you guys like this~”
Switching on a targeting system, she marked the enemy fighter in the center of the formation, and launched one of the missiles that Corvidus had so kindly provided. “Chew on that you bottom feeders!”
She guided the Wolfen closer to the freighter, weaving in and out of enemy fire. “Let’s see how you boys handle me while I’m flying around your own ship.”
So far so good. “I can’t keep this up forever, Corv,” she called out over comms, “your plan better be a good one!” The sand cat didn’t let up for a moment, harassing the gang members and not giving them an inch.
The Firelight Gang couldn’t keep up with Qessyn! The center fighter lit up and exploded as the missile struck true. The remaining fighters broke formation to barrage the Wolfen II, with little success. But those lasers they shot had to go somewhere... Torta shrieked over broadcast as her own ships peppered her frigate with laser fire!
“Hold your fire, morons!” she scolded them. “Don’t attack the fighter when it’s so close! Attack the freighter instead!”
The Gang fighters broke off from their attack, then formed up in a loose array as they darted for the Omen. But Corvidus was ready for them!
“Please let this work...” he chirped, before taking the Omen’s controls manually!
She wasn’t graceful, but Corvidus had slipped a few tricks up the Omen’s sleeves for such occasions! Usually, they were just countermeasures to make a hasty retreat. But if Qessyn wouldn’t leave him, he sure as hell wasn’t about to leave her! He hit the thrusters, driving headlong towards the fighters as they approached. Laser fire glanced off the deflector shields. They held, for now - but every hit dropped their integrity by a significant percentage!
“Get ready to come about, Qess! Pick them off when they scatter!”
He turned the Omen sharply, swinging its broadside to face the fighters as they closed in. Bays Alpha and Bravo opened up... and tons of loose scrap parts were thrown out of the side by the inertia! Some of the fighters managed to break away in time, but about half of them were barraged by chunks of loose scrap that scraped, shattered, and otherwise destroyed their ships! They blew up one by one, leaving a disoriented mess of remaining pirates for Qess to clean up!
“--Caaww... all my scrap!” Corvidus whined, as he piloted the Omen clear.
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here… looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
Qessyn smiled as the bay doors opened. “Understood.”
The Wolfen II hummed to life. “Launching in three…two…one.” Carefully, the sand cat maneuvered the fighter out of the docking bay. It handled even better than she was expecting, smoothly exiting The Omen and gliding through space.
She took the ship for a couple of laps around The Omen, testing out the various systems and controls. Barrel rolls, somersaults, u-turns, the Wolfen II handled all of them effortlessly.
“She’s handling beautifully. More precise than anything I’ve ever piloted. How do things look on your end, Corv?”
A squawk of excitement came as the initial response over the communicator!
“Haha, looks marvelous, Qess! Graceful as can be!” Corvidus’ image grinned in the corner of the Wolfen II’s HUD. “Maneuverability testing’s complete, for now. Let’s see what this thing can really do, yeah?”
He tapped away at his console, causing the Bay Alpha doors to open once more. This time, a number of drones emerged, and dispersed around the makeshift arena. They placed some static communicator buoys at various coordinates Corvidus himself dictated from the Omen’s computer interface.
“Put out a few tin cans for you, Qess. Think you can hit any of them?”
Qessyn grinned as she watched the drones work, until all the buoys were placed.
“Oh I think I can manage.”
The buoys popped up on the Wolfen II’s HUD, and Qessyn pulled the trigger. Even more accurate and precise than its flying, the fighter made quick work of each. Its charged shots were surprisingly powerful, taking out a cluster of targets in a single shot.
“No wonder Star Wolf has such a fearsome reputation. She’s incredible, Corv. Smooth, streamlined, she’s the whole package. Why would anyone just ditch her in space?”
“Couldn’t tell you, Qess. I’m betting it was a mistake, or oversight. No one would do this in purpose, right?”
Corvidus couldn’t help but smile at the data stream as it all compiled on not one but TWO of his monitors! So much information, flowing in not just from the Omen’s scanners, but from the Wolfen II’s computer feed. It was so much better than he imagined! So sophisticated, agile, and potent! A true work of art, especially with a competent pilot at the stick. He knew he wouldn’t be able to yield that kind of result from it, himself. His fighter pilot days were long behind him.
“I’ve got enough data for now. Bring her in, and we’ll move to another location for further testing. I’m thinking a derelict world for atmospheric tests, and then maybe a–”
A sudden alarm interrupted Corvidus, pulling his attention from the data stream to another console. The Omen’s proximity sensors had tripped - someone was coming!
“–Uh oh…” he cawed. “We’ve got some visitors, Qess. Get back to the bay, quickly!”
But it was too late - a number of ships emerged from between the asteroids in all directions. Smaller fighters, mostly, and a command frigate. The markings were all too familiar to Corvidus. A burning skull encircles by two orbital stars - it was the Firelight Gang!
“Well, well! Look who it is!” came a coarse voice over the comms - accompanied by an even more unpleasant image. “Thought you could hide from us, Beaky? You still owe us for those bad parts you tried to pawn off on us!”
Leader of the Firelight Gang, Torta “the Terror” Tamlin was a ruthless pirate. Her reputation for treachery was growing in recent months, attracting a dastardly spread of unsavory underlings into her gang of bandits and thugs. Corvidus used to deal with Torta, before she became too infamous - something he came to regret time and time again. This was likely to be another.
“Rawwk! They weren’t bad parts, you half-wit!” Corvidus screeched back, in frustration. “You just installed them wrong, because you’re an idiot! If you’d have let me install them right, like I wanted to–”
“–Too late for that now!” Torta all but laughed. “We’re here to collect! And I’m thinking that’s a really nice looking fighter you found. Hand it over, and we’ll call it even!”
Corvidus cursed under his breath. He switched channels to a private connection to Qessyn.
“Take that thing as far away as you can, Qess!” he squawked. “I’d sooner die than let Torta and the Firelight Gang get their hands on a fighter like that! They’re a terror enough as it is!”
She was cut off by the appearance of the Firelight gang. She glared; she knew them, knew their reputation. So they wanted the Wolfen, huh…
Listening to Corvidus, she remained silent. Then her lips curved into a grin.
“Run? Why? I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but we have one of the most sophisticated pieces of fighter technology at our disposal. If these guys won’t stop harassing you, a more effective way of dealing with them springs to mind. Besides…you want combat data, right?”
She grew serious. “I’m not leaving you to their mercy, Corv. It’s about time someone put them in their place. Keep that data feed rolling…”
The sand cat grinned and licked her lips. “It’s beatdown time.”
With that, she put the thrusters on full speed, and started opening fire on the rogue faction.
“Qess, no! You’re gonna--” Corvidus protested with a screech!
But he knew his objections fell on deaf ears - Qessyn was too much a fighter to back away from a challenge. Especially one like this! She was a good soul, always looking out for those in need. She wasn’t the sort to let bullying and oppression like this slide. It was admirable. But foolish!
With furious tapping away at his control console, Corvidus brought the Omen about. The bay doors closed quickly, as the deflector shields thrummed to life around the freighter’s outer hull. He began executing some evasive maneuvers, while setting an executing another string of commands on-the-fly for his drones in Bays Alpha and Bravo.
He had a plan. Sort of.
“Buy us some time, Qess! I loaded you up with a modest compliment of missiles. Make them count!” he chirped over the communicator.
The Firelight Gang responded to the aggression quickly! The fighters converged on Qessyn, lasers flying in all directions! None of their fighters, though, could match the speed and maneuverability of the Wolfen II! It was a true battle of quality versus quantity, as the Gang fighters locked into an attack formation.
“Hah! Give it up, Trash Collector! You and your little friend can’t possibly think you can stand up to us!” Torta taunted over broadcast. “Have it your way, then! Blast them to bits, boys! We’ll collect our dues from the leftover wreckage! Ha-haa!”
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here… looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
Qessyn smiled as the bay doors opened. “Understood.”
The Wolfen II hummed to life. “Launching in three…two…one.” Carefully, the sand cat maneuvered the fighter out of the docking bay. It handled even better than she was expecting, smoothly exiting The Omen and gliding through space.
She took the ship for a couple of laps around The Omen, testing out the various systems and controls. Barrel rolls, somersaults, u-turns, the Wolfen II handled all of them effortlessly.
“She’s handling beautifully. More precise than anything I’ve ever piloted. How do things look on your end, Corv?”
A squawk of excitement came as the initial response over the communicator!
“Haha, looks marvelous, Qess! Graceful as can be!” Corvidus’ image grinned in the corner of the Wolfen II’s HUD. “Maneuverability testing’s complete, for now. Let’s see what this thing can really do, yeah?”
He tapped away at his console, causing the Bay Alpha doors to open once more. This time, a number of drones emerged, and dispersed around the makeshift arena. They placed some static communicator buoys at various coordinates Corvidus himself dictated from the Omen’s computer interface.
“Put out a few tin cans for you, Qess. Think you can hit any of them?”
Qessyn grinned as she watched the drones work, until all the buoys were placed.
“Oh I think I can manage.”
The buoys popped up on the Wolfen II’s HUD, and Qessyn pulled the trigger. Even more accurate and precise than its flying, the fighter made quick work of each. Its charged shots were surprisingly powerful, taking out a cluster of targets in a single shot.
“No wonder Star Wolf has such a fearsome reputation. She’s incredible, Corv. Smooth, streamlined, she’s the whole package. Why would anyone just ditch her in space?”
“Couldn’t tell you, Qess. I’m betting it was a mistake, or oversight. No one would do this in purpose, right?”
Corvidus couldn’t help but smile at the data stream as it all compiled on not one but TWO of his monitors! So much information, flowing in not just from the Omen’s scanners, but from the Wolfen II’s computer feed. It was so much better than he imagined! So sophisticated, agile, and potent! A true work of art, especially with a competent pilot at the stick. He knew he wouldn’t be able to yield that kind of result from it, himself. His fighter pilot days were long behind him.
“I’ve got enough data for now. Bring her in, and we’ll move to another location for further testing. I’m thinking a derelict world for atmospheric tests, and then maybe a--”
A sudden alarm interrupted Corvidus, pulling his attention from the data stream to another console. The Omen’s proximity sensors had tripped - someone was coming!
“--Uh oh...” he cawed. “We’ve got some visitors, Qess. Get back to the bay, quickly!”
But it was too late - a number of ships emerged from between the asteroids in all directions. Smaller fighters, mostly, and a command frigate. The markings were all too familiar to Corvidus. A burning skull encircles by two orbital stars - it was the Firelight Gang!
“Well, well! Look who it is!” came a coarse voice over the comms - accompanied by an even more unpleasant image. “Thought you could hide from us, Beaky? You still owe us for those bad parts you tried to pawn off on us!”
Leader of the Firelight Gang, Torta “the Terror” Tamlin was a ruthless pirate. Her reputation for treachery was growing in recent months, attracting a dastardly spread of unsavory underlings into her gang of bandits and thugs. Corvidus used to deal with Torta, before she became too infamous - something he came to regret time and time again. This was likely to be another.
“Rawwk! They weren’t bad parts, you half-wit!” Corvidus screeched back, in frustration. “You just installed them wrong, because you’re an idiot! If you’d have let me install them right, like I wanted to--”
“--Too late for that now!” Torta all but laughed. “We’re here to collect! And I’m thinking that’s a really nice looking fighter you found. Hand it over, and we’ll call it even!”
Corvidus cursed under his breath. He switched channels to a private connection to Qessyn.
“Take that thing as far away as you can, Qess!” he squawked. “I’d sooner die than let Torta and the Firelight Gang get their hands on a fighter like that! They’re a terror enough as it is!”
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here… looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
Qessyn smiled as the bay doors opened. “Understood.”
The Wolfen II hummed to life. “Launching in three…two…one.” Carefully, the sand cat maneuvered the fighter out of the docking bay. It handled even better than she was expecting, smoothly exiting The Omen and gliding through space.
She took the ship for a couple of laps around The Omen, testing out the various systems and controls. Barrel rolls, somersaults, u-turns, the Wolfen II handled all of them effortlessly.
“She’s handling beautifully. More precise than anything I’ve ever piloted. How do things look on your end, Corv?”
A squawk of excitement came as the initial response over the communicator!
“Haha, looks marvelous, Qess! Graceful as can be!” Corvidus’ image grinned in the corner of the Wolfen II’s HUD. “Maneuverability testing’s complete, for now. Let’s see what this thing can really do, yeah?”
He tapped away at his console, causing the Bay Alpha doors to open once more. This time, a number of drones emerged, and dispersed around the makeshift arena. They placed some static communicator buoys at various coordinates Corvidus himself dictated from the Omen’s computer interface.
“Put out a few tin cans for you, Qess. Think you can hit any of them?”
(( Continued from @starstruck-galra’s page, here ))
Covidus retreated back to the Omen’s bridge to better observe and document the results of the test flight. He was excited! The diagnostics information he’d collected so far was already processing, painting a beautiful digital portrait of the sophisticated marvel of fighter technology! Say what you will about Star Wolf - at least they fly in style!
The Omen moved out a ways from the larger static asteroids into a small clearing of space; a suitable arena for such a test! Bay Alpha’s doors opened up, as the drones finished the last of the refueling and armament loading - how else would they get metrics on the weapon systems?
“Copy that, Qess. Link established, avionics data feed is collecting now.” his voice chimed in, and his image appearing in the corner of her viewfinder. “I’m all set up here... looking good! You’ve got the green light - take her out, nice and slow.”
That was Corvidus’ initial reaction, as he read over the preliminary readings. There had to be a mistake! If not… he was the luckiest scavenger this side of Fichina. He double checked it– no, triple checked it! The second reading confirmed the results of the first exactly. Was this a trap? A ploy? This deep in space? No, no… scans showed he was alone for light-years in all directions. And his scanners were the best in the business! He set a course, and moved in closer, to bring it up on the viewfinder.
No way!
The image was grainy - he was still a ways out from the coordinates, but he could see it well enough to know what it was. How did it get here? Alone? Abandoned? It wasn’t the sort of thing you just… left out. But as he drew closer, it became much clearer on the screen. His feathers ruffled, both with excitement - and a hint of fear! Was he doing this? Was this smart? He’d never get another chance, not in fifty lifetimes! A low caw escaped him as the Omen came to, right in front of his finding. A moment of hesitation; leaving it was the smart choice. But taking it… that was the exciting choice! He flicked a few buttons and opened the Omen’s hatch. The tractor beam locked on, and began to pull his prize inside. Corvidus couldn’t believe it!
The expanse of space was quiet. A void stretching forever, spotted by glittering stars and planets…
“ZZZZZZRRROOOONK…”
…the isolation broken by a lone fighter cruising on autopilot, its occupant sleeping in the cockpit.
The last few months had been slow; Qessyn had been drifting from planet to planet, essentially living out of her fighter and taking on a variety of odd jobs to survive. Whether it was escorting ships, chasing off space pirates, or delivering something small, odds were she had done it.
The sound of an incoming transmission startled the sand cat awake. “BUH—! WHUH, HUH?” Rubbing her eyes, she clumsily opened the communications. It was from Corvidus; an old friend of hers. He’d found something, yet wouldn’t tell her what?
Found something good, huh? Alright, I’m on my way.
—Qessyn
Sighing, she tapped the coordinates in on her fighter and yawned; maybe she could sleep a little more on the way…
It didn’t take long for her to arrive at the appointed meeting place. Looking around, she opened her comms and signaled Corvidus. “Corv? It’s Qessyn, I’m here, where are you?”
Static came as the initial response. Asteroids always distorted communication waves, even at shorter ranges. But after a moment, the link cleaned up enough to display Corvidius’ ebon-feathered facade on Qessyn’s screen. Audio followed, broken and incoherent before it, too, cleaned up.
“–KKSHHH-KSHH-KSHHH–coming in a little fuzzy… more so than your face usually is!” he cackled, adjusting the modulation. “–Ahh, much better! Good to see you clearly again, Qess.”
The Omen came into view as the exterior lights illuminated. She was a modestly-sized ship; a converted ore freighter Corvidus bought with the last of his funds to get up and off of Zoness once and for all. She was one of a kind, with features and tech integrated piece by piece as he found it. She was boxy, unassuming, and spacious - perfect for Corvidus’ salvaging operations!
“Bay Bravo’s open and ready for you, per usual. Try not to knock over the equipment stands again.” he chirped, brow furrowing. “I’ve seen you thread needles in that thing; still convinced you did that on purpose last time!”
“Whaaat, it was an accident!” Qessyn grinned. “Alright, I’m pulling in now.”
Her fighter had seen better days; it was covered in weld marks and scorches, having seen more than one conflict recently; space pirate attacks had been on the rise and she’d been called in on more than a few security details. A job she definitely didn’t get paid enough for, but one where she just couldn’t say no to a soul in need.
Carefully maneuvering her fighter into the docking bay, she let out a sigh as the lock systems clicked into place, and the cockpit creaked open. She stood, stretching.
“Gah…feels like I’ve been in there forever…” Looking around, she hopped down. “Corvidus? I’m here, what’s this mythical treasure you found? Look, I didn’t even knock anything over this time.”
“So impatient!” came a squawk from the adjacent corridor.
Corvidus hobbled up to Qessyn, navigating through the various piles of scrap he’d accrued in this - and the other two - docking bays. To his credit, they were organized piles of scrap, sorted by type. A bunch of targeting system boards in one, a collection of flap actuators in another… it wasn’t a pretty mess, but Corvidus knew where everything was. He ‘had a system’ or so he’d tell Qessyn. He smiled as he neared his furry guest, arms spread for a welcoming hug.
“You’re looking well, Qess. Thanks for coming - believe me, you’re gonna love this!”
Some things never change, she thought, warmly glancing around the ship. It was a mess in her mind, but he never seemed to have trouble finding anything.
“Beats getting chased all over Lylat by an overzealous pirate, or dodging remnants of Andross’ regulars,” she replied, pulling the avian into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you, Corv. The system’s been rough lately; I’m glad to see you’re okay. How are you?”
Looking at him, she shrugged. “Well you’ve gotten me all excited for it! You must have found something good. You gonna keep a lady in suspense?”
“–Right, right… come along, quickly!” Corvidus chirped, as the embrace came to a close. “In the other bay - the best salvage yet!”
He limped along, leading Qessyn out of Bay Bravo into a narrow corridor. His left foot was still sore, but he seemed to get around just as well. It was more irritating now than painful. All the same, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should hit a civilized world and get it looked at soon… tomorrow’s problems, to be sure!
The corridor made a few right-angle turns, before leading to closed doors that separated it from Bay Alpha. Corvidus stopped short, and turned to Qessyn - excitement practically beaming from his face.
“This stays between us, alright?”
A glisten in his eye twinkled, as he turned and opened the bay doors. Like Bay Bravo, parts and scrap were piled up here and there. The notable difference sat up on stands in the center of the hangar pad - the Wolfen II.
Qessyn’s eyes went wide, and the fur on the back of her neck stood up.
Slack-jawed, she approached the docked fighter, looking it over almost reverently. A Wolfen II...
It had seen better days, certainly, but it was still a sight to behold. Sleek yet intimidating, its frame designed to cut through air and space swiftly and gracefully. A ship designed to strike fear into the hearts of those who saw it. A fighter on par—if not even more sophisticated—than the legendary Arwings used by StarFox. And who knew how many battles it had seen? Whose ship was it? How—?
Her last question she voiced after a lot of opening and closing her mouth in shock, tail swishing. “Corv…how…how did you find this? WHERE did you find this? She’s beautiful.”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Corvidus grinned proudly as he watched Qessyn’s reaction. “Found it off on the fringe of Sector Alpha. I couldn’t believe the scans, until I saw it with my own eyes!”
The fighter was formidable, even docked as it was now. Corvidus had opened all the hatches and bays for a full inspection and diagnostics; his drones did most of that autonomously, buzzing around the Wolfen II as they collected their data and uploaded it to the Omen’s core database. There was a lot about these amazing ships people didn’t know. Base specifications had been released following the Lylat Wars - frame information, power consumption, things of that nature. But Corvidus wanted to know more. Confirm rumors. Learn secrets. Discover features of the fighters no one but the Star Wolf team would possibly know. The prospect made his feathers ruffle!
“It’s in decent shape, too. I’m running some thorough inspections now. Then, all it’ll need is a test flight to verify the last of the system checks I can’t perform here in the bay.” he chirped, smirking, as he looked pointedly to the awe-struck sand cat.
Said sand cat’s face lit up, and it took a lot of work for her to remain calm and collected. “Yeah, I think I might know someone.”
Looking over the Wolfen II, she hummed. “As long as the life support systems are fine, I should be able to figure out her controls. Then it’s just a matter of taking her for a spin and seeing what she can do. Just…wow, Corv. This is incredible. I never imagined I would see one of these up close.”
She examined the fighter further. “Last I heard about Star Wolf, there was a big fat bounty on their heads—O’Donnell’s especially. $30,000 last I saw. Rumor has it he’s operating out of Sargasso now, and Corneria’s got a list of charges a mile long.”
Corvidus nodded along, listening to Qessyn as she both admired the Wolfen II and told him about Star Wolf. He knew well about their bounties - as was their intention, figures that large tended to catch the eye.
“Thirty thousand...” he chirped, idly reading over the scan results on his board. “Imagine what you could do with that kind of payout...”
He sighed, wistfully, at the notion. Business hadn’t been going as well as he’d hoped lately. Corvidus, admittedly, wasn’t a fighter. Neither he nor the Omen were well-suited to space battles. So being, he’d been avoiding a lot of the more populated sectors and worlds to avoid thugs and pirates. He didn’t want to worry Qessyn by telling her pirates were hurting his business (and his left foot, for that matter). She was the sort who’d jump in to help. And probably get hurt herself, in the process. Still, it left him a little strapped, financially. He’d often wondered what he’d do if he somehow, inexplicably, apprehended the elusive and notorious Wolf O’Donnell and collected that hefty bounty on him...
Finding this Wolfen II, however... that was the next best thing! His luck was finally turning around!
“Systems look nominal, Qess - including that life support you’re so worried about.” Corvidus teased, as he reviewed the rest of the metrics and scans. “You wanna suit up and take this for a little joyride?”
That was Corvidus’ initial reaction, as he read over the preliminary readings. There had to be a mistake! If not… he was the luckiest scavenger this side of Fichina. He double checked it– no, triple checked it! The second reading confirmed the results of the first exactly. Was this a trap? A ploy? This deep in space? No, no… scans showed he was alone for light-years in all directions. And his scanners were the best in the business! He set a course, and moved in closer, to bring it up on the viewfinder.
No way!
The image was grainy - he was still a ways out from the coordinates, but he could see it well enough to know what it was. How did it get here? Alone? Abandoned? It wasn’t the sort of thing you just… left out. But as he drew closer, it became much clearer on the screen. His feathers ruffled, both with excitement - and a hint of fear! Was he doing this? Was this smart? He’d never get another chance, not in fifty lifetimes! A low caw escaped him as the Omen came to, right in front of his finding. A moment of hesitation; leaving it was the smart choice. But taking it… that was the exciting choice! He flicked a few buttons and opened the Omen’s hatch. The tractor beam locked on, and began to pull his prize inside. Corvidus couldn’t believe it!
The expanse of space was quiet. A void stretching forever, spotted by glittering stars and planets…
“ZZZZZZRRROOOONK…”
…the isolation broken by a lone fighter cruising on autopilot, its occupant sleeping in the cockpit.
The last few months had been slow; Qessyn had been drifting from planet to planet, essentially living out of her fighter and taking on a variety of odd jobs to survive. Whether it was escorting ships, chasing off space pirates, or delivering something small, odds were she had done it.
The sound of an incoming transmission startled the sand cat awake. “BUH—! WHUH, HUH?” Rubbing her eyes, she clumsily opened the communications. It was from Corvidus; an old friend of hers. He’d found something, yet wouldn’t tell her what?
Found something good, huh? Alright, I’m on my way.
—Qessyn
Sighing, she tapped the coordinates in on her fighter and yawned; maybe she could sleep a little more on the way…
It didn’t take long for her to arrive at the appointed meeting place. Looking around, she opened her comms and signaled Corvidus. “Corv? It’s Qessyn, I’m here, where are you?”
Static came as the initial response. Asteroids always distorted communication waves, even at shorter ranges. But after a moment, the link cleaned up enough to display Corvidius’ ebon-feathered facade on Qessyn’s screen. Audio followed, broken and incoherent before it, too, cleaned up.
“–KKSHHH-KSHH-KSHHH–coming in a little fuzzy… more so than your face usually is!” he cackled, adjusting the modulation. “–Ahh, much better! Good to see you clearly again, Qess.”
The Omen came into view as the exterior lights illuminated. She was a modestly-sized ship; a converted ore freighter Corvidus bought with the last of his funds to get up and off of Zoness once and for all. She was one of a kind, with features and tech integrated piece by piece as he found it. She was boxy, unassuming, and spacious - perfect for Corvidus’ salvaging operations!
“Bay Bravo’s open and ready for you, per usual. Try not to knock over the equipment stands again.” he chirped, brow furrowing. “I’ve seen you thread needles in that thing; still convinced you did that on purpose last time!”
“Whaaat, it was an accident!” Qessyn grinned. “Alright, I’m pulling in now.”
Her fighter had seen better days; it was covered in weld marks and scorches, having seen more than one conflict recently; space pirate attacks had been on the rise and she’d been called in on more than a few security details. A job she definitely didn’t get paid enough for, but one where she just couldn’t say no to a soul in need.
Carefully maneuvering her fighter into the docking bay, she let out a sigh as the lock systems clicked into place, and the cockpit creaked open. She stood, stretching.
“Gah…feels like I’ve been in there forever…” Looking around, she hopped down. “Corvidus? I’m here, what’s this mythical treasure you found? Look, I didn’t even knock anything over this time.”
“So impatient!” came a squawk from the adjacent corridor.
Corvidus hobbled up to Qessyn, navigating through the various piles of scrap he’d accrued in this - and the other two - docking bays. To his credit, they were organized piles of scrap, sorted by type. A bunch of targeting system boards in one, a collection of flap actuators in another… it wasn’t a pretty mess, but Corvidus knew where everything was. He ‘had a system’ or so he’d tell Qessyn. He smiled as he neared his furry guest, arms spread for a welcoming hug.
“You’re looking well, Qess. Thanks for coming - believe me, you’re gonna love this!”
Some things never change, she thought, warmly glancing around the ship. It was a mess in her mind, but he never seemed to have trouble finding anything.
“Beats getting chased all over Lylat by an overzealous pirate, or dodging remnants of Andross’ regulars,” she replied, pulling the avian into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you, Corv. The system’s been rough lately; I’m glad to see you’re okay. How are you?”
Looking at him, she shrugged. “Well you’ve gotten me all excited for it! You must have found something good. You gonna keep a lady in suspense?”
“–Right, right… come along, quickly!” Corvidus chirped, as the embrace came to a close. “In the other bay - the best salvage yet!”
He limped along, leading Qessyn out of Bay Bravo into a narrow corridor. His left foot was still sore, but he seemed to get around just as well. It was more irritating now than painful. All the same, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should hit a civilized world and get it looked at soon… tomorrow’s problems, to be sure!
The corridor made a few right-angle turns, before leading to closed doors that separated it from Bay Alpha. Corvidus stopped short, and turned to Qessyn - excitement practically beaming from his face.
“This stays between us, alright?”
A glisten in his eye twinkled, as he turned and opened the bay doors. Like Bay Bravo, parts and scrap were piled up here and there. The notable difference sat up on stands in the center of the hangar pad - the Wolfen II.
Qessyn’s eyes went wide, and the fur on the back of her neck stood up.
Slack-jawed, she approached the docked fighter, looking it over almost reverently. A Wolfen II...
It had seen better days, certainly, but it was still a sight to behold. Sleek yet intimidating, its frame designed to cut through air and space swiftly and gracefully. A ship designed to strike fear into the hearts of those who saw it. A fighter on par—if not even more sophisticated—than the legendary Arwings used by StarFox. And who knew how many battles it had seen? Whose ship was it? How—?
Her last question she voiced after a lot of opening and closing her mouth in shock, tail swishing. “Corv…how…how did you find this? WHERE did you find this? She’s beautiful.”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Corvidus grinned proudly as he watched Qessyn’s reaction. “Found it off on the fringe of Sector Alpha. I couldn’t believe the scans, until I saw it with my own eyes!”
The fighter was formidable, even docked as it was now. Corvidus had opened all the hatches and bays for a full inspection and diagnostics; his drones did most of that autonomously, buzzing around the Wolfen II as they collected their data and uploaded it to the Omen’s core database. There was a lot about these amazing ships people didn’t know. Base specifications had been released following the Lylat Wars - frame information, power consumption, things of that nature. But Corvidus wanted to know more. Confirm rumors. Learn secrets. Discover features of the fighters no one but the Star Wolf team would possibly know. The prospect made his feathers ruffle!
“It’s in decent shape, too. I’m running some thorough inspections now. Then, all it’ll need is a test flight to verify the last of the system checks I can’t perform here in the bay.” he chirped, smirking, as he looked pointedly to the awe-struck sand cat.
That was Corvidus’ initial reaction, as he read over the preliminary readings. There had to be a mistake! If not… he was the luckiest scavenger this side of Fichina. He double checked it– no, triple checked it! The second reading confirmed the results of the first exactly. Was this a trap? A ploy? This deep in space? No, no… scans showed he was alone for light-years in all directions. And his scanners were the best in the business! He set a course, and moved in closer, to bring it up on the viewfinder.
No way!
The image was grainy - he was still a ways out from the coordinates, but he could see it well enough to know what it was. How did it get here? Alone? Abandoned? It wasn’t the sort of thing you just… left out. But as he drew closer, it became much clearer on the screen. His feathers ruffled, both with excitement - and a hint of fear! Was he doing this? Was this smart? He’d never get another chance, not in fifty lifetimes! A low caw escaped him as the Omen came to, right in front of his finding. A moment of hesitation; leaving it was the smart choice. But taking it… that was the exciting choice! He flicked a few buttons and opened the Omen’s hatch. The tractor beam locked on, and began to pull his prize inside. Corvidus couldn’t believe it!
The expanse of space was quiet. A void stretching forever, spotted by glittering stars and planets…
“ZZZZZZRRROOOONK…”
…the isolation broken by a lone fighter cruising on autopilot, its occupant sleeping in the cockpit.
The last few months had been slow; Qessyn had been drifting from planet to planet, essentially living out of her fighter and taking on a variety of odd jobs to survive. Whether it was escorting ships, chasing off space pirates, or delivering something small, odds were she had done it.
The sound of an incoming transmission startled the sand cat awake. “BUH—! WHUH, HUH?” Rubbing her eyes, she clumsily opened the communications. It was from Corvidus; an old friend of hers. He’d found something, yet wouldn’t tell her what?
Found something good, huh? Alright, I’m on my way.
—Qessyn
Sighing, she tapped the coordinates in on her fighter and yawned; maybe she could sleep a little more on the way…
It didn’t take long for her to arrive at the appointed meeting place. Looking around, she opened her comms and signaled Corvidus. “Corv? It’s Qessyn, I’m here, where are you?”
Static came as the initial response. Asteroids always distorted communication waves, even at shorter ranges. But after a moment, the link cleaned up enough to display Corvidius’ ebon-feathered facade on Qessyn’s screen. Audio followed, broken and incoherent before it, too, cleaned up.
“–KKSHHH-KSHH-KSHHH–coming in a little fuzzy… more so than your face usually is!” he cackled, adjusting the modulation. “–Ahh, much better! Good to see you clearly again, Qess.”
The Omen came into view as the exterior lights illuminated. She was a modestly-sized ship; a converted ore freighter Corvidus bought with the last of his funds to get up and off of Zoness once and for all. She was one of a kind, with features and tech integrated piece by piece as he found it. She was boxy, unassuming, and spacious - perfect for Corvidus’ salvaging operations!
“Bay Bravo’s open and ready for you, per usual. Try not to knock over the equipment stands again.” he chirped, brow furrowing. “I’ve seen you thread needles in that thing; still convinced you did that on purpose last time!”
“Whaaat, it was an accident!” Qessyn grinned. “Alright, I’m pulling in now.”
Her fighter had seen better days; it was covered in weld marks and scorches, having seen more than one conflict recently; space pirate attacks had been on the rise and she’d been called in on more than a few security details. A job she definitely didn’t get paid enough for, but one where she just couldn’t say no to a soul in need.
Carefully maneuvering her fighter into the docking bay, she let out a sigh as the lock systems clicked into place, and the cockpit creaked open. She stood, stretching.
“Gah…feels like I’ve been in there forever…” Looking around, she hopped down. “Corvidus? I’m here, what’s this mythical treasure you found? Look, I didn’t even knock anything over this time.”
“So impatient!” came a squawk from the adjacent corridor.
Corvidus hobbled up to Qessyn, navigating through the various piles of scrap he’d accrued in this - and the other two - docking bays. To his credit, they were organized piles of scrap, sorted by type. A bunch of targeting system boards in one, a collection of flap actuators in another… it wasn’t a pretty mess, but Corvidus knew where everything was. He ‘had a system’ or so he’d tell Qessyn. He smiled as he neared his furry guest, arms spread for a welcoming hug.
“You’re looking well, Qess. Thanks for coming - believe me, you’re gonna love this!”
Some things never change, she thought, warmly glancing around the ship. It was a mess in her mind, but he never seemed to have trouble finding anything.
“Beats getting chased all over Lylat by an overzealous pirate, or dodging remnants of Andross’ regulars,” she replied, pulling the avian into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you, Corv. The system’s been rough lately; I’m glad to see you’re okay. How are you?”
Looking at him, she shrugged. “Well you’ve gotten me all excited for it! You must have found something good. You gonna keep a lady in suspense?”
“--Right, right... come along, quickly!” Corvidus chirped, as the embrace came to a close. “In the other bay - the best salvage yet!”
He limped along, leading Qessyn out of Bay Bravo into a narrow corridor. His left foot was still sore, but he seemed to get around just as well. It was more irritating now than painful. All the same, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should hit a civilized world and get it looked at soon... tomorrow’s problems, to be sure!
The corridor made a few right-angle turns, before leading to closed doors that separated it from Bay Alpha. Corvidus stopped short, and turned to Qessyn - excitement practically beaming from his face.
“This stays between us, alright?”
A glisten in his eye twinkled, as he turned and opened the bay doors. Like Bay Bravo, parts and scrap were piled up here and there. The notable difference sat up on stands in the center of the hangar pad - the Wolfen II.
That was Corvidus’ initial reaction, as he read over the preliminary readings. There had to be a mistake! If not… he was the luckiest scavenger this side of Fichina. He double checked it– no, triple checked it! The second reading confirmed the results of the first exactly. Was this a trap? A ploy? This deep in space? No, no… scans showed he was alone for light-years in all directions. And his scanners were the best in the business! He set a course, and moved in closer, to bring it up on the viewfinder.
No way!
The image was grainy - he was still a ways out from the coordinates, but he could see it well enough to know what it was. How did it get here? Alone? Abandoned? It wasn’t the sort of thing you just… left out. But as he drew closer, it became much clearer on the screen. His feathers ruffled, both with excitement - and a hint of fear! Was he doing this? Was this smart? He’d never get another chance, not in fifty lifetimes! A low caw escaped him as the Omen came to, right in front of his finding. A moment of hesitation; leaving it was the smart choice. But taking it… that was the exciting choice! He flicked a few buttons and opened the Omen’s hatch. The tractor beam locked on, and began to pull his prize inside. Corvidus couldn’t believe it!
The expanse of space was quiet. A void stretching forever, spotted by glittering stars and planets…
“ZZZZZZRRROOOONK…”
…the isolation broken by a lone fighter cruising on autopilot, its occupant sleeping in the cockpit.
The last few months had been slow; Qessyn had been drifting from planet to planet, essentially living out of her fighter and taking on a variety of odd jobs to survive. Whether it was escorting ships, chasing off space pirates, or delivering something small, odds were she had done it.
The sound of an incoming transmission startled the sand cat awake. “BUH—! WHUH, HUH?” Rubbing her eyes, she clumsily opened the communications. It was from Corvidus; an old friend of hers. He’d found something, yet wouldn’t tell her what?
Found something good, huh? Alright, I’m on my way.
—Qessyn
Sighing, she tapped the coordinates in on her fighter and yawned; maybe she could sleep a little more on the way…
It didn’t take long for her to arrive at the appointed meeting place. Looking around, she opened her comms and signaled Corvidus. “Corv? It’s Qessyn, I’m here, where are you?”
Static came as the initial response. Asteroids always distorted communication waves, even at shorter ranges. But after a moment, the link cleaned up enough to display Corvidius’ ebon-feathered facade on Qessyn’s screen. Audio followed, broken and incoherent before it, too, cleaned up.
“–KKSHHH-KSHH-KSHHH–coming in a little fuzzy… more so than your face usually is!” he cackled, adjusting the modulation. “–Ahh, much better! Good to see you clearly again, Qess.”
The Omen came into view as the exterior lights illuminated. She was a modestly-sized ship; a converted ore freighter Corvidus bought with the last of his funds to get up and off of Zoness once and for all. She was one of a kind, with features and tech integrated piece by piece as he found it. She was boxy, unassuming, and spacious - perfect for Corvidus’ salvaging operations!
“Bay Bravo’s open and ready for you, per usual. Try not to knock over the equipment stands again.” he chirped, brow furrowing. “I’ve seen you thread needles in that thing; still convinced you did that on purpose last time!”
“Whaaat, it was an accident!” Qessyn grinned. “Alright, I’m pulling in now.”
Her fighter had seen better days; it was covered in weld marks and scorches, having seen more than one conflict recently; space pirate attacks had been on the rise and she’d been called in on more than a few security details. A job she definitely didn’t get paid enough for, but one where she just couldn’t say no to a soul in need.
Carefully maneuvering her fighter into the docking bay, she let out a sigh as the lock systems clicked into place, and the cockpit creaked open. She stood, stretching.
“Gah…feels like I’ve been in there forever…” Looking around, she hopped down. “Corvidus? I’m here, what’s this mythical treasure you found? Look, I didn’t even knock anything over this time.”
“So impatient!” came a squawk from the adjacent corridor.
Corvidus hobbled up to Qessyn, navigating through the various piles of scrap he’d accrued in this - and the other two - docking bays. To his credit, they were organized piles of scrap, sorted by type. A bunch of targeting system boards in one, a collection of flap actuators in another... it wasn’t a pretty mess, but Corvidus knew where everything was. He ‘had a system’ or so he’d tell Qessyn. He smiled as he neared his furry guest, arms spread for a welcoming hug.
“You’re looking well, Qess. Thanks for coming - believe me, you’re gonna love this!”
That was Corvidus’ initial reaction, as he read over the preliminary readings. There had to be a mistake! If not… he was the luckiest scavenger this side of Fichina. He double checked it– no, triple checked it! The second reading confirmed the results of the first exactly. Was this a trap? A ploy? This deep in space? No, no… scans showed he was alone for light-years in all directions. And his scanners were the best in the business! He set a course, and moved in closer, to bring it up on the viewfinder.
No way!
The image was grainy - he was still a ways out from the coordinates, but he could see it well enough to know what it was. How did it get here? Alone? Abandoned? It wasn’t the sort of thing you just… left out. But as he drew closer, it became much clearer on the screen. His feathers ruffled, both with excitement - and a hint of fear! Was he doing this? Was this smart? He’d never get another chance, not in fifty lifetimes! A low caw escaped him as the Omen came to, right in front of his finding. A moment of hesitation; leaving it was the smart choice. But taking it… that was the exciting choice! He flicked a few buttons and opened the Omen’s hatch. The tractor beam locked on, and began to pull his prize inside. Corvidus couldn’t believe it!
The expanse of space was quiet. A void stretching forever, spotted by glittering stars and planets…
“ZZZZZZRRROOOONK…”
…the isolation broken by a lone fighter cruising on autopilot, its occupant sleeping in the cockpit.
The last few months had been slow; Qessyn had been drifting from planet to planet, essentially living out of her fighter and taking on a variety of odd jobs to survive. Whether it was escorting ships, chasing off space pirates, or delivering something small, odds were she had done it.
The sound of an incoming transmission startled the sand cat awake. “BUH—! WHUH, HUH?” Rubbing her eyes, she clumsily opened the communications. It was from Corvidus; an old friend of hers. He’d found something, yet wouldn’t tell her what?
Found something good, huh? Alright, I’m on my way.
—Qessyn
Sighing, she tapped the coordinates in on her fighter and yawned; maybe she could sleep a little more on the way…
It didn’t take long for her to arrive at the appointed meeting place. Looking around, she opened her comms and signaled Corvidus. “Corv? It’s Qessyn, I’m here, where are you?”
Static came as the initial response. Asteroids always distorted communication waves, even at shorter ranges. But after a moment, the link cleaned up enough to display Corvidius’ ebon-feathered facade on Qessyn’s screen. Audio followed, broken and incoherent before it, too, cleaned up.
“--KKSHHH-KSHH-KSHHH--coming in a little fuzzy... more so than your face usually is!” he cackled, adjusting the modulation. “--Ahh, much better! Good to see you clearly again, Qess.”
The Omen came into view as the exterior lights illuminated. She was a modestly-sized ship; a converted ore freighter Corvidus bought with the last of his funds to get up and off of Zoness once and for all. She was one of a kind, with features and tech integrated piece by piece as he found it. She was boxy, unassuming, and spacious - perfect for Corvidus’ salvaging operations!
“Bay Bravo’s open and ready for you, per usual. Try not to knock over the equipment stands again.” he chirped, brow furrowing. “I’ve seen you thread needles in that thing; still convinced you did that on purpose last time!”
That was Corvidus’ initial reaction, as he read over the preliminary readings. There had to be a mistake! If not... he was the luckiest scavenger this side of Fichina. He double checked it-- no, triple checked it! The second reading confirmed the results of the first exactly. Was this a trap? A ploy? This deep in space? No, no... scans showed he was alone for light-years in all directions. And his scanners were the best in the business! He set a course, and moved in closer, to bring it up on the viewfinder.
No way!
The image was grainy - he was still a ways out from the coordinates, but he could see it well enough to know what it was. How did it get here? Alone? Abandoned? It wasn’t the sort of thing you just... left out. But as he drew closer, it became much clearer on the screen. His feathers ruffled, both with excitement - and a hint of fear! Was he doing this? Was this smart? He’d never get another chance, not in fifty lifetimes! A low caw escaped him as the Omen came to, right in front of his finding. A moment of hesitation; leaving it was the smart choice. But taking it... that was the exciting choice! He flicked a few buttons and opened the Omen’s hatch. The tractor beam locked on, and began to pull his prize inside. Corvidus couldn’t believe it!
He’d found a Wolfen.
A Wolfen II, to be precise. Easily one of the most advanced all-range fighters in existence! How it came to just float out in the middle of nowhere like this was well beyond the feathered freight-finder, but he was increasingly less inquisitive about that now - and more excited to look it over! He slipped down the narrow tube into the hangar, landing with a squawk as his left foot hit the ground; it still hadn’t healed right after the Firelight Incident. He grumbled, shaking it off as he approached his prize. It was even more glorious up close!
“Scan for anomalies.” he instructed. “Identify discrepancies and deviations.”
The Omen’s ship computer beeped affirmation, as the bay analyzers activated. Narrow green beams swept over the Wolfen, assessing damage and modification that differed from the listed base-model blueprints. Corvidus, meanwhile, scanned over it himself - his pitch-black eyes narrowing, as he reveled in the sight of it! So pretty... so shiny. He reached out, brushing his hand across the cool hull plating. He shuddered, cooing excitedly. He’d never found anything quite like this! Sure, he’d had big payday salvages in space-battle debris sites. But that was quantity work. Grabbing what he could en masse, and making off with it before Lylat Sector patrols came through to ‘re-appropriate’. This was different. This was a quality find. And there weren’t many more sophisticated, master-crafted, and expensive findings in the whole galaxy! He’d never dreamed of finding an intact Wolfen like this! But seeing was believing. Feeling. Smelling. Tastin--
“SCAN COMPLETE--” the Omen’s ship computer chirped loudly. “G-DIFFUSER AND SHIELDING INTACT. TWIN LASERS INTACT. ANTI-SMART BOMB SYSTEM DAMAGED. ANTI-CHARGE BEAM SYSTEM INTACT. RUNNING AVIONICS DIAGNOSTICS, PLEASE STANDBY.”
“--Belay that.” Corvidus commanded. “I just... wanna sit in it, first.”
He flapped his wings, fluttering up to the top of the fighter’s hull. The cockpit opened, revealing the amazing spread of command modules and terminals within. He felt chills! So beautiful! He slipped inside, sitting down in the pilot’s seat as he looked over his latest find. He wasn’t a fighter pilot himself, but he still appreciated how intricate and intuitive the system was!
But he knew someone who would appreciate it even more!
“Send a transmission. Deep range.” he smirked, as he climbed up out of his prize. “Encrypted channel.”
Qessyn,
I found something you’re really, really, REALLY gonna wanna see. I can’t say what it is, even on this secure link. But... trust me - you’re not gonna believe your eyes! Meet me at the enclosed coordinates, post-haste!
