#21 reacts as if she's straight from the factory. She even has that new factory smell. The smell every fighter pilot loved. Leaked fusion cooler, pneumatic oils, ground metal. You'd have expected the factories to clean them before delivery but no...

Busy checking the fighter Kray ponders his career so far, as a red warning light on the cockpit suddenly snaps him back to reality.
He checked twice to be sure.
It clearly showed.
Checked again.
Yes, he wasn't mistaken, he wasn't dreaming.

2 contacts, other side of the Polo, hidden from the naked eye by the hulking mass that was his home now.

    Shadow Flicked on the COM ,Attention..Bridge..this  is LT Shadow.. Something Coming  from MArco's Port side.. I am On the starboard and  well sneak  over the top  to get a look


 ..The screen reads ..Two Unknowns coming in...  If the ship has  defensive countermeasure..now  would be the time to ready them... I have my Gun Cams on to send  feed back of what I see....

   He checked his weapon systems  for the 4th time.... part of him felt the rush that he might get to use them... the bigger part hoped, for the sake of the Polo..he didn't have to.

  Like a WWI  trooper in the trenches.. Shadow  move  the fighter  with thrusters .. peeping  up, very slowly over the Polo's starboard side.. to get a Glimpse of what was coming.....

Creeping up along the hull #21 sudenly emits a high pitched sound from its speakers. A sound Kray wasn't too familiar with. Last time he heard it was at the 2025 wargames in Finland. It was when Timochev had gotten a lock on him.

Something had a lock on him.

Then, in a flash the two contacts shot by. Two drones.
They managed to position themselves firmly behind him.

Then his comms cracked.

"Shadow, this is Ascott from tactical. Those two drones are yours to play with. Theres a catch though... You're unarmed, and both are programmed after your flight style.
Can ya make it in before they shoot you?"

  Shadow  frowned..and then smiled.....well.. I guess i'll find out, never  was much of one to run from a fight....been that way since me Dad, was shearin'...But  we'll see what  we can do..eh?

  programmed to fight in your style....

 Right.. let's see if  I can make that hanger..... He took off towards the Bow.. going full power   after  a few hundred  yards  the  Dropping  down Under the marco... when he  flew under  he pivoted on his own nose, and  shot  along the Bottom towards the stern....

 This  was harder then he thought..he wanted to go to guns, but...he  wasn't supposed to have them..so he used his other skill set..honed from running the streets.. and slipping into building..only now he did it in a Hellcat.

   as he   mixed  in match zig Zags, he saw the stern coming up.. using  a tilt of  wings to signal his  favored right  turn,  he rolled the whole way around to   turn to the Left,.  Trying to Curl as  Close to the Engine wash of the MArco as he could, Hoping at least one, if not both , Drones would get caught up in the  engine's field.

  One  he  curled up  over top , He  zipped   along the starboard again  looking  for a chance to make his  run at the doors... he spared a glimpse at the screens  to see if  either one got caught in the 'propwash' of the  MAroc.

The drones dive after Kray, following his movements while trying to regain their lock.
The first one reacted to his movements just a tad late, making a left turn where there was no room, and blasted itself into the number two engine, exploding in a bright flash of orange light.
The second managed to avoid the wash, staying close on Shadow's tail. The hud lit up in warning. He was being tracked.

   There was a mixture for amger  and Glee  as the HUd  Lit up..he got one, the other was  was closing in on him..but? Thatw as the fun of it..eh?


     He was  ready  to  hit the  thrusters to reverse himself..but?..that's what he'd do.. so   He   Rolled out  to his   left and tried to   do an Immelmann turn as he came back up the Marco's Portside... He checked his Screens  to see if the drone followed and How  close , then  head full spped towards  the  Bow, along the spine of the Ship..when he  reached the Bow He  would dive in front of the bridge   doing a corkcscrew to Hug  ship..hoping that the drone..might not be as fast..and  maybe , catch a piece of the marco...
This message was last edited by the player at 15:05, Tue 11 Apr 2017.

.... shifting  his eyes  from the screens to the  glass, Shadow looks for  sign that the  drone  has  wrecked, or where it is in relation to Him getting  to the Hanger Bay doors...

It shot past at full speed, passing him by above him, then turning on a dime. A move by the book, if Shadow had written it. A move he would have done himself.
The hud lit up right away. Bright red. targeted. Hit.
He knew the feeling, but when it came from a drone, it sucked.
The subsequent order to land coming from the bridge sucked about as much.
Shadow 1, drones 1. Not too bad a score.

   The Pilot's shoulders  slumped.... Bloody 9 'ells..... he  rolled out     and  made a wide turn to line up on the Hanger door,...Shadow... comin' in.....

 and he   focused on his landing.

There is no sound in space, so the roaring blast of the engines propelling the mass of CS-8 forward is all but lost to the vast expanse. Slowly at first, the four ion-fusion engines straining despite the ship being wieghtless, slowly it's hulk begins to move. Sluggish, like a snail just awakening, the vessel begins its motion forward, towards Keppler 118.
Slowly, ever so gradually increasing its speed, untill finally, over the course of just five minutes, it reaches its cruising speed of 0.8 lightyears per year.
The snail has become a gracefull swan, moving through the expanse like a streamlined beauty, cutting through the vacuum like a hot knife through butter. If there had been anyone to witness it, it would have surely been a sight for sore eyes.

CS-8 Marco Polo was finally on its way.

The Hellcat blasted fluidly past the colonyship for the fifth time, and once again Yuri wondered why the hell they were out here. There was nothing here of interest, and certainly nothing that warranted the readyness ordered by the bridge. Dragon flight could be seen in bay 1, all four of them ready to launch at a moment's notice, but he had nothing to launch them at.
"Timochev to all," he updated the others, "Clear as a bright day out here. No contacts besides the Polo itself."

Time for another pass. A top-bottom circle this time, instead of running the shipś length. The same route all the time quickly became boring.

  Shadow's   COM call came ,..hey captain?.... since  were are dressed up and ready Ta go?... Maybe het 15 minutes or so, so they can stretch thier wings?

"Lt. Shadow, bridge here. Captain Dorn request you stay at the pad. Repeat, stay ready at the pad."

"Looks like they expect something," Timochev replied over a secure line as he blasted by once again outside. "What do you think is going on Kray?"

  There is a chuckle  as he waits for a second, that  says, MAking sure the channels  were set for the Bridge..his flight  and   Timochev,..well?... Its a bit of a bloodyt puzzler?.. but  where we are.. there's   somthing' either Outside the ship.... or inside?..... if ya don't  see anythin' out there... it must be in here?..... whu have us ready?.... 1ts thing would be, so no one is attacking us?... second thin' would be, so something doesn't  want ta get away?.... we had  one shittle elave us... no reason to think others might not try?

"If it is prevent people from going out, why not post soldiers in other two bays no?" Timochev stated the obvious.

   ..I dunno, Yuri?  But somethin' ain't  right....... could be anythin'?.... Maybe..there's  folks on board  all these ships, who  were to 'End Humanity"..so we wouldn't infect the universe?  you knbow..holy rollers.. or over-the-top Lab coats?

  ...could be power  players from Earth, sent somthin' up so's they coul be the Bloody Orverlords of the Universe , Kinda Thing?

  ..all I Know?... when  we woke up and had to save the ship...that wasn't  about  no mistake... that was  someone tryin' ta kill us? Heck?   I was woke up.. and I was one of the lastone to be OKed to come aboard.. else wise  I'd been dead already..maybe  after having become  Player of the Bloody year a few dozen  times!


 ..anyway?.. right now?.. no one can lauch with us  sittin' here.... Keep your eye peeled out there... If someone  deciedes that want to come back and Loot MArco... they'll know you'er out there and  try to come in dark.... but you can't hide afterburners  from a good set of eyes...

"Its dark as a matrushkas innards here Shadow. Nothing but us, Polo and the stars. If anything comes from outside, we will see it." There was an uneasy silence.
"See it from miles out. The problem must be inside..."

  There is a bit of silence,...well?.. then me and My flight are all set to bloody well escape?.. I have no clue what's bleedin' 'appenin'......

  ..right then Dragon flight...make sure yer  sidearms  are  bloody well, 'andy, and be ready to punch the birds  if  they want us out there...

  ..Yuri?  While you were sleepin' i went up and down the ship a buncha  times.. I even have   Vid  records   to match up with the specs from  the MArco, if i ever get the chance.... But?  you were  gonna be  on Marco from the get-go? If  ya have a mind to? Look for a structures  that  ain't  supposed ta be there?... if those folks had  time to take off and steal stuff.. they had  time to add something to the outside, figuring    no one would be alive to check it out..

"Good point Kray," Yuri replied. "Opening live feed from my gun cams. Everyone watch them, more eyes see more things!"

The vids from Timochev's cameras were projected on Kray's HUD. Slowly the CS-8 drifted by on the footage, Yuriś Hellcat slowing down for better pictures.

    Kray flicked the CAMs  to his flight as well......Look fer anythin' 'new'.. smomethin' that hasn't  seen too much space time....question  anythin'..  better   be told that 'it is nothin' '... then  miss somethin', because you didn't want ta ask...

 He  looked over the scene.. he had   watched this all before as he did his scan before

After drifting past the Polo twice all pilots agreed nothing looked out of the ordinary. There was simply nothing interesting to be found anywhere on the outer hull of CS-8.

"Bridge, this is Timochev. How much longer do you want us out here?"

Reply came swiftly.
"Stay out untill further notice, run defensive protocol 14."

Protocol 14. Shadow knew that one. Circle the vessel on opposite sides, keep an eye out for contacts. In case of contacts, identify but do not engage. Things were just getting stranger.

    Bloody 9 'ells....  he  knew they would  wait.. they couldn't get out, that few minutes it  took to get  hooked up and back  in could be costly...

   Looking across  to Kelly he says,... So?.... You come 'ear often? he grins from inside his cockpit as he looks.

"Dragon flight, launch one and two."

The voice came over the comm clearly, calmly too. Outside Timochev and his wingman slowed, linig up for the landing pads.

"Might as well rotate shifts Kray. Its boring out here, but the bridge wants eyes."

Timochev then opened a channel to the technicians too.
"Lu, can you check my bird once we touch down. I keep getting a heat warning in the number two engine, but temps show green. Likely a sensor, but I'd like it fixed asap."

Outside, the vast expanse of space seemed unchanged, unaware of the presence of CS-8 Marco Polo.

   Kray Nodded,Ok  Wallace.... Me and You.. Wild Bill You and Swede Come out In an Hour..  we can rotate through the who wing, so folks can log at least and  Hour...

   Kray saluted  the    Deck Boss  and LAunched.. Once Kelly was out there he said, OK? I'm gonna fly Over watch..  'ave some  fun for about 15 minutes,,,shake  down your Aircraft.. then we   and   Patrol around  The MArco....

   Wild Bill and Swede , already in their craft  waited for their  turn..or a call...

Slowly the clock creeps towards 1900 hours CTT (central Terran Time) and Dragon flight starts to conduct their third circle of the CS-8, when suddenly something catches Kray's eyes. Or rather, does not catch his eye, as in the distance suddenly several stars vanish.
A moment later they return, as if something blocked them from view, for just a moment. Something as black as space itself. Something big.
A shadow? Or something else entirely?
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:39, Wed 25 Oct 2017.