Sudden Descent
By: Christopher Adamson
"Inertial dampners offline." the melodious, automated voice called out, barely audible over the piercing sound of the alarms. Vryl Garrewn cried out in disgust as his finger flew over the board, he could already feel the stress from his ship's inability to compensate for the overwhelming gravity forces. Quickly, he rerouted power from the weapon system and other minor sytems to the engines and life support, but clearly it was not enough. All blame of his recent hardships were due to that strange craft that had nearly collided with him moments ago, its chrome finish glinting in the light of two nearby suns as it flew past his crippled vessle. He had emerged from hyperspace right on top of the highly crafted ship; since he had not the essential time to achieve evasive manuevers, the larger craft's shields had brushed across his, sending his ship careening out of control. Such a minor impact should not have affected his craft so, but he had already attained damage from an earlier scuffle with a Trade Federation patrol cruiser; the greedy organization was becoming more and more aggresive lately.
A metallic squawk broke him from his thoughts. He glanced at the new report scrolling across his screen, structural integrity field had lost power, lending only a few minutes to escape the dying craft or share its fate. Hastily, he grabbed all the supplies he could and sprinted for the escape pod that was situated at the rear of the ship. When he reached the pod he took one last fleeting look at his ship, feeling the pain of remorse take hold. The Kinyen's Ardor had been a good ship. Knowing that time was of the essence, he shook away his emotions and ducked into the pod. It launched, jettisoning all of his hopes of a future in that same instant.