106: The Seeker Swarms – Two
Rescuing the crew of the Salsica would end up being the only part of the coming days that the crew of the Pelekys would share with their audience.
For the most part, it happened pretty much the same - the Salsica and Pelekys pounced on the Horreum from stealth, the Storlayacas kept it pinned while Malakh and V'tala broke aboard it to make sure the explosives around the prison block wouldn't render their rescue attempt null and void.
But no sooner had the Salsica dematted the freed container into their own hold, when a mismatched swarm of ships fell out of subspace right on top of them, opening fire before anyone hand time to react.
"Retreat to the rendezvous point." Pryseia had ordered Shinju over the comms, the authority of a seasoned veteran colouring her commands, "Don't let those we've freed fall back into Thalatte hands."
The other captain's hesitation was palpable, her frustration over having to flee readily apparent as she responded, "I'll keep them safe."
The Storlayacas all threw themselves between the incoming vessels and the Salsica as it made a hasty retreat into subspace, but it soon became clear that neither the Salsica nor the stolen hold full of prisoners was in threat of being pursued as the comms opened up, and the person in charge of this small fleet barked, "Pelekys! Surrender your ship and your mechs and prepare to be boarded! We're here to return you to the Thalatte."
Before anyone else could respond, Malra surged forward, energy sabre flaring to life as Nevara closed with the closest fighters, cleaving through three of them with a single stroke. The resulting explosion caught another fighter craft in that wave of destruction as the others managed to get out of range.
"We'll die before that happens," Rhea growled out in warning, "But we'll kill you first."
A derisive sneer snorted over the line as the commander of these ships boasted, "You're wildly outnumbered here. Give up before we have to get rough with you."
V'tala responded by drawing Enaruli's rifle and firing on one of the larger ships that had been hanging back. It wasn't quite as dramatic as her own sidearm, but it got the point across just the same.
The smaller fighters regrouped around the now damaged, larger vessel, and Pryseia took that opportunity to call out, "Unknown ships, retreat now or we will respond with deadly force. This is your final warning."
The only response was for the ships to charge forward in a phalanx, opening fire on the six of them.
"They were warned," Pryseia told the rest of them, "Show them no mercy."
The battle commenced in earnest at that.
Whoever these rogue ships were or worked for, they were decent enough pilots, groups of them breaking off to try and corral the Storlayacas away from one another, harrying them by staying too close for their rifles to be effective, and just far enough out of range of their energy sabres. It was a sound tactical choice for dealing with a half dozen mechs.
But it wasn't enough to deal with six Storlayacas.
Larger, faster, more manoeuvrable, the crew of the Pelekys was more than a match for this rabble. With an efficiency born from decades of combat experience, Pryseia tore through those trying to edge her away from the others, explosions following in her wake as she bodily crashed Zaanlaa into one of the ships that had been trying to get in behind Lianshae.
Elytra had been distracted from that sneak attack by the fighter craft she'd snatched out of the void, crushing its thruster with one hand before she threw it into the path of another ship, the both of them blowing up from the resultant crash.
Rhea and Malakh had found each other on the battlefield, Yarula and Castore back to back as they methodically took out any ship that came close to them with their sabres, switching to rifles when the ships thought that pulling back was a safer option.
Nevara was untouchable as she wove Malra through the sustained fire coming from the ships trying to bring her to heel. They tried to get out of her way when she came at them with her sabre, but she was the better pilot, no matter what she was flying, and her attackers soon fell before her blade.
Ignoring the smaller, swarming fighters, V'tala rocketed across the battlefield, aiming for the larger ship she'd struck - it had to be the command vessel. It may have been a fast ship, but it was nothing in the face of Enaruli's agility, its escape attempt further halted when Viatrix came in with the Pelekys, opening fire on the ship that had come there to capture her crew.
All of this happened in a matter of seconds, the tide immediately turning against the unknown ships that had come to capture them. With both Enaruli and the Pelekys baring down on them, the captain of the main ship screamed over the comms, "TNF Horreum! By the authority of Commander Usys Tase Ary Coit, assist us!"
While that name meant nothing to the crew of the Pelekys, it apparently carried weight enough for commander of the Horreum, as the ship turned from where it had been trying to sneak away from the fight and began to open fire.
It wouldn't be enough to save them.
Meant for attacking lightly defended settlements, the Horreum's firepower wasn't anything more than an annoyance against the shields of the Storlayacas units. Pryseia skated Zaanlaa around the shots trying to bring her down, systematically destroying the Horreum's shield generators, engines, and weapons in quick succession. Jabbing her sabre through the hull plating, she began wrenching a gash through it like she was opening up a tin of fish. The Horreum's efforts at resistance were about as effective as a can of preserved seafood's would be. It took very little time for Pryseia to do enough damage to it for a chain reaction to trigger, and she darted Zaanlaa away as the Horreum succumbed to its injuries in a fiery blast.
V'tala, likewise, was taking apart the large vessel of the raiding force, even as it desperately attempted to flee.
"Mayday! Mayday! Kladimo, come in! Repeat, Kladi-"
Its distress call was abruptly cut off when its engines went critical, causing an explosive cascade to tear the ship apart from the inside out, Enaruli and the Pelekys pulling away in order to avoid the blast.
The void around them was littered with explosions dissipating in the darkness as Pryseia called out, "Viatrix, do your scanners detect any other vessels in our vicinity?"
After a few moments while she ran a scan, Viatrix responded, "Negative, we appear to be alone."
"Good," Pryseia said, audibly relaxing, "We should take this moment of peace to escape from this place before any more surprises befall us. I would like to ensure that the Salsica is safe as well."
It didn't take long for everyone to get in close enough to the Pelekys to get dematted aboard, Viatrix pulling them into subspace the moment they were all safely tucked away.
They couldn't have timed their departure better, as a heavy cruiser dropped out of subspace moments later, scanners sweeping the area as it tried to find out what had happened to the ships it had sent there.
"I'm really glad to see you all in one piece," Shinju said over the noise of her crew reuniting behind her on the view screen, "Do you have any idea who those people were?"
"Not on an individual level, but I'm positive if they weren't Thalatte themselves, they were sent by them," Pryseia told her, her Queen Kaizoku costume adding a level of severity to that announcement, "With what those we encountered back on that station had to say, I believe that the Thalatte navy is hunting us down."
Shinju let out a low whistle at that. "Must have done something bad to get them on your ass."
Letting out a derisive snort, Malakh told her, "Yeah. We're escaped slaves."
"That would do it," Shinju said with a humourless laugh, "How can we help?"
"You can get all the rest of those in that prison block to safety," Pryseia told her, "That is the more pertinent matter here."
Frowning, Shinju asked, "You aren't planning on taking on whatever Thalatte force that's been sent against you alone, are you?"
Pryseia unleashed a humourless laugh of her own as she said, "Avoiding the Thalatte had been something I planned on doing for the rest of my days, but if they are going to hunt us, then we shall do the same in return. Before we destroyed those ships, they spoke the name of Commander Usys Tase Ary Coit, and what I assume is a ship by the name of Kladimo. Have you heard of either, perchance?"
"Can't say that I have," Shinju said with a shake of her head, "But if you are looking to target Thalatte ships, I'd recommend reaching out to the Gorgon - another Kith crew. Taking down Thalatte is something of their specialty."
"I appreciate the recommendation." Pryseia said with a nod of thanks.
With her crew finally quieting down behind her, Shinju shot them a fond look before turning back to the Pelekys and asking, "So, wanna film an epilogue for this whole thing now that things have settled down?"
"We would be delighted," Pryseia told her, "Hopefully no more unexpected surprises befall us during."
Hours later, around the dinner table in the Pelekys' mess hall, the mood was mixed. Happiness at being able to reunite the crew of the Salsica, relief about nearly two hundred people being saved from Thalatte servitude, confusion over who had attacked them, frustration over the Commander apparently tracking them down, and anger at the Thalatte and all that they had done to the majority of the crew. It led to a relatively quiet meal.
Until Viatrix piped up with, "I've found something on this Commander Usys!"
Hastily swallowing down her mouthful of dinner, Rhea said, "Show us what you've got."
On the closest console to the dinner table, the image of a sage green Thalatte dressed in a coral red officer's uniform popped on the screen as Viatrix told them, "Commander Usys Tase Ary Coit, captain of the TNF Kladimo. They've got something of a mixed reputation in their navy - they've got a list of commendations a parsec long, but the list of complaints from their superiors is even longer. Their success rate for operations is higher than anyone else currently serving, but the reports for every single one are littered with complaints about dishonourable behaviour in the completion of said missions. Their files are full of court-martial documents lodged by their commanding officers, but then rejected by those higher up in the ranks. In recent years, it looks like the Thalatte leadership has sent Usys off to complete missions as far away from other Thalatte commanders as possible, which has definitely landed them in way less hot water. Interestingly enough, the lower ranks that serve under Usys have nothing to give but their praises. Seems like they actually treat those under their command with respect."
"How unbecoming," Malakh scoffed, "No wonder Usys' commanders hate them."
Viatrix's avatar spun in agreement of that as she added, "Their current mission is tracking the Pelekys down, as I'm sure you all figured. Thalatte command wants the ship and any equipment on board to be handed back over, any additional crew to be conscripted, and the four of you brought back in chains so that you can be executed publicly."
She punctuated that statement by throwing an official Thalatte document up on the screen, showing the military ID photos of Pryseia, Nevara, Rhea, and Malakh, and the written demand for their capture.
"Yeah, well that ain't fucking happening." Rhea muttered darkly, turning towards V'tala and Elytra, "They're not going to lay a claw on either of you."
"I appreciate that." V'tala said with a nod.
"What of the Kladimo," Pryseia asked, an odd tightness to her voice, "Can you tell us of it's capabilities?"
An image of the ship in question popped up on the screen. It was a heavy cruiser, as sharp and angular as any other Thalatte ship, painted in the vibrant yellows and greens of the Thalatte's long range fleet.
"Pretty standard, for the most part," Viatrix explained, "But it's been kitted out with more substantial engines to allow it to travel out further and longer between refuelling stops. Everything else about it is the same as any other heavy cruiser. Well, on paper, at least. Given Usys's penchant for out of the box tactics, who knows what kind of modifications they've snuck in without telling Thalatte command."
"Something we'll have to keep an eye out for when we inevitably cross paths," Malakh said, turning to Pryseia, "So how do you want to deal with this?"
The woman in question made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat, staring off into the middle distance for a few seconds before she said, "Hunting this hunter would be the most prudent course of action in this instance, I believe. If this Commander Usys is both as skilled and reviled as their records claim, then the odds are good that, should we remove this threat, Thalatte command will be hesitant to send others after us. If they sent their officer with the highest success rate on missions, they obviously want this mission to be a success. But then again, perhaps this assignment is actually a means to an end for them to get rid of Usys by having them be killed in the line of duty, rather than deal with the mess that would result from them trying to court-martial someone so beloved by the rank and file."
"If that last option is the case, then whoever they send - if they send others - would not be as much of a threat to us as this Usys seems to be." Nevara pointed out, "So their removal from our lives would only result in net positives."
Pryseia nodded distractedly, then glanced around at everyone as she asked, "Do any of you have an alternative course of action with which to deal with this threat?"
Taking her own glance around and seeing no one forthcoming, Nevara said, "I believe we are all prepared to hunt down Commander Usys and the Kladimo."
"So be it," Pryseia said, her hands clenched on the table before her, "Viatrix, please do what you can to track down that ship. We will act the moment you do."
"I'm on it!" Viatrix said as her avatar and all the information she brought up vanished from the console.
Carefully placing her utensils on her empty plate, Pryseia said, "For now, we will carry out the assorted tasks we have in regards to our latest Kith outing, as we have no set timetable for when this hunt will commence. Until this matter is dealt with, we must be prepared to act at a moment's notice."
And with that, she stood and brought her dishes to the dishwasher before leaving the room, the others hurrying to finish their own meals in order to get a move on with their own tasks.
Eyes lingering in the general direction of where she could feel the ice cold wave of emotion coming off Pryseia, Elytra could barely taste her meal.
When Pryseia answered the chime at her door some time later, she was dressed down in her pajamas, hair still damp from the shower she'd recently taken, looking shocked to see Elytra standing there. Her eyebrows pinching in concern at the serious expression Elytra wore, she asked, "Are you alright?"
Elytra didn't say anything at first, just stepped in to Pryseia's space so she could circle her arms around her ribs and bring her in for a crushing hug.
"I'm fine, but you aren't." Elytra said as she felt Pryseia tense in her arms, her own awkwardly half raised at Elytra's back, "You were talking in there like this wasn't anything but a minor inconvenience, but I can feel a panic rattling around in you like hailstones. You didn't get anywhere close to this unsettled when you and V'tala were dealing with the dlegh, but there was nothing I could do to help you with that. I can help with this, so just talk to me."
Elytra didn't need Zymeth telepathy to hear the thoughts of denial already forming in Pryseia's mind - that she was fine, that this wasn't anything worth worrying about - so she just held on tighter and said, "Do not tell me that you aren't affected by all this."
Pryseia opened her mouth, and Elytra knew that it was to say just that, but the deupazing just let out a defeated huff, her arms looping around Elytra as she quietly said, "The truth of the matter is that the thought of being returned to the Thalatte in any capacity has me terrified."
"You were enslaved by them for most of your life," Elytra replied, just as quiet, "You were kept in line with a bomb bolted to your skull, one your captors could detonate at the slightest provocation. You were forced to fight for them for decades - I can't imagine the horrors you would have witnessed in that time, been forced to commit during that time. You haven't been free for a full year yet, so it's more than understandable that the thought of the organization that put you through all that has you on edge."
Pryseia didn't let go, but she tilted her head away as she growled, "Those events are in the past, therefore I should be past them."
Leaning back far enough so that she could look Pryseia in the eye, Elytra asked, "Let's do a quick thought experiment, okay? The Baithaiz of Iromay are hunting us down, specifically to kill me, so I'm freaking out about it. Would you tell me that I should just get past all that?"
Elytra could practically feel the counterarguments filling Pryseia's lungs as she took a breath to speak them aloud, but Elytra held her gaze, challengingly so, daring her to say that the situation wasn't exactly the same.
Knowing she wouldn't sway Elytra on that subject, Pryseia sighed, instead saying, "My experience is hardly unique, for in some form, we've all gone through something like this. As the captain of the Pelekys, I should be the rock that the others lean on. I should not require coddling."
"Are we part of a formal military?"
Blinking at the non sequitur, Pryseia said, "Though technically a force that is armed, the Kith are not considered an armed force."
"So ranks mean nothing here?"
"They mean something," Pryseia argued, "Though perhaps they do not carry the weight they would in a more traditional fleet."
"Then the Kith rank of 'captain' doesn't carry the same weight either," Elytra shot back, "And neither should you."
Pryseia had nothing to counter that truth, so Elytra continued, "Look, this isn't coddling. One of my friends is going through it, so I'm reaching out to help her. If you want to talk, if you want to just sit in silence, whatever you need, I'm here for you, because I know you'd do the exact same for me. Because you aren't my captain. You're my friend."
Jaw clenched, Pryseia just stared at her, the tumult of her emotions rattling like a blizzard against a window. But eventually her shoulders sagged, and with a watery smile, Pryseia pulled Elytra back into a hug as she said, "Decades of being forced to be a commander have created a habit within me that is difficult to break, it seems."
"Well I'm happy to help you break it." Elytra told her, holding her tighter, "Here's hoping that we live long enough in freedom to undo all the damage captivity did."
Laughing quietly against her shoulder, Pryseia said, "I raise my hand in favour of that."