EVE Fiction

Kristof switched the viewscreen channel to the Docking Bay comms and ordered the prep of his Atron. There was no time like the present and he knew his crew could ready the ship for launch in the time it took for him to get to the docking bay. Kristof powered down the electronics and stashed the elementary datacore in a compartment in the base of the sofa. He left a note for Mya and put on a fresh set of clothes. He favoured black vest tops and combats currently so his wardrobe was mostly filled with them. Kristof headed out of his quarters in the direction of the elevator. His Atron crew would be bustling over his ship now as the elevator plunged downward to the endless tune played in every elevator in the Federation.

Finally after what felt like forever the elevator doors opened and Kristof Roxton stepped out into the bright light of the docking bay.
 
The frigate was of Gallente design. The Atron’s portside wing thrust out horizontally from the hull yet the starboard wing shot out downwards at a diagonal angle. It was not the prettiest of ships but it functioned. The vessel was held in an anti-grav suspension field at the end of a walkway. Kristof walked towards his ship. It was one of several ships that he owned. Since becoming a Capsuleer Kristof had travelled further than he had ever before dreamed of.

The man at the ship’s entrance snapped to attention, his blue and grey uniform was neatly pressed and his grey cap was aligned perfectly to the direction he was facing. Kristof returned the salute warily, he was still getting used to other people deferring to him in this manner.
“Mr Roxton all modules are working within capacitor limits. Ready to head out when you are installed sir.”
“Excellent Captain Roche. Let’s not waste any more time.”
“Is it Wolf sir?”
“Yes Captain.”
“Permission to inform the crew sir? They are all eager to pay him back for the array incident.”
“Granted, let’s go hunt the hunter.”

Captain Roche turned with military precision and led the way inside the ship, Kristof followed. The corridors were for the most part in darkness. They only illuminated with a soft orange glow when the internal sensors detected crew moving in them. So as Captain Roche led Kristof into the ship the way lit up before them. They quickly traversed several corridors to a private elevator which led to the heart of the ship. Captain Roche inserted his key into a slot near the elevator door and on the opposite side a panel emerged from the wall. Kristof keyed in the alpha-numerical sequence to open the panel revealing a thirty centimetre squared area filled with a grey-green gel. Kristof placed his hand onto the gels surface and let it sink in. The grey-green ooze engulfed his hand as it scanned his biometrics for identification. From above the elevator door appeared a mechanical orb which hovered over Kristof and emitted a dark green cone of light that scanned Kristof’s body.

Happy with the identification the elevator door opened. Kristof removed his hand from the gel which did not stick to him and closed the panel which receded back into the wall. The orb retreated to its alcove and Kristof stepped into the elevator. Captain Roche saluted him once more before removing his key which closed the elevator door and set it hurtling downward.

Within a minute the elevator had stopped and the doors opened into a small chamber. There was a single locker against one wall and a door which led to a decontamination area. Kristof stripped down to his grey briefs and stowed the rest of his clothes in the locker.
He headed into the decontamination chamber and once the door sealed shut behind him the chamber was flooded with a green gas that purged toxins and killed bacteria that would be harmful to him and the ship.
After a minute of exposure the gas was vented and the door opposite the one he had entered opened and Kristof walked through into a large circular chamber. His crew affectionately referred to it as the Heart of the Ship and in a sense that was true.

The hydrostatic capsule stood bathed in a cone of green light. The four meter long egg shaped capsule is what gave rise to the name Capsuleer. It was installed in the chamber, cables and metal data spikes ran from it and into recesses in the walls and ceiling where it connected to the ships systems.

As Kristof approached the small vessel a piece of the capsule’s hull separated from the bulk as it opened for him. He moved inside and sat in the black leather chair and the capsule closed around him plunging him into darkness. He didn’t need light to see what to do, he had done it enough times now. First he found the cerebral link and inserted it into the process socket embedded at the base of his neck and he relaxed leaning back in the chair. The link connected him to the capsule’s transneural burning scanner that mapped his brain ready to transmit the data back to the cloning facility should the worst occur.

A web-harness descended from the ceiling of the capsule strapping him in and a thin tube snaked downwards and entered his mouth. Like all Capsuleers he had trained his gag-reflexes so this didn’t bother him. Once inside his throat the tube expanded blocking off the airway so the tube alone was providing oxygen and it also prevented the Capsuleer from drowning. Similarly two proboscis wormed their way up his nasal passages and a visor lowered itself across his eyes.

Then the capsule began to fill up with a sickly green fluid. Kristof was quickly submerged in the ectoplasmic fluid and he could feel his synapses flare as his mind expanded into every facet of the ship. An overview appeared on the right hand side of the visor’s interior, the main area of the visor showed a view of what was outside the front of the Atron and in the bottom left of his visor were the communications channels.

Very nice mixture of storytelling and world mechanics.