EVE Fiction

Luse, Obray, Verge Vendor
The Atron was in front of the Stargate that would lead back to the Clellinon system, hidden in the temporary cloaking field that generated upon jumping into the system. Rather than a mechanical cloaking field this phenomena was a natural effect of jumping into a system and there were numerous theories as to why it happened. Kristof was of the opinion it was to do with a reaction between warp particles and the plasma vented by the Stargates but that was academic, he was here with a firm purpose in mind.

The overview on Kristof’s visor returned as it downloaded data from the Stargate. He selected the coordinates given to him by Seville and locked them in. Once more the Atron leapt into warp hurtling its crew through the cold depths of space. Arriving at the coordinates Kristof was unsurprised to see an Acceleration Gate waiting for him.

The dated piece of technology reminded Kristof of a rib cage, it was a device that was used to warp ships into areas unsuitable for warping into using normal warp drives due to natural phenomena. These areas were commonly referred to in New Eden as Deadspace.
Kristof had a passkey for Serpentis gates so was able to activate it. The Acceleration Gate latched onto the Atron and catapulted it across the system. The crew’s excitement was growing as was Kristof’s.

The sight that greeted them was as Kristof had expected, there was another Acceleration Gate in this Deadspace area, the major difference with this one is that it was guarded. There were six Corelli Scouts between Kristof and the Gate. The Corelli Scouts were Serpentis Corporation frigates that were mainly used as cannon fodder. They were in a holding pattern about 32km away, which gave Kristof’s crew time to acquire target locks. The Serpentis frigates began to fire their Gatling guns but they were too far away to actually hit.

Captain Roche and his crew were seasoned at battling Serpentis Corporation and had split the Atron’s weapons to fire at separate targets. When the Atron was within optimal range Roche gave the order and superheated antimatter charges streaked towards the Serpentis ships striking their shields.

The targeted ships shields didn’t last long and soon the antimatter was tearing through the Serpentis hulls, venting oxygen and sometimes crewmembers where it hit. Within minutes the six ships were just floating debris. Kristof’s scanner picked up that one of the ships had intact cargo on board and he informed Roche of this. The captain ordered the crew to pilot the ship towards the wreck and when they were in range a Tactical Retrieval Squad was sent to bring back the goods.

Kristof could still feel their minds even as they moved further away from the Atron into the Serpentis frigate. Kristof usually would have stayed with them as they explored the wreck but his attention was brought to his overview as two more ships appeared at the Acceleration Gate. This time the overview identified the ships as a Corelli Protector and a Corelli Agent, these were slightly more hardcore than the scouts.

Kristof took control of the targeting systems and focused all weapons on the Protector as it was the more deadlier of the two frigates. Roche activated the shield booster just as the first volleys from the Protector splashed against the Atron’s defences. The ship juddered under the assault but the booster was reinforcing the shields quicker than the Serpentis were dealing damage.

The Protector made the mistake of entering optimal firing range and Roche gave the order to fire. Kristof let his crew do their jobs as he kept his eye on the capacitor and the state of the enemy ships. Thankfully no more Serpentis frigates had come through.
The Atron’s shields were holding steady at 87% integrity and the Protector’s were almost gone.

A signal alerted Kristof to the fact his Retrieval Squad were back and had found an antimatter charge blueprint. That would come in useful. He turned his attention back to the fight in time to see the Protector explode. The shockwave rocked the frigate gently and Kristof switched the hybrid guns to the Agent frigate which barely lasted a minute against the full onslaught of the Atron’s weaponry.

Kristof only wished he had fitted a salvage module to this ship, all these wrecks would likely be picked up by Serpentis clean-up crews once he had returned to normal space. Well it was done now. Kristof was here and he wasn’t going to give Wolf the chance to escape again.

Congratulating the crew Kristof activated this new Acceleration Gate and once more he and his ship were hurtling through the void towards another Deadspace…