The year is 1681. The galaxy is at peace and trade is flourishing. The sheer amount of wealth carried up and down the local trade routes has exponentially increased the number of freebooters on the fringes of Loroi space.
The date is Month 33, transit 1, day 1. The Rapier-class exploratory cruiser Razor's Edge, helmed by Torrai Mazeit Ramarinzil, had just jumped in pursuit of a band of Tanuki marauders into the neighborhood of a dusty, metal-deficient yellow star that they had decided to provisionally name Shodan. It was only a few moments later that the ship's helmsman, Tenoin Narrat Lirontezir, spotted a Tanuki squadron on the ship's sensors and began accelerating the Razor's Edge towards the bandits. Only mere seconds after coming into firing range, an unexpectedly large pocket of the corrosive dust that was prevalent in the system was drawn into the engines' radiator fans and instantly ionized, creating a cataclysmic overheating that swept through the ship. It took only seconds for this buildup to flame out the engines. The resulting rush of built up electromagnetic energy not only disabled the ship's sensors, but acted as a beacon of which Marauders operating from one of the barely habitable planets in the system were only too happy to take advantage.
As the Razor's Edge lay disabled amidst the thick cosmic dust, the planetary reinforcements began to lay what could most charitably be described as light covering fire on the Loroi vessel, and the commodore responded in kind, turning the ship's beam weapons on the locals through its planets thin atmosphere and giving the order to Narrat Lirontezir to charge the jump drive. Eventually, though, the Tanuki, bolstered by the planetary covering fire, landed the knockout blow on the Razor's Edge by dropping a torpedo dead center on its control systems, knocking out the main weapons systems, point defense, and most of its life support with a single critical hit. Within seconds, half of the ship's crew perished as the hull on the lower decks was ripped open, venting much of the ships supply of oxygen before the bulkheads could be lowered. Over 170 crew members died that very instant from exposure and asphyxiation.
The Razor's Edge snapped into a new course with a rumbling jolt, and the visual representation of their current location snapped to black, replaced by a graphical representation of their jump, displaying a high energy red dwarf star.On the bridge:
Smoke filled the room. One console was set on fire by the first impact, it's user its user extinguishing the flames with a nearby foam canister..
"SHIT! What the hell was that?" Ramarinzil shouted out in surprise as the explosion rocked the ship, knocking her and any unsecured bridge crew around with a harsh groaning of it's structure.
The fire systems officer, Soroin Nedeil Leneda, slowly rose to her feet, responding coldly and without emotion. "One of the enemy combatants seems to have hit us with a projectile weapon, possibly an Antimatter Torpedo.
The understatement was not lost on Ramarinzil, that was definitely an Antimatter Torpedo. The mere fact that these pirates had something like this hidden away for a rainy day spoke volumes to the issues this sector had with piracy.
Ramarinzil glares, her response colored with irritation. "Jump drives?" She glanced down and punched in a few commands, only to find that her terminal was frozen. "Damnit, Narrat! We need to get the hell out of here before we become part of the scenery!"
Ramarinzil's focus immediately fell upon her helmswoman, who was in dire straights, bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds.
Narrat Lirontenzir, the helmsman in question spoke up with surprising fortitude, in between pained breaths, as she lay limply against the back seat of her chair, clutching what most likely was a broken shoulder. "Not quite... enough... we could jump now... but not even... the Spirits... can tell where... we would end up..."
Ramarinzil grumbled, weighting her options as the planetary forces continued to rain down fire. "Fuck the Spirits then... Get us out of here." She ran over to the helmsman's chair, shoving its occupant, who was no longer conscious anyway, out of the way. Seconds later she had personally entered the necessary string of commands to Jump herself, deftly choosing a nearby, highly radioactive red dwarf star. They would surely be lost in it's signature with plenty of time to recover and send for reinforcements.
Before the ship would finally find safety, over 300 of its crew members would die, lost to the cold grasp of outer space, fires, and other environmental hazards aboard the ship.
They were not the first to fall that day. Nor would they be the last.
The hyperspace engines whined loudly, spooling up for their jump. Then a bright red warning flashed onto the display with an obnoxiously loud alarm.
«Helm!?» Ramarinzil's mental signature carried over the alarm, the pitch and vibration of the hyperspace engines creating a foreboding atmosphere to those around her.
Lirontezir responded, weakly and at the end of her rope.
"Engines... Sub-critical... We get... One jump... Maybe two..."
She was becoming weaker by the second.
"Detecting secondary Anti-Matter torpedo launch signatures."
Leneda's calm and collected voice was usually a comforting factor, but a deep sense of resignation spread through the crew with her words.
"The Warning code?"
"Code... 1737... Drive related structural integrity failure..."
"We can not take another hit. Get us a lock!"
"Locked in... Looks like a... M2V class red dwarf star... High radiation signature... We'll lose them in the noise... Calculating..."
Her voice faded... a quick snap of Ramarinzil head confirmed that she was still conscious.
"I'm estimating 25 solon until impact."
«Lirontezir?»
"I need... More time... Gravitational signature is..."
"15 solon until impact. Shields remain offline."
«Lirontezir. Now! Punch it!»
Seconds passed, and then the ship lurched forwards, groaning as it's bulkheads absorbed the sudden shock, turning every living occupants stomach as they felt their masses pull to the side, a telltale sign of a problem with the jump drive.
The screen displayed a signature, and changed in the second of space travel, displaying not one, but two red dwarf stars.
They were heading for a binary system.
There was no time to curse or pray however, as the Razor's Edge missed the double star, and the screen went white. Another stomach turning lurch made the inner supports of the Rapier class cruiser groaned and bent under the gravitational stress, springing back to their intended shape as the instant passed.
The deck was eerily quiet, and then a rapid deceleration threw the crew, as well as any loose object forwards.
Then it was dark.
(Soundtrack)
All over the ship, the voices of those in pain re-appeared, and those that were dying slowly faded as the seconds passed. The crew sobbed collectively in the darkness. Some cried for help and others begged to be spared, some trapped or burning, others slowly suffocating from a hull breach.
Then light was restored, and red emergency lights flooded the ravaged bridge. The intense desperation faded, turning into careful relief and instructions of help, flooding those receptive to their reports of wounding and fires on nearly all decks of the Razor.
The ships computers however, remained dark, and so did the external view.
Blood covered Ramarinzil's face as she lifted herself from the terminal that she'd slammed into. It was her own mistake for refusing to clasp shut her seat belts, but she made no call for medical aid. It was nothing more then a bloody nose and it'd surely fix itself.
«Captain to Bridge crew... Who is still able to function?»
Special Damage Roll: (Random(min(0)-max(hp/2))) wrote: Nagatonzir takes 18 points of Kinetic Damage and suffers a left broken wrist!
Tinel takes 14 points of Kinetic Damage and suffers a cracked rib!
Nerala takes 6 points of Kinetic Damage and suffers a nosebleed and light bruising!
Baizomarir takes 12 points of Kinetic Damage and suffers a light concussion!
[Keep in mind that wounds are for Roleplay purposes only, and can be cured by Roleplay purposes only.]