October 2941
Aurora - 'Ursimare'
Very Low Orbit: Borea
Magnus system
Photeus thought about the name, Ursimare. It was a made up name, ancient latin, meaning something along the lines of "Sea Bear." Mavor and Chista had named it when Bris was eight months old. He had the oddest fascination with pictures of the sea on Terra, from their Honeymoon, and also the Bears in his books. Bris never was able to see or experience either of them.
A tear welled in Photeus’ eye. He blinked it away. It wasn’t his memory, it was a borrowed memory of a life before his. Mearly a dream. This dream will be over soon. Once the miners are taken care of, Photeus can finally die too.
Photeus took a deep breath, he was ready. He checked his trigger components once last time. His new satchel was loaded with enough boom to level a city. Systems were good in his EVA suit and his flight-pack was ready. He remembered to grab an extra fuel cell and dropped it into his utility belt.
"Here we go," he said for his own benefit.
He sat down in the flight chair of his Aurora and ran a modified ejection program. The air suddenly rushed out of the cabin as the cockpit slowly opened. Warnings blared from the Aurora’s systems as he used a small blast from his jets to clear the ship. He was adrift in the black, but heading rapidly for Borea’s atmosphere.
He really wasn’t sure if he’d burn up like a meteor on re-entry or not. It wasn’t a huge worry on his mind, one way or another, his plan was in motion.
He keyed his mic and hit a button on his trigger. He took a deep breath and yelled into the mic, "HERE IT COMES YOU DRAKE SCUM! YOU AND YOUR KIND STOPPED US ONCE, BUT WE BROUGHT SOME NEW TOYS!! NEXT TIME YOU’LL PAY WHAT YOU OWE! YEEHAW!" He then hit a two-button command on controller and pulled the trigger.
The Aurora wasn’t very far from him yet and he clearly saw three missiles erupt from it and head toward the surface. The fading link to his Aurora told him that hundreds of ships in the sector heard his general transmission and caught the signatures of the missiles inbound toward the Drake Executive Headquarters. He then entered a new command and the Aurora slowly turned and hit its afterburners. He hoped that he programmed the autopilot well enough that it would help any pursuers locate Magnus IV. He also hoped it had enough fuel to pick him up after the deed was done.
A moment later, gravity began to take effect. It caused his head to spin, but also he started feeling the warmth as he began to accelerate through the atmo. His suit chirped in warning. He twisted himself as best he could and used burst from his jets to slow his descent. The heat reduced, but his EVA suit would give a cautious beep from time to time, just to make sure he was paying attention.
After a short time he started to reach the lower stratosphere of Borea and figured he could hit his parachute at any time. He knew he needed to conserve fuel in his pack, just in case.
--- Drake Industrial Park ---
Three missiles fell rapidly toward their target, blazing an fiery trail through the night sky. Drake had gotten word of the attack and was well prepared. Defensive turrets were aimed toward the sky. Radar defenses were attempting to mask the most important facilities. Beams of light strafed the air, attempting to prematurely detonate the incoming ordinance.
As they neared the Drake defenses, the missiles dropped all pretenses and released their payload. Swirls of smaller rockets erupted from missiles and flew with little purpose in all directions. The rockets connected with chaff released into the air and absorbed cannon and laser fire. The three main rocket warheads were still live and within seconds of connecting with the facility.
The auto-cannons concentrated their fire on the nearest missile. The weapon spun around a few shots, but was guided into a beam that sliced it out of the air, detonating the rocket. The blast was close enough to change the course of the next missile.
The second missile swirled drunkenly, its booster damaged and connected with a web of chaff, detonating harmlessly.
The final missile, visuals of it shielded by the cloud of smoke and debris from the others, rushed past the defenses and connected into the Executive Offices, the 43rd level of building #182. The armored construction of the buildings absorbed a majority of the damage, but the blast left a small crater in the building at that level. Fires erupted, but were quickly extinguished by the buildings control systems. Windows around the blast had been shattered and chunks of them mixed with burning metal crashed to the empty street below. Smoke filled the air for hours later, but Drake would later herald the attack as successfully defended and cite their dedication to defense of their workers. However, in the here and now, they sent security teams to their executives’ homes to move them to secure bunkers.
---Executive Residences---
As Photeus parachuted through the black night, he was able to see armored vehicles pull up to the home of Martel Kohtour and collect several people. They quickly drove away into the night.
Photeus allowed himself a smile.