Jeffers Welm wished for the first time that he was back in academy, and that his was all just an elaborate prank by the other junior commanders, like the time they had convinced him that there was a surprise rebel assault and he had been halfway through scrambling the fighters before someone had come in and put a stop to it. At least he wouldn't be personally responsible for rescuing the son of the man who ruled over seven star systems, the brother of his commander...
"I'm just too agreeable." He often spoke aloud to himself when flying, always careful to switch off the comm. It helped him work through his issues. Cheaper than therapy, and what else was he doing?
Dozens of false readings later, creeping in from different angles with excruciating delicacy until they could be sure of negative contact, and Ensign Welm was beat. He was going to order a return to base, when he saw a bright point of light flare up in the belt just behind their position. The light quickly faded away to nothing, but he had a gut feeling about this one. The lights went dark and he switched the scout into low power mode. The core was shielded, and with most of the systems asleep, he'd be invisible as he drifted in for a closer look. He felt his hope growing as he approached the trail of junk, and he tried to quell it, but in the end he was not disappointed. The wave pattern on his instruments spiked as he swept the area.
"I'm just too agreeable." He often spoke aloud to himself when flying, always careful to switch off the comm. It helped him work through his issues. Cheaper than therapy, and what else was he doing?
"Sightseeing in a trash heap, that's all."
The search had been on for a day and a half, and this was Ensign Welm's seventh run over the distant debris. It would be a simple enough matter if they could perform visual sweeps, the single-seat scout fighters had large enough viewports to make the effort worthwhile, but the Commander had been clear. Welm's orders were to remain undetected in his search for the missing teen. There was something in the Commander's briefing about teaching the kid a lesson, but the ticking of the clock had drowned that out. By their estimates, Griffin had something like ten hours of oxygen left now. Welm reported his lack of success six hours ago, and had been out ever since. He and three other ships were scanning the junk belt from far enough to be invisible, but it made their readings shaky and less reliable than he desired them to be. He'd sent wings out continuously, double and triple checking the areas Griffin might have traveled to. It had been pretty simple to figure out where he'd gone, Welm would have figured it out if Lozan hadn't already seemed to know. There really was no other place Griff could have gone, being that far away from the larger ships when he went overboard.
The search had been on for a day and a half, and this was Ensign Welm's seventh run over the distant debris. It would be a simple enough matter if they could perform visual sweeps, the single-seat scout fighters had large enough viewports to make the effort worthwhile, but the Commander had been clear. Welm's orders were to remain undetected in his search for the missing teen. There was something in the Commander's briefing about teaching the kid a lesson, but the ticking of the clock had drowned that out. By their estimates, Griffin had something like ten hours of oxygen left now. Welm reported his lack of success six hours ago, and had been out ever since. He and three other ships were scanning the junk belt from far enough to be invisible, but it made their readings shaky and less reliable than he desired them to be. He'd sent wings out continuously, double and triple checking the areas Griffin might have traveled to. It had been pretty simple to figure out where he'd gone, Welm would have figured it out if Lozan hadn't already seemed to know. There really was no other place Griff could have gone, being that far away from the larger ships when he went overboard.
Dozens of false readings later, creeping in from different angles with excruciating delicacy until they could be sure of negative contact, and Ensign Welm was beat. He was going to order a return to base, when he saw a bright point of light flare up in the belt just behind their position. The light quickly faded away to nothing, but he had a gut feeling about this one. The lights went dark and he switched the scout into low power mode. The core was shielded, and with most of the systems asleep, he'd be invisible as he drifted in for a closer look. He felt his hope growing as he approached the trail of junk, and he tried to quell it, but in the end he was not disappointed. The wave pattern on his instruments spiked as he swept the area.
"Ha ha! Welm for the win!"
Scanners can be disrupted by debris fields such as the one his quarry was hiding in, but the heat signatures never lied, if you could get close enough to measure one. There it was. The proof of life in the void. He slowly pulled away, dropped a beacon to mark the position, and ordered all wings to regroup at base. He'd be back soon with a recon loadout, and then he'd have his Griffin in his sights, primed for capture as soon as the Commander wished it to be so. It felt good to have things wrapped up so neatly after the turmoil of the last 40 hours. Welm hadn't allowed himself to think of the Commanders promise of promotion, but now he let the thought in, and he could almost see the envious looks of his peers as the heroic Zeskin presented him with honors.
Scanners can be disrupted by debris fields such as the one his quarry was hiding in, but the heat signatures never lied, if you could get close enough to measure one. There it was. The proof of life in the void. He slowly pulled away, dropped a beacon to mark the position, and ordered all wings to regroup at base. He'd be back soon with a recon loadout, and then he'd have his Griffin in his sights, primed for capture as soon as the Commander wished it to be so. It felt good to have things wrapped up so neatly after the turmoil of the last 40 hours. Welm hadn't allowed himself to think of the Commanders promise of promotion, but now he let the thought in, and he could almost see the envious looks of his peers as the heroic Zeskin presented him with honors.
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