Into The Black [Elite:Dangerous] (freeko & Erit of Eastcris)

[Erit of Eastcris]

A computerized, feminine voice sounded off in the cockpit, [UNDER ATTACK], a useless little notification that made Harkon Muris grit his teeth as low-powered pulse lasers sliced through the kinetic barriers of his dinky second-rate Sidewinder. His opponent was piloting the same, of course, but in the asteroid belt this exercise was set in said opponent had managed to get the drop on him. Big deal, he figured, shields regenerated over time; so long as he didn't take enough sustained fire for them to go down, it didn't matter. That in mind, he slammed back the throttle, throwing himself into a full reverse and pitching up, sending his practice craft into a tight vertical U-turn before reversing his momentum and directing maximum power to his engines and systems sub-routines; his hardpoints could keep quiet until he drew a bead.

The maneuver placed him on the far side of a hunk of space-rock from his sparring partner, but the cover wouldn't last; they couldn't blast through it with the weapons they'd been given, but she could circle around the asteroid and then he'd be screwed if he didn't get his ass in gear right then. His fingers brushed against the controls, the ship responding [WEAPONS ONLINE]. It was time for a counterattack.

He pointed his nose towards the rock's horizon line, opening the throttle and giving himself some strafe to keep from going in a straight line; going in a simple vector was a fool's errand. He crested the rock, her identical practice craft zooming by to his side; they both turned to face each other, but she got a line of fire first and once more his cockpit filled with visual noise and the dull, apathetic drone of the computer's annoucement. [TAKING DAMAGE]. Why wasn't there an option to shut that thing up? Whatever; they were stuck in a turning battle now, neither quite able to get the other in their sights. His thumb clicked a button on the throttle control, firing the secondary burn and flinging him past her in a blur, the momentum carrying him into a small clear patch in the belt. Not good; he hadn't thought this through all the way. Accelerating, he flew straight back into cover just as bright-red light flashed behind him with the promise of defeat if he didn't wise up. Shields were at 60%, charging at a snail's pace; he disabled flight assist and spun like a top, lining up his paired lasers just as she came around the bend and firing a dose of thermal energy straight into her flight path, barrier glowing its bright azure against the backdrop of the void as it absorbed his attack. Another burst, but by then she'd moved too fast to hit with both barrels; a single line sunk into her shields, and they were even.

The fight continued like that, dodging and weaving and trading potshots in a long, drawn-out match that to an observer was more game of chess than space battle, but to the participants was a cat-and-mouse game of breathtaking intensity. They wittled away at each other, blow for blow and shot for shot, until he found himself at no shields and critical hull integrity, computer flashing warnings every forty-five seconds to withdraw. She was a little better off; probably didn't need to put up with the incessant badgering of the AI, at least. But he refused to simply lay down and lose; that would hand her the prize, and he'd never hear the end of it. So, he used his greatest strength; a willingness to think outside the box and cheat a little.

He opened his throttle and, with a bit of guesswork, set himself on a collision course, coming around the side of an asteroid and barreling, full-tilt, into her ship, sending the pair careening off into the side of one of the many hunks of rock littering the playing field. The simulation chair he sat in abruptly quieted and changed its display, flooding with soft red light and presenting a log-in screen with his callsign already punched in. [Eight of Aces]. Harkon erased it and opened up the hatch on the big metal box, clambering out of it and blinking under the sudden floodlights of the academy's simulator room, his peers and instructor looking up at him with dumbfounded expressions. The wild-card pilot grinned his stupid, cocky grin and hopped down to the floor, his auburn ponytail swaying gently as he drew up his modest physique to its full, admirable height. The academy's uniform, with its deep blues and gold trim, fit him well, complimenting his own sea-green eyes that always held a self-assured gleam. The instructor opened his mouth, and Harkon raised a hand, "Before you berate me, teach, the simulation's supposed to test our flight skills, not our survival instincts." The professor, a veteran of many battles and short temper, practically turned blue with swallowed rage, but everyone's attention was stolen when the hatch of his sparring partner and sole competition's simulator creaked softly before slamming open. "Hey~" the smug snake chirped, "there you are! Looks like another tie, huh?"

 

[freeko]

Dana was up against what would prove to be her most worthy competitor so far in flight school. They would take turns leapfrogging each other atop the leaderboard with no one else really coming close to them. This was going to be her defining moment. Beating Harkon in a one on one duel in an asteroid belt would all but cement her as being the best in the class. The dogfight would start not unlike any other with a bit of a feeling out process as smashing into an asteroid would be no different than an enemy killing you. Either way you are dead and that was something Dana was not willing to allow. It did not matter to her if it was a simulated battle like this one or in a real ship, Dana's mindset was the same. Win.

After a while, Dana would draw a bead on Harkon's ship. With all the asteroid activity it looked like she had the angle to get the drop on him. These seemingly beat up Sidewinder craft they were each piloting were not the most responsive, but this was a test not meant for a mere novice. Harkon would immediately back off and it was almost a small miracle that an asteroid did not claim him in his retreat away from Dana's ship. Though it did put a large asteroid between the two of them again and it allowed some time for both ships to recharge.

Dana and Harkon both seemed to have the same thing in mind as they re-engaged. Taking a slight angle so that when they cut the thrusters they were both pointed right at each other and laid into the other with everything they had. Dana might have been able to finish him right then and right there, but Harkon would break off before his hull went critical. With her own ship probably not in any better shape, Dana knew she needed to pursue him through the asteroids and finish him off. Another engagement like the one they just had would be foolish as it would end up being little more than a coinflip or some other act of fate that decided who would come out victorious.

At least this bit of twisting and turning would allow her shields to recharge, but on the same token it would allow his to recharge as well. Even though she was landing a few pot shots here and there, Dana still had the initiative with Harkon on the run.. for now. Harkon would fly himself into a clear patch into the asteroid belt and what had to be an act of sheer desperation from a cornered animal, he would spin his ship around to fire back at Dana. The ship took a large amount of damage as Harkon scored a direct hit on her with the first volley but the second would only graze her ship causing the computer to start blaring out [TAKING DAMAGE] followed by a [SHIELDS CRITICAL] warning after she had managed to dodge the brunt of the second blast. She had to break away now and start running as she was the wounded animal now.

This routine would go on for a while longer as it would feel like a match of tug-of-war between them. Dana would run with Harkon in pursuit and then in a flash their roles would reverse time and time again. After a while the ship and shields had sustained so much damage that the computer would only repeat [SHIELDS CRITICAL] [HULL FAILING] over and over. This match was drawing to a close and it would only take one more good attack angle from either to finish the other off. What little of her HUD remained would show that his ship was in no better shape that her's at this point. With Harkon and Dana breaking off in different directions, the final act was about to begin dana felt. One last chance to finish Harkon for one final time and cement her place atop the leaderboard. She could already see her name alone atop the leaderboard where no one could touch her.

Then it happened. Dana would have her dreams dashed and the harsh reality of the situation had come to bear. The last thing she had heard and felt was the computer spouting [COLLISION WARNING - EJECT] as something had hit the side of her ship. There was nothing stopping her from smashing into the asteroid and almost assuredly destroying her Sidewinder. It was all over in a manner of a few seconds but time was cruel and the last few moments before her simulator pod went blank felt like forever. Dana could not even bring herself to look at the screen to see what was certain to be displayed. Her callsign: Eagle followed by the 4 letters she would vow to never want to see, LOSE.

Not even able to look up at her screen to see that in fact the match was a draw, Dana had assumed she lost and only wanted to focus on the next sortie in the simulators. Harkon was going to rib her to no end now that he had beaten her in a perfectly fair contest. It would not have shocked Dana in the least if Harkon was waiting outside her pod to gloat over his victory. All Dana wanted to do was get out of there and find solace in her quiet place. When her pod opened, she could hear nothing and wanted nothing more than to make a beeline for the exit. Throwing the door open, Dana would reveal her short auburn hair and green eyes as she took her helmet off. The rest of her form was safely hidden beneath her flight suit and it would take Harkon's voice to snap her back into reality. What was he talking about? A draw? Surely this was a joke of some sort as Dana knew her ship was destroyed at the end.

Dana was not sure what to believe right now. Was this just a joke by Harkon? Looking at the instructor's expression it might well be, but Dana did not really know what the result of the match actually was since she never looked at the screen on the pod before leaving. Dana Radev, the one they would call "Eagle" was for the first time in the whole time she was here not in control of her own destiny now. Even if it was a draw, with one last mission to go she could get teammates that were simply not up to the task and Harkon could overtake her on the leaderboard and become the top pilot. Winning this would have meant the last sortie was little more than a victory lap for her.

With Harkon finishing his line, Dana had nothing to say. How could she possibly respond to him? Her scowl would reveal her anger but it was directed at what she felt was a poor performance in the simulators. She had no idea that Harkon had destroyed both their ships in an act of desperation to make sure that Dana would not win.