_ - State your name. _
- Pilot Shennen Pirks
_ - Pilot Pirks, tell the UMC Extraordinary Commission exactly what happened during the flight on the night of October 31 4616 _
A pilot group was performing a routine task escorting transport vehicles of ‘Ellydium’ to their new base.
“We received the mission from the so-called Broker. He came in contact not so long ago, but he always paid generously and on time. Mercenaries were happy to take his missions.
We had to meet a convoy of ‘Ellydium’ transports at the gate in the Procyon system and escort them to the outpost in ‘Leviathan’. Initially, there were two of us — me and my partner Bob Quinn. Then we were joined by another mercenary Calder. I had seen him a couple of times in a bar on New Eden. But I have never known him closely.
The convoy was a little late, as it often happens with ‘Ellydium’ ships. We took the standard positions in the formation. Calder - slightly ahead and to the left. Me and Bob slightly behind. Usually the convoy chooses the route. Through different locations and gates. This is justified. Recently one of these convoys was hit by Baron Rosso’s guys. They killed the guards and looted the transports. But this time everything was quiet until we reached Haldon.
The abandoned station that hides in the asteroid belt of the system, always my, and the rest of the pilots, with whom I had discussed this issue, hair stand on my back. A gloomy place. You probably know that noone was able to find out who had built the station in Haldon system and why was it abandoned. The place is very dangerous. Cartel guys are constantly visiting that region. There are other hazards too.
But that time danger came from where we had not been expecting it. Calder suddenly spun the ship and hit Bob’s ship with all his Gauss cannons. The blow was fatal. Bob’s ship turned black and lost speed, starting to drift along with the asteroids, slowly approaching the abandoned station. Calder immediately struck again. I managed to escape the fire and take cover behind a large stone. Calder’s ship was significantly higher-spec than mine in power and weaponry. I didn’t stand a chance against him in one-on-one combat.
At that point, my instruments showed multiple Alien portals. The radar was going crazy. Scouts, Hunters, Predators. The whole zoo. And I was the prey. With the first blow they destroyed the transports. It distracted them for a couple of seconds and I managed to hide in the cargo hangars of the abandoned station. Only there did I have a slim chance that the Aliens’ super-powerful radars couldn’t detect me.
Calder was not hiding. And the Aliens were not firing at him. I do not know who he really was. Perhaps he was no longer a human? I was ready to fight my last battle and accepted the imminent death.
And then the situation changed dramatically once again. Another ship jumped into the system. It knocked out Calder and a couple of Scouts, then jumped on the remaining Aliens, weaving around them in a dogfight. I rushed to help him. Hunters were an easy prey for me, but the Predator hit me with something particularly powerful. My shields shut off. And all the electronics went into the reboot mode.
But the battle was over too. Through the glass I saw dead ships slowly drifting a couple of kilometers away from me. My unexpected saviour was the only working ship in the entire system. He made a sudden maneuver and approached me.
It was a strange ship. It was… alive. I would have taken him for an Alien, but the ship had a cockpit. And there, behind thick bulletproof glass, sat a man. He took off his helmet and waved to me. I waved back. The unknown sped away and almost immediately disappeared from the radar. I was stuck waiting for help.
The rescuers only reached me a couple of hours later. That’s the whole story.
_ - Thank you, Pilot.The Commission will consider all the data and make a decision. _
Cryptogram XXIM12-124105
From : Natasha Cortés
To : Chairman of the UMC Extraordinary Commission
Cc : Acting SEO of ‘Ellydium Theta’ Dr. Conrad Dimeni
Subject : Project A.L.I.E.N.
Cease the investigation. Close the case. Transfer pilot Pirks to station ‘Ellydium Theta’. As for test pilot Iroot, make a reprimand to be placed in his employment file.
_ Acting head of ‘Ellydium Theta’ security service Natasha Cortés. _