Day 5: It seems as though every day we jump we find some new challenge. After the horrors of the nebula, though, today's events were almost humdrum.
We have verified that the rebels are, indeed, after us. Judging from our long-range scanners, their search is massive, and will encompass the entire sector in a week or so. They are legion, but thorough: if they maintain their current pace, we should have no trouble staying ahead of them.
However, they do have a number of scouts well ahead of their fleet, including the AI-controlled drone ship we met today. Other than a lucky strike from a missile, we suffered minimal damage to our hull from its assault.
Day 6: There has been a battle at this beacon recently. A couple of destroyed ships float lazily nearby, and one of them is broadcasting a message requesting assistance against a rebel attack. Apparently help did not come.
Or, perhaps, help did come. An examination of the other ship reveals that it was not a rebel ship as I thought. I'm guessing that they heard the distress signal, came to help, and were destroyed for their trouble.
We must find this rebel ship and stop it before it does any more harm. No doubt it is nearby--the engines of the destroyed ships still show heat signatures.
Ens. Elizabeth objects to my order to search for the rebel ship. Yes, indeed there are many more on their way. However, those civilians deserve some closure, and I'm going to be the one to grant it to them.
Day 7: Just as I was about to give up on the rebel ship, having lost a whole day to the search, our short range scanners picked up its signal.
Unfortunately, the ship has a teleporter. Ens. Elizabeth leaves the weapons room to engage the rebel intruder just in time to evade a missile, which knocks out our missile system and sets the room on fire.
Multiple missiles strike the ship before we scare off the first intruder, as our enemy systematically disables our engines and shields. We manage to bring our own missiles back online just as they send in another boarder. Another missile hit our weapons room with both Lt. Tach and Ens. Elizabeth inside as they tried to bring our laser systems online.
We could not afford to send either one to deal with the intruder, so I went myself. It was a risky maneuver, given our lack of auto-pilot; we were sitting ducks. However, maneuverability wasn't going to help us in this fight: we needed to start fighting back.
Our first missile assault takes out their weapons systems, giving us time to bring our burst lasers back online and scare away the intruder.
Our second missile and a volley of lasers took out their shields. By the time I returned to the bridge they were charging up their FTL drives.
Ens. Elizabeth fired a volley of lasers into their bridge, halting their escape. After one more assault, their ship was torn apart.
Shortly after our victory Ens. Elizabeth stormed into the bridge and began to lecture me about risk assessment, recklessness, and priorities. I heard her out, thanked her for speaking her mind, then dismissed her. Clearly she doesn't understand the true nature of being a soldier for the Federation.
We are not merely fighting rebels. We are fighting for an ideal: a dream for a galaxy in which its peoples work together for a brighter future. We will not achieve this by allowing the savagery of the rebels to go unpunished, even if that puts our lives at risk. It is a cause worth dying for.
I hope that some day Ens. Elizabeth will understand this.
That said, I can certainly see how that rebel ship destroyed two other ships. Our hull is nearing critical condition. I've taken parts we've recovered from our recent battles and built a secondary housing cell for our shields, which should double their effectiveness. I've also reassigned Lt. Tach from the engine room to the shield control center; a talented technician is always faster than ship AI at getting shields back online after an assault. We'll end up taking more hits, but with better shielding it should not matter.
Godspeed, little ship. :'(
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