Alex Chou's Log for: 12/16/2351 3:24


If there ever was a chance of repelling the Vinak Invasion, it was lost in the last 12 hours. Those random missile attacks ended with a bang. A... I don't know how many, high speed and large payload missiles came flying out of the Draco, Dresdin, and Alpha Centauri warp points. I watched on the tactical display as about 20 or more color coded dots - each representing a HAF cruiser - disappeared from the display. The Comm officer, Lieutenant Perez, I think, reported several others took damage.

Meanwhile, the fighters at Alpha Centauri experienced a similar assault. Several faster and smaller missiles popped through and took out a couple hundred fighters. Less than a minute later the Vinak cruisers started streaming through the Alpha Centauri warp point blasting anything that didn't look like one of their large shiny bright white ships.

We and a couple of the other Guerrilla Cruisers were the only ones to avoid any damage probably because of our state-of-the-art defenses. Expecting the Vinak to come through the other 2 warp points, we and the other undamaged GC-1 cruisers took our points directly facing the Draco and Dresdin warp points with the rest of the fleet flanking.

For what seemed like forever we just held our position. The Captain, along with everyone else in the Command Center, got periodic reports of the battle waging on the other side of the solar system. The reports were never good. Vinak ships kept streaming through faster than the fighters could take 'em out. Once in a while the Captain would bring up the tactical display of the battle, and I would steal a glance. It was almost artful the way the entire fighter fleet descend on the Vinak cruisers, tried to hit their weak spots, fly past, turn around, and do it again. The Viank cruisers looked like 800 pound apes swinging at a swarm of bees. Once in a while they'd get lucky and hit one. Unfortunately, there were so many of them, and they each kept getting lucky. Their ships, in spite of heavy loses kept pushing further and further away from the Warp Point. They pushed right into our stationary outposts and destroyed them.

It was at that moment that the Admiral of the fleet ordered all ships to enter the battle which was probably ridiculously too late. It would take us at least 18 hours to get over there at max speed. Maybe less depending on how far the Vinak fleet push. Anyways, at this point all the cruisers turned around and maxed their engines to the other side of the solar system. That is, all the cruisers except one. I told the Captain not to it. We had not tested them at maximum burn. Well, he didn't listen. Helm fired up the engines to max, and the next thing I know I have a Leading Shipmate yelling into my ear piece to shut down the primary thrusters.

As it turns out our 2 primary thruster's main plasma line wasn't created properly and when the full heat and pressure of the engine fuel hit it, the piece ripped apart and deadly plasma started venting into our ship. This ship has 2 of everything... except fuel lines. Now we're dead in space except for some slow maneuvering thrusters. A supply ship has been dispatched from the Jupiter yards with a replacement piece. It'll take 'em 8 hours to get here and another half day for us to replace the tubing. I don't think I ever heard a Captain swear as much or loudly as Harris did when I told him how long it will take to fix his ship. "Great! Fucking Great. Hey! Why don't we all have a god damn tea party while we're at it! Jesus Christ I don't fucking believe this. Damn it Chou. How could you let this happen".

I replied with something like, "Hey asshole! don't blame me for this. You're the idiot that didn't let me test the engines and then maxed 'em out against my warning." OK, I didn't put it that way exactly. I said something that was a little more diplomatic, but not much apparently.

"Chou! Get the hell out of my command center and don't come back until my ship is flying again!" For a moment I thought I saw actual steam comping out of the Captain's ears.[laughing] Well, until the supply ship gets here, there's nothing to do and I'm not welcome in the C.C. So nothing to do but wait.

System Command: End log.