HSS Chasetail: Flight Deck
General Marvin Huxley was waiting for Greenwatch on the flight deck as they climbed one by one out of their fighters.
Over his arm, he was holding a neatly folded pair of clean flight pants.
Toby climbed down from his cockpit and came face to face with his Commanding Officer.
Huxley met the Lieutenant’s eye for just a moment.
Huxley: Hall.
Toby: …Sir.
Huxley held out the pants and Toby accepted.
Huxley: Mission debrief in 30 minutes.
Huxley turned and walked away without further comment.
Toby stood on the flight deck holding his clean pants. He was not entirely sure that what just happened had really happened.
Timo appeared at his shoulder, having witnessed the entire exchange from approximately three steps away.
Timo: Oh yeah. That just happened.
Toby: You tell no one.
Timo: Mate. Look around you.
Timo waved his paw theatrically around the flight deck.
The whole ship knows.
You, Sir, have just been Huxed.
HSS Chasetail: Briefing Room
The mission debrief was underway and the room was full. Greenwatch, Lewis, Anika, and Hazel were all present.
Huxley was also there.
Klaus was reading the mission log from a tablet.
Klaus:
- Routine patrol—Sector 1, Quadrant Delta-3 (S1-QD3)
- Squadron in standard loose formation
- Fuel and catalytic lattice status—nominal
- Localised personnel environmental breach—squadron operations unaffected
- Initial contact—anomalous probe signature—designate P-1
- Contact characteristics—larger mass, irregular spiked profile
- Condition orange declared by Control
- Greenwatch vector realigned
- Intercept initiated—active seek and destroy
- Probe behaviour—non-standard evasive pattern observed
- Probe split into two—designated P-1 and P-2
- Condition red declared by Control
- Simultaneous threat vectors confirmed
- Squadron split formation—each assigned one probe
- First squadron split pursued P-1 on collision course with freighter Patch
- Patch advised to take evasive action
- Limited-options engagement window established
- Weapons release—one missile fired
- Impact confirmed—P-1 destroyed—close proximity to Patch
- Second squadron split maintained pursuit of P-2—targeting S1-QD3 relay node
- P-2 reached relay node before optimal engagement window established
- Attempted missile intercept—negative
- S1-QD3 relay node destroyed—total loss
- Squadron reformed—patrol returned to Chasetail
- No damage to craft or personnel
- All crew actions within nominal and accepted parameters
Klaus put the tablet down and looked around the room.
Klaus: Questions? Observations?
He waited patiently for the first to speak.
Toby: We let P-1 get way too close to that freighter’s backside.
Should we have taken the shot sooner?
Timo: It was moving too fast, it was all over the place, and even I couldn’t get any decent lock on it. If I’d fired early, it would have missed.
Hans: Our P-2 split could have widened and flanked, but that would have cost us speed and distance.
Raven: The clock was against us. Time ran out.
And—
It wasn’t just evading.
Hazel: Define.
Raven: It was reacting.
The low hum of the ventilation seemed to swell in the room.
Lewis: Anticipating—
…and…
thinking.
The ventilation hum cycled off. Silence.
Anika: The logs show adaptive variance across all hostile contact traces.
The trajectory shifts aren’t random, they correlate directly with our intercept vectors.
Hazel: You’re suggesting intent.
Anika: Correct.
Based on direct analysis of the logarithmic metadata.
There was another brief silence before a new voice rumbled from the back of the room.
Huxley: Intelligent?
The reply was immediate and clear.
Lewis: Yes, Sir.
Huxley: Level of certainty?
Lewis: High, Sir.
There was one voice that had not yet been heard in the room, and when it came, it was unequivocal.
Seb: Sir, I concur with Lewis.
Huxley regarded the young lieutenant for a few moments.
Huxley: Your further assessment?
Seb: I was wondering… Sir—
what would happen… if we don’t chase?
More than one of the pilots in the room snapped their heads around in surprise.
Huxley considered.
Huxley: Then we find out.
Huxley straightened.
Huxley: Next contact, no intercept.
Hold distance and observe.
Vary approach vectors.
His gaze moved across the room, lingering for half a moment on Timo, who was sitting unusually still.
Huxley’s gaze landed on Seb.
Huxley: We don’t chase.
He let his words hang for a moment.
That is all.
Huxley stood, nodded once at Seb and then he left the room.
The room dissolved into various sounds of people standing, talking among themselves, and making for the door.
Attentive ears would have caught brief snippets of conversations.
Timo leaned towards Toby—
Timo: Mouldy cheezos!
No chasing? Where’s the fun in that?
Toby: I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day.
Timo: You kept those pants, right?
Toby: I’m having them framed.
He paused, reflectively.
Once they’re back from the laundry.
Screw Pile Developments 