Sycorax Snare

Sycorax Snare - SciFi Smackdown Round 4

Sycorax Snare. Part 1 - Tempest Class Travel

Ferdinand sat in the pilot’s seat of the Tempest class cruiser and absently glanced at the flashing red light on the console. As reality crashed into his brain, he swiftly assessed the situation and tapped the comms panel.

“Duke Alonso to the bridge please,” he said calmly, his fingers flying over the controls of his father’s spaceship.

Dropping the ship out of trans-light, he established the shields and began to study the ship’s sensors readings.

A few moments later a hand rested on his shoulder, and the calm voice of Alonso broke his concentration. “I take it we have a slight situation my son?”

“Yes Father. The trans-light field seems to have clipped some sort of gravimetric anomaly during transit and I had to drop out of subspace before the field collapsed. Even so, the main drive has gone off-line. We’re currently in a small uncharted system approximately halfway home. It’s a route we haven’t taken before as we had to detour to Acvis 4 to drop off your uncle. I’m currently reading some very strange gravimetric and radiation levels which the computer is still analysing.”

“Right, keep me appraised of the results please, you have done well.”

The Duke of the House of Naples rubbed his tired eyes. “So much for a simple trip home eh son? I think I’m still recovering from your sister’s wedding party. I’d heard stories of the hospitality of those who on lived on the moon of Tunis but nothing had prepared me. I can see why she enjoys it there.”

Ferdinand smiled. “It was certainly a lively party father.”

“Aye.” Alonso changed the subject, suddenly serious. “Have you informed the others on board?”

“No, not yet. I wanted to assess our situation fully before raising any alarms. We are drifting gently, but we’re not in any danger of collision at the moment, there’s an asteroid belt and a gas giant with a moon, but we’re not within the gravity well of either as yet. The engineering bots are checking the trans-light drive at the moment and I wanted to be fully appraised of the facts before alerting our esteemed guests.”

“Agreed. I don’t particularly want to speak to Duke Antonio of House Milan as yet. His advisor Gonzalo is a wily old fox and I’ve always rather liked the man, but Antonio is not to be trusted. However, we shall keep our own council on that issue I think son. Once we have some results in from the sensors I will inform your uncle Sebastian, if of course he can be roused from his drunken stupidity, and then we will talk to the others on board.”

“Agreed.” Ferdinand turned back to the holoscreen as the onboard sensors continued their scans of the system.

~~

“Father?”

The tall man in black tapped the comms badge pinned to his chest. “Yes my daughter?”

“I think you should come and see this.”

Prospero put down his watering can with a sigh and moved away from the plants in the sealed biome, carefully re-establishing the hermetic fields as he went. Although the atmosphere outside was breathable, it wouldn’t do for the local species and his carefully nurtured collection to mix.

He walked the short distance to the small dome they called home and sat down next to his daughter who was peering intently at one of the holoscreens.

“I was watching the sunrise behind the planet when a ship dropped out of trans-light and set off our sensors. They’re drifting towards the Snare zone but don’t seem to be aware of it. We have to warn them father.”