Through the Asteroid Veil (Part 3)
Posted on Fri May 22nd, 2026 @ 2:54pm by Lieutenant JG Shizuru Chikura & Ensign Rin Kagamine 'Twin 2' & Ensign Len Kagamine 'Twin 1' & Chief Warrant Officer Karuta Roromiya & Lieutenant JG Nozomi Kusuda 'Gemini' & Lieutenant JG Vyse Ingelbard 'Buccaneer' & Ensign Sora Kobayashi 'Blank' & Ensign Hanna-Justina Marseille 'Desert Eagle'
Edited on on Fri May 22nd, 2026 @ 2:56pm
2,068 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Flight Of The Valkyries
Location: Asteroid Field
Timeline: March 18th, 2397
[Wave 2 - Starfighter Group Beta]
"Rin! I told you to be careful!" Len scolded his younger sister over the comm. He was keeping eyes on her, and she was becoming far too reckless. He knew that she was a skilled pilot, and was far better than him, but this was not the time to be 'playing' like she always did.
"I got it, don't worry. Got to have a little fun!" Rin replied as she took another close pass on an asteroid dropping photon bombs onto it cause it to crack and break apart.
"I got a big one!" she said as she looked over her shoulder out of her cockpit window to see the Asteroid breaking apart.
"RIN LOOK OUT!"
Rin quickly snapped her attention back to forward. There right in front of her was a huge asteroid. It had already been blasted by Snowflakes group, but it was now spinning uncontrollably and was almost impossible to navigate safely. It was hurtling towards her, and she was far too close to avoid it.
She slammed her sticks to bank the fighter to port, trying to avoid the asteroid by swivelling around it. However, it was already too late. The sound of metal grinding, the smell of smoke as the fighters electrical systems overloaded and the warning klaxons overwhelmed her ears. Her instruments flickered and showed errors. The starboard wing had directly scraped along the surface of the asteroid, ripping off part of the wing.
Rin coughed as electrical smoke began to fill the cockpit. "Damn..." She said as she activated the emergency ventilation system. Slowly the smoke began to subside, and her status panel showed that she had taken heavy damage. "Twin 1 to..." she coughed. "I've taken heavy damage to my Starboard Wing. Starboard phaser cannons have been destroyed. Engines are offline. I've lost navigational sensors... Life support is stable..."
She was met only with static. She slammed her hand into the comm panel. "Come on!" she said to it in frustration. She looked out at the damaged wing, the majority of it was still there however the tip had been completely sheered off. Plus, she could see exposed conduit, wiring and twisted metal. Sparks and fire from her fuel were spluttering out into space.
The asteroids around her were dense and she couldn't manuever. She couldn't get away, and if she ejected it was likely she would be struck by one of the asteroids and crushed resulting in her demise. "I should have listened to Len..." she sighed. She unclipped her safety harnesses and leant forward to grab the emergency engineering kit. "Maybe if I can get comms back online..." she coughed again. "I can get beamed out, or at least picked up..."
Further ahead, Vyse kept pace with Len. “Buccaneer to Twin 1. Keep on target. No explosion means there’s a chance. I need you to tell me you’re good to stay on mission.”
Len's hand were trembling as he kept his control sticks straight. He couldn't help but feel the worry building up in his stomach as he continued onwards. "Roger that Buccaneer..." he replied finally.
[Wave 3 - Starfighter Group Gamma]
"Desert Eagle to Gemini," Hanna radioed. "I'm not sure if I'm seeing things, but I've got what looks to be an unidentified bogey just off to starboard, over behind that cluster of asteroids."
"Does it look to be Iconian?" Nozomi asked.
Hanna squinted. "Negative; from my vantage point, it almost looks like a Valkyrie, but it's too far away for me to confirm."
"Perhaps it's Mosh's craft?" Sora suggested.
"We're too far ahead for it to be Mosh," Nozomi quickly dismissed. "He was killed quite a ways back from here."
"I got eyes on it," Shizuru replied. "Its transponder seems to have been damaged. But I am reading a lifesign aboard." She explained as she checked her readings. "Its one of ours, computer is identifying the pilot as Ensign Rin Kagamine."
"Ah, shit," Nozomi cursed as the full extent of the situation became blindingly clear. "Alright, so we've got a pilot down, but not dead; is there any way we can get in touch with the Tokyo and arrange an emergency beamout?"
"Unlikely," Hanna replied. "The debris field will likely interfere with the transporter signal; for all we know, she could be beamed back as little more than an incoherent bag of flesh and organs."
"Gee, thanks for the graphic description," Sora mumbled.
"Guess we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way, then," Nozomi surmised. "Chikura, you're with me; on my six."
"Roger that Gemini." Shizuru replied simply. She pulled in close to Gemini's Starfighter. "Lead the way Gemini."
The two fighters carefully navigated their way through the asteroids and pulled up alongside Rin's starfighter, where they could get a better view of their damage. The whole starboard side of the starfighter was wrecked, with the end of it sheered off. It was sparking as the fighter drifted. Through the cockpit- completely upside down from their orientation- the two pilots could just barely make out the silhouette of Ensign Kagamine rumaging around.
"Can confirm movement," Nozomi reported with a sigh of relief. "Ensign Kagamine appears to be alive, though the extent of her injuries are indeterminate from this angle."
"Confirmed. She appears to be doing something with the onboard systems." Shizuru said. "My sensors say her comms are online, but heavily damaged. She might be attempting repairs."
[Rins Starfighter]
Meanwhile, Rin had pulled off the panel of the comm system. With a hyperspanner in between her teeth, she was in the process of making wiring repairs to the burnt out system. The relays and some of the wires were fried, burnt and melted, but that didn't stop her. "Ouch..." she yelped as a small electrical shock zapped her fingers.
She pulled more of the wires out, and with the hypserpanner stripped off the insulation wiring. The bare metal under showed signs of fraying and being burnt by being forced to carry a current stronger than it was designed to. She began to pull apart the twisted wire and then feeding back into the terminals into the rear of the control panel.
The control panel flickered and came back to life. "Good job Rin..." She said to herself. Her eyes checked its status as she held it up to look at it. "Very short range... craft to craft under twenty klicks... Its better than nothing..." she sighed. "This is going to be a wright off, I'm sure of it..."
"Come in, Twin 2, this is Gemini of Starfighter Group Gamma," Nozomi's voice could be heard over the comm system. "We have observed your craft in distress, and have diverted to render assistance; is it possible for you to provide us with a damage report at this time?"
It took a couple of seconds for Rin to respond, but eventually her comm signal came through. It was slightly broken and full of static. "Engines are damaged, severe...." there came a long section of static. "Starboard phaser cannon... destroyed..." she came through.
"I can boost her signal." Shizuru said as she manuevered closer. She tied in her own comm system with that of Rins. "I'll act as a relay Gemini. It should clear up some static."
"Thats better." Rin said as she looked out her cockpit window at Gemini. "This bird is pretty much a wright off Gemini. My engines are pretty much destroyed. I have one phaser cannon left. RCS thrusters are offline and damaged. Hell, the only thing I have left that are actually working are life support and the ventral docking clamps. But I can't fly with docking clamps!"
"Are there any injuries to yourself that may require immediate medical attention?" Nozomi continued.
"I few scrapes from the impact. But nothing that I can't handle. I inhaled a bit of smoke, but the emergency ventilator cleared that out." Rin replied.
"Docking clamps..." Shizuru said as if pondering for a brief moment. "Docking clamps..." She then snapped her fingers as an idea popped into her head. "Gemini. I have an idea."
"I'm all ears," Nozomi replied.
Shizuru opened up her comms between both Rin and Gemini. "Gemini, if you can lock onto Twin 2 and both of you can engage the docking clamps. We can fly you out of here. Gemini, you'll have to accomodate for the other starfighter. We can't use the emergency escape transporters and tractor beams will be unreliable in this environment." Shizuru explained. "Twin 2, if you can link remotely with Gemini's fighter once you're clamped together, you can take over weapons control. Gemini, you'll have to focus purely on flying to get you both through this. But its worth a shot right?"
Nozomi pondered for a moment. "Well, there's no guarantee it'll work, but the Tokyo's only a few minutes behind us, so we've either got to act fast or get bowled over."
"You've got less than that..." Shizuru said. "There's an asteroid heading this way. You've got about ninety seconds before it collides with Twin 2. With the damage she's sustained, it'll destroy her fighter!" she said quickly. "Gemini, we need to move NOW!"
"On it," Nozomi replied as she fired up her craft and began maneuvering into position. "Do me a favor and make sure that I'm lined up?"
"On it." Shizuru replied as she swung the aft of her fighter around so she was facing Rin's starboard side. She switched her sensor screens, splitting them into two. One monitoring the approaching asteroid from aft, the other locked onto lining up Gemini.
"Three degrees to starboard..." Shizuru said as she watched the other fighter manuever. "Compensate for her drift, she's listing to port at one point three degrees..." she reported.
Gemini's fighter altered slightly, tilting a little to port. "Three meters to go Gemini.... Two... One... Half... Point Four... Point Two... Lock on now. The Magnets should do the rest." Shiruzu said. Her proximaty alarm began to wail.
"Copy that," Nozomi replied. "Activating docking clamps... now!"
"I'm pulling out, you've got six seconds to get clear!" Shizuru reported. Her engines fired up and her fighter zoomed over Rin's dorsal.
"Hold onto your ass, Kagamine!" Nozomi shouted as she jammed her thrusters on full blast.
the other Gamma Starfighters watched with baited breath as Nozomi's craft- now bearing the additional weight of another Valkyrie- just barely made it clear of the impact zone before the asteroid slammed into the smaller cluster, pulverizing each other in spectacular fashion. The energy emitted from the impact was enough to throw the two fighters clear, and after they were done spinning wildly and Nozomi regained her bearings, she was relieved to discover that her craft had only sustained minor dents and dings.
"Oh my gosh... I'm going to need a new pair of pants after that..." Nozomi gasped as she slid back into her seat.
"Thanks for the lift Gemini," Rin said over her short range comms.
"Don't thank me," Nozomi insisted. "I wouldn't have even thought to try this if Lieutenant Chikura here hadn't suggested it."
"You know we're not out of the deep water yet right..." Shizuru reminded them over the comms.
"So what next?" Sora asked.
"Well, my fighter still has a full range of motion, but it's definitely hampered with Ensign Kagamine's fighter still attached," Nozomi observed. "I think I'm going to have to radio back to the Tokyo and determine our next course of action."
And with that, she reached over and switched to an open hailing frequency.
"Gamma Squadron to Tokyo; this is Gemini reporting."
"Go ahead Gemini." The cool voice of Karuta from the Tokyo's TIC responded.
"We've run into a bit of a snag regarding one of the Beta Squadron fighters," Nozomi reported. "Ensign Kagamine's craft is more-or-less completely disabled, and while Lieutenant Chikura had the novel idea to clamp my fighter to hers, I'm now working with restricted mobility- awaiting further orders, over."
Posting by:
Lieutenant JG Nozomi Kusuda 'Gemini'
Squadron Leader
USS Tokyo
Ensign Len Kagamine 'Twin 1'
Starfighter Pilot
USS Tokyo
Ensign Rin Kagamine 'Twin 2'
Starfighter Pilot
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant JG Vyse Ingelbard 'Buccaneer'
Starfighter Pilot
USS Tokyo
Ensign Hanna-Justina Marseille 'Desert Eagle'
Starfighter Pilot
USS Tokyo
Ensign Sora Kobayashi 'Blank'
Starfighter Pilot
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant JG Shizuru Chikura
Starfighter Pilot
USS Tokyo
Chief Warrant Officer Karuta Roromiya
Air Boss
USS Tokyo
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