The Orpheus - part 1

The Orpheus appeared in orbit above the alien outpost on Erelia, with The Lazzerus and The Star of Orion following closely behind.  The two ships quickly began to manoeuvre into place alongside The Orpheus as it made it’s approach towards the lush planet ahead.  The planet was almost entirely covered in dense jungle, broken only by the occasional body of water and the solitary grey spot where the outpost lay, giving the planet an eerily green glow through the viewing screen.

“Captain, we are almost within firing range of the alien outpost”  Said Commander Kaitlin Mills.  “We will hit our optimum orbit in less than two minutes.  The Lazzerus and The Star of Orion will be in their positions not long after”

“Ready the bombardment cannons”  Replied Caius Richards, Captain of The Orpheus.

Caius winked and smiled at her as he gave her the command, the same cheeky smile he would always give just before a battle.  Kait shook her head at her Captain and smiled back.

Kait then turned to the Gunnery Sergeant  “Prepare to fire the cannons on the Captain's command. Once The Lazzerus and The Star of Orion are in place we will begin our assault”

The Gunnery Sergeant turned to his console and began keying in the sequence to prepare the cannons.  The two bombardment cannons immediately began to spring into action.  The huge gun turrets mounted at the fore of the cruiser class vessel turned towards the small grey blob on the surface of the planet.

“The cannons are locked on target and ready to fire Commander”  Replied the Gunnery Sergeant.

Kait turned back to Caius and once again he had that cheeky smile on his face.  The man was more like a child when he got like this, jumping into the fray without a thought for his own safety.  She had to admit that even when he was like this things always seemed to work out for him.  She could never decide if it was just plain luck that kept him alive, or if he was far more in control during those times than he cared to let on.

Kait turned her thoughts back to the attack as the other two ships moved into position.  

“The Lazzerus and The Star of Orion are in position and ready to begin the assault”  Said the Communications Officer as messages came through the secure line from both ships.

“Good”  Replied Caius.  “Then I’d suggest we get on with the attack”

“Fire!”  Shouted Kait, knowing full well that was Caius’ way of giving the command to fire.

The Gunnery Sergeant nodded and activated the cannons. The cannons fired their charges towards the outpost on the surface of the planet, leaving two trails of light behind as they made their way towards the target.  The Lazzerus and the Star of Orion had also fired their cannons.  Caius and his bridge crew all watched as the trails disappeared into the atmosphere above the outpost.  Small flashes of light became visible as the charges hit their marks.

“Direct hit Captain”  Said the Gunnery Sergeant.  “It appears that we managed to wipe out their entire defence network.  I’m not detecting any signs of weapon emplacements left anywhere in the outpost”