The deck shook violently as the Stellar Banshee lifted off from Rith. Isobel has taken a seat facing the front, her eyes glued below, a clear view through the windows. She watched as the imprint in the soil and sediment shrunk as they ascended into the heavens.

“Don’t forget to look up. This is going to be your first atmospheric exit. That makes this one special.” Aurelia said keenly.

Isobel obliged, tearing her eyes away from the ground and looking up ahead of her. The giant ship had stopped  its ascent, and was instead slowly turning on a dime, tilting up towards the sky. The rear drive chambers ignited in full force, the sudden force knocking the android back further into her seat as the ship continued its journey past the red haze above.

The hull outside appeared to catch alight, causing the android some panic, so she looked over her shoulder to see her creator looking somewhat bored, as if this was the most normal thing in the world to her. Feeling some reassurance that nothing seemed to be catastrophically wrong, she turned back to see the ship accelerating, the force pushing her further and further into her chair.

The clouds in the crimson sky rushed towards them as their ascent climbed. The hull of the ship was glowing a warm hue, it wasn’t blinding by any means blinding but even though the protective coating for the glass bow of the opulent cabin couldn’t filter away all that excess light.

The red of the sky dimmed in intensity as they climbed higher, eventually giving way to the great darkness of the void. The civilian retrofitted dreadnought eased on the incline gradually, the feeling of being forced into the chair alleviating slowly, until eventually Isobel was greeted with a slight weightlessness. The android began to rise off her seat, quickly grabbing the sides and holding herself in place.

“Engaging the grav-plates.” Announced Addison.

The feeling of weightlessness immediately subsided and she found herself snugly back in her seat. Outside the viewing window, she could see Suvante shining its red glow in the distance, providing its stable light to Rith below.

“So, how was your first atmospheric exodus?” Said Aurelia, her expression one of cocky curiosity. Isobel was still reeling from the rush of it all. She could still feel the sheer weight in her titanium-alloy bones from leaving the atmosphere of her birthplace with such speed. It almost felt like a graceful exit in a way.

“It was exhilarating! I felt so heavy, yet surprisingly stable, then the brief feeling of weightlessness washed over me.” She exclaimed. “Is it like this every time?”

“Well, compared to me at the very least, you are incredibly heavy.” The redhead waved off nonchalantly. “And to answer your question, no. Medium sized ships often have smoother transitions, and small ships largely can’t make atmospheric exits, as the training needed for doing so is highly specialised and only humans are sturdy enough to pull it off. Ships not much larger or smaller than the Stellar Banshee can adapt their grav-plates to lessen the effects.”

“Watching holos on the GlaNet doesn't compare to the actual experience.” Muttered Isobel Breathlessly. It had felt uncomfortable, but the rush from doing so ran through her systems. She could almost feel the electrical impulses rippling through her skin.

“Unfortunately, it gets mundane after the first dozen or so times. Like going up and down an elevator multiple times. It loses its charm.” Mused the redhead, speaking with clear experience. Isobel cast a slight frown in thought for a moment in deep thought, soon after bouncing back to a grin.

“Well, I guess I better make that first dozen times count.” Said Isobel as she spun around on her heel, her forest shaded sundress expanding outwards. She stopped flat on her feet and stepped up to the viewing port closer.

Her smile began to fade, squinting her violet eyes as they magnified into the void. Holding her vision on a point in space, she looked over her shoulder towards the scientist who was busying herself in more screens. The android turned back to double check to see if she saw what she saw, observing a nearly black object lazily drifting int he void.

“Is that a derelict?” She asked innocently.

This caught Aurelia’s attention. Her eyes snapped up from the arrays of data, peering past the android to get a better look at what she had seen, her gaze only meeting the empty void ahead. A feeling of unease crept over her. She knew precisely how good Isobel's eyes were, she designed them herself after all.

“Addison, do we have any visuals?” Asked Aurelia.

“No, miss.”

“I see. Run through flash ping, micro ping, then radio ping failing that.” She murmured, watching the radar in front of her with rapt attention.

A silent tension hung in the air as each second passed.

“Flash ping shows nothing. Attempting micro ping.” Chirped the artificial assistant.

“Micro ping shows a ship two thousand three hundred and four metres ahead. Eighty metres long, two external batteries. Closed circuit network, no q-comms are in use. Infra shows it is currently inert, no propulsion emissions are yet in effect.” Listed Addison.

Aurelia cursed under her breath.

“Any other objects nearby?”

“Directing summit and basal scanners. Yes, it appears we have much company. Three additional ships located within three thousand kilometres. Two above and below stern-wise, a third portside, sixty degrees by forty eight degrees. Each ship resembles the one the previous contractor arrived on the planet with.”

“FUCK!” Aurelia bellowed. “I don’t think they are friendly. Retract the bridge, then power up the rail batteries. Return fire only. Power up the Antimatter shield emitters in counter mode. Don’t waste any more fuel than we need to, at least, until we can get to a station.

As if to punctuate her statement, the entire ship shuddered.

“High velocity slug has pierced into drive chamber eighteen. It is now offline. Minor contamination to surrounding rooms. Firing rail batteries for effect.”

The bridge shuddered for a moment, then began to sink down into the bowls of the ship. Isobel quickly rushed for one of the seats, offering her creator a panicked look. The scientist didn’t look up from the three dimensional map in front of her, drawing lines with her index finger between the marker in the counter to another marker on the map.

There was no shake, no indication that the bulky ship fired anything, it was difficult to notice if it was even moving in this cold void.

“Battery five hit confirmed. Battery eight hit glanced. All hostiles are powering up engines.”

“How long until the fold drive is charged?” Aurelia hissed.

“Twenty seven minutes, miss.”

“Rescinding return fire order. Fire at will.”

Isobel sat there silently as the redhead spat out order after order. She was excited to leave the planet, learn more of the galaxy, she wasn’t expecting to be in danger once again. Why did they get attacked? Why now? She just wanted to see sights and meet new people. She closed her eyes and held her breath. The only people she had met in person so far were some indignant diplomats, an assassin trying to steal her mo- creator away and of course, said creator whom she felt only warmth for. She huddled herself close, bringing up her knees to her chest.