Frozen Abyss
I was not always a rogue explorer.
It is what I am best known for, and it has provided my family and I a very comfortable life, but it isn't the full story.
I can still feel the cold rush of adrenalin in my veins when I recall that moment. The moment my entire life changed. A random wormhole opened off my starboard side while venturing a routine inspection run around the dark side of some ice ball planet named Oberon IV. Where just a moment ago there was only space, now existed a breach in reality from which a ship the size of a moving city emerged. The vessel, a Titan-class Destroyer big enough to house several full assault fleets, was clad in the menacing colors and dark, chaotic heraldry of the Havoc Brothers. All of which made matters, and my shock, infinitely worse.
A series of lights descended from the destroyer and began to navigate in my direction, an attack squad. The sound of the warning siros and flashing targeting alerts on my display broke me from my cold, panicked sweat. I didn't have long, only a few seconds before they would be within firing range. I banked left, away from the oncoming death squad, and accelerated toward my only possible salvation, Oberon IV.
Cutting through the upper atmosphere, holding my breath, I initiated a high orbit topographical scan, all to aware I was losing ground to my pursuers. "Turn off warnings, alert only visual incoming." I instructed the onboard NAVI-GE (Navigation and Vehicle Integration Guidance Equipment) unit "Overlay scanned anomalies". Indications of subterranean cave systems washed over my display just before a series of flashing red dots blinked to life on left side of my overlay. They were within firing range and I had several high velocity projectiles incoming. I banked right in a tight barrel roll, relieved the red dots turned green a fraction of a second before I saw then fly pass my window. It was to close, I would not get that lucky twice. My scan showed a cave opening up ahead and beyond it a heat signature of what could be a small city or large settlement. I'd never make it, the cave was my only chance of survival. Two red lights flashed on my screen a moment before a defining explosion erupted from behind me. Both hits were direct and struck with enough force to completely overload my shield generator. My hand moved to the red flame symbol next the the shield generator icon to confirm jettisoning of the component when I hesitated, I had a better idea.
"Take control now,. Sudo admin, clearance code Password-One-Exclamation Point." I checked my flight harness, tightening the straps, "Land at nearest cave entrance. Simulate controlled crash".